Stuffed Pumpkin {FFwD} {Pumpkin Dinner} {Recipe}

October 9, 2011 at 8:00 am (Around My French Table, Dorie Greenspan, Family, Farmer's market, French Fridays With Dorie, Holiday Baking, Recipes, Techniques)
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My love of all things pumpkin is well known, so I don’t think anyone was surprised when I suggested a pumpkin dinner roundup, where everyone would make a different pumpkin recipe and post them all on the same day.

My contribution was this side dish, which I adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s recipe. I made it the other night for dinner.

Don’t think big jack-o’-lantern pumpkin when you go to make this dish. A 2 1/2 pound pumpkin is pretty small and can be found with the “baking pumpkins” at the grocery store.

Preparing it for baking, however, is a lot like carving a pumpkin.

Once the goop is removed, it’s just a matter of filling it with stuffing and pouring on some spiced cream.

Then you put the lid back on and slide it into the oven for a bit.

The skin will darken and toughen up while the insides get bubbly and delicious.

Stuffed Pumpkin

(adapted from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan)

 Ingredients 

  • 2 1/2 pound pumpkin
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 4-5 thin slices stale bread, crusts removed and cut into ½-inch cubes
  • 2 ounces each Gruyère and Emmenthal cheeses, cut into ½-inch cubes
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

 Directions 

  1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
  2. Cut the top off the pumpkin jack-o’-lantern style and remove pulp and seeds. Discard seeds or save for roasting. Season the inside of the pumpkin generously with salt and pepper. Place the pumpkin in a round baking dish, preferably one that’s just slightly larger than the pumpkin.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine bread, cheeses, garlic, and thyme. Season with a little salt and lots of pepper and toss well. Spoon filling into pumpkin and pack lightly. The pumpkin should be filled to the top but not overflowing.
  4. Stir together cream and nutmeg, then pour over filling in pumpkin. Put the pumpkin top on the pumpkin.
  5. Bake for 1 hour. Remove lid and continue baking for about 30 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and the top nicely toasted.
  6. To serve, carefully (it will be very hot) reach inside the pumpkin with a large spoon and scrape the cooked pumpkin meat free from the sides. Mix the pumpkin with the stuffing and replace the lid. Carry the pumpkin in the baking dish to the table. When ready to serve, remove the lid and spoon directly from the pumpkin.

 Yields 4-5 side dish servings

You’ll note that I sliced the pumpkin rather than mixing in the flesh like in the recipe. I didn’t care for it sliced as well. The skin was very dry and leathery, and it was difficult to cut, even with a good, sharp knife. And we were left to deal with it on the plate while eating. I made a note to mix it together inside the pumpkin next time.

This was such a delicious dish. I couldn’t wait to make it again. So, a few weeks later I decided to bake another pumpkin. My parents were in town, and I thought I would switch things up by replacing the bread cubes with rice and adding frozen peas.

We put the whole pumpkin on the table and served it by scooping out the filling, along with some of the pumpkin flesh. It was so good, we all agreed that we would add it to our Thanksgiving menu this year.

In addition to the pumpkin dinner roundup, this post is also part of French Fridays with Dorie.

44 Comments

Glazed Baked Cider Doughnuts {Recipe}

August 14, 2011 at 3:21 pm (Cake, Recipes)
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I’ve had my eye on a doughnut pan for a while, and the other day at the outlet mall one somehow jumped into my bag. So for Sunday morning breakfast, we had delicious cider doughnuts with a cider glaze.

This recipe is adapted from King Arthur Flour and uses their delicious boiled cider. It makes six doughnuts, just right for the pan, but could easily be doubled.

Cider Doughnuts

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 2 tablespoons boiled cider
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup milk

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a six-cavity doughnut pan.
  2. Combine butter, oil, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in bowl of mixer. Beat until smooth, then add boiled cider and egg, beating well after each addition.
  3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a small bowl.
  4. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk to mixing bowl, stirring well on low speed after each addition. Add flour in three additions and milk in two, beginning and ending with flour.
  5. The batter will have the consistency of quick bread batter. Spoon batter into the pan and smooth the tops.
  6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the doughnuts are baked through and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean.
  7. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling.
  8. While the doughnuts are cooling, make the glaze. In a small, shallow bowl, mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon boiled cider, and 2 teaspoons cream, milk, or water. Stir to mix and add additional cream or powdered sugar as needed so that the glaze has the consistency of molasses.
  9. Dip the tops of doughnuts in the glaze. If necessary, scrape away any excess glaze with a spatula. Place doughnuts on wire rack over waxed paper.

Makes 6 doughnuts. Try not to eat them all yourself.

11 Comments

Pumpkin Pecan Buttermilk Tart with Cinnamon Whipped Cream {ModBak}

April 16, 2011 at 8:42 pm (Dessert, Holiday Baking, Modern Baker Challenge, Nick Malgieri, Tarts & Pies, The Modern Baker)
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The second recipe I signed up to post for the Sweet Tarts and Pies section of the Modern Baker Challenge was one I knew right away I would love. I’m a huge pumpkin pie fan. In my house we eat them year-round, and we always make at least two at a time — one for the day it’s made and the other for the next day, starting with breakfast. And if you need some left for, say, Thanksgiving dinner, you have to bake a few more. And no one makes them like my mom.

So I was excited to try Nick’s recipe to see how it would stack up to mom’s normal, back-of-the-can recipe. Having made the bourbon-scented pecan tart, which blew my old pecan pie recipe out of the water, I couldn’t wait to see what Nick would do with pumpkin pie.

Like most of the recipes in this section, this one starts with sweet tart dough. I’ve really come to love this pastry dough. It is so easy to work with, and the results are consistently delicious. Because of my family’s affection for pumpkin pie, I decided to make the full recipe. So I started with an 11-inch tart crust.

The tart filling came together very quickly. After whisking pumpkin pie filling and eggs together in a bowl, I added sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and buttermilk and mixed it all together. I poured the filling into the tart shell, then topped it with chopped pecans. The recipe said to sprinkle sugar on top, but I forgot. It didn’t seem to affect the final product, although I will definitely remember it next time so I can compare.

I baked the tart for 35 minutes at 350°F, until the crust was baked through and the filling was set.

I cooled the tart for about half an hour, then removed the sides and bottom of the pan and put the tart on a cutting board while I made the cinnamon whipped cream, which consisted of heavy cream, sugar, and cinnamon.

We ate a quick dinner of leftovers so we could have the tart for dessert. I served the tart with cinnamon whipped cream on the side, to the great delight of my family — and me.

So how did Nick’s pumpkin tart stack up to mom’s much-loved pie? Sorry, Mom. You lose this throwdown — big time. The tart was delicious — creamy, spicy, sweet, but not overly so. And the crunch of the pecans was a welcome addition, as was the cinnamon whipped cream.

This is definitely my new pumpkin tart recipe. And I have a feeling that, once I make it for Mom, it will be hers, too.

12 Comments

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