There's more to a pumpkin than a jack-'o-lantern.
Pumpkins have joined the ranks of designer foods and they're available in dozens of sizes and shades of orange for making colorful fall decorations. But the best pumpkin is the small variety called, quite appropriately, the pie pumpkin. It's small enough to handle easily and smaller pumpkins tend to have sweeter, more tender flesh.
Here's how to cook a fresh pumpkin.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Wash pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin in half and clean out the inside. Cut into large pieces and place in a large roasting pan. Add about 1/2-inch of water. Bake until tender, about an hour. Cool pumpkin and peel off the rind. Place the pumpkin into a food processor bowl. Puree. Put the pumpkin in a strainer and let it drain.
Once you cook the pumpkin it's great for making pies, cakes, and other goodies.
Traditional pumpkin pie
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
2 cups cooked pumpkin
1 can (12 fluid ounces) evaporated milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
Whipped cream (optional)
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.
Pumpkin layer cake
For the cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs
2 cups cooked pumpkin
For the frosting:
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese
1 cup unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 pounds confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup black walnuts
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the oil and the eggs. Thoroughly whisk together the oil and eggs and then incorporate the flour and pumpkin. Stir until well mixed. Pour into the pans.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on racks for 10 minutes. With a spatula, cut around the edges, invert, and remove the cakes from the pans. Cool 1 hour.
Prepare the frosting: If your cream cheese and butter are not soft enough to beat with a mixer, warm them slightly in your microwave oven. Using a high-powered mixer, beat together the cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Slowly sift and stir in the sugar until smooth. Frost the cake one layer at a time, stacking the layers as you go. Then, frost the top and sides of the cake. Garnish the sides of the cake with black walnuts, sticking them on one nut at a time. Refrigerate. Makes 12 servings. (From Mountain Country Cooking by Mark Sohn.)
Pumpkin cream cheese pie
One pre-baked 10-inch pie shell
For cream cheese filling:
1 1/2 cups soft cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For pumpkin filling:
2 cups canned or homemade pumpkin puree, unseasoned
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Optional garnish:
Whipped cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To make cream cheese filling: In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and cinnamon with paddle mixer for 5 minutes at medium speed; add 2 eggs and vanilla, beating at low speed until completely combined; scrape bowl and add 2 more eggs; combine, beating at low speed until mixture is free of lumps. Pour into pre-baked shell; refrigerate for 15 minutes, until firm.
To make the pumpkin filling: In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, beating by hand with a whisk until the mixture is smooth and firm (about 5 minutes); pour on top of cream cheese filling very gently, and spread evenly until filling completely covers the cream cheese.
Bake 45 to 50 minutes at 350 degrees, until pie is puffing up slightly, and golden brown. Serve warm after letting pie stand about 15 minutes, or allow to cool for serving. Serve with whipped cream, or, if desired, garnish with rosettes of whipped cream. Makes one 10-inch pie.
Spiced pumpkin souffle
2 cups canned or homemade pumpkin puree, unseasoned
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
3 eggs, yolks and whites separated
In a medium mixing bowl, mix pumpkin, milk, cream, 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until firm. Gently, with a plastic spatula, fold egg whites into pumpkin mixture.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter six 3-inch ramekins. Lightly sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of sugar evenly in bottoms of the ramekins. Divide pumpkin mixture among ramekins. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until nicely puffed up. Don't overcook, or the souffle will fall. Serve immediately if you want a warm dessert, or cool for 30 minutes to 1 hour to serve cooled. Makes 6 servings.
Pumpkin and apple soup
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped, plus 2 tablespoons for garnish (lightly toasted)
1 small white onion, chopped
1 teaspoon peeled, grated fresh ginger
3 cups pumpkin, peeled and diced
1 Granny Smith or other tart apple, peeled, cored and chopped
3 cups vegetable stock
Salt and pepper
Plain yogurt, for garnish
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over a medium flame. Add the 1/2 cup of nuts, the onion and ginger and saute the mixture until it is golden brown, about 3 minutes.
Add the pumpkin and apple and saute the mixture for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stock, cover the pan and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until pumpkin is soft.
Transfer the mixture, in batches if necessary, to a blender or food processor and puree it until smooth. Return the soup to the saucepan and heat it. Season it with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the soup in large bowls, garnished with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkle of nuts. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Pumpkin pancakes with yogurt-raisin topping
For the topping:
2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt
1 cup raisins
For the pancakes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup 1 percent low-fat milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
1/2 cup cooked pumpkin
1/2 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
In a small mixing bowl, combine 2 cups vanilla yogurt and raisins. Reserve.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. In a medium mixing bowl, combine milk, butter, egg, pumpkin and 1/2 cup yogurt, mixing well. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and stir until just moist. Do not overmix. Batter might be lumpy. For thinner batter, add milk.
Lightly coat a griddle or skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium. Using a quarter-cup measure, pour batter onto hot griddle. Cook until bubbles begin to burst, then flip pancakes and cook until golden. Serve warm, topped with yogurt-raisin mixture and dusting of cinnamon. Makes 4 servings (or 12 pancakes).
Harvest pumpkin-pineapple loaf
Non-stick cooking spray
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
15-ounce can pumpkin
8 1/4-ounce can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
4 large eggs
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar (optional)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pans with cooking spray. In mixer bowl, beat together sugar and butter until blended. Add pumpkin, pineapple and eggs; beat well. Set aside. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt; add to pumpkin mixture, mixing until dry ingredients are just moistened. Divide batter into prepared pans; spread evenly. Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks; cool completely. Lightly sprinkle powdered sugar over tops, if desired.
Tip: Walnuts may be added. Prepare recipe as directed, stirring in 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts when adding dry ingredients. Makes 16 servings.
Pumpkin ice cream with hazelnut crunch
Ice cream:
3/4 heaping cup sugar
10 egg yolks
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
1 liter half-and-half
1 cup pumpkin puree (fresh is preferred, but not necessary)
Hazelnut crunch:
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup shelled whole hazelnuts
To make ice cream: In a mixing bowl over a double boiler, whisk sugar, egg yolks, cinnamon and nutmeg until it is light in color and starts to form soft peaks. In a saucepan, heat half-and-half until hot, but not boiling. Slowly add half-and-half to egg mixture, continuing to whisk. Add pumpkin puree and combine thoroughly. In an ice cream machine, place pumpkin mixture and follow directions as indicated.
To make hazelnut crunch: In a saute pan, cook sugar and water over medium heat until sugar melts and begins to caramelize (about 10 minutes). Do not stir, but very carefully swirl pan with your wrist. When the sugar is an even bronze color, add hazelnuts and continue swirling. Pour nut mixture onto an oiled baking sheet and cool until completely hard. Break into 2-inch pieces and grind in a Cuisinart until pieces are 1/2-inch or smaller.
To serve: Scoop ice cream into a bowl and sprinkle liberally with hazelnut crunch. Makes 6 servings.
To make cream cheese icing: Beat 1 8-ounce package softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup softened butter and 2 teaspoons vanilla, until light and fluffy. Gradually add 5 3/4 to 6 1/4 cups powdered sugar, 2 cups at a time. Gradually beat in powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency.
