Pumpkin Pie Porn

I still need to write out the recipe for this pie - it was Frankenstein'd, so it's going to take me a while to figure out the scribbled notes under the caked-on pumpkin. I take notes as I go, and then I spill stuff on the notes. Oh well.

Anyway, this is double pumpkin pie. DOUBLE PUMPKIN ALL THE WAY. The crust is store-bought, the bottom layer is caramel pumpkin, and the top layer is pumpkin cream cheese. It was delicious, so it was gone in a flash.

The layers don't work separately, but together they form a tasty blend of creamy, spicy, and rich pumpkiny sweetness. No whipped cream required.

Alternative gingerbread houses

I've been craving a weird/spooky/haunted gingerbread house, but sadly lack the time to make one.

For now, I'll have to make-do with photos of houses that others have made.

This one is just...so detailed! So much care was put into it. From far away it looks fairly normal, but!...


Lots more amazing pictures at the source.

This one was on display last year at the Haunted Mansion Holiday ride in Disneyland.

It's a "Scary-go-Round"

This has been flying around the internet - a gingerbread crackhouse. (It's probably NSFW)

Haha, well done, JaneMinty! I feel like I can smell it, and it doesn't smell like gingerbread.

Pumpkin Corn Bread

I haven't been cooking much lately, but with pumpkin dinner coming up hot, I'd better hop to it. Here's the last pumpkin thing I made - Pumpkin Corn Bread. I thought they were delicious, but maybe a little too dense. This is my starter recipe, so hopefully I'll be improving on them soon.

Pumpkin Corn Bread

Adapted from All Recipes

Makes 16 corn muffins; takes about 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup unbleached flour

3/4 cornmeal

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs, beaten

1 can pumpkin puree

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

4 oz melted butter (this complicated things. I'd probably just use 1/4 cup vegetable oil next time)

1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper

4 Tbs dried, chopped onion

1 1/2 tsp dried sage

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Method

-In separate bowls, combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients.

-Slowly combine the wet ingredients into the dry bowl, do not overmix

-Divide batter evenly into baking cups or a greased muffin tin

-Bake in a pre-heated oven at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

I used a pumpkin-shaped mini cake tin to make these, and they weren't as cute as I'd hoped (notice there's no picture). Like I said above, they were dry, but I think I should have used oil and not butter (why did I do that?) and added a little extra moisture - perhaps by reducing the flour, or adding another liquid. But I thought the flavor was perfect - herby, oniony, pumpkiny, and peppery with a touch of sweetness.

I'll be making them again and I'll report back.

Philadelphia Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese

When I spotted Pumpkin Spice cream cheese at the grocery store, I grabbed instinctively, forgetting my stomach's aversion to dairy.

It's a pretty orange color, it smells nice, and it tastes like cream cheese heaven. It's much softer than regular cream cheese, and it was easy to use over half the container on a freshly-toasted bagel (yep, I'm a pig). It does have a familiar cream cheese taste with cinnamon notes, and a sweet flavor. Not too sweet - just right.

While I'd be perfectly happy spreading this on just about everything, I can also see this being used in lazy baking. It would be easy to whip up some pumpkin cream cheese frosting using just some powdered sugar and milk. Or maybe I could more easily make that pumpkin cream cheese pie with sour cream topping that I've been dreaming of! Either way, I'm definitely going to buy a tub or two the next time I'm grocery shopping. Dairy intolerance be damned.

Pumpkin spice marshmallows

If you want to make a really easy and fun dessert for guests, and impress them by setting fire to your living room, make indoor s'mores with pumpkin spice marshmallows. They're ridiculously easy, and most people are really impressed that marshmallows can taste good and not like those round tubes of plastic sugar (aka commercially-produced marshmallows) from the supermarket.

There's chocolate hiding under all that melted marshmallow.

Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows

Adapted from Ina Garten's basic marshmallow recipe

Ingredients

3 packages unflavored gelatin

1/2 cold water

1 cup granulated white sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 Tbs vanilla extract

1/2 c pumpkin puree

2 tsp of your choice of:

-pumpkin pie spice

-all spice

-cardamom

-cinnamon

-ground Saigon cinnamon

-nutmeg

Powdered sugar for dusting

Method

-Combine the gelatin and cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer with a whisk attachment.

-In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the white and brown sugars, corn syrup, and salt, and stir until the sugar dissolves.

-Turn the heat up to high, and cook until a candy thermometer registers 240 degrees

-Remove from heat

-Turn the mixer on low and slowly pour in the sugar syrup. (Be very careful as the mixer can spit hot candy into your face.)

-When the syrup is fully incorporated, turn the mixer up to high and leave it until the mixture is very thick and fluffy

-Add the vanilla, pumpkin puree, and spices; incorporate

-Grease a large casserole dish (I used a 13" x 9" Pyrex baking dish) and then dust it heavily with powdered sugar. It's very important to use a LOT of powdered sugar in the dish because it will be easier to remove the marshmallow.

-Pour the hot mixture into the prepared dish, sprinkle more powdered sugar on top, and leave the dish uncovered overnight to set.

-The next day, use a serrated knife to cut the marshmallows into bite-sized pieces, and roll each marshmallow in powdered sugar.

Serve with graham crackers, chocolate, wooden skewers, and a can of sterno in an oven proof bowl. This bowl will get hot, so you should put the bowl on a plate or trivet.

It sounds like a lot of steps, but I swear it's really easy and satisfying. This recipe is fool-proof as long as you heat the sugar syrup to the right temperature. You might want to put a kitchen towel over the mixer as you whip the syrup into the gelatin. This will stop you from finding marshmallow dots all over your walls.

For my marshmallows I used quite a bit of Saigon cinnamon and cardamom, with less pumpkin pie spice and all spice. Taste the mix before you pour it into the dish to make sure that you like the flavor. The basic recipe can be used to make all kinds of flavored marshmallows.

If you have a lot of leftover 'mallows, you should try dipping some in melted chocolate and then topping them with sprinkles. I did that last year and people were impressed. Sprinkles. That's all it takes.

Indian Pumpkin Candy

During a recent candy raid at the local British-Indian Market, I picked up this box of tempting candy:

Dry Petha Premium Delights - Delicious Pumpkin Sweets

They claim to be traditional Indian sweets, and they look similar to something I remember as a kid, so I couldn't resist them.

They look like soft little pillows with a sparkly sugar crust.

I took a big bite, and it tasted like OH GOD, VOMIT! IT TASTES LIKE VOMIT! I WANT THIS OUT OF MY MOUTH NOW!

And then I jumped around the kitchen squealing before wiping my tongue with a paper towel and running my tongue under the kitchen tap.

It's safe to say that these are traditional, and also possibly a required taste like Marmite.

They don't taste anything like pumpkin. The insides are oily and flaky and the taste is indescribable. Don't go on my account - if this is what people like in India, I am very happy for them. I will stick to my chickpea curries and samosas.

I'm not sure what passes for pumpkin in India; I'm guessing pumpkin means something different. I've had Thai pumpkin curries that contained some kind of squash, but definitely not what Americans consider pumpkin.

Ingredients: Ash Gourd and "Nature Identical Flavouring Substances"

But I won't let this dampen my adventurous spirit. Whenever something bizarre has pumpkin in it, I will buy it.

Pumpkin apple pork chops

Everyone I know hates pork chops; most people were scarred as children by dried-out pork chops topped with cold apple sauce. These pork chops have converted one person, so I hope these will help with the pork hater in your house.

You might be able to tell from this picture that I didn't brown my chops enough. The texture was not quite right this time, but they were still tasty.

Pumpkin Apple Pork Chops

Ingredients

2 pork loin chops

1 onion, chopped

1 apple (I used Gala), chopped

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground dried mustard

hefty sprinkle of cinnamon

tiny dash of cloves cloves

1/4 c stock

1/4 c apple cider

Oil and butter

Salt and pepper

A heavy, lidded pan

Method

-Dry your pork chops between sheets of paper towel, season with salt and pepper.

-Over medium-high heat, brown the pork chops in oil; about 5 minutes each side. Do not cook through. Remove the pork, cover, and set aside.

-On medium heat, sautee the onion in melted butter, salt lightly. Cook until softened and translucent

-Add apple. Cook until fragrant.

-Add the pumpkin and spices; stir until hot.

-Add the juice and stock; stir until hot.

-Add the pork back into the pan. Top each piece of meat with the apple pumpkin topping.

-Put the lid on the pan, simmer until the pork chops are cooked through.

-When the pork is the correct temperature, remove, cover and rest the pork chops again (for about 5 minutes)

-If necessary, reduce the amount of liquid in your pan over medium heat. If the apple pumpkin mixture looks thick enough, just put the lid on until your chops are rested and ready to serve. Keep tasting the mixture until it's right - add salt, pepper to your desired amounts.

The recommended temperature for pork chops is 160. If you aren't afraid of trichinosis (read about modern pork and parasitic infections. There's little reason to fear pork), cook the pork to an internal temperature of 145 degrees. It will taste better and be very moist, and delicious.

My pork chops were served with a sweet potato and potato mixture, whipped with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon, and served with a side of green beans.