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posted by Mr. Darcy

Here’s a dessert guaranteed to impress your friends & family! It will elicit wonderous “ooooh’s” and “aaaah’s” from just about anyone who spies or tries it! This recipe has become a family holiday tradition at our house and it is as fun to make as it is to eat. (Ooooh’s and aaaah’s are included, of course!)

The Recipe:

• 1. 75 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 0.25 cups finely ground pecans
• 0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 stick (0.5 cup) of unsalted butter, melted
• 3 (8-oz) packages of cream cheese, softened
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 0.25 cup heavy cream
• 1 (14-oz)  can of pumpkin pulp or 1.75 cups of fresh pumpkin pulp
• 0.25 cup caramel sauce (our one cheat… bought at a store)

Directions: the pumpkin

The steps for baking a pie pumpkin, from whole pumpkin to pulp.

First, why cook a pumpkin over buying canned pumpkin at the store? I guess that depends on you and what your time and kitchen fortitude allow. Many feel both get you the same result. Some reasons I decided to take the plunge are: (1) at $1-2 per pumpkin, you get more pumpkin pulp for your money  (2) plus, though many disagree, I think the end result simply tastes better because it’s freshly made. And now for the best reason of all, (3) you may think I’m crazy, but I swear it’s fun!

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Take a pie pumpkin, available at most farmers markets or produce stores during the fall/winter season, and cut it into quarters.

3. Scoop out the seeds and cut your quarters into 4-inch pieces.

4. Place the pieces of cut pumpkin into an oiled roasting dish, rind side down, cover tightly with foil, and bake for about 1 hour or until the pumpkin is soft and cuts easily with a fork or spoon.

5. Pull it out of the oven, allow it to cool, and then with a spoon or knife, scrape the pumpkin flesh away from the rind as shown in the bottom two photos above. The pumpkin flesh should easily come apart from the rind leaving a pile of empty rind and a bowl full of fresh pumpkin.

6. Puree the freshly cooked pumpkin and set aside for later.

Note: If after you puree the pumpkin, the final consistency is wetter than what you’d normally see in a can of pumpkin, wrap in cheese cloth and strain a little bit of the excess water from it until the consistency looks right.

Directions: the cheesecake

1. Preheat the oven to 375.

2. If you are starting with whole pecans, place them in a food processor and pulse them until they are finely ground. Then add the graham cracker crumbs to the food processor with the cinnamon and pulse once more to quickly blend.

3. Pour the crumb mixture into a medium bowl and add the melted butter. Stir until combined.

4. Press the crust mixture into the bottom and about half way up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.

Press the crust into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan.

Note: I like to take a butter knife and even up the edge of the crust all the way around the pan. It will make for a better presentation when it’s done.

5. For the filling, combine cream cheese through vanilla in a mixer bowl. Beat until fluffy.

6. Add eggs and yolks all at once, beating on low just until combined.

7. Fold in the cream and the pumpkin pulp. Don’t worry if it appears broken and not mixed in. Leave it that way. It will bake beautifully.

The filling just before folding in the pumpkin and heavy cream.

8. Pour into the crust lined pan.

Pour the filling into the crust-lined pan.

9. Place on a shallow baking pan in the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the center appears nearly set when shaken.

10. Cool 15 minutes. Loosen the sides of the pan and cool for 30 more minutes.

The pumpkin cheesecake just after baking.

11. Chill for 4 hours before serving.

12. Decorate with a drizzle of caramel sauce over the top of the cheesecake or over each individual slice. A sprinkle of powdered sugar makes a lovely garnish, too.

Drizzle with caramel sauce and, if desired, a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

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Occasionally I get tired of the lunch routine at our house.  A quick sandwich, a luna bar, maybe a warmed up can of soup, and on the really good days, leftovers.  Today I couldn’t face the pile of bagels I saw laying on the counter(especially with no cream cheese in my dairy free life at the moment), so I moved dinner up to lunch.  Now we’ve enjoyed a warm, fall lunch with a lot of leftovers for tonight.

This recipe comes from one of my favorite and most versatile cookbooks, How to Cook without a Book by Pam Anderson.  I recommend it.  The dish highlights a seasonal favorite of ours, the butternut squash.  If we didn’t entice you with the fall pie, maybe this will be the one.

Pasta with Butternut Squash, Bacon, and Thyme

• 1/2 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into medium dice
• 1 pound pasta(short and stubby, like rotelle or orechiette)
• 4 tbs rendered bacon fat from 4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 medium garlic cloves
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
• Parmesan Cheese to taste
• Black Pepper to taste

1.In the skillet, fry bacon over medium heat until crsip, about five minutes. Remove bacon with slotted spoon; set aside.  Saute garlic and thyme with the rendered bacon fat.

2.Meanwhile, bring 2 quarts water to a boil over medium-high heat in a soup pot; add 1 tbs of salt and pasta to the boiling water. Using pasta box guide, cook pasta, partially covered and stirring frequently, until about five minutes from doneness.  Add the prepared butternut squash and continue cooking until pasta is done and vegetable is tender.

3.Drain pasta and squash, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.

4.Add pasta mixture back to pot, along with contents of skillet, and cooking liquid. Toss to coat.  Add bacon with parmesan cheese, toss to coat.  Add pepper to taste.

note: I cut my squash into 1 inch cubes, rather than reading the directions more carefully.  Stick with the medium dice, it will work better because it will cook quicker with the pasta and blend more easily with the flavors.

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I promised a few friends that I would post the pumpkin butter recipe mentioned in this post.  It’s our first year of pumpkin butter and it’s already a favorite, destined to be a fall tradition.  While the rest of the family enjoyed their pumpkin butter on pancakes(pumpkin, of course), I tried my portion on some plain oatmeal cooked on the stove.  Instant, delicious success.  So today I served it up in mugs with the oatmeal, pumpkin butter, and topped with toasted walnuts.  Fall goodness!

Pumpkin Butter
from the Book of Days, Autumn 1

2 cups puree(from one pie pumpkin or 1 can)
3/4 cups white sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in a small pot and put on stove over medium heat.

2. Cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring often, until the pumpkin butter is thick, like pudding. Ladle into clean canning jar.  There will be some that won’t fit in the jar, but we’re pretty sure you’ll find a good use for it! It’s great on waffles, muffins, toast, and spoons.

If you’d life to make a few extra batches, you can freeze them, as long as you leave a half an inch or so at the top of the jar so that the butter has more room to expand as it freezes.

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