Hooray for Brulée, especially the pumpkin variety

The notation by the recipe card in my source summed up everything correctly: “I’ve never met a creme brulée that I didn’t like!” My sentiments exactly. On my birthday several months back, the restaurant brought me a creme brulée as a complimentary birthday dessert. A treat indeed!

So when I saw a recipe for Pumpkin Creme Brulée, my heart did a somersault. Of course I had to try it, especially since I had some fresh pumpkin on hand. I loved the fact that I could bake this dessert in individual ramekins. The recipe called for heavy whipping cream, but I used whole milk instead. I usually have some leftover whole milk around since I use it in the sippy cups of the grandmunchkin when he visits, but I often have a lot of the milk container remaining.

The custards have to be broiled in the oven for from 4-7 minutes until the sugar is caramelized.

(Creme brulée means “burnt cream”. It has a custard base with a topping of caramel that has been broiled until it is deep butterscotch brown. Often the broiled caramel forms a hard layer. Sometimes cooks use small cooking torches instead of the oven broiler to brown the top portion.) Watch the process carefully while the custards are oven-broiling so they will not burn or get overly toasty. Chilled after cooking, these desserts may be served with or without whipped topping. I think I like creme brulée because it resembles Mexican flan, one of my food weaknesses.

This makes an impressive, delicious dessert that you don’t have to work very arduously to create. Best of all is digging past the hard, glazed layer to spoon out the smooth, spicy underside.

Pumpkin Creme Brulée

8 egg yolks (I used 2 cups of egg substitute)

1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar, divided (can use sugar substitute)

3 cups heavy whipping cream (I used whole milk)

3/4 cup canned pumpkin (can use fresh)

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon each ground ginger, nutmeg, and cloves

In a small bowl whisk egg yolks and 1/3 cup sugar. In a small saucepan heat cream over medium heat until bubbles form around sides of pan. Remove from the heat; stir a small amount of hot cream into egg yolk mixture. Return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Stir in the pumpkin, vanilla, and spices. Transfer to eight 6-ounce ramekins or custard cups. Place ramekins in a baking pan; add 1 inch of boiling water to pan. Bake uncovered, at 325 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until centers are just set (mixture will jiggle). Remove ramekins from water bath; cool for 10 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. If you use a creme brulée torch, sprinkle top of desserts with remaining sugar. Heat sugar with the torch until the sugar is caramelized. Serve immediately. If broiling the custards, place ramekins on a baking sheet; let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Broil 8 inches from the heat for 4-7 minutes or until sugar on top is caramelized. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm. Makes 8 servings. (Source: Taste of Home Thanksgiving Recipe Cards.)

Gingered Pumpkin Bisque a lovely first course for Christmas meals

Our orange Thanksgiving pumpkin had brightly cheered us during the entire fall, but the time had arrived to put it out to pasture and to claim its succulent insides for some pre-Christmas meals.

A recipe for a pretty Gingered Pumpkin Bisque had leaped off the page at me as I first surfed my Taste of Home resource. I was glad I now had the fresh puree (after we carved and boiled the aforementioned pumpkin) to cook this delicious soup.

The recipe called for 1/2 cup whipping cream or half-and-half. I recoiled at this and wondered whether the bisque would be just too, too watered down if I made it with only skim milk.

Not to obsess about this at all—the skim milk worked just fine, so I could dine in good conscience. Processing a portion of the well-drained batch in the blender, as the recipe directs, makes the soup thick and rich, so the substitution worked just fine. The recipe (from Taste of Home Thanksgiving Recipe Cards) said this made enough for four servings, but Hubby and I used it as a main course, so in our giant soup mugs we found none left over after the two of us consumed it readily.

This would be a great first course at a sit-down Christmas dinner. Guests would think you were utterly amazing if you tantalized them with a bowl of this special delight.

Gingered Pumpkin Bisque

1/3 cup chopped shallots

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon minced fresh gingerroot

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth

1/3 cup apple cider or apple juice

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons canned pumpkin (or fresh pumpkin puree)

2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup (I used the sugar-free variety)

1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon pepper

dash ground cloves

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream or half-and-half cream (I used skim milk)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

additional whipping cream, optional

fresh thyme sprigs, optional

(I dusted the top with a little cinnamon.)

In a small saucepan sauté the shallots, onion, and ginger in oil until tender. Stir in flour until blended; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Gradually stir in broth and cider. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the pumpkin, maple syrup, thyme, cinnamon, pepper, and cloves. Return to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat; cool slightly. In a blender process soup in batches until soup is smooth. Return all to the pan. Stir in cream and vanilla; heat through (do not boil). Drizzle individual servings with additional cream. If desired garnish with thyme sprigs. Makes 4 servings.

Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Muffins promise some wonderful feasting on Thanksgiving week

If anything can top a muffin with pumpkin in it, it’s a muffin with pumpkin and chocolate chips in it.

I so wanted something with this flavor combo, I went a-surfin’ it. My Internet search turned up Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Muffins at www.bbonline.com, the website of prized recipes from bed-and-breakfast inns throughout the country. This recipe apparently is legendary at Justin Trails Bed and Breakfast Resort in Sparta, WI. Must be a fab place.

The commentary accompanying the muffin recipe states that this recipe calls for half the usual amount of pumpkin and requires only 1 cup, or 8 ounces, of pumpkin. It says that most pumpkin muffins include an entire 16-ounce can of canned pumpkin, which makes them too heavy. I’ll have to say that these were some of the lightest pumpkin muffins I’ve ever tasted—like biting into air with the occasional chocolate morsel interspersed. The occasional chocolate morsel is what gives them the wow! factor, of course. (I used fresh pumpkin instead of canned but used only 1 cup, or 8 ounces, as the recipe states.)

After a few nibbles to test, Hubby and I (very reluctantly) tucked these away into our Thanksgiving-week freezer supply, as we have been with most baked goods recently. Putting away anything with a chocolate chip inside it is a struggle, but it’s for a good cause—feasting on that week of feasts and thankfulness!

Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup canola oil

4 eggs (or 1 cup egg substitute)

1 cup pumpkin (fresh or canned)

2 cups chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (I didn't have plain, so I used nonfat vanilla yogurt)

1/2 cup crystallized ginger

2 teaspoons grated orange peel

3 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon ginger, ground

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Cream brown sugar and oil. Add eggs and beat. Stir in pumpkin, chocolate chips, yogurt, and crystallized ginger. Measure dry ingredients together and mix. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the liquids; gently stir. Add 1/3 more dry ingredients. Gently stir until blended. Add remaining dry ingredients; stir just until moist. Use an ice-cream scoop to scoop batter into paper-lined, medium-sized muffin tins. Bake at 375 degrees for 17 minutes. Makes 2 1/2 dozen muffins.

What kind of bread is from a garden pan? Recipe with weird title certainly worth trying.

The recipe couldn't have had a weirder name—Garden Pan Bread. But as I read the ingredients, I knew it was a "must-try". It called for pureed pumpkin (and I certainly had plenty of that stored in my freezer) and walnuts (plenty of those, too, because of Hubby's crusade about these Super Nuts). Then it specified the addition of cornmeal. What kind of mixture was this? I soon found out.

Garden Pan Bread (another recipe from the Chickasaw Nation Nutrition Services) was a delightful cross between corn bread and pumpkin bread. It contained no oil (the mashed pumpkin and water gave it all the moisture it needed). It can be baked in an ovenproof skillet, such as a black cast-iron skillet, or in a baking pan (as I did, using a square one that had been lightly sprayed).

The bread carved up into nice, firm little squares that have been wonderful with a variety of meals, including ones with spaghetti and salmon patties as entrees. Served warm they taste even better with some sugar-free preserves or my pumpkin butter spread on them. For lunch yesterday Garden Pan Bread squares were great with an assortment of grapes and veggies with fat-free ranch dip.

Weird name, yes, but I'm glad I tried them. The recipe makes ample, so I think I'll freeze some for the winter soup days that I'm sure are still ahead until we roll the calendar over to spring.

Garden Pan Bread

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

3/4 cup pureed pumpkin

1 cup water

2 eggs (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl combine 1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set aside. In a small bowl combine 3/4 cup pumpkin, 1 cup water, and eggs or egg substitute. Stir until well-mixed. Stir pumpkin mixture into cornmeal mixture. Mix until dry ingredients are moistened. Gently stir in 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup walnuts. Lightly spray skillet or baking pan. Spoon batter into skillet or baking pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until bread is golden brown and pulls away from edges. A wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the bread will emerge clean. Makes 12-15 servings depending on the size of your squares.

As fall wanes, Pumpkin-Apple Butter recipe brings pumpkin season to a delightful close

The major thrust for pumpkin-recipe days are drawing to a close. Wednesday kicks off Christmas month, which means we'll be trading most things orange for reds and greens and the traditional foods of Christmas (plus menu items that can be prepared in a hurry during this frantic time.)

So to give my put-aside pumpkin puree one last hurrah before we switch gears, I had a great longing to make Pumpkin-Apple Butter. This recipe attracted me because I saw it could be stirred up in a hurry without the long and complicated cooking time that's often required of jellies, jams, and preserves. I was eager to try the pumpkin and apple combination. The Pumpkin-Apple Butter recipe from a long-ago Woman's Day magazine suggested this as a terrific gift idea since it could be poured into an attractive canister with a colorful ribbon and a note that says, "This is good on toast, waffles, English muffins, pancakes, and crackers, or use as you would apple butter." The recipe suggests that it can be refrigerated up to two weeks.

I was tickled that from start to finish this entire prep process required about 40 minutes, so it was way beyond easy—so easy that Hubby and I had it on our breakfast toast the very morning I stirred it up. And of course Hubby immediately claimed part of the leftover butter as an addition to one of his famous smoothies.

While dining on this exceptionally yummy topping I was immensely glad I had kept my Pumpkin-Apple Butter recipe all these years and glad I squeezed in this pumpkin delight while November rolled out its last days of a terrific, memorable fall.

Pumpkin-Apple Butter

3 1/2 cups fresh pumpkin puree (or 2 15-ounce cans of canned pumpkin)

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and nutmeg

Stir all ingredients in a heavy, medium saucepan until all ingredients are blended. Bring to a boil; stir often. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered. Stir often to prevent scorching and simmer for 30 minutes, or until mixture is very thick. Cool, spoon into containers, cover, and refrigerate. Makes 5 cups.

Think you've tried everything pumpkin? Bet you've overlooked these pumpkin cookies.

Yesterday at a roadside fruit and vegetable market, the proprietor was extolling her delight in cooking with fresh pumpkin. She told me she had prepared every type of pumpkin recipe imaginable and knew of nothing "pumpkin" she hadn't cooked.

I asked her whether she had ever tried pumpkin cookies. She wagged her head "no". I hadn't either until I encountered this recipe. I told her that if she was a purveyor of fine things pumpkin, she must give these a whirl.

As with many other food items I've written about in The Newfangled Country Gardener, this recipe for Easy Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese-Pecan Frosting had secured a place of honor in my fall recipe binder but had remained there, untried, for several years. Well, this was my year!

I loved everything about this recipe—especially the close-to-Thanksgivingy smell that invades the kitchen when these delectable little cookies are baking. I also love the tip that was provided at the end of the recipe (which appeared in my Kroger grocery circular some years back): the fact that you can substitute fresh pureed or canned pumpkin puree for half the oil in many brownie, muffin, and sweet-bread recipes.

Considering that at the outdoor market yesterday I brought home six mini pumpkins and one large one, I'll have pumpkin puree to substitute for oil in recipes for a very, very long time.

I plan to give a tray of these to a neighbor at Thanksgiving, take some to my kids on an upcoming visit, and put a few on my Thanksgiving table for our family. They are wonderful!

Easy Pumpkin Cookies

1 box spice cake mix

1 cup fresh pumpkin puree (or 1 cup canned pumpkin)

1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cream-Cheese Frosting:

1 (8-ounce) package Neufchatel (cream-cheese substitute) cheese, softened

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl stir together all ingredients until well blended. Drop by the teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets; press down cookie batter with a fork that has been dipped in sugar substitute. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on rack. While they cool, make cream cheese frosting by beating cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until the mixture is creamy. Gradually add sugar and salt; beat until blended. Stir in vanilla. When cookies are cool, frost with Cream Cheese-Pecan Frosting. Sprinkle on chopped pecans. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Pumpkin recipe yields healthy, delicious surprise

Last night his parents brought our little 8-week-old munchkin over for trick-or-treat. Of course that cute baby had plenty of treats to fill his pumpkin (mainly Halloween books that his mommy could read to him and a crisp $5 bill like his great-grandmother Moore years ago always gave her grandpersons when they were young).

But what about the parents who cheerfully toted him all over town in his pea-in-the-pod costume to see admiring grandparents? Didn't that mom and dad deserve a treat also?

Aha, pumpkin recipe time! An untried-from-last-year treasure called out to me, as did some more fresh pureed pumpkin that awaited in my refrigerator. And since Halloween is the season of surprises, what better recipe to try than one for Pumpkin Surprise Loaf, which I first dined on last year at a church gathering? The person who baked it then dispensed the recipe because of popular acclaim.

The surprise is a delightful center of softened cream cheese, sugar, and egg white (using healthy substitutions, of course) surrounded by a top and bottom layer of pumpkin bread.

So when, amid multiple camera flashes, the proud mom and dad delivered their pea-in-the-pod for our viewing, they found a treat tray waiting for them as well--with slices of Pumpkin Surprise Loaf to sustain them for the remainder of the evening while their little one made his Halloween debut.

The loaf--as well as the munchkin--were big hits.

Pumpkin Surprise Loaf

1 cup mashed, pureed pumpkin (or 1 cup canned pumpkin)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided (I used sugar substitute)

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (I used brown-sugar substitute--only 1/4 cup needed)

4 egg whites, divided

1/2 cup fat-free milk

1/4 cup canola oil

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons pumpkin-pie spice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 (8-ounce package) cream cheese, softened (I substituted with Neufchatel)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a nonstick 9-inch-by-5-inch loaf pan; set aside. In a large bowl mix pumpkin, 1 cup sugar, the brown sugar, 3 of the egg whites, milk, and oil. Add flour, baking powder, pie spice, and salt; stir just until moistened. Set aside. With wire whisk beat cream cheese, remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, and the remaining egg white until mixture is well-blemded. Spoon half of the pumpkin batter into prepared pan; spoon cream cheese mixture evenly over batter. Cover with remaining pumpkin batter. Bake 1 hour or 1 hour 5 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center emerges clean. Run knife or thin spatula around edges of pan to loosen bread; cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan to wire rack; cool completely. Makes 1 loaf or 16 servings, 1 slice each.

Pumpkin Apple Dip is smooth, cool, spicy, and versatile

Pumpkin days march on. Pumpkins--and pumpkin fests--are everywhere you look. The whole world seems to be turning orange in these hours leading up to Halloween, with Thanksgiving just around the corner as well.

His mommy and I recently took the new little sweetie grandperson to his first pumpkin patch; we left with three small pumpkins--one for him and two for me to bring home to boil and use for pumpkin dishes. My recipe album overruns with pumpkin ideas I've filed away.

Last night Hubby was eager for a tiny evening snack to put out the fire of some Tex-Mex food he'd eaten at a p.m. business meeting, so I whipped up this Pumpkin Apple Dip, very light and soothing with some chunks of cool, fresh fruit. Although the list of ingredients calls for 1/2 cup brown sugar, by using brown-sugar substitute (tried with Splenda brand) I'm able to cut that amount in half, as the package directs.

Pumpkin Apple Dip, which I obtained from a Kroger grocery-store flyer (always a good source of unusual recipes), was just wonderful as a late-evening snack but also would be great as a topping for pound cake or for a baked sweet potato, among other versatile uses that I'm sure inventive cooks could hatch up.

Pumpkin Apple Dip

1 (8-ounce package) cream cheese (I use low-fat Neufchatel cheese), softened

1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I use 1/4 cup brown-sugar substitute)

1/2 cup pureed pumpkin (or canned pumpkin)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

apple slices or other fruit, sliced

In a medium bowl beat cream cheese, brown sugar, and pumpkin with a mixer at medium speed until mixture is well-blended. Add cinnamon and beat until smooth. Cover and chill for 1 hour before you serve. Serve with apple slices or other sliced fruit.

You'll fall big-time for this pumpkin smoothie drink

The headline on the recipe intrigued me--"tastes just like a pumpkin pie in a glass". Now that was a recipe my husband would fall for. Pumpkin pie is his greatest delight. He lives for the morning after Thanksgiving so he can dine on leftover pumpkin pie for breakfast. It's a long-standing (since childhood) part of his holiday tradition. He relishes in the leftover pumpkin pie more than he does the slice at the end of the actual Thanksgiving meal.

This "pumpkin pie in a glass" referred to a recipe for Pumpkin Smoothie. It called for 1/2 cup pumpkin--just exactly the amount I had left over from making the Pumpkin Bran Muffins earlier in the week. At the time I had hoped I could find some good use for this small left-over amount. In my fall recipe binder I uncovered this smoothie suggestion that I had obtained from a back issue of Prevention magazine. We weren't into smoothies at the time, so I had filed it away untried. But now smoothies, as I mentioned in an earlier blog, are Hubby's stock and trade--he makes at least two a day. Time to dust off this tucked-away recipe.

Prevention went on to explain that each 8-ounce cup of the Pumpkin Smoothie offers 100 percent of the daily value for beta-carotine and antioxidant that helps fight cancer. Hubby added one banana (and the blood-pressure-lowering potassium the banana contains) because he thought the addition gave the drink more body.

In the end, he was happy with the drink because he didn't have to wait until Thanksgiving to indulge in pumpkin pie. I was happy because I used up my leftovers. Most importantly our bodies were happy because of the antioxidants.

Pumpkin Smoothie

1/2 cup canned pumpkin (or fresh pumpkin cooked and pureed)

1/2 cup skim milk

1/2 cup crushed ice

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice

1 whole banana, peel removed

Pour all ingredients into a blender. Blend until smoothie reaches desired thickness. Serve chilled.

Pumpkin and bran cereal combine for a muffin that's fall at its finest

As I've mentioned before in this blog and in my new cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden, I was of all people most blessed to be an officemate with Ann Criswell, the legendary and internationally known food editor of the Houston Chronicle. We had cubicles that were adjacent to each other. Many taste-testings for upcoming food-section featured items transpired in our corner of the office. Despite her reknown, Ann was a compassionate, down-to-earth individual who loved to share her knowledge--and her food--with others.

When our garden produced a surplus of pumpkins, I bemoaned the fact that I knew little to cook with them besides bake pumpkin pie. She unfurled her entire pumpkin recipe file on me. I picked up some terrific and inventive ideas for pumpkin dishes. Most of those ideas still are housed in my fall recipe album; I prepare them again and again once we're sufficiently into autumn and always remember this now-retired friend and mentor.

I love this Pumpkin-Bran Muffin recipe because it yields so many muffins (20 or so) that can be frozen to pop out and warm for breakfast or anytime. The combination of pumpkin, bran cereal, and whole wheat flour ranks it high up there on the health-wise list. See buttermilk on the ingredient list but don't have any in the house (or don't want its fat content?) Many people know the age-old buttermilk substitution: to make one cup buttermilk, put 3 teaspoons white vinegar into a 1-cup measure; fill with skim milk until the milk reaches the 1-cup line. Let stand for 5 minutes, then add to recipe. Much better for you, and the taste is the same. Then you don't have an unused container of buttermilk sitting around in your fridge.

Tomorrow morning: Pumpkin-Bran Muffins with homemade peach preserves put by from our peach orchard this summer. Can't wait to get that delicious start on the weekend.

Pumpkin-Bran Muffins

1/2 cup boiling water

1 scant cup bran cereal (recipe tested with Bran Flakes)

1 cup buttermilk (or substitution mentioned above)

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar or brown-sugar substitute

4 tablespoons cooking oil

2 eggs (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)

1 1/2 cups fresh cooked pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin

3 tablespoons orange juice

2 cups whole-wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt or salt substitute

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon allspice

2 tablespoons unsulfured molasses

1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped nuts

Pour boiling water over bran cereal; mix well and let cool. Stir in buttermilk. Cream brown sugar and oil. Add eggs and beat well. Add pumpkin and orange juice. Mix flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin-pie spice, and allspice. Stir cooled bran mixtxure into sugar mixture. Add molasses. Add dry ingredients all at once; stir until just moistened. Batter will not be completely smooth. Stir in nuts. Bake or refrigerate, tightly covered, overnight or up to three days. To bake: fill greased muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake in 425 degree oven 15 to 20 minutes, until muffins spring back lightly when touched or toothpick inserted in center emerges clean. Makes 18 to 20 muffins. This makes a fairly dark, moderately sweet muffin; the pumpkin taste does not predominate.