Friday, November 13, 2009

Pumpkin Feast


On Sunday, my husband and I are going to our foodie club meeting. This month's theme is pumpkins. The goal is to take a pumpkin and make a non-traditional recipe with it. For last Thanksgiving I made an amazing Pumpkin Cheesecake from the Epicurious website. I will be making that for sure! Hopefully everyone likes it. :)

I love tradition as much as the next person, but with so many holiday parties and get-togethers with the same food, it's nice to mix it up.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Bourbon Sour Cream Topping
Gourmet | November 1990


Ingredients
For the crust:

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the filling:

1 1/2 cups solid pack pumpkin
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
three 8-ounce packages cream cheese, cut into bits and softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon liqueur or bourbon if desired

For the topping:

2 cups sour cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon bourbon liqueur or bourbon, or to taste
16 pecan halves for garnish

Make the crust:
In a bowl combine the cracker crumbs, the pecans, and the sugars, stir in the butter, and press the mixture into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the side of a buttered 9-inch springform pan. Chill the crust for 1 hour.

Make the filling:
In a bowl whisk together the pumpkin, the egg, the cinnamon, the nutmeg, the ginger, the salt, and the brown sugar. In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the cream cheese and the granulated sugar, beat in the cream, the cornstarch, the vanilla, the bourbon liqueur, and the pumpkin mixture, and beat the filling until it is smooth.

Pour the filling into the crust, bake the cheesecake in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the center is just set, and let it cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes.

Make the topping:
In a bowl whisk together the sour cream, the sugar, and the bourbon liqueur.

Spread the sour cream mixture over the top of the cheesecake and bake the cheesecake for 5 minutes more. Let the cheesecake cool in the pan on a rack and chill it, covered, overnight. Remove the side of the pan and garnish the top of the cheesecake with the pecans.

Halloween Drinks


Martha Stewart helped me out a lot this Halloween. The Martha Stewart Website has great actually spooky ideas. All of my drinks that were served at the party were from her website.

Here is a picture of the shrunken head apple cider. This recipe can also be found at the Martha Stewart website here. I made my own apple cider, which is incredibly easy to do and also makes your house smell amazing. This was my non-alcoholic drink. For those drinking alcohol I served the Ghost In The Graveyard drink found here on the Martha Stewart website.

Traditional Apple Cider

Ingredients
1 gallon apple juice
1 tablespoon whole allspice
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon whole dried orange peel
6 cinnamon sticks

Take a large stock pot and fill with Apple juice. Add the spices to the juice, you can either toss them in OR for easy clean up, tie them into a bag made of cheesecloth. Turn your heat to a low simmer and let the juice and spices meld until the juice has reduced to 3/4 of its original volume. This is not an exact science so I normally taste the cider periodically to make sure the flavor isn't too strong. Once you get the right flavor, remove the spices as they can make the cider become bitter.

Shrunken Heads

Ingredients
1 large apple
4 whole cloves
1 lemon
water

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, mix together lemon juice and salt; set aside. Peel apple and cut each in half through the stem; remove seeds and core. Using a sharp paring knife, carve a face, as desired, on the rounded side of each apple half. Place apple in lemon mixture for one minute; transfer to paper towels to drain. Place apple, face-side up on prepared baking sheet and transfer to oven. Let bake until apple are dry and begin to brown around the edges, about 90 minutes. Remove apple from baking sheets and press cloves into the "eye" sockets. Float shrunken heads on top of cider. Each apple makes two floating heads.

Ghost in the Graveyard

Ingredients
2 ounces black vodka
2 ounces creme de cacao or coffee-flavored liqueur
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
Pinch of finely grated nutmeg, for garnish

In a glass, combine vodka and creme de cacao, and set aside. Place a scoop of ice cream in a highball glass, and slowly pour vodka mixture over ice cream. Garnish with nutmeg; serve immediately. Serves 1.