pumpkin pie

Classic Pumpkin Pie

Classic Pumpkin Pie excerpted from Pumpkin: 50 cozy recipes for cooking with pumpkin, from savory to sweet by Ryland Peters & Small.

Pumpkin: 50 cozy recipes for cooking with pumpkin, from savory to sweet by Ryland Peters & Small

Over 50 heart-warming recipes perfect for colder months, from wholesome soups and stews to delicious desserts like pumpkin pie and much more.

A blustery autumnal evening calls for a large helping of something hearty, nourishing and warming – and pumpkin is the ideal ingredient to deliver some warming comfort. Filling enough to leave you satisfied but ultimately a highly nutritious vegetable, it is a wonderful ingredient for use in many meals and desserts and the perfect tonic for a cold grey day. Roasting the bright orange flesh concentrates the flavour to an intensely sweet nuttiness, which whether combined with herbs and salty cheese or spiced with cinnamon and ginger is a delightful option for both sweet and savoury dishes.

Choose from Light Bites such as Roasted Mushrooms Stuffed with Pumpkin and Chickpeas or Spiced Pumpkin and Feta Filo Parcels, each of which are perfect for serving at a winter gathering to soak up a few mulled wines. Or the plentiful selection of warming Soups and Stews such as Chicken and Pumpkin Tagine or velvety Red Lentil and Pumpkin Soup. Pasta and Rice paired with pumpkin is a classic combination, crowd-pleasing dishes include Pumpkin Gnocchi with Buttery Sage Breadcrumbs or Pumpkin and Pancetta Risotto.

Bread and Baking recipes include creative yet easy to master recipes such as Pumpkin Scones or Madeleines. Finally, Desserts and Hot Drinks features sumptuous treats such as an American Pumpkin Cheesecake and a Spiced Pumpkin Latte. (more…)

American Thanksgiving 2015

There were two standouts from this year’s Thanksgiving dinner:

Roasted Beets with Beet Green Salsa Verde
Created by Tyler Florence for Food & Wine magazine, this dish uses ricotta, beets and their greens, dill, pomegranate seeds, olive oil and sherry vinegar. It is at once earthy and fresh, vibrant and creamy. If you can’t find beets with beautiful greens, Swiss chard or curly spinach leaves can be used instead.

Recipe

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Early Thanksgiving

Who knew I could bake? For this early Thanksgiving dinner I attempted a Salted Caramel Apple-Pear Tart from Fine Cooking Magazine. It looked great (if I do say so myself) and was not too arduous. This lattice-topped tart combined fall fruit with cardamom. Salted caramel tied the flavours together and large-crystal sanding sugar on the lattice added crunch. The Classic Pumpkin Pie, also from Fine Cooking Magazine, had a flaky, buttery crust and a creamy, spiced pumpkin filling.

The other standout dish was the Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Caramelized Onions (again from Fine Cooking Magazine) which was flavoured with thyme and a little cider vinegar. The soft and sweet onions nestled into the tender, roasted sprouts, so you got a taste of them with every bite.

I swear I’m not sponsored by Fine Cooking Magazine but I have to say that it was a nice having them by my side whilst cooking this whole feast.

Salted Caramel Apple-Pear Tart

Classic pumpkin pie

Roasted brussel sprouts with caramelized onions

Bread stuffing with fresh herbs

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar and Pecans

Potato and Celery Root Gratin with Leeks

Apricot-glazed turkey

The guide to Thanksgiving 2013

Every year I vow to throw a Thanksgiving feast that will outdo all feast. I act as the chief executive gourmand presiding over a meal that I hope friends and family alike will love. For me, Thanksgiving is more than a culinary tradition. It is a day a day to pause, reflect and humbly offer thanks for our health and well-being. And the football and the food don’t hurt. Check-out this year’s recipes.

Food & Wine’s Apricot-Glazed Turkey