mix, mix… stir, stir

My special twist on this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie baking adventure is adding a charcoal finish to the beautiful Thanksgiving Twofer Pie (pumpkin and pecan pie all in one!) that Vivi of La Casserole Carree selected for the group to make this week.

photo by David Peterman

This is the result of multi-tasking gone bad. Thanksgiving was celebrated on Sunday at my house because of my desire to cook the full-blown feast and spend Thanksgiving Day at a friend’s house. There is nothing wrong with wanting to have your pie and eat it too - unless you get distracted.

The Thanksgiving Twofer Pie is Dorie Greenspan’s answer to the age old question “Should I make pumpkin or pecan pie?” Her smart solution is to make both in one pie; a classic pumpkin pie filling scattered with pecans and covered with a sugary-gooey pecan pie filling. Assembly was fine, so into the oven at 450 degrees F for ten minutes, and then reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F for the remainder of the bake time; this doesn’t seem so hard.

An undetermined amount of time passes and as I breeze past the oven I notice the pie is getting really brown and decide to grab some foil to cover the top, but by the time I get to the other side of my kitchen (all of about five steps) I am fully distracted with prepping brussels sprouts, checking the temperature of the turkey, strategizing on the timing of starting the potatoes…then I get a whiff of something burning…the pie! I am a bit shocked to notice the oven temperature still says 450. Well, fancy new-fangled electronic control panel ovens are great for all that they do, but if you don’t hit “enter” after resetting the temperature, the temperature does not get reset. The charcoal finish overwhelmed the pie and I finally admitted that it wasn’t really salvageable after eating a piece for dessert. It was no bother for David, who is not a pumpkin or pecan fan, as he had stocked the freezer with some Ben & Jerry’s for his early Thanksgiving feast dessert.

I have no doubt the pie would have been fantastic had I not burned it to smithereens. I will make it again once I get over the pain of ruining a cup and a half of beautiful pecans. You can test your oven temperature setting skills and make it yourself from the recipe in Dorie Greenspan’s book, Baking: From My Home to Yours, or click over to Vivi’s blog where she has posted it (scroll down for the English version).

photo by David Peterman

Thankfully there were other delicious things to eat for early Thanksgiving dinner (recipes below). The red kuri squash stuffed with cornmeal stuffing made with apples, currants, hazelnuts and a nice dash of curry powder was wonderful and the baking vessel adds a side vegetable for no extra work!

photo by David Peterman

Roasted brussels sprouts and pearl onions with caraway and juniper were tasty and beautiful. The turkey was baked with a delicious herb, orange, and fennel compound butter that takes just minutes to create. And of course a bowl of my favorite fall delight, spiced cranberry sauce.

With the inevitable Thanksgiving disaster all ready out of the way, now I can relax, enjoy early leftovers and a fun Thanksgiving Day with friends eating more delicious food. Have a wonderful holiday and keep an eye on that oven temperature!

Citrus Herb Compound Butter
 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
zest of one medium orange, finely grated
1/2 tsp. aleppo pepper, or dried red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. fennel seed, ground
1/4 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground

Combine all ingredients together and mix well. Rub under the skin of a turkey or chicken before roasting. A dollop placed on hot grilled chicken breasts just before serving is nice as well.

Cornbread Stuffing Baked in a Squash

Serves 6

For the cornbread (can be made a day early)
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1 large egg
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup whole milk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 baking dish and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the first 4 ingredients to mix well.

In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg and mix in the brown sugar, oil and milk. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just to combine. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 18-20 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the cornbread is slightly puffed and golden brown. Let cool in the pan, then remove from the pan and cut cornbread into half-inch cubes. If starting a day ahead, leave the bread cubes sitting out overnight uncovered to stale. If proceeding the same day, place bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in a 325 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes to dry out the cornbread. Let cool and proceed with stuffing recipe.

For the stuffing
1 medium-sized red kuri or other winter squash
6 cups (about) dried cornbread cubes (one batch of above cornbread recipe)
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 apple, peeled and diced
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 cup dried currants
11/2 -2 tsp. curry powder (depending on your taste and your curry powder)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock, have a little extra on hand if needed
2 large eggs

Cut the top off of the squash and set aside. Scrape the seeds and stringy bits from the inside of the squash and sprinkle the cleaned interior generously with salt, pepper, and a bit of the curry powder. Set the squash aside.

Place a heavy-bottom large pan over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté for a few minutes, then add the celery, apple, thyme, curry powder and continue to cook for 6-8 additional minutes until the vegetables are soft. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the white wine reduce until the pan is almost dry. Remove from the heat and stir in the currants and hazelnuts. Add salt and pepper to taste, seasoning on the strong side to account for the cornbread, stock and squash that has yet to be incorporated. Transfer vegetables to a large bowl.

Add the cornbread to the bowl of vegetables and mix to combine. Whisk the eggs and 1 cup of stock together and add slowly to the stuffing letting each addition be absorbed before adding more. Add additional stock, 1/4 cup at a time, until the stuffing is quite wet and holds together easily, but not so much that it pools at the bottom of the bowl.

Place the Squash in a baking dish lined with parchment paper. Fill the squash with the stuffing and put the lid on the squash, any extra stuffing can be baked in a buttered baking dish covered with buttered foil. Place in an oven at 350-375 degrees F to bake for about 2 hours. The squash can bake alongside a turkey or other dishes and the exact oven temperature is not critical. After an hour check the sidewalls of the squash to determine the baking progress, the squash will probably be rather firm at this point. Remove the lid of the squash and tuck it in the baking dish so the squash can bake uncovered (if your squash lid has a stem, it will be very brittle and likely break off if you try to lift the lid using the stem). Let the squash bake until it is easily pierced with the tip of a knife and the stuffing is hot through. Cover loosely with foil if the top begins to brown too much. Check the squash every 20 minutes for doneness.

Once it is fully cooked carefully lift the whole squash onto a serving platter. This move is best executed with the help of an additional person to peel away the parchment paper once the squash is lifted from the pan. It works well to slide a sturdy spatula under the squash while supporting the side with a hot pad or kitchen towel. Serve by scooping out the stuffing along with some of the squash meat.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Pearl Onions

Serves 4

20 brussels sprouts
30 pearl onions
2 slices of thick bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 garlic cloves, whole and unpeeled
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. caraway seeds, whole
1/2 tsp. juniper berries, ground
1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Trim the bottom of the sprouts, peel off the dark outer leaves, and cut an X in the stem end. Bring a 3 qt. pot of water to boil and add 2 tsp. of salt to the water. Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside. Add the brussels sprouts to the boiling water and simmer uncovered for 4-5 minutes. Remove the brussels sprouts from the boiling water and place in the ice water to cool for 3-4 minutes. Scoop the brussels sprouts from the ice water, drain and dry them.

Add the pearl onions to the pot of boiling water and simmer for 2 minutes then remove them to the ice water. Once the onions are cool enough to touch, drain them. Cut the root end off and peel the outer papery layer off and pat them dry. (This can be done one day ahead, store the brussels sprouts and onions in the refrigerator).

Slice the brussels sprouts in half and place in a medium-sized bowl along with the onions. Mix in the olive oil, caraway seeds, juniper, unpeeled garlic cloves, diced bacon, as well as a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Spread the vegetables out on a sheet pan and place in a hot oven to roast. After 15-20 minutes give the vegetables a stir and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes more until they are nicely browned and cooked through.

Remove the pan from the oven and collect the unpeeled garlic cloves. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of the papery shell into a mixing bowl. Using a whisk mash the roasted garlic into a paste and whisk in the sherry vinegar. Add the brussels sprouts and onions and toss to coat. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed and serve.

What better way to welcome fall than to cook a whole pumpkin? I felt so seasonal arriving at a party this weekend offering up a cooked pumpkin filled with tasty stuffing; and what a great presentation for a buffet table.

photo by David Peterman

This is the first filled pumpkin I have ever baked and I learned a few things in the process. I was inspired after reading Doire Greenspan’s post on her filled pumpkin, so off to the farmer’s market I went. I chose a 9 pound Cinderella Pumpkin from the abundant selection. The round squat structure looked well suited for my plans and the lovely orange skin with a yellow blush was cheerful and festive. There is something exciting and fun about hauling a large pumpkin home.

Cinderella pumpkins have a much more solid network of flesh and seeds in the middle compared to the stringy mess that hides inside carving pumpkins. It scoops out just as easily and I did have to remind myself to leave the flesh in place; thin walls are great for carving, not such good eating.

The filling was inspired by what I had in the kitchen, which is why this recipe is so great. You can take the filling in all kinds of directions and not worry too much about following a recipe. Just keep building and tasting until it seems like enough volume to fill the cavity. I used cubes of bread, onion, garlic, apple, hazelnuts, gruyère cheese, sage, allspice, salt, pepper and a bit of cream. The filling was moist, but not wet. I filled the pumpkin and baked it in a pre-heated cast iron dutch oven that I lined with a layer of foil and parchment paper to act as a sling for easy removal after baking.

After 1 1/2 hours in a 350 degree F oven, it wasn’t making enough progress so I boosted the oven temp to 400 and removed the lid to the dutch oven.  Thirty minutes later I was beginning to smell the pumpkin aroma and I peeked under the pumpkin lid. Much to my surprise it was filled with bubbly, watery liquid. My delicious filling was swimming in pumpkin juices. The pumpkin was cooked; I was running out of time before needing to head to a party with the pumpkin, so I thought I would just roll with it. The untested foil and parchment sling was quite effective and I was able to lift the pumpkin out of the dutch oven, but spilled hot pumpkin juice on myself, then as I set the pumpkin on the counter the juices promptly began running out and onto the floor. Well, at least the filling is no longer swimming in liquid so one problem was solved. After giving the filling a stir and a taste, I was pleasantly surprised that the bread cubes were holding together and it tasted pretty darn good. By the time it was served at the party it had set up even more, no doubt due to the additional juices that drained out onto the floor mat of the car during transit, and everyone really liked it. The pumpkin meat was scooped off the walls and mixed in with the filling as people served themselves.

photo by David Peterman

I suspect cinderella pumpkins are just juicy pumpkins and not the best choice for this type of filling. A rice filling could have taken advantage of all the additional liquid. With a dryer style of squash this would be an outstanding dish. Though I seasoned the filling well, it wasn’t quite enough once the pumpkin was mixed in, so next time I will salt and pepper the inside of the pumpkin before adding the filling. With this one experience I am already hooked on cooking in a pumpkin pot and will continue to refine the process. By January everyone I know will be groaning when I show up  with another pumpkin pot.

A Pumpkin Pot

Much like a soup pot, you can base this dish on what you have on hand. Just build enough filling for the volume of your squash or pumpkin. Here is what I used for a 9 pound pumpkin.

4 cups stale bread cubes from a rustic, hearty loaf of bread*
1 medium onion, diced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium apple, peeled, cored, cubed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, crushed
3/4 tsp. allspice, ground
1/2 tsp. salt, more to taste
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and rough chopped
3 ounces gruyere cheese, cubed
3/4 cup cream

Cut a lid in the pumpkin by carving around the top. Position the knife blade to create an inward angle so the lid won’t fall right through the hole. Scoop out the seeds and connective matter, but unlike preparing a jack-o-lantern, don’t scrape the meat off the side walls, that part is dinner!

Measure out a piece of foil long enough to lay across the bottom of the dutch oven and come up beyond the height of the side walls by three to four inches on each side. Cut a piece of parchment the same size. Set both aside.

Preheat oven and dutch oven pan (without the foil and parchment liner) to 375 degrees F.

Over medium-low heat, sweat the onions until translucent. Add the apples, garlic, cumin, allspice, salt and sage and sauté another minute or two. Remove from heat and add the bread cubes and hazelnuts and stir to combine. Adjust seasoning as needed. Mix in the cheese cubes and cream.

Sprinkle the inside of the pumpkin with salt and pepper and then stuff the cavity with the filling. Place the lid on the pumpkin. Lay out the piece of pre-measured foil, lay the piece of pre-measured parchment paper on top of the foil, then place the pumpkin in the center on top of the parchment paper. Give the foil/parchment sling a test by grabbing the excess material on either side of the pumpkin and lifting up. If the pumpkin feels stable enough use this sling to lift the pumpkin into the hot dutch oven. If you don’t have confidence that the sling will hold, reinforce it with another layer of foil.

Carefully remove the hot dutch oven from the oven. Lift the pumpkin sling and place it in the hot dutch oven. The pan is hot - be very careful not to touch it! Fold the excess foil and parchment across the top of the pumpkin and place the lid on the dutch oven. Place the pot in the oven to bake for 2-2 1/2 hours. During the last 30 minutes of baking you can remove the dutch oven lid and the pumpkin lid to brown the tip layer of stuffing. Once the pumpkin flesh is tender when pricked with the tip of a knife and the filling is bubbly and hot, it is ready to be removed from the oven.

Ready a serving platter. Carefully lift the cooked, very hot, pumpkin out of the dutch oven using the foil/parchment sling and set it on the serving platter. Using a sturdy spatula lift up one side of the pumpkin and slide the foil and parchment out from underneath then do the same on the other side. To serve, scoop some of the pumpkin meat from the walls up with the filling.

*If you have a fresh loaf of bread, you can “stale” the bread by laying the cubes on a sheet pan and baking them in a 250 degree F oven for 20-30 minutes until they feel dried out. They should develop a dry crust, but not become brown.