Time for Pesto

If you still have Basil lurking in the back yard or in a pot, harvest it now or else loose it. Basil does not last after the first frost and it will not come back next year. Harvest it this week before we get our first frost and make Pesto.  It freezes wonderfully. 
I used the following recipe:
http://www.fostersmarket.com/recipe/fosters-pesto/


I freeze my Pesto in ice cube trays.  I bought these trays three years ago at the dollar store for pesto, and have since used them for chicken broth and baby food.  About two ice cubes is the perfect amount of pesto for a pasta salad or pizza crust. Once the pesto is frozen, it is a little hard to shake them out.  I slide a butter knife around the edges to coax them out.  My sister-in-law thought her pesto was ruined when she couldn't get them to come out - difficulty is normal because it is frozen olive oil. (Use the knife!)

Pumpkin Time

I love everything about food this time of year.....Pumpkin Bread Everywhere, Pumpkin Lattes at Starbucks, Pumpkin Creamer at the Grocery Store, Pumpkin Butter, Pumpkin Milkshakes at Sonic, Pumpkin Pie, ........ I even like to make Beef Stew with Pumpkin. 

We also use pumpkins in decorations. My sister-in-law Leslie rocked it this year with her art work for the Stillings' front door.  Thanks Leslie!

I spent $36 on this year's decorations: 2 large traditional pumpkins, 1 white pumpkin, 2 large butternut squashes, and one large gourd.  However, the recycler in me will use every ounce of this decoration in cooking after Halloween is over.  Although canned pumpkin is easy to buy this time of year at the grocery stores, nothing will make your recipes richer than using fresh pumpkin!  Here is how to make the most of your Halloween investments:

Butternut Squash.....please..... SOUP!!!  See my previous post for my Butternut Squash Soup recipe.

Creamy Pumpkin Soup adapted from Pumpkin by Joanna Farrow
1/2 cup olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
2 lbs pumpkin, skinned, seeded, and cut into chunks
4 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan.  Add the onions and saute gently for 3-4 minutes until softened.  Add the garlic and ginger and saute for another minute.
2. Add the pumpkin chunks and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes until the pumpkin is falling apart.
3. Transfer to a food processor, or blender, or use an immersion blender and blend until smooth.
4. Stir in the cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Freezes great.

White Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Cookies also adapted from Pumpkin
8 oz pumpkin seeded
1 stick of unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup flour
3 1/2 oz. white chocolate chips

1. Grease two baking sheets. Cut away the skin from the pumpkin and finely grate the flesh.  I use my food processor to grate this.
2. Beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in the grated pumpkin, then the egg, oatmeal, flour, and chocolate chips.
3. Place teaspoonfuls of the mixture on the baking sheets and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. Leave on the baking sheets for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Mawmaw Doris's Pumpkin Roll
This is a McCall Family Tradition. You have never had Pumpkin Roll till you try this!!!!!
For bread:
3 eggs
2/3 cup cooked pumpkin
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 cup chopped nuts for garnishing

For Filling
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons butter
1 3/4 cup powder sugar

1. Make the filling by mixing the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Add 1 cup powder sugar. Refrigerate till ready to use.
2. Beat the eggs. Gradually add the sugar. Mix in the pumpkin. Sift flour and spices together and add to the mixture.
3. Bake in a 15x10x1 greased pan at 375 for 15 minutes.
4. Sprinkle a hand towel with powdered sugar. Turn the cake onto the towel and roll up to cool.
5. Unfold the cake and spread the filling on it. Roll the cake again and place into the refrigerator. The longer it sets the better.  Garnish with chopped nuts.

Pumpkin Bread....A classic
Everyone has their favorite recipe and there are plenty online to choose from.  My favorite, and I am quite partial to it, is Foster's Market Pumpkin Bread.  I might be a little bias, but for good reason.
http://www.fostersmarket.com/recipe/pumpkin-bread/

photo by James Baigrie

Beef and Pumpkin Stew adapted from The New Slow Cooker by Brigit Binns

3 lbs beef chunks

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 sprigs fresh thyme

3 bay leaves

4 cloves garlic minced

1/3 cup dry red wine

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

1/3 cup beef stock

1 lb. pumpkin peeled, seeded, and cup into 3/4 inch chunks

1. Season the beef with salt and pepper. In a large frying pan over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon of oil. Working in batches, brown the beef. Transfer to a plate.

2. Pour off most of the fat and return to medium-high heat. Add the onion, thyme, and bay leaves and saute until the onion is brown, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the wine and the 2 tablespoons vinegar and stir. Transfer contents to a slow cooker and stir in the carrots, tomatoes, and stock.  Add the beef, cover and cook on low for 5 hours.

3. Add the pumpkin over the top of the beef, re-cover, and continue to cook for 3 hours.

4. Discard thyme and bay leaves.

Butternut-Chicken Sausage Patties

2 chicken breast
1 small jalapeno or Serrano pepper
1/2 cup butternut squash puree (*if you are accepting the Suburban Challenge by making 4 batches of this recipe, you will need to roast 1 large butternut squash, or purchase one jar of butternut squash puree from Williams-Sonoma.)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
2 tablespoons olive oil

In the bowl of a large food processor, pulse the pepper until chopped.  Add the two chicken breast and pulse until coarsely ground. In a mixing bowl, add to the chicken the butternut squash, salt, fennel, and coriander, mix well to combine.  Shape the mixture into patties about 4 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick. You will have 8 patties.  Mixture may seam very blobish, but will firm up while cooking.

In a large fry pan over medium-high heat, warm the 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Add the patties and cook until browned underneath, about 6 minutes. Turn the patties over and cook until browned on the other side, about 6 more minutes. Using a slotted spatula, transfer to paper towels to drain.

*If pre-cooking to freeze, stack cooked patties between wax paper, then bundle the patties with plastic wrap. Store in an air-tight container in your freezer. Reheat to serve.

Serving Suggestion
Make Foster's Market's Sweet Potato Biscuits from Scratch!!  Yummy.......
http://www.fostersmarket.com/recipe/sweet-potato-buttermilk-biscuits/

Butternut Squash Lasagne

This is my FAVORITE dish of all times.  Although it would take up too much room in the freezer and be too time consuming to make four, I did make two. We ate one that night and the other is in the freezer for next month. I cooked all of the squash for both dishes together and made all of the white sauce at the same time to maximize and minimize time spent in the kitchen.

This recipe is for One, but I encourage you to double and profit.

For squash filling:
1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 lb butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
4 teaspoons chopped fresh sage

For Sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups milk
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

For Lasagna
1 pound fresh mozzarella, grated
1 cup grated parm
12 noodles (either no bakes or boil them ahead of time)

1. Prepare the squash. To peel, cut into sections and cut a flat end on the bottom so that it will stand up. Then you can take your knife down the sides and cut off the very tough peel.  After you have peeled it, cut the section in half and scoop out any seeds. Then chop.

2. Cook the onion in butter in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring until golden, about 10 minutes. Add the squash, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook until squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley and sage.
3. While the squash is cooking, cook garlic and butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat for 1 minute for the sauce. Whisk in flour and cook whisking for 3 minutes. Add milk in a stream, whisking. Add bay leaf and boil whisking constantly, then reduce heat to a simmer for 10 minutes. Whisk in salt and pepper and remove from heat. Discard the bay leaf.
4. Preheat the oven to 425
5. Toss the cheeses together. Spread 1/2 cup of sauce in a buttered 13 x 9 dish and cover with 3 pasta sheets. Spread with 2/3 cups sauce and one third of the filling, then sprinkle with a heaping 1/2 cup of cheese. Repeat layering 2 more times, beginning with pasta sheets and ending with cheese. Top with remaining 3 pasta sheets, sauce, and cheese.
6. Tightly cover baking dish with buttered foil and bake lasagna in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until golden about 15 more minutes. Let it stand 15 minutes before serving.