An Hour In the Kitchen

Curried Pumpkin Soup

kara — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:55:56 PST

If you already have your pumpkin cooked, this soup can be ready in about the time it takes to boil a pot of water.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter (or olive oil)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups of water
2 cups of pumpkin, puréed
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger root
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup cream (or milk)

Roasted pumpkin seeds for garnish

Method:

Sauté garlic in butter (or oil) in a soup pot over medium heat for a few minutes. Be careful not to let the garlic brown.
Add everything else except the cream (or milk). Bring to a boil. Salt and pepper to taste.
Turn heat down, add cream (or milk).
Top with roasted pumpkin seeds and serve warm.

Serves four.

Copyright © 2008
This feed is for personal, non-commercial use only.
The use of this feed on other websites breaches copyright. If this content is not in your news reader, it makes the page you are viewing an infringement of the copyright. (Digital Fingerprint:
)

Baking a Pumpkin Whole

kara — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 07:08:32 PST

My old roommate, Kate, once put a whole butternut squash in the oven and wondered why it was taking so long to cook. I had never seen anyone cook a squash whole. In fact, I thought she was a little crazy for trying it. Since her dinner guest was on the way, we took the squash out of the oven, cut it in half, scooped the seeds out, and it was done before everyone had their second glass of wine (OK, maybe it was done by the third glass).

Turns out, my new favorite way to cook a pumpkin is whole. My roommate, though time-challenged, was onto something. Of the ways to cook a pumpkin, this way takes the longest, but it seems to seal in the flavor better and, once cooked, is very easy to work with.

Small to medium-small pumpkins work best for baking whole.

Method:

Heat oven to 350º F.
Remove the stem and deeply pierce the pumpkin in several places to allow steam to vent.
Bake until the flesh is soft when pierced (40 to 90 minutes, depending on the pumpkin size).
Remove and let cool.
Cut in half, scoop out seeds (save for roasting) and peel the skin.
Put the pumpkin in a strainer and let it drain.
Chop, pureé or mash it. For smooth custards or soups, press the pumpkin pureé through a sieve.

Note: If you want the pumpkin to cook faster, cut the pumpkin in half. Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp and chop it into smaller parts. Bake at 375º F.

Don’t forget to roast the seeds! Click here for a recipe.

Mango Chutney

kara — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:29:24 PST

I love chutney and will put this on about anything. Triple the recipe and get out your canning equipment!

Ingredients
2 large firm, ripe mangoes, peeled and chopped into small chunks
1/2 cup (generous) chopped red onion
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup golden raisins

Method

In a medium saucepan, combine all of the ingredients.
Bring the mixture to a slow boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally.
Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.
Let cool, and store in an airtight container or follow canning directions.

About Pumpkins

kara — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:43:26 PST

One of my favorite fall sights is a sprawling pumpkin patch. They always take me by surprise. Amid the waning crop fields spring large bright orange orbs. It never fails to make me smile.

I like fresh pumpkin better than canned for several reasons. One, I like to buy things from my local farmers. Two, it’s one less can that needs to be recycled. Three, it tastes better. Plus, today’s centerpiece is tomorrow’s pie. You can’t say that about canned pumpkin.

It does take a little time to cook a pumpkin, but it isn’t difficult. I like to roast a couple small pumpkins at the same time, make a puree and then freeze what I don’t use right away. That way, I get the benefits of fresh pumpkin with the convenience of canned.

Like its winter squash siblings, pumpkins are an excellent source of vitamin A (as beta-carotene) and a good source of a slew of other nutrients, including vitamin E, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, riboflavin, potassium, copper and manganese.

For display and carving, I tend to go for the big, ugly pumpkins with lots of warts. They make for interesting jack-o-lanterns. For eating, I pick the smaller ones with smooth skin. If you are baking a pie, ask your farmer what his/her sweetest pumpkins are.

Next up…how to cook a pumpkin whole…

Big Apple Pancake

kara — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:51:58 PST

My husband is the pancake maker in our house. He made this one for us this morning. Yu-umm. This recipe is from Gourmet Magazine. (Sniff, sniff, I am very, very, very upset about the demise of this wonderful periodical).

Ingredients
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 large apple peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-wide wedges
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 450°F.
Melt butter in 10-inch oven-safe skillet over moderate heat. Add apple wedges to skillet and cook, turning occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 3 to 5 minutes.
While apple slices are cooking, add milk, flour, eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt to a bowl and blend until smooth.
Pour batter over hot apples, sprinkle with brown sugar and place skillet in oven. Bake until pancake is puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Serves 2

Swedish Apple Pie

kara — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:14:27 PST

Please welcome guest blogger Christine Verleny.

I am a baker, I am.

I have always been surrounded by amazing chefs – Dori, Kara, Ellen and my ex-husband Jeff. I gained 20 pounds while married, the evidence of a well-fed life.

All of these folks (sorry guys) dim in comparison to my Grandma Tommie. Tommie Augusta Ruby Pearl Jesser to be exact. She was a force in the kitchen. An empty fridge? Not a problem, let me combine a few things and create an amazing meal.

As good as her food was, it was her baking that could bring you to your knees. Chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, peanut butter cake with homemade chocolate frosting, and cheesecake were her finest baked goods. I have memories of my Grandma, cigarette hanging from her mouth, stirring up something delicious with her favorite wooden spoon. (I inherited that spoon after she died at the age of 92.)

I am lucky I have had chefs in my life, because I am a baker. It is my favorite thing to do in the kitchen. Thank you Grandma Tommie.

The first year Kara, Ellen and I went apple picking, I was confronted with an enormous bag of apples, freshly picked, and I knew I wanted to do something different, something that would not require me to make a crust. I dove into my roommate’s cookbooks and found the recipe for Swedish Apple Pie. Apparently, the Swedes hate making crusts.

The recipe is quick, easy and delicious. Use any apples you enjoy. Denser apples may not breakdown as much, but the different textures are wonderful when mixed. I have discovered that each time I bake this, it turns out slightly different and that is fine with me.

Swedish Apple Pie
Preheat: 400ºF

Fill deep pie pan (or an 8 x 8 square pan) 2/3 full with sliced apples.
Mix: 1 TBSP of sugar (optional) and 1 TSP cinnamon and sprinkle over apples.
Mix together:
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 sticks butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup nuts - optional
Make sure the butter is slightly cooled before adding to the mixture (or it will cook the egg).

Pour batter over apples and bake for 45 minutes until golden brown.

Please enjoy with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. That will make me happy.

Christine is an actor and jewelry designer, living in New York City.

How About Those Apples

kara — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:51:41 PDT

Excerpts from my October 9th, 2009 column in The Register Star.

Like many, I grew up hearing about the legend of Johnny Apple Seed, the chipper, barefooted man with a cooking pot for a hat, who roved around the county side dispersing apple seeds wherever he went. I pictured beautiful trees dripping with delicious apples growing in his wake. Well, that’s not exactly how it works. Yes, if you plant an apple seed you will get an apple tree but the fruit will not taste like the apple from which it came. In fact, most will hardly be edible. Johnny Apple Seed wasn’t so concerned with growing tasty apples. He was mainly growing apples for hard cider and not for making pie. The “spitters” grown from seeds work fine for cider but usually aren’t anything you’d want to sink your teeth into.

Apple trees need other apple trees to pollinate. The apple from a tree will take on the characteristics of the parent tree. The seeds in the apple will be a cross between the parent tree and the tree that pollinated it. That’s why the fruit from a chance seedling is a wild card. The apple may not fall far from the tree, but the fruit from this apple isn’t going to be anything like the rest of the family.

From what I gather, there are a few ways to grow a good-tasting apple. You can hope for a good chance seedling. This doesn’t happen much but when it does, you’ve struck gold. Discovered in 1905, the original Golden Delicious apple tree was a chance seedling. A farm boy found the lone tree sapling in a field he was clearing. He worked around the tree and watched it grow for years. To his delight, the tree produced a brand new apple variety and a good one at that. Originally called Mullin’s Yellow Seedling, Stark Brothers Nurseries bought the rights to the tree and they gave it a catchier name, Golden Delicious. Every Golden Delicious apple’s linage can be traced back to this one tree in Clay County, West Virginia.

To grow other Golden Delicious trees you need to basically clone a Golden Delicious tree. This is usually done by taking a shoot (called a scion) from the tree and grafting it onto rootstock. You can also take a clipping and root it.

Modern day apples are usually grafted onto dwarf rootstocks. If you visit an old orchard, you may notice that the trees are considerably taller than newer ones. It’s not because the older tree have grown more, but rather the practice of grafting onto draft rootstock has become an industry standard. The smaller trees make for easier harvesting, though it’s up for debate as to which trees are better for climbing.

This past weekend my husband and I went apple picking. We went to Mr. Apples in High Falls, NY. Mr. Apples is a low-spray orchard. Apples from low-spray orchards are not pretty. Most of the ones we picked were covered with harmless black spots. I’ll trade a little ugly for fewer chemicals any day. I was pleasantly surprised to find that with a little baking soda and water, the black spots came right off and we had nice looking, tasty, natural apples.

Maple Molasses Popcorn Balls

kara — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:40:50 PDT

My sister gave me this recipe. She altered the recipe she found by changing the syrup to 3/4 cup honey and the sugar to 1/4 cup brown sugar. Experimenting with recipes must run in the family, because I altered her recipe.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup cooking oil (I use olive oil)
1/2 cup popcorn
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

Place oil in four-quart kettle. Add a few popcorn kernels in the pot, cover with a lid and heat over a medium heat. Once you hear the kernels pop, add the rest of the popcorn. Shake the pot frequently until popping stops.
Transfer popcorn to large bowl. I scoop out the popcorn from the top. This helps keep the unpopped kernels out of the popcorn balls.
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, syrup, vinegar and salt. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for five minutes on medium high (or heat until mixture reaches 235º F). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over popped corn, tossing gently to coat.
When mixture is cool enough to handle, firmly press a handful of popcorn into a ball with buttered hands. If the balls aren’t sticking together, let it cool a bit more. Cool completely on waxed paper.

Makes about 10 popcorn balls

Caramel Apples

kara — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:54:29 PDT

No need to unwrap a gazzilion little caramel candies, this homemade caramel sauce whips up in a snap!

This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart. She suggests in place of a wooden popsicle stick to use a twig to hold the apple. I decided to go this route not merely because it makes the apples so darn cute, but because I didn’t have any popsicle sticks. Trees, I have.

Ingredients

6 wooden popsicle sticks or firm twigs
6 small apples, any variety, stems removed
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup molasses (or corn syrup)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Method

Insert sticks into tops of apples.
Bring cream, sugar, molasses (or syrup), and butter to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until mixture reaches 245ºF, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat.
Dip bottom of each apple in caramel. Using a spoon, coat apple halfway to three-quarters of the way up sides.
Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and refrigerate until set, about 10-15 minutes.

Makes 6, delicious apples.

Homemade Candy Corn

kara — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:12:47 PDT

It never crossed my mind that I could make this iconic Halloween candy. I was happy to have stumbled across the recipe on Serious Eats website (www.seriouseats.com). Of course the homemade version is miles better than any store bought variety, plus it is super easy. Warning, this makes a lot and is addictive. Be ready to share, or risk a sugar overload.

All of the recipes I found for home made candy corn called for powdered milk. That is not something I keep around so I substituted whole milk. It worked great.

Ingredients
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup white corn syrup or brown rice syrup
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Food coloring

Method

Combine sugar, syrup and butter in medium-sized pot, bring to boil stirring constantly.
Once a gentle boil is reached, turn heat to medium and boil 5 minutes. If you have a candy thermometer, cook until the temperature reaches 230ºF. Swirl the mixture in the pot occasionally. Transfer to a large bowl.
Add the powdered sugar and salt to the hot mixture; stir well until the powdered sugar is thoroughly incorporated and smooth.
Let the dough cool until it is firm enough to handle, about 10-20 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, let it cool longer.
Divide the dough into three parts and set each third into a separate bowl.
Add 2 drops of yellow food coloring to one bowl (for the yellow), one drop of red and two drops of yellow to another bowl (for the orange), and leave the third bowl uncolored (for the white).
Knead the dough until the color is even (use rubber gloves so you don’t stain your hands).
Working in batches, on a sheet of waxed paper roll each color of dough into a long, slender rope about 1/4 inch wide. The wider the ropes, the larger your candy corn.
Set the three ropes of dough side-by-side and slightly press them together. Lay a piece of waxed paper on top and gently roll with a rolling pin. Gentle is the key word here; you don’t want to flatten them. This will help keep the layers together.
Using a sharp knife, or pizza cutter, cut the dough strips into small triangles.
Let the finished kernels sit for an hour or two in single layer on a cookie sheet to become firm.
Store in airtight container.