As I mentioned in an earlier post this month I am not a fan of pumpkin pie. I find it flat and boring.  But I do love pumpkin, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin waffles… pretty much anything else except pumpkin pie.  And of course I’m in charge of a dessert for Thanksgiving this year since I love making sweet things.  The past couple years I’ve made Pumpkin Flan, and while it’s been delicious and a big hit, I don’t like to make the same things over and over again.  Just like pumpkin pie, they become stale and flat.

So this year I found a recipe for pumpkin trifle.  I was so excited. I love trifle, but to me it’s always been a spring or summer dessert because it usually calls for the fresh fruits and berries that only come out between April and August.  So when I saw a recipe for Pumpkin Trifle I was hooked. This would be this year’s dessert. 

Now unfortunately this is not the recipe for Pumpkin Trifle. That will come later. But what this is a recipe for is one component of the trifle and is actually just as good on it’s own.  Even better, it’s served in little ramekins so every person at your Thanksgiving table can have their own.  It’s pumpkin pudding.

This pudding isn’t heavy like other puddings.  Since it’s adapted from Cooking Light it’s got an airiness that makes it rich without weighing you down.  Adding this pudding to your buffet will actually allow guests (and you) to sample the other desserts you have lined up.  So instead of the same old pumpkin pie this year, offer this delightful little dish. Everyone can get their pumpkin on and still have enough room for that beautiful caramel apple pie or chocolate torte.

Pumpkin Pudding

(Serves 4)

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 3/4 cup 1% low-fat milk
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup of canned pure pumpkin
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg

Combine 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 Tbsp cornstarch in medium sauce pan over medium heat.

In a separate bowl whisk together the milk and egg until well combined.

Gradually add the milk mixture to the sugar mixture, stirring constantly.  Bring to a boil and continue cooking for another minute, stirring constantly.  The milk mixture should thicken and coat the back of a spoon.  Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, mix together the pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well combined.  Gradually add it to the milk mixture, whisking constantly.  Cook over low heat for 3 minutes or until heated through, stirring constantly. Do not boil. 

Divide pudding equally between 4 ramekins, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.  These can be made a couple days ahead, just keep them covered and refrigerated.  Then garnish with a dollop of whipped cream and serve.

Last week Kelly over at Evil Shenanigans posted a recipe for White Chocolate, Cranberry, Pecan and Sweet Potato Cookies. While the pictures looked amazing and made me want to eat each and every one, I realized I’d never thought about using sweet potatoes to make a cookie.  Then I remembered there’s sweet potato pie and that great Thanksgiving dish sweet potato casserole with marshmallows.  So I started thinking, what if that sweet potato casserole were a cookie bar? I was immediately taken with the idea. I just had to try it. So, I did what every mom-turned-amateur-baker would do and ran to the grocery store to get some marshmallows and sweet potatoes.

I made the first batch, using my Chocoholic’s Brownies recipe as a base.  They didn’t turn out.  Actually they were more like sweet potato fudge, just too gooey to cut into little bars.  I realized I needed more flour. So I tried again. This time, success! It was much easier to cut and the bars actually held their shape. They were still just as sweet and gooey, but now they tasted more like a cookie bar than some sort of pie filling.  I also think they’d be great with pecans, but since my husband’s allergic to all nuts, I didn’t add them to my batch.  I’d highly recommend throwing in at least a half cup, though. (And if you do, please let me know how they turned out.)

White chocolate chips and marshmallows... Yum!

So, if you’re like me and you believe that sweet potatoes should be a nice side dish and nothing else, these bars will absolutely change your mind. They changed mine.

Sweet Potato Marshmallow Bars with White Chocolate Chips

• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 cup sweet potato, pureed
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• dash of ground nutmeg
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup mini-marshmallows
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×9 baking pan.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars until light.  Add the egg and vanilla and blend.  Add the pureed sweet potato and mix until well blended.

In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Gradually add it to the sweet potato mixture and blend until just combined.

Fold in the white chocolate chips, marshmallows, and pecans.

Pour the dough into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick, when stuck into the cake, comes out clean.  Let cool for 15 minutes.  Cut into squares and serve.

Yams are a huge part of Thanksgiving dinner.  They’ve always been one of my favorite sides, especially since I’m not a mashed potato fan.  I pretty much like them any way you want to serve them: sliced, whole, in a casserole with marshmallows on top, mashed… every year it’s something different at my house.  And every year I lick the plate clean.

Yams, apples and spices all go into the food processor.

Well, last year I was about to start making baby food since my son had just turned six months-old.  Since you’re supposed to start with vegetables, I had plenty of yams for pureeing.  But I also had a bunch of apples.  And since apples and yams go so well together, I thought what if while making food for Aidan, I whipped up a side dish for Thanksgiving? I already had all the ingredients, all I needed to do was make enough to feed 20 people.  So I baked all my yams and apples, threw in some cinnamon and allspice, pureed the whole bunch, and voila, a yummy side dish that’s perfect for the holidays.  And as my son can attest, is also a great first food for babies.

Yum!

Mashed Apples and Yams

(Makes 8 servings)

• 4 lbs of yams
• 2-3 apples, (I like Granny Smith or Gala) peeled, cored and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice

Wrap yams in tinfoil and bake them in a 375°F oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes. When they’re done, they should be soft to the touch and oozing juice.

While the yams are baking, cook the chopped apples in a pot of boiling water until tender, about 7-10 minutes.  Drain, pat dry, and place in food processor.

Pull the yams out of the oven and scoop the meat of the yam out of the skin and into the food processor with the apples.  Blend the apples and yams together until smooth.

Add the butter and spices and blend until the butter is melted.

Serve immediately. 

This dish can be made a day ahead, just cover and refrigerate. When ready to serve, place the yam and apple mixture in a large saucepan over medium-low heat until hot. Transfer to serving dish and serve.

For the mommies:  Not only is this a great side for Thanksgiving, since it’s mashed yams and apples, this is a great first food for babies 6 – 10 months-old. Just make sure it’s not too hot and baby can have Thanksgiving dinner with you and the family (or any other time of the year).

**As always, this is based on my own personal experience. Please check with your baby’s pediatrician on introducing solid foods, as these suggestions may not apply to your infant. **

The other day I was on Twitter talking with some of my favorite foodies when the discussion turned to spaghetti. With everything being Thanksgiving and pumpkin oriented, why we started talking spaghetti is beyond me. Maybe it had something to do with Jen’s recent post about her Basil Meatballs or maybe it was the fact that it’s been so cold and windy here; the perfect weather for Italian food. Whatever the reason, I was more than happy to talk pasta and everything that goes with it.

Chopped heirloom tomatoes, onions, and garlic

As we were talking, Rene Rodgers of The Adventures of an Epic Baker mentioned she probably wasn’t going to be having much spaghetti because the jarred tomato sauce wasn’t exciting her as of late.  So I told her she should make her own. It’s easy and the best part is, you can freeze the leftovers for another dinner at a later date.  I always make a double batch, specifically so I’ll have leftovers to freeze.  Better yet, you can make this tomato sauce deep into the fall months because the heirloom tomatoes are still around.  And the variety of heirlooms available mean that each time you make the sauce, it will be slightly different.  You can also make it with or without hamburger (or ground turkey) depending on your mood.  Since I’m a staunch carnivore, nine times out of ten, my tomato sauce has some type of ground meat in it. 

Rene was so happy she wouldn’t have to wait until next summer to make a nice hearty marinara sauce, she asked for the recipe. That’s when I realized I didn’t have one posted.  I promised that I’d have one up by Sunday and dashed out to get all the ingredients for spaghetti and meatballs, which I was more than happy to do since all that talk about basil meatballs and thick, heirloom tomato sauce gave me a serious craving for it. 

Heirloom Tomato Sauce

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large brown onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 lb of hamburger (optional)
• 2-3 medium heirloom tomatoes, chopped
• 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 12oz can of tomato paste
• 2 tsp basil
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the chopped onions and garlic and saute for 1 minute.

If you’re not using hamburger skip to the next step.  If you’re using hamburger: Add the hamburger and saute until cooked through.

Add the tomato paste and mix until well combined.

Add the can and chopped heirloom tomatoes and mix until well combined.

Stir in the basil, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Lower the flame and simmer for about an hour.

Serve hot over your favorite pasta.

I always know when it’s November.  No, it’s not by looking on the calendar, it’s because all the stores have somehow managed to take down their Halloween decorations and put up their Christmas decorations in one night. It’s because Starbucks starts serving their drinks in Christmas cups.  It’s because on the cover of almost every cooking magazine is a picture of a turkey.  That’s right, November and Thanksgiving, they’re synonymous. 

It’s the time of year when people start planning their big family get togethers. Who’s hosting, who’s making what dish, and how in the world are we going to top what was made last year.  To me there are six very important parts to this holiday feast – of course the turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.  Then there are the sweet and mashed potatoes.  And while thanksgiving wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without any one of these, the absolutely most important part of the meal is without a doubt dessert. 

Boiling sugar for caramel

Dessert was so important at my house, that somehow we always ended up with at least five or six different kinds. Since we’re all big chocoholics, a chocolate dessert was an absolute must.  There was always something with apples and of course Thanksgiving wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie.  Now I know this will probably come off as blasphemy to many of you out there, but I’ve never been a big fan of pumpkin pie.  I know, shudder at the thought.  I don’t know why I don’t like it, maybe it’s the consistency of the filling or the crust or maybe it’s the Cool Whip that everyone seems to add to it. I have no reason as to why I don’t like this classic dessert, especially since I love pumpkin and nutmeg and cinnamon.  All I know is if I see a plain old pumpkin pie on a dessert table at Thanksgiving, I’m usually looking to see what else there is.

Well, a few years ago my mom asked me to make a dessert and seeing as how the chocolate portion of the evening was already spoken for, I got stuck with pumpkin. I was not excited.  But seeing as how I love making desserts, and I was determined to do a good job with my assignment, I set out with a plan: fine, I’ll make pumpkin, but it will not, under any circumstances, be a pie. 

Well, much to my surprise, there were plenty of other options. Pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pudding, pumpkin cupcakes… the list seemed to go on and on. And then I found it. Epicurious had something I had never heard of, or tasted, but sounded absolutely amazing – pumpkin flan.

Pour flan batter into souffle dish

Flan is a Spanish dessert made of egg custard and caramel, and something that I love. It’s creamy and sweet and just seems to melt on the tongue. So when I thought of taking that Spanish delicacy and then adding the rich flavors of pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg, I knew I had a winner. And oh my god, what a winner. This dessert is so rich and creamy and flavorful, you’ll definitely be heading back for seconds. 

So the next time you’re asked to make a pumpkin dessert for the holiday, leave your pie plate at home and bring your souffle dish instead.  I promise you’ll be the hit of the feast.

Pumpkin Flan

Makes 10-12 servings

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/3 cup of water

• 1 15 oz can of pure pumpkin
• 1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
• 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 4 large eggs
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Combine 1 cup of sugar and 1/3 cup of water in small saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves.  Increase heat and bring to boil, brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush.  Boil without stirring until syrup is deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides and swirling pan, about 10 minutes.  Immediately pour caramel into 7 or 8 cup souffle dish, tilting and rotating dish to coat bottom and 2 inches up sides thickly.  Place the dish in a 9×13 metal baking pan.

Whisk pumpkin, condensed milk, sugar, and spices in large bowl to blend.  Whisk in eggs and yolks, then cream and vanilla.  Pour custard into the prepared souffle dish.  Pour enough hot water into the metal baking pan to come 1 1/2 inches up the side of the dish.

Bake flan for about 2 hours and 20 minutes.  The flan should be deep brown on top and firmly set in center and the blade of a small sharp knife inserted into center should come out clean.  Remove flan from water and let cool for 1 hour.  Refrigerate uncovered until very cold, at least six hours.  (This can be made a day or two ahead of your feast.  Just cover it and keep refrigerated.)

Once ready to serve, cut around the flan to loosen.  Place platter on flan dish.  Holding platter and flan dish together, invert, allowing flan to settle onto the platter.  Cut flan into wedges and serve.