Pumpkin stuffed with Cranberry-Raisin Bread Pudding

Image from Southern Living.

I made this bread pudding one year but never tried it in individual pumpkins. I think the idea is cute and would be great for when you host Thanksgiving or a fall party with friends. I'll just have to host Thanksgiving this year and try this out or just throw a party for my friends and try it out. One way or another, I'm going to have to try this out.

Ingredients:   Pumpkin*, 2 Tbsp butter, melted, 2 Tbsp sugar, 2 eggs, 1 c sugar, .5 c butter melted, .75 c half-and-half, .75 c chopped pecans*, 1 loaf of raisin bread, .5 c fresh cranberries, 1 vanilla bean, 2 Tbsp cornstarch, 1/8 tsp sea salt, 1 Tbsp butter, 2 Tbsp lemon zest, 1/3 c fresh lemon juice.

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 350F. Cut off the top of a 2.5-3.5 lb. pumpkin. Keep the lid with the stem. Scoop out pumpkin seed and pulp and use for another time. Brush inside of pumpkin with 1 Tbsp melted butter and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp sugar. Top with lid and bake for 35 minutes. (2) Brush inside of baked pumpkin with another Tbsp of melted butter and sprinkle with another Tbsp of sugar. (3) Stir eggs, sugar, .5 c melted butter, half-and-half, pecans, cranberries and bread that has been cut into 1" cubes. Spoon mixture into a greased 8" square pan. (4) Bake Pumpkin and bread pudding at 350F for 25 minutes. (5) While pumpkin and pudding are baking, cook the vanilla bean, 1 c water, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan over med heat, stirring until smooth and thickened. Stir in butter, lemon zest and lemon juice and cook until thoroughly heated. Removed vanilla bean. (6) Let pumpkin cool, then spoon pudding into pumpkin and serve with sauce.

*I toast the pecans before using them.
*You can use individual pumpkins (.5lb). Scoop out seeds and pulp. Sprinkle each shell with 1 tsp. butter and 1 tsp sugar and bake with bread pudding. You don't need to pre-bake if you are using smaller, individual pumpkins. You will need about 12 little pumpkins.

Spiced Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

 Apple Picking is one of my favorite this to do in the fall. If I can't have warm sunny weather every day, then a cool crisp day picking apples from a local family farm is where I want to be. Sometimes I get luck and have some warm apple cider donuts while picking apples. I'm not big on warm apple cider for a drink. Last season friends of our went with us to pick apples. At first we were all set on the types of apples we wanted to pick but as soon as we were introduced to the SPENCER, we gave up our other options and just filled with bag with Spencers. If you haven't tried a Spencer apple, you are missing out. They are delicious, sweet, crunchy...kind of puts a Honeycrisp apple to shame; in my opinion.

Here's a recipe for an apple bread pudding. I usually make this with Granny Smith apples but will be trying it out in a few weeks with Spencer apples once I get back from apple picking with friends. Enjoy.

Ingredients:  1 Granny Smith Apple, .5 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 a loaf of Italian bread, cooking spray, 3 eggs, 1.5 c milk*, 1 c apple cider, 1/4 c packed brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, .25 tsp nutmeg, .25 c pecans, .75 c sugar, 1 tsp corn syrup, .5 c evaporated milk, 1.5 tsp butter, 1/3 c water

Instructions:  (1) Peel and chop the apple and saute it and .25 tsp of cinnamon in a lightly greased skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes or until tender. Cut bread into bite-size pieces and add bread and mixture to a 11x7" baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. (2) Whisk eggs, milk, cider, brown sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and remaining cinnamon. Pour over bread mixture and cover and chill for 1 hour. (3) While pudding is chilling, preheat oven to 350F and bake chopped pecans on a baking sheet for 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle sugar in an even layer in a small saucepan and stir together syrup and water, and pour over sugar in saucepan. Cook, WITHOUT stirring, over med-high heat for 12-14 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and mixture is golden. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in milk. Stir in butter and pecans. (4) Preheat oven to 350F, if not already warm from toasting pecans, and bake mixture for 45 minutes or until top is crisp and golden brown. Serve warm with sauce.

*I usually use whole milk but you can use 2% if you want.

Pumpkin Caramel Pecan Bread Pudding

Image from Southern Living.

There are few bread puddings that I like and this is one of them. I got this recipe awhile ago from Southern Living Magazine. It was a hit when I made it one Thanksgiving. I love the caramel pecan sauce. It reminds me of eating pralines. Having individual ramekins, makes this dish more personal but you can cook it in one large dish* if you don't have them.

Enjoy.

Ingredients:  4 large eggs, 2 cans (15 oz) of pumpkin*, 1.5 c milk, 1 c half-and-half, 1 c sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, .5 tsp sea salt, .5 nutmeg, 1.5 tsp vanilla, 1 loaf of French bread, 1 c pecans, 1 c packed light brown sugar, .5 c butter, 1 TBSP corn syrup

Instructions: (1) Whisk eggs, pumpkin, milk, half-and-half, sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, .5 tsp vanilla in a large bowl. (2) Cut bread into 1" pieces (about 10 c) and add bread pieces to mixture. Stir to coat thoroughly. Cover with Saran-Wrap and chill for 8-24 hours. (3) Preheat oven to 350F. Spoon mixture into individual 6-oz ramekins that have been lightly buttered*. Place ramekins on a foiled lined baking sheet. Bake for 50 min. and shield with foil after 30 min. (4) While pudding is baking, make sauce by adding pecans to a medium skillet and heat over med-low heat, stirring often for 3-5 minutes. Add brown sugar, butter, corn syrup to a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tsp vanilla and pecans. (5) Drizzle sauce on ramekins and bake for 5 minutes more or until sauce is heated through and begins to boil.

*I usually make my own puree from freshly grown sugar pumpkins from a local organic farmer.
*If you are using ramekins, you will need about 12. I use PAM to spray the ramekins.
*If you are baking as one dish, spoon chilled mixture into a 13x9 baking dish that has been lightly buttered. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Add sauce and bake for another 5 minutes.

Hello Fall!

The crisp cool mornings. The lessened daylight hours. The arrival of butternut squash, apples, and pumpkins to farmer's markets. The leaves turning colors. These are just a few tail-tell signs of Autumn. Another sign of fall, is cranberries. I travel some back roads on the way to work every morning and get the privilege of passing many cranberry bogs. This morning, I saw my first truck carrying a load of cranberries to the Ocean Spray facility. More and more trucks will be traveling from all over the Cape and South Shore to bring in these tarts berries. Soon towns will be having their Cranberry Festivals and others can see what goes into harvesting these berries. Living here, we sometimes take for granted this delicious fall crop. I stock up on tons of cranberries during this time and give bags away. My neighbor is a grower so I get fresh harvested berries every year. So fresh, I usually have to clean out the leaves and twigs before using them in pies, breads, muffins, pancakes, etc.

Another sign of fall is the Autumnal Equinox and this weekend is the official start to fall. It's that time of the year where the Sun's path is at the Equator and is projecting equal amounts of sunlight on the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Everyone on Earth will be experiencing the same amount of daylight. For those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, this means that our amounts of daylight will continue to decrease as we move into fall and winter seasons. For those living in the Southern Hemisphere, this means that their amounts of daylight will be increasing as they move into their spring and summer seasons.

This time of the year has me craving comfort foods like stews and soups, breads, cinnamon rolls, and hot drinks like tea and hot chocolate.  I'm going to try and post a recipe every few days. Some recipes might be for stews/soups, others might be for baked goods or desserts. Either way, it is a win-win situation. I get to make those foods I enjoy during this time of the year and you get to enjoy some fall items that I like to make.

First I'm going to make a few bread pudding recipes. I'm not really big on bread pudding but there are a few recipes that I enjoy.  So we'll see where I go from there.

Happy Fall Everyone. Enjoy!

Salsa Muffins

I love Salsa! Just saying that, has a nice Latino beat playing in my head. But it's true, I love salsa in any type of form and hotness. Personally for me I love really hot salsa. Growing up in Cajun country, you develop a taste for all things hot. My husband and I have one section of a cabinet over our stove that is dedicated to hot sauces. There are a few that just a drop gives whatever you are cooking a KICK!

When the summer season is at it's peak, that's when I'll make some homemade salsa using great local veggies; some from area farmers and some right from our own garden. Depending on the mood I'm in when I'm making the salsa will determine if the salsa is chunky or pureed. When I was in Mexico many moons ago, the owner of La Pasado and his wife made homemade salsa. I got to hang out in the kitchen and see how it was done. The type of salsa they made was more of a pureed salsa but it was very hot and very delicious. Whenever I make a pureed salsa, I use the techniques that Victor and Sonja use to make their salsa.

With family visiting and with a ton of tomatoes from our garden being ready to pick, it is salsa time. Making medium and hot salsa to use with chips, in/on dinner dishes, or in a breakfast omelet, there comes a time when you need to come up with another way to use salsa. I decided to add it to my basic corn muffin recipe. Enjoy this delicious recipe. I might just have to have a Mexican night and make more of these muffins along with tamales, tacos, and other delicious dishes.

Ingredients: 1 c flour, 1 c cornmeal, 1 TBSP baking powder, 1.5 tsp ground cumin, .5 tsp sea salt, 3 TBSP sugar, 1 egg, .5 c milk*, 1/3 c canola oil, 3/4 c chunky salsa*

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 400F and prepare a 6 or 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or paper liners. (2) In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sea salt, and cumin. (3) In a medium bowl, whisk egg, sugar, mil, and oil until well blended. Stir in salsa. (4) Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just blended. (5) Divide batter evenly amongst prepare muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes or until tops are golden and toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for a few minutes on a wire rack before transferring them to the rack and cooling completely.

*Try to use at least 1% milk. Most of the time I'm using fat-free milk but in my corn muffins I always use whole milk or even buttermilk.
*If you don't want to make your own salsa, a bottle of a chunky tomato sauce will do. I love Pace but there are some great chunky salsas out there. Don't be afraid to try a flavored salsa like say Chipotle.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Several years ago I had the privilege of taking high school juniors and seniors on a science trip to Belize and Guatemala. One of our first stops while visiting these countries was at the IZE located on South Water Caye. IZE has a marine biological station and lodge and hosts many school trips from the high school level to the college level. Since it is located right on the second longest barrier reef, it is a fabulous place to spend several days, a week, a month, or several months.

Some of the people helping to run IZE are called Garifunas. They are descendents from Carib, Arawak and West African people and live primarily in Central America along the Caribbean Coast. These are some of the nicest people I have every met. They have their own language that is beautiful when spoken. Elveria Smith was the head cook at IZE and she made amazing traditional dishes while we were there. One delicious dish was her Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. I asked her for her recipe along with Lunch salad and Coconut Shrimp Soup recipe when were were leaving and was honored when she gave them to me.

This is her recipe for Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. It is sugary and delicious. If you ever have a chance to go to Belize, spend a few nights out on South Water Caye at IZE. You will have a fabulous time.

Ingredients:  (topping) 3/4 c sugar, 1 stick butter, melted, Pineapples, Cherries, Papaya for decoration (cake) 2 c flour, 2 c sugar, 3 eggs, 3 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 c milk, 1 stick butter, melted

Instructions:  (1). Preheat oven to 350 and prepare pan for cake by using cooking spray with flour or by greasing pan with butter and sprinkling with flour. (2) Mix topping ingredients and pour into the pan. Using fruit, make decorations on top of the topping. (3) Mix and blend ingredients for the cake and pour into the pan over the fruit decorations and topping. (4) Bake for 45 minutes and cool on a rack for a few minutes before flipping cake out of the pan. Let cake cook completely before serving or you can serve it warm.

Raspberry Lemon Corn Muffins

Raspberries are currently being found at local farmer's markets along with other delicious fruits like plums, peaches, blueberries, red currants and blackberries. The next several blogs will focus on these particular fruits.

Here's a recipe for Raspberry Lemon Corn Muffins. I like corn muffins, plain, with sour cream added to the batter, jelly put in between layers of batter, jalapenos, etc. I figured I would try adding raspberries and using up the last lemon in the bowl.  The tartness of the berries and the lemons definitely makes you pucker but the color of the raspberries against the corn muffin is pretty. I think if I make these again, I would add a little more sugar so it wasn't so tart but they were still go none the less. Enjoy.

Ingredients:  1 c flour, 1 c yellow cornmeal, 1 TBSP baking powder, .5 tsp sea salt, 3/4 c sugar, 2 eggs, .5 c unsalted butter, melted, 3/4 c milk, 2 TBSP grated lemon zest, 1.5 c raspberries, turbinado sugar for topping

Instructions:   Preheat oven to 400 and prepare muffin tin with muffin liners or cooking spray.  1. In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder and sea salt. 2. In a medium bowl, whisk sugar, eggs, milk, butter, and zest until well blended. 3. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just blended. Fold in raspberries. 4. Divide batter evenly amongst prepared muffin cups and sprinkle each muffin with turbinado sugar. Bake for 16 minutes or until tops are golden brown and toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for a few minutes then turn out onto the rack and cool completely.


*I usually invert the muffins while in the pan so the bottoms don't steam while they are cooling in the pan before turning out onto the wire rack to cool completely.