Yummy Chocolate Pumpkin Bread-Puddin'

The best dessert, but oops... i forgot to add the schlag for the photo op!

This is it!!!

I think this must be my very favorite dessert to make, because...

• it's so easy;
• chocolate... bread... what more does a person need/want?
• people haven't stopped asking me for the recipe!  

I made some slight modifications to Bobby Flay's Pumpkin Bread Pudding, such as using freshly made dulce de leche (OMG!  you can eat it with a spoon directly from a jar in the fridge!) with fresh whipped cream instead of Bobby's Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce and Vanilla Bean Creme Anglaise.  Also, i did the ultimate... i added small chunks of dark chocolate bits.  Oh... and i substituted brioche rolls instead of his pumpkin bread. The modifications can be endless.  I'd love to know what you're going to do to make it your bread pudding!

NOTE:  As good as this dessert is, and as good as it may look, i continue to forget to add the whipped cream (schlag) and powdered sugar to the one plated for pictures.  Just imagine... 

  
Ingredients -

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
• 6 large egg yolkls
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrun
• 1 cup pure canned pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• pumpkin bread  I prefer brioche or about 10 brioche rolls
• chopped semi-sweet chocolate chunks
• sprinkling of walnuts
• confectioners sugar (just to sprinkle on top)
• Dulce de leche (recipe to follow)
• Fresh whipped cream, or schlag

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F°. 

Combine the cream, milk, vanilla bean and seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.

Whisk together the yolks, sugar, maple syrup, and pumpkin puree in a large bowl.
Slowly whisk in the hot cream mixture until combined, remove the vanilla pod, and whisk in the bourbon.
Strain the custard into a clean bowl.  (I have no idea what this is for, so i didn't do it.)

Scatter the bread cubes in a buttered 9 by 13-inch baking glass baking dish.
Pour the custard over the bread, pressing down on the bread to totally submerge it in the custard.
Let sit for 15 minutes to allow the bread to soak up some of the custard.

Place the pan in a larger roasting pan and pour hot tap water into the roasting pan until it comes half way up the sides of the glass dish.
Bake until the sides are slightly puffed and the center jiggles slightly, about 1 hour.

Remove from the oven and water bath and cool on a baking rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Spoon some of the bread pudding onto a plate and drizzle with the dulce de leche.
Top with freshly whipped cream.
Bread pudding is best served warm.

Buon appetito!

Thanksgiving Day Butternut Squash Soup With Apples & Bacon

Audrie and i thought it would be nice to have a pumpkin soup "starter" this Thanksgiving.  She had a delicious one in Germany, and Laurence has been eating a pumpkin-cider soup in NY that he keeps raving about.  So i was determined to give them a good pumpkin-type soup this Thanksgiving. 

I made three different soups - all with pumpkin or butternut squash and apples - but two of them were disappointing.  One was so healthy that it had no taste; the second one, made with pancetta, was disappointing, but it had potential.  So i decided to modify the recipe with pancetta, and now i think i have the perfect Thanksgiving butternut squash soup!

Ingredients --

• 8 slices of bacon, cut into 1/4-inch strips
• 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch dices (yields about 6 cups)
• 1 small Granny Smith or other tart-sweet apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch dices (yields about 1 cup)
• 1/2 small Gala or other sweet apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch dices (yields 1/2 cup)
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons of finely chopped fresh sage leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups of chicken broth
• 1 cup of apple cider

In a large stockpot set at medium heat, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp and golden.
Use a slotted spoon and transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels.
Increase the heat to medium-high, and add the squash to the pot with the bacon fat and cook until lightly browned.  Try to resist stirring too often or it won't brown.
Stir in the apple, sage, salt and pepper and cook for about 4 or 5 minutes.  (You'll see more browning occurring on the bottom of the pot than on the veggies.)
Add the broth and apple juice, scraping up any browned bits in the pot with a wooden spoon.
Bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until the squash and apples are very soft.
Remove from the heat and let cool somewhat.
Add about half the bacon to the soup and, using an immersion blender, puree.
Add more salt or pepper if needed.
Reheat the soup and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and the remaining bacon.

The players!

Buon appetito, and a joyous Thanksgiving to all!

Pumpkin Bread, 3 ways!

Once upon a time, about 150 years ago, (apparently before we had to dial phone numbers preceded by the area code), my girlfriend Beth gave me a cookbook from her City of Hope chapter.  I decided to try the pumpkin bread recipe, primarily because it made 3 loaves (if it's good, why make 1 loaf when you can just as easily make 2, i mean 3 loaves?).  I've made this pumpkin bread just about every year since and it's always a hit!  And because it makes so much, i usually make one loaf with nuts and golden raisins (for mom), one loaf with chocolate (for everyone other than Debbie) and one plain loaf (for Jessica who doesn't eat nuts, raisins or chocolate).

The ancient book of pumpkin bread.

Ingredients --

• 4 cups sugar (i use 1/2 dark brown and 1/2 white)
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 6 large eggs
• 1 (29 oz.) can pumpkin
• 1 cup water
• 6 cups sifted flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 Tablespoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-2 cups of chopped nuts, raisins, dates, chocolate or a combination of your choice

In a very large bowl,
Cream the sugar and butter until light with an electric mixer.
Add eggs and beat thoroughly.
Stir in pumpkin, vanilla and water and blend.
Sift dry ingredients together and fold them into the liquid ingredients, mixing just until dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened.
Add nuts and fruit and chocolate.
Pour into 3 well-buttered loaf pans and let set for 15 minutes.
Bake in a pre-heated 350°F. oven for 1 hour.
Let cool before removing from loaf pan.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread, 3 ways!

Optional:  Add a dolop of fresh schlag!

Chicken apple butternut squash filled pumpkin

 The culprits - my beautiful pumpkins

 

 

Last week i stopped at the pumpkin patch (no cameras allowed because g-d forbid we see someone famous without their hair and makeup done this is Beverly Hills) and found the prettiest little pumpkins.  I wasn't sure what i'd do with them, but i knew i would find something.  These pumpkins were larger than those baby pumpkins that you see in markets, but not as big as the good, carving pumpkins.  

I decided to bake the pumpkins and save the pumpkin meat for something i'll use later, but i'll use the pumpkin shell to stuff with my own concoction.  It turned out yummy!  Healthy, yummy, and easy.  What more could you ask for?

Ingredients

•  4 small pumpkin to your liking
• 1 red apple, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 1 butternut squash, chopped
• 1 cup of sliced mushrooms
• 1 package (4 or 5) of chicken-apple sausages, chopped
• 1/4 cup of golden raisins and/or cranberries
• 1/2 cup of chicken stock or apple juice

Slice off the top of the pumpkin and scrape out the seeds.  (I later roasted my seeds and they were delicious - not very meaty, but had good crunch.)
Bake the pumpkin bowl, lid and butternut squash in a 350°F. oven until it's al dente, or just tender.  The butternut squash should be easy to slice, but not too easy otherwise it will not hold it's shape when you chop it.  When finished baking, allow to cool overnight in the refrigerator.

Spray a pan with olive oil and saute the chopped apple and chopped onion, gradually adding some of the liquid stock or juice.  
When the onions are starting to brown, add the mushrooms, chopped sausages and butternut squash. (I tried chopping all of the ingredients to be pretty much the same size.)
Add more of the liquid, if necessary.
Add the raisins and/or crandberries.
Continue cooking until you can't take it any more.

 Bon appetito!