Day 31: Your Pumpkin Hangover and You

Well, it's November. We have reached the end of our pumpkin-brick road. I'm experiencing a myriad of feelings as I write this final blog--joy, sadness, nostalgia, hunger, and my left foot is asleep. It's time to hand out some pumpkin awards and what didn't make the list but definitely should have.

1. Best Thing I Made--Pumpkin Truffle Flatbread. Cheesey and truffley, this turned out much more successfully than I thought it would. Perfect for a creative, pumpkin dinner.

2. Best Thing I Bought--Pumpkin Pancakes at Honey's. Such a nice combination of spices, highlighting ginger and apple for pumpkin breakfast perfection.

3. Best Thing I Drank- Karlis Berzin's pumpkin vodka. Not too sweet and with just the right balance of pumpkinocity, this infusion is the perfect way to kick your apple cider with the steel-toe of awesomeness.

4. Worst thing of the month- Definitely that pumpkin pie smoothie I tried to make that turned into baby food. Blech.

5. Honorable mentions- Pumpkin Bagels and Cream Cheese, Mother's Little Helper beverage, and Pumpkin Rice Crispie Treats.

What didn't make the list, or what I will be eating all of November--

1. Pumpkin Sundae at Franklin Fountain- "Speaking of awesome things, we’d like to announce to those of true-aimed faith and rocky fortitude that The Great Pumpkin Sundae has returned! It is, by a substantial margin, your author’s favorite of all our many sundaes. It has creamy spiced pumpkin ice cream that robs you of breath by its magnificence, homemade hot caramel sauce running in rivulets down its mounds, salted pecan halves are lain daintily on the sundae’s hillsides, fresh whipped cream moves over it like fog through a pumpkin patch, and a powder of ground cinnamon is sprinkled over it like an early snow. Truly, it is meant for those whose hearts beat awaiting for it."

2. Pumpkin Bread Pudding- I have an unhealthy love of Bread Pudding. Bread? Good. Pudding? Good. What's not to like. My friend Monica made this and passed the recipe on to me. She also suggested replacing the white bread with Challah bread. Courtesy of AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

1 egg
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 1/2 cups white bread cubes
3/8 cup miniature chocolate chips
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 6 large custard cups.
Whisk together the egg and egg yolks in a large bowl. Add the milk, sugar, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; whisk into a smooth batter. Add the bread cubes and toss gently to dampen. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cups. Sprinkle chocolate chips and brown sugar over each portion. Arrange the custard cups in a shallow baking pan. Pour hot water into the baking pan to halfway up the sides of the custard cups.
Bake in preheated oven until pudding is golden brown and puffy, about 40 minutes; transfer to cooling rack for 10 minutes.

3. Dunkin Donuts' Pumpkin Spice Donut- I went to buy this the other day, and they were out of donuts. Not just pumpkin spice donuts. All the donuts. They had bagels and coffee, but NO Donuts. I feel like if the word is in your title, you should make it a priority to keep those things in stock...

4. Iron Hill's Imperial Pumpkin Ale- I have a big bottle of this in my refrigerator and unfortunately did not get to have it in October :(

5. Pumpkin Popcorn- I really wanted to use the pumpkin spice butter spread, melt it, and put it over popcorn. Madness, I know.

Special thanks--Thank you to everyone who sent in recipes and suggestions, thank you Kate Sabato for your guest post, Karlis for your delicious libations, and especially Jeff Sorge for your photos and for eating more pumpkin this month than you probably would in a life time. And thank YOU, reader! I hope you enjoyed reading this blog as much as I enjoyed writing it. Stayed tuned for my next one, and go, spread the good word of pumpkin far and wide! Let it ring out over the mountain tops! Let it roll on the ocean waves! Or ya know, just eat as much as you can before it goes out of season. Thanks!

Day 30: One final toast...

We've reached the end of the road, reader. There have been triumphs and failures, but I've come out on the other side unscathed and only about a pound heavier. Somehow, I've managed to escape developing a terrible pumpkin allergy. And what better way to celebrate my last day of pumpkin gourging than Halloween.

I've hit that point on Halloween where you can actually feel your teeth buzzing with too much sugar from the candy meal you ate throughout the day. My hands are shaking as they touch the keyboard and my stomach is telling me to eat a salad twice a day until Thanksgiving. However, even that would not stop me from enjoying some of Karlis Berzins' famous Pumpkin Pie Vodka.

The process of infusing vodka itself seems like mad, magical science to me. There's sifters, a jar, what looks like a samovar. Way too much for my brain to comprehend at the end of the day, which is why I leave it too the experts. Karlis' pumpkin pie vodka was even better this year than last year. Not too sweet, it has a very strong pumpkin taste and tastes delicious over ice. I preferred to mix it with apple cider and a splash of ginger ale. I paired it with a ginger snap spread with pumpkin butter for the perfect grown-up Halloween treat. One warning, this thing is so darn delicious you may forget there's alcohol even in there. This could lead to one wicked Halloween hangover if your not careful.

Day 29: Something Seedy

There are cultures that believe when you kill an animal, you should use every part of it. Make a knife out of a deer shin, make a poncho out of cow hide, make a xylophone out of fish bones. And I feel the same way about pumpkins, which is why we have come to a part that has been missing this past month...the seeds!

There are many different ways to toast pumpkin seeds, so I'm gonna give you a couple of recipes for this one. The ones I had at a Halloween party last night were toasted, spiced, and so good I ate them by the fist full.

If you like spicy--

Recipe by Weekend Carnivore

Ingredients:
3/4 cup pumpkin seeds, freshly removed from the pumpkin
1 teaspoon chilli infused olive oil or olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder, I used mild but go with your own spice comfort levels
1 hearty pinch, sea salt

Directions:

1. Rinse off the pumpkin seeds trying to remove as much of the pulp as possible. Pat dry.
2. Put the pumpkin seeds in a bowl and toss with the oil.
3. Heat a skillet until very hot and then turn down to medium.
4. Add the oil-tossed pumpkin seeds and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. They are ready when they have started to go golden brown but they can quickly burn so be careful to watch.
5. Remove from heat and carefully transfer the pumpkin seeds to a bowl.
6. Add the chilli flakes, chilli powder and sea salt to the toasted pumpkin seeds and toss to evenly distribute.
7. Let the toasted pumpkin seeds sit for a couple minutes just to allow them to crisp up and then serve.

Some like sweet-

Recipe by Diana Rattray

Ingredients:

1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon melted butter or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, or more, to taste
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
Preparation:

Rinse seeds well and get as much of the pumpkin pulp off of them as possible. Some of the small pieces are going to adhere, but they won't hurt the seeds at all, and might even add a little more flavor. Pat dry with paper towels. Don't let them dry completely on the paper towels, because they might stick!
Toss seeds with the butter, sugar, and spices.
Heat oven to 300°. Spread coated seeds in a shallow baking sheet (I line a baking sheet with nonstick foil to make cleanup easier), turning from time to time, for about 45 to 60 minutes, or until nicely browned and crunchy.

Some like it brittle-

Recipe by Joy of Baking

Pumpkin Seed Brittle

1 1/2 cups (225 grams) raw pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup (120 ml) water

1/2 cup (120 ml) light corn syrup

1 cup (200 grams) white granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon (14 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

Generously butter a large baking sheet. Set aside.

In a large skillet, over medium heat, toast the raw pumpkin seeds until lightly brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

Have ready the baking soda, vanilla extract, and butter.

In a medium sized saucepan over medium high heat, bring the water, corn syrup, and sugar to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Then clamp a candy thermometer to the side of the pan, making sure it does not touch the bottom of the pan and, without stirring, cook until the candy thermometer reaches just above soft crack stage (285 degrees F) (140 degrees C). Then stir in the toasted pumpkin seeds and continue cooking the sugar syrup, stirring often to prevent the pumpkin seeds from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan, until the the candy thermometer reaches hard crack stage (300 degrees F) (149 degrees C).

Remove from heat and carefully stir in the baking soda, vanilla extract, and butter (the brittle will puff up) stirring until the foaming almost stops. Immediately pour the brittle, as thinly as possible (but do not spread), onto the buttered baking sheet. If you want a thin brittle, then while the brittle is still very hot, use gloved hands to stretch the brittle until you get the brittle to how thin you want it. Do this by gently pulling the edges of the brittle, working your way around the entire mass. Let the brittle completely cool and then break into pieces. Store in an airtight container or a plastic freezer bag as this will prevent the brittle from becoming sticky and breaking down. Store at room temperature for up to two weeks.

Makes about 1 1/2 pounds. Preparation time 1 hour.

Last but never least--Caramelized!

Recipe by Sandra Lee

Ingredients
1/2 cup butterscotch caramel sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon extract
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups pumpkin seeds, roasted
1 cup almonds, crushed
Directions
Lightly coat baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large skillet, slowly melt the caramel sauce and sugar. When melted stir in cinnamon extract and cayenne. Continue cooking until mixture reaches a temperature of 310 degrees F. Stir in pumpkin seeds until completely coated. Spread caramelized seeds onto the baking sheet and sprinkle with crushed almonds. Separate seeds with wooden spoon until cooled.

Cook's Notes:

Melted sugar is very hot. Please use extreme caution when handling and pouring. Pumpkin seeds may be purchased already roasted. If using the seeds from a jack-o-lantern, rinse and clean seeds. Place on a baking sheet, lightly coated with cooking spray, in a preheated 250 degree F oven. Roast seeds for about 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes. The actual seed of the pumpkin is inside the hull. The hull is edible.

Photo by Weekend Carnivore.

Day 28: The elusive. The pumpkin. The pizza.

Well, I made it 27 days. You were waiting for me to slip up, weren't you, reader? "She'll never make it!" You declared "31 days is too much! TOO MUCH!" Well raise your hand, put it over your shoulder, and give yourself a pat on the back. Feel better? Good. Now, this blog is late partially because of the extensive research I had to do on this event, and mostly because I had a work event that went late. But no worries. You'll get a double serving of pumpkin today. For now, I'm considering skipping all my obligations on Monday to go get some Pumpkin Pizza at Dock Street Brewery.

Known for their interesting "esoteric" beers and even more original pizzas, Dock Street Brewery offers some of the only things that would ever get me to go to West Philly. On Oct 31st, they will be serving Man Full of Pumpkin Porter (Pumpkin+Porter= Pumter...or Portkin. Either way it sounds awesome) and Pumpkin Pizza! What a perfect way to end your October pumpkin experience!

Can't make it/are scared to go to West Philly? Make your own pumpkin pizza!

Recipe by Right at Home

Total Time : 55 minutes
Prep Time : 10 minutes
Cook Time : 38–40 minutes
Cool Time : 5 minutes
Servings : 4 to 6
ingredients

1 cup plus 3 Tablespoons water, divided
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups sliced shallots (from 6 small shallots), cut into rings about 1/8-inch thick
One 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried)
Salt to taste
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 precooked pizza crust, 10 to 12 inches in diameter
3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
1/2 cup fresh baby arugula
1/2 cup seedless red grapes, sliced in half

what's this?

directions

step 1
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
step 2
In a large, nonstick skillet over low heat add the olive oil and 3 Tablespoons water. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.
step 3
Meanwhile, in a medium-size pot over medium heat combine the pumpkin puree, 1 cup water, cider vinegar, rosemary, salt and maple syrup. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low and cook until heated through and thickened slightly (about 5 to 7 minutes). Set aside to cool.
step 4
Place the pizza crust in the oven directly on the middle rack, top side down. Cook for 3 minutes. Carefully remove the crust. Spread about half of the pumpkin sauce over the top of the pizza crust (save the rest for another pizza or to use as a pasta sauce). Distribute half of the mozzarella cheese over the sauce. Distribute the shallots over the cheese and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella over the shallots. Place the pizza in the oven directly on the oven rack and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until the mozzarella melts.
step 5

Using a large spatula and oven mitts, carefully remove the pizza. Place the pizza on a large cutting board. Sprinkle the arugula and grapes evenly over the pizza. Cut and serve warm.
chef's notes

This recipe makes a double batch of the delicious pumpkin sauce. Save the rest of the sauce in a Ziploc® Brand Container with the Smart Snap™ Seal. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for a month.

If your family makes pizza a lot, investing in a pizza peel and a pizza stone will help you get pizzeria-quality results. A peel is a flat wooden board with a handle that lets you easily slide pizzas into and out of the oven. And a pizza stone is flat piece of unglazed ceramic that rests on the oven rack. You can cook the pizza directly on it for a crisper crust.
variation

Photo by Dock Street Brewery

Day 27: The Pie-nal Countdown

Sometimes the only thing that gets me through the day is the candy on other people's desks. Seriously, I one of those wholesome, healthy people who never keeps food in her office or on her desk--but will make up excuses to go to other floors to see if anyone happened to bake brownies or fill their candy dish. Which is how I happened upon today's treat, the quintessential pumpkin pie.

A brief history of Pumpkin Pie--

According to What's Cooking America the tradition began this way-- "Early American settlers of Plimoth Plantation (1620-1692), the first permanent European settlement in southern New England, might have made pumpkin pies (of sorts) by making stewed pumpkins or by filling a hollowed out shell with milk, honey and spices, and then baking it in hot ashes. An actual present-day pumpkin pie with crust is a myth, as ovens to bake pies were not available in the colony at that stage." In a word, ew.

Francois Pierre la Varenne, in the 1600's then wrote this in his cookbook

"Tourte of pumpkin - Boile it with good milk, pass it through a straining pan very thick, and mix it with sugar, butter, a little salt and if you will, a few stamped almonds; let all be very thin. Put it in your sheet of paste; bake it. After it is baked, besprinkle it with sugar and serve." Ya know, we really don't besprinkle enough things these days.

In the 1700's they started making Pumpkin Puddings which were sort-of similar to what we have now. It wasn't until we got to the 1800's that we got great works of poetry that I took from the most reliable source ever- Wikipedia.

"John Greenleaf Whittier wrote in his 1850 poem "The Pumpkin":[4]


A slice of pumpkin pie
Ah! on Thanksday, when from East and from West, From North and from South comes the pilgrim and guest;
When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board
The old broken links of affection restored;
When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,
And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before;
What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye,
What calls back the past, like the rich Pumpkin pie?
Oscar Ferdinand Telgmann and George Frederick Cameron wrote the song "Farewell O Fragrant Pumpkin Pie" in the 1889 opera Leo, the Royal Cadet:[5]


A can of pureed pumpkin, typically used as the main ingredient in the pie filling
Farewell, O fragrant pumpkin pie!
Dyspeptic pork, adieu!
Though to the college halls I hie.
On field of battle though I die, my latest sob, my latest sigh
shall wafted be to you!
And thou, O doughnut rare and rich and fried divinely brown!
Thy form shall fill a noble niche in memory's chamber whilst I pitch
my tent beside the river which rolls on through Kingston town.
And my Love—my little Nell,
the apple of my eye to thee how can I say farewell?
I love thee more than I can tell;
I love thee more than anything—but—pie!

Move over, Shakespeare. Still, I'm glad we live in our present day times wear we can make our own delicious pumpkin pies, or steal them from our co-workers who bring them in for rehearsal.

As far as places to purchase pies in Philly, Stock's Bakery in Kensington and Beiler's Bakery in Market East are some of the highest rated I have seen.

Want to put that apron on and go all Martha Stewart on us? Let's get ya some recipes:
This is the self proclaimed http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/worlds-best-pumpkin-pie/detail.aspx

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cups milk
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large mixing bowl, stir together white sugar, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. When these ingredients are well mixed, stir in the eggs followed by the pumpkin and milk. Transfer mixture to the pie crust.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 1/2 hours, or until a toothpick inserted into the pie comes out clean. Cool before serving.

Who doesn't trust Paula Dean? Health professionals, I assume...

Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
1 piece pre-made pie dough
Whipped cream, for topping
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 1 piece of pre-made pie dough down into a (9-inch) pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern. Put the pie shell back into the freezer for 1 hour to firm up. Fit a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell completely. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans (about 2 pounds) and place it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is dried out and beginning to color.

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.

Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream.

Also, if you want something smaller, I had something like this at a friend's birthday party last year and they were AMAZING.

Pumpkin Pie Wontons

1 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
16 packaged wonton wrappers
granulated sugar, for dusting
ground cinnamon, for dusting
cooking spray
Directions:

1
Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2
In a medium bowl, mix pumpkin, maple syrup, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice.
3
Place one wonton wrapper flat on work surface.
4
Spoon 1 Tbsp.
5
filling into center.
6
Moisten edges of wonton with water and fold in half to form triangle.
7
Press edges to seal.
8
Repeat with remaining filling and wontons.
9
Arrange filled wontons on ungreased baking sheet.
10
Lightly coat wontons with nonstick cooking spray and sprinkle each with sugar and cinnamon.
11
Bake until golden, about 16 minutes.
12
Turn and bake 2 more minutes.
13
Set baking sheet on wire rack to cool.


Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/pumpkin-pie-wontons-48359#ixzz1c2NK4XEV

EHOW says that pumpkin pie has health benefits like Vitamin A, fiber, and carotenoids (Which is good, because I've been feeling low on carotenoids lately...) So, eat up!

Photo by Photography: Randy Mayor; Styling: Lydia DeGaris-Pursell

Day 26: Raise Your Standards

Northern Liberties is a conundrum of sorts. On the one corner you have fun hipster bowling, good craft beers, and dancing in what looks like your Grandmother's attic. On the other corner, you have your mace in a holster and talk on the phone so that if someone attacks you, maybe your mother in Florida will call the cops or something. But there's no doubt that this area has blown up over the past few years, including the ever famous Standard Tap.

Tomorrow afternoon at 4pm the Pumpkin Head event at Standard Tap begins. $15 all-you can drink pumpkin beers AND you get to drink them OUT OF AN ACTUAL PUMPKIN. I'm hoping these things were cleaned out. From what I've heard, the pumpkins run out fast, so you're gonna wanna get there early. Like, I wanna be there by 3:00, being that I demand a small pumpkin to drink out of. So, tell your boss you've got a dentist appointment, or you're having a baby, or that your dentist is having a baby and you really should be there for him, and get over to Standard Tap on 2nd and Poplar. Heck maybe you can bring your own pumpkin. You serious drinkers might want to grab those giant pumpkins I've been telling you about, though.

Photo by Standard Tap.

Day 25:The best thing to hit the salad bar since bacon bits

I know what your thinking, reader. "Man, she hasn't cooked anything in a while. She's just coolin her heals, eating Pumpkin fast food, and then expects me to read this blog and respect her as a pumpkin connoiseur." I promise I will get back to cooking things, but I am a lady on the go. Even this evening my dinner consisted of the cold toritilla reminents from a Mexican Food Club and the Planters peanuts I'm munching on while I write this. Hence, I sometimes have to get my pumpkin on the go, which is how I stumbled upon this next gem.

Whole Foods isn't just a place to buy overpriced Tuna steaks or get hassled by Green Peace right outside the automatic doors. No, it's place where you can buy Pumpkin Ravioli Salad at the salad bar. Served cold with walnuts, celery, cinnamon, and cranberry, this Pumpkin Ravioli kicks Chef Boy-R-Dee in the pants. The fact that it's served at the salad bar means you can have as much as you want. But you cannot, as I've found, ask them for bigger take-out boxes and then throw a hissy fit when they do not provide you with the appropriate size barrel. I would've settled for a cask. This too is seasonal, so don't miss out on your chance to have this and trick yourself into thinking it's healthy because it has the word "salad" in it.

Also, check out all the awesome pumpkin recipes Whole Foods has online!

Photo by Academia Barilla