| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 10/27/2009 2:54:06 AM | Here are two (variations on a theme) that are fun to have before you go Trick-or-Treating (they'll keep you warm!).
PUMPKIN SHELL STEW
1 medium pumpkin
1/4 cup oil
2-2 1/2 pounds cubed beef, lamb or tiny meatballs
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
4 T. flour
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 T. brown sugar
2 (14.5 oz) cans tomatoes
1/4 cup brandy
1 cup beef stock
s&p to taste
Slice top off pumpkin and save for a lid when you bake the finished casserole. Scoop out pith and seeds. With a melon baller or teaspoon, remove pumpkin meat without breaking through the shell to make about 3 cups.
Heat oil in pan and quickly brown meat. Remove to absorbent paper to drain.
In same oil, cook onion, garlic and pumpkin balls, stirring until onions are golden and translucent. Add flour and spices, stir and cook 5 minutes more. Add remaining ingredients and meat; season with s&p. Simmer, uncovered, 1 hour or until meat is tender. Pour into pumpkin shell and replace lid. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes, or until pumpkin is golden brown on top.
DINNER IN A PUMPKIN
1 large pumpkin
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 T. brown sugar
1 4-oz. can mushrooms, drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups cooked rice
Cut top from pumpkin. Clean out seeds and strings. Draw face on pumpkin.
Brown beef and onion. Add all other ingredients except rice. Simmer 10 minutes. Mix in rice and pour into pumpkin. Replace top.
Place on cookie sheet or baking pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.
Scoop out pumpkin and serve as a vegetable. | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 10/30/2009 11:59:41 AM | Have to bring this thread back up again, as Miss Silly Goose has another question for you all! lol
I was told that you needed to use the lil pie pumpkins if you were going to use them for pie filling. Is this true? Why can't I use some of the bigger ones that I already have? Is there a taste difference? | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 10/30/2009 12:16:58 PM | In my experience, the larger pumpkins tend to be a little less sweet & a little more fibrous, so you might need to add a bit extra sweetener and watch the puree.
Except for some of the mutant pumpkins, I noticed little or no taste difference. | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 10/30/2009 12:40:16 PM | I agree with Charon, there is probably not a LOT of taste difference, maybe just a little sweeter in the smaller ones. For me it is the stringiness. The larger, the stringier. Some are just so stringy it is worthless to try to use them. You can't even make a puree. Then again, some are just fine. I just cook them up and go on a case by case basis. The larger also has a harder shell and more dangerous to try to cut, certainly not peel, so I bake with the peel and then remove the pulp from the peel afterwards and puree.
SS | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 10/30/2009 1:09:32 PM | The pumpkin debate has been ongoing at my house for days now. The kids came home with a really huge pumpkin several days ago ~ jack-o-lantern, of course.
But, when when the time came to carve it, the conflict set in. They all wanted the jack-o-lantern, but then, wanted me to cook the pumpkin and make pies.
I explained we couldn't do both because the pumpkin wouldn't be good for food, after sitting on the porch for days.
Finally,, I took a big black Sharpie and drew a scary face on it,, problem solved!
So, Sunday morning we will cut it and scoop out the seeds to roast. Then I'll cook the thing,, if I can cut it up.. Hopefully it won't be so stringy that we have to toss it out. I can see lots of pies and pumpkin bread in my future,, if it's good.
Good timing, I guess, it's almost holiday time and ya just gotta have pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner. I love pumpkin bread warm, with soft cream cheese smeared on it.. Mmmm..
tb | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 10/30/2009 3:34:03 PM | decades ago, probably about 1975 or so ... I had a recipe where I got a reasonable-sized pumpkin, scooped out the seeds, etc. from the pumpkin ... then stirred together a custard base and poured it straight into the pumpkin ... and baked the entire thing at one time ...
when it came time to serve, I brot the entire pumpkin to the table on a huge platter and, with a large knife, cut it into pie-shaped pieces ...
each serving was a large piece of baked pumpkin with a triangular pie-shaped piece of custard on top ...
the recipe was a HUGE success for Thanksgiving that year ... but ...
I haven't seen anything close to that recipe since ... we moved from that house and I lost the recipe I had ... it came from a newpiece about how the pilgrams cooked pumpkin pye ... before the advent of crusts!
anyone? | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 10/30/2009 6:37:43 PM | Well thanks all I appreciate your contributions! My pumpkins are not "huge" but definately bigger than lil pie pumpkins. I think I will just play this by ear and see how it goes. Nothing to lose right? lol...Happy Halloweenie all!  | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 10/30/2009 7:09:33 PM | OH MY GOODNESS MOLLY....I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!
That has to be the best new idea I have ever heard for pumpkins. I am very intrigued and I am going straight to research, or if nothing else, I am going to trial and error cook it.
I have baked in pumpkins before and they collapse if cooked very long, so I have to figure out how a sliceable custard worked with this. A few questions...
1. Did you cover it with the pumpkin lid, or foil or anything?
2. Did you put water in the pan the pumpkin sat in?
3. Was there anything differetn about the custard recipe than just regular custard?
4. Did you have to do anything tio the inside of the pumpkin before adding the custard?
5. Was it the regular pie pumpkin size, like 8" to 12" wide size?
I cannot wait to do this.
SS  | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 10/30/2009 7:50:23 PM | Holy schmolly, first hit!! And it is even better than I expected! I am so happy!!
Thai Custard-Filled Pumpkin
1 small pumpkin
5 duck eggs plus 1 chicken egg to make 1 cup
1 cup palm sugar or brown sugar
1 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Do not beat eggs. Use fork to mix eggs and sugar. Add coconut milk. Strain mixture.
Cut off lid of pumpkin. Remove seeds. Put boiling water in steamer. Place pumpkin in steamer for 3 to 5 minutes to heat. Pour mixture into pumpkin. Steam for about 30 minutes.
To serve warm or cold, cut into wedges like a pie, serving both the custard and the pumpkin meat.
NOTE: This may also be made using a young coconut instead of a pumpkin.
RECIPE for WHOLE PUMPKIN BAKED with CUSTARD
Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Serves 4
1 small pumpkin, preferably a 'sugar' pumpkin or a 'pie pumpkin' or anything other than a pumpkin whose destiny is a jack o'lantern
CUSTARD (makes about 2 cups liquid)
3 eggs, whisked well
1 cup cream (sorry, half & half doesn't thicken well)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon dry sherry (optional but nice)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 tablespoon butter, in tiny cubes
Preheat the oven to 350F or 400F. Wash the outside of the pumpkin very well. Carefully insert a knife into the flesh to cut off the 'top'. Remove and discard the seeds (or save them for Spicy Sweet Pumpkin Seeds) and the pumpkin 'gunk' inside.
Whisk together the custard ingredients, then pour into the pumpkin. Sprinkle the butter cubes over top. Place the stem-top back onto the pumpkin and transfer to a baking dish. Bake for about 90 minutes or until the custard is firm. (Check after 60 minutes but both pumpkins I cooked took a full 90 minutes.)
To serve, use long-stemmed spoons (such as iced tea spoons) to share, scooping up bits of the cooked pumpkin along with custard.
NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 361 Calories; 27g Tot Fat; 17g Sat Fat; 247mg Cholesterol; 100mg Sodium; 21g Carb; 0g Fiber; 17g Sugar; 6g Protein; Weight Watchers 9 points (yikes, that's way more than I'd have guessed, it's one of the reasons why I'm running a poll, asking where we'd like to see nutrition information).
TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION
Adapted from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American by Jeff Smith, 1987
KITCHEN NOTES
This recipe was tested at both 350F and 400F, both worked fine. It's a good excuse to roast some butternut squash at the same temperature.
***Not sure why he would not slice this, unless he was thinking about those sugar pumpkins, because those would be individual servings.
Whole Baked Custard Pumpkin
1 small sugar pumpkin 6 eggs 2 cups heavy whipping cream 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1 tablespoon molasses 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1 tablespoon butter
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Cut the lid off the pumpkin and remove the seeds.
Combine the eggs, whipping cream, brown sugar, molasses, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. Pour mixture into the pumpkin shell and top the butter. Replace lid on pumpkin and place in a baking pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until mixture has set like a custard. Serve right from the pumpkin at the table, scraping some of the meat from the pumpkin wall with each serving.
I can die happy now LOLOL
SS | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 10/31/2009 10:01:38 AM | | If they have been in the yard...and carved...throw them away...consider how many animals have pissed on them while they were out there.... | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 11/2/2009 3:20:16 PM | OK,, Pumpkin update..
I hacked up the huge pumpkin we had for Halloween and cooked it yesterday. Today I pureed it in the food processor and got about 24 or 25 cups of cooked pumpkin.
It wasn't stringy at all, guess I got lucky there. Woo-hoo!
Put it all in the freezer, except for what I used to make two pies, which just came out of the oven, smelling good!
tb | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 11/2/2009 3:33:52 PM | i saw this on tv once....long ago..........i thought it looked ok then.....but the more i think about it...i think it would be great............i cant remember many details.........so i'll throw out the very basics...........i'm sure miss salmon will give it some thought and fill in all the blanks.....[ty btw....i need the help]
anyway.....the guy took a couple of small pumpkins........cantelope sized ones.....and said its best with smaller pumpkins........and if you use the tiny ones...you can make indivudal servings....
anyway...after cleaning them........he simply filled them with baked beans[sweet baked beans?????] and salty ham....he did insist on "salty country ham"...and not to use "city ham".........he roasted them at..........if i remember right.........an hour at 350%
all i know is the more i think about it...the more i want to try it
oh.....he served it simply by scooping out the ham, beans and cooked pumpkin into a dish....served fresh butter bread with it.....it looked great | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 11/2/2009 4:21:19 PM | MMMM rax, sounds good. I have cooked many thngs in pumpkins, but never baked beans. You should go for it.
TB, I am sooooooo jealous!!! I always get stringy ones LOL well, almost always.
SS | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 11/7/2009 1:45:48 PM | THANK YOU, Smiling Salmon!
I think what I did was more along the lines of the one you called "Whole Pumpkin Baked with Custard!"
I'd been reading about Pilgrams and how they didn't use pie crusts ... and I just threw it together ... and I definitely would have used cream instead of milk ... and lots of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves ... I doubt if I would have added the wine, molassas or ginger ... but only cuz I don't like them! I don't remember using butter either ... as we ate our slices of pye ... everyone was scooping down into the baked pumpkin to blend it with the custard ... that was a wild and crazy time!
this was back when my 2nd husband and I had just married, combining my 2 teen-agers with his 3 teen-agers and then had another baby! our holidays were all fairly ENORMOUS ... my ex-husband was dating a woman with 5 little girls, his ex-wife was dating a man with a teen-aged daughter ... and everyone including all kinds of grandparents came to our house!
I really miss those days.
if anyone shows up this year, maybe I'll try it again ... THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!! | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 11/7/2009 1:59:38 PM | on the other hand ... the Thai version sounds a little more healthful! and interesting!
thanks for the info! again! | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 11/7/2009 5:29:52 PM | My goodness Molly, you did have fun and a house full of kids! That is how it was when I was little, LOTS of kids. It seems like there just aren't a lot of kids anymore, but actually, I don't think that is true. I think it is just that people with kids just do not get together anymore, or have family gatherings.
I am thinking I may make the custard for a Thanksgiving Dinner I am going to, or something in pumpkins. So, you made yours like the 3rd recipe I have up there?
SS | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 11/8/2009 11:43:02 AM | the 2nd or 3rd one both sound about right ... I don't have a recipe ... I got the idea from an article about Pilgram times when they baked "pumpkin pyes" primatively without crusts ... or temperature controls or timers on their ovens!
when I cook, I generally use a recipe as a "guidelines" ... but throw whatever into it that seems good at the time ... my kids used to say, "WRITE THIS ONE DOWN!" knowing full well that I wouldn't ... | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 11/8/2009 12:00:45 PM | I recall once seeing a pumpkin recipe using the chinese 5 spice.
Anyone ever tried this with success? | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 11/8/2009 1:01:08 PM | You bet Tigress, all the time!  They are perfect together!
SS | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 11/8/2009 4:23:39 PM | | I just found these forums & am in Heaven! Thank you all for the recipes & inspiration. I too am a devoted foodie & somewhat creative cook (by necessity), so I'm really looking forward to joining in the fun around here. | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 11/8/2009 4:43:56 PM | Welcome Cowgirl! 
Jump right in. 
Anyone with a name like Cowgirl has to have great recipes!
SS | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 11/8/2009 4:49:05 PM | Loves me some pumpkin. I'm a pumpkin eating fool. I wish I had something to contribute. Cannot waite to make a lot of the recipes from this thread. Thanks for starting it.  | |
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| Pumpkins!!!
Posted: 11/8/2009 6:12:04 PM | Venison and Pumpkin Curry
1 pound venison/goat/lamb
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 large tomatoes, peeled and seeded
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound diced pumpkin (or other winter squash)
1 habanero chile, seeded and diced (optional)
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Put the cubed meat into aa large bowl along with the spices, salt and pepper. mix well to combine the spices and coat the meat. Refregerate, covered, for at least one hour. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil. When the oil is just beginning to smoke, add the meat and cook until well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Add the onion, tomatoes, and tomato paste, and continue to cook, stirring, for four minutes, or until the onions are limp. Add the garlic and continue to cook for one minute. Add the pumpkin,. chile and chicken stock, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently for 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender. Stir in the cilantro and serve with lots of rice. | |
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