Thursday, October 27, 2011

FFwD: Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good

When I told Matt we were having Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good (pg 364 of Around My French Table) for dinner, the semi-annoyed look on his face revealed his suspicions that I was not-so-smoothly masking a recipe that fills pumpkin with liver and maggots.

"Everything good? Like what?" he asked slowly. For a split second, I was tempted to list all his most loathed foods. "Oh, don't worry, honey, I just threw beets, mushrooms, cottage cheese, crappy chocolate, and mango into a pumpkin and let her bake." Instead I told him the truth: bread and cheese and bacon, lots of garlic and scallions and cream. "Oh," he said. "That is all good."

Boy, was it ever! It's the comfiest of comfort foods.
 Dorie suggest several methods of serving this. I went with the option to scrape the pumpkin flesh into its lovely molten filling, mix it all up, and scoop it into bowls. It didn't look pretty by the time I was done with it, but it tasted amazing. I'm sad that it took me 31 years to find this recipe. I'm already thinking of variations I want to try next time. For one thing, I think I'd prefer sweet sausage instead of bacon, because bacon is best when it's crispy, and this was pretty flacid after its two-hour bath in cream and pumpkin juice. Toasted pecans would be awesome, as would dried cranberries and apples and corn bread and corn, and the list goes on and on.

Matt wants to serve this with Thanksgiving dinner. If I had two ovens, I'd agree. I don't see any workable way to cook this and a turkey and have them both be finished at the same time. I'll definitely be serving this during Thanksgiving week, though. In fact, I may be serving this once every week while pumpkins are in season.

Dorie says it's better to eat this fresh than to have leftovers. Perhaps that's true, but the leftovers are still pretty damn good.

Conclusion: LOVE IT.

For book club last night, I baked Lime-Marshmallow Pie (pg 77 of Ready for Dessert). It was good, but there were a number of things I would change about it. For one thing, three tablespoons of melted butter was not enough to moisten 1.5 cups of graham cracker crumbs. It looked dry to me, but I thought maybe when I pre-baked the crust, the butter would melt and fuse the crumbs together, so I didn't add more. In the finished product, there was a thick layer of loose graham cracker crumbs under the pie.
It looked so pretty before I cut it.
The ratio of crust to filling seemed off. The lime custard did not go very far. I would prefer more lime custard and less graham cracker.

The marshmallow topping tasted good (homemade marshmallows always do, though, don't they?), but it was extraordinarily difficult to slice. Between the un-crusty crust, the invisible custard, and the way the marshmallow stuck to the knife, these slices win no awards for presentation.
Yikes.
Conclusion: Don't get me wrong, this did taste good. There was only one slice left by the end of the night. However, I would be very surprised if the crust was supposed to come out as it did, and the custard was completely dwarfed by the graham and the marshmallow. When I eat a pie, I think that most of my bites should include filling. More often than not, I found myself rolling marshmallow in the crumbs, without any custard to be found. I'm going to label this one Just Okay.

32 comments:

  1. I'm so glad to know that I wasn't the only one gushing about this recipe...I'm waiting to see if anyone doesn't actually like it (gasp)! I'm sadder than you because it took me a longer time to discover this deliciousness, and have already made it 3 times in a week to make up for lost time. Going to try mushing it up your way too because it looks waay too tempting...

    Your lime marshmallow pie looks amazing from the top, and if it tastes great too, then who really cares what it looks like when you cut into it?

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  2. the pumpkin recipe sounds awesome- will have to track it down. There are sometimes little sugar pumpkins for sale at the farmer's mkt - did you use those? it sounds perfect. As a life long key lime pie aficianado not sure I would have been pleased by the lime pie, though, that is alot of crumbs in your pic. Would have been comparing it to the best key lime pies, which have scant whipped cream or meringue topping and a scant buttery graham crumb crust with a rich dense filling. But its an interesting idea to pair with marshmallows, esp. if the filling was not sweet.

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  3. Wonder what the pumpkin would be like with polenta? anyway am looking for the recipe, if you have a link can you send?

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  4. this has NPR's seal of approval!
    http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130704456

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  5. Funny :-) Glad you enjoyed it!
    I figured you would appreciate my week as a NY girl in the "heart" of TX. I stopped by Dillard's yesterday & was perusing their selection of TX themed copper cookie cutters (all extra large, of course). It's ok here, but I am chomping at the bit to get on that plane headed back East tomorrow night.
    Have a great weekend.

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  6. I like your pumpkin, but I LOVE your pie - swoon!

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  7. I can attest that sausage and apples are fabulous in the pumpkin recipe. I love bacon, but the sausage is just amazing in this recipe!

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  8. Wow..yours looks delish..you are so creative. I followed her recipe to the dot :) except that I used half a japanese pumpkin :) Love it too !

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  9. I'm so happy you liked this one! Sausage must definitely be awesome in the pumpkin. I was too lazy to fry up bacon so I sliced up some Spanish ham and it worked out fine. I'm a big fan of lemon/lime pies and your marshmallow topping browned up beautifully. With extra custard it could definitely be salvaged.

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  10. Ha! The stuffing is what sold it for me as well. Great post!

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  11. We loved the pumpkin here! I can't wait to try out some of the variations. The cranberries sound awesome!
    Your pie looks amazing. What if you did it as individual tarts? Then you wouldn't have any slicing to worry about.

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  12. Yea leftover tasted good the next day...I just warm them up in the microwave. I am glad you love it too. It was a hit with my hubby :)

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  13. Your stuffed pumpkin looks great and I agree with the leftovers. I used big chunks of ham in mine and it was terrific!

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  14. These are good pumpkins, however I enjoyed your pie post. I had just turned to that same recipe and I'm so glad to know how it worked for you...because I had been assigned to make this type of pie for a party. So now, because of you, I'll make it better.

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  15. Loved this one, too...and your pie is gorgeous!

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  16. I totally agree. This is a great pumpkin recipe. And the first one I've found that tasted so well. Great job.

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  17. Ha, I love 4 out of those 5 things you told Matt you were putting in the pumpkin! (But ... not in pumpkin) I loved this too - next time I will have to try scraping all the pumpkin guts into the filling. Mmm.

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  18. We loved this too. Agree that it is great comfort food and autumn is all about appreciating comfort food again (and the long time we have before bathing suit season rolls around..:) I also was very distracted by that gorgeous pie shot. Love the pie and I would have taken a spoon by myself to the bottom of that pan to eat the crust - great job !

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  19. I love your idea of tormenting hubby with the ingredients. Unfortunately,
    sans the maggots, my hubby loves it all including the liver. I agree,
    we hope to use this at Thanksgiving. Great Photos.

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  20. I laughed out loud at your list of DH's non-favorite foods...I think he and my husband must be twins, separated at birth! I'm definitely making this again for thanksgiving, the turkey is being cooked sous vide so I have a little room in the oven next to the stuffing and scalloped potatoes!

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  21. Must. Not. Comment. About. "flaccid bacon".

    Your pumpkin came out great! I'm making this again this weekend, with sausage and apples added to the mix.

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  22. You know what's funny? There are many recipes that Dorie says that the leftovers aren't as great the next day and often I don't find that the leftovers don't hold up well,... granted nothing is quite as great the next day except maybe chili... but we kept this for leftovers too and it was pretty tasty! :)

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  23. Great Post! And commentary on what everything good is.....how do you like the Ferran Adria book - I have it and have browsed it but have not fallen in love with anything yet....any suggestions?

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  24. My absolute favorite so far from Adria's book is the Pasta Bolognese. Also enjoyed the Polenta with Parmesan, The Pork Loin with Red peppers, Mexican style chicken with Rice, and Santiago Cake.

    My main complaint with the book is that, where I am, it's not so easy to come across whole mackerel and lamb necks. I can't get the ingredients for a whole chunk of recipes. Not cool.

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  25. Yes, we are both over-the-top about this Recipe. I'm not so sure I would ever mix everything together. Just slicing the softened pumpkin and serving the mixture on top worked for me. I didn't think the served pieces were particularly pretty on the plate but it all tasted delicious. I liked your variation suggestions - corn and corn bread. Great idea.

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  26. I was laughing with your threats of stuffing ingredients for Matt. I have to agree with him, cottage cheese is one food I can't abide. I can't even look at it. I'm glad yours came out so well. I actually thought this was fine as leftovers. Maybe you could make it the day before Thanksgiving and still have it on your menu? Did your book club read something good? I'm always looking for good recommendations. Happy Friday.

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  27. This is a great holiday meal choice, but you're right, you need a guest with a nearby oven to bake either the turkey or pumpkin.

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  28. I'm sending the turkeys outside (one smoked, one grilled, one deep-fried) to make room! I made mine with Cajun cornbread dressing delicious.

    Glad you enjoyed this. Yours looks delicious!

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  29. I didn't even think about how long it would take to bake if this were made at Thanksgiving. Hmm...I'm going to have to figure something out. We enjoyed this one as well and there are just so many variations that would be good. Your pie is beautiful and sounds so delicious

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  30. Yes, I agree with everything! This recipe was delicious, and even as I was brushing the crumbs off my face I was already drooling over some of Dorie's suggested Bonne Idees. Sausage will definitely be making an appearance in my future pumpkins as well.

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  31. I had trouble with that same graham cracker pie crust in Ready for Dessert - I'm glad I'm not the only one...Glad you enjoyed the pumpkin, I like the look of everything all mixed together!

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