Seasonal Recipes | Seed Simple

Squash and Mushroom soup, curried

January 21, 2009 By Lynea Newcomer Leave a Comment

Eating seasonally here in southeastern PA extends beyond frozen and canned delights from the last sunny days of autumn. Thanks to local orchards’ squash production and our prolific mushroom industry (mushroom capitalal of the world!), my meals have been colorful and fresh. Try this curried soup for some mid-winter spice. I would have loved an arugula salad alongside this dish, but alas, the single- and teen-digit temperatures of last week crisped my cold frame plantings just enough to do them in. I’ll have to mulch them next time around.

According to the Mollie Katzen’s Moosewood Cookbook, you’ll need:

2 medium acorn or butternut squash (I used ambercup, which store fabulously); 2 1/2 cups water (I used chicken stock from one of our own birds, embellishing upon Katzen’s vegetarian recipe); 1 cup orange juice; 1 Tbs butter or oil; 1 cup chopped onion; 2 medium cloves garlic, crushed; 1 1/4 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp ground cumin (or more – make sure your spices are fresh); 1/2 tsp coriander; 1/2 tsp cinnamon; 1 tsp ginger (I fresh-grated mine); 1/4 tsp dry mustard; 1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced; a few dashes cayenne; fresh lemon/lime juice and yogurt – optional, but put on as toppings, these make the soup extra tasty.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Split the squash lengthwise, remove seeds, and place face-down on a lightly oiled tray. Bake until soft, about 1/2 hour or a bit more. Cool, then scoop out the insides. Measure out 3 cups’-worth, place in a food processor or blender with the stock/water and puree until smooth. Transfer to a kettle and stir in the orange juice.

Heat the butter or oil in a skillet, and add onion, garlic, salt and spices. Saute over medium heat until the onion is very soft, about 8 minutes. I needed to add a bit of water to keep this from sticking to my pan. Add mushroom, cover and cook 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Add the saute to the squash, scraping the skillet well to salvage all the good stuff. Add cayenne and heat gently. Once it is hot, taste it to correct the seasonings – maybe more salt? This is rather sweet, so use lemon juice and yogurt to make it suit your fancy.

*NOTE* – The mushroom industry booms around here in large part due to the availability of straw from horse operations. Mushroom companies pull up to the abundant various horse riding venues (stables, arenas, etc.) after establishing a relationship with the owner, and cart away large dump-truck loads of horse-poop enriched straw material, usually weekly. The use of a waste product to create further products intrigues me, but as usual the energy/resource equation is more difficult than what at first may seem like a simple add/subtract. Horse activity in concentrated, larger amounts (just like any large-scale animal operation), contributes to land degradation and water supply pollution . . . and mushroom production companies, I am sure, have their own difficulties practicing minimal environmental impact. Yet . . . this loop is pretty close to the ideal “cradle to cradle” notion, wherein no waste is produced.

Filed Under Featured, Seasonal Recipes Tagged With Moosewood Cookbook, Mushroom, Pennsylvania mushrooms, recipe, seasonal eating, soup, squash

Ras el Hanout

January 11, 2009 By Lynea Newcomer Leave a Comment

Completing my undergraduate thesis while working with immigrant school children in Paris, I was embraced into a food culture very different than that of snails, foie gras, and vintage wines. I recall sesame breads and thick Turkish coffee filling the afternoon hunger twangs, and sacred dates shared following sundown during Ramaddan. North African dishes appealed to me the most; the mix of sweet fruits, nuts and spices enlivening meats cooked in tagines awoke new worlds of delight in eating.

Digging into my January resolutions, and thus the chest freezer, I’ve pulled out the vast array of spices from our cabinet depths as well. Roasts are seasonal to my frozen food supply during this point in the year, and here is a recipe to spice up such meals. Ras el Hanout is a mix based on guidance from Paula Wolfert’s Moroccan Cuisine, a cookbook which clearly comes from a host of kitchens throughout the country – in the process letting our curious cooks’ souls into another culture.

Make this spice blend with what you have from the following list (I’ll recommend spice purveyors in the near future), and consider purchasing those you do not currently own. You’ll need a spice blender, or a coffee grinder. After done grinding these spices, Wolfert recommends a separate grinding of cane sugar to clear up any lingering odors in the machine. See how to cook meat with this blend, below.

4 whole nutmegs; 10 rosebuds (go get them from your wintering rose bush); 12 cinnamon sticks; 12 blades mace; 1 tsp aniseed; 8 pieces turmeric (I used the powder, 3 tsp); 2 small pieces orris root; 2 dried cayenne peppers; 1/2 tsp lavender; 1 Tbs white peppercorns; 2 pieces galingale; 2 Tbs whole ginger root; 6 cloves; 24 allspice berries; 20 white or green cardamom pods; 4 black cardamom pods.

Don’t worry! Your grinder will handle all of this! If you can’t fathom this, do it in sections and then add it all together. Dilute 3 Tbs of this spice mix into some water and oil, then slather on your items to be roasted (venison, vegetables, etc.). I cook meats with this at a low temperature (250) for 3 hours or more. Other tasty additions include: 1/2 cup raisins thrown into the mix, some almonds, and honey drizzled over your roasting items.

Serve with couscous so that all flavorful juices find a home in your belly.

Filed Under Featured, Seasonal Recipes Tagged With moroccan cooking, ras el hanout, roast, seasonal food, spice recipe

chow time

January 1, 2009 By Lynea Newcomer Leave a Comment

Eating from our cupboards and freezers is one of my main resolutions for January. All such foods put up during late summer and fall harvests should factor prominently in anyone’s seasonally-minded kitchen from now through March.

So out came my 50-pound bag of flour, and after digging through the chest freezer (whose un-labeled contents now mystify me), frozen sweet corn kernels emerged. A potato and onion were grabbed from their bins, a garlic bulb unlaced, and the chopping knife gleaned in anticipation. Hearty soup and bread were waiting for creation.

For Corn Chowder (2-person recipe) you’ll need: 1/2 yellow onion, chopped; 1 small-medium potato, chopped and boiled till soft; 4 cloves garlic, chopped; 1 rib celery chopped (we had some fennel lying about); 3 Tbs olive oil; 1 tsp thyme leaves; 1 tsp salt; fresh ground pepper; 2 1/2 cups veggie stock; 1 1/2 cups frozen sweet corn kernels; 1/4 cup cream or milk

To prepare, heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic and celery for 5 minutes or until transluscent. Add salt, pepper and thyme, stir in. Add broth, potatoes, frozen corn and other soup items if desired (more veggies?). Let the corn get warm and mixed into soup, over low-medium heat (remember – potatoes are already cooked!). Finally add the cream, stir to combine, then remove half the soup to a blender or food processor to puree. Add puree back to remaining soup, test for seasoning and heat. Serve with the following bread. Consider chopping some roasted red peppers (stored in an olive oil by you back in the fall) to toss on as garnish.

No-Knead bread (Thanks poppa Newc for the recipe!) – these types of bread are quite popular due to much less time spent kneading and generally working the dough. You must adhere to the long resting/rising times, however, to achieve desired results. Bread is an incredibly satisfying, creative food to make – each time you do you’ll be in awe of chemistry.

Stir together: 3 cups un-bleached white flour, a strong teaspoon of salt and a strong 1/4 teaspoon of yeast. Add 1 3/4 cup water to this, and stir all together gently with a wooden spoon, in a large bowl. When the dough has roughly gathered together, put the bowl in a 70 degree room and let it sit for 18 hours (I put my bowl next to our wood stove, on a desk). Cover it with a damp towel or plastic wrap.

Next, knead the dough with a little flour as possible until it gets less sticky (I ended up using more than 2 cups to achieve this). Heat the oven to 450 degrees, with a clay baking dish inside (or a pizza stone). Let the dough rest for 10 – 15 minutes, covered. Spread wheat germ, semolina flour or corn meal on a clean dish towel. Knead the dough into a ball and put on the towel. Put the towelled bread back in the bowl and cover with another moist towel or plastic wrap. When the oven has heated, pull the bread pot out, flip in the dough from the towel, cut a couple shallow slits on the top of the loaf, put the lid back on and cook for 30 minutes. Then cook for 8 to 15 more minutes with the lid off, until it sounds hollow when tapped. Yummy. This bread stays good and moist for several days.

You can also hold back some of the starter that was let sit for the intial 18 hours, refrigerate it, then make another loaf in several days.

Filed Under Featured, Seasonal Recipes Tagged With corn chowder recipe, freezer, no-knead bread recipe, seasonal food

Cranberry apple pie

December 12, 2008 By Lynea Newcomer Leave a Comment

You’d think that our counter-depth model refrigerator would allow for easy visibility of all items, eliminating the four-month-old mold concoctions. Yet some beautiful cranberries I bought much more than a month ago emerged just last week; some rarely-used pre-made miso jars had obscured their bright beauty.

And as both they and the last of my apples were beginning to soften, I decided to make pie. As usual, I didn’t have the quantities for the extensively tested Cook’s Illustrated recipe, but no matter. Less filling makes for more pie crust, a predicament I happen to enjoy. The cranberries become deliciously sweet and tangy here. I also happened to burn mine (distraction coming from who knows what), but some cinnamon ice cream remedied those dry pieces.

You’ll need: (Dough) 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; 2 Tbs sugar; 1 tsp salt; 12 Tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices; 1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces; 1/4 cup cold vodka; 1/4 cup cold water – (Filling) 2 cups frozen or fresh cranberries; 1/4 cup orange juice; 1 cup sugar plus 1 Tbs for top of pie; 1/2 tsp gr. cinnamon; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/4 cup water; 1 Tbs cornstarch; 3 1/2 pounds sweet apples, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices; 1 egg white, beaten lightly.

My notes – I actually found some Spectrum organic vegetable shortening I thought I could live with on the shelves of Kimberton Whole Foods. Made from palm oil, it truly adds a different texture to a pie crust. For apples, I used a yellow variety picked up by way of Inverbrook Farm, which takes deliveries on occasion from North Star Orchard. Also, I used Walt’s Swarmbustin honey in lieu of sugar, and decreased the amount to 3/4 cup – for the filling.

For the dough: process 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar and salt in a food processor until combined, about two 1-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl adn mass of dough ahs been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.

Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into 2 even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

For the Filling: Bring cranberries, juice, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp salt to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally and pressing berries against side of pot, until berries have completely broken down and juices have thickened to jamlike consistency (wooden spoon scraped across bottom should leave clear trail that doesn’t fill in), 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in water and bring to room temperature, about 1/2 hour.

Meanwhile mix 1/2 cup sugar, remaining cinnamon, salt and the cornstarch in a large microwave-safe bowl. Add apples and toss to combine. Microwave on high power, stirring with rubber spatula every 3 minutes until apples are just starting to turn translucent around edges and the liquid in the bowl is thick and glossy (about 10 to 14 minutes). Cool to room temperature.

To assemble: heat the oven to 425 degrees F, with rack at lowest setting. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out on a generously floured work surface to a 12-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin adn unroll into pie plate, leaving a 1-inch overhand. Transfer cooled cranberry mixture to pie plate and spread in even layer. Place apple mixture on top of cranberries. Roll out second disk of dough on generously floured work surface, and place on top of pie. Using kitchen shears or a knife, cut both layers of overhanging dough, leaving a 1/2-inch behind. Fold dough under itself to that edge of fold is flush with outer rim of pie plate. Brush the top with egg white, prick with the tines of a fork, and sprinkle some sugar on top if you want.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes until top is light golden brown, then reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and cook 25 to 30 minutes longer.

Filed Under Featured, Seasonal Recipes Tagged With cranberry apple pie, pie crust, recipe, vodka

Quick bread – cheese-filled

December 11, 2008 By Lynea Newcomer Leave a Comment

I’ve been known to keep books I’ve already read; shelves full of good reads fills a room with friendly vibrations. Imagined or real snippets amble through the air and such rooms lend a perpetual 1,001 Arabian nights story-telling aura.

My kitchen has become no less a storied place. Cookbooks join these shelves a little less frequently, but with even more sensorial depth. Picking up Regional Cuisines of Greece, I can already taste an avgolemono sauce; flipping through Sunday Suppers at Lucques stirs up many a special sauce smell.

A copy of Flatbreads & Flavors: a Baker’s Atlas recently sidled into view, inspired by The Hungry Travelers story in The New Yorker November 24, 2008 edition. Jeffry Alford and Naomi Duguid include succinct yet richly detailed paragraphs of travel notes with each recipe. Each flatbread-type recipe is accompanied by dishes to prepare alongside these delicious breads.

Last night I journeyed with them to Georgia, patting together a quick, cheese-filled bread, known as Khachapuri from Emereti. You’ll need: 4 oz mild cheddar or mozzarella cheese, grated and then finely chopped (scant 1/2 cup); 2 oz feta cheese, well crumbled, approx 3 Tbs (I only had blue cheese, which worked wonderfully); 2 Tbs plain yogurt; 1 large egg; 3 to 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; 1 1/2 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp salt; 2 cups plain yogurt.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly oil two baking sheets. To prepare the cheese filling, blend together all the ingredients in a bowl (cheeses, 2 Tbs yogurt and egg). Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup flour, the baking powder and salt. Add the yogurt and stir well. Then continue stirring in flour until the dough has lost its stickiness and can be worked with your hands. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 3 to 4 minutes, until soft and slightly elastic.

Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Keeping the remaining pieces covered with a cloth, work with one piece of dough at a time. Flatten the dough with the lightly floured palm of your hand. Then, either stretching the dough or using a small rolling pin, flatten it out to a round about 6 to 8 inches in diameter. Place 1 heaping Tbs of the cheese filling in the center of the dough. Pinch an edge of the dough between your thumb and forefinger and stretch it halfway over the filling to the center of the dough round. Then pinch the edge an eighth of a turn along from the first position and bring it to the center. Continue all the way around the circle, stretching the dough as you do so, and pleating it over the filling, until you have a dough-covered mound. Pinch the pleats closed, adn then, with the palm of your hand, gently press down on the top of the mound to flatten it. Turn the bread over and gently press down again on the other side. This will push the filling out into the edges of the bread; it should be 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick and 7 to 8 inches in diameter.

Place the bread on a prepared baking sheet and continue making breads until the first baking sheet is full. Bake breads for 5 to 6 minutes, then remove from oven, slide into a basket lined with cloth, and cover to keep warm. Prepare the remainder.

Filed Under Featured, Seasonal Recipes Tagged With cheese, flatbread, quick bread, recipe, soup, yogurt

I’m so sorry arteries

December 9, 2008 By Lynea Newcomer 2 Comments

The recipe had a healthy enough start: cook multiple sweet onions, sliced, overnight in a crock pot, with a couple dabs of butter. Put in a pan, braise a couple of times with water, then braise with 1/2 cup of white wine. Add some good beef stock, bay leaf, fresh thyme sprigs, salt and pepper . . . simmer . . .

And then came the artery blocker, a usual culprit in my house: CHEESE! FROMAGE! QUESO!! Yes, the onion soup was ladled into small ramekins, topped with dried-out baguette and topped twice over with grated Gruyere. Clearly I have visited Talula’s Table one to many times in recent days, as evidenced by these cheese snack photos . . . from subsequent days I admit.

Filed Under Seasonal Recipes Tagged With cheese, onion soup, recipes, Talula's Table

Udon noodlicious

December 7, 2008 By Lynea Newcomer Leave a Comment

If there were a Thai or Japanese restaurant located within 5 miles of our home, I may have delayed experimenting with Udon noodles for a while. But as bored and impatient (or, alternatively, curious and hungry) taste buds frequently determine the course of a day’s cooking for me, dinner took a decidedly different turn from my traditionally rolled semolina noodles. Saveur magazine provided a recipe, and away into stomping noodle land I went. Here’s how it went:

You’ll need: 2/3 cup plus 1 Tbs water; 1Tbs salt; 3 cups udon flour (I used a high-gluten flour instead)

Mix salt in water. Put udon flour into bowl, slowly add water/salt mix and stir until crumbly, and finally forms ball. Wrap in plastic and let rest a half hour. Roll dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Sprinkle with flour, and fold dough into pleats – gently! About 4 or 5 of them. Cut dough into ribbons, dust with flour again, and cook in boiling water. Add 1 cup cold water after a minute, bring to a boil, then add another cup cold water, bring to a boil. Fresh noodles should cook in 7 to 8 minutes.

NOTES: I didn’t have time to let the dough rest as it was already 8 p.m. As a result, I had a hard time rolling it out, and took to an idea I read about awhile back: walking on the noodles. I placed the dough in between two pieces of plastic wrap and put a plastic matted placemat on either side of this sandwich, then walked gently on it. It approached the level of interaction people must feel with surfing, I suppose. I folded the dough over a couple of times and walked some more, then was able to roll it on the counter to a 1/8 inch thickness.

I highly recommend serving these noodles the first time around in a soup broth. Make sure to cut thin! I cut mine a bit too thick (wide).

Filed Under Seasonal Recipes Tagged With knead, noodles, recipe, saveur, Udon

December local food potluck – roasted apple and ice cream recipe

December 3, 2008 By Lynea Newcomer Leave a Comment

Tomorrow night, the Buy Fresh, Buy Local Chester County group will present the results of a Feedability study conducted back in September, in which area farms, businesses and restaurants, amongst other folks, were interviewed to assemble information on this county’s food production potential. The results will soon be published in a handout, thanks to a grant received by Food Routes to assess Chester County’s current local food system.

The evening’s visitors to Inverbrook Farm will first partake of feasting, as per usual. I’ve selected an apple dish, as I am still in possession of some locally grown, fall-harvested specimens. Suzanne Goin’s Sunday Suppers at Lucques continues as my kitchen bible; hope these tastes find a home on your tongue soon as well!

Roasted Apples with Calvados and Cinnamon Ice Cream – you’ll need: 1 vanilla bean (I used vanilla ??); 8 Tbs unsalted butter; 6 small baking apples; 2 Tbs granulated sugar; 2 Tbs brown sugar (again, honey for me); 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg; 2 Tbs Calvados (go look in a good liquor store); 1/4 tsp salt; 2 cups whole milk (I used Natural by Nature, locally produced); 2 cups heavy cream; 2 cinnamon sticks; 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon; 4 extra-large egg yolks; 1/2 cup granulated sugar (honey for me).

Apples – slice the vanilla bean lengthwise down the center, and use a paring knife to scrape the seeds and pulp into the butter. Run your vanilla-coated knife through the butter. Add the vanilla pod to the pan, and cook the butter and vanilla over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the butter browns and smells nutty. Remove from the heat, and discard the vanilla pod.

Cut the apples in half through the core, carefully remove the core and seeds with a paring knife. Toss the apples in a large bowl with the sugars, brown butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, Calvados and salt. Arrange the appples, cut side up, in a roasting pan. Top each half with the remaining sugar mixture from the mixing bowl. Bake the apples about 40 minutes at 425 degrees F, basting them wiht the pan juices every 10 minutes until the flesh has pulled away from the skin and the apples are tender and carmelized. Arrange them on a large platter and pour all remaining juices over them . Serve with cinnamon ice cream (below) and glasses of Calvados.

Ice Cream – Place the milk, cream, cinnamon sticks, and ground cinnamon in a medium pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn off the heat, cover and let the flavors infuse about 30 minutes. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl. Whisk a few tablespoons of the warm cream mixture into the yolks to temper them. Slowly add another 1/4 cup or so of the warm cream, whisking to incorporate. At this point, you can add the rest of the cream mixture in a slow steady stream, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the pot and return to the stove.

Cook the custard over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes, stirring with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan. The custard will thicken, and when it’s done will coat the back of the spatula. Strain (important step! – push it through a fine-sieve with a spatula) it and chill at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. The base should be very cold before you churn it. Process in an ice cream maker.

Filed Under Events, Seasonal Recipes Tagged With Calvados, cinnamon ice cream, Food Routes, recipe

Sweet potatoes with dates

December 2, 2008 By Lynea Newcomer Leave a Comment

An unusually eager victim of cookbook envy, I braved the Amazonian world of literature in order to procure a copy of Shakespeare’s Kitchen. Scouring the used copies for distribution located close to me, I actually found one in Pennsylvania, Chester County no less. Now, despite my glutinous feelings towards individually shipped items, I am the satisfied purchaser of one ex-library copy. Never though I’d own one of those plastic hardcovers.

Sweet potatoes picked up at Kimberton Whole Foods formed a hefty inspirational base for cooking, and some leftover plastic-bagged dates – bulk purchased goodies that hadn’t yet found their way into my baking repertoire. Here is a sweet dish that, as the book notes, did not exist at that time, as potatoes were not yet common. However, the flavors are historically accurate.

You’ll need: 2 large sweet potatoes, bake; 1/2 cup lemon liquor (such as limoncello – I didn’t have this and used lemon zest instead, about 1 tsp); 1/2 teaspoon ground mace; 8 pitted dates, chopped; 1/2 tsp salt; 1 Tbs butter; 2 Tbs light brown sugar ( I used honey, like always).

Peel the sweet potatoes and slice in circles. Preheat the broiler. Puree the lemon liqueur, mace, dates and salt until smooth. Place the puree in a saucepan and boil for 2 minutes. Place the sweet potatoes in a well-buttered baking dish and spread the puree over them. Dot the butter over the potatoes and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the edges and topping are golden brown.

Filed Under Seasonal Recipes Tagged With dates, recipe, Shakespeare's Kitchen, sweet potatoes

thanks to life

November 27, 2008 By Lynea Newcomer Leave a Comment

Being assigned a Thanksgiving dish to cook for dinners while growing up in Ohio prematurely filled me with a mixture of pride and apprehension. Would I forget an ingredient? Would I burn my masterpiece? Such worries may still occupy my brain today, but a couple decades hence more pervasive feelings of deep appreciation constitute the warm buzz enveloping Thanksgiving Day’s atmosphere.

My grandma Newc shadows me on this day, the family member who created family dinners most frequently, and who I know still cherishes our family’s get-togethers in spirit. Clinking her crystal a bit as I set the holiday table with special china, this was actually but one day in the many weeks per year my family joined with her and grandpa Art for meals; the ritual of our shared eating was heightened by repeated smells: lamb at Easter, turkey at Thanksgiving, ham at Christmas.

A high school friend of my mother’s has just reached me, and I am most thankful today to hopefully commence a correspondence with someone special to my mother. Her death 17 years ago remains devastating, but holds the hope of being enriching as others carry her in their memories. So thank you Josette for saying hello.

Today Michael and I will join with Timothy and his family for the traditional dinner. Assigned dessert, I picked up the pumpkin pie squash stored atop a dog cage (wire structure provides good ventilation around the squash), and proceeded to cut, roast and puree it. Only the lower bulbous portion contains seeds, making this an easy squash to prepare. For ideas on using winter squash, see this Winter Squash Glossary, compiled by Culinate.

Cook’s Illustrated Fall Entertaining magazine, lent to me by the wonderful Anne Moss, held the recipe for a pumpkin cheesecake. Thanks to our laying chickens, I had 5 fabulous eggs ready and waiting; the hens have pumped up their production of late, which is a bit odd since daylight hours – the most influential tidbit to their laying schedule – are decreasing. Check out the magazine’s web site for more great ideas. They have THOROUGHLY researched the how-to of every recipe, and despite the fact that I usually have to adjust something or other due to lack of an ingredient or two, they usually offer insight into just such situations.

Makes one 9-inch cake, serving 12 to 16. Published November 1, 2003.

Depending on the oven and the temperature of the ingredients, the cheesecake may bake about 15 minutes faster or slower than the instructions indicate; it is therefore best to check the cake 1 1/4 hours into baking. Although the cheesecake can be made up to three days in advance, the crust will begin to lose its crispness after only one day. To make slicing the cheesecake easy and neat, use a knife with a narrow blade, such as a carving knife; between cuts, dip the blade into a pitcher of hot water and wipe it clean with paper towels. The cheesecake is good on its own, but the Brown Sugar and Bourbon Cream (recipe follows) is a grand addition.

Ingredients

Crust
5	ounces graham crackers (9 whole crackers), broken into large pieces
3	tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2	teaspoon ground ginger
1/2	teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4	teaspoon ground cloves
6	tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
Filling
1 1/3	cups granulated sugar (10 1/3 ounces)
1	teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2	teaspoon ground ginger
1/4	teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4	teaspoon ground cloves
1/4	teaspoon allspice
1/2	teaspoon table salt
	1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
1 1/2	pounds cream cheese , cut into 1-inch chunks and left to soften at room temperature, about 30 minutes
1	tablespoon vanilla extract
1	tablespoon lemon juice from 1 lemon
5	large eggs , left at room temperature, about 30 minutes
1	cup heavy cream

Instructions

1. FOR THE CRUST: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray bottom and sides of 9-inch springform pan evenly with nonstick cooking spray. Pulse crackers, sugar, and spices in food processor until evenly and finely ground, about fifteen 2-second pulses. Transfer crumbs to medium bowl, drizzle melted butter over, and mix with rubber spatula until evenly moistened. Turn crumbs into prepared springform pan and, using hand, spread crumbs into even layer. Using flat-bottomed ramekin or drinking glass, press crumbs evenly into pan bottom, then use a soup spoon to press and smooth crumbs into edges of pan. Bake until fragrant and browned about the edges, about 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack while making filling.
2. FOR THE FILLING: Bring about 4 quarts water to simmer in stockpot. Whisk sugar, spices, and salt in small bowl; set aside. To dry pumpkin (see illustrations below): Line baking sheet with triple layer of paper towels. Spread pumpkin on paper towels in roughly even layer. Cover pumpkin with second triple layer of paper towels and press firmly until paper towels are saturated. Peel back top layer of towels and discard. Grasp bottom towels and fold pumpkin in half; peel back towels. Repeat and flip pumpkin onto baking sheet; discard towel.
3. In standing mixer fitted with flat beater, beat cream cheese at medium speed to break up and soften slightly, about 1 minute. Scrape beater and bottom and sides of bowl well with rubber spatula. Add about one third of sugar mixture and beat at medium-low speed until combined, about 1 minute; scrape bowl and add remaining sugar in two additions, scraping bowl after each addition. Add pumpkin, vanilla, and lemon juice and beat at medium speed until combined, about 45 seconds; scrape bowl. Add 3 eggs and beat at medium-low until incorporated, about 1 minute; scrape bowl. Add remaining 2 eggs and beat at medium-low until incorporated, about 45 seconds; scrape bowl. Add heavy cream and beat at low speed until combined, about 45 seconds. Using rubber spatula, scrape bottom and sides of bowl and give final stir by hand.
4. Set springform pan with cooled crust on 18-inch-square doubled layer heavy-duty foil and wrap bottom and sides with foil; set wrapped springform pan in roasting pan. Pour filling into springform pan and smooth surface; set roasting pan in oven and pour enough boiling water to come about halfway up side of springform pan. Bake until center of cake is slightly wobbly when pan is shaken, and center of cake registers 145 to 150 degrees on instant-read thermometer, about 1 1/2 hours (see note). Set roasting pan on wire rack and use paring knife to loosen cake from sides of pan. Cool until water is just warm, about 45 minutes. Remove springform pan from water bath, discard foil, and set on wire rack; continue to cool until barely warm, about 3 hours. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or up to 3 days.
5. TO SERVE: Slide thin metal spatula between crust and pan bottom to loosen, then slide cake onto serving platter. Let cheesecake stand at room temperature about 30 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve.

Filed Under Seasonal Recipes Tagged With cooks illustrated, pumpkin cheesecake, recipe, squash, thanksgiving