EDF Cooking Contest--Pumpkin Challenge

[Mrs. Utah]

<font color="orange">SPICY GRILLED CHICKEN WITH PUMPKIN MOLE</font>

<font color="orange"> MOLE </font>

Seed 2 dried ancho chiles and break into pieces. Put pieces into a pot on medium high heat and press with a fork for 2 minutes until chiles become more pliable and slightly toasted. Remove from pot and put chiles into a bowl and cover with hot water for 30 minutes.



In the same pot add 2T vegetable oil, 1-1inch thick slice of white onion that the rings have been separated, and 2 cloves of peeled garlic over medium heat. Cook until browned 4-5 minutes. Put onion and garlic into food processor. In same pot add 1 2 inch thick slice of white bread without the crust and brown on each side, approx 30 sec. per side. Put bread in the processor with the onion and garlic. Add 1 can on diced drained tomatoes to the processor and process until smooth. Place tomato mixture into a bowl .Do not rinse the processor bowl.





To the processor add drained ancho chiles, 1/2 c chicken stock and 2 canned chipoltle chiles and blend until smooth.



Add 1T vegetable oil to the pot over medium high heat. Add Ancho chile puree and cook until it thickens, approx 1 1/2-2 minutes. Add tomato puree and simmer until thick, stirring frequently about 4-5 minutes.
Add 1 cup canned pumpkin (yes, canned), and 3c chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until mole thickens and reduces, about 30 minutes.
Wisk in 1/3c heavy cream, approx.1T dark brown sugar, approx. 1/4c bittersweet chocolate chips. Stir and taste, adding sugar and or chocolate to taste. I like mine a little sweet.

<font color="orange"> SPICY CHICKEN</font>

To make the chipoltle glaze add 2 canned chipoltle chiles and 2T vegetable oil to a small food process or blender and puree. Force puree through a sieve to make a thick glaze.

Spread glaze over boneless skinless chicken breasts and salt. Grill approx 5 minutes per side.




Serve chicken with mole sauce on the side. I also served with rice that I simply added chopped cilantro and lime juice to and garnished the chicken with cilantro and lime.






Both the chicken and mole have a decent bite to them so the rice was a nice neutral side. Both Utah and I liked the mole mixed with the rice.
I also like that it can be made with canned pumpkin that can be found year round.This really reminded me of a summer dish. It would be great with an avocado salad and margaritas.

[Mermade]

[ QUOTE ]
I know that they do make smaller silpats. I'm really not a very avid (or skilled) baker, but if you use a silpat, does it matter much what your cookiesheet looks like? I never really thought about it, but if you have silicon insulating the cookies from the pan, it also shouldn't matter much how well the sheet conducts heat. Right?

[/ QUOTE ]

Right. The thing is that the pans I have are coated with a teflon nonstick surface and so I've been wanting to get rid of them ever since that Teflon Flu thing came out a few years ago. I just never got around to it. I think the aluminum pan/silpat combination will give me a non-stick surface without the potential health dangers should the pan get overheated. Obviously, I'm not overly concerned since I've been procrastinating for 3 years, but it bugs me and gives me a good excuse to upgrade when I do get around to it.

[Mermade]

Yay Mrs. Utah! Welcome back, my friend! Happy to hear BK and Ron will be cooking this weekend too. Seriously folks I think this is already the best IC-type challenge ever. I can't wait to see what else everyone comes up with.

[Mermade]

Sam--Your rising dough movie is freaking me out. It looks to me a little like a beating heart. Still, very cool. The rolls look delicious.

[BK_]

APPETIZER: Scallops on Pumpkin Polenta Cakes with a Pumpkin Basil Sauce



These came out really good - better than I expected. The polenta was the best we have ever had, the sauce was really unique tasting (was a bit nervous about the basil and pumpkin combo, but it worked), and the scallops tasted really fresh. The weakest part of the dish was probably the seeds - the spices just didn't work with the dish. I ended up not eating most of my seeds but devoured the rest.

Pumpkin Puree

Cut Pumpkin in half, remove membranes and seeds, and add salt and pepper. Place halves face down in a roasting pan and add some water. Bake on 350 degrees until very tender (1 hour?) Spoon out the flesh and put in a blender. Puree until smooth.

Pumpkin Polenta Cakes

Combine 1/2 cup pumpkin puree and roughly 1 cup water (or whatever looks right) and bring to a boil. Add 1 tbs cream, 1/2 tbs butter, 1/2 tbs honey, and salt. Slowly whisk in 1/4 cup polenta and constantly mix until thickened. This take 15 minutes I think. Add the polenta right away to a flat bottomed bowl and refrigerate or freeze until firm. The polenta should be a couple of inches high. Fry the polenta cakes in vegetable oil until golden brown.

Pumpkin Basil Sauce

Saute 2 cloves of garlic until very light brown. Add 2 cups chicken stock and 1 cup pumpkin puree (from above). Simmer for 10 minutes, then add a couple of tbs of butter. Add to a blender and add some basil and 1 or 2 cloves of raw garlic. Puree until smooth, adding chicken stock if the mixture is too dense. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

Boil the pumpkin seeds for 5-10 minutes. Whisk together an egg white, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp cayenne, and salt. Add the pumpkin seeds to coat then place on a baking sheet, making sure not to overlap. Place in a 350 degree oven until golden.

Scallops

To add a little spice to the dish, I added some red chili flakes to my usual saute combo of olive oil and butter. Turn the heat up to high and brown the scallops on both sides, until done.

Place the polenta cakes down on the place, top with scallops, and drizzle sauce and pumpkin seeds around.

[BK_]

Entree: Wild Sea Bass with Pumpkin Sauce, Pumpkin Seeds, Hazlenuts, and Pumpkin Chips (2!)



While the winner of the appetizer was the pumpkin polenta cakes, here it easily was the sauce. Since we wanted to try something a little different and cook fish, our original intention was to make this into a broth. The plan was to err on the side of adding too little chicken broth, because more broth can always be added but not taken away. So when the mixture hit the blender, it was closer to the consistency of a sauce. I tasted the sauce and it was really good, so I decided to abandon the idea of the broth and leave it as is. Thinking back, I wish I would have stuck with the plan and thinned it out a bit, but I don't think it was a huge mistake to keep it a sauce. If anything, it would have made the plating a little more appealing I think. As it was, the sauce still took on a really surprising lightness and spiciness. It did not overwhelm the fish, which was the number one goal I guess.

Pumpkin Seeds

Used the same preparation as in the scallop dish, but decided to serve then plain this time. I was hoping that they would add a little texture without competing with the flavors already in the dish.

Pumpkin Chips

I really messed these up, which is such a shame becuase the couple that were not burned tasted great. Unfortunately I got distracted by the TV and ended up burning all but two. The preparation relatively simple though. I cut a chunk out of the pumpkin after it had been in the oven for about 30 minutes or so. I then placed this piece in the freezer to harden so that it would be easier to make very thin cuts. Last, I double fried the pieces and tossed with salt and pepper.

Pumpkin Broth (Sauce)

Saute 1 diced onion and a couple of cloves of garlic in butter until softened. Add 2 cups or so of pumpkin puree and stir to coat (2-3 minutes). Add a generous amount of honey and cook for a couple more minutes. Add 2 cups of chicken stock or water (more if you want to make a broth) and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Puree until smooth. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Wild Sea Bass

Seasoned with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and allspice. Seared on high heat to brown, then transferred to a 400 degree oven to finish.

Spoon the sauce onto the plate, and top with the sea bass. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds, hazelnuts, and pumpkin chips around. Garnish with basil.

[Jingleheimer]

The entries this month are insane, they look and read absolutely delicious and I wouldn't be surprised to see any of these dishes on the menu of a high end restaurant. Do I assume correctly that you all are 'just' home chefs and not pros?

I must remember not to read this thread when lunch is still a couple of hours off.

[El Diablo]

All,

Wow. Best Challenge yet. Keep up the awesome work. Million's stop motion soup and roasted stick of butter are both genius.

[BK_]

I wish I had an ice cream maker. Pumpkin pie ice cream sounds so good.

[Mermade]

Pumpkin ice cream is delicious! You could always do the ziplock bag method.