EDF Cooking Contest--Pumpkin Challenge

[Mermade]

I deleted that pic because I wasn't sure it added anything and I was embarrased about the state of my baking pan.

When I moved into our house I was super excited to have a double oven. Then I learned that only the micro-est (13" x 9") of cookie sheets fits into either one. Anything bigger and the edges of the pan get too close to the sides of the oven, the pan overheats, and everything burns. If you can believe it, I only have 2 baking pans that size. I should get new ones. I've been thinking about getting some nice aluminum ones and silpat mats too. Anyone use these? Thoughts? BTW, the big heap of dough in one corner is just the empanada my 4 1/2 year old made all by himself.

The empanada circles were approx 2" in diameter. The finished one is sitting on a blue espresso saucer to get a sense of scale. Each one could fit a heaping teaspoon or so of filling. They were cute in mini-size and that was what I was going for, but larger takes more filling obviously. I have a bunch of filling leftover that I think I may have this morning with some eggs, hot sauce, and a dollop of sour cream.

I chilled the dough for the sake of workability, but actually had to work the chilled dough my hands a bit to warm it enough to roll it. So, I don't think it was necessary.

[Mermade]

There are 10 days left of pumpkin challenge, which is plenty of time for those who have been slacking (you know who you are) to throw something together.

Let's start talking about what we might want for November's challenge.

I am really pleased with this back to old-school IC secret ingredient thing. Want to continue this way. Thoughts? BTW, I also liked the fact that the ingredient this time was seasonal. Pumpkins in October are fun.

I nominate cranberries for next month. I never use them but can imagine we could think of tons of great ideas, and they should be everywhere in stores soon.

Toss out your ideas or bag on mine...

[SamIAm]

Mermade, sorry about outing your secret picture. I did have a guess about who made the empanada in the corner. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] If it'll make you feel any better, I can show you my cookie sheet that a roommate used as a cutting board...

[ QUOTE ]
I should get new ones. I've been thinking about getting some nice aluminum ones and silpat mats too.

[/ 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 ]
I am really pleased with this back to old-school IC secret ingredient thing. Want to continue this way. Thoughts? BTW, I also liked the fact that the ingredient this time was seasonal. Pumpkins in October are fun.

I nominate cranberries for next month.

[/ QUOTE ]
Good idea! I definitely dig the seasonal ingredients. Cranberry seems easily savory or sweet, and really adaptable. I know we talked about alternating goofy/traditional, but cranberry sound really fun. Maybe we can do a more "method based" theme or whatever in December. (I couldn't think of a good December seasonal ingredient anyway. Ice?)

[SamIAm]

I finally decided just to embrace the "pumpkin pie spice".

<font color="orange">Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls</font>

1 C Pumpkin
5 Egg yolks
1 Egg white
1/4 C Sugar
6 T Butter
4 oz Buttermilk
?5 Cups AP Flour
2 3/8 t Instant dry yeast
1 1/4 t Salt

1 C Brown sugar
1 t Cinnamon
1 t Nutmeg
1 t Cloves
1 t Allspice
2 T Butter

1/3 C Cream Cheese
2 T Milk
1 T Pumpkin
2 C Powdered Sugar

Whisk the pumpkin, eggs, sugar, melted butter, and buttermilk. When combined, add 2 C of flour and mix some more.



Switch to the hook and add the flour about a cup at a time, till it just becomes a soft dough. (The action shot below isn't there yet. You can see it sticking to the bowl.)



Remove from the bowl and kneed for a minute.



Form into a nice ball, spray with non-stick, and let rise in a warm place. After about 3 hours, it'll have doubled in size.



After 3 hours, it is risen. Punch it down and roll it into a 1'x1.5' rectangle. Melt the butter and brush onto all but the top half inch. Mix the rest of the filling ingredients and pat them onto the rest of the rectangle.



Gently roll into a long tube. A bench scraper really helped here.



Cut into 12 disks with a serrated knife and place in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and chill over night. This will improve the texture, even though it's kinda a pain in the butt.



The next day, proof the rolls by placing them in a cold oven with a pan of boiling water. Leave them there for 30 minutes to wake-up the lil' yeasties.



Remove the pans and preheat to 350. Bake for about 30 minutes. (I might go 25 next time, for that gooey, cinnabun(tm) taste.)



Whisk all the ingredients for the glaze, brush on, and serve.

[BK_]

WOW great cooking so far this month. I just got back from a bit of a food / wine vacation (trip report to come) so this is the first time I have seen all the entries, and everything looks creative and delicious. Easily the best iron chef so far. I am especially impressed with ElSapo's lamb and Bretweir's bruschetta and lamb. All of them are great though...

With all of the meat main courses posted already, I am going to try and make some sort of seafood main course tonight. I wanted to make duck but the butcher was out this morning. Maybe pumpkin risotto with scallops and pumpkin sauce? Or even fish?

[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.

[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.