Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Upon finding out that I too owned and loved the Cake Book by Tish Boyle, the fabulous Cream Puff asked me if I would join her, as well as Mary of Alpineberry and Kate of Pie in the Sky, in making the same item from the book. I loved this idea since I always love to see how different people interpret the same recipe. The “cake” that was chosen was the Creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake with Ginger-Pecan Crust. Oh sure I have already posted about two other pumpkin cheesecakes…but one more wont kill me…right?

I only made a 1/2 batch and if you do that you want to make sure to use 2 eggs plus one yolk, everything else can be halfed down the middle. If you are making the half batch it makes for two mini cheesecakes plus a little left over that you could probably throw in a muffin pan if you really wanted to. I have to say that the title does not lie, this was indeed a very creamy cheesecake and quite tasty(though it could just be the diet talking…..nah). The original recipe calls for sugared pumpkin seeds but I chose to make pumpkin seed brittle instead. This is a great tasting cheesecake that would make a lovely addition to your Thanksgiving table.

Creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake with Ginger-Pecan Crust

Ginger-Pecan Crust

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup pecans
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 cubes
1 TBSP cold water

1. Position the rack in the cneter of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9X13 inch spring form pan. Cut an 18inch square of ehavy-duty aluminum foil and wrap the foil around the outside of the pan.
2. Place the flour, sugar, salt, pecans, and ginger in the bowl of a food processor and process until the pecans are finely ground. Add the butter and process until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Add water and process until the dough starts to come together. Press the dough into an even layer over the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Bake the crust for 25-30 minutes(it took 25 for the 2 mini pans), until it is just beginning to brown. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool completely. Reduce the oven temperature to 325F.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling

1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger(I did not use)
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 pounds cream cheese
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 TBSP cornstarch
4 large eggs
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, heavy cream, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger, mutmeg and salt. Set aside.
5. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese at medium low speed until creamy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Gradually add the sugars and beat until blended. Add the pumpkin mixture and mix till blended. Add the cornstarch and mix just until combined. Add the eggs on at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as neccessary.
6. Scrape the batter into the cooled crust. Place the wrapped pan in a roasting pan or large baking pan. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan. Bake the cheesecake in the water bath for 70-80 minutes(60 for mini), until the center of the cake is set but slightly wobbly(the cake will completely set as it cools).
7. Remove the cake pan from the water bath, place the pan on a wire rack, and carefully loosen the foil. Immediately run the tip of a paring knife around the sides of the pan, to prevent the top from cracking. Let the cake cool completley.
8. Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 4 hours before serving.

Pumpkin Seed Brittle

1 package(2.25 oz) salted pumpkin seeds

1 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
Sprinkle pumpkin seeds onto a baking sheet lined with parchement paper.

Pour the sugar into the center of a deep saucepan. Carefully pour 1/3 cup water around the walls of the pan, trying not to splash any of the sugar onto the walls. Do not stir; gently draw you finger twice through the center of the sugar, making a cross, to moisten it. Over high heat, bring to a full boil and cook without stirring, swirling the pan occasionally to even out the color, until the mixture is medium caramel in color, 5 to 10 minutes.

Immediately pour the caramel sauce over the pumpkin seeds. Let cool and place in fridge for 20 minutes. Break into piece and decorate cheesecake with brittle and whipped cream.

Source: Adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle 2006

So I never would have thought that I would have won a category in DMBLGIT….and low and behold my Texas Big Hairs Lemon-Lime Meringue Tart won in the edibility catergory. Yay. Too see the other winners go here to Toastpoint.

I’m not one for hype usually. And the Magnolia Bakery in NY sure gets a lot of hype. All over some cupcakes, that you wait in line for and can only buy 12 at a time. Out of curiosity I bought the More from Magnolia Bakery cookbook a few years back to try out their vanilla cupcake recipe. It is my favorite by far. So to me it was worth the hype. I bought the first Magnolia Cookbook and last week At Home with Magnolia came out and I made sure to buy that. Now I hadn’t seen it because I ordered off Amazon, like the majority of my cookbooks, and I didn’t know what it would be about. I must admit that I am a little sad because there is only a small section on desserts, which of course I am all about. But overall it looks like a good cookbook and my first treat from it was well received by my husband. The recipe calls for peanut butter chips, which I was out of but will most definitely buy for the next time I make these. I used chocolate chips instead.

Peanut Butter Blondies with White Chocolate and Pecans

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans
1/2 cup chocolate chips*
1/2 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate

Preheat oven to 325F.
Grease and lightly flour and 8 inch square baking pan.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter with the peanut butter and the sugars until smoothm about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Stir in the pecans, chocolate chips and the white chocolate, reserving 2 TBSP of each.
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Sprinkle the reserved pecans, chips and white chocolate evenly over the top and, using a spatula, gently press into the batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted comes out clean with moist crumbs attached.
Do not overbake. Allow to cool to room temperature before cutting and serving.

*the original recipe calls for peanut butter chips and I didn’t have any so I used chocolate chips instead.
Source: At Home with Magnolia: Classic American Recipes from the Owner of Magnoila Bakery by Allysa Torey 2006

So when we moved to the Seattle area two years ago the first thing my husband asked before moving up here was “what is one thing you want to do in Seattle?” I’m sure he was expecting me to say go to the Space Needle or something like that, but no, I said “I want to go to the Herb Farm.” He said, “sure.” That was until we saw the price and nearly fell over. Phoenix is not the culinary mecca of the world and try as it might it never will be. It isn’t around fresh anything and to make a good restaurant, in my opinion, you need to be around the bounty of the land. Phoenix has no bounty…just dirt. Back when we lived there I had read about the Herb Farm in one of my food magazines, I want to say Food and Wine. I saw the restaurant on the Food Network and read a many articles after that about the amazing experience at the Herb Farm. My husband is never one to go back on his word so we saved up so that we could go. We had nothing to do for Thanksgiving last year and so we decided that is when we would go. Oh what a wonderful experience it was….and well worth the price. Keep in mind you are getting a 9 course meal with wine(or beer…that is what my husband had if you special request it) pairing as well as a goodie bag to go home(on Thanksgiving that is)…plus we ate our weight in these delicious herb popovers. The whole experience takes about 5 hours, so we chose to sit European style(where you sit with a bunch of strangers), since though I love my husband sitting alone with him for 5 hours talking about food would be painful for him.  My hubby and I will be going back to the Herb Farm in a couple of weeks and will give you a full report.

My sister-in-law was kind enough to buy me The Herbal Kictchen, chef Jerry Traunfeld’s second book and I immediately fell in love that I ran out and bought the first book, The Herb Farm Cookbook. Now there is one big thing I don’t like about the cookbook is that the ingredients are somewhat hard to find. Lucky for me I live in Washington about 15 minutes from the Herb Farm so I do have access to farmer’s markets that carry a lot of the herbs. When we get a house someday I do plan on a small herb garden just so I can make these dishes more frequently.

This is my first attempt at something from the cookbook. It was time consuming because you make your own shrimp stock, but well worth it. It’s a wonderful soup and you might find the combination odd but they merry well together.

Pumpkin and Shrimp Bisque

1 pound large shrimp (16 to 20)

Shrimp Stock
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup dry white wine
3 cups homemade or canned low-sodium chicken stock
Pinch saffron threads (about 24)
2 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion (about 8 ounces), coarsely chopped
4 fresh bay laurel leaves, torn, or 2 dried
3 3-inch springs fresh sage

2 cups pumpkin purée, fresh (see Note) or canned
1/2 cup heavy cream
About 3/4 teaspoon salt, less if using canned stock
Scant 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage

1. Shrimp stock: Peel and devein shrimp, reserving the shells. Cover the shrimp and refrigerate. Heat the olive oil in a medium (3-quart) heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat until it begins to smoke. Add the shrimp shells to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until they turn deep orange and are just beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. This step—pan roasting the shells—gives the stock much of its flavor, so take the time to do it carefully. The roasted shells should release a concentrated, toasty, shrimp aroma that will fill your kitchen. Add the wine to the pan, first turning off gas flames to prevent the alcohol from igniting, then boil it over medium heat until all the liquid is evaporated. Add the chicken stock, saffron, celery, onion, bay leaves, and sage. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Partially cover the pan and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Strain the stock through a fine sieve, pushing down on the solids with the back of a spoon to extract all the liquid. Rinse out the saucepan and pour the stock back into it.

2. Soup: Whisk the pumpkin, cream, salt (omit if using canned stock), and cayenne into the shrimp stock. Bring the soup to a simmer, then cook very gently uncovered over low heat for 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, taste, and season with black pepper and more salt if needed. (The soup can be made up to this point up to 1 day ahead store covered in the refrigerator. Keep the peeled shrimp in a resealable bag buried in a bowl of ice in the refrigerator.)

3. Finishing the soup: Pour the olive oil into a large sauté pan placed over medium heat. When hot, add the reserved shrimp and sage and cook, tossing often, until the shrimp is just cooked through, pink, and no longer translucent, but not curled into a circle, 2 to 3 minutes. They should still have a tender snap when you bite into them. Arrange the shrimp in warmed serving bowls or a tureen. Bring the soup back to a simmer and then ladle it over the shrimp. Serve right away.

Note
To make fresh pumpkin purée, cut a sugar pumpkin in half and scrape out the seeds. Place it cut side down in a baking dish and pour in about 1/4 inch of hot water. Bake it in a 400°F oven until the flesh is tender, 40 to 50 minutes. Turn the pumpkin halves cut side up to cool. Scoop the pumpkin flesh from the skin and purée it in a food processor until smooth. Transfer the purée to a large sieve lined with a double layer of cheesecloth and let it drain for 2-3 hours until it is firm enough to hold its shape on a spoon.

Variation

Substitute winter squash purée, such as butternut or acorn, for the pumpkin.

Makes 8 servings.

From THE HERBFARM COOKBOOK by Jerry Traunfeld. Copyright ©2000 by Jerry Traunfeld.