Pumpkin Ice Cream

I opened my copy of The Perfect Scoop and gasp! What? No pumpkin ice cream recipe? hmmm. Sweet potato ice cream just won't do. David Lebovitz what were you thinking not including Pumpkin Ice Cream in your book? I'm glad I wasn't the only one perplexed by this omission since you happened to post one on your blog in response to our madness...

Lebovitz has a magical way of combining cream eggs and sugar into the most delicious creamy treats. I was really happy to find a recipe he only ever so slightly changed from chef Karen DeMasco in her cookbook The Craft of Baking. You should read his blog post. It's quite witty and apparently he got some stares while walking home with a rather large but thin butternut squash (subbed squash for pumpkins).

The original recipe used canned pumpkin which I adore. I have a plethora of pumpkin recipes using canned pumpkin, and it's really my favorite. Fresh pumpkins don't usually give you the thick consistency of the canned version unless you do a lot of straining. I can never tell a difference in the end product from fresh vs canned pumpkin. That said, I decided to stick to good ole Libby's. She must have been quite the lady.

I have no idea why I never tried pumpkin ice cream until now. It seems to fit well into fall desserts and even though its cold outside, you can cozy up with a blanket and movie and enjoy some delicious spiced ice cream. Michael and I happen to do this often, and the tub of ice cream disappears at an alarming rate.

I absolutely loved this ice cream recipe. I'll be making it at least once more this winter but next time I'll have to place it on a warm slab of gingerbread cake topped with candied pecans. Yum. Good thing you can't see me drooling.

If you don't have an ice cream machine, you should at least try making the candied pecans. They are addictive and delicious and would make a great addition to your holiday cookie trays.

Pumpkin Ice Cream - David Lebovitz

Candied Pecans
1 lb Pecan halves (trader joe's are great)
1 egg white
1 T water + 1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1 C sugar

Preheat the oven to 250˚F and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Whisk egg white until frothy and water and pour into a gallon size ziplock bag. Add in the nuts and shake to coat. In another bowl/bag combine the sugar and cinnamon and add the nuts. Make sure they are evenly coated and spread onto a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes to 60 minutes stirring every 15 minutes. Make sure you taste one or two after 45 minutes because they could be done then. If not, keep cooking another 10-15. Cool on tray and store in an airtight container.

Halloween! It's so close I can taste it....

Holidays are fun to make treats for, especially Halloween! There are parties to attend and parties to throw and parties to organize for your children (or yourselves if you live in sf where everyone seems to be crazed by Halloween well over the age most people dress in costume). If you are going to a party or just want to make something really cute, I have some ideas for you. Some are links, some are my own recipes, but all are good and fun. 

1. Vampire Bites

My sister was feeling extra crafty the other day and decided to make these Apple andPeanut Butter Sandwiches for my nephews's Halloween party at their day care. A little less sugary than all the cupcakes, cookies, and candy kids consume and easy to make. They were so cute I was inspired to share some of my favorite Halloween treat ideas with you. Most of them are links to other blogs so I hope you enjoy and feel inspired too! 

What you need:
Red Apples (the darker the skin the better) or you could go super stylish and have different shades of vampire lipstick...
Peanut Butter
Marshmallows (small and large)
Slice apples into thin wedges cutting out the core, spread some peanut butter on the insides of two slices. line the curved side with some small marshmallows for teeth. Cut the large mallow (you can use scissors) into pointy teeth and add two of these for fangs. Voila. Simple and fantastic. Just look how much my cute little nephew likes them!

2. Boo-tiful Ghost Cake

How can you resist these cute little marshmallow ghosts? Annie of Annie's Eat's has been on a rampage of all things cute and halloween the past few posts. Please check out her blog - you might be blown away by all of these cute treats. 

See all of Annie's creations here

3. Witches Fingers Cookies

I first had these cookie in college when a friend's mom made them for a halloween party for some church folks. Other great memories from this night were M dressed as a pink flamingo lawn ornament... and a fantastic bird bath and garden gnome were also present. 

Check out the recipe

4. Caramel Apples

These are one of my favorite things... if you look closely you will see me staring longingly into the display case at these beauties. We didn't buy one though (sad face) we bought a giant sugary disc some may know as an elephant ear? Anyways, I love caramel apples. We used to get them at a local apple orchard when we were younger. At some point we got lazy (or my parents decided they were too expensive) and just bought caramel dip from the grocery store - dangerous - but I'm returning to one of my all time favorites for number 4. 

Food Network Recipe - caramel from scratch

All Recipes - caramel pieces recipe

Be creative with your toppings!

5. No-Bake Spiderweb Cheesecake

Martha's army is at it again. Spiderweb treats are very cute and creepy. Even better if you can find gummy spiders to decorate with. This cheesecake seems easy enough since you don't have to bake it. No-Bake cheesecake is definitely a time saver when you are planning a party! 

Martha's Cheesecake recipe

6. Devil's Food Cake with Flame Tuiles

Maybe for a more sophisticated crowd. This cake just looks sexy. Fit for a vampire (but not the Twilight kind - they are too nice for this cake). 

Another Martha. She is just too good at holiday baking. 

7. Spooky Drinks

This cocktail reminds me of a Moscow Mule (slowly making a come back  in SF) but with Rum instead. You could pretty much top any cocktail with black decorating sugar and spiders but I'll share the recipe anyways. 

drink recipe

8. Pumpkin Cookies

Yep, I just posted about these the other day! (self promotion) They were one of three recipes for the Easy Bake cOven's October recipe list. 

See what I wrote about the other day

9. Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiches

To make Ice Cream Sandwiches, thaw your favorite pumpkin ice cream at room temperature until easy to scoop. Using a spoon or small ice cream scoop, add some ice cream to the flat side of one cookie and flatten it slightly. Place another cookie on top and smooth sides. Keep in freezer until ready to eat. It might be good to under-bake your cookies slightly so they don’t get hard in the freezer. 

Track down this really old post for the cookies! 

10. Mini Mummy Dogs (Halloweenies)

I made these with my sister for Halloween last year. She is just so crafty right? I think she has a picture somewhere on her camera but I don't have it (ahem....) Ours were cuter, because we used little smokies. Use hot dogs if you like, and wrap with crescent roll dough cut into thin strips. The thinner the better. 

Here is the link in case you forget (little smokies + crescent roll dough) hehe

What is your favorite Halloween Treat? 

Pumpkin Puffs

In honor of October and all things pumpkin, I made some pumpkin cookies. I like to call them puffs because they are cake-like and airy. It's been while since I've made these, and any cookie for that matter. Life is getting busier and I don't know how.  

It rained all weekend which made me sleepy and forced me to stay inside. I dislike wet jeans (they just don't dry fast enough). I spent most of the day Sunday in the kitchen making cakes for my office birthday celebrations this week and had almost a whole can of left over pumpkin. Since this recipe was one of three this month for The Easy Bake cOven I decided to go ahead and make cookies.  

I like when it's cold outside and I can heat the apartment fairly well with just the oven (oven on for 2 1/2 to 3 hours). It makes me feel less bad about cooking for long periods of time, and less necessary to turn on the inefficient baseboard heaters. Thankfully I get to say So Long to this apartment soon because M and I are moving! We will still be in the city, but were moving to a 2 bedroom with a LOT more living space. I can't wait. I am really excited about the dishwasher as well (and free laundry!) Once we are settled I'll take you on a tour. 

I made these cookies not just for our enjoyment, but as a bribe. I'm asking the guys in the mail room at M's office to save boxes for us. Here is how this conversation went with M the other day.... Me: Can you ask the guys in the mail room to save us boxes to move with?

M: It would be better if you asked.

Me: Why?

M: Because you are cuter

Me: Thanks, but I'll just make them cookies (big grin)

So, gigantic office with tons of shipments each day, I'm taking your boxes... and all you get are cookies. Not a bad swap I'd say. Unless you hate pumpkin which I'm hoping they won't. 

I plan on making more pumpkin treats this month/November but I have no idea when I will be able to post them. If you have some recipes you think I should try please send them! 

Pumpkin Cookies aka Pumpkin Puffs

2 1/2 C flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 C butter softened

1 1/2 C sugar

1 C canned pumpkin

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Frosting Optional (I don't think they need frosting)

2 C confectioners sugar

3 T milk

1 T melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Mix together the dry ingredients including spices. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in egg and mix until incorporated. Add pumpkin and vanilla. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients. Using a cookie scoop, drop dough onto a cookie sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes. Cool and drizzle frosting over the top if using. 

Cookies are cake-like in texture and get better with age. I think they are best the next day. Store up to one week in an airtight container. The cookies will be puffy - hence the name "puffs" and should not spread out on the pan. If you want them to be less puffy, press the dropped dough down with wet fingers before baking. 

Pumpkin Waffles

I woke up Saturday morning itching to make something with the pumpkin puree defrosting in the fridge. My first thought was to make pumpkin bread, or muffins with a tried and true recipe, but it just didn't sound as exciting. I thought about making pancakes, but M and I would probably rather have waffles when given the chance... so waffles it was. Pumpkin waffles. 

I remembered a recipe posted on Smitten Kitchen a while back and decided to give it a try. The result was pretty fantastic. They are not too sweet, and the taste and texture is much better than mix from a box. I was kind of amazed at the amount of waffles the batter made. I expected to get a few since there are two cups of buttermilk and flour, but I felt like I was cooking waffles for 30 minutes! Maybe my waffle iron is slow. I wouldn't doubt it. I did turn on the oven to keep them warm while they were cooking. A great trick if you are serving them for your family and you want to eat at the same time. But it was useless because M and I each ate only one belgian style waffle. 


The only change to the recipe was using pumpkin I roasted and pureed in the food processor instead of canned. I have nothing against canned pumpkin though, it is one of the best canned vegetables you can by since it has the least added to it. I also toasted a handful of walnuts to add to the top. I think the walnuts are a necessity. A delightful crunch to an already tasty bite. Since the batter made so many, I froze the rest and am hoping they will make a good quick breakfast when the need arises. 

Pumpkin Waffles
Smitten Kitchen recipe

2 1/2 C flour
1/3 C light brown sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
6 T unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil for brushing waffle iron or cooking spray

1 T per waffle of coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted 

Preheat oven to 250°F and preheat waffle iron. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices. In another large bowl, whisk egg yolks with buttermilk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth. Whisk in dry ingredients just until combined.

In a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment or using a hand mixer, beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks (they should fold over slightly when you remove the beater. Folk them gently into the waffle batter, until just combined.

Spray your waffle iron with cooking spray and and spoon batter into waffle iron, spreading quickly. For a 7-8 inch belgian waffle, I used 3/4 C batter. Cook in medium high heat until there is almost no steam escaping.

Transfer waffles to rack in oven to keep warm and crisp. Top with real Maple syrup and toasted Walnuts. 

To toast walnuts, spread them onto a cookie sheet and bake in your already heating oven for 10-15 minutes - or until fragrant. You can also spread them onto a skillet and toast over medium-low heat on the stovetop until fragrant and crisp. I like to taste them for doneness. 

The Lovely Lady Baker Cooks Chili

Not just any old chili mind you, but the best chili I have ever had. I'm not going to lie. M loves it too. I don't much care for red meat - so a turkey chili is a good compromise and it is healthy too! So healthy that even weight watchers scores it low on the points scale (so says some people I know). Thankfully, good food can taste great.

I'm not the most amazing cook. Fairly mediocre when it comes to making food as opposed to baking. I have my staples, and soup is a big staple. I really enjoy soup and crusty bread, and they both seem to be food I can make without recipes that turn out well. I make a lot of blended soups so every now and then for M's sake, I change things up, add meat, and sometimes come out a winner in this cooking battle.

I found a couple of recipes for Pumpkin Turkey Chili online one night and made some alterations, added a bit of flair here and there and out came this meal. One dish meals are a favorite around this household - less dishes - and soups warm us up in our everlasting winter wonderland (it's cold in our apartment). Hopefully for you, you have a nice cozy kitchen to try this recipe in. I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

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1 T olive oil 1 C chopped onion 1 bell pepper chopped 1-2 cloves garlic minced

1 lb lean ground turkey

1 14oz can diced tomatoes 1 14 oz can kidney beans 1 14 oz can cannelini (white kidney) beans 1-1 1/2 C canned pumpkin puree 1 C chicken or veggie broth 1 1/2 T chili powder 1/2 T cumin 3/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper pinch cayenne pepper 1/4 C fresh cilantro shredded cheese crusty bread or fritos (or cornbread) Saute the onion, bell pepper and garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes on medium heat. Add turkey and saute until cooked. Add spices and cook 2 more minutes. Stir in tomatoes, beans, broth and pumpkin puree. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. You can add more broth if your chili is too thick. You can also replace broth with beer. Serve topped with fresh cilantro and cheese and some crusty bread or fritos.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

Funny that my second entry in the world of Whole Wheat is also pumpkin. I guess I just can't help myself.... I do have another recipe waiting for the next round of whole wheat experimentation and it does not contain pumpkin at all.

So, I've been sick.... Which gives me loads of time to scour the internet for intriguing recipes and I have found a few. Some regular food and some baking. I'm a little nervous about this idea I had to blog about one food item each month. I am actually pretty bad at cooking. For some reason (mostly it has to do with following directions) I am a much better baker than cook. I leave that to M, but sometimes I try my hand at dinner. I mostly stick to soups and very simple pastas but every now and then I make something entirely too bland (like pumpkin curry - which should be the farthest from bland as possible). Anyways, hopefully one of these recipes I have found will make it's way to the baking blog and who knows it might be great!

I felt so useless around the house, I tried to muster up enough energy to make some food. It worked (but my sinuses are still a bother). I tried this recipe for Whole Wheat muffins graced with the presence of pumpkin, cranberries, and walnuts. I adapted it from the source a bit to suit what ingredients I had on hand and I think they turned out well. At least much better than the Scones.

While it is going to take some getting used to, baking and eating more whole wheat will be fun. And if fun is not the right word it will at least be healthy. I don't much like healthy.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins with Cranberries and Walnuts

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2 1/2 C whole wheat flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cloves

1 C pumpkin puree 2 T canola oil 1/2 C sugar (plus more for the tops)

2 eggs 3/4 C buttermilk 1 tsp vanilla

1/2 C sweetened dried cranberries 1/2 C chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375˚ F. Lightly grease a standard size 12 cup muffin tin. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, sugar, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir together until just combined. If you think the batter is a little dry add 2 T more buttermilk. (It is ok if there are bits of flour remaining because the worst thing you can do is overmix!). Fold in the cranberries and walnuts. Divide batter evenly between 12 muffin cups. Bake 20-23 minutes. Muffins are done when they spring back lightly to the touch or when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. They will be very tall and hearty.

Original Recipe adapted from Pinch My Salt

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Scones

Remember what I said in my last post about baking more with whole wheat? Well, I've done it. (or at least started it). It is quite funny really... I woke up on the first and decided to be sweet and cook something for breakfast. I'm not a super huge eggs fan so I defaulted to baked goods. I rummaged through the cabinets to see what I had to work with. I usually know these things, but hey, I was gone for the holiday and forgot.

I found I had a small amount of all purpose flour and a large amount of self-rising flour (if any of you can tell me what to do with this I'm ready relieve space in my tiny cabinets). Sitting next to these was my hardly-used whole wheat flour bag. It looked so sad, all full, fat, and neglected. It's true. I don't use whole wheat flour much. I should but I don't. In order to make this little bag of flour happy I searched for something to make with pumpkin that I needed to use. I found a scone recipe and decided to give it a go. After all, the recipe swore you couldn't tell they were made of whole wheat. Skeptical, I started the scone process. I forgot to check for butter in my wasteland of a fridge and turned up empty. I thought about attempting the Earth Balance spread but decided that stuff was too expensive to waste (just in case) and adapted the recipe using shortening. At the time, I was thinking... "a scone is like a biscuit - so I could probably substitute shortening for butter... they just won't taste as good." So I went for it and cut in shortening instead of butter. Mixed everything as required and sliced 8 scones. Baked 'em up fairly quick and just in time for M to arrive in the kitchen. (He slept in - and by arrived in the kitchen, I mean walked 10 steps from the bedroom to see what smelled good).

I was on my second cup of tea and decided to snap a few pictures while I had good light. All this time wondering if they were going to taste like cardboard or not. And oh the wait was finally over....

Eh, I guess they were fine. A little bland and lacking strong pumpkin flavor, we decided to eat them like the British and topped them with a slab of butter. If we only had clotted cream... At least I remembered to add a big handful of chocolate chips which helped some. I don't think I will make these again, and to save you I'm not posting the recipe here. I'll definitely find some more whole wheat recipes but from a trusted source. So all of you trusted sources out there - send me your favorite whole wheat baked good recipe! Don't worry either, I'm not at all distressed that the first recipe of the year was not a huge success. It just means I have a lot more room to improve.

Pumpkin Extravaganza Continued

I know it has been a while since I posted about pumpkin or posted anything for that matter, but that doesn't mean I haven't been using it (it just means I'm really busy). I still need to use up the rest of my pumpkin but it may have to wait until after the holidays.


I have a recipe for pumpkin cookies that I really like a lot. They are easy to make (I haven't tried it with fresh pumpkin yet) and taste like little pumpkin cakes. Amazingly, they get better over time. I wanted to pack some up and send them far across the sea to my brother in law for Christmas but I didn't know if they would make it a week in the mail. (I sent fudge and candied pecans instead!) The original recipe came from Allrecipes and I have managed to edit it to my liking. They were originally supposed to be glazed, but this reminds me of the pumpkin scone at Starbucks - drenched in frosting and sickeningly sweet, eew. I like sweet but sweet overload in a two bite cookie is a little much. Anyways, these are always favorites among friends so I invite you to try them! And apparently I've never taken a photo of these so try and picture the the cutest little puff of pumpkin cookie you can imagine....

The other pumpkin journey I traveled on was Pumpkin Butter - think Apple Butter - not creamy butter spread. It is a very simple combination of ingredients you probably have on hand (and you can use canned or fresh pumpkin) and stores for about a week. This would make a lovely present for holiday hosts, or you can keep it for yourself in a pretty little jar. I've been secretly dreaming of owning some canning jars by WECK for a while now. I want to try canning sometime and I'd like to as who wouldn't with these pretty little products.

I made some bread too. I meant to make some Italian Feather Bread (Beard's bread book) but ran out of time. Instead, I tried it on some nice white bread-machine bread. A huge slice perfect for toasting. I coated it generously with butter, and topped with a thick layer of Pumpkin Butter. This would make a nice light breakfast, or a great snack with coffee or tea (or hot cocoa). I will admit I tried it while waiting for M to get home from work. I was hungry, what can I say. If only there was a toaster at work, I think my co-workers would enjoy this treat.




Pumpkin Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350˚. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt. 

In a medium bowl, cream together butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet with a cookie scoop or tablespoon. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool on parchment or waxed paper and store in an airtight container. 

Pumpkin Butter
adapted from Pioneer Woman


1 C fresh pumpkin puree (or canned)
1 C plain yogurt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 heaping C powdered sugar (more to taste)


Mix ingredients together and add more sugar to taste. Let sit for at least 3 hours or overnight in an air-tight container. Use liberally! Stores for about a week in the fridge.

Thanksgiving Goodness

Thanksgiving this year was small (I mean people definitely not food). We shared it with 3 other close friends and our host's 17 lb turkey was definitely big enough to fill us. M and one of our hosts had their annual Thanksgiving "Turkey Trot", a 3.7 mile run in the city so they were prepared to feast. This turkey was a champion too, it decided to cook itself two hours faster than it should have and somehow remain moist and tasty. Does diligent baking and dishwashing count as exercise too?

Dessert and Rolls are what M and I claimed for Thanksgiving this year. We also threw together a cranberry relish, because what is Thanksgiving without cranberries? Last year I made two different types of cranberry dishes because we received so many cranberries in our CSA box (I had never made them from scratch before). This year we managed to make the favorite of the two and somehow it seemed better than last. We did reminisce about the cranberry sauce that comes in a can and kind of slurps out. I used to love the stuff when I was a kid... oh how things have changed. The relish was probably the easiest and least time consuming of the recipes we made - 5 minutes tops. The Creme Brulee wasn't too difficult to prepare, it required 2 hours chilling time, and the rolls needed ample time to rise in our freezing apartment (thank you gas stove for staying warm while you weren't baking to help out the process).

Rolls, rolls, giant rolls. They were so good (and we have some leftover... yeah!) M managed to recreate his mom's roll recipe from scratch very well this year. I'd say he is a pro after only one year of practice. He decided it would be best to make them really big. I'm pretty sure he was really hungry while making them and may have altered his reasoning for size of roll discernment. I asked M to say a little something about his bread making...

"I love these rolls. I grew up with them at Thanksgiving and Christmas and it's the one food item I refuse to go through the holidays without. They take a good amount of love to make, with excessive amounts of kneading and careful oven monitoring and can easily go south quickly. Too little or too much kneading, cheap yeast, too little butter spread, too much poppy seed, a minute overcooked, a minute undercooked, a burnt tip... It's an investment in time and patience and will leave your muscles sore from stirring and kneading dough. This year I'm happy to say they were perfect and I was like a giddy little kid stealing a fresh-out-of-the-oven roll to enjoy, plus it gave me an excuse to wear an apron."

needs more flour

kneading - I think he was getting tired

expert slicing with the handy pizza cutter

8 rolls per third of dough - this is what made them the size of your face

perfect rolls

M devouring fresh from the oven rolls

M may have eaten the whole basket if I hadn't been watching

Look at that buttery goodness!

I'm pretty sure this is going to be his traditional dish for Thanksgivings to come. And whether they show up next year the size of your face I guess we'll wait and see.

I was flipping through a cookbook and stumbled upon some interesting pumpkin recipes like Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse and Pumpkin Creme Brulee, and after a vote the Brulee won. I haven't ever made any type of Creme Brulee and I was excited to try it. Thanks Em for letting me borrow ramekins so I didn't have to clutter the tiny kitchen with dishes that are very seldom used.

I actually made my own pumpkin puree from my cute little sugar pumpkin from our Farm Fresh box. Making your own puree is time consuming but very easy. I used the wise words of The Pioneer Woman to make mine, and I definitely had to add water to make the right consistency. I was very proud to say the least. My little pumpkin made about 2 1/2 cups so I'll be making something else to contribute the the pumpkin extravaganza. I have my eyes on Pumpkin Butter and possibly a pumpkin cheesecake just for fun.

I only had one judgement issue for the creme brulee and that was "the brulee will be done when they give a uniform jiggle" and it was hard to discern when the jiggle was "uniform" or if it was too jiggly. Needless to say, I may have overcooked them just a hair. After the cooking they needed to cool for a couple of hours. Before serving all you have to do is torch them. You can also use your broiler if you don't have a torch. I would have used the broiler had our hosts not had a torch. It worked well, and it was fun to watch the sugar liquify. The only thing more satisfying was breaking through the sugar into the pumpkin creme below. They were tasty little pots of goodness.

In addition to our contributions, we had a deliciously moist turkey with sausage stuffing, mashed sweet and russet potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole with mushrooms and onion, and fruity jello pudding salad (one of those midwestern roots dishes). Our meal was great and our company was too. All of our suffering was worth it though. Thanks everyone for sharing a great holiday with us.

Cranberry Relish

makes about 3 cups

1 small navel orange (or 2 clementines - which is what we had on hand)

1 pear

1 12-oz bag cranberries

1/2 C brown sugar

1/4-1/2 tsp salt to taste

3 T chopped toasted pecans

Slice the orange and pear into segments and toss into the food processor (keep the rind on both). Add the sugar and cranberries and salt and pulse a few times. Process until you get a coarse chop for all of the fruits, stopping to stir if necessary. We processed ours a little smaller this year which may have made it a little juicier than typical. Cover tightly and refrigerate for two hours. Sprinkle the nuts on top just before serving.

The relish is also delicious as a topping for waffles or pancakes! I hope this comes in handy for the Christmas season.