Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

Well, I made it through midterm exams with my sanity intact, but craving comfort food in the worst way possible. I bought this pie pumpkin meaning to carve it, but haven't had the time and figured I might as well make dinner out of it.

While it's not necessarily everyone's idea of comfort food, I had this at a fund raising event a couple years ago and never stopped thinking about it. There's something about pumpkin pie spice that makes me feel comforted and I think the spice blend does really well in savory dishes.

I also like to fool myself into believing that it's healthier since there's pumpkin in it.

I searched for the recipe all over the interwebs, and even called the hotel to ask if they'd give it up. 

They didn't. 

But... I made it better at home.

It's as easy as splitting open and roasting a pumpkin

Making a simple mornay - I was going to take a picture but my hands were full.

Cooking down some mushrooms, onions, and garlic

Boiling up some pasta - I like this kind because i think it holds the sauce really well

and baking the whole thing

The best thing is, you can customize this recipe really easily. Keep the pumpkin, ditch the pumpkin, swap it for butternut squash, swap out the cheeses for your favorites, use dijon mustard, change up the pasta, add some roasted cauliflower... 

Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

1 pie pumpkin, roasted and mashed

1 lb fusili, rotini, or any kind of pasta

3 cups shredded sharp cheddar

1 cup shaved parmesan 

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

2 cups milk

1/2 cup flour

1 stick of butter

1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs (just toast some bread and crumble it with your hands)

1 heaping teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced

1 large yellow onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, smashed

salt + pepper

Slice the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and guts, and roast, cut side down, until soft. It usually takes around 30-45 minutes @ 400 degrees. 

While the pumpkin is roasting, cook the pasta until al dente. 

Also while the pumpkin is roasting, cook the mushrooms, onions, and garlic over medium low heat for about 20 minutes. The onions will start to caramelize, and the mushrooms will shrink up.

Once the pumpkin is done roasting, and it's cool enough to handle, scoop out the meat and mash in a bowl with some salt and a bit of butter.

Now you can make your mornay sauce. Heat the butter over medium low heat until it's completely melted and bubbling slightly. Dump in the flour all at once, and whisk quickly until it's all incorporated. Try not to let the mixture turn brown. 

Quickly whisk in the cold milk and bring the whole thing to a low simmer. Gradually whisk in the cheese, one handful at a time. Once all the cheese is incorporated, add in the smashed pumpkin. Remove the whole thing from the heat and season with pepper, pumpkin pie spice, and mustard. 

Now you're ready to bake and assemble. Mix the pasta, cheese sauce, and onion mushroom mixture together in the pot you used to cook the pasta. Pour it into a rectangular baking dish and top with the breadcrumbs. 

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes covered with foil and remove the foil for the last 10 minutes of baking.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Growing up in San Diego, there was only one place for apple pie in the autumn and it was Julian.  Nestled in the mountains of San Diego county, it's one of the only places I've ever seen snow. The added bonus of Julian is that it's stuffed full of used bookstores and antique shops, making the trip up there definitely worthwhile. I pretty much compare every apple pie I eat to Mom's and most of them fall pretty darn short. 

What could make an apple pie better than it already is? A layer of gooey caramel, of course! It's definitely an interesting twist on classic apple pie. 


It's what would happen if a caramel apple and a Mom's apple pie had a love child. 


btw. do you say car-mul or care-uh-mel? I'm a car-mul person myself.


Basically, you chop up some apples and cook them down in butter, brown sugar, and spices...

Bake a pie crust and fill it with caramel

fill that with the apples

toss on some crumb topping, and bake!

Caramel Apple Pie (adapted from Pete Bakes)
-i know the recipe looks pretty intense, but it's actually fairly simple - 

1 pie crust (i love Joy the Baker's Crust, but a frozen store-bought crust will work too)

caramel sauce

2/3 c sugar
1/4 c water
1/4 c heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp butter
3/4 tsp kosher salt

filling

1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp (1/4 stick) butter
2 lbs granny smith apples, peeled, and sliced
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 Tbsp flour

crumb topping
6 Tbsp flour
6 Tbsp packed dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

*note, if your'e not a big fan of crumb crust, you could make a two-crust 

pie out of this just as easily

Pre-bake your pie crust either according to your recipe or the package


Next, make your caramel sauce by cooking the water and sugar on medium high heat until it starts to turn dark amber. At this point, immediately remove the pot from the heat and dump in the heavy cream and butter. It will bubble up, but keep stirring constantly until you're left with some nice-looking caramel. 
-I went a little heavy on the salt, but you can salt to taste or omit altogether-


Set your caramel aside and cook down your apples in the butter, under medium-high heat until they are soft. Take them off the heat and stir in vanilla, spices, cornstarch, and flour.


Then make your crumb topping by dumping all the ingredients into a bowl and mixing it around with your hands until loose crumb clumps have formed. Make sure not to overwork the topping though, or the butter will melt and the whole thing will get messy.


Now you can assemble your pie! Pour the caramel in the bottom, add the apple mixture, and top with either the crumb topping or your second pie crust. 


Bake the whole thing (on a cookie sheet to catch the caramel that bubbles over) at 375 for about 25-30 minutes or until it's golden. Let it cool for 10-15 minutes before eating. 

Poutine!

One of the greatest things about living in the midwest, particularly this close to Mars Cheese Castle in Kenosha, WI is the abundance of cheese. Seriously, I thought we were cheese crazy in California, but there's a reason they call those folks cheeseheads up there. I've had plain cheese curds, grilled cheese curds, even battered and deep fried cheese curds!

When I went through my vegan phase earlier this year (102 days thank you very much) cheese and pretty much all dairy products were what I missed more than the actual meat. Now that I'm no longer vegan, but have moved a couple thousand miles away from San Diego, the thing I miss most is Carne Asada French Fries - I know, it sounds like an abomination, but if you can picture a pile of french fries, piled high with seared steak, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, and salsa, you're halfway there. Seriously, they are one of God's great gifts to mortals and only available in San Diego, CA.

Anyway, since I can't get carne asada fries here, and since I am now a midwesterner for better or worse, I decided to try the canadian version of Carne Asada Fries... Poutine!

French Canadians go crazy for this stuff, which consists of french fries, brown gravy and cheese curds. I'm sure you could use regular cheese too, but I happen to have cousins from Ottowa, and they know what they are talking about.

First, you gotta double fry your french fries. I know, it's total fatty status but they will taste like the ones from Islands/Red Robin/In-N-Out and it makes a HUGE difference.

Toss on some cheese curds. I could only find yellow ones at my local cheese castle, but I think you're supposed to use white ones.

Top with a thick brown gravy - mine had mushrooms and soy sausage in it! Make sure it's boiling when you pour it over the cheese to melt the curds and turn the whole thing into the most amazing comfort food imaginable.

It's as easy as that. I know, it doesn't necessarily sound that good, but don't knock it until you've tried it. When I first heard about this stuff from my friend Norissa, I thought it sounded kind of questionable too. I am so very glad I made it though, and you will be too! Forget about French Canadians, and make it better at home!

Homemade Poutine

4-5 large russet potatoes

1/2 lb cheese curds or 8oz shredded cheese

1/2 cup flour

1 stick butter

1-2 cans cold beef stock

salt + pepper

mushrooms and sausage/soy sausage (optional)

Make your double-fried french fries first. Fry them once only until they are soft and semi-cooked. Drain them on paper towels and allow them to cool for 20-30 minutes before frying them again right before you're about to eat. I usually leave the skins on and fry them until they are a deep brown. Your fries will be better than any fast food or frozen fries you've ever had. 

Trust me on this one, I eat a lot of carbs.

Next, make some gravy starting with a simple roux. Melt your butter in a pan over medium heat, and dump in the flour all at once. Whisk rapidly until the whole thing has turned a light brown. Pour in your beef broth until the gravy has reached the right consistency. At this point you can add in cooked mushrooms, onions, soy sausage, etc...

After your gravy is done, assemble your poutine. I'd recommend eating only vegetables the next day. It's a pretty heavy dish. 

And, if poutine sounds like it might be a little too much for you to handle, at least double fry your french fries next time. You'll thank me.

Potato Potato Pie

Several years ago, during a random bout of insomnia, I learned two very important things:

1. If i go for too long without sleep i will start sneezing uncontrollably

2. How to make this sweet potato, potato "pie" thing

I was an undergrad in Los Angeles and funding was tight, but i still wanted to eat well, so this recipe fit the bill perfectly. It's been so long I don't even remember what program it was, i think it was on KPBS at some ungodly hour. I do remember that the program involved a couple of portly, middle-aged ladies, who laughed a lot and sipped wine while they cooked. I even googled it to see if it was online anywhere, but haven't been able to locate the program or the recipe.

Maybe the whole thing came to me in a dream?

Whatever it was, this recipe made such an impression on me, I've been making it ever since from memory.

It's the perfect autumn recipe, especially since most of us will be buying pumpkin pie spice soon.

After you make this, you'll probably want to give me a hug.

It's cheap, it's easy, and it looks pretty spiffy. Kinda like...

Wait.

It's also really delicious.

Anyway, let's get started.

First, slice up some yams and potatoes. I usually use Yukon Golds because of their buttery flavor, but I'm sure regular old Russets would do.

 Heat them up in a pan for a bit

Season aggressively

and bake!

I use a stainless steel pan for this, so i can put the whole thing in the oven right from the stove, but you can also use a pie pan or round cake pan and heat it up in the oven first before layering. The best part is that you can slice it like a pie once it's cooked.

*You can make this vegan by omitting the cheese and swapping butter for Earth Balance


Potato Potato "Pie"

2 large yams
4-6 gold potatoes
3/4 shredded parmesan
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
Pumpkin Pie Spice (nutmeg and/or cinnamon will work too)
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375

First, thinly slice the potatoes using either your mandolin or expert knife wielding skills.

In an oven-safe pan, melt the butter and begin placing the yams in a spiral, making sure to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Alternate, and place a layer of potatoes on next. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, some parmesan, and pumpkin pie spice, and drizzle with a bit of olive oil saving the rest for future layers.

Repeat this layering process, seasoning every other layer, until your pan is almost full.

(You want to leave the heat on medium/medium high while you are doing this so the bottom layer can crisp up and serve as a sort of crust. Also, make sure you sprinkle enough cheese between the layers, it will help them adhere to one another)

Turn off the heat, cover, and place the whole thing in the oven for 35-45 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through, the cheese has melted, and your kitchen smells awesome.

I generally let it cool down for 10-15 minutes so it sets up a bit and it easier to slice.