October 13: Pumpkin

The leaves are beginning to change, there's a chill in the air... Can only mean one thing - fall time and pumpkins! Let's celebrate the upcoming season with delicious pumpkin dishes. Cooking Club will be held on Thursday, October 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Holly Faux's house (I'll email my address and directions out; I live close to Jeri and Missy). Hope you can come and enjoy!


Appetizer:
Main Dish: Holly (Harvest Pumpkin Soup)
Salad:
Side: Jeri (Pumpkin Ravioli)
Side:Becky pumpkin pasta
Side: Jenny crepes
Bread:
Dessert: Natalie
Drink: Missy - Pumpkin Juice

Pumpkin Ravioli

Filling
3/4c Pumpkin puree
1/2c Ricotta cheese
1/3c grated parmesan
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
9 (or so) gingersnaps, processed into crumbs.

Mix all ingredients except cookie crumbs together, add the crumbs to thicken the filling, you want a light paste.

Pasta dough from the Tyler Florence recipe. I followed his directions for making the dough and filling the ravioli except for this change: Put the flour and salt into your mixer bowl and make a well. Crack all the eggs into the well and, with a fork, beat them slightly. Start to incorporate the flour at the sides of the well. When the eggs seem beaten, put the dough hook attachment on the mixer and turn it on. It will gradually continue to work in the flour. When the dough starts to all come together, drizzle the olive oil in slowly. It should come together to form a lovely, dense, elastic dough that is easy to knead.


Harvest Pumpkin Soup (from marthastewart.com)

Ingredients:
1 small sugar pumpkin, halved, seeds & stringy fibers removed and reserved
6 T unsalted butter
3 c homemade or low-sodium chicken stock
3 c water
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 small parsnip (abt 4 oz), peeled and coarsely chopped
1 small yukon gold potato (abt 6 oz), peeled and coarsely chopped
1 small turnip (abt 4 oz), peeled and coarsely chopped
2 small shallots, minced (abt 1/4 cup)
1/2 c dry white wine
3 T heavy cream
1 tsp packed light-brown sugar
2 tsp coarse salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place pumpkin halves, cut sides down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until soft, about 50 minutes. Scoop out flesh, and puree in a food processor (you should have 2 cups).

2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add reserved seeds and fibers from pumpkin, and cook for 4 minutes. Add stock, water, and thyme, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 9 to 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, melt remaining 5 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add pumpkin puree, parsnip, potato, and turnip, and cook for 5 minutes. Add shallots, and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add wine, and cook until liquid has reduced by half.
4. Strain pumpkin-seed mixture, reserving broth and discarding solids. Add broth to pumpkin-wine mixture. Bring to a simmer; cook 20 minutes. Let cool.

5. Pass soup through a food mill into a clean saucepan, or puree in a food processor in small batches until smooth. (If soup does not reach desired consistency using a food processor, press it through a fine sieve to remove any remaining lumps.) Heat soup in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in cream, sugar, salt, and pepper, and serve.