I have to admit it though. I don't have much time for conjuring cuisine at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I love to play with food, but with my schedule I've been forced to pick a side. It's hooks and needles or my Cuisinart and Kitchenaid. Currently yarn seems to be the winner. So watching this chick throw pounds of chocolate into her saucier has got to sate my inner gastronome.
With all this said, let's put the old gear shift in reverse shall we? Yes, let's go back, back in time, to Saturday last. Yes, that would be the day that I unearthed ye olde blades and steel from their mothball mausoleum and spent the entire a.m., yes, yes, cutting and chopping and roasting and seasoning and pureeing and preparing for what has become one of two days of the year that I still always produce plentiful pabulum!
And this year, my plans for pabulum plenty do not include this substance...
What? No pumpkin you say? To which I say, yes, there will be pumpkin o' plenty come this T-Day, just not the orange porridge entombed in a can variety. Nope, last Saturday I bid fond farewell to the pumpkin pack of my past and set to making my own glorious pumpkin-y potage myself!
I know, impressive...
However, I will dispel your awe when I tell you that the process of creating your own cucurbitaceae chowder is a no brainer. Really!
You cut the pumpkin(s) into quarters. You clean off the pumpkin guts. Save the seeds! Good for roasting...mmmmm! You brush the quarters with melted butta. You place lubed (love you Alton!) and quartered squashies in a roasting pan. Cover the pan with foil. Roast in your oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until soft. Let dead squashies cool. Scoop out the orange and delicious meat. Puree in batches in your food processor. Drain the glorious goop in a cheesecloth-lined sieve over a bowl in your fridge for about 8 hours. Discard liquid. Store your personal pumpkin pack in your icebox or freezer until you're ready to use!
And roast those darn seeds! They are super yummy and good for you too. I swish mine in a bit of olive oil and throw some Tony Chachere on 'em before committing them to the oven. Ooooooh! Ahhhhh!
Lest you think there was little yarn usage happening due to flagrant foodstuff preparation last weekend, feast yer eyes on the offspring and her newest creation...
How awesome is that little crocheted rectangular dude she worked up? She even made removable booties for the guy, instinctively knowing to turn the heel! The kid's a genius I tell you! And she was a very helpful sous chef during Operation Pumpkin.
Anyway, we rounded out the weekend filled with food and fiber fodder by attending the opening of the group show some of my work happens to be in. Here's the hubby whooping it up with a glass of wine and somehow donning another woman's shawl. Go figure...
He's not Alton nor Tony, but he looks quite fetching in pink!
22 comments:
Oh, girl, you use Tony's too! If you can get your hands on some kabocha (a Japanese hard winter squash), it makes excellent pie as well.
My hubby is from New England and they eat Squash pie, same concept as the pumpkin, but using an orange squash. It's okay, just lighter than pumpkin.
I have tried the pumpkin from the pumpkin and sometimes, unfortunately, it can be stringy. We don't have year round availability here though so maybe that makes a difference.
Cool show-very fetching indeed.
I so love Alton-words cannot even express my feeling for the man.
Happy Turkey Day!
Ah, Lady Linoleum...your alliteration is amazing! Cheers to you on your pumpkiny goodness, and the weekend's show (I got to see some photos on Ellen Bloom's blog) - great stuff!
i can't eat your pumpkin puree! no buttah here! but i'm sure it's excellent, much like everything else.
lena's creation in marvelous.
"And roast those darn seeds! "... how tantalising they look, how tempting... I could eat them by the handful!
cheers, g
Now THAT's my kinda cookin! Your house is rockin! Looks like your little one is a snip off the ol' flock! Natural talent! Any man that will model for ya is definitely a keeper!
You´ll have pumpkin for the whole year! Impressive!
I knew you were simply the coolest out there, and then you go and re-prove it by being a Bourdain-lover yourself? Hooray! That pumpkin sounds yummy and amazing...
Samantha - It's sick and twisted how much I love Tony Bourdain. It's wrong. LOL
mk - Tony Chachere is the absolute bestest all purpose wonder!
Deneen - I'll fight you for AB. LOL He and Tony Bourdain are my absolute fave dudes on the tube.
Tami - Going right over there.
Kendra - I'll make you some butter-free orange goop. No worries.
Gracia - Those seeds didn't last more than 10 minutes...LOL
Carol - Yeah, I'm lucky. The kid and the hubby are really awesome.
Vik - Not at my house! My peeps like to eat!
Your hubby is good lookin, even in pink!! Lol
I loves me some AB and we can't get enough of Paula and Giada in our house. I think I actually saw Paula make something the other day that DIDN'T use butter. The horror...
I always love reading your posts, seeing your hubby in a shawl is priceless!
yeah... once you do pumpkin like that, you never go back! i also make pies out of butternut squash... some folks can't even tell the difference! (also... you can get good results using olive oil instead of butter for roasting)
your daughter is amazing... she is turning out really creative stuff!
Happy Holidays!
Seriously! Can I come live at your house??? :)
The hubband does indeed look good in pink. Methinks he'd look good in most anything, and the background of basic black doesn't hurt.
But the Wee M/C bairn. She is absolutely precious, and I *love* her rectangular dude!!!!
as a fellow food channel addict... maybe you should have a show?? you'd beat rachel ray in 2 seconds flat!
My neighbors do the pumpkin thing every year. They grow em and roast em and then she makes this most yummuy pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing.. YUM!
Your daughters little dude looks Awesome!! Its so nice when kids pick up the hooks and needles!
Those pumpkins look gorgeous just sitting in the pan. How yum!
husbands have been killed for less than wearing another woman's shawl, ya know?
mwwwwwwwwah!
oh, has he been in any stuff i can rent? he looks really familiar, but i am not sure if it is that i have seen him on your blog, or what. hmf.
Oh yes, he looks great in pink. But then again, he looks great anyway.
Pumpkin & butta - yes the best combo..
Lena is good because she has a great role model.
Now, did you have to buy special pumpkins because my friend who is a pumpkin farmer tells me that the ones you buy for Halloween are not the kind you want to eat (at least here in NJ anyway).
I've heard, and tasted, that canned pumpkin is about on par with real pumpkin (I don't get the ready mixed stuff. I add my own spices) but it involves a whole lot less time and effort.
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