One thing that can go wrong with baked whole pumpkins is incinerating it into mush. Filled with cream and Gruyère cheese, you’ll know when the pumpkin is overcooked. It will likely collapse into a deflated mound of white and orange laced with strings of melted Gruyère. The semi-successful dish will still be delicious, as long as the cream spills into a baking dish instead of the oven floor.

That’s my long-winded way of saying that you can’t mess this non-recipe up.

The pumpkin top is sliced off to serve as its own lid and the structural integrity of the baked pumpkin depends on the carving method. Instead of cutting off the tops horizontally in one stroke, use a narrow pointed knife and slice around the stem at a 45 degree angle. Just don’t forget to watch those fingers.

recipe adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Cookbook
Monthly Mingle: Sensational Sides hosted by Ruth’s Kitchen Experiments

Whole Pumpkin Baked with Cream and Gruyère Cheese

makes 4 to 6 servings

a pumpkin weighing about 2 pounds
Gruyère cheese or any melting cheese, up to 1 pound
a few cups of cream
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
a knob of butter

Notes:

• A 2-pound pumpkin is about the same size as a cantaloupe.
• Use smaller individual-sized pumpkins and adjust the baking time accordingly.
• Don’t throw away the pumpkin seeds. Rinse off the pulp and spread out the pumpkin seeds on a half sheet pan in a single layer . Bake along with the filled pumpkin for about 30 minutes, or until browned and crispy. Toasted pumpkin seeds can be eaten whole.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF/191ºC.

Using a narrow pointed knife, slice around the stem of the pumpkin at a 45-degree angle. Scoop out pulp and seeds. Fill the pumpkin with grated Gruyère cheese until about a third full.

Fill the pumpkin with cream until about two-thirds full. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Throw in a knob of butter, because we all know that pumpkins and butter always pair well.

Replace the pumpkin top. The filled pumpkin is now ready to bake.

Bake at 375ºF/191ºC for about 45 minutes to 1 1/4 hours, until tender and spoonable. Check the pumpkins for doneness by removing the lid and poking it with a knife or skewer.

To Serve:

Scoop out the pumpkin flesh with the cream and cheese into warmed soup bowls. Serve piping hot.

Witch’s brew, now with 400% more calories!

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Whole Pumpkin Baked with Cream and Cheese

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I’ve never made any form of whipped egg white dessert before but these Swiss meringue cookies surprisingly came out as good as I could hope for. The scent of raspberries permeated the cookie and the slivered almonds added a nice textural contrast to the crisp meringue. The low and slow baking temperature also concentrated the flavor of the embedded raspberries, resulting in a tangy red spot of syrupy jam.

There are three major categories in meringue development. Generally speaking with the point of view of a meringue neophyte, the main difference between the three methods lies in the amount of heat applied to the ingredients:

• French Meringue
  No heat applied to the ingredients.
• Swiss Meringue
  Gentle heat applied to the combined egg whites and sugar, usually over a bain-marie or double boiler.
• Italian Meringue
  Sugar and water are heated to the firm ball stage (246ºF/119ºC to 250ºF/121ºC), creating a hot syrup. The hot syrup is then slowly added to the egg whites right at the beginning of whipping.

In any case, a whole lot of intimacy with my Oxo whisk is required regardless of the method. I’ve never wanted a Kitchenaid more in my life.

Red, White, or Swiss hosted by Zorra of 1x umrühren bitte

Swiss Meringue recipe adapted from Michel Suas’ Advanced Bread and Pastry

Swiss Meringue with Raspberries and Almonds

makes approximately 24 cookies

2 1/4 cups sugar (20 ounces/560 grams)
1 1/4 cups egg whites (10 ounces/280 grams)

24 fresh raspberries
slivered toasted almonds, as needed

Notes:

• An instant-read thermometer would be nice but not necessary. Just make sure you don’t end up with scrambled eggs when whipping over the bain-marie.
• The ratio of sugar to egg whites is 2 to 1 by weight. This formula will yield a crisp and firm meringue.

For the Swiss Meringue:

Preheat your oven to 200ºF/93ºC. Prepare all of the ingredients before whipping the egg whites. Also prepare two sheet pans lined with either parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Prepare a bain-marie by simmering water in a saucepan. Combine the egg whites and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Place the bowl over the bain-marie and whip continuously until the egg white and sugar mixture reaches 120ºF/49ºC.

Remove from the heat and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.

Pipe (using a pastry bag) or drop (using a large spoon) the meringue onto the prepared sheet pans. A dozen evenly spaced meringue mounds seem to work best for each sheet pan.

Gently place one raspberry and the desired amount of slivered toasted almonds on each meringue mound.

To Bake:

Immediately bake at 200ºF/93ºC for 2 to 3 hours, until the meringue cookies are dry, crisp, and lightly golden brown.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Swiss Meringue with Raspberries and Almonds

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