Accent Limousine Learns to Get Cooking with Pumpkin
Posted by Julie Ryan on Tue, Oct 25, 2011 @ 01:56 PM
It's the season of pumpkin! Everything from pumpkin lattes to pumpkin beers, pumpkin pie and pumpkin icecream, to pumpkin butter and pumpkin bread. Wow, that's a lot of pumpkin.
This past weekend my husband and I were discussing the best ways to incorporate pumpkin into our savory dishes instead of just settling for a sweet slice of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. This is what we found out before we tackled a main dish and an appetizer.
- A jack-o'-lantern is the worst kind of pumpkin to cook with. It's extremely tasteless and is so watery it'll be like cooking with... well, yeah. It's just gross. Leave it on the front porch.
- Buy firm, bright-colored pumpkins, free from cuts or nicks. Mini pumpkins have a rich, sweet flavor. Other cooking pumpkins include sugar, cheese, and pie pumpkins.
- Short on time? Pick up some Libby's canned pumpkin and all the prep work is already done.
So we went to work. My husband started on a pumpkin sauce for a pasta dish combining pumpkin, many sweet and savory spices, goat cheese, and fresh herbs letting the flavors mingle while the penne cooked. Once the pasta was cooked, he dumped the penne into the saucepan filled with the fall flavors. He then let the pasta finish cooking in the sauce while soaking up all the flavors and plated it up with a sprinkle of parmesian cheese and a piece of crusty bread. Fantastic.
The next day we went into the effort as a team and decided to make "pumpkin rangoons". We mashed the pumpkin with sage, honey, more goat cheese, spices, and filled little wanton wrappers full and baked them off until they got a little crispy. We literally couldn't get enough of them.
Pumpkin is an amazing ingredient that's low in fat and calories and can dress up any savory dish. I highly recommend that you experiment with this superfood!
Now that it's full on fall, I want you to take advantage of all the season has to offer. Go apple picking, head over to Spooky World, or let Accent's Minute Man take you for a fall foliage tour. However you decided to celebrate fall, make sure to call Accent Limousine Service and they will make sure you have the time of your life.
What's your favorite pumpkin food?