Pumpkin Pancakes

I was ready to make a super easy Halloween brunch with my Pumpkin Waffle recipe. My plans were thwarted when I looked in the cupboard and realized we had no Krusteaz! A couple weeks ago, made pumpkin pancakes from a recipe I found on the internet and they were good, but I couldn't remember the site. I found a recipe on AllRecipes and gave it a shot. I altered it just slightly.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine. Allow batter to rest for a few minutes before cooking.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

They were dense, not light and fluffy. Still pretty delicious - but don't really be tempted to cook them until brown, just make sure the batter is set on the inside and that is how they are best (otherwise, they get a little tough on the bottom).

Pumpkin Waffles

More from the BIG can of pumpkin puree: Pumpkin Waffles with homemade whipped cream and crushed up hazelnuts. I used hazelnuts because I didn't have any pecans cracked open.


You can get the recipe here: Pumpkin Waffles.

I still have enough left over to maybe do some pumpkin bowtie pasta!

Pumpkin Crème Brûlée

I told Brian that he would be sick of pumpkin by Thanksgiving. He said, "Good!"

I had quite of bit of pumpkin left over from the Black Bean Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce (I used one of the BIG cans of Libby's pumpkin puree), so I wanted to try a Pumpkin Crème Brûlée.

Pumpkin Crème Brûlée
Makes 4 ramekins

1/4 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1/4 Cup Sour Cream
3 egg yolks
1/4 Cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 TBSP granulated sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
generous pinch fresh ground nutmeg
pinch salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
sugar for caramelizing

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Put a kettle of water on the burner to heat up water for the water bath.

Mix together pumpkin, sour cream, egg yolks, brown sugar, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg and salt. Stir together for one minute until fully blended.

Pour heavy cream in a sauce pan, heat just to the point of boiling, stirring constantly.

Slowly pour into pumpkin mixture, stirring constantly. Stir for one minute until fully blended. Strain mixture.

Place ramekins in a baking dish. Pour custard into cups. Pour hot water into baking dish about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Place in oven and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool in water bath. When cool enough to handle, take out of water bath and cover each ramekin with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (can keep like this for up to 2 days).

When almost ready to serve, Sprinkle with sugar (about 1 1/2 tsp) and burn with a kitchen torch. Place back in refrigerator for a couple minutes.

This recipe is based off of a recipe in Creme Brulee the Bonjour Way by Randolph W. Mann. I used the ingredients, but used the baking process I've used in other Crème Brûlées.

It turned out amazing! Like a creamier pumpkin pie with that caramelized crunch on top. YUM!

Black Bean Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce

A while back I checked out Everyday Food: Great Food Fast from the library. One recipe really caught my eye: Spicy Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce . I've been waiting rather unpatiently for October to try it, and I wanted to try it out on us before I subjected any friends or family to it. It called for chicken, but I thought I might be good with black beans (since I do like black beans and sweet potatoes together), and I cut the recipe down a bit.

Black Bean Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce
Serves 2-3
1 can Black Beans, drained
6 green onions, white parts thinly sliced
1 cup chopped spinach
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cup water
2 cloves garlic
1/2 jalapeno chile, quartered (remove ribs and seeds for less heat, if desired)
1 teaspoon chili powder
6 white corn tortillas (6-inch)
1 cup grated sharp white cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine black beans, spinach and scallions. Season generously with salt and pepper; set aside.
In a blender, puree pumpkin, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, water, salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until smooth (hold top firmly as blender will be quite full). Pour 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of an 8-inch square (or other shallow 2-quart) baking dish.
Lay tortillas on work surface; mound black mixture on half of each tortilla, dividing evenly. Roll up tortillas; place, seam side down, in baking dish.
Pour remaining sauce on top; sprinkle with cheese. Place dish on a baking sheet; bake until cheese is golden and sauce is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Lessons learned:
1. This was actually my first time working with a jalepeno. I was a little scared, so I removed the ribs and seeds. Next time I would either use the whole jalepeno with ribs removed, or half with the ribs and seeds in tact.
2. When chopping up a jalepeno, don't lick your finger afterwards!!!
3. I scrimped on the salt, and I should not have done that!
4. MORE CHEESE! It needs more cheese. I think I would actually mix another 1/2 cup or so in with the black bean mixture.
5. I'd steam the tortillas first - they fell apart when I was rolling them.

They were very good though - mainly just need more cheese and salt, and maybe more heat. Maybe some lime juice too.

Here's a picture with the filling busting out:

Pumpkin Waffles

A co-worker asked me for my Pumpkin Waffle recipe. I haven't made it in a while, but I thought I'd go ahead and add it since I mentioned it in the pasta post below. Mmmm... I'm craving them now. So simple. So good.

Pumpkin Waffles

Makes 4-5 Belgian Waffles

3 C Belgian Waffle Mix (I use Krusteaz)
2 eggs
1/3 C oil
1 C canned Pumpkin puree
1 C water
1 tsp. or more to taste Pumpkin pie spice (or a mix of nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves)

Heat waffle iron. Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Cover bottom of lightly greased waffle iron. Cover lid and cook until done (about 3-5 minutes).

I have to admit I have never made them of this proportion before - I usually make them for 2-3 waffles, but the math of figuring out how much was one half of everything was hurting my head. I also usually don't measure too closely, but they always turn out good.

Pumpkin Bowtie Pasta

Back in October, I made pumpkin waffles over one of the weekends, and I only used a couple TBSPs of it. I didn’t want it to go to waste, so I thought I’d try to make a pasta dish out of the rest. Inspired by an acorn squash pasta sauce that I’ve made a few times before, I thought I’d try similar ingredients with the pasta. It got a “thumbs up” from Brian. So, last Friday, I tried it again.

Pumpkin Bowtie Pasta

3 C Bowtie Pasta, cooked
2 TBSP butter
1 small onion, chopped (about 2/3 Cup)
1 can pumpkin puree
Couple dashes nutmeg
Red pepper flakes, to taste(optional)
1/2 C Parmesano-Reggiano
1/2 C Heavy Cream or Half and Half
6 fresh sage leaves, chopped
salt/pepper to taste
chopped pistachios (optional)

In a saucepan, melt 2 TBSP butter. Add 1 small chopped onion (about 2/3 Cup). Sauté until starting to brown.
Stir in 1 can pumpkin puree. Mix in chopped fresh sage, nutmeg, and red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste (about 2 - 3 TBSP loosely packed sage, and ¼ to ½ tsp. Nutmeg).
Stir in about ½ cup grated Parmesano-Reggiano cheese and ½ Cup Half and Half or Heavy
Cream. Stir until cheese melts.
Toss with about 3 cups cooked bowtie pasta until sauce completely coats pasta.
Serve in pasta bowl with extra grated parmesan and crushed pistachios on top.