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Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette

Rather than try to explain how to carve a pumpkin here is a video that is a handy 5 minute guide.

And for the more ambitious and artistic pumpkin carvers among us, here is some inspiration with seasonal music.

Re-posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette

When most of us think of pumpkins, we think of the orange orbs that get carved up for Halloween and pumpkin pie with gobs of whipped cream for dessert at Thanksgiving but pumpkins come in all shapes, colors, sizes and varieties. Some are good only for decoration, while others are not only decorative but very tasty in pies, soups and stews.

According to Wikipedia pumpkin “is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae (which also includes gourds). It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America.” Some of the fun activities besides decorative carving for Halloween are Festivals and competitions with pumpkin chucking being among the most popular. Chucking has become so popular that some competitors grow their own special varieties that will survive being shot from catapults and cannons. The festivals are most dedicated to the competition for recipes and the competition for the largest pumpkin. This year that honor went to a 1818 pound beauty from Canada that was on display at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx.

The pumpkin is one of the main symbols of Halloween and the Wiccan holiday of Samhain, which is a celebration of the end of the year, the final harvest and the coming of winter. The earliest that a craved pumpkin was associated with Halloween is 1866. Throughout Britain and Ireland the turnip has traditionally been used at Halloween, but immigrants to North America used the native pumpkin, which are both readily available and much larger, making them easier to carve than turnips.

In cooking, the the fleshy shell, seeds, leaves and flowers are all edible. Canned pureed pumpkin is readily available in stores, as are the small, sweet variety of fresh pumpkin for the ambitious cook to make their own puree or for stews. When it comes to pies, the easiest is the canned, my favorite being Libby’s with the recipe on the label, label, label. It’s the only recipe I have ever used for pumpkin pie and I’ve never has a complaint.

Pumpkin and all it parts are also very nutritious, containing many vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidents. There is also an interesting medical study of pumpkin extract on type-1 diabetic rats:

(P)ublished in July 2007, suggests that chemical compounds found in pumpkin promote regeneration of damaged pancreatic cells, resulting in increased bloodstream insulin levels. According to the research team leader, pumpkin extract may be “a very good product for pre-diabetic people, as well as those who already have diabetes,” possibly reducing or eliminating the need for insulin injections for some type-1 diabetics. It is unknown whether pumpkin extract has any effect on diabetes mellitus type 2, as it was not the subject of the study.

One of my favorite recipes is Pumpkin Cheesecake with Bourbon Sour Cream Topping that is more popular than pie with my family.

Recipe and baking tips are below the fold

And this is how my brain sounds after four debates. youtu.be/g0WVh1D0N50

— daveweigel (@daveweigel) October 23, 2012

Watched by over 8 million people, Felix Baumgartner spent years planning his 24 mile skydive from the stratosphere that broke the sound barrier. Leave it to Lego “engineers” to duplicate his jump.

Open Thread

Adapted from Rant of the Week at The Stars Hollow Gazette

h/t Tengrain at Dependable Renegade

Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette

Whether you’re watching football or the Major League Baseball playoffs, these wing recipes make tasty snacks to nibble on during the game.

Ingredients:

3 pounds meaty chicken wings, tips removed

Salt

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons rice wine or sherry

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon grated ginger

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

1 small cucumber, diced (about 1 cup)

6 scallions, slivered

2 or 3 small hot red chiles, very thinly sliced (or hot green chiles), optional

2 tablespoons crushed roasted peanuts

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 handful cilantro leaves

2 navel oranges, sliced.

Preparation:

1. Rinse the wings, pat dry, season lightly with salt and put them in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, five-spice powder, cayenne and orange zest, then pour over the wings and massage well. Let marinate for 1 hour at room temperature or refrigerate (overnight is fine) and bring to room temperature.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Arrange the wings in one layer in a low-sided baking dish or roasting pan (or use 2 pans) and place on middle shelf. Every 8 to 10 minutes, brush the wings with the marinade from the pan, adding 3 or 4 tablespoons water to dissolve the juices as necessary. Continue until well browned, glazed and cooked through, about 40 to 45 minutes. The wings may be cooked ahead and reheated if desired.

3. Pile the wings on a warm platter. Quickly assemble the garnish. In a small bowl combine the cucumber, scallions, chiles, crushed peanuts and sesame oil. Season with salt, toss lightly and scatter over the wings. Sprinkle with the cilantro. Surround with orange slices and serve.

Time: 1 hour, plus at least 1 hour’s marinating

Yield: 4 to 6 servings (18 to 20 wings).

The only hot sauce that I use is Frank’s Louisiana hot sauce. These wings can also be made with boneless chicken breast strips.

Ingredients:

Sauce

4 tablespoons Unsalted butter

1/2 cup Hot sauce , preferably Frank’s Louisiana Hot Sauce

2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce or other hot sauce, plus more to taste

1 tablespoon Dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons Cider vinegar

Wings

1 – 2 quarts Peanut oil (or vegetable oil) for frying

1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon Ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Table salt

3 tablespoons Cornstarch

3 pounds Chicken wings (18 wings), cut up (see illustrations below)

Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing and Vegetables

2 1/2 ounces Blue cheese , crumbled (about 1/2 cup)

3 tablespoons Buttermilk

3 tablespoons Sour cream

2 tablespoons Mayonnaise

2 teaspoons White wine vinegar

4 stalks Celery , cut into thin sticks

2 Medium carrots , peeled and cut into thin slices

Preparation:

1. For the Sauce: Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Whisk in hot sauces, brown sugar, and vinegar until combined. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. For the Wings: Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line baking sheet with paper towels. Heat 2 1/2 inches of oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 360 degrees. While oil heats, mix together cayenne, black pepper, salt, and cornstarch in small bowl. Dry chicken with paper towels and place pieces in large mixing bowl. Sprinkle spice mixture over wings and toss with rubber spatula until evenly coated. Fry half of chicken wings until golden and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer fried chicken wings to baking sheet. Keep first batch of chicken warm in oven while frying remaining wings.

3. For the Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing and Vegetables: Mash blue cheese and buttermilk in small bowl with fork until mixture resembles cottage cheese with small curds. Stir in remaining ingredients (up to carrot and celery sticks). Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Can be covered and refrigerated up to 4 days.

4. To Serve: Pour sauce mixture into large bowl, add chicken wings, and toss until wings are uniformly coated. Serve immediately with the carrot and celery sticks and blue cheese dressing on side.

5. To Make Ahead: The fried, unsauced wings can be kept warm in the oven for up to 1 1/2 hours. Toss them with the sauce just before serving.

Serve with lots of napkins. Bon Appétit  

h/t Tengrain at Dependable Renegade

Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette

One of the mainstays of many a Sunday dinner is Roast Pork. A favorite is one crusted with garlic and sprigs of rosemary and sage, served with roasted potatoes and carrots. Recent news that because of this Summer’s drought and the rising cost of corn feed, pork will initially be plentiful and inexpensive but the price will rise later. For those lucky enough to have a large freezer, buying a whole pork loin and other cuts, cutting the loin into 2 1/2 to 3 pound roasts and freezing would be an economical idea.

I’ve used this recipe for Roast Pork many times, preparing it both indoors and out on the grill over indirect heat. Hickory charcoal imparts a special flavor to pork. I also like to start the roasting at a high heat, 425ºF, for about 30 minutes to sear in the juices and impart a golden color to the roast.

Roast Pork Loin with Garlic, Rosemary and Sage

Equipment:

   Temperature probe

   Butcher’s twine

   13 x 9 x 2-inch roasting pan

   Aluminum foil

Ingredients;

   4 large garlic cloves, sliced thin

   4 sprigs fresh rosemary

   4 sprigs fresh sage

     Vegetable oil, preferably canola

   1/2 teaspoons coarse salt, Kosher is good

       ground black pepper

   1 2 1/2 to 3 pound boneless pork loin roast, well trimmed

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line 13 x 9 x 2-inch roasting pan with foil.

Pat the roast dry with paper towels. Cut 4 to 6 lengths of Butcher”s twine, long enough to tie around the roast, excess twine can be trimmed, so better too long than too short. Space the ties under the roast but don’t tie them yet. Rub the roast with about a table spoon of vegetable oil. Sprinkle lightly with the salt and pepper. Place the garlic slices over the top of the roast, then lay the sage and rosemary sprigs over the garlic. Carefully tie it all into place, as snug as possible.

Place the roast in the foil lined pan and into the oven. Roast at 425°F for 30 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350ºF. Roast until thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 155°F, about 45 to 55 minutes longer. Remove from oven, tent with foil and let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Serves 6 to 8, or 4 with leftovers for sandwiches.

To make this a one pot meal add red skinned potatoes and carrots to the pan with the roast.

Cut 4 medium potatoes and 4 carrots into 1 1/2 inch pieces tossed with a little vegetable oil, chopped garlic, rosemary, sage, salt and pepper. Add to the pan after temperature after the first 30 minutes of cooking. Or, place in a separate foil lined pan and roast during the last 45 to 55 minutes.

The roast can be served with some of extra Calvados Applesauce that was made for the Apple Tart.

Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette

Although this year’s fruit crops were effected by the weather, some apple varieties are in abundance. Gala, one of my favorites for making tarts and apple sauce, is one of them.

I use it to make an easy fall tart I found at Epicurious. Gala apples are firm, crisp and naturally sweet so there is less sugar used in this recipe than would be used if an tarter apple was used. It also uses Calvados, an apple brandy, for a delicious apple sauce base. Regular brandy can be substituted if Calvados isn’t available. It can also be left out but the apple sauce and accompanying whipped cream will be missing that special flavor.

I always double or triple the applesauce recipe since it goes well with roast pork or as an accompaniment for pancakes or waffles.

Galette de Pommes au Calvados

Ingredients:

   All-butter pastry dough

   1 3/4 pound Gala apples

   2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

   1/3 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar

   Calvados applesauce

   3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

   1 1/2 tablespoons apple jelly

   1 cup chilled heavy cream

   1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

   1 1/2 tablespoons Calvados

   Special equipment: parchment paper; a large baking sheet (at least 14 inches wide)

Preparation:

Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a rough 16-inch round (1/8 inch thick), then transfer carefully to parchment-lined large baking sheet. Loosely fold in edge of pastry where necessary to fit on baking sheet, then chill, covered loosely with plastic wrap, 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

While pastry is chilling, peel and core apples, then cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Toss slices with lemon juice and 1/3 cup granulated sugar.

Put baking sheet with pastry on a work surface and unfold any edges so pastry is flat. Spread applesauce over pastry, leaving a 2-inch border, and top sauce with sliced apples, mounding slightly. Fold edges of dough over filling, partially covering apples (center will not be covered) and pleating dough as necessary. Dot apples with butter, then brush pastry edge lightly with water and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar. Bake galette in middle of oven until pastry is golden and apples are tender, 40 to 45 minutes.

While galette is baking, melt apple jelly in a very small saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring.

Slide baked galette on parchment onto a rack, then brush with melted jelly and cool galette until warm or room temperature.

Beat together cream and confectioners sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until cream just holds soft peaks, then beat in Calvados. Serve galette topped with dollops of Calvados cream.

yield: Makes 8 servings

active time: 45 min

total time: 3 3/4 hr

Cooks’ note: • Galette can be made 8 hours ahead and kept at room temperature.

Recipes for the All-Butter Pastry Dough and the Calvados Applesauce are below the fold.

Bon appétit

An odd pair of solar system objects will be meeting up in the night sky tonight: the full moon and distant Uranus. You’ve got two opportunities to watch this sweet celestial action go down during two live Slooh Space Camera shows, the first at 4 p.m. Pacific/7 p.m. Eastern and the second at 7 p.m. Pacific/10 p.m. Eastern on Sept. 29. [..]

This weekend’s full moon will be known as the Harvest Moon, since it occurs nearest to the autumn equinox. Uranus will be in opposition to Earth, meaning it will be as close and bright as it can be in the night sky, and will be nearly perfectly lined up with the moon. Amateur astronomers can get a good glimpse at Uranus by aiming just below the moon and searching for the only green star in their field of view.

The Slooh show will be hosted by Patrick Paolucci, who will be joined by Bob Berman, columnist for Astronomy magazine.

h/t Adam Mann at Wired Science