Pumpkin Risotto

Happy Fall! If you couldn't tell by the lower temperatures and the changing leaves, you can definitely see the change in the grocery store. The baking pumpkins are back! I thought I'd do something different with pumpkin; most recipes are for pie or bread, which are great but sadly not dinner.

If you read enough food blogs you’ll have read at some point how hard it is to make a good risotto. Well I’m here to tell you it’s not that hard, it just takes some time (total prep time: about 2 hours, including roasting the pumpkin). And since it's fall I have a really awesome recipe for pumpkin risotto with sage chicken. I know this looks like a lot of ingredients but it’s a really great fall food that you can make ahead of time. 

            

This recipe got two thumbs up from the husband while reaching for a second helping. That's all I can ask for!

 

1 C chopped onion

1 to 2 teaspoons butter

1 C Arborio Rice

1 whole baking pumpkin – ½ chopped and baked; ½ pureed

Vegetable oil

Nutmeg

Cinnamon

Thyme

Fresh sage leaves

Salt

Pepper

4 to 5 C chicken stock

Chicken or turkey parts (breast, thigh, leg, whatever you’ve got around) enough to make the meal a little more hearty.

½ c parmesan cheese

 

Cut pumpkin in half. Peel both halves. Chop one half into ½ inch pieces, coat with vegetable oil, sprinkle with nutmeg, sage, and cinnamon. Spread out pieces on a baking sheet and bake at 325 until they begin to brown a little bit and soften, they should be cooked through. Coat the 2^nd half of the pumpkin with vegetable oil and bake at 325 until it begins to soften. Puree and set aside (I used my stick blender, yay).

Bring a 2 to 4 qt stock pot (I like cast iron for this) to medium heat and sauté onion in butter until it is fragrant and start to soften. 

Add 1 C chicken stock to the stock pot and bring to a simmer. Add the Arborio rice. Stir pretty regularly, you don’t need to stand over the pot but come back every 2 or three minutes. Cook until the liquid has almost completely absorbed. Add 1 more cup of stock. Cook again until the liquid is gone. Stir in pumpkin puree, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper (all to taste). Add another cup of chicken stock. Cook until the liquid has absorbed. Continue to add chicken stock until the rice is cooked and creamy. It should be pretty thick and gooey. Stir in the parmesan cheese. Add the chopped baked pumpkin and pulled chicken (no need to remove the sage, add it all in together). Stir. Serve with extra parmesan. 

 

This is a great thick hearty stick to your ribs kind of meal. Every bite is full of autumnal, earthy, pumpkin flavor.

After Turkey

Part of the reason I love making a whole turkey is the day after. I love turkey sandwiches made with the breast meat and the ease of dinners and lunches the next few days!

Tonight's dinner: Turkey sandwiches on challah bread with roasted Anaheim peppers and Pub Cheese. Plus stuffing and potato salad. Can you say starch overload? I am a carbaholoic.

"Hello. My name is Marie and I am a carbaholic."

"Hi Marie."

It's probably something that I need to work on... maybe cut back a little... a very little. I tried South Beach once. I was not a happy camper. I looked good but I wasn't nice. I could have been a professional model! OK maybe not, I wasn't that mean.

Challah Bread and Turkey

So I started my morning baking bread and ended it with a turkey dinner. What a day! I love Sundays! Football and food!

 Apparently challah bread takes 12 hours to proof. I had no idea. I started last night at 6 putting the dough together. This beyond almost anything that I need to read the whole recipe before I start. I bloomed the yeast before I realized how long it was going to take to rise so I decided I'd let it rise over night and get up early to bake it.




 To start you'll need:
1 packet dry active yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/2 C water (105 to 115 Degrees)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons Salt
3 tablespoons oil
2 eggs lightly beaten
2 egg yolks lightly beaten.
1/2 C all purpose flour
2 1/2 C bread flour

This is a pretty simple recipe but it's the technique that makes it difficult (it takes a long time).
Add yeast and warm water to mixing bowl and leave for 5 minutes. It should look like the picture above.
add the sugar, salt, oil, eggs, egg yolks, and all purpose flour, mix until combined. Add the bread flour slowly until it is combined.
Kneed for 8 minutes or until the dough is elastic and smooth.
Move the dough to an oiled bowl and turn once to coat. Cover lightly with plastic and let the dough rise in a warm place (75 to 80 degrees) for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size.
Punch down and kneed for a minute. return to the oiled bowl and place in the refrigerator for 4 to 12 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
Cut the dough into 3 or 4 pieces and  roll into balls. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.
Roll into 14 inch long strands that taper at the ends.
Grease a cookie sheet and sprinkle corn meal over it.
Place all 4 strands on the greased cookie sheet with one end touching. Pinch the end together. If you are braiding 4 strands like I tried to do turn the outside ends over the middle then twist the middle strands, then repeat. It's not the prettiest loaf but it's tasty!

Take 1 egg and a pinch of salt and beat them together.

Brush the egg wash on the bread, try to get into all the nooks and crannies. This will allow for a more even browning.

<-- I swear this isn't the turkey I made for dinner.





How GOOD does that look? Even though I've eaten dinner I want to go cut off another slice of this and eat it! All it needs is a little bit of butter. The crumb is really delicate and the air pockets are really small. And the smell...Oh it was amazing! I love the smell of fresh baked bread. There's no real word to describe that smell other than happy.

AND NOW... On to dinner!

Dinner tonight was turkey (a whole frozen turkey), stuffing, and acorn squash with two different toppings.

The first squash was a little bit of vegetable oil (I used a mister) and brown sugar and cinnamon.
I baked this for about 15 minutes on one side then flipped them over and baked for another 10 minutes



The second was a little balsamic vinegar, a few tablespoons of fresh squeezed orange juice, honey, and nutmeg.I brushed this on both sides of the squash then put them on an oiled baking sheet (covered with aluminum foil for easy cleanup).

Both were baked at 350 degrees.

The turkey was a brined turkey thanks to my food muse Alton Brown.
You can find his recipe here:
Brined Turkey Recipe

It's an easy recipe that makes a very moist and juicy turkey. I am going to try other brines but there one is pretty darn good.

 

Happy Sunday! Don't forget it doesn't need to be a holiday to enjoy a special meal!