Beyond the Pie

It's a rainy, rainy day here. November is the wettest month of the year in the Seattle area, with about 6.5 inches of rainfall on average. So when I think of autumn, I think of chilly and wet days -- a perfect season for the warmth of pumpkin-filled meals.

For those wishing to imbibe in copious amounts of pumpkin (or butternut squash for those who prefer squash over pumpkin) this month, but don't want to OD on pie, here are some of my favorite ways to use pureed pumpkin in savory recipes. Sub in squash du jour for pumpkin as your tastes dictate.

Pasta with a pumpkin (squash) sauce in place of a tomato sauce

• Pumpkin/squash, Italian sausage, sage, onion, and cream sauce tossed with penne pasta. 
• Or, a twist on traditional lasagna, using a pumpkin/squash béchamel sauce in layers with lasagna noodles, cooked ground beef or cooked Italian sausage (with or without some cooked chopped spinach mixed in), cottage or ricotta cheese, then all topped with some Parmesan cheese. 
• Or, a pumpkin/squash, cream (or milk/alternative milk), sage, onions, Parmesan, garlic sauce over pre-made tortellini/ravioli.

Pumpkin puree as the topping on a Shepherd's Pie

• Libby's recipe blends pumpkin with mashed potatoes for the topping. Pumpkin is naturally lower in carbs than potatoes. Blending the two reduces overall carbs while satisfying the taste for mashed potatoes.
• For an all pumpkin topping (no potatoes), check out this recipe from Seasonal Intentions. The pumpkin topping is slightly spicy, with cinnamon, chipotle, and cardamom. For vegetarians, this recipe could easily be modified. It is chock full of vegetable flavor and texture, including turnips, kale, carrots, onion, and seasonings. The beef could be omitted and beef bouillon replaced with vegetable broth.

Pumpkin Bisque

• Taste of Home has a delicious pumpkin bisque recipe on its website. I made this last year, using saved bacon fat for sautéing the onions and garlic, but then skipping the bacon topping as a garnish and subbing in ham cracklings (see this post for cracklings). Diced ham would also be nice, or skip the smoked meat topping altogether. I subbed Swiss cheese for the Gouda (Swiss is more economical for me) and used coconut milk for the heavy cream (dairy issue for me). The bisque is very tasty and fairly simple.

Crockpot Pumpkin Chicken Chili

• If you're looking for a dump and go pumpkin chili recipe, this one is a winner. The pumpkin, beans, and chiles are all canned -- simplification, indeed. The green chiles are the kind that stores like Walmart sell for 78 cents/generic-brand, 4-oz can of fire-roasted chiles that add some heat, or mild ones by Ortega that sell for $1.24/4-oz can. They pack a lot of flavor for a little money. The canned beans can be replaced with home-cooked beans from dried, to save a little money. I frequently cook large batches of different types of beans and freeze in pint containers to use another day in soups and chili, as needed.

Pumpkin Sausage Chili

• Italian sausage is a natural pairing with pumpkin. Pioneer Woman's Pumpkin Chili recipe is closer to traditional chili recipes than the crockpot chicken chili recipe above, in that it contains ground meat, canned tomatoes, and bell pepper. Read the comments and suggestions above the actual recipe. She discusses how Libby's pumpkin is closer in flavor to butternut squash, what swaps can be made (including making this vegetarian), and it's flavor profile. 

These are a few of my favorite savory pumpkin dishes. Do you have any favorite pumpkin or winter squash (non-pie) dishes?

Is it too soon to talk turkey?

So, I've been receiving emails from stores and restaurants describing/advertising their pick-up Thanksgiving meals. Most are just the common T-day foods. One in particular came from a local restaurant and their menu looked good and more interesting. We sent an e-gift card to our son and daughter-in-law from this restaurant a couple of years ago, and now we're on their email list. Anyway, it's very expensive ($57 per person, not including dessert), but it did get me thinking about what I want to serve our 6 at our little Thanksgiving meal.

For the mains

When you have just 6 people, a whole turkey sounds like far more turkey leftovers than we would want. I've done bone-in turkey breasts before, and those are a good size for a smaller group. They're not as budget-friendly (priced per pound) as the whole bird. But it's an option.

Last year we did a whole chicken, roasted as I would a whole turkey, and a smoked pork loin. I have both whole chickens and a pork loin in the freezer. So if I went the same route as last year, I wouldn't have to buy the main meat. 

The restaurant I mentioned above is providing roasted turkey breast, sliced turkey leg confit, and honey glazed ham as their mains in the package.

For the sides

I think I want variety in texture as well as flavor. And I don't want too many starchy foods. So, I think I'll have purple mashed potatoes (from our garden's purple potatoes, everyone loves the color surprise), roasted sweet potato chunks, and bread, celery and sage stuffing. I have everything for those dishes except sweet potatoes. For vegetable dishes, I have canned green beans, dried mushrooms, and onions on hand. I could make a green bean casserole in a homemade mushroom soup binder and topped with homemade onion and bread crumb topping. I do our green bean casserole this way every year, due to my dairy intolerance. I would like to do a salad. I don't know if we will have anything to make a salad from on hand. So I will have to buy ingredients for a salad. I will make a gravy with the chicken drippings and homemade chicken stock. I may just skip any sort of cranberry sauce, and instead serve home-canned chutney alongside both the chicken and smoked pork. And I'd like to have olives. We all love olives and I haven't been buying any lately due to price increases. I'll get some for Thanksgiving.

The package with the restaurant includes a four cheese mac and cheese, vanilla yam puree, garlic mashed potatoes, brioche truffle stuffing, roasted seasoned green beans, country gravy, and orange cranberry sauce.

For dessert

I will bake an apple pie, using frozen apple chunks and homemade pie pastry, and a pumpkin pie, using our pureed pumpkin, soy milk, sugar, eggs, spices and homemade pie pastry. I will need to pick up whipping cream for the pies.

The restaurant does not include dessert with the package, but offers an add-on of $16 for either an apple or pumpkin pie.

For beverages

I can ask our son and daughter-in-law to bring some sparkling cider and/or mineral water for our cold beverages, and I'll serve coffee and tea with the dessert.

So, it looks like I will need to buy sweet potatoes, salad ingredients, olives, and whipping cream for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Have you given thought to your Thanksgiving meal for this year? Is turkey a must for your group? Are you hosting or guesting this year?