Pumpkin Soup Concentrate for freezing

It's fall y'all!
Every year about this time, our rural roads are full of pumpkins sitting on wagons and in wooden crates for mere pennies. I coerce John into pulling over and picking up at least 15 pie pumpkins that leave our hands dirty and filled with those weird little slivers that pumpkin stems give you. Maybe a little sticky thrown in.
But they're homegrown and only $5. I proceed to put them in the garage and slowly use them until it freezes here permanently and they are ruined....until a couple years ago. I now process the buggers right away. Procrastination is never my friend.
I thought you might like an easy freezer recipe to deal with pumpkins and winter squash in a creative and useable way!
I begin by cutting my PIE pumpkins (or any winter squash) in half and roasting them until tender. I then scoop flesh into a suspended jelly bag or cheesecloth and allow to drain at least 6 hours. This keeps the puree drier and less likely to hold water during freezing. Once drained I mash and make this recipe:

Pumpkin Soup Concentrate

2 cups pumpkin or squash puree
4 ounces blue cheese (I used Maytag)
4 ounces Mascarpone cheese
1 cup chopped onions
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
Salt & Pepper

Saute onions in olive oil until softened but not browned. Stir in remaining ingredients and pack into freezer containers.

For soup add: 2 cups heavy cream, coconut milk (unsweetened) + 1 cup stock of choice or 3 cups stock

For flatbreads: Using already baked flatbreads: top with pumpkin and bake 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Top with prosciutto crumbles and greens that have been lightly dressed with balsamic vinegar

I have been working on a souffle recipe as well and will update when the exact proportions are complete!

posted from Bloggeroid

Roquefort Roulade

I'm stuck at "A Table in the Tarn" recipe section and I'm never leaving!!! 

A year ago at this time our family was preparing to visit France.  This week has been fun to relive a few of those memories and eat a slew of French dishes. 
We absolutely love Roquefort cheese, it's powerful and a tad salty, yet beautifully delicate enough to melt on your fingertips.  I have served it with grilled steaks and served it with seedless grapes...it complements so many different flavors.

I believe the only downside of Roquefort is it's price, not for the faint of heart.  I wouldn't use any substitutions in this recipe, however, as the cheese is the star and it only take 1/2 pound.  The finished recipe is also quite rich and will easily serve 6 with a salad and bread. 

This Roulade is a bit like a quiche, but more interesting in texture, flavor and appearance.  I only changed the size of the pan required.  I have made a few egg roll-up recipes and liked the size the 11X15 sheet pan created.  A bit easier handling than the 10X13 called for.  You can make your own judgement on that.  Despite what looks like a huge recipe, it all came together rather quickly and we were eating in 40 minutes, start to finish!  I love that!

Roulade of Roquefort
by Orlando Murrin of "A Table in the Tarn"

Roulade:
3 T butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup milk
1 1/3 cup Cantal, Comte or Cheddar cheese, grated
dash of nutmeg, Dijon Mustard and cayenne pepper
3 eggs, seperated
2 T Parmigiano-Reggiano,grated

Filling:
2 T Butter
2 T flour
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1/2 pound Roquefort cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add butter, flour and milk and stir constantly until thick, reduce heat to simmer and cook 3 minutes.  Stir in cheese, seasonings and egg yolks.  Mix to combine.  Whisk egg whites to soft peaks and fold into cheese mixture.  Pour onto a parchment (VERY IMPORTANT to line pan with parchment) smooth with a spatula and sprinkle with Parmigiano cheese.  Bake about 15 minutes if using 11X15 or 20 minutes if using 10X13 pan.  Bake until golden brown and puffed.

Make the filling while the Roulade bakes.  Add butter, flour and milk to a small saucepan over medium high heat and stir constantly until thickened. ( Will be a bit thicker than above was)  Add mustard and stir.

Crumble Roquefort and set aside.

To assemble:  Remove Roulade from oven and use a spatulas to loosen edges from parchment.  Let cool about 4 minutes then spread with filling and sprinkle on the Roquefort.  Starting at the short end, roll up, jelly roll style (It will end up being 11 inches long) and let cool about 10-15 minutes on parchment paper.

Slice on the bias a bit and serve!  It will be a bit oozy, which is correct! 

I served with a sundried tomato and bacon wilted spinach salad!

Savory Squash Pie with Bacon Lattice Top

I am up early today to prepare a few dishes for the festivities and thought I would share a new recipe with you.  I cannot make this for Thanksgiving, as my family has had it about 4 times while I was fine tuning the recipe for my cooking class!  They have refused to eat it again this calendar year!  It all sounds a bit complicated, but goes together quite easily!  I saw a pie much like this in the Wall Street Journal, but I think mine tastes much better, a little less sweet!

We wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

SQUASH PIE WITH BACON LATTICE

1  9 inch pie pastry crust

1/3 cup Butter, soft
½ cup Sugar
2 Large Eggs
5 Oz. Evaporated Milk or Heavy Cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 cups Mashed Squash (A blend of Acorn and Butternut is my favorite)

¼ pound Blue Cheese, crumbled (I used Bleu Affine)

8 slices Bacon
½ cup Brown Sugar
4 Teaspoons Balsamic Vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place pie crust into pie dish and flute edges.
In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar, add eggs and vanilla, mix well.  Add milk or cream and squash, mix until combined then pour into pastry crust.  Bake 50-55 minutes until center is set.  Sprinkle with cheese and cool on a wire rack.

Increase oven temp to 425 degrees.  Foil line the bottom of a broiler pan for easy clean up.  Basketweave your 8 slices of bacon together on the grid portion of the broiler pan.  In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and balsamic vinegar and brush evenly over the bacon slices.  Bake about 15 minutes with a piece of foil over the bacon, remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes.  Trim edges to fit your pie dish and place on top of squash.  Serve cold or at room temp!