Autumn. The leaves are falling (and clogging my gutters), the weather is changing (finally), and I start craving flavored coffee, pumpkin pie, eggnog, and amaretto – not necessarily in that order. This recipe combines two of those cravings into one sinfully delicious dessert.

Amaretto Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup amaretti cookies, crushed fine
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 cups pumpkin puree, unsweetened if canned
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 3 tablespoons amaretto
• 2 pinches salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Toss cookie crumbs and butter in a small bowl until well-combined. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9″ pie pan. Cover edges with tin foil and bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth. Pour into prepared and cooled pie shell. Bake for 45 minutes or until skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting; serve with freshly whipped ginger cream (1 cup heavy cream whipped with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger) and garnish with slivered almonds, if desired.

Image by JamesJyu.

I am a huge fan of can-shaped red goo at the holidays, but I’m always on the lookout for new and exciting cranberry sauce recipes. This definitely fits the bill. Adults will appreciate the sophisticated palate cleanser, and kids love eating “water ice” with their turkey, instead of waiting for dessert.

Cranberry Orange Sorbet

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces fresh cranberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 cup orange juice concentrate
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped

Prepare the bowl of your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

In a heavy-bottomed, non-reactive saucepan, whisk together water, sugar, and concentrate. Stir in cranberries. Cover and bring to a boil; cook for about 5 minutes from boil, or until most of the berries have popped. Remove from heat and add thyme; set aside and let steep for 1 hour.

Strain mixture through a fine sieve, pressing to remove as much of the liquid as possible. Discard thyme, berry skins, and fibers. Cover liquid and refrigerate overnight.

Process in ice cream maker.

Serves 8-12 as a side dish or small dessert.

Image by PVerdonk.

It’s a bit off-season to find properly fresh tomatoes, but don’t let that stop you from serving up some homemade salsa. Roasting adds a deeper, sweeter flavor to canned tomatoes, and the lime brightens things up. Perfect for Monday Night Football!

Roasted Tomato Salsa

Ingredients:

• Two 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes
• 2 dried chipotle peppers, rehydrated and coarsely chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 lime, halved
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 bunch cilantro, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Drain tomatoes and spread thinly in a roasting dish or deep-sided sheet pan. Bake at 450 for 30-40 minutes or until sugars begin to caramelize. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine cooled tomatoes and remaining ingredients, stirring until well-combined. Add 1/3 of mixture to blender or food processor and process until smooth but slightly chunky. Return to bowl and stir into other ingredients. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Serves 4-6.

Image by Micah Taylor.

Link love for the things that have kept me happy while my head’s been buried in homework for the past few weeks….

• I am unlucky enough to be the “keeper” of one of the fridges at my office, so this Seattle times article about fridge wars hit home for me.  I wonder if I can get away with date-stamping?
• Champagne cupcakes? Tres chic.
• These polenta dumplings stuffed with cheese look like ooey, gooey heaven.
• For the DIY bar: homemade bitters

Carnivals Galore!

• Wee Wifey hosted the Cereal Killers edition of the Carnival of the Recipes this week. My favorite recipe by far was the Overnight Caramel French Toast. (Our double-baked taters were included.)
• My recipe for addictive crack (AKA BBQ Chicken Pizza) was included in this month’s Pizza Carnival, along with an off-topic but very cute Ode to Beer.
• Last week’s Recipe Carnival was hosted by the Expatriate’s Kitchen, and the theme was Squash.  I am positively drooling over this Pumpkin-Bourbon Pudding recipe.  I totally spaced on submitting to this one, but I had planned to offer up my Honey-Glazed Acorn Squash.
• Next week’s Carnival of the Recipes will be hosted by the Readable Feast, and the theme is kids’ food.

Image by Eqqman

It is officially deer season in Pennsylvania, and in my family that means emptying the freezers of last year’s catch in preparation for the new. Our consumption of the venison is not only nourishment, but family bonding, just like the treks to the woods are for the hunters among us. My Pappy lures me to his basement with promises of tender backstrap, and there’s a running seasonal commentary on the best way to cook it (ice cold into a ripping hot pan), how to keep it from being dry (butter), what best to serve it with (salt and pepper, or mushrooms if you’d like), how to serve the chip steak (on a Malone’s roll), and so on.

I am a traditionalist. I like my venison straight up, medium rare, lightly salted. I’ll admit, I’ve switched from Malone’s to Amoroso rolls (I’m a rebel, I know), but the most interesting thing I’ve done with venison is sushi.

This recipe arose, as so many good ones have, from a late-night menu-planning brainstorm. We were catering a charity event, and in an effort to cut costs, we decided to throw some venison into the mix. (My freezer is always full of venison – it’s a wonderful thing.) Mer came up with the plan, and we ran a test-run. The end result was so good that we donated the venison to the cause and added this to our sushi platter.

Teriyaki Venison Maki Sushi

Ingredients:

• 1 venison backstrap (tenderloin), thawed if frozen
• 1 red or orange bell pepper, seeded and cut into matchsticks
• 4 scallions, whites only, cleaned and cut into matchsticks
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, well-drained
• 1 /2 package nori
• 2 cups sushi rice, prepared and seasoned
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons cup mirin
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a gallon-sized ziptop bag, combine soy sauce, mirin, Worcestershire, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and pepper. Add venison and marinate overnight.

Drain the venison and pat dry; place in freezer for 15 minutes prior to cooking. Heat a heavy skillet or cast-iron pan on high and add a bit of oil to coat. Move meat straight from freezer to pan*. Sear venison on all sides, approximately 2 minutes per side. Set aside to rest. When cool enough to handle, cut meat into thin strips, approximately the same size as the julienned pepper.

Assemble sushi: spread rice on nori and top with a row of venison, peppers, scallions, and crushed pineapple. Roll tightly and chill before cutting. (There is an excellent guide to assembling sushi rolls here.)

*Cooking venison when it’s ice-cold is the best way I’ve found to keep the gamey taste away.

Just in time for Halloween, bake up some fun in these pumpkin-shaped silicone cupcake molds! Set of 8 (4 orange, 4 black), from Tovolo.  Not a cupcake person?  No problem!  these can also be used to form festive onigiri, or as molds to make your mashed sweet potatoes extra-fancy.

There’s also a holiday version, with stars, gingerbread men, and trees.

Image by Kim Scarborough

I will admit that my favorite Swedish meatballs come with a side of potatoes and lingonberry jam at IKEA, but these are a very close second. The meatballs themselves are a bit time-consuming to make, so I usually make multiple batches at once and freeze them (without the sauce). Serve over your choice of starch, and always with lingonberries.

Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain bread crumbs
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1/2 cup minced onion, cooked until soft, cooled
• 1 1/2-2 lbs ground beef
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 4 tablespoons butter, cubed
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 cup sour cream
• salt and pepper to taste (for sauce)

In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, milk, and melted butter. Allow to set until breadcrumbs are soft. Add onion, beef, eggs, and seasonings; mix until well-combined. Form into small balls and set aside.

Melt butter in a large skillet and cook meatballs, in batches, turning occasionally until browned on all sides. Repeat for remaining meatballs. Set aside. If meatballs will be frozen, cool and place in a single layer on a sheet pan. Freeze on pan overnight before placing in a freezer bag; this will keep the meatballs from sticking.

Drain off all but 4 tablespoons fat from pan. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture smells nutty and is light brown. Whisk in stock and sour cream, stirring until thoroughly blended. Mixture will thicken quickly. Return meatballs to pan and simmer gently until heated through.

Serves 4-6.

Image by iamsalad

One of my favorite things about fall is the fresh produce selection, particularly apples and squash. This squash tastes almost like candy. this recipe works well on all types of squash – even leftover pumpkin!

Honey-Glazed Acorn Squash

Ingredients:

• 3 medium acorn squash
• 2/3 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Halve and seed squash and place cut sides up on sheet pan. In a small bowl, whisk together honey, lime juice, and seasonings. Brush mixture over squash.

Cover squash and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until squash is fork-tender, basting with honey mixture every 20-30 minutes. Uncover dish, baste again, and place under broiler until sugars have caramelized.

Serves 6.

Today’s post is a recipe from guest chef Mel Hynes, who also happens to be the author of one of our favorite comics, Two Lumps. Thanks, Mel, for sharing your soup-y goodness!

If you would like to share your recipe and appear as guest chef on Catch the Spoon, please submit your bio and recipe here.

Soup of Teh Awesome

by Mel Hynes

Ingredients:

• 3 leeks, finely chopped (white part only)
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 4 medium potatoes (or 1 medium, 1 large, and one HONKIN HUGE)
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground mustard
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 cups chicken broth
• salt, pepper, and white pepper to taste
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar* cheese (I used a pre-shredded cheddar and jack mix)
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 8 oz sliced baby portobello mushrooms
• 1/4 lb thin-sliced lean prosciutto

In a skillet, cook leeks, garlic, and potato in 1 tablespoon of butter and the olive oil over medium-low heat, stirring often. Do not allow potato to brown. Basically get the leeks & garlic nice and soft and don’t worry about the potato as long as it doesn’t get crispy.

Mix mustard, salt, pepper(s) and flour together in a bowl.

Mix chicken broth and water in a large pot, slowly whisk in dry mixture to avoid clumping. Bring to a boil.

Add potato, leek & garlic mixture to pot. Dodge red-hot broth splatter lava action. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for 1 hour.

Reduce heat to med-low. Mash softened potato/leek mixture (either by hand or with electric mixer). Stir in cheeses until melted, then add milk but do not boil.

Cook mushrooms over medium heat in remaining 1 tablespoon of butter until soft. Slice prosciutto into very thin strips. Add prosciutto and mushrooms + sauteing sauce to the soup, stir and let warm through.

EDIT: OM NOM NOM NOM

EDIT2: good lord, this stuff is FILLING. J. and I are both stuffed after one bowl.

Check out this week’s Carnival of the Recipes hosted at Everything and Nothing – it’s the Quotable Cook edition!