A Pumpkin Ale Cocktail

Thirsty Thursday! I’m bringing you a whole lotta drunken pumpkin today.  With the sweet autumn smell of pumpkin in the air everyone is trying to get in on this pumpkin action.  Aside from your Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts (my loves), beer is taking a dip in the pumpkin fountain too.  I’m sure it’s been around for a while but I’m just now noticing how many breweries serve up a pumpkin brew.

Well in this Pumpkin Ale Cocktail I chose Dogfish Head's Punkin’ Ale.  Alone, it tastes just like pumpkin pie.  In fact they’ve incorporated real pumpkin, brown sugar, allspice (which isn’t all spices), cinnamon and nutmeg.  And you know I had to give a shoutout to Tennessee and added my good friend Jack to the libation and his neighbor Jim from Kentucky.

Now if you can’t get your hands on Punkin’ Ale, Sam Adams has Harvest Pumpkin Ale and I’m sure there are countless others.

Ingredients

Punkin’ Ale
1 shot Jack Daniels
1 shot Jim Beam
Honey
Ice

1.  Grab a glass and drizzle some honey along the sides of it.
2.  Put some ice in that glass.
3.  Throw a shot of Jack and a shot Jim in the glass.
4.  Pour some ale to the top of whatever glass you are using.
5.  Stir do not shake the mixture.  Since it’s beer you don’t want to agitate all of that carbonation by shaking the cocktail.  The honey may not be fully dissolved at this point but you will get a little bit of sweet each time you take a sip. And might I say, after the first two sips of this cocktail I was already off to Tipsy Town?!

***Side-note time: This is a formal thanks to Anisha J-Indiaaaa for helping me name my dessert category, "Sugar Rush." You should heard her other suggestions. Not quite appropriate for a PG and often PG-13 audience.

Pumpkin Fritters

Mmm...fried dough and pumpkin.  What could be better?  I’m not sure why I thought of doing pumpkin fritters but I sure am glad I did.  Now, I’m not the best when it comes to deep frying.  I feel there’s a science to it and science and Beth do not mix well at all.  So when I took on this project it was definitely an experiment.  Aside from being a little heavy handed with the cinnamon, these fritters turned out crispy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. MOIST. Side note; I really like saying that word since so many people hate it.  I find it very entertaining to see people cringe. Haha!

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ cup sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 can pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2 tbs melted butter
1 cup buttermilk
1 cap full of vanilla
vegetable oil (enough to fill a deep saucepan a little more than halfway)

1.  Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2.  Next add all of the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well but not too much.  *Tip:  I like to beat my eggs separately, before adding them to the batter.  The batter should resemble thick pancake batter, not a soupy mess.  If it’s too thick, add a little bit more buttermilk.  
3.  Now, resist the urge to immediately start frying these babies.  You need to let the batter sit for about 30-40 MINUTES! Why? You need to let the spices marry and let the baking powder work it’s magic or “science.”
4.  Heat a deep saucepan full of oil at a medium heat. (CAUTION:  when I say “full” I mean a little more than halfway full. Not to the brim as that will cause a fire.)
5.  After 30 minutes, grab a spoon and scoop up some batter.  I wouldn’t scoop up too much batter as it will be hard to get the middle done.  You kind of want the size of golf balls not tennis balls.  I think.  I’m not big on those sports but I’m pretty sure a golf ball is smaller than a tennis ball.  Anywho, drop your golf balls into the saucepan.  I would drop no more than three or four.  Any more than that and your oil will drop in temperature and you will end up with soggy balls. Bahahahaha, “soggy balls.” Anywho, your balls should be floating to the surface.  About 1 ½ to 2 minutes on each side should work well.  Place your fried balls onto a brown paper bag or paper towel to drain the excess oil.
6.  Lastly, dust the fritters with some powdered sugar and indulge!

Pumpkin Soup Shooters

Ingredients

½ onion chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
1 carrot chopped
2 tbs oil
3-4 cups chicken stock
1 can pumpkin
2 tbs coconut creme
1 tsp nutmeg
½ cup half and half
salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute the first 3 ingredients in the oil until translucent and tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Once veggies are soft, add chicken stock and bring to a boil.
3. Next, add 1 can pumpkin puree and simmer on medium, low for 10-15 minutes.
4. After 15 minutes, add nutmeg, cream and half and half.
5. Cook for another 10 minutes or so.  Next, let the mixture cool for about 5 minutes and blend in a blender or use an immersion blender to get contents smooth.
6.  Finally, pour mixture into shot glasses and enjoy!

Pumpkin Risotto

I’m baaaaack!  Pretty sure no one knew BS went on a hiatus but nonetheless, it did.  After a few posts, I soon realized I needed to force myself to get organized and actually plan meals.  I even went so far as to actually measure and record my ingredients on paper?! Sooo, unlike me, I know.  But in the time BS took a break, I missed the two most pivotal events in a girl’s life; the opening of football season and pumpkin season! With that being said all recipes this week will include pumpkin capped off by a UT-inspired dish on Friday.

First up, pumpkin risotto! I made this risotto more laborious than it had to be but I was too cheap to buy canned pumpkin over the cheaper, fresher, real pumpkin.  But you definitely can substitute fresh pumpkin for the can.

Ingredients

1 small sugar pie pumpkin
1 cup arborio rice
½ medium onion
1 garlic clove
2 strips bacon
2 tbs butter
½ cups grated parmesan
1 cup dry white wine
6 + cups chicken broth
3-4 sage leaves
a dash or two of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Roasting the pumpkin

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut a small sugar pie pumpkin in half and place the halves, face down, into a shallow cookie sheet with about an inch of water.  Roast pumpkin for 30-40 minutes.  Once soft and tender, scoop the pulp into a bowl and let stand.

For the Risotto

1.  Chop bacon into small strips and fry in a medium sized saucepan.  While the bacon is frying, put chicken broth into a small saucepan to bring to a rolling simmer.
2.  Once bacon is crisp, place bacon aside and drain some (only SOME) of the grease.  Add a little less than a tablespoon of butter.
3.  Saute onion in butter until fragrant.  Once onion is translucent add garlic clove, salt and pepper.
4.  Now add the rice and toast for a few minutes. (3-4 minutes)
5.  Next, add the wine.  Once the rice absorbs the wine, add about 3 cups of the hot broth.  Let the rice cook, covered, for about 7-10 minutes.  Make sure to keep your eye on the dish as the liquid may evaporate quicker than expected.
6.  Once the rice absorbs this first round of broth, add the remaining 3 cups of broth along with 1 cup of the pumpkin puree.  Let cook for another 5-7 minutes.
7.  Once you’ve incorporated the pumpkin.  Add 3 leaves of chopped sage and 1 tablespoon of butter into the dish.
8.  Once butter is melted add the parmesan.  Throughout this process, taste the rice to make sure it’s al dente or a little bit soft.
9.  Let this cook about another 5 minutes. Once done place into a bowl while you fry some of that sage in the remaining bacon grease. Add the sage to the bowl and enjoy!