Butternut Squash...

...or, Cucurbita Moschata, as most kids refer to it...




"Is that my favorite pumpkin bread I smell?" he asked, as he foxtrotted into the kitchen.

"Uh-huh."  I craftily replied, as the fires of Hell consumed me.

You see, in an attempt to convince the-one-I-hold-dear to admit fresh Butternut squash was  better than canned pumpkin,  I baked his favorite "pumpkin" bread...with some minor changes.

In deference to my die-hard Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, I finally confessed to substituting Butternut squash, while ranting  about its many virtues.
Well, it didn't really take that much convincing. And after that first bite,  he tuned me out, his eyes gently rolled back into his head, and I declared victory.

In any case, I'd be remiss if I didn't suggest serving the warm bread with Cinnamon Honey Butter from Fly Through our Window.
And please, do not eat this while standing, or your knees may buckle. It is that good.

Some were baked in canning jars, to give away as gifts. Yeah.

Others were baked into loaves, paired with that spicy butter I told you about.

Butternut Squash Bread with Pecan Streusel Topping
Yield: 2 loaves or 36 muffins.

Bread:

1½ cups pecan pieces
¾ cup vegetable oil
3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups butternut squash purée
½ cup water
3 cups AP flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons ground nutmeg
1½ teaspoons ground allspice
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoons ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt

Topping:

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ cup (½ stick) butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ cup AP flour
½ cup toasted pecan pieces (see above)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Arrange pecans on a baking sheet, toast them for 7 to 9 minutes. Reserve ½ cup of pecans for the topping.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Set aside.
Grease two 9 by 5-inch loaf pans, or 36 standard-size muffin cups. Whisk the oil and sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs, butternut squash purée, and water and whisk until well combined. Stir in the flour mixture, adding 1 cup pecan pieces last. Divide the batter between two loaf pans.

To make the topping:

With your hands, work the sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon and the reserved ½ cup pecans in a bowl until combined. Sprinkle topping over the loaves.
Bake loaves for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Bake muffins for about 25 to 30 minutes.  Adapted from The Pastry Queen, by Rebecca Rather.


Cinnamon Honey Butter

2 sticks (8 ounces) softened butter
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 cup honey*
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Using the whisk attachment in your mixer, blend all ingredients until  smooth and has an even consistency. Occasionally scrape down the sides of the mixer with a rubber spatula to ensure even mixing.

*I only used 1/2 cup honey.



While looking for ways to use up this winter squash, I came across another dessert I'd like to share with you. Dulce de Zapallo, or, Candied Butternut Squash in Spiced Syrup from Laylita.
This dark, rich, luxed out dessert with a spicy syrup  is  somewhat similar in taste to its  American cousin, the pumpkin pie. But with fewer side effects inflicted by the traditional   pie crust.

Check out Laylita's blog for recipe and tempting photos.



This was served with  Butternut Seed Brittle,  and queso fresco.

P.S. Laylita chose Piloncillo in this dessert. And so did I. 
Piloncillo is a wonderful, caramel-y, unrefined sugar,  more flavorful than brown sugar. It comes in blocks, and cone shapes, and can be found in Mexican and Latin American markets, or, ordered online.



I dare say candied Butternut squash is better than a  backstage pass to Deff Leppard. 

Regardless, one of these days,  Joe Elliott, will show up at my door, with a restraining order flowers in his hand. Oh, rapture!

Happy Halloween, my sweets!

I'd like you to meet my friend, Rick O. Mortis.

Lately, he's been a little lonely—and dare I say—dead on his feet, since he bought the farm. So, I've asked him over...for dinner...
He's mortified at the prospect because he hit a dead-end, deciding what to bring to the fete. Silly stiff.

As you can tell, Rick is pretty down to earth. From his marzipan head to his fungus-y nails. You may think this is arcane, but I cannot wait to eat...er...I mean, meet him.

Mr. Mortis (whose only crime was being born [again] delicious), was molded from rice krispies treats.
If you make this, make sure the krispies treats mixture is cool enough to handle before shaping it into a skull. I usually wait between 8 to 10 minutes before handling the stuff.

For the head, shape the mixture into a rough oval. With your thumbs, make the impression for the eyes. And gently squeeze the head, just below the eyes, until it begins to look like a skull.
Looks a bit like Jay Leno, doesn't he?   Next time, I'll ease up on the chin.

Set the skull aside to dry,  by placing it on a plastic-covered bag of rice,  flour or confectioner's sugar to keep the shape of the head round.
If you skip this step, his head will be flat in back. Which will only make your zombie that much creepier.

In other words, let your fearless creativity flow, and quit hanging on to my every word!

Okay then. This is optional, but, color your marzipan with a few tablespoons of baking cocoa for that freshly-dug effect.   Roll out the marzipan, and drape it over the head. Quickly mold it to the shape of the head.
If it tears a bit, rejoice! 

Or, you could always patch it up—but not too much—because smooth, flawless skin is hardly prevalent with today's modern zombie.

Blood is piping gel,  tinted red.
From here on out, do as you please. Add as many, or as few, wrinkles, and teeth, as you dare.

The hair is Asian rice noodles, simply inserted into the skull, while marzipan is still soft and malleable.
Btw, remember to  lightly drape the areas you're not working on with plastic wrap, to keep marzipan from drying out, while you work.

The fingers were shaped freehand  into sausages,  again,  from marzipan. Pistachio halves were used for the nails. I wanted him pushing up daisies, but all I had were Brown-Eyed Susans,  which I made in sugar years ago. Somehow, the  Brown-Eyed Susans  seem  less morbid.  This suits my  friend Rick just fine. After all,  he's kind of an earthy,  happy-go-lucky zombie.  And you're jealous.

And just so you don't think I'm all about doom, gloom and despair, I present to you  this benign little witch, Evilene.

Evilene consists of three Jack be Little pumpkins, supported by toothpicks. She was then tarted up with a cute, sheet music hat.
The broom was haphazardly put together with a bunch of fresh thyme, tied to an artist's paint brush with twine. Easy, right? 

Well, my dear goblins, it is time for me to depart.

May you all rest in (Reese's) pieces this Halloween.

Regards,

Bad Brew Betty

Raise your hand...

...if you know Sweet Melissa. No. Not the Allman Brothers 60’s hit song. Quit sniffing the patchouli, you hippies.

I’m referring to the Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy. I’ve only had this book for about a month, and so far, I've tried one recipe. Please, hold off on the lynching for a moment. Like most foodies, I have far more cookbooks than I have time to read them. But, I intend to turn to this book often, with its simple and mouthwatering recipes.

Ok, back to my point, if I had one...

...Sweet Potato Bread was the first recipe I tried from said book. And may I add, a very delicious choice, as well. I made only one change, which I'll include below.



Oh, and I baked it in this...say ahlo to my leetle friend:




It promised to make better cakes, so I had to get it. Ain't it a beauty? I'm powerless over vintage cake pans. I don't know how well you can see it, but this model comes with a curious little trapdoor. It might've been put there so you could insert a knife to loosen cakes, or perhaps to act as a vent. I dunno. What do you guys think?

And you know, contrary to popular belief, these old pans are not at all the pain-in-the-ass-tronomical-sense-to-clean you might think they are. As long as you: grease and flour it; parchment paper it, or pan coat it.


Hmm, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it were me who went off on a tangent, again.


But seriously, this is a very moist and flavorful bread, and I found it tastes even better the next day. It also keeps well if wrapped in plastic wrap for 3 days. And it freezes well. Give it a try.


Sweet Potato Bread with Cinnamon-Rum-Orange-Glaze
Makes one Bundt pan

Bread:

Two 15-ounce cans sweet potatoes, drained *
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 large eggs
2 cups AP flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup pecans, coarsely chopped


Cinnamon Rum Orange Glaze:

¼ cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup rum
½ cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks

Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven t0 350°F. Butter and flour a 10 cup Bundt pan.

In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer with the paddle attachment on low speed, mash the sweet potatoes until smooth. Add the sugar and oil and mix to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Add the flour mixture into the sweet potato mixture in three batches. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Do not over mix. Stir in the pecans.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Level the batter by lifting the pan a few inches and dropping it onto the counter a couple of times. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before inverting onto a rack for glazing.


For the glaze: Combine the orange juice, rum, sugar, and cinnamon sticks in a small nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat and reduce by half. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly before glazing the bread.
Use a pastry brush to glaze the warm bread generously. Wait 10 minutes and glaze again.

* I used roasted sweet potatoes, instead of canned. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Bake (unpeeled) sweet potatoes for 1 hour, or until tender. Set aside until cool and comfortable enough to handle. Cut potatoes in half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon.

I served this with Cranberry Sorbet , which came from Simply Recipes. Lacking white cranberry juice, I substituted freshly-squeezed orange juice, with great results. So, if you like cranberries, you'll enjoy this.



I garnished the plate with Candied Orange Peel, which I made using the entire fruit (the orange peel and its juice) to make the syrup. Use the juice, instead of water, for optimum flavor - swear to Gad. That's a little secret from me to you.

And, instead of candied orange strips, try using small cookie cutters, or, as I did, heart-shaped hors d' oeuvres cutters, for a little variety. But, cut them out before crystallizing.



Well, I'm off to treat myself to a dainty little sliver of this rich and delicious bread.

Did I just hear a "Pffft!"

Ok, so I'm a hypocritical liar. Why, I'm practically a member of Congress. And, I confess, I've had 23 dainty slivers, so far.

This meeting is adjourned.

Feels good to be back among the living

Our weather, this fine November afternoon, is clear and sunny. With temperatures in the 70's. Birds are singing. And our president-elect is Barack Obama. So, unless I get hit by a truck today . . . it's . . . a . . . beautiful day in the neighborhood . . .

I would like to apologize for my absence these past few weeks. I was TKO'd by an unholy cold that ripped right through me like an F3 tornado. I'm not out of the woods yet, but, I had to breath a little life into this blog - which, btw, has been sanitized for your protection.

So, come my friends! Let us indulge in not one, but three delicious treats, which I infectionately offer here. The first one is just right for the season. Pumpkin Cheesecake. I omitted the crust in this rendition, but I'll include the recipe for that too, in case you're interested.





Pumpkin Cheesecake with Maple Bourbon Sauce and Pumpkin Seed Brittle

Crust

1½ cups fine gingersnap crumbs (about ½ pound gingersnaps)
¾ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling

½ pound cream cheese at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup unsweetened pumpkin purée, fresh or canned
5 large eggs
½ cup heavy cream


Maple Bourbon Sauce


2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
½ cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons bourbon

Pumpkin Seed Brittle

2 cups sugar
3 cups pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted
½ cup corn syrup
¼ cup water
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. CRUST: Lightly butter a 9-inch cake pan that is 2 inches deep, and line bottom with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine the gingersnaps crumbs, nuts and butter. Mix well. Press the mixture firmly into the prepared pan and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 350° F.

3. FILLING: In a bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add both sugars and spices. Beat until light in texture, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the pumpkin purée and mix just until blended. Stir in the eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the cream.

4. Pour batter into the crust and put the cake pan in a roasting pan. Add hot water to the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until cheesecake is firm to the touch, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.

5. Allow cheesecake to cool on a wire rack for about 45 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. When the cheesecake is completely chilled, lower the pan into a hot water bath for 2-3 minutes to loosen. Place a large plate on top of cheesecake, invert the pan and remove. Put a second plate (or cookie sheet without sides) on the bottom of the cheesecake and turn it right side up. Cut with a hot knife and serve with Maple Bourbon Sauce.

6. Cheesecake will keep refrigerated for 4 to 5 days. It can also be stored in the freezer for several weeks.

MAPLE BOURBON SAUCE: In a saucepan over low heat, combine butter, sugar, maple syrup, dark corn syrup and heavy cream, stirring until sugar is completely dissolved (about 5 minutes). DO NOT bring this mixture to a boil. Stir in bourbon. Serve hot or cold.

PUMPKIN SEED BRITTLE: Combine sugar, corn syrup, water and salt in a large heavy pan. Cook over medium heat, until candy thermometer registers 250° F. Add pumpkin seeds, stirring until candy registers about 300° F. Remove from heat. Quickly and vigorously, stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour candy onto a slightly buttered cookie sheet, spreading as thinly as possible. Allow to cool and break the brittle into serving pieces


And for those of you who are fed up with pumpkin desserts, I give you:



Gâteau Fondant au Chocolat

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (about 2 cups)
4 ounces (½ cup)unsalted butter
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
5 large eggs, separated
2 large egg whites
pinch of salt
½ cup sugar
1 cup Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows), melted

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray a 10-inch Springform pan with no-stick spray and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

2. In a large, heat resistant bowl, set over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally. Remove bowl from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks to break them up, and whisk into the chocolate mixture. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase speed to High, and gradually add the sugar. Continue to whip to medium-firm peaks. The peaks will droop slightly when you lift up the whisk. Stir in the egg whites into the warm chocolate mixture, until there are no white streaks visible. You need not be gentle, as this cake is best without a lot of air incorporated into it. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Smooth it out, and pour 1 cup of the ganache on top. Using a spatula or the handle of a wooden spoon, marble the ganache into the cake batter.

Chocolate Ganache

1 cup heavy cream
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (approximately ¾ cup)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (approximately ¾ cup)
1 tablespoon light corn syrup

In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to the scalding point over medium-high heat. In a medium heat-resistant bowl, combine both chocolates and corn syrup. Pour the scalded cream over the chocolate mixture and gently whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.



4. Bake in the center of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the center of the cake no longer looks shiny. The cake will puff up, and set on the edges, but will be a little wobbly in the center. Run a knife around the edges and leave cake to cool completely on a wire rack before removing from the pan.

5. Slice the cake with a knife which has been dipped in very hot water, and excess water wiped off. This cake can be kept 3 days at room temperature, or 5 days refrigerated.

This cake is somewhat similar to the 80's sensation Molten Lava Cake...



...in several ways, except aesthetically. For it is, without question, the ugliest chocolate cake you will ever bake. But, if you ever find yourself battling the Seven Dwarfs of Menopause (Itchy; Bitchy; Sweaty; Sleepy; Bloated; Forgetful and Psycho), this rich cake will whistle them menopausal demons right out of ya.


A reader requested more information on the butterfly topper for the chocolate cake.
You could use plain tuile batter for this, but since I had Pumpkin Seed Brittle, I decided to use it, as it yields delicate, gossamer decorations. Do not make these on a hot, humid day.

For 4 butterflies, break up two large shards of Pumpkin Seed Brittle (or use your favorite nut brittle) and run the pieces of candy through a food processor until finely ground. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and lay a plain stencil on top.
Put the ground nut brittle in a fine sieve and evenly sprinkle this mixture over the stencil. Carefully remove the stencil. Bake in a moderate oven (350°F) for 7 to 10 minutes; watch it carefully after the first 7 minutes, to keep the tuiles from burning.


To serve this cake, you could slice it into 12 wedges, or try, as I did, an ice cream scoop to scoop out this sticky, chocolaty mess. If you like, warm individual servings in the microwave for a few seconds before serving to soften the ganache ribbons running through it. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. Adapted from The American Boulangerie.


Any typos or slurring heretofore courtesy of cherry flavored NyQuil.