Posts tagged: recipes

A Pumpkin Cranberry Bread Recipe and The 19th Annual Keene Pumpkin Festival – Keene, NH

The 19th Annual Keene Pumpkin Festival

For the last 16 years, downtown Keene has been painted in a palette of earthy orange hues for one weekend in October. In nearly 4 days (Saturday, October 17th, 2009),  about 70,000 people will crowd the streets of Keene, NH to see be a part of the festivities in the 19th Annual Keene Pumpkin Festival. Plenty of activities will be running such as concerts, pumpkin contests, pumpkin carving, craft and food vendors, pie eating contest, seed spitting contests, fireworks, and even two weddings! More than 800 helpful volunteers will donate their time and energy to make the festival a fun experience. Just a fun fact, the largest pumpkin ever displayed weighed in at a hefty 1,300 pounds by Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene and maybe this year there will be something even bigger so don’t miss it! Parking is $10 at the events lots and shuttle buses are $30 from the bus stops. Click here for more information on parking, directions, lodging and much more.

Want to cook with some fresh pumpkin rather than the canned for a change? Avoid field pumpkins, which are bred for perfect jack o’ lanterns: they tend to be too large and stringy for baking. Ask your grocer or farmer for sugar pie pumpkins or other flavorful varieties: small and sweet, with dark orange-colored flesh, they’re perfect for pies, soups, muffins and breads. A medium-sized (4-pound) sugar pumpkin should yield around 1½ cups of mashed pumpkin. This puree can be used in all your recipes calling for canned pumpkin.

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread

“A deliciously moist and tangy cranberry pumpkin bread.”

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread Recipe
PREP TIME 15 Min
COOK TIME 1 Hr
READY IN 1 Hr 25 Min
Original recipe yield 2 – 8×4 inch loaves

SERVINGS

(Help)

Servings

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 cup egg substitute
  • 1 (16 ounce) can whole cranberry sauce
  • 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray two 8×4 inch loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon and ground cloves in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside.
  3. Mix the egg substitute, cranberry sauce, pureed pumpkin, vegetable oil and grated orange zest together. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just moistened. Pour batter into the prepared pans. Sprinkle the top of each loaf with the chopped nuts.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let loaves cool for 10 minutes then remove from pans. Can be made even lower in fat by substituting 1/3 cup applesauce for the 1/3 cup vegetable oil.

Caramelized Onion & Goat Cheese Tart Recipe from The Gateways Inn

The finest restaurant in Lenox, Massachusetts, an award winning wine and spirits bar, and a stay in the Arthur Fiedler room make the Gateways Inn your new escape to serenity. You will find the Fiedler room European enthused by Italian marbled spacious floors, Venetian lace curtains tailoring French doors, a Mahogany library with a dry-bar, an antique armoire aside the French Aubusson bedding print. Tie up your nights at the Gateways INn Restaurant for a purely fresh meal with the talented Culinary Team offering Creative and Contemporary American dishes supporting locally grown food. Experience the recent bar and lounge, “La Terrazza”, for some dessert, cocktails, cappuccino, and most certainly a glass of wine. With and Award of Excellence from Wine Spectators and Sante’ Magazine, endeavor their vast selection of sophisticated Italian and American wines to fit your taste. After you stay, try this Gateways Inn recipe to remember that classy and refined European feel.
Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tarts
Makes 15 small tarts

Tarts:
Pie or unflavored pizza dough
Olive oil
Goat cheese spread:
1 (8-ounce) package goat cheese, softened
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Dash of salt and white pepper
Caramelized onions:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large yellow or Spanish onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
For the tarts: Preheat oven to 350˚F. On a floured surface, roll out pie or pizza dough 1/8-inch thick. Cut dough into 15 (4-inch) circles. Pierce dough randomly with a fork. Brush lightly with olive oil. Bake for 5-7 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Remove from oven and cool.
For the goat cheese spread: Combine all spread ingredients.
For the caramelized onions: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over low heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic, salt, pepper and s
ugar; cook for about 10-15 minutes, until onions are dark brown and sweet. Stir in parsley. Remove from heat and cool.
To assemble: Spread some goat cheese mixture over each crust. Spread caramelized onions over goat cheese. Bake for 5-7 minutes. Serve immeadiately and enjoy.