Browned Butter Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Spiced Bourbon Pumpkin Glaze

Because everyone else is doing it. That's an acceptable reason to do something, right? All the predictions of what 2012 will bring got me thinking. It always does. I’m always wrong. Let’s move on.

Julie’s Grand Food Trend Predictions of 2012!
[Let’s be honest, this list is grand as in lofty. My lofty notions of what I wish 2012 would bring. One can dream, right?]

• First off, I just need to say that macarons are not a new trend. They’re an old trend. They are not the new cupcake. Cupcakes are not out. Both are delicious, infinitely adaptable to many flavors, and portable - and thus will remain around until people decide they hate sugar. Cakepops, pies, donuts, and any obscure French pastry may join alongside them, but they will not replace them.

• Already trendy vegetables will find new ways of staying on peoples' plates. Kale chips and roasted Brussels sprouts are so 2011. They’ve officially been introduced to the masses. Now that the initial shock has passed that these past-maligned veggies are as tasty as they are nutrient-dense, we’re ready for new ways to eat them. Less approachable ways. Like raw! Massaged kale salads and shredded sprouts slaws I’m looking forward to seeing you on a restaurant menu or two! One can dream...

• Quick pickles. 2011 was the year of savory canning. We discovered we could mass-produce not only blackberry jams and dill pickles, but also our own tomato sauces, and pickles of the non-cucumber variety. And kimchi? That was a craze all its own. While acidic, fermented foods are fabulous in their funkiness, who has time for all that? Tossing crunchy raw veggies with a quick salt/vinegar/sugar solution produces quick and refreshing results to liven up richer dishes.

• Approachable game. Game meats are nothing new, but I’ve traditionally seen them at nicer restaurants, setting their menu apart by offering something beyond just the same ol’ proteins. I’m all about fine dining on squab leg and venison loin, but I think we’ll see more rabbit burgers and wild boar meatloaf - more casual restaurants using game to reinvent the classics. Because, inextricably, the classics are always boring and need reinvention yet we are unwilling to let them stray too far from our forks.

• Exotic spices are no longer very exotic. You know smoked paprika has arrived when you can buy it in the big bulk container at Costco. And that’s a great thing because smoked paprika makes a lot of dishes more yummy, and I go through it, well, in Costco quantities! Finding cardamom used to be such a treasure hunt, I would covet the lone jar I was able to locate, only breaking it out for the most appropriate of flavor pairings. Now each spice company not only sells garam masala right alongside the curry powder, but I’m thinking we’ll see ras el hanout and zaatar in the near future as well.

• Food trucks and craft breweries are reaching critical mass, a girl can only get ripped off eat and drink so much, but they are another trend that’s not going anywhere. I foresee the not as well executed places falling on hard times while the real gems will be just fine. After all, both of these trended so hard in the first place because of crazy internet buzz. People will still buzz about the places that are worth while. And yes, sour beers are the new IPA. Glad I’ve finally started developing a taste for them.

• I have no idea what the next diet fad will be, but vegan and gluten free have proven to be such a profitable marketing scheme for food companies, I’m sure something will pop up. Perhaps something as simple as sugar-free? Sugar is the latest evil, after all. But I just don’t see that happening. It’s also an addiction. While I might disagree, the world at large would argue that eggs (runny eggs!) are not habit forming. Nor is sourdough bread. Supposedly. If I had my way, the next fad would be “reasonably sweet”. I’m all for sugar, just not in the ridiculous quantities we use currently.

That’s it! My wishlist for 2012. Can we get on this, people? Take to the interwebs! #hashtag things! If we can get runny yolks on rabbit burgers at Applebee’s by September, I’ll learn to brew killer beer at home and give you all a bottle. Promise.

This whole exercise was really just to distract from the fact that I’m posting a recipe with nothing more than this grainy Instagram picture a couple of shoddy pics I shot on my iPhone. The holidays have really thrown me for a loop and come 8pm on a Tuesday night I am decidedly unwilling to break out the fancy camera to get the money shots while I drool all over the floor in anticipation of stuffing my face with the confection in question. Sorry.

The confection in question contains really amazing things that will make you drool everywhere too. Browned butter. It’s very 2011. It makes things buttery (obbbbviously), with a nuttier flavor. You know how I love the nutty flavor. … Please resist the dirty joke I just opened myself up for. We have cake to talk about. Pumpkin cake. Oh yes.  We’re not over the pumpkin yet are we? Good. Because it’s delicious. I know come December 1st, every fiber of my being screams for gingerbread flavored anything. But this cake is very heavy on the spice. Including ginger. Not pepper though. Good in gingerbread, but cardamom is best when it comes to pumpkin. And of course it has bourbon. The smokey flavor goes swimmingly with the browned butter. Bourbon, browned butter, and pumpkin. In a cake. You can forgive the picture now, right?

And let’s not forget the glaze. I love glaze on a bundt cake. The way it oozes over the cake when you first mix it. Watching it harden into a shiny shell, like it’s protecting something precious. Because it is protecting something precious. Unless you mixed up the salt and sugar. Then it's not so precious anymore. Then there's the panic that sets in when it slides right off the cake because you didn’t thicken it enough, as you hurry to scoop it up and re-pour it so you can get adequate glaze coverage. Oh yeah, that’s another reason I didn’t take any beauty shots. Thicken it right, people. You won’t want any paltry coating of this glaze. I used the remaining few tablespoons of the canned pumpkin puree in the glaze to boost the pumpkin oomph. And of course more bourbon. Oomph indeed! With the maple syrup and spices, I wanted to eat just a bowl of glaze. I might have licked a scoop or two off my finger, but you'll never know for sure.

So here’s to pumpkin, a food that will always be trendy. And delicious.  And remember to always brown your butter.

…

Please resist the dirty joke I just opened myself up for, and instead tell me what you'd like to see hit it big in 2012.

Browned Butter Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Spiced Bourbon Pumpkin Glaze

Cake adapted from Sprinkle Bakes

For the cake:
6 oz. (¾ cup) unsalted butter
8.5 oz. (2 cups) AP flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp salt
7 oz. (1 cup) granulated sugar
7.5 oz. (1 cup) firmly packed brown sugar
1 ½ cups pumpkin puree
3 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup Greek yogurt, room temperature
3 TB bourbon
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 TB bourbon
1 TB maple syrup
2 TB pumpkin puree
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp nutmeg (optional)
pinch of fine sea salt
1-2 TB milk, if needed


For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with baking spray.
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter turns a rich, golden brown, swirling or stirring often so it doesn’t burn. Keep a watchful eye. It goes from brown to black very quickly. Pour the browned butter into a small bowl and let it stand until cool but not solidified.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, Greek yogurt, vanilla, and bourbon until well combined. Whisk in the browned butter until it’s well blended. Stir in the flour mixture and mix until it is just combined.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow it to rest for 10 minutes, then remove it from the pan and cool it completely on a cooling rack.

For the glaze:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, bourbon, maple syrup, and pumpkin puree, until the mixture is smooth and there are no lumps. Add the spices and salt and whisk to combine. Add the milk (if needed), a small amount at a time, until the glaze is thin enough to pour and drip, but thick enough to stay mostly on the cake. Glaze too thin will pour right off the cake. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar until your desired consistency is reached.
2. Drizzle the glaze over the completely cooled cake. Give it a few minutes to set up, then slice and enjoy.

Pumpkin Ravioli Surprise

My Ode To Dough:

Here’s how my crazy brain works: rather than a measure of your skill in the kitchen, I think a recipe’s degree of difficulty is more like your investment in making it from scratch vs. just buying it.  Muffins, pancakes, and cookies are totally worth making at home because they’re easy and taste a thousand times better.  But a rustic ciabatta loaf?  I can hear my mom in the back of my mind saying “why go through all that work when you can just find a good bakery where they make it better than you anyway?”  Because let’s face it - bread is hard.  Your yeasts can be temperamental and sluggish.  Your gluten can be obstinate and unpliable. Your environment can cause changes in moisture absorption and and rising times.  But you don’t have to be a bread-whisperer or anything.  It’s a matter of practice in some cases - like getting a feel for working the dough, and knowledge in others - like learning that when you use water that’s too warm you kill all your yeasts.  Oops!

So why do I waste my time?  Because it’s fun and rewarding!  Because I like knowing there’s nothing in my bread except flour, water, salt, and yeast.  And because I don’t always have access to a good bakery!  So while I won’t say bread isn’t an undertaking, I will say if it’s something that interests you, you should give it a go.  It takes time to perfect, but not necessarily prone to disasters of epic proportions. The trick is finding someone to walk you through it.  This is where Nicole of the wonderful Pinch my Salt comes in.  She’s posted a plethora of bread recipes, always with great step by step pictorial instructions and lessons to learn.  Essentially, she makes bread baking a whole heckofalot less scary.

Back in September Nicole posted a day by day set of instructions for how to create your own wild yeast sourdough starter.  From scratch!  Using just water, flour, and a little pineapple juice to start.  In case you’re wondering the pineapple juice is used because the acidity helps the right kind of bacteria to grow, which is what the wild yeasts come to the party to eat.  Err, or something like that...?

I love sourdough bread.  I love that tangy, sour flavor.  I love the smell.  And Husband has a special soft spot for it too.  We’re both Bay Area natives, after all.  It’s in our blood or something.  But sourdough starters scared me.  Sent me for the hills.  Arms flailing.  All that. Even after I conquered my fear of yeast, this blob of gloppy mess gave me pause.  But there was something about the bubbles and the way the blob would climb up the jar a little more each day.  It was like a pet, but one you wouldn’t feel too bad about accidentally killing.  Tamagotchi!  And on top of that, Linda from Salty Seattle was posting her usual food porn featuring sourdough recipe (linguine with chocolate lamb ragu? omg!) after sourdough recipe (sourdough pumpkin beignets with pork belly? Hello!).  Those two trouble-making ladies have since gotten together and declared this month in the name of Doughvember.  

Good thing I had already decided to take the plunge and my starter was already under way!  I am now the proud owner/parent of my very own sourdough starter.  I grew/birthed it myself!  It did take a couple of tries, and it was touch and go there for awhile, but I think we’ve ultimately reached a delicious understanding.  I feed it - it feeds me.  Here are some lessons I learned in my failed and almost failed attempts (most of it either wisdom directly from Nicole or online resources pointed out to me by Nicole - she rocks!):

• It’s easier to create a starter with whole wheat flour instead of refined flour because the sugars in the whole wheat provide more food for the yeasts to feed off of.
• If your starter is a bit sluggish at the get-go, it can be helpful to stir it once a day or so, just to redistribute stuff.
• After day 5 or so, when you’re feeding it twice a day, it helps to move to a scale.  Measure 8 oz. of starter and mix in 4 oz. flour and 4 oz. water. And make sure your water isn’t too hot or cold or you’ll kill/scare away your yeasts.
• When you’re ready to move your starter to the fridge, cover it in plastic wrap with a few holes poked in it.  That way the yeasts can breathe, but the blob won’t dry out.
• When adding your starter to recipes, 1 cup of starter can replace approximately 1 cup of flour and ½ cup of water in the recipe.

My favorite recipe to use my extra sourdough starter so far has been these sourdough crumpets from Chocolate & Zucchini.  They take literally 10 minutes to make, start to finish (7 minutes of that is letting your pan heat up), making them invaluable for a quick weeknight meal accompaniment.  It helps that they’re flipping delicious too - like a tangy, savory pancake.  I’ve also tried throwing a little starter in pumpkin muffins and cream cheese biscuits, to great success.  It really just adds a hint of something extra.  

I ended up making Salty Seattle’s sourdough pasta recipe.  I would recommend halving it, unless you truly have an army to feed.  Half was plenty for the chocolate lamb ragu I made (recipe coming!), and after making pumpkin ravioli for dinner last night, I still have a small dough left for a rainy day.  I wasn’t going to blog the ravioli.  It was an experiment.  I didn’t even really expect it to turn out edible.  But thank goodness it did because I had no backup dinner standing by, and now I can tell you all about the magic of egg yolks inside pasta dumplings.  Oh yes, these raviolis featured a raw egg yolk placed in the center of a filling with pumpkin, pistachios, sage, shallots, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.  Every good thing, right?  It was like hiding all the magic of a poached egg inside for a nice surprise.  I cooked the ravioli long enough for the yolk to cook to about the point of a poached egg.  It’s hard to judge because you don’t know how done it is until you eat it, right? I did a test run before I cooked the rest, just to be sure.  I would recommend it.  But one fork-pierce and out runs the yolky goodness!  It’s heaven.  Pure heaven.  Who needs marinara?  The pumpkin and pistachio filling was a sweet accompaniment that actually paired wonderfully with the richness of the egg and the slight tang of the pasta dough (remember, it’s sour!).

So while my lame ineptitude prevented me from having the foresight to get a money shot of these babies - the one where you see yolk running from the center like an erupting volcano - I did remember to write down the method to my madness, so you can give it a go and see the insanity for yourself.  You’re welcome.  Doughvember, for the win!

PS: Why yes, I am addicted to instagram. Feel free to follow me at bananasforbourbon!

Pumpkin Ravioli (with an egg yolk - surprise!)

Makes 8 raviolis (these are rich, so I would say that’s more than 2 portions)

~ ¼ batch of this recipe for sourdough pasta dough
1 large shallot, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
6-7 leaves of sage, minced
1 TB olive oil
pinch of kosher salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
½ cup white wine
1 cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup pistachios, lightly toasted and cooled
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
lemon juice (optional)
8 egg yolks

1. In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the shallots with a pinch of salt and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two to soften.  Add the pepper and nutmeg and stir to incorporate. Add the wine and bring it to a simmer.  Once the wine has reduced by about half, or a little more, remove it from the heat and let it cool.
2. In a food processor, finely grind the pistachios.  Add the pumpkin puree, Parmesan cheese, and the cooked shallot mixture.  Process until the mixture is smooth.  Adjust the seasoning to your taste.  Add a little lemon juice if it needs some brightness.  Add the mixture to a ziplock bag (or pastry bag if you want to be fancy), and cut the corner so you can pipe it.
3. Roll out the pasta dough into very thin sheets.  I don’t have a roller, so I did it by hand.  You’ll need about a 4 inch square to work with.  Pipe the filling in a circle, leaving about an inch-wide circle of open space in the middle (about the size of your egg yolk).  I didn’t measure, but I’d say it was about 1-2 TB of filling.  Basically, you want about ½ inch of thickness and ½ inch of height for the filling, or about the level with the yolk.  Carefully place an egg yolk in the middle of the filling.  Place a sheet of dough on top and gently press around the filling, sealing it as tightly as possible.  Then press a little firmer to make sure the dough it good and sealed.  Cut out the ravioli with a glass, a biscuit cutter, or just a knife.  I opted for about ¼ - ½ inch between the edge and the filling.  Repeat this for as many ravioli as you want to make.
4. In a pot of gently simmering water, add the ravioli.  Make sure the water doesn’t boil too hard, or you raviolis could fall apart, and make sure it’s not set too low or once you add them, it’ll take too long to come back to a boil.  Boil the ravioli for 4-5 minutes, depending on how runny you like your yolks.  
5. Remove the ravioli from the water, and add them to whatever sauce floats your boat.  I did a simple olive oil drizzle (with good olive oil), since the yolks are essentially all the sauce you need, but I’m sure tossing them with some browned butter and sage would be divine too.

Halloween Trifle

I’m going to drop some embarrassingly honest Julie history on you.

A few years ago I ate out pretty much every meal except breakfast. My gourmet kitchen offerings back then? Something along the lines of 2 cans of chili dumped in a bowl with a package of shredded cheese, sour cream, and a jar of salsa, microwaved until melty and disgusting and enjoyed with a giant bag of blue corn chips. No joke. We called it nachos and boy was it ever delicious. Generally, we were happier to pay someone else to prep our plates, so we’d stop at Rubios or Panera. I’d order something one might consider on the healthy side - by comparison to some of their other offerings - a burrito bowl, or a cup of soup and half sandwich. But let’s be honest, I couldn’t say no to just one fish taco on the side, or a stop at Maggie Moos next door for ice cream.

I never exercised with any regularity. I couldn’t run for 5 minutes, let alone a mile. Even the sensation of my heart rate in the proper cardio zone had me asking my doctor if I had exercise induced asthma. Oh, you mean it’s supposed to feel like I’m gonna keel over and die? Ick! There were bouts of motivation where Husband and I would trek out to the gym for a couple of hours - once or twice a month at our best - and eke out some semblance of a workout. But wouldn’t you know it, I only ever put on pounds. Maybe it’s because we’d always stop at Jamba Juice on the way home from those workouts?

I admit, I was a victim of the Chili’s quesadilla explosion salad - the one that famously caught flack when they started posting the nutritional stats on their website. The “healthy option” many of us were outraged to learn actually had 1200 calories. But let’s not blame Chili's for my dissatisfaction with the scale. The choice of where to eat and what to order was all mine. In the end, my seemingly good habits were bad habits, and my bad habits were downright disgustingly awful habits. No wonder every shopping spree had me wondering why the clothes kept getting smaller and smaller!

So what changed? Looking back, everything. But not all at once. I didn’t wake up one day and say to myself "From this day forward I will change all my habits." Heck no! When did it change? I can’t even pinpoint how long it’s been since I lost that first pound. It was so gradual and non-purposeful. Has it really been almost 3 years?  I started reading a food blog or two. I tried a recipe here and there to pretty good success. I started going for walks, and playing around on that new-fangled Wii Fit. I did things that required a small, doable change. And when I got comfortable with that routine, I did a little more.  Can you believe just being a little more mindful of the choices I made and being a little more realistic about what those choices meant would get noticeable results?  How noticeable?  Well, I lost that first pound.  The hardest pound of my life.

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts by food bloggers I follow talking about their struggles with balancing food obsession and a healthy lifestyle. It really got me thinking about my own weight loss journey, and looking back, my food obsession and weight loss developed hand in hand. Go figure.

Now that I eat salads heavy on vegetables and light on dressing (and no cheese quesadillas on top), I can work in a little dessert without totally undoing my day. Like cookies. And mousse. And curd. All together in a trifle. I had never made a trifle. I would even go so far as to say I didn’t think I was much of a trifle person. But I take it back! Trifles are as awesome as the delicious components that are their makeup.

This trifle came about so very randomly. I got a bag of oranges four CSA shipments in a row. I was overwhelmed with oranges! But I didn’t want to just juice them. I wanted to really use their orange essence in something that would showcase their awesomeness. Because oranges are awesome. Sweet. Acidic. So I decided to make a curd. Despite the unfortunate name, curds are delicious. They’re bright and tart; sweet and creamy. But generally not something to enjoy alone. They’re a great accompaniment. 

Accompany what? Chocolate, of course! I originally considered pudding, but Husband requested chocolate mousse. Good call. So glad I listened. The light as a cloud, bittersweet mousse contrasted so nicely with the heavier, creamier sweet yet tart curd.  And this curd was all about the orange essence.  I didn't just use orange juice, you see.  I reduced it first. So I could get as much orange flavor out of those babies as possible!  And if you have to ask if I boozed it up, do you even know what blog you’re reading? I opted for Grand Marnier in the chocolate mousse to compliment the orange curd, and bourbon in the orange curd because I love the dimension the smokiness adds.

The flavors together were wonderfully indulgent, and the layers of orange and deep brown made me think instantly of Halloween. But I wanted a crunch element for texture, and what’s a Halloween treat without pumpkin? I love pumpkin! It pairs great with chocolate and orange. So I made the crunchiest cookie I could think of: biscotti! Pumpkin biscotti to be exact. It’s crunchy yet slightly crumbly texture was perfect for crumbling in between the chocolate mousse and orange curd layers, or leaving whole and dunking.

Who needs chili reminiscent of dog food in nachos when you can have this?  Definitely a small change for the better.

Any personal Halloween confections being made in your house this year that are strictly for personal, non-treat-or-treater enjoyment? 

  

Halloween Trifle

Makes ~8 individual trifles, depending on your container, or 1 big one

4 cups chocolate mousse (recipe below)
3 cups orange curd (recipe below)
8-10 pumpkin biscotti (recipe below)

1. In a 4-6 oz. glass container (like a glass mug or jar), spoon in a layer of chocolate mousse, about 2 TB. Add a layer of orange curd, a little shy of 2 TB. If you want the biscotti crumbled directly into the trifle, crumble about ¼ of the cookie over the orange curd. Continue layering until you reach the top of your container, ending with a chocolate mousse layer. 
2. Repeat for as many containers as you would like to prepare.
3. Alternatively, if you are doing one big trifle, just follow the same procedure, but increase the quantities until you have an inch or so for each layer (or however you prefer it!). 

Chocolate Mousse

Adapted from David Lebovitz

Makes 6-8 servings

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used 70%)
6 ounces unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
¼ cup dark-brewed coffee
¼ tsp of sea salt
4 large eggs, separated
⅔ cup, plus 1 TB sugar
2 TB Grand Marnier (or bourbon)
1 TB water
½ tsp vanilla extract

1. In a bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water, melt together the chocolate, butter, coffee, and salt, stirring frequently. Once smooth, remove it from the heat to cool down.
2. Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside.
3. In another bowl set over the pot of gently simmering water, whisk the egg yolks with the ⅔ cup of sugar, liquor, and water for about 3 minutes until the mixture is light and thick, like runny mayonnaise. Whisk constantly so the yolks don’t curdle. 
4. Set the bowl with the egg yolk mixture in the bowl of ice water and beat until cool and thick (it will make thick ribbons when you bring your whisk out of the bowl). Then fold the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks. It might look broken at first, but just keep mixing, and it’ll smooth out.
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or by hand if you have the stamina), beat the egg whites with the salt on medium-high speed until frothy. Continue to beat until they start to hold their shape. Whip in the tablespoon of sugar and continue to beat until thick and shiny, but not completely stiff (don’t over-beat!), then add the vanilla and mix on low to combine.
6. Fold one-third of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then in two increments, fold in the remainder of the whites just until incorporated, but don’t overdo it or the mousse will lose volume. It’s ok to have a few white streaks.
7. Transfer the mousse to a serving bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until firm.

Orange Curd

Adapted from Ina Garten

Makes about 3 cups

4 oranges, at room temperature
¾ - 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from the 4 oranges above)
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
¼ cup bourbon (or Grand Marnier)
⅛ tsp sea salt

1. In a small saucepan, bring the orange juice to a rapid simmer and reduce until you have ½ cup of liquid. Set aside to cool.
2. Remove the zest from the oranges with a vegetable peeler or zester, no pith please. Put the zest in the bowl of a food processor. Add the sugar and pulse until the zest is very finely minced and evenly distributed among the sugar. 
3. Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the sugar/orange zest mixture and beat on medium speed until it is light and fluffy, a few minutes. Add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, then add the reduced orange juice, liquor, and salt. Mix until combined.
4. Place a mesh strainer over a medium bowl and set aside. Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over low heat stirring constantly for about 10 minutes, until it is thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon (~175 degrees if you have a candy thermometer). Be careful not to overcook, or it will curdle. Remove the mixture from the heat and pour it through the strainer set over the bowl. Refrigerate the curd until fully cooled, a few hours. It will thicken further as it cools.

Pumpkin Biscotti

adapted from Simply Recipes

Makes about fifteen cookies

1 ½ cups of flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ginger
¼ tsp cloves
¼ tsp kosher salt
2 eggs
½ cup of pumpkin purée
1 TB bourbon
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, and spices.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, bourbon, and vanilla extract. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Give it a rough stir to incorporate the ingredients.  The dough will be crumbly.
3. Flour your hands and a clean kitchen surface and lightly knead the dough until it is uniformly mixed. It will be a little on the sticky side. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, form the dough into a large log, about 1 inch tall and 15 inches long. Bake for 22-28 minutes, until the center is firm to the touch. 
4. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees. Let the biscotti cool for 15 minutes and then, using a serrated knife cut into pieces about an inch wide. Lay the cookies flat on the baking sheet and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Let them cool completely.