Creamy Baked Pumpkin Risotto.

As you can see I have an immense love for pumpkin. I have always enjoyed the taste of pumpkin, but it really intensified since I've moved up north. It must be the cooler weather or maybe the gorgeous colors of fall. Whatever it is, it makes me crave the hearty flavors of the season.


On Halloween, before going out, I wanted to make a festive dish to celebrate one of my favorite holidays. Pumpkin seemed like an appropriate halloween ingredient, as I'm looking through recipes, it was my boyfriend Nick who had the idea of a risotto dish. 


Creamy Baked Pumpkin Risotto


Ingredients:

• 5 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 2 cups pumpkin or butternut squash, cubed small
• 1 1/2 canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 3/4 cup fresh sage, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of pecorino romano cheese
• 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
• 2 tablespoon olive oil

Heat oven to 400

Combine rice, broth, and squash, pumpkin puree, and onion in a 3 quart baking dish.

Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, stir to combine evenly.

Cover tightly with foil and bake, stir occasionally until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is puffed. About 30 to 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and stir in the sage, pecorino, and mascarpone.

Serve with your favorite pumpkin beer!

Hope Everyone had a great Halloween!!

Pumpkin Pie with a Twist.

I am already thinking about what to bring to Thanksgiving dinner. Pumpkin pie is a Thanksgiving dinner staple, everybody loves pumpkin pie (including me!) So why not give it a try? The problem is, I'm not really much of a 'baker'. So I have decided to give the pie a test run before the real deal.

As much as I love pumpkin pie, I decided to steer away for them traditional pie and try something with a twist- Amaretto!

Amaretto Pumpkin Pie


Ingredients:

• 2 cups amaretto or lady finger cookies, crushed fine
• 2/3 cup melted butter (I used light butter)
• 2 cups pumpkin puree, unsweetened if canned (make sure it's not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 cup half and half ( I used light)
• 1 1/4 tablespoon cornstarch
• 4 tablespoons amaretto
• 2 pinches of salt (intensifies the flavor of the pumpkin)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375

Toss the crushed 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 with foil and bake for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool

In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth. (easy, right!) 

Pour into the cooled pie shell. Bake for 45 minutes or until skewer inserted in the center comes out clean- It was closer and hour for me.

Let cool completely before cutting. Serve with cool whip, if you like

This was a huge hit among friends, so I will be bringing this to the Guerrieri Thanksgiving celebration!

Stuffed Acorn Squash.

Fall is the best. Best weather, best clothes and best food! Since fall is my favorite season I will be posting a ton of fall inspired dishes. I picked up an acorn squash at the store the other day and told myself I wasn't going to do the same boring thing with it.. so I stuffed it with a few of my favorite fall spices!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients:

• 1 acorn squash
• 1 cup of barley
• 1/2 cup fresh mushrooms chopped
• 1/2 white onion chopped
• 1/4 cup of raisins
• 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock (low sodium is fine)
• about 6 sage leaves
• 1 clove of garlic chopped
• cinnamon 
• 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts (optional)
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Preheat oven to 350. Slice the squash down the center and lay face down on lightly greased pan and bake for 25 minutes

-Meanwhile follow instructions and prepare the barley.
-In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, add olive oil and garlic, when hot add the onion and saute until brown, add in the mushrooms- brown for about 5 minutes.
-Mix in the barley, stock, sage leaves, season with salt, pepper and a dash of cinnamon. Cover and let simmer until the liquid has dissolved (5-10 minutes)
- Fill the squash with the mixture, sprinkle with chopped walnuts and cinnamon. Return to the oven for 10 minutes.

Enjoy the taste of fall.