Recipe Mutiny steals recipes from food blogs and recipe sites. Then we publish them. With credit (Naturally).
Thursday, November 16, 2017
10 Uncommon Uses for Pumpkin Bread: A Quest for the Bold
You know what’s great about fall? Foods that feature pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake, pumpkin doughnuts, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin beer, even pumpkin spiced lattes—it’s all good! But for me, one pumpkin-infused food hits the spot for a greater percentage of the year than the others—from the first day of September, all the way through the holiday season, in fact. Pumpkin bread. I don’t know why, but pumpkin bread isn’t just an Oktoberfest thing, or a Halloween thing, or a Thanksgiving thing, or a Holidays thing. It’s a fall thing, and it goes great the whole season long.
So, what if I said we’ve only scratched the surface of our pumpkin bread consuming capabilities? I suppose you could stop reading and go back to living your life, enjoying your pumpkin bread like you always have, slice by slice, maybe with butter, or cinnamon, or, when you’re feeling really crazy, with brown sugar and caramel. Or, you could read on, leave your old life behind, cast off the shackles of convention, and join me on a culinary adventure to discover a new reality. One option continues you down the path you’re already on. The other option will change you in ways no one is sure to know—the only certainty is things will be different. The decision is yours, but you must make it now. Kind of feels like The Matrix, doesn’t it?
Ah, good. Now that you’ve chosen the path of adventure and enlightenment, the quest we’re about to embark upon will help us see new, creative ways to use pumpkin bread. Like Keanu Reeves’s Neo, you might even say, “Whoa,” a time or two. Hopefully, that’s the case. So, without further ado, here are ten “what ifs” for using pumpkin bread instead of some other, more common choice. Here goes!
1. Stuffing/Dressing
When I was younger, corn bread stuffing was avant garde. Now, it’s a bit passé. This year, what if you cooked up a pumpkin bread stuffing for your holiday dressing needs? All you’d do is find a recipe you like and add in pumpkin bread crumbs. Worth a shot, right? With a savory-sweet combo sure to dazzle your guests, this dish could find its way into the permanent rotation.
2. Salads
How do you turn a plain old salad into a fall salad? What if you topped it with pumpkin bread croutons? Of course! Crumble up some pumpkin bread, brush with melted butter or oil, and bake on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes. These crunchy accompaniments could add the taste and texture you’re looking for—and then some!
3. Soup
While we’re on the subject of pumpkin bread croutons, what if you used them (or a piece of toasted pumpkin bread) in your favorite fall soup? Think about it. You have a nice, plain butternut squash soup, which is fine. You’re actually looking forward to partaking. Then, inspiration hits, you add pumpkin bread croutons to it, and instantly turn your tastebuds to eleven!
4. Sandwiches
Imagine yourself the day after Thanksgiving. You go to the fridge, open it up, and are greeted with an abundance of leftovers sure to keep you satiated for the foreseeable future. Still a bit on the full side, you don’t care to indulge in a full-scale meal, opting for a sandwich instead. What if you decide this scaled down meal need not be boring, and you opt for the tasty, pumpkin-yeast bread you had the foresight to bake (or buy) a couple days ago for this precise reason? Well played, my friend. Well played.
5. Thanksgiving Stacks
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Now, let’s say you just read the prior suggestion, and you scoffed, saying, “There’s no way I’m eating a modest sandwich when there’s so much good stuff to be had. I came to the fridge to eat like a king, and eat like a king I will.” Fair point. In that case, what if you made a Thanksgiving stack using pumpkin bread? It’s really quite easy. You start with a slice of that semi-sweet pumpkin bread, and you stack on whatever your heart desires. How about turkey, cranberry, mashed sweets, and green bean casserole? Or how about turkey, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts with bacon, and gravy? Or how about the carbtastic stuffing, mashed potatoes, and mac ‘n’ cheese? Whatever you pile on, you really can’t go wrong with a strong foundation of pumpkin bread. And, with a stack, each bite you take is loaded with all the flavors you love.
6. French Toast
You know what goes great with pumpkin bread? Brown sugar and maple syrup. So, what if instead of cinnamon bread, or white bread, you used pumpkin bread for your French toast? Sounds like a no-brainer option for any breakfast you want to distinguish as particularly fall.
7. Eggs Benedict
If you’re like me, you like eggs on the breakfast table. If that’s the case, what if you made eggs benedict, but swapped out the English muffin for pumpkin bread? The sweetness of the bread, matched with the saltiness of the meat (try bacon, canadian bacon, ham, sausage, or even crab), and the warm gooeyness of a perfectly poached egg will have folks begging for seconds.
8. Strata
Looking for another, more savory breakfast idea? What if you made a pumpkin bread strata? It’s easy, it’s delicious, and by incorporating pumpkin, it’s going to stand out! I’d recommend a maple sausage or maple bacon as your protein option. Then again, some of that leftover turkey might not be so bad, either. You could use a pumpkin-yeast bread, or a more traditional sweet pumpkin bread. You could even use plain white bread and combine it with a pumpkin mixture. Is that cheating? I’ll let you decide. What I can say is you will have taste-texture combo of pumpkin and bread—and that’s not bad at all. Here’s a recipe you might want to try.
9. Bread Pudding
Ever wanted to have a pumpkin dessert that wasn’t a traditional pumpkin pie? What if you made a pumpkin bread pudding instead? Like the strata above, you have options. You can use pumpkin-yeast bread, a more traditional sweet pumpkin bread, or a makeshift pumpkin bread (combining plain bread with a pumpkin mixture). It’s your call. Either way, I know I’d pay serious attention to a pumpkin bread pudding if it were placed in front of me. Click here for a recipe that looks delicious!
10. “Egg on Toast” Dessert Variant
In my dad’s family, a tasty summer dessert is something my grandma calls “egg on toast.” It’s a pretty easy recipe. Take a slice of pound cake, scoop Cool Whip, whipped cream, or ice cream on it, then top with half a peach. Easy enough, right? Well, what if we used that concept to create a pumpkin bread variant? Here’s what it might look like: 1) Start with a slice of pumpkin bread; 2) Scoop Cool Whip, whipped cream, or ice cream on it; 3) Top that will some baked apples or peaches; 4) Top that with some sweet granola; and 5) Finish it off with a caramel drizzle. Hmm. Yeah, I’d try that.
There you have it. Every good quest comes to an end, and we’ve reached ours. Hopefully this has proven to be enlightening and fulfilling. If this journey has taught me anything, it’s not to hold back in the kitchen. If there are flavors, ingredients, or items I like, I should be bold enough to think outside the box and incorporate them. Maybe you’ve learned the same, and maybe you have some new ideas for adding a little more pumpkin to your palate.
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6 Expired Foods You Need to Toss From Your Kitchen ASAP
With the holidays soon under way (with a stream of leftovers to come), it’s the ideal time to think about a major purge of what’s cluttering up your kitchen. If you can’t remember how long that Tupperware has been sitting in the back of your fridge or when was the last time you bought soy sauce, it’s time to pull out the garbage bags and get to tossing things. Here’s where you should start:
Deli meat
If you haven’t made your way through your packaged lunch meat within a few days, you might want to toss it for your health. That’s because it can be a major carrier of listeria, a bacteria that can cause fever, muscle aches, and stomach troubles. If you’ve picked up deli meat from the counter at the store, aim to eat it within 3-5 days. Packaged lunch meat can last about a week after opening it before it’s got to go.
Beer
Beer, unlike some other booze, doesn’t really get better with age. In fact, bottled beer should be enjoyed within four months of buying it, while cans have a longer life, and can stay in your fridge for about a year. If you’re unsure, do a sniff test before taking a swig—you’ll 100 percent want to get rid of it if you get a whiff of a foul odor.
Coffee
If you’re a caffeine addict then, you might never have to worry about having coffee go “bad” before using it all up. If, however, you only serve coffee for company, you should know that ground coffee only lasts about three to five months after opening before it starts to lose its freshness. No, it won’t kill you, but it will begin to lose its flavor and the color of your final brew may be a bit off.
Spices
This is another instance where time affects flavor. Spices you bought a while ago won’t exactly spoil, they just won’t be as powerful, which means that you may have some disappointing results with recipes you’re trying to throw together. Bottom line, get rid of leafy herbs after about three years, or ground spices after four at most. And in the meantime, get a spice rack or Lazy Susan for your cabinets so your unused oregano doesn’t end up lost in your cabinets for years at a time.
Condiments
Think twice before you dress your burger. Three commonly used condiments (ketchup, mustard, and barbecue sauce) don’t exactly last as long as you think. Ketchup’s color or flavor may start to change after four to six months of opening, while mustard’s consistency and taste will alter after about two years. Barbecue sauce that is refrigerated will last about a year before its flavor begins to change. (Condiment packets, like those leftover from take out, will last about one year for ketchup and barbecue sauce, and about two for mustard.) So if you didn’t get rid of all your sauces during last summer, you may want to get a new batch before next year’s cookouts.
Olives
Now this one can get a bit confusing since olive oil can actually hang out in your kitchen for about two years. (Though it should be stored away from heat and light, like in a pantry or cabinet.) Olives, however, are best eaten within six month of opening the jar for the best taste. After that, the texture and flavor may not be optimal.
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Did We Always Hate Fruitcake?
Fruitcake lives a sad life as the reigning punchline of holiday food. The much maligned dessert has a well-worn reputation. When we think of fruitcake we think of a thick, dense brick of a cake. One dotted with candied fruits and nuts. Perhaps it’s doused in rum, or some other alcohol, to which Truman Capote quipped, “that’s no way to waste good whiskey.” Maybe it’s the spawn of a Jell-O mold or a relic of your grandma’s 1960s kitchen. Whatever it is, it’s ugly.
Americans have spent decades rolling our eyes at this beast and its questionable taste, texture, and toughness. In a now classic “Tonight Show” monologue, Johnny Carson claimed, “The worst gift is fruitcake. There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other.” That was in 1985 and that attitude has prevailed ever since. Nowhere is this more evident than in Manitou Springs, Colorado. The city is home to the Great Fruitcake Toss, an annual event where people compete to see who can fling the dessert the furthest using a variety of mechanical contraptions.
But has it always been this way? And more importantly, should it be? As is usually the case when history is long and complicated, the answer is both yes and no.
While fruitcakes date back to ancient Rome, the dense, spiced cakes didn’t take on a life of their own until the modern era. Fruitcakes became holiday staples as early as the 1800s and were considered an easy way to share the gifts of each year’s harvest. However, rather than eat them right away, people would wait an entire year before serving them, out of superstition that it would bring good luck for the new year. While the cakes can withstand 365 days without refrigeration, they were rarely properly preserved. Thus, this tradition helped the cake achieve its reputation as a tough, rock hard dessert.
As evidence of their long shelf life, a 106-year-old fruitcake was found in Antartica earlier this year. And yes, it is believed to be edible. The cake is thought to have belonged to British explorer Robert Falcon Scott, who even in the most frigid of circumstances, left his dessert untouched.
However, fruitcakes’ reputation as stale, whiskey-drenched doorstoppers is very much an American phenomenon. Despite their questionable texture, they still maintain their status as special occasion treats overseas. To this day, they remain the British royal wedding cake of choice, ever since a plum fruit cake was served at Prince Albert and Queen Victoria’s wedding in 1840. Prince Charles and Princess Diana honored the tradition, as did Prince William and Kate Middleton. A slice from the most recent royal wedding even sold at auction for $7,500 dollars. That sale alone more than defies the cake’s bargain bin status and gave fruitcake its biggest ego boost yet.
In terms of price point, fruit cake’s reputation as a cheap dessert didn’t emerge until the early twentieth century. By the 1900s, thanks to increasing industrialization and inexpensive access to fruits and nuts, Southern bakeries were able to mass produce the dessert. Because of these conveniences and their remarkably long shelf life, the cakes were able to be sold via mail order catalog across the United States. All of a sudden there was a cheap, accessible, and easily gift-able cake on the national scene. They filled an untapped market, resulting in quick proliferation and near ubiquity.
While commercial saturation was near, the tide against fruitcake didn’t turn overnight. During the 1940s and ’50s, prominent eateries like the Collins Street Bakery in Corsicana, Texas and the Claxton Bakery in Claxton, Georgia emerged as the premier purveyors of the dessert. These dueling cities continually duke it out for the title of “Fruitcake Capital of the World,” a somewhat dubious distinction that wasn’t always that way.
In fact, for a while, people actually liked receiving fruitcakes as presents. An article published in a 1953 issue of Los Angeles Times, unironically exclaimed, “Some like them dark. Some like them light. But everybody likes fruitcake!” In 1958 a headline in the Christian Science Monitor read, “What Could Be a Better Gift That Fruitcake?” Most people today would say anything.
Perhaps the biggest misconception about fruitcake is that they have to taste bad. The problem doesn’t lie within the cake itself, but the ingredients and recipes people tend to use. The brighter-than-a-Christmas-tree, neon, jellied fruits that top many cakes are often the major culprit. If you replace those saccharine candies with figs, dates, glacé cherries, and apricots, you’ll end up with a much better tasting cake, albeit a less kitschy one. Also brandy. Use brandy. It’s the ideal liquor for the job.
Or you could just leave it off your dessert spread altogether if you don’t want to risk contaminating your apple and pumpkin pies by sheer association.
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5 Studies That Prove Coffee Is Having The Best Year Ever
To many of us, coffee is a godsend. Without it, we’d be zombies bumbling through the early morning haze. Its dark, rich taste and jolt of caffeine imbues us with life during those hours when many of us would prefer to be asleep. But that’s not the only reason we’re thankful for coffee. If any good news has come out of 2017, it’s that the beverage has more health benefits than we probably realized. So pour another cup and read on to discover some of the most insightful studies to emerge this year in regards to our favorite morning drink.
Coffee might prevent heart disease.
Researchers from the University of Colorado studied data from the Framingham Heart Study, which has gathered information on American eating patterns and cardiovascular health since the 1940s. They were originally looking for habits that increased the risk of heart disease but instead stumbled upon this tidbit. Subjects who drank an eight ounce cup of coffee every day had a 7 percent less chance of heart failure, an 8 percent less chance of having a stroke and a 5 percent less chance of coronary heart disease. These patterns were also replicated in similar studies including the Cardiovascular Heart Study and the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities Study.
However, as the old psych major adage goes, correlation does not equal causation. So while there is a clear trend, coffee may not be the entire reason behind it. Even if the link is tenuous, coffee drinkers can still pride themselves on being included in the healthier group.
Coffee could help ward off dementia
A few studies suggest drinking three or more cups of coffee a day can help prevent cognitive decline. The better to remember all those lovely espressos you consumed on your last trip to Italy. Comparable results were not replicated with tea, so it’s not just the caffeine at work, but other chemical compounds such as polyphenols as well. They work in tandem to prevent the accumulation of toxic proteins in the body. Some studies have gone as far as to suggest coffee can even prevent Alzheimer’s. We’ll drink a latte to that!
Coffee can help relieve chronic pain, at least if you’re a mouse.
According to a study published in Nature Medicine in May, coffee may be more effective at relieving pain than ibuprofen. But there’s a non-human catch. Researchers in Boston subjected a bunch of sleep-deprived mice to various painkillers, including Morphine, but it was coffee that had the greatest impact on their sensitivity. The caffeine likely triggered the release of dopamine for some happy relief. While we have no idea if coffee can make human pain more bearable, it certainly makes mornings more tolerable. We’ll take all we can get.
Coffee can help you live longer.
In the largest analysis of its kind, a study showed those who drink three cups of coffee a day are likely to live longer. Not only were subjects at lower risk for heart disease, but they had a reduced risk for lung, pulmonary, and digestive tract issues. You know what a longer life means? More time to enjoy coffee!
Coffee can help your workout.
Yes, seriously. A physiology professor at the University of São Paulo claims that it can increase your exercise speed and thus your ability to burn calories. He tested this theory on 400 subjects on stationary bikes. He gave one group 400-mg caffeine pills (the equivalent of four brews) while another group got a placebo and another got nothing to serve as a control. The caffeinated bunch sped 3.3 percent faster than the control group. While this may seem like an obvious outcome, it’s always nice to have science validate our gym boost of choice.
Are there any downsides to drinking too much coffee?
Well, too much caffeine can definitely throw off your sleep and trigger insomnia. It can also exacerbate gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), so if you’re prone to heart burn it’s probably best to avoid it. But otherwise, make another pot of that hot stuff and enjoy!
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Creamy Beet Gratin With Pistachio Crumble
Earthy beets are thinly sliced and layered, then submerged in a chili-spiked cream. It all bubbles together until the beets become tender and caramelized. The creamy gratin is topped with a crunchy mix of salted pistachios, panko bread crumbs, and a pinch of sugar to balance the chili's mellow heat. Get Recipe!
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Crispy, Golden Turkey Skin: 4 Methods Put to the Test (and One Winner!)
I’ve been wrist deep in the business end of chickens all week. I’m on a quest to determine the best way to achieve perfect deep, golden, crispy skin, both for our everyday roast chickens and also for that bird of all birds — the Thanksgiving turkey.
Why? A well-roasted bird makes an undeniably beautiful presentation on your holiday table. Also, of course, the snap of salty, crisp skin with each tender morsel of meat is a little bite of heaven. In the end, we want a bird with tender, flavorful meat, and deeply golden, crispy skin. The goal is to inject the meat with moisture while eliminating it from the skin.
Continue reading "Crispy, Golden Turkey Skin: 4 Methods Put to the Test (and One Winner!)" »
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Archaeologists Have Discovered the World’s Oldest Wine
Archaeologists working in Tbilisi, Georgia have made a fascinating culinary discovery—evidence of the oldest instance of wine-making, based on artifacts that are over 8,000 years old. After digging up earthenware jars that contained residue and chemical traces of wine once stored inside, the pottery containers, which date back to 5,980 B.C., were also decorated with images of grape clusters and a dancing man. In case you needed further evidence that alcohol has always played a role in getting the party started, there you go!
The jars come from the Neolithic period and were found in what was once the ancient villages of Gadachrili Gora and Shulaveris Gora. According to Stephen Batiuk, a researcher at the University of Toronto and co-author of the paper which described the findings, “we believe this is the oldest example of the domestication of a wild-growing Eurasian grapevine solely for the production of wine.” The wine-making process likely entailed crushing the all parts of the grapes, including their seeds and their stems so they fermented together. To this day, there is identical methodology that’s used to make wine in Georgia. It utilizes similar-looking vessels, (known as qvervi) which help aid the fermentation process.
Prior to this discovery, the earliest evidence of wine-making was found in Iran in pottery that dated back 7,000 years. Similar discoveries have also been made in Armenia, where ancient wine-presses have even been found. The first non-grape based wine is thought to be a fermented alcoholic beverage of rice, honey, and fruit discovered in China and dating to about 7,000 B.C.
Life back then was probably pretty rough, so it makes sense that wine-making eventually took hold as a pastime. As Batiuk noted in an interview with the BBC, “wine is central to civilization as we know it in the West.” We’ll drink to that.
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The Best Applesauce
When you want an applesauce that's more than just a fruit purée, apple cider vinegar, plus a few aromatics like cinnamon and orange peel, will elevate the apple flavor without getting in the way. Get Recipe!
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Sabra Guacamole with Lime
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