Pumpkin Tiramisu

Although my mom cooked our Thanksgiving lunch/dinner, I made dessert. Of course I had to make something pumpkin, because there’s some law somewhere that states that at least one Thanksgiving meal item must contain pumpkin, and since nothing my mom made contained pumpkin, the responsibility fell to me.

I was thinking about making pumpkin pie, but pumpkin cheesecake (actually, a kabocha squash cheesecake) is on the menu for our big gather in Saturday, so I didn’t want to eat the same (or similar) dessert twice in three days. At first I was planning on making pumpkin soufflés with bourbon whipped cream, but after running across a recipe for pumpkin zuccotto, I got an idea: pumpkin tiramisu.

I usually do not like tiramisu – of all the incarnations of it that I’ve eaten, I’ve only liked it at two places (here, and here, the latter of which is my absolute favorite Italian place in NYC), and I thought it was because they’re both authentic Italian restaurants so they know what they’re doing. Apparently I was not completely correct on that – apparently tiramisu was invented in the '70s by Carminantonio Iannaccone, the owner of Baltimore’s Piedigrotta (which I learned only earlier this year courtesy of this article). I'm not sure how Max and Supper make theirs, but, after a bit of research, I found that whereas most tiramisu recipes call only for mixing zabaglione with mascarpone (and sometimes a whipped egg white), the real deal requires two more components, pastry cream and whipped cream. I decided that if I was going to make tiramisu, I was going to make it right, so I used Carmantonio’s recipe as my starting point.

The predominant flavors in traditional tiramisu are coffee (actually, espresso), marsala, and cocoa – none of which go terribly well with pumpkin (unless you’re Starbucks, in which event you think that pouring artificially flavored overly-sweet pumpkin syrup into a cup of bad coffee is a good idea, but I digress). I thought a bit and decided that I wouldn’t use any white sugar but rather mostly maple syrup and some dark brown sugar, and in place of the marsala, bourbon. The flavor of the bourbon is subtle, but it’s there, the maple syrup adds a deep rich note, and the 4 different components of the filling provide for a rich texture that ultimately comes off not-too-sweet and very light when layered with ladyfingers.

Pumpkin + Vermont maple syrup + Kentucky bourbon (in this case, Maker’s Mark) = a very American spin on an Italian classic.

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Pumpkin Tiramisu
(serves 6-8)

For the pumpkin pastry cream
¾ cup whole milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons maple syrup*, divided
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground clove
1/8 teaspoon salt

For the bourbon zabaglione
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
¼ cup bourbon

For the spiced maple-bourbon syrup
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/8” coins ginger
2 whole cloves
½ stick of cinnamon
¼ cup bourbon

To assemble
¼ cup heavy cream
8 oz mascarpone, room temperature
24 savoiardi (ladyfingers), available at Italian groceries

*I use only Grade B maple syrup, which is darker and has a richer taste than Grade A

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Make the pumpkin pastry cream
Combine the milk, cornstarch, and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup in a 2-quart saucepan set over medium heat and bring to a simmer. In the meantime, whisk the yolks and 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

Slowly stream ½ cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking continuously. Transfer the egg yolk mixture to the pot and cook over medium-low heat until thick and custard-like, about 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Make the zabaglione
Add all ingredients to a metal bowl and beat well to combine (use a hand mixer). Set the bowl over a double boiler and whip continuously until thick and custard-like, about 6 minutes. Let the mixture cool slightly, then transfer to a bowl and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Make the syrup
Bring all ingredients except for bourbon to a boil in a small saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat, add bourbon, set aside until cool, then strain.

Assemble
Whip the cream until it holds stiff peaks, then fold it into the mascarpone. In a separate bowl, gently fold together the pastry cream and zabaglione, then fold in the mascarpone mixture.

Put the syrup in a shallow, wide bowl. Quickly dip each side of 1 ladyfinger in the syrup, then place in a deep 8x8 dish. Repeat with 5 more savoiardi. Evenly spread ¼ of the pumpkin mixture on top and smooth out. Make 3 more layers, using 6 savoiardi and ¼ of the pumpkin mixture for each layer. Cover well with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight and up to 4 days. [You can’t serve this immediately – the savoiardi are crisp and need a good amount of time to soak up the liquid from the filling so that they become soft and sponge-like.]
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Thanksgiving

This year, Thanksgiving is entirely in my hands. There will be 16 of us in total, so it's going to be quite an undertaking. Luckily, I'm a serious Type A personality, so I wrote up a detailed game plan for tackling the many things I'm making.

Actually, I'm not technically cooking on Thanksgiving - we're having our big gathering on Saturday because not everyone is able to be here on Thursday. My mom will be cooking dinner for 4 on Thursday (although I am, of course, making dessert), and we're pretending like Saturday is Thanksgiving, except we're not really pretending because the whole family will be here, so isn't that really Thanksgiving? I think it is.

Anyway, in case you haven't finalized your Thanksgiving menu yet, here are some things I've made over the past year and a half that would be at home on the Thanksgiving table; the ones that are starred are items I made for last year's Thanksgiving dinner:

Thai curried butternut squash soup
Spiced parsnip and apple soup
Orange cauliflower and Fuji apple soup with sage cream and aged cheddar tuiles*
Honey glazed Bartlett pear, gorgonzola, and walnut salad*
Maple, coriander, and pomegranate glazed acorn squash*
Macadamia lime green beans
Roasted brussels sprouts with soy-sriracha dressing and spiced puffed rice*
Roasted brussels sprouts with pomegranate and hazelnuts*
Spiked apple cider cupcakes
Pumpkin cupcakes with maple-ginger frosting

OK, back I go to finalizing my plan and writing up detailed shopping lists - prep starts tonight!

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Thai Curried Butternut Squash Soup

My mom’s birthday was this past Sunday, so, of course, I was compelled to make her a great dinner. I admit that sometimes I get a little carried away and make elaborate four-course meals that take hours to make, but this time, I decided to make simple comfort foods that my mom loves, albeit refined versions of them.

First up: a butternut squash soup with a Thai inflection. I’ve made regular butternut squash soup before, but I wanted something a little more special this time around. Some common additions are ginger or curry powder, but I decided to take it a little further by going completely Thai, but in a really subtle way. By adding just a tiny amount of Thai curry paste, the soup has a faint hint of its flavor and the heat kicks in at the end of each spoonful, but the soup doesn’t taste strongly of a Thai curry. The palm sugar highlights the natural sweetness of the squash, the ginger adds another dimension of flavor but it’s not at all overpowering, and the coconut milk adds a bit of richness and rounds out the flavors. And the last minute addition of lime juice brightens up the whole thing.

My mom, who definitely has a discerning palate, loved it. I was actually surprised at just how good it turned out – it was really simple to make but turned out to have a complex yet delicate flavor – a great start to my mom’s birthday dinner.

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Thai Curried Butternut Squash Soup
(serves 6)

1 large butternut squash (about 2 ½ pounds)
2 large shallots
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon palm sugar or dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon Thai yellow or red curry paste
5 cups water
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

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Peel and seed the squash. Chop it into large pieces and pulse in a food processor until finely chopped.

Peel and chop the shallots (you should have about ½ cup).

Add the canola oil to a large pot set over medium heat. Add the chopped shallots and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, sugar, and curry paste and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the squash and water. Cover the pot and bring the soup to a boil. Remove the lid and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer until the squash is very tender, about 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk and salt and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Puree the soup – either use a hand blender to blend the soup in the pot, or puree the soup in batches in a blender. Add more salt if necessary.

Right before serving, stir in the lime juice. Serve warm.

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VOTE!

I don't care who you vote for (although I'd love it if you voted for the guy I'm supporting) - just make sure you get out and vote today.

Every vote counts. Don't be like my co-worker, who, despite having the day off, said she isn't going to vote because NY is a blue state and her vote won't make a difference. If everyone said that, then maybe NY wouldn't come out blue tonight. Don't be apathetic - take a cue from this couple, who flew halfway around the world to vote because their absentee ballots didn't come through in time. If they can do it, you can stand in line for 2 hours to vote.

And, if that's not enough motivation, there's more: you can score free treats if you vote. Krispy Kreme is giving out free red white and blue star-shaped donuts, Ben & Jerry's is giving out free scoops, and Starbucks (ick) is giving out free tall brewed coffee to people who can prove they voted today (although the other day they changed their policy and are giving it to everyone, not just voters).

Now get out there and vote!

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