pumpkin bread stuffed mushrooms

We had an open house for new church members last weekend. Somewhere along the way in my menu planning, this combination came to my mind, so I took a shot -- and it worked. You could use either of the pumpkin bread recipes here or here.
Preheat oven to 375.

18-24 cremini mushrooms
3 Tbsp butter
2 small shallots, chopped fine
2 large garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup crumbled pumpkin bread
4 Tbsp white wine
salt and pepper

Separate the stems from the caps, brush the caps clean and set them in a shallow baking dish or baking sheet. Dice the mushroom stems into a small pieces. Melt the butter in a sauté pan and add the stems, shallots, and garlic. Cook until shallots are translucent and mushrooms are soft -- 3-4 minutes. Add rosemary and pumpkin bread. Let the bread soak up the butter and then add the wine; cook the whole mixture another 3-4 minutes. Season to taste.

At this point, you have choices beyond what I did with my mushrooms. You can add other herbs (thyme, oregano), diced apples (Granny Smiths might give a little tartness), walnuts or pine nuts, or even bacon. You can also pulse the mixture in the food processor to make it more of a paste. I chose the chunky style and spooned it right out of the pan (after it cooled a little) into the mushroom caps.

Cook the mushrooms uncovered for about twenty minutes; let them rest for about five minutes before serving.

Peace
Milton

vegan pumpkin bread

Here is the vegan version, which also uses dark beer. The process is very similar to the other pumpkin bread; the difference is in the details.

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease two 9 x 5 loaf pans or six small loaf pans.

3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Mix the dry ingredients together and whisk until smooth. In a stand mixer, blend together

2/3 cup vegetable shortening, melted
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups (1 can) pumpkin puree
2/3 cup dark beer or stout
1/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla

When wet ingredients are combined, put mixer on low and add dry mixture until well blended. Spoon into pans and bake.

Large pans: one hour, or until cake tester comes out clean.
Small pans: thirty minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.

Peace
Milton

pumpkin bread

I have two variations on pumpkin bread. This is the house favorite. The other, which I will post in the next couple of days, is vegan without trying to be. Both are very good; this is just a bit more moist.

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease two 9 x 5 loaf pans or six small loaf pans.

3 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Mix the first four ingredients together and then add the rest and whisk until smooth. In a stand mixer, blend together

4 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
2 cups (1 can) pumpkin puree
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

Melt the butter and let it cool a bit. Mix the rest of the wet ingredients and then add the butter slowly so you don’t cook the eggs. When wet ingredients are combined, put mixer on low and add dry mixture until well blended. Spoon into pans and bake.

Large pans: one hour, or until cake tester comes out clean.
Small pans: thirty minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.

Peace
Milton

guinness chocolate cake

It’s fair to say Guinness and chocolate are two of my favorite ingredients. They are significant contributors to my chili recipe; how they have a cake of their own.

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour two nine-inch round cake pans.

1 1/2 cups Guinness (or other dark beer or stout)
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup cocoa powder (use Dutch-press cocoa)

Heat the butter and Guinness together until the butter melts; remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

In a separate bowl, whisk together

3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of your mixer, combine

3 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Add the Guinness-cocoa mixture, and stir until combined. Put the mixer on slow speed and add the dry mix, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Once everything is in the bowl, mix on medium speed for about one minute.

Divide the mixture between the two cake pans. Bake the layers for 45-50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove the cakes to a rack for at least ten minutes before turning them out of the pans and returning them to the cooling rack. Let them cool completely before icing, which is easy because the icing has to cool for a couple of hours.

1 pound semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Put the chocolate chips in a large heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer in a heavy saucepan or in the microwave. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until the mixture is velvety smooth. Add the vanilla and stir again. Refrigerate until the icing is both stiff and spreadable -- about two hours.

When you get ready to ice the cake, make sure the bottom layer is flat on top, so it doesn’t crack when you invert it on the cake plate. Place it bottom side up and use almost two-thirds of the icing on the top of the bottom layer. Place the second layer top side up and use the remaining icing for the top and sides.

I found it helpful to put the entire cake in the fridge to let the icing set -- the layers can slide around a bit.

Peace,
Milton