Southern Protocol

This week, tomorrow specifically, marks the beginning of fall! While the 90+ degree temperatures outside don’t truly reflect that, the season of falling leaves, lots of pumpkin flavored things, and heated football weekends is finally here. So in a tribute to that, I found the COOLEST way to spice up your next dinner party: serving a course in a pumpkin! I can’t attest to the actual flavor of this, but if nothing else it’s super memorable… and I’ve been looking for reasons to buy pumpkins.

Dinner in a Pumpkin, courtesy of GroupRecipes.com (serves 8 )
1 medium pumpkin or squash (8-10 pounds)
2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 (4 ounce) can sliced mushrooms
1 (10 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
2 cups hot cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
A bit of garlic

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brown and drain meat, then place on a low-heat stove to keep warm.

While beef is cooking, cut a 3-inch opening in the stem of a pumpkin, like you would a jack-o-lantern, keeping top piece. Remove and discard the pulp inside.

Saute carrots and onion until tender, then add to the ground beef. Stir in remaining ingredients and spoon into pumpkin or squash. Place the top of the pumpkin back on.

Lightly grease a 10-inch circle in the center of a baking sheet. Placed filled pumpkin on baking sheet. *You may have to lower the rack due to the pumpkin stem*

Bake 1.5 to 2 hours, or until pumpkin is tender and filling is bubbly throughout. To serve, spoon some of the meat onto plates, making sure to scrape some of the pumpkin’s side with it.

For the sake of drama, I would bring out the pumpkin and serve it to your guests at the table. If you’re having a buffet-style affair, it’s perfect as is!

I searched foreverrr (translation: 5 minutes) for a Disney-themed recipe, just to annoy Lizz, who spent Thursday-Sunday with all the crazy people in Disney World (a fun family vaycay). Unfortunately, the only recipes to be found are recipes from the actual theme parks, and I wasn’t about to endorse those without trying them first.

Then somehow, magically, I landed upon a recipe for Pumpkin Pancakes. A heavenly combination that is a perfect recipe to kick off the fall season, don’t you think? Thanks to DisneyFamily.com for the recipe (so I suppose it IS technically a Disney recipe, eh?)

Pumpkin Pancakes (Makes 16 dollar size pancakes)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 extra large eggs
2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Heat a griddle over medium heat. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, pumpkin puree, eggs and melted butter. Add to the dry ingredients and whisk to combine.

Pour about 1 tablespoon of oil onto the griddle and spread with a paper towel (a GREAT trick for evenly coating a pan and avoiding splattering!) Pour batter, 1/4 cup at a time, onto the griddle to make dollar size pancakes.

When the pancakes bubble and the edges look dry (after about 2-3 minutes), flip and continue cooking on the other side for about 2 minutes, or until cooked all the way through.

Remove to a serving tray, cover with foil and set in oven to keep warm while you make another batch. Re-oil griddle as necessary. Serve with hot maple syrup or whipped cream and chocolate chips.

Enjoy!

As a girl who grew up in the homey heartland of Missouri, I love my gooey butter cake. The soft, melt-in-your-mouth sweetness was always a treat, year round. But to take it to the next festive level for fall, why not add a little bit of pumpkin spice to the mix? This delightful treat is sure to be a hit for any aged guest – serve as bite sized pieces at a cocktail party, or as the main-event dessert at a sit down dinner. Either way, this Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake is sure to be the talk of the town. 

While there are several versions of this recipe – a popular option belonging to Georgia’s choice chef, Miss Paula Deen – Williams-Sonoma offers its version of ingredients, and it is still my hands-down favorite. Simply log on to their website to get the mix and pumpkin butter. But do it right as the first leaves fall – it’s only available during the fall season!

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
For the Cake Base:
1 package spiced pecan pumpkin quick bread (Williams-Sonoma)
1 egg
1 stick butter, melted

For the Filling:
1 8 ounce cream cheese, softened
1 jar pecan pumpkin pecan butter (Williams-Sonoma)
3 large eggs
1 t vanilla
1 stick butter, melted
1 16 ounce box powdered sugar
1/2 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make the cake base, combine cake mix, egg, and melted butter with an electric mixer. Pat into bottom of a greased 9 X 13 pan.

To prepare the filling, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin pecan butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, melted butter and cinnamon and beat together. Add the powdered sugar and mix well. Spread the filling over the cake base. Bake for 40-50 minutes, making sure not to over bake so the center is still a little gooey.

While this dessert is absolutely mouthwatering right out of the oven (I can literally taste the warm heavenly cinnamon as I type), it can come up to room temperature and still be fantastic for a few days; almost making them more of a bar that would be perfect for cocktail treats. Your guests will look forward to it all throughout the long summer months.