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4B Daily News – Wednesday, October 16, 2013 County Fare & fresh tasty Sweet and savory riffs on the pumpkin By Ann Tatko-Peterson MediaNews Group Autumn has arrived in all its glorious color. OK, not so much the foliage part yet, at least not near the coast. But our farms and markets are bursting in the most deliciously colorful ways, with Titian-hued Cinderella pumpkins, golden squash and variegated varietals that look as good as they taste. "Pumpkin is like that intro to fall," says food writer Diane Cu. "You see it and ooh!" And there's so much more you can do with pumpkins than relegate them to a jack-o'-lantern fate. Those versatile, vitamin-packed globes -- and their winter squash cousins -- are equally at home on the dinner table in pumpkin risottos, butternut crumble and other sweet and savory takes. Roasted pumpkin is perfect in spicy coffee cake, swirled into rich vanilla ice cream or pureed into soup, say Cu and her husband, Todd Porter, co-authors of the new "Bountiful" (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $35, 304 pages). It marries beautifully with pasta and other savory elements and shines on its own, simply roasted. It's a view shared by John Jackson, executive chef at Oakland's Bocanova. He's doing a fourcourse Halloween dinner that features pumpkin in every course, including a decadent, golden-hued pumpkin risotto and scallops a la plancha with pumpkin sauce. The risotto uses both pureed roasted pumpkin and tiny cubes of sauteed squash, with sliced chestnuts, Brussels sprouts and plenty of fresh sage. Look down the coast to Half Moon Bay, where the big pumpkin festival runs this weekend, and you'll see pumpkin in every possible guise, from chicken-pumpkin sausages to pumpkin churros. There's pumpkin Candied Mint, Citrus Zest Bark By Recipe courtesy of Susie Norris and Susan Heeger, 'Hand-Crafted Candy Bars' Makes about 24 pieces CANDIED MINT LEAVES 1 cup sugar 3/4 cup fresh mint leaves CANDIED CITRUS 3/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup water 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 lemons 2 oranges Coarse sugar, for dredging T E M P E R E D CHOCOLATE 3 cups ice 3 cups chopped, highquality dark chocolate (60 percent cacao or higher) Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the 1 cup sugar in a shallow bowl. Dip the mint leaves in a pan of room-temperature tap water just long enough to soften, about 5 seconds. Scoop them out with a strainer, then dip them, one at a time, in the sugar to coat heavily on both sides. Place leaves on one of the baking sheets, and bake 1 hour in a low oven, 100 to 200 degrees. For the citrus, bring the French Red Pumpkin Risotto By John Jackson Executive chef, Bocanova Pumpkin Spiced Coffee Cake By Todd Porter and Diane Cu whiteonricecouple.com Note: The raisins need to soak in rum for 20 minutes. Start that first. PUMPKIN SPICED COFFEE CAKE Makes one 9-inch cake Topping: 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon Pinch of kosher salt 6 tablespoons cold butter, in small chunks 1 cup finely chopped, toasted nuts, such as walnuts or pecans Batter: 1 cup golden raisins, soaked in dark rum or warm water for 20 minutes 1 3/4 cups cake flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cloves 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 1 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup pumpkin puree 1/2 cup sour cream Confectioner's sugar Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9inch springform pan. Topping: Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Use your fingers or a pastry cutter to cut in the butter, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in nuts. Chill. For the batter, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt. Using an electric mixer on medium-high, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla, pumpkin and sour cream. Drain raisins; stir into batter. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Spread batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the topping. Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool, then remove from pan and dust with confectioner's sugar to serve. – Reprinted with permission from WhiteOnRiceCouple.com sugar, water, vanilla and salt to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Turn off heat; let the simple syrup cool 20 minutes. Meanwhile, bring two medium saucepans of water to a boil. Zest the fruit, cutting each piece into thin strips. Place the zest in a strainer; dip into the first pot of boiling water for 20 seconds. Repeat with the second pot. Transfer to the pan of simple syrup, and let sit for a few minutes. Drain zest on a paper towel, pat dry and shower generously with sugar. Place on the second baking sheet; bake for about 1 hour in a low oven, 100 to 200 degrees. For the chocolate, put the ice in a large bowl and set aside. Using a double boiler or stainless steel bowl set over, but not touching, barely simmering water, melt all but a handful of the chopped chocolate until the molten chocolate reaches 115 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove the bowl, and wipe the bottom with a towel so no water gets on your work surface. Add the remaining chocolate to the bowl and stir. Place the bowl over the bowl of ice for a few seconds at a time, removing it, stirring until smooth and repeating until the temperature drops to 82 degrees. Heat the chocolate again by placing it back over the simmering water for 30 seconds to 1 minute at a time. Once its temperature rises to 90 degrees, it is tempered and ready to use. Line another baking sheet with parchment. Place the mint and citrus on top, reserving about 10 pieces for garnish. Pour 1/2 inch of chocolate over the baking sheet; decorate the top with reserved citrus. Let harden at room temperature for 20 minutes or in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. When fully set, break the bark into pieces and serve. -- Adapted from Susie Norris and Susan Heeger, "Hand-Crafted Candy Bars" (Chronicle Books, $24.95, 160 pages) Mini Caramel Apples By Recipe courtesy of 'Sunset Cook Taste Savor' Makes 16 to 20 3/4 cup light corn syrup 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup unsalted butter About 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, divided 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips 2 large red apples 20 slender but sturdy 4-inch twigs or skewers In a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the corn syrup, sugar, butter and 3/4 cup beer, pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin pretty much everything else. But if you're looking for something delicious to do with the versatile squash at home, Porter and Cu like to think outside the bin in their cookbook and their blog, the irreverently named White on Rice Couple. Cu, a photographer, is Vietnamese, with a penchant for all things American. Porter, who hails from the restaurant industry, is American, with a passion for all things Japanese. What they share most, besides an obsession with food, is an enthusiasm for riffing on themes. So pumpkin bread becomes a spicy coffee cake filled with fresh ginger, rum-soaked raisins and toasted pecans. Ice cream gets swirls of compote or, in this case, roasted pumpkin. And that Butternut Squash Crumble, a savory take on a classic dessert, can be twisted every which way. The recipe calls for cubed squash, bacon, truffled olive oil and mushrooms, with a crumbly topping of nuts, fresh herbs and just a little sugar. It's a "shoot from the hip recipe and a nice one for fall," Porter says. "I change it every time I make it." Make it for Thanksgiving, he suggests, and you'll upstage even the pumpkin pie. plus 2 tablespoons cream. Heat until mixture reaches 275 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 15 minutes, stirring often with the thermometer or a wooden spoon once it starts to turn color. Grease a baking sheet. Place pecans and chocolate chips on separate plates. Using a 1-inch melon baller, cut apples into balls, 8 to 10 per apple. Push thickest end of a twig into each apple ball through the skin side to the center. Set on paper towels to absorb moisture. Remove caramel from heat when it hits 275 degrees; pour in remaining cream, stirring until very smooth, about 1 minute, being careful of any splattering caramel. Dip apple balls into the caramel, making sure the caramel comes over the edges of the skin; let excess drip off. Dip bottom of each ball into the nuts or chocolate, then set Note: Bocanova serves this risotto with sliced, roasted chestnuts and Cypress Grove goat cheese. FRENCH RED PUMPKIN RISOTTO Serves 4 1 French or Cinderella pumpkin Butter 1 sprig fresh sage Olive oil Salt, white pepper 3 Brussels sprouts, leaves only 8 sage leaves Risotto: 1/2 white onion, small dice 2 chile de arbol or bird's beak chiles (or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne) 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 cups Carnaroli rice 1/4 cup white wine 6 cups chicken stock 1 sprig fresh sage Midnight Moon goat cheese, to finish Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut pumpkin in quarters; remove seeds. Peel and cut one of the quarters in a fine dice. In a small skillet, melt 1 to 2 tablespoons butter; sweat 1 cup diced pumpkin with a sage sprig until the pumpkin is just soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Let cool. Toss remaining pumpkin quarters with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a sheet pan, skin-side up, and roast until soft, about 45 minutes. Test by inserting a knife; it should enter and exit without sticking. Cool to room temperature. Scrape pumpkin flesh from the skin. Add liquid from roasting pan; push mixture through a potato ricer. You should have 1 cup of puree. Blanch the Brussels sprouts leaves in salted, boiling water for 15 seconds, then shock them in salted ice water. Let leaves dry. Melt more butter in a small saute pan; lightly brown the sage and Brussels sprouts leaves. For the risotto: In a large pot, sweat the onion and chile de arbol in 1 tablespoon each butter and oil until soft. Add rice and stir to coat; let toast lightly. Season with salt and white pepper, then add wine and deglaze until dry. Add sage sprig and 2 cups stock; cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until almost dry. Add pumpkin puree and just enough stock to cover the rice; cook, stirring constantly. Keep adding stock in small batches until rice is cooked and creamy. Remove from heat; fish out the sage sprig and chiles. Stir in 2 tablespoons unsalted butter. Taste and adjust for salt. Gently fold the diced pumpkin into the risotto. With a Microplane, grate some cheese on top. Garnish with sauteed Brussels sprouts and sage leaves. Serve hot. on baking sheet to cool. Serve immediately, or chill up to 3 hours, then serve at room temperature. -- "Sunset Cook Taste Savor" (Oxmoor House, $26, 288 pages) Vanilla Bean Saltwater Taffy By Recipe courtesy of Liz Gutman and Jen King, 'The Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook' Makes 120 pieces Note: Taffy will not set properly on a humid or moist day. Add food coloring to tint the mixture, if desired. Cooking spray or oil 1/2 cup evaporated milk 11/2 cups sugar 12/3 cups light corn syrup 1/2 vanilla bean, split 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt Wax twisting papers Generously grease a baking sheet. In a 4-quart saucepan, combine the milk, sugar and corn syrup. Scrape the vanilla seeds into the pan. Add the pod. Bring to a boil over high heat, uncovered, then insert candy thermometer. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring frequently to avoid scorching, until mixture reaches 246 degrees (firm ball stage), 10 to 15 minutes. Put on your oven mitts, remove pan from heat and pour on baking sheet. Fish out the vanilla bean pod with tongs. Sprinkle the salt evenly over the surface of the taffy. Cool until warm to the touch, 30 to 45 minutes. Turn the cooled taffy onto a large oiled cutting board. Stretch the taffy out with both hands, fold it over on itself and stretch again. Repeat this continuously until the taffy has turned opaque and white, about 15 minutes. Generously grease the blades of your kitchen scissors and your hands. Pull the taffy into 4 equal pieces. Roll the first into an 18-inch log. Snip off 11/2-inch pieces; immediately roll them in wax paper, so they hold their shape. Repeat with remaining taffy. Store in an airtight container up to 3 weeks. -- Liz Gutman and Jen King, "The Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook" (Workman, $17.95, 302 pages)