what you should know
Up north, the brief maple syrup season is underway. The sap is flowing and the louvered sugar shacks are at full boil.
Real maple syrup is made from the sap of sugar maples. The sap flows up the tree during the cold night, then flows back down the tree as the temperature rises during the day.
sapped The sap is clear and light, like a mild sugar water. It's poured into an evaporator where it's boiled for hours to thicken. About 40 gallons of sap will get you only one gallon of syrup.
lingua dolce Until the cheap production of cane sugar and, later, high fructose corn syrup, maple sap was mostly used to make sugar. Today, even though almost maple sap is used for syrup, the old language of "sugaring" survives.
maple state In the U.S., most real maple syrup comes from Vermont, where sugaring (like cheesemaking) is practically a birthright. Syrups are graded based on when in the season they're made. (There's evidence that terroir comes into play as well.)
coatlicker Imitation syrups are made mostly with high fructose corn syrup and an aroma compound called sotolon. Chip's friend Mark, an amateur sugarer, says that going back to commercial stuff after years of making his own "is like taking a shower with a raincoat on. And then licking the raincoat."
what you need
Though it doesn't have the classic beehive shape of your local diner's tabletop syrup pourer, this WMF Satin Steel contraption is sleek and relatively drip-free.
For pancakes, it's hard to beat Calphalon's stove-top nonstick griddle. The square shape and low ridges make it easy to flip the flapjacks.
Maple sap's not just for syrup and sugar. Vermont Spirits makes a clean, rustic maple sap vodka.
what you do
We like to use the darker, richer Grade B syrup for this maple plum crumble.
Syrup, butter and pecans are just the right dressing for these maple-glazed pears.
Try this salty-sweet soy-maple vinaigrette on simple green or single-vegetable salads. Or use it as a glaze for grilled fish and meats.
We love the lush tang of this maple and apricot-glazed meatloaf, from new Cookthinktanker, Karina's Kitchen.
If you'd rather save the maple syrup for the pancakes, try hogwash's Whole-Grain Flapjacks and VeganYumYum's Easy Weekend Pancakes.
Featured recipe: Tahini and apple cider vinegar are two of the ingredients that makes these maple-walnut cookies so distinctive. The recipe comes from Diet, Dessert, and Dogs and is the featured recipe for this week's Root Source Challenge.
Whether carved into jack-o'-lanterns, baked into pies or covered in proverbial frost, pumpkins symbolize our annual descent into winter.
Giant pumpkins are best for carving; the flesh has little taste. For cooking, look for the smaller specimens known as sugar pumpkins (or "pie pumpkins").
Thin-skinned summer squash are harvested before maturity; thick-skinned pumpkins aren't picked until after the first frost. A grooved woody stem and deep orange color set the pumpkin apart from other winter squash.
Many American holiday recipes call for canned supermarket pumpkin -- but pumpkin purée is easily made from scratch.
what you should know
Whether carved into jack-o'-lanterns, baked into pies or covered in proverbial frost, pumpkins symbolize our annual descent into winter.
Giant pumpkins are best for carving; the flesh has little taste. For cooking, look for the smaller specimens known as sugar pumpkins (or "pie pumpkins").
family matters Thin-skinned summer squash are gathered before maturity; thick-skinned pumpkins aren't picked until after the first frost. A grooved woody stem and deep orange color set the pumpkin apart from other winter squash.
when in rome In Italy, pumpkin is a common pasta filling. Pumpkin is fried and served with yogurt sauce in Afghanistan. In Mexico, pumpkin seeds (pepitas) are made into a tasty sauce.
in the can Many holiday recipes call for canned supermarket pumpkin -- but pumpkin purée is easily made from scratch.
world's greatest If the fact that 80 percent of the world's canned pumpkin is processed in Morton, Illinois doesn't make you want to visit, maybe its annual pumpkin-chucking contest will.
what you need
If you're cutting pumpkin, you're going to need a nice, sharp knife.
Ready yourself for holiday pie-baking with a pie plate and the pie bible.
If you're craving pumpkin in music form, how about Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness?
If you're more inclined to believe in the Great Pumpkin than in Santa Claus, get yourself a copy of the Charlie Brown classic.
what you do
Part of the beauty of pumpkin is that it can go sweet or savory. Satisfy your sugar cravings with a classic pumpkin pie or a bowl of pumpkin-cardamom rice pudding.
Nut brittle gets a sophisticated twist with spicy pumpkin seed brittle.
Sweet-hot pumpkin enchiladas make a quick and meatless weeknight meal.
Fish, squash and legume bisque is a hearty soup traditionally served during Holy Week and delicious anytime.
If your Thanksgiving plans don't include turkey, pumpkin gnocchi would be a great way to celebrate instead.
Featured: The winner of this week's Root Source Challenge is a recipe for a savory pumpkin custard from Noob Cook. Congratulations, Wiffy!
Find more pumpkin recipes at Cookthink.com. And if you haven't yet signed up for a free account at Cookthink, do it now!
What do I do with leftover heavy cream?
What do I do with leftover heavy cream?
It often happens that you have a little heavy cream left over from some other recipe. To use it up, try one of these easy suggestions:
- Whisk it together with an egg yolk, grated parmesan and red pepper flakes, then toss with hot noodles in a bowl.
- Add to scrambled eggs for an extra rich flavor.
- Drizzle over vegetables (fennel, asparagus, endive) in a gratin or casserole dish, sprinkle on some grated cheese and broil for a delicious side. (Recipe: Endive Gratin)
- Whisk together with herbs and vinegar or lemon juice for a creamy dressing.
- Stir it into a soup or stew for richness. (Recipe: White Bean And Green Pea Soup With Mint)
Which rices can I use for risotto?
Which rices can I use for risotto?
For this classic northern Italian dish, you want an absorbant, high-starch rice with short, fat grains that will yield a moist, creamy risotto but hold their own for an al dente bite.
Arborio has long been the favorite, but recently, the more expensive and less widely available Carnaroli has become the rice of choice for risotto connoisseurs. Vialone Nano, from the Veneto, can absorb twice its weight in liquid, meaning it is hard to overcook (although some cooks claim it produces a less delicate result). Carnaroli is a hybrid of Vialone Nano and a Japanese rice that was developed in Italy in the 1940s.
Risotto is made by sautéing rice grains in a bit of butter and/or olive oil and diced onion until translucent, then ladling in stock gradually and letting it to absorb before adding more. This process is repeated until the rice is cooked (18-20 minutes).
Most risotto recipes call for almost constant stirring to help release some of the rice's starch and result in a creamy finished dish. We're not so militant about the constant stirring -- in our experience, it's one of those passed-down recipe-isms that doesn't make as much of a difference on the finished dish as conventional wisdom says it does.
Reference: What does al dente mean?
Recipe: Risotto With Treviso Radicchio And Taleggio (Lucullian Delights)
Recipe: Cauliflower Risotto With Spicy Pangrattato (Traveler's Lunchbox)
Recipe: Roasted Beet Risotto (Coconut & Lime)
