pumpkin - - Page 2

by BS

Cocktail O’Clock: Pumpkin Spice Margarita

Behind only brunch, I think pumpkin spice is the second-most surprisingly controversial topic of the fall food season. Fine, the Internet thinks P-Spice is way too basic; but we say October can’t come and go without it…especially if you’re mixing if up with some tequila this year.

Pumpkin “Spice” Margarita

2 ounces Camarena Reposado Tequila
2 can Pumpkin Puree
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Sugar
1 tablespoon Cinnamon
1 pinch Nutmeg
2 cups Water
1/2 ounce Orange Liqueur
Juice of 1/2 a Lime

Make a pumpkin simple syrup by combining pumpkin puree with brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and water in a saucepan over low heat. Stir for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, cool and strain. Combine the juice of half a lime, Camarena Reposado Tequila, and 2 ounces pumpkin simple syrup. Shake well and serve on the rocks.

by Emily

Devilishly Good: Pumpkin & Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates

One of my all-time, go-to apps is blue cheese stuffed dates wrapped in prosciutto, or as date eaters in the know call them, Devils on Horseback. They’re really simple to prepare and cook in a matter of minutes, plus their sticky-sweet-chewy-saltiness makes them sooo addictive.

I recently attended a fall potluck party and decided to autumn-ize my favorite devils by subbing the normal blue cheese filling with pumpkin goat cheese. They were just as delicious as the original version, with a festive seasonal twist. Your friends will rave about them, and only you will have to know the spooooky secret of these fall treats: they’re stupid easy to make.

Pumpkin Devils on Horseback

20 dates, pitted
1 small (about 4oz) goat cheese log
1/8 cup pumpkin puree
8 (thin!) slices of good prosciutto
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
black pepper & sea salt

Preheat the oven to 400°.

Let the goat cheese sit out for awhile so it’s nice and softened, then combine with the pumpkin puree. Add pumpkin pie spice and a couple pinches of S&P.

Stuff the dates with your filling – you want them to be nice and full but not overflowing, because obv the cheese is going to get melty in the oven and you don’t want a huge mess on your hands. I probably used about 1-2 teaspoons in each date?

Wrap each stuffed date in prosciutto. Just tear off a 1″ ribbon from the slice and stick it around the fruit. It doesn’t have to be perfect at all.

Place all your stuffed & wrapped dates on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake in the oven for just about 5-10 minutes. Once the prosciutto has kind of “melted” into the date and you can see the bottom of the dates slightly caramelizing, you’re good to go. Make sure to let these devils cool for about 10 minutes before serving – they get hotter than hell in that oven!

by BS

Cocktail O’Clock: Pumpkin Eater

If you ask me, October 15 means it”s officially time to start thinking about pumpkin, pumpkin everything…especially in our drinks.

Here”s an autumn cocktail for you that takes its pumpkin seriously, mixing a hearty spoonful of P up with some rum, honey, OJ and bitters for a seriously soothing fall drink.

Pumpkin Eater

2oz Privateer Silver Rum
1oz Orange Juice
1oz Honey
1 Spoonful Pumpkin Puree
1 Dash Angostura Bitters

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker and give a shake. Serve on the rocks, garnish with grated cinnamon (optional).

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by snebbu

Endless Beer: Fall Beer Roundup

It’s October. Now there is no excuse to not be indulging in some kind of fall flavored food or drink. Yes, I said fall flavored. Fall has many flavors, you know. If you are not enjoying the fall flavors, well there is some sort of evil hiding in the depths of your soul. For the rest of you, we bring you the 2014 roundup of fall brews. There are so many to choose from that it is hard to narrow it down to a list. But, with the help of several trusty breweries, we were able to provide you this handy list. Note that these aren’t just your typical pumpkin beers or Oktoberfests. These are in your face flavors or different twists on the typical fall beers. In order to categorize this list in the most helpful way, we’re trying something new: word association. After tasting each of these offerings, we thought of the first word or phrase that comes to mind. Reviews of each brew to come.

21st Amendment/Elysian Collaboration: He Said He Said

Refreshing and Sweet. The collaboration of 21st Amendment and Elysian is one of the most unique I’ve found for the fall. The trappist version of the He Said He Said is the refreshing part of this four pack. While the pumpkin flavor is at the forefront, the characteristics of a Sour Belgian Trappist come through with a crisp finish. Meanwhile, the pumpkin porter provides a sweet and nearly creamy rendition of a porter with extra pumpkin to boot.

Abita Oktoberfest

Toasty. The Abita Octoberfest is a classic lager with a sweet and toasty taste. The lager is a sweet classic Octoberfest with a pleasant roasted flavor and a hint of hops. The hops tone down the sweetness, making it a nice fall brew.

Cocktail O’Clock: Spiked Pumpkin Cider

Mulled wine is cute. Sure, for those cold fall days nearing winter, why not heat up some wine and mulling spices for a warm and alcoholic treat? But what about those nights that you need something more? Try something new for a change – a modified sweet and boozy night cap. Sons of Liberty’s pumpkin spice whiskey is offered with a few cocktail suggestions on their website. I decided to try out the pumpkin cider martini (with no martini glass). The sweetness of the cider is a good pairing with that of the pumpkin spice flavors. Then, you get hit with the booze and spices of the whiskey. For some extra sweetness, rim the glass with some cinnamon sugar…and some maple syrup. I may even try some syrup shaken in with the drink for some extra sweetness.

Sons of Liberty suggests making it pretty damn strong. I tried it strong at first, then tried it in equal parts. It all really depends on whether you want more sweetness or more of a boozy warming feeling. However, with such a sweet whiskey, the strong variation is not exactly overpowering because of the general sweetness of pumpkin spice whiskey to begin with. Try it out and let us know what you think! I may try a variation of this in the pumpkin tap sometime in the near future…

Spiked Pumpkin Cider

3 oz. Pumpkin Spice Whiskey (for a strong drink – 2 for sweeter drink)
2 oz Fresh Apple Cider
Crushed Ice

Add all ingredients to a shaker and shake vigorously. Rim fancy-shmancy cocktail glass with cinnamon sugar and pour. Garnish with apple wedge and cinnamon stick if you are REALLY fancy.

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Stuffed Acorn Squash with Blue Cheese Caramelized Onion & Turkey

by Emily

Blue Cheese & Caramelized Onion Stuffed Acorn Squash

HAPPY OCTOBER!! Time to bust out some serious fall flavors. Let’s start the month with an ultra-delicious squash recipe! I made this last night after work – you can prep the whole thing from start to finish in about 30 minutes, score! It was a huge hit. The sweetness of the squash, onion, pumpkin, and cinnamon are perfect with the salty bite of the blue cheese and the heat of the cayenne.

Stuffed Acorn Squash with Caramelized Onion + Blue Cheese

Fall TV Frenzy! Pairings for Your Favorite Shows

The arrival of fall brings us the return of many of our favorite shows. Some enjoy the comedies, the cheesy chick flick(ish) shows, and others the thrillers. Regardless of what show(s) you prefer – they’re back! Several hours will be taken away from the time you thought you had in your day as you stare at the tube losing brain cells. The least you can do is feed your body with tasty food and beverages. For you we polled ~~our trusted ES focus groups~~ ourselves to determine the shows that we are looking forward to watching most, pairing them with our own crazy dishes. Plan some parties with your several friends and impress with creative themes and pairings. You’re welcome.

FOX – New Girl

A show about a girl living with a bunch of dudes (and her ex) but somehow they all get along. Crack open a pumpkin wheat beer that everyone can enjoy together and put together (or order) a buffalo chicken pizza. While some biased people out there liken beer and wings to men, there are plenty of women out there that enjoy it too. Like Jess, find common grounds and dig in.

Drink: Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat

Eat: Buffalo Chicken Pizza

FX – American Horror Story

Always a little creepy, and typically even more disturbing, American Horror Story merits something that will take the edge off while watching. The Séance Saison is a fall seasonal that adds fall spices to the mix to get you in the spirit. Also considering the fact that this year’s season’s theme is circus, we thought the best meal to pair with the theme would be circus food: corn dogs and some air popped popcorn.

Drink: Séance Saison

Eat: Corn Dogs with Popcorn