We carved our pumpkins Friday night (after bowls of butternut squash risotto — recipe coming later in the week) and some wine. It’s always fun to use knives after a bottle of wine! Yay!

Hollowing out the pumpkin is always my least favorite part. It’s very messy but a necessary step, I suppose.

jwa works on his pumpkin in a way that makes me concerned for his fingers. Spencer, (to the right, under the chair), remains uninterested.

I like the way mine turned out this year. Sharp, pointy teeth! Grrr!

jwa made a robot pumpkin. Eep.

Robot pumpkin in profile. Robot pumpkin hungry. Robot pumpkin eat stool. ::crunch:: ::munch:: ::crunch::

Pumpkin teeth cam! Huh, I hope the camera doesn’t smell like pumpkin now…

My pumpkin surveys the living room with his evil, glowy teeth of doom.

Guarding the door. Excellent. More candy for us.

These are one of my most favorite of all Fall treats! I first had pumpkin chocolate chip muffins at a coffee house in Muncie, IN, while I was in grad school. It was called the MT Cup. Christy, (who just happens to have a pumpkin pancake recipe up today), Cindy and I would go there a lot and they had pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. So, so good. I started making these when I still lived in Indiana and I try to make them a couple of times each Fall. I can’t believe I didn’t remember them this year until Christy mentioned them Monday.

What a fun week — starting with a pumpkin recipe and ending with one!

This recipe is from the old stand-by Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook (the early 90’s edition). Below, I just upped the pumpkin by a 1/4 of a cup, added chocolate chips and topped the muffins with pecans.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Dry:
1 3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of cloves (1/8 tsp or less)

Wet:
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup of milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 - 1 cup chocolate chips (depending on how chocolatey you want them)
1/4 cup pecans

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, stir together dry ingredients and make a well in the center. Combine wet ingredients (egg, pumpkin, milk & oil). Add pumpkin mixture all at once to flour mixture. Add chocolate chips. Stir until just moistened. Spray muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray (or line with paper cups). Fill 2/3 of the way full. Sprinkle top of each muffin with pecans. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden. (You can also use a toothpick in the center to check for doneness). Remove from pan and serve warm.

In kitchen gadget news…
Yesterday, I was wandering around Linens n Things (because I like both “linens” and “things”) and I saw one of those deals that a right-minded person can hardly pass up. A two-piece Calphalon Knife Set with a Chef’s Knife and a Santoku Knife for $29.95.

They have the same deal going at Cooking.com if you’re not by a Linens n Things. Plus, I think Cooking.com is doing a flat rate shipping special right now.

This was an interesting recipe that caught my eye from Endangered Recipes, by Lari Robling. I like this cookbook because it has a lot of comfort food and recipes that perhaps your mom used to make but also, this exotic, out-of-the-ordinary, carrot pudding. I made it a couple of weeks ago and really liked it. It’s got a bright orange color and is a little spicy and creamy. When jwa first tried it he said the first bite reminded him of curry, but then it was a little sweet.

Because of the prep and cooking time (2.5 hours) this is probably best for a weekend cooking project. If you have the time, it’s nice to have a pot of this simmering away on the stove — it’s definitely worth giving a try!

Carrot Pudding (Gajraila from Pakistan)
1 quart milk (I used whole milk because we had some but 2 percent would probably work)
1/4 cup basmati rice
1 pound carrots, scrubbed and grated
1/2 cup sugar (or more, depending on taste)
3/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup shelled pistachios

Pour milk into a sauce pan and add rice — soak for 30 minutes.

Add carrots, sugar and cardamom to the milk and rice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste. Add more sugar if desired. An immersion blender can be used if you want a creamier texture. (Mine was pretty creamy just from the cooking). Finally, add the raisins and cook for 30 minutes longer.

When pudding is done, transfer to a serving dish or individual bowls. Garnish the top with the pistachios and more raisins. The recipe says to serve chilled, but I actually liked it a little warm. In fact, throughout the week, I would heat some up in the microwave for a minute or so before eating.

These were very decadent and tasty. I recently came across a recipe on Food Network’s Web site that stuffed turkey burgers with blue cheese. “Huh, now that’s an interesting idea,” I thought. “Except, I’m not really crazy about blue cheese. Whatever should I do?” Thankfully, there are eight million other kinds of cheeses to pick from — whew! So, instead of blue cheese, I used Port Salut.

In addition, I added all kinds of yummy things to the burgers — caramelized onion, fresh thyme and sun-dried tomatoes are mixed with ground turkey. Then they’re stuffed with a cube of the cheese and grilled (in my beloved grill pan). Finally, they’re served on a seven-grain bun with kalamata olive mayonnaise, arugula and a tomato slice. See, turkey burgers don’t have to be boring!

Note: I used about a pound of turkey meat but since there are just two of us, I went ahead and made four burgers, but froze two without stuffing them with cheese.

Port Salut Stuffed Turkey Burgers with Kalamata Olive Mayonnaise:
1 lb ground turkey
1 small white onion
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tbsp chopped sun-dried tomatoes (use either tomatoes packed in oil or reconstitute dried ones in some boiling water first)
4 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch cubes of Port Salut cheese (any creamy or crumbly cheese would probably work well — Gorgonzola, blue, goat, feta, etc…)
olive oil & balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp chopped kalamata olives (or a mixed olive tapanade)
4 hamburger buns
Fresh arugula or other lettuce
1 tomato, sliced
Gadget: a meat thermometer is very handy here

Sauté onion in the olive oil over medium heat until dark in color, add fresh thyme and remove from heat. Set aside and let cool.

Meanwhile, mix kalamata olives together with mayonnaise. Set aside. Mix oil and vinegar together in a small bowl. Yeah, set that aside.

Add sun-dried tomatoes to onion mixture, then add turkey. Mix and combine into four burgers. Using your finger make an indentation in each patty. Insert cheese cube and push turkey around to cover so that each cube is hidden inside the burger.

Brush each burger with the oil and vinegar on one side. Then salt and pepper. Place oil and salt side down in a pre-heated grill pan. My burgers were very thick and probably took about eight to nine minutes per side — (I’m sure the cheese slowed them down a bit too). Before turning over on the second side, brush with the oil and vinegar and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Use a meat thermometer to make sure you’re around 160 - 165 degrees. When done, remove from the pan and let rest for a couple of minutes, covering with foil while you get the bun and fixin’s together.

Layer the kalamata mayonnaise, arugula and tomato on the bun.

Add a burger and eat. Mmm!

Fusion
4100 SE Division St.
Portland, OR 97202
(503) 233-6950

A Celebratory Dinner:
We recently went out for a celebratory dinner. I got a new job (yay!) and if that was not enough, my old company pretty much laid everyone off, starting with my department (Content Development) — on my last day there. Now, I don’t normally have bad luck but that is a crazy kind of lucky luck that typically doesn’t follow me around either. The occasion clearly called for a bottle of wine and tasty food!

We’ve been to Fusion a couple of times and I’ve really liked it each time. In fact, we’re going to take my mom there when she’s in town next month. I love the atmosphere. It’s comfortable, dark (but not too dark) and a little quirky, all with a varied menu. Oh, and there’s the housewares, glasses, and lamps for sale. Eating and shopping — what’s not to love?

Meal Choices:
We started the meal with a bottle of Tyee Pinot Noir and split some prawns in garlicky, lemony butter. This dish also came with bread to dip up all the buttery goodness after the shrimp were gone. Other small plates include yucca fries (very good), salmon cakes (haven’t had) and a few others. You could probably make a meal out of just cocktails and appetizers!

After our shrimp, it was on to the main entrees. It’s weird, normally when we go out, I see one or two things on the menu that I want and then I have a tough time deciding between the two. At Fusion, there were at least four items I couldn’t decide between: seared scallops on spinach with spaetzel, a lamb and wine stew, salmon with a cucumber bell pepper slaw and chicken marsala. There was also a chicken curry and an Asian prawn dish. Oh, and an ahi tuna special. Needless to say, my choice took awhile — I wanted to try them all! Finally, I went with the salmon and jwa went back and forth between a seared tuna special and the hamburger. In one of his trademark last minute switch decisions, he ended up going with something completely different — the lamb stew.

The salmon was very good, with a spicy crust on the bottom — the cool, crispy cucumbers and peppers provided a great contrast in textures and taste. jwa really liked his stew as well. In the end, our delicious meal was capped off with Spanish coffees and the chocolate hazelnut tart. Mmmm!

To Recap:
Atmosphere: Dark, candle-lit and a little bit funky. Twelve or so scatted tables about the room with a bar near the door. Shelves line the back wall, packed with antiques, vases, cups, saucers and other interesting knick-knacks for sale.

Food: Everything we’ve ever had here has been very good. Nice presentation, good use of spices, a lot of choices on the menu and a full bar. Excellent.

Service: Very friendly and attentive all of the times we’ve been there. Getting there around 7:30 pm on a Thursday, we were able to be seated right away. We stayed until a little after 9:15 (they close at 9:00) and we never felt rushed. When we left, there were still a couple of tables occupied, one sipping coffee and eating desserts, the other just finishing up their entrees.

Overall: Fusion is one of those places I wish we remembered to go to more often, because I really enjoy a meal there. I love the funky atmosphere, as well as the food and I like looking at all of the stuff for sale.

Fusion gets 3.5 candles out of four.