How To Roast A Pumpkin Whole

If you're like me, cutting into a rolling pumpkin with a giant knife might make you nervous. Did you know you can roast a pumpkin whole? Afterward, the knife goes through it like it's cutting through butter. Here's how you do it...

Start with a small pumpkin. It might be called a sugar pumpkin or a pie pumpkin. Do NOT use the large pumpkins that you use for jack-o-lanterns; that kind is not as tender or sweet.

1. Lower the top rack to the middle of the oven and preheat to 275 degrees. 
2. Rinse the pumpkin thoroughly in warm water and then dry it with a towel.
3. With a knife, poke several slits around the pumpkin so that the steam can escape. The cuts should be about an inch deep, far enough to pierce the pumpkin flesh. 
4. Rub the bottom of the pumpkin with a bit of olive oil or vegetable oil and set it in a foil-lined cookie sheet.
5. Put the pan in the oven for about 75 to 90 minutes. It may take more or less time based on the size of the pumpkin. Start checking it around 60 minutes. When it's ready, a knife will go through with no resistance. 
6. Let the pumpkin cool for about 10 minutes and then cut it in half. 
7. Carefully scoop out the seeds and set aside for roasting (if desired). Twist the stringy pulp around a fork and remove as much as possible, but try not to cut into the good flesh underneath.
8. Using a large serving spoon, scoop all the flesh out of the skin. Don't worry if some of it feels a little firm or dry or stringy.
9. Using a food processor (chopping blade) or a stick blender, puree the pumpkin until very smooth. 
10. Double over a piece of cheesecloth and put it inside a sieve. Set the sieve over a large bowl. Scoop the puree into the cheesecloth lined sieve and let it sit for 1-2 hours, until no more liquid is dripping out. *
11. Store the drained puree in a covered bowl in the refrigerator. It will keep for about a week. You can freeze it also. 

*Don't skip the draining if you plan to bake with the puree, especially if you're making a pie. A watery puree makes the crust get soggy. Note: You can save the pumpkin water and use it to cook oatmeal, rice, etc. It doesn't add much flavor, but it's very nutritious.

Here are some things to do with the puree. I'll try to post the recipes in the next few days:
pumpkin pie (of course!)
pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
pumpkin milkshake (our favorite!)
pumpkin walnut bread
pumpkin oatmeal
pumpkin pancakes
pumpkin brownies (kind of low fat/low cal)
pumpkin turkey chili

Cooking Chicken Breasts

I love to cook with chicken, but until recently I had shied away from chicken breast, especially boneless, skinless breast, because it always seemed to come out dry. Turns out, I was way overcooking it when I boiled it. Here are three ways to cook chicken breast without drying it out.

If You Have Two to Three Hours:
Cook it in the slow cooker for 2 to 3 hours on low or about 1-1/2 hours on high. Make sure to cover the chicken completely with water or broth. Start checking it after an hour or so; it doesn't take all day like you might expect.

If You Have 45 Minutes or So:
Poach the chicken on the stove.

1. Put it on the bottom of a saucepan large enough that you can completely cover all the chicken with your choice of cool liquid (water, broth, cooking wine).
   
2. Cook it on medium heat, uncovered, for 10 minutes or so--just until it almost comes to a full boil. Watch it closely and do NOT let it come to a rolling boil. (Do make sure that it is bubbling slowly, though.) *
   
3. Turn the burner off and cover the pot tightly.
   
4. Leave it on the warm burner for about 30 minutes. Cut into the thickest part of a breast to check that there is no pink. If it isn't done, turn the burner back on for a few minutes, but again, don't let it boil.
   

*I sometimes set a timer so I don't walk off and forget the chicken and then come back to find it boiling furiously.

If You Have 30 Minutes:
Brush the breasts with beaten egg whites and bake uncovered at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes or until done.

Try Mixing in a Few Chicken Thighs
Unless you are adamant that all the chicken must be white meat, try mixing about half and half with chicken thighs. The extra fat will make the chicken breast much more moist and juicy, and you'll save money as well! This works especially well in the slow cooker. In fact, if you are making a recipe that cooks for 8 or 10 hours, consider using only chicken thighs; they stand up to the long cooking time much better than breasts.

Cooking with Ground Turkey

Ground turkey can be a healthier alternative to ground beef--provided you buy lean ground turkey--and it's definitely a cheaper option. Here's a tip for making it more flavorful:

1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup diced onions
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup white wine or cooking wine

Brown the meat in the wine with the other ingredients. Drain well and use in spaghetti, chili, or other recipes where you would use ground beef.

We tried this in spaghetti, and we liked it BETTER than ground beef. --Sarah

Softening Butter Quickly

If you're like me, you probably forget to take your butter out of the refrigerator when it needs to soften for a recipe. Not to worry...

To soften butter quickly, cut it in slices (about 1/4 inch) and lay on a plate. The butter should soften in about 15 minutes at room temperature. Do NOT soften butter in the microwave; it melts too quickly.

Cooking With Fresh Ginger

If you've never cooked with fresh ginger, you're in for a treat. Powdered and crystallized ginger are nice, too, but fresh ginger is a totally different taste. It adds a burst of sweet spiciness to your recipes.

The first time I bought this knobby brown root, I was completely intimidated. I made a huge mess when I tried to peel it because it was so juicy and fibrous. Grating it with my cheap box grater was a joke. So I did what I always do when I have a cooking question: I looked online, and I discovered the Microplane rasp grater.

I literally rushed out and bought a set of three graters from J C Penney. I think I paid about $30, and it was worth every penny. I grated the ginger effortlessly, and I was overjoyed as I watched the fine flakes drifting like snow into the bowl. (Okay, so I don't get out much!)

Since then, I've used fresh ginger in many recipes, and I keep it on hand in my freezer. Here's what I've learned:

Storing Ginger
When you buy ginger, immediately cut it into thumb-sized pieces and seal them in a sandwich bag. Put them in the freezer, and they'll keep for months.

A thumb sized piece yields about two tablespoons of grated ginger.

Don't thaw the ginger before using it. It's much easier to peel and grate when it's frozen.

Peeling Ginger
Scrape the edge of a spoon against the ginger to remove the skin. If you have a decent vegetable peeler, that will work also, but it wastes a bit of the good part.

Make sure you get all the skin off, or your grated ginger will be stringy.

Grating Ginger
Use the Microplane grater with the finest perforations. It's easier than grating cheese. Just be careful because the blade is extremely sharp.

Rap the tip of the grater firmly against the bottom of your bowl to dislodge any ginger that's stuck to the back of the blade.

Ginger Equivalents
Use triple the amount when you substitute fresh ginger for ground. For example, if a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, use 1 tablespoon of fresh.

Note: The Microplane graters are great for a lot of other things besides ginger. You can zest lemons, limes, and oranges. You can easily grate chocolate, hard cheeses, apples, potatoes, and nutmeg. I frequently sprinkle fresh nutmeg on soups, sweet potatoes, and carrots. I also use nothing but freshly grated parmesan, which makes the simplest pasta dish a little fancier. You've gotta get the Microplane graters!

Storing Leftover Chopped Vegetables

For years, I would buy an onion or green pepper, use a fraction of it, and either throw the rest away or let it rot in the crisper drawer. About a year ago, I had a brainstorm.

Now, I always chop the entire vegetable. (This is very easy to do now that I have the Vidalia Chop Wizard.) I use what I need for my recipe and freeze the rest in a sandwich bag. I have all kinds of chopped vegetables in my deep freeze, and this saves me a lot of time when I'm throwing together a weeknight recipe.

It is not necessary to thaw the veggies before using. It's a good idea to double bag onions so that they don't stink up the freezer.

Tip: To break up the solid mass of chopped veggies so you can measure what you need, throw the bag forcefully against the counter top several times. (This is kind of fun!)