Fall Feast

Adam and I love hosting dinner parties for our friends. And, we love to take menus from cookbooks and recreate them. We did just that, with a few tweaks of course, a few weeks ago, and it was a great success. We started the meal with a blue cheese ball, an elegant take on the old port wine cheese ball, and poached olives with garlic. The entree consisted of shiitake mushroom risotto in acorn squash, oatmeal-molasses bread, and a simple salad. We finished this indulgent meal with pumpkin bread pudding topped with vanilla ice cream. All of this fantastic fall food and fantastic company made for a wonderful fall night.


Date, Walnut, and Blue Cheese Ball (Cooking Light, November 2010)

We could not find any dates when we were making this recipe, so we substituted dried black Mission figs instead.

1 cup (4 oz.) crumbled blue cheese
1 Tbs. nonfat buttermilk
5 oz. fat-free cream cheese, softened
3 oz. 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
3 Tbs. minced pitted Medjool dates (2 to 3 dates)
1 Tbs. minced shallots
1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 1/2 Tbs. finely chopped walnuts, toasted

1. Place first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Add dates, shallots, lemon rind, salt, and pepper; beat at medium speed until well blended, scraping sides of bowl as necessary.
2. Spoon cheese mixture onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. Form into a ball, using a rubber spatula. Wrap cheese ball in plastic wrap; chill overnight [or freeze for an hour if you are short of time].
3. Combine parsley and walnuts in a shallow dish. Unwrap cheese ball; gently roll in nut mixture, coating well. Place on a serving plate. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.


Farro "Risotto" with Shiitakes in Roasted Acorn Squash (Vegetarian Planet, Didi Emmons)

2 large acorn squashes, halved and seeded
3 Tbs. butter
1 cup minced onion
1 1/2 cups minced fennel bulb or celery stalks
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 cups cracked farro (or cracked spelt)
1/3 cup sherry or white wine
4 1/2 cups water or vegetable stock
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
2 cups chopped shiitake mushroom caps

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Slice a bit off the outside of each squash half so that the halves won't wobble on plates. Bake the squash flesh side down on a baking sheet for 1 hour or until the flesh is tender.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 1/2 Tbs. butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and the fennel or celery. Saute the vegetables, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes, or until they have softened.
3. Add the garlic, and saute 2 minutes more. Add the farro, and saute, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the sherry or wine, and continue stirring. When the wine is absorbed, add 1/2 cup of the water or stock and the 1 tsp. salt, and stir as the mixture simmers. Add another 1/2 cup water or stock once the first is absorbed, and stir occasionally. Continue adding liquid in this manner until it is all added and absorbed, about 30 minutes. When the farro is tender but slightly chewy, stir in the Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Take the skillet off the heat.
4. In a smaller skillet, melt the remaining 1 1/2 Tbs. butter. Saute the shiitakes over medium heat, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Fold half of the shiitakes into the farro, and reserve the rest.
5. Assemble the dish: If the squash has cooled, reheat it in the oven. Then place the squash halves cut side up on plates, and fill them with the warm risotto. Mound the risotto so that one-quarter of it fits in each half. Top the risotto with the remaining sauteed shiitake, and serve right away.


Pumpkin Bread Pudding (Vegetarian Planet, Didi Emmons)

About 1/2 baguette, cut into 2-inch-thick slices
3 extra-large eggs
3 1/2 cups whole or low-fat milk
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger, or 2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup baked pumpkin flesh (you don't need to puree it) or canned pumpkin puree
3/4 cup brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cover the bottom of a 10-by-13-inch baking dish with a single layer of the sliced bread. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, nutmeg, ginger, vanilla, white sugar, and pumpkin. (If you are using fresh pumpkin, the pumpkin will be somewhat lumpy.) Pour this mixture over the bread slices. Push down on the bread slices so they soak up the liquid. Let them soak for 10 minutes.
2. Bake the pudding in the lower third of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until a knife inserted into the pudding comes out clean. Let the pudding cool for 10 minutes.
3. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the pudding. Place the pudding under the broiler, keeping the oven door slightly open. Keeping close watch, broil the sugar until it begins to bubble. Remove the pudding and let it cool.