Good Gourd!

When fall strikes, I find myself drawn to winter squash like freshman to free beer. What’s not to adore: Winter squash, be it pumpkin or whimsical turban, are packed with nutrients, easy to keep and store, ultra-versatile in the kitchen and crazy cheap when in-season.

To celebrate autumn’s heavy bounty, Well Fed Man will be brining you a bunch of different winter squash recipes that even culinary virgins can pull off.

Steal This Recipe: Pumpkin Swirl Brownies















These gems are adapted from Food & Drink magazine.

Makes about 16 brownies

1 ounce (30 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup sugar
½ cup pumpkin puree (see note at bottom)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons pastry flour, sifted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Brownie:
6 ounces (175 grams) bittersweet baking chocolate or chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup pastry flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. For the pumpkin swirl, stir cream cheese with the sugar. Add pumpkin puree and mix well. Blend in egg, pastry flour, vanilla and cinnamon. Set aside. Place chocolate and butter in a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Mix in vanilla then eggs 1 at a time. Sift in flour, baking powder and salt and stir gently. Scrape half the batter into the baking pan and spread evenly. Spread the pumpkin mixture on top. Top the pumpkin mixture with the rest of the chocolate mixture and spread evenly. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool at room temp before slicing.

Note: At this time a year you can get a whole pumpkin for cheaper than canned. Look for smaller pumpkins for better flavor and easier handling. You can steam pumpkin slices/cubes and then cut away the tender flesh from the skin and use this for the puree. 100 percent canned pumpkin also works for this recipe.