A Pair of Pumpkins Baby Shower

When two friends and I decided to host a baby shower for another friend who is having twins, we divided up the tasks and the menu, and cooking, came to me. Woohoo! I got to create an entire lunch based on my favorite squash: the pumpkin. And since the shower was yesterday, I don't have to stay mum on the menu or the recipes. Get ready for some pumpkin madness...

First up: prepare the pumpkins. I slaughtered a lot of pumpkins for this party. And I mean a lot! I think the final score was Camilla, 7. Pumpkins, 0.

I made pumpkin puree with three pumpkins. I used the puree to make vanilla bean- pumpkin butter that appeared in the first and third courses and to make the soup.

Then I roasted two more pumpkins - one tray of savory and one tray of sweet.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel and slice the pumpkins. Then line them up in your roasting pans. For savory, sprinkle the pumpkin with sea salt; for sweet, use raw turbinado sugar. Drizzle them with olive oil. And roast until softened but still holding their shape. Mine took about 70 minutes.

I cleaned out one large pumpkin and used it as a soup terrine.

And, the last of the pumpkin sacrifices, when to the centerpiece. I put on my (former) florist hat and did a flower arrangement inside a cinderella pumpkin with maple leaves, sunflowers, autumn-hued mums, two kinds of eucalyptus, and a protea.

And here's the crew, celebrating Erin at her Pair of Pumpkins baby shower. I climbed up on a jungle gym in high heels to take this shot! ;) I can only hope that the ladies enjoyed eating the lunch as much as I enjoyed cooking it. Can't wait to meet the Gamble twins!

Comments

A Cheese Board Anchored on a Trio of Italian Cheeses + A Pinot Nero from Alto Adige #ItalianFWT on CulinaryCam.Com

I am in the process of migrating over to my new domain. Come on over to read " A Cheese Board Anchored on a Trio of Italian Cheeses + A Pinot Nero from Alto Adige " for December's #ItalianFWT.

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé #Winophiles

This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy. Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t...

You're Invited: Take a (Virtual) Hawaiian Holiday with #FoodNFlix

Fall Break, Oahu, October 2017 For June, I am hosting Food'N'Flix , the movie-watching, food-making group rallied by Heather of All Roads Lead to the Kitchen . This week, my older son was supposed to graduate from high school and we were supposed to leave on a family vacation to the Big Island. But, as enter our eleventh week of being sheltered in place to flatten the curve of the coronavirus, all of our summer plans were canceled, including this long-planned graduation trip to Hawaii. Boo. I understand the need to self-isolate. And we are abiding by the social distancing guidelines put in place by our state. But, boo, nonetheless. Oahu, October 2017 So for this month's Food'N'Flix, I chose to open up the field and let all of the food bloggers take a (virtual) Hawaiian holiday. My boys have been to Oahu several times with my parents in recent years as my dad grew up there and wanted to spend some time on the island with his grandsons. Ke...

Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Search This Blog