These Pumpkin Recipes Will Have You Rethinking Fall Dining (2024)

FAQs

How can pumpkins be prepared for Thanksgiving dinner? ›

Discard guts and strings. Place pumpkins scraped flesh face up. Drizzle each half with olive oil, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes. Place in oven and allow to roast until soft and a fork inserted through the flesh meets no resistance, about 30-40 minutes.

Pumpkin innards, the stringy orange mess which you scoop out with a spoon ahead of carving, can be roasted, or pureed for cooking in soups.

1. Choose The Right Kind. For cooking, you'll want to use sugar pumpkins (also called pie or sweet pumpkins), which are small and round.

Pumpkin pie is a great make-ahead dessert to cross off your Thanksgiving to-do list. You can prepare and bake the pie up to two days in advance, and it will still taste great on the big day. Just make sure you store the pie in the refrigerator—not on the kitchen counter—until you are ready to serve it.

You can bake your pumpkin pies a month in advance and freeze them. Oops — you don't have a month. A week in advance then. Or even two days if refrigerator space is tight.

And, don't forget the tasty pumpkin leaves and flowers are also edible. Even the pumpkin vines are edible. However, the stem, skin, and stringy sinews inside the fruit are not used in cooking or baking.

To ensure your home plumbing system remains trouble-free, follow these effective strategies. Dispose of pumpkin guts in the trash. You may want to flush pumpkin guts down the toilet or put them down the kitchen sink.

Did you know that pumpkin has the highest content of naturally occurring vitamin A (which helps minimize acne scars), salicylic acid (helps to reduce acne), and beta carotene (helps decrease wrinkles & dark spots). In addition, its high zinc content helps keep your skin protected from UV rays.

Blue cheeses like gorgonzola team up well with the notes of dried fruit typical of pumpkin. Another excellent pairing is with a nice fresh goat's cheese since its acidulous notes offset the sweetness of pumpkin.

Pumpkin is notorious for pairing well with warm winter spices – as found in a variety of Moroccan-inspired cuisines. Try incorporating cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cumin and chilli with your pumpkin dishes for flavour-packed feasts.

What is a complimentary flavor to pumpkin? ›

To complement pumpkin with sweet flavor pairings, consider using spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and vanilla, or sweet ingredients like chocolate, maple, honey, cranberries or brown sugar. Create savory dishes by pairing pumpkin with spices like chilies, cajun, cayenne or pepper.

Due to its high soluble fiber content, pumpkin is very good for your dog's digestion. If you feed your dog some pumpkin, it will add bulk to their stool. This helps reduce issues with diarrhea. In addition, fermentation of the same fiber produces beneficial fatty acids that supply energy to cells.

Yes, dogs can eat pumpkin and it is actually often added to dog foods. Check the label of some dog treats and you may find pumpkin on the ingredient list there too. However, if you are feeding fresh pumpkin, you will need to be careful about which part you're feeding as the stem and leaves are covered in prickly hairs.

Freeze it: Cooked or raw pumpkin can be frozen. Cut raw pumpkin and store in a labelled sealable freezer bag or container. If you have pumpkin puree you can freeze them in ice cube trays then transfer into a freezer bag or container.

Spray carved pumpkins daily with water that's mixed with a few drops of bleach. This will help with hydration and protect against rot. If your pumpkin starts looking sad and wilty, perk it back up with a cool bath. Submerge the pumpkin in a large container filled with cold water, and let it soak overnight.

Just because October is over that doesn't mean you can't carve pumpkins! Check out these elegant pumpkin carving ideas for Halloween through Thanksgiving!