Pumpkin bread

I have been a baking fool as of late, taking advantage of the season's harvest.  My favorite quick bread of the moment is Alton Brown's pumpkin bread.  I am a big fan of the flavors of pumpkin bread, but I normally find it too dense and chewy.  Not AB's though, by utilizing fresh pumpkin, this bread breaks the mold and takes pumpkin bread to another level.

I have not found success using canned pumpkin when making pumpkin bread.  It never seemed to bake quite right, and the flavors fell a little flat.  The fresh pumpkin is a revelation, and lends the bread a lightness softness, and fluffiness while maintaining that wonderful pumpkin flavor.  Plus, it's really no different than shredding some carrots for carrot cake or zucchini for zucchini bread.  Definitely worth the effort.

The recipe posted below is taken from the Food Network website.  I have the advantage of also owning the book Good Eats: The Early Years in which Alton Brown shares some tips for the recipe.  In the book, the directions have you dump the shredded pumpkin onto a kitchen towel and twist into a ball to wring out as much water as possible.  As for the pumpkins seeds, also known as pepitas, be sure to use seeds that have had their hulls removed.  Do not use the unhulled seeds that come out of a standard jack-o-lantern pumpkin (a mistake I made the first time I made it). 

With the addition of those helpful hints your pumpkin bread should turn out quite delicious.  The bread is so good, you can eat it plain; though, I have been known to spread some cream cheese on a slice ever now and then.

Print Recipe

Pumpkin Bread
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups (one pound) shredded fresh pumpkin
1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.

In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Combine both mixtures and fold in the shredded pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. Once the ingredients are all incorporated pour into a non- stick 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. If your pan is not non- stick coat it with butter and flour.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. At this point a knife inserted into the middle of the loaf should come out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely.

Good Eats 2: The Middle Years (Coming Soon!)

Even though I knew it was coming, it doesn't waver my excitement in the least.  In fact, now having owned Good Eats: The Early Years for about 8 months only heightens my expectations for Alton Brown's newest book offering.  Here's the official description:

Good Eats 2: The Middle Years picks up where the bestselling Good Eats: The Early Years left off. Showcasing everything Alton Brown fans (and they are legion!) have ever wanted to know about his award-winning television show, The Middle Years is chock-full of behind-the-scenes photographs and trivia, science-of-food information, cooking tips, and—of course—recipes.

Brown’s particular genius lies in teaching the chemistry of cooking with levity and exuberance. In episodes such as “Fit to Be Tied” (meat roulades), “Crustacean Nation” (crab), and “Ill-Gotten Grains” (wheat products), Brown explains everything from how to make the perfect omelet to how to stuff your own sausages. With hundreds of entertaining photographs, along with Brown’s inimitable line drawings and signature witty writing, this comprehensive companion book conveys the same wildly creative spirit as the show itself.

First of all, I don't think I've ever been described as 'legion' before.  Secondly, I know this book will not disappoint.  Some of the highlights of Good Eats: The Early Years include the elusive pastry cream recipe, and having all the recipes given to us with weight measurements, especially The Chewy.  I can only imagine what I will discover or rediscover in this edition.

Some episodes I am most looking forward to reading more about are "Q" (pulled pork), "The Muffin Method Man" (English muffins), "The Man Food Show" (corn dogs), and "Curious Yet Tasty Avocado Experiment" (avocado ice cream).

I have made the featured foods in all these shows, except for the English muffins, which I am eager to try.  I am hoping to learn something more about the others to increase my success rate.  For instance, I never seem to get the breading right on the corn dog, and my avocado ice cream always turns out really hard.  I am hoping AB doles out some additional pearls of wisdom for these applications so the light bulb comes on in my head.

The book is scheduled for release this fall, and it includes a bonus DVD, too!

Pastry Cream!

It would be an understatement to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed Alton Brown's new book Good Eats: The Early Years. I have been reading sections of it every night since I got it; digesting all the wonderful nuggets of information thoughtfully placed on it's pages. It is truly a must have for any Good Eats fan, Alton fan, food fan, or really anyone! It's just that good. The book covers the first eighty episodes of Good Eats and is chock full of recipes, fun facts, trivia, and good ol' cooking know-how. So far, I only have one complaint; where's the Stove-top Mac & Cheese?

My excitement for the book grew to an even higher level yesterday when I was flipping through the pages and saw a recipe for pastry cream. Pastry cream? I don't remember that recipe on Good Eats. I turned to the page prior and saw that it was grouped with the recipes from the Choux Shine episode. "No way!" I yelled as I realized what I was seeing. In the actual episode, after Alton makes a batch of eclairs and cream puffs, he tells the viewer to use a pudding mix for the filling. Pudding mix? That doesn't sound like AB. Why would he tell us to use pudding mix? As it turns out, they did not have time to include the pastry cream recipe in the episode and he goes on to say that it really deserves an episode all to itself.

So, why am I so happy to have this recipe for pastry cream? I guess I don't really know. Maybe it's because I felt like the recipe was incomplete. I'm Just Here for More Food doesn't even have a recipe for pastry cream in it. It could be also that I didn't know that the name of the stuff that fills the eclairs is called pastry cream. I was looking for custard and pudding recipes, I didn't know to look for pastry cream. It may also be because I made eclairs a couple weeks ago and my pastry cream turned out lumpy. I didn't really use a recipe because I couldn't find one and just made it on the fly, so I really have only myself to blame. But now my eclair recipe arsenal is complete! Look out world!

More Alton

After I posted about Alton Brown yesterday, I stumbled upon a blog called All About Alton Brown. It is a wonderful site created by a devoted fan, check it out if you can. As I was scrolling down the page, I noticed a cool picture with a caption that read "AB's new cookbook available in October!" I excitedly clicked on the picture and it took me to a page that described the new book. Here is what it said:

Alton Brown is a foodie phenomenon: a great cook, a very funny guy, and—underneath it all—a science geek who’s as interested in the chemistry of cooking as he is in eating. (Well, almost.) Here, finally, are the books that Brown’s legion of fans have been salivating for—two volumes that together will provide an unexpurgated record of his long-running, award-winning Food Network TV series, Good Eats.
From “Pork Fiction” (on baby back ribs), to “Citizen Cane” (on caramel sauce), to “Oat Cuisine” (on oatmeal), every hilarious episode is represented. Each book—the second will be published in fall 2010—is illustrated with behind-the-scenes photos taken on the Good Eats set. Each contains more than 140 recipes and more than 1,000 photographs and illustrations, along with explanations of techniques, lots of food-science information (of course!), and more food puns, food jokes, and food trivia than you can shake a wooden spoon at.

I can hardly wait! I use my other Alton cookbooks all the time! I know what some of you may be thinking; why do I need the book if I can just go to foodnetwork.com and get all the recipes I want for free. I'll tell you. It's not because of the behind-the-scenes photos, or just so I can add it to my collection. If this cookbook presents the recipes in the same format as the others, giving the weight as well as the volume of the ingredients, I will be thrilled.

-

Because of Alton Brown I like to measure my ingredients (such as flour) by weight instead of by volume because it provides a more accurate result. Most of the recipes on foodnetwork.com only show the volume, and it is important to be as exact as possible, especially when baking. Just think, this new book could take The Chewy to a whole new level.