Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009

{ pumpkins }

Pies aren't the only place for pumpkins.

They have more personality than flaky crusts alone can hold.

These spunky members of the squash family have flavor to savor, but you have to be adventurous to discover its beyond-pie possibilities.

"I love the shape of pumpkin and the color of it," said Barbara Whitley, a master baker and owner of Crady's in Conway.

"It's real versatile, even though some people don't think about it at first.

Pumpkin, however, lends itself to sweet and savory foods.''

Now, just to set the record straight, no one in this story is suggesting pumpkins should abandon their traditional roles by deserting desserts. Pies and cheesecakes want them, and plenty of us are so glad they do.

Still, the truth is pumpkins want cooks to take advantage of them.

The good thing is that some folks are doing exactly that.

Whitley marries pumpkin and chocolate chips to give birth to her muffins.

She introduces pumpkins to the sweet product of bees when she uses honey to make honey pumpkin pie.

And just when the pumpkin thinks it can settle back into its old life, she will make it into curried pumpkin root vegetable soup.

Of course, Whitley doesn't want the salad to get jealous, so she decides to roast cubes of pumpkin and put it in a salad with watercress and endive. The cardamom champagne vinaigrette dressing is tossed in and pumpkin emerges with a fresh look and a new taste.

Pumpkins can play with a symphony of foods, if the conductor allows.

James Clark, executive chef at Waterscapes in Myrtle Beach, knows creative cooks can orchestrate pumpkins to complement a score of foods.

On his appetizer menu, he places three Muscovy duck meatballs atop root vegetable risotto and accents it with dollops of truffle pumpkin butter.

It is a winning trio of flavors that combines savory tastes and soft sweet notes.

"Pumpkins have a nice allure to them," Clarke said. "They have other possibilities beyond the traditional uses of pumpkin pies and pumpkin cheesecakes.

You see those everywhere this time of year, but our focus at Waterscapes is to bring a different angle to everything."

Ernest Bledsoe is on the same pumpkin page.

The executive chef at Pawleys Plantation Golf & Country Club is currently having a love affair with ornamental pumpkins.

His Maine lobster and vanilla risotto stuffed baby pumpkin appetizer is a featured item occasionally popping up as an appetizer.

"You can also use it as a sauteed vegetable," Bledsoe said.

"You can add butter, salt, pepper, a little bit of cinnamon, nutmeg and powdered ginger."

For Thanksgiving, Bledsoe likes to serve up apple and pumpkin bread pudding and make a pecan and pumpkin bread pudding with sage, ginger and other spices as a companion to a rack of lamb.

Some go country just like Michael McFadyen, sous chef at Croissants Bistro & Bakery.

He pairs roasted pumpkin with corn fritters as a meal he likes serving up at home.

Still, pumpkins wield most of their power over folks weak for things sweet.

Leah Jones, a barista at Croissants Bistro & Bakery, sees the proof daily.

With cups of coffee to drink, people order their pumpkin cheesecakes, pumpkin rolls, pumpkin lattes and a grocery list of other pumpkin delights.

Jones understands why pumpkins are popular.

"They get everybody," she said.

"It think it's because it's in the spirit of Thanksgiving. It's a seasonal thing, and then there's the smells.

"People walk in here, smell pumpkin and it makes them happy."