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Pumpkin Risotto
Caitlin Bensel
A can of pumpkin puree brings so much autumnal flavor to this cozy bowl of risotto. Topping it with bacon, parmesan, crispy sage, and roasted pumpkin seeds is just another way to impress your dinner guests.
Tender butternut squash cooked with butter and a hint of chili powder is a fun addition to his creamy risotto. Ree says you can eat it on it's own or serve it up with roasted chicken or even your Thanksgiving turkey.
You'll find these crispy, fried risotto balls sold all over Italy. It's a great way to use up leftover risotto or you can make the risotto a day in advance. Then, the cheesy rice balls are breaded and deep fried (or made in an air fryer).
This risotto is loaded with veggies and tangy goat cheese. Ree uses carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, and yellow squash. But you can also swap in red bell pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, or asparagus.
There are few simple ways to take your risotto to the next level. Ree likes uses white wine, garlic, onion, and lemon zest to add a burst of flavor. It also pairs so well with the shrimp and fresh basil.
We love pesto! The bright flavor and color makes it a perfect addition to a springtime risotto. You can use jarred pesto to keep things easy, then give the rice dish heft by adding shredded rotisserie chicken.
This healthier twist on risotto swaps the rice for a low carb alternative instead: cauliflower rice! You can make your own by grating the cauliflower or look for it already grated in the grocery store.
Revered as one of Italy’s most iconic desserts, Sicilian cannoli is a delightfully crisp pastry housing velvety smooth, sweetened ricotta cheese.... yep—the same ingredient in many of your favorite lasagna recipes! Of course, instead of garlic and herbs, this ricotta is flavored with sugar, vanilla, and orange zest for an irresistible filling you can eat by the spoonful. This extremely special Italian Christmas dessert is more of a weekend project, but don’t let the process intimidate you. Very simply put, this is fried pie dough filled with a stir-together cream filling. For those who have only indulged in soft, refrigerated, pre-filled cannoli, one bite of the shatteringly crisp shell, yielding to luscious ricotta cream, is an altogether life-changing experience!
Can you make cannoli without metal forms?
Cannoli forms are nifty tools that can be used for a variety of other treats, including cream horns and brandy snaps. It is possible, however, to fashion your own cannoli forms out of aluminum foil! Take a 12-inch square sheet of aluminum foil and fold it in half to make it sturdier. Use a round whisk handle that is roughly 1-inch thick and wrap the foil around it to form a tube. Slide the foil off of the handle and make more forms.
What is in cannoli filling?
The traditional Sicilian cannoli filling is sweetened sheep’s milk ricotta. Since it is much easier to find cow’s milk ricotta in the United States, that is what is used in this recipe. Usually the ricotta is drained in a cheesecloth overnight, creating a nice, stiff base for a piped cream filling. This recipe streamlines that process by draining the ricotta quickly on paper towels. Supple mascarpone, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and orange zest make up the rest of the filling.
The toppings is where you can get creative! You could opt for the classic chocolate chips or chopped pistachios, or experiment with toppings more common in Italy, such as fresh, candied, and dried fruits. Or, go non-traditional with chopped up candy and colorful sprinkles! Make a cannoli bar where guests can fill their own crispy cannolo and sprinkle it with anything and everything.
Millie Peartree’s Southern macaroni and cheese recipe is a snap to make and gets rave reviews.
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
With Halloween jumping out at us tomorrow, and Thanksgiving waiting around the corner, the season is sporting its brightest colors. The trees are rubicund with turning leaves; the farmers’ market ruddy with apples and pumpkins; the impulse rack in the supermarket checkout line ablaze with beckoning bags of candy corn. What better match for this resplendent palette than the melty orange Cheddar bubbling on top of reader favorite Southern macaroni and cheese?
Millie Peartree’s recipe, adapted by Kiera Wright-Ruiz, features a clever custard of eggs, melted butter and milk (in lieu of a roux), a luxuriously silky texture, and a gentle flavor from the combination of Cheddar and Colby Jack cheeses. Serve it as a cozy weeknight dinner, rounded out with a salad. Or bookmark it for upcoming festive gatherings: If your family likes mac and cheese along with their Thanksgiving turkey, this is the one.
Just as rosy hued and cool-weather cozy is Ali Slagle’s tomato-Parmesan soup, simmered from a couple of cans of plum tomatoes and some Parmesan rinds to give it depth. She suggests serving bowlfuls with Parmesan toasts for grilled cheese sandwich vibes. But I might go for a slab of my leftover mac and cheese, heated until glistening in the toaster oven.
On the ocher side of the fall mood board, Zainab Shah’s sheet-pan fish tikka with spinach is tinted golden with turmeric and red chile powder, and seasoned with garlic, fresh ginger root and garam masala. It’s ready in 20 minutes, so you can whip it up before carving that jack-o’-lantern you might be planning for tomorrow.
Just as speedy is Sue Li’s black pepper beef and cabbage stir-fry, which calls for an entire tablespoon of crushed black peppercorns. It may seem like a lot, but fear not. That fiery kick is perfectly balanced by brown sugar and a little cornstarch, which also helps thicken the sauce.
If you’re looking for something easy to feed your little witches and ghosts before sending them off trick-or-treating, you can’t go wrong with a batch of crunchy air-fryer chicken tenders as a base layer before the sugary onslaught. (For more air-fryer ideas, we’ve got you covered here.)
Then, when you surreptitiously pilfer your share of their Halloween stash, save some to make Erin Gardner’s kitchen sink cookies. They make use of pretty much any candy bits you’ve got, mixed with potato chips and pretzels for a savory, salty pop.
You will need to subscribe to get these recipes, along with the thousands of others available at New York Times Cooking (and if you’re already a subscriber, we thank you). If you need any help with a technical issue, reach out to cookingcare@nytimes.com. And I’m at hellomelissa@nytimes.com if you want to say hi.
The Great Pumpkin Seeds
If you are jack-o’-lanterning, be sure to save the seeds for roasting. You certainly can wash the pulp off the seeds first, as many recipes suggest, but I never do. I simply spread the pumpkin guts, seeds and all, on a parchment-lined sheet pan, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake at 325 degrees until the pulp dehydrates and the seeds turn golden brown (20 to 40 minutes). Let that cool completely, then season with a little more salt and ground cumin if you like. I adore nibbling on the crisp bits of pumpkin pulp nearly as much as I like crunching the seeds, which is a lot.
Sugar may be sweet, but the effects it can have on your health are decidedly not.
While some foods naturally contain sugar — fruit and milk, for example — many foods have sugar added to enhance their flavor, including some you might not suspect because they don’t taste overly sweet. Processed foods, baked goods, and even condiments like ketchup and salad dressing often contain added sugars.
“Added sugars contribute sweetness and palatability to foods, but don’t add any beneficial nutrients. This is why they’re called ‘empty calories,’” says Brittany Poulson, RDN, CDCES, a certified diabetes care and education specialist in Grantsville, Utah.
The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting added sugars to no more than 10 percent of your total daily calorie intake, which is approximately 12 teaspoons of sugar for a standard 2,000 calorie a day diet. You can reach — or even exceed — those limits pretty quickly if you’re not careful. In fact, according to data published in Frontiers in Nutrition in June 2021, Americans consume an average of nearly 17 teaspoons of added sugars per day.
Overdoing it on sugar has been linked to a wide range of health problems. An umbrella review published in BMJ in April 2023 found associations between excess sugar in the diet and 45 different health issues, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular problems, asthma, cancer, and depression.
Sugar is thought to contribute to these and other health issues by wreaking havoc on blood sugar and causing cellular inflammation, a marker of many chronic diseases, according to a study published in Frontiers in Immunology in August 2022.
Breakfast provides an excellent opportunity to cut back on added sugars, says Lauren Harris-Pincus, RDN, the founder of Nutrition Starring You in Green Brook Township, New Jersey. Many traditional morning foods, including cereal, pastries, pancakes, French toast, and even yogurt may be loaded with the sweet stuff, and lack nutrients like fiber or protein that blunt the impact on blood sugar (the reason the sugar that occurs naturally in fruits and vegetables tends not to have similar negative effects).
“Swapping out added sugars for natural sugars, such as fruit, increases nutrients while still bringing the sweetness many people desire in their morning breakfast foods,” Poulson says.
Fortunately, rustling up a breakfast with no added sugar is easier than you might think, and doesn’t have to mean sacrificing taste. These 15 recipes prove it.
1. Raspberry Quinoa Porridge
Healthy Little Foodies
Freshen up classic oat porridge with this quinoa-flake version, which adds protein, since quinoa is technically a seed, not a grain. Raspberries add natural sweetness along with a host of nutrients, including fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, Poulson says. The best part is you can whip up this healthy breakfast in just two minutes.
ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - An Albany church has released a cookbook to benefit Sunday Evening with our Neighbors (S.E.W.N.).
First Methodist Church of Albany has released a cookbook with 365 recipes, titled “At the Table.” The cookbook will benefit S.E.W.N., a food service ministry, according to a release.
“Members of First Methodist, friends, and family have compiled their tastiest tried-and-true recipes into a single book that will be treasured for generations to come,” the release said.
The recipes range from appetizers to desserts. Each recipe includes the contributor’s name to make it easy to find the recipes from loved ones.
People can purchase a cookbook for $30 each at 307 Flint Ave. from Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
As a child, I couldn’t imagine doing anything with a pumpkin other than carving a jack o’lantern. Besides, the day after Halloween I was always busy with my haul of trick-or-treating candy. Yes, I saw pumpkin pie on the Thanksgiving table, but I wouldn’t go near it. Family members would try to encourage me with the “try it, you’ll like it” line from old Alka-Seltzer commercials, but I would quickly remind them that trying it didn’t end very well. (“So I tried it. Thought I was gonna die.”) Someone eventually conned me into taking “just one bite” of a pumpkin cheesecake and suddenly I was a pumpkin zealot, hunting down pumpkin muffins, pumpkin breads, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin soup, pumpkin fritters and, well, you get the drift. Turns out, the classic Halloween decoration is about the least interesting thing one can do with a pumpkin.
I often wonder what happens to all of those cleverly carved gourds — and the cute decorative mini-squashes that also adorn porches and window displays. I would hope that they get eaten or otherwise used rather than just thrown in the trash. Truth be told, actual jack o’lantern pumpkins (yes, this is an actual type of pumpkin not just one that is decoratively carved), while edible, are stringy and not as meaty as other varieties.
The pumpkin strains that are best for cooking include the baby bear, sugar pumpkins, Cinderellas and red warty things among others. Pumpkin season is short, so if you want to enjoy these tasty treats, now is the time to do it. By the time Thanksgiving rolls around, actual pumpkins will be long gone (though plenty of delicious winter squashes and even sweet potatoes make good substitutes).
One of the many virtues of fresh pumpkin is that it crosses both geographic and culinary borders and can be savory or sweet, a dessert, a main dish, an appetizer or a side. It takes to the assertiveness of Asian fish sauce or garlic-chile paste as well as it works with gentler cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves typically used in European and American preparations. It is a veritable menu workhorse as these recipes from our archives demonstrate.
Squash, the huge family that includes pumpkin, may have originated in the Americas, but it has traveled farther and wider than even corn. A lavish amount of garlic, a few tablespoons of sugar and a hefty dose of fish sauce play off of each other in this Vietnamese Glazed Pumpkin. The simple braise simmers on the stove for 20 to 25 minutes while you attend to other parts of your meal, like steaming the rice, which also, once on the stove and reduced to low, will allow you to have a seat and put your feet up for a few minutes before dinner is ready.
Pumpkin is absolutely ingrained in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent. It gets stewed in curries and deep-fried as pakora. Badmaash’s Punjabi Spiced Pumpkin is one of those curries. This traditional Punjabi-style dish is made by cooking pumpkin in spices, aromatics and mango powder. At Badmaash restaurant, it could be served with black lentils cooked with ginger and poori. Chef Nakul Mahendro also suggests serving it with naan and pickles, yogurt and other condiments. It could just as easily be a side to most any roasted or grilled meat.
Speaking of chiles, check out our spice blend collaboration with Burlap & Barrel. L.A. Times Food teamed up with single-origin spice company Burlap & Barrel to create California Heat, inspired by all of our favorite spicy condiments, especially chili crisp. It’s made with a variety of chiles, including jalapeños from a California grower, chipotle and Kashmir chile powder, as well as lemongrass, Timur pepper and black lime. It’s spicy, citrusy, smoky and tingly, and it’s now available to purchase online.
Chicken With Candied Pumpkin (Djaj Bel-Qera Mderbela)
The chicken is braised with onions, saffron and ginger. The pumpkin is sweetened with honey and flavored with cinnamon. The result is a dish remarkably reminiscent of turkey with candied yams. Get the recipe. Cook time: 2 hours.
(Anacleto Rapping / Los Angeles Times)
Vietnamese Glazed Pumpkin
Savory and full of flavor, this dish works equally well served as an entree over rice and as a side to grilled or roasted meats. It is very quick and easy to make and will leave your taste buds happily humming. Get the recipe. Cook time: 1 hour.
(Carlos Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
Badmaash’s Punjabi Spiced Pumpkin
To make this dish, Badmaash’s chef Mahendro likes to use either Jamaican or Long Island Cheese pumpkins from Tanaka Farms in Irvine, though most any pumpkin — or winter squash — will do. While full of flavor, it uses only a few spices so there is no need to be intimidated by the fact that it’s origins are in India, where the variety of spices in a dish can often feel overwhelming. And, bonus, this vegan and gluten-free preparation will please everyone at your table. Get the recipe. Cook time: 35 minutes.
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
Pumpkin Risotto
A pressure cooker makes quick work of this traditionally slow-cooked Italian favorite. A main dish in its own right, this vegetarian risotto is also terrific topped with grilled tofu, seafood or chicken (though the latter two options obviously cancel the vegetarian status) and as a first course — with or without added protein. Rosemary enhances pumpkin’s earthy flavor; toasted, chopped walnuts add texture and a drizzle of walnut oil ups the umami factor. Get the recipe. Cook time: 30 minutes.
Sweet, creamy and oh so delicious, this pie is sweetened with brown sugar, which gives a hint of caramel flavor, and a bit of honey. The evaporated milk helps make it so creamy. If you don’t care for schmaltz in your pie crust, see the variation that allows for using butter instead. And if you don’t want to make a crust at all, store-bought, pre-made will work just fine too. Get the recipe. Cook time: 2 hours.
The costumes have been put away, the pumpkins are beginning to decay, the candles have burned out and you still have a massive pile of candy splayed across your kitchen table.
Candy is, of course, a quintessential part of Halloween. Trick-or-treating is the traditional way to stock up, but plenty of grown-up parties go heavy on the sweet stuff too, taking advantage of those mixed bags of mini treats you can only seem to find once a year.
You may end up with leftovers thanks to a particularly successful evening of door-to-door stops or because you overstocked in anticipation of more visitors than actually showed up. Regardless of how it happened, you are now faced with a mountain of sugary sustenance and may have no idea what to do with it all.
Luckily, candy is a surprisingly versatile thing. From cocktails to baked goods to a re-gift no one will be mad about, check out these ideas to repurpose those leftover sweets.
Chunky cookies or brownies are a perfect pair for almost any chocolate-based candies. When mixing up the batter, simply throw in some broken up Snickers, Reese's or plain chocolate bars to create some next-level chocolate candy chip confections.
Bars and barks can be made by melting that chocolate together, mix some add-ins, and bam!
Cakes and pies are also ripe for creative flavors and mix-ins. To make things even easier, buy a pre-made crust.
Trail mix doesn't even require cooking - choose your favorite bits, grab some cereal squares and pretzels and create the chocolate-heavy mix of your dreams.
Melt it and mix it to create fondue, chocolate-dipped fruits or ice-cream mix-ins.
Fruity and gummy candies
Candy-infused cocktails are an adult-friendly use for those Jolly Ranchers and Skittles. Use the age-old trick of soaking fruity candy in bottles of liquor for about 24 hours then shaking them up to make a cocktail building block that is both nostalgic and hard-hitting.
Ice-cream toppings speak for themselves. Who needs to wait on that broken McFlurry machine when you can mix M&Ms into your bowl of ice-cream at home.
Candy charcuterie may be the next crowd-pleaser to bring to your next party. Forget cheese and meats, a colorful array of every flavor in the rainbow can be just as fun.
Make goody bags to use at a later date. Hand them out on Thanksgiving, after a birthday party or as part of a future gift. Re-gifting can't be frowned upon when it's delicious candy, right?
Candy playtime repurposes sweet treats for use in kid-friendly actives. Create crafts, make candy-based science experiments or use pieces for prizes when playing games.
Freeze for later to make candy last longer. Most types already have a long shelf-life, but freezing can extend this even longer for future use.
Use as your year-round stash. Put the candy away in a designated area and pull it out as needed throughout the year. Afterall, candy isn't only tasty around Halloween.
Sell or exchange it as part of the Halloween buyback program, which partners with local businesses to replace turned-in candy for healthier options or even cash.
As counterintuitive as it may sound, sometimes the ingredient a dessert needs to truly sing is a bit of salt. I’m sure the notion of a salty sweet is something I would have turned my nose up at in my younger years, but I’ve come to appreciate how even a few flakes can elevate the flavor of your favorite baked goods.
In addition to flavoring otherwise bland ingredients commonly used in baking — such as flour, butter, eggs and cream — salt can bring other foods into focus. Chocolate is a primary example. A sprinkling of flaky salt provides contrasting crunch and a pleasant pop of briny flavor. It brings balance and wards against desserts that veer into cloying.
If you like those kinds of salty sweets, here are some great options from our archives.
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