Time is fleeting. Despite our best efforts to meet "every month," Five Course Foodies' schedules got crazy. Alas! Beautiful Bonnie suggested an impromptu dinner to celebrate Mabon while incorporating Jocelyn's suggested fall theme, Pumpkin. And, oh boy, did we enjoy tons of pumpkin!
Bonni, Chelsea, and Chris just moved from their apartments into a beautiful early-twentieth century craftsmen home. It is a wonderful place, welcoming and warming to the heart, soul, and mind, with books everywhere, an Italian-inspired kitchen. It's also a cheerful yellow! Added to this, they now have a backyard with a great deck! Now that it's finally cool outside, a picnic at sunset seemed fitting. In this spirit, we dined outside.
I, Nikki, prepared our first course. Honestly, I have never cooked with anything pumpkin. I have a can of Libby's Pumpkin whatever-it-is, but decided since I could find pie pumpkins at the market, why the heck not make my own pumpkin puree? So, I roasted two 3lb suckers and experimented with their bright yellow-orange guts. After a few failed experiments, I opted to make Pumpkin Butter along with Pumpkin Ale Bread. Suffice it to say, the buttery crust and moist interior of the bread - made with Dogfish Head Pumpkin Ale - beautifully complimented the creamy deliciousness lathed onto it. Yes, pumpkin butter. How pumpkin pie should taste (and I totally winged it!). Jocelyn aptly paired it with Newcastle's Werewolf Blood Red Ale. It suited everything we ate rather well.
I dreamt about Chelsea's Curry Pumpkin Soup for several nights consecutively. This we enjoyed as our second course. By Jove... It was magnificent. Although wonderful on its own, she garnished the luscious pumpkin-curry goodness with a dollop of sour cream, sauteed onions, crispy bacon, and, to top it off, a Parmesan crisp. Seriously scrumptious. Chelsea concocted this from a melody of spices and pumpkin puree in her newest toy, a dutch oven. I took a tub of it home. And it was glorious. There's a reason why Chelsea won "Best Themed Dish" (well, I tied with her, but since I dreamt about her soup instead of my pumpkin butter, she surely deserves the title). Around this time, Jocelyn presented the best mulled wine I have ever tasted, fittingly served in a stoneware cup with a slice of orange. If only there was more... It was my favorite drink of the whole night, because really, what's better than a cup of warm, spicy alcoholic yumminess on a cool fall evening outside on the deck with great friends? Nothing. Except a nekid Viggo Mortensen wearing the silver winged crown of Gondor and his victory beard...
For our third course, Bonni spoiled us all with Cappallacci di Zucca - Pumpkin Raviolis - on a bed of spicy marinara sauce with a drizzle of crispy sage-butter, topped with Parmesan shavings. You would not believe the delightful texture of these! And, who would have thought about using wonton wrappers for the pasta? well, maybe Martha Stewart. It's a good thing. The combination of the creamy pumpkin and ricotta with the crispy sage made my head want to explode. Oh, and not to mention the brilliant red and perfectly seasoned marinara sauce. Pumpkin and tomato? My life is forever changed. These good things were my favorite of the night, clearly, given my many superlatives. But I was not alone in my enthusiasm for Bonni's creative culinary skillz and evocation of our pumpkin theme: she won "Best Overall Dish"!
Have you ever seen a de-boned chicken? With every single bone removed??? It's unfortunate that we didn't take the time to capture the stunning image of such a magnificent beauty. Perhaps we were too busy nomming! But, really, can you blame us? For our fourth course, Chris inspired awe in all of us with his whole, de-boned chicken, packed with beer bread stuffing (Beer bread? great minds think alike!), cranberries, and jalepeños. He brined it, marinated it, de-boned it, stuffed it, seasoned it, and roasted it. Chris loves us. Or is it his competitive spirit that motivated this dish? Maybe both. But mostly love. Why, do you ask? Because Chris is a vegetarian. He didn't even taste this delicious poultry carcass. Fine. More for me.
Jocelyn delighted us with many liquid victuals, including a beer that tasted a lot like scotch (will edit later with exact details...), as well as a marvelous dessert martini mixed with milk and a Puerto Rican liqueur. She fittingly served this surprisingly refreshing concoction with cookies that Nicole made: Pumpkin chocolate chip! Somewhat ginger-like and with just the right amount of chocolate chips (which, in my book, means lots! as it should be), as our final fifth course, Nicole's cookies finished the night on a properly sweet pumpkin note.
Fall doesn't normally feel like itself until Halloween for me, and then especially with Thanksgiving. It's a shame that in Southern California we don't have the pleasure of visually watching the seasons morph, with leaves changing colors and falling. That doesn't happen until it's officially winter. Celebrating Mabon / Autumnal Equinox rung in fall as it should always be - commemorating the customs of old, relishing moments with friends, and feasting on food made with love. Every meal should be like this. -Nikki
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