[Saturday Sides is a weekly feature I run to help you combat the side dish blahs. Check here Saturdays to see what’s new and different you can add to your dinner table. Or, you can subscribe here so that you never miss a Saturday Sides Recipe.]
Lately, things around here have been rather hectic. I know I mentioned that my Hubby’s freelance writing business has just been crazy busy lately, but wow, I’m working more and more hours for him every week and soon, I’m going to need help to keep up. Not that I’m complaining . . . Momma needs a new pair of shoes (and lots and lots of magazines) and all. Considering all the talk about the rotten economy I know how blessed we are to be busy.
As busy as I am I’ve done a lot of delegating of the housework, errands and chores, but even with all the extra help from Hubby and the girls, one thing that quickly fell off my docket was: Dinner. Every night at 6:30.
Not that we don’t eat or anything. It’s just that I’ve been seriously contemplating converting Angie’s Pangies.com into a Fast Food Review website. I’m sorry folks, I just couldn’t seem to find my cooking mojo. I mean, and I’m quite ashamed to admit it, I didn’t make anything – not even break apart cookies or the wretched puppy chow – for my kid’s school bake sale.
And that’s just sad. But I’m done beating myself up about that. O.k.?!? O.k., good. Those kids didn’t need my coconut-cupcakes anyhow, right?! (Pay no attention to the sobbing from behind the keyboard!)
You know what, though? I’m a firm believer in the old saying “The more I do, the more I want to do.” It seems the more I have to do the more time I find to do other stuff. So, as I get used to working full time I’m finding out that I’m getting more done than ever before. I mean, have you noticed that I blog more regularly now? No wait. Don’t answer that!
And another thing I’ve noticed; I’m starting to miss my kitchen. I caught myself caressing the wooden spoons this morning and singing “It can. not. wait. I’m YOURS I’M YOURRRS!” I think I will always gravitate back to cooking. I just have to create. It’s what I do.
So, no worries, readers. I won’t stop cooking dinners, vegetables, and blogging for you (and singing badly while I do so.) All it took was one of my friends saying in desperation “Someone needs to invent a new veggie!” and you know what? I ran into my kitchen and did my best. I didn’t invent a new veggie, per se, but I think this one is pretty interesting. And seasonal. Oh, and yummy – well at most of us thought it was good. Teens. Can’t live with them, pass the pumpkin.
Roasted Pumpkin Gratin
Adapted from Recipezaar
8 cups pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 flour
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
Start out with a cute little pumpkin and cut it in half.
Remove the seeds and stringy stuff and discard.
Cut off the skin. Now, I won’t lie to you here, my pumpkin was a complete pain in the butt to get to this point. Not all pumpkins are created equal though, it depends alot on how “tough” the skin on your pumpkin is. This one was stubborn. Allow yourself some extra time to prep the pumpkin, if you get it done early – great, but at least you won’t be eating an hour late (like a certain blogger and her family who will rename nameless.)
Whoa . . . hold the phone. Did I just say discard the seeds? Scratch that. Keep those, they’re awesome roasted.
Preheat the oven to 400 and grease a 13X9 baking dish.
Put the flour, salt and pepper in a bag. Wash the pumpkin and drain it. Add the pumpkin to the bag and shake. The kids might like to do this part.
Toss the excess flour and put the pumpkin in the prepared dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top and add extra salt and pepper, if you want to.
Add the minced garlic to the olive oil and stir well. Then drizzle the oil all over the top of the pumpkin.
Bake for 30-40 minutes. Because pumpkins can vary in texture your cooking time may vary. My stubborn pumpkin took 40 full minutes to cook throughout. Cutting your pumpkin in similar sizes and shapes will help it cook evenly. The pumpkin should be soft with crispy cheese. If the cheese begins to get too done before the pumpkin is soft, cover the pan with some foil.
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This looks wonderful! And I’m ready to try it, especially since the kids are going to get pumpkins today. Of course, Iwon’t be able to “kill” the pumpkins right away because they’re supposed to be for halloween–but maybe I can grab a small one next week when I get groceries. Anyway–a question: Can you help your peeling of the pumpkin skin, which is a real bear to do, by steaming your pumpkin in the microwave or stove top, or oven? Or does that completely turn your pumpkin to mush? My idea is, “gently” steam the pumpkin in a pan of water–but before it gets mushy, remove it — so you can still chop it into this bite-size chunks pictured in the recipe. The steam will help the skin to become tender, and thus easier to remove. In theory! I’ve done “home made pumpkin pie” enough times to just give up and purchase the canned stuff. Angie, do you have a fabulous recipe for home made pumpkin pie that tastes home made and home grown, but comes from a can?
@Kathy – I actually thought about baking this a bit to soften it up when I was pounding away at it, but I was afraid it would ruin the texture. If you’re going to do this, I would suggest baking, not steaming, because you don’t want too much extra moisture. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out!
And – I do only use real pumpkin for my pies, and don’t think the canned stuff is ever even close. But, to simplify making fresh just bake the pumpkin, cool, peel, and use the food processor to puree – it’s not too bad! Well worth it, too.
That top picture is hilarious!
Boy, do I remember that pose from my teens! I really did like most of what my mom made, but for some reason, being a teenager made complaining fun! 
@Bridget – What’s sad is, it wasn’t posed at all. Katie thought I was taking pictures of my plate when in fact I was snapping pics of her. I’m in so much trouble if she ever comes here and see it. Do you see that one tiny piece of pumpkin on her plate? She threw a complete fit because I made her try it!! *sigh*
I resemble that photo. Well I would. I’m going to have to give roasted pumpkin gratin some thought. Of course, I’ll probably try it down the road and feel foolish for not trusting you…but in the mean time, I resemble that photo!
@Crystal. When have I ever let you down?
Think of the garlic bread spread! Give pumpkin gratin a try – it’s soooooooo good. Come on; it’s crusted in garlic, basil, olive oil and parm!!
I absolutely LOVE carving pumpkins and pulling all the seeds out to dry. It’s just as much fun as decorating the Christmas tree
that’s a great way to do it.
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