This year, I was determined not to let the Halloween pumpkin sit on our window sill until it started oozing some stinky brownish-orange goo. The plan was to make all sorts of yummy treats: ice cream, muffins, roasted seeds, pie. From scratch.

Why waste a good pumpkin?

Then I read the following in an article at ezinearticles.com: "For cooking select the small `pie' types, often called sugar, cheese or milk pumpkins — the `jack-o-lantern' pumpkins are not as sweet and the flesh is tough and stringy."

Try explaining that to an 18-month-old who picked out a pumpkin big enough to climb into.

I was determined to be "pure," so I went to the local supermarket and asked the grocer for help. He cleared it all up: "They all look the same to me."

I came home with a can of puree (Libby's appears to be the consensus choice in chat rooms, and by Izabela's decree). Puree is not a bad thing. Just make sure you buy one that is pure pumpkin — not pumpkin-pie filling.

(The pumpkin can still be used for a healthy snack: roasted seeds. After cutting off the top of the pumpkin, reach in and scoop out the guts, as if you were making a jack-o-lantern. Separate the seeds from the pulp and put them in a bowl with a touch of vegetable oil. Coat the seeds, then spread them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle some salt and put the tray into a 300-degree oven. Let roast until light brown -- between 30 minutes and an hour.)

OK. Now that I've gotten my feel-good-about-using-the-pumpkin moment out of the way, on to the dessert.

___

At Izabela's urging, we're making two kinds of ice cream — one with eggs and one without. If you're asking why we would make ice cream when brands like Haagen-Dazs exist, clearly you've never had homemade ice cream.

The more popular style is with eggs; it's rich and creamy. In these days of skim milk and light cream, store-bought ice cream often comes with a "premium" label when the real artery-clogging ingredients are used. No-egg ice cream is also known as Philadelphia-style. It's more delicate, and the flavors seem more pronounced.

Ice cream is relatively easy to make, and without eggs it's even easier. The most frustrating part is getting the mixture cold enough to put on a cone. If instant gratification isn't your worry, a few hours in the freezer will take care of that.

Some methods for making ice cream don't require a machine, either hand cranked or electric. But I recommend using one because it's important to churn the mixture well. Mixing in air is what helps make the ice cream smoother and more scoopable. 

In fact, Izabela (yes, the pro) failed to attach the blade on the mixer properly when we made the pumpkin spice ice cream, and we ended up having to freeze it without properly churning. It emerged as a solid, dense chunk.

The recipes we tried are not for dieters. This is as indulgent as it gets, and why not? I'm putting in the effort, I want the reward. And, boy, the payoff for the pumpkin ice-cream recipe was worth it — a velvety pumpkin flavor with a hint of bourbon.

This batch we churned properly. It had the soft, creamy texture of gelato. We put it in the freezer overnight, and not only did it taste better but had a perfect consistency.

___

The dietary price, though, was high.

One serving (about 3/4 cup) had 32.8 grams of fat. A serving (1/2 cup) of Haagen-Dazs' black raspberry chip has 18 grams of fat. Look at it this way: Your homemade ice cream contains only natural ingredients. The Haagen-Dazs does not. There are 10 ingredients in the recipe we used. The Haagen-Dazs "chocolaty chips" alone have eight.

Biases against Philadelphia aside — sports rivalries have no place in the ice-cream aisle — I prefer the ice cream with eggs. The eggless version tasted too much like molasses. We even used dark-brown sugar instead of the called-for dark muscavado sugar, which has a strong molasses flavor.

Now all we need is some really good hot-fudge sauce. Thankfully, Izabela has an incredible recipe.

I'll be sharing it with you soon.

___

Recipes:

Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream (eggless)

Pumpkin Ice Cream

___

Kitchen Idiot Howie Rumberg is an asap reporter based in New York. You can e-mail him at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.