Domestically Disabled; Guest Blogger on Pumpkins

Brittany Peitsmeyer is our Creative Media Liaison and in-house Rachel Ray wanna-be. A product of the mid-west, Peitsmeyer is a self-proclaimed weekend lush with a knack for crafts and a habit of not being able to follow a recipe. Here, she shares with us her Sunday Funday full of pumpkins, Pino Grigio and pretending to be domestic...

It's Sunday morning at 9:15am and after staying in last night and falling asleep early to a 12-hour Jersey Shore marathon, I wake up feeling rested and ready for an activity-filled Sunday Funday. While my friends hit the beach or the closest sports bar to watch high definition NFL for the day, I opt for another option; the pumpkin patch. I convinced my friend (lets call him "Jack") to come along and we Googled our way to the nearest Miami-Dade pumpkin patch.

Key Biscayne Community Church Pumpkin Patch

Let's be honest, "from patch-to-table" sounds great, but a little unrealistic for me. It's more like "from patch-to-Publix" and "from Publix-to-table". In another words, my ambitious trip to the pumpkin patch was mere inspiration for this everything pumpkin blog. Never did I reach my hand into a pumpkin, nor rip out the veiny insides, or dirty my kitchen. I did, however, opted for canned pumpkin (chefs do it too), watched Jack make a killer cheesecake as I sipped Pino Grigio, and gathered a handful ideas for you below...no matter what your domestic abilities may be!

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

This one, we (him) actually did make and it was well worth it! Check out this easy recipe below!

Ingredients

1 can (16 oz) pumpkin

1 deep dish unbaked pie shell

2/3 c. light brown sugar

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

4 eggs, divided

1 c. evaporated milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, 2 slightly beaten eggs, milk, and 1 tsp. vanilla in bowl. Pour into shell. Combine cream cheese, sugar, remaining vanilla and eggs, beat until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture over pumpkin filling. Bake in oven for 1 hour. Chill before serving.

So after two (more like two and a half) helpings of the pumpkin cheesecake I started to wonder about more healthy options. Go figure. Living light or just making extra room for Thanksgiving? Try this...

Pumpkin Chiffon Cake

Ingredients

1 c. flour

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 tbs. pumpkin pie spice

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

4 eggs, separated, plus 5 egg whites, at room temperature

1 c. canned pumpkin

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk flour, 3/4 cup sugar, the pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, combine the egg yolks and pumpkin puree. Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mix until smooth. Using an electric mixer, whip the remaining 9 eggs whites until foamy. Gradually mix in the sugar and beat until stiff, but moist. Add 1/4 of the egg white mixture to the pumpkin batter, folding with a rubber spatula until no streaks remain. Fold in the remaining egg white in the same manner. Put the batter into a 10-inch tube pan with a removable bottom and bake until springy to the touch. (55 minutes). Let cool and serve with confectioners' sugar.

The Breakdown

Calories......123

Fat................2g

Carbs...........25g

Protein..........5g

Anyone who knows me will tell you I am not a huge dessert person. I would always go for a dessert cocktail rather than a slice of pie. Therefore, I couldn't resist. Indulge in this...

Pumpkin Divine

Ingredients

1 oz Grey Goose La Poire Vodka

1 oz pumpkin butter

1/2 oz Triple Sec

1/2 oz simple syrup

1 pinch of cinnamon & ginger

Directions

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until shaker is frosted with ice. Strain into martini glass. Garnish with nutmeg and apple chip.