It is officially fall, and that means pumpkin season is upon us. Depending on your personal preferences, you’re either very annoyed or very eager for the overload of pumpkin spice lattes. Well, I’m here to either boost your spirit or rain on your parade, because pumpkin has taken over the world of baking this fall. After channeling my inner Gordon Ramsey, here’s a list of do’s and dont’s when it comes to using pumpkin to zest up your fall spirit.
DON’T substitute pumpkin puree for alfredo sauce. I know the recipe explains how pumpkin is a “calorie substitute and has a neutral taste”, but is it really possible to ignore the fact that you’re eating a dripping pumpkin noodle?
(Pumpkin Alfredo: https://www.yellowblissroad.com/pumpkin-alfredo/)
DO make some sticky, buttery, pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls. Just imagine these babies fresh out of the oven on a rainy fall morning, the leaves falling perfectly off the trees outside, served warm with a cup of coffee.
(Cinnamon Rolls: https://thenovicechefblog.com/2016/10/pumpkin-cinnamon-rolls/)
DON’T even click on this link. I couldn’t make it through the first line. “This Pumpkin lasagna is easy to make and filled with all the great flavors of fall. Stuffed with cheese, spinach, pumpkin, chicken sausage and creamy alfredo.” I can say with full honesty that I never wish to experience a combination of spinach, chicken, and PUMPKIN. If you do make it through the opening paragraph of the recipe and past the non-appetizing pictures, you might notice the ingredients include alfredo sauce, brown sugar, chicken, spinach, and a can of pumpkin. This says it all. You can stop here. Stick to your grandmother’s recipe of lasagna, please and thank you.
(Pumpkin Lasagna: http://diningwithalice.com/comfort-foods/pumpkin-lasagna/)
DO call upon your inner Betty Crocker and whip up a batch of homemade Pumpkin Poptarts (with maple-glazed frosting!!). Now this is what I call acceptable, classy, and delicious. A perfectly flaky crust, a soft, pumpkin filled inside, and a nice coat of maple syrup glaze drizzled over the top. I guarantee the mess is worth the eat.
(PopTarts http://www.highheelsandgrills.com/maple-glazed-pumpkin-poptarts/)
DON’T ruin an already somewhat disgusting recipe by adding pumpkin purée for a sloppier effect: “Sloppy Joes, only with a pumpkin twist for fall.” I vote no to anything that includes “a pumpkin twist”. Somehow, this combination of onions, hot sauce, and pumpkin managed to become an actual thing, but I highly recommend excusing yourself from the table if anything resembling a “pumpkin sloppy joe” is on the menu.
(Pumpkin Sloppy Joes http://allrecipes.com/recipe/211586/pumpkin-joes/)
We’ll end on a good note with these “incredibly delightful” doughnuts. DO eat these for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and maybe midnight snack even. “These doughnuts are amazingly moist and soft and are loaded with delicious pumpkin flavor paired with the sweet flavor of cinnamon.” What more needs to be said?
(Doughnuts: http://foodcuration.org/recipes/pumpkin-doughnuts-incredibly-delightful/)
To wrap up this roast/boast session, I hope that the gag to stomach growl ratio was even, and I hope that all of your pumpkin wishes and needs are fulfilled this fall season.