Ocean Springs, Miss., cooks whipped up creative squash/pumpkin dishes for the Mississippi Gulf Coast YMCA’s annual fall festival food contest, and these seasonal recipes would be great at any holiday table.
Rosalie Osborne, Barbara Fournier and Wendy Welch agreed to share their winning entries. Osborne did a spicy pumpkin soup that would work well as a first course or a main dish. She also prepared stuffed mirliton with crab and shrimp.
Mirliton also is known in the Southwest as chayote and is in the gourd family.
Fournier topped her pumpkin spice cake with an orange cream cheese frosting that deserves a place on any dessert table. Welch’s squash and zucchini cakes could do double duty either as a main dish with an accompanying salad or as a side dish.
Spicy pumpkin soup
q 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
q 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
q 2 teaspoons minced garlic
q 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
q 2 teaspoons curry powder
q 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
q Pinch ground cayenne pepper, optional
q 3 15-ounce cans 100 percent pumpkin
q 5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
q 2 cups milk
q 1/2 cup heavy cream
q 8 ounces American cheese
q Instant mashed potatoes to thicken soup, if desired
n Melt butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add spices and stir for a minute more.
n Add pumpkin and 5 cups of chicken broth; blend well. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
n Transfer soup, in batches to a blender or food processor. Cover tightly and blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan.
n With the soup on low heat, slowly add milk while stirring to incorporate. Add cream. Adjust seasonings to taste. If a little too spicy, add more cream to cool it down. You might want to add a teaspoon of salt. Add 8 ounces of American shredded cheese.
n If you need to thicken the soup, mix instant potatoes a little at a time into the mixture.
Serve in individual bowls. Serves 8.
— Submitted by Rosalie Osborne
Squash with zucchini cakes
q 3 medium zucchini
q 3 medium yellow squash
q 1 cup toasted bread crumbs
q 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
q 1/3 cup minced Vidalia onion
q 1 large egg, lightly beaten
q 1- 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
q 1/2 teaspoon salt
q 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
q 1/2 cup (1 stick)butter
q 1 jar store-bought marinara sauce
n Grate zucchini and squash with a fine grater. Press between paper towels to remove excess moisture.
n In a medium bowl, combine grated zucchini and squash and next 7 ingredients. Shape mixture into 2-inch patties, pressing together firmly.
n In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Cook squash and zucchini cakes 3 to 4 minutes per side or until lightly browned.
n Place onto serving platter and serve with marinara sauce.
— Submitted by Wendy Welch
Spicy shrimp and crab stuffed mirliton
q 3 mirlitons, boiled, cut in half and seeded
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