A Month-of-Appetizers: Pumpkin Soup Shots with Coconut Cream

Talk about your different appetizer! While looking for new pumpkin soup recipes (my current fave is below), I came across a recipe for Pumpkin-Carrot Shooters at http://yhoo.it/Mlntst

It intrigued me to think of soup as an appetizer, but why not, eh? So I took the concept (and their coconut cream recipe) and adapted it to smaller glasses filled with my pumpkin soup. I have lots of these fancy cylinder shot glasses (you can buy sets that include teeny spoons) because I serve lots of mini-desserts. Each glass holds just over ¼ of a cup. Perfect for an appetizer shooter!

Pumpkin Shots with Coconut Cream (makes 12 shots)

½ small yellow onion, grated

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup heavy cream

In a medium pan, heat the grated onion in olive oil over medium heat for one minute.

Add pumpkin, broth, spice, and salt. Stir to combine completely. Stir in cream slowly. Heat to a simmer.

Emulsify with your immersion blender, food processor, or regular blender. Refrigerate. When cold, pour into shot glasses. Bring to room temperature. Top with Coconut Cream right before serving. Demonstrate to guests how to shoot the soup!

Coconut Cream (enough for 12 shot glasses)

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

dash of salt

¼ cup coconut milk

On medium speed, beat cream and salt to foamy. Add coconut milk. Beat until soft peaks form.

DH’s Rating: 3 Tongues Up  He doesn’t really like pumpkin soup (thus my search to find the perfect one he will like), and he thought soup as an appetizer was a pretty bad idea. “So people have to juggle two glasses and a plate?” He might have a point. He thinks it should stay as a first course sitting at the dinner table. With a spoon.

A Month-of-Appetizers: Pumpkin Pie Fruit Dip

I write a food column, “The Quick Cook”, for a small town newspaper in Arizona, The Pinewood News. I publish one column a month. I guarantee to make the cooking life easier with my Quick Cook Tips and simple recipes. I will not live long enough to write all the columns I want to do!

In the past two months, I made the case for not buying the very expensive spice blends (which you bought for one specific recipe); rather, likely the person with a decent spice shelf can concoct the combos with existing bottles of spices bought, mostly, for one recipe.

Today’s appetizer makes use of one of the most ubiquitous of those little jars: pumpkin pie spice. For the pumpkin pie fruit dip, you can use the commercial spice blend, but below the recipe, I share my pumpkin pie spice combo to use instead! A two-fer today!

Pumpkin Pie Fruit Dip

1¼ cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

8 ounces cream cheese

¼ cup vanilla Greek yogurt (or honey Greek yogurt)

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

Apple and pear slices

Graham crackers

With a mixer on low speed blend the pumpkin puree with the confectioner’s sugar until smooth. Add cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add yogurt and pumpkin pie spice. Mix in thoroughly. Pour into the serving dish and refrigerate at least an hour. Serve with fruit and chocolate graham crackers.

Pumpkin Pie Spice  (makes about ½ cup)

2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1 Tbsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp ground cloves

Mix thoroughly and store in an airtight container away from light.

DH’s Rating: 3 ½ Tongues Up  DH isn’t a huge pumpkin fan but he does like that this is a relatively healthful dip (if you don’t count the sugar!).