Pumpkin Cheese Bread and "The Cookbook Problem"

 

As you may have noticed, my blogging has gotten pathetically sporadic for the last year or so.  I am not sure what has caused the malaise, but there is no doubt I have been uninspired.  I have been reading plenty, but just have not been as inspired to make recipes from the books - sometimes it feels forced, and often the things I make for a book are not inspired by the seasons, which is how I usually like to cook.  So I have been thinking a lot lately about how to jump start my creative juices so that I am excited and inspired by the blog again.   I don't want to give up on the original bookcooker idea of reviewing books and making recipes inspired by those books, but I am going to focus on something else for a little while - the cookbook problem.  Well, more specifically, my cookbook problem.  As people who know me can attest to, I am a bit of a shopaholic, mostly clothing and shoes (and OK, bags too) but also books and really the worst of it is the cookbooks.  I see a new cookbook and just get so excited that this one will have the perfect recipe, the one that will change my life!  I don't spend too much time flipping through at the bookstore (or the Amazon page nowadays), I just flip flip a couple of pages and zip zip my credit card.  Now that most cookbooks have Kindle additions, the cookbook addiction has become serious, and my love of cookbooks have become a problem.   I have SO MANY.  And even worse, I NEVER COOK OUT OF THEM.  That isn't true for all of them (I always cook out of Barefoot Contessa books and my Martha Stewart Baking Handbook has many batter splattered pages), but for the most part, I buy em, flip through, then up on the shelf (or onto the kindle) they go... and stay.    So, reflecting on the overwhelming number of cookbooks I seem to have and never use, I decided to start by counting them.  So I have 176 cookbooks.  Is this a lot?  It sure feels like a lot for someone who is not in the business of cooking for a living.  Add to that that I don't really use these cookbooks that much (I get so many recipes from the web), I realized I had a problem.  A consumption problem - the thrill of the purchase without any of the follow through needed to really enjoy and learn from all these beautiful cookbooks.  So, for the next little while on this blog I am going to attempt to work my way through all of the cookbooks, making at least one recipe from each.

Hopefully in this process I will be able to prune the collection, hopefully I will find some really amazing and inspiring recipes to add to my repertoire and hopefully I will curb my habit of impulse cookbook acquisition.  I still will be reviewing books as often as I am inspired to do so.  Any recipe I make for a novel should come from a cookbook I have, only resorting to the web in extreme circumstances (which would really only be an ethnic food for which I do not have a parallel cookbook.)   If along the way I find a cookbook is no good - too complicated, no recipes I want to make, recipes don't work, I will donate the book to the local thrift store or sell it back to Amazon. 
To kick this off, first below is a list of all of my cookbooks.  I will also post it here and keep track on this list when I post a recipe (or a few) from each book.  BTW, in case you didn't notice, this list is in no particular order...  I will go through it by whim.  Starting with a cookbook that had some irresistible fall recipes - The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook.   I have three Beekman cookbooks - I love stories of stockbrokers and other business types that give it all up and head to live an idyllic  life in the country.  More about Beekman below the list.

Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook

The New Basics Cookbook

Simple Fresh Southern

Screen Doors and Sweet Tea

The Gift of Southern Cooking

Around my French Table

Martha Stewart Baking Handbook

Barefoot Contessa Parties!

The Paris Café Cookbook

Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Barefoot Contessa Family Style

Barefoot Contessa at Home

Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That?

Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Essentials of Italian Cooking

All About Braising

The Joy of Cooking

Tartine

Barefoot in Paris

Martha Stewart Dinner at Home

Feast Nigella Lawson

Sunday Suppers at Lucques

Mastering the Art of French Cooking

How to be a Domestic Goddess

Flour

Baking at Home (CIA)

Martha Stewart Hors D’oeuvres

Williams Sonoma Chicken

Williams Sonoma Soup

Williams Sonoma Salad

Vefa’s Kitchen

The Perfect Scoop

Stonewall Kitchen Favorites

Cocktails A Go Go

Momofoku Cookbook

A New Turn in the South

Ad Hoc Cookbook

All Around the World Cookbook

Party Food!

The Junior League At Home

Williams Sonoma Cakes, Cupcakes and Cheesecakes

Maine Classics

Patricia Wells Vegetable Harvest

Williams Sonoma Seasonal Favorites

Essential Pepin

The Fannie Farmer Cookbook

Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian

The Flavors of Bon Appétit 2001

Rick Bayless Mexican Chicken

Hot Sour salty Sweet

Cocina!

The Naked Chef

A Baker’s Tour

The New York Times Jewish Cookbook

One Pan, Two Plates

I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence

Maine Home Cooking

Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust

Bon Appetit Y’all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking

The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Vegetable Cookbook

Cook this Now: 120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can’t Wait to Make

The New Midwestern Table: 200 Heartland Recipes

Keepers

The Old World Kitchen: The Rich Tradition of European Peasant  Cooking

Balaboosta

 Jerusalem: A Cookbook

One Pot, Martha Stewart

Huckleberry

Nom Nom Paleo

The Slim Palate Paleo Cookbook

Three Sisters Bake

The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook

Bubby’s Brunch Cookbook

Flour, Too

The Craft of Baking

Canal House Cooking Volume 7: La Dolce Vita

River Cottage Every Day

The Back in the Day Bakery

The Nourished Kitchen

The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Dessert Cookbook

The VB6 Cookbook

Greek Cookbook: A Taste of Greece

Weeknight Dinners

Martha’s American Food

The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook

Babycakes

Mad Hungry Cravings

Rachel’s Irish Family Food

The Little Paris Kitchen

The Rosie’s Bakery Cookbook

Thanksgiving: How to Cook it Well

Soup Night

Mrs Wilkes Boardinghouse Cookbook

Wheatbelly Cookbook

Meatless

Bubby’s Homemade Pies

All Time Best Recipes from Cooks Illustrated

Cook Fight

Fresh Happy Tasty

Skinny Bitch

Classic Snacks Made from Scratch

Standard Baking Co Pastries

The Lee Bros. Charleston Kitchen

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes

Bean by Bean

Baking for All Occasions

Homemade Winter

Baked Elements: Our 10 Favorite Ingredients

Texas Eats

My New Orleans: The Cookbook

Perfect Pies

Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights

The Seasonal Baker

At Home with Madhur Jaffrey

The Good Coffee

The Boston Homegrown Cookbook

The Breakfast Book

Nigella Express

The Campagna Table

Martha Stewart Cookbook

The Gourmet Cookbook

Baking with Julia

Food & Wine Magazine’s 2001

The Lee Bros Southern Cooking

Rose Heavenly’s Cakes

Plenty

Cuisine Economique

The Silver Palate Cookbook

Cook with Jamie

Stonewall Kitchen Harvest

Baking: From My Home to Yours

Soup A Way of Life

The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook

The Minimalist Cooks Dinner

The Book of Jewish Food

Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook

The Dean & Deluca Cookbook

Williams and Sonoma Thanksgiving

Williams and Sonoma Pasta

The Nantucket Family Table

The Paris Cookbook

How to Cook Everything

Hot to Cook Everything

The Cake Bible

Moosewood Restaurant Low Fat Favorites

The Italian Country Table

Martha Stewart’s cupcakes

The Art of Simple Food

Canal House Cooking No. 2, 3

The Splendid Table

Williams and Sonoma Cookies and Biscotti

The Top 100 Italian Dishes

Jewish Cookery Book

Asian Noodles

Daily Bread

French Food/American Accent

Sweet Simplicity

Birthday Cakes

One Big Table

Mozza Cookbook

Nigella Lawson Forever Summer

Canal House No. 5

Southerly Course

Baked

Super Natural Cooking

The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook

Potluck at Midnight Farm

Chez Panisse Desserts

The Craft if Cocktail

The New York Times Cookbook

The Armenian Table

Dolce Italiano

Jewish Home Cooking

Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home

America’s Test Kitchen: Cooking for Two

Food and Wine 2007

American Home Cooking

Ottolenghi

Chez Panisse Café Cookbook

The Zuni Café Cookbook

Beekman Heirloom Cookbook Pumpkin Cheese Bread

Woo.  That's a lot of cookbooks. Ready for some pumpkin cheese bread?  Yes!  So the Beekman boys are a married couple who left their life in the big city, bought an amazing farm in New York and became farmers and set up a lifestyle brand (you can buy goat milk soap, cheese, jam, furniture, housewares and more right here.  One of the boys used to work for Martha Stewart's company, so this wasn't out of total left field.  The Heirloom Cookbook is organized by season, which I really like.  I picked this one first because there is just so much good stuff in the fall section.  I couldn't choose just one, so I will follow up this pumpkin cheese bread with some pumpkin chili.  Yeah, I have a pumpkin problem too.  All those Ebenezer Scrooges complaining about too much pumpkin spice stuff can just kiss my ___.  Fall is such a glorious but short season, let's enjoy it.  The pumpkin recipes in Beekman though are completely different than the pumpkin spice oatmeal, m&ms and lattes you and I enjoy - no cinnamon in sight.  The bread, golden and moist, is savory, not sweet - punched up with sharp cheddar cheese and a touch of cayenne.  This recipe calls for an overnight rise, so plan ahead!

 

Ingredients

3 1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

2 1/4 teaspoon (or 1 envelope) rapid rise yeast

1 1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

1 large egg yolk lightly beaten with water

Comments:  This came out really well - a very nice, slightly cheesy loaf that is great toasted with butter or served with soup (or pumpkin chili, coming up next).  The instructions are good although I found this dough extra sticky - so I upped the flour amounts than what is in the book. 

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, stir together 3 1/2 cups of flour, the brown sugar, yeast, salt and cayenne.
2. Add 1 cup of water, the pumpkin and cheese and mix until well combined.  This will be a very sticky dough.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead, adding up to 1/2 cup of flour, until the dough is significantly less sticky and forms a smooth ball.  This took awhile, maybe 15-20 minutes.  If the dough is still sticky, add a little more flour until you can handle it without making a mess.
4. Put the dough into a bowl and sprinkle flour on top, turn to coat with the flour.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise over night in the refrigerator.
6. The next morning, take dough out of fridge and punch it flat.
7. Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan with the softened butter.  
8. Take the flattened dough and make it into a cylinder.  Put into the loaf pan seam side down.
9. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 1.5 hours.
10. While the dough is rising preheat the oven to 375.
11. When the dough has risen, brush the top with an egg wash.
12. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes - until you tap the bottom of the pan and it sounds hollow.
13. Turn out immediately onto a rack and cool.