Guest Blogger's Baked Lemon Pudding

I am 'unemployed guy's' wife. Today I had a lunch meeting that took me to Lynnfield, MA to explore the new home of the Lynnfield Historical Commission, nestled away from the road behind the Lynnfield Common and historic Meeting House. Lynnfield, the great Essex County community and beyond are lucky to have committed individuals thoughtfully caring for and cataloging its assets. My hosts also graciously welcomed me to their homes, historic Massachusetts houses with all the character and charm you would expect, plus! It was an exceptional experience and I am grateful for all they shared about their homes and community. And although I knew we would be enjoying a meal together, I was not anticipating the thoughtfully prepared culinary adventure that was presented.

Lunch began with tea and progressed to a creamy, curried butternut squash soup accompanied by a salad of curly lettuce topped with chicken, citrus fruit slices and pomegranate seeds. Lunch was followed by a tour of our host's house, a former parsonage in Lynnfield Center. The conversation was so lively I didn't manage to get a recipe. The next stop was dessert, but first a tour of the older of the two homes. Here, first period architectural components were prominently preserved, despite centuries of change. At the end of the day, as we were heading for the door, after feeding our minds and bellies, I parted with a recipe (I think she said it came from an old Betty Crocker Cook Book). I got home and made it.

Baked Lemon Pudding
Preheat to 350. Butter a 2-quart baking dish.

Sift together

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Separate

• 3 eggs

Beat the whites until stiff. Beat in 1/2 cup sugar, one teaspoon at a time. Set aside. Without washing the beater, beat the yolks until light.
Add

• 2 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 1/2 cups milk

Stir into the flour mixture. Beat until smooth. Add the beaten whites and fold gently until no white flecks show. Pour into the baking dish. Set in a pan of hot water 1/2 inch deep. Bake 45 minutes. Chill at least 1 hour. Serve with fruit; raspberries, blueberries, or whipped cream.

Wedding Pumpkin Pudding (or pie)

For our wedding we were presented with many thoughtful gifts. One of our favorite gifts were a threesome of lovingly home grown pumpkins from our friends' garden in San Anselmo, CA, who traveled with the pumpkins to Massachusetts. They became beautiful additions to our home and table, which we enjoyed throughout the fall and holidays.

Last weekend during a three day snow, I decided it was time to enjoy the Cinderella pumpkin more fully. I didn't feel like making a crust, but found a simple fresh pumpkin pie recipe on the food network website which I adjusted slightly when I discovered I had more pumpkin than the recipe called for (after roasting and mashing). In addition, I baked the recipe in ramekins in a bath as pudding, sans crust. The result was simple, individual and delicious pumpkin puddings. We saved some seeds hoping to grow them this summer and pass the love to friends.

One roasted pumpkin (2 cups)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups half-and-half
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Preheat to 400. Halve pumpkin, lay cut-side down in adequate baking dish, include ~1 inch of cooking liquid. I used cider, water is fine. Pierce the skin of the pumpkin with a fork a few times, bake for 30-45 minutes until nice and soft. Remove from the oven. Let cool. Scoop pumpkin flesh into a large mixing bowl and mash/puree to desired consistency (if you leave chunks there will be chunks in the pudding/pie). Add all remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Bake in ramekins in a water bath (half way up ramekins) on the lower oven rack at 400 until the edges of the filling are set, but the center is still slightly soft, about 50 to 60 minutes. Cool. Serve room temperature or slightly warm. Makes 6-8 servings. Serve warm. I topped mine with vanilla ice cream, whip cream is good too.

Note: If you prefer pie use the 'all-butter pie dough' recipe posted in the Dec. 1, 2009 entry of this blog, also found at Food & Wine here. You will need to roll out the crust and fit to 9 inch pie plate and follow Food & Wine directions: 'Line the pie shell with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake in the center of the oven until nearly set, about 25 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake until the crust is pale golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly.' Then fill with pumpkin mixture and bake using pudding directions above.