New Bites: Seasonal Flair
Discovering Pie Fillings in a Jar
October 28, 2008
By Kerry Dunnington
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As a young girl, I stood by my mother’s side in the kitchen, where together we would create a variety of food combinations that became our family meals. My mother’s imagination amazed me; not only were our meals prepared using seasonal food, they were also the most unusual combinations. The results were flavorful, colorful, nutritional and delicious.
The “recipe” for the delicious meals she created came from the fresh, seasonal ingredients she used in order to get the most flavor and nutritional value. At a young age, I associated the season’s food with the colors that reminded me of each season. Fall-colored food (apples, pumpkins, butternut squash) made me think of autumn leaves, while winter-colored food (kale, baking potatoes, cauliflower) reminded me of pine trees, pine cones and white, overcast skies. Asparagus spears had the look of newly sprouted, vibrant, green grass, and those pinkish-red stalks of rhubarb my mother always turned into the most delicious pies reminded me of the colors that were in my Easter egg basket. Summer’s delicious bounty – strawberries; peaches; watermelon; red, orange, yellow and green peppers; and crimson-colored tomatoes – were the colors of a rainbow.
When the season changed, the food we ate changed. Come autumn, pumpkins took center stage on our menus, along with yellow, red, green and golden-colored apples that filled baskets in our kitchen. Apples that weren’t eaten fresh were turned into apple sauce, decadent apple butters and chutneys, preserved for the upcoming winter months. The amber flesh of bright orange pumpkins were turned into mouthwatering pies.
In my quest to find a product to feature in SmartWoman this season, I was thrilled when I came upon products produced by a small company in Woodstock, Va. My interest was piqued when I was introduced to pumpkin pie in a jar and apple pie in a jar. When I taste-tested the products, the flavors were decidedly pumpkin and apple, respectively, with the familiar spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice) that traditionally enhance pumpkin and apple pie fillings. Intrigued, I ventured down what I call my “food combining discovery tour.”
I developed a recipe for pumpkin cream; pumpkin pie in a jar gets folded into thick cream. At our taste-testing party, guests topped thick slices of sesame pork tenderloin with pumpkin cream: the results were extraordinarily complementing. For dessert, I filled miniature fillo “pie” shells with the pumpkin and apple mixtures, with rewarding results. Warm from the oven, I topped them with fresh whipped cream; taste-testers gobbled them up.
SESAME PORK TENDERLOINS WITH PUMPKIN CREAM
Simple, seasonal and complementing accompaniments to this ultra tender, beautifully seasoned pork are sweet potatoes and steamed, fresh green beans. Green beans are delicious when seasoned with butter, salt, pepper and garnished with toasted, slivered almonds and dried cranberries.
Sesame Pork Tenderloin
- 2 pork tenderloins (1 package)
- ½ cup light soy sauce or tamari
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh minced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ¾ cup sesame seeds
In a baking dish to accommodate tenderloins, combine soy sauce or tamari, sugar, minced onion, garlic, ground ginger and sesame seeds. Add meat, turning to coat on all sides. Marinate for 3 hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drain tenderloins and bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Allow tenderloins to cool before slicing into thick medallions. Serves 8.
Pumpkin Cream
Pumpkin Cream preparation tips: place bowl and beaters in freezer for about 2 hours before whipping cream. Cream is best whipped just prior to serving.
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup pumpkin pie in a jar
Pour cream into a medium bowl; beat on medium-high speed. When the cream thickens, increase speed and continue to beat until cream has soft peaks. Fold in pumpkin pie in a jar.
What to drink?
Le Mousseux by La Provencale Cellars, a non-alcoholic, gourmet sparkling apple cider
MINIATURE PUMPKIN AND APPLE PIES
These bite-size morsels are ridiculously simple to assemble. Not only will your guests feel like you have gone to lots of trouble, kids love them. They are a welcome dessert if you want to serve a simpler version of a baked pie. Preparation tips: Fill the shells just before putting them in the oven.
- 2 boxes frozen mini fillo shells
- 1 jar apple pie in a jar
- 1 jar pumpkin pie in a jar
- Fresh whipped cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange shells on a baking sheet. Fill 15 shells ¾ full with apple mixture and 15 shells ¾ full with pumpkin mixture. Bake for about 7 minutes. Top with whipped cream. Serves 10, or 3 miniature pies per person.
Where to buy?
Pumpkin pie in a jar and apple pie in a jar, as well as the gourmet sparkling apple cider, La Mousseux (www.lemousseux.com), can be purchased at Whole Foods Market. Conventional fillo shells can be purchased in the frozen food aisle of major grocery stores; organic fillo shells can be found in most major health-oriented grocery stores.
Kerry Dunnington, a menu and recipe developer, does cooking demonstrations at Whole Foods Market and other locations. Author of This Book Cooks, Kerry also writes a column for the Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco weekend editions of The Examiner. She writes a monthly column for Baltimore eats magazine. Kerry’s second cookbook, This Book Cooks Too, will be available soon. Visit www.thisbookcooks.com.
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