Kaitlin's soup night and pumpkin carving

That time has come again! Soup night is back and better than ever. We had a pumpkin themed soup night. We ate pumpkin soup, carved pumpkins, and had pumpkin bread pudding. It was great to be back with soup-minded people.

our amazing pumpkins

We also have some new soup night members. Welcome Jason and Sarah!

Black Bean Pumpkin Soup
Serves 8
(this recipe was adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients
4 1/2 cups black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup drained canned tomatoes, chopped

1 1/4 cups chopped onion

1/2 cup minced shallot

4 garlic cloves minced

1 tbs plus 2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup unsalted butter

4 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup dry Sherry

1/2 pound cooked ham, cut into 1/8-inch dice

3 to 4 tbs Sherry vinegar
Garnish: sour cream and toasted pumpkin seeds

Directions
In a food processor coarsely mix beans and tomatoes. In a large stock pot sauté onion, shallot, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper in butter over medium heat, stirring until onion is softened and starts to brown. Stir in bean puree. Add broth, pumpkin, and Sherry. Stir until combined. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, 25 minutes, or until the soup thickens. Just before serving, add ham and vinegar and cook until heated. Season soup with salt and pepper and garnish with sour cream and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Kaitlin served this soup with a salad.

Roasted Beets

and Nick's homemade bread.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding
(this recipe was adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs plus 1 yolk

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground allspice

Pinch of ground cloves

2 tbs bourbon (Kaitlin used buffalo trace, which is the best)
5 cups cubed (1-inch) day-old baguette or crusty bread

3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Directions
While preheating oven to 350°, melt butter in the bottom of a 8-inch baking dish. Once it is melted, take it out of the oven and toss bread cubes with butter, coating thoroughly. In a separate bowl, whisk together all the remaining ingredients. Pour them over buttered bread cubes in baking dish, stirring to make sure all pieces are evenly coated. Bake until custard is set, 25 to 30 minutes.

Apples and Caramel 

Wine and Beer served