Pumpkin Two Ways

I hope everyone enjoyed and or survived their Thanksgiving weekend and made it home safely if you were traveling.  Greg and I spent the holiday with his family in Northern California and as we welcomed a new member and missed the ones who couldn't be with us the important things remained; good food, wine tasting at one of our favorite wineries, Clos Du Val, with our pup and pumpkin pie.  

Now that we have returned home to LA and unpacked we were left with "what's for dinner."  Looking at what was in the refrigerator and what we brought back with us I decided on leftover pumpkin something using our pumpkin puree.  So we started with a pumpkin pie cocktail to unwind and then moved on to pumpkin cheddar and bacon grilled cheese sandwich which filled us up and was a great end to our Thanksgiving weekend.  Both were so good I had to share and hope you love them as much as we did!

Pumpkin Pie Cocktail

Ingredients

1 tablespoon pumpkin puree

1-1/2 ounces Stoli Vanilla Vodka

1/2 ounce butterscotch schnapps

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Dash of nutmeg

1 cinnamon stick 

Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously to mix well.  Strain over an ice filled glass and garnish with a cinnamon stick.  This makes one serving but could be made as a large batch to serve for a party.

Pumpkin Cheddar and Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 tablespoon asiago cheese, grated

1 teaspoon fresh sage

1 large garlic clove

Dash of nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

Butter

4 slices of cibatta bread

4 strips of bacon

4-6 ounces white smoked cheddar cheese, sliced (found at Whole Foods)

In a small bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, asiago cheese, sage, garlic and nutmeg.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Heat a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Lightly butter the outsides of all four slices of bread.  Place one slice of bread, butter side down, in the skillet.  Line the bread with the smoked cheddar cheese, top with about half of the pumpkin mixture, place 2 strips of bacon on the pumpkin mixture, then top with more cheese and place another slice of bread, butter side up, on top.  Repeat with the other 2 slices of bread.  Cook both sandwiches until golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 4-6 minutes on each side.  Makes 2 sandwiches.