Tis the season for pumpkins

Between Halloween and autumn, pumpkins rule the month of October in DINE country.  We’ve been posting photos of preposterous pumpkins on the Distinctive Inns of New England’s Facebook page , and serving up pumpkin themed dishes at the 11 DINE member inns all month.  We love that pumpkin works well for breakfast lunch and dinner! Revisit our blog posting about Fall Fine Dining to find recipes for  Captain House Inn’s award winning Pumpkin Pancake recipe for an additional pumpking-themed breakfast.  Better yet, leave the mess behind and let one of the Distinctive Inns of New England host your next New England getaway.

For armchair travelers,  read on for another yummy dessert from the Rabbit Hill Inn featuring our ingredient of the day, and look for more pumpkin themed ideas from all DINE inns throughout October. Then in November what should we turn to?  Turkeys maybe??

Pumpkin Bread Pudding With a Vanilla Rum Sauce from the recipe files of Rabbit Hill Inn

Ingredients for Bread Pudding:

½ tsp vanilla

½ loaf French bread, cubed & partially dried

4 eggs

3 croissants, cubed & partially dried

1 pint Half & Half

1 Tbls cinnamon

½ cup sugar

1 tsp nutmeg

6 ramekins or muffin tins

7 oz canned pumpkin

Method:

Bring Half & Half to simmer and whisk in vanilla and sugar. Take off heat and whisk in pumpkin until smooth.  Add in bread & croissants and incorporate until      bread has soaked up the mixture. Add eggs, nutmeg, and cinnamon and work until fully  incorporated.

Grease 6 ramekins or muffin tin and fill with the  mixture. Bake at 375-400°F for 20-30 minutes.  (for a convection oven, bake at 325°F)

Ingredients for Vanilla Rum Sauce:

2 oz Capt Morgan Spiced Rum

5 egg yolks

1 ½ cups heavy cream

½ cup sugar

¾ tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a metal mixing bowl. Whisk over a hot water bath until the mixture coats  the back of a spoon. (Make sure the water bath is not so hot as to cause the eggs to scramble).

Allow to cool. Rewarm to order by placing in microwave or heating on  a very low heat on the stove top.