If you’re looking for something to bake this weekend, how about Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread?

“This pumpkin bread is autumn in loaf form,” says Pete & Gerry’s, fourth-generation family farmers of organic eggs (see more about them below).

“Like any quick bread, it comes together in a flash and stays tender and moist right out of the oven and beyond.”

The recipe lets you choose any and all mix-in ingredients, from chocolate chips of any and all colors, nuts, crystallized ginger, toffee chips, whatever!

The recipe says “optional,” but we say they’re “necessary.”

Serve the pumpkin bread for brunch, coffee break, or dessert—with an optional scoop of ice cream.
 
 
RECIPE: CHOCOLATE CHIP PUMPKIN BREAD

This recipe makes two loaves. You can freeze the second loaf if you don’t plan to use it within a few days.

Prep time is 10 minutes, cook time is 75 minutes.

Ingredients For 2 Loves

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the oven rack in the middle of oven and preheat to 350°F. Grease two 9” x 5” x 2.5” loaf pans, if using mix-ins. To make a plain loaf, 8” x 4” x 2.5” pans will work.

2. COMBINE all wet ingredients (pumpkin purée, melted butter, eggs, water, and vanilla) in a large bowl. Use a mixer on low speed until or whisk by hand until well blended. Then stir in both sugars until well combined.

3. MIX together in a separate bowl the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until the batter is well combined and smooth.

4. ADD the mix-ins, and stir until evenly distributed. Divide the mixture equally between the two loaf pans, and shake the pans to roughly level out the batter.

5. BAKE the loaves for 60-75 minutes, gently rotating the pans in the oven halfway through baking. The loaves are ready when the top cracks, the surface feels firm and set, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. (If the top begins to get too dark during baking, you can carefully tent it with foil to prevent further browning).

6. REMOVE the loaves from the oven, and allow them to cool for at least 15 minutes before turning them out on a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
 
 
ABOUT PETE & GERRY’S ORGANIC EGGS

Should your eggs come from small family farms, or from faceless factory farms?

With the news coverage of recent years about the horrible lives lived by caged hens, or even “cage free” hens crammed onto barn floors, so crowded that they can’t move, we switched to humanely produced eggs.

Pete & Gerry’s have been selling high-quality organic eggs for more than 60 years.

As pioneers of humane and environmentally sustainable egg production, Pete & Gerry’s produced many of the first organic and free-range eggs available in supermarkets. They were the first Certified Humane egg farm in the country.

The hens, and their eggs, are free of antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, GMO feed or animal byproducts. So these eggs not only taste good: They make you feel good. No hens were mistreated.
 
Discover more at PeteAndGerrys.com.
 
 
> CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EGGS. How many have you had?

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*Be sure to use pumpkin purée and not pumpkin pie filling, which contains added seasonings.

You can substitute another oil—coconut, corn, grapeseed or vegetable—if you prefer.

[1] Add chocolate chips and anything else you like to this pumpkin bread (photo © Pete & Gerry’s Eggs).

[2] You can use dark, milk or white chocolate chips, or a combination (photo © Bella Baker).

[3] If you want to add nuts, our favorite for this recipes is pecans (photo © American Pecan Council).

[4] Don’t want mix-ins? Bake a plain loaf (photo © Levain Bakery).

[5] Want to dress up a plain loaf? Add a meringue topping (photo © Tartine Bakery).

[1] Who can resist cheese fries? (photo © Idaho Potato Commission)

[2] Crinkle-cut fries are baked from frozen fries (photo © Walmart).

[3] Sharp cheddar from Wisconsin (photo © Wisconsin Cheese).

October is National American Cheese Month*, so how about some cheese fries, made with a fine American Cheddar†?

You don’t even have to fry the potatoes!

This easy-to-make dish uses frozen, baked Grown In Idaho crinkle-cut fries.

Once they’re golden brown in the oven, top them with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, bacon, scallions, and sour cream (or ranch dressing).

Some want theirs with a big squirt of ketchup, others as is.

But you may want to make a double batch. These fries will quickly disappear.

In addition to National American Cheese Month, September is National Potato Month, April 20th is National Cheddar Fries Day, and National French Fry Day is celebrated annually on the second Friday in July.

Below:

> Cheese fries recipe with bacon and scallions.

> The history of cheese fries.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of French fries.

> The different types Of French fries: more than 40!

> The history of the potato.

> The different types of potatoes: a photo glossary.

> The year’s 30 potato holidays.

> The year’s 30 cheese holidays.
 
 
RECIPE: CHEESE FRIES WITH BACON & SCALLIONS

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 425°F.

2. GREASE a rimmed baking sheet or a large cast-iron skillet with cooking spray. Spread out the crinkle-cut fries in an even layer on the sheet. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until crispy and golden brown.

3. SPRINKLE the fries evenly with the shredded cheese. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the bacon.

4. DRIZZLE with the sour cream or ranch dressing, then sprinkle with the sliced green onions. Serve immediately with ketchup on the side.

For something so recent, the origin of cheese fries is lost to history. What we do know is that the seem to have appeared in the U.S. after Cheez Whiz was introduced in 1952.

Yet Dictionary.com dates the phrase as “first recorded in 1970–75.” It’s hard to believe that it took 20 years to make it into print.

Snuffer’s in Dallas states their Cheddar fries were “first created in 1978.”

While good restaurants today will use good cheese for cheese fries:

 
When we see “cheese fries” on a menu, we inquire about the cheese. We want Cheddar, not American cheese, Cheez Whiz, or Velveeta.
 

[3] Bacon cheese fries with red chile peppers. Here’s the recipe (photo © Taste Of Home).
 
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*American cheese refers to any cheese made in the U.S., the least interesting is the processed, pasteurized “cheese product” (it doesn’t qualify are real cheese) popularized by Kraft.

†Cabot Cheddar is a great choice, and comes in 10 varieties, so you can layer on more flavors: Chipotle, Cracked Peppercorn, Everything Bagel, Garlic & Dill, Habanero, Horseradish, Hot Buffalo Wing, Smoky Bacon, Spicy Jack, and Tuscan. See them here.
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

If you’re a true cheese lover, you know that there are “so many cheeses, so little time.”

But we can cut down on the list a bit, because it’s National American Cheese Month.

The American Cheese Society says that, “American Cheese Month is a celebration of North America’s delicious and diverse cheeses, and the farmers, cheesemakers, retailers, cheesemongers and chefs who bring them to your table.”

So how about trying a different new-to-you, made-in-America cheese for American Cheese Month?

How about trying something new?

There are so many great artisan cheesemakers. We don’t mean to exclude anyone, but check out the websites of:

 
 
HOW ABOUT CRESCENZA CHEESE?

Crescenza, sometimes known as stracchino, is a staple in the Italian kitchen.

Says Mozzarella Company of Dallas, “Crescenza is one of those cheeses that no one has ever heard of but everyone loves when they taste it. It is a soft, fresh Italian cheese with a tart, clean flavor.

It is similar recipe to stracchino. The difference is that crescenza is made from whole milk or semi-skimmed milk and aged for 5-10 days, while stracchino is made only from whole milk and it aged for 20 days.

“Whenever we serve Crescenza at cheese tastings, this is the cheese that people invariably buy to take home.”

O.K…we’re in, we said, and we placed an order. It is as promised: delicious.

While the cheese is Italian in origin, there are a number of American cheese makers who make it; both artisan and factory producers.

Crescenza (creh-SEN-za) is made from cow’s milk. It is a young, soft cheese, aged for just a couple of weeks before it is sold.

Eaten very young, it has no rind and a very creamy texture. It is typically square in shape.

It is a great cheese for expressing the natural flavor and aromatics of a good quality milk, a showcase for the wonderful fresh flavors and aromas of the milk.

The Crescenza from Mozzarella Company:

 
How To Serve Crescenza

Beyond antipasto and appetizers, focaccia, sandwiches, melting on grilled cheese or other recipes (casseroles, ravioli, whatever).

For snacking or a cheese plate, The cheese was first made in Lombardy, Italy and areas adjacent to this northern Italy city where it is commonly served as a snacking or appetizer cheese with fruit,
For a cheese plate, pair crescenza with bread and:

 

CRESCENZA CHEESE HISTORY

Crescenza and stracchino have long been made in Northern Italy, regions of Liguria, Lombardy, Piedmont, Romagna and Veneto.

There’s a legend, of course.

Most cheeses are historically made in the spring and summer, when the pastures are lush and green, the days are long and the milk is as fresh as can be.

Crescenza and stracchino were traditionally made during the autumn and winter months, after the cows had descended from the mountain pastures.

The physical exertion of the hike increased the butterfat content of the milk, making a richer cheese.

The cows were tired after the long season and their descent; hence, tired cows.

For stracchino, the name of the cheese derives from the Lombard adjective stracco, meaning tired.

The origin of the name Crescenza comes from the Italian crescere, which means “to grow.” If kept in a warm place, the cheese tends to increase in size, just like rising bread!
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF CHEESE

[1] Humboldt Fog goat cheese from Cypress Grove Cheese, with the signature line of ash running through the center (photo © Cypress Grove Cheese).

[2] An assortment of cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery, from cows happily grazing in Marin and Sonoma Counties (photo © Cowgirl Creamery).

Crescenza Cheese[/caption]
[3] Artisan crescenza cheese, made in small batches by Mozzarella Company (photo © Mozzarella Company).

[4] Spread it on bread or crackers (photo © Wisconsin Cheese).

[5] Snack on it with raw vegetables (photo © Arrigoni Formaggi).

[6] An appetizer of prosciutto-wrapped crescenza cheese. Here’s the recipe (photo © BelGioioso Cheese).

[7] Crescenza and peach crostini. You can substitute apples, pears, even grapefruit and oranges Here’s the recipe (photo © BelGioioso Cheese).