Italian-American families often have a festive pasta dish such as lasagna at the Thanksgiving table, along with traditional Turkey Day foods.

We’ve got two options for Pumpkin Mac & Cheese, a treat throughout the holiday season. Both recipes are courtesy of Cabot Creamery, makers of our favorite supermarket Cheddar.

This first recipe is courtesy of Kristina LaRue, RD, LDN, for Cabot Creamery. It uses better-for-you whole grain pasta and flour. Note that in this recipe, you can substitute white pastry flour and conventional elbow macaroni; but in baking cookies, cakes, muffins, etc., the substitution proportions will differ.

The second recipe bakes conventional mac and cheese inside a pumpkin!
 
 
RECIPE #1: PUMPKIN MAC & CHEESE WITH BACON

Ingredients

[2] Crisp bacon strips (photo © Edwards Virginia Smokehouse | Facebook).

*The recipe used Cabot Alpine Cheddar and Cabot White Oak Cheddar, but you can substitute Sharp Cheddar or Extra Sharp Cheddar.
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Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Coat a 13 X 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

2. COOK the macaroni to al dente according to package directions. Rinse and drain.

3. LINE a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and arrange the bacon. Cook the bacon for 10 minutes and blot dry. Crumble and set aside.

4. MELT the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and slowly add the milk until the mixture is smooth and the ingredients are incorporated.

5. STIR in the canned pumpkin and continue to whisk until the mixture is thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the spices, cheese (reserve 1/2 cup for topping) and yogurt, whisking quickly to combine until the cheese is melted.

6. POUR the macaroni into the prepared baking dish and coat evenly with the pumpkin cheese sauce. Top with the remaining cheese and bacon.

7. BAKE for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
 

[4] Grated Cheddar (photo © S.Zakaly | Panther Media).

This recipe is baked in a pumpkin, but there is no pumpkin flesh in the recipe. Instead, you can use the recipe above for a pumpkin-in-pumpkin dish.

Ingredients For 16 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 375ºF.

2. PLACE the pumpkin flat-side-down or remove a thin slice from one side so the pumpkin will be stable. With a sharp knife, cut the pumpkin in half horizontally, slightly above stem, to form a bowl. Remove the fiber and seeds. With a spoon or an ice cream scoop, scrape out some of the flesh so shell has a thickness of 3/4 to 1 inch.

3. SPRAY the top edge of the pumpkin with cooking spray or brush lightly with oil; then place it cut-side down on a pizza pan or baking sheet. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until the pumpkin still holds it shape but the flesh is cooked and can be pierced easily with a toothpick. While pumpkin bakes…

4. COOK the macaroni according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

6. ADD the mustard, red pepper and Worcestershire. Gradually whisk in the milk and continue stirring until the sauce thickens and returns to a simmer.

7. REDUCE the heat to low. Add 7 cups of the cheese and stir until melted. Add the macaroni, stirring until well coated; remove from the heat.

8. TURN the baked pumpkin over with oven mitts. Place it in a large shallow baking dish (from which you’ll serve it), or leave it on the baking sheet. Fill the pumpkin with the macaroni mixture and top with the remaining cheese and breadcrumbs. (Put any mac and cheese that won’t fit into another small baking dish).

9. BAKE until the filling is puffed and golden, about 40 to 50 minutes longer (a smaller baking dish will be done sooner). Let stand for about 10 minutes to settle before serving. Garnish and serve.

Those who enjoy their spirits on the rocks—with style—should appreciate the new Whiskey Wedge. It keeps spirits chilled without watering them down.

Simply add water to the glass, insert the mold and freeze. The ice forms into a wedge which melts much more slowly than ice cubes due to the reduced amount of surface area.

It’s a clever way to chill any liquor, liqueur or cocktail: “on the rocks” without dilution.

Each unit comes with one double-old fashioned whiskey glass and a silicone mold. It’s $14.95 at Corkcicle.com.

While you’re there, also check out:

Chilled but not diluted with a Wine Wedge. Photo courtesy Hewy Wine Chillers.

Picked at the peak of ripeness and flash-frozen within hours of harvest, they are just as nutritious as fresh berries.

Keep bags of fresh frozen berries in the freezer and pour out the amount you need. If you’re using the berries in baking or in a smoothie, there’s no need to defrost them. That especially goes for turning them into soft serve*.

For other uses—garnishing, salads, sundaes, yogurt—you’ll want to defrost the berries first. You can make them taste the best with proper defrosting.

Note that the defrosted berries will be more delicate than fresh berries. Handle them gently to keep their shape. Use thawed berries within two days.

REFRIGERATOR DEFROSTING

If you’re not in a hurry, defrost the berries in the fridge. Slow defrosting generally maintains a better flavor and texture for any food item.

Place the berries in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. If you plan to eat them whole or use as a garnish, thaw them for four to six hours so they are still partially frozen and firm. Otherwise, you can let then thaw overnight.

 
COUNTERTOP DEFROSTING

Place the berries in a bowl and cover with cold water. Check in five minutes. If the berries are still frozen, drain and add fresh cold water.

Do not thaw berries in hot or warm water. The heat will cause the berries to release their juices and shrivel. It also provides an environment where harmful bacteria can grow.

The Oregon Raspberry & Blackberry Commission recommends microwave defrosting. Microwaves vary as to cooking times and berries differ in densities, so do a few small test batches to get the perfectly defrosted berry.

HOW TO FREEZE FRESH BERRIES

When berries are in season, look for the best prices and freeze your own to enjoy when the fruit is out of season.

 
*You can use a food processor, but we get far better results from the Yonanas machine. It’s a great way to turn fruit into frozen dessert as you control the amount and type of sweetener.
  

There’s a great new product for cola drinkers: Coca-Cola Life. Made without corn syrup*, it has half the calories of regular Cocoa-Cola: 60 calories per eight ounces.

The reduction in calories is done with all natural ingredients. The is half sugar, half stevia.

Stevia, which is 150 to 400 times sweeter than sugar, is derived from a South American herb called Stevia rebaudiana. It has been used for centuries in Paraguay and Brazil to sweeten yerba mate and medicinal teas.

Stevia is almost calorie-free, does not cause cavities, and does not trigger a rise in blood sugar. A small amount of it works in synergy with the sugar to create sweetness with no off taste. (Check out the different types of sweeteners.)

Why the new formulation?

It’s a bid to combat obesity globally (the product first debuted in Argentina!) and offer a healthier option to consumers.

How does it taste? It’s less sweet/sugary than the corn syrup version. There’s absolutely no aftertaste, as there is with the zero-calorie Coke variations. It tastes like regular Coke, just less sweet. Since we’ve always found the regular Coke too sweet, but find the zero-calorie versions too artificial, we’re the perfect market.

The new variety of Coke is also targeting the environmental crowd. Coca-Cola Life is packaged in a fully-recyclable plant-based bottle (although our guess is that if it’s a big hit, can and large plastic bottles will join the lineup). That’s why the label is green.

The plant-based bottle consists of 30% recycled natural materials, and is lighter in weight than regular PET plastic bottles. A lighter-weight shipment requires less fossil fuel.

Coca-Cola Life will roll out globally over the next several months, but get yours today. After all, it’s National Carbonated Beverage With Caffeine Day.

 
*In the U.S., Coca-Cola is sweetened with corn syrup. In other countries, regular sugar is used.
  

We love Burt’s Bees products. We’ve never found a better lip balm. The beeswax the brand is famous for is both soothing, packed with beneficial nutrients and stick-to-your-lips.

This holiday season, the company has created an exclusive with Target stores: Burt’s Bees Pumpkin Spice Lip Balm.

As a party favor or a stocking stuffer, everyone, young and old, can revitalize dry lips with a lip balm that has a gentle aroma of pumpkin and spice. There’s no flavor—just sprightly seasonal aroma (although, since it is said that 90% of taste is based on smell, it appears to have a bit of flavor that we like very much).

The balm is free of parabens, phthalates, petrolatum and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS). We’ve stashed a tube in the pocket of every coat and winter jacket. Now it’s your turn to spread holiday cheer as well as a little TLC.

The lip balm is $2.99 a tube at Target, and there’s free shipping on Target.com.

If you want a bigger gift, there’s a combo pack of Pumpkin Spice along with a tube of Vanilla Bean, $5.79.