Shortly before Halloween, I purchased a pumpkin pie pumpkin. Yes, you read that correctly. Pumpkin varieties that work best for baking are the pumpkin pie pumpkin and the sugar pumpkin.

Pumpkin pie and sugar pumpkins  have a “smooth, sweet flesh that is much less pulpy and stringy” according to Regan Daley’s In the Sweet Kitchen.  This makes them the choice for bakers and chefs when they want to use real pumpkin instead of canned pumpkin puree.

Long before people were thinking about Fall flavors, especially pumpkin, I was intrigued by a danish variation I had seen using pumpkin butter and cream cheese filling. So, when the time finally came around for pumpkin to step into the spotlight, I decided to try my hand at making pumpkin butter.

Let me warn you however, that like apple butter, pumpkin butter takes a few hours start to finish because the pumpkin needs to completely break down. The best part is the incredible smell that will fill the kitchen. While I used my pumpkin butter as a danish filling, it can certainly be used in other Autumn and holiday desserts.

Another flavor to capture this season is pear. They are in season right now and taste their best. When we have too many to eat, I like to poach them and store them in the refrigerator for later usage. Sugar syrups, wine, fresh herbs, whole spices, vanilla beans, and citrus peel can be included in the poaching and create a great variety of flavors. Poaching works best on fruit that is slightly underripe.

Finally, on the note of preservation, I’d like to share a tip from one of my chefs, the brilliant En-Ming Hsu. Chef Hsu gave us this formula for cleaning herbs and extending their shelf life. A few weeks ago after a big frost warning, I did this with a bunch of herbs from our garden and they are still fresh in my refrigerator. The bleach water kills any organisms on the herbs.

Preserving Fresh Herbs:

• Fill two large clean, sterilized containers (hotel pan size) with water.
• Put 1/2 teaspoon household bleach in one container, and 1/2 teaspoon vinegar in the other.
• Soak your herbs in the bleach water for 10 minutes.
• Remove from the bleach water and soak the herbs in the vinegar water for 20 minutes.
• Remove herbs from vinegar water and drain briefly.
• Wrap the herbs in paper towels, then put inside of plastic bags and store in the refrigerator.

Pumpkin Butter (The Culinary Institute of America)

• 3 lbs pumpkin(s) (Sugar or Pumpkin Pie variety)
• 1 lb granulated sugar
• 1/2 lb unsalted butter
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• pinch ground cloves

Cut the pumpkin(s) into quarters and scoop out the seeds. Place the quartered pumpkins cut side up on a sheet pan. Bake at 325 F until the flesh in tender, about 25 minutes.

When cool enough to handle, peel off the skin with a paring knife. Place the pumpkin flesh in a large pot with the sugar, butter, vanilla bean seeds and pod, and cloves. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the volume has reduced by half, about 2 hours. The pumpkin will completely break down and turn into a smooth paste. Remove the vanilla bean pod.

Cool the pumpkin butter over an ice water bath and reserve in an airtight container under refrigeration. Makes about 15 fl ounces.

Basic Poached Pears (The Culinary Institute of America)

• 75 fl ounces water
• 15 ounces sugar
• juice of 7 lemons
• 12 pears

Combine water, sugar, and lemon juice in a pot large enough to hold 12 pears. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Boil 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium.

Trim the bottom of each pear to make it flat, core out the bottom with a melon baller or paring knife, and peel off the skin. Leave the stem attached. Once a pear is prepped, submerge it immediately in ice water acidified with lemon juice to prevent discoloring.

Once all of the pears are prepped, place them into the poaching liquid and simmer for 30 to 60 minutes. Make sure the pears are completely submerged by placing a parchment circle on top of the pears. Once the pears have become slightly tender, remove the pot from the heat and let the pears sit in the poaching liquid until tender, about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Cool pears to room temperature. Reserve, covered, under refrigeration. Makes 12 poached pears.