Pancetta Pumpkin Fritters with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Delicious, sweet and salty, non-traditional seasonal dessert that comes together in no-time flat!

Pancetta Pumpkin Fritters with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Fritters:

1 cup pumpkin*

2 tbsp melted butter (unsalted)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 large egg

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup breadcrumbs made from cinnamon bread  (cut into bite size pieces and toast in oven until dry.  Once toasted, whirl in blender to make crumbs.)

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 cup Pancetta, small dice

Cinnamon Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tbsp + 1 tsp powdered sugar

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

To make whipped cream:

Add heavy whipping cream to a medium size mixing bowl and begin to incorporate air into the cream using hand mixer on low.  Increase speed and once thickened slightly, add sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.

Continue to blend until stiff peaks form, cover bowl with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

To make batter:

Blend pumpkin and butter until smooth and then add sugar, salt & cinnamon.  With a whisk, blend in egg until fully incorporated. Slowly whisk flour and breadcrumbs into batter.  Using a spoon, fold Pancetta into mix.

To fry:

In a large, heavy bottomed pan, add 50/50 canola, vegetable oil blend until at least 1" deep.  Heat the oil to 325°.  Working in batches, use a small cookie scoop to drop rounded spoonfuls of batter into the oil.  The fritters will start to float when they need to be flipped. Cook approximately 1 minute per side or until golden brown.  Keep warm in oven while working through remaining batter.  Serve warm with Cinnamon Whip Cream and a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

Pancetta Pumpkin Fritters With Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Makes approximately 20-25 fritters. 

*Fresh roasted pumpkin is best, roast in oven with a sprinkle of 1 tbsp brown sugar at 350° for about 20-25 minutes or until soft to touch.  If fresh pumpkin is not available, substitute with canned.

Sesame Pretzel Chicken with a Sweet Heat Sauce

I am always looking for new things to use as 'breading' for poultry or pork and, in my pantry, I had just the fix. When we went on vacation, I went a little crazy on the snack aisle, stocking up for the long plane ride and days on the beach. I happened to pick up sesame pretzels at Trader Joe's thinking they were peanut butter pretzels on sale. Wrong! No matter, they turned out to be tasty. With so many leftover though, I was looking for an innovative use and scored with a 'breaded' chicken dinner. These pretzels were multi-grain and packed quite a crunch so I pulsed them in the food processor until they were mostly crumbs, leaving a few larger pieces that aided in texture that resembled southern fried chicken. To pair with the sesame flavor, I opted for an Asian inspired sauce made from mustard, honey, crushed red peppers flakes and rice wine vinegar. Atop snow peas and mushrooms finished in sesame oil, this was a meal not soon forgotten. Here's the fix:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cups sesame pretzel nuggets

3 tbsp sesame seeds

1 cup all purpose flour

1 egg

salt and pepper

Sauce:

1 tbsp whole grain mustard

2 tbsp dijon mustard

1/2 cup raw honey

3-4 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp red pepper flakes (less for less heat)

fresh cracked black pepper

Side:

canola oil

garlic clove

2 cups snow peas

5 baby bella mushrooms, quartered

sesame oil

toasted sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 375° and start by using a basic breading technique for the chicken. First set up your breading stations with one plate for the ground pretzels mixed with the sesame seeds, one plate for flour seasoned with s & p and one bowl for the egg (beaten). When you are ready to go, pat the chicken breasts dry, season with salt and pepper and then start by dredging in the flour. Shake excess flour off and pull the chicken breast through the beaten egg. The last step is to lay the chicken breast in the pretzel mixture, pressing the crumbs over the entire surface on both sides. I wanted to retain the crunch of the larger pretzels pieces and simplify this dinner so I transferred the chicken breasts to an lightly oiled baking dish and baked them off for about 25-30 minutes.

The rest of the meal came together easily. All the sauce ingredients listed above go into a sauce pan on low heat and simmer away while the chicken cooks, stirring to help incorporate the honey with the mustard. About 5 minutes before the chicken is done, grab a sauté pan, add a little canola oil and a broken garlic clove. Over low to medium heat, add in the mushrooms and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add the snow peas to gently warm. To finish, add a touch of sesame oil (a little goes a long way), a pinch of red pepper flakes and top with toasted sesame seeds. Plate the snow peas and mushrooms first, add the chicken on top and then smother in the sauce. Yum!