Pumpkins

Believe it or not, at 685 pounds, Jim Kern's giant pumpkin is a mere pipsqueak. On Oct. 2, a world record-breaking cucurbit, grown by Alan Eaton of Ontario, Canada, weighed in at a whopping 1,446 pounds, and last year's Oregon-grown winner tipped the scales at 1,385. That's a lot of pumpkin. What's the trick to growing these marvels? The secret, Kern says, is in the seed.

For some years, Jolly Pumpkin has been scouting around on the wilder edges of the Belgian ale repertoire without being curmudgeonly about it. When it makes a sour ale, it's always an attractive one. Here we have a Belgian-style golden ale aged in Chardonnay barrels and made with a wild yeast, which gives it a certain edgy, peppery quality as well as a distinct sharpness. It's unfiltered and pours cloudy yellow with a high, coarse head. The nose is yeasty in the Belgian manner. It's distinctly tart on the palate, almost citrusy, but the fruits that come to mind as the finish gradually softens are more likely to be cherries and bananas than lemons.

Pumpkins were trucked to the Paramount Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains for the fourth annual Calabasas Days Pumpkin Festival over the weekend. Although not every visitor to the two-day event walked away with one, most couldn't resist the bright orange orbs. Some quick pumpkin facts: * CALABASAS: The namesake city of the festival derives its name from the Spanish word for pumpkin: calabaza . * TRUCKED IN: About 30 tons of pumpkins were brought in from the Levens farm in Oxnard.

Pumpkin risotto Total time: 30 minutes Servings: 6 to 8 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice 1 large garlic clove, minced 1 1/2 cups Vialone Nano or Arborio rice 1/3 cup dry white wine 1 1/2 teaspoons minced rosemary 1 cup pumpkin puree 3 1/2 to 4 cups vegetable broth Salt and pepper 1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts ...

A word of warning is needed. In the Sunday, Nov. 21, Food section there was a recipe using Sugar Baby roasted pumpkins. I put two of them in the oven using the recommended time and temperature, on a baking sheet as instructed. At the one-hour mark we thought a bomb had gone off in the kitchen; it had! One of the pumpkins had exploded into gobs of orange strings peppered with seeds, even blowing open the oven door. The mess was so unbelievable that we just stood there and laughed. How about adding, "Punch a couple of holes through the skin before roasting"?

The OH Lantern family, a kind of Garbage Pail Kids of Halloween, makes its debut this year, and excited retailers are gearing up for a rush. "They were the hottest selling thing at the L.A. Gift Show this year. When that happens, you know it's going to be big," said a representative of Jay's Luggage and Gifts in Topanga Plaza, which plans to display the pumpkins as a mall centerpiece on the two weekends before Halloween.

Though we love pumpkin pie, we were ready for a change, so we went looking for pumpkin desserts good enough to make guests sit up and take notice, even at the end of a Thanksgiving meal. We tasted two dozen holiday confections, looking for gorgeous presentations that would shine on a dessert buffet, and true pumpkin flavor that wasn't overshadowed by sugar or other ingredients. Here are the best of them, and they're delicious. Trust us, and order early.

He's been slashed by vandals, sewn up, blown off a roof, mildewed, and finally, replaced. But some Calabasas residents, especially his caretakers at the local Acura dealer, regard the giant inflatable pumpkin that spends most of his time folded in a dark storeroom almost as a son. On Thursday, the grinning gourd known to the locals as "Punkie" was hauled out of storage and hoisted aloft once again in anticipation of the city's annual Pumpkin Festival, to be held Oct. 24-25.

Pumpkin mania officially sets in today in Calabasas, with the Pumpkin Patch Parade, a pumpkin recipe cook-off, a pumpkin decorating contest, a pumpkin race and, of course, a prize for the biggest pumpkin. The daylong schedule of activities in Old Calabasas is a precursor to the Calabasas Days Pumpkin Festival next weekend, when devotees of the fabled gourd are expected to converge by the thousands on Paramount Ranch in Agoura. Calabasas takes its name from the Spanish word for squash.

"Sixty-five pounds," yelled the man at the scales, and Karen Merrill smiled broadly and excitedly clapped her hands. "I won, I won," the 4-year-old cried, hugging her father, Dan, as the two admired the plump, orange pumpkin on the scales. After spending summer afternoons pulling weeds and watering the pumpkin patch in her grandfather's back yard, Karen Merrill finally got her reward Sunday: first prize in the annual Giant Pumpkin Festival at Blakey Historical Park.

If Thanksgiving is the classic American food holiday (or maybe it's the only American food holiday?), pumpkin pie is the classic ending for it. And while you can find all kinds of variations that take the basic pie in different directions - many of them quite delicious, to be sure - there still is no beating the original, as created here by former Times Test Kitchen manager Donna Deane. She calls for making the dough by hand rather than using a pastry cutter or a food processor because that is the best way to get the perfect texture.

Whither the dinner roll? Once the hallmark of a great home cook, when we think of dinner rolls at all today, it's as some kind of quaint artifact of another time. "Remember rolls?" we laugh as we tear off another chunk of sourdough baguette. But this recipe, from food writer Regina Schrambling, is a reminder that a well-made roll is something special. Crisp on the outside but tender at the center. Bready, certainly, but already so rich and buttery that they practically melt as you chew.

An occasional column on L.A. beer culture. This summer, chef Gabriel Gordon opened a Long Beach outpost of his 4-year-old Seal Beach restaurant/bar Beachwood BBQ — and it has its very own brewery. It's the realization of Beachwood's original mission of celebrating craft beer, but Gordon wants to make clear that he will not be the one making beer. "When I drink a beer, it's still magical," Gordon said. "It's often not like that with food for me. I'm deconstructing the flavors for my own edification.

EVENTS Comikaze Expo Fanboys and -girls will unite at this inaugural celebration of pop culture, comic books, sci-fi, horror, anime and gaming. Comics icon Stan Lee and horror diva Elvira are set to kick off the event, which also offers screenings, panels, portfolio reviews, games and a masquerade ball. Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S. Figueroa St., L.A. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. (also 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun.) $12 per day, $20 for two-day pass. http://www.comikazeexpo.com. Irvine Holiday Faire Get a jump-start on the holiday shopping at the 29th Annual Irvine Holiday Faire festive boutique, which will feature hand-blown glass, ceramics, jewelry, folk crafts, porcelain, dolls, clothing, holiday decorations from more than 150 vendors.

EVENTS Bring a lawn chair and watch as teams compete to see which can catapult a pumpkin the farthest at the Discovery Science Center's annual Pumpkin Launch. Participants can use trebuchets and other creative hurling devices to sling pumpkins at targets 300 feet away. If you're not up for the shootout, enter a pre-carved pumpkin in the pumpkin-carving contest or take in the other family-friendly activities. California State University, 800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat. Free.

Pity folks carving faces on skinny old zucchini or trying to make watermelons look fearsome this Halloween. There's a pumpkin shortage plaguing parts of the country this year, because of drought and storms in the Midwest and Northeastern states. In California, the nation's No. 2 pumpkin state, fine weather has made for pumpkins aplenty. Still growers here aren't trying to make a killing, unless you count the fake blood at the haunted houses some have set up on their farms. With other crops, they'd be looking to export their bounty to cash in on higher prices.

The twice-scarred visage of a 30-foot, inflatable jack-o'-lantern has risen once again over western Calabasas, a week and a half after vandals ripped it from top to bottom and stole its generator. "We want our friendly pumpkin up there to promote the Calabasas Days Pumpkin Festival," said Alan Ungar, chairman of the Oct. 23-24 event. "It's a symbol for us, so we persevered and patched it back up."

EVENTS Crisp fall weather can be fleeting in the Southland, but events like the annual Calabasas Pumpkin Festival will put anyone in an autumnal mood. The two-day celebration features a pumpkin patch, live music and entertainment, carnival rides and games, nature shows, contests, crafts and more. Juan Bautista de Anza Park, 3701 Lost Hills Road, Calabasas. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun. $5. (818) 222-5680. http://www.calabasaspumpkinfestival.com

You can see it in the dwindling light and windy, gray skies: Fall is upon us. It's the kind of deep-thinking weather that makes cocktail lovers long for something warm and rich. Xino, chef-owner Chris Yeo's Asian-fusion restaurant, has you covered with several new fall offerings that will keep you cozy. Beverage director JP Nguyen has been playing with crisp apples, honey, cinnamon and other seasonal inspirations. One of his more arresting creations is called the Smoking Pumpkin; it combines dark, sweet Kahlúa, earthy spiced-pear vodka and tart pineapple juice with a chunk of smoky dry ice for eerie effect.