Stuffed Mushrooms

These are a great appetizer or side dish. For a more elegant appetizer top cooked mushrooms with a little bit of sauce and shredded mozzarella. Place under broiled until cheese melts and serve.


Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

10 large white mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup Italian style breadcrumbs (use enough to fill mushrooms)
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel and pull off stems. Reserve half of the stems and chop them.
2. Saute garlic and stems in mixture of butter and oil. Add breadcrumbs and parsley and stir together just until breadcrumbs start to brown. Remove from heat and cool.
3. Drizzle pan with a little oil and place mushrooms in pan. Drizzle mushrooms with oil and fill with breadcrumb mixture.
4. Top each mushroom with a small dab of butter.
5. Bake at 350˚ for 10-15 minutes or until mushrooms are cooked through.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

Pumpkin Mousse Roll for the Baking Challenged

So anyone who reads this little blog regularly knows how much I love bakespace. My new friend Danielle who I have met there shared this fabulous recipe with me. Of course, I managed to make a few mistakes but it didn't matter because at the end it all turned out so well. I made this a second time and it came out perfect! Thank you Danielle for helping me find a dessert recipe that come out good even when I screw it up!!!!

Don't forget that everyone's oven is different. I needed to bake the cake for an extra 5 minutes to cook it all the way through.



Ingredients:

3 Eggs
1 cup Sugar
2/3 cup Pumpkin
1 teaspoon Lemon juice
3/4 cup All-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Baking powder
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Ginger
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Filling:

8 ounces Cream cheese -- softened
4 tablespoons Butter -- or margarine
1 cup Powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla


Directions:


1. In large bowl, combine eggs and sugar, beating well. Add pumpkin and lemon juice, mixing until blended.

2. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, spices and salt. Add to egg mixture, mixing well. Spread batter into greased 10-by-15-inch jelly-roll pan lined with waxed-paper.

3. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool for 15 minutes. Place cake on clean tea towel sprinkled liberally with powdered sugar. Cool 10 minutes longer. From 10- inch side, roll cake up in towel. Set aside.

4. While cake is cooling in towel, prepare filling. Beat together cream cheese and butter; stir in powdered sugar and vanilla and blend until smooth.

5. Unroll cake. Evenly spread filling over cake. Roll up cake (without the towel). Wrap in plastic wrap. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. Slice before serving. Keep leftover slices refrigerated. This pumpkin roll freezes well.

Homemade Manicotti

Growing up Nanny made homemade, manicotti, ravioli, cavatelli and tagliolini. She made them all by rolling out the dough by hand. I remember when she made the manicotti and ravioli it seemed like it would take forever before we would start cutting (my favorite part because I could help). Nanny always said it had to be thin enough for you to see through it. In the past few years I have gained more knowlege about cooking and realized that what Nanny made were not really manicotti but cannelloni. Manicotti are crepes made from a very thin batter and cooked in a pan on the stove. Since I'm baking challenged and am not very good with a rolling pin this seemed like something I could do. I never thought I would be able to say I made homemade Manicotti but I did it for Thanksgiving! It was surprisingly easy once you get the hang of it. Once you start making a few, you will get the hang of how much batter to use. It all depends on your ladle. You want the crepes to be very thin and delicate. Once you get that part down you're golden!

I used a recipe for the crepes from a cookbook I bought years ago when I worked at Barnes and Noble. It's called Rao's Cookbook: Over 100 Years of Italian Home Cooking by Frank Pellegrino. This recipe can be found on page 55. I only used the recipe for the crepe part. For the filling, I just went with what I know.

I made some small changes to the recipe. I used an 8 inch nonstick omelette pan and used much less batter than stated in the recipe. Instead of oil I used cooking spray and cooked them slighly longer than 30 seconds (at least it felt like longer). I got over 20 crepes which was probably because my pan was smaller than a crepe pan but the size was perfect in my opinion.

Crepes

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Approx. 2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used cooking spray)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. When well combined, whisk in flour until smooth. Set aside to rest for about 1 hour.

2. Heat a nonstick crepe pan over medium-high heat. Lightly brush it with vegetable oil and return to heat. Pour a little less than 1/2 cup of batter into the pan, swirling to cover the bottom evenly. Cook for about 30 seconds or until it is just set and the bottom is lightly browned. Turn the crepe over carefully with a spatula or a fork. Cook for an additional 15 seconds or until set. Remove from pan and place on a piece of waxed paper. Continue cooking and stacking crepes until you have at least 14. The extra 2 will allow for breakage.

Filling:

I don't measure the cheese for the filling. I just taste it before I add the egg and add more cheese as needed.

2 lb container of part skim Ricotta
1 lb part skim Mozzarella block (of course fresh mozzarella can be used)
Locatelli Romano cheese approx 1 cup
parsley fakes
1 large egg
salt and pepper to taste
Marinara sauce, prepared (I used 2-28 oz cans crushed tomatoes and had enough for two batches of crepes)

1. Mix ricotta, romano cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Taste. Adjust seasoning according to taste and then stir in one egg.

2. Slice mozzarella into matchstick size pieces.

3. Lay crepe on flat surface. Place about 1 tablespoon of ricotta (more if larger crepe) into the center of crepe and spread out to edges. Add mozzarella to center. (If you cut them into long sticks which I did with second batch you only need one stick). Fold one edge halfway over and then fold the other side to form a packet. Don't roll them or they will be too thick. They should be sort of flat.

4. Spread a layer of sauce onto a baking pan. Lay manicotti side by side and arrange manicotti until the pan is filled. Add another layer of sauce on top and sprinkle with romano cheese.

5. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes and sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted.

Manicotti can be frozen two way. Arrange rolled crepes on a wax paper lined pan and freeze for about 1 hour. Take out of freezer and put the frozen manicotti in a freezer bag between layers of wax paper. Store in freezer until ready to use. You could also prepare with sauce and place the whole pan in the freezer if you have the space. Let defrost and then bake when ready.

Cookie Test Kitchen

I wanted to send some "thank you" packages to some friends this holiday season, and was on the search for some different recipes to accompany old favorites. Before taking the plunge, I made small batches of two new recipes to see how they were...

First up, Blueberry & White Chocolate Chunk Ginger Cookies (what a mouthful!). A twist on the oatmeal raisin cookie it seems, I liked the goodness from blueberries and ginger.


The other recipe I tried out were Apricot Butter Cookies, which had the unique addition of dried thyme. To make these a real test, I tried using the Smart Balance 50/50 Unsalted Butter that I've seen in the store. I'd been intrigued and wanted to see if my testers could tell that real butter wasn't used. This was a winning flavor combination, and best of all my grandfather enjoyed the butter :) hehe, he's a stickler!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy thanksgiving everyone!! Hope everyone enjoyed time with loved ones!

I didn't quite think it woud happen, but I actually managed to cook most of thanksgiving dinner! Mom and grandma took care of the turkey, but I made them relax the rest of the day while I had fun in the kitchen. The menu included some awesome Spirited Cranberry Sauce, Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Orange Essence, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and succotash. The succotash was pretty simple, sauteed onion, red peppers, and garlic were tossed with some cooked corn and lima beans, then finished with a tad of butter, salt and pepper. I meant to add fresh thyme or parsley, but forgot as everything was getting carried out.

The sweet stuff? Well, let's just say I need to work on my pie crusts... they tasted ok, they just weren't great. I made an Autumn Galette (apples, pears, dried cranberries) that was nice and light, but not worth posting what I actually did :)

The star of the show is always the pumpkin chiffon pie. It started with my great grandmother (whom we always called Babci), got picked up by mom, and now I guess by me! It's doubtful I liked it as a kid, but I think this one is heads and shoulders above the traditional pumpkin :) Much lighter due to some whipped egg whites that get folded into the pumpkin mixture, and a delicious blend of spices. Without further ado...


Pumpkin Chiffon
Babci's recipe

1 envelope knox gelatin (anyone know about substituting agar-agar or arrowroot for this?)
1 cup of sugar, divided
1/2t salt
1/2t cinnamon
1/2t nutmeg
1 1/2t ground ginger (that's not a typo!)
3 eggs, separated
3/4c milk
1 1/4c canned pumpkin puree (not pie mix)
1 baked pie shell
chopped walnuts for garnish, if desired


Mix gelatin, 1/2c sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger thoroughly in top of double boiler (over simmering water).

Beat egg yolks with milk and add to gelatin mix. Add pumpkin, and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. The notes say 10-12min... it seems like longer as you stand there stirring, but I forgot to time it until halfway through. You'll feel the mixture become harder to stir, and it will no longer fall off the spoon.

Once thickened, remove from heat and let cool. To speed this up, I transferred to a metal bowl and popped it into the fridge. It doesn't have to be cold, you just don't want it hot.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Then slowly add in 1/2c sugar (while beating). Fold this mixture into cooled pumpkin mix, then pour into baked pie shell. Top with a sprinkling of chopped walnuts and enjoy!

I prepared this last night and just stored it in the fridge until we were ready to dig in (who am I kidding, allowed to dig in!). It might not be the quickest, but being able to take care of it ahead of time really helps!!

Cornish Hens with Sausage and Wild Rice Stuffing

This recipe was given to me by Steve's Aunt Melissa. I've been meaning to make it for a very long time but it never seemed to make the menu. Now that I've tried it I will make it more often. It was excellent! I can't wait to use this stuffing on a nice big oven stuffer chicken!

Melissa's Cornish Hens with Sausage and Wild Rice Stuffing

Ingredients:

6-8 Cornish Hens
1 lb Italian sausage (removed from casing)
1 large shallot chopped
4 or 5 cloves garlic chopped
¼ c white wine
½ lb sliced mushrooms
1 pkg Uncle Ben’s wild rice
paprika
lemon juice

Directions:

Cook the sausage, shallots, and garlic in olive oil. When cooked, turn up heat and add ¼ cup white wine and ½ lb sliced mushrooms. Cook all together and put aside. Cook Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice (1 pkg) as directed. Add to stuffing and stuff hens. Rub Hen’s with paprika and lemon juice. Heat oven to 350 degrees and cover Hens with foil. After 1/2 hour remove foil. Cook Hen’s for 1 hour.

Enjoy!

Mom's Sausage and Peppers

This is the BEST Sausage and Peppers recipe you will ever find! I'm telling you, it doesn't get better than this! Not just because she's my mom but because it really is that good!!! The sauce is so flavorful you'll want to soak your bread in it! My mom uses sweet Italian sausage but you can use hot if you like or a mixture of both. You could also use a combination of red, yellow and orange peppers (not green), whatever looks good that day or whatever you have on hand.

Mom's Sausage and Peppers

Serves 8

Ingredients:

12 pieces Sweet Italian Sausage, each sliced into 6 pieces
5 large red bell peppers, cleaned and sliced into thin strips
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1-28 oz can crushed tomatoes
crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
6 fresh basil, torn ( my mom freezes basil from her garden so she has it all winter)
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a large chicken fryer (large surface area with sides about 3 inches high) brown sausage in extra virgin olive oil. Remove from pan, set aside.

Add onions, garlic, basil and crushed red pepper and saute for a few minutes until onions begin to soften and then add peppers. Cook for about 10-15 minutes or until peppers soften. Add browned sausage and stir together with vegetbales. Add crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 45 minutes.

Serve with some crusty Italian bread sandwich style or for dipping.

Mom's Tip - Cut sausage with a scissor instead of a knife. It cuts through easier without sausage coming out of the casing.

POM Bark

I got a lot of comments about those Pumpkin Truffles, and they definately got a yummmm from me! Especially after hanging out a bit in the fridge. I also brought some to a friend of mine, who sent me an email once she tried one to tell me they were outstanding, so you don't have to take my word for it :) And since I didn't just want to create a whole post dedicated to that short answer, I leave you with another treat I created to [hopefully] bring home!

Pomegranates are so gorgeous, I love the fact that they are all over right now. How can you turn down these jewels??


Ok, well maybe if you didn't know what was inside... Anyways I had picked up a few of these, and had some arils in my fridge awaiting consumption when I saw this on sale.


I've had a love/hate relationship with white chocolate throughout my life, but this stuff is pretty darn incredible. They're not kidding when they say it's made with vanilla--you can see the specks!!! Last year I had made these, so my idea this time was to make POM bark! The little bursts make for quite the interesting treat :) And very festive!


POM Bark
"Recipe" by Shannon

1 bar of really good chocolate (white or dark, i'm sold on green & blacks right now!)
1/2c arils

Chop/break apart chocolate into smaller pieces and melt in a double boiler. While this is melting, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Once fully melted, spread chocolate on cookie sheet, sprinkle around arils, and lightly press the arils into the chocolate. Pop the sheet into the fridge to harden (mine took a few hours). Once hardened, carefully break into smaller pieces and enjoy! Keep it in the fridge until ready to serve, or to store leftover pieces.

Cleaning the Fridge

With the upcoming holiday I'll be spending at the parents, this weekend was for cleaning out the fridge! Not sure when I'll be posting again, so I hope everyone has a fabulous time with their families!!!!

Carrot Pumpkin Soup - I followed the recipe, using 2c chopped carrots and 1c pumpkin



Pumpkin Truffles - Made with Amaretto as I didn't have any Grand Marnier



And last but not least, the REALLY ripe banana on my counter found their way into a very small (4) batch of Banana Wheat Germ Muffins. I was a little short on wheat germ, so I did about half and half with ground flax seeds.




Ok, I lied... I made something else with ingredients I didn't have on hand. But I happened upon two Hiyacha persimmons at the store that seemed to be ripe (the acorn-shaped ones, which are supposed to be quite soft when ripe and better for baking), and I couldn't turn them down! When peeling one of my persimmons, you could definately tell there was a section still unripe (much harder) so I didn't use that for fear of astringency and inedible baked goods. This led to a smaller amount of puree than called for in this Persimmon Date Bread and the making of muffins instead! After popping one, ok, two, in my mouth, I packaged the rest up for the freezer so I can come home to some fresh-baked goodness after a long weekend home :)

Savory Pumpkin Souffle

For this week's BSI, Lindsay chose pumpkin and I went to the dark-errr, savory side for this challenge! My idea was a Savory Pumpkin Souffle, complete with goat cheese and sage. The flavors were pretty good, but I was a bit disappointed with my egg whites. The problem? I only made 2 souffles, using 1 egg white, so I couldn't do it in my mixer. I don't think they were stiff enough so the souffle didn't really rise... at least it tasted good :)


Savory Pumpkin Souffle
Recipe by Shannon
Yield: 2 side servings

1 1/3T whole wheat pastry flour
5 1/3T skim milk, divided (you need 2 2/3T twice)
2oz goat cheese
5oz pumpkin puree (1/3 can)
salt, pepper, fresh sage to taste
1 large egg white

Preheat oven to 375º. Lightly spray 2 ramekins with cooking spray and set aside.

Whisk together flour and 2 2/3T milk in small bowl. Set aside.

Combine 2 2/3T milk and 2oz goat cheese in small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until cheese melts. Stir in flour mix, cook until thick, stirring often. Transfer to large bowl, then add in pumpkin and seasonings. Mix really well (could also beat this), until mixture is smooth.

Using clean beaters, beat egg white with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Stir one-third of egg whites into the pumpkin mixture. Gently fold in remaining egg whites. Divide pumpkin mixture evenly among prepared ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake at 375º for 25 minutes or until soufflés are puffy and set. Serve immediately.

ps- true to shannon form, i had one of these for lunch the next day, and it didn't lose it's flavor ;-) just a little of it's lift!

Tag - You're It!

I'm really bad at playing these tag games. I plan on doing it and then I get distracted and forget. Sorry!!! Anyway....I've been tagged by Pat over at Mille Fiore Favoriti and Bob at Cooking Stuff. Both of these tags are very similar. The rules of both of these tags are similar, one wants 6 random facts about me and the other wants 7 so I guess I'll do 7...aren't you lucky? ;-)

1. I can't stand cats. I know, you're all going to hate me now...I'm sorry. There is a reason, I assure you. Back when I was in elementary school I spent the night at my friends house. She had one of those cool day beds that hid another bed underneath. I was sleeping on the top one and she on the bottom but hers was lower than mine. I woke up to the cat watching me. I just stood still and tried not to move and the darn thing jumped on me! I screamed and jumped from the high bed over her bed to get to away from it. Everyone woke up scared but then laughed at me...I was embarassed and have been afraid of cats every since. They must know this because when I go to someone's house who has a cat the cat always follows me, I know it's just ready to pounce on me!!!

2. So, if you're still reading...here's my second weird thing. I eat my pierogies with apple sauce. I ignore all the strange looks and continue to eat them that way because that's how my Aunt taught me and that's how they like them. So there.

3. I am clumsy and have zero coordination. I don't even think I can properly throw a ball. I don't know how I walk sometimes. I would make a terrible waitress.

4. Speaking of throwing a ball...I know absolutely nothing about sports. Steve will explain the same thing over and over again. Poor guy thinks one day I'll remember the rules but I just won't. I can't, I have some sort of mental block. Blame it on my father and brother who never watched any sports!

5. I like to watch QVC with my mom. When I lived at home we would curl up under one of her afghans and watch Cooking with Bob on a sunday. Whatever she ordered for herself she ordered for me and my sister. After that we'd watch a lifetime movie.

6. I don't like "stuff" in my ice cream. I like plain chocolate with nothing on it. No sprinkles, or hot fudge, no nuts or m&m's just plain chocolate. Sometimes if I'm feeling a little "wild" I'll thrown some corn pops on it...then it tastes like an ice cream cone.

7. The smell of a car's exhaust reminds me of the ice-cream truck. I guess when I was a child and was short (not that I'm much taller now at 5'2") my nose reached the exhaust and now I associate that smell with being a kid on a summer day in Brooklyn.

So here are the rules of the game:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules.
3. Write 6 (or 7) random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people and link to their blogs.
5. Let each person know they were tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry has been published.

Can I have a drumroll please.....

I am tagging...

1. Lucy from Sweet, Savories, etc. Lucy is an excellent cook. She could be part of my family since we cook so much alike. Not only does she have some fantastic recipes but she also very sweet and helpful!

2. Lisa from Lime in the Coconut has some great easy recipes on her blog with some great pictures. If you haven't seen her blog yet you need to check it out! Oh and I have to add that everytime I see the title of her blog I can't stop singing in my head!

3. Deborah from Jersey Bites, A quest for food with attitude has her own social network for New Jersey foodies! She has some great giveaways on her blog and some wonderful recipes as well!

4. Katie of Good Things Catered
has menus for all occasions. If you think entertaining is hard, fear not, Katie gives you the recipes you need to pull it off!

5. Chelle over at Brown Eyed Baker will make you drool when you look at the pictures of the goodies she makes. She has more than desserts and breads on her blog but I can't seem to take my "green eyes" off the sweets!

6. Jonny and Nikki from Sunday Sauce are an adorable young Italian couple who live in New Jersey. The love to cook and eat and often review local restaurants. Check out their blog and urge them to post more often!!!

Just want you all to know that I've tagged you because I really enjoy reading your blog. So even though there isn't an actual award with this tag, know that you get a gold star in my book!!!

Alright everyone, start tagging, you're IT!!!

Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli and A Happy 30th Bday to Steve!

I've been so busy this past week with Steve's birthday that I haven't had a chance to post but I have been taking pictures. Let me start by wishing my other half, Steve, a very Happy Birthday! I love you! XOXOXOX




Now about the food. While visiting with Steve's parents this past weekend I noticed a cookbook on the bookshelf that I have never seen before. It's called "Eat Right, East Well - The Italian Way" by Edward Giobbi and Richard Wolff, M.D. There are a ton of wonderful recipes in this book and I look forward to trying more. I made very slight variations to the recipe because I wanted to use what I had on hand but nothing that really would compromise the end result. This recipe can be found on page 138-139 of the cookbook.

Pasta with Chicken Breasts

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:


1 whole chicken breast, cut into strips about 1/2 inches wide and 3 inches long
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 pound tubular pasta, such as ziti, rigatoni, or penne
6 cups broccoli cut into bite sized pieces
3 tablespoons pesto (page 426)

Directions:

Marinate cut-up chicken breasts with garlic, soy sauce, pepper and lemon juice for several hours.

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Remove chicken from marinade and cook for several minutes over high heat. Add marinade and cook, tossing, for 10 seconds or more. turn off heat and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add salt and potatoes. When water returns to a boil, add pasta. Stir, cook about 4 minutes, then add broccoli and cook until pasta is done al dente. Drain. Reserve some of the water - 1/2 to 3/4 cup - and mix with the pesto until it has a thin saucelike consistency. Add to pasta and vegetables in a large serving bowl. Add chicken and juices and toss.

Pesto - page 426

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons good olive oil
1 cup walnut meats
4 cups tightly packed fresh basil
3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend. Put in a jar, add 1/2 inch oil on top of pesto , and refrigerate. It will last all winter.


My changes were simple. I did NOT use this recipe for pesto. I included it here because it is a part of the recipe and I want you to have the option. I have my own recipe for Pesto but I didn't follow that either because I didn't have a lot of basil. So I basically just added the basil I did have (less than a cup), 1/4 cup parsley, 1 clove garlic, 1/4 cup pine nuts, 1/4 cup romano cheese, 1/2 tsp salt and extra virgin olive oil. I used my normal recipe as a guide and used less since I didn't have a lot of basil. It worked and it was delicious. So don't be afraid to make this if you don't have pesto or don't have all the ingredients for pesto.

When I cooked the broccoli it broke down a lot, almost to the consistency of the broccoli in a broccoli soup, so to me this was almost like a broccoli pesto. I loved that and I think that's the way it's supposed to be but then again there was no picture so I don't know for sure. Either way, I liked this dish the way it came out and I would definitely make it again.

Not Just Another Frittata

This frittata had two ingredients that screamed "MAKE ME," so I listened :) Head over to Dani Spies to check out this recipe for a Butternut Quinoa Frittata. I think I cooked the squash a bit longer, so it didn't hold it's shape as nicely as in Dani's photograph. Regardless of how it looked, it was much enjoyed-- great combo of flavors in this dish! Oh, I used gorgonzola as I much prefer that to blue cheese. Sorry for the lackluster slice i'm serving up



And one more treat for today... Heather gave me the Superior Scribbler Award!! I don't know that I'm quite worthy, but here's the deal...


1. Post the award on your blog
2. Link to me for giving it to you
3. Link the originating post here
4. Pass it on to five deserving people
5. Post these rules for your recipients.

I have such a hard time picking just a few! What I think that really means is that I read too many blogs :) Based on the award, I am passing this award on to...

A couple roses :)
--Rose @ On A Lobster Placemat: her oatmeal is so creative I wouldn't be able to eat it! I love the stories that accompany every bowl :)
--Rosiecat @ Life, Love, and Food: her kitchen conversations and beautifully written posts almost outshine the recipes she so lovingly shares! (i said almost!!)

--Shauna @ Gluten-Free Girl: the tagline food-stories-recipes-love says it all! I highly doubt she knows my blog exists, but the way she writes always brings a smile and some inspiration!

and two fitness-inspirations
--Carla (Miz) @ Mizfit: along with the bumbling band, she makes me think way too hard that early in the morning!! but i love every minute of it.
-- Angela @ OhSheGlows: I stumbled upon her blog all of 5 days ago and quickly realized it's chock-full of inspiration :)

It's not just for oatmeal anymore!

I knew as soon as I saw this I'd have to try it. I'll admit, I thought "why didn't I think of this," but then I came to my senses :) Whenever I try a dish that I haven't had before, I stick to the recipe... such was the case when I first made risotto a little over a year ago. As I got the hang of this dish, I stuck with arborio and mingled the add-ins.

Enter Mel over at bitchin camero, she always gets me with her lovely photos and recipes! Using steel cut oats in this Risotto with Shrimp & Asparagus made for a nice change in texture--still creamy but with a nice chewiness. Don't forget the freshly ground pepper! I've also been meaning to try risotto with barley, or maybe even with some fruit or sweetness... the possibilities are endless :)

"Cake"

Sometimes the slow moments sneak up on me.

I had been spending my days working away, lost in reams of Word documents and stacks of library books, feeling little but the adrenaline of deadline and excitement of production. But then, suddenly, the articles were filed. The revisions were made. The endpoint never ceases to surprise me.

I woke up on Sunday morning with nothing more pressing than the newspaper, wrapped in plastic and the damp red leaves that had fallen from trees the night before. I’m really not used to free time. I baked a cake to take off the edge.

I have been transfixed by Suzanne Goin’s cookbook: Sunday Suppers at Lucques. Her “pumpkin” cake—understated and sweet, made with roasted butternut squash and a whiff of honey—transformed the house with scents of pecans and butter. It spoke to late autumn, early dusk, and lazy afternoons in the kitchen.


“Pumpkin” Cake with Pecan Streusel
Adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques

1 butternut squash
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 vanilla bean
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dried nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cups heavy cream
3 extra-large eggs
1 tablespoon honey
Pecan streusel topping (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Cut the squash in half lengthwise and place on a baking sheet, cut side up. (Don't remove the seeds yet; they give extra flavor.) Cover with foil, and roast about 1 hour, until very tender. Let cool 10 minutes, and then scoop out the seeds and discard them. Puree the warm squash through a ricer or food mill and measure out 1 1/2 cups.

Turn the oven down to 350F.

Butter and flour a 10-inch pan (I used a springform)

Place the butter in a medium saucepan. Slice the vanilla bean in two and scrape out the seeds with your knife into the pan. Add the seed pod as well, and cook over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the butter browns and smells nutty. Remove the pod.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a large bowl. Add the salt. Make a well in the center.

In another large bowl, whisk the reserved 1 1/2 cups squash puree, milk, 1/4 cup cream, eggs, and honey to combine. Pour the liquid into the well in the dry ingredients, and whisk until incorporated. Stir in the brown butter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 25 minutes, then remove the cake from the oven and sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top. Bake the cake another 45 minutes (or longer--mine was in for an hour), until the topping is crisp and cake has set. (The center of the cake will still be somewhat soft and won't pass the toothpick test.) Cool the cake on a rack for at least 15 minutes.

**Update: Originally, I had listed the quantity of heavy cream needed as 1 and 1/4 cups. The cake recipe calls for 1/4 cup, with the additional cup meant to be whipped and served along side the cake. I didn't make the whipped cream myself, and neglected to remove the measurement from the recipe when I wrote it up here. My apologies for the confusion!

Pecan Streusel Topping

1/4 cup pecans
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon dried nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 375.

Spread the pecans on a baking sheet, and toast them 8 to 10 minutes, until they darken slightly and smell nutty. When the nuts have cooled, chop them coarsely. Toss the nuts with the oil and salt.

In a food processor, pulse the butter, sugars, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg until just combined. Remove to a bowl, stir in the salted pecans, and chill until ready to use.

A Sunday of Thanks

I've been blessed by some great goodies lately, and wanted to express my gratitude of the thoughtfulness and excitement that has come from blogland! You ALL are so incredible!!!!


First up, from the BSI challenges, a thank you to Sabrina, for the halloween-themed goodies she sent along for the Chocolate Polenta Cake I made (sorry I don't know what I was thinking, but I forgot to take a picture!) Also to Gina, who liked my Pumpkin Surprise Cupcakes enough to send me some homemade macaroons that were just incredible--girl i want the recipe if you don't mind sharing!!!


Next up were some freebies thanks to Megan's Munchies :)


And finally, a huge shoutout goes to Kalyn over in her Kitchen, who has been running the fabulous Weekend Herb Blogging for 3 years. To commemorate the event there were several giveaways, and I was the lucky recipient of some new cookbooks! So excited for the new readings I can hardly contain myself!

The ever-expanding world

I have really loved my exploration into new and exciting grains, passing along my knowledge to my parents who have tried them with gusto (ok, well maybe sometimes a little tentatively... but they've liked them all!!) :) Alot of what I learned came from perusing both the internet and food blogs and the book Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way.


The first third or so of the book is chock full of information about whole grains (some of which I hadn't heard of before!). I had a ball reading this part :) Recipes utilizing each of the grains for different courses account for the rest of the book. Another useful tool is the index of mail-order sources if you cannot find some of the grains mentioned.

So the food? I've tried two recipes so far-- the oat pudding was just ok, but I really enjoyed the quinoa chowder with spinach and feta. Tonight I tried the Chili-Scented Pork Chops with Quinoa (with a much longer name in the book). For this dish, quinoa is tossed with corn and a roasted red pepper vinaigrette, then topped with a pork chop and served alongside lightly dressed cherry tomatoes. A really nice combo of flavors!! I'd recommend this book for its information alone, but it seems the recipes are winners, too :)

Goat Cheese Panna Cotta

I think panna cotta is quickly becoming one of my favorite desserts. So easy, elegant, and you do it ahead of time, so it's especially good for entertaining! (hmmm, maybe i should try entertaining someone besides myself!) I cut the recipe in half and mixed about some of the ingredients to take advantage of what I had in my fridge. With another success in the books/blog, I shall have to try experimenting a bit more with it!!


Goat Cheese Panna Cotta
adapted from Enlightened Cooking
Serves 4

1 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
2T water
1/2c and 2T skim milk
1T vanilla caramel coffee mate (I added this to get some fat, as my dairy products were fat-free and wasn't sure how it would turn out)
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3 ounces goat cheese
1/2c plus 2T Trader Joe's European Nonfat Yogurt
optional, for garnish: fresh berries, arils, and jam


Sprinkle gelatin over water in a small bowl; let stand 10 minutes. Bring milk, coffee mate, vanilla bean, and powdered sugar to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove pan from heat; remove vanilla bean and, with tip of knife, scrape seeds into milk mixture (discarding the bean, or use it to make vanilla sugar if you so desire!).

Whisk in gelatin mixture and goat cheese until smooth. Whisk in yogurt until well combined. Divide mixture evenly among 4 (6-ounce) ramekins. Cover and refrigerate for 5 hours or overnight.

Loosen edges with a knife. Place a plate, upside down, on top of each cup; invert onto plates. I topped mine off with some warmed up fruit spread and fresh berries and arils just to make it look pretty :)

Beef & Butternut Stew

A nice hearty bowl of Beef & Butternut Stew would be wonderful on a chilly winter day! Luckily we're not there quite yet, so it's good that I have some in the freezer waiting for me :) This recipe comes from Giada De Laurentis, and you can also find step-by-step pictures here. The only thing I did slightly differently is to cut the beef and squash in smaller bites than called for in the recipe and cut down a little bit on the oil. Here they are... one for now and some for later!!

(I made half the recipe, and decided to split it into thirds so I could add half a sandwich or muffin or whatever the heck I felt like...  if you're wondering about serving size)  This was delish, and due to simmering for longer than Giada called for (I forgot to check the clock or set the timer) the meat was especially tender!  While I was making this, I was thinking "hmm, I'm just not a huge fan of beef stew."  Luckily I really enjoyed it and would definately make this again :)  I didn't so much pick out the sundried tomato flavor, but I just eye-balled those and might've been a little shy.  It also couldn't be hurt by adding more squash, but that's probably true for alot of things!!  Melissa  and I must've been on the same wavelength sunday, as we both made this--check out her raves here.

Roasted Acorns w/Chile-Lime Vinaigrette

When I made this recipe for the first time at the end of squash season, I was beyond excited about. I remember telling my lab-mate about it, and couldn't wait to see them again this fall. Hailing from Gourmet, this is a different take on the sweet squash-- Roasted Acorn Squash with Chile Vinaigrette (why do I always want to spell it 'ia'?? maybe it's the i before e rule...). I think I built it up too much in my head, b/c this time it was good, just didn't knock my socks off. I did like the sweet-spicy thang it's got goin on ;-) Definately a good way to mix things up a bit!


ps- please excuse the tupperware, this batch went in to work for lunch!

Tart

I’m in the middle of an overwhelming writing project. It consumes my days, and some of my nights. I spend a lot of time at my desk. I'm sitting there now. Through the window, I can see a big, gnarly oak tree. It’s leaning to the left, stretching to touch its very last branch to the roof of the house below. Over the past two weeks I’ve watched the red leaves fall, one by one, and now it’s bare.

The excitement of this past week has been surreal, especially when experienced against long hours of concentration and Word documents, watching autumn slowly melt away.

But it has been exciting. I sold some freelance work and found a yoga studio near my house. I baked Edna Lewis’ Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Glaze, and under-seasoned a mediocre pot of cauliflower soup. My car got a flat tire. I avoided fixing it for as long as possible. And, of course, Obama is President-Elect.

I cooked dinner for my family last night. It was a calm Sunday evening to prepare for another week—a calmer week, but one still laced with hope and change. My favorite part of the meal was the Julia Child’s Alsatian Onion Tart.

Now, I took a short cut. I admit it. I used frozen puff pastry rather than the "from scratch" Julia would have wanted. But I have no regrets. The sweet onions melted against its flaky crust just right.




Alsatian Onion Tart
Adapted from Baking with Julia

1/2 pound puff pastry, chilled
4 very large onions, peeled and diced
1 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 pound bacon

-Roll out the puff pastry until very thin on a lightly floured surface. Julia recommends cutting it into a circle using the lid of a pot as a guide. I left it as a rectangle. Place it on an un-greased baking sheet, and prick dough all over with a fork. Refrigerate until needed.

-Put diced onion and chicken broth into a saucepan and cook over medium heat for around a half hour, until onions are soft. Drain, discarding liquid, and let cool. When cool, add heavy cream, season with salt and pepper, and stir.

-Cut bacon into 1/4 inch cubes. Blanch for one minute in boiling water. Drain and rinse with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. Then, heat a medium skillet over moderately high heat, and cook the bacon pieces for a few minutes, making sure they don't get too tough. Remove from heat, and drain on paper towels again.

-Preheat oven to 350 F. Remove pastry and top with the onions, spreading all the way to the edge. Scatter bacon over top. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown. (I cooked mine for closer to 45.)

Bruschetta

Anyone who likes to go out to Italian restaurants knows what Bruschetta is. It's not difficult to make and most Italian restaurants have their own way of making it. This recipe was created to use all the ingredients that Steve and I love. I try to add kalamata olives to dishes whenever I can and in this recipe it makes perfect sense. I usually melt fontina cheese on the toasted bread and then top it with the tomato mixture. You don't have to do that if you don't want to. This time I didn't because it was a last minute decision to make the bruschetta and I used what ingredients I had, however, the cheese makes this unique bruschetta even better.


Michele and Steve’s Bruschetta

Ingredients:

1 French baguette
5 plum tomatoes, seeded, and finely chopped
12 Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
½ red bell pepper, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic- finely chopped (or to taste, depends on size of cloves)
1 small red onion
10 leaves basil, chiffonade
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Fontina cheese thinly sliced

Mix tomatoes, olives, bell pepper, garlic, onion, basil, and olive oil, salt and pepper. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Slice bread and bake or broil on high until lightly toasted. (Keep an eye on it...it will burn quickly) Place one slice Fontina on each slice, bake or broil until melted and bubbling. Add about one tablespoon of brushetta to each slice of bread.

Enjoy!

Sunday Fun

I had so much fun on my run today, running through the leaves :) Left me feeling like a kid and got me excited for a game of tag! Megan (Megan's Munchies) wanted to learn a little more about me, so here it is.

what to do...

1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Write six random things about yourself.

4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.

5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.

6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Ok, here we go...

1. Well, you all may have guessed (given my screen name of ttfn300), but I have a thing for tigger. It all started in high school on a sports team... I have more tigger parafanalia and movies than I should without kids!

2. I used to be a bowler. I can't remember when I started, but I competed through high school (yes, we had a varsity team!). Never got that perfect game (I had the first 10, then choked), but made it to states and made many many great friends along the way.

3. Here's one for Erin: I didn't start cooking until grad school. I don't know if it was all the new cuisines I was exposed to, or what, but I love it!

4. Other things I used to do and wish I still did: art (mostly drawing and painting) and playing the piano (especially after hearing mi--but i couldn't hold a candle to her beautiful playing! my mom will find this especially funny as I HATED practicing as a kid).

5. My favorite color is purple, but only the deep shades :) I also like red... and orange...

6. I CANNOT wait to get a dog. I'd get two though, so they could keep each other company! So keep those pet pictures coming people!!!

Now you're it!
Erica (Itzy's Kitchen)
Bridget (Yogurt & Berries)
Gena (Gena Cooks)
Maggie (Say Yes to Salad)
Zesty (Zesty Cooks)
Jess (See Jess Run)


And since Megan is the pumpkin queen, I leave you with some yummy pumpkin walnut muffins!!

Eggplant Gnocchi

Whew! With being out of town last weekend and copious amounts of free food at work, I was so excited to spend the better part of this afternoon in my kitchen!! This weeks BSI, chosen by Meghann, was eggplant! I've already featured an eggplant recipe on here, and wanted to come up with something a bit different. Perusing through Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, it hit me--eggplant gnocchi! Instead of pairing eggplant with pasta, make it into the pasta!


I'm a novice when it comes to dough making, so I followed the instructions pretty closely... all i can say is I tried my best and made a mess of my kitchen counter :) Since it came from the book, i'm not going to infringe on any copyright... let's just say it did contain equal amounts of potato and eggplant! Here's some of the steps I managed to take in between hand washings :)

mashing, mixing...

hmm, can you call what i did "rolling"??

Could've sworn I had pasta sauce, but when I went to find it, I could not :( Oh well, guess I'll have to get on that! These actually came out pretty good, you could taste both the eggplant and potato, and I don't think they were too heavy at all. ~phew~ Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!!!