Sneaky Pumpkin Pie

I did some seasonal baking over the weekend and made one of the easiest pumpkin desserts ever. I'm calling this a sneaky pumpkin pie because it requires only two key ingredients and although it's not quite a traditional pumpkin, it provides a pretty close imitation of one.

To make this sneaky pie, you'll need a box of yellow cake mix and a 29 oz. can of pumpkin puree. Season the pumpkin puree to your liking using whatever spices of have on hand, either pumpkin pie seasoning or a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Then use a hand mixer to blend the dry cake mix into the pumping puree. Pour this mixture into two pie plates (one 11x13 baking pan will work, too) and bake according to the time and temperature given on the box of cake mix. 

The texture will be less creamy and more cake-like than a true pumpkin pie, but it self-forms a slight crust that allows it to hold its shape when sliced. When topped with a basic cream cheese icing, this could earn a place on the holiday dessert table, particularly if you're looking for a quick way to check a pumpkin flavored dessert off of your baking list.

Homemade Chai

One of the gifts I got for Christmas was a little set of the spices and teas that go into making homemade chai.

Boiling them in water and milk with a few teaspoons of sugar yields a really delicious cup of chai that's more delicate that what you typically find at coffee shops. It's such an easy treat that I plan to buy my own spices once I deplete the supply from the chai making kit.

And for best results, serve in a pretty mug.

Broccoli Grilled Cheese

It's been a while since I last blogged about cooking, but the arrival of the cooler fall weather has put me in the mood to get back in the kitchen and try out some new recipes. This one is less of a recipe and more of an impromptu creation that I made to replicate a broccoli and white cheddar panini that I tasted at a local bakery when I was in Maine this summer. To put it together I just sliced and caramelized some red onions in olive oil for about 15 minutes. While that was happening, I quickly steamed some broccoli to get the rawness out, then added them to the pan with the onions and sautéed them together for about 5 minutes. I layered the broccoli mixture on some bread with a few slices of white cheddar and pressed into a grilled cheese.

The combination is a bit out of the ordinary, but worth trying if you're in the mood for a new spin on grilled cheese. 

Farmers Market Envy

With only a month or so left in the farmers market season in my area, I need to make a conscious effort to get there more often. I went to my town's market fairly regularly at the beginning of the summer, but I've been feeling uninspired by it since coming back from Maine, where I stumbled upon an amazing one. It was small but well represented with vendors selling everything from produce, breads, and cheeses to flowers, homemade wine, and, of course, fresh lobster, crowded with locals who probably line up every Sunday morning to get a coffee and stock upon their locally grown treats for the week.

My biggest regret was that I didn't have the means to bring home anything and had to limit myself to browsing and snapping some pictures.

What's the best thing at your local farmer's market?

Food (Trucks) + Wine

There's a local New Jersey winery that my family had often heard about and talked about going to, but never seemed to actually make it there. Earlier this summer, we heard that it was hosting a food truck festival and decided it was the perfect excuse to finally pay a visit.

The winery itself was really expansive and pretty, with lots of rustic, old farm buildings on the grounds.  The fields of grapevines are much more accessible than at other wineries and are surrounded by trails and paths that visitors are encouraged to explore.

But on the day in question, all of the focus was on the food trucks.

We tried some (very disappointing) lobster rolls, delicious gourmet grilled cheese, some kind of sliced potato-on-a-stick (because what's a food festival without something on a stick?), and a Belgian waffle topped with nutella and whipped cream (the only item I actually thought to grab a picture of).

Even though all of this was shared among several people, I'll be the first to admit that it was an eclectic combination of foods to be eaten at once. That, in combination with the heat and the crowds, was likely the culprit in making me feel suddenly ill, with chills, lightheadedness, and queasiness. I was lucky in that the feeling quickly passed, but not before I spent a few minutes in the ladies' room, resting with my head between my knees, fully aware that I looked like someone who had overdone it on the wine.

 I only had one glass of sangria! 

(That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

Curry for Beginners

This is probably an obvious statement coming form someone who has a book blog, but I'm a sucker for stories of all kinds. No matter how small, the littlest snippet of a life other than my own can set my imagination going. I noticed a recent example of this during the wine tasting at the vineyard I visited on Cape Cod. The woman who ran the tasting did a really good job of creating a little story to go along with each wine. Beyond just describing their flavors, she talked about how she drinks each particular wines, such as a certain red that she said was best sipped during dinner preparation and then lingered over until dessert. My favorite wine of the tasting was a vignoles, a new discovery for me that was described as being the perfect wine to take to a Thai restaurant or drink along with takeout curry. All of which is just a long-winded way of saying that I've been in the mood for curry ever since then, and so, in an attempt to recreate the little story of the wine, made a homemade curry dish for the first time.

I chose a recipe for a three veggie curry from the Pretty Delicious cookbook, tweaking it slightly to use quinoa instead of the brown rice it called for. The combination of carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, and chickpeas almost made it verge on being a hearty winter dish, but a touch honey lightened it up with a hint of sweetness. It might not be much to look at, but the end result was pretty delicious, proving that the cookbook does indeed live up to its name. It was only after I have finished enjoying it that I realized  I had made a beginner's curry mistake: I didn't run the oven vent fan while I was cooking, which left the smell of curry lingering in my apartment for days. I even woke up in the middle of the night a couple of times smelling curry. After extensively burning multiple candles, the air finally cleared, but left me thinking that curried dishes might be best left to takeout from now on.

Do you cook with curry? Do you have any tricks for containing its smell?

Oatcakes

Today the award for favorite recently baked treat goes to Heidi Swanson's oatcakes, from her cookbook Super Natural Everyday. According to what Swanson writes in the recipe, oatcakes are apparently quite common in San Francisco bakeries. Although they look like muffins, their texture is closer to that of an oatmeal cookie. Their slightly sweet flavor and interesting texture perfectly compliment one another, and they're just healthy enough to justify eating them for breakfast. 

This is a must-try recipe (and it looks like you can find it here). 

Liking Lately

 Since I'm still working my way through my Classics Club Spin pick, I thought I'd take a little break from books today and share a few other things that I've found myself enjoying lately.

Watching: The Americans

(image via here)

I watched the first episode of The Americans simply because it stars Keri Russell, whom I've been a fan of since her Felicity days, and became instantly hooked on the show. Set in 1981, it follows two deep cover KGB operatives living in Washington DC and spying against the US government. Matched together as a married couple by the KGB, they live an average, nondescript life working as travel agents and raising their two American-born children, who have no idea about their parents' double lives. Of course, their new neighbor just so happens to be an FBI counterintelligence agent. It's a really well done show, filled with suspense, complex characters, and blurred lines between good guys and bad guys, plus period costumes and details that make the 80's seem cool instead of cheesy.

Listening to: Alabama Shakes

(image via here)

I'm late joining the bandwagon on this one, but I started listening to Alabama Shakes a couple of weeks ago and love their unique sound--southern rock meets 60's folk meets Janice Joplin meets Motown? Something like that?

Doing: yoga

(image via here)

Over the years I've made sporadic attempts at doing yoga, but frankly, never liked it all that much. I could usually keep up with whatever random class I stumbled into, but certainly never got the whole mind/ body connection (probably because I was always nervously hoping the class wouldn't break into crazy handstands). But on a whim I signed up for a six week yoga fundamentals class at a local studio.  The teacher has been going through one or two poses in minute detail each class and something just clicked for me.  Suddenly, I can't get enough yoga! I've noticed a real improvement in the way I feel as a result of it, too.

Eating: cookies

(image via here)

And finally, I never thought this day would come, but cookies may have eclipsed cupcakes as my sweet of choice. I knew a fundamental shift had occurred when, finding myself on the Upper West Side and in need of a treat, I chose a cookie from Levain over a cupcake from nearby Magnolia. Granted, Levain's cookies are a big, gooey, scone-sized breed unto themselves, but the batches of  homemade cookies I've been making on a nearly weekly basis (with single serving microwave cookies in between) are further signs that cupcakes may have slipped into the number two spot!


What new discoveries have you been watching, eating, doing, or listening to lately?



Homemade Girl Scout Cookies

Pinterest can be a dangerous thing when it comes to recipes. Not only do I tend to pin way more than I actually get around to making, but the ones I do try out seem to have 50/50 odds of being a winner or being a dud. I recently discovered one of the former, though--this recipe for peanut butter sandwich cookies. 

 With two light peanut butter and oat cookies sandwiching some creamy peanut butter frosting, the end result comes out tasting like a more delicious version of the "Do-Si-Do" variety of Girl Scout Cookies. The recipe is really easy and calls for items you probably have in your kitchen right now, which can be a bit dangerous. I think I've managed to whip up a batch every weekend for the past few weeks!

These definitely deserve a place on your To Bake list.

Sweet Potato Empanadas

It's a bit quiet here on the blog this week, largely because I've caught up with posts for all of the books I want to write about. I'm in the middle of a couple others that I have to finish up to get some new blog material, but in the meantime I thought I'd share a recipe creation I came up with last week using a delicious, if slightly unexpected, combination of ingredients: sweet potatoes, goat cheese, honey, and roasted grapes.

I was inspired to play around with these flavors after trying this baked potato recipe from Pinterest. I liked it, but wanted to try to turn it into a more substantial meal. Here's how I made the empanadas:

Roast 1/2 cup of red grapes tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper on a baking try for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Keep a close eye on this part so that the grapes don't start to smoke.

Peel and cube one good sized sweet potato and boil until tender (10-12 mins). Once done, mash the potato together with an ounce of goat cheese and dashes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and honey. Using store bought pizza dough divided into four quarters, roll out thin rounds and filled half with the potato mixture, a slice of goat cheese, a few of the grapes, and an extra drizzle of honey.

Fold the dough over to form the empanadas and use a fork to seal the edges.

Brush the tops with olive oil and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Munch on any leftover roasted grapes while you wait.

This might just be my new favorite flavor combination. I highly recommend trying it, whether in the original baked potato form or in my empanada twist on it.

Shrimp & Grits

Today I have a recent cooking exploit to share, although I may be a week too late since shrimp & grits would have been a perfect Fat Tuesday/ Mardi Gras meal.

I first tasted grits during visits to Charleston, SC, and at first bite it was pretty easy to see that the non-grits-eating parts of the country were really missing out. They taste a bit like polenta, are readily available in the grocery store, and cook up in minutes. Here I made cheddar grits formed into a little grits cake and topped with shrimp in a slightly creamy, slightly spice sauce. Corn, peas, and bacon mixed in provided the finishing touches. I used this recipe, which was surprisingly easy given the slightly fancy end result.

Cookbook Roundup

After a few new additions that came in the form of Christmas gifts, my cookbook collection is officially bordering on the verge of being out of control. The three newest members of my kitchen are a pretty diverse bunch, each offering a chance to escape into a different culinary world depending on my mood.

First up is Jamie's Great Britain, which is filled with traditional British foods for every type of meal. Of course, the recipes appeal to the Anglophile in me (I say that a lot on this blog, don't I?). This is the first  Jamie Oliver book that I've ever owned and I was pleasantly surprised by how appealing many of the recipes sound. Although there's one chapter devoted to wild game of the venison and rabbit varieties that I'll completely ignore, that will just leave me with more time to focus on the sweets in the chapter on afternoon tea. I've already tried making an Earl Grey tea loaf and a banana and walnut loaf with chocolate butter, pictured above. The chocolate butter is proving to be a perfect treat. It's sweet and decadent, but with a consistency that's still enough like real butter to keep me from eating it by the spoonful (as opposed to, say, a jar of Nutella).

Next is From a Polish Country House Kitchen, co-written by a Polish and an American author, that gives fresh, updated versions of the food of my ancestral homeland. It's supposedly Polish food updated for the modern palette, and at the very least that's true in terms of the look and feel of the book itself. It's filled with beautiful photos, gives some interesting background information on Polish cuisine, and has a focus on using local, seasonal ingredients. Of the three new books, the recipes in this one will be the most challenging to master. So far I've made one batch of stuffed cabbage that I wasn't entirely happy with, but I'm going to press on. I think some of the really complicated recipes, like homemade pierogis, will be a good project for some snowy Saturday.

And finally, I got The Vintage Tea Party Book, which is a collection of vintage-inspired recipes centered around various type of tea parties. It has decorating, craft, and fashion ideas, too, which makes it a fun book to look through. I haven't made any of the recipes yet, but have my eye on some brie and walnut savory scones for some Downton Abbey watching festivities in the near future.

Have you discovered any good cookbooks lately?

Figgy Pudding

One final holiday post to share one of the new desserts I tried making this season, a traditional English Christmas pudding.

I'll admit it was more the Anglophile in me than anything else that prompted me to try making this. The ingredients and process, as well as the use of term "pudding" itself, are all quite unusual compared to the typical American dessert. The pudding preparation actually began several weeks before Christmas. I combined a laundry list of ingredients--everything from dried fruit, flour, and shortening to grated carrots and apples to brandy and Guinness-- in a mixing bowl and steamed it in a stove top water bath for a whopping seven hours. Then, after sitting in the back of the fridge until Christmas Eve, I steamed it for another two hours before unmolding and serving it. The prominent flavors in the finished pudding were sweetness from the fruit and Bradny, and the overall consensus was positive. I'm not sure if it will become a yearly tradition, but it was a fun project to try at least once.

The pudding recipe I used came from a source that some people might actually be skeptical of: Celebrate, Pippa Middleton's cookbook/ entertaining book.

I picked this up for a look out of pure curiosity when I saw it in the bookstore and was so pleasantly surprised by what I found inside that I ended up buying it. Divided into four seasons, the book offers recipes, party themes, and decorating suggestions for a a variety of holidays and occasions. The ideas may not be anything that Martha Stewart hasn't already covered in her day, but I found them to be festive and inspirational in an accessible way. I've tried out several of the other recipes besides the pudding so far, including bean stuffed peppers, butternut squash lasagna, and a chocolate coffee cake with a buttercream icing, and all have turned out delicious and have met with rave reviews. I'm not naive enough to think that Pippa herself necessarily created all of these on her own without the help of recipe developers and food stylists, but I do think the overall collection is a worthy book that can be enjoyed by an audience beyond just curious Royal-watchers.

Old School Cookies

I had a holiday "aha" moment last week when I saw this post and realized that vintage Christmas cookie books from the 1970s-1980s may be a more widespread phenomenon than I thought, going  beyond my own family's bookshelf. All of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes come from one beat up, mid-eighties era cookbook, the likes of which I would never give a second look to if I saw it in a bookstore today.

It's falling apart, filled with stains, and its production value is a far cry from some of the eye candy cookbooks that I've come to love, but its recipes yield the best cookies. So far this week I've make big batches of two varieties: Chocolate Cherry Chips and Cream Cheese Gems. This year I've been really diligent about scooping out tiny balls of dough to achieve paper thin cookies that have a slightly chewy quality that I love and practically melt in your mouth. They've given rise to a slight family debate, as my mom now says she prefers the thicker, chunkier cookies she used to make when she baked these recipes. I get the last word, though, by resorting to the argument, "well, if you want thicker cookies, you can bake a batch yourself". (All in good fun, of course.) Where do you stand on the thin vs. thick cookie debate?

(P.S. - Tomorrow I'll choose and announce the winner of my very first giveaway. There's still a little time to enter, if you'd like.)

Faux-nuts

Living without heat last week turned out to be the perfect excuse to bake a lot as a way of using the oven to warm up my apartment. One of the new recipes I tried out was a Spiced Pumpkin Cookie recipe from the Pretty Delicious cookbook. They turned out to be a very odd little seasonal sweet. After baking, the cookies came out with a very cake-like consistency and never spread out into a flat, round shape. To top it off (pun intended), the pumpkin glaze for the topping turned out kind of sticky and never really hardened into an icing like the recipe promised. I was pretty disappointed and thinking that this recipe wasn't a keeper....until I tasted them and discovered that they tasted like really good, baked pumpkin doughnuts.

Their size and shape even makes them look a little like doughnut holes. They may not be the most photo-worthy of desserts, but if you're looking for a pumpkin-y treat for fall, or if your looking to fool someone into thinking that you slaved over homemade doughnuts, then this is your recipe.