Spaetzle

Spaetzle in its ice bath!

Yeah, it's New Year's Eve, 10:30 PM, and here I am blogging about spaetzle.  Again, 2 years ago tonight, I wouldn't have seen this one coming!  But this is my kind of night: low key, lots of good food, and reminiscing about spaetzle.  I'm a total dork - for many reasons, including the fact that I am blogging about spaetzle on New Years Eve, but also because I made it as part of my Sound of Music Austrian feast along with the paprikash soup.  I ended up tossing them into the soup, and I would definitely recommend that.

So, what is spaetzle?  Basically it's a homemade noodle, and far easier than the homemade pasta that I've made before.  You make a very quick and easy dough - it's literally just 3 ingredients - and then push it through a colander into boiling water.  That's it!  You scoop them out and put them into ice water to stop the cooking, and voila: spaetzle.  It's kind of messy but it's really fun - you just may want another set of hands; mine got pretty tired holding up the strainer and pushing the dough through the holes with the spatula.

But really, that's all you have to do, and you have these lovely, soft dumpling-like noodles that you can do whatever you want with.  I've seen them in soups, served with butter, browned in a pan, etc..  Your options are endless.  For me, tossing them into the paprikash soup was a home run idea.

Spaetzle in the soup!

Some notes about the colander: I know there is such thing as a spaetzle maker, and I kind of want one (perhaps it will appear on my registry!)  But truthfully it's not needed.  I have lots of colanders for some reason, and I tried out a couple, but finally decided on a metal one with many good sized holes. Small holes don't work well and will kill your arm as you try to force the batter through, and hole placement is key too - make sure however you are holding the colander is not going to pour the batter right into the water, and that the holes are on the bottom.  It sounds complicated but this was a simple method, and you end up with such great little noodles!  Try this!

Recipe:

spaetzle 
from Smitten Kitchen 

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
7 large eggs
1/4 cup milk

Instructions:

1) Combine the flour, eggs and milk in a large bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.

2) Prepare an ice bath.  Bring a large pot of well salted water to boil.  Set a large colander with holes anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2-inch wide over the pot.  Put on 2 potholders to avoid being burned by the steam.  Pour 1/4 of the batter into the colander and press it through the holes with a flexible spatula.  Boil for 2-3 minutes, then use a slotted spoon to fish spaetzle out and drop it in the ice bath.

3) Continue with remaining batter in 3 batches.  It is important to use only a little batter at a time - and even less if your pot is smaller - because if you push too much batter in at a time, it becomes one huge dumpling as opposed to hundreds of tiny twisty ones.

4) When you're done with the batter, drain the spaetzle well and toss it with a small amount of olive oil to keep it from sticking.  You can use it right away, or keep it in the fridge for a day until needed.

Guest Post #2: Mom

Happy New Year to everyone, and happy second blogiversary to me!  Who'd have thought 2 years ago tonight, when I was chopping lime zest to use in frosting (yes, chopping, not zesting), that I would be a blogger whipping up 3 different desserts in one day (that was today)!?

I am more than happy to say good riddance to 2013.  It was a pretty terrible year.  But 2014 is bound to be, while stressful, definitely better.  By this time next year, I will (hopefully) have a new house and a new husband!  It will be a big, exciting year for me, and I am happy for it to get started.  I am spending New Year's Eve at home (just how I like it) with my mom.  We thought tonight would be a good time for her to do her guest post! 

If you follow my blog, you know that my mom is one of my biggest challenges when it comes to my cooking!  She is always very appreciative, but she is... not picky per se, but critical.  And when she finds something she likes, she is willing to eat it nonstop for months (which is an issue when I am so into trying out new recipes!)  She also likes things "plain;" she doesn't like bread with flavor, likes to avoid rosemary because it's strong, and her favorite dessert is probably just a good old chocolate cake with vanilla frosting.  But despite her culinary differences from mine, I love this woman with every ounce of my being.   She may prefer meat to meatless, but she likes mushrooms and lentils, and she is willing to try just about anything.  Oh, and she is the kindest, sweetest human being.  And so, here's my mama.

Please introduce yourself!  
Hi I am Kim,  Bridget's mom.  I love her to the ends of the earth and back.  Love her love of cooking too.  Even love many of her creations, although you'd never know it to read about me in her blog!

What do you think of Bridget's cooking?
Bridget is a wonderful cook.  She isn't afraid to tackle even the most complicated of recipes.  Her affinity for meatless recipes gets to me sometimes.  But she makes far more delicious dishes than things that I would turn my nose up at.

What do you wish Bridget would change about her cooking?
Perhaps she should not be afraid, or repulsed to cook with meat.  Meat is tasty and is a good source of protein.  Also,  Bee should not act like I am sticking knives in her when I give her constructive criticism.  I often love her creation but say that I think it would be even better with nuts.  And then in her blog i come off as a godzilla.

What have been some of your favorite all-time recipes that Bridget has made?
I love so many things.  Date nut bread, stuffed shells, green lasagna, pasta with lemon and tomato sauce, baked alaska, salted caramels (but I wish she would put nuts in them), angel food cake, beans and rice, and sticky buns, lettuce wraps, fluffernutter cookies.  I could go on forever!

What were your top 3 recipes from 2013?
date nut bread, sticky buns and pasta with lemon and tomato

Vegetable Paprikash Soup

Maybe I was the only person ridiculously excited about watching the remake of the Sound of Music on TV a few weeks ago... it felt like that... but I was excited enough that I decided to cook an Austrian/Hungarian/German feast for dinner that night to celebrate.  I was singing the songs in my head all week, and even gave my students the option to watch it in exchange for a no homework deal.  Needless to say, I was pumped.  I spent lots of time while I was bored in the waiting room at my doctor's office looking up recipes, and I decided to make vegetable paprikash soup.  Yeah, I know, that's Hungarian, which isn't exactly Sound of Music setting, but close enough (didn't they use to call it Austria-Hungary!?)  I also made spaetzle, which I ended up adding to the soup, but you will have to wait for that recipe till the next recipe post :)

I can't say enough how awesome this soup is.  I very happily ate it for lunch all week, along with my mother.  It's flavored with paprika - obviously - and sour cream, and full of vegetables like corn, carrots, potatoes, and peas.  It was so flavorful and exotic.  Add the spaetzle to it and you've got yourself an amazing dinner.  The original recipe recommends adding homemade herb dumplings; since I was making the spaetzle, I didn't make the dumplings, but I am fairly certain that they would be just as exquisite.

Again, I was probably the only person who was excited to watch the movie, because everyone ended up leaving the house except for my mom, so we were the only two to eat this meal, along with Mark. But all three of us gave it rave reviews.  Alex and Rachael came home later and tried it, and even Alex had seconds and said that it was very good.  I will definitely be making some paprikash soup in my near future!

Recipe:

vegetable paprikash soup
from Rolling in the Dough
serves 6

Ingredients:
paprikash soup:
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
1 cup peas or green beans (frozen is fine)
1 cup corn (frozen is fine again)
4 - 6 cups vegetable stock
1 cup sour cream

herb dumpings:
1 potato, peeled, chopped, steamed until tender
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, or 2 tablespoons dried
up to 1 cup whole what pastry flour

Instructions:

1) In a large pot, sauté the onion in olive oil over medium heat until onion begins to soften and brown.  Add salt, paprika, and pepper, and continue browning until a darker golden color.  Add carrot, potato, peas/beans, and corn, and lightly sauté for less than a minute before adding the vegetable stock.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.  Simmer, uncovered, for about 1 hour.

2) Make the dumplings: mash steamed potatoes with a rover or pastry blender.  Add egg and seasonings and mix well.  Add flour until dough is fairly stiff but still a little tacky.  Dust your hands with flour and knead the dough a little more in the bowl or on a floured counter.  Allow to rest 15 - 30 minutes, then pat out into a square and cut into small pieces.

3) Bring pot of water to boil.  Add dumplings to the water and simmer gently until they float to the top, from 4 to 7 minutes.  Lift dumplings out with a slotted spoon, transfer to a buttered plate, and continue with remaining dumplings.  Set aside.

4) Add the sour cream to the soup, one large dollop at a time, and whisk into the soup.  If the soup os too thin, add more sour cream.  When ready to serve, float dumplings in each bowl as you serve it.  You can also add the dumplings to the soup and allow them to warm up before serving.

Guest Post #1: Mackenzie

As we come close to my second blogiversary this week, I thought it might be kind of fun to have some guest posts.  I have seen this done on other (real) blogs, and I've always wanted to give it a try.  While it is true that I have lots of recipes to share, as the new year begins, I think it is important to look back on the last two years of this blog, and all of the recipes I have made.  Some have been hugely successful, and others... not so much.

Then again, success depends on who you're talking to.  Besides Mark, who eats anything with a smile, my biggest cooking champion is probably my sister Mackenzie.  She is the least picky person in this house - she will tell you that she only hates mushrooms and lentils - so she can be the most fun to cook for.  She is willing to try most things, even the ones that seem pretty weird.  We also have similar tastes sometimes, such as our love for Oreos and all things potato.  For these reasons, I decided that she would be the perfect person to start off my guest posts.  And thus without further ado, here's Kenz.



Please introduce yourself!

Hi there. It's Mackenzie, Bridget's younger sister.  I am the middle of the three sisters.  For a long time, I was the cook in the family.  I  was a much different cook than Bridg. I had some specialties and was certainly not as adventurous as Bridget.  I like to cook meals such as chili, meatballs and sauce, pizza and cakes.  I enjoyed cooking but sometimes it was a bit overwhelming to be the chef among other duties.  I was more than happy to pass the kitchen over to someone else when Bridget came up with this new years resolution. Little did I know how drastically it would alter the culture of the house.

What do you think of Bridget's cooking?

As I said in the first question, Bridget is a very adventurous cook. She does not shy away from difficult recipes and is ready and willing to try almost anything complicated. THAT BEING SAID, she has grown increasingly opposed to meals including meat.  This has become a big issue in the house.  We need our protein!! Bridget will stir caramel for 4 straight hours but will not deal with any meats.  This is an interesting part of her cooking. She is a big proponent of the BYOI system (Buy Your Own Ingredients). This means if you pick a recipe, and buy the ingredients, she will make you whatever you want. This now excludes meat.  I also have to add that Bridge's cooking has gotten much weirder over time.  If you look back in her blog you will see that she made much more regular meals in the beginning.  Since then, it has changed into foods including odder and odder ingredients.  I am willing to try almost everything, except lentils and mushrooms, but I could go for some more "staple" type meals.

What do you wish Bridget would change about her cooking?

More meat. Less mushrooms and lentils.

What have been some of your favorite all-time recipes that Bridget has made?

-broccoli cheddar soup in homemade bread bowls
-Apple cider caramels
-pulled cauliflower 
-homemade pretzels
-cheesesteak soup
-chocolate crinkle cookies
-taquitos
-rice balls


What were your top 3 recipes from 2013?

-broccoli cheese soup
-cheesesteak soup
-pulled cauliflower with homemade bbq sauce

Kale and Pumpkin Stuffed Shells

Merry belated Christmas!!!!

Okay, 'tis the season again: the season when I become a terrible blogger.  Last year, my excuse was that the aftermath of getting engaged was too exciting and crazy, and this year, it's because we were n Florida for the last week.  I had plans of keeping updated with posts (and I had planned to cook, for that matter) but all the fun things to do (as well as my mid-week flu) sort of took precedence over cooking and blogging!  The good news is that I have 4 days of vacation left, so I will try very hard to catch up on the plethora of recipes I made before I went on vacation.

The bad news is that the jury is still out on this first recipe.  Some people liked it, some (guess who) hated it, and there were definitely some issues in attempting to translate a vegan recipe into one that my family would eat.  For instance, it calls for "one batch of vegan ricotta."  I wasn't about to use fake ricotta, and since I wasn't sure what a "batch" was, I just had to add it until it looked right.  It also called for a bunch of kale, and my bunch was so enormous that I ended up hacking off probably only a fourth of it.  You will just have to eye it.

Then there was the sauce issue: what kind of a sauce do you serve with pumpkin stuffed shells?  I thought that pumpkin and tomato just don't seem to be good partners, so I was at a loss of what to put on top.  The blogger said she made a "vegan béchamel," so that's what I decided to try.  Unfortunately, I had to take Daisy to the vet that night, and I ran out of time.  Kenzie volunteered to finish up the meal for me, so she made the sauce and topped the shells with it and baked them.  I texted her to ask how they were going, and the response was, "the sauce turned into molten rock."  I asked if that meant they were ruined, and she replied, "meh tastes decent."   Not the most glowing of reports, and I wasn't sure what molten rock was like to eat, so I went home with a healthy old hound to give them a try.

Here's what I think: these have potential.  The mixture of pumpkin and ricotta is smooth and creamy and a little bit sweet, sweetened a bit more by some balsamic and a little honey.  The slightly bitter kale offsets the sweetness.  But the béchamel was pretty weird... it somehow hardened into a rather unappetizing rock (now I get the molten rock reference, but it was more rock than molten).  Maybe it's not supposed to get baked, and only gets added afterwards?  Vegan béchamel is maybe a different beast.  Either way, I think I would try either tomato sauce or something else again.... if there is an again, since as you probably guessed, my mom hated them (she isn't a pumpkin fan)!

Recipe:

kale and pumpkin stuffed shells
from A Baker's Doesn't

Ingredients:
1 batch of vegan ricotta (or regular ricotta!)
1 bunch of kale
1 box of large shell pasta
1 1/2 cups pureed pumpkin
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
olive oil for pan
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1) Boil a pot of water and cook shells until al dente.  Drain and set aside to cool.  In the meantime, heat a large skillet with a little olive oil.  Cook down the kale leaves until wilted.  Add salt, pepper, honey and vinegar.  Stir, and once well combined, add kale and pumpkin to the ricotta.

2) Stuff shells and place in a baking dish.  Add a few dollops over finished tray, and bake for 10-15 minutes, until the tops get crispy.

Pumpkin Molasses Cookies

Do you like soft, cakey cookies?  Or do you prefer them to be chewier, crunchier, "with a bite to them" as my mom put it?  If you fall into the latter group, this recipe is not for you.  In my desperate attempt to use up more of my homemade pumpkin puree, I was browsing my favorite blogs looking for something sweet and pumpkin-y, and I came across these pumpkin molasses cookies.  I was pretty excited because my mom loves molasses cookies, and Kenzie loves pumpkin, so I thought I'd be pleasing everyone.

Well as you might have guessed, apparently my family doesn't like cookies to be soft and cake-like.  They simply must be crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  Needless to say, these weren't the most popular.  But like I said, if you prefer your cookies to be soft and puffy, then these are a good choice.  Lots of interesting spices in there - even a tiny bit of black pepper!

The one thing I may want to reassess is the amount of baking soda.  Even Kenzie, my pumpkin lover, agreed with my mom that every now and then, they felt like they could taste the baking soda.  And 2 teaspoons does seem like a lot.  I did a little research, and I found someone who wrote an article called "Scientifically Sweet", and here's the exact quote: "never trust a chocolate chip recipe that uses more than 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda for a yield of 2 dozen cookies."  Now I know these aren't chocolate chip, but still... apparently baking soda is used to help use up acidic components in baked goods (like chocolate, lemon, buttermilk... pumpkin?  Maybe therein lies the problem and it should have been baking powder?), and the bitter taste you can sometimes get is from the residual sodium bicarbonate.  So that was your science lesson for the day.  My advice?  Lower that baking soda, embrace the cakey cookie, and call it a day :)

Recipe:

pumpkin molasses cookies
from My Baking Addiction

Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup molasses
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1/2 cup sugar, for rolling

Instructions:

1) Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and pepper.

2) Working with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy.  Add the brown sugar, molasses, and pumpkin puree and beat for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Add the egg and beat for 1 minute more.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing until the flour and spices disappear.  If flour remains in the bottom of the bowl, mix the last of the dry ingredients by hand to avoid over beating.  You will have a very soft dough.

3) Divide the dough in half and wrap each piece in plastic wrap.  Freeze for at least 30 minutes, or refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  The dough is sticky, so the longer time it can chill, the easier it is to work with.

4) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

5) Put the sugar in a small bowl.  Working with one packet of dough at a time, divide it into 12 pieces, and roll each piece into a ball.  Roll the balls in the sugar and use the bottom of a glass to press down on the cookies until they are between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick.  Transfer to cookie sheets.  Do not overcrowd.

6) Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12-14 minutes, or until the top feels set to the touch.  Remove baking sheets from the oven.  Let cookies cool 5 minutes on the sheets before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Pumpkin Muffins

After the insanity that was my Thanksgiving baking, I found myself tired, but my family hungry; we get so used to having the party here and having lots of leftovers, so it felt weird to have nothing!  Luckily I did happen to have a pretty big container of homemade pumpkin puree left over, and in fact, be prepared for a mountain of pumpkin recipes coming your way.  I had roasted 2 rather large sugar pumpkins, and even after my caramel-spiked pumpkin pie, I had lots of pumpkin to use.  We decided we felt like muffins, so I decided to try some good old fashioned pumpkin muffins from Smitten Kitchen.

I had made pumpkin muffins before: stuffed with cream cheese and pumpkin donut muffins.  But this time around I decided to just go with a simple pumpkin muffin, and thus we have these.

I was intrigued by the recipe, which claimed that these muffins are still "excellent" on the second day.    I have made enough muffins in my day to have a hard time believing that... but I can tell you that it's not a lie!  These pumpkins were really good right out of the oven, but my family continued to eat them for days.  Even my mom ate a few of them, and she claims to hate pumpkin.  So if you need a simple, easy, delicious pumpkin muffin that will taste good the next day, here you go.

Recipe:

pumpkin muffins
from Smitten Kitchen 
makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/4 teaspoon fresh nutmeg + 1/4 teaspoon ginger + pinch of ground cloves and allspice)
1 cup to 1 1/3 cup (more makes it richer) pumpkin puree
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

1) Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Put liners in 12 standard-sized muffin cups.

2) Stir or whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spice in a small or medium bowl.

3) In a larger bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, and 1 1/4 cups sugar.  Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until just combined.  Divide batter among muffin cups (each about 3/4 full).

4) Stir together last tablespoon of sugar and teaspoon of cinnamon.  Sprinkle over each muffin.

5) Bake until puffed and golden brown and wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

6) Cool in pan on rack 5 minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

Chocolate Cream Puff Trifle

Every year I want to make lots of Thanksgiving desserts, but I always want one with wow factor.  It should taste delicious, obviously, but it should also be impressive to look at.  Last year, my wow factor dessert was the croquembouche.  Ironically, this year my wow factor dessert was also made of cream puffs, but instead of filling them with maple cream and stacking them in a tower, I filled them with a chocolate pastry cream and made them into a trifle!

When I saw this in my mom's holiday issue of Martha Stewart Living, I knew I had found my wow factor dessert.  Trifles may not always look like the most impressive thing, but this was absolutely gorgeous: layers of chocolate-filled cream puffs, ricotta cream specked with grated bittersweet chocolate and orange zest, orange marmalade, and dried fruit that had soaked in anisette, all topped with fresh homemade whipped cream... yeah, this was wow factor.

 While there are many components to this dessert, it was quite doable and I was able to make most of the parts the night before Thanksgiving.  I made the cream puffs, the chocolate cream, the ricotta cream (which by the way was the most delicious part of the entire thing... so light and refreshing), and put the cranberries and cherries (along with some golden raisins just because I had them on hand) into the anisette to soak.  The next morning, I filled the puffs and put the whole thing together; at Thanksgiving, I made the whipped cream and put it on top.  It wasn't really that much work considering how impressive the whole thing looked!  I couldn't seem to get any good pictures of it but trust me that it was beautiful, and it managed to sway many of the Thanksgiving dessert-eaters to try it first.  That's always the sign of a wow factor dessert!

And the results?  Everyone loved it.  My mom (and Kenzie) made the comment that she could do without the marmalade, which I would probably leave out next time, but also said that the chocolate pastry cream was probably the most delicious thing she'd ever eaten.  The ricotta cream was good enough to eat by itself, and the cream puffs are delicate and soft.  I definitely recommend the chocolate cream puff trifle for your next wow factor dessert.

Recipe:

chocolate cream puff trifle
from the December 2013 issue of Martha Stewart Living
serves 10

Ingredients:
dried fruit:
1/4 cup anisette liqueur
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup dried cherries

pate a choux puffs:
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs plus 1 large egg white

chocolate pastry cream:
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
4 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon coarse salt

ricotta cream:
16 ounces whole milk ricotta (2 cups)
2/3 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
2 tablespoons anisette liqueur
1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, very finely chopped

assembly:
1 1/3 cups blood-orange or regular orange marmalade
1 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

Instructions:

1) Make the dried fruit: bring anisette just to a simmer in a small pot.  Add dried fruit and simmer 1 minute.  Remove from heat; let sit at least 1 hour and up to 3 days at room temperature.

2) Make pate a choux puffs: preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bring butter, sugar, salt, and water to a boil in a small saucepan.  Remove from heat.  Quickly stir in flour with a wooden spoon.  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture pulls away from sides of pan and a film forms on the bottom, about 1 1/2 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl and beat with a mixer on low speed until cool, about 2 minutes.  Beat in eggs and egg white, 1 at a time.  Increase speed to medium and beat until a soft peak forms when you touch dough with your finger, about 2 minutes.  Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip.  Pipe dough into thirty 1-to-1 1/4-inch mounds, 1 1/2 inches apart, on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets.  Smooth tip of each mound with a moistened finger, then bake until puffed and golden, about 30 minutes.  Let cool completely.  Choux puffs can be made 2 days ahead and stored in refrigerator, or frozen up to 1 month.

3) Make chocolate pastry cream: place chocolate in a bowl and set a fine sieve over the bowl.  Bring milk and 1/3 cup sugar almost to a boil in a saucepan; remove from heat.  Whisk together egg yolks and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in another bowl until thick, 2 minutes.  Sprinkle in flour and salt, then whisk to combine.  Whisk in half of hot milk, then pour mixture into remaining milk in pan.  Bring to a boil quickly, whisking very fast to prevent scorching, about 1 minute.  Pour mixture through sieve over chocolate, then whisk to combine.  Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of pastry cream to cover and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.  Pastry cream can be made up to 2 days ahead.

4) Make ricotta cream: beat together ricotta, cream, sugar, orange zest, anisette, and salt with a mixer on medium-high speed until very thick and fluffy.  Stir in chocolate and refrigerate until ready to use. Ricotta crew can be made up to 2 days ahead.

5) Assemble: place chocolate pastry cream into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-ich plain tip.  Make a small hole in bottom of each choux puff with a paring knife.  Insert pastry bag tip into hole of each puff and squeeze bag until puffs are completely filled with pastry cream.  Spread half of ricotta cream in a 12-to-16-cup trifle bowl.  Top with half of marmalade, then sprinkle with half of dried fruit and soaking liquid.  Top with 15 cream puffs.  Repeat layering with remaining ricotta cream, marmalade, dried fruit, and cream puffs.  Top with whipped cream.  Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours before serving.

Cranberry-Walnut Jelly Roll

If I am going to have a dessert, I am more of a salty-sweet or sour kind of girl.  Straight-up sweetness has never been my thing - although I know everyone else on earth is all about the sweets!  Nevertheless, when my Thanksgiving issue of Food Network Magazine had a recipe for a cake roll filled with a sweet and tart cranberry filling, I was excited and added it to my list.

Now, there is good news and there is bad news about this dessert.  I'll start with the bad: something happened to my cake roll.  And it was ugly.  It cracked, it broke, the cranberry filling leaked out, and since I made it all the night before, I figured it would be a soggy, sopping mess by the time we brought it to Tracy's.  And then it did look pretty rough... rough enough that no one cut into it at dessert time.  I couldn't blame them because it really wasn't as pretty as I wanted it to be; because it cracked while I rolled it, and some of the filling seeped out, it just was a mess.

Here's the good news: Gary told me that he ate nearly the entire roll by himself the week after Thanksgiving!  He said it was one of his favorite desserts, and that it was absolutely delicious, especially the cranberry filling, which is sweetened with orange juice and sugar and then flavored with allspice, nutmeg and a cinnamon stick. The cake itself is lemony from zest and sprinkled with chopped walnuts before it is rolled up with the filling.  The fact that Gary gave it such rave reviews makes me feel that this cake is worth another shot.  I'm not sure why my roll cracked (maybe I rolled it while it was still too hot?), or why my filling ended up being thin enough that it sort of leaked everywhere (I think I didn't refrigerate it long enough, maybe?) ... but if it tastes that delicious, then it's worth working on the cosmetics :)

Recipe:

cranberry-walut jelly roll
from the November 2013 issue of Food Network Magazine

Ingredients:
for the filling:
1 pound cranberries, fresh or frozen
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cinnamon stick

for the cake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
unsalted butter, softened, for the baking sheet
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
confectioners' sugar for dusting (optional)
whipped cream, for serving

Instructions:

1) Cook the cranberries: combine the cranberries, sugar and orange juice in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low; stir in the allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon stick and simmer 5 to 7 minutes

2) Make the filling: strain the cranberry mixture; set the berries aside.  Return the liquid to the saucepan, bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook until syrupy, about 8 minutes.  Discard the cinnamon stick, then puree half of the cranberries in a blender; transfer to a bowl.  Stir in the rest of the cranberries and the reduced syrup.  Spread the mixture in a baking dish so it cools more quickly.  Refrigerate until completely cooled, about 20 minutes.

3) Make the batter: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Sift the flour, baking powder, and cream of tartar into a bowl.  Combine the eggs, granulated sugar, lemon zest, and 1/3 cup water in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.  Beat on high speed until light and airy, 3 to 5 minutes.  Gently fold the egg mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula.  Do not over mix: the batter will posse from volume, but small bubbles should remain.

4) Bake the cake: butter a 10-inch-by-15-inch jelly roll pan, line with parchment paper and butter the parchment.  Add the batter.  Slowly tilt the pan back and forth to evenly distribute the batter.  Bake until the cake is golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

5) Unmold the cake: while the cake is still warm, place a slightly damp kitchen towel on top; lay a cutting board over the towel.  Hold the cutting board and baking sheet together and flip over.  Lift off the pan, then peel off the parchment.  Let the cake cool slightly, 3 to 5 minutes.

6) Add the filling: dollop the cooled filling over the cake and spread gently, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides.  Be careful not to tear the cake (ha!).  Sprinkle with the walnuts.

7) Roll the cake: position the cake with the shorter end facing you.  Use the towel to tip the edge of the cake forward and gently roll it over, using the towel to guide it.  Once you make one full roll,  pull the towel away and gently squeeze the cake to make the roll compact.  Continue rolling the cake, using the towel to guide it and gently squeezing as you go.  Position the cake roll seam-side down and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.  Transfer to a platter and dust with confectioners' sugar.  Slice and serve with whipped cream.

Caramel-Spiked Pumpkin Pie

Here's another one of my Thanksgiving baking extravaganza desserts!  I've never actually made a pumpkin pie (weird, I know), and when I saw this recipe on Annie's Eats, I knew that this would be the one I would try.  I thought about making it for Thanksgiving, but then Maggie was assigned the pumpkin pie for our feast.  The day before Thanksgiving was Maggie's birthday, so I ventured a guess that she wouldn't feel like baking on her big day; luckily I was right and she handed over the pumpkin pie reigns to me!  I had roasted two sugar pumping the week previous and had plenty of homemade pumpkin puree, and luckily the rest of the ingredients were things I had on hand.

I made Annie's pie dough recipe, which I have made before; you make it in the stand mixer, which is nice.  Then while it was chilling and subsequently baking, I made the caramel sauce.  Something kind of weird happened to it and I ended up  with a rather thin sauce with a few hard caramel candies in it - not sure how that happened - but it was okay in the end.  The caramel sauce gets mixed in with the pumpkin along with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves, and into the pie crust it all goes.

My crust ended up looking a little burned around the outside, but I think it just looked that way, because everyone who tried the pie said it was delicious.  I was assured that you could taste the caramel, and that the consistency was delicious.  I didn't try it, but I suggest that you do if you're looking for a not-your-average pumpkin pie!

Recipe:

caramel-spiked pumpkin pie

from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:

1 9-inch partially baked pie crust*

1 cup sugar, divided

3/4 cup heavy cream, warmed

1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)

2 tablespoons butter, cut into 4 pieces

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

pinch of ground cloves

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

Instructions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium saucepan, spread 1/2 cup of the sugar out in an even layer over medium-high heat.  Once the sugar begins to melt and change color,g entry mix together so that the sugar is evenly melted.  Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has turned a deep amber color (keep a careful eye on it to be sure that it doesn't burn).  Once it has reached the desired color, remove the pan from the heat.  Add in the cream in a slow steady stream down the inside edge of the saucepan, stirring or whisking constantly to incorporate evenly.  If any lumps remain, return the pan to the burner over medium heat and cook just until melted.  Continue mixing in the cream in this manner until it has been completely incorporated.  Stir in the butter and the rum and mix just until smooth.  Set aside the caramel and let cool for 15 minutes.

2) In a bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, coves and vanilla.  Whisk to blend.  Whisk in the eggs one at a time.  Blend in the caramel.  Pour the filling into the partially baked crust.  

3) Place the pie plate on a baking sheet and transfer to the preheated oven.  Bake 45-50 minutes, or until the center is just set and the edges are puffed.  Transfer to a wire rack to let cool at least 30 minutes.  Serve with freshly whipped cream and caramel sauce as desired.

* To blind-bake a pie crust, preheat the overt o 400 degrees.  Roll pie dough out on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch disc.  Place it in a 9-inch pie plate, trimming away the excess and creating decorative edges as desires.  Prick the bottom and sides of the crust with the tines of a fork.  Line the crust with a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill with baking beads.  Bake 25 minutes. Remove the baking beads and foil and bake about 5-10 minutes more, until light golden.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

My job for Thanksgiving this year was to bake my heart out.  I was in charge of baking something for everyone in my family to bring (it's just easier if I do it rather than have us all fight over time in the kitchen!).  I asked Rachael if she had any specific requests of what I should make for her to bring, and after a look on Pinterest, she chose cranberry pistachio biscotti.   I'd never made biscotti before, and we happened to have everything we would need, so I decided that I would give them a try.

The thing about biscotti - which most people probably already know - is that you make the cookie dough and pat it into logs, which are partially baked.  Then you cut the logs on the bias to make the traditional biscotti shape, and they get baked again so they're crunchy.  My family all claimed to prefer them before they are baked the second time, but I was strict about making biscotti the right way, so even though they all stole pieces when they were soft, I did bake the rest again.

These biscotti are very good; the crunchy pistachios mixed with the soft, chewy cranberries make a great texture contrast.  The cookies themselves are crunchy, crumbly and sweet with a touch of orange taste (I did not have orange oil so I used vanilla extract, but the orange zest did the trick).  They are perfect with a cup of coffee or tea, and the red and green from the berries and nuts in them make them perfect for Christmas too :)

Recipe:

cranberry pistachio biscotti
from How to Cook a Wolf

Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
grated zest of 1 orange
1/2 teaspoon orange oil (or vanilla extract)
1 cup shelled pistachios
1 cup dried cranberries

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment.

2) In a medium bowl, whisk the dry ingredients.

3) In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the orange zest and orange oil.

4) With mixer on low speed, gradually stir in the flour mixture until smooth, then stir in the pistachios and cranberries.

5) Divide the dough into thirds.  Shape each piece into a 12-inch log.  Place 2 logs on one sheet (apart) and the other in the middle of the other cookie sheet.  Bake for 30 minutes, until the logs turn a light golden color and are somewhat firm to the touch.  Remove from the oven to a cooling each and reduce oven to 300 degrees.

6) Let cool about 15 minutes; then using a serrated knife, slice diagonally into 1/2-inch slices.  Place upright on cookie sheets and bake for about 20 minutes, until dry and lightly golden. Let cool on rack and enjoy.

Overnight Caramel Pecan Rolls

Okay, folks: we have officially reached my list of things that I baked for Thanksgiving this year.  Be ready for an overload of sweets this week (maybe you'll find something to bring to a Christmas party?).  I can say that most of the things I baked for our family's party at Tracy and Gary's were well-loved, but by far, this was the favorite, and the most exciting.

First, some background: my uncle Artie always brings pecan rolls from the Old Mill restaurant here in town.  A dozen pecan rolls costs $14, and we need about 4 dozen, so it's practically more expensive than the turkeys to buy all these rolls, but they are just so good.  This year since the party was in Belchertown and Artie was on call, there weren't going to be any pecan rolls for the first time ever at the Haley family Thanksgiving... until Tracy asked me if maybe I would try to make them myself.

As a girl who grew up in Massachusetts, it felt sort of wrong to be "competing" against the Old Mill's pecan rolls because they're legendary around here, but I started to really warm up to the idea.  I searched for a long time for recipes, and found millions, but I finally settled on this one for a few different reasons.  First, and probably most importantly, they are logistically the best ones to make for Thanksgiving because all of the work gets done the night before.  Then they get refrigerated overnight and you can just pop them into the oven in the morning.  Isn't that perfect?  I also picked them because the pictures seemed to look the most similar to the Old Mill's rolls, and also it had 142 reviews with an average rating of 4 1/2 stars, so I knew it was tried and true.  Oh and lastly, the great thing about recipes from allrecipes.com is that you can type in the yield that you want, and the recipe automatically adjusts the ingredients, which is just awesome if you happen to be baking 50 pecan rolls the night before Thanksgiving :)

Behold... the dental floss roll-cutting trick!

I actually gave these guys a try the week before Thanksgiving just to make sure that they were good enough, and ohhh were they good enough.  My family was in love with them; one recipe yields 24 rolls and we had devoured all but 4 of them a week later.  They're soft, sweet, slightly sticky, and simply to die for, so we all agreed they passed the test, and the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I created pecan roll mayhem in my kitchen as I made a double batch of these babies.

Here are some interesting things about the recipe: first, you may not believe me, but this is really an easy recipe.  They honestly don't take that much time (I mean, yes they take an overnight rest and an hour's rising time, but during that time you can be relaxing, or sleeping, or if you were me, baking for 8 straight hours) and they are so much less difficult than you expect.  Basically you make a dough, let it rise, roll it out and spread it with butter and cinnamon and sugar, roll it up and cut it into individual rolls (I read the comments on this recipe and found out about the awesome tip to use dental floss to cut the rolls by passing the floss under your roll and pulling the two ends... genius... it led to perfectly cut rolls).  Then - here is another really interesting part - you make a ridiculously easy caramel sauce (melt butter and brown sugar in a pan, add corn syrup, and you're done... in fact, some of the comments said that people used this recipe just for the caramel sauce!) and pour that in the bottom of the pan.  Then sprinkle the pecans on top, and add the rolls on top of that.  And you're done!  The next day after you bake them, you invert the pans on top of your serving dishes, so that the caramelly-pecanny bottoms are now the tops, and voila: pecan rolls.  Honestly: so good, and so simple to make. I got so many compliments on these guys that they stole the show from my actual desserts (these were served with dinner!) but I am not doing any complaining.  I am celebrating that pecan rolls are just a few rather fun steps and one overnight away any time I want them!

Recipe:

overnight caramel pecan rolls
from allrecipes.com
yield 24 pecan rolls

Ingredients:
for rolls:
2 cups milk
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
7 cups all-purpose flour

for caramel sauce:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 cup pecan halves (I added some more, probably about 1/2 cup more)

for filling:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Instructions:

1) Warm the milk n a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat.  Let cool until lukewarm.  In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

2) In a large bowl, combine yeast mixture, milk, sugar, oil, baking powder, salt, egg, and 3 cups flour.  Beat until smooth.  Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.  Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil.  Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

3) Make the caramel sauce: Heat brown sugar and 1/2 cup butter until melted.  Remove from heat; stir in corn syrup.  Divide mixture between two 9x13-inch baking pans.  Sprinkle 1/2 cup pecans in each pan.

4)  When dough has doubled in size, punch down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Roll out into a large rectangle and spread with butter.  Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.  Starting with the long side, roll up the rectangle into a log, and slice it into 1-inch-wide rolls.  Place the rolls slightly apart in pans.  Wrap pans with aluminum foil and refrigerate at least 12 hours but no longer than 48.

5) Remove rolls from refrigerator and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

6) Bake uncovered in preheated oven until golden 30 to 35 minutes.  Immediately invert pan on heatproof serving plate.  Wait 1 or 2 minutes before removing pan, so that caramel drizzles over rolls.

Eggplant and Three Cheese Calzone

One thing I suddenly realized I love this year is eggplant.  I've never really had much of it, and as for cooking with it, I made baba ganoush and that was about it.  And then we went over to Anne's for dinner a couple months ago, and she made us eggplant parmesan.  It was exquisite.  I have since ordered it at 2 different restaurants and apparently I am obsessed with it (I definitely need that recipe, Anne).  When I noticed that my beloved new Smitten Kitchen Cookbook had a recipe for eggplant and three cheese calzone, I knew I simply had to try it.  I love calzones, and eggplant, and cheese.  So... thus it began.

Deb (yeah we're on a first-name basis) has 2 different pizza dough recipes, called rushed and leisurely.  She says that leisurely has a more developed flavor, but it requires 8 hours to overnight in the fridge.  However she says that the rushed pizza dough is also "perfect."  Obviously I went with rushed, where it rises in a warm but off oven for about a half hour.  One more note about the dough: her book has directions to make the doughs by hand or by mixer.  I will be sharing the mixer version only.  While the dough rose, I roasted the slices of eggplant. and made the cheese mix.

When the dough was ready, I rolled it out and topped it with the sliced roasted eggplant, a mixture of ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella, and oregano.  Other than salt and pepper, that's all you need!  I am not really sure why my calzone ended up being really ugly and more trapezoid-shaped than your usual calzone, but I think it was because the recipe says to roll it out into a circle, and next time I think I will do a rectangle!  Oh well - I am used to my food tasting great and looking a little funky.  After an egg wash, I baked it and could hardly wait the 20 minutes it took!

I ended up serving this with the same sauce I made for the potato gnocchi because it was so damn good, and the gnocchi were long gone but I still had some sauce left.  The recipe did come with its own sauce recipe, so I will include that just in case you don't happen to have leftover potato gnocchi sauce!  It was a pretty good idea to use it, because the sauce is amazing, and now I could enjoy it with an amazing calzone.  The calzone really was great, but unfortunately I made it on an awkward night where Kenzie, an eggplant lover, wasn't home, and Mom and Rachael had already eaten, so I was the only one who got to enjoy it.  You will just have to take my word for it.  The dough was great: soft, crunchy on the outside, and chewy.  Inside, the cheeses were melty and the eggplant was earthy, and dunked in the tomato sauce, they made a hearty, warming, delicious calzone that will have to be made again to introduce it to my family!

Recipe:

eggplant and three cheese calzone
from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman
serves 4

Ingredients:
for calzone:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium (3/4-pound) eggplant, sliced 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick
salt
freshly ground pepper
1 3/4-pound pizza dough, ready to go (see below for rushed pizza dough recipe)
1 cup ricotta
1 cup coarsely grated mozzarella
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan
dried oregano
1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water for egg wash
a handful of snipped fresh basil leaves

for quick sauce:
1 cup strained tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 garlic clove, minced
red pepper flakes
pinch of sugar (optional)
few drops of red wine vinegar (optional)

Instructions:

1) Prepare eggplant: preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Coat a baking sheet with olive oil.  Arrange the eggplant slices in one layer.  Season them with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Roast for 20 minutes, flip, then roast for another 10 minutes.  Let the eggplant cool slightly.  Leave oven on.

2) Assemble calzone: Roll the dough into a 12-inch round.  Mix together ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan, then season the cheese with 1/2 teaspoon table salt, a pinch of dried oregano (or more to taste) and freshly ground pepper.  Stir the eggplant into the cheese mixture, and then heap it down the center of the dough.  Pull the sides of the dough over the center, pressing and crimping a seam down the middle.  Brush the outside of the calzone with egg wash.

3) Bake the calzone for 15 to 20 minutes, until puffed and golden all over.

4) Make the sauce: while the calzone bakes, heat the tomatoes, salt, garlic, and a pinch of red pepper flakes in a small saucepan until simmering.  Gently simmer for 5 minutes, then taste for seasoning.  For extra sweetness or punch, add a pinch of sugar or a few drops of red wine vinegar to taste and simmer for one minutes more.  Pour into a small dish.

5) To serve: when calzone is finished baking, slide it onto a serving dish and slice into larger sections.  Garnish with snipped basil and serve with sauce on the side.

rushed pizza dough
yield 1 12-ounce dough

Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for counter
1 teaspoon table salt
olive oil, for coating bowl

Instructions: 

1) Turn oven on to warm (about 200 to 225 degrees) for 5 minutes, then turn it off.

2) Pour 1/2 cup warm water into the bowl of your electric mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the water, and let it stand for 5 minutes.  Add the flour, then the salt, and mix with your dough hook at a moderate speed until the mixture starts to form a craggy mass.  Reduce the speed to low and mix for 5 minutes, letting the hook knead the mass into a smooth, elastic dough.  Remove dough and wipe out bowl.

3) Coat inside of mixing bowl with olive oil, place dough back in bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.  Place in previously warmed oven, and let it sit for 30 minutes, or until doubled.  Remove the dough from the oven.  Turn the dough onto a floured counter if you want to roll it out, pizza peel, or prepared baking sheet, and let your recipe take it from here.

Quinoa and Winter Squash Bake

I cannot stress enough how delicious this quinoa and winter squash bake was.  All I can tell you is that Mark and I basically ate the entire thing ourselves throughout a week for both lunch and dinner, and we were  both thrilled.  It is a filling, hearty, warm vegetarian dish that is perfect for both fall and winter; it has winter squash, so that's wintry, and also pepitas and dried cranberries, which is very fall-ish.

So let's talk about this bake.  It's made in a pie plate which is adorable, and it's full of delicious treats besides the pepitas and cranberries which give it such a great texture.  It has both mashed and cubed roasted squash, and heaps of fresh herbs - marjoram, rosemary, sage and thyme (I have no idea what marjoram is and so it didn't go into my bake).

The recipe calls for flax to make it vegan, but I used eggs; one egg replaces one tablespoon of ground flax, so I used 3 eggs and it all held together beautifully.  You can actually cut it like a pie.  I also used a squash different than the butternut that it recommends.... although I am still not totally sure what it was.  Kenzie brought it home from a friend at work.  It was round and green and stripy and bumpy... but hey it was good!  I think any squash would work fine.

This was exquisite the night I made it; it was creamy from the mashed squash, but had a crunch from quinoa and pumpkin seeds, and little pops of surprise sweetness from the Craisins.  It was literally one of the best things I've made in a while.

Recipe:

quinoa and winter squash bake
from The Kitchnn
serves 8

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds butternut or other winter squash
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for greasing dish and brushing on top
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs (or to be vegan, 3 tablespoons ground flax mixed with 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon water)
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh marjoram
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups cooked quinoa
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
3 tablespoons dried currants or chopped dried cranberries

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Peel and cut the squash into 1/2-inch cubes.  Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and spread in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Roast until tender, about 30 minutes, turning halfway through.  Remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 350 degrees.

2) Mash half the squash using a fork.  Add the mashed squash to the 3 eggs (or to the mixture of flax and water) and stir with a fork until well-combined.  Set aside.

3) Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion, garlic and herbs and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is soft and translucent.  Transfer to a large bowl.

4) Add the quinoa and mashed squash-egg mixture to the bowl along with paprika, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt, and a few cracks of black pepper.  Stir until well-combined.  Add the remaining cubed squash, pumpkin seeds, and currants/cranberries, and stir until combined.

5) Transfer the mixture to a greased 9-inch pie plate or a similar-sized oven-proof dish.  Press it down firmly and evenly and brush a little olive oil on top.  Bake until set and edges are browned, about 40 minutes.

6) Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.  Leftovers will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to a week.

A teacher's best friend at work is a great lunch :)

Gnocchi in Tomato Broth

I'm sure you've heard me talk and blog about Annie's Eats.  When I first started cooking, most of my recipes came from her blog.  She tries out all sorts of things and has great how-to pictures for trickier recipes (hence she got me to to try out bagels and croissants!).  However, I have also been able to find lots of new bloggers - some through Annie's recommendations, and others through my own browsing - that I love just as much if not more than Annie's blog.  For example, I am really obsessed with A Couple Cooks.  They are what they call "flexitarians" who are flexible enough to eat whatever is fresh and seasonal and local, but most of the time they eat - and cook - vegetarian.  They have awesome recipes like vegetable sushi bowls and roasted tomato almond dip.

But let me introduce you to Smitten Kitchen - or Deb Perelman.  I've liked her for a while - she brings great recipes like the jacked up banana bread and potato knish.  Of all the blogs I follow, I think I like her pictures the best simply because she shares so many of them.  She lives in New York City in a tiny kitchen, so she says if she can manage all these recipes, so can anyone.  She used to be a vegetarian - although she isn't anymore - but she still has lots of good veggie recipes.  Anyway, the reason I am gushing about her is that Mark bought me her new cookbook.  We went to the North End in Mom's birthday back in October, and we stopped in a cute little bookstore that had lots of great cookbooks.  I totally wanted The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook but was too cheap to buy it for myself; little did I realize that Mark secretly bought it for me! (Luckily I also secretly bought him a pair of sneakers so we surprised each other that day!)  I really recommend this book; I've made a number of recipes from it and love them all, along with the pictures and the clear instructions.   She has some recipes that are on her blog as well, but most are brand new.

But this recipe is possibly the most exciting one I've made in a while, because let's face it: gnocchi is amazing, but who the heck knows how to make their own!?  One time I tried to make ricotta gnocchi with disastrous results, but I've always wanted to try out my own potato gnocchi.  I went though about 5 years of ordering gnocchi any time I saw them on a menu; they are so light and pillowy, so soft and comforting, and so. Damn. Good.  I'd always thought you'd need a potato ricer to make your own, but Deb wrote, "I learned that if you didn't have a potato ricer, you could use the large holes of a box grater to a similar effect."  I felt great when I read that.  To make it even better, Deb assures her readers that gnocchi do not have to have those cute little ridges in them, although if you really want to add them, you can use a fork.  When I read all that, and saw her cute little pictures of gnocchi resting in a thin homemade tomato broth, I immediately set out to make them for dinner.

Here's the best part: these are so easy!!!  What took the longest was baking the potatoes, so I have already said any time we have extra baked potatoes I plan to make gnocchi immediately.  Once the potatoes are baked and peeled, you grate them on box grater, which worked perfectly, and add an egg, salt, and gradually add flour until you have a sticky but workable dough.  Roll it out into a rope, cut into little pillows, and boil.  Voila: you have gnocchi.  That's it!   So simple.  And rather fun.

The broth is just as amazing.  It's made from carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and even some white wine, chicken broth, and a can of tomatoes.  The recipe calls for it to be strained at the end so you only have broth, but I usually ignore that kind of instruction: why get rid of the vegetables!?   I kept them, and the sauce was so amazing that I ended up eating it with other recipes that I will share later this week.

So, delicious gnocchi and equally-as-delicious tomato broth: you basically have no reason not to make this recipe this week.  Maybe you even have leftover baked potatoes!?  If not, just get up right now and toss some potatoes into the oven; you'll be eating gnocchi in no time at all.  I'm so relieved and excited to tell you that potato gnocchi is easy to make.

Recipe:

gnocchi in tomato broth
from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman

Ingredients:

tomato broth:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 medium stalk celery, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/2 cup white wine
1 28-ounce can whole or chopped tomatoes with juices
small handful of fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

gnocchi:
2 pounds Russet potatoes (3 or 4)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon table salt
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting surface

Instructions:

1) Bake the potatoes: preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Bake potatoes for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on size, until a thin knife can easily pierce through them.  Meanwhile, prepare the tomato broth.

2) Make the tomato broth: Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat.  Once it's hot, add the carrot, celery, and onion, and cook together for 5 minutes, reducing the heat to medium if they begin to brown.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.  Pour in the wine, and use it to scrape up and browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, then cook the wine until it is reduced by half, for several minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes, mashing them a bit with a spoon if whole, and the basil and stock, and simmer until the tomato broth thickens slightly, for about 45 minutes.  Strain out the vegetables in a fine-mesh colander (I chose to skip this step) and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside until needed.

3) Make gnocchi: let the potatoes cool for 10 minutes after baking, then peel them with a knife or peeler.  Run the potatoes through a potato ricer, or grate them on the large holes of a box grater.  Cool them to lukewarm, about another 10 minutes.  Add the egg and salt, mixing to combine.  Add 1/2 cup flour, and mix to combine.  Add next 1/2 cup flour, mixing again.  Add 1/4 cup flour, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough is a good consistency - soft and a little sticky, but able to hold its shape enough to be rolled into a rope.  Knead the dough together briefly on the counter - just for a minute.

4)  Divide the dough into quarters.  Roll each piece into a long rope, about 3/4 inch thick.  Cut each rope into 3/4-inch lengths.  At this point, you can use a floured fork or a gnocchi board to give it the traditional ridges, but I never bother.  Place the gnocchi in a single layer on a parchment-lined tray.  If you'd like to freeze them for later use, do so on this tray; once they are frozen, drop them into a freezer bag.

5) Cook the gnocchi: place the gnocchi, a quarter batch at a time, into a pot of boiling, well-salted water.  Cook the gnocchi until they float - about 2 minutes - then drain.  Frozen gnocchi will take a minute longer.

6) Assemble the dish: meanwhile, reheat broth to a  simmer.  Add drained gnocchi and reheat through.  Serve gnocchi and broth together, garnished with extra slivers of basil and/or a dollop of fresh ricotta or some parmesan shavings to taste.