Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year. My parents came and visited me in my house.... It was my first thanksgiving in the new place after I had settled in.... kind of. Of course my parents arrived in style, bringing my terror of a dog, and the equivalent of a small jungle that i KNOW i will kill off in a matter of months.... and also some cute christmas decorations.

Christmas Aloe :-)

My new orchid plant!

It was nice having them come by, my house feels like it has been warmed and blessed by my family (except my sister... she's far away and i miss her :'( sadders...) and it was so much fun preparing a huge thanksgiving dinner for my family (almost all by myself!!!)

On the menu:

Turkey! a whole 12 lb turkey that had been brining in the fridge for 2 days


Homemade gravy
Cheese and Crackers platter
Split pea and asparagus soup with Gorgonzola cheese
Veggie stuffing with raisins, apples, and walnuts
Roasted Veggie mashed potato
cranberry sauce (in a can... i cheated... but my mom loves the stuff-- and so do i!)
Caramel pumpkin pie with ginger snap crust and cinnamon whipped cream (again!! cuz i love this recipe!!!!)


we ate quite a bit of food... and drank a bit of wine... and my dog peed in my room looking for my cat. it was a joyous occasion.

My mom's plate of food yum!

They left my house and it suddenly felt like it had really been lived in. the plants are great, and now I have something to hang ornaments, and there's decorations on my mantle. now to hang the stockings :-)

Dad brought me new pet fish

Burnt Butter Toffee Bars

Brace yourself....


Daylight savings or Standard time... whatever time we're in now always gets me down, luckily there are friends who find joy in this darkness and propose awesome celebrations of _________!!!! My reason to celebrate was trying new recipes! and maybe... i don't know... the second turning of the leaves :-) It's been beautiful for a week and the weather suddenly went to crap but when it hits mid 70's in november, that's always a reason to celebrate too.

I stumbled across this amazing sounding recipe: Burnt Butter Toffee Bars found here. My vision for this dish was something a little different than the recipe and i ventured out to the grocery store to purchase items to make this treat. My vision was this: I wanted a ginger snap crust and a delicious almost carmel-y toffee flavored firm yet gooey middle layer topped off with some nice snappy dark chocolate sprinkled with salt but my mission was thwarted from the start. The ginger snap cookies were placed on the TOP SHELF of the grocery store.... the very top shelf where onlky the front bags are grabable at my height. I wandered around looking for a tall person or an employee to help me get a bag that was shoved as far back on the shelf as any unfortunate bag of lonely gingersnaps would be. i stood there jumping up and down trying to grab the bag but my small hands couldn't get a good grasp of the bag. It was such a tragedy. Dejected and forlorn i hung my head in shame and walked away from the cookies and crackers aisle and continued shopping. At that point, i was madly thinking about the different ways i could try to get that snappy ginger taste into the crust and furiously decided to craft a plan B.

Plan B was to use my leftover graham crackers. In retrospect, i would completely change the recipe. It was overall an incredibly delicious treat but it just wasn't what i had wanted. The recipe below is what i did. I'll supplement it with changes that i'd make next time i make this.

Burnt Butter Toffee Bars

1 c butter
2 pkg graham crackers
1/3 c molasses
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
12 oz semi sweet chocolate
1 c brown sugar
2 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• In a food processor, throw in the graham crackers and pulse until crumbly.
  
• Melt the butter in a pot and cook until it browns in color. Don't over cook because it'll burn and you'll have tasty burnt morsels of butter in your toffee (oops... )
• Pour half the butter into the food processor and pulse with the butter. Add the molasses and ginger and cinnamon and continue to pulse until the liquids are incorporated. Press into a lined 9x13 pan and bake for 10-15 min. (At this point, I thought it would have been wiser for me to make the crumbs moister so they'd hold together better. i would pulse in cold butter, a little milk, or maybe even an egg with the graham crackers.... IF YOU CHOOSE TO FOLLOW THIS RECIPE!!!! the final product was delicious but the crust did not hold together at all.... it was so sadders)
• while the crust cools, prepare the toffee. In the pot with the remaining butter, add brown sugar, 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, cream, and corn syrup. bring the mixture to a nice boil and continue cooking for about 5 minutes or so, stirring continuously.
  
• When the concoction takes on a beautiful amber color and smells like buttery heaven, pour over the cooled crust. Let the toffee settle and cool.
  
• After the toffee is cooled (it won't stick to your fingers when you poke it), melt the chocolate in the microwave. When melted, pour over the toffee and sprinkle with kosher salt or some big chunky salt.

Melty Over Toffee

Salty Sprinkles

• When cool, use a clean sharp knife to cut into squares. eat
  

Yummmm

This turned out to be absolutely delicious but it wasn't quite what i had expected or wanted. it was a success wrought in failure :-) but a delicious success. a friend called it chocolate goo, and i think that really is the right way to describe it.

next time, it'll be so amazing.... i promise.

Butternut Squash Sage Gnocchi

I don't generally like sage... or most of the italian herbs... i love pasta, the noodles, the carbs, the tomatoes and veggies that go into the dishes... I had a huge giant butternut squash left over from who knows how long ago... luckily these things keep like champions. It's a short preface today, just because i'm exhausted from thinking about food :-) I love it, it's delicious, but even I need a brief rest from thinking about delicious things!

Butternut Squash Sage Gnocchi

1 lb roasted butternut squash
2 cloves garlic
2+ c flour
1 tsp sage
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 c parmesan cheese

Sauce:

I can't remember how i made the sauce, but it was creamy and delicious

Directions:

• Cut the butternut squash into manageable pieces and roast in the oven with the garlic until fork tender
• Puree the squash and garlic in a blender or food processor until smooth
• Move the puree to a large ish bowl, add the paresan cheese, sage, and a dash of salt. gradually add flour as you mix. It will be really sticky and a lot of flour will be used, I ended up using over 2 cups of flour because the squash was so moist. try not to over mix the dough
• break off a chunk of the dough and move to a floured surface and roll into a thick rope
• cut off small chunks of the rope and score with a fork to get the neat little lines and set them aside

Like cozy little kiddos

• To cook the gnocchi, bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil and toss in the raw gnocchi
• You'll know they're done cooking when they start to float on the surface of the water. Remove them with a slotted spoon
• These tasted incredibly delicious alone without any sauce, but if you want something to eat with the gnocchi, sauteed zucchini and onions and mushrooms would be great. or a drizzle of olive oil, and cut up cherry tomatoes, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese would be awesome too!
  

I topped mine off with some white sauce i had made, with some delicious leftover farmers market tomatoes with a sprinkle of truffle salt!

Dinner! is Served!!!

Another reason why fall is so amazing is because of the versatility of the fall and winter squashes :-) love. it. forever.

Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes

vegan! the word itself seems to strike fear into the hearts of all meat eaters across the world, their faces cringe and they go run to the nearest source of meat and immediately devour a hotdog or something after they hear the word. surprising things come from vegan recipes. Various substitutions to make sure that there are no animal products and byproducts in the dishes are so interesting, and i'm always curious to know how they figured those things out without necessarily compromising the flavor of the baked goods.

I came across this vegan red velvet cupcake recipe a long time ago (here) and it is by far, my favorite of all the red velvet recipes i've tried. It's so moist, so delicious, so red and velvety! i tell people it's vegan after they tell me it's so delicious :-) it makes me feel sneaky.

Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes

1 c soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 c flour
1 c sugar
2 T cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c vegetable oil
2 Tbls red food coloring (liquid)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350F and line a cupcake tin (I made mini cupcakes, so it was a 24 cupcake
  
• In the mixing bowl, combine the soy milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle
• Combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, soda, and salt) in a separate bowl
• After the soy milk has been curdling, add the oil, food coloring and vanilla extract and mix well. slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until the large clumps are gone
• Carefully pour the batter into the cupcake pan, filling each liner with batter about 2/3 of the way up
• Bake for 15-18 min until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean
• Transfer to a wire rack and let cooooool
• this recipe makes about 30 or so mini cupcakes
  

I like to make cream cheese frosting to go on the cupcakes (which un veganizes them!!! ahhhhh sad... but it's so good you can eat it with or without the cream cheese frosting)



til next time!!!! eat well, drink well, and LIVE WELL!!!!

Pumpkin Lasagna

We recently had a pumpkin party. Inspired by ... you know... one of the greatest seasons ever!!!! FALL!!!! there was so much delicious food! pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin brownies, pumpkin soup, pumpkin beer, pumpkin shaped cookies, pumpkin muffins! but i would have to say the star of the night (in my belly) was the pumpkin lasagna. Soooooooooo good....

Lasagna is probably one of my favorite things to make when i have time on a Sunday. It's easy to make, super fast, super delicious, and will feed you for a week if you can bear to eat the same thing every day for lunch and dinner. Using pumpkin was a great idea. The flavor of the pumpkin isn't overwhelming, it's more of a subtle flavor that lingers on the back of your tongue after all the pepper and sage and vegetables have their way with your tastebuds. my friend tried a slice and said he would never have guessed that it was made with pumpkin, it was delicious, and he devoured it.

Pumpkin Lasagna
12 pieces of lasagna
2 cans pumpkin puree
1 15 oz container of ricotta cheese
shredded Parmesan
8 oz button mushrooms
8 oz sliced shittake mushrooms
1/2 large onion
1 clove garlic
2 tsp sage
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp chili pepper

Directions:

• Boil noodles til al dente in salted water
• Sautee the mushrooms, onion, garlic, and add a can of pumpkin puree
  
• Mix the ricotta cheese with the second can of pumpkin puree and add some salt and pepper to taste
• assemble the layers as desired (i like to do noodles, pumpkin + veggies with shredded parm, noodles, pumpkin + ricotta + more shredded parm, noodles, maybe whatever's leftover, noodles, more shredded cheese!)
• bake at 400 degrees for about 20 min, covered with foil
  
• turn the oven to broil and remove the foil. broil until the cheese is golden and crispy

enjoy!

High Time for PIE!!

I was overcome with a little bit of Pie Madness recently and went on some crazed baking spree. you know that "pumpkin shortage" i mentioned a couple entries ago? yeah.. i went out and bought like, 4 more cans of pumpkin puree. I had hoped to make some amazing pie crusts but i'm afraid of pie crust. instead i opted for a less fancy but equally tasty graham cracker version. it's also a lot easier to make... in my opinion.... and i like the crumbly texture.

inspired by bacaro's pumpkin pie and pecan crust, i opted to try out a caramel pumpkin pie with graham cracker pecan crust recipe. (in parallel, i made a sweet potato apricot pie... but that one needs a little more work. it's tasty... but not mind blowing!!)

Graham cracker pecan crust

1 pkg graham crackers (what is that... like, 8 crackers?)
1 cup toasted pecans
4 tbsp butter
dash of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 T sugar

caramel pumpkin pie filling

1/2 c sugar
1/8 c water
1 c heavy cream
1 c pumpkin puree
2 large eggs

cinnamon whipped cream
1 c heavy cream
2T sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 C
  
• Crush the graham crackers and lightly toast the pecans.
  
• Throw them into a food processor and pulse with butter
• Bake crust for 10-15 min, just until the crust is browned and the aroma of the pecans fills your kitchen
• As the crust cools, prepare the filling. heat the sugar and water and let it come to a boil. Swirl the sugar instead of stirring with a spoon. after about 10 or so minutes (watch the sugar cuz it'll burn quickly) until it becomes a golden color
• slowly add the cream, stirring with a wooden spoon. The mixture will bubble furiously so be careful not to let it spill over.
  
• let the caramel cool for a bit and prepare the pumpkin and spices. In a mixing bowl, start mixing the pumpkin puree and the cinnamon, slowly adding the hot caramel
• once the caramel is incorporated, crack in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated
• pour into the baked crust and bake some more at 335 for another 50 min or until the center is set and only minimally jiggly.
• let cool. refrigerate if you can bear not eating it right away

Cinnamon Whipped Cream

• whip the cream and sugar and a tsp of cinnamon until stiff peaks form.
  
• eat with pie!!!!
  

Yum.... close up

Slice of Pie!

Slice of Pie with Cinnamon Whipped Cream!

this pie is great. i'm definitely making it again. maybe for thanksgiving dinner with my parents.