A Special Quiche

Sweetie and I were blessed this evening with a visit from our middle grandson and his sweetie as they made their way back home after spending Thanksgiving with his Mom. Because they had been on the road all day and still have many miles to go tomorrow, I wanted to give them a dinner that would be enjoyable but also relatively quick. A quiche that was baked this afternoon was just the thing.  It was after dark when we sat down to eat and I was only able to get a photo of the last piece - we really enjoyed it! - so it isn't the best photo set, but it gives you an idea of how it looked.

I love baking quiche and have made many in the past. This one was special because it was for them. It had a lot of great ingredients including chicken thighs that Sweetie had grilled yesterday, cooked onions and bacon, lots of Swiss cheese, some spinach because it goes so well with the other ingredients, and the usual egg custard that is classic in a quiche.

I used the Pillsbury pie dough circle that is so easy and tastes so good, blind baking it to a golden brown on the edges and pale gold in the interior. Of course you can always make you own pie crust or even buy one that is in a pie pan and frozen, but I find the Pillsbury one tastes fine and is super easy.

Because there is a lot of filling, I used a deep dish pie pan and rolled the crust circle out a bit so there was dough to turn under and crimp before baking. I used a pound of lentils as the pie weights, cool them after baking, and keep them for the next pie shell I need to blind bake.

Feel free to change out the filling ingredients. I've made this with chard or asparagus instead of spinach, with different cheeses, with mushrooms (which I cook with the onions), with ham instead of the chicken and so on. Keep the proportions about the same and you, too, can have a special quiche!

Quiche with Chicken, Spinach, Swiss Cheese and Bacon

1 9-inch pie shell, blind baked at 400 degrees F for 10-12 minutes (recipe follows or use refrigerated pre-made pie dough circles)

1/2 yellow onion, peeled and cut into ¼ inch dice

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 slices bacon, cut into small pieces and cooked until crisp, then drained

1 cup cooked chicken, diced in 1-inch dice
½ cup cooked, and drained chopped spinach, frozen and thawed OK
1 ½ cups Swiss cheese, cut into ¼ inch dice
3 eggs (or equivalent egg substitute)
1 ½ cups evaporated milk (I used non-fat) or light cream
¼ teaspoon salt
dash pepper
Dash nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

 In a large skillet sauté the onion in the olive oil over medium heat, stirring often, until translucent or slightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle the bottom of the pie shell with the sautéed onion, bacon, chicken pieced, drained spinach, and Swiss cheese, distributing evenly. Set aside.

In a bowl, beat the eggs lightly, then add the milk and beat with a fork to combine, add the salt, pepper and nutmeg and beat with a fork or whisk to combine.

Pour the egg/milk mixture over the ingredients in the pie shell. Place on a baking sheet and put in the preheated oven and bake 30-45 minutes, or until set and lightly browned. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting to serve.
Serves 6-8

Pastry Pie Shell

1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chilled butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons ice water
1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender, or two knives, until particles the size of dried peas are formed.

In a small bowl mix together the egg, ice water and lemon juice (if using). Sprinkle over the flour mixture and toss with a fork lightly. Do not over mix. Gather the particles together in a ball. Wrap airtight and chill in the freezer for 10 minutes. Roll out with a rolling pin on a floured surface until large enough to fill a 9 inch pie pan with some overlap.

Fit into a 9 inch pie pan, smooth to fit, trip excess , tuck edges under and crimp as for any pie crust. Prick lightly all over the surface with a fork. Freeze 10 minutes. Remove from freezer and cover with a circle of parchment paper. Fill the paper with beans or pie weights (blind baking the crust).

Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 – 12 minutes. Cool slightly. Remove and save the beans or pie weights. Fill with filling as called for in recipes needing a pie shell. 

A Pie And A Mistake

 For those of you who have been dear readers for a while, here is another post where I show just how flawed I am. If you are new here that might surprise you since lots of social media is about showing how perfect you and your life are.

The latest version of how flawed I am revolves around the Thanksgiving pie. I decided to make a pumpkin pie since

1) I love pumpkin pie

2) Sweetie loves any pie, and

3) It's easy and delicious!

The mistake was trying to bake the pie early in the morning on Thanksgiving when I hadn't slept well the night before. I made the crust just fine because I was using the pre-made pie dough already rolled in a circle. Since I was using a deep dish pie plate I did roll it out a bit more, but even that was easy. Making the filling was slightly more challenging but still easy. Where I got in trouble was the baking. You bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. No problem there, either. But here is where I went wrong. I reset the timer for 35 minutes but forgot to turn down the heat to 350. My poor pie baked for about 25 minutes at 425 instead of 350 and so the crust in some places was burnt and the top also had areas that darkened considerably (see photo above). It's a good thing that I checked on it early! 

The whole thing went into the fridge once it had cooled a bit and I decided to serve it anyway, with some dollops of whipped cream to distract from the burnt buts. I expected the filling to be overcooked and rubbery, but instead we found that the filling was firmer than usual, but still tender and delicious with no burnt taste! The guys had two slices!

Just goes to show you that I make mistakes but sometimes I get lucky and the results are still OK.

Hope that you and yours had a great Thursday.

XO, Elle

Pumpkin Pie 

1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
10 oz. evaporated milk or light cream
1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell - OK to use your own recipe, or store-bought pie dough or pie shell

Prepare the pie shell in a fairly deep 9-inch pie pan, or use a pre-made pie shell if desired.

In a mixing bowl beat the eggs slightly, then add the brown sugar and beat to combine. Add the salt and spices and combine well.

Take the pumpkin puree out of the can and add to the egg mixture and combine. Slowly add the evaporated milk or light cream. When blended, pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell (which has been placed on a baking sheet), making sure to leave at least ¼ inch of the sides unfilled to allow for expansion during baking. If you have remaining filling, you can bake it in a buttered ramekin or custard cup as a treat for the cook!

Place the cookie sheet with pie in a preheated 425 degree F. oven for 15 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and continue baking for another 35-45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. It's OK if it still jiggles a tiny bit in the center.Cool on a rack at least 45 minutes, up to 2 hours. Serve at once or refrigerate.

Lots of Mushrooms

 Sweetie loves to eat mushrooms. He often chooses menu items with mushrooms when we eat out and he loves it when I add mushrooms to what I'm cooking. When I saw this recipe from Smitten Kitchen for a UnStuffed Mushroom Casserole where mushrooms are the star I knew that I had to make it. I'm a fan of mushrooms, too.

The recipe made much more than we could eat, given that it is fairly rich, so I made 1/3 of it and that was just right. We each had a hearty portion for dinner last night and then he had leftovers for lunch today. The recipe below is the actual recipe from her blog, so it serves 8. The concept is that you take a lot of the items that you would stuff individual mushrooms with and combine them with cooked mushrooms to make a casserole. It works!

I found that I needed to add about 1/4 cup very hot water to the bowl where I was mixing the cooked mushroom mixture and the cream cheese. Maybe I let the mushroom mixture cook too long? Anyway I think you are better off with the full recipe.

This is a really delicious and fairly rich dish. If you love mushrooms, do make this! I used fairly large crimini mushrooms instead of button ones, so that may be why mine was drier, too, but the brown mushrooms really have a good solid mushroom flavor.

I messed up by adding the minced parsley to the crumb mixture that goes on top of the mushroom mixture once its in the casserole, but I did add some minced parsley to the mushroom mixture once I realized my mistake. It meant that I didn't add any on top after it was cooked.

This makes a great main course if you serve it with a whole grain and some greens or a salad or green veg. Sauteed winter squash would go well with it, too. A crusty bread served with it allows you to scoop up any sauce that doesn't cling to the mushrooms. We served it with bread, spinach and pork chops, but I only ate half the pork chop because the casserole is fairly filling!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Unstuffed Mushroom Casserole

• Source: Adapted from the Food Network
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• Servings: 8 as a side
•  Time: 1 hour
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This is doubled from the original recipe and exactly as you see it here (filling a 2-quart baking dish) because the original makes way too little to share. You know that joke about spinach? It turns out white mushrooms reduce about 1/3 of their original volumes after cooking; don’t be disappointed.

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 pounds medium white button mushrooms, quartered
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces
• 1 cup grated gruyere, comte, or cheddar etc.
• 2 cups panko-style breadcrumbs
• 1 cup grated parmesan
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Heat your oven oven to 350°F.

In a large frying pan (12-inch is ideal here) over medium-high heat, heat half (3 tablespoons) of the olive oil. Once it’s very hot, add half (1.5 pounds, but seriously, just eyeball this) of your mushrooms but don’t move them yet. Give them 1 to 2 minutes to brown underneath before adding 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, a few grinds of black pepper, and half the garlic, then moving them around, trying to get them to brown on more sides until they begin releasing their liquid. Some have a little, some have a lot; in both cases you can to cook the mushrooms, stirring, until the liquid mostly, but not fully, cooks off — a thin puddle should remain. Scrape these mushrooms into a large bowl and repeat the process with the remaining olive oil, mushrooms, and garlic, plus more salt and pepper.

Once the second half of the mushrooms have mostly cooked off their liquid, add everything in the pan to the first half of mushrooms in the bowl. Add diced cream cheese and stir just until combined (the remaining liquid from the mushrooms should help it get saucy), then half of the panko (1 cup), all of the gruyere, half of the parmesan (1/2 cup), and most of the parsley (reserve some for garnish) and stir to combine. Transfer to a 2-quart baking dish.

Combine the butter and remaining panko (1 cup) and parmesan (1/2 cup) in a bowl with a couple pinches of salt. Sprinkle over top of the mushrooms

and bake until the breadcrumbs are light golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and eat right away.

To make this ahead of time, please read: Since I’m usually making this to entertain and like to get things out of the way, I pause the recipe (in the fridge until needed, covered with foil) where you transfer the mixture to a baking dish. To finish cooking, I first get the mushroom mixture warm without the crumbs, leaving the foil on, about 10 minutes, and then bake it the rest of the way with the crumbs on, until they’re a light golden brown, usually another 25 minutes. If you put the crumbs on sooner, they get too dark. If you finish baking the dish with crumbs and later rewarm it, the mushrooms get a little overcooked and the crumbs too toasty.

Pies and Soup!

 

For me Thanksgiving is all about being grateful and, of course, the turkey, but for the rest of my family I think it might be all about the pies. I also love soup so this season has both.

I do love the make pies. Last week I was even given the delightful opportunity to help bilingual kindergarten children make pumpkin pies. There were two tables, right next to each other with one being the pie crust table and the other being for making the filling. It was a lot of fun and the teacher, who is also my next door neighbor, brought over some of the leftover pie for me and Sweetie. Unfortunately I didn't get a photo...or a taste. Sweetie thought that it was all for him and ate it up while my neighbor and I were having tea in another room. He said it was good!

I also made a pumpkin pie for us and we finished it off this weekend with one of our grandsons and his girlfriend. They stayed overnight on their way to be with his mom for Thanksgiving. It was such a delight to meet his girl and to get to visit with them. We finished the pumpkin pie...and still no photos!

I did get a photo of the clam chowder I made last week (see top of post), but there isn't a recipe. I promise that soon I'll have a 'normal' post with both a photo and the recipe, but it's been that kind of week plus.

Tomorrow we celebrate Thanksgiving with Straight Shooter, up from San Francisco. There will be turkey, of course, but also more pumpkin pie. Maybe this time I can get a photo.

Have a great Thursday dear reader. If you're an American or live in the U.S., I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. I give thanks for you all, even the 'lurkers'.

Harvest Plate

As the days have been getting shorter the tomatoes still left on the vine have been ripening increasingly slowly. There are still a lot of green tomatoes but recent rains have caused some of the tomatoes that were in the middle of their ripening to turn brown as they spoiled. Fortunately I harvested some tomatoes during the last week before they ripened but when they were a bit warm colored. I brought them inside and they have ripened. Tonight I sliced some of them and made a lovely plate with three kinds of tomatoes, kissed after slicing with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, pepper, garlic salt and some flecks of fresh basil. This is the way that Sweetie likes them, and so do I. 

Is It A Flower Or A Snowflake?

Either way, its a delicious and spectacular looking yeasted sweet bread that is far easier to make than it looks. Some people call it a pull-apart bread, but you can easily cut it, too, for a cleaner presentation.

The original of this bread was filled with Nutella, which is lovely if you like chocolate and hazelnuts and sweet bread, and many do. I prefer cinnamon and sugar, so that's how I made it. To keep the filling from being too dry, I also added a thin layer of cream cheese to each layer of dough, along with the brown sugar and spices.

This is a great bread for a party, or for the holidays when you want to wow folks a bit. It can be made ahead and frozen, but if you do that, add the glaze after you have thawed and freshened the bread a bit in a warm oven. Let it cool almost to room temperature after warming it in a 325 degree F oven for 10-15 minutes. Than drizzle on the glaze and give it a few minutes to harden. Alternately, sift some powdered sugar over the warm bread...that gets the snowflake look going, but I think it looks most like a snowflake anyway! 

Christmas Brioche Flower or Snowflake

Makes: 1 large Brioche Flower or Snowflake - can be shaped ahead and put in fridge overnight, baked in the morning

Ingredients:

For the sponge:

1/2 cup (2.25 ounces) bread flour or all-purpose (I used all-purpose  )
1 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup (4 ounces) whole milk, lukewarm (90 to 100 degrees F.)

For the dough:

3 large eggs, slightly beaten
3 cups (13.75 ounces) all-purpose flour (might need as much as 1/4 cup more, depending on how liquid the dough is)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
1-2 teaspoons milk, if necessary to form a smooth dough

For the filling and glaze:
soft cream cheese
brown sugar
cinnamon

1 tablespoon milk plus 1 tablespoon water for glaze
Icing (confectioner's) sugar

To make the sponge, stir together the flour and yeast in a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer). Pour in the milk and whisk the ingredients together until all of the flour is hydrated. Cover with plastic wrap and let it ferment for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the sponge rises and falls when you tap the bowl.

To make the dough, add the eggs to the sponge and whisk (or beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment) until smooth.  In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and salt.  Add this mixture to the sponge and eggs and stir (or continue mixing with the paddle on low speed for about 2 minutes) until all of the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes to begin to develop the gluten.  Then mix in the melted butter by hand, using a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk or with the mixer on medium speed using the dough hook. Add in a couple of teaspoons of milk if the dough is too dry. 

Transfer the dough to the work surface and knead for about 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft and smooth.  It shouldn't be too sticky too handle.

Form the dough into a ball and place it in a clean bowl.  It doesn't need to be oiled.  The butter should keep the dough from sticking to the bowl.  Let the dough bulk ferment in a warm place (70- 75 degrees F.) for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.


Meanwhile, cut out a circle of baking or greaseproof paper about 30 cm (12″) in diameter. Place the paper on a baking sheet.

To shape the flower, once risen, turn the dough out onto a surface, knock it back knead for 3-4 minutes. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and form each piece into a ball.

Roll a ball of dough out into a circle measuring about 25 cm (10″) in diameter. The dough should be about 3-4 mm (1/8″) thick.

Place the dough onto the baking paper and spread on a layer cream cheese (thin), followed by a thin layer of brown sugar and sprinkle of cinnamon or of cake or pie spice, leaving a small gap at the edge. Don’t make the layer too thick but be sure to evenly cover the dough.

Roll out a second ball of dough, place it on the first layer and spread with the same combination as the first layer. Repeat with the third and fourth balls of dough but do NOT spread any filling on the final layer.

Cut the brioche into 16 segments but leave a small (3 cm/1½”) area in the centre of the dough uncut (a spice cap is about the right size to cover the center...cut to it.

Take a pair of adjacent segments. Lift and twist them away from each other through 180°. Lift and twist through 180° again, then twist through 90° so that the ends are vertical. Press the edges together firmly. Repeat this process for all pairs of segments.

Place the brioche in a large plastic bag or cover with lightly oiled film. Leave in a warm place for 1-2 hours to prove.

Brush with the glaze then bake at 160°C/320°F fan oven, 180°C/360°F conventional oven for 20-25 minutes.  I baked it at 375 degrees F. for 15 minutes, then turned it down to 350 and baked it another 5 minutes or so.

Place the bread on a wire rack to cool. Once cooled, dust lightly with icing sugar or drizzle with more of the glaze.  

Chinese Almond Cookies

Reading can be inspiring. I recently finished reading The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama and I was inspired to bake Chinese Almond Cookies. These are similar to cookies you might receive at the end of a Chinese meal, perhaps with an orange that has been cleverly shaped to make it easy to eat the segments, perhaps all by itself. These days you are more likely to receive a fortune cookie, but the Almond Cookie, with a whole almond in the middle and a sort of crumbly texture and shiny top are what I remember being the end of a meal many years ago.

The book actually takes place in Japan, but the protagonist is a young Chinese man, sent to the Japanese beach house that his family has gone to for many years. He has been quite ill and so time at the tranquil beach town is seen as a way to allow him to heal. It becomes a kind of coming of age story as the young man Stephen learns from the Japanese man who cares for him and for the garden, plus he learns about himself from interacting with people in the town and up the mountain. All of this takes place in 1937 and 1938 as Japan invades China and, through a succession of successful campaigns, is headed towards Hong Kong where Stephen is from and where his mother and younger sister still live. I highly recommend this book. 

I might have cooked or baked something Japanese, but Stephen is Chinese and so my thoughts went there.

I hope you enjoy these delicious cookies. Do allow time for the dough to chill. I used the method of forming the dough into balls and placing them on a greased sheet pan to chill rather than shaping after chilling. Either way will work. I was picky and weighed each ball so that they would be similar in size (18 grams), but it isn't necessary. I didn't realize how much they would spread. Perhaps bake them in three batches instead of two? That would allow more space between them so that you end up with true circles. Mine ended up touching other cookies, sometimes in two places, which made some of them more of a triangle!  They taste wonderful either way.

The glazing with egg is an important part of the process. It secures the almond and gives the top a shiny look and helps with browning.

I also made half the recipe since I don't need four dozen cookies, but I'm including the full recipe for you.

Chinese Almond Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups almond flour, lightly packed
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
• Pinch kosher salt
• 2 large eggs, divided
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Thinly sliced almonds, for decoration

1. Beat the almond flour, salt, and butter:

Place the almond flour, salt, and butter into an electric mixer with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. The mixture will become coarse and chunky looking.

2. Add one of the eggs and the almond extract:

Mix them in on low speed until just incorporated.

3. Add the flour, sugar, and baking soda:

Sift the flour, sugar, and baking soda and add to the mixture. Mix on low speed until just combined.

4. Chill the dough:

Take the dough and flatten it into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator for two hours to chill.

5. Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

6. Beat the remaining egg:

In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg.

7. Flatten the balls of dough onto the cookie sheet:

Take pieces of dough and roll them into balls about 3/4 inch wide. Place them on the sheet about an inch apart and then press them down slightly with your palm to make a coin shape.

8. Press the slivered almonds into place, and paint the cookies with the egg:

Press one silvered almond into the center of each cookie. Then, using a pastry brush or your finger, paint each cookie with the egg. (This will give the cookie a lacquered appearance once it bakes).

9. Bake:

Bake at 325°F for 13 to 15 minutes, until the edges just begin to tan. Cool on the sheet on a wire rack.

Gotta Love Those Blondes

A number of years ago I baked a recipe for Blondies with lots of yummy stir-ins. Over the years I made variations on that recipe and named them things like Dirty Blondes and California Blondes. This week I made a variation of Raspberry Blondes for a tea party and they were as yummy as that first batch so long ago. This variation had fresh raspberries, but it also had pecans, white chocolate and dark chocolate chips, and both almond extract and vanilla extract. I've grown weary of finding new names for each variation, so let's just call these Bohemian Raspberry Blondes, since that's the first thing that came to mind.

Here is the full recipe using the 9" x 13" pan:

Bohemian Raspberry Blondes 
makes 24

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or non-dairy butter, at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup dark chocolate chips 
1/2  - 1 pint fresh raspberries, rinsed and dried lightly with a paper towel (don't crush) (use enough to cover batter with about an inch between berries)

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Use cooking spray to lightly coat a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

Melt the butter and sugar together in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter and sugar are blended and completely melted and starting to bubble gently. Remove the pan from heat and let the mixture cool slightly.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, almond extract and salt. Slowly whisk the cooled butter and sugar mixture into the eggs just until combined. Whisk in the flour and baking powder to form a loose batter. (Make sure the batter is cool before stirring in the remaining ingredients, otherwise the chocolate will start to melt before the bars are baked.)

Stir the nuts, coconut, and white chocolate chips and chunks into the cooled batter. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Distribute the raspberries over the batter as evenly as possible. Pour the remaining batter over the berries and smooth with a spatula.

Bake until the top is shiny and slightly crackled and feels firm to the touch, 30 – 35 minutes. Start checking at about 28 minutes. A wooden skewer inserting into the batter should come out with moist crumbs clinging to it. Let cool on a wire rack to room temperature, then cut into bars and serve.

Note: if you line the pan with foil (by taking the empty pan, turning it upside down, and molding foil over the whole outside, then turn right side up and fit the foil into the pan, smoothing, especially at the corners) it will make it easy to remove the baked and cooled cookies for cutting. If you do this, be sure to coat the foil with the cooking or baking spray once it is fitted into the pan, before adding any batter.

Smaller Batch
Since I made the recipe for a small tea party and since I've been working on reducing my sugar intake (and temptations full of sugar) I actually also reduced the recipe by half and baked it in an 8" x 8" square pan, lined with foil, then given a coating of baking spray. I thought that it would bake more quickly than the larger pan, but I think that changing the pan size meant that the batter was a bit deeper, so the baking time was only about 5 minutes less. I say 'about' because I had to keep adding time and, frankly, I got confused by the last time I added, so I'm guessing on the timing. You can still count on testing it with a toothpick. When inserted in the center, the toothpick should come out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Give it a try at about 28 minutes and keep trying every couple of minutes until you get those crumbs. Sorry I can't be more exact.

Bohemian Raspberry Blondes 
makes 16

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or non-dairy butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon almond extract 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2  teaspoon salt
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1  cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup white chocolate chips 
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 pint fresh raspberries, rinsed and dried lightly with a paper towel (don't crush)

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Use cooking spray to lightly coat a foil lined 8 x 8 inch baking pan.

Melt the butter and sugar together in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter and sugar are blended and completely melted and starting to bubble gently. Remove the pan from heat and let the mixture cool slightly.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, almond extract, vanilla extract and salt. Slowly whisk the cooled butter and sugar mixture into the eggs just until combined. Whisk in the flour and baking powder to form a loose batter. (Make sure the batter is cool before stirring in the remaining ingredients, otherwise the chocolate will start to melt before the bars are baked.)

Stir the nuts, coconut, and white and dark chocolate chips into the cooled batter. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Distribute the raspberries over the batter as evenly as possible. Pour the remaining batter over the berries and smooth with a spatula. You may sit a bit of some of the berries above the batter.

Bake until the top is shiny and slightly crackled and feels firm to the touch, 28 – 35 minutes. A wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the batter in the middle should come out with moist crumbs clinging to it. Let cool on a wire rack to room temperature, then cut into bars and serve.

Red Pepper Pasta Sauce

It's appropriate, I think, that the beginning post for my year leading up to 20 blogging years should be for a recipe that reflects both my experience gained while blogging, and the state of my memory almost 20 years into it. I wrote down the ingredients and measurements for this recipe, but, with my older brain, can't remember where I put it. The recipe will be from memory and I think that you can rely on everything except the amount of liquid, mostly because the photo part of my memory still works for much of it, so I remember the onion and garlic part, the herbs part, the blender part which includes the parmesan and pine nuts and red wine vinegar. Can't quite picture the adding of the milk. Read the recipe to see how we are going to work around that.

The usual pasta sauces here are my favorite zucchini-based tomato pasta sauce and also Costco pesto in a jar. A recent gift of already roasted and prepared red peppers led me to thinking about trying a red pepper pasta sauce and I'm glad I did. I looked at about six different recipes for that kind of sauce on the Internet, and then borrowed from them to create my own recipe. Some of the Internet recipes used fresh roasted peppers and some use the kind of red peppers that come in a jar. I think that for most recipes either will work, so if you don't have fresh roasted red peppers, try this with the kind in a jar, O.K.?

Red Pepper Pasta Sauce

Good for 3-4 servings of pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 onion (I used yellow), peeled, thinly sliced, then roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced mixed herbs - I used fresh flat-leaf parsley and fresh basil
1 cup red bell pepper - roasted, peeled, core and stem and seeds removed (can use jarred, drained)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts (I toasted them in the same skillet as the onions, after the onions were done)
milk
salt and pepper to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper)

In a large skillet, heat one (1) tablespoon olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions and reduce heat to medium. Stir to coat the onion pieces with oil and continue to cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Onions will become translucent and begin to brown. Don't burn them.

Add the garlic and lower heat to medium-low. Stir into the onions and cook, stirring very often, for 2 minutes.

In a blender that has a lot of power, or in a food processor or Vitamix, place half the onion mixture, half the herb mixture, all of the red bell peppers, half the Parmesan cheese and the 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar. Process/blend on high until the mixture begins to look smooth (time varies by machine). 

Add the pine nuts, the rest of the onion mixture and herb mixture, the rest of the Parmesan cheese, the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon milk. Process, adding additional milk by tablespoons until mixture easily processes and becomes smooth. Err on the side of less milk because you will be able to add hot pasta water if sauce is too thick when combined with the pasta. You just want enough liquid so that the sauce blends continuously in the turned on blender. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Process another few seconds to blend in the salt and pepper. Taste again. If needed, process in a small amount of additional red wine vinegar to make the sauce piquant, not bland.

In a large pot of salted water, cook 8-10 oz. of  your favorite pasta according to package directions (I used fresh cheese tortellini, but most pastas will work), drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Return pasta to pot, add the sauce and stir to coat pasta. If too thick, add additional pasta water, a little at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Pass additional Parmesan, if desired, at the table.

 

Nineteen Years Of Food Blogging

In October of 2006 I had no idea that food blogging would become one of the most enduring parts of my life. It seemed like it would be fun...and it has been. I thought that it would give some scope to my creative hobbies...and it really has done that. I imagined that it would encourage me to try different foods, recipes and techniques...all of that has happened through blogging about food.

Many of the bloggers that I 'met' in the early years have moved on to other pursuits, but I still find it a pleasant challenge to try new recipes and to tweak old favorites. Then I take photos and write up a blog post so that I can share it all with you, dear readers, including any who just happen to stumble on Feeding My Enthusiasms.

A couple of tips: if you are reading this on your phone, scroll down to the last shown post. Below that it should give you an option to see the web view. Take that option and you'll have access to some extras - the Index, which is accessed by clicking on the food photo in the right hand section, and also the list of years of posts. Try using that to look at posts from a few years in October...or November since that will be here soon. Many of the recipes highlight seasonal foods and ways of cooking so in late October and on into the winter you'll find stews and braises, more baking, and more chocolate!

Do try out the Index. It has the usual A-Z format, but also three focused indexes; one for bread, one for cake, and one for cookies.

If you're a long time reader, thank you for staying on the journey with me! If you are new to the blog, welcome. Check out the index and give a recipe a try if you find one that sounds interesting to you. If you see one that sounds like a fairy tale, you've come upon a story from the Land of St. Honore'. St. Honore' is the patron saint of bakers, so this imaginary land is filled with bakers.

For those of you keeping up on my life beyond food, my injured foot is better but I'll be getting an MRI soon to see if something beyond basic PT would be helpful. Sweetie and I finished the sunspace project, so we are buttoned up for the winter there and the china cabinet is back where it belongs. The area around it is bright with new, shiny white paint, too. Next door at the fire station they are beginning a remodel that will probably take at least 6 months, so they brought in a portable which will have both some sleeping quarters for the fire fighters and an office for the chief since his will get torn up. We have a ring-side seat to it all as well as, probably, a lot of noise to look forward to. 

Now I begin the year of blogging leading to year 20. Bet it's going to be fun for all of us!

Bring On the Bruschetta!

The tomato season is winding down. There are still plenty of unripe green tomatoes, mostly small one, on the tomato plants, but the days are getting shorter and cooler, so it takes a long time for the green ones to ripen.

I decided to use two of the medium to small ripe ones tonight to make bruschetta since the best bruschetta are made from the best tomatoes.  Sweetie and I each had two and they were wonderful! I did end up with garlic breath since the topping is made with raw garlic, but it's worth it for the flavor.

You can toast the bread on a grill, which is the traditional way, or you can toast it in a cast iron fry pan as I did. The edges of the bread might get a bit burnt before the softer bread is toasted, but it didn't seem to harm the toasts, nor the flavor. I used the whole tomatoes, including the skin, seeds and juices, but you can skin the tomatoes and then discard the seeds and gel holding the seeds if you want a fancy topping. Either way you will get the full taste of summer...garlic, tomatoes, basil and olive oil, plus a touch of balsamic vinegar. If you skip the vinegar you might want to add a touch of salt if the tomatoes are really ripe (as they should be for this recipe.) Don't wait much longer...soon the only tomatoes available won't have the flavor and juiciness of vine ripened summer tomatoes. 

Bruschetta for Two

4 thin slices flavorful, firm bread
1 medium to large fresh, ripe tomato (I used a medium red Costalutto and a small yellow-orange tomato)
2 tablespoons best quality olive oil, divided
1 clove garlic
3-4 leaves fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (or some salt, to taste)

Brush a bit of olive oil on the bread slices. Toast the bread slices to a golden brown color. If possible, use a grill to toast them.

Chop the tomato into very small dice and place in a medium bowl, keeping as much tomato juice as possible with the tomatoes. Add the rest of the olive oil, mince the garlic and add, finely chop the basil and add it to the bowl. Stir in the balsamic vinegar until everything is combined, and let the mixture sit until it's time to serve the bruschetta.

When you are ready to serve the bruschetta, warm the toasts, place them on the serving platter. Stir the tomato, oil, garlic and basil together.  Top each toast with 1/4 of the tomato mixture. If you have a few tiny basil leaves you can garnish the bruschetta with them. Add salt and pepper to taste...although you may not need any. Serve at once.

Spice Layer Cake for the Autumn

Finally we were able to reschedule the missed dinner with our Healdsburg friends. The yogurt cake was long gone, but I found a recipe in a King Arthur Baking email that was perfect for dessert.

The cake is a pumpkin spice cake. Now, don't groan about the way the pumpkin spice has taken over the season. This cake was more a spice cake with a tiny bit of pumpkin flavor. The original recipe was for a fairly thin cake with a cream cheese frosting and it was sized to serve a crowd...like four dozen folks!

I decided that we didn't need that much cake for four people, so I halved the recipe (and replaced the oil with melted butter because I like that better) and baked it in a 9-inch by 13-inch pan. That still made a fairly thin layer, so I decided to divide it by three. I stacked two of the three layers, with my own version of cream cheese frosting in the middle and on top. The remaining third and the rest of the frosting will be used later for a dessert for another friend or friends.

My frosting recipe is their recipe with the addition of two tablespoons sour cream. It gives the frosting a nice tang that helps offset the super sweetness of the confectioners sugar.

Do try this cake. It's moist and mildly spicy, with the cake not very sweet and the frosting sweet but tangy. It's an indulgence, but you can have small pieces as I did and still have a satisfying dessert.

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 1 - 9-inch by 6-inch layer cake, plus a single 9-inch by 6-inch cake layer

Ingredients

·      Pumpkin cake:

·      ½ cup melted butter, cooled

·      ½ cup brown sugar

·      ½ cup granulated sugar

·      2 large eggs

·      ½ cup pumpkin purée

·      ½ teaspoon baking soda

·      ½ teaspoon baking powder

·      1/4 teaspoon salt

·      ½ tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

·      1 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

·      ½ cup chopped toasted walnuts 

·      ½ cup golden raisins

 

·      For the frosting:

·      8 ounces cream cheese

·      4 tablespoons softened butter

2      2 tablespoons sour cream

·      2  tablespoons maple syrup

·      2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar

·      ⅛ teaspoon salt

·      

·      Procedure

·      This cake is moist and delicious, similar to carrot cake but with a fall flavor. The rich cream cheese frosting will also remind you of carrot cake—which isn’t a bad thing! Do toast the walnuts before using them; toasting brings out their nutty essence.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan; or line the pan with greased parchment.

Beat the cooled melted butter and the sugars together until well blended.

Beat in the eggs, then the pumpkin purée.

·            Stir the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spice into the wet ingredients, then stir in the flour, beating gently to combine.

      Stir in the nuts and raisins.

      Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

      Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it onto a rack to finish cooling; or leave it right in the pan, if you’ve lined the pan with parchment.

      When ready to assemble, remove the cake from the pan if not already done, turn cake right side up, and use a sharp knife to divide the cake into three 6-inch x 9-inch pieces. Reserve one of the pieces for another use.

      Place one of the pieces of cake on a serving plate or platter. Spread frosting over the whole layer and smooth. Place the second layer over the first. Spread more frosting over the top, swirling a bit once spread. If desired decorate with fall colored decorations or with toasted, chopped walnuts. Serve in 2-inch by 2-inch pieces (approximately).

 

To make the frosting: Beat the cream cheese, butter  and sour cream together.

Beat in the maple syrup, then mix in the confectioners’ sugar and salt. Adjust the consistency of the frosting with additional maple syrup or confectioners’ sugar, if necessary; it should be nicely spreadable.

Frost the cake. Once the frosting has set somewhat, cut into squares and serve.