A Wonderful Long Weekend

Turkey roasted to perfection. Delicious.

Plenty of leftover Salty Honey Pie to last the whole weekend. The salty & sweet combination is just heavenly on the tongue.

I even managed to take out my tripod to take a group picture in our new backyard. 

Napoleon

Caesar

The day after Thanksgiving, I used the leftover turkey to make a hearty & comforting pot of Turkey Congee (rice porridge).

We invited a small group of family and friends over to help celebrate my DH's milestone birthday.

It was the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Handmade by Melody.

Handmade by me. (Salty Honey Pie using Four & Twenty Blackbirds's recipe)

Welcoming Fall!

 

My number 1 assistant woke up early to help me bake Pumpkin Doughnuts. I was invited to a knitter's get-together brunch and wanted to bring something sweet. Nothing screams Fall like pumpkin. 

They turned out gorgeous and delicious. I used 2 different sizes of doughnut pans. My Quality Control Team (DH & Melody) sampled the fresh doughnuts rolled in cinnamon and sugar and they gave it 2 thumbs ups. The recipe is called Pumpkin Cake Doughnuts. I subbed KA Unbleached White Whole Wheat Flour because DH misread the label when he was grocery shopping. But it turned out just as good and healthier, too. Gabby was the lovely hostess and my pumpkin doughnuts paired well with the delicious soup she made. 

 

Here is Kim working on her steek. Karen, Gabby, Stephanie, and I all cheered Kim on to finish her Rhinebeck sweater. Yes, NYS Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY is coming up real soon.

DH, Melody and I were very excited to attend our town's Fall Festival. It's a great way to get to know all the local businesses and services. We ran into her English teacher from school and her Karate Academy had a booth there. She had a lot of fun listening to the live music and walking around. 

 

I have never seen a Tornado Potato before and had to get one before we left the festival. Melody gobbled it up with delight. What's not to like? Fried potato with lots of salt = YUM. 

 

Then we came home and she worked on her chalk art on the driveway. DH and I worked on the house and yard work. It was a lovely weekend. Did you do anything fun this weekend?

Easy Meals

We all have our lazy days or those nights where you had a long day and all you can manage is a simple meal. On those days, I look for simple and fast recipes. And the less pots, pans, and utensils I have to dirty, the better. I wanted to share 2 recipes that I have made many times with success.

My friend, Jen, gave me In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite a few years ago for Christmas. I read that book every night before bed time and enjoyed the author's stories behind the recipes. I love cook books that read like a story book. One day, I had one of those long stressful days and this recipe for a easy macaroni and cheese called out to me.

It was delicious and super easy. It tasted like a sophisticated mac & cheese, but simplified. It's not your standard mac & cheese with a super cheesy sauce, but it's really good. Try it!

Even Easier One-Handed Macaroni with Creamy Peas and Cheese
(From In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite )

Time: 10 min

Serves 2 adults or numerous small children

Kosher salt

8 ounces macaroni or tiny shells pasta (2 cups)

2/3 cup frozen peas

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 large sage sprigs

1 fat garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest (optional)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, more to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch freshly ground black pepper

1. In a large pot of salted water, cook the pasta according to the package directions. About 30 seconds before the pasta is done to taste, stir in the frozen peas. Drain well.
2. While the pasta is cooking, in a medium saucepan, bring the cream, sage, garlic, and lemon zest (if using) to a simmer for about 3 minutes. Stir in the cheese, nutmeg, pepper, pasta, and peas. Stir well until the pasta is coated with the sauce and season with salt to taste. Serve hot, discarding the sage.

Egg Boat

This Egg Boat was amazing! Crispy on the outside and inside filled with eggy, cheesy deliciousness. After the first time I made it, I continued to make it 3 days straight because I loved it so much. I also made it for DH and he agreed that it tasted fantastic.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I took 1 demi-baguette and cut a v shape lengthwise to take out some of the bread. Then in a bowl I mixed together: 1 egg, dash of cream, chopped up cooked bacon, 1 scallion chopped, grape tomatoes, cheddar cheese, salt & pepper to taste. Pour the mixture into the demi-baguette and bake it until puffed and browned.

I was inspired by this recipe, Baked Egg Boat, but you don't really need a recipe. It's so simple. I just used what I had in the fridge. Try it, your stomach will thank you.

Black Sesame Pudding (Kuro Goma Purin)

I absolutely adore Japanese desserts. They are light and not too sweet. A perfect way to end a meal without walking away feeling stuffed. Pudding, or purin as the Japanese call it, is a popular dessert in Japan. It is usually more firm than an American-style pudding, more like a custard’s consistency. The most common flavor is vanilla with caramel sauce and it's one of my favorites. I am lucky to live in a city that has many Japanese bakeries. About 6 months ago, I tasted my first Black Sesame Pudding and it was love at first bite.

Over the weekend, I was browsing on La Fuji Mama and saw that Rachael had created a recipe for Black Sesame Pudding (Kuro Goma Purin). It looked easy enough and I already had a jar of black sesame seeds in my pantry. Using black sesame seeds is much easier than finding black sesame paste for me. I ran to my local grocery store for a cup of heavy cream and whipped this dessert up in a jiffy. Super simple!

The taste? The toasted black sesame flavor paired with the creamy milk custard was perfect. I was a little worried that it wasn't going to set properly because working with gelatin is not always easy. But the texture came out exactly like I had it last time from a bakery. This recipe is a winner!

Rustic Tuscan Apple Cake

Apparently, I didn't get enough of baking last week. The day after Thanksgiving, I was ready to fire up the oven again. I had book marked this recipe, Rustic Tuscan Apple Cake, a few weeks ago and it has been calling to me. The recipe was quick and easy to make. You just mix up the batter and throw in the apples. It was the perfect activity to do with Melody. She was so happy that she got to help make the cake.

The recipe calls for 00 Flour, but I used All Purpose Flour and it was fine. Since I had plenty of heavy cream leftover from the Thanksgiving baking, I whipped up some fresh whipped cream to go with the cake. Um yes, the cake was delicious and whipped cream does make everything 100 times better. :-)

Thanksgiving

I have a lot to be thankful for this year. This year we are spending Thanksgiving at my friend's house in Brooklyn, NY. I am looking forward to spending time with friends I haven't seen in a while. We have been so busy with work and every day life that it's nice to slow down and relax for a bit.

This is my contribution to the Thanksgiving desserts this year. I had a lot of fun making these treats and hope everyone will enjoy them.

Maple Nut Tart ready to go into the oven.

Making the chocolate ganache for the Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles.

The finished Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles.

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes dipped in Chocolate Ganache.

A perfect 2-3 bite treat after the Thanksgiving meal.

Chinese Short Ribs

This recipe for Chinese Short Ribs is delicious and so simple. I have a bunch of projects with deadlines looming, so dinner preparations has to be quick and tasty. This was perfect. Just a few simple ingredients to make a great meal.

Instead of digging out my slow cooker, I just used my Le Creuset Dutch Oven and let it simmer for 3 hours on the stove top. I used Beef Flanken Short Ribs because it was available at my local market. It is cut cross wise, so all I had to do was cut them into pieces in between the bones. I also sauteed the broccoli instead of steaming because we like our broccoli crunchy. As you can see in the picture, I served mine over brown rice.

Thank you for the tasty recipe, Minty Fresh!

Crafting and Baking

Last Thursday, Melody made her first arts & crafts project at school. I was so proud of her when she showed it to me after school. Seriously, it was hard not to tear up seeing her huge smile. I had explained to her that we needed to save the gift until Father's Day. She woke up from her nap when dh came home from work and ran downstairs clutching the gift. It was very cute to see how proud she was to present her daddy with the gift that she had made in school. Even if she was 3 days early! Oh well. :-)

Remember the savory item that I said I was bringing to the baby shower?

I had seen a recipe for Tomato Feta Scones a few months ago on the Etsy Blog and book marked it. Although scones are one of my favorite things to bake, I have never made savory scones before. The baby shower was the perfect excuse for me to give it a try. Unfortunately, Sarah, whom the baby shower was for, is allergic to garlic and onions, which the recipe calls for. No problem. I figured I would just omit the green onions and garlic salt. At the grocery store, I picked up a tomato and basil feta cheese to add in extra flavor that was taken out by omitting the garlic salt and green onions. My grocery store does not carry roasted tomatoes, so I bought a jar of sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil. I made sure to drain and blot off as much of the oil as I could. I didn't want to make the scone dough too wet. They baked up perfectly and were absolutely delicious. I tried one while they were cooling, but I easily could have eaten two in one sitting. It paired well with a cup of tea.

Sun-dried Tomato Feta Scones
adapted from Tomato Feta Scones With Savory Sweet Life (Etsy Blog)

Makes 8 scones

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 egg slightly beaten
1 - 4 oz package feta cheese (tomato basil flavor), diced up
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender, 2 knives or your fingers until it resembles coarse meal

Stir in heavy cream and egg, until it comes together. Add feta cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. Gently mix the ingredients by hand until the savory ingredients are evenly distributed. On a floured surface, form a big dough ball. Flatten the dough into a 1 inch disk and cut it in 8 equal pieces. Bake for 15 minutes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Remove scones from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate-Caramel Pecan Clusters

I am attending a baby shower today and it's going to be potluck style. Last night, I whipped up these Chocolate-Caramel Pecan Clusters. I have been wanting to try this recipe for a while and I am glad that I finally did. It was really easy because it was more about assembling than anything else. I think Melody would love to help me make this next time. I am bringing both a sweet and savory item for the potluck baby shower. The savory item will have to be for another post because it just came out of the oven.

Chocolate-Caramel Pecan Clusters
from Martha Stewart Holiday Cookies Magazine (special holiday issue)

Makes 1 dozen

1 cup pecan halves, toasted
12 soft caramels
1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into 12 pieces (1/2 inch each)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Set aside 36 pecan halves. Coarsely chop remaining pecans (about 1/4 cup)

2. On a parchment line baking sheet, make 12 clusters by arranging 2 pecans vertically, side by side, and placing 1 pecan vertically above them. On a piece of parchment, gently flatten each caramel, center 1 on top of each cluster. Bake clusters 5 minutes. Remove from oven (leave oven on).

3. Place 1 piece of chocolate on top of each cluster. Return to oven; bake until chocolate begins to melt, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from oven. With the back of a spoon, gently spread chocolate over caramel without completely covering it.

4. Sprinkle clusters evenly with reserved chopped pecans. Chill just until set, about 15 minutes. Pecan clusters can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

Salty & Sweet Cashew Brittle

Today, I was in the mood for something salty, sweet and crunchy. I pulled The Craft of Baking off of my bookshelf to see if any of the recipes would strike my fancy. The Cashew Brittle caught my eye. Quickly glancing at the recipe, I realized I had all the ingredients on hand and it did not seem like a fussy recipe. I wouldn't even need to pull out the candy thermometer.

The recipe was quick and easy. Mine turned out darker than regular brittle. I cooked the caramel longer before adding in the baking soda and salt because I was going for a slightly burnt caramel flavor. It added a depth of flavor to the brittle. It's delicious and dangerous to have a big bowl of it around the house. Thank goodness I will be having some friends over today to share it with.

Grandma Rankin's Cashew Brittle
from The Craft of Baking

Makes 1 3/4 pounds

Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups of sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) salted roasted cashews

Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

Combine the sugar, butter, corn syrup, and 1/2 cup water in a large saucepan. Stir together so that all of the sugar is wet. Cook the mixture over high heat without stirring until it turns a dark amber color, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Carefully whisk in the baking soda, followed by the salt; the caramel will rise and bubble. Using a wooden or metal spoon, fold in the cashews. Pour the brittle onto the prepared baking sheet, and using the back of the spoon, spread it out into a layer about 1/2 inch thick. Let it cool completely. Break the brittle into bite-size pieces, using a mallet or the back of a heavy knife.

The brittle can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

My modifications:
-Used a silpat on the rimmed baking sheet instead of nonstick cooking spray.
-Used 1 tablespoon of regular salt.
-Cooked my caramel a little longer.

Another Fall Favorite

Fall is definitely my most favorite time of year for knitting. It signals the need for warm woolly knits before Winter finally arrives. In the past years, I would start knitting in a frenzy when the first sign of cold hits. Summers use to slow my knitting to a halt. These days, I am knitting all year round, so the mad dash to start knitting every pattern in sight is curbed.

My other passion is baking. Fall is when I love to fire up the oven because certain Summer months are just too hot to bake. There is never a lack of baked goods in my kitchen during the Fall and Winter months.

Next week, Thanksgiving will be the start of my baking season. I want to share an amazing cookie recipe with all of you. It comes from the book, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking. The Black Forest Chocolate Cookies are a delicious combination of chocolate and cherries. Everyone I've shared it with has loved them. My friend's husband, who does not like cherries, fell instantly in love with this cookie after the first bite. That's saying a lot from a humble little cookie.

Black Forest Chocolate Cookies
Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

Yield 24 Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
16 oz. dark chocolate (60-72% cacao), coarsely chopped
10 T. unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 large eggs
1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1 T. pure vanilla extract
1 c. (6 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. (6 oz.) white chocolate chips
1 c. (6 oz.) dried cherries

Directions:
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large nonreactive metal bowl, combine the dark chocolate and butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugars on high speed until the mixture is pale and thick, about 5 minutes.

Add the cooled chocolate mixture and the vanilla and beat until just combined. Scrape down the bowl and beat again for 10 seconds.

Add the flour mixture and mix on low until just combined, about 10 seconds. Do not over mix.

Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and dried cherries. The dough will look very loose, but it will harden in the refrigerator. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until the tops of the cookies are set and begin to show a few cracks. remove from the oven and let cool slightly before removing from the pans and serving.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is the only turkey that I made for Thanksgiving this year and it's not even edible! The whole family loved it. I think DH might have claimed it for himself.

This turkey started as a Mystery Knitalong hosted by Susan B. Anderson on the Spud & Chloë Blog. It was fun to log into the computer each morning to find the next clues. I followed along diligently until the last clues which was the tail feathers. I let this sit around until last night because I had some more urgent projects that needed my attention. I wanted to have it done for Thanksgiving Day, so I took my yarn and needles to my knitting group meet up and whipped out those tail feathers. I sewed them on after I got home. But not before I baked my Thanksgiving desserts.
Pattern: Tiny Turkey by Susan B. Anderson, Free pattern HERE.
Needles: US 6 / 4.0 mm
Yarn: All done with Worsted Weight scrap yarn. I listed all the yarns I used on my Ravelry project page.

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So, what did I bake this year?
Apple Cake adapted from this recipe. For the batter, I grated 1 medium apple and mixed it into the batter. And used 1 medium apple for the apple slices on top of the cake.John's Pear and Almond Cream Tart. I omitted the jam layer and used only 1/2 tsp of salt in the almond cream.
Maple Nut Tart, which is also from Everyday Food Magazine. I could not find the recipe link on Martha's website. It uses real Maple Syrup and equal portions of Pecans and Walnuts. The smell was heavenly as it was baking.

So, I have made these desserts plenty of times before and I figured the tried and true route was the way to go. The little one has been keeping me so busy these days. I really didn't have the energy to try new recipes this year. The only thing I omitted this year was a Cheesecake. I hope my friends won't mind.

Only a few more hours before we get into the car and drive over to my friend's house for a huge feast of Chinese Hot Pot and a Roasted Turkey (for the kids). I can't wait to slice into the desserts. I hope all of you are spending time with friends or family and enjoying this holiday.

From My Kitchen

I had to try Brooke's Banana Bread recipe when I saw it on her blog. She boldly states that it's the BEST banana bread recipe you'll EVER find. With that kind of claim, you know I had to test it out. Grandma Smith's Banana BreadIt got Melody's seal of approval. She gobbled it up happily. I couldn't stop eating slice after slice. It's really good, Brooke! Thank you for sharing the recipe.

Brooke has been my baking inspiration this Summer. When I saw that she made these cookies, I couldn't wait for my issue of Martha Stewart Living (June 2009) to arrive. I had been getting strawberries from the CSA I joined this Summer and these Strawberry Shortcake Cookies were the perfect recipe to use them in. They really should be eaten the day they are baked because mine turned soggy the next day. I also think I made the mistake of putting in too much strawberries because the moisture lent to the sogginess. Of course, this is really a shortcake recipe and not a cookie recipe. They were delicious and like Brooke, I added a lemon icing drizzle which only enhanced the taste.

With the abundance of strawberries from the CSA, I turned the rest into Strawberry Vanilla Jam. You can even see the little flecks of vanilla seeds in the jam. I sort of just made up the recipe and it was delicious on a slice of toast the next morning. I didn't have any canning jars, so I just kept it in a glass jar in the refrigerator.

Now, my current obsession is canning and preserving. While I was at the Jersey Shore in July, I picked up 3 cases of canning jars at Walmart. Last week, I made a batch of Blueberry Jam and canned for the first time! It was so satisfying to hear that pinging sound the lids makes when they begin to cool on the counter. I am planning to make another batch of jam this weekend.
This is a really good reference book for a beginner. It has illustrations for certain steps and a ton of recipes. It's the new 100th Anniversary Edition and I have heard that it's been hard to find for some people. I bought mine at Target, but it's a seasonal item along with the jars. I bought one extra copy to giveaway on the blog.

So, dear readers, please leave a comment if you would like a chance to win this book. The contest ends on August 23, Sunday at Midnight EST. The winner will have one week to respond with their address. If I don't hear from that person, I will draw another name.

Addicting

It all started with Hello Yarn's post. I had seen her potholder on Ravelry and instantly loved it. So, when I saw that she started a Hot Pad/Potholder Swap, I had to sign up. The rules are that you have to crochet 5 hot pads or potholders in the same pattern using only Wool or Cotton, but they can be different colors. Then everyone sends them in to Adrian and in return, I will receive 5 back. The pattern that I chose is 2 sided. You crochet 2 sides and then add a SC (Single Crochet) Border to connect them and to add the little loop so you can hang the hot pad. This was my first one and when I was done, I was hooked. (Sorry for the bad joke!) Seriously, I didn't know how addicting making these would be. The color possibilities are endless. This yellow and pink one was made with Lion Brand Lion Wool in Goldenrod and Rose.I have some leftover BFL handspun from Pigeonroof Studios, but it wasn't enough for a whole hot pad. I experimented with a bunch of leftovers that I had laying around. The above photo shows the one side I completed and then I didn't know if I liked it. I let it sit around while I worked on the other ones.After a few days, it really grew on me. So, I finished up the other side and was glad that I had enough yarn for both sides to be identical. I added my own hand dyed Patons Classic Wool Merino in the center that was dyed a raspberry color. The green is some leftover Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica in Citric. And the yellow is Lion Brand Lion Wool in Goldenrod. It sort of reminds me of a Sun Flower.These two were made with Peaches & Cream in Sunburst and Fiesta Ombre. It only took one ball of each color to make 2 of these. After making these, I decided that I didn't like working these in cotton. It was really hard on my hands, especially using a small hook. I was surprised that the cotton ones ended up much thicker than the wool ones.The last one, which is DH's favorite, is made with Patons Classic Wool Merino in Aran and Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica in Citric.All of them are identical on both sides except for the yellow and pink one. The minimum size requirement is 6 inches across. These ended up 6.5 inches and the cotton ones are slightly bigger.If you want to see more, be sure to check out the Flickr Group (Swap) created just for the people that are participating in the swap. It has been very inspiring to see people's process and finished hot pads and potholders. And this Flickr Group is for anyone making hot pads and potholders.

Pattern: Scalloped Potholder (Free Pattern)
Hook size: G / 4mm
Yarn: See above photos and descriptions for the yarn I used in each one.
Size: 6.5 inches across.
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Now, I am going to share some addicting treats that I have been making. I saw this recipe for Almond-Coconut Macaroons in the latest Martha Stewart Living magazine and loved the simplicity of it. I had all the ingredients on hand and was able to make 9 of these with my scoop. I am not a huge fan of coconut (I don't dislike it either), but I do like a good macaroon once in a while. These are very good. I have made them 3 times already and one batch was gifted as part of a friend's birthday gift. She commented on how fancy they looked in a clear cellophane bag with a cute tag.The only unsweetened coconut I had is called Organic Coconut Lite (40% Less Fat). It's very finely shredded and it says it is used for baking. I picked it up a while ago at Whole Foods. As I was eating them, I wondered how they would taste with chocolate on them. So, I ended up putting the fat back in by dipping half of them in Chocolate! As a child I loved eating Almond Joy during Halloween when I would get them from Trick or Treating. This is a sophisticated version. I also found the recipe on Martha's Website for those of you who don't buy that magazine. Enjoy!