Shipyard Pumkinhead Ale

I just got home from my annual cross-country jaunt to visit my dear friends the Mullins in Waltham, MA and happy to report I ate and drank like a superstar!

More to come on the eats... but first, the drinks! One of the reasons I chose to visit Boston this year during the fall, is because this time LAST year when I visited, I enjoyed the most fabulous brew, Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale!

I have been listening to Stacie rave about this beer for several years now, so I was so excited to finally try it last year and I was even more excited to toss back a few of my new fall favorite this year.

Shipyard is an east coast thing, so I have been doing a little research to see if I can find a local pumpkin ale. Turns out Elysian Brewing Company has one! I have not tried this yet but since there is a Brewpub adjacent to Qwest Field, a place I frequent, I think I am going to add this to my list!

Here's to Fall, bottoms up!

Nothing better than a hot bowl of soup!

Marge's B-Nut Soup
This one is not on the list but I am proud to say that I winged this one!

Inspired by all of the gourds (squash, pumpkins, etc) I have seen prominently displayed at the grocery store, I snagged myself a butternut squash and went to work on my first try at making soup. I wanted to make this from scratch to see if I could do it, but also for my love of soup, but without all the sodium that it comes with when store bought.

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
1/2 apple, grated
3 cups vegetable broth (low sodium)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/4 tablespoon pepper
1/4 cup milk or cream
2 tablespoons olive oil for roasting
chives for garnish
sour cream for garnish

How I did it:
First, carefully peel and dice the gourd into 1 inch cubes. Toss in olive oil and spread out onto a cookie sheet. Roast at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until tender.

In the meantime, heat vegetable stock and water.

Using a blender (or emulsion tool, ricer, etc., which I don't have), place 1/3 of the roasted squash and about 1/2 cup of the stock into the blender, cover the blender with a towel (so it wont explode) and blend until think and smooth. Remove from blender and add to clean pot. Continue to do this until all of the squash and stock are blended.

Next, add garlic, nutmeg, s&p and mix over low heat. Then add milk or cream. Let sit for about 10 minutes on low heat.

Serve with chopped chives and a dollop of sour cream! I enjoyed my soup with a fresh mozzarella and sourdough grilled cheese made under the broiler (little trick I learned from a special friend).

Rustic Apple Tart!

Four items from my "To Do" list down, and seven to go!

I received a pallet of Washington's finest straight from Wenatchee from a client of ours, which included my favorite hybrid, the Honey Crisp!

You can imagine my excitement when I opened the box and saw all these freshly picked, sticker-free apples since my list included some sort of apple desert - the perfect excuse to knock this one off the list!

As I usually do, I turned to my friend Ina Garten for a good/easy apple really "make it my own" (in the words of Paula Abdul circa American Idol).

What you will need for the crust:
1.5 sticks of cold, diced salt free butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup ice cold water

How to make the crust:
1. Pulse butter, flour, sugar and salt together until small beads are formed. (I don't have a food processor so I used a hand mixer).
2. Add cold water slowly until dough comes together.
3. Kneed briefly, then form into a ball and refrigerate for at least one hour.

What else you ll need:
1. 4 sliced apples (Contessa, Barefoot calls for Granny Smith apples, which I too would normally use for baking, but since I had all of these delicious apples, I decided to go for the Honey Crisp.)
2. 1.5 tablespoons of apricot or another favorite jam
3. Juice from half a lemon juice (only use this if you use a non-baking apple that needs a bit of tartness)
4. 1 egg yolk
5. 1/2 tablespoon of sugar
6. 2 tablespoons cold, diced salt free butter

Next, roll out the chilled dough in a round form. Take a fork and prick the surface. Mix the apple slices with the lemon juice, sugar and jam. Next, arrange sliced apples neatly over the dough leaving a 1.5 inch border around all edges. Once the apples have been placed, fold the edges over gently and brush with egg wash (makes it shiny). Lastly, drop little pieces of the cold butter on the crust and over to apples.

Pop it into a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until brown, and enjoy! I like that this looks a bit more rustic and it was just wonderful with a glass of white wine!

Not So Pretty Potato...

I had meaning to try Jackie's Joy Pretty Potatoes. I'm not much of a regular potato fan so I wanted to try this great recipe with a sweet potato. I was a little nervous because they tend to get mushy a lot easier than regular russet potatoes but willing to give it a shot.

I started by slicing through the tater carefully to make slits. NOTE: this is rather challenging without slicing completely through the darn thing. It took me like 10 minutes to do this. Next, I actually used pre-pressed garlic instead of the sliced garlic (just because that is what I had on hand), a little olive oil, and a lot of sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.

I popped the little guy into a 400 degree oven and held my breath. About 40 minutes later, I removed him from the oven to cool off. He was nice and brown on top but a bit too soft in the center as I had suspected he would be.

I whipped up the sour cream, chives, garlic, s&p topping and laid a huge dollop on top. It was delicious! Not what I had hoped it would be or nearly as presentable as Jackie's, it taste great! So, thanks girl for sharing a great, simple recipe that is a great side with any meat or poultry.

Roast This!

Number two on my list - roasted pork loin! I have to preface this entry with the fact that I am very intimidated by cooking proteins (meat, poultry, fish). As much as I love meat and fish, I typically stick with simple recipes that I cannot royally screw up. However, I usually end up cooking things too long, which I suppose is better than the thing still talking, but, no one likes a dry piece of chicken :(

I was recently inspired by a gift from my Mom (Gretl) - a meat thermometer! After I recommitted to writing on my little blog, I purchased a loin of pork on sale (woot!) and thought I would try it out after our glorious win over the Jags Sunday. I thought: Worst comes to worst, I feed the loin to Lily - she will eat anything.

I bing'd a simple recipe for roasted pork which included the following:
1. Olive Oil
2. Sea Salt and pepper
3. Dried rosemary
4. KITCHEN STRING

So, in my typical hurried fashion, I seasoned my loin up nice and good and as I went to seer the sides, the entire thing fell apart on me. Oof. I failed to notice that I needed kitchen string to tie the thing together.

I wasn't about to give to up so I improvised and snagged some dental floss. I know, sounds grasth, but in the end you never would have known! I remembered how B-foot Contessa ties up her loins and gave it whirl. It was by no means simple, but it worked!

After searing the meat on both sides, I placed it on a lined pan and popped it into a 350 degree oven. Cooking time suggested 1 hour and 20 minutes. I checked it after 30 and it was moving along nicely. After about 50 minutes, I decided to test my new tool and shoved it into the center of the loin hoping for a 160 temp read. To my dismay it read 190! I overcooked it... surprise, surprise. I immediately turned everything off and let the thing rest (and continue to cook, oof). After it was cooled I sliced into it and it wasn't as terrible as I thought. Slightly over cooked, but realllllly delicious! Or, maybe I have just become accustomed to dry meat? Either way, I consider it a success on the first try.

I obviously had way too much for one person, so I froze some and enjoyed leftovers the second night with some Swiss cheese and dried apricots (really good combo)! See photo above.

Best of luck with all of your protein adventures.

Ciao.

One down!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I checked the first item off my list and made some of these yummy fall treats for a friend's 30th birthday shindig!

Here is what you will need:

2 sticks of unsalted butter (softened)

1 cup sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs (at room temp)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks

How to do it:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using a mixer or whisk, cream butter and sugars together; add vanilla. Next, add one egg at a time until well mixed; then incorporate pumpkin puree. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda and spices. Slowly add flour mixture until well incorporated. Add chocolate pieces last.

Bake for approx. 15-17 minutes and let cool on wire rack. Then enjoy with your favorite ice cream, a latte, or as a late night snack all by themselves!

I Just Remembered I Have a Blog!

I'm baaaack! If anyone actually reads this...

I have been on "sabatical" and well, quite frankly, I just havent had anything too exciting to write about (food wise that is). But, now that my favorite time of year has arrived, I have decided it is time to start cookin' and bakin' again!

So, I thought I would share some recipes I plan on making this beautiful Fall season - might extend into the Winter season schedule pending!

1. Pumpkin Chip Cookies

2. Pork Roast - Have been meaning to test out my new meat thermometer

3. Jackie's Joy "Pretty Potatoes" - I am going to try this with sweet potatoes I think
4. Gretl's chili and Lori's yummy corn bread

5. Barefoot Contessa Mac & Cheese - Already sort of made this for Delane, Kev and Parker (she could only smell it at 5 weeks of age) but had another request!

6. Marge's Candy Brownies

7. Pumpkin Risotto

8. Mexican Lasagna - A football favorite courtesy of my friend Heather Linderman AND I never make it the same twice!

9. Gretl's Artichoke Dip - Always a party fav

10. Apple Pie/Tart

I'll be sure to document my cooking adventures as I knock each of these off the list!

Happy Fall all.