Perfect Autumn Pasta: Pumpkin Penne
TGIF: Thank goodness it’s fall! Autumn is my favorite season of the year. I love the cool weather, beautiful leaves and delicious produce. Pumpkin and squash are my autumn favorites, especially in savory dishes.
This recipe comes from the October edition of Everyday with Rachael Ray. The first thing that caught my eye was that I had most of the ingredients on hand already – all I needed to pick up was the fresh parsley.
I substituted the cream for milk in the recipe to cut a few calories. The sauce was perfectly creamy with the substitution. Just be sure to add a decent amount of salt and pepper to the dish if your canned pumpkin doesn’t come seasoned. Then get ready to enjoy the taste of autumn!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Bad Photos, Delicious Cake
This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, Caramel-Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake, was picked by Tammy from Wee Treats. The pictures of this cake in Dorie’s book look fantastic, so I was excited to give the recipe a try. I decided to make the cake in my mini-loaf pan instead of the round pan it called for.. I knew Nick and I would never be able to eat a whole caramel-covered cake.
This recipe was my very first attempt at caramel, and it went much better than expected! I was unsure about what color the caramel should be, but when I eventually saw it, I knew exactly when to add the butter and cream.
I didn’t use all of the peanuts that the recipe called for since I was only topping one mini-loaf tonight. I made little caramel-peanut turtles with the left-over nuts, and I plan to use the rest of the caramel to make Dorie’s caramel sauce for ice cream.
My apologies for the sad looking photos- it was too late to use natural light, and I used a yellow plate. Yellow plate + yellow light = very yellow photos. Oh well! The cake tasted lovely, and that’s all that counts.
*Find the recipe here.
**Tuesdays with Dorie is a group of bloggers baking through Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours. Find the recipe here.
Make it Vegetarian: Tomato and Eggplant Saute with Parmesan Polenta
I love a good vegetarian dish. I always have tons of veggies lying around, and occasionally, I like to throw them together in a saute and serve them over pasta or polenta. I don’t worry about exact measurements – just get it all in a saute pan and go from there.
Tomato and Eggplant Saute
Olive Oil
Onion, chopped
Garlic, minced or pressed
Bell peppers, any color, chopped
Eggplant, peeled and chopped
Cherry Tomatoes, halved
Spices of your choice (try cumin/chili powder or oregano/thyme)
Chicken Broth, Vegetable Broth or water
Kosher Salt and Freshly Cracked Pepper
Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until softened. Add bell peppers and eggplant, cook down until softened, about 10 minutes. If pan gets dry, add broth or water as needed. In the last few minutes of cooking, add the tomatoes. Stir, add spices, salt and pepper. Serve over pasta or polenta.
For the polenta, cook as directed, and stir in a handful of parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper. Top the polenta with the sauteed vegetables, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.
For Rachel: Greek Honey Cake
This post is dedicated to my dear friend, Rachel. Right now, she’s in Florida working for Disney, and today is a big day for her. Three big celebrations were waiting for her at work: Greek Day, World Vegetarian Day, and Walt Disney World’s 37th birthday. She asked if I might do a Greek themed post, so this one’s for you, Rach. 🙂
This recipe for Greek Honey Cake hits two bases- it’s greek and it’s vegetarian. (Rachel is a vegan, but it’s tough to bake without eggs, milk and butter.) This is one of my favorite Greek desserts – it seems I can only ever find it at Greek festivals, so finding this recipe was very lucky.
I was surprised that the recipe called for orange zest, not remembering it as a dominating flavor in the cake. After tasting the cake, I think it’s a great addition to the recipe and a nice match with the honey and walnuts.
The cake and honey syrup were simple, the whole process taking around an hour. I made only half of the syrup, and didn’t even use it all. I like the honey flavor and the moistness that comes with it, but I don’t want to go into a sugar coma.
Find the recipe here.
Tuesdays With Dorie: Creme Brulee
Before today, I thought that creme brulee was something that only restaurants could pull off. Now I know that I was wrong – and so, so right. Creme brulee is about to become a staple in the Herr house!
The actual assembly of the custard was very simple. The tough part is being able to tell when the brulees are done. Dorie’s recipe says to bake them for 50-60 minutes in a 200 degree oven. My oven starts at 265 degrees, and I ended up baking these little gems for well over an hour. Finally, after checking them like a maniac, I was content that they’d set and took them out to cool.
While they were cooling in the fridge, I ran out to buy my new favorite toy (pictured below). I know I could have used the broiler, but it just wouldn’t have had the same effect. It was very cool to watch the torch melting the sugar – now I want to use it for everything!
The end result was delicious. A nice crispy, sugary crunch paired with a sweet, rich custard. I think I have a new addiction.
*If you’re coming to visit any time in the next year, we’ll probably be eating creme brulee. And I promise to let you torch it. (Incentive to visit?)
**Tuesdays with Dorie is a group of bloggers baking through Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours. Find the recipe here.
Dinner in Minutes: Sauteed Chicken with Spinach
Chicken. Spinach. Mustard. Shallots. That’s basically all it took to make this quick and flavorful meal. Sounds simple, and it was! But there was no skimping on flavor. The chicken is sauteed in a bit of oil, then water is added to steam it and finish the cooking process. You make the mustard sauce right in the pan, and it doubles as the dressing on the salad- genius! Nick and I made the addition of some tasty Asiago bread, and our weeknight meal was complete. With this easy dish, we still have plenty of time to relax before Monday Night Football. As an added bonus, we won’t be eating greasy bar food… Go Steelers!!
Tasty Weekends: Cinnamon-Vanilla Pancakes with Banana Topping
Nothing like pancakes on a Saturday morning.. I have to say, I did cheat a little this time, but I had some great pancake mix to use- given to me by my best friend, Erin. To make them my own, I added cinnamon and vanilla extract to the batter. I’m also a huge fan of bananas with pancakes. I like them outside the pancakes rather than inside, so they can get a sweet, carmelized flavor. To make a quick topping, just slice a few bananas, throw them in a saucepan with some maple syrup, and cook until carmelized. If they syrup is too sticky or evaporating too quickly, add some water to the mix. You can also do a brown-sugar and butter topping, but if you have the syrup, just make it the easy way. Then you can relax and enjoy a sweet beginning to your weekend.
“Are you sure that’s not take out?”
Take out Chinese food is great, but I’m happy to report that it can be recreated at home. It’s much cheaper, healthier and takes about the same amount of time as calling the closest Chinese restaurant.
This was my first attempt at recreating take out. The recipe comes from Martha’s Everyday Food Blog. I was surprised by how quickly it all came together- the meat is cut thinly for quick cooking, and the broccoli only takes about ten minutes to soften. The sauce is made from the beef’s marinade, and has great flavor from the garlic and soy sauce. I’m a big fan- try it out the next time you’re craving Chinese!
Extra-Moist Cornbread for ‘The Office’ Premiere!
Last night, Nick and I were invited to watch the premiere of ‘The Office’ with our friends, Julie and Russell. Russell was making his chili (which was amazing!), so I offered to bring along some cornbread.
I have to say, I’m definitely a fan of moist cornbread. Cornbread has the tendency to get dry and crumbly- some people like it, but it’s not for me. When I found this recipe, called “Carroll’s Extra-Moist Cornbread,” I had to go for it.
The recipe’s title is not at all misleading. The cornbread was very moist, due to the addition of sour cream and creamed corn. It was perfect alongside the spicy chili. You’ve got to try this recipe during football season!
Carroll’s Extra-Moist Cornbread
(makes 9 generous squares)
Adapted from The Cornbread Gospels by Crescent Dragonwagon
Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream (I used the fat-free I had on hand)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup mild vegetable oil
1 cup canned creamed corn
2 eggs
1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 tbs cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Place the sour cream in a large bowl; whisk in the baking soda to activate it. Then whisk in the remaining wet ingredients: the oil, creamed corn and eggs. When thoroughly combined, sprinkle cornmeal over the top.
3. Combine the cornstarch, baking powder and salt in a small dish; sift over the cornmeal. Stir the whole thing together with as few strokes as possible, to just combine wet and dry.
4. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes, then pop it in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes.
Rachael Ray’s "Leeky" Linguine with Shrimp
Who can argue with a bowl of pasta? It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, I can always eat pasta. Nick was in the mood for pasta tonight as well, so I pulled out this Rachael Ray recipe. I already had the leeks on hand, so it was perfect for this week.
Don’t be put off by leeks- they have a nice mild flavor similar to scallions, but they’re larger. The most important thing to remember is to clean them properly. After discarding the dark green parts, chop up the white and light green parts into rings, half-moons, whatever the recipe calls for. Then submerge them in a bowl of cold water to wash off all of the silt. Let the silt settle for a few minutes, and spoon out the leeks from the water.
This recipe was quick and light – the only issue I had was that it was a little peppery. I might cut back a little on one of the peppers, the regular or the crushed red.
