Pumpkin Bread

We're celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow morning at Jack and Wyatt's school and since I'm in charge of dessert I made a fresh batch of Breakfast Cookies and a better-than-Starbucks Pumpkin bread that is a true crowd pleaser. The recipe comes from my very close family friend in Ohio.  Thanks Heidi!

Recipe after the jump...

Here's the recipe:

2 1/2 cups flour
3 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
3/4 cups vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups canned pumpkin
Optional: 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:
Sift the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl (or with a mixmaster) mix the eggs, oil, and water.  Gradually add the dry ingredients to form a smooth batter.  Scrape down the sides after each addition. Add the pumpkin and vanilla and mix well.  Fold in the nuts.  Pour into 2 greased loaf pans or bake in a bundt pan as a cake.  Bake at 325 for 1 hour and fifteen minutes or until firm. Allow to cool for fifteen minutes and turn onto a cooling rack. 

*Note: if you're using a dark metal loaf pan, you might want to shorten cooking time a little, maybe 5 minutes.

This recipe freezes well.  Allow to fully cool before freezing.

PC: Yours Truly
 

Da Bears Menu

Last Monday my husband and I hosted 15 of our friends for a night of da Bears and chili.  Since one of my friends is pregnant, another is breastfeeding, and another can't eat pork, I made two sets of chili so no one would go hungry. Here's what was served:

7 Layer Dip (by the Pioneer Woman) to start:

Giada's Chicken Chili: 

Beef and Chorizo Chili: 

***I substitute ground round for stew meat

Mac N' Cheese with Pancetta: a true crowd pleaser

(I add a few dashes of nutmeg)

Ina's Corn Muffins: equally delicious

(I add a 1/2 cup of drained sweet yellow corn to the batter)

Dessert: 

Sweet Mandy B's Cupcakes:

Lucky for me, the Bears won and the food was a hit so it was a good night had by all.  

 PC: Pioneerwoman, browniebites, green local living, bon appetit, food network, formerms

Hanukkah 2010

I absolutely love celebrating the holiday season.  So in honor of Hanukkah, I decided to prepare a beautiful meal inspired by the season for my husband, sister, and good friend Laura, who's one of my oldest friends from Ohio. Since I grew up in a town with a very small Jewish population, my friends and I would always include each other in our different holiday traditions... Ie. I would join them for Easter brunch while they would join my family for Passover seder.  It was an experience that I loved that not only made me appreciate their traditions more, but also serve as an eye opener to show how similar we all are despite our religious labels.

Like all of those years growing up, some things never change... (thank goodness). We had a wonderful night filled with good food, good spirits, and good friends/family.  Isn't that what the holidays are all about?

Here's what was served:

Latkes with Apple Sauce/Sour cream to start:

Spicy Pumpkin Soup:

This soup is out of this world-it is now my favorite soup of all time.

Zomick's Challah:

This challah is equally delicious.  I bought it at Whole Foods and it's one of the best challahs I've ever had! It's great dipped in the soup.

Roast Chicken with Dried Fruit:

Also a wonderful dish-the chicken is moist and succulent and the dried fruit is the perfect accompaniment.

Double Stuffed Sweet Potatoes:

Marshmallows, butter, & brown sugar-need I say more?

Store-Bought Jelly Donuts:

Who doesn't like donuts?

Happy Holidays!

PC: Latkes: diana's desserts, Soup: Junior Master Chef Australia, chicken: Bon Appetit, Food Network, Park East Kosher, & KosherMart

Rockit-Inspired Turkey Burger

The minute I spotted a pretzel baguette at Whole Foods I knew I had to recreate my favorite turkey burger of all time from Rockit Bar and Grill in Chicago.  Rockit serves theirs on a pretzel roll topped with red onion, sliced avocado, and spicy mayo with a side of the mouth-watering sweet potato fries, so I was on a mission to do the same.  I used my new cookbook bible, The New Best Recipe, for a twist on the traditional turkey burger (they add ricotta cheese to theirs) and Ore Ida's NEW Sweet Potato French Fries to cut down on time. They melt in your mouth and aren't that bad for you.

Here's how you make the turkey burgers:

Quick Turkey Burgers:

Serves 4:

1 1/4 lbs lean ground turkey

1/2 cup ricotta (I used part skim)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp canola oil

Toppings:

1 avocado, sliced

1 small red onion, sliced thinly

1 pretzel baguette or 4 pretzel rolls, sliced in half

Other:

Ore Ida's Sweet Potato French Fries (about 1 bag to serve 4)

Combine the turkey, ricotta, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard in a medium bowl  until well blended.  Divide meat into 4-8 burgers depending on the size you want to achieve.  Lightly toss each portion from hand to hand to form a ball, then lightly flatten the ball into a 1-inch thick patty. 

Heat a large, cast-iron skillet (or heavy skillet) over medium heat until very hot. Swirl the oil in the pan to coat the bottom.  Add the burgers without moving them until the bottom of each is dark brown and crusted, 3 to 4 minutes.  Turn the burgers over and continue to cook until the bottom is light brown but not yet crusted, 3 to 4 minutes longer.  Reduce the heat to low, position the cover slightly ajar on the pan to allow steam to escape, and cook 8 to 10 minutes longer, flipping once if necessary.  Watch closely as ricotta tends to burn easily.

While the patties are cooking, assemble the rest of the sandwich: Cut the baguette into burger-sized buns, and place on a plate.  Top with red onion, sliced avocado, and finally a (finished burger) topped with spicy mayo sauce (recipe to follow).  Serve with sweet potato french fries.  You can add some brown sugar if you want to get the Rockit effect.

Here are the french fries to look for at the market:

And the recipe for spicy mayo:

Spicy Mayo:

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp chili powder

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1 large clove of garlic, crushed

Chop the crushed garlic wtih salt and press it to the side of the knife until mashed.  Scrape the garlic into a small bowl and stir in chili powder, lime juice and mayonnaise. Set aside.

Finally, here's how mine looked:

Old Faithful

I've come to realize that cooking is a lot like the golf... the minute you think you have it down, you crash and burn and have to start all over.  After a few recent failures in the kitchen, I decided to take a one week break and it was exactly what I needed. No cooking, no blogging, nothing.

 When I was finally ready to jump back on the horse, I decided to use reliable recipes so that my ego wouldn't suffer anymore blows.  The result was a beautiful (and delicious) meal and most importantly a great time had by all.  What more could you ask for? Sometimes, you just have to go back to the basics to find yourself. 

Here's the meal we served our loving cousins last night:

Appetizers:

A small cheese plate (courtesy of our guests) and Sky's (leftover) Mini Meatloaf Sliders

To start:

Otto-Inspired Salad: Romaine & Red Onion with shaved Manchego 

(see below for my recipe)

With a Pretzel Baguette

(New from Whole Foods)

Soy Vay Veri Veri [Reliable] Teriyaki Skirt Steak:

Roasted Jalapeno Potatoes:

(I used russet potatoes instead of fingerling)

Grilled Veggie Plate

(I used burnt broccoli, grilled eggplant, red peppers, and onion)

Dessert:

Crumbs assorted cupcakes (another unnecessary courtesy of our guests)

And Sky's Favorite: S'mores bars:

Recipe:

Otto-Inspired salad:

1 bag of romaine

1 small red onion

1 block of manchego cheese

Dressing:

6 tbsp EVOO

4 tsp red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

pinch of ground pepper

Clean the lettuce and wrap with a paper towel.  Cut into bite-size pieces.  While the lettuce dries, slice the red onion thinly, breaking apart into circles as pictured above.  Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a jar, and shake for about 20 seconds.  Toss the lettuce and red onion with the dressing and serve with shaved manchego cheese.

***Now that I have a leftover pretzel baguette, I'll be making a Rockit Bar and Grill-inspired turkey burger (with avocado, red onion, spicy mayo and sweet potato fries). Stay tuned.

PC: Flickr, Food Network, Simply Paradise Catering, Food Network, Crumbs cupcakes, Baking Bites