Yorkshire Pudding

Even though I went with a lamb roast instead of a beef standing rib roast for Christmas, I went ahead and made Yorkshire pudding instead of rolls.

A traditional Yorkshire is made in the roasting pan after the meat has been removed, creating a monstrosity that tends to fall and get gummy.  The Bible has you make individual ones in a muffin pan, more like American popovers.

I'm changing the recipe slightly.  As you can see from the photo, these were in about five minutes too long.  Also, there's no picture of them out of the pan because they got stuck.  We only ate the caps.  I swear, I followed the recipe.  Maybe the lamb drippings weren't as fatty as a rib roast's, but we're going to pan spray as an insurance policy.

1 egg
*1/2 C milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C flour
Pan drippings from a roast

1.  Pan spray a muffin tin.  When your roast comes out of the oven, turn up the heat to 400º.  The meat has to rest anyway.

2.  Beat the egg until frothy.  Beat in milk and salt and get a good head of froth on the mixture.  These are leavened by steam and supported by egg.  Beat in flour until smooth.

3.  Spoon a teaspoon of pan juices into each of six muffin cups.  Swirl to coat sides.  Portion about 2 Tb of batter into each cup.  Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden but not nearly as dark as the ones above.  Turn out of pan while hot.  It's ok if they implode as they cool.  Serve with roast and additional juices.

Makes 6

Difficulty rating  π

Roast Leg of Lamb

Seriously, I've never posted a recipe for leg of lamb?  That's embarrassing.  Maybe I felt it was too basic.  It must not be, if I went looking for what temperature I usually roast it at.

This is one of those things that you want the meat to shine without too much interference.  Gentle seasonings that make sense, plus a slow roast at a low temperature after an initial blast to create a crust.  You probably have all the ingredients on hand and just need to buy the meat.

1 small leg of lamb (2-3 lbs boneless or 3-4 lbs bone-in)
*3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper
Olive oil
*1/2 tsp dried rosemary
*mint jelly for serving (optional)

1.  Unwrap lamb and let it come to room temperature on a rack in a roasting pan, fat-side up, about half an hour.  I left the netting on this time because I liked the shape.  Most of the time I cut it off.

2.  Preheat oven to 400º.  Slice the garlic into thin slivers.  Pierce the meat all over and stuff with the garlic slices.  Because I left the netting on, the garlic kept squirting back out.  Usually, it stays in the slits.  Drizzle roast lightly with olive oil and spread around.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and rosemary.

3.  Roast for 20 minutes, until outside is getting a little browned.  Lower heat to 300º and roast until center is 145º when temped with a food thermometer.  This will take longer with a bone-in, but it generally takes 30 minutes to an hour and a quarter after the initial high roast, depending on size, bones, and whether you took off the netting.

4.  Allow meat to rest at least 10 minutes before slicing.  I try to slice thinly so everyone can decide how well done they want their meat.  Serve with pan juices and mint jelly, or just extra salt and pepper on the table.

Serves 4-6

Difficulty rating  π

Chicken and Carrot Tagine

This isn't what I'm serving for Christmas tonight, but it was on the short list, so I made it a few days ago.

I've been kind of ignoring the carrots in the garden.  They weren't growing well until it started to rain a few weeks ago.  Less than two inches of rain total, but it pushed them over the edge of "probably a good size" to "pull me already"!  I pulled one for some Summer Rolls that was nearly the size of the cucumber.

I'm basing this on the Mrouzia, with a few alterations to go with what I had in the pantry and because I wanted to serve it with Persian Rice.  For anyone who missed the primer, Tagine is just the Moroccan term for Stew.  This is super easy, just requires a bit of time for all the flavors to simmer together.

*4 chicken thighs or 2 breasts, skin-on preferred
*1 Tb "Moroccan" or Tagine spice blend
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
pinch of saffron
*1 cinnamon stick
1/2 C grated or finely diced onion
*2 ribs celery, finely diced
1 Tb olive oil
*1 lb carrots, cut in chunks
1 C pitted dates, cut in half
1 tsp honey

1.  Combine tagine spice, ginger, salt, pepper, and saffron.  Moisten chicken and rub spice blend into it.  Place in plastic bag with about 1/2 C water and marinate for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator.

2.  In a soup pot or large saucepan, sauté onion and celery in olive oil over medium until soft.  Add chicken pieces, skin side down, and the liquid in the bag.  Cook to brown the skin, turn over, and sear the bottoms a couple of minutes.  Add water to just barely cover and bring to a boil.  Lower heat to a simmer, cover the pot, and come back in an hour.

3.  Add carrot pieces, put the lid back on, and cook until the carrots soften, about 20 minutes.

4.  Remove chicken and carrots to a warm plate and crank up the heat on the pan juices.  Reduce by half.  Stir in chopped dates and honey.  Fish out the cinnamon stick.  Re-warm the stew pieces in the sauce and serve hot.

Difficulty rating :)

Plum Linzer Cookies

Two things have kept me from making Linzer cookies before now: raspberry jam and almond extract.  I don't like either.  But I've been watching the first season of "The Great British Baking Show", and it has given me confidence that you can change an ingredient or two in a classic recipe while maintaining the intent.  One of the things you can do is skip the almond extract in Linzer cookies if you use almond flour.

Almond flours have gained in popularity recently, between macarons and its use in gluten-free recipes.  They're still pricey, but they are also of better quality.  Sprouts had it in the bins, so I only had to pay for the amount needed in this recipe.  I didn't have to shell out $18 a pound.  It was also blanched-almond flour, not almond meal.  The latter is the one you have to sift several times and only saves you the effort of grinding your own almonds.

This is a half recipe of NYT Cooking's Linzer Cookie recipe, but I used my homemade Spiced Plum Jam in the middle.  That got rid of the other part of a Linzer recipe I don't like.

1-1/2 C flour
1/2 C almond flour
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 C unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 C + 2 Tb sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 C jam (raspberry traditional, I used plum)
powdered sugar for dusting finished cookies
cornstarch for dusting board

1.  Sift together flour, 6 Tb of the almond flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

2.  In the mixer with the paddle, cream together butter and sugar.  When fluffy, beat in the egg and vanilla.  Scrape down the sides, then beat until smooth and fluffy.

3.  Add in the flour mixture and beat until it comes together.  You don't have to keep going until it's smooth.  That will make the cookies tough.  Form the dough into a single piece, then flatten it into a good shape for starting to roll out later.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  You can also freeze dough for up to a month and bring to room temperature when ready to bake.

4.  Preheat oven to 325º.  Dust work surface with remaining almond flour and cornstarch as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin.  Roll out 1/8" thick and cut out an even number of shapes with a cookie cutter.  Transfer to a lined cookie sheet and use a smaller cutter to make windows in half of the cookies.  You can bake those as small cookies or reroll them in with the scraps.  Because you're using gluten-free dusting powder, the rerolls should not get as tough as if you used flour.

5.  Bake 10-12 minutes, until just starting to brown.  Allow to cool a minute on the sheet, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.  Cookies at this point can be kept in a sealed container for up to a week, or over a month in the freezer.

6.  To fill cookies, match up a solid and one with a window.  Spread about a teaspoon of jam on the bottom of the solid one, then top with a window, making sure both bottom sides are together.  They just look prettier that way.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve the same day, preferably within a few hours.

Makes about 18 sandwich cookies, depending on size

Difficulty rating  :)

Egg and Rice Bowl

I wasn't going to post this, then realized it was the third time in a week I'd had it for lunch and might as well.

For a while, I worked a buffet in a hotel that had an Asian section at breakfast.  Miso soup and bowls of rice topped with scrambled eggs and vegetables were popular.  While miso is a bit more effort than I want to put into breakfast, rice is absolutely doable.

1/4 C dry Calrose rice or 2/3 C leftover cooked rice
1 egg
1 Tb fresh chives or green onion, finely chopped
1 Tb oil or butter for the pan
soy sauce or sriracha for serving

1.  Bring rice and 1/2 C water to a simmer in a small saucepan.  (Less for drier rice.  I like my Calrose mushy.)  Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

2.  In a small bowl, beat together egg, chives, and 2 Tb water.

3.  Melt butter or heat oil in a 6" skillet over medium.  Pour in egg mix and cook into an omelet or scrambled egg.  Remove from heat.

4.  Transfer cooked rice to a bowl and top with egg.  Drizzle with soy or sriracha sauce.

Serves 1

Difficulty rating  π

Waldorf Berry Salad

After the khachapuri, I'm on a real diet.  I can't eat everything I want to anymore, now that I'm not baking at work.

Still, I had leftover celery and apples.  In my world, the first thing that comes to mind is Waldorf Salad.  But, um, diet.  I went looking for a lighter version the same day blackberries were on sale for 67¢.  The Dairy Farmers of Canada have a website called Dairy Goodness with plenty of recipes.  Their Waldorf salad was exactly what I had in mind.  I didn't change much, mostly making it lower in fat and adding a bit of honey to the dressing because I used Granny Smith apples.  If you use a sweeter variety, you can omit it.

*1 large Granny Smith apple, diced
*2 ribs celery, diced
*1 C walnuts
6oz blackberries (or assorted any berry)
1/4 C Greek yogurt
2 Tb milk
1/2 tsp honey
*1 Tb lemon juice
salt and white pepper to taste

1.  While dicing the apple and celery, rinse the blackberries and let them drain.  Also toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat until dry and easy to chop.  Shake periodically, and pull the pan if they start to smoke.  Coarsely chop walnuts and combine first four ingredients in a bowl.

2.  In a small bowl, whisk remaining ingredients into a creamy dressing.  If you want it thinner, add milk a few teaspoons at a time.

3.  Pour dressing over salad and stir to combine.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Traditionally, you present the salad on a few lettuce leaves.  I never actually eat the lettuce, so I skipped it this time.

Difficulty rating  π

Cherry and Apple Pie

Our cherry pastries at work were discontinued after we bought some filling.  It was only one can, so I asked if I could take it home and return it in the form of a pie.  I had one crust in the freezer and no plans for it.  I decided to donate it to the cause.

It also takes two cans of pie filling to make a cherry pie.  I decided to mix it up with some Granny Smith apples and top with some cinnamon crumb I found in my chest freezer.

What I did not do was add more sugar.  There is a lot in the cherry filling.  The tartness of the apples really shone through.  If you're looking for your pie to be more like jam in a shell, toss the apples in a quarter cup of granulated sugar before stirring into the cherry filling.

This pie was in the oven the same time as my first batch of khachapuri, and I was so excited about those that I forgot to take decent pictures of the pie.  So you get reflection off the stainless steel table at work and paper plates.

*1 frozen pie crust, thawed
*1 21 oz can cherry pie filling
2 C 1/2" diced Granny Smith apples
1/4 tsp cardamom
*1/8 tsp cloves
1 C cinnamon crumb

1.  Preheat oven to 425º.  Stir together pie filling, chopped apples, cardamom, and cloves.  Pour into crust.

2.  Sprinkle crumb on top.  Place pie on a baking sheet in case it bubbles over.  Mine didn't, but you never know.

3.  Bake for 40-45 minutes, until crust is golden and apples are cooked.  Allow to cool for easier slicing.  Serve warm or room temperature, ideally with a side of vanilla ice cream.

Serves 8

Difficulty rating  π

Khachapuri with Artichokes

When I was back east in October, I found out that Writer Smurf orders from one of those boxed meals companies a few dinners per week.  It does save time grocery shopping and ensures you don't have leftover ingredients, but it also runs $10 per serving.  If your family tends to not finish everything in the fridge before it spoils, this may be a bargain.  Since I almost never have to throw away an unused ingredient, it feels like a lot.

One of the meals in that week's box was khachapuri with butternut squash.  It was way healthier than the recipe I had bookmarked from the now-defunct The Chew to try someday.  It did inspire me to add some of the marinated artichoke hearts I have in the freezer.

So what is khachapuri?  It's a kind of pizza/cheese bread from the nation of Georgia.  I rarely make Russian food, but my heritage is largely from Eastern Europe.  I hope that keeps my arteries from clogging after this.  I gained two pounds in a week figuring out the portion size for this recipe.

This really does feel like an elaborate pizza.  You're also going to learn how to make a stuffed crust.  The difference is that you twist two ends to make it into a kind of cheese boat, then drop an egg into the molten cheese as soon as it comes out of the oven, so the heat of the cheese cooks it.  I'm skipping the butter in the original recipe because of the oil in the artichokes.

The recipe says it serves two, but that's about two cups of cheese per boat and a whole lot of dough.  I'm making four smaller boats and a side salad, which you can see from the photo still takes up most of a dinner plate.  I'm also using part whole wheat flour for the fiber.  It's still a lot of cheese.

1-1/2 C-ish flour (half whole wheat is ok)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 Tb oil
*1/3 C milk
1/3 C water
3 C shredded mozzarella
1-1/4 C (roughly one package) crumbled feta
1/4 C grated parmesan
1/2 tsp paprika
*1 C marinated artichoke quarters, drained
4 eggs

1.  You can cheat by using frozen pizza dough for one large pizza.  If not, warm milk, water, sugar, and oil to 100º.  Stir in yeast and let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2.  In mixer with the paddle, add 2/3 C flour.  Pour in liquid ingredients and beat into a thick batter, about 2 minutes.  Add 2/3 C flour and the salt and beat again into a dough.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.  Try not to work in too much flour because you will be rolling it out later on top of more dusting flour.  Form into a ball and place in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

3.  Punch down dough and let rest on the board for 10 minutes while you make the filling.  In a bowl, combine three cheeses and paprika.

4.  Divide dough into 4 pieces and dust two baking sheets with flour or line with a silpat.  Roll each piece into an oval, then transfer two ovals to each sheet.

5.  Spoon about half a cup of cheese onto each oval.  Pull cheese to the edges and roll the edges over to encase the cheese.  Once you have made a ring of stuffed crust, twist the two long ends to force the rest of the piece into a deeper boat shape.

6.  Divide remaining cheese evenly between the four boats.  Top with 1/4 C artichoke per boat.  Set in a warm place to rise while you preheat the oven to 425º.  The amount of time doesn't matter; you're just resting the dough into its shape in case it needs a few more pinches.  My oven takes about 10 minutes to get to 425º.

7.  Bake for 15-18 minutes, until bread is done and cheese is toasty.  While it's baking, crack eggs into four individual cups.

8.  As soon as khachapuris are done, plate and serve with an egg cup for each.  The diner should take a fork and pull aside some of the cheese in the middle, pour in the egg, and stir it into the cheese so it can cook halfway, but still retain its gooeyness.  If you're squeamish about undercooked eggs or cannot have them for medical reasons, you can fry or make them over-medium and set the cooked egg on top.  The nutrition stays the same, but the experience is a bit different.

Difficulty rating :-0

Fig Scones

I've been avoiding recipes using cardamom for years.  It was never something we had in the spice rack growing up, so I had not made it a priority to incorporate it in my recipes.  Usually, I've been substituting nutmeg.

On a whim, I bought a small package of cardamom because it was half off.  After researching, I found out that it is the third most expensive spice in the world if you get the good stuff in whole form.  I'm sure what I bought was Guatemalan, plus it was ground.  I decided to open the package to liven up some scones.

It was a good choice.  The aroma is similar to Earl Grey tea, which is apt when you consider it's an ingredient in most Chai blends.  I've mostly seen it in Scandinavian and German baking recipes because I don't do much Indian or Indonesian cooking.

So don't be scared of a new spice.  Who knows, it may become your new favorite ingredient.

*4 dried figs (about 1/3 C)
1 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
2 Tb butter
2 tsp sugar
*1/3 C milk

1.  Finely dice figs.  Place in a small bowl and cover with a few tablespoons of boiling water.  Let sit for a few minutes until you need them.

2.  Preheat oven to 425º.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat.

3.  In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and cardamom.  Cut in butter until texture resembles oatmeal.  Stir in sugar.

4.  Drain chopped figs.  Add to flour and toss to distribute.  Add milk and stir.  Knead dough until evenly moist and everything holds together.

5.  Either cut out individual scones or press into a disc and score deeply with a bench scraper.  I made eight small wedges, to make it easier to decide how much I wanted at a sitting.  Bake 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden brown.  Allow to cool 5 minutes before breaking apart and serving.

Makes 6-8

Difficulty rating  :)

Typical Chanukah

I did not invite anyone over for Chanukah because NaNoWriMo took so much of my time in November that I forgot.  I barely remembered to send off East coast gifts in time.  I even did the grocery shopping the same day, questioning my sanity in making a roast and latkes in three hours.  It was a bit elaborate for only me, but the miracle of the roast should be enough for six of the eight days.  The smallest one was almost two pounds.

Taking the time to cook did remind me how much I've missed it.  I no longer dread spending an hour preparing dinner, feeling guilty that I should be working on the book.  I've put away that half-assed attempt at a novel for at least a couple of months.  When I decide to go back to it, I'll have fresh eyes and a better idea what's wrong with the story.  I can also feel free to cut anything that isn't working.  During NaNo, you need every word you can get and nothing gets cut.

Cranberry Brisket
Potato Latkes
Steamed Asparagus

Lamb Cabbage Rolls

NaNoWriMo is over!  I can finally get my life back, just in time for December holidays.  I am so far behind on everything.

This recipe is kind of a mash up of three ideas in the Mediterranean cookbook.  One kind of meatball had potatoes wrapped inside it, the souvlaki recipe used sliced cabbage, and a third recipe put wine in the sauce and chickpea flour with the meatballs instead of breadcrumbs.  What you end up with here is something that tastes sort of Greek with Midwest American overtones.  While not specifically a recipe from the NaNo novel, it is something my character might have made to challenge herself.

(There ended up being a lot of words spent discussing food and cooking in the book.  It's something I'm used to doing.  It's amazing what random stuff you can stick in a novel when you're trying to hit a certain number of words in a fixed time.)

*1 lb lamb
*1/4 C garbanzo bean flour
*1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper
1 medium Russet or Yukon Gold potato
1 head cabbage
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 tsp paprika
2 Tb lemon juice
*1/4 C white wine or Marsala

1.  In a bowl, knead together lamb, garbanzo flour, oregano, cumin, some salt and pepper, and 1/4 C water.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour for flavors to meld and flour to hydrate.

2.  Dice potato into 3/4" cubes.  Peel or not, your choice.  Blanch in lightly salted water until half cooked, about five minutes.  Drain and set aside.

3.  Peel 8-10 leaves off the cabbage.  It's not easy, but hey, the lamb has to sit for an hour anyway.  Blanch the leaves in more lightly salted water until pliable.  Drain and set aside.  Put the rest of the cabbage back in the fridge and start thinking about how you're going to use it before it spoils.

4.  Mix the tomato sauce, paprika, lemon juice, wine, a touch of salt and pepper, and half a cup of water to make the sauce.  Start preheating the oven to 350º and get out a medium baking dish.

5.  Spread a couple of spoonfuls of sauce in the bottom of the pan.  On a work surface, lay out a cabbage leaf.  Piece together two if they tore.  Divide meat into 8 pieces.  Shape each into a disc and fit several pieces of potato in the middle.  Close into an elongated meatball and place on the leaf.  Fold up leaf burrito style and place seam side down in pan.  Repeat to make eight rolls.

6.  Sprinkle any remaining potato pieces among the rolls, then evenly pour sauce over everything.  Bake until meat temps to 165º, about 45 minutes.  Allow to rest ten minutes before serving.

Difficulty rating  :)

Green Monster Chewies

Somehow I've managed to hide it this far, mostly by scheduling two weeks of posts prior to November 1st, that I'm doing National Novel Writing Month.  That's when crazy people pledge to write a 50,000 word novel in a short month with a major holiday in it.  It comes out to 1,667 words a day, and really doesn't leave any room for hobbies, personal care, or a life if you have a full time job.

I did take a little time out to come up with this cookie because it exists in the book.  I was curious to find out if it tasted decent.  Turns out, while not the best cookie ever, they're addictive.  They taste a bit like salted peanut butter cookies, with a seaweed aftertaste.

Yep, seaweed.  For the book, I had to figure out how to put some kind of kelp product in a cookie.  It was also supposed to be healthy and acceptable as breakfast.  I found this recipe on The Pancake Princess for chickpea gingersnaps.  It only took a few flavor tweaks to turn them into the cookie from the book.

Warning, these may be high in iron and other good stuff, but they're also high in fiber.  Pay attention to how many you eat in one sitting.

2 C garbanzo bean flour
1 tsp ground ginger
*2 tsp wasabi powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
6 Tb unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 C brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 C honey
1/4 C crushed seaweed (nori)
3 Tb granulated sugar, for rolling

1.  Sift together garbanzo bean flour, ginger, wasabi powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

2.  Cream together butter and brown sugar.  Beat in egg and honey.  Stir dry ingredients into the wet mix.  Stir in seaweed, reserving 1 Tb for garnish.

3.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour.  I would recommend overnight.  Think of it as soaking dry beans.

4.  When ready to bake, stir together sugar and remaining seaweed flakes.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Portion out 1 Tb amounts of dough and roll into balls.  Roll balls in the sugar and place on baking sheets 2" apart.  If the seaweed isn't sticking, press some into the top.

5.  Bake for 10 minutes, until bottoms are just starting to brown.  Allow to cool on the baking sheet another 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.  These are gluten-free, so they'll fall apart if you move them too soon.

Makes about 2 dozen

Difficulty rating :)

Israeli Couscous with Artichokes

We had a big menu change at work.  The menu is being streamlined, so several ingredients were cut.  Once the frozen marinated artichokes were off the inventory, I asked if I could have a bag.  I didn't realize that came out to roughly three quarts of artichokes.  So I decided to splurge on this dish.

A few days before, I had a huge scare with my four year old fridge.  It wasn't holding temperature, and I was on the verge of scheduling some very expensive repairs.  It's behaving now, so I'm pretty sure Bruin Smurf left the door cracked open again.  There's a door alarm, but maybe it was not open enough to trigger it.  Meanwhile, I realized just how much space I have in the chest freezer and the mini fridge that I never turn on until there's something wrong with the kitchen one.  All summer, when I was trying to find space for the cakes, I could have been using the mini fridge.

Anyway, I decided to cook off a few things that might spoil if the fridge died, and this made a good side dish to go with that.  I actually used the last of the herbed butter from the salmon instead of oil, and I think it would taste better with the olive oil.

*1 C dry Israeli (pearl) couscous
*2C marinated artichoke quarters, drained
1/2 C kalamata olives
1 Tb butter or olive oil
*Parmesan cheese for garnish

1.  Cook couscous according to package directions.

2.  While that's going on, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add artichoke quarters and olives and cook until heated through.

3.  When the couscous is ready, add artichoke mixture and stir to combine.  Serve hot, topped with a sprinkle of parmesan if desired.

Difficulty rating  π

Pumpkin Butter

Tired of pumpkin yet?  If you still have a whole pie pumpkin sitting around from Halloween, maybe now's the time to roast it up and make something to spread on Thanksgiving leftovers.

The spark for this one came during my vacation last month.  Writer Smurf took me to a farm stand on the border of Amish country, so there were a lot of items you don't find in town.  I learned that the Amish prefer crookneck squash for pumpkin pies.  Hard to find those in Southern California.  There were also jars of various preserves and butters, including pumpkin butter.  A quick trip online found plenty of easy recipes.  I'm basing this on Skinnytaste's.  It's very simple and the hard part is remembering you left it on the stove for an hour to do its thing.

This has to be one of the healthiest jams you can make.  Lots of vitamins and almost no fat.  Techie Smurf was surprised that there's no actual butter in pumpkin butter.  I had to explain that the name refers to the consistency, not the ingredients.  He's a foodie, but there are gaps.

If you go on the original recipe's site, be careful with the comments.  Most of the people who talk about putting it in jars are just talking about storage.  Some do refer to freezing it.  DO NOT try to boil-bath can like one commenter mentions.  This is not a canning recipe, even if you use previously canned pumpkin.

*2 C Roasted pumpkin purée, either fresh or canned
*1/2 C apple juice
*1 Tb apple cider vinegar
1/3 C brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
*1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
*1 cinnamon stick

1.  Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Careful, it spits lava.

2.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until reduced to desired consistency.  You want something like a spreadable jam or cream cheese.  Fish out the cinnamon stick.  Allow to cool until it stops steaming, then place in containers and refrigerate or freeze.

Makes about 2 cups, depending on thickness

Difficulty rating  π

Mushroom Farroto

I'm making room for holiday foods and found the bag of farro in the freezer.  I decided to make an earthy version of farroto that didn't have to be a meal in itself.  This one is more like a rich rice side dish.  I had it with salmon and asparagus.  Both were on sale, but the plate looked like I had thrown a lot of money at it.  Three servings for $9 plus pantry items.  It's amazing what reading the market specials can do.

*3/4 C dry farro
1 C vegetable broth
8 oz portobello or crimini mushrooms
*1/2 C diced onion
1 Tb olive oil
*2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
*1/4 C dry white wine (optional)
*parmesan for garnish (optional)

1.  8 hours before, soak dry farro in water.  Pre-soaking will keep it from developing a hard shell when it's being toasted.

2.  Wash mushrooms and remove stems.  Slice caps thinly and chop slices into bite-sized pieces.  Place stems in a small saucepan with veggie broth and bring to a simmer.

3.  In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Sauté onion until softened.  Drain farro and add to the pot, stirring frequently.  When the grains start to look toasted, deglaze with the wine.  Stir until wine is cooked off or absorbed.  Lower heat to a simmer

4.  Add a ladle of broth (avoiding the stems).  Stir frequently until absorbed, 5 minutes or more.  Add mushrooms and garlic.  Ladle in some more broth, but not all of it.  The mushrooms are going to give off a lot of moisture as they cook.

5.  Once the mushrooms are cooked down, you can decide if you need the rest of the broth.  Chew on a grain or two to see if they're soft enough.  You can use this opportunity to decide how much salt and pepper the dish needs.

6.  When the farro is soft and creamy, serve hot.  Garnish with grated parmesan cheese if desired.

Difficulty rating  :)

Pumpkin Mini-Cakes

I'm modeling these after the ones made on Preppy Kitchen.  I liked that he admitted there's nothing wrong with shaping chilled buttercream with your clean fingers instead of buying expensive tools.  You can also use Viva paper towels, which don't have a pattern.  The YouTube video the blog links to shows how the shaping works, but the photo series isn't bad.

I'm guessing you can start with cupcakes instead of Bundts, but I was gifted some mini-Bundt pans and this was my first chance to try them out.  I've seen videos of this concept with a partially-filled full-size Bundt, putting two together for a big pumpkin.  Man, that's a lot of frosting.  It would also serve 20.

I went somewhere else for the cake recipe, though.  There were just so many ingredients in Preppy Kitchen's!  I found one at Homemade in the Kitchen that reveled in its simplicity, which is exactly what I wanted at that moment.  It was also a 2-egg recipe and easy to cut in half.  These may be minis, but one is enough for two or three people.  I'm posting the full recipe for anyone who wants to do this as a two-layer regular cake.

So, for that one person at Thanksgiving who simply isn't into pie, here's a seasonal alternative.

2-1/2 C flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
*1 tsp cinnamon
*1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
*1/2 C oil
1 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
*1-1/2 C canned pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
*1/2 C whole milk

1.  Pan spray the hell out of your Bundt pans unless they're brand new.  Start preheating the oven to 350º

2.  Sift together dry ingredients (through the salt).

3.  In the mixer with the paddle, cream together both sugars and the oil.  It will make a grainy paste.  Add eggs one at a time and beat to make a smooth mixture.  Stir in pumpkin and vanilla.

4.  Alternate stirring in flour and milk, starting and ending with the flour.  It will quickly turn from pumpkin soup to a batter.  Mix only until combined.  You're using AP flour and not cake flour, so over mixing will lead to holes.

5.  Scoop into pans.  I used the half cup measure but didn't scrape it out each time, so I think I got about 1/3 C in each cake well.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until top is springy but firm.  Turn out immediately onto a wire rack to cool.

6.  Trim the bottoms of the cakes relatively flat, so when you put two together with the bottoms touching, they sort of already look like a pumpkin.  Fill the middle with a good dose of pipeable cream cheese frosting (about 2 cups is enough for all the cakes), including the middle hole.  Chill until frosting is firm, so everything doesn't slide around when you frost the outside.

7.  Tint a double batch of buttercream frosting orange, minus half a cup that's colored green for the stems.

8.  Frost the bottom of a pumpkin and the bottom edge, then place it on a bit of parchment paper.  Spread way too much frosting all over the cake.  A lot of it is going to come off.

9.  Using a spreader or the rim of a washed out yogurt cup, smooth the sides into a decently rounded shape, deciding how thick you actually want the frosting.  Freeze the cakes for at least half an hour, to make sure the frosting is completely solid.

10.  Get the cakes out and put one on a work surface or turntable.  Wash your hands well with hot water and let them stay damp.  Use your fingers to smooth out the frozen buttercream.  Work fast enough, and it refreezes as soon as you let go.  Reheat and dampen fingers as necessary.  Use your pinky to make the pumpkin ridges.

11.  Fit a piping bag with a 4B tip and fill with the green frosting.  Pipe a mound into a stem shape at the top.  Carefully transfer cake from the parchment to a serving plate.  (You may want to freeze it again first if the frosting is getting too soft.)

12.  Because of the cream cheese filling, don't leave the cake out indefinitely.  It should be just back up to room temperature when served.

Makes 6 mini cakes, about 12 servings if people share

Difficulty rating :-0

Baked Salmon with Parsley-Chive Butter

I guess I usually poach fish.  It's fast and doesn't involve the oven.  I felt like baking it today and dressed it up with herbed compound butter.  Neither part is difficult and looks elegant.

Compound butter is just butter with stuff kneaded into it, usually herbs.  Fancy restaurants charge a lot to make something very simple just because it's served with interesting butter.  And I do suggest using true butter and not margarine.  You get that lovely butter-solid foam as it melts on the fish.  Margarine will just look oily.

1-1/3 lb salmon fillet
1/4 C butter
*1 Tb chives
*2 Tb parsley
salt and pepper
olive oil

1.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Set butter at room temperature to soften.  Finely chop parsley and chives.

2.  Check salmon for pin bones and remove if necessary.  Place fillet skin-side down in a baking dish, preferably on a rack.  Rub with a bit of olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake 15-20 minutes, until thickest part is barely opaque.  Time will vary with thickness of fillet.

3.  While the fish is baking, make the butter.  With a fork, break up the butter in a small bowl.  Work in herbs.  Add a touch of salt if the butter is unsalted.  Wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate until the fish is ready.  It melts best when it's only slightly firm, so you can see it actively melting when the dish is presented.

4.  Cut fillet into 4 pieces and serve hot, garnished with a tablespoon of the butter and more parsley.

Difficulty rating  π

Breakfast Cookies

Let's be honest, all cookies are breakfast cookies if you're grabbing something on the way out the door.  These are just more nutritious.  They're a lot like Oatmeal Everything Cookies without the egg or flour.  If you get GF-certified oats, they're good for that.  They're also vegan if the added sweetener is.  Basically, they're cookie-shaped granola bars, and there's nothing to prevent you from making them bar-shaped by baking them in a cake pan, turning out, and cutting the bars.

Because I was making these for tea snacks, I kept them small.  Some recipes I found have you using 1/4 C of batter apiece.  That's good if they're actually to take in the car with a cup of coffee for a driving breakfast.  I did a rounded tablespoon, almost an ounce, and got 15.  Two or three would be a meal.

Nearly all recipes agreed that you can freeze the finished product.  I wasn't sure because of the peanut butter.  The oils in nut butters do odd things once they're frozen.  Maybe having them mixed with the oats and/or baked keeps the oils from separating or caking.

1-1/4 C rolled oats
1 banana
*1/2 C peanut or other nut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
*1/2 tsp cinnamon
*2 Tb chocolate or vanilla chips
1/2 C dried fruit, chopped
*2 Tb coconut flakes
2 Tb chopped or slivered nuts
*2 Tb honey or maple syrup

1.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Grease two baking sheets or line with parchment paper or silpat.

2.  You can make this in a bowl by hand, but I got lazy and dumped everything in the stand mixer.  Cream together banana and peanut butter.

3.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  I used figs for my dried fruit, so I subbed 1 Tb boiling water for half of the honey.  If using a less sweet fruit or unsweetened nut butter, you'll probably want to use the full amount.

4.  Scoop batter onto baking sheets to desired size.  Flatten the scoops, as they won't spread out in the oven.  Bake until bottoms begin to brown, about 10 minutes.  Cool on the pan until firm enough to move, about 10 minutes, then finish cooling on a rack.

Makes about 1 dozen, depending on size

Difficulty rating  π