My Sunday Routine

Everybody's got a Sunday routine. Some people head to church, others laze around reading the New York Times...me, I love to spend much of Sunday afternoons in the kitchen. Yesterday, I made banana bread for us to have for breakfast all week, the best oatmeal cookies ever (I added dried cranberries, walnuts, white and milk chocolate chips...yuuuum), a roasted chicken (for pumkin enchiladas later this week - still need to roast the pumpkin though), and coconut shrimp soup for dinner last night.

It took most of the afternoon and evening, but I love the warm kitchen and the radio on. It's my own little peaceful time of the week. I am still doing a horrible job of taking pictures, though I think I have one of the banana bread to upload (well, download from the camera, and then upload to the blog).

Tonight was a night off for me. The MP had dinner out while I was at yoga, and I had a bowl of Life cereal for dinner. That is so gourmet of me :)

Mystery Squash #2

Back in this post I showcased some mystery squash I'd picked up at the farmers market. I decided to bust out the second one for a very tasty looking dessert that I'll serve to some friends we're hosting for dinner tonight.

Creamy Pumpkin Rice Pudding

Ingredients

2/3 cup water
1/3 cup uncooked long grain rice
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
2/3 cup Pumpkin Puree, or canned pumpkin
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1 medium red apple and/or green pear, cored and thinly sliced (1 cup)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
2 Tbsp. honey


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In small saucepan combine water and rice. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed, stirring once.

2. In medium bowl combine eggs, milk, Pumpkin Puree, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and salt. Stir in rice and 1/2 cup of the cranberries. Pour mixture into 1-1/2-quart straight-sided deep baking dish. Place dish in baking pan on oven rack. Pour boiling water into baking pan until water comes halfway up sides of baking dish.

3. Bake 30 minutes; stir. Bake 35 minutes more or until outside edge appears set. Remove dish from oven. Cool slightly on wire rack.

4. Meanwhile, in bowl combine remaining 1/4 cup cranberries and boiling water to cover. Let stand 15 minutes; drain. Just before serving, toss together apple, walnuts, honey, and cranberries. Spoon over pudding. Serve warm. Makes 6 servings.

5. To store, cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.



Last night, I roasted this mystery squash to substitute for the pumpkin. I yielded more than I'll need, so I'm guessing some pumpkin bread is also in our future :)

Oh, and if you're wondering what else is on the menu? Well, I typically get more ambitious when hosting dinner on Saturday or Sunday, as there's a lot more time to plan, shop and cook. But, with tomorrow being Halloween, we had to get together with our friends tonight, so I am going with a tried and true standby.

I am sure I have mentioned my favorite cookbook before, which is simply a collection of recipies from the Everyday Food magazine. I have never received this magazine before, though I have given subscriptions to it often as gifts (great gift idea for someone who loves too cook, but is also realistic about time committments in the kitchen!). This cookbook is full of flavorful, easy recipes, often with many ingrediants that most anyone who cooks regularly will have on hand. Many of the recipes also have some nutritional information included in an index (for those times when we're counting calories).

Anyway, tonight, I'll serve Braised Chicken with Mushrooms & Oven Baked Polenta

Ingredients
4 - 6oz boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts (or Pork Cutlets)
Coarse salt, and ground pepper
2T olive oil
1 lb white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced 1/2 in thick
4 garlic cloves, havled
1/2 c dry white wine
1 3/4 c reduced sodium chicken broth
2T chopped fresh parsley (more for garnish)


Directions
1. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with 1/4 t each of salt and pepper. Heat 1 T of the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken; cook until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

2. Add the remaining 1 T oil to the hot skillet. Add the mushrooms, garlic, and 1/4 t of salt. Cover; cook over medium heat until the mushrooms release their juices, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the lid. Cook over high heat, tossing occasionally, until the mushrooms are golden, 4 to 5 minutes.

3. Pour the wine into the skillet, cook, stirring, until evaporated, 1 minute. Add the stock and parsley; cook over medium-high heat until the mushrooms are tender and the liquid has reduced, 8 to 10 minutes.

4. Return the chicken to the skillet. Cover; simmer over low heat until the chicken is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve the cutlets and polenta topped with the mushrooms and a drizzle of the cooking liquid. Garnish with additional fresh parsley.

Oven Baked Polenta

Ingredients

3/4 c cornmeal
coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 c milk
2T butter
1t fresh marjoram (or 1/4t dried)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425F. In a lidded baking dish, whisk together 3c water, cornmeal, 1 1/4 t salt, and 1/8 t pepper. Cover and bakefor 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.

2. Remove from the oven, and add the milk, butter and marjoram, and whisk briskly until smooth. Serve immediately.


Getting hungry already!

Mid-week Bake-a-thon

I have started attending a yoga class on Wednesday evenings, leaving MP to his own devices for dinner...well sort of, we all know I am too controlling for that, so this really means, pre-portioned leftovers and a note with re-heating instructions (as if he's never used the toaster oven!).
So, since yoga doesn't start until 6:45, I have a couple hours between work and class to spend doing cooking other than weeknight dinner preparations. This week, I had a couple of very ripe bananas on the counter, and so I'd decided I would make banana muffins, and I knew these were the ones. I have a bag of wheat germ I have used all of one time, and why not take a chance to get some healthy grains into an otherwise unhealthy breakfast? I only had 1/2 the bananas I needed, so I had to cut the recipe in half, which is a bummer, because they turned out awfully tasty (nutty & dense).

We were also fresh out of sweets, and I don't think a meal can be considered complete with out a little taste of something sweet at the end, not to mention I've had this crazy peanut butter craving of late, so here was the ticket. I added about 1/3 bag of mini chocolate chips, and they're heavenly!

How I Spent my Sunday

Sunday was really dreary and rainy and chilly - it seems to be the norm, at least more often than not this fall. I decided to spend my afternoon in the kitchen. I started off with my new favorite cookies. These puppies are so good, I will never make a single batch again. I have been heating one up each night with just a few bites of vanilla ice cream, and think life may never be the same again. If MP tries to eat more than his allotted half, then he better watch out! Bless his heart, heaven knows how he manages to live with my and my "only child" weird food/eating ways.

Next up...I needed to use up some cauliflower that was about to bite the dust, so I tried this recipe on another blog I have recently discovered (thanks, facebook!). It was pretty tasty, but next time, I think I won't have the caraway seeds - I know they typically go well with curry, but I think it's one of those flavors that I will go ahead and admit is not one of my favorites. That said, this turned out as a great side dish. In fact, I think I could just add some cubed lamb to it and have a fantastic and easy dinner on my hands.

Next up - wheat muffins. Again, a recipe that I think will become an old standby. I am really going to try to make my own yeast rolls in the next week or so, but these guys are so quick and easy - not to mention the MP loves them. I know they're not a cibatta roll full of white flour and preservatives, but at $3.50 per 6 of those - not to mention the poor health of the grocery store option - I am going to try to provide most of our own bread in-house so to speak.

Finally dinner! From the farmer's market, Pasta Italia, the best ever fresh pasta. By the time the market closes for winter, this pasta will be available year round at HyVee and Schucks. I am so glad, I had been starting to hoarde it in the freezer, worried I wouldn't be able to get it. The spaghetti was coupled with a simple tomato/meatball sauce. I just sauteed some garlic in oil, added 3 cans of fire roasted tomatoes, a little oregano, basil and thyme. I let that cook down for about 20 minutes while I made the meatballs with an egg, about a third of a cup of milk, a cup of whole wheat crusty breadcrumbs, fresh parsley and 1lb of ground beef. I formed about 20 meatballs, and then dropped them into the tomato sauce, covering them, and cooked that for about 10 minutes. The leftovers for lunch today weren't bad either...

Fall at the Farmer's Market

So, last weekend I went to the Farmer's Market on a windy but sunny (and hopefully unseasonably chilly) Saturday morning. I knew we were going to the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival later that day, but I still could not resist all the beautiful squash I saw around the market. I had seen the Weeknight Kitchen recipe for "Fabulous Fall Roots Soup" by Lynne Rossetto Kasper of the Splendid Table earlier in the week, and had sought out a rutabaga at the grocery store so I would know what it looked like, and I was hopeful to find one at the market. Unfortunately, my search was in vain, but with all the other fall squash, I figured I could substitute out the "roots". I came home with three mystery squash, some apples, pears, goat cheese, bread, herbs, and probably some more stuff I don't remember. But, doesn't all of this look beautiful?!?

I ended up substituting the bright orange squash on the left for the rutabaga in the soup recipe (I also added one sweet potato and used heavy cream rather than crème fraîche). I did not roast the veggies first as suggested in the final tip, but definitely would like to do this next time:

Fabulous Fall Roots Soup

Excerpted from Sunday Soup: A Year's Worth of Mouthwatering, Easy-to-Make Recipes by Betty Rosbottom (Chronicle Books LLC). Copyright © 2008 by Betty Rosbottom.
Makes 8 servings

A trio of fall root vegetables — carrots, leeks, and a rutabaga — forms the savory foundation of this soup. Puréed and enriched with crème fraîche, this potage, with its velvety, smooth texture and glorious orange hue, is always a hit — whether it's a first course or the main attraction.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2-1/2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts only (3 to 4 medium leeks)

1-1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and diced

1 medium rutabaga (1 to 1-1/2 pounds), peeled and diced

8 cups chicken stock

Kosher salt

1-1/4 cups crème fraîche

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Heat butter in a large, heavy pot (with a lid) over medium-high heat. When melted and hot, add leeks, carrots, and rutabaga. Sauté vegetables until softened, for 10 minutes or longer. Add stock and bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until vegetables are very tender, for about 30 minutes.

2. Purée the soup in batches in a food processor, blender, or food mill, and return soup to the pot. (Or use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pot.) Whisk in 3/4 cup of the crème fraîche. Taste soup and season with salt, as needed. (The soup can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cool, cover, and refrigerate. Reheat over medium heat.)

3. To serve, ladle soup into shallow soup bowls. Garnish each serving with a generous dollop of the remaining 1/2 cup crème fraîche and a sprinkling of parsley.

LYNNE'S TIPS • Rutabaga is an often overlooked root vegetable member of the cabbage family. Its pale yellow flesh is slightly sweet. Choose ones with smooth skin and firm flesh that are heavy for their size. • A sliced yam added to this soup would bring out a sweet touch and play well with the rutabaga. • This soup can be made ahead and its flavor will only improve. • When you have time, try roasting the vegetables before cooking them into a soup. Toss the chopped vegetables with a little olive oil, spread them out on a shallow pan and roast at 425 degrees F until they begin to soften and caramelize. Flavors will be more intense.

The soup turned out wonderfully, we've had 5 bowls of it already - and I still have over half of it in the freezer. I served it with warm cheese toasts (goat cheese once and sharp white cheddar the next time) and salad.

My new husband recently informed me of his love of Pumpkin Pie (his sweet way of asking me to cook something in particular), and so when we headed to the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival last Saturday afternoon, I knew we'd be searching for pie pumpkins. We got two (a great deal, at a dollar apiece) - along with our Jackolantern - and brought them home.

I had looked at various pumpkin pie recipes on marthastewart.com, williams-sonoma.com, and epicurious.com. As an aside, I love epicurious, because not only can you create an account and save recipes to your own recipe box, but you can create folders to organize them. I have slowly been trying to move my favorites into folders on that site. Williams-Sonoma also offers the ability to save recipes (but not to organize them).

I settled on this pie recipe, knowing that MP loves pecan pie as well (hoping to kill two cravings with one stone!). I love Stephen Pyles' restaurant in Dallas, that is actually where we had dinner the night of our engagement, so I was happy to see this was from one of his books.

Pumpkin-Pecan Pie with Whiskey Butter Sauce
Epicurious April 1993
by Stephan Pyles
New Tastes from Texas

yield: Makes on 8-inch pie

This dessert was inspired by my good friend and great Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme. He prepares his with sweet potatoes, which are available year-round, and hence, give his version a longer seasonal shelf life than mine. If there's anything better than pumpkin pie or pecan pie, it's the two of them together. The whiskey butter adds a thoroughly Cajun twist to this sweet ending.

Ingredients

Pie Crust
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

Pumpkin Filling
1 cup cooked pumpkin purée
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg, beaten until frothy
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground allspice
Pinch of ground nutmeg

Pecan Syrup
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
2 small eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground cinnamon
3/4 cup pecan pieces

Whiskey Butter Sauce
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tablespoon very hot water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup bourbon whiskey

Preparation

Pie Crust

Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and incorporate with your fingertips until the mixture resembles very coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle the water over the flour mixture in tablespoon increments, stirring continuously with a fork. Form the dough into a ball and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Pumpkin Filling

Combine all the ingredients thoroughly in a medium bowl; set aside.

Pecan Syrup

Combine all the ingredients thoroughly in a medium bowl; set aside.

Assembly

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease an 8-inch springform cake pan.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to 3/16 inch. Very lightly flour the top of the dough and fold it into quarters. Carefully place the dough in the greased cake pan. Press firmly in place and trim the edges. Chill for 15 minutes.

Spoon the Pumpkin Filling into the pan, spreading evenly to distribute. Gently pour the Pecan Syrup on top. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Cool and serve with Whiskey Butter Sauce.

Whiskey Butter Sauce

Melt the butter in the top of a double boiler set over gently simmering water.
Beat the sugar and egg in a small bowl until blended. Stir the egg mixture into the butter. Add the hot water and stir until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, about 7 minutes. Remove from the double boiler and let cool to room temperature. Stir in the cream and whiskey.

(My notes - I made the crust in a food processor, and it used more ice water than the reicpe calls for here. I didn't chill the crust for the additional 15 minutes after putting it in the pan. I also ended up cooking the pie for shortly over 2 hours. Finally, I left the butter sauce unattended when cooling, and the egg white cooked a little bit - next time, I will stir it as it cools too.)

This recipe may seem like it has a lot of steps, but really it was very easy. There's not much to to other than mix and measure. Besides, what else is there to do while the pie pumpkin cooks and cools?!? Which reminds me...to make the pumpkin puree, I cooked a whole medium sized pie pumpkin on a cookie sheet at 350 for an hour and a half. I then let it cool for about an hour and then cut it in half and scooped out the strings/seeds, then scooped the flesh into a food processor and pureed it. It yielded about 2 1/2 cups of puree.