Pumpkin Seed Brittle

There are a lot of things I've never had before because of my peanut/tree nut allergy. Peanut brittle is one of them. Luckily, these days it seems like people are coming up with alternative ideas to traditional recipes, many of which use sunflower or pumpkin seeds instead of nuts. When I saw Martha Stewart on the Today show a while back, she featured Pumpkin Seed Brittle, which I found very exciting. I've since seen in around a lot - even at Williams-Sonoma! I thought this recipe was really good, although I can't compare/contrast it to peanut brittle obviously. I took this to a party and people seemed to like it. The one comparison I heard was that it's not quite as hard as traditional peanut brittle (maybe because of the honey). This recipe was so simple to prepare, especially since I had already roasted pumpkin seeds the week before (using THIS method).

Pumpkin Seed Brittle

Ingredients:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for baking sheet or dish

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds, toasted as desired

Directions:

1. Butter an 11 x 17-inch rimmed baking sheet or Pyrex dish. Set aside.

2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sugar and honey. Bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until mixture is medium amber and a candy thermometer registers 280F, about 6 minutes.

3. Stir in the pumpkin seeds. Cook until mixture reaches 300F, about 2 minutes.

4. Pour into prepared pan. Let cool completely. Break into pieces.

Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

One of my favorite things about Fall is the wonderful fruits and vegetables that are at their peak. The cooler weather means that it's officially soup season (although some of us enjoy soup year round with the a/c cranked up!) I initially made this soup last year. It was my first time working with butternut squash, so I was a little intimidated, but it's really not difficult. The hardest part is cutting the squash open! This recipe does require a lot of peeling and chopping, but it's definitely worth it. Considering this is Ina Garten's recipe, it should come as no surprise that it's AMAZING!!! Bob and I LOVE this soup and highly, highly, highly recommend it! It makes a LOT, so be prepared for leftovers!

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

2 Tablespoons olive oil

4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large)

2 Tablespoons mild curry powder

5 pounds butternut squash (2 large)

1 1/2 pounds sweet apples (4)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups water

2 cups good apple cider or juice

Directions:

1. Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.

2. Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks.

3. Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. (This takes a bit longer for me).

4. Process the soup through a food mill fitted with a large blade, or puree it coarsely in the food processor fitted with a steel blade. (You may also use an immersion blender, which I did - much easier!)

5. Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Season with salt and pepper if desired and serve hot.

Source: Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten

Pumpkin Latte

One of my favorite things about fall is the Pumpkin Spice Latte. I first noticed them at Starbuck's years ago, and now it seems like every major coffee place carries a version of this delicious drink. As good as they are, I find it hard to shell out almost $5 for a drink, so last year I found this Pumpkin Latte recipe. I really enjoyed! Bob has a bit of a problem with the texture of the drink (it has pure pumpkin puree in it so it's not quite as smooth as the more artificial drinks out there). What I like is that you can make this recipe any way you want (kind of like at Starbuck's!) - decaf, half caf, lower sugar, etc. It's a nice alternative that allows you to stay in your warm cozy home and save a little money for the upcoming holiday season! :)

Pumpkin Latte

Serves 2 (8-ounce servings)

Ingredients:

1 cup strong coffee

2/3 cup (5-ounce can) evaporated fat free milk

1/4 cup pure pumpkin puree

1 to 2 teaspoons granulated sugar (or sweetener of your choice)

1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon

Optional toppings:

whipped cream

sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Combine coffee, evaporated milk, pumpkin, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice in a 2-cup microwave-safe glass measure or small saucepan. Heat until very hot. If using stove, use medium-low heat and stir occasionally.

2. Carefully pour into mugs. Top as desired.

Tip: To make a foamy top to your latte, prepare as above and carefully transfer the mixture to a blender. Cover with lid, hold lid down with folded towel or potholder. Blend for 1 minute, then serve.

Source: Adapted from CooksRecipes.com

Fluffy Pumpkin Dip with Cinnamon Tortilla Cutouts

Here is another recipe I had made for Thanksgiving brunch last year. I just thought it was so adorable when I saw it on Leslie's blog, The Hungry Housewife. I'm really into using food as serving dishes, so this was right up my ally. Plus, the Cinnamon Tortilla Cutouts are so ridiculously cute! I have a bunch of fall-themed cookie cutters that I knew would be perfect for this sort of thing. My family really liked the dip, and especially liked the Cinnamon Tortillas. I may just make this again at our Thanksgiving Day brunch this year. I recommend this recipe for any fall-themed party!

(Pictures taken by my Dad last year!)

Fluffy Pumpkin Dip

Ingredients:

1 16-ounce container of cool whip, thawed

1 5-ounce packet of instant vanilla pudding

1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pie pumpkin, hollowed, for serving (if desired)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the pudding, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla. Gently stir in the cool whip. This will take about 5 minutes to get a smooth texture.

2. Add dip to the hollowed pumpkin and serve with fruit and Cinnamon Sugar Tortillas (see below).

Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Cutouts

Ingredients:

Flour tortillas

Cinnamon sugar

Butter flavored cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

1. Use cookie cutters or cut tortillas into desired shapes. Place them on a lined baking sheet.

2. Spray tortillas with butter flavored spray and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar as desired. Spray again to make sure the cinnamon sugar adheres.

3. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Source: The Hungry Housewife

Pumpkin Spice Magic Bar Mini's!

Happy November!!! Thanksgiving month is here! The pumpkin recipes will continue throughout the month :)

Mini-cheesecakes are so popular in the food blogging world (especially on Jenny's blog Picky Palate), and I've been wanting a mini-cheesecake pan for a long time. For my birthday, I decided to buy myself two pans.

I added them to my Amazon shopping cart but waited until the next day to purchase, and wouldn't you know it - the price went up $3 per pan! Shows me not to hesitate!

I'm so excited for all the possibilities! These pans are great for not just cheesecakes but any little dessert. Mini-sizes are so convenient for parties, the workplace, and even just to have at home. I made these Pumpkin Spice Magic Bar Mini's for Bob to take in to the hospital, and he said they were a big success! We think they taste better cold, so I suggest you store them in the fridge.

Pumpkin Spice Magic Bar Mini's

I doubled the recipe for 24 mini's, so please see the original source for the 12-portion recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup melted butter

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

6 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup cashews, coarsely chopped (I omitted)

1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup sweetened condensed milk

Caramel ice cream topping to drizzle

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

1. Place melted butter and graham cracker crumbs in a large bowl, then mix to combine. Press into the bottom of mini-cheesecake cups. Bake for 8 minutes then remove from oven.

2. In another large bowl, beat the pumpkin, cream cheese, sugar, and cinnamon until smooth. Spoon evenly over each graham cracker crust, about 2 small spoonfuls. Next layer the chocolate chips evenly over the pumpkin layer, followed by the cashews (if using), coconut, and condensed milk.

3. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Remove and let cool. **Before bars cool completely, use a plastic knife to run around the edges to loosen.

4. Once cooled, carefully remove the bars from the cups and arrange on a serving tray. Drizzle with warm caramel and serve. Alternatively, chill until ready to serve.

Source: Picky Palate

100th Post and a Cheesecake Factory Reinvention

This is my 100th post!!! I thought I would get here much sooner, but I didn't realize how much my cooking and baking would slow down as I finished up my degree! I wanted to post something special for this occasion, and I think this cheesecake is definitely 'grander' (and more time consuming!) than your run of the mill dessert.

The Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory is my ultimate favorite indulgence dessert (see below!):

It's a layer of flourless chocolate cake (that's just the crust people!), topped with chocolate cheesecake, then chocolate mousse, and covered in chocolate ganache, which is sprinkled with cocoa powder - WHAT!!!!!!!! Insanely delicious and I'm sure oh-so horrible health-wise. For this reason, I very rarely have this cheesecake (plus it's like $8 a slice!), but for my birthday, which was last week, I decided I wanted to create my own version at home. I've been planning to do this since my birthday last year in fact. I even eluded to it in a previous post!

To do this, I chose recipes that I thought would work together to recreate this dessert. I knew Dorie's ganache would work wonderfully and the cheesecake layer from the Bailey's Irish Cheesecake would be perfect, but I didn't have any recipes for the flourless chocolate cake and chocolate mousse. The flourless chocolate cake had to be thin since it was the crust. I considered making this chocolate mousse, but from the picture the mousse looks like a dark chocolate one, so I thought I should search for another recipe.

In the end, this cheesecake took a long time to put together (I broke it up into multiple weeknights), and unfortunately I can't say it was any better than Cheesecake Factory! (although how can you beat perfection???) For me, I think I would have been just as happy buying an individual slice for my birthday, and I would have had more free time during my birthday week! I served this cheesecake to some friends at a Game Night, and they really loved it. Everyone had a different layer that was their favorite, so that was fun. Like a true married couple, my favorite was the ganache and the cheesecake, and Bob's was the mousse and the crust! If you're looking for a chocolately dessert to impress your friends, this is a great one. If you're just looking to satisfy a chocolate craving for yourself, get to the nearest Cheesecake Factory and order a slice of the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake!

Ultimate Chocolate Cheesecake

Note: I made the crust and cheesecake on night 1, the mousse and ganache on night 2, and served the cheesecake on nights 3 and 4.

For the crust:

4 1-ounce squares semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used dark chocolate cocoa powder)

3 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cheesecake:

Original recipe found HERE but I adapted it for the size of this cake:

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/3 cups sour cream

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream or strong coffee

6 1-ounce squares semi-sweet chocolate, melted

For the dark chocolate mousse:

5 1/4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

14 ounces cold heavy cream

3 large egg whites

1 ounce sugar

Ganache ("glaze") recipe HERE

Directions:

Make the crust:

Preheat the oven to 300F.

1. Grease an 8- or 9-inch springform pan and then line with parchment paper (the bottom and sides). Grease the paper as well, then dust with cocoa powder.

2. In the top of a double boiler over lightly simmering water, melt chocolate and butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan.

3. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before adding cheesecake mixture. I used the back of a spoon to sort of smush the cake down to make for a thinner crust.

Source: Allrecipes.com

Make the cheesecake:

Preheat the oven to 325F.

1. In a large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time while beating. Stir in sour cream, vanilla, and Bailey's or coffee. Stir in the melted chocolate.

2. Pour mixture over crust. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, until the center is raised and set. Let cool to room temperature. Proceed to mousse step or cover cake with aluminum foil and refrigerate until the next day.

Source: Adapted from a recipe by Kerry M.

Make the dark chocolate mousse:

1. Place the chocolate in a large bowl set over low simmering water (or in the top of a double boiler). Stir chocolate until melted. Turn off the heat and let stand (to room temperature).

2. Beat the cream over ice until it forms soft peaks. Set aside and hold at room temperature. With a mixer, whip egg to soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar and continue whipping until firm. (I prechilled my mixer bowl, which may have been a mistake since I think it made my whipped cream and egg whites too cold, which is might explain why the chocolate solidified in step 3 before completely incorporating)

3. Transfer the chocolate to a large bowl. Using a whisk, fold the egg whites into the chocolate. (Note: This is what the recipe from Food Network says, and might be an error. I don't think of "whisk" and "fold" as being compatible, so I used a spatula to fold them together, not a whisk.) When the eggs whites are almost completely incorporated, fold in the whipped cream.

4. Add mousse on top of cheesecake and smooth top. Cover cake with foil and refrigerate until ready to top with ganache.

Source: Food Network, courtesy of Bobby Flay

Make the ganache:

Follow directions outlined HERE (Dorie Greenspan's recipe). Allow to cool briefly - don't let the ganache cool too much or it will start to harden when it hits the cold mousse and be harder to spread. If you'd like the ganache to drip down the sides of the cheesecake, remove the springform pan sides and place cake on a platter lined with wax paper (the wax paper just needs to cover the bottom edges of the cake).

Spread the ganache over mousse layer, allowing to drip down sides if desired. Sprinkle with cocoa powder (optional). Cover cake with aluminum foil and chill.

Harvest Tarts

This is another appetizer I served for Game Night several weeks ago. I've had this recipe marked for 5 years! It's from the Quick Short Chicken Recipes cookbook my aunt gave me when I started graduate school. I always turn to it when I'm flipping through the book, but never felt I had the right occasion to try it out. The original name of this dish is "Chicken Tarts with Pumpkin, Spinach, and Haloumi." This name was way too long, so my friend Kathleen suggested we call them "Harvest Tarts," and the name stuck.

In order to prep these in time for the party, I cut up and roasted the pie pumpkins the night before. I used two pumpkins and had a ton left over, so I've adjusted the recipe for 1. I couldn't find haloumi cheese, but a quick Google search revealed that it's simply a high melting point cheese similar to frying cheese, which Trader Joe's carries. Have you ever seen the cheeses at Trader Joe's??? SOOOO much cheaper than our local grocery store. Even cream cheese and mascarpone are much, much cheaper, which surprised me!

The party guests really liked these tarts. Bob and I thought they were tasty but needed a little something else - maybe a sauce? I'm not quite sure, but if you serve them with a sauce it's probably best on the side, otherwise it might soften the pastry.

Harvest Tarts

Ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted
3 Tablespoons olive oil

2 small chicken breasts, sliced

15 ounces pumpkin, sliced into 1-in x 1-in thin squares

1 1/4 ounces baby spinach leaves

4 1/2 ounces haloumi or frying cheese

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F.

1. To roast the pumpkin, put the slices on a baking sheet and brush with 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the pumpkin is soft.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a frying a pan and cook the chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper, until cooked through.

3. Unfold puff pastry into a large square. The original recipe says to cut the pastry into 4 equal squares (roughly 5 x 5-inch). I wanted smaller tarts since it was one of many appetizers, so I cut the pastry into 9 equal squares.

4. Top pastry with slices of pumpkin, spinach leaves, chicken, and a slice of the cheese. Brush the entire thing (including the pastry dough) with remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper, if desired.

3. Bake for 25 minutes or until pastry has puffed and slightly browned.

Source: Adapted from the Quick Short Chicken Recipes cookbook