More Turkey Day Ideas

I thought I’d share the dishes that will be on our menu this Thanksgiving, along with some other ideas if you’re in need of some last-minute inspiration! As I mentioned yesterday, this year B and I are hosting my parents, my brother and his wife for Thanksgiving dinner. The menu I came up with has some of our traditional favorites along with a few newcomers; I tried to plan dishes that would lend themselves well to advance preparation and not too much on-my-feet time on the actual holiday. And fortunately, if my third trimester feet get too tired, I know I’ll have lots of able and willing sous chefs to lean on!

My focus this year, since I was hosting, was to take advantage of the amazing local food producers we have in the Finger Lakes area. Sometimes I have to pinch myself, we’re so spoiled!

• Appetizers — assorted Finger Lakes wine (sparkling cider for me), local cider, assorted cheeses (some local, some not) and crackers, summer sausage from Kingbird Farm, NY Bartlett pears, assorted nuts (mmm…I could eat just a big plate of these things for my whole meal)
• Turkey — we’re getting a heritage turkey from McDonald Farm. I’m planning to roast it simply slathered with lots of butter and herbs from Kingbird Farm (thyme, sage, rosemary and a little savory), both under and over the skin. I’ll put a halved onion and more herbs in the cavity, and make a gravy using the pan drippings and homemade chicken stock.
• Stuffing — I’m making a simple bread stuffing w/a mix of Ithaca Bakery sourdough and homemade buttermilk cornbread, herbs from Kingbird Farm, celery, homemade stock, onions, and apples from West Haven Farm
• Marbelized Root Vegetable Puree – using all veg from our CSA share
• Squash and Apple Bake - something we’ve been having for as long as I can remember, and one of my favorite side dishes!
• Braised Greens with Cranberries, Pine Nuts & Feta – using chard from West Haven Farm and Lively Run goat feta
• Green Beans, Roasted Fennel & Shallots – using shallots from Kingbird Farm
• Cranberry Sauce — my mom’s making this (Mom, looking forward to it!)
• Dessert – one of our guests is bringing this, and I’m excited — she’s bringing carrot cake! Now I love a pie any time of year, but quite honestly, pumpkin pie is not one of my favorites. I do, however, love carrot cake and I think it’s going to be a really nice addition to the meal!

Still looking for some ideas? Here’s a roundup of other dishes I’ve made on the blog that would lend themselves beautifully to the Thanksgiving table.

Cocktails and Appetizers:
Beet Bubbly Cocktail is a unique, seasonal, festive drink created by Felicia’s Atomic Lounge; I made it last year and it was delicious.

Goat Cheese & Herb Gougeres are a great appetizer and can easily be made ahead and heated just before serving.

Side Dishes:
Celery Root & Apple Puree is one of my favorite fall/winter side dishes. It pairs wonderfully with poultry, pork, and even beef — I made it the other week alongside braised beef short ribs. It would be delicious alongside your Thanksgiving turkey!

Roasted Carrots & Thyme are a simple and easy side dish, and gorgeous if you can find various colors of carrots (purple are my favorite!)

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic and Pancetta is one of my favorite ways to eat brussels sprouts.

Breakfast on Thanksgiving morning or the morning after:
How about a strata? You can make it the night before, chill it in the fridge (if you still have room!) and bake it off in the morning. Or, there’s always a quiche, or (our favorite) scones!

Breakfast Strata with Greens, Gruyere and Sausage

Sausage, Cheddar and Apple Strata

Swiss Chard, Bacon and Cheddar Crustless Quiche

Our favorite Pumpkin Spice Scones!

Dessert Ideas

Apple Cup Pies, cute and a nice twist on the traditional apple pie

Apple Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting, homey and a real crowd-pleaser

Pumpkin and Brown Sugar Creme Brulees, decadent and rich

Maple Pots de Creme, smooth and silky.

Maple Souffles, light and elegant.

Whatever your menu includes this Thanksgiving, may it be a happy and healthy one for you and your loved ones!

A Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dish

This year, since Thanksgiving falls so close to my due date (just 3 weeks to go!), my family is coming to us for the holiday! Which thrills me to no end because I love cooking Thanksgiving dinner. I love menu planning, figuring out the timing (what can be made ahead?  what goes into the oven when?), eating all the food (of course), but most of all, having everyone gathered around the table for a festive fall meal.

My tendency when I make Thanksgiving dinner is to keep a few tried-and-true standard dishes that I’ve grown up with and loved, but also to audition a few new dishes each year. Ours is not a house where the same dishes will show up ad infinitum for the rest of our lives…there’s just too many tasty things to try! However, the two dishes that we always have on the menu are butternut squash and apple bake, and this marbleized root vegetable puree. (Yes, we love carbs in my family.)

I first had this dish about 10 years ago at a potluck hosted by the faculty member whose lab I worked in during college…and since then, it’s been a regular feature on our Thanksgiving table. It’s a real looker of a dish, stunning in its autumnal colors and swirls, but beyond aesthetics, it’s a great way to showcase the many root vegetables in season this time of  year. I was lucky enough this year to get all of the ingredients (well, except for the butter, cream and nutmeg) from our Full Plate Farms and Finger Lakes Fruit Bowl CSA shares: Yukon Gold potatoes, turnips, parsnips, carrots, and a pear.

The carrots are cooked and pureed with a little butter and nutmeg; separately, potatoes, turnips, parsnips and a pear are cooked and mashed together.

The orange and creamy-white purees are swirled together in a pan, drizzled with a little more butter and showered with a faint dusting of more nutmeg.

The resulting dish is savory with a tinge of sweetness and a hint of nutmeg, beautiful to look at, and (in my opinion) a really interesting alternative to traditional mashed potatoes.

And finally, I had to post this last picture, because it’s the state of my life right now: every time I go to take a picture and look down, this big belly gets in the way!! Baby Eggs on Sunday will be here before we know it, and we’re so excited — much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

More to come tomorrow on our Thanksgiving menu this year, as well as a round-up of other menu ideas if you’re still looking for a little inspiration!

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Marbleized Root Vegetable Puree

recipe from Bon Appetit

view printable recipe

This is a delicious and beautiful way to showcase all of the root vegetables in season around Thanksgiving. It can be made and assembled a day or two ahead, stored in the refrigerator, and baked just before serving.

Ingredients

2 pounds potatoes (I like Yukon Gold or Russet), peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
8 ounces turnips, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
8 ounces parsnips, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium pear, peeled, cored, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup whipping cream
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter

1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Additional ground nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F and butter a 2-quart baking dish (I use a 9×9 square ceramic baking pan.)

Place the potato, turnip, parsnip and pear chunks in a large pot of cold salted water. Bring it to a boil, and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the veg and return them to the pan; continue to cook over low heat for another minute until any excess moisture evaporates. Add the cream and 5 tablespoons of butter, and then mash until smooth. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Meanwhile, cook the carrots in another pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain them, let cool just slightly, and transfer them to a food processor. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, and puree until smooth (this usually takes me a few minutes, and I pause periodically to scrape down any chunks on the sides of the processor bowl.) Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Spoon the potato and carrot purees, alternating by 1/2 cupfuls, into the buttered baking dish. Draw a knife through the purees to marbleize, then drizzle 1 tablespoon of melted butter over the whole dish. Sprinkle with a little additional nutmeg. Cover with foil (at this point you can refrigerate it for a day or two.) Bake the foil-covered puree until it’s heated through, about 35 minutes (or 45 minutes if chilled.)

Serve 8-10.

My interview on Eating Ithaca (“Behind the Blog: Eggs on Sunday”)

Several weeks ago, Dave from Eating Ithaca came by to interview me for his latest podcast series, “Behind the Blog.” I met Dave through writing for Edible Finger Lakes magazine; he produces a terrific podcast where he interviews local food producers, winemakers and brewers, highlights local food-related events, and (along with his wife) systematically reviews every single restaurant in Ithaca. It’s a must-listen for anyone residing in the greater Ithaca area. We had a great chat, munched on Spiced Pumpkin Scones and World Peace cookies, and now you can hear the interview! Head on over to Eating Ithaca to listen to me talk about how I started Eggs on Sunday, my cooking hits and misses, what I enjoy about blogging, how joining a CSA helped me become a better cook, and lots more (including how this blog got its name!) Thanks again, Dave, for taking the time to chat with me!

Roasted Sunchoke and Mushroom Bisque

I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for gnarly, knobby vegetables. As much as I love a gorgeously tapered rainbow carrot, or a voluptuously round tomato, my heart is full of enough vegetable love to look past appearances and see the hidden beauty in hairy, lumpy celeriac and bulbous tubers like these sunchokes.

I was tickled, then, to be writing about sunchokes for my fall Seasonal Cooking column in Edible Finger Lakes Magazine. I think sunchokes are misunderstood and underappreciated — most people think they’re either (a) a type of artichoke (that misconception stems from their other moniker “Jersusalem Artichoke”), (b) oddly-shaped fresh ginger root, or (c) some weird variety of potato that frankly, can’t hold a candle to beautiful Yukon Golds and Adirondack Blues in the looks department.

But potato and artichoke they’re not, though they do resemble potatoes in their crunchy raw state:

They’re actually tubers, in the sunflower family — we started growing some this year on the land that we’re building a house on, and they bloomed at the end of the summer into beautiful yellow blossoms. The variety of sunflower is native to North America, but settlers brought the tubers back to Europe for cultivation. The story goes that they got their “Jerusalem Artichoke” alter-ego from the Italian word girasole, which means “sunflower” but along the way was somehow misinterpreted as “Jerusalem.”

I love their nutty, earthy taste, which I think is somewhat of a cross between potato and mushroom with a slight hint of artichoke. They’re great pan-fried in a little butter and tossed with herbs, thin-sliced into a gratin, as a hearty component to a winter salad, or simply roasted. If you go the roasted route, this soup is a wonderful treat to prepare with the browned, caramelized tubers.

I found the inspiration for this soup in one of my favorite cookbooks, Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen. The roasted sunchoke soup is featured in the “Roasted Vegetable Soups for Fall” chapter, and they’re combined with roasted potatoes to form the base of this simple bisque.

I thought that some meaty brown mushrooms would be a lovely complement to the earthy, nutty flavor of the sunchokes in this soup. So, after cooking a good handful of chopped mushrooms over high heat so that they were nicely browned (take a look through Ruhlman’s recent entry on hitting that “sweet spot” when cooking mushrooms), I folded them into the pureed soup….

…and finished it with a little cream and fresh chopped sage. Fresh thyme would be equally delicious.

This might be my new favorite fall soup. It’s warm and earthy and nutty without being really heavy, and perfect to wrap your hands around on a chilly November day.

And, it’s a lovely way to show a little love to the homely sunchoke…because not all vegetables need to be beauty queens.

[If you live in the Finger Lakes area, be sure to check out the Fall issue of Edible Finger Lakes magazine for more sunchoke information and recipes in my Seasonal Cooking column, as well as many more great articles about our local farms and food producers. Kudos to my editors for putting such a terrific issue together!]

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Adapted from Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen, a wonderful book if you like cooking soups with the seasons!

No need to peel the sunchokes before roasting them for this soup; just a good scrubbing will do. Fresh thyme would be an equally good herb to use in place of the sage, if you’re so inclined.

view printable recipe

Ingredients
2 pounds sunchokes, scrubbed and cut into 1/3-inch slices
1 large potato, preferably Yukon Gold, scrubbed and cut into wedges
6 large garlic cloves
olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion or 2 leeks, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter, plus more for the mushrooms
8 ounces mushrooms, thickly sliced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage or thyme leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, toss the sunchoke slices, potato wedges, and whole garlic cloves with olive oil and a few pinches of sea salt. Transfer them to a sheet pan (use two if they’re too crowded on one pan) and roast until the tubers are browned in some places, about 45 minutes.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter in a large, heavy soup pot. Add the onion and cook over medium heat for several minutes, stirring occasionally. Add all of the roasted vegetables along with 1 teaspoon of sea salt and 1 cup of water. Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add another 9 cups of water and any brown juices that remain on the sheet pan(s). Simmer soup, covered, for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

In the meantime, heat a saute pan over high heat with a little olive oil or canola oil, until it’s very hot. Add the sliced mushrooms along with a good pinch of salt, and cook until they’re nicely seared and brown. Season with a little freshly ground black pepper and set aside (you can reserve a small portion to use for garnishing the bowls.)

When soup is done cooking, use an immersion blender (or a regular blender, or food processor — if you use these methods, you’ll need to work in batches) to puree the mixture. I like to leave a little bit of texture in my soup, and flecks of brown from the sunchoke skins. Stir in the cream, mushrooms, and chopped sage (or thyme.) Taste for salt and adjust to your liking; add freshly ground black pepper.

Serve, optionally garnished with a little mound of browned mushrooms and more chopped herbs.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Pumpkin and Brown Sugar Crème Brûlées

I think I’ve mentioned here before that B and I are in the process of building a house. And we’re doing a good chunk of it ourselves, which means that the past, oh, 8 months or so have been very, very packed. My dear husband amazes me — the things he just knows how to do (though, of course, there’s been a lot of things to learn along the way, too!) And since he’s been building things and helping his Dad with projects since he was very young, he had a vocabulary around tools and construction techniques that, frankly, was Greek to me. Let’s just say it’s been, and continues to be, a huge learning experience for both of us! All very positive — we’re thrilled with how the house is coming along, it’s been an incredibly rewarding process so far, and we just can’t wait to move in (probably later in the spring.)

One of the steep learning curves I’ve had is what all these construction tools are and what they’re used for. For instance, one of the tools we’ve acquired in the process of building a house is a miter saw, which B tells me is really useful for quickly making angled cuts. Apparently it is much more efficient than using a table saw for the same purpose. I do love finding out about well-designed tools of any kind, those that perform their function really well, so I was kind of tickled about this miter saw acquisition.

And cooking, of course, has these types of situations too, right? For instance, take crème brûlée. Making these pumpkin and brown sugar crème brûlées — which are utterly fantastic; like smooth, creamy, custardy pumpkin pie but better (in my opinion) because of the dairy and silky smooth texture — made me realize that there’s one tool that would really, really make my life easier, at least when it comes to crème brûlées: a kitchen torch. I usually use the broiler, but you know what? It just doesn’t do the trick — it burns the sugar in spots, doesn’t melt the sugar in other spots, and just generally falls short of creating that perfect thin, shattering sugar crust.

So if you have a kitchen blow torch, I’m envious! I hope to add it to my “toolbox” sometime soon. These crème brûlées are going to be making many more appearances in our kitchen this winter, maybe even this Saturday night for Halloween! Their lovely orange hue and pumpkin flavoring make a sophisticated, festive dessert. Blowtorch or not.

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Pumpkin Spice Crème Brûlées

adapted from Bon Appetit

view printable recipe

Ingredients

half of one 15-ounce can pure pumpkin (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
4 tablespoons raw sugar or golden brown sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugars, egg yolks, spices and salt.

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream just to a boil, then slowly whisk it into the pumpkin/egg yolk mixture to temper the egg yolks. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a separate bowl (I used a large liquid measuring cup with a pouring spout.)

Divide the mixture among four 5×1 inch ramekins.* Place the ramekins in a large roasting pan or sheet pan, and fill the pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the custards are just set in the center, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove from the hot water bath, and let the ramekins cool slightly. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator until cold, about 6 hours.

To serve, sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over the top of each ramekin. Place the ramekins under the broiler to melt the sugar, or use a kitchen torch to melt the sugar. Chill for 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 servings.

*you can also use 3-inch diameter ramekins with 1 1/4 inch sides; increase baking time to about 50 minutes.

Homemade Vanilla Extract Update

Hi there. Remember waaaaaay back in May, when I posted about the DIY vanilla extract project I was embarking on? And then never mentioned it again? Oops.

Well, better late than never, I’m here to tell you that it is unequivocally fabulous. I’ve been using it for months. That photo above was taken back in July, and I still have the beans in the extract — it’s even darker now, with a heady vanilla aroma that envelopes me as soon as I open the jar.

I had meant to post this update earlier, but you know what? It’s never too late. If you’re thinking of making this for Christmas gifts (I know I’ll be giving some away!) you could start it in the next few weeks and still give it for Christmas — I found the extract was excellent for baking after about 3 months, and only gets better with a little more time. Just tell your gift recipients to let it “age” a little while.

Whole Wheat Apple Crepes with Cider Butter Sauce

Being the oldest child in my family, I have always been somewhat of a rule-follower. Being responsible, following-the-rules, and achieving were things I prided myself on growing up. And while that’s probably not so surprising — from what I’ve known of my friends who are also first-borns in their families, we all seem to have shared those experiences to some degree — I have enjoyed shaking myself free of some of those self-imposed expectations as I’ve grown older. It’s quite liberating.

But, following the rules is something that occasionally still trips me up. For instance, what would you do if you desperately wanted to eat crêpes, but had no crêpe pan?

The answer may be obvious: either (a) buy a crêpe pan, or (b) use a nonstick skillet, silly. But, unfortunately for me and my crêpe-eating urges, I wasn’t crazy about buying a one-use-only pan, and had thrown out the few nonstick skillets I had years ago when I heard that the Teflon could leach out chemicals over high heat.

However, the door to crêpes opened again recently for me. With anodized skillets (i.e. not using Teflon) now available, I felt like I could safely add this kind of pan back into my arsenal, and a recent birthday gift from my parents made me the proud owner of a 9-inch beauty.

And one weekend recently, it hit me: why did I need a special crêpe pan to make crêpes? I know their sides are lower, making for easier access to the crêpe when it’s time to flip. But there was no reason I couldn’t do the same thing in my anodized skillet — so I boldly set out to break that crêpe pan rule.

The pan worked beautifully! Just a little loosening around the edges with a spatula was required before I got the hang of flipping the crêpes midway through baking. Et voilà! A stack of thin, pliant crêpes ready to be filled.

We’ve been getting loads of apples and apple cider in our weekly CSA share this fall, much to our delight. And even though we love eating them straight out of hand — especially the Honeycrisps! — there are always a few left at the end of the week that I use for baking. For these crêpes, I sauteed two Golden Delicious with some butter, sugar, cinnamon and apple cider. The Golden Delicious is a nice variety to use because it retains it’s shape after cooking.

To spoon into the crêpes, I also made an apple cider-butter sauce that was delicious. Actually, the original recipe called for Calvados in place of non-alcoholic cider, but considering my pregnant state and the fact that I have good old plain cider in abundance, I broke that rule, too. So there!

The resulting crêpes were absolutely, positively fantastic. Probably one of my favorite breakfasts that I’ve eaten in a long while! A little cider butter moistening the crêpes, the soft crêpes folded up and topped generously with cinnamon-and-cider-spiked apples…well worth a little crêpe pan improv!*

*My pride in crêpe rule-breaking is largely tongue-in-cheek, I hope you know. Years ago when I was just learning to cook, I used to feel so completely bound by a recipe, and it was fairly stifling. But, as many of you can probably relate, the more you cook, the more you become confident in what changes and improvisations you can make, and how they’ll affect — or not affect — the final dish. And that is a liberating discovery indeed!

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Whole Wheat Apple Crêpes with Cider Butter Sauce

Adapted from a few recipes on Epicurious

You can make each component of these crepes ahead, then just reheat and assemble at serving time. Since making the crepes is kind of a time-consuming process, I definitely suggest the do-ahead option!

view printable recipe

Ingredients

For the crêpes:

1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Scant 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup apple cider
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup white whole wheat flour

For the apples:

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
2 medium-size Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons apple cider

For the cider butter sauce:

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
3 tablespoons Calvados or other apple brandy

Directions

Make the crepes (can be made ahead and stored in the fridge, stacked between squares of parchment and covered with plastic wrap):

Blend the milk and eggs in a blender on medium high speed until foamy, about 10 seconds. Switch to low speed and remove the feed top; with the blender running on low, add the sugar and salt. Put the feed top back on and blend on high for a few seconds, then turn it back down to low. Again, remove the feed top and add the melted butter, cider, and vanilla, then replace the feed top and blend for several seconds again. Turn off the blender, add the flour all at once, and blend just until combined.

Place crêpe pan (or a 9 or 10-inch nonstick skillet) over moderately high heat. You can spread a tiny amount of butter in the pan, but I found I didn’t need to do this. When the pan is quite hot, pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter into it and quickly tilt the pan in all directions to spread a thin layer of the batter across the bottom. You should use just enough batter to cover the pan – I found 1/3 cup worked for the size pan I was using.

Cook the crêpe over moderately high heat until bubbles just begin to form on the exposed surface, about one to two minutes. Lift up the edge to check the cooking process — it should be golden brown on the opposite side (you can adjust the heat accordingly if it’s burning or not browning quickly enough.) Loosen around the edges with a flexible spatula, then use your hands to flip the crêpe.

Cook another minute or less, until other side is browned. Remove from pan and keep warm in the oven, loosely covered with foil (or, if you’re making them ahead, stack them on a plate separated by squares of parchment paper.)

Make the apple filling (can be made ahead and stored, covered, in the fridge):

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add diced apples, then sprinkle with sugar, coarse salt, and cinnamon. Sauté until apples are tender, about 3 minutes. Add cider and cook until most of liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Make the cider butter sauce (you can make this ahead and store it, covered, in the fridge):

Using electric mixer, beat butter in medium bowl until well blended. Add sugar and coarse salt; beat until fluffy. Gradually beat in apple cider just until incorporated.

For serving:

Heat the cider butter sauce over low heat in a skillet until it’s melted, stirring occasionally. Heat up the apples until they’re warm, or serve at room temperature if you’d rather.

The crepes can be warmed in the oven before serving. To do this, place the stack on a baking sheet and cover the whole sheet pan with foil; warm at 300 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes, depending on how cold the crepes were when they went into the oven.

To plate, spread 2 teaspoons of the cider butter sauce over a crepe, then fold crepe into quarters. Repeat with remaining crepes, for a total of three crepes per plate. Divide apple mixture over the top of each plate, and spoon any additional cider butter sauce over the tops.

Serves 4 generously.

Spiced Pumpkin Hot Cocoa with Maple Whipped Cream

We had our first snow here overnight Thursday. Friday morning, we awoke to trees (many with their fall leaves still hanging on) and grass coated with about an inch of white, fluffy powder.

And while Ithaca definitely isn’t considered a tropical clime, this storm set a record for the earliest snowfall of an inch or more. Maybe that’s Mother Nature’s way of telling us we’re in for a cold winter?

Waking up and feeling like I was suddenly in winter(!) meant only one thing: I had to make hot cocoa that afternoon. It was all I could think about all day. And my hot cocoa urge, coupled with my desire to consume anything made with pumpkin lately (more on that to come), resulted in this delicious cup of spicy, warm goodness: Spiced Pumpkin Hot Cocoa.

Think all the spices of pumpkin pie mixed into a rich cocoa drink, with pumpkin puree whisked into the hot milk. The pumpkin flavor isn’t overpowering, but it’s subtly there under the chocolate flavor — and mixed with the spices, it’s a wonderful cup. I whipped up some heavy cream, flavored with a little maple syrup, to top the mugs (and as you can see, the cocoa was pretty steaming hot when I spooned the cream on — hence the melted, soft cream topping. Well, it was still delicious!)

I know not everyone loves the combination of pumpkin and chocolate together, but it is one of my favorites and this hot cocoa will be my standby for the next few months (besides, the pumpkin adds fiber! and Vitamin A! What’s not to love??)

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Spiced Pumpkin Hot Cocoa

an Eggs on Sunday original

view printable recipe

Makes 2 servings (if you halve the recipe, just use a little pinch of the nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.)

Ingredients
For the hot cocoa:
3 cups milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin or pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons maple syrup

For the maple whipped cream:
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons maple syrup

any of the following for dusting on top: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, raw sugar

Directions
In a saucepan, whisk together the milk, pumpkin puree, cocoa, spices and syrup. Heat until steaming, and divide among two mugs.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or by hand using a wire whisk, whip the heavy cream with the maple syrup until it forms soft peaks.

Top the mugs of cocoa with spoonfuls of the whipped cream. Sprinkle on a little cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and/or raw sugar if you like.

Spicy Kale, Chorizo and Squash Soup

It’s getting cold here. They’re predicting snow flurries tonight!

And I’m not complaining. A lot of people bemoan the return of cold weather, but honestly, I don’t know why you’d choose to live in upstate New York if you didn’t like at least some measure of cold, frosty weather — it’s hard to escape it here. I relish it: I love the cold snap to the air in the mornings when I go out to take a walk, the shock of the chill searing through my nose as I take my first deep breath. I love the smell of a wood-burning stove wafting through the chill, mixed with the pungent, sweet aroma of fallen leaves. I love donning a scarf and maybe a light hat to go outside, and replacing the brighter colors of my summer wardrobe with the jewel tones of my fall clothes — deep turquoise, eggplant, chocolate, rust, emerald. I love sleeping under layers upon layers of puffy blankets, ensconced in my warm cocoon as my nose chills in the cooler air of the house overnight. I love wrapping my hands around a steaming mug of hot chocolate, or tea, or coffee…or, equally so, a big bowl of steaming hot soup.

In fact, soup is probably one of my very, very favorite parts of this time of year. I’ve been in a soup-making frenzy lately, making extra big batches so that I can freeze a little extra in our (shiny! new!) chest freezer in preparation for those sleep-deprived days coming in December and January, when our lives will revolve around our little newborn. We’ve had multiple batches of chili, roasted squash & fennel soup, lentil soup with greens, minestrone, pinto & black bean stew…and most recently, this spicy kale, chorizo and squash soup.

It was actually a great way to use a number of ingredients we’d recently received in our CSA share — red kuri squash, onions, and garlic — along with dinosaur kale that I’d picked up at the Farmer’s Market and chorizo from The Piggery. The soup is a variation on the Portuguese soup caldo verde, which is traditionally made with potatoes, kale, onions and chorizo. I substituted the winter squash for the potatoes, adding a mildly sweet note to counteract the spiciness of the chorizo. It’s a warming bowl, inside and out.

Since I’m in soup-making mode and trying to stockpile a bunch before December, I’d love to know — what’s your favorite soup recipe (and would you care to share a link?)

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Adapted from Bon Appetit

view printable recipe

This soup is fantastic served with some crusty bread alongside.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
2 large or 3 small garlic cloves, finely chopped
8 ounces chorizo sausage, casing removed (if you’re using fully cooked chorizo, dice it before adding it to the soup)
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 1/2 pounds winter squash, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (Butternut, Red Kuri or Buttercup are good varieties to use)
8 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 pounds kale, stemmed, torn and chopped into small pieces or ribbons (about 2 small to medium bunches)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a large, heavy pot. Add the chopped onion and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook an additional minute. Add the chorizo and the smoked paprika; cook until the chorizo is no longer pink (if using raw chorizo – if using fully cooked chorizo, just cook 1-2 minutes until the paprika is toasted.)

Add the cubes of winter squash, the chicken broth, and the kale. Stir until the kale wilts down a little into the soup, and bring the soup to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer, covered with the lid slightly ajar, for about 30 minutes, until the squash and kale is tender. Taste and add salt and pepper according to your taste.

Serves 6.

For a birthday, World Peace…Cookies.

Hi there. It’s been awhile since I’ve had a new post up. Where did September go? Our life for the past month or so has been so focused on house-building events, baby-expecting activities, and family visits that all of a sudden, I find it’s the end of September and whoosh! We’re into fall. And I’ve been cooking — many things for the great work crew and volunteers we have helping us build the house, other things for B and I — but the issue lately has been that I get so darn tired by the time evening rolls around (that’s what the third trimester does to you, I hear!) that I can’t squeak out enough coherent thoughts to write much of a post. I do have some good things to tell you about, and thought I’d start with a cookie very close to my heart…Dorie Greenspan’s World Peace Cookies.

These cookies have made the rounds on the blogosphere, and you may have seen them before. They fall into the sable category of cookie: a traditional French kind of butter cookie, crumbly and soft and delicate and very, very easy to make (just slice and bake.) Actually, I wouldn’t say this version is particularly crumbly — the intense chocolate flavor, chunks of chocolate strewn throughout, and brown sugar make them rich and with a very slight chew in the middle. Oh, and they have a little fleur de sel in the dough…I adore them.

Besides how mind-blowingly good these cookies are to eat, another reason I love them is that I can make a double batch, roll the portions into logs, wrap them tightly and store them in the freezer, where they remain ready to slice and bake whenever I get a craving (actually, I’ve found it’s easier to let the logs defrost in the fridge before slicing them — slicing them frozen causes a bit too many crumbles.)

Oh, and one more plus: I can eat the raw dough. I normally throw caution to the wind and sneak a bit of raw cookie dough anyway, but now that I’m pregnant I know I shouldn’t because of the raw eggs…but this dough? No eggs! So I tell myself “go ahead, Amy, indulge.” And baby seems to agree.

The story Dorie tells about these cookies in BFMHTY involves how she developed them with Pierre Herme and called them ‘Korova Cookies,’ but her neighbor loved them so much he told her that he was “convinced that a daily dose of the cookies is all that’s needed to ensure planetary peace and happiness.” Right on!

And world peace does sound like a nice thing to aspire to, especially through cookies. (If only!) Peacemaking abilities aside, they remain one of my favorite cookies, and ones that I’ll be enjoying this afternoon with a cup of (decaf) coffee because…it’s my birthday! World Peace for Everyone!

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World Peace Cookies (Korova Cookies)

from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

view printable recipe

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups AP flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I prefer Dutch cocoa powder)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

Directions

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and cocoa.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until it’s soft and creamy. Add the sugars, salt and vanilla extract and beat for an additional 2 minutes.

Turn off the mixer, add the dry ingredients, and pulse the mixer on low speed to mix the dry ingredients in. Start by pulsing about 5 times, a second or two each time, and then check to see if there’s still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough. If so, pulse a few more times. Continuing at low speed, mix for 30 more seconds, just until the flour disappears into the dough. Try to work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don’t worry if it looks crumbly. Toss in the chocolate chunks and mix just to incorporate.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide in two. Shape each half into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours (you can refrigerate the dough for up to 3 days at this point, or freeze for up to 2 months. If you do freeze them, I find it easiest to defrost them in the fridge prior to slicing and baking – I found the dough cracked and crumbled too much when I sliced it frozen.)

When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Use a sharp knife to slice the logs into 1/2-inch rounds; if they crack a little when you slice them, just press them back together. Place the rounds on the baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart.

Bake one sheet at a time for 12 minutes. They won’t look done, or be totally firm, but that’s okay. Let the cookies cool on the sheet pan, and remove them to a cooling rack when they’re just warm.

Makes about 36 cookies.