Pumpkin Bread that's Better than Mrs. X's

Mrs. X can bake some serious pumpkin items: pumpkin rolls, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, etc. My husband's gold standard of pumpkin deliciousness is anything pumpkin by Mrs. X. I was determined after my recent pumpkin acquisitions to put her bread to shame. And according to my husband, I did; and he does not take pumpkin baking lightly. I can't rave enough about the texture and crumb of this bread. It isn't too heavy like so many other pumpkin breads. It's a happy medium, doesn't really crumble, but not too chewy, it melts in your mouth. You could probably bake it in a cake pan and put cream cheese frosting on it, and call it cake- but sleep well knowing you got antioxidants from the safflower oil and fiber from the fresh pumpkin and whole wheat flour. Sorry, Mrs. X. Your reign of all things pumpkin is over.

Recipe for a Single Loaf

The Wet Ingredients:

5 oz of fresh pumpkin puree

1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used safflower oil)

1/4 cup of water (I used the liquid that seeps from baking the pumpkin)

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 tbsp vanilla

1 egg

The Dry Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup of flour (I used half whole wheat and half high-gluten white flour)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground ginger

SIDE NOTE: I did a test loaf using sour cream as a substitute for the oil, and while it was very moist, the crust was not as caramelized as when using oil.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Grab a bread pan, butter or PAM the sides.

Take 2 mixing bowls: one for wet and one for dry ingredients.

Whisk together the dry ingredients thoroughly to ensure uniform distribution of spices and salts.

Use a hand mixer to blend the wet ingredients on medium high for 5 minutes or until uniform.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and stir with a wooden spoon, making sure the flour settles.

Beat on med high for 2 minutes.

Empty dough into bread pan.

Bake for 40 - 50 minutes, or until the bread passes the toothpick test.

Southern Comfort Corn Bread (sans whiskey)

Note: No Southern Comfort in the form of whiskey was involved in the making of this recipe. I suppose it's comfort food on the account of the butter, honey and sugar paired with a vegetable. Anyhow, it is something wonderful. 

Tomorrow I am cooking up a storm: pork tenderloin roast with an herbal rub from our garden, corn muffins, sweet potatoes, a multi-berry gelatin dessert, and green beans a-la-Bethany (my friend who brought them to dinner  few months ago). If the pork ends up as good as I anticipate, I'll post that too.  But on to the corn muffins of amazingness.

Ingredients:

WET

1/2 cup of butter (1 stick) softened

2/3 cup of sugar (I used brown sugar splenda combo)

1/4 cup of honey

1/2 cup of milk

2 eggs

DRY

1/2 TSP salt

1/2 TSP baking powder

1 1/2 cups flour (I used our high-gluten bread flour)

3/4 cup yellow corn meal or masa

FOLD IN

3/4 cup frozen corn kernels (but I used drained canned corn)

Directions:

Fire up your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin pan or grease it up with PAM or your favorite alternative cooking spray. Get out 2 bowls, one larger than the other. The larger one is for the wet ingredients. The smaller is for the dry.

Add all your wet ingredients into the larger bowl. Note that sugar goes in among the wet ingredients. Beat it with your mixer until the mixture is uniform. Now put all the dry ingredients into the smaller bowl. Give the dry ingredients a few whisks to make sure the salt and baking powder get evenly distributed. 

With your beaters on medium high, slowly add your dry ingredients to the wet, and beat for 2 minutes or until mixture is uniform. Fold in the corn, and keep folding it into the dough until evenly distributed. Spoon up the dough into your muffin tin, bake for 22 minutes (plus or minus 2 minutes) or until it passes the good ole toothpick test.

Pour yourself an ice cold glass of milk, and enjoy a warm corn muffin with some honey drizzle. MMMM!

Wednesday: Asian Cuisine: Cashew Chicken

I crave chinese food so intensely this pregnancy. To reduce our take-out expenses, I am learning to make it: which is somewhat cumbersome. I have never been good at Asian food outside of your mandarin chicken salad with crunchy wonton noodles. So I did some reading, I procured some oyster sauce, which is made from oysters, and went at it. The results were fantastic-- tasted even better than the restaurant cashew chicken, probably because I swapped the bell peppers out for sugar snap peas.

Ingredients:

For the Wok:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 cup cashews
20 oz frozen sugar snap peas, thawed
1/4 TSP minced garlic
1 yellow onion, sliced stir-fry style
Red pepper flakes (for those who need a kick)

For the Sauce:
1/2 TSP cornstarch
2 TSP soy sauce
1/8 TSP ground ginger
1 TBSP oyster sauce
6 TBSP water
1/8 TSP white pepper
1 TSP white sugar
1 TSP rice vinegar
1/2 TSP sesame oil
A pinch of salt (to taste)

Random Prep Ingredients:
1 TSP baking soda
1 TSP rice vinegar
1/2 TSP cornstarch

Begin by placing your cubed chicken in a medium sized bowl. Add the baking soda, and use your hands to coat that chicken as best as you can-- it's really gross, but you'll thank me later. Let the baking soda'ed chicken sit for 15 minutes, then rinse the chicken thoroughly with water to get rid of the soda-- it took me 2 times to wash it off. Leave the chicken in that bowl and add the vinegar, let it sit for  minutes, then add the 1/2 TSP cornstarch. Work it evenly on the chicken. Mix the sauce ingredients in a separate bowl, whisk for a few minutes to dissolve cornstarch.

Heat up your wok with 1 TBSP of oil. When oil is hot, add the chicken, and cook until it's barely white, then flip it over with a spatula. Cook the other side until it is barely white, then remove the semi-cooked chicken and place it directly into the bowl with your sauce.

Add a touch more sesame oil to your wok, and sautee the onions and minced garlic until they are growing clear and fragrant. This takes maybe 5 minutes on high heat, turning them over a few times. Then add the chicken/sauce to the wok. Bring the sauce/chicken mixture to a "boil" then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes, toss in the snap peas. Heat for another few more minutes, then add your cashews. Serve with basmati or jasmine rice. I lightly fried mine with an egg. I also sprinkled on some red pepper flakes because I wanted a bit more kick.

Fajita Quesadillas

This is not your Napoleon Dynamite quesadilla. This is the real deal: crisp, savory, melty, with a kick of fajita spice. What really makes this dish is the Mojo marinade. It's typically found in the Latin section of your grocery store, but you may have to visit a hole-in-the-wall latin grocer to procure it, based on your region.

Ingredients:

Large white tortillas

Mexican cheese blend

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced

Half of a yellow onion, sliced

Mixed sweet or bell peppers, sliced

Mojo criollo marinade

Sour cream and salsa for serving

Directions:

Take sliced onions, peppers and chicken and put them in a ziploc bag with the marinade. Let them marinate for as long as you want-- I usually do this in the morning. Fire up your grill or broiler, and broil the marinated meat and vegetables until chicken is cooked, and vegetables have turned brown/black in some spots. Do not over broil. I used the broiler in my oven, and after it was finished, I turned it to bake mode, and stuck my pizza stone in there.

Assemble your quesadilla on a pizza stone or gridle. Cover half of the circle with your mexican cheese and the fajita mix. Cook it until all the cheese has melted, but is not super bubbly. Immediately fold the naked part of the tortilla over the cheesy part. You can then broil or grill both sides to your desired crispness-- but watch it so it doesn't burn! Serve with sour cream, guacamole and salsa.

Viva la quesadilla en mi estomago.

Something is Stewing

I don't really have any witty or insightful comments regarding this recipe. I am cleaning out my fridge/freezer, and happened to have the necessary ingredients. Couple this with the weekend forecast of highs below 60 and my sudden energy this morning, and that's how the stew was made. Actually, the stew was really made by the directions below. . . .

HOMESTYLE STEW

Ingredients:
2 lbs of cubed beef
6 - 8 red potatoes, or 2 - 3 large russet potatoes
1 stalk of celery, chopped including the leafy parts
1 large onion, diced
2 - 3 cups of chopped carrots
1 quart tomato juice
1 quart water
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 TBSP black pepper
1 TSP hungarian paprika, but regular paprika will do
1 TSP thyme
2 bay leaves
3 TBSP worcestershire sauce

Directions:
Stick all the ingredients into a crockpot. Cook on low for 6 - 8 hours. Enjoy.

Dirty Blondes or Nutella Blondies

I don't usually bake goodies or treats since I have a husband with little self-control. One time when we were in Istanbul, he ate a pound of baklava by himself. Anyhow, I also don't want to gain 50 lbs this pregnancy, so I have a once-a-week quota for ice cream or other substitute. 


This recipe is not my own, but it comes from a seasoned dessert master: Kari Hickman, leader of the notorious dessert club, published dessert author, mother of 3, and my friend.  I perform a few variations, which in my humble opinion, make it more scrumptious, but the link to the original recipe is
http://virtualgoodyplate.blogspot.com/search/label/Nutella.

1/2 stick unsalted butter or butter flavored crisco

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 TBSP cocoa

1/3 cup hazelnuts

Plenty of Nutella

Preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8x11 inch baking pan. Line with parchment paper; butter parchment. Get nuts toasting on a baking sheet - watch closely - just until fragrant, a few minutes.

Melt butter. Beat butter and sugar until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. Set half of the whisked mixture into a separate bowl, then add the dry cocoa to one of the bowls and whisk again. You should have one bowl with a white flour mixture, and a second with a cocoa'ed mixture. 

Beat eggs and vanilla into butter mixture. Once mixture is homogenous, put half of it into the bowl with the cocoa'ed flour, and the other half into the non-cocoa'ed flour mixture; stir just until combined. 

Add two heaping spoonfuls of Nutella to the cocoa'ed mixture. Stir in as best as you can. 

Place the batters into the pan a spoonful at time, alternating a scoop of the dark batter with a scoop of the light batter. You have to kind of press it into the pan. Once you've got all the batter in the pan, zap some nutella in the microwave for 15 seconds so it's more liquidy. Then use a spoon to create lovely swirls of Nutella atop your treats. Sprinkle nuts on top. 

Bake for 25 minutes, and let cool for 15 minutes before cutting. 

This is Kari's picture of her world-famous blondies. 

Some of my girlfriends from a mothers' group were the lucky partakers, but Allen ate most of them for breakfast and then took the rest to work. 

Easy as Pie: My First Attempt

My pie repertoire prior to this recipe included Swansons' chicken pot pies that you throw in the oven, and quiche using the frozen crust. I did not even dare to mess with pie crust, for I knew it to be a formidable foe. As I prepare for pie-themed dessert club in October, I wanted to do a test pie. I wanted to do a pie that was unconventional. Thus I convened and rallied and chose to make Pear and Gruyere Pie. Note that Gruyere cheese is approximately $1.50 to $3.00 an ounce, so you really want to bring your game face. Also, the bottle of Porto wine from Costco was $15, and I only used 1/3rd of the bottle, and my vino-phyllic neighbor bought the rest off of me. 

I actually had to briefly broil the top to really activate the cheese and make it crisp, and my cute little cut-outs got a bit too dark. But Ivy ate them, and did not protest. The cheesy-buttery crust was incredibly flakey, very rich and palatable. My husband loved the poached pears with the spices and reduced port sauce. It was incredible with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream. My only concern was that the cheese crust may have paired better with a combination of pears and apples. Just pears was a bit too bland for me, but I think all apples would be too overwhelming. I think next time I will do a half granny smith and half bartlett pear filling to balance out the cheese flavor with some acidity. I may have a fighting chance to win dessert club! 

Pear Gruyère Pie

This recipe comes from: 

http://www.blondieandbrownie.com/2008/10/pushing-daisies-pear-gruyre-pie.html


Makes one 9 to 10 inch pear pie


Notes from Cat: I don't have a food processor, so I used a good ole-fashioned fork and knife to "cut" the butter into the crust. When you pull the finished crust out of the fridge, you need to let it warm up a bit before you roll it out because it's basically a cold, cheesy brick of butter. I also only put half the recommended amount of sauce into the pie, and used the extra port sauce as a drizzle over the ice cream.

Gruyère Pie Crust:
2 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp. sugar
20 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1 in pieces
3 oz. Gruyère, grated finely
6-7 tbsp. ice water

Whisk together the flour, salt, sugar and grated gruyere in a large mixing bowl. Using a food processor, mix butter and flour/cheese mixture until the largest butter chunks are the size of large peas.

Remove flour/cheese/butter mixture from food processor return it to the large mixing bowl. Sprinkle ice water over flour in increments of one tablespoon, toss with fork after each addition. Be careful not to add too much water. You can get an even water distribution by adding putting the water in one of those spritzer bottles. When dough begins to clump together as you stir, test the dough by squeezing it in your hands, if it forms in a lump then gather the rest of the dough together into two separate disks, leaving one slightly larger than the other. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Or if you are in a rush, toss the dough in the freezer for about an hour, when it's solid yet still gives slightly under your touch, it's ready to go.

Spiced Poached Pear Pie Filling:
3 lbs. Bartlett pears
1/4 c. white sugar
3/4 c. port wine
1 1/2 c. water
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp clove
1 cinnamon stick

1 egg, lightly beaten (for crust)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Add sugar, wine, water, vanilla, cinnamon stick, ginger, nutmeg and clove into a large stock pot or dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Put an empty medium bowl into the freezer to chill.

Peel and halve pears. Scoop the core and seeds out and then cut the halves in half. Once liquid mixture has come to a boil add cut pears. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the pears are tender.

Using a slotted spoon remove the pear quarters from the poaching liquid and put them into the chilled bowl.

Return the poaching liquid to a boil and reduce until you have about 3/4 of a cup of syrup. Add 2 teaspoons of cornstarch to the syrup to thicken the syrup further. Pour the syrup into a measuring cup and chill.

In the meantime, roll the larger piece of dough into a circle around fourteen inches in diameter. I roll out the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to keep it from sticking. Peel off one side of the plastic wrap and center that side of the dough in the pie plate then remove the other sheet of plastic wrap.

Roll out the slightly smaller dough dish into circle around twelve inches in diameter. Place this dough round on top of the pie. Seal the crusts together using a fork or your fingers. Brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg, and make three parallel slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Or if you are feeling fancy pantsy, feel free to make decorative cutouts.
Put the pie on a cookie sheet to catch any drips--I like to cover my cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil to minimize the mess. Put the pie in the oven, bake until the crust is golden and you can see the filling bubble up between the slits in the crust, about 30 to 40 minutes. Cool and serve with vanilla ice cream.Remove the pears from the chilled bowl layer them into the bottom of the pie. Pour the syrup on top of the pears.