Butternut Squash Mashed Potatoes

I love mashed potatoes. I am really a complex carbohydrate lover. BP II is not a huge fan. He prefers his potatoes roasted or baked. I was really craving them and thought they would go perfectly with my pork loin that I was serving that night. I decided to “compromise” by trying to spice them up a bit and see if we can teach old dogs new tricks. The result was a beautifully colored, yummy mashed potato that pleased everyone in the household.


1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
3 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
¼ cup of sour cream
3 TBL butter
Salt and pepper to taste

1.) Boil potatoes for 15 minutes, add butternut squash and cook for an additional 15 minutes of until potatoes and squash is soft.
2.) Drain and return to pot. Add sour cream and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

And best of all, I can make a whole new potato dish tonight with the leftovers.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes

I have had this unfulfillable craving for all things pumpkin. I think it is the time of year. I want to get all the fall I can before it turns to winter and eventually Christmas. I feel like the past couple months have just gone by so quickly. So I am trying desperately to hold onto the little bit of fall I have left. Even my pumpkin spice candle ran out and now Bed Bath & Beyond only has evergreen and gingerbread scents. Anyway, back to the food. I happened to buy 2 cans of pumpkin puree during my whole foods excursion. I used one for the pumpkin pie and I have been hunting for the perfect recipe to use the second. When I came across the chocolate pumpkin cupcakes I knew that this was the one. It had everything I wanted. Chocolate, icing and PUMPKIN! The result was a huge hit. It had a lovely note of pumpkin in the chocolate that was something different and a bit unexpected. Obviously I knew there would be a pumpkin taste but I was surprised how well the two flavors went together. Also, the cupcakes turned out soooooo moist.


I added a tablespoon of coffee to the batter after everything was combined. I learned from The Barefoot that coffee “awakens” the chocolate flavor and makes it more complex. I thought this was just rubbish and then one time I was making my Guinness cupcakes and I forgot the coffee- everyone noticed. There was just something missing. Now, every time I make something with coco I add the tablespoon of coffee.

This recipe makes 24 cupcakes. You can find the original cake recipe here. Country Living
 
Ingredients:
 
1 1/2 cup(s) flour
2/3 cup(s) cocoa
2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1/2 cup(s) buttermilk
1 cup(s) canned pumpkin
2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
3/4 cup(s) butter, softened
1 cup(s) dark brown sugar
1 cup(s) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 egg yolk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375º

2. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Stir the buttermilk, pumpkin, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Beat the butter and sugars together using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and yolk, one at a time. Reduce mixer speed to low and alternately beat in the flour and buttermilk mixtures in thirds.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake until a tester, inserted in the center, comes out clean--about 15 minutes. Cool completely before icing.

Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting


• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 C. unsalted butter, softened
• 2 C. powdered sugar
• 1/4. t. vanilla extract
• 1/8 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 t. fresh ground nutmeg

In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. If frosting is too soft, chill in fridge for 15-20 minutes.

I also spoon the icing into a Ziploc bag and snip off a corner. It turns into the poor man’s pastry bag.

Editor's note: Thank you BP II for the wonderful photography

Mom’s Nuts and Bolts

For as long as I can remember my mom has made nuts and bolts for family events. I have a big family and we always get together on special occasions. We gather and my grandmother’s house, sit in the kitchen, laughing and talking. Some of my best memories are at those family functions. My cousin Kristin and I were inseparable. We would tease my younger brother insistently and put on these ridiculous plays in the foyer that the adults would watch from the stairs. I would always know it was time to go to Gram’s when my mom was finished making the nuts and bolts. As soon as they came out of the oven, I would sneak the hot pretzels into my mouth. Later, my mom had to start adding more pretzels to this mixture because I would eat them all before we left the house. When I left to college, after a weekend at home my mom would send an entire batch of pretzels with me to share with my roommate.


I was getting ready to go to a concert in Connecticut my cousins (Kristin and her brother) this past summer and was looking for camping food for the weekend. I immediately thought of nuts and bolts. Perfect for finger food snacks but also a great throwback to a time that seems light years ago.

The Traditional Recipe

3 TBL Worchester sauce
1 cup of butter
1 TBL or paprika
1 TBL of garlic salt
1 TBL of Onion powder
3 Cups of rice chex
3 Cups of corn chex
2 Cups peanuts
3 Cups of pretzels

Bake at 250º for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes.


This is great to use up leftover snacks in your pantry. When I went to the concert I added some Sunchips and almonds. I have also made batches with just pretzels (because they are my favorite).

I can not believe that people put this in their mouth

Food That Can Kill You Instantly

This article is very interesting and gross all at the same time. I am a food lover. I love to cook it and then eat it. But the level that some people go to is unbelievable. I understand the logic that everything fried is delicious but a Cadbury Egg? Hot dog Twinkies? I also if you look at the gallery in the article, the smoked pig creature is frightening!

The Apple Pie Post

I am not a huge apple pie lover. I mean it is ok but I am mainly on board for the whipped cream that is served with the pie. Anyway, after my pumpkin pie someone at work offered me money to make an apple pie. I was like of course I’ll do that. I have made this apple pie for BPII before and it was pretty amazing. However, I used store bought pie crust and puff pastry. This time around I wanted to perfect my pie dough making skills.


I used the same recipe as my pumpkin pie post but doubled the recipe to accommodate the top portion of the pie. I also used half warm butter and then half frozen butter that was grated. I am still a little unsure of exactly how much ice water I should be using. I don’t want to use to much and have this sticky mess but I also so not want a dry floury dough. The result was still a little dry and when I was making the lattice work, the dough was falling apart on me a bit. I remedied the problem by piecing it back together. Definitely not perfect but it worked and tasted great.

This was a home run at work. Everyone loved it. I definitely recommend trying it out.



Grandma’s apple pie


Ingredients:

1 Pie Crust
1 sheet of pie dough
4 Apples, peeled
1 TBL of lemon juice
½ cup of granulated sugar

½ cup of brown sugar

¼ cup of water

3 TBL of flour

½ cup of butter

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 450º

2.) Arrange peeled apples in pie crust. Sprinkle with lemon juice. (This keeps the apples from browning when exposed to air)

3.) Take sheet of pie dough and cut with a knife into strips. I used 6 wide strips. Place pie dough strips on to apples and make a lattice formation. ( Video Below)

4.) On medium-high heat melt butter in a sauce pan. Add flour and combine. Essentially you are making a roux.

5.) Add granulated sugar, brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil and lower heat. Simmer for 5 minutes.

6.) Pour the caramel colored mixture through the lattice work and on to the apples.

7.) Place on baking sheet and bake at 450º for 15 minutes, then at 350º for 35 minutes or until the dough starts to brown.

8.) Let cook before serving.

That is it. So easy and so delish!

A Rainy Night in the City

I have had this apple crumble recipe for awhile now and keep meaning to try it out. The time finally came this weekend when it was cold and rainy here in the city. I had no intentions of leaving my apartment and decided to make a dinner and dessert for BPII and myself. For dinner I made an Asian salmon dish my old roommate used to make. So yummy and so easy to make. I recommend coating the salmon with some oil on both sides before placing in a hot pan. It is such a delicate fish and has stuck to the pan and fallen apart on me many times. Also, if the heat is too high and the skin is brown but the fish is not done yet, just pop it into the oven for 5 minutes. It should be flaky and moist.




KLamp Salmon Recipe

Ingredients

¼ cup honey
¼ cup soy sauce
3 TBL lime juice
2 TBL of water
1 tsp of Dijon
2 tsp of vegetable oil


Directions

• Heat pan to med-high heat and add vegetable oil
• When pan is hot, add salmon and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until brown
• Very carefully remove salmon from pan and place on a plate and cover with foil
• Combine honey, soy sauce, lime juice, water and Dijon into a bowl and whisk
• Pour mixture into the salmon pan and cook until a glaze like consistency. Be sure to get the browned bits from the pan.
• Pour over salmon and serve 

Now for the crumble. OMG so good. I got this recipe from and old Bon Appetit article. BP II was nice enough to whip up some home made whipped cream for us.


Apple Crumble

Ingredients

Topping
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
10 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, diced

Filling
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, diced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 Pippin or Golden Delicious apples (about 2 3/4 pounds), peeled, quartered, cored
Lightly sweetened whipped cream

Directions

Topping

• Whisk first 6 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until small moist clumps form. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Filling

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Stir sugar and butter in large skillet over medium heat until smooth sauce forms. Add lemon juice and cook, stirring, until caramel is deep brown, about 5 minutes. Mix in salt, then apples. Toss until apples are evenly coated, about 1 minute. Scrape apples and caramel into 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish; spread evenly. Sprinkle topping evenly over.
•  Bake crisp until apples are tender, sauce is bubbling thickly, and topping is golden, about 50 minutes. Let crisp cool 15 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream.

My First Ragu

I have never been a huge fan of red sauce on my pasta. I am not sure why, I mean I love tomatoes. When I was younger, I would ask my mom to just put a little sauce on, enough to make it pink. As I got older, I started putting olive oil and garlic salt on my pasta. I know it sounds like the grossest thing ever put it tastes so good. BPII is not this biggest fan because well you know what happens with garlic. Anyway, I saw this recipe from bitten.com about a quick ragu. I thought that would be a great way to spice up a bla weeknight pasta. It turned out really yummy, even though I do not like red sauce. The recipe calls for milk but instead I used 1 part heavy cream and 1 part water.

One day soon though, I want to make a real ragu that you have to simmer on the stove for hours. That sounds like a Sunday project.

Ingredients


1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 pound Italian sausage, removed from casing if necessary
1 cup milk
1/4 cup tomato paste
Salt and pepper
1 pound pasta
At least 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup white wine

Directions

Set a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Put the oil in a 10-inch skillet, and turn the heat to medium; a minute later, add the onion. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage in bits, and turn the heat to medium high; cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is nicely browned, 5 to 10 minutes.

Add a cup of white wine to deglaze the pan. Reduce until wine has evaporated.

Add milk and tomato paste, along with some salt and pepper; stir to blend, and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until thickened but not dry. Keep it warm if necessary, and if it becomes too thick, add a little more milk or water.

Meanwhile, salt the water and cook the pasta. When pasta is tender but not mushy, drain it. Toss with sauce and Parmesan; taste, adjust seasoning and serve.