Pumpkin Muffins with Pecan Topping

I'd have to say that one of the best things about autumn is that dishes with pumpkin as a main ingredient surge into the lime-light! I feel like Bubba talking to Forrest while they use their toothbrushes in the barracks in Vietnam: Anyway, it is like I was saying, pumpkin is the fruit of the harvest. There is pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin chili, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin granola, pumpkin ravioli, toasted pumpkin seeds, baked eggs with pumpkin and goat cheese, pumpkin pie, pumpkin curry, pumpkin soup, pumpkin in salad, pumpkin pancakes. And, umm, that's-that's about it.

Except that that's not it and I could keep going but won't!

Yesterday was a dreary, rainy, rather chilly-for-the-beginning-of-October-in-North-Carolina kind of Monday. And nothing wards off a case of the Mondays like warm soup, spicy croutons, and pumpkin muffins! So, much to Jason's chagrin, I rolled up my blue maternity sleeves and got busy dirtying nearly every dish in our kitchen. I always feel a little bad when the "I cooked, you clean" rule leaves him with a hefty pile of dishes, though I must say I do feel rather vindicated now that he's consumed four of these muffins in less than a twenty-four hour period!

Pumpkin Muffins with Pecan Topping
Kelley Gondring

Yields ~30 muffins.

Preheat oven 350º

Pumpkin Muffins
In a large electric mixing bowl, beat together:
3 eggs
3 cups sugar

Mix in:
1 cup veggie oil
1 15 ounce can pureed pumpkin
1 1/2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger

In a medium bowl, mix together:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin in three batches, scraping down the sides and bottom of the electric mixing bowl after each addition.

Pour scant 1/3 cup of batter into lined muffin tins.

Pecan Topping
Pulse together in a food processor until crumbly (not a paste)
1/2 cup chilled butter
1/2-3/4 cup pecans (or walnuts)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Sprinkle topping over the muffins.

Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy with a chai latte or your favorite hot beverage.

Eat up!

Croutons with a Kick

It isn't too often that I have a hankerin' for croutons. And when that craving hits, the processed, airy options from the box just don't satisfy me, so I almost always end up making the croutons myself. Last night I had just such a craving, and luckily, we actually had the right bread for the job (though it could have been a bit more stale).

Dinner last night consisted of butternut squash/red pepper soup, which I made with the butternut squash we'd gotten from our CSA. As the name suggests, the croutons packed quite the punch, which complimented this creamy soup beautifully.

I used sage for the croutons, but it can really be adapted for whatever spice works best with your main dish.

Croutons with a Kick
Kelley Gondring

Preheat oven 350º

In a small bowl or Pyrex measuring cup, combine:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cut into small cubes:
2 thick slices of crusty bread

Place bread in a small casserole dish. Pour the olive oil mixture evenly over the bread. Mix with a spatula so bread is evenly coated.

Bake 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through. (If you like really crunchy croutons, bake an additional 5-15 minutes. I like my croutons crunchy on the outside but still a little chewy on the inside.)

Use on salads or in soups. Or eat by the handful...

Eat up!

Tiramisu Cheesecake

My dad is an amazingly talented woodworker, a talent from which Jason and I have benefitted exceedingly well. Amongst other things, he made our dining room table out of a fallen cherry tree! It is a beautiful piece of workmanship and I am very lucky to eat off of it nearly every day.

As we get our home ready for the new addition, there are a couple projects that Jason and I would like to tackle but don't exactly have the skill set necessary to get them accomplished on our own. Not wanting to take an unfair advantage (let's be clear, I do want to take fair advantage) of his wood-working abilities, I sent him an email proposing an exchange. It went something like this:

Hey Favorite Daddy in the Whole Wide World:

Can we barter goods and services? In exchange for your assistance in carpentry, I can offer you both both pesto and cheesecake (not together unless that's your request).

Love,
Favorite Daughter in the Whole Wide World

Yes, I get that this is not exactly a completely even exchange, but I also know that my pops loves some cheesecake. Happily, I can report he agreed to a brainstorming session so long as it included cheesecake and a cappuccino. Thus my idea for a tiramisu cheesecake was born!

Tiramisu Cheesecake
Kelley Gondring

Preheat oven 500º

Crust
Combine in a medium bowl:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
Thoroughly mix so that all ingredients are well incorporated. Pour mixture into the springform pan. Spread crumbs evenly across the bottom, using your fingers to firmly pack. Place in refrigerator.

Custard
In an electric mixing bowl, add:
2 eight ounce packages cream cheese, softened
2 eight ounce package reduced fat cream cheese, softened
Using the paddle attachment, mix at moderate speed for thirty seconds.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and slowly add:
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons whipping cream
Mix 1 1/2 minutes so that the ingredients are smooth and creamy. Half way through, scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Over beating the batter will result in it rising too much and then falling when it cools, so set a timer if necessary.

One at a time add:
4 large egg yolks
Beat until yolk is incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and repeat.

Using a low speed, mix in:
1/2 cup freshly brewed strong espresso, cooled
until just incorporated.

Pour batter into the spring-form pan over top of the graham cracker crumb crust. Cover with a piece of aluminum foil and bake for 12 minutes. Reduce temperature to 200º and bake for 40-45 minutes, removing foil about half way through.

Turn off the oven and use a wooden spoon to hold the oven door ajar (yes, the center of the cheesecake should still be jiggly in the middle). Let the cheesecake sit for 30 minutes.

While the cheese cake is in the oven cooling, prepare Mascarpone Topping.

Mascarpone Topping
adapted from tiramisu recipe in The Joy of Cooking

In a medium bowl with a handle, beat on high until thick and light yellow:
3 large egg yolks
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Whisk in:
2 tablespoons sweet Marsala
1 1/2 teaspoons water
Place the bowl over a skillet of simmering water. Whisk constantly until the temperature reaches 160º. [I tried this traditional way and it took forever! As I've mentioned before, I like to cook at night, so after 10 minutes or so, I got impatient and placed the mixture in a glass Pyrex container and put it in the microwave for 15 seconds. I then whisked it, measured the temperature, and repeated three times. If you do it this way, you just need to make sure not to overcook the eggs.] Set mixture in the refrigerator to let cool.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat on high until soft peaks form:
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Set aside.

After 10 minutes or so, remove egg mixture from the refrigerator and whisk in:
6-8 ounces Mascarpone cheese
Gently fold in the whipped cream mixture.

At this point, the cheesecake it probably ready to come out of the oven. Pour the Mascarpone topping over the top of the cheesecake and evenly spread. Place in the refrigerator overnight to let both the cheesecake and the topping completely cool and settle.

Decorate with chocolate shavings, cocoa powder, whipped cream, and espresso beans.

Eat up!

Dried Cranberry Apple Crisp

When I posted on Facebook the news of our pregnancy, an old friend from high school sent me a message and let me know that she, too, was pregnant. As our due dates were just fourteen days apart, it became absolutely necessary to get reacquainted with one another! So we met for dinner one Monday night at The District and started catching up on the last ten years. Who we'd married, where we worked, how pregnancy was treating us. Before I knew it, we were in the same birth class, and I had a new-old friend back in my life!

Rachel and her husband, Chip, came over to the house on Sunday night for dinner. It was great to be able to talk about pregnancy and the scariness of giving birth, but it was equally great to be able to talk about things that had nothing to do with pregnancy! Jason and I had a great time with them, and I imagine this only the beginning of our second-round friendship.

For dinner, we had homemade lasagna much like the one I wrote about here, but I made homemade tomato sauce and used the homemade basil lasagna noodles I'd made the previous weekend. For dessert, I made a crisp because it didn't require a trip to the grocery store, and I was able to make a dent in the dozen or so apples taking up space in our fruit bowl.

As an aside, Mom came over in that afternoon so we could run errands together. I sent her home with two ramekins of crisp, and today I got this little ditty from Dad:

The apple crisp was so delicious
And the cute little ramekins
Make handy cat dishes
For Ziggy and Muffins

Dried Cranberry Apple Crisp
inspired by epicurious

Serves 8

Preheat oven 400º

In a small saucepan, bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat:
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup water
1 cinnamon stick
Let cook for about 10 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed by the cranberries. Remove from heat and toss out cinnamon stick.

Place the cranberries in a large bowl with:
6 small apples, peeled, cored, and diced
Evenly combine. Distribute fruit between eight one-cup ramekin dishes. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine to form a coarse meal:
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup sliced almonds, diced
1 cup oatmeal
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
pinch salt
Distribute the topping evenly amongst the ramekin dishes (about 1/4 cup for each).

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the fruit is tender and the topping golden brown.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Eat up!

Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal, and Pecan Cookies

Waiting for former President Clinton to give his speech at the Democratic National Convention, I decided I needed to make cookies. Today, I enjoyed them on the front porch with a cold glass of milk.

Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal, and Pecan Cookies
Kelley Gondring

In a large mixing bowl, cream together:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar

Add:
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Add:
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour

Mix in:
1 cup diced pecans
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup oatmeal

Place dollops of cookie dough on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Dunk in milk if desired.

Eat up!