Giving Thanks and a Santa Sighting

Mark says Thanksgiving is the best holiday, because it's about simply family and togetherness, without the distraction of material gifts. I would have to agree with him (even though I LOVE presents!) We spent Thanksgiving day at my grandparents' house, not a new sight for us. Thanksgiving at Grammy's is a tradition that gets better and better every year, especially since Mark has been at our table these past few. My grandmother is a phenomenal cook, and she put out her usual incredible spread even though this year's meal was shared with a total of only 6 family members. (Sorry, everyone else's grandma, my grammy makes the BEST stuffing!) Turkey, gravy, Italian stuffing, regular stuffing, corn, braised brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cranberry chutney, not to mention 3 pies- 2 Pumpkin Chiffon (affectionately known as "pumpkin shrivel" to her grandchildren), and 1 apple pie. (If you do the math on that, you will see that each person was allotted up to one-half of a pie.) She outdid herself once again. On Thanksgiving weekend we surely had full bellies and full hearts. We have so very much to be thankful for!

My cousin gave the blessing at our very thankful table

 

Even though we were nowhere near a shortage of food, I couldn't help but make a few things to bring along to share. The first- Lentil Walnut Pate. This appetizer spread tastes rich and complex, and I am told is suggestive of the traditional liver pate; although I presently cannot say I've tasted liver to compare.

Lentil Walnut Pate

Lentil Walnut Pate
Recipe courtesy of Terry Walters
Ingredients:
1 cup brown or green lentils
1 1/2 cups water
2 onions, chopped
1 cup walnuts
Ume plum vinegar (can substitute red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
Olive oil

Preparation:

1. Walnuts- Roast at 300 degrees F for 12-14 minutes, or until fragrant.
2. Lentils- Rinse. Place in a pot with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 35-40 minutes, until water is absorbed.
3. Onion- Saute in olive oil until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes.
4. Place walnuts, lentils, and onion in a food processor with a few dashes of vinegar. Process until smooth. Add up to 1 tbsp olive oil until desired consistency is reached.
5. Season with salt, pepper, or additional vinegar to taste. Serve with pita chips or veggies.

A few months ago, I stumbled upon beautiful photos of a cake made by food blogger Joy the Baker. Chocolate Beet Cake with Beet Cream Cheese Icing. I couldn't get it out of my mind, so I baked it for Thanksgiving weekend. It did live up to my high expectations. It's awesome. No, it does not tastes like beets! The true test- Mark the Beet Hater loved it! It is rich and chocolatey, and not too sweet.

wicked chocolate beet cake

Find the recipe for this unusual, gorgeous, scrumptious cake here.

The Friday after Thanksgiving is a very special day in my grandparents' town: Santa arrives to turn on the town Christmas lights and welcome the children to sit on his knee and share what they want for Christmas. The last time I got to see it was before I can remember, so I was thrilled to be in town for him this year. What's so special about Santa's visit? Besides a parade complete with boy scouts and high school band, his sleigh with real ponies, and his speech at the Town Hall...  

Spoiler Alert!

Santa is none other than MY Grandpap!

Here comes Santa Claus!

It is a really neat feeling to stand amidst hundreds of people awaiting the arrival of your grandfather on a sleigh. I felt like a celebrity. After Grandpap-- I mean, Santa-- lit up the town, the crowd followed him into the town hall and got in a huge maze of a line for children to sit on his knee. Mark and I got to skip the line and were led a back way to see him after I told the right person, "I'm Santa's granddaughter." Star treatment. Really.

When Santa returned home to Mrs. Claus, he still had plenty of energy to invite us to sit on his knee!

Mark reminds me of Buddy the Elf in this photo

Someone couldn't wait to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas...

Wishing you a season of great family time and the most delicious food!

Starring: Pumpkin

I have liked pumpkins ever since Cinderella's turned into a magical carriage and chauffeured her to the best night of her life. Just kidding. But seriously. It was no joke this gourd was chosen for that fairy tale... armed with antioxidant superpowers, pumpkin packs a huge amount of beta-carotene and carotenoids, powerful nutrients which protect the body's cells from aging and disease, including a variety of cancers. Among these phytonutrients, you'll find fiber and iron in pumpkin as well. And the seeds contain iron, protein, and healthy fats! Pumpkin is totally great, and much more versatile than just in pie form. Canned pumpkin contains all of the nutrition in fresh, and is the edible form of pumpkin we know best. I love adding pumpkin puree to oatmeal or risotto. But what about the pumpkin sitting on your porch? Here are some other ideas for this wonderful cucurbit...

Exhibit A: The pumpkin which has sat on our porch since 1 week before our wedding. We picked it at a local pumpkin patch, and it has surely brought seasonal joy and happy thoughts to all of our neighbors for the past month.

Exhibit  A: Pumpkin

Now, to cook. This pumpkin was rather large, so I wouldn't have attempted cutting it if I didn't have a heavy, newly-sharpened chef's knife. (And you shouldn't either, unless you want to lose your hand.)

Exhibit B: Our pumpkin, cut open with sharp knife, guts exposed.

Exhibit B. (The labels are so you don't get lost.)

Then I scooped out those precious seeds and... did not a thing with them. Oops! If I had, I maybe would have followed Emeril's family recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds.

I roasted half of the pumpkin face-down at 350 for 45 minutes, until the pumpkin flesh was soft when pierced with a fork. (Exhibit C) The other half I peeled with a knife and diced into 1-inch pieces, roasting those at 425 for 20 minutes, turning once, then for another 15. 

Exhibit C: Roasted pumpkin half

Once the pumpkin half was cooled, I scooped out the flesh and pureed it in a food processor until smooth. It made almost 4 cups of puree!  I used 2 cups to make Caramelized Pumpkin Butter, recipe courtesy of Vegetarian Times.

Caramelized Pumpkin Butter
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
2 Tbs. lemon juice

Directions:
Combine sugar and 2/3 cup water in a saucepan until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil 7-9 minutes, or until sugar turns a pale amber color. Remove from heat, and carefully add pumpkin puree (mixture sizzles, don't freak!). Stir in the lemon juice. Return to a boil over medium heat and cook 5 minutes, or until thickened and glistening, stirring often.

If you are a canning whiz, unlike me, you will surely know how to seal this jam into jars and give as adorable gifts with a tag that reads: "Spreading Love and Thanksgiving From Our Family to Yours" (I won't tell that you got that phrase from me.)

Caramelized Pumpkin Butter

Another brilliant use for pumpkin puree is soup. My mom makes a very special pumpkin soup that I've asked her to share with me for this post. She can't get canned pumpkin in Germany, so every season she spends time cooking whole pumpkins, pureeing, and freezing the puree for soups, muffins, and more.

Spicy Pumpkin Soup
Recipe courtesy of CinCin
Ingredients:
4 tbs. butter/ olive oil combined
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. coriander
3 cans (15 oz.) pumpkin or 6 cups cubed pumpkin
2 smaller potatoes, diced
2 carrots, diced
4-5 cups broth
1-2 cups milk
3 tbs. brown sugar
1 cup evaporated skim milk

Directions:
1) Melt butter & oil. Saute garlic & onion. Add spices.
2) Add pumpkin, broth, veggies and simmer 20 min.
3) Puree with immersion blender (cool first if desired).
4) Reheat, add sugar. Slowly add milk, stirring to desired consistency.  Add cream (evap. milk) and adjust seasonings to taste.

Cindy's Spicy Pumpkin Soup, photo taken in Cindy's kitchen in Germany

Now, what about those roasted pumpkin chunks? Try my recipe for...

Pumpkin and Black Bean Stir-Fry with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Stir-fry (read: small amount of oil, medium-high burner, constant stirring) onion, broccoli, and red pepper until brown, 4-5 minutes. Add in previously roasted pumpkin chunks (any squash will work) and cooked black beans, stirring until heated through, 2 minutes. Top with Spicy Peanut Sauce, and remove from heat. Serve with brown rice.

Spicy Peanut Sauce
Combine:
1/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup coconut milk
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp sriracha (hot chili sauce)
1 tsp tamari (or soy sauce)
1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbs. chopped cilantro

Pumpkin and Black Bean Stir-Fry with Spicy Peanut Sauce

easy to make, easy to eat

I hope for your sake you didn't take your porch decoration to Punkin' Chunkin' so that you can make one of these delicious recipes. Have a happy and healthy holiday!

Work-toberfest

Mark's company had their annual Oktoberfest party yesterday (yes, in November, the hurricane/rain date from Sandy). It included a cooking competition where employees bring in dishes using 2 of the listed qualifying ingredients. Qualifiers were German-themed, including beer, cheese, sausage, cabbage, white asparagus, potatoes, chocolate, etc. We decided on a double-entry for our first year... you know, to come out strong, make a presence. Our entries: Broccoli and Cheddar Ale Soup, and Chocolate Chip Stout Bread.

all of the alcohol that went into our dishes... except for the wine. that was for me.

Frozen veggie burgers, Mark's un-gourmet dinner on cooking night

Handsomest Cheese Grater Award Winner! Mark's been cutting the cheese for some time now... see below!

THROWBACK: Mark grating Parmesan for our 6-month dating anniversary dinner

The soup was awesome! I adapted it from a 2005 Gourmet recipe for Cheddar Beer Soup. They recommended using Bass, a malty English ale, which we thought was great in the soup, less-great by itself.

Broccoli and Cheddar Ale Soup
Yields: 4-6 servings (we doubled it for the competition)
Ingredients:
2 onions, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
2 celery ribs, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups broccoli, cooked and chopped (or 1-12-oz package frozen, thawed)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups 2% milk
3/4 cup reduced sodium vegetable broth (yes, or chix broth)
1 (12-oz) bottle ale, recommended: Bass
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dry mustard
1 lb extra-sharp cheddar, grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Directons:
1. Cook onion and celery in butter in large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until vegetables begin to soften, about 7 minutes. Add garlic, and cook 1-2 minutes more.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low, and sprinkle flour over vegetables, stirring frequently, and cook for about 3 minutes. (Note- If vegetables appear dry, add a bit of water to keep the pan moist, allowing flour to cook.)

3. Whisk in milk, broth, and beer. Simmer gently, whisking often, 7-10 minutes.

4. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and chopped, cooked broccoli.

5. Add cheese by handfuls, stirring constantly, until cheese is melted, 3 to 4 minutes.

Bon appetit!

Broccoli and Cheddar Ale Soup... enough to feed the roaring Oktoberfest work crowd

Now onto the next recipe... the beer bread. We did a variation of the loaf we make it nearly every week. You may know baking yeast bread can trigger a freak-out for me, but this beer bread's actually a non-threatening quick bread; you mix the dry, add wet, and pour into a loaf pan. Easy! See the way we usually make it here. For Oktoberfest, we used Guinness, which gave the bread a deep, intense flavor, and added semi-sweet chocolate chips for a pleasant finish. Hey, this may be the only way to actually enjoy Guinness!

Chocolate Chip Stout Bread
Yield: 1 loaf, about 10-12 slices
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1-12 oz bottle Guinness
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, sugar) in a medium-sized bowl.

3. Add beer, stir 5-6 strokes until mostly incorporated. Add chocolate chips, mixing until combined.

4. Pour batter into a lightly-greased loaf pan and bake, about 45 minutes, until top begins to brown.

Note- This bread contains no added fat, so it's best enjoyed the day it is baked... it dries out quickly!

Chocolate Chip Stout Bread

Our score report: While both entries were enjoyed by co-workers, and the soup appeared to be a crowd favorite, we sadly didn't place this year. First place was taken by a German Chocolate Cake with chocolate-ganache. (Come on! What can compete with that?)

At least there was a tiny bit of soup leftover for me to enjoy when Mark brought it home from work. We'll get the win next year. And chances are, we will be making these wunderbar recipes before then!

Dinner Party: Secret Ingredient-Style

Last weekend we celebrated the birthdays of two wonderful friends and fellow newlyweds, Lauren and Jeremy. (Aren't fall birthdays the best?) We invited L&J to our apartment for a dinner party in their birthday honor. The twist: they each got to choose 2 ingredients to be incorporated into the meal.

After days of deliberation, the secret ingredients were chosen...

She picked:

1. Apples
2. Sweet potatoes 

He picked:
     3.  Butterscotch
     4.  Fish

Apparently ingredient-choosing was particularly difficult for Jeremy, who, inspired by the show Chopped, also considered- quail eggs, goat brains, preserved duck eggs, sweet tea vodka, rack of wild boar, frozen waffles, hot dogs, and watermelon. What helped him decide was the realization that he should probably choose something he actually wants to eat.

Choosing this menu was too fun! The fish threw me the most... when it comes to fish, I only know what I like, which is basically exclusively salmon. But what better time to try something new! The best of friends are the best audience for recipe experiments. Especially on their birthdays.

With the inspiration of multiple cookbooks from my library (Giada, Moosewood, Clean Food) as well as a favorite website (CookingLight.com), the final menu came to be:

First Course:

Autumn Salad

fresh apple, dried mission figs, gorgonzola cheese with maple balsamic vinaigrette

Entree:

Dill and Mustard-Encrusted Wild Haddock

with a yogurt-chive sauce

Sweet Potato Fries 

with curry ketchup

Sauteed Zucchini

Dessert:

Butterscotchies 

with Vanilla Ice Cream 

Happy Birthday to you two!

First, the salad dressing... THE cure to salad boredom... guaranteed! You can even add it to roasted veggies like I did, here.

Maple-Dijon Balsamic Vinaigrette
Shake up these ingredients:
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

baby arugula with fresh pink lady apple, dried black mission figs, gorgonzola cheese and of course, maple-dijon balsamic vinaigrette

For the fish, I chose haddock, a firm white fish, which the experts say is great for breading. I went with wild-caught for sustainability, and the kind gentleman at the Wegman's fish counter even took the skin off for me! (Without a snobby fish-filleting knife, skinning it myself would not have ended well. Ask my dad about filleting whole fish, it's his favorite hobby.) About 6 oz of fish per person. I dipped each fillet in egg whites (2 total), and then a seasoning mixture of 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon dried dill, 1 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard, 1 tsp paprika, 3 cloves minced garlic. I lined up those bad bad boys in a baking dish and baked at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.



A chive and yogurt sauce complemented the fish.

Giada says, mix together the following-
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tsp honey
1 tsp dijon
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chive.

It was a little different for me, but it was worth a shot. It's always good to have some curry ketchup from Germany on hand, too!

This was a meal we got so into eating up, I almost forgot to photograph it. You'll get the picture from these snapshots of my half-eaten plate.


Now, onto dessert... Butterscotch Bars! I used a Cooking Light recipe, so sweet and delicious. I made them the day before, but popped them into the warm oven before serving with vanilla ice cream.

This little butterscotchie just got smothered right before the picture was taken.

Having our friends choose ingredients was such a fun way to inspire a dinner party. I encourage you to do the same! Just be willing to follow through if they choose quail eggs... but I'm glad I didn't have to. Thanks Lauren and Jeremy... and happy birthday!

Dough Woes

Let me be the first to tell you: I don't bake. I can bake, but I choose not to. Blame it on studying food science for years in a formal setting. I've learned the ins and outs of this chemical and that acid and what can go wrong and what it looks like when you screw this up and how it should have turned out otherwise. Now, I don't mind a quick bread, and I am particularly skilled at the muffin method (food science geeks, where you at!), but there are a few baked goods I tend to avoid due to their complexity. One- the creaming method (i.e., butter cakes, cookies) that involves beating sugar into a fat to create a tender crumb; and two- yeast breads.

Yeast really is quite magical. But too much salt can kill it. And too hot of water can kill it. And overworking can kill it. And underworking underwhelms it. I'm a realist, like my dad, so I'd rather leave the yeast breads to the experts and buy a delectable loaf of sourdough for $4 at the farmer's market and not worry my pretty little self about how it came to be.

Allthatbeingsaid... I do love a challenge. And when our sweet friends Tim and Katie gave us the ever-creative wedding gift of a bread cookbook (Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois) and bags of special flours, not baking real bread was no longer an option. Let's go!

"Look how cute we are! Baking bread must be so easy!"

I followed the recipe exactly for the "basic" whole wheat dough. I weighed gluten and two kinds of flours and yeast and salt and took care of the temperature of the water and mixed it all up with the dough hook attachments for the right number of minutes and let it rise, loosely covered for the prescribed 90 minutes! Okay, that's not hard, I didn't even have to touch it yet! And then it was 8:00 pm.

I folded and turned and tucked it. Sticky. Despite using extra flour to help with the stickiness. And then I read these crucial words, "Dough may be easier to work with when chilled." Hmm. I bet. But we would like to make pizza right now. All hands on deck.


The 15 minutes that followed sounded like this:

Morgan: Get more flour! This isn't working! The dough is going up my arms!

Mark: It's fine! It's fine! Just keep working it, I'm adding more flour!

Morgan: I need you to HELP me! This is a disaster! It's sticking everywhere! I'M THROWING IT OUT! Get the trash can!

Mark: Get a grip! You are NOT throwing it out now! It's fine! It's fine! Calm down!

Morgan: You don't know what this is like!

Mark: Yes I do! I made homemade pizza crust once in Michigan and it looked like this!

Author's note- How many guys in northern Michigan make their own homemade pizza dough? Probably just one, and he recently moved to Easton...

Silence ensued for several minutes as I topped our tricky pizza dough with pesto, roasted acorn squash, and goat cheese. Baked our pie for 20ish minutes at 450... and you know what? It didn't look half-bad! And it was GOOD!

And then we ate it all up and laughed at my freak-out. We might have danced around the kitchen pointing to each other and to the pizza exclaiming, "YOU ROCK!" I am thankful for my gracious husband and how he looks past the crazed baking Morgan to the less crazy, good cook Morgan. (I trust he would have been as forgiving of my temper if the pizza actually sucked.)

First attempt at homemade pizza- far from a failure

And then 2 days later... I used the leftover dough in the fridge to make a loaf of BREAD! And it was SO easy to work with once it was chilled... and I even did this thing where I put ice cubes in the oven to create steam and it made a shiny, chewy crust! Shoot! It was really good too! We ate this with cheese and dipping oil.

And then the next day we made another pizza with the leftover, leftover dough! I had a good feeling about this one... I even apologized to Mark. I said... "I'm sorry if you thought you would be having a mediocre dinner tonight."

This proud pizza was topped with sauteed kale, peppers, and onions.

Gosh. We did it. We made yeast bread. It was challenging. But it was also rewarding.

I think sometimes the most trying recipes are the most satisfying. Hey, is this a lesson for marriage?

If you are reading this, and you have ever baked a homemade loaf of bread that you had touch, and did so without becoming a complete spazz, give yourself a pat on the back! You rock!