Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Happy thanksgiving! The food festivities are starting off here on the right foot with a pumpkin bread pudding complete with bourbon. I have seen recipes for pumpkin bread puddings and pumpkin French toasts and have long wanted to try one. This year was the year! Last night I made the pudding so David just stuck it in the oven when he got up, so breakfast was less fuss more yum.

I found this recipe on smittenkitchen last week.

Ingredients
3/4 stick butter, melted
1 1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs + 1 yolk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp allspice
Pinch ground cloves
Bourbon (the one thing to never measure)
5 cups cubed bread

I started by melting the butter. While it melted I whisked all of the remaining ingredients together in a bowl except the bread. I coated the bread with the butter I tossed the liquids with the bread and put them into a Pyrex. I covered the goods and left them in the fridge overnight. In the morning we uncovered and cooked for about 35-40 at 350 F.

The verdict is that my expectations were too high. I felt it wasn't quite pumpkin-y enough. David enjoyed it but wanted more seasoning. I used challah since it makes for good French toast but I would go to regular bread or a baguette next time. Still a yummy breakfast which would have been better with son vanilla Greek yogurt, or better yet whipped cream!

Penne all'amatriciana

For out 7th monthiversary I gave one of our favorite honeymoon meals a try. We fell in LOVE with the amatriciana. It was so simple and so tasty. I have never seen it in a local restaurant so I wanted to try my hand at it.

I started by chopping and sauntering up a couple thick slices of pancetta in some olive oil on medium for 4-5 min until it was good and crispy. I added about 3/8 tsp of red pepper flakes and 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper. I left them to sauté for a fee seconds and added 3-4 cloves of minced garlic. Cooked the garlic on medium low for about 8 min until cooked through. I added a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes and let them cook up for 20 minutes while cooking pasta. Toss to coat immediately and enjoy!

It was ok, obviously not as good as the real deal. The guy at Market District didn't give give me enough pancetta, so next time I'm going to try it with more pancetta that is chopped more coarsely and use chopped tomatoes instead of crushed. I need the texture, even if others don't. I think this one will be coming back again for a redo because it will become a family favorite. :).

We miss you, Roma!

Candied Acorn Squash

I made this delicious side last weekend for dinner. I modified the Crock Pot lady's recipe for my tastes and what I had in the house

Materials
1 acorn squash, de-seeded and chopped coarsely
1/4 cup water
2 apples, cored, peeled, and chopped
1.5 tbl butter
2 tbl cinnamon
1.5-2 tbl brown sugar
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1-2 tbl pecans

Methods
1. Place the chopped squash in the bottom of the crock pot with the water
2. In a mixing bowl combine apples, cranberries, pecans, melted butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Mix well.
3. Place the apple mixture on top of the squash and cook on low for a couple of hours.
4. Mix, serve, and enjoy

Verdict
Delicious. It smelled like fall in the house and it tasted even better! I could have eaten the whole thing on accident, it felt almost more like a dessert than anything else :). I did constrain myself and enjoyed the leftovers with leftover pork for lunch later in the week :).

Let the crock pot time of year begin!

Pesto Shrimp

You will notice two things from my recent posts.... i seem to be looking at healthy food, and basil.  Both are on my mind.  I'm thinking healthy and we have a ton of basil as the season is closing out.  I saw this recipe for Pesto Shrimp on Skinnytaste.com ages ago this summer, and I've wanted it ever since.  I am a lover of the pesto, and lately seem to be more pro-shrimp.  We have been grilling shrimp this summer, but mostly with a chili sauce that includes David's new favorite thing, Sriracha Rooster Sauce.  We were finally around and had time to defrost and marinade the shrimpies, so we decided it was finally time to give this a try.

Ingredients
Approx 15 shrimpies, peeled and devined, defrosted
1 cup fresh basil packed
a squirt of lemon juice
4 -5 garlic cloves smached and chopped
3 tbl of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup or so of parmesan

Started off with the pesto -- combining the basil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and parmesan in the food processor.  I pulsed it until it was well mixed and even the garlic was pureed.  Added a couple of streams of olive oil and called it good.  I removed the pesto from the food processor and put it in a little bowl.

I marinated the shrimp in about a third of the pesto for a couple of hours prior to skewering them and grilling them.  I froze the rest of the pesto for later -- and will be doing the same with the rest of the basil in the garden :)

Verdict -- yummy.  David had some shrimp with his free lobster, i just did the shrimp.  Rumor has it the shrimp was better than the lobster.  Very easy and I foresee this becoming a regular, particular if we can get a good supply of pesto stocked up.

Italian Turkey Meatballs

I saw the crockpot version of these on Skinnytaste.com. I totally intended to make them for a nice homey Friday night dinner after a busy week.  I had great intentions.  Then i woke up and walked out the door Friday without even thinking about it, and had a long day at work.  By the time I got home at 7 I felt lazy, but summoned my inner strength and cooked these bad boys up based on her stovetop directions while David enjoyed the Pitt game (yet another loss :( ).

Ingredients
Meatballs:
1 Package ground turkey (99% lean)
handful Italian Breadcrumbs
handful grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
3 garlic cloves smashed and minced
salt and pepper to taste


Sauce:
1 can tutturosa crushed tomatoes with basil(28 oz)
1 can diced tomatoes (14 oz)
5-6 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
Olive oil
oregano, salt, and pepper to taste (you know me, i don't measure)
a handful of fresh basil, chopped

Directions
I started with the sauce -- sauteeing the garlic in a little olive oil in the bottom of our pan I carried home from the honeymoon (its really heavy and heats up way to fast and easily, as I remember every time I use it).  Once the garlic was slightly browned I added the remaining sauce ingredients and turned it to as low as it goes to simmer while I made the meatballs.

I pretty much combined all the ingredients and mixed them up pretty well.  I formed them into smallish meatballs, aiming for about golf ball sized.  Once completed I added them directly to the sauce and gave it a gentle stir, covered with foil (the pan lacks a lid) and cooked for about 20 minute until cooked thoroughly.

Verdict
These were pretty good.  I was able to go from start to finish, including picking the basil from the garden, in about 40 minutes.  I think next time i would spray the meatballs with some olive oil and let them bake for a few minutes to get crispy on the outside before putting them into the sauce.  I had my doubts on putting them directly into the sauce, but it cooked through and worked.  David seemed to enjoy them despite the healthy factor.  The only other issue was that by using the pot without a lid the sauce was a little too clumpy for me.  Next time I'll use a different pan so less moisture boils off and possibly use two cans of crushed tomatoes instead of a crushed and a diced.

Moktoberfest

Celebrated September with a little Oktoberfest fun at home while watching some football. The real deal comes next week.

Dinner was complete with beer kielbasa and homemade spaetzle. This was David's 2nd try at spaetzle, but my first. We got to pull out the fancy spaetzle maker - no brewers kitchen is complete without it. :)

I just googled spaetzle, so we used the Tyler Florence recipe that came up on foodnetwork.com since we had al the right ingredients (ie enough eggs).


1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
Butter

Combine the dry ingredients and mix. Combine the eggs and milk. Make a well in the dry and add the wet ingredients. Mix and let sit 15 min. Make spaetzle using the awesome strip district tool and boil for about 4 min. Drain and rinse and sauté in butter for a few minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.


Awesomeness. I really liked adding the nutmeg. Definitely worth repeating. Prost!

Pumpkin bread

It is officially fall, Starbucks has their pumpkin lattes on sale and I felt the pull if the pumpkin. Pumpkin foods are some of my favorite things about fall and this is one of my favorite and most trusted recipes.

1 cup canned pumpkin purée
1/3 cup milk
2 eggs or substitute
2 table margarine
1 tbl canola/vegetable oil
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

Combine pumpkin, eggs, milk, margarine, and oil. Mix well

Add the remaining ingredients and mix until just moistened and uniform

Bake at 350F for about an hour in a sprayed loaf pan.

Normally I add nuts, but I left them out for those who dislike nuts. It was just as good anyways. Plus, I added a smear of whipped cream cheese to bring in some fatty goodness. I also couldn't find the brown sugar... So I tried my hand at making my own. Successfully I might add.

Seriously a fall favorite. One of these days ill play with it and add some whole wheat flour.... For now it's "fall" good :)