A love letter to fall, Part II.

I'm putting this recipe for pumpkin walnut bread on repeat, like a classic jazz record. I liken it to enjoying the sweet wails of Billie Holiday. Eat your heart out. It's that delicious, moist and quintessentially autumn. You may start to get sick of me and my fantasy island of fall, but work with me people, it's still 90 degrees where I live. I must recreate this beautiful season and the only way I know how to do so is to bake like a banshee. I actually posted this recipe in 2008, but I've adapted it slightly this time around and let's face it, you probably forgot about it anyhow. The only change I made was the sugar - I optend to go half brown sugar and half blond cane sugar. Oh I skipped the parchman paper, I hae pretty kick ass loaf pans, but if yours have seen better days, I recommend sticking with the parchment paper. Thank God for repeats.

Pumpkin Walnut Bread

by Cindy Mushet and Sur La Table

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/3 cup (2 3/4 ounces) water

1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) sugar

1 cup (9 ounces) canned pumpkin puree

1/2 cup neutral-flavor vegetable oil (such as canola)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (4 ounces) chopped toasted walnuts

Equipment

9 by 5-inch Loaf Pan, Parchment Paper, Large Bowl, Whisk, Medium Bowl, SIlicone or Rubber Spatula, Cooling Rack, Serrated Knife

Preheat the oven to 350°F and position an oven rack in the center. Lightly coat the loaf pan with melted butter or high-heat canola-oil spray and line it with a piece of parchment paper that extends 1 inch beyond the edge of both sides of the pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger, and salt until thoroughly blended. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and water. Add the sugar and blend well. Add the pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract and blend well.

Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk until blended and smooth. Add the walnuts and stir until they are evenly distributed. Use a spatula to scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and level the top.

Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until the bread is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. To serve, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices by sawing gently with a serrated knife. Any leftovers should be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Getting ahead Pumpkin Walnut Bread freezes beautifully for up to 8 weeks when double-wrapped in plastic and placed inside a resealable plastic freezer bag. Defrost, still wrapped in plastic to avoid condensation on the cake, for at least 2 hours before serving.

A love letter to fall.

I equate fall with baking, it's just that simple. Lately I find myself choosing to spend more time indoors lately - nesting, reading, puttering and even better, nesting in my kitchen.  I have written a couple love letters to fall, this one in particular, is a keeper. Like the last post, this recipe for pumpkin pie bars was something I repinned on Pinterest and baked over the weekend for friends.

After popping this into the oven, I recognized that I have held "bars" (as in dessert bars) at arms-length.  Not squite sure why, but I think that I subconsciously filed "dessert bars" in my "do not attempt" dessert category. Boy, I  have been missing out. To every season, turn, turn.....it all comes full circle and now I'm obsessively looking through recipes and cookbooks in collection that include more dessert bar recipes.

These pumpkin pie bars are easy to make (in fact, I think this would be a fun one to make with kids) and they are effortless.  Most of these ingredients are staples in your pantry and I'm stocking up on canned pumpkin this fall (it will be on sale closer to Thanksgiving) as I know I will be making these again and again.

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Crust Ingredients:

1 1/3 c. unbleached white flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. chopped pecans


Filling Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. pumpkin puree
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. vanilla 

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  
In a food processor, combine crust ingredients and pulse two or three times until mixture is crumbly. Reserve 2/3 cup of the mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture evenly into the bottom of an 8x11 baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Cool slightly.  

In a medium bowl, combine filling ingredients. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, blend until mixture is smooth. Pour mixture over baked crust. Sprinkle with remaining crust topping. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until firm.

30.

An extremely momentous occasion took place this past Friday, I hit the big 3-0! Paul and I took the day off and took a day trip up to the art coast of Michigan, Saugatuck and Douglas, to be more specific. What a beautiful area, on Lake Michigan, scenic with it's fall colors holding on for dear life. Art galleries, wine tasting, tourista shops, restaurants, beaches, and more, we couldn't have asked for a better day. For the birthday dinner, we went to Everyday People Cafe in Douglas. I found this gem through Chowhound, an excellent resource for foodies across to the nation to recommend restaurants of all walks. The executive chef of Everyday People Cafe has been hailed as "best chef" on the east side of Lake Michigan and trust me, it's no lie. This joint doesn't take reservations and is a hoppin' place and we were lucky to even get it. After perusing the menu for quite a while, it was obvious that these decisions would be tough. I ended up ordering the braised lamb shank and Paul ordered one of the specials, blackened ahi fish tacos. For an appetizer, we went with the Pizza Bianco and I think that was our very part of the whole meal, it was a perfect balance of flavors. For a birthday dessert, we ordered the creme brulee, deconstructed. Not your typical creme brulee my friends, it was layered on top of two puff pastry triangles and doused with a divine raspberry sauce. tart, sweet and creamy. A perfect way to end a perfect birthday.

country style short ribs. delish.

All I seem to crave is comfort food (that and a good cheeseburger, but that my friends is another story). My body must be aligned with the changing of the seasons. The leaves have turned and some are flying off into Never-never land. Others are holding on tight, stubborn, I suppose. I'm not resisting the change and in fact over the weekend, I busted out my slow cooker and made a fabulous country ribs with potatoes, carrots and onions. Served with a horseradish cream sauce and a dash of chopped italian parsley, it's not only hearty and delicious, it's GOOD for you. So treat yourself to this one, it's worth it.

Country-Style Beef Short Ribs with Horseradish Cream

6 tbs. sour cream

2 tbs. prepared horseradish

1 tbs. dijon mustard

3/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 1/4 lb. boneless beef short ribs, trimmed of excess fat and goobers

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

2 onions, sliced

1 lb. small white potatoes, halved (or quartered depending on size)

1 1/2 c. baby carrots (I substituted 3 decent size carrots, chopped)

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 c. low sodium beef broth

2 tbs. Worcestershite sauce (I always have a hard time saying this word, just ask Paul)

3 tbs. all-purpose flour

3 tbs. cold water

1 tbs. chopped flat-leak parsley

1. To prepare the horseradish sauce, combine the sour cream, horseradish, mustard and 1/4 tsp. of the salt in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, at least 4 hrs or overnight.

2. Sprinkle the ribs with the remaining 1/2 tsp. of salt and the pepper. Spray a nonstick pan with oil and saute the meat on medium-high heat, until browned (about 8 minutes).

3. Transfer ribs to slow cooker and add the onions, potatoes, carrots, garlic, and bay leaf. Pour the broth and Worcestershire sauce over the meat and veggies. Cover and cook until the meat and veggies are fork tender, 4-5 hours on high and 8-10 hours on low.

4. About 20 minutes before the cooking time is up, combine the flour and cold water in a bowl until smooth. Stir in about 1/4 c. of the hot broth and stir until blended. Add to the slow cooker and mix into the stew. Cover and cook on high until the slow cooker until the sauce thickens. Discard the bay leaf. Stir in the parsley just before serving (or top the stew off with it like I did in the photo above). Serve with the horseradish cream.

pumpkin walnut bread.

Nothing says fall quite like the sight of farm stands and grocery stores overflowing with apples, pumpkins, gourds, squashes and indian corn. The warm spices of apple cider mulling and fires crack-a-lackin'! It warms my little heart just thinking about it. This month's issue of Gourmet features the latest cookbook selection The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet and Sur La Table. Cindy has been a contributing instructor at The New School of Cooking in Culver City, California where I attended cooking school. Her classes are known to sell out fast, so if you're ever in the "neighborhood", I would definitely recommend signing up for a class!

The featured recipe (Pumpkin Walnut Bread) caught my eye and as I normally do, I folded the corner of the recipe with the intention of baking. Earlier this week, I finally got to the recipe - simple, easy and oh so worth the wait (for a quick bread, why does it take an hour to bake?). It tasted like pumpkin pie, sweet, but not rich, moist and tender. A fine crumb indeed. It didn't even require a douse of salted butter, but if you were feeling dangerous I wouldn't be opposed to it. Accompanied with hot cider, a cup of Old Crown Roasters coffee, or even a spot of tea would compliment this scrumptious midnight snack, breakfast treat, or fall dessert.

Pumpkin Walnut Bread

by Cindy Mushet and Sur La Table

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/3 cup (2 3/4 ounces) water

1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) sugar

1 cup (9 ounces) canned pumpkin puree

1/2 cup neutral-flavor vegetable oil (such as canola)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (4 ounces) chopped toasted walnuts

Equipment

9 by 5-inch Loaf Pan, Parchment Paper, Large Bowl, Whisk, Medium Bowl, SIlicone or Rubber Spatula, Cooling Rack, Serrated Knife

Preheat the oven to 350°F and position an oven rack in the center. Lightly coat the loaf pan with melted butter or high-heat canola-oil spray and line it with a piece of parchment paper that extends 1 inch beyond the edge of both sides of the pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger, and salt until thoroughly blended. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and water. Add the sugar and blend well. Add the pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract and blend well.

Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk until blended and smooth. Add the walnuts and stir until they are evenly distributed. Use a spatula to scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and level the top.

Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until the bread is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. To serve, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices by sawing gently with a serrated knife. Any leftovers should be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Getting ahead Pumpkin Walnut Bread freezes beautifully for up to 8 weeks when double-wrapped in plastic and placed inside a resealable plastic freezer bag. Defrost, still wrapped in plastic to avoid condensation on the cake, for at least 2 hours before serving.

apples, apples and more apples.

Not too far from my humble abode resides Cook's Orchards, one of the many apple orchards in Northeast Indiana. I'm oh so lucky to have one within a few miles! On Sunday, Paul and I went there, we were craving this variety called Honeycrisp, which you can only get in Indiana and Michigan, by the way. We picked up 1/2 peck of honeycrisp apples, some no sugar added cinnamon apple butter, apple cider and something evil called Amish Peanut Butter. Okay, perhaps I went a little far with the word "evil", but this product (while not apple-related) could become a real problem. It consists of peanuts, marshmellow cream, and maple syrup. It's too die for - slices of honeycrisp apples dipped in this delicious concoction, blows "caramel" out of the ball park.