Everyone's Pumpkin

Kevin did the eye, my dad did the goofy vampire, I did the carriage, and Karl...I am not quite sure what his was...

Pumpkin Carving

My pumpkin was perfect shape for a carriage. I got a larger pumpkin to carve my older brothers face in for laughs, but opted for this smaller pumpkin because it was too cute. I should have thought about this ahead of time and found a little Cinderella and Prince for inside and perhaps a driver and some horses...and wheels - okay maybe I should have made something else, but I like it.


This is a side view of my pumpkin. I wanted it to look starry and magical.

Pumpkin Cheese Cake

Fresh Roasted Pumpkin Cheese Cake - Ginger Snap, toasted pecan crust, bruleed top (like Creme Brulee) over a spiced bourbon creme anglaise, and a cream cheese whipped cream.

I love pumpkins, they are cute, festive, and taste delicious. I thought that this was a completely original dessert, but it turns out everyone is making it, so I put a new twist on it to make it completely mine. I am questioning whether or not to give this recipe away...

It is thick and luxurious like a cheese cake, yet fluffy and savory like your mom's pumpkin pie.

To me there is a huge difference between using canned pumpkin and a real pie pumpkin you roast yourself.

For my own spin on this I bruleed the top. My first thought was I wanted to make spun sugar with candied pecans. Bruleeing something is much easier.

Second is the whip cream. I add just a little bit of cream cheese to it to make it kind of buttery. It reminds me of an expensive cool whip. Cool whip has a butter feel to it, but not in a good way because you can taste that it is hydrogenated oil.

Last improvement I made for the cheese cake was a bed of bourbon creme anglaise. It does get more decadent than this. It is like having eggnog with your cheesecake.

This might sound kind of ridiculous, but I was thinking about making a huckleberry coulis for the top. The color would be gorgeous and might taste amazing with the bruleed top. I have huckleberries in the freezer, but I was thinking about making individual meringue cups, roasting the huckleberries, and filling the meringue cups with the mixture after they were baked. - perhaps my next blog entry.

Watching This Makes Me Giddy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xB7V8I94mY

See How Good It Was

Here is a picture of beth sneaking some of the cake!

Just a few of the layers for Karls birthday cake. Karls birthday cake was totally awesome, but possibly inappropriate to share online. Send me an email if you want to see the finished project. By the way, this is the best chocolate cake in the world. Recipe as follows:

• 3 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate
  

• 1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee (I like it super strong)
  
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 pound fine-quality bitter sweet chocolate
  
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 300°F. and grease and flour pans. Line bottoms with rounds of wax paper (Do this after greasing pans but before flouring them.

Chop chocolate and place in a bowl and combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand for a couple of minutes and then stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Here comes the annoying part. I usually take out a few different mixing bowls for this. First meausure out sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Then in another bowl have your sifter ready to go. Cup the ingredients into the sifter and sift until all in the second bowl. Take a fork and mix really well. I am a total nazi about sifty everything together really well. So I take the sifted mixture and sift it one more time after i stir it together back into the original bowl. It kind of gets all over, but is worth it.

In a kitchen aid with the whisk attachement beat eggs until thickened slightl and lemon colored - probably a good three minutes. Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, continuously whisking until well combined. Add dry mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well. Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely.

I usually do this the day or night before I want to assemble the cake, so it is fresh, moist and firm :)

For the frsoting chop chocolate into small pieces. In a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan bring cream, sugar, and corn syrup to a low boil/simmer over moderately low heat, whisk until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted. Cut butter into pieces and add to frosting, whisking until smooth ( this will make the ganache shine)

Transfer frosting to a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until spreadable. I like to do this part the day of assembly, so I usually make an ice bath for it.

Spread frosting between cake layers and over top and sides. For the cake I made my little brother I doubled this batch completely.

I love my Kitchen Aid

My Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer at work. This is probably one of my favorite things in the world. This plus my chefs knife and my huge dutch oven! If you like to bake or cook - this is one of the most useful things. Also I like my food processor...I never give it as much credit as it deserves, but I blend, chop, mince, and shred stuff in it daily. This is Alishas cake before the cocoa and before the red food coloring.

Chicken over Spinach

This is super easy, cheap, and my friends and family love it. Preheat oven the 250. I take about three shallots thinly sliced into small circles. I saute them in about 2bls olive oil and 2tbls salted butter. I would do just butter if I clarified it, but that takes to long, and olive oil has a little bit of a higher smoking point. I also add about 2 garlic cloves minced. After the shallots soften, I remove them from the oil so they don't burn.

While the shallots and garlic or cooking though, I salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breasts (about 5-6) and then lightly dredge them in all purpose flour. I immediately put them in the same skillet that the shallots were in. I sear both sides of the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides (medium high heat) and put into a separate baking dish, cover with foil and place in the oven. Return the shallots and garlic to the pan the chicken was just in. Add a a cup and a half heavy cream to the pan and simmer until reduced to half. Add one and a half cups dry chardonnay to the simmering heavy cream (never cook with a wine you would not drink, the alcohol cooks out and you get all the flavors of the wine). Reduce the wine in half in the mixture as well, so you end up having one- to one and a laf cups of sauce.

Remove chicken from oven and place into the sauce over medium heat. Continue to cook the chicken into the sauce so it soaks up all the yummy flavors. Add a couple tblsp coarsley chop italian flat leaf parsley to give it a fresh taste and look after it is all done cooking.

During the time the chicken is finishing back up in the saute skillet, saute one pound fresh baby spinach with a couple tblsp butter . Once the spinach has wilted place chicken over spinach and then pour the remaining sauce over chicken and spinach.

I need to make this again soon.

Goat Cheese

I love chevre. There is no other cheese like it. It is floral and soft. When I eat it, my first reaction is how pretty it tastes.

I grow fresh herbs in my garden, so I spice the goat cheese up with a good bunch of thyme, chives.

Slice a baguette in one inch slices at an angle. Place them on a cookie sheet and drizzle olive oil over each one to get this nice and golden. They are crispy on the outside, but still moist inside.

Take about 8 oz fresh chevre and mix it with about three ounces cream cheese, just to soften the goat cheese.

Add about 1.5 tblsp thyme leaves
1tsp lemon zest/zest of one lemon

this is easier if you add the cheese, lemon zest and thyme to a food processor and pulse a few times until mixed together and creamy. Put the cheese mixture into a serving bowl.

Take about one ounce of chives and thinly slice to sprinkle all over cheese mixture. Slice about 1/2 cup kalamata olives and also sprinkle over the top.

Spread everything all over the toasted baguettes and eat.

Croquettes

Thank you Guillermo for teaching me!!! You have never really lived until you have had croquettes.

These were chicken croquettes It reminds me of deep fried gravy. Just fabulous. Next time I think I am going to try manchego and jamon.

P.s. Serve with a homemade aoili

Kevin's Tortilla Española

This tortilla is super traditional, simple, the best :) I would also use a waxy potato like - yukon gold! The skins on these potatoes are thin enough to leave on, but you can peel them if you prefer.

6 large waxy potatoes
5-6 large eggs
1-2 onions (i always prefer walla walla sweets)
1tsp salt (you can use more or less salt if you like)
1/4 cup olive oil (this is going to cook, so it's okay to use cheaper olive oil)


If the potato is small then i would just cut rounds off of it about 1/5 of an inch thick. If the potatoes are larger cut them in half length wise and continue to cut half circles off the same width.

This sounds fattening and I've never seen it done this way before, but fry all of the potatoes over medium high heat jut until tender. I would do this in small batches too!

After the potatoes are done frying drain any excess oil by laying the potatoes out on paper towels.

Pour two tbsp olive oil in a pan and turn on medium high heat. when oil heats up slightly, then begin to saute the onions (coarsely chopped) until sweet.

While the onions are having a go on the stove top, whisk all of the eggs together, then add the potatoes and the drained onions (obviously after being cooked).

in a 9 inch saute skillet add 1tblsp olive oil over medium heat. Make sure it isn't too hot or it will burn the oil and the tortilla (which I have done).

Heat until the sides looked cooked and the bottom is golden. This way it will lift up easily. Take a large dinner plate and cover the top of the pan with it. Holding the plate in one hand the the pan in the other make the flip.

Add one tsp- to one tblsp olive oil in the pan and slide the tortilla off the plate and back into the pan still over medium heat. Cook for about four more minutes. To make sure the tortilla doesn't become too dry let it sit in the pan off the heat for a couple more minutes.

I like my tortilla sliced in to about an inch wide and 3 inches long. This way it sits perfectly on a slice of baguette. Enjoy :)
p.s. this can be a complete meal with a few slices of manchego cheese!