Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkins.  Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins.  Why is it that every year when October rolls around, everyone goes absolutely crazy for these big orange fruits?  You can't turn around without smacking into a pumpkin.  Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin candles, mini-pumpkins covering every available flat surface, but most of all pumpkin recipes.  Lots and lots of pumpkin recipes.

I'm afraid to say that I too have caught the pumpkin bug.  In my defense, I have a stack of homemade pumpkin puree sitting in the freezer just begging to be used.

These pumpkin muffins have just the right amount of spice, just strong enough pumpkin flavor, and a hint of orange that brings out the pumpkin flavor perfectly.  Also, chocolate chips.  The original recipe didn't have chocolate chips in it.  In case you haven't picked up on it yet, I have a bit of a chocolate chip problem.

Note: I halved the amount of spice so it wouldn't compete too strongly with the chocolate.  The original recipe also called for a candied pumpkin seed topping for the muffins, which I didn't make.

Pumpkin Muffins

adapted from Flour, by Joanne Chang

makes about 24 muffins 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons light or dark molasses

4 eggs

3/4 cup orange juice (about 3 oranges)

16 ounces (1 can) pumpkin puree 

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 heaping cup dark chocolate chips

1.  Heat the oven to 350 F.  Butter, spray, or line standard muffin pans.  Cream together butter, sugar, and molasses in a stand mixer on medium speed 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy.  Scrape down sides of the bowl.

2.  On low speed, add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each.  Scrape down bowl again.  Still on low speed, add orange juice and pumpkin and beat until combined.  (Mixture will look curdled - don't worry about it.)

3.  In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves.  Add wet mixture to dry mixture and fold carefully just til combined.  Fold in chocolate chips.

4.  Divide batter evenly between muffin cups.  Fill the cups almost to the rim.  Bake for 20-25 minutes (I start checking after 12 minutes), until muffins are golden brown and spring back when pressed in the middle.  Remove from muffin cups and let cool on a wire rack.

Sausage Chili and Cornmeal Biscuits

Hi all.  Just a heads-up:  This is the first of many soup recipes to come, so be prepared.  I'm going to be throwing everything I can get my hands on into a soup pot.

This sausage chili (originally by Emeril Lagasse, I think?) has been a big favorite in this house for a long time.  Using sausage instead of ground beef really adds a lot more flavor and makes all the difference.  This chili is hearty, spicy, and comforting. 

I served it up with cornmeal biscuits.  Usually I just go with the usual cornbread, but these biscuits were super easy and delicious. Original recipe here.

The onion and sausage brown in the bottom of the pan. . .

 And then you add the beer.  I might not be able to drink it, but I sure can cook with it!

  Biscuits ready to go in the oven.

And the finished product.  I'm sure leftover biscuits would be amazing the next morning toasted for a fried egg sandwich.

Sausage Chili

 feeds 5-6

Ingredients:

1 lb. sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 cups onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

28 ounces crushed tomato

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon sugar

2 cans kidney or pink beans

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

salt & pepper to taste 

1. Brown sausage in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add onions, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and oregano.  Saute until onions are soft, about 4 minutes.

2. Deglaze the pan with beer (make sure to scrape up all the tasty bits off the bottom!).  Cook 1 minute.  Add crushed tomato, tomato paste, sugar, and beans.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a simmer, lower the heat, and let simmer uncovered for at least 30 minutes.  Serve.

 Cornmeal Biscuits

from The view from Great Island

makes about 8 biscuits

Ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal

1 1/4 cup buttermilk*

1 tablespoon honey

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut in pieces

1.  Preheat oven to 450 F.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper. 

2.  Whisk the cornmeal, buttermilk, and honey together and set aside.  Add dry ingredients to the bowl of a food processor along with butter pieces and pulse 10 times, or until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.  OR use a pastry cutter or two butter knives to cut the butter into the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

3.  Add the buttermilk mixture and combine just until dough stays together.  Turn out onto a well-floured surface and form into a 9-inch round.  Cut out as many biscuits as you can with a 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 inch biscuit cutter or glass. 

4.  Bake for five minutes, or just til they start to rise, then turn down the heat to 400 F.  Bake for another 8-10 minutes, until golden.

*You can easily make buttermilk by adding one tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to milk, then letting it sit for 10 minutes.

Peanut Butter

Hello, all! I've been a bit busy the last few days with schoolwork, so today I'm sharing a nice simple recipe for homemade peanut butter.  Super easy, just throw everything in the food processor and you're good to go.  Plus you control the exact amounts of salt and sweetener that go into your peanut butter.  Don't be afraid to fiddle around with the amounts of different ingredients a bit until you find a taste and texture that you like.

Pre-blending

Peanut Butter

from Alice's Tea Cup, by Haley & Lauren Fox

makes approximately 2 cups

 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups plain unsalted peanuts

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons peanut oil (I usually end up needing a little more than this to bring it all together)

1.  Combine peanuts, salt, and honey in food processor for about 1 minute, until no peanut chunks remain.  Scrape down, cover, and process another 1-2 minutes while slowly drizzling in the oil.  Cover and store in the refrigerator.  Stir to recombine before using.

Eggplant, Caramelized Onion, and Tomato Pasta

It's the time of year for hearty meals.  This means lots of pasta, lots of soups and stews, lots of dinners that fill you up right to the brim.  I am most definitely ready for hearty meals.  I have a list of soups and breads to try, and I've already made one batch of my family's favorite sausage chili. (recipe coming soon!)

This pasta dish definitely meets the requirements for a filling meal.  It's going into our roster for sure.  Eggplant Parmesan is a much-loved dish in our family, and this was a nice breath of fresh air.  Super filling and delicious.  Perfect for fall.

 This recipe is originally from Chez Panisse Vegetables, but I used the version on Alexandra's Kitchen.  

Eggplant getting ready to roast.

Caramelizing onions

Just a couple things before we start: I didn't use any cheese, but if you like, you could serve ricotta or Parmesan with the dish.  I also used a bit more eggplant than the recipe calls for, mostly because we had eggplants to use up from the garden.

Eggplant, Caramelized Onion, and Tomato Pasta

from Chez Panisse Vegetables and Alexandra's Kitchen

serves four-six

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants (approximately 3 cups diced)

olive oil

1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

handful of fresh basil

salt

1 lb. penne or other similarly shaped pasta

sherry vinegar

1 cup tomato sauce

red pepper flakes

either Parmesan or ricotta to serve with, if desired

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Cut eggplants into approximately 3/4 inch cubes, toss lightly with olive oil, and spread out in a single layer on sheet pan.  Roast for about 25 minutes, until eggplant is golden and tender.

2. Put large pot of water to boil for pasta.  Add large pinch of salt.  Cook pasta al dente.

3. While eggplant is roasting, heat large saute pan with olive oil and onions over medium heat.  Saute onions just until caramelized.  Season with salt.  Add garlic and cook a moment more, then deglaze with splash of sherry vinegar.  Add roasted eggplant, tomato sauce, and a pinch of red pepper flakes.  Heat sauce to simmering.  Drain pasta, add to tomato sauce, and toss gently.  Slice basil and add to pan.

4. Serve pasta with ricotta crumbled on top or Parmesan, if desired.

Here's a gratuitous picture of my cat sleeping in a shoebox.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins with Poppy Seeds

Random thought of the day: Sometimes I wish I could wear vanilla extract as perfume. Is that weird? It's a little weird. But in all seriousness, if I ever find vanilla-scented perfume I will wear the crap out of that stuff.

To get back on track: blueberry muffins, AKA the breakfast food of my dreams. I wish I could find whoever first came up with the idea of putting blueberries in muffins and give them a nice, big, too-long hug.

This blueberry muffin recipe is quite simply the best I've ever tried. These are SO good, you guys. I don't really have words to describe them. All I can say is that Joy from Joy the Baker is a genius and everybody should go read her blog because it's awesome. Her cookbook is at the top of my Christmas list.

Lemon and blueberry, one of my favorite flavor combinations. The poppy seeds just add a whole new level of awesome.

Wet ingredients assembling. Good things are about to happen.

Browned butter in the batter makes everything better. (Alliteration!)

Mix all that goodness in there. 

 

The finished batter. My blueberries were frozen, and that's why you see those purple streaks. No harm done.

 And did I mention there's a crumb topping? Because there's a crumb topping and it takes these muffins from amazing to spectacular.

Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Muffins

from Joy the Baker

makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

7 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup whole milk (I used 1% because it's what was in the fridge)

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries 

Topping:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line muffin pan (or pans) with paper of foil liners and set aside,

2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. The butter will froth and crackle. When it becomes a medium brown color, remove from heat and pour into a small bowl so it doesn't keep cooking. Cool slightly.

3. In medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Add browned butter and whisk to combine.

4. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir gently to combine. Gently fold in lemon zest, poppy seeds, and blueberries until evenly distributed. Divide batter among muffin cups.

5. For the crumb topping: Combine ingredients in a bowl and rub together with fingertips until crumbly. Sprinkle topping evenly over muffin batter in cups.

6. Bake muffins 18-20 minutes, until golden and skewer inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove to wire rack. You can serve them warm or at room temperature, but I like them best right out of the oven.

They will keep in an airtight container for 3 days. That is, if they last that long.