Howl-oween*

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a, er...wrong super hero...

I thought I would share with you a photo of our little Lola dressed up as batgirl (ahem, grrrl) for Halloween this year. There is an annual parade at Washington Square Park every year where all the dogs don their favorite costumes (sheah right, it's really us nutso owners!) and strut their stuff. There are many other photos to share, perhaps I'll post them in the days to come.

This superdog is on the lookout for new seasonal recipes. In fact, inspired by the colors of the season we are sharing with you our favorite new concoction, sweet potato chips.

Super seasonal sweet potato chips

Crunchy, sweet, salty and smokey. These sweet potato chips take a nod from their fry cousins and are sliced thinner and in circles to ensure maximum surface area for the smoky cumin to rest and guarantees a slight crisp on both sides.

There's no trick to this recipe and I guarantee it becomes a beloved treat in no time!

Happy Halloween, happy seasonal eating, and don't forget to save a 3 musketeers for me!

*Thanks to super hubby for the creative title, and the most delicious roasted chicken in the world last night for dinner.

The little kitchen that could: Daring Bakers, take one!

If you had told me a year ago that I would be writing a blog I would have looked at you like you had 17 heads and then asked you for a definition of a blog...

And again, if you had added that I might be using my oven to make sweet things as part of a baking club I would have really thought you had fallen off your rocker.

Well my friend, the times they are a changin'.

This month I had my first foray as a daring baker. What is a daring baker, you ask? Is this merely a ploy to get out of grading papers and writing up research? (How dare you!)

Pumpkin Bostini Goodness

The daring bakers is a lovely group of folks started by one of my favorite blog friends Lis of La Mia Cucina and her adorable parter in crime Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice. These lovely ladies became friends through the pages (that's web pages to you) and guided each other through their first daring bake off, pretzels, waaaay back when. And the rest, as they say, is history.

So now, once a month the group gets together to make one (seemingly complex) recipe at the same time. I never knew I could look forward to a virtual bake-off and yet...here I am!

The recipe this month is a take on Boston Cream Pie and calls for homemade custard(don't ask me how many eggs, just eat it!), a slice of orange chiffon cake, and a drizzle of chocolate glaze.

Well, we aren't supposed to *change* the recipe, but I cannot entirely follow the rules so.... mine became a pumpkin chiffon cake with salted pumpkin seeds. A puree of pumpkin was made from fresh farmers' markets pumpkins and the seeds were toasted and salty, super delicious with the creamy sweet custard.

In this final picture you can see I even used a pumpkin cookie cutter for the chiffon cake. Or maybe you can't? Either way, this recipe was over the top and such fun to make. Stay tuned for next months endeavor!

For the recipe, click here!

...And I almost forgot! Please check out the rest of the gorgeous takes on this classic dessert at the daring bakers blogroll :)
Happy salivating!

A new twist on an old favorite

It has been a while since I last posted, and for that I apologize. It seems as if the title of this post would have been appropriate if it were instead called "The Perfect Storm." Maybe I'll repost under that heading a bit later.

Meanwhile, I wanted to share with you a weekend favorite at our house before the weekend gets started. My hope is that maybe someone will want to make this yummy breakfast this weekend and with a proper heads up, you will have time to stop at the (farmers'??) market on the way home and be prepared for tomorrow's breakfast.

This may not be the prettiest of photos, but this breakfast was a knock your socks off kind of creation. (And not the way the Yanks feel about their arch nemesis.)

Huevos Rancheros a la Port-ment

First, some clarification:

Port=us. Huevos rancheros=just plain happiness on a plate, or if you want to get technical it means ranch eggs. And we live in an apartment, thus port-ment. Capesh?

Now we often stumble into a place like chat'n'chew where they plate their huevos on a bed of nacho chips, or sometimes we are all fancy-like and visit the culinary genius Flay at Mesa Grill where they have all sorts of renditions of this goody.

However, in our house, we can make it however we please...which means we can use the spicy fresh chorizo from the farmers market fried up with some onions, garlic and a fresh heirloom tomato, make the eggs with dill, squash and garlic, and then pile it all on a thick slice of grain bread to scoop up all the liquid from it's upstairs neighbors. Grate some fresh smoked gouda on top and you are in business. A pile of goodness, if you ask me!

So there's a fun weekend breakfast for you. I hope someone enjoys it, because we sure do!

In other news, we are going on a field trip (i.e., a gaggle of my favorite friends are using this as an excuse not to write up much overdo research) to see Emeril today and although he isn't my favorite chef I am excited to see a BAM! in person. If I happen to snap a photo with my phone I'll post it for anyone who is interested.

Otherwise, happy Friday and in honor of our southern breakfast...ya'll come back now, ya hear?

Candy Corn Inspired

Candy-Corn-a-Brownie

When I stopped into the local Walgreens a few weeks ago I was greeted with an onslaught of Halloween treats. Whereas usually I would seize this excuse to stock up on mini-snickers and three musketeers to freeze and eat slovenly over the next month--the stockpile in my freezer reminded me that there really was no vacancy!

Alas! What's a girl to do? Improvise I suppose.

And so as I payed for my greeting card or toilet paper, or whatever it was that I was buying, those little devilish candy corn winked at me and I knew what I must do.

(Caveat: I actually don't like candy corn. I think it's like eating sweetened lipstick. And no, I have never tried eating lipstick, much less the sweetened variety!)

And so here you have it. Another recipe for my beloved bakers edge pan and a great seasonal treat. It's a pumpkin tart like bottom with a chewy brownie like middle and gooey toasted marshmallows on top. Sounds terrible, right? Well as good as it was the first day, it was even better the next.

Stay tuned for the recipe. In the mean time go enjoy this lovely day for me please...the weather is be-au-ti-ful and the farmer's market is bustling with all kinds of goodness!

Colors the way mother nature intended them to be

Write presentation for my students, check.
Grade responses and create rubrics, check.
Finish midterms, check.
Finalize paper for psychometric theory, check.
Write up research...check, kind of.
Post about something fun we have made/eaten as of late to remind my mom that I am, in fact, getting some sort of nourishment while I work 12 hours a day, OOPS!

It is rather easy to get bogged down with life, but it is more important (in my humble opinion, of course) to remember to take time to enjoy a meal with those you love, namely the darling hubby.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup*
(I like mine with a ripe cherry tomato for a contrasting sweet, fresh burst of flavor)

Last week a near perfect butternut squash jumped into my hands while I strolled the farmers market, only to be neglected on our kitchen table for the coming week. Thankfully they stay fresh, unlike the countless tomatoes I have had to turn into sauce after certain neglect.

(Hubsband is more old fashioned. i.e., if it ain't broke, don't fix it!)

Last weekend was it's time to shine as we created a thick and creamy butternut squash soup. It was originally going to be used in a fun gnocchi recipe that we will share later in the season, but this soup was really outstanding. If you don't trust me, ask my sister in law who nearly swooned after trying some. And the best part? It's so very simple.

*Follow the bold title for the recipe =)

Farmers Market Finds

It's still life at the farmers market! I couldn't wait to share with you the myriad of fall colors...including PURPLE that have made their appearance as of late.

We were lucky to walk away with some beautiful burgundy dahlia's and brussels sprouts still on the stalk (bottom left). Not to be left out, there were sugar pumpkins, purple cauliflower, broccoli, yellow squash, fresh herbs (dill, basil, and rosemary to be exact), and a beautiful selection of peppers:

Now tell me this isn't the epitome of hot:

What about this spice mecca:

How many peppers would you pick?

Drumroll please...

A long, long time ago....

Once upon a time, before fairy tales started with similar beginnings, there lived a family in the foot hills of the Carpathian mountain range.

There was the industrious father, Alexander, the loving housewife, Anna, and eight beautiful children: Olga, Michael, Arnold, Bela, Herman, Margaret, Louis and George. And while they lived amidst a modest group, the father was a successful entrepreneur and a good provider for the family.

Growing up their children knew the meaning of a dollar(or maybe it was a crony), the importance of being a decent citizen, and the value of family. This family knew of the outside world, even visited the big city Budapest on occasion. But they were much happier at home, in their tiny little enclave called (don't laugh, it's the truth) Butyan (yes, it is pronounced butt shine, and no, I kid you not!).

The days were long and lazy, although the children worked hard keeping the house and milking the cows. The oldest boy was a local scholar and was the first in his family to get a degree in teaching and begin honing his skills at the local school. The girls were quickly becoming great cooks in their mothers footsteps, and the boys often helped in the kitchen when they had finished their studies.

The entire family had a solid work ethic that transcended any clock that they might consult. And at the end of a week there was nothing more special that sitting down for the Sabbath meal, relaxing among family and enjoying the fruits of their labor.

Friday dinner was always a special one. Anna and her daughters would create feasts of stuffed cabbage, cholent, and the family favorite chicken paprikash. Her dumplings were the talk of the town and the pride of her family.

It was on these peaceful Friday nights the Kleins believed that all was well with the world. For a while at least.

Anna became ill and the oldest daughter Olga was called on to take care of the family while her mother was on bed rest. Business remained steady for Alexander but the daily talk around town was of imminent danger from the west, Germany.

I could write on and on for hours, detailing the way Olga might have sewn buttons from rose colored silk brought home from her fathers business trip, or the way she might have come to perfect the most delicious Cacoash. But the truth is, we will never know.

In 1944, Olga along with the rest of her family (except her mother who had since passed) were boarded onto a train and taken to the place that would disband her family forever. She was first sent to Bergen Belsen and finally to Auschwitz. Michael, Bela, Herman and her dear father Alexander were taken from her, no one knows exactly how or when they passed. But she never forgot where she came from and the magical dinners that used to pull her family together once a week.

Years later a blessed woman emerged from an international travesty stronger and more brave than anyone could imagine. Bedridden and frail, Olga cheated death and recovered in Sweden. Luck wouldn't begin to describe the fate that brought her back in touch with her brother and led to her subsequent move to the United States.

Olga brought many things with her on that trip to the United States in her little suitcase on that rocky boat. She brought courage enough to last a lifetime, passion enough to burn a hundred fires, love and gratitude for her family that would stand the test of time, and she brought culinary skill beyond belief.

I know this story because she is my Olga, she is my grandmother, and it is because of her that I love to cook. She has healed with her soup, cured with her kugels and given us comfort with her paprikash. She is my secret treasure, revealed to you...the world. And it is for her that I will forever bless the food that is set in front of me, and the loved ones that I am blessed to share it with.

And there you have it. The tool whose real name will remain unknown has been used through the years, passed down through our family, now living in our tiny apartment in the middle of New York City, and is responsible for the most delicious, authentic and heartwarming dumplings that have ever graced a chicken paprikash.

So congratulations all! Most of you guessed it correct. One lucky winner may find something else gracing their inbox, but anyone who guessed dumplings (in whatever language) was correct and is the lucky recipient of the most delicious chicken paprikash known to man.

Happy eating!