In A Nutshell

This is basically pumpkin bread, caramel, vanilla pudding, whip cream and pecans in individual servings. I try to assemble them in little jars or these tiny martini glasses so that you get 2 or 3 bites; after a big Thanksgiving meal, no one wants to be overwhelmed with too much dessert. They are so yummy- absolute comfort food. Make the proportions how you like them; I happen to love a lot of pudding so I go heavy on that. It's anything goes.... 1 recipe pumpkin bread , cut into 1" cubes- as many cubes as you need; I do this as I go 1 recipe vanilla pudding 1 recipe caramel sauce (comes from  The Pie and Pastry Bible) whip cream chopped toasted pecans Vanilla Pudding : 3 cups whole milk 3/4 cup sugar 4 egg yolks 3 T cornstarch pinch of salt 2 t vanilla 1 T unsalted butter, room temp. In a bowl using a whisk, combine the yolks and the cornstarch. In a heavy saucepan, combine the milk, pinch of salt and sugar. Cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula until li

These are to die for.... the frosting is so light (as in fluffy, not as in low in calories....) and delicious I could just shovel that in by the spoonful by itself! The recipe for the moist cake is from Ina Garten (the superhero of decadent and delicious food!) and I did not change anything except to make the batter into cupcakes rather than layer cakes. The recipe made more than 30 cupcakes! For the Cake : 1 3/4 cup flour 2 cups sugar 3/4 cup good cocoa powder (I like Valrhona) 2 t baking soda 1 t baking powder 1 t kosher salt 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup canola oil 2 eggs, room temp. 1 t vanilla 1 cup hot coffee Preheat oven to 350º and line muffin tins with paper. Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. You can sift the cocoa powder if it is especially lumpy. In another bowl combine all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the coffee. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix on low just until combined; add the coffee slowly and stir with a wooden spoon unt

This recipe comes from Bon Appétit magazine; the pork was succulent and tender and the smell in the house while it was slow cooking in the oven was divine. We ate this two nights in a row; the first night in taco form and the next with rice and beans. I loved it both ways! Delicious with a Negro Modelo. If you have the opportunity to make this the day before you want to serve it, keep the shredded meat separate from the pan juice and the next day skim the fat from the top. 4 large dried ancho chiles 2 dried chiles de árbol 2 T sugar 1 T fresh lime juice 5 lb pork shoulder salt and pepper 2 T vegetable oil 1 large onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, chopped 2 bay leaves 2 t Mexican dried oregano 2 t ground coriander 2 t ground cumin 1/2 t ground allspice 1 12-oz. Negro Modelo Accompaniments : corn tortillas radishes, diced pickled red onions salsa verde Place the chiles in a medium bowl and cover with boiling water; set a plate on the chiles to keep them sub

This recipe is adapted from Fine Cooking; the combo of chocolate and pumpkin is very nice. The recipe instructs you to wrap the cheesecake pan like a mummy in aluminum foil and then put it in a boiling hot water bath. I never do a water bath for cheesecakes because the risk of severe burns and a waterlogged cheesecake is too great (in my opinion)-- also it seems like a lot of extra work. I don't mind a couple of cracks on the top and I do not feel that the flavor or texture is compromised. In the spirit of disclosure, I did not make the whipped cream; it seemed kind of unnecessary but I will put the recipe down in case you decide to make it. For the Crust : 5 oz. Nabisco Famous chocolate wafer cookies 2 T sugar 3 T butter, melted Preheat oven to 350º; process the cookies and sugar until finely ground. Add the melted butter and pulse a few times until well-combined. Press the crumbs into a 9" springform and bake for 8 minutes. For the Filling : 1 lb cream cheese, s

This could easily be made into a vegetarian soup by using vegetable broth and leaving out the bacon bits topping. The recipe was ever so slightly adapted from Food Network magazine. 2 butternut squash (about 4 lbs total) 2 T EVOO 2 corn tortillas, torn into pieces 4 carrots, chopped 1 red onion, chopped 2 Fresno chiles, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 t cumin 2 t chili powder 1 T vegeta or chicken bouillon 8 cups chicken broth Toppings : pomegranate seeds toasted, salted pumpkin seeds bacon bits (or pancetta) chopped green onion sour cream with lime zest Preheat the oven to 400º; poke holes in the squash with a fork and place on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake for about 1 hour 10 minutes until you can pierce the squash easily. Let cool. Discard the seeds and string stuff and scoop out the flesh. Heat the EVOO in a large pot and add the carrots, onion, chiles and garlic; saute over medium heat for about 8 minutes. Add the tortilla pieces and cook for 3 or 4 m

After some binge-eating at a Mexican restaurant the night before, I decided that a nice yet satisfying salad would be just the thing for the next evening's meal. The recipe is adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook ; she uses fresh grilled tuna-- I know it's low-brow but I like canned tuna better.... If you don't feel like grilling the potatoes, you can easily get by with merely boiling them. I won't give proportions here- just make how much you want or need. For the Salad : green beans, cooked in salted water for 4-6 minutes (depending upon how al dente you want them) hard boiled eggs sliced tomatoes tuna, fresh or canned arugula nicoise olives potato-scallion salad (recipe follows) champagne vinaigrette (recipe follows) flaked sea salt freshly ground pepper Arrange the salad as pictured above with the arugula as a base below the potatoes; drizzle with the vinaigrette and sprinkle with flaked sea salt and fresh pepper. For the Potato Salad

I saw this recipe in Good Housekeeping magazine while I was waiting at the dentist. I changed it just a little... 1 cup flour 1 cup white whole wheat flour 1 T baking powder 1 t pumpkin pie spice 1/2 t baking soda 1/2 t salt 1 1/2 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup pumpkin puree 3 T brown sugar 2 eggs 2 T vegetable oil chocolate chips (optional add-in) Mix the buttermilk, eggs, pumpkin, brown sugar and vegetable oil with a whisk in a large bowl. You can mix the dry ingredients together first if you want; I don't do this because I am too lazy and don't want an extra bowl to wash. Add the dry ingredients to the moist and whisk only until just combined. You may need to add a little more buttermilk if it's too thick. Cook the pancakes on a non-stick skillet until golden and cooked through. I liked them with the chocolate chips and without. I just sprinkled them on the individual pancake directly- that way we could have them both ways.

This was so hearty and delicious; I love the smell in the house when something has been cooking in the crock pot all day-- especially on a cold and gloomy day. This is adapted from Food and Wine. It goes with either red or white wine, according to the magazine. I have a crock pot that can be used on the stove top which is very convenient as it then only requires the one pan.  1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or about 5 or 6) 1/2 lb Italian sausage (you can use pork, chicken or turkey) 2 T olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 1 medium fennel bulb, cored and diced 1 carrot, diced 4 garlic cloves, chopped 1 t fresh rosemary, chopped fine 1/2 to 1 t thyme (to taste) 1 1/2 cup chicken stock 2- 15 oz. cans cannellini beans, drained but not rinsed For the topping : 1/2 cup panko 1 T EVOO 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese Season the chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper; in either a large skillet or a crock pot pan, brown the thighs in the oli

This pumpkin tart is absolutely delicious;  I probably wouldn't bother with the candied pumpkin seeds (although they are great on salads!) because I don't feel that they do anything to take the dessert over the top and therefore are an unnecessary extra step. Next time I make this I will just put some chopped toasted pecans around the edges and save myself a bit of work. I did not change this recipe at all so will just give you the link here: pumpkin caramel-bourbon tart I will make one comment regarding the crust, however; because it has cornmeal it turns out to be a pretty sturdy crust rather than light and flaky. If you think you won't like that gritty texture, you could always substitute a graham cracker crust or use a regular pie crust.

These are moist and delicious- my dog Milo LOVES these too; last year he ate 12 pumpkin cupcakes off the counter-- paper and all; he's looking like he wants a repeat of that action! The recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit. I like to add chopped walnuts on top of the frosting as well. This makes about 18 cupcakes. 2 cups flour 3 t baking powder 1 t salt 1 t pumpkin pie spice 2 eggs 1 1/3 cups light brown sugar 1 cup canned pumpkin 2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil 2/3 cup sour cream 1 t vanilla 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 4 oz. unsalted butter (1 stick) 1/4 t vanilla 2 cups powdered sugar Preheat oven to 350º and line muffin cups. With the paddle attachment or a whisk, mix the eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin, oil, sour cream, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder and salt (you can mix these dry ingredients separately first if you choose) and mix just until combined. Bake for 23 minutes. Cream the butter and cream cheese; add the vanilla and p