In A Nutshell

This recipe comes from Fine Cooking Magazine; while there is a good chance for grievous bodily harm inflicted by this tart during the inverting portion of this recipe, it is worth the risk. Have the burn cream on stand-by.... A word about the apples: the recipe called for Granny Smith but I find them to be soulless and chalky. I prefer to get honeycrisp or other fresh Michigan apples for any apple dessert. For the pastry : 1 1/4 cup flour 1 t sugar 1/4 t salt 8 T unsalted, cold butter cut into cubes 1 large egg beaten with 1T water plus an additional 1-2 T if needed Pulse all the ingredients except the egg mixture in a food processor until coarse and crumbly; at this point, I prefer to take it out of the food processor and put it into a regular bowl. Using a fork, add the egg mixture in 3 additions, tossing with the fork until dough holds together when pinched-- don't overwork it. Gather it into a disc and refrigerate for 1 hour. For the Tart : 5-7 firm Honeycrisp ap

These cookies also come from BH&G 100 Best Pumpkin Recipes. They are soft and delicious- almost more like a little cake than a cookie. A couple of notes to self: I didn't have enough icing for all the cookies-- I think I spread it on a little too thick so either make more icing or use a thin veneer for each cookie. Also, don't crowd them on the cookie sheets; use 3 cookie sheets to give them space to spread out and bake. This uses 1/2 can of pumpkin but you can feel free to double the recipe in order to use the whole can. 1 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 cup sugar 1 t baking powder 1 t baking soda 1 t pumpkin pie spice 1/4 t salt 3/4 plus 2 T canned pumpkin (half of a 15-oz. can) 1 egg 1 t vanilla 2 cups flour Preheat oven to 350º; beat butter for 30 seconds and add the next 5 ingredients (through the salt). Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping occasionally. Beat in pumpkin, eggs and vanilla. Add flour just until combined. Drop by 1/4 cup scoops (I

Delicious and hearty! This is adapted from BH&G 100 Best Pumpkin Recipes. 1 T veg oil 1 small onion, diced 1/2 lb Italian chicken sausage (I like spicy from Whole Foods) 32 oz. chicken broth 1/2 cup quick-cooking barley 1/2 t ground sage 1 T vegeta seasoning 15 oz. can pumpkin 1/2 T cider vinegar In a pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil and sauté the onion for a few minutes. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up with the back of the spoon. Add the pumpkin and cook for about 3 minutes; add the broth, barley and vegeta seasoning (or salt if you don't have vegeta which I highly recommend having) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 12 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.

This is an absolutely fabulous salad! I set it up like a Cobb salad with the pita chips lining the bottom of the bowl because it just looks so beautiful like this. You can toss it right before eating. Obviously good tomatoes and cukes are the key. Adapted from Food & Wine. Greek Vinaigrette : 3 T red wine vinegar 1 minced garlic clove 1 t Dijon mustard 1 t chopped fresh oregano 1/2 t lemon zest 8 T extra-virgin olive oil For the Salad : grilled chicken, sliced  (this is my go-to recipe) diced tomatoes diced cucumber (seeded and peeled) diced red bell pepper sliced peperoncini diced feta pitted kalamata olives thinly sliced radishes salted pita chips, broken up with your hand Line the bottom of the bowl with some broken pita chips and arrange the remaining ingredients in the prettiest fashion. Drizzle with some of the dressing and then serve the dressing on the side as well.

 This recipe comes from Food Network Magazine- one of those Thanksgiving special publications. I made this two ways: one with rice and one with cauliflower rice to make it lower carb. Both were totally delicious. If you use cauliflower rice, buy the frozen bag (already riced) and using a tea towel, squeeze as much water out of it as humanly possible. If you have leftover cooked chicken, you can add that as well. 2 small acorn squash, halved and seeded olive oil for drizzling the squash 2 T butter 2 T flour 2 cups milk 1 cup ( very generous 1 cup) shredded cheddar cheese plus more for topping 1/2 t garlic powder 1/2 t onion powder 2 cups cooked rice (use a rice medley) or cauliflower rice 1- 10 oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry. Preheat oven to 425º; on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle the acorn squash, cut side up, with a bit of extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 35 minutes or until soft when pierced with a knife

A gorgeous drink! This is ever so slightly adapted from Food & Wine; it is originally from a restaurant in San Francisco called Tres Agaves which I hope to try next time I visit there. 1 1/2 oz. blanco tequila 1/2 oz. blackberry liqueur (créme de mûre) 3/4 oz. chilled, strong-brewed hibiscus tea 1/2 oz. lime juice 3/4-1 tsp agave nectar Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and strain into a pretty cocktail glass. Makes one drink.