Baked pumpkin “fondue” is as easy as pie.

+

+

+ some other ingredients

=

then it’s time for

and… ta-da

So, where have I been lately?

I have been filling forms with personal information at different locations at different times. You know how it goes…

One of the questions is “Occupation” and I’ve been trying different answers like Homemaker, CEO of Remodeling, and , more recently, I’ve been using “Keeps Changing”. So, this is what I’ve been up to lately.

Yes, also, during summer–we only had 1 month of summer this year, yikes!–I’ve been focused more on home, and family, and outdoor activities. I was on the go, go , go not to waste a moment of sunshine indoors. It was quite breathtaking.

Anywhoo……….. we got to fall-soon-to-be-winter time which is, you know, the perfect time to snuggle indoors and to make baked pumpkin stuffed with somethin’.

I love Melissa Clark’s (NY Times food writer) recipe in her cookbook “In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite “ because it’s vegetarian and it has wine and cream (Although I used less bread and only 1/2 the liquid “filling”, baked at lower temperature and…). I liked Tea & Cookies idea to add something green and so i have added kale since I figured the kids are not going to eat this stuffed, sweet, savory, creamy pumpkin anyway–leafy greens included or not–and this is what I have done:

Baked Pumpkin “Fondue”
Serves 4 to 6

2 thick slices of crusty, stale bread (any that you like with sauce-soaking abilities)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup white wine (anything you like to drink ‘cause the flavor will come through)
1/8 cup milk
1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed
3 fresh sage leaves, if you have it, or thyme (if you have it)
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus additional for the outside
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (3-4 pound) sugar pumpkin, washed and cleaned from the outside
a few kale leaves, washed, dried and sliced (without the “ribs”)
5 ounces grated Gruyère cheese (1¼ cups)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400°F and toast the bread until golden brown 5 to 7 (or do this in a toaster) then tear the bread to pieces.

In a medium saucepan. bring the cream, wine, milk, garlic, and sage to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 5 minutes. Take the mixture off the heat and discard
the garlic and sage. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of salt, nutmeg, and pepper.
Cut the top off the pumpkin and scoop out the pulp and seeds like you do for Halloween. Set the pumpkin inside a baking dish/sheet/pan.

In a bowl, mix the bread, kale, and gruyere. Fill the pumpkin with this bread mix. Pour the cream mixture on top. Cover with the pumpkin lid.

With your hands, rub oil all over the outside of the pumpkin (don’t forget the bottom) and sprinkle on some salt.
Bake until the pumpkin’s skin blisters and the flesh is tender (test with a small pairing knife) about 1 hour to 1 ¼ hours. Allow to cool in the pan slightly. Slice to serve.

***

We almost didn’t make it to see the gingerbread houses in Seattle this year. The exhibit ends in 2 days.

But the Sheraton’s Gingerbread House Village had become a yearly family holiday tradition since 2008.

In case you don’t know, the gingerbread houses are made with all edible ingredients like candy, sugar, and graham crackers. I also noticed some pastas as well all kinds of breakfast cereal.

The theme this year was “Home for the Holidays” and it’s beautiful and amazing like it has been in the past years. (I only wish the lighting there was better…)

And if you haven’t seen it before, you’ve gotta also see the pics I took in 2008 and 2009.

Let’s start with flowers…

Mimi of The Bloomin’ Blog sent me this photo of an Indian Paintbrush–a favorite summertime wildflower in Montana to brighten our February. I’ve never been to Montana. I think I should add it to my long places-to-visit list.

Many people buy flowers for Valentine’s Day, right?

And chocolate too.

How about wine?

Strawberries anyone?

I don’t mean to ruin the party which has just begun, but let’s face it, strawberries are not what they used to be. They look better than they taste, right?! Even though, I still find them hard to resist. I’m so tempted to buy them, although their season is spring, when they taste a lot better. When I was a kid, I used to look forward to spring (and spring break) and strawberries with anticipation. They were a special treat, cut and tossed with sugar, served with a dollop of sour cream, or on very rare occasions, whipped cream.

Well, to our current days’ strawberries, some sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract help a little.

Strawberries and berries are indeed eye-catching, irresistible, even sexy. They do make everything look better, peak season or not.

I love strawberries and whipped cream. Add sweet dough to it… I’m speechless. This makes strawberry shortcake one of my favorite desserts.

Berries dotted pancakes aren’t bad either…

But home grown tomatoes are a different story. We had big success last summer with tall and bountiful tomato plants. Beautiful, natural red jewelry shrubs. (‘Sweet 100’ cherry, Sungold, and Early Girl varieties.) We were eating while picking and had more than we could eat so we shared bags of tomatoes with friends and teachers. I loved that. It had a feeling of an old-days experience when you grow your own food and give to other people. Hopefully, more people in the future will do this and then we an swap our home grown crops.

I didn’t like the idea of cooking the tomatoes since eating them as is was so heavenly, sweet juice bursting at the slightest bite… I used them in wraps, pastas, salads, soups. Boy, I can’t wait for summer to arrive…

Look what I found. A photo from October 2008!, pre-DSL camera, pre-tripod, pre any knowledge about food photography (not that I know too much now). Not the best photo, not sexy food but very family friendly, no? And now at least I know what we’re gonna eat this week.

Of course there’s lots and lots of red food, so let’s move on to something else.

See this little cutie?

I bought it for a boyfriend on Valentine’s Day 10 years ago. Silly gift. But what do you buy for someone who doesn’t want anything? Well, besides expansive electronic, high-tech, computer-y gadgets and toys which I know nothing about?

The boyfriend turned into a husband who brings home flowers (like the ones at the top) whenever I send him to the grocery store. He vacuums too and throws the trash, but don’t get all excited, he is now behind bars. Forever. I don’t think he suffers though… He is mine.

So is this lil’ bottom. Mine.

And this lil’ baker. Mine.

Searching in my photo archives, I found this photo I took about 10 years ago, on a trip with my then-boyfriend now husband (Yeah, if you’re good at math you probably got it right. We didn’t date for long before we got married. Funny, I now recall, that my father asked me why we were in such rush do get married? He asked if I was pregnant… Oh, fathers… I was furious about this question at the time. It was insulting in a way. I was an educated, independent, strong woman and I didn’t like that question. It seemed to me so old-fashioned. And nosy. My husband and I were in our late 20s, both with academic degrees, careers, and we were serious about each other, it didn’t make any sense not to get married. And besides, you know I love a good party!) So, anyway, we had a wonderful trip in sunny, warm, laid-back Cyprus, where life seemed to be more down to earth then it is here and the food tastes like food, good food, and the sea is blue, and the sun is shining in the winter. And you drive on the right side of the car (That’s scary). I love the Mediterranean.

I can’t wait until our children grow and we can start taking longer flights to remote parts of the globe and explore the world together…

Back to the present, let’s move on to cakes.

This is an amazing cake made by Amanda from i am baker blog. How gorgeous is that? Truly a labor of love, isn’t it? She wrote a tutorial on how to make it, if you want to give it a try.

I’m not so talented or have the patience to create such a masterpiece, so I use fruits (or candy for birthday cakes) instead, like in this Berries cheesecake.

But for this Valentine’s Day I’ll be making my adult’s’ only Cognac-Soaked Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake (which can be turned into individual mini Cognac-soaked chocolate cakes). We’ll have friends over.

Maybe I’ll prepare a platter of cheeses and serve wine.

… with all the booze, we might be able to kick their butts in Pictionary.

What are you doing for Valentine’s Day? Going out or stay in? Spending quality time with yourself, friends, or a spouse/partner/boyfriend/girlfriend?

Whatever you do, have a good time.

xo,

Nurit

I really did not plan to post a gift guide. But, as I was finalizing my own gift list, the who, the what, the when, and the why, I started thinking about books. How could I not? I love books. I’m always happy to receive a book as a gift. (Or something for the kitchen, but the kitchen is almost completely covered with everything I… need?)

As much as I love buying cookbooks, this year I did not buy as many as in previous years. After more than 130 cookbooks – I stopped counting – I changed direction a bit and focused more on other food-related books and mostly on food memoirs. My favorites are the food memoirs. Each one has a unique voice and story to tell, and recipes to share. I love recipes that are connected to stories. Anyone can write a recipe but not too many people can attach a great story to a good recipe.

I want to share with you some of my favorite books from 2009. If you’re a little behind on your holiday shopping, like me, then I’d like to help a little. I’m gonna share my list as my holiday gift to you.

I really don’t want to analyze or review why and what I liked about these books. How very conveniently, almost all these authors blog as well! So, either you’ll have to trust my judgment on this one or go visit their blogs to get a sample, a taste, of their writing. Ahhh, go there anyway, I won’t take it personally. No, I won’t see it as a sign of not trusting me. No Siree, I won’t. Go, have fun, enjoy it. I just hope that in a small way I might have helped you out a bit just in case that you were stuck with the holiday shopping. And don’t forget to treat yourself to a book too. It’s the holiday! But who needs an excuse to buy a book, right?!

I would love to hear about the great books you read this year! Please tell me and share with others in the comment section below, OK? Thanks!!!

Here’s my list:

“A Homemade Life” by Molly Weizenberg, the author of Orangette, one of my favorite blogs: http://orangette.blogspot.com/. It reads like poetry.

“The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry” by Kathleen Flinn, blog: http://kathleenflinn.blogspot.com/. A romantic story of studying at Le Cordon Blue, cooking and living in Paris.

“Julie and Julia” by Julie Powell, blog http://blogs.salon.com/0001399/2002/08/25.html. She’s got a mouth! Honest and direct, she doesn’t try to make things pretty. I love it!

“Hungry Monkey” by Matthew Amster-Burton, blog: http://www.rootsandgrubs.com/. I am starting to believe he’s got a point and I’m trying to adopt his approach with my kids and their picky eating. The book also made me laugh a lot. But mostly one night when I was haunted by guilt feeling that I am not a good enough mom.

“The Sweet Life in Paris” by David Lebovitz, blog: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/. Funny stories and observations about life in Paris from the eyes of an American who happens to be a former pastry chef in one of the best restaurants in the US.

“Not Becoming My Mother” by Ruth Reichl. Ah, I have discussed this book in length. It started here.

One of the handful of cookbooks I bought this year – the one who made it into my cookbooks shelf – is “The Steamy Kitchen cookbook” by Jayden Hair, blog: http://steamykitchen.com/. It’s easy Asian cooking with which I didn’t have much experience but I could not resist making these sweet and sour pork meatballs! And the rest is history.

Next I’m going to read “Fat of the Land” by Langdon Cook. His blog and book made me very curious as he is a forager! As in hiking in the Northwest mountains, forests, and shores searching for food from the wild, wild mushrooms, clams, geoducks and more. How cool is that? Visit his blog: http://fat-of-the-land.blogspot.com/.

Also I can’t wait to dive into this book, “Best food writing 2009”, a collection of the best… well, the title says it all.

And, coming out in February, I cannot wait to read “The Butcher and The Vegetarian” by Tara Austen Weaver. I love Tea’s blog: http://teaandcookies.blogspot.com/. It’s real life, with the whole spectrum of emotions, good and the bad, happy and sad. It makes me feel good and normal and sane.

***

Don’t forget Menu For Hope!!!

Donate = buy tickets to bid on really awesome food prizes! It’s a great way to help others. As little as $10 helps a lot and then you have a chance to win something delicious and exciting. Click here for details.

***

Happy Holiday!

Nurit

So many parties going on…

Here’s the story of one of the parties we went to…

First, the minute the door got opened, the smell of oil hits you right in the nose. This is why…

More about the miracle of Hanukah and a Latkes recipe on MomGrind here.

Lots and lots of latkes

Lots and lots of food

Then there’s eating…

And then waiting…

And then, there’s lots and lots of light

But this, this is what people have really been waiting for!

Lots and lots of sweet doughnuts

Happy Hanukka, Hanukkah, Chanukka, Chanukkah,  etc etc!

This is an easy, no mixer needed, mix by hand, kind of recipe, that I made in the speed of lighting with my 6 years old one evening for his dad’s birthday. We got home late and were in a big rush to bake some cookies in time before dad got home so we can present these as a gift to give him. They were so unbelievably good in addition to the added value of their effortlessness. Nutty, buttery, sweet, a bit crunchy on the outside and melt in your mouth from the inside. Oh, just thinking about them makes me want to go and make them again now!

In the rush of the holiday baking, it is a very convenient cookie recipe to add to your list. They will make a wonderful gift + they can be frozen so you can make them ahead of time.

To another topic, but still in the spirit of holiday and giving gifts, Jennie from In Jennie’s Kitchen blog, is having a 12 Days of Sharing cookie recipes (and creating virtual cookie jar) to benefit Share Our Strength, an organization with a purpose to end child hunger. Click on the badge below to make a donation and make a difference  in a child’s life. It would be the best gift you can give and get, no? And, you can win a prize too!

Each donation you make via the 12 Days of Sharing badge between today and December 18th equals a free entry into a giveaway for some pretty cool prizes like a Cuisinart Stand Mixer, Food Network gift bags, and many others… Check out the complete list of giveaway prizes here or here (on the right side).

In addition to donating, you can share a recipe with us in the virtual cookie jar, click here for details.

Maple pecan cookies

Adapted from a recipe by Carole Walter from her “great cookies” cookbook
Makes about 4 dozen cookies

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 large egg
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup superfine sugar
1/2 cup lightly packed dark/light brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted pecans

Position the shelves in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees. Moderately butter the cookie sheets or use parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, melt the butter in the microwave and set aside to cool.
Using a wooden spoon, add the maple syrup to the melted butter, mixing well. Mix in the egg, orange juice, and the vanilla extract. Whisk in the sugars, stirring until well combined and free of lumps.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, then fold in the nuts with a large rubber spatula.

Using the tip of a teaspoon, or a small cookie scoop, drop mounds of dough the size of large walnuts onto the cookie sheets, placing them 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges just begin to brown, rotating the pans top to bottom and front to back toward the end of the baking time.

Remove from oven and let cool for 2 to 3 minutes before loosening with a thin metal spatula. Cool on wire racks.

Store in an airtight container.

This is becoming a yearly family tradition. Something fun to do during the holidays, adults or kids, is going to see the Gingerbread Village at the Sheraton Hotel in Seattle where local architects and chefs from the Sheraton team up to design, bake, and build gingerbread houses.

This is the Sheraton Seattle’s 17th annual Gingerbread Village and the theme this year is “A Reel Christmas,” shows scenes from popular Christmas movies.

Who can guess which movies are featured?

The event benefits the Northwest Chapter of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Time: Starting Tuesday, November 24, 2009 through Sunday, January 3, 2010.

Cost: free, with a suggested donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Location: Sheraton Seattle Hotel, 1400 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101

More photos from behind the scene, how they built it, here.

More info in The Seattle Times here.

Recipes for the holidays, here.

To subscribe to the blog, here. Thanks!

So, which movies did you recognize?

It’s been a while, hasn’t it?! I haven’t posted anything for more than a week… I missed you guys and I missed blogging. I got busy and out of focus as we planned a little Thanksgiving vacation to sunny California. We visited family and went to the beach which was a lot of fun. And we spent one day at Disney, an experience that was fun too but made me want to use the F-word a few times that day. (It was so goddamn crowded!) I’ll tell you more about it later.

We came back home last night and found that a third of our neighbors have already decorated their houses with winter/Christmas/Hanukah lights. I bet that now, after the big turkey dinner is behind, everyone is brainstorming about the cookies they are going to bake for the holidays? My son has been asking for gingerbread boys and girls’ cookies for a month.

Well, do consider these jammy nutty bars called Figaro bars too. I got the recipe for them from my mother in-law. (Hi Anka!) I first tasted them when my husband and I were still dating (each other). In one of our visits to my future in-laws’ house, that was 9 years ago (!), she made them and I instantly went crazy for them. I love everything that she makes. She is such a wonderful cook and baker and I have a few recipes that she happily shared with me.

I have tweaked and changed this recipe back and forth throughout the years. It’s been a long time after all… This time I thought I’d try to add cardamom to the topping after trying this lovely cake which tasted great (but had a very crumbly texture). We loved the combination of lemon with walnuts and cardamom together. It was quite exotic and sophisticated in a way…. The cardamom adds an extra oomph to the Figaro recipe which came from Europe, I think, (Maybe from Austria?). Anything to do with the opera?
 

Figaro bars

For the dough:
1 2/3 cups (210 grams) flour
12 tablespoons (140 grams) butter, plus more for greasing the pan
1/3 cup (70 grams) sugar
2 egg yolks
For the filling:
1/2 – 3/4 cup jam like strawberry (I used strawberry-rhubarb jam)
For the topping:
1 1/4 cup (140 grams) nuts, such as pecans and/or walnuts
2/3 cup (140 grams) sugar
1 lemon, juiced (about 2 tablespoons) and zested
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoons cardamom, optional

Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees (170 C).

Place parchment paper on the bottom and sides of a 9*13-inch (30*30 cm) pan, and grease it with butter or cooking spray.

In a food processor bowl with the the steal blade, put the flour, butter, and sugar, and pulse a few times until you get big butter crumbs. Add the egg yolks and pulse again just until the crumbs start to come together and look moist. If the crumbs look dry, add 1 tablespoon cold water (or juice or milk) or more, as needed.

Dump the crumbly dough in the prepared pan (save the food processor bowl and blade to later) and press with your finger to make an even layer on the bottom. If the dough sticks to your fingers, place it with the pan inside the refrigerator for a few minutes to chill.

Bake the dough for 5-20 minutes, or until lightly golden on top. Meanwhile, make the topping.

In the now empty food processor bowl, pulse the nuts and ground to small bits. Add the other ingredients (but NOT the jam) and pulse just to combine. Set aside.

When the dough is ready, take out of the oven (Keep the oven working!) Let cool for 5 minutes. Then, carefully spread the jam using a the back side of a tablespoon or a spatula, all over the dough. (If your jam seems too thick, mix it with some water to dilute and loosen its texture).

Once you’re done with the jam, spoon the topping over the jam layer.

Put the pan back in the oven and bake another 30-40 minutes, or until the topping looks golden brown.

You people, you are something else!

I don’t know how this happened or exactly why (although I have a clue…), but almost out of the blue I started having thoughts and questions: What’s the point of this blog? Why should I continue writing? For who? Who cares? What do I have to say or contribute that matters? Bla bla bla… I felt a lack of purpose. Don’t get me wrong, I have lots to say and write about, I just wasn’t sure it was the kind of stuff anyone cared about.

And then, this morning I found a few e-mails and comments in my Inbox, Twitter, and Facebook.

A blogger from France e-mailed me and wrote she made my Pumpkin banana creamy dreamy dessert and sent me this photo;

The sister of a high school friend found out my blog and said she was going to make my chocolate cake.

Someone else commented on Facebook about the Pumpkin banana cream pie: “mmmmmmmm. I love everything you bake!”

I love hearing from you, dear readers. Your comments and questions (such as “Where can I buy halva?”) mean a lot to me. They make my day.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I’d like to say: Thank You!

Thank you for reading my blog, for commenting, e-mailing, Tweeting, Facebooking, thank you for interacting with me, for cooking or baking my recipes, for sending me photos of your creations.

***

And my sister made the Pumpkin banana cream pie as well and sent me photos.

My health conscious, marathon runner, smart, funny, beautiful sister said she made the long version nonetheless! Not the instant pudding shortcut version.

Needless to say this made me extremely happy!!!!!

She looks pretty happy too, doesn’t she?!

( Hey, where did you get that Starbucks logo?)

And she made it look pretty by putting little baby pumpkin around. How cute!

Ahemm… the dried banana chips are supposed to be crushed in the food processor to very small bits… I added an emphasis about that in the recipe.

Isn’t she the sweetest?

I’d marry her if I wasn’t married already and she wasn’t my sister… She’s a good one!

More holiday recipes:

Pumpkin banana creamy dreamy dessert

Apple, Cinnamon and Walnuts Cake

Thanksgiving-y Chicken Dinner

Holiday Food – Appetizers

Cranberry Cake

Cranberry apple relish

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Originally, I had nothing to say about it. Too easy to create, too quick to make, there was no opportunity to blurt a word out before it was done. But it’s beauty too astounding to ignore, I had to share. Its expected tart sweet gorgeous tang, I could not wait until Thanksgiving.

Yes, I’m talking about cranberry sauce/relish/chutney/?/whatever you call, it seems to be a side effect of Thanksgiving(?) A third player (?) to the turkey and line of multiple traditional side dishes?

Well well well, life can be unfair sometime if you’re a teeny tiny cranberry. So here I come to the rescue, bringing it closer to the center of attention.

Now, doesn’t this look better?!

You can:

Eat it for breakfast (with yogurt)

Add it to a sandwich (forget about the butter, the mayo)

Lick it as is from a spoon

Add it to ice cream

Or cake…

But by all means, don’t wait for Thanksgiving!

And above all, don’t forget about it afterwards!

Isn’t it dreamy?!

Making this relish is really an act of gathering and simmering. Simple goodness.

Now, go on, get to it. Hurry hurry. Don’t wait.

* * *

In case you missed them, check out the recipes for Pumpkin banana cream pie and Pumpkin banana creamy dreamy dessert!

More recipes for the holiday/s from one year ago: Apple, Cinnamon and Walnuts Cake, Thanksgiving-y Chicken Dinner, Holiday Food – Appetizers, Cranberry Cake, Warm Winter Herbal Tea

* * *

Cranberry-apple relish

Based on a recipe from “Wolfgang Puck Makes it Easy”
Makes about 2 cups

2 cups fresh cranberries, picked through, washed and drained
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped small
2/3 cup sugar (use as much as you like, more/less)
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons (from 1  whole) lemon juice

Put all the ingredients in a (non-aluminum*) small saucepan. Mix and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes, or until the mixture thickens, stirring from time to time. The relish will thicken a bit more when it cools.

Transfer to a non-metal container, cover, and refrigerate.

Note #1, aluminium interacts with acidic food and makes it taste yucky.

Note #2, you can add the traditional spices if you like.