Here Turkey, Turkey...

Thanksgiving is hurling toward us a million miles an hour! In about 3 weeks we'll be sitting down to the big dinner, stuffing and gorging ourselves until we are miserable. Ah, traditions. I've been eating turkey a lot lately. I eat a lot of turkey sandwiches when I'm traveling because it's easy and I know I feel better when I eat better. I have never (up until recently) been a huge fan of ground turkey, using it to replace ground beef, was never something I thought gave me the same result or flavor that I wanted. I stumbled across a recipe for Cumin Turkey Burgers a month or two ago and have made them several times since. Tonight I had some of the meat already mixed up and in the freezer so I browned it up and made some delicious nachos. Of course you can make them into patties and eat them with all your favorite toppings. You won't miss the beef in these burgers, trust me.

Cumin Turkey Burgers

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

1 egg

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup dried bread crumbs

Mix the egg, jalapeno and garlic in a large mixing bowl until the egg is well blended. Add the soy sauce, Worcestershire, cumin, mustard, paprika, chili powder, salt, bread crumbs and turkey; mix well and form into 6 patties.

Grill the burgers, or cook on stove top.

I add a chopped chipotle pepper to some mayonnaise and caramelize onions to top the burgers.

Six miles to eat cake...

Yesterday was a sunny day here in Denver. The wind was a little crisp, but it was a good day to go for a walk. I did all my errands early on in the day and met Dan around 4 o'clock for our 6 mile walk. I know it may sound counterproductive to walk 6 miles then come home and eat cake and drink martinis, but I know that I will never in my life not want cake so 6 miles it is...it's all about balance. By the time we finished up around 5:45 or so it was getting cooler so we headed back to my house where I made Cumin Turkey Burger sliders (I have recently become infatuated with these cumin turkey burgers), some oven roasted potatoes, along with the pumpkin cake I made for dessert. To drink we tried out a Pumpkin Martini, as well as a Carmel Apple Martini. Both very strong, both very good. I am cherishing these last few days at home, my travel schedule gets back into full swing next week and with the holidays coming full force it's going to be a very busy time. Hope everyone is enjoying the fall. We had a pretty good winter preview this week and my 1 hour 45 minute commute to Colorado Springs had me realizing I am not ready for winter...let's pray for a mild one.

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

3 large eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 - 15oz. can pumpkin

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup butterscotch chips

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour bundt pan. Set aside

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat for another minute. Alternately add the flour and pumpkin mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour and mix just until combined.

Fold in butterscotch chips, cranberries and walnuts. Spoon batter into prepared bundt pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Invert cake onto serving platter and allow to cool completely.

For the icing:

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon pumpkin butter

2 tablespoons buttermilk

Whisk in small bowl and pour over cooled cake.

For the Pumpkin Martini:

2 oz. pumpkin butter ( I used Maple Pumpkin Butter from Stonewall Kitchen)

2 oz. pear vodka

1 1/2 oz. simple syrup

1 oz. triple sec

Fill the cocktail shaker with ice and all ingredients. Shake vigorously until blended. Strain into martini glass.

The Cookies Finally worked...

I have to admit that I do love cookies. Ever since I moved to Denver, I have always had trouble getting cookies to turn out. Last Christmas I tried making snowflake sugar cookies and when they came out of the oven they looked more like a daisy. Today I wavered back and forth between making something with apples or baking cookies. My determination to beat the altitude and whatever else was causing my cookie curse won out and I found a recipe that claimed to be "no fail." We will see about that. But alas, they really didn't fail, they turned out delicious and beautiful!!!

No Fail Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract ( I use vanilla bean paste)

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Mix dry ingredients together and add slowly to butter mixture. Mix until the flour is completely incorporated. Chill for at least 1 hour. Roll out chilled dough on parchment or lightly floured surface. Cut in desired shape. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Decorating Icing

1 pound confectioners sugar

5 tablespoons meringue powder

scant 1/2 cup water

Whisk together. Icing will be stiff. Tint desired color. Outline each cookie with icing, then thin remaining icing and "flood" the center of each cookie with thinned icing. Let set.

Fall is gone already??

Well, fast forward right through Fall and head first into winter. It is 18 degrees outside today and the snow is falling. There have been lots of accidents on slick roads this morning. Great day to stay in. I had some zucchini left from my last visit to the Farmer's Market and decided this mornings weather called for some baking. Zucchini bread...perfect. With a nod to autumn I added some dried cranberries and instead of flouring the pans, I "sugared" the pans which created a crispy crust, just sweet enough. The house is filled with the smell of cinnamon, I think I'll pour myself a cup of coffee and pretend the snow flakes falling outside are actually beautiful fall leaves...

Zucchini Cranberry Bread

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoons cinnamon

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups grated zucchini

1/2 cup dried cranberries

sugar for coating pans

Grease and sugar three 8 x 4inch loaf pans. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a bowl, sift together flour, soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In a large bowl, combine eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Stir dry ingredients into wet. Add zucchini and cranberries. Divide batter between the 3 pans. Sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.

Roasted Tomato Soup

It was one of those things that I get in my head, and I can't think about anything else until I get it made...Roasted Tomato Soup. With the end of the Farmer's Market season coming quickly I knew I had to get those tomatoes while the gettin was good and the weather this weekend has definitely had a bit of a chill so it really was the perfect Saturday night supper. I made the soup, along with Cumin Turkey Burgers with some caramelized onions and chipotle mayo. It wasn't overly filling and when it was done I didn't feel like I had stuffed myself, but full enough to "rest my eyes" a little on the couch afterward....ah, I love fall!

Roasted Tomato Soup

2 1/2 pounds tomatoes, quartered

4 garlic cloves, whole

2 red peppers, seeded and cut into 1" pieces

1 large onion, diced

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon adobo sauce

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce

olive oil

salt

pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup cream

4-5 basil leaves, chopped

chives for garnish

Combine tomatoes, garlic cloves and red peppers on baking sheet. Drizzle liberally with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 35-40 minutes. Meanwhile, saute diced onion in 2 teaspoons olive oil in soup pot. When all vegetables are done, transfer (in batches if necessary) to food processor bowl and puree to desired consistency. (I like a little texture to the soup). Return the pureed vegetables to the soup pot and add the adobo sauce, chipotle pepper, vegetable broth, paprika and tomato paste. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add cream and basil leaves and warm for about 5 minutes more. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed. Garnish with chives.

Fall arrives and I miss it....

Fall arrived in Denver this week with perfect fall weather. Highs in the 50's, rainy and cool. I unfortunately was in the 100+ degree heat of Arizona. I couldn't wait for the end of the week to get back to Denver and make a big pot of chili and lay around on the couch. One problem...about 10:30am the sun came out and the temperature rose into the 80's. Normally I would never complain about sunshine, but I really wanted a day of miserable weather. I made the chili anyway. In fact I had kind of a schizophrenic cooking episode on Friday. I just wanted to make everything and I spent much of the day in the kitchen. I used the eggplant that I bought the previous weekend and made some roasted eggplant dip, the chili and a yummy pot of italian beef. Dan was insistent that he would not like the eggplant dip, he tried it, he liked it...hey mikey! We went for a walk around Belmar and the weather had cooled off then took in a movie. I got back on my walk/run wagon this morning....4 miles just because I can cover up the rolls with a sweater, doesn't mean I should....

Roasted Eggplant Dip

2 small eggplants

2 red peppers

1 red onion

4 garlic cloves, minced

olive oil, approximately 2 tablespoons

1 tablespoon tomato paste

salt and pepper

Cut the eggplant, red peppers and onion into roughly 1" cubes. Mix together vegetables, garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and just beginning to brown. Remove and let cool slightly. Place vegetables in the bowl of a food processor, add tomato paste and pulse to a rough puree. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with warm, toasted pita chips.

Apple Pickin Time...

I was at the Cherry Creek Farmer's Market yesterday and it dawned on me that the season is very soon going to be over.. I had one of those quick moments where I felt like I needed to "get while the gettin is good" and load up with every possible fresh vegetable I wanted so that I could some how prolong the season and not say good buy to summer. The reality of my schedule is that I'm not home enough to enjoy all that produce so I bought with some sense of restraint. I picked up some eggplants, some sweet italian peppers, some zucchini and some honey crisp apples. I read that the honeycrisp apple could keep up to 8 months in the refrigerator, so it probably shouldn't have been the one ingredient I decided I HAD to make something with today, but I threw some in the crisper to use later. I generally don't have a sweet tooth when it comes to breakfast, but for some reason this week gooey cinnamon rolls had planted their seed in my brain and I had successfully fought them off until today. I decided to make some apple cinnamon rolls with my freshly purchased apples. I made a quick brioche dough, chopped up some apples, cooked them with a little sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and oh...the house was filled with that smell of fall. As much as I hate to let go of summer, Fall is my favorite time of year...the crisp days, the sense of change in the air...I love it. Tomorrow is supposed to be a cloudy, rainy 60 degree day...the kind of day I love to stay home and cook. I'll be on my way to Yuma, Arizona where the temperature will probably be in the 100's...I guess I won't bid summer farewell just yet.

Apple Brioche Cinnamon Rolls

For the Brioche

4 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 packages active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup butter

1/2 cup milk

5 eggs

In a large mixer bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a saucepan, heat butter and milk until it reaches 120 degrees. Add milk to dry ingredients and beat until combined. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the remaining flour (you may not need the whole amount, just combine until the dough isn't too sticky). Transfer dough into a greased bowl and let rise for about an hour. While the dough is resting, make filling.

Apple Filling

3 1/2 cups diced apples

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes until apples are softened and mixture is thickened.

Roll the rested dough out on a lightly floured surface. Spoon apple mixture over and spread evenly. Roll the dough up into a roll and cut into 8 equal pieces. Arrange cut rolls in a round, buttered baking dish. Let rise for about 1 hour in a warm place. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

When rolls are cool, make a glaze from confectioner's sugar and milk. Pour over rolls.