Taste, Taste, Taste

On my way home from Arizona this week I finished reading "The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry" by Kathleen Flinn. In a nutshell, it's about an American woman who gets "downsized", empties her savings, moves to Paris and enrolls in Le Cordon Bleu. It is a great story of not letting anything get in the way of following your passion. I have started realizing over the past couple months that the kitchen is really where I find my bliss. I can't wait for Friday to roll around every week so that I can try something new in the kitchen. I had a great opportunity this weekend to cater Dan's sister, Lisa's birthday party ( I am a gentleman so I will not reveal which birthday it was, although I'm sure she wouldn't mind...)I couldn't wait to get up and start cooking, to chop and roast, knead dough, mix and taste. It's not work to me, it actually is relaxing.(The menu consisted of sweet potato rolls, pulled pork, summer squash & zucchini tartlets, artichoke bruschetta and scallion tarts). The party was great, the food was a hit, and the pomegranate martinis were delicious (courtesy of Dan the mixologist...) You might think that after spending all that time preparing all that food, I would have been done for the weekend. Well it snowed 7 inches in Denver on Saturday night, so Sunday seemed like the perfect day for soup. Sunday morning I started in again...dill pickle soup, chicken nachos and tapioca pudding. ( Knowing how busy the coming weeks are going to be, I even got the house decorated for Christmas). I hate for Monday to come. If you get a chance to read the book, I would definitely recommend it, one of the last paragraphs in the book draws a great parallel between cooking and life...

"As in cooking, living requires that you taste, taste, taste as you go along-you can't wait until the dish of life is done. In my career, I always looked ahead to the place I wanted to go, the next rung on the ladder. It reminds me of "The Station" by Robert Hastings...the message is that while on a journey, we are sure the answer lies at the destination. But in reality, there is no station, no "place to arrive at once and for all. The joy of life is the trip, and the station is the dream that constantly outdistances us." - Kathleen Flinn, The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry.

Halloween is over...stock up on the candy corn

My friend Tara told me about a Candy Corn Martini that she had heard about on the radio. Always curious about finding new cocktails, I did a little research. I made the recipe the way I found it, then made it MY way, which I have to say is much better. It was great for an impromptu Halloween dinner last weekend.

Candy Corn Martini (original recipe)

from Food Network Magazine

1/2 cup candy corn

1 1/2 cups vodka

2 oz. orange liqueur

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 large egg white

Begin by combining the candy corn and the vodka in an airtight container. Allow to sit at least 3 hours. The candy corn will dissolve in the vodka.

For the drink, combine 4 oz. of the vodka, 2 oz. orange liqueur, the lemon juice and egg white. Fill cocktail shaker with ice and shake until combined (about 30 seconds). Pour into 2 martini glasses, garnish with candy corn.

MY Candy Corn Martini

Use the same method for infusing the vodka with the candy corn.

Combine 4 oz. infused vodka, 1 oz. vanilla vodka, 2 oz. orange liqueur, juice of 1 orange, 1 tablespoon simple syrup and 1 1/2 oz. cream. Fill cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Makes 2 martinis.

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.