Pumpkin Muffins

Molly Katzen's Sunlight Cafe Over 350 Easy recipes for irresistible muffins, glorious omelets, tasty pancakes, homemade protein bars, and other delights to launch and sustain your every day by Molly Katzen
Cookbook 49, Recipe 1, total (101)

Happy Thanksgiving! After five years of searching, I found Winter Luxury Pie pumpkin at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. I made two pumpkin pies with them and they made superior pumpkin pie filling!

Did I like it? The muffins were excellent! However, I would reserve the use of this special pumpkin to dishes that really feature the flavor.

Recipe: Mix together: 2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1.5 tsp baking powder, 1.5 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp powdered ginger, 1/4 tsp allspice, 4 T white sugar, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and the grated zest of one orange (I used a tangerine). In another bowl mix together: 1 egg, 1 cup mashed pumpkin, 1 T vanilla, 1/2 cup milk and 4T melted butter. Dump the wet ingredients into the dry and scoop batter into muffin tins. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

Tangerine Scream

small bites big nights Seductive Little Plates for Intimate Occasions & Lavish Parties by Govind Armstrong
Cookbook 48, Recipe 2 (total 100)

I thought it would be fitting to make a drink for recipe #100! (Don't buy this book - not worth it)

Did I like it? It's not a bad drink, its just not a good drink. Psycho Suzi's Motor Lounge kicks its butt on a bad day.

Recipe: Shake the juice of two tangerines, 2 oz run, 1/2 oz triple sec and a squeeze of lemon juice over ice. Strain and serve with appropriate embellishments.

I "consulted" Stephen yesterday on which rum I should use for this recipe. I decided I wanted a better rum this evening and chose differently. When he saw the rum bottle on the kitchen counter this evening he asked if it was the rum I used. When I confirmed - he said gave one of those Oohhs which really mean I see you disregarded my opinion. It turns out I did find a better rum - a 12 year Jamaican rum instead of an unspecified Dominican republic one.

Buckwheat Crepes

small bites big nights Seductive Little Plates for Intimate Occasions & Lavish Parties by Govind Armstrong

Cookbook 48, Recipe 1 (total 99)

Purchasing this cookbook was an error in judgment. The sale price drew me in, the pictures and unique recipes sold me. Then I brought it home and thought about what I could make - very little. It's full of expensive ingredients, time consuming instructions and multi element plates that ultimately do not seem worth the effort.

Did I like it? I added almost a 1/2 cup extra milk before cooking the crepes twice as much as the recipe called for, this recipe is a failure in that respect. If I did not understand what a crepe batter should look like - it wouldn't have worked. Also, this is one element on a plate that also calls for blood orange sauce and fig-armagnac gelato. The taste was OK but definitely not worth seeking out this cookbook for.

Recipe: Mix together 1/3 plus 1 T buckwheat flour, 2 T flour and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix in 1 egg yolk followed by 1/2 cup of whole milk and 2T melted butter. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Mix in approximately another 1/2 cup milk - or until the batter is pourable and will spread thinly in the pan. Heat a pan over med-low heat and cook crepes. Serve with apple butter.

Apricot Bars

Mangiamo "Let's Eat" The Sebastiani Family Cookbook Revised Edition by Sylvia Sebastiani
Cookbook 47, Recipe 2, (total 98)

These are classic midwestern bars. Skip church and make them yourself!

Did I like it? Yes - I was happy to use up two jars of the lavender apricot jam I made earlier this summer. The lavender is a little strong when the jam is eaten plain on toast - in this it blends in great.

Recipe: Mix 1.5 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 cup brown sugar and 1.5 cups quick cooking oatmeal together and cut in 3/4 cups butter. Press 3/4 of this mixture into a 9x13 pan. Spread 2 cups of jam over the base and crumble the remaining 1/3 flour mixture over the top. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes.

Stewed Rabbit

Mangiamo "Let's Eat" The Sebastiani Family Cookbook Revised Edition by Sylvia Sebastiani
Cookbook 47, Recipe 1, (total 97)

My Aunt tricked me into eating a rabbit I liked when I was little. I saw rabbit for sale at the farmers market this week and thought it might be a good opportunity to try it again under better circumstances. I've decided it's OK to have this hang up. I apologized to Atilda & Earl (my pet cats for those of you who don't know) throughout the meal and promised them I would never do it again.

Did I like it? Flavor - great. Emotion - guilt. I couldn't get over thinking about eating a pet long enough to enjoy the flavor and as Stephen pointed out - it would be rude to kill and animal to eat and then not eat it just because I feel guilty. I had to tell myself - it's not pinky, it's not brownie, it's not newton...

Recipe: Heat 2T olive oil and 2 T butter in a dutch oven. Add a cut up 2.5 lb rabbit add salt and pepper and cook until brown. Remove from pot and add 1 chopped onion, 2 chopped stalks of celery, 1 chopped green pepper and 1 chopped clove of garlic. Cook until onion is browned. Add 1.5 cans of tomatoes a little tomato paste, 1 spring of fresh rosemary and 1 cup white wine. Cook over low heat 30 minutes uncovered. Add rabbit to sauce and cook covered for 45 minutes.

Aquavit Sorbet

Kitchen of Light New Scandinavian Cooking with Andreas Viestad
Cookbook 46, Recipe 2 (total 96)


Did I like it? The taste will depend on your aquavit. I used Krogstad Aquavit which has more liquorish flavor than the traditional Linie Aquavit. It's very pleasant and a little deceiving - the alcohol content of this sorbet is high enough that it will not freeze solid.

Recipe: Boil 1 cup sugar, zest of two lemons and 1.5 cups of water for five minutes. Add 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice and cool. Add 2/3 cup aquavit and pour into a pie pan place in the freezer. Fluff with a fork every 30 minutes (mine didn't start freezing until an hour).

Lamb and Cabbage Stew

Kitchen of Light New Scandinavian Cooking with Andreas Viestad
Cookbook 46, Recipe 1 (total 95)

The New Scandinavian Cooking Series with Andreas Viestad is my favorite cooking show. He is happy, enthusiastic and has great recipes.

Did I like it? I've made this recipe at least three times before - it's excellent. The only problem with this recipe is the water. The printed version calls for 4 cups, the TV episode calls to cover the cabbage and meat with water - in my experience that's 8 cups - twice as much.

Recipe: 4.5 lbs of misc. lamb cuts (a roast, a shank, neck bones and some ribs is a nice mix) cut into chunks. 1 cabbage cut in half and then thinly sliced. Into your largest pot layer the meat and cabbage. Add 2 T whole black peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, 3T butter and 1T flour, Add water and stop as it just approaches the top layer of cabbage. Bring to a boil over medium heat and then simmer for 2 hours. Add salt (aprox 1.5 T kosher) and simmer for 30 more minutes. Serve with bread and beer.

Croque Monsieur

The Harry's Bar Cookbook by Arrigo Cipriani
Cookbook 45, Recipe 2 (total 94)

I've always thought of a Croque Monsieur as a grilled cheese sandwich - it is - just a heck of a lot better than the horrible ones made with american cheese. Late in posting again - I made these on Tuesday. I had a midterm on Wednesday that I had to study for and then worked massive overtime Thursday - Saturday - I should be back on track now...

Did I like it? This flavor is one of those defined as classic. After tasting the first bite I realized I've had the combination of Swiss cheese and Worcestershire before. I didn't follow the recipes instructions to have the cheese at room temperature and discovered it is necessary if you want the cheese to completely melt - I would recommend following those instructions.

Recipe: Grate 1/2 lb of Swiss cheese and add 1 egg yolk, 1 T Worcestershire sauce, 1tsp dijon mustard, 1/16 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp salt. Try to smash it up well with each other - add a little cream to make it form a bit of a paste. Sandwich a thin slice of ham between two thin bread slices, each spread with cheese. Heat a pan with a film olive oil over medium heat until very hot. Fry the sandwiches on both sides. Serve with leftover leek soup from Monday.

Vellutata Di Porri (Leek Soup)

The Harry's Bar Cookbook by Arrigo Cipriani
Cookbook 45, Recipe 1 (total 93)

I'm late in posting again...

This was another difficult cookbook to use. They have an entire chapter on Truffles and like the James Beard cookbook, the recipes tend to be very heavy. I bought this cookbook for $1 at Half Price.

Did I like it? It tasted great but I would rather have a vichyssoise. I thought this would make a great base for a wild rice soup. It tasted better the next day for lunch.

Recipe: Melt 1/4 cup butter in a pot and saute 1 chopped celery stalk, 1 chopped onion, 8 chopped leeks (white part only) until softened. Add 1 large peeled diced potato and saute for a minute. Add 2 quarts of chick stock and cook until vegetables are soft. Puree and taste for salt and pepper.

Stephen helped with the recipe - he had most of the sauteing done before I came home last Monday - Thanks Stephen!