The new October issue of Martha Stewart Living.
Category Archives: halloween
A Happy Pumpkin (and Owl) Filled Feast!
So I know it’s been a good week now, but I sadly haven’t had time to update. My Halloween is usually never typical, and this one was no exception. When I woke up, I was immediately inspired and motivated to cook and bake. I wanted to create a nice dinner meal for my family. And that is what I did. All day long. Eight hours. In the kitchen. And I loved every second of it.
I made my own pumpkin and leaf toasts out of black bread and a cookie cutter.Put a little butter and cinnamon sugar on them, stuck ’em in the broiler for about 2 minutes…
Ale, Pumpkin, & Pork Stew-2-3 lbs. pork loin
-4 c. chicken broth
-1 bottle of a good scotch ale (or any beer you think would pair)
-1 c. water
-15 oz. pumpkin puree
-4 T butter
-1 c. sliced carrots
-1/2 sliced red onion-1/2 t. cinnamon
-1/4 t. cloves
-1/4 t. nutmeg
-3/4 c. heavy cream
-salt & pepper to taste
Turn the slow cooker to ‘high’. Add the beer, broth and water – then the pork loin. Cook for 3-4 hours until the meat begins to fall apart. Take chunks of the pork out and break into bite size pieces and then return to the pot. Add the pumpkin and spices. In a pan on the stove, melt the butter and toss in the carrots and onions – lightly salt and pepper. Cook until they just become soft then add this to the stew pot. Stir the stew and cover – cook another hour. Add the heavy cream and cook another hour. Turn the soup to warm and serve when ready.
These turned out AMAZING! I plan on making lots of these guys and giving them out as gifts this season…
Pistachios with Anise & Orange-1 tablespoon superfine sugar -1 teaspoon ground aniseed -1 teaspoon salt -2 tablespoons vegetable oil -Grated peel of 1 orange -1 1/2 cups shelled raw pistachio nuts Preheat the oven to 350°. In a bowl, combine 1 teaspoon each superfine sugar, ground aniseed and salt. In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the grated peel of 1 orange and 1 1/2 cups shelled raw pistachio nuts and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8 minutes. Toss the toasted nuts in the sugar mixture.
Butternut Squash & Brussels with Ginger & Cilantro4 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 10 cups) 3-4 cups sliced and quartered brussel sprouts (optional)1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 teaspoons ground coriander Salt and pepper 1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
Preheat the oven to 450°. In a large bowl, toss the squash and brussels with the oil, coriander, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. On each of 2 large baking sheets, arrange the squash in a single layer and bake, turning occasionally, until tender and golden-brown, about 30 minutes.
Transfer the squash to a serving bowl and toss with the crystallized ginger and cilantro.
Vegan Pumpkin Ice Cream Torte with Graham Cracker Crust and Caramel3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Cooking spray
1 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
9 cups vanilla dairy-free ice cream (about 1 1/2 cartons), divided
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted and divided
1/4 cup jarred caramel topping (I made my own, which, by the way, was my first time making caramel and IT WAS HARD… all the recipes online said it was so easy.. liars! But it eventually kind of came out…)
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients (mixture will be crumbly). Firmly press crumb mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes; cool on a wire rack.
3. Combine pumpkin and the next 4 ingredients (through cloves) in a bowl. Soften 6 cups ice cream; add to pumpkin mixture, stirring to blend. Spoon half of mixture into prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap; freeze 1 hour or until firm. Cover and freeze remaining pumpkin ice cream.
4. Soften remaining 3 cups vanilla ice cream; stir in 3 tablespoons pecans. Spread over pumpkin ice cream layer; freeze 1 hour or until firm. Soften remaining 3 cups pumpkin ice cream; spread over vanilla ice cream mixture. Cover; freeze 8 hours or until firm. Cut torte into 12 wedges. Place 1 wedge on each of 12 plates. Place topping in microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH 45 seconds. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon topping; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon pecans.
Cheers! Hope you enjoyed the pictures and recipes from the feast and that you’ll try out a few things as well!
NIGHT OWL COOKIES!
(The magazine’s version…)
Since I didn’t want to buy any premade chocolate frosting or make my own, I just scrambled through the kitchen to find a substitute for the M&M eyes. My personal favorite, after experimenting with halved Whoppers and peanut butter chips, was slicing up a piece of black Panda licorice. And then, of course, placed a raw cashew between each eye for the nose! So simple! So, below is the original recipe, but feel free to do like I did and make it your own. That’s the best anyway… Enjoy!
Night Owl Cookies
1 roll (18 oz.) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
20 whole cashews
¼ cup chocolate frosting
½ cup M&M’S® Brand Peanut Chocolate Candies
2 cookie sheet pans
Plastic wrap paper
Resealable plastic bag
1. Divide the sugar cookie dough in three pieces. Knead the flour into one piece of cookie dough until smooth, set aside. Combine the remaining two pieces of cookie dough and knead in the cocoa powder until smooth, set aside.
2. Roll the lighter colored cookie dough into a 1-inch round log about 10 inches long, and move it off to the side. Roll out the chocolate cookie dough on a lightly floured surface to a 10 x 4-inch rectangle. Place the light colored log of cookie dough on top of the chocolate rectangle. Wrap the chocolate cookie dough completely around the lighter colored log. Pinch edges to seal and roll the log smooth. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the cookie log into 1/4-inch slices. Place 2 slices, side by side, on sheet pans. Press a cashew into cookie at the point the slices touch. Repeat with remaining cookie slices. Bake for approximately 8-11 minutes, or until cookies are just beginning to golden. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
4. Spoon the chocolate frosting into a resealable bag and snip a small corner from bag. Using the photograph as guide, pipe eyelashes and a dot to secure candies. Add the M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies for eyes.
Williams-Sonoma Pumpkin Cake
Williams-Sonoma Pumpkin Cake
I literally almost died and went to heaven due to hyperventilating the second I saw this cake. Williams-Sonoma has the greatest things in their catalog this time of year. I look forward to it every year (I look forward to everything this time of year). Everything makes me gasp and go oh my goodness I need that! But I definitely cannot afford to pay $89.00 for this cake. So I am determined to recreate it myself. It will be a little tricky, but I’m up to the challenge. I already have the Great Pumpkin Cake Pan so I figure that gets me off to a good start. I’ll just have to find a great chocolate cake recipe, make some ganache, cut the layers, and learn how to fondant a cake. Just wait and see…
A few exciting things…
A few recent discoveries that I just can’t resist sharing:
Okay, not only is it about a cat, but it’s about giving a cat a cupcake! Genius! Whoever decided to combine both of two of my favorite things (obviously Laura Numeroff) and make it into an illustrated story, obviously knows what’s going on. Yeah, I pretty much gasped with excitement when I came across this. Mark your calendars for September 30th, because it’s not out on the shelves yet.