Pumpkin Cheesecake

In my last post I was prepping for Thanksgiving, hosting for the first time! Everything went great, the parents were pleased and delighted to meet one another, though we barely made it through cheesecake and boardgames before passing out from exhaustion.

I can't take too much credit though. While my main man did most of the cooking, I merely handled the clementine cranberry sauce and the pumpkin cheesecake. Thank you to my friend Nancy who suggested an alternate recipe from Smitten Kitchen which I actually ended up making for the big feast. I tried Martha's the weekend before as practice, but it never quite solidified in the middle. It did however make a delicious dip for ginger cookies!

That said, next time I think I will combine both recipes and make Martha Stewart's cake (baked somewhat longer) with the pecan crust from Smitten Kitchen and the sour cream frosting. It will be the ultimate pumpkin cheesecake!!!



So I know Thanksgiving was about a month ago, but do you think it's ok for me to eat the last 3 slices of cheesecake still hanging out in the fridge?

Thanksgiving Dress Rehearsal

With two sets of parents coming to our tiny Brooklyn apartment for Thanksgiving, we set up the table tonight to make sure we could wedge it between the coffee table and the entertainment center. We're also stock piling the traditional provisions, as you can see above.

I'm going to try my hand at my first ever cheesecake with this Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe from Martha. Got the springform pan and everything. Wish me luck! If it fails I'm gonna feel like our rotting Halloween pumpkin here.

Pumpkin Quinoa Muffins

It's fall, and that means it's time for my favorite seasonal treats -- pumpkin treats! To kick off the baking season, I reasoned that muffins would be a healthy treat if I stuffed them full of protein-rich quinoa. Try this recipe for a healthy-ish, pumpkin-y breakfast. I found it on The Daily Green. I also made my own pumpkin pie spice and substituted vinegar+milk for buttermilk:

PUMPKIN QUINOA MUFFINS

SERVINGS
Makes 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups quinoa, cooked and drained
2 eggs
3/4 cup unsweetened canned pumpkin
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup shelled sunflower seeds or pepitas

PREPARATION
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Oil or butter a 12-cup muffin tin or line with muffin tin liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, pie 3. spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the quinoa, separating the grains with a fork to distribute evenly.

3. In another bowl, beat the eggs, then add the pumpkin, buttermilk, butter, and vanilla extract. Whisk until the mixture is smooth. Gradually stir into the dry ingredients until just incorporated.

4. Spoon the batter into muffin tins and sprinkle sunflower seeds on top of each muffin. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the muffins are browned around edges and a tester comes out clean. Let the muffins rest for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool.

Popsicle Test Kitchen

With the last sweaty month of summer beating down on NYC, it was perfect weather for popsicles. Inspired by the People's Pops (pictured above) who have been selling their local ingredient-made pops at Brooklyn Flea and other neighborhood spots this summer, I set out to try my own hand at freezing up some treats.



First I went with an old standby that Mom and I used to make when I was a kid. Yogurt pops. I distributed a couple heaping spoonfuls of Stonyfield Farm's strawberry low-fat yogurt into six popsicle forms and with small chunks of fresh strawberry mixed in. Verdict? Delicious, and relatively guilt free!



My second popsicle project was a recipe I found via ReadyMade Magazine. I had some trouble making the two layers of semi sweet and super sweet coffee work with my particular popsicle forms, but it worked out in the end despite lots of sticky condensed milk and coffee squirted all over my kitchen. If I did these again, I would omit the less-sweet layer. Sure the two-toned pop looks cute, but I found myself racing through the icy and somewhat watery dark layer to get to the extra sweet bottom layer.

Try this one for yourself here: Vietnamese iced coffee pops on Cookbook Catchall



Finally I decided to see if I could replicate the delicious watermelon mint pops that People's Pop were selling at the Flea. I harvested mint from my sprawling window mint plant -- the only thriving plan in my apartment -- and set to work blending it with watermelon chunks in my food processor.



The results were pretty good, though if I did it again I would strain the blended watermelon first and then add the mint so as to omit any extra seeds or stringy bits that snuck by me.

People's Pops are still supreme, perhaps due to the sheer pleasure of enjoying them in the hot sun instead of my own kitchen. Some things are best enjoyed outside of the home.

When a Problem Comes Along, You Must Whip It

Need a rug to tie the room together? No problem. Now you can adorn your floors with the artwork of songwriter and Devo man Mark Mothersbaugh.



"They'll cover a hole on the floor; you can sweep things beneath them. You don't have to feel reverential about the artwork. You can walk on it. You can do your prayers on it if that's your predilection. And there are many ways to get rug burn on it." - Mark Mothersbaugh, about his rugs on nowherelimited.com

Visit Nowhere Limited to purchase you own limited edition rugs. But hurry while it's not too late, to whip it, whip it good...

Blueberries, Blueberries, Blueberries!

After a bountiful harvest of blueberries last weekend in the Berkshires -- FIVE pounds of hand-picked berries in fact -- I had to figure out what to do with it all.

Maybe eating pie and cake all week isn't the best way to keep my girlish figure in shape, but since blueberries are a miraculous wonderfruit antioxidant, that makes it ok, right?

Right!

BLUEBERRY STREUSEL PIE

I turned to EatingWell.com for a less-guilty pie recipe that uses extra lemon zest for sweetness and instant tapioca vs cornstarch. The results were citrusy and delicious, albeit a little soupy.



What I am most proud of, however, is my first ever homemade pie crust!


BOYFRIEND'S MOM'S BLUEBERRY CAKE

How do I win over my boyfriend's heart just a little more? By baking a kick-ass version of his mom's own cake recipe. Of course this could go badly should I not quite stack up to Mom...



Phew! Thankfully I passed with flying colors. Here's this family recipe so you too can impress your boyfriends. I also amazed my intern Pete, who after two months in NYC away from home was probably really thrilled to have something home baked.

• 1/2 Cup (1 stick) butter at room temperature
• 2 Cups sifted sugar
• 2 eggs beaten w 1tsp real vanilla extract
• 3 Cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 Cup milk
• 1 quart (4 Cups) blueberries (preferably fresh) dredged in 1/4 Cup flour
• cinnamon sugar to taste (I go heavy with it)

In a large mixing bowl cream butter well, add sifted sugar & cream again. Add eggs & vanilla, blend well and set aside. In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking soda and baking powder and add alternately with the milk to the batter mixing well after each addition. Fold in the dredged berries. Pour into a 9"X13" greased & floured baking pan ( I use Crisco shortening) and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. If using a glass or very dark coated pan bake at 325 degrees. Cool on rack before cutting. Yum.

Slap Chop Rap

There is just no introduction that could do this justice, so just watch...