If you are like me, you always offer to bring something when invited to someone’s house.  I mean the offer, I always love an opportunity to cook for people, but sometimes it’s hard to come up with a quick idea on the fly. And when it’s one of those roaming parties – not a seated affair – choosing a dish that doesn’t have to be kept hot or cold or require and special equipment adds to the challenge.  I tend to fall back on the same recipes, but I recently wanted to add one to my repertoire – after all, it gets to be the same people at parties, right?  These little Fig and Blue Cheese bites are easy but very elegant, and the surprising tart and tangy with sweet combination is a real treat.

Blue Cheese and Fig Savories

You’ll find fig preserves at the grocery – it may be shelved with the “fancy” jams and jellies. You can make these a day ahead and keep them in two layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container.

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

Ground black pepper

Fig preserves (about 3 Tablespoons)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the flour, butter, blue cheese and a few grinds of black pepper in the bowl of a food processor.  Process until the dough just comes together and starts to form a ball.

Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to pull the dough together. Roll out to 1/8 inch thick with a floured rolling pin.  Cut rounds out of the dough with a floured 1-inch cutter and transfer the rounds to the parchment-lined baking sheet.

Using the back or a round half-teaspoon measure or your knuckle, make an indention in the top of each dough round.  Spoon about ¼ teaspoon of fig preserves into each indention, using your finger to push the preserves as best as possible into the indentions.

Bake the savories for 10 – 14 minutes, until the preserves are bubbling and the pastry is light golden on the bottom.

Let cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes, the remove to a wire rack to cool.

Makes about 3 dozen

Heaven is a Biscuit

I love biscuits.  Love them.  I could eat a whole batch at one sitting, even without butter or jam or gravy.  I say I could, because believe it or not I do possess the restraint not to.

And I should probably clarify, I love good buttermilk biscuits.  Sure, I have been known to eat a fast food sausage biscuit or a chain restaurant puck covered with gravy.  If a menu has a biscuit on it, I find it hard to resist.  But my true passion is for good, down home, fresh made buttermilk biscuits.  Some people have grandmothers who make these, or live near a mom-and-pop country restaurant that produce hundreds of from-scratch, by-hand biscuits.  Someone forwarded a newspaper article to me recently about the wide variety of frozen biscuits available that are good enough that many Southern cooks have given up biscuit making altogether.  And I’ll admit, they are not all bad.

Here’s the thing though.   I make biscuits.  And I love doing it.  I think it may be because I have an image of myself as some one who can do things.  The truth is – not so much.  I can’t make fluffy white bread, or my own puff pastry, or good old-fashioned dinner rolls.  But I can make biscuits.  I like being someone who can do something that most people don’t bother with anymore.

Learning to make a good biscuit takes practice, and trial and error. Even the most experienced biscuit cook has a batch that just doesn’t work.  Maybe the weather was wrong, or the flour just wasn’t in the mood, or the cook didn’t have the right love to put into that batch.  So today I made a big batch of biscuits and carefully made notes about every step.  The recipe below may look long, but don’t be intimidated. I have tried to put in as much detail as I can to get the dough rolling.

So here are some starting tips:  I do truly recommend using soft Southern wheat flour, like White Lily (my choice) or Martha White.  I am sure you can order it online if you can’t track it down.  I use White Lily as my flour always, so I don’t have two types of all-purpose flour in the pantry. If you use regular all-purpose, you’ll still get biscuits, but if they don’t taste exactly right, that’s why.  I used to be a little afraid of shortening and made biscuits with all butter, but now I know that the shortening is really a must.  I use a combination because the boost in flavor the butter adds.  Both must be cold – right out of the fridge before you use it.  Same with the buttermilk.  I prefer cold whole buttermilk, but low-fat works as well.   Make sure you shake the bottle very well before measuring.

Buttermilk Biscuits

4 cups flour (all-purpose White Lily)

2 Tablespoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

¼ cup cold vegetable shortening

¼ cup cold unsalted butter

1 to 1 ½ cups cold well-shaken buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Line a baking pan (about 13” by 9” with 1-inch sides) with parchment paper or grease it well with shortening.

Measure out the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl that gives you lots of room to work.  Mix gently with a fork to combine and aerate the flour.

Cut the shortening and the butter into small cubes.  I cut the butter from the stick three times down the length, turn it over once, cut it three times down the length again, then across the short way.  I buy Crisco shortening in sticks as well and do the same. 

Separate the shortening and butter into cubes and sprinkle over the top of the flour mixture.  Use the fork to toss the cubes lightly in the flour to coat.  Then dip your clean fingers into some flour and mix everything together, squishing and rubbing the mixture together to combine the fats and the flour.  Don’t spend too long doing this, gentle handling is the key to a tender biscuit.  It’s okay if there are some lumps of butter or shortening left.  Many recipes describe the result of this process as looking like breadcrumbs or fine meal, and that’s okay.  I think it looks like lumpy flour.  When you pinch a bit of flour between your fingers, from anywhere in the bowl, it should stick together.

Measure out the shaken buttermilk, then pour about ¾ cup of it over the mixture.  Use the fork to fold the buttermilk into the dough, carefully incorporating the liquid.  Keep adding the buttermilk a bit at a time until you have a cohesive dough.  You may not need all the buttermilk.  Again, you don’t want to work the dough too much, but don’t leave much loose, dry flour in the bottom of the bowl.  You can use your hands to get that last bit of dry flour into the dough.

Lightly flour a work surface.  I find the counter top to be best; a board tends to slip around.  You do want to use a light hand to flour the surface, because too much will leave an unpleasant floury coating on the biscuits.  Sprinkling flour through a wire sieve is a great way to do this.

Turn the dough out onto the surface, and turn it over on itself once or twice to bring the dough together.  I do not say knead, because you don’t want to work the dough that hard.  Press the dough into a rectangle about ½ inch thick.  Just press it out lightly with your hands to an even thickness.  This method makes the top of the biscuits slightly textured, which looks very homemade, but if it bothers you, roll a lightly floured rolling pin lightly over the top.

Cut the biscuits with a round cutter or a thin rimmed glass, always cutting as close to the edge of the dough and as close together as possible to get as many biscuits as possible.  I get a good dozen in the first batch using a 2 ½ inch cutter from this recipe.  Just press the cutter down and pull back up; don’t twist or the sides won’t rise up as nice.

Place the biscuits very close together on the prepared pan, just touching each other. This helps them rise while cooking.

Now the big debate: to re-roll or not re-roll.  There will be some leftover dough.  Some people say that this dough is not worth using again, but I disagree.  Gently press the remaining dough together and press out into a ½ inch thickness and cut – you’ll get maybe three more.  Place them on the pan with the rest of the biscuits.  The first-roll dozen are the company biscuits, the last ones just for you, so remember which are which.  Any leftover scraps can be cooked separately, or rolled in cinnamon-sugar and baked off, or frankly just eaten raw.

Bake the biscuits in the hot oven for 8 – 9 minutes, rotating the pan about 6 minutes through.  Watch the biscuits carefully so they do not over-brown. These may not get too brown on top, but will be nice and soft inside.  If you want a brown top, turn the broiler on a few minutes, watching all the time with the door open until lightly golden. Take the biscuits out of the oven, then brush the tops with melted butter (about 2 Tablespoons should do it). 

Leave the biscuits to cool slightly and then eat ‘em up.  They will keep a day or so tightly wrapped, but are better toasted when not eaten fresh.

Makes 12 – 15 biscuits

Serve your fresh, hot biscuits with Tomato Gravy or Sausage Gravy.

I love clementines.  They are the perfect, bright refreshing little sunshine snack.  They are so portable, you can just carry one around all day until you need a pick-me-up.  But I also find clementines annoying, largely because around here they are sold almost exclusively in five to seven pound bags.  I cannot eat five pounds of clementines before they start to shrivel and loose their juice.  So I am sometimes reluctant to buy them, because I know I will end up with uneaten fruit sitting forlornly on my counter.

This lovely bread is one of my excess clementine solutions.  It’s incredibly easy to whip up in the food processor and results in a sweet, citrus-y treat perfect for breakfast, tea or a great snack.  This recipe started its life as away to use tangerines, but I have found this clementine incarnation the most practical.

Sticky Clementine Quick Bread

This moist sticky bread will stay delicious for three days wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.  It can also be frozen for up to a month.  Try making it in smaller loaf pans, even individual sizes, and share with your friends.

For the Quick Bread:

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature

½ cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 Tablespoon clementine zest, from two to four clementines, depending on size

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons self-rising flour

Pinch of salt

4 Tablespoons milk

For the Glaze:

4 Tablespoons clementine juice, from two to four clementines, depending on size

½ cup confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a standard 9″ x 5″ loaf pan with non-stick spray.

Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade.  The butter must be soft and at room temperature.  If needed, microwave on half power in 15 second intervals until soft. Blend until the ingredients are just combined and smooth, about 1 – 2 minutes.  Do not over process.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, then tap the pans on the counter to spread out the batter.  Bake until golden and cooked through, about 15 – 20 minutes.  A tester inserted in each loaf should come out clean.

While the loaves are cooking, whisk together the juice from the clementines and the confectioner’s sugar until smooth.

When the loaf is cooked, run a knife around the edges of the loaf to loosen from the pan. Poke the top of the loaf several times with the skewer.  Drizzle the glaze over the loaf.  Do this slowly so the glaze absorbs into the loaves.  When the glaze is absorbed remove the loaf to a rack or a piece of waxed paper to finish cooling.

Let the loaf cool completely before serving.

Makes one loaf

I am a born and raised Memphis girl, so I could not let this day pass without a mention.  January 8 is Elvis’s birthday, and this year he would have been 75. And when you grow up in Memphis, Elvis sort of permeates the atmosphere.

Here in Memphis, Elvis is generally commemorated more on the anniversary of his death, on August 16, than on his birthday. I am not sure why this is the case, but every year in August, Elvis fans from around the world converge on Memphis for Elvis Week, the culmination of which is the Candlelight Vigil. Fans of Elvis and fans of Elvis fans stand outside the gates of Graceland on Elvis Presley Boulevard for the Vigil, waiting their turn to file pass the gravesite.  My friends and I marked this for many years, either by attending the Vigil itself, a true sight to behold, or having our own party.  The location of the tribute party rotated around various backyards, and one memorable year it was held on a used car lot. 

I had my 25^th birthday party at Graceland, the party in the admission plaza across the street, with tours of the mansion.  In a perfect piece of timing, mine was the first party right before the kitchen was opened to the public, so we had a very early tour.  It is straight out of its day, pure 1970’s, with an early version of a microwave oven. When Elvis lived there, it ran all day and all night, with shifts of cooks.  Elvis was a night owl, but anytime he was awake, he wanted food available – and lots of it.

Elvis was an eater.  True, he may not have had the most adventurous palate, but he liked his food.  He preferred good, classic Southern dishes, like meatloaf, pork chops or country fried steak.  Hamburgers were his favorite food, and he was particularly fond of a Memphis classic, the hamburger with pimento cheese. He was not much of a one for vegetables, and he liked his food delivered to the table already cut up for him.  And he had a TV in the dining room, so he never had to miss his shows.   Graceland now has audio guides, but in the wonderful days of live people leading tours of the house, much time was spent pointing out the unobstructed view of the TV and the Noritake china Priscilla picked out in the blue, gold and smoked mirror lined dining room.

Perhaps the most enduring Elvis food legend is the peanut butter and banana sandwich, a treat created by his mother, always his favorite cook. He could eat these butter-fried gutbusters day or night, any number of them at one sitting.  Today, in the Graceland gift shops, you can buy refrigerator magnets, potholders and recipe cards printed with a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich recipe.  A few years ago, the fine folks at Reese’s created a limited Elvis addition banana and peanut butter cup, a surprisingly good invention.

Elvis clearly pre-dates the cupcake craze, and frankly I don’t imagine he’d think much of these.  Food in miniature was certainly not his style.  He could eat a whole cake by himself, not just a slice or two.  But I think it’s worth celebrating the birthday of the King by, in Elvis’s own words, “taking care of business” with a nostalgic twist.

The King’s Cupcakes

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Cupcakes:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 medium ripe bananas

Frosting:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

5 to 6 Tablespoons milk (you may need a bit more)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, sour cream and vanilla and mix to combine thoroughly.

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl.  With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture.

Using a fork, mash the bananas until smooth, then add to the batter, stirring to combine.

Scoop the batter into muffin cups, filling three-quarters full.  Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in the pan for 6 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

For the frosting, cream the peanut butter in an electric mixer until pale and fluffy.  Beat in the sugar and vanilla.  Add enough milk during mixing to create a smooth, spreadable consistency,

When the cupcakes are cool, frost and enjoy!

Makes 18 cupcakes

This cake can also be made as a cake in a 13 x 9 inch pan. With no frosting, this makes an excellent breakfast treat.

I have always liked the idea of making homemade hot chocolate.  I have tried many recipes; I have made hot chocolate with expensive, imported chocolates, cocoa powder and all sorts of permutations.  Butafter all the experimentation, I finally put together this recipe – using plain ol’ Hershey bars.  And it is some kind of good.

This is not hot chocolate for the faint of heart.  It is rich – really rich.  The kind of treat you make only for the holidays, or maybe when you’ve had a very bad day.  But I highly recommend you do make it.  Maybe on a cold morning when you can sip while still in your pajamas.  You don’t even have to share.

Decadent Hot Chocolate

If you want more than the two servings this makes, do it in separate batches, as most blenders won’t hold that much liquid without the top popping off. 

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup milk

2 (1.5 ounce) milk chocolate candy bars (such as Hershey’s)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 Tablespoon light brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

dash of cayenne pepper

dash of salt

In a saucepan, preferably with a pouring spout, heat the cream and milk over medium heat until just beginning to bubble.  Break the chocolate bar into small pieces and place in the carafe of a blender with the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, cayenne and salt.

When the cream mixture is heated through, pour it over the chocolate mixture in the blender.  Securely place the top on the blender, and holding it in place with a towel, blend the hot chocolate mixture until smooth and frothy.  Always exercise caution when blending hot liquids.  Pour the hot chocolate back into the pan and gently warm through.  Serve in mugs

 Serves two

During my college semester abroad in London, I was determined to visit Austria on winter break.  I am not sure where this notion came from, maybe too much Sound of Music as a kid, but I set out alone to discover whether the hills were truly alive.  After a trying time in Vienna, I moved on to Salzburg, a lovely place I found charming and comforting and manageable.

I think it must have been nearing Christmas, though I don’t remember exactly when.  Throughout the squares of Salzburg, vendors had set up booths selling beautifully decorated spiced cookies, in every shape and size, with colored frosting and ribbons, wrapped in cellophane and paper.  I was on a tight student’s budget, having decided quite firmly against the hostel route.  Not that I was staying in Salzburg’s finest establishments, mind you, but I didn’t have to share a bathroom with a bunch of anarchist pothead backpackers (this time).  But those amazing cookies seemed a little dear to my wallet at the time, so I never bought one of the fancy treats.  I did find however, a sort of off-brand version at what I imagine was the Austrian version of a 7-11 and grabbed that up for a song. It was a little stale, and the frosting was rock hard, but the cookie was subtly spiced, very different from the gingerbread men I’d had in the States.

At the pension (to put it poetically) where I was staying, breakfast was included, and I must say it was quite good.  Hot breads with butter and jam, tea and rich hot chocolate served in a simple paneled room. In the bread basket, there were always some simple buns, studded with candied fruit.  I don’t know if this is an Austrian or Salzburg specialty, or just on sale at the bakery, but they were good, and somehow sitting in that room with a warm fruity roll and a creamy mug of steaming hot chocolate, looking out the windows waiting for the von Trapps to stroll by, I felt very much like I thought I might when I set off for Austria at Waterloo Station.

Now clearly I am no expert at either the spiced cookies or Austrian pastry, but years later, I tinkered with, basically, a fruitcake blondie recipe to add some depth and spice, and in the end the whole effect reminded me or Salzburg.

Spiced Fruitcake Bars

These are that kind of Christmas cookie that fills your house with the perfect spicy holiday smell, so enjoy! The bars are dense and chewy, so consider cutting them into small squares.

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

1 egg

¾ cup light brown sugar, packed

½ cup honey

½ cup dark molasses

1 cup chopped mixed dried candied fruits

Glaze:

1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar

3 Tablespoons milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with non-stick foil or parchment paper sprayed with non-stick spray, leaving some overhang to lift the bars from the pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, soda and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg, then add the brown sugar.  Beat at medium until the mixture is light and fluffy.  Add the honey and the molasses.  Continue beating until thoroughly combined. Add the flour mixture about ¾ of a cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the candied fruit and beat to mix.  The batter will be very thick, so remove the bowl from the mixer and using a sturdy wooden spoon or spatula, give the batter a good stir to make sure the fruit is distributed.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and do your best to spread it around.  Dampen your fingers with a little water and press the batter evenly to fill the pan (you may need to wet your fingers more than once).

Bake the bars for 15 – 20 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes our clean.  Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove the whole bar, using the foil or parchment overhang,  and leave to cool completely.

For the Glaze:

While the bars are cooling, whisk together the glaze ingredients, making sure there are no lumps. Spread the glaze over the baked bars and leave to set, at least 15 minutes.  Using a wet knife, cut into bars.

Makes 2 dozen bars

When I was a kid, my favorite holiday TV special was always A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.  Back in those days, there was no DVR, DVD or even tapes.  When the special was on, you watched it and that was it.  No second chances.

Maybe my love of Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, even more than the Great Pumpkin, was a precursor to my future in the kitchen.  Maybe it foreshadowed my desire to cook my very own Thanksgiving feast.  You see, every time I got my homework finished on time and behaved real good so I could watch the special, it was always for my favorite part – when Charlie, Snoopy and the gang whip up there own Turkey Day banquet.  I think at that age, my idea of a perfect event was no grown-ups, and a meal of popcorn, toast and jelly beans.

So in tribute to that fantasy Thanksgiving, I whipped up a little popcorn treat, though the Peanuts bunch might be horrified with this fancied-up version.  It makes a great nibble with drinks before sitting down for the main event, or the perfect pass around for watching the game or parades.  And of course, it would go perfectly while watching the special itself.

Thanksgiving Popcorn

I use a microwave air popper, which is an amazing invention, but the regular stove-top method works as well.  The paper bag method of seasoning works great for any popcorn preparation.

16 cups popped popcorn

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Dash of hot sauce

1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon table salt

Dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

Place the popped popcorn in a large, clean brown paper grocery sack and set aside.

In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter with the Worcestershire and hot sauce at medium power for one minute.  I like to cover the bowl loosely with the paper wrapper from the stick of butter to prevent spatter.  Stir the butter, then zap on half-power in 15 second intervals until completely melted.  Remove from the microwave and stir in the remaining ingredients, mixing completely.

Pour half the butter mixture over the popcorn in the bag, hold closed and shake vigorously.  Add the remaining butter and repeat.

Serve immediately, or cool completely and store in an airtight container for a few hours before serving.

P.S.  I also have a thing for Hermie the Elf…

Maple Madness

Maple is one of those ingredients that always makes me look.  If I come a recipe in a magazine or cookbook for maple anything, I just have to read it, then usually cut it out or mark it with a post-it. Of course, sometimes I end up disappointed that these recipes only call for “maple flavoring,” which appeals to me not at all.  It seems like cheating or faking. Then, not every maple recipe I have made has lived up to my expectations, even made with real maple syrup. I like a real hit of maple, not just a subtle, general sweetness. But I have never given up and some of my forays into maple cookery have had superb results.

Like most people of my generation who did not live in maple country, my early exposure to maple syrup involved pancakes and waffles and came in the form of Aunt Jemima or Log Cabin, really just “maple flavored” syrup.  But both my parents went to college in New England, my dad in New Hampshire, so we occasionally got the good stuff “imported” in from their old stomping grounds.  I remember the little tin log cabin shaped containers; I think they came from LL Bean.  And my mother has a real fondness for maple sugar candy, so as kids we used to get it in Christmas stockings – super sugary, maple-y pieces molded into the shape of Santa Claus, or sometimes at Thanksgiving in the shape of pilgrims. I have a cousin who lives in Massachusetts now, and spends a lot of time in Vermont.  She has supplied me with some great maple syrup (hint, hint) and I hope in return I have given her some recipes to use her own supply.

So now I have really discovered maple syrup.  I absolutely disdain any form of “maple flavored” syrup and use only the good stuff. (Okay, there is lurking in my pantry some sort of low-cal, sugar free maple something intended to make me eat a diet breakfast. To no avail I might add.).  And I have been turned on to Grade B for baking, which really gives a maple punch to all your recipes.  I find it at natural foods markets, and it’s a little expensive, but well worth it.  And I am sure it can be found online as well, and I do recommend you search some out. These cookies have a nice warmth from the spice and a good hit of maple flavor.  I’d say they are perfect for curling up with a good book and a warm mug of apple cider on chilly day.

Maple Spice Crinkles

This dough needs to chill for a few hours before being shaped and baked to ensure the nice round shape and crackled finish.

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1/3 cup Grade B maple syrup

1 large egg

Granulated sugar for coating

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt.  Set aside.

Cream the butter and dark brown sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer until light in color and fluffy.  Add the oil until blended, then add the egg and maple syrup, beating until well incorporated.  Slowly mix in the flour mixture on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until completely incorporated.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 3 – 4 hours.

When the dough is well chilled, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease two cookie sheets or line with a silicone mat. 

Place some granulated sugar in a shallow bowl or small plate. Scoop out balls of dough measuring about ½ Tablespoon and roll into balls.  Roll the balls in the sugar to coat completely and place on the cookie sheets, about 1 ½ inches apart.  Bake the cookies until the tops are crackled and the centers just begin to look dry.  Remove from the oven and cool on the pans for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 2 ½ dozen cookies

My favorite time of year is finally here – pumpkin time!  I love pumpkin - in cake, soup, risotto, muffins, bread and, of course, cookies. I am sure over the next few months my pumpkin obsession will manifest itself with a host of recipes, so be prepared! We’ve just had our first cool days here and I couldn’t resist whipping up an early batch of these soft, hearty and delicious pumpkin cookies.  I love ginger and cranberries, but feel free to substitute any combination of dried berries or nuts like cherries, raisins or walnuts.

Hearty Pumpkin Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups old fashioned oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed

1 cup pure pumpkin puree (from a 12 ounce can), not pumpkin pie filling

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup dried cranberries

½ cup chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease two cookie sheets.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt.  Set aside.  Cream the butter and both sugars together in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add the egg, pumpkin and vanilla extract and mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Add the flour mixture and mix well to combine.  Stir in the cranberries and ginger pieces, distributing them evenly through the dough.

Drop 2 Tablespoons of dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, spacing about two inches apart.  Bake until the cookies are set and lightly browned, 14 – 16 minutes.  Leave to cool on the pans for 4- 6 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

The cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or can be frozen for up to two months.

Makes 2 ½ dozen

There are certain activities that anyone in any particular town, city, state or region is expected to have participated in.  Wouldn’t you be surprised by someone living in Hawaii who had never been to the beach?  Or shocked by a resident of Paris who had never even seen the Eiffel Tower?

Well, I have one of those surprising confessions.  I have never been to an SEC football game. You would not believe the looks of shock and horror that cross the faces of people who hear this tragic tale. I have only in fact been to one college football game, and that was freshman year at my small school in Connecticut, and to be honest, that’s not really the same thing.  It’s not that I have an issue or a problem with big-time college football, the opportunity has just never presented itself (and yes, I will be expecting some invitations after this).  As a point of fact, I have never been to a professional football game either.

In the past few weeks, a number of people have told me that I should write a post about tailgating.  Not just one person.  Several.  I smiled and said what a good idea that would be, knowing that it was highly unlikely.  I have never tailgated.  I don’t really know exactly what’s involved. 

The last person to suggest that I write about tailgating was my aunt, and she had some constructive advice.  She recently dug up one of my old standby recipes for a great fall appetizer and took it to an outdoor, all day party.  She told me it would make a perfect tailgating recipe. And I trust my aunt.  Of course, this is a great appetizer for any fall occasion, even if you are watching the game in front of the TV.

So here it goes, a hearty, fall appetizer that is often described as one men love.  I don’t know why particularly.  Or why that’s relevant.  Many of the rabid football followers I know are women.  But this dish holds well, just keep it covered tightly and transport the dish in a thermal carrier or wrapped in a towel for insulation. Its good at room temperature as well.

Glazed Kielbasa

Use a good quality kielbasa and your favorite mustard.  You can also replace the bourbon with Calvados or brandy.

1 pound kielbasa

1 cup white wine or vermouth

2 Tablespoons light brown sugar

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard or coarse grain mustard

2 Tablespoons bourbon

Cut the kielbasa into ½ inch slices, then each slice into halves.  Arrange the kielbasa in one layer in a large skillet.  Pour over the wine and bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Cook until the wine is almost all evaporated, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the wine is all but gone, stir in the brown sugar, mustard and bourbon. Cook for about three minutes longer, stirring constantly.  The kielbasa pieces should be coated with a syrupy glaze.

Transfer the kielbasa to a serving platter and serve with cocktail picks.

Serves 8 – 10