Chicken Saltimbocca

We eat a lot of chicken. Have you noticed? This is one of my all time favorites and it's a great work night dinner since it takes about 15 minutes to make. I usually serve it with asparagus or broccoli or some other kind of green. This is from Food & Wine.

4 chicken breasts, halved or pounded into thin cutlets
10 sage leaves
4 slices of prosciutto
1/2 cup flour
3 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place 2-3 sage leaves on each breast and wrap the breast with a slice (or two for full coverage) of prosciutto. The prosciutto should stick together so you shouldn't need a toothpick. Lightly dredge the breasts in flour and shake off the excess.

2. Heat a large skillet to medium high and add oil and 2 tbsp of butter. Cook the chicken until the prosciutto starts to curl  - the chicken may not be cooked through - you'll finish it after next step. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate.

3. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of butter to the pan, add the win and cook over high until reduced by half. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by half again.

4. Return the chicken to the pan and cook until chicken is done.

Fennel and Carrot Soup

When I was pregnant last fall, I made dozens of bulk batch soups and froze half for those first few months of parenthood when you can barely see straight. I came across some good, simple recipes and now that the cold weather is here again, I'm bringing them back! This is unbelievably easy and very flavorful. Jack loves it too! (modified from Bon Appetit)

6 tbsp unsalted butter, divided (I used olive oil this time since I knew Jack would eat it)
2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
2 small onions, thinly sliced
4 carrots, chopped
1 yukon gold or russet potato, peeled and halved
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
4 cups (1 box) of chicken broth or vegetable broth

1. Heat the butter (or oil) in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add fennel, onion, carrots, potato, thyme and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

2. Add broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 10 mins or until potato is falling apart. Remove herbs.

3. Puree in a blender and serve!

Sunday Morning Waffles

Sunday breakfast is always reserved for something with maple syrup. Growing up, Sunday mornings were spent on Dad's lap as he read the comics. Later on my sister and I took turns picking pancakes or french toast. I've been conditioned. I wake up on Sunday mornings needing maple syrup. I hear the CBS Sunday Morning trumpet toot and I salivate like Pavlov's dog. It's always been pancakes and french toast in our family but I'm on to waffles. My friends Casey and Megan, fellow breakfast lovers, gave us a waffle maker for our wedding. It gets put to good use. I make a dozen or so about once a month and freeze them. Sunday mornings are for being lazy, not slaving in the kitchen so these babies get put in the toaster straight from the freezer and they're good as new.

Strangely it's taken me a looong time to find a waffle recipe that I like. These are perfect.

2 eggs
1 2/3 cup of milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
*I've been known to add a spoon or two of orange marmalade to my mix. Makes 'em even better.

Mix the dry, mix the wet separately, then combine with a whisk...don't overmix.

Sweet Potato Pie with Gingersnap Crust

The holidays are over....sigh. But luckily I still have a little leftover pie in the fridge. I wish it wouldn't go away. I keep taking only one bite periodically throughout the day, hoping it'll last a little longer. I'm usually on dessert duty for Thanksgiving and Christmas and the last couple of years I've changed up my pumpkin pie recipe a bit. It's not THAT original...I use the old trusted recipe off the One Pie can - but with a few substitutions that I think make all the difference: sweet potatoes instead of the canned stuff and gingersnap cookie crust instead of the standard.

Pie
1 3/4 cups roasted sweet potato (about 2 big ones)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmet
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp melted butter
1 12oz can evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
1/8 cup molasses
2 eggs, beaten

Gingersnap Crust
1 1/4 cup ground gingersnap cookies
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
4 tbsp butter, melted


1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Pulse the crust ingredients in a food processor until well combined. Pour into a pie dish and press down so that crust is firm, covers the bottom and the sides of the dish. Bake for 15 minutes and let cool.

3. In a mixer or large bowl, whisk sweet potato, eggs, butter, molasses, and milk. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Add to sweet potato mixture and whisk until combined.

4. Once crust has cooled, pour in the pie mixture and bake for about 50 minutes or until the pie is set.

Gingersnap Cookies

Gingernsaps are one of my favorite cookies. I tend to only bake them around the holidays when I need them for Sweet Potato Pie crust...and there are always a lot of leftovers. These freeze really well too!

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses

1. Preheat to 350. 

2. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl; stir well to mix. 

3. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together on medium speed the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes until very light, fluffy and whitened. Add the egg and continue beating until smooth. 

4. Lower speed and beat in half the dry ingredients, then the molasses Stop the mixer and scrape down bowl and beater. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients. 

5. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment. Scoop out 1-inch diameter pieces of dough. Roll into balls between the palms of your the hands. Place the balls of dough on the prepared pans leaving about 3 inches all around each, to allow for spreading. 

6. Bake the cookies for about 15 mins for chewy cookies and 20 mins for crispy ones.

Cherry Citrus Scones

Paddy and I spent a couple of weeks in Ireland in the beginning of September. It was a great vacation and so good to spend time with the family...most of which was spent in the kitchen at Paddy's house (built in 1650!!), keeping warm by the cooker (which still burns turf), drinking tea, and eating scones. Paddy's mom made a fresh batch of scones about every other day and the smell of them in the oven would wake me up in the morning. Is there a better way to start the day?? Needless to say, when I came home, I was missing her scones dearly and decided to bake a batch to keep on hand. Ina Garten's is one of the better scone recipes I've tried - they're extra light and fluffy (sometimes scones can be dense, dry, and hard). I've changed a few things and this is my version, which by the way, is half of her recipe. This makes about 8 to 10 2-inch round scones. These freeze really well and if you keep to the directions of only rolling them out to about 1/2-3/4 inches, you can pop them in the toaster to defrost and warm up!

2 cups plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour 

2 tbsp sugar, plus additional for sprinkling

1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp grated grapefruit zest (could sub orange or lemon but grapefruit is my favorite!)
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, diced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cold heavy cream (or milk if you don't have cream)
1 cup dried cherries (you could sub cranberries or any other dried berry)
1 egg beaten with 2 tbsp water or milk, for egg wash

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix 2 cups of flour, 2 tbsp of sugar, the baking powder, salt and orange zest. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas. 

 

3. Combine the eggs and heavy cream and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour into the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. Combine the dried cranberries and 2 tbsp of flour, add to the dough, and mix on low speed until blended.

4. Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it into a ball. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see small bits of butter in the dough. Keep moving the dough on the floured board so it doesn't stick. Use a cookie cutter or a juice glass to make 2-3 inch rounds in the dough. Place the scones on a cookie sheet.

5. Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar (don't skip these last steps!), and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the insides are fully baked.

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting & Salted Caramel Pepitas

It's fall and I'm all things pumpkin. No, I don't do pumpkin lattes buuuuut, pretty much anything else. I saw this on Food52 the other day and had to make it. My mom thinks it's better than pumpkin pie. I don't know if I could forgo pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving but this is pretty damn yummy. I ate about half of it this weekend all by myself. Pregnancy strikes again...

Cake:
 

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder  

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1 tbsp plus 1 tsp ground cinnamon  

1 tsp freshly nutmeg 

1/4 tsp ground cloves  

1 cup plus 2 tbsp pumpkin purée 

1 cup vegetable or canola oil  

1 1/3 cup sugar 

3/4 tsp salt  

3 large eggs,yolks and whites separated

 

Frosting and caramelized pepitas (pumpkin seeds0: 

9 tbsp butter, divided, at room temperature 

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (1 block of Philly)

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar 

Pinch of cinnamon  

1 tbsp sugar 

1/2 cup salted pumpkin seeds (raw or toasted)  

 

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan, then line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper and butter that, too.

 

2. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves into a bowl and set aside.

 

3. Use the whisk attachment of a stand mixer to combine the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and salt.

 

4. With mixer on medium speed, add the egg yolks one at a time, waiting for one yolk to be fully incorporated before adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture, turning off the machine as soon as the dry ingredients are just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

 

5. Whisk the three egg whites until they are frothy and white. Fold them into the batter using a rubber spatula until they were no longer visible (but be careful not to over mix). Pour the cake batter into the pan and bake on the center rack in the oven. Begin checking the cake after 40 minutes. Let the cake cool in its pan on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes, or until the cake is pulling away from the pan, before inverting it onto a wire rack.

 

6. To make the frosting, beat together 8 tbsp of the butter and the cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the powdered and beat until the frosting is smooth with no dry traces of sugar. Add a pinch of cinnamon, and beat the frosting until incorporated.

 

7. To make the pepitas, caramelize 1 tbsp of sugar in a small saucepan on medium heat until it is a rich reddish-brown color. Avoid over-stirring, which can turn the mixture dry and crumbly. Once the sugar is dark and fragrant, add the last tbsp of butter and stir quickly until it has melted and the sauce is smooth. Add the pumpkin seeds and stir until they're evenly coated in sauce. Transfer the seeds to a plate lined with parchment paper so that they cool and harden.

 

8. When the cake is completely cool, frost just the top and sprinkle with the seeds. You'll have extra frosting and I'm suuuuure you'll find something to do with it (like eat the rest with a spoon until you're sick).