Pumpkin Hollow Tablescape

 

It has been a busy and exhausting week for me as the finishing touches were finally put on the kitchen. I have to say that I am completely in love with it, cannot stop looking at it, and will do a “reveal” blog post next week. While builder, Joe, was working, I did find time to go out in the conservatory and set a table for two suitable for the month of October.The pumpkin tureen centerpiece was the inspiration for the table. I honestly can’t tell you how long ago it was that I bought that tureen (with the orange berry ring that surrounds it), but I do know that it was at a local shop on historic Main Street that closed about 20 years ago, so I have had this for a long time. It is, truly, one of my favorite pieces of holiday culinary decor.The plates are by David Carter Brown, the pattern is called “Pumpkin Hollow,“ providing the inspiration for the name of this tablescape. They are just small enough so that I was able to set them on orange Fiestaware salad plates providing a nice orange rim to delineate them from the square black dinner plates beneath. 

The black plates set on top Italian chargers with a deep green edge that I inherited from my mother. 

New for this year are the wine glasses with the pumpkin on the stem. I found these at Target, believe it or not, and pounced on them immediately. They are glass, not plastic, and surprisingly durable.

  

Orange flatware brightens atop Kate Spade striped napkins that reminded me of the legs of the wicked witch of the west, so I had to use them here.

The mugs are from Starbucks about 20 years ago. I get those out every year around this time.

 

 The wrought iron candleholders, when put together create a heart, but when separated, provide a unique look.This is my birthday month, and favorite time of the year, so I’m hopeful to be able to do at least one other table setting before October is but a memory.

This post is linked to: Tablescape Thursday

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Ghost Bride Martini

 

Sometimes it’s hard to come up with that perfect cocktail for your Halloween, Samhain, Dia de Los Muertos, or other spooky celebration. This recipe, from the recently reviewed Food to Die For, is adapted from one served at the haunted Grand Galvez Hotel in Galveston, TX, and further adapted by me. It honors Audra, the lovelorn bride, who hanged herself in the hotel when her mariner fiancé’s ship went down in a storm and he never returned to marry her. Sadly, he did return a number of days after her death as he had been picked up by another ship. Clearly their love was not to be.

Ghost Bride Martini

1 ½ oz. citrus vodka
¾ oz. Cointreau
¼ oz. Simple syrup
½ oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Run the squeezed lemon around the rim of a martini glass, invert that glass onto a plate of granulated sugar to coat, and chill.

Mix the vodka, Cointreau, simple syrup, and freshly squeezed lemon juice together in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Strain into your sugar rimmed glass and serve immediately.

This recipe makes one cocktail. What you see in the glass on this page is a double.

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Pan-Seared Rockfish with Capers and Lemon Butter

 

I decided to try something new from my Wild Alaskan box so chose Pacific rockfish. This is so new to me that not only had I never had rockfish before, I honestly hadn’t heard of it. In case you are as unfamiliar as I, rockfish is a mild whitefish that is somewhere between cod and halibut. It has a flaky texture and a mild flavor, it is perfect when fried, broiled, grilled, or pan sautéed. It is also known as Pacific ocean perch, rose fish, red bream, or red perch.

 I found this recipe on the askchefdennis.com website that looked perfectly doable and decided to give it a try. It was very good. It didn’t blow me over the way the halibut and salmon did, but it was still a lovely entrée. This is a dish that cooks up fairly rapidly, so this is one of those times when mise en place is necessary.

Pan-Seared Rockfish with Capers and Lemon Butter

Slightly adapted from askchefdennis.com

Rockfish

14 oz. rockfish (2 fillets)

¼ c. flour

1 t. sea salt

½ t. black pepper

1 T. olive oil

1 T. butter

Lemon Butter Sauce

1 T. finely chopped Melissa’s shallots

1 T. capers

1 T. butter

2 T. fresh lemon juice

1-2 ounces white wine

1 T. butter

1 t. flour to roll butter in

Italian parsley, chopped, for garnish

 Preheat oven to 250° F. Get a baking sheet handy; set aside.  
Pat rockfish fillets dry with paper towels and season them liberally with sea salt and black pepper.

Dredge the rockfish fillets in flour, getting a good coating on both sides.

 In a large sauté pan add the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Heat over medium-high until the butter is melted and sizzling, but don’t allow the butter to brown. Lower the heat to medium.

Place the floured rockfish into the hot pan, cooking on the first side for 3-4 minutes. (Don’t be tempted to turn it over too soon, you want that delicious crunch and golden brown color that comes from not moving the fillets around.)

Turn the rockfish over and continue to sauté for another 3-4 minutes. When the pan-seared rockfish is fully cooked, place it on the baking sheet and pop it into your preheated oven while you make the lemon caper sauce.

 In a small sauté pan over medium heat place 1 T. butter, shallots, and capers. Sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and white wine to the pan. When the liquids are hot, add 1 tablespoon of butter rolled in flour (Beurre manié) to the pan. This will thicken the sauce.

Pour the lemon caper sauce over the pan-seared rockfish. 
Garnish with chopped parsley and serve. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Alpenglow, Outdoor Celebrations for Every Occasion by Hillary Munro, reviewed

My experience with outdoor living doesn’t extend much beyond Girl Scout camp, the days of which I can count as among the worst in my life. Where not only did it rain, our tent become infested with daddy long legs, the proffered water taste strongly of iron, but the food that they gave us was borderline poisonous. How different things might have been had a lovely book like this one been available for the Girl Scout leaders to peruse in order to make the experience a lovely one rather than fodder for nightmares. But I digress…

Alpenglow, Outdoor Celebrations for Every Occasion by Hillary Munro is a beautiful book, and not just beautiful, but inspiring. Just paging through, looking at the gorgeous photos made me feel much more relaxed. I no longer have access to the wide open spaces that I used to, but despite that, it really has me thinking about outdoor dining in the coming months, and planning for next spring and summer. Is there anything better than feeling at one with nature at a time when you are nourishing your body? This book shows you how to nourish not only body, but mind and soul as well.

  The word “alpenglow,” for the uninitiated, refers to “… the magic hour when the sky turns shades of pink and orange, not found on a color wheel…” isn’t that lovely?The book is set in the author’s home in the high mountain valley of Jackson, Wyoming, but the gatherings and parties, rituals and recipes, projects and crafts, can take place anywhere.

Both cookbook and lifestyle book, there are some wonderful recipes in here, not only for food, but also for party favors and various crafts as well. The photography by Lisa Flood is beautiful. The recipes and craft instructions are easy to follow, and perfectly doable even for the most inexperienced cook. 

 The book is divided into five sections:

Winter Gatherings

Spring Gatherings

Summer Gatherings

Fall Gatherings

Handcrafted Gifts

 One section more inspiring than the other, each with its own recipes, craft, and unique ideas for gatherings.

It lacks an index, something I find quite vexing. I realize that it’s work putting an index together, because I've done that, but I find an index to be invaluable when returning to a book to search for a particular recipe or craft idea. Failing that, it is a gorgeous and inspiring book with ideas to carry you throughout the year, even during the darkest days of winter when we probably need it the most.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Gibbs Smith Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

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Better Than T.J.’s Snacky Clusters

 

This is yet another case of the “salty loves sweet, sweet loves salty“ thing that I talked about here. Not too long ago I had been made aware of Trader Joe’s Snacky Clusters. Joe’s are rather small, and, in my opinion anyway, a bit pricey for what you get. Thinking that nothing could be easier than to make these at home, I did. The real bonus here is that you can use those broken chips at the bottom of bags to make this delicious treat. I used essentially the same ingredients as Trader Joe’s, namely, corn chips, potato chips, and pretzel bits, but I decided to go one better and also add some bits of brickle. That took these chocolaty clusters of salty deliciousness right over the top. These are easy to put together, so much so that the kids can do it. In fact, I think they would love, smashing melted chocolate, their favorite salty snack.

Better Than T.J.’s Snacky Clusters

2 c. milk chocolate chip

½ c. broken Fritos 

½ c. pretzel bites 

½ c. broken rippled potato chips 

½ c. Heath Bits of Brickle    

 Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or a Silpat).

Place milk chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl, and microwave in intervals, stirring after each 30 seconds. I found it took me one minute and 30 seconds to melt them into smooth chocolate.

When chocolate has melted, stir in Fritos, potato chips, pretzel bites, and bits of  Heath Bits of Brickle. Drop onto your parchment paper, and allow a couple of hours to firm. If you’re in a rush, you can place them in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

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Broccoli Salad with Cashews and Water Chestnuts

 

“I just made a new broccoli salad that has cashews and water chestnuts in it,” I recently told a friend, adding that it was very good, but then honestly, I asked her, what broccoli salad isn’t? One that she had had recently apparently, made by a friend of hers who had blanched the florets. She cooked her broccoli for her broccoli salad! Come on, people! Would you par boil lettuce for a green salad? I don’t think so. Never, and I am telling you NEVER cook broccoli for a broccoli salad. No!

 This recipe with the addition of cashews and water chestnuts, different from the norm, was just the ticket. I punched up the dressing with a little bit of dry mustard, taking it from drab to dynamic.

Broccoli Salad with Cashews and Water Chestnuts

 2 large crowns Melissa’s Organic Broccoli, cut into florets

6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

1 c. cashews

¼ c. chopped red onion

½ c. golden raisins

⅓ c. chopped water chestnuts

 Dressing:

1 c. Duke’s mayonnaise

1 T. cider vinegar

¼ c. sugar

½ t. kosher salt

¼ t. dry mustard

Whisk together dressing ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside.

 Play, broccoli, bacon, cashews, onion, raisins, and water chestnuts into a large bowl. Pour dressing overall and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours, preferably overnight.

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Brown Butter and Herb Baked Halibut

 

As I’ve mentioned any number of times on this blog, the late Mr. O-P was the fish cooker in the family. The first time I had salmon was when Jim made it for me, and I absolutely loved it. After that I branched out a bit to discover that I like quite a few kinds of fish.  I never had much fish growing up because my mother just never made it, and I think our pallets are shaped by our parents’ tastes, and doubtless theirs by their own parents, but I digress. I decided to treat myself to a subscription to Wild Alaskan Company. I am in no way affiliated with them, I am just very pleased with their products. Thus far I have tried the salmon, and now the halibut (my first time ever eating halibut). Not only is it quick and easy to prepare, but the result is restaurant quality. I couldn’t believe how good it was. The fact that I had made it myself was just a bonus.

I failed to write down my instructions for the salmon because I was just experimenting, but I did when I made the halibut, and am sharing it here with you; I know that you're going to love it. My guess is that this would work with any white fish.
Brown Butter and Herb Baked Halibut

1 stick (½ c.) butter
2/3 c. crushed saltines
¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese
½ t. dried basil
½ t. dried oregano
½ t. salt
¼ t. garlic powder
1 lb. halibut fillets, thawed, drained, and patted dry

 Preheat oven to 350°F.

 Place butter into a 9” x 13” casserole dish and melt in the oven as it preheats (approximately 6 to 7 minutes). Meanwhile, in a 9” pie pan, place all ingredients except the fish, stirring to combine thoroughly.

Remove casserole dish with the now melted butter from the oven, dip fish fillets in the butter, and then dredge them in the crumb mixture. Place fillets back into the baking pan, and bake in the center of the oven for 25 - 35 minutes or until fish is tender, and flakes with a fork.

Serve immediately, drizzling the brown butter that has accumulated on the bottom of the pan over each fillet of fish.

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