Hatch Chile Smores

 As I've mentioned before, the backs of product packages are great places to find good recipes like the one I found here for mushroom soup.   Another excellent source is the manufacturer’s website.  The goal, of course, is to sell their products, and what better way than with a great recipe.  This is how I happened to find myself rummaging through the Melissa's Produce website, a package of Hatch Chile Powder in hand.  I was expecting recipes for stew or chili.  I was not expecting this easy and surprisingly good recipe for smores.

Former Girl Scout that I am, I consider myself something of an expert here, so I had to try these.  I had everything on hand and, with the exception of the chocolate drying time, these took only minutes to prepare.   They are also really good!  The hatch chile powder provides heat and a light smokiness.  One bite and chocolate warmth spreads throughout your mouth.  One of these will not be enough; you will have to have more.  I topped mine with a light dusting of fleur de sel.  You might want to try sanding sugar, sprinkles, or even red hots.  Whatever you choose, it’s a tasty way to warm up your palate on a frosty evening.

Hatch Chile Smores

5 Graham Crackers -- halved then quartered
10 Marshmallows
1/2cup   Chocolate Chips
1/2 teaspoon New Mexico Hatch Chile Powder 

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

On a baking sheet, place half of the cracker quarters.  Top each cracker with a marshmallow and place in the oven.  Bake until the marshmallow begins to melt, about 5 minutes.  Remove the crackers from the oven and immediately top them with the remaining cracker quarters, pressing down slightly.  Melt the chocolate in the microwave and mix in the chile powder.  Dip each cookie in the chocolate, coating all sides and place on parchment pepper to dry.  Makes 10 smores.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sweets for a Saturday

Making Apple Pie Spice

It's apple season (as Wednesday’s post will attest)!  What a great time of the year for long walks in the country soaking up all of the beautiful fall color, and trips to the farm to pick your own apples for scrumptious fall baking.

The first thing you’re going to need in order to make use of the wonderful apple recipes that are cropping up (if you'll pardon the pun) is apple pie spice.  As with pumpkin pie spice, there is no need to buy it, just create your own blend from the spices that you already have on your shelf.   The photo above provides the proportions, the written recipe is below.  This makes about 3 tablespoons.  You can double it, triple it, or even cut it in half, depending upon your projected use.  You can also put a heaping tablespoon into a pan of water, along with apple peelings, and a few cloves, and simmer it on the stove to give your home a wonderful fall scent.

Apple Pie Spice

(Makes about 3 tablespoons)

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Stir together and store in an airtight jar.

This post is linked to:

Seasonal Sunday

On the Menu Monday

Metamorphosis Monday

Wow Us Wednesday

Tutorial Tips & Tidbits

How about them apples?

 

 An impromptu dinner party calls for an impromptu table setting, and the challenge of pulling something together from things close at hand in fifteen minutes or less. Thank goodness it's apple season!  This isn't the first time that fresh, fragrant produce has saved the day.

Red and yellow apples took center stage in this three-tier centerpiece into which I tucked greenery and filled in spaces with Melissa's Organic Baby Gala Apples (so cute!).

Now, I know you're getting sick of seeing these placemats but, yet again, I'm amazed at their versatility.

I pulled plates, bowls, and mugs from the cabinets in colors to replicate the apples, doing the same with the napkins.

Complementary glassware and a baby apple for each and the table is set!

Placemats – Pier 1
Glasses – Fiestaware

Centerpiece – Oak Tree Furniture (long ago)

Plates, mugs & bowls – Fiestaware

Glassware, pitcher, butte dish - Fiestaware

Red napkins – Crate & Barrel

This post is linked to:

Tabletop Tuesday 
Centerpiece Wednesday
 Wow Us Wednesdays
 Cuisine Kathleen's
 Open House Party
 The Charm of Home
Tablescape Thursday 
 Feather Your Nest Friday
 Show and Tell Friday
 Seasonal Sundays

Linguine in Broccoli Cream Sauce

Sometimes it’s not easy to get a serving of vegetables into a vegetable hating family, particularly if children are involved.  This dish is rather simple to prepare and makes eating vegetables painless and tasty.  It’s very forgiving, so you can alter the seasonings to suit your tastes, or add some of your own.  Eliminating the nutmeg and tossing fresh basil leaves into the processor when making the purée gives it a very fresh summery taste.  For fall and winter, nutmeg gives it an earthier one.  Experiment, have fun, and eat your veggies!

Linguine in Broccoli Cream Sauce

1 lb. fresh broccoli
1 teaspoon Melissa’s minced garlic (more or less to taste)

1/2 cup butter

1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (more or less to taste)

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 package linguine

Cook broccoli in boiling salted water until tender.  Remove broccoli to cool in ice water, reserving cooking water.  Replace cooking water on heat and let it return to a boil. Cook pasta until tender; drain.  Meanwhile, in food processor with steel blade, combine broccoli, garlic, butter, hot sauce, salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Pulse to purée.  (This mixture can be made ahead if need be.)

In a saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium heat just until simmering and stir in the broccoli sauce.  Add ½ cup Parmesan and bring back to a simmer.  In a warmed serving dish, toss the warm pasta with the remaining ½ cup of Parmesan, and pour on the cream sauce, tossing well.  Garnish with broccoli flowerets and gratings of Parmesan and serve immediately.

Serves 8 as a side dish.

This post is linked to:

Wow Us Wednesday

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Yesterday’s soup was topped with roasted pumpkin seeds, and that made it extra delicious.  If you’ve never roasted them before, it is so easy and makes a tasty and healthy snack. 

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

1 cup pumpkin seeds, pulp removed

2 teaspoons olive oil

Salt

Flavoring of your choice (I used Old Bay)

Preheat oven to 300°F.  In a medium sized bowl, toss seeds with oil and seasonings.  Spread in an even layer on a Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden.

This post is linked to:

Seasonal Sunday

Tutorial Tips & Tidbits

Pumpkin and Harvest Vegetable Soup

Of all of the things that I make, soup is my absolute favorite, the making of which is an activity that satisfies all of the senses.  There is a certain comfort in the chopping, a satisfaction as the newly diced vegetables hit the sizzling pan, and a feeling of tranquility as I stir all of the ingredients together.  Then comes the reward of the heady aroma as it simmers on the stove, followed by, at long last, that deliciously soothing first taste.  Despite my considerable experience in soup making, however, I had never made pumpkin soup.  I’ve tasted it though, and that probably explains my reticence.  Many of the varieties that I’ve encountered are too sweet, too warmly spicy, or, as in one case, tasted like liquid pumpkin pie.  Soup is not dessert!  So I decided to make my own version and it turned out to be a great success.  It is a wonderful marriage of ingredients that complement rather than overpower.  You’ll be aware of warmth and silky smoothness as it hits the tongue, followed by a light spiciness that will have you craving more.

Pumpkin and Harvest Vegetable Soup

4 slices bacon

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Melissa's fire roasted sweet red bell pepper, chopped

4-5 cups homemade chicken stock

1 15 ounce can cannellini beans

1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 15 ounce can pumpkin purée

1 tablespoon chipotle in adobo sauce, seeded and minced

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon curry

1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon lime juice

In a large pot, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp; drain and crumble, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan.

Cook onions and garlic in drippings over medium heat, stirring regularly to keep garlic from burning. Cook 8-10 minutes or until onion is tender and translucent.

Add stock and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and summer, stirring occasionally for 25-30 minutes.

Using an immersion blender (or in the container of an electric blender), process mixture until smooth.

Serve in hollowed out mini pie pumpkins topped with crumbled bacon, chopped parsley, and roasted pumpkin seeds.

This post is linked to:

Seasonal Sunday

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Foodie Friday

Ossi di Morto (Bones of the Dead)

In honor of All Souls Day, here is an interesting recipe for Bones of the Dead cookies.  It comes from the The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion Cookbook, but for the sake of convenience, I’ve reproduced it below.  They are tasty cookies with a slightly crunchy exterior and light, cakelike interior.

Ossi di Morto (Bones of the Dead)

2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup almond flour*

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1/2 to 1 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons milk

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Beat in the wet ingredients to make a smooth, soft dough.

Transfer the dough to a heavily floured work surface and divide it into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope about 1/2" to 3/4" in diameter, and 16" long.

Cut each rope into 4" pieces.  Working with one piece at a time, pinch the center, giving it a slender "waist" about 1/2" thick. Plump the ends into knobs so the whole thing resembles a bone.

Transfer the "bones" to the prepared baking sheets and refrigerate overnight, uncovered.

The next day, remove the cookies from the refrigerator. Allow them to rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Towards the end of the rest, preheat the oven to 300°F.

Bake the cookies for 15 to 25 minutes. Bake less time for a cookie that's lightly crunchy on the outside and chewy within, and longer for a hard, crunchy cookie.

Remove the cookies from the oven, cool, and roll the cookies confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies.

*To make almond flour, whir almonds in a high-speed blender (such as a Ninja) or run them through a Vitamix.  Do NOT use a food processor or you'll have almond butter.

This post is linked to:

 Show and Tell Friday
 Seasonal Sundays