thank you

Thank you! Thank you! for all of the pumpkin ideas. (keep em comin') This lovely Pumpkin Risotto was a success last night right around 11:00pm. I cheated and used orzo instead of arborio rice, but the flavors and textures came together just right. One more round of testing and I'll post the recipe. I think this would be a lovely side dish on Turkey Day. There are currently 4 pretty pumpkin creme brulees baking away in my oven. If they taste as good as they look, we are in good shape folks.
In non-pumpkin news, I popped into Williams Sonoma today and first longed for my once 40% discount, and then fell in love with this ever so sweet kids cookie/cupcake decorating kit. Let the Christmas wishlisting begin.

pumpkin whoopsie pies

This week canned pumpkin is my mission. I'm working on developing some recipes/ideas for an AM New York article that I'm being interviewed for later this week. Today was testing day 1 and unfortunately did not result in very much success. This picture represents the different batches that I made today. I went to the grocery store 3 times and once in my apron. I didn't realize until I got there and felt terribly embarrassed in my frilly polka dots. How does a person run out of sugar and flour in the same day?! I don't do this often, but I might give up on this one. Something is just wrong, and I can't seem to fix it. The cookies need to be more spongey and orange. Plus, I thought the mini-chocolate chips were a great idea and realized at the end that they definitely were not.

So I'm once again reaching out to readers for pumpkin ideas. What is your favorite way to utilize canned pumpkin this time of year? I'm working on recipes for Pumpkin Chili, Pumpkin Gingersnap Shakes, Pumpkin Pancakes with Pecan Syrup, Pumpkin Risotto, and Pumpkin Sweet Rolls. Any other ideas?

p.s. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the cornbread recipes. Once this pumpkin stuff is behind me, there will be cornbread baking in the oven!

Halloween Loot

One of my mom's greatest talents is giving gifts...and it works out really nicely for her children. She can somehow always hit the nail on the head when it comes to gifting for any holiday. Luckily we received a box on Halloween filled with all sorts of delicious-ness. To top it all off she included a gift card to have lunch at Neiman Marcus...very classy. So here is a big "thank you" to my dear mother for being so thoughtful!

cornbread anybody?

So the picture doesn't look so bad, but the recipe is nothing to write home about. I'm looking for a delicious cornbread recipe to go with our traditional "cornbread and chili dinner" on Halloween. Any brilliant recipes out there?

whipped cream

Let's talk about something of importance here: whipped cream. If I were to compile a list of top tier holiday baking suggestions, serving whipped cream as an accompaniment to all things delicious would be right at the top. I know that it takes a bit of effort, but your time will be well spent. Especially if you sweeten it with a bit of powdered sugar and vanilla. It should be no surprise to most of you that I am a huge fan of Vanilla Bean Paste, and that is exactly what I use to make perfectly sweetened whipped cream. To achieve the fluffy, sweet, white goodness, here are my best tips.

• Chill the metal bowl, beaters (or whisk) you will use to whip the cream in the freezer for about 15 minutes for optimum results. Your cream will whip faster and more fully.
• Use powdered sugar rather than granulated sugar to sweeten the cream. It dissolves quickly and helps stabilize the cream due to the cornstarch in it.
• If you over beat the cream and you start to get butter, fix it by gently stirring a very small amount of additional cream into the mixture. Just don't continue to beat.
• You will get more volume from whipped cream if you hold off adding the sugar and extracts until the cream has been whipped to soft peaks.

candy quiz

Just how well do you know your Halloween candy? Take a minute to test yourself on the sweet stuff over at epicurious. Being the candy lover that I am, I was sure that I would get them all right...boy was I wrong.
answers here

cranberry salad

My family loves Thanksgiving so much that it not only comes once a year, but twice a year. The last weekend in October my family gets together and has Mock Thanksgiving. This is serious folks, we're talking down to the name cards and favors for guests to take home. Check out more lovely photos here. This was the first year I've missed it since I can remember. Such a bummer. To cope, I made a series of Thanksgiving dishes over the weekend. This included our family's beloved cranberry salad.
Now, some of you may turn your noses up to a recipe with mini marshmallows and crushed pineapple...but not so fast. It is so so so delicious. Sweetened cranberries folded into (real) whipped cream with crushed pineapple and those lovely little minis. To fool you all into thinking this is a much more sophisticated recipe than it actually is, we top it with pomegranate seeds and sometimes nuts. My mom likes it frozen while I prefer it just chilled.
Where does such a unique recipe come from? Well, I believe it came from my mom's 8th grade home economics class...which makes me like it even more.
If you are looking for a new cranberry recipe for the Thanksgiving lineup, include this one in the running. Recipe found here.