pumpkin bread stuffed mushrooms

We had an open house for new church members last weekend. Somewhere along the way in my menu planning, this combination came to my mind, so I took a shot -- and it worked. You could use either of the pumpkin bread recipes here or here.
Preheat oven to 375.

18-24 cremini mushrooms
3 Tbsp butter
2 small shallots, chopped fine
2 large garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup crumbled pumpkin bread
4 Tbsp white wine
salt and pepper

Separate the stems from the caps, brush the caps clean and set them in a shallow baking dish or baking sheet. Dice the mushroom stems into a small pieces. Melt the butter in a sauté pan and add the stems, shallots, and garlic. Cook until shallots are translucent and mushrooms are soft -- 3-4 minutes. Add rosemary and pumpkin bread. Let the bread soak up the butter and then add the wine; cook the whole mixture another 3-4 minutes. Season to taste.

At this point, you have choices beyond what I did with my mushrooms. You can add other herbs (thyme, oregano), diced apples (Granny Smiths might give a little tartness), walnuts or pine nuts, or even bacon. You can also pulse the mixture in the food processor to make it more of a paste. I chose the chunky style and spooned it right out of the pan (after it cooled a little) into the mushroom caps.

Cook the mushrooms uncovered for about twenty minutes; let them rest for about five minutes before serving.

Peace
Milton

vegan pumpkin bread

Here is the vegan version, which also uses dark beer. The process is very similar to the other pumpkin bread; the difference is in the details.

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease two 9 x 5 loaf pans or six small loaf pans.

3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Mix the dry ingredients together and whisk until smooth. In a stand mixer, blend together

2/3 cup vegetable shortening, melted
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups (1 can) pumpkin puree
2/3 cup dark beer or stout
1/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla

When wet ingredients are combined, put mixer on low and add dry mixture until well blended. Spoon into pans and bake.

Large pans: one hour, or until cake tester comes out clean.
Small pans: thirty minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.

Peace
Milton

pumpkin bread

I have two variations on pumpkin bread. This is the house favorite. The other, which I will post in the next couple of days, is vegan without trying to be. Both are very good; this is just a bit more moist.

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease two 9 x 5 loaf pans or six small loaf pans.

3 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Mix the first four ingredients together and then add the rest and whisk until smooth. In a stand mixer, blend together

4 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
2 cups (1 can) pumpkin puree
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

Melt the butter and let it cool a bit. Mix the rest of the wet ingredients and then add the butter slowly so you don’t cook the eggs. When wet ingredients are combined, put mixer on low and add dry mixture until well blended. Spoon into pans and bake.

Large pans: one hour, or until cake tester comes out clean.
Small pans: thirty minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.

Peace
Milton

guinness chocolate cake

It’s fair to say Guinness and chocolate are two of my favorite ingredients. They are significant contributors to my chili recipe; how they have a cake of their own.

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour two nine-inch round cake pans.

1 1/2 cups Guinness (or other dark beer or stout)
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup cocoa powder (use Dutch-press cocoa)

Heat the butter and Guinness together until the butter melts; remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

In a separate bowl, whisk together

3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of your mixer, combine

3 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Add the Guinness-cocoa mixture, and stir until combined. Put the mixer on slow speed and add the dry mix, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Once everything is in the bowl, mix on medium speed for about one minute.

Divide the mixture between the two cake pans. Bake the layers for 45-50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove the cakes to a rack for at least ten minutes before turning them out of the pans and returning them to the cooling rack. Let them cool completely before icing, which is easy because the icing has to cool for a couple of hours.

1 pound semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Put the chocolate chips in a large heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer in a heavy saucepan or in the microwave. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until the mixture is velvety smooth. Add the vanilla and stir again. Refrigerate until the icing is both stiff and spreadable -- about two hours.

When you get ready to ice the cake, make sure the bottom layer is flat on top, so it doesn’t crack when you invert it on the cake plate. Place it bottom side up and use almost two-thirds of the icing on the top of the bottom layer. Place the second layer top side up and use the remaining icing for the top and sides.

I found it helpful to put the entire cake in the fridge to let the icing set -- the layers can slide around a bit.

Peace,
Milton

oatmeal, apricot, and cardamom cookies

My quest for both sweet and savory continues. Here's the latest effort.

1 cup butter (two sticks0, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white sugar

Cream the ingredients in a mixer for five to seven minutes, then add

2 eggs

and mix until combined. In another bowl, mix

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cardamom (see note below)
1/2 teaspoon salt

once combined, add to butter-sugar mixture. Then add

3 cups rolled oats (not instant0
1 1/2 cups diced dried apricots (unsulphured is best -- I got mine at Trader Joe's)

Drop on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 oven for 15 minutes (for a 2-oz. cookie). Makes about two dozen.

Note: I bought whole cardamom seeds. I roasted them on the stovetop by heating to medium heat a small saute pan and adding the seeds. I let them cook for several minutes, until they became a little brown and fragant. I then let them cool and ground them up in my coffee grinder. The cardamom will have a different taste if you don't roast the seeds.

Peace
Milton

apple hand pies with cheddar crust

This recipe is a variation on this recipe. I made it recently for a book gathering.
Cheddar Crust:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup (firmly packed) coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese
5 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Combine flour, sugar, and salt. Cut butter into small pieces and work into flour mixture with your hands or a pastry cutter until the flour looks and feels like wet sand. Mix in cheese in the same manner. Start by adding three tablespoons of water and mixing the dough. Add the last two one at a time so the dough holds together but is not too wet. Pour it out on a cutting board (you will still have some dry pieces) and fold it over on itself five or six times, just until it comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for at least thirty minutes.

Apple Mixture:

4-6 Granny Smith apples
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
pinch of salt
1/4t cinnamon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
butter

Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples. You want the apple pieces to be about a half inch square so they will easily fit in the muffin tins. Combine sugars, salt, and cinnamon and toss with apples. Add lemon juice and toss again.

Divide the crust in half and roll out to about an 1/8 of an inch thickness and cut with biscuit cutter about the size of the muffin tin. You should be able to get twelve. (you may have to re-roll the scraps for the last couple.) With your hands, press the disc out so it fits in the bottom of the muffin tin and comes up the sides almost even with the top. Fill each crust with enough of the apple mixture that it mounds above the muffin tin, then dot the top of each one with butter. Then roll out the other half of the crust and cut twelve more rounds and place them on top of the apples. Press then down to form the top of the pie, but you don’t have to make sure they are sealed; they are more like little lids. Brush the tops with an egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake in a 350 oven for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool before trying to remove from muffin tins.

Peace,
Milton

white chocolate coconut and cinnamon chip oatmeal cookies

1 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs

In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (5-7 minutes) and then add eggs and mix well. In a separate bowl combine

2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture until blended then add

1 1/2 cups cinnamon chips
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 12 cups shredded sweetened coconut

Using a one ounce scoop, drop the cookies on a baking sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper. Bake at 375 for 9-11 minutes.

Peace,
Milton

crystallized ginger and cheddar shortbread

1 cup butter, cut in small pieces
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Mix flour and salt. Cut in butter until the mixture has the texture of small pebbles. Add brown sugar, ginger, and cheddar and mix the dough until it holds together. Roll out to about 1/3 of an inch thickness and cut with a 2 inch biscuit cutter. Reshape left over dough without working it too much and keep cutting cookies. Place on a baking sheet and cook at 325 for about 20 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown a bit. Let cool for ten minutes on the sheet and then move to a cooling rack.

Peace,
Milton