To start with, a pumpkin pie based on a recipe by Paula Deen (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/pumpkin-pie-recipe/index.html). Anything made with canned pumpkin gets a really nice and creamy texture, but the addition of cream cheese in this makes it nearly cheesecake-like in consistency.
I made a crust for this the same way that I made the torte crust in a previous post, but instead of must making a basic torte crust shape, I chilled the dough, rolled in into a circularish shape, chilled again, then pushed into a pie pan. Remember to fold the edges back under the crust, then press down with a fork or other design to make the crust more uniform (because mine was totally circular... right?). Pre-bake the crust at 350 for 15-20 minutes with something weighing down the middle of the crust so it doesn't poof too much.
For the filling, combine a softened 8oz package light cream cheese , 2C canned pumpkin, 1C sugar, 1/4t salt, 2 eggs, 1C milk, 1/2 stick melted butter, 1t vanilla, 1t cinnamon, and 1/2t ginger with beaters until smooth and creamy, then pour into a crust. I had leftover filling, and put the remainder in ramekins to bake and have individual pies (with or without mini-crusts). Bake your dish(es) at 350 for 50 minutes, or until the edges of the crust are golden brown. Utterly delicious.
Next up is a pumpkin cake, which is great for larger groups of people or pot-lucks, as it's in a 9x13 pan and travels quite well. To start, combine 1 box yellow cake mix except 1 cup with 1/2C melted margarine and one egg, and press into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Then, combine a 15oz can pumpkin, 3 eggs, 2t cinnamon, 1/2C brown sugar, 1/2C white sugar and a 5oz can evaporated milk well, and pour over the base layer in the pan. To make the toping, mix together the reserved yellow cake mix, 1/2C sugar, and 1/4C melted margarine, then crumble that over the top, and bake at 325 for an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes. I got rave reviews from this, and it was quite tasty.
Continuing the holiday trend is a chocolate bourbon pecan pie. Now, I made this a month ago so don't remember precisely how I made it, but this is the best re-creation I can come up with. It doesn't use any high-fructose corn syrup like most pecan pies, only sugar. So, again start with a crust pushed into a pan. To make the filling, combine 3 eggs, 1/2C melted butter, 1C brown sugar, 1/4C white sugar, 1T flour, 1T milk, 2t vanilla extract, 2+T bourbon (I used Makers Mark) and 2/3C chopped pecans. Line the bottom of the crust with ~2/3C of good dark chocolate chips (like Ghirardelli), then pour the filling over them. Finish the top with whole pecans, and bake at 400 for 10 minutes, then turn down the temperature to 350 and bake for another 30-40 minutes. The pie will poof up while it bakes, and will then settle back down once it comes out of the oven. Utterly delicious, and feel free to modify any ingredients based on what you like.
I also had leftover filling for this pie, so put it in a ramekin with leftover crust and made a personal pie. Awesome present to myself the next night.
Moving on, we have a carrot cake from The Tassajara Bread Book. It has carrots in it, which means you can almost justify it as being healthy. It's not. Rather, it's extremely rich, excellently spiced and makes an awesome dessert. To make, combine 1C white sugar, 1C brown sugar, 4 eggs, 2/3C melted butter and 2/3C canola oil. Then, mix in 2 C flour, 1+T cinnamon, 2t allspice, 2t freshly grated nutmeg and 1C chopped walnuts. Finally, mix in 3C grated carrots and 1C raisins and divide into 2 piled 9 inch pans. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, and serve with cream cheese icing. Delicious.
Growing up, there was a bakery my family went to that gave kids honey whole wheat bread sticks when they came in. These bread sticks amazing; sweet, soft, wheaty and delicious. I was looking for a good recipe for a standard whole wheat bread loaf I could use for my breakfast toast, and I think I found a recipe that is almost identical to those bread sticks, and so moist and tasty. Ok, enough adjectives, on to the recipe. Combine 3C warm water, 2t yeast and 1/3C honey, and let sit a couple minutes. Then, add 3C whole wheat flour, 3C bread flour, 3T melted butter, 1T salt, a drizzle of canola oil and a couple tablespoons of sugar, combine and kneed until smooth and a good consistency. Add up to a couple cups of bread flour as you kneed to adjust the consistency to a nice level. Let rise for a couple hours until doubled, divide into 2 loaf pans, let rise another couple hours until the pans are filled, then bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until golden on top. I may or may not have eaten a third of a loaf as soon as it came out of the oven. Oops.
Finally, a quick tip. Spaghetti squash is awesome. Furthermore, it makes a really quick easy dinner. Cook the squash by cutting it in half and cooking at 375 for 40 minutes, then scrape out the flesh, and add hummus and any veggies you may have. Hummus makes a remarkably good sauce, much like a pesto.
