Cherry Almond Cookies & Pistachio Spice Shortbread

Let's not act surprised that my first blog post in months is my Christmas Cookie post! I couldn't let December pass by without it, could I? This is actually round 1 of 2 or 3 cookie baking sessions. This year, I wised up and brought my Cincinnati cookie packages with me at Thanksgiving rather than spend the big bucks to mail them later in December. Who doesn't want a giant box of cookies the day after Thanksgiving?! 

I used some of my traditional favorites, and added two new ones! The lovely people at Oh! Nuts are always so kind to send bloggers (even the semi-retired bloggers) a few items each Christmas to try out in our baking. I chose dried cherries and pistachios, and made two different cookies with them. The  blue arrow is pointing to the Cherry Almond, and the lavender arrow is pointing to the Pistachio Spice Shortbread. They were both phenomenal, and I recommend them! 

I made them exactly as written, so I'll just link you to the original.

Cherry Almond Cookies

Pistachio Spice Shortbread 

There is one other juicy bit to share with you! I have felt a bit uninspired to blog over the past few months, but I finally have my cooking muse! I joined a CSA here in Jacksonville (KYV Farm) and I am so excited to start making and creating recipes with the beautiful produce! I will also be sharing a few more cookie recipes with you as the month goes on because we have to balance all of the kale and squash out with something, right? 

Roasted Acorn Squash and Arugula Salad with Gorgonzola

I try so hard to love all vegetables equally, but acorn squash is probably my least favorite of all the squash out there. So now that we've had it three weeks in a row in the CSA basket, I figured I should find a way to love it. It's not fair to compare it to sweet and versatile butternut, easy to prep delicata, new and exciting kobocha, or pasta-sub spaghetti. It's small, hard to prep, it's earthy, the skin is tough, and it doesn't naturally scream 'use me in this recipe' unless it's stuffed - though it does make for a pretty presentation - but it's hard to eat that way.

So I did some googling and recipe searching. I came across a recipe for Acorn Squash and Gorgonzola Pizza, which sounded interesting, and used my CSA arugula! However, when the time came I just didn't get around to making pizza dough, so a salad sounded like the next easiest thing. This salad was perfect, and I absolutely loved the squash. I even found a bonus, acorn squash holds up really well to roasting, it doesn't get too soft or crumble like others can. The finishing touch to this salad, however, was a thick, syrupy pomegranate balsamic vinegar I recently was gifted. It balanced out the bitter and earthy tastes from the other ingredients perfectly!

Roasted Acorn Squash and Arugula Salad with Gorgonzola

2 acorn squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1" cubes

1 tbsp. maple syrup

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

1 large bunch of arugula
1/2 c. crumbled gorgonzola
Aged balsamic vinegar

Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400*
Toss squash in syrup, 1 tbsp. olive oil, salt and pepper, then arrange on a baking sheet.
Roast for 20 minutes, toss squash, and roast another 10-20 minutes, until caramelized and tender.
Arrange arugula in a salad bowl, toss with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Remove squash from oven, cool for 5 minutes, then arrange atop arugula, sprinkle with gorgonzola and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
Serve immediately or arugula will wilt.

Maple-Mustard Glazed Carrots

If you searched the archives of this blog, you'd find a hard time locating recipes that called for butter. While I was working really hard to lose weight, I cut calories everywhere I could. Butter and olive oil seemed like wasted calorie bombs. All I saw was 190 calories and 10 grams of fat per serving. However, as I entered more of a maintenance mode, I began to embrace things like butter, sugar, and healthy fats in small doses.

As I began cooking with butter, I realized a little goes a long way in regard to flavoring the dish and helping to caramelize vegetables. That 1 tablespoon of butter wasn't so scary when it was divided up into 4 portions, and certain vegetables became much more palatable!

When I received a bunch of gorgeous bi-colored carrots in my CSA bag, I searched one of my favorite recipe banks, the Williams-Sonoma website! I found this recipe, but swapped out maple syrup for brown sugar because I love the maple-mustard combo! These carrots were delicious, they had a great balance of flavors and are a really simple side for any meal!

Maple-Mustard Glazed Carrots

adapted from Williams-Sonoma

2 c. peeled and sliced carrots

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. whole grain dijon mustard

1 tbsp. pure maple syrup

salt and pepper, to taste

Herb garnish, if desired (parsley, chives, scallions)

Add carrots to a saucepan, cover with water.

Boil over high heat until water is evaporated (about 5 minutes), turn heat to low.

Add butter, mustard, maple syrup, salt and pepper. 

Stir well to combine.

Taste and adjust seasonings.

Pour into a serving dish and garnish, if desired.

Goat Cheese Mashed Turnips

Every Thanksgiving when my mom starts delegating dishes, we all smirk when Popie volunteers his mashed turnips. On any average day, most people aren't going to want mashed turnips, so when they're on the table at Thanksgiving along with a dozen other delicious sides, it's just sad. Popie ends up taking home 90% of the turnips, he and Grandma being the only ones who took a small scoop. 

When I got turnips three weeks in a row in my CSA share, I felt like I should take it upon myself to make an honorable mashed turnip recipe. After browsing some websites and finding 5-star recipes, I learned the secret to liking turnips... 1 pound of butter! While I did recently profess my love of (a small pat) butter in dishes, I couldn't stomach a stick or two, so I decided to make something up on the fly. 

I pulled out the cheese drawer - because that's how you make any vegetable desirable - and settled on goat cheese! I also had a few small new potatoes left over from another recipe, so I took a shot with this and it came out really well! We enjoyed these turnips with lentil-loaf and green beans. 

Goat Cheese Mashed Turnips

Veggie by Season original

2 lbs. turnips, peeled and quartered 

1/2 lb. new potatoes, peeled and quartered

Kosher salt and black pepper
4 oz. goat cheese
2 tbsp. butter
Fresh herbs, chopped (like rosemary, thyme, basil or tarragon)

Place turnips and potatoes in a pot, fill with cold water until vegetables are covered.
Heat over high, bring to a boil, add a pinch of salt, then turn to low and simmer for 15 minutes, or until turnips are very tender.
Drain well, place back in the pot, add goat cheese, butter and a hearty grind of black pepper.
Using a potato masher or hand mixer, begin mashing until turnips reach desired consistency.
Taste, adjust salt and pepper.
Pour into a dish and garnish with herbs and another grind of pepper.

Roasted Zucchini, Black Bean and Goat Cheese Enchilada Stacks

Back when I first learned how to make tamales, I bought a bag of masa. After using a few cups to make the tamales, I had a giant bag left over, and no idea what to do with it. That was when I discovered that corn tortillas are made with masa. It was one of those "wow, ash...." moments I'd rather not admit happened. My bag of masa was about $3, and could make hundreds of fresh tortillas, so I did a little cost analysis and figured that it was no longer worth it to spend $1 on a bag of corn tortillas, I just HAD to buy a tortilla press and make them from now on. I also had another ulterior motive, my husband doesn't love corn tortillas, but tolerates them. I think they're so much better than flour, they have more substance to them, and hold up much better when baked. So now there is no reason to buy flour tortillas when we have pounds of masa on hand. 

When I saw this recipe on Bridget's blog, I immediately starred it for future dinner use. But as I do with any enchilada recipe these days, I knew I'd be converting it to a stack. Our tortillas press makes tiny little tortillas, and after we are close to perfecting them, but not just yet so sometimes they're not malleable enough for rolling. Rather than end up crying over split enchilada rolls, I make stacks. Some things just aren't worth fighting!

These stacks were absolutely delicious. Roasting the zucchini ahead of time ensures a non-watery end product, the goat cheese is creamy and cuts some of the heat and spice from the sauce. And no dinner is complete these days without a CSA veggie, so I used a bunch of chopped cilantro in place of the avocado Bridget served her enchiladas with. I also used a mole sauce rather than an enchilada sauce, you can find the enchilada sauce at Briget's blog, or the mole sauce here, from my blog (it's a bit more labor intensive, but I had been wanting to make a big batch anyway).

Roasted Zucchini, Black Bean and Goat Cheese Enchilada Stacks

from The Way the Cookie Crumbles

Enchiladas:

3 zucchini, cut into 1/4" dice

1 small onion, chopped

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

zest from 1 lemon

1 tsp. kosher salt

2 c. cooked black beans (I cook dried black beans, you can use canned)

5 oz. goat cheese, divided

12 corn tortillas 

Sauce recipes:

Enchilada Sauce

Dark Chocolate Mole Sauce

Heat oven to 450*
On a rimmed baking sheet, toss zucchini, onion, olive oil, zest and salt.
Roast for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from the oven and reduce heat to 350*
Combine zucchini, black beans and 4 oz. goat cheese in a mixing bowl, carefully mix.
Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a baking dish.
Layer in tortillas, filling and sauce.
Crumble remaining goat cheese on the top, bake for 20 minutes, until browned and bubbly.
Serve with chopped cilantro.

Chard, Sweet Potato and White Bean Gratin

Have you ever felt like you've met your food soul mate? Someone eats all of the same things as you, and whose preferences and favorites are also yours? I swear, whenever I read Joanne's blog, whether it be a dinner entree, a dessert, baked good, or mention of a favorite ingredient, I'm like, yes!! Me too!! Sometimes I wish we were neighbors so we could take turns cooking for each other.... or just have her cook for me every night!

So with that said, my google reader is full of starred posts from Joanne. I've had this gratin in my 'to make' list for the longest time (a year, in fact!), and after receiving a bunch of kale and a bunch of Swiss chard last week in my CSA box, it seemed like the perfect time to make this! I have a baby sweet potato lover, so she was excited about this dish. It was warm, comforting, and hearty, yet relatively healthy.

Chard, White Bean and Sweet Potato Gratin

adapted from Eats Well With Others (originally from Spilling the Beans)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 bunch of kale

1 bunch of swiss chard

1 tbsp. butter

1 small yellow onion, minced

2 cloves of garlic

2 c. 2% milk

2 tbsp. corn starch

1 large sweet potato

2 cups cooked white beans (I cook dried, you can use 1 15 oz. can, rinsed)

Kosher salt and pepper

Nutmeg

1 c. shredded Gruyere

Preheat oven to 400* 

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.

Tear kale and swiss chard from the stem and chop leaves in 1/2" ribbons.

Add to skillet, sprinkle with kosher salt and cook, tossing occasionally, until wilted and there is no moisture left in pan, remove skillet from heat and set aside.

Add butter to a saute pan, add onion and garlic, sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, cook for 3-5 minutes, until softened.

Pour milk into a measuring cup, add cornstarch and whisk to form a slurry, pour into onions and garlic.

Whisk occasionally, and bring to a simmer, cook until thickened, add fresh grated nutmeg and half of the cheese, whisk to melt and combine, turn heat off. 

Butter a baking dish, add a layer of sweet potatoes, a layer of beans, a layer of swiss chard, and a layer of the sauce.

Continue with layers as desired (I made 3 layers), cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake 15 more minutes, until golden on top.

Deep Dish Apple Bourbon Streusel Pie

Last weekend I invited some friends over for dinner, but they weren't just any friends. They were the one and only couple I've ever set up on a blind date, and they're still together 18 months later! I'm really proud, obviously. They like to cook, so during the week before dinner, we threw around ideas and had a few dishes we each could make. We ended up with quite an eclectic menu, but it was all so delicious. 

For dessert, I went to the Williams-Sonoma website for some ideas, and the recipe on the front of the 'desserts' tab looked perfect. This pie is meant to feed a crowd, but it was just the four of us, so I cut the recipe in half. I also added some old fashioned oats to the crumbly topping because I think all streusel toppings need it! The only difficult part of making this pie was choosing a bourbon from my husbands collection. For the record, I went with Maker's Mark because he has 2 bottles, and wouldn't miss a few tablespoons! 

Deep-Dish Apple Bourbon Streusel Pie

just slightly adapted from this Williams-Sonoma recipe

Dough: 

1 3/4 c. unbleached all purpose flour

1 tbsp. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

8 tbsp. butter, very cold (or frozen)

1 egg yolk

1/4 c. ice water

Filling:

3 lbs. baking apples (I used 1.5 lbs. Golden Delicious, 1.5 lbs. Gala)

1/3 c. packed light brown sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg

2 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. vanilla extract

pinch of kosher salt

2 tbsp. bourbon

Streusel:

1/4 c. unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 c. old fashioned oats

1/4  c. packed light brown sugar

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 c. chopped pecans

4 tbsp. very cold butter (or frozen)

To make dough:

Add flour, sugar and salt to a mixing bowl.

Using a box grater, grate butter into the flour mixture, toss with a fork to distribute.

Add egg yolk and 1 tbsp. water, toss dough with a fork, when it begins to come together, quickly mix with fingertips, be careful to keep butter pieces in tact. 

Add water by the tbsp. to moisten flour just until dough comes together.

Form into a disc and wrap in saran wrap.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes to a day in advance.

Prepare filling:

Add all ingredients except apples to a large mixing bowl.

Peel apples, core and slice into 1/4" slices.

Toss apples with sugar mixture, coat pieces evenly.

Prepare streusel:

Add all ingredients except butter and nuts to a mixing bowl.

Grate butter into streusel, use a fork to distribute evenly.

Add nuts, stir with a fork.

Place streusel in the refrigerator while preparing pie.

Preheat oven to 350*

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into shape of your baking dish (I used a deep pie dish).

Place pie crust into baking dish, flute edges by pinching.

Pour apple mixture into pie crust, scrape out all of the syrup and drizzle over apples evenly. 

Crumble streusel mixture on top.

Place pie in the oven and bake for 40 minutes.

Check to see if top has browned too much, if so, cover with aluminum foil.

When crust is golden, top is browned and apples ooze up the sides, remove from the oven (timing depends on shape of your baking dish)

Cool and serve warm to room temperature with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Pumpkin Black Bean Chili

I'm probably breaking some sort of rule by posting a fall-ish recipe in August, but isn't it what bloggers do? Or better yet, isn't it what Floridians do? By August, I am so sick of the 90*+ days that all I can do is dream of cool fall days back in the midwest with Football, crisp apples, and my favorite sweater...

I am a huge fan of sweet potatoes and black beans, but it can get awfully starchy. Butternut squash and pumpkin make nice substitutes while lowering the carb and calorie count of a dish. This chili combines a few of the best late summer veggies with the best fall has to offer, pumpkin and pumpkin beer!

As you northerners start to feel fall creeping in, enjoy this dish while I stubbornly sweat in eternal summer eating my chili!

Pumpkin and Black Bean Chili

adapted from Crumb blog

2 tbsp. EVOO

1 small yellow onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

Salt and pepper

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. cumin

8 oz. pumpkin beer, such as Harvest Moon

1 tbsp. pure maple syrup

1 15 oz. can solid packed pumpkin

1 28 oz. can fire roasted crushed tomatoes

2 c. vegetable stock

2 c.black beans (canned or dried and cooked)

1 c. frozen corn kernels

Heat a soup pot over medium-low, add EVOO and bring to temperature.

Chop and add onions, garlic and bell peppers, season with salt and pepper. 

When veggies have softened, add spices, pour in beer and deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping up bits with a wooden spoon. 

Turn heat to high, add maple syrup, pumpkin, tomatoes and stock.

Bring to a simmer, turn heat to low and add black beans and corn.

Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes, taste and adjust seasonings.

Top with sour cream, cheese, cilantro, or any of your favorite chili toppings. 

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

When it comes to food blogging, I see it as 4 parts. First, recipe creation or selection. This part is always fun, dreaming up combinations of food, or spotting a recipe in a magazine or on a blog that you just can't stop thinking about. Next up, cooking. I love the cooking part, definitely the best part. Next, the photography... we'll get back to that. And finally, blogging the recipe. I love the blogging portion because I get to tell stories about the dish, or talk about why I thought it was so delicious, or how I came up with the combination of ingredients. It's effortless to me.

But the photography. Oh do I struggle. I try, I really do... it's just not a strength of mine. You give me my dogs or my baby and I can take photos all day long! They give me funny faces, movement and life. My food, well it's all up to me. To style it, to get the right light, to pick the prettiest plates and silverware. To angle it correctly, cut a perfect slice or portion a scoop that is aesthetically pleasing. It's a lot of pressure! It's also why my blog has been quieter lately. When I can't get the perfect photo, or even something semi decent, I just move on with eating my dinner.

So since my dirty little secret is out, I'll get to the silver lining. What I can continue to do is try to show a decent photo, but bring the dish to life with my words, and use them to make you crave it! And this dish really has it all! It can be hard to find a one pot, comforting vegetarian casserole. You know, the kind of thing you take to a friends house who just had a baby, or to a pot luck at church. The kind of dish that you can make ahead of time and not worry it will turn to vegetable mush. It's also great for when you're in the mood for classic stuffed peppers, but don't have the time to fidget around with making the rice filling, then stuffing the peppers and roasting them.

I have made this dish three times since I came up with it, each time with a different cooking method. They all work as well as the next. There's the "20 Minute Speed Faux-Casserole", the crockpot "Set It and Forget It" method, or the somewhere in between where I precooked the rice, "Throw it all in a casserole dish and let it cook while you work out/put the kids to bed/catch up on some work" method.The "20 minute speed casserole" is my method of choice. 

Stuffed Pepper Casserole 

Veggie by Season original

1 cup short grain brown rice

4 cups water

1 tbsp. EVOO

2 bell peppers (I use 1 green, one yellow)
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
2-3 cups prepared marinara (I make a big batch of this and freeze in 2-4 c. portions)
1 block of tempeh (I've been loving Lightlife's 5 Grain Tempeh)
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Bring the water to a boil in a small pot, add the brown rice, cover and turn to medium-low. 

Stir every 2-3 minutes, and continue to cook for 20 minutes.

Preheat broiler to high.

In a deep skillet over medium, heat olive oil.

Add peppers, onions, garlic, salt and pepper. 

Saute' for 5 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften.

Turn heat to low, add oregano, marinara, and crumble in tempeh.

Stir to combine ingredients, and cover to heat through.

Drain any water off rice once it's finished cooking, then pour into skillet with vegetable mixture, mix well.

Pour into a casserole dish, cover with mozzarella cheese and broil for 2-3 minutes, until cheese is golden brown.

Serve immediately. 

*Also makes for delicious leftovers and this casserole can be frozen (before broiling) and reheated at a later time.

Tex-Mex Pizza with Poblano Ricotta

Like most people, pizza is one of my absolute favorite foods. I could eat it cold for breakfast and lunch, and hot and crispy for dinner every day. My only dilemma with pizza is finding vegetarian proteins to add. I tend to make an awful lot of tempeh-bacon and pineapple pizza, but occasionally I'm in the mood to switch it up. 

As I sorted through my fridge last Friday night (the eve of grocery shopping), I had just a few options for dinner vegetables: poblanos and cherry tomatoes. I though about making a poblano pesto pizza, but found some ricotta and decided to whirl it up as the base. I love the occasional white pizza with gobs of creamy ricotta! I thought the creamy ricotta paired with the spicy peppers, acidic tomatoes, and earthy beans would make for an interesting (and hopefully delicious!) pizza. 

While it's incredibly nontraditional, it was so delicious. I was eating spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture while I made the dough, something I'll have to revisit for another recipe soon! 

Tex-Mex Pizza with Poblano Ricotta

Whole wheat pizza crust:

1 packet fast acting yeast

1 tbsp. honey

3/4 cup warm water

2 c. white wheat flour (or 1 c. whole wheat pastry and 1 c. unbleached all purpose)

1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. EVOO

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a standing mixer with the dough hook on, add water, honey and yeast, stir to combine, set aside for 10 minutes.

Add flour, salt, and EVOO.

Turn on low and begin to mix. Add more flour as necessary if dough is too sticky, or 1 tsp. water if it's too dry. 

Knead for 5 minutes, roll into a ball, set into the bottom of the mixing bowl and cover with a damp towel.

Poblano Ricotta:

3 large poblano peppers

1 c. part skim ricotta

1 tbsp. cilantro

Salt and pepper

Halve poblanos and place on a lined sheet pan. 

Place under the broiler, and broil until skin is black and charred, about 8-10 minutes.

Cool, peel off charred skin.

Add poblanos, ricotta, cilantro, salt and pepper to a blender and blend on high until mixture is creamy and smooth.

Prepare remaining pizza ingredients:

1 c. black beans, drained and rinsed

2 c. shredded monterey jack cheese

1/4 red onion, sliced

1 c. halved cherry tomatoes

Preheat oven to 425* and warm pizza stone (or place a metal pizza sheet pan in the oven to get very hot)

Roll out pizza dough into a circle, place on a piece of parchment.

Slather on ricotta mixture, top with cheese, beans, onions and tomatoes.

Place in the oven on stone or cookie sheet, bake for 20-25 minutes, until crisp on the bottom and cheese is melted and browning on top.