The Best Things In Life Are Filled With Pumpkin

Pumpkin. The quintessential sign that fall is here. What used to be a Thanksgiving pie filling and a luminous Halloween decoration is now making its way into EVERYTHING- almost absurdly. Don't get me wrong, I love autumn and all it's pumpkin-y goodness, but what place does squash have in coffee and beer and...Pringles? After all, no one offers a butternut squash latte. Or a spaghetti squash lager. Because that would be gross, right? But pumpkin, the prize child of the harvest, gets special treatment. I think what happened was the pumpkin teamed up with his friends, sugar and cinnamon, and schemed their way into everything edible while simultaneously tricking the average American into thinking that their "pumpkin" goody was healthy. Oh, the conniving pumpkin...

 

Now that I've just ranted out against pumpkins, let me reiterate how much I love pumpkin- that it's, the pumpkin that has been mixed with sugar and cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, then baked within a buttery oatmeal cookie crust...Cue my latest creation (when I say "my" I mean someone else's recipe): Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars. If you're looking for an off-beat treat to bring to harvest party or reinvent Thanksgiving dessert, this is perfect. Perfect as a pumpkin should be. Happy fall!

Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 8x8 or 9x9 pan.

Mix together 1 1/4 cup each flour and oats, 1/2 teaspoon each salt and baking soda, and 1/2 cup each white sugar and brown sugar. Once incorporated, add 3/4 cup melted butter (unsalted, if possible) and 1 teaspoon vanilla (mix the vanilla into the butter, then add butter mixture to flour mixture). The final product should not be dry nor crumbly. You want it like a cookie dough, but not as sticky. Press half of this mixture into the greased pan and bake for 15 minutes.

While this is baking, mix together another 1/4 cup each white and brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon each ginger and salt, and a pinch of cloves. You could also use pumpkin pie spice if you have it (about 2 teaspoons). Next, add one whole egg and one egg yolk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Then, add a 15-oz can of pumpkin (plain pumpkin- not the pumpkin pie filling) and 1/3 cup of half and half or evaporated milk and mix until well combined.

Once your bottom cookie crust layer comes out of the oven, pour the entire pumpkin mixture on top, spreading evenly over the crust. Put right back in the over and bake for another 15 minutes. Then, remove and carefully sprinkle the remaining cookie mixture over the top of the pumpkin. You should have enough to completely cover the top. Return to the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the cookie crust is golden and the center isn't jiggly.

This part is essential- cool for AT LEAST one hour at room temperature. This isn't a dessert that is better warm. If time permits, cool in the fridge for another hour (or overnight) for an even better consistency and taste. Top with whipped cream and maybe a dash of cinnamon if you really want to be a fancy-pumpkin-pants.

100% credit for the recipe goes to Cooking Classy, which I found via Pinterest.

Shellabration

A way to a man's heart is through his stomach. A way to 3 men's hearts? Stuffed shells of course....

               

 

Two of Michael's best friends from California (and also the best man and a groomsman in our wedding) visited Boston this past week. I took their visit as an opportunity to finally cook up something different. I have to give credit to my brother (and fellow blogger- check out Nourish) for the idea. He just moved to Philadelphia to pursue PA School at Drexel University (go Dragons!) and cooked this for his inaugural dinner in his first apartment. I tweaked the original recipe a bit and made my own sauce, which is a new must in my book. I've gone back and forth on my opinion of jarred pasta sauce, but lately I've been finding them too sugary and extremely bland. Nothing beats a homemade sauce. It's easy to make, it keeps forever in the freezer, and you get more bang for your buck. What's not to love?

For the sauce...
-Sautee one minced onion (white or yellow) and 3-4 cloves of minced garlic in olive oil over medium high heat for about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn anything!
-Add one 28-oz can plus one 14.5-oz can of whole San Marzano tomatoes. They are more expensive than the non Marzano's, but there's a reason to that. It's worth the extra buck.
-Using an immersion blender, blend up the sauce to your desired consistency. I ended up adding another can of diced tomatoes. You could also add tomato paste prior to adding the whole tomatoes for a thicker sauce.
-Bring to a low boil and add salt and pepper to taste. You can add anything else here, too. Fresh or dried herbs (like basil, tarragon, thyme, parsley, oregano) or if you want a kick, red pepper flakes.
-The sauce is ready to use or store in an airtight container in the fridge.

For the shells...
-Boil a large pot of water, salt it when it reaches a boil, and carefully add one box (12-oz) of jumbo pasta shells. Cook according to package directions (about 9 minutes). Carefully drain and let dry on a baking sheet lined with a paper towel (they need to be cool to handle, and you want to separate them so they don't stick together).

For the stuffing...
-While the shells are cooking, brown about 1lb italian sausage (you can also used ground beef, ground chicken or turkey, or completely omit the meat).
-Also while the shells are cooking, mix together 15-oz ricotta cheese, 1 egg, a good handful (about 3/4 cup) of parmesan cheese, and 1/2 a box (about 5-oz) frozen chopped spinach (previously defrosted and drained). Add salt and pepper to taste. I also added some fresh parsley and basil.
-If you're using meat, add cooled and drained meat to the cheese mixture.

Now put it all together...
-Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a large casserole dish (13 x 9 pyrex is my go-to).
-Stuffed your cooled shells with a heaping tablespoon full of the cheese-meat mixture, and place on top of sauce.
-Continue until the dish is full (but don't overcrowd)
-Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes. During the last 15 minutes, sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.
-Serve with extra sauce, crust bread, and a simple salad.

ENJOY!

Side note: I ended up having about 15 extra shells and not enough stuffing, so if you upped the ricotta cheese to the larger size container you would be able to make another (smaller) casserole to either freeze or feed an army :)

I've seen a Pinterest recipe for Mexican stuffed shells, so perhaps I'll try that next. Stay tuned!

Infusion de Miguel

This recipe is 100% Michael. And 100% awesome. He got the inspiration from a local restaurant called The Mission. It's a perfect late summer cocktail when watermelon is in season and tequila is tasty (tequila is always tasty, but it does lend better to summer days).

First, you need a big jug. Anything glass with a lid works. You can get one like in the picture at TJ Maxx or Marshall's for less than $20. For 1.75 liters of tequila blanco you need the following:

1/4 of a watermelon, cut into triangles with the rind left on.
1 cucumber, sliced into 1/2" round
2 medium hot peppers, cut into thin rounds (jalapenos was in the original recipe, but our grocer was fresh out [pun intended] so I used two red chili peppers and a habanero)

Place fruit & veg in the big jug then top it off with the tequila. A little note on tequila while I'm at it- do yourself a favor and don't buy anything less than 100% agave. Jose Cuervo is not tequila...And don't be   tempted by Patron. It's a decent tequila masked by a fancy label and a Cadillac status. Branch out- try Milagro, El Jimador, Camarena, Hornitos. And for this recipe make sure you buy a blanco (aka: clear) tequila.

To make the actual cocktail, shake up 1 shot tequila infusion, 1/2 shot lime juice (about 1/4 lime squeezed), and a teaspoon-ish of agave nectar. Cocktails are all about preference. You like sweet cocktails, go heave on the agave. Potent cocktails, heavy on the tequila.

The infusion should keep a good couple weeks at room temperature, maybe longer. And now that you have a big jug, you can infuse your own concoction. Let me know if you have any successes!

Cheers!