Swedish Meatballs

My handsome, romantic, agreeable Southern husband is one of the major ingredients that keeps this little blog chugging along. Not only does he bravely eat each and every experiment that comes out of my kitchen, he also helps with the chopping, the measuring, and (yes!!) the cleaning up. He cheerfully runs out for those ingredients I inevitably forget and need right NOW. He also gave me this...

And this.

So every now and again I like to make him his all-time favorite dinner, which is Swedish Meatballs. I'm always on the lookout for a good Swedish Meatball recipe, and I've tried quite a variety of 'em over the years. Which made it that much more exciting when I spotted a new one at one of my most reliable cooking resources, Cooks Illustrated. If Cooks Illustrated makes it, you KNOW it is going to be great, and this was no exception. Lots of Swedish Meatball recipes can be heavy and salty and overwhelmingly saucy, but not this one - the sauce is light and delicious and the meatballs are flavorful and just a tiny bit sweet. Pour the whole thing over some noodles (egg noodles if you want to be authentic, bowties if you are me and forgot to get egg noodles and didn't want to send the Southern husband out to the store yet again). Scatter a little parsley on top - not traditional, but good! -- and watch your true love's eyes light right up.

Ain't love grand??

Last but not least, please click here, and then go make some Swedish Meatballs.

Swedish Meatballs, from Cooks Illustrated

1	large egg
1/4	cup heavy cream
1	large slice bread, crusts removed and bread torn into 1-inch pieces
8	ounces ground pork
1	small onion , grated on large holes of box grater (about 1/4 cup)
1/8	teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8	teaspoon ground allspice
1/8	teaspoon ground black pepper
1	teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2	teaspoons salt
1	teaspoon baking powder
8	ounces ground beef
1 1/4	cups vegetable oil
1	tablespoon unsalted butter
1	tablespoon flour
1 1/2	cups chicken broth
1	tablespoon brown sugar
1/2	cup heavy cream
2	teaspoons juice from 1 lemon

1. Whisk egg and cream together in medium bowl. Stir in bread and set aside. Meanwhile, in stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat pork, onion, nutmeg, allspice, pepper, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder on high speed until smooth and pale, about 2 minutes, scraping bowl as necessary. Using fork, mash bread mixture until no large dry bread chunks remain; add mixture to mixer bowl and beat on high speed until smooth and homogeneous, about 1 minute, scraping bowl as necessary. Add beef and mix on medium-low speed until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl as necessary. Using moistened hands, form generous tablespoon of meat mixture into 1-inch round meatball; repeat with remaining mixture to form 25 to 30 meatballs.
   
2. Heat oil in 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat until edge of meatball dipped in oil sizzles 3 to 5 minutes. Add meatballs in single layer and fry, flipping once halfway through cooking, until lightly browned all over and cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. (Adjust heat as needed to keep oil sizzling but not smoking.) Using slotted spoon, transfer browned meatballs to paper towel-lined plate.
3. Pour off and discard oil in pan, leaving any fond (browned bits) behind. Return pan to medium-high heat and add butter. When foaming subsides, add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until flour is light brown, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in broth, scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits. Add brown sugar and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce is reduced to about 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream and return to simmer.
4. Add meatballs to sauce and simmer, turning occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and serve over egg noodles or other pasta.

Click here for printable recipe

Chicken Vegetable Cobbler

There is something about the word "cobbler" that just makes me feel all warm and cozy and contented. Most of my cobbler recipes are for desserts - apple, peach, and so on. (And just so you know, I have a chocolate cobbler recipe waiting in my stack of "to be made one day soon" recipes. SOON. Very soon.)

Anyway, cobbler is something I usually associate with dessert, so when I came across this chicken recipe in Mark Bittman's fabulous video series, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Cobbler for dinner! NOW we're talking. First you cook up a heavenly, homey mixture of chicken, carrots and peas all in a creamy herby thick broth.

Then you top the whole thing with a buttery biscuit dough and pop it in the oven. By the time it is almost ready to come out, people and dogs will be drifting into your kitchen with happy and expectant looks on their faces. And really, isn't that one of the main reasons we make things like chicken cobbler in the first place? Yes it is. :-)

Chicken Vegetable Cobbler, adapted from The Minimalist

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 leek, washed and chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock (I like Imagine brand)
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 medium carrots, cut in chunks
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg

1. Heat over to 400. Put oil in large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add leek, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 5 minutes.

2. Add stock and rosemary and bring to a boil. Add carrots and chicken and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add peas and stir for one more minute. Remove rosemary and discard.

3. Whisk cornstarch with a few tablespoons of cool water to make a slurry and add to skillet. Sir until liquid thickens, and then transfer the chicken mixture to an ovenproof casserole.

4. Put flour in food processor with baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add butter and process until combined, about 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl and mix in buttermil and egg until it comes together into a sticky dough.

5. Drop spoonfuls of batter onto chicken mixture and smooth with a knife, covering as much of the surface as you can. Leave a few holes for the steam to escape. Bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown. Scoop onto plates or bowls and serve at once.

Click here for printable recipe

Pumpkin Cranberry Granola

This past weekend we got into the Halloween spirit in the one way guaranteed to bring out the autumn merriness in everyone.  We went to the pumpkin patch with my adorable nephew, aka the cutest little boy on the Planet Earth.  It was a gorgeous, crisp fall day.  The birds were singing, the sun was shining, and there were pumpkins as far as the eye can see.  There's nothing like a good old pumpkin to brighten your day, especially if you are one-and-a-half.

"Mama, look at this PUMPKIN!!!"

There were farm animals to be petted...

There were funny wooden cut-outs that you could put your adorable little face into...

There were, of course, pumpkins...

And to top it all off, there were apple cider donuts to be eaten.  I mean seriously...does life get ANY better than this?

I don't think so!

By the end of the pumpkin patch adventure I was in a complete pumpkin trance.  Luckily I had in my possession a recipe from the ever wonderful Two Peas and Their Pod blog for pumpkin cranberry granola, and one short hour later my kitchen smelled like pumpkin heaven.  This is a super-simple, super-delicious granola that is flexible enough to make pretty much any way your heart desires.   First you mix up a wonderful concoction of pumpkin puree, maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla and applesauce, and try very hard not to just eat this mixture with spoon right there in the middle of your kitchen.  You pour it over a nice pile of oatmeal that has been mixed with pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon and nutmeg, and pop it all in the oven until it is just a little bit crispy.  Once it comes out of the oven, you can toss in cranberries, pumpkin seeds, nuts...whatever your little pumpkin-lovin' heart desires.  Pumpkin Granola Heaven.

The end.  (Except for the recipe below!)

Pumpkin Cranberry Granola, from Two Peas and their Pod

• 5 cups rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• Optional: additional nuts, pepitas, raisins - whatever else feels good to you!

1. Heat over to 350.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Stir oatmeal, spices and salt together in a large bowl.

3. Whisk together brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract until smooth.  Pour into oat mixture and mix until oats are coated.  Spread the mixture onto baking sheet.

4. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven and stir.  Bake for an additional 20-30 minutes or until golden and crisp.  Remove from oven and stir in cranberries and any other mix-ins.  Let cool completely.  Store in airtight container.

Click here for printable recipe

Creamy Tomato Soup with Souffled Cheese Toasts

First, a brief pause for station identification. I just figured out how to put up a Facebook page for FramedCooks, so if you aren't getting enough of my incessant chatter about cooking and photography and teenagers right here on this blog, please click below and hit the "Like" button.

Framed Cooks on Facebook

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming, otherwise known as this scrumptious, easy tomato soup and a whole new take on the grilled cheese sandwich. Soup first: I do love a nice tomato soup, and let me just say for the record that if you don't have time to make your own, there are a few nice supermarket version - I especially like Pacific Organic Creamy Tomato.  But if you do have a spare half hour to make your own, this one is lightly spicy and creamy and delicious, and if you make a little extra for lunches later in the week you will be SO happy.  Once your soup is bubbling away, you can whip up a few of these exotic little cheese toasts - all you need to do for these babies is mix up some grated cheese with a little mustard and some whipped egg whites.  Spread them on to some slices of lightly toasted bread, pop them into the oven until they are melted and a teeny bit brown, and you are in business.  It's like the perfect combo of a grilled cheese and a little baby souffle, and paired with the tomato soup they are just plain perfect.

Don't you just LOVE soup season?

Creamy Tomato Soup with Souffled Cheese Toasts, adapted from Epicurious

• 2 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 celery rib, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes
• 1/4 teasponn baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 egg, separated
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 cup grated cheddar
• 4 slices bread, lightly toasted

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and celery and cook until onion is limp, about 3-5 minutes.  Stir in flour, then add basil, cloves, tomatoes, baking soda and stock.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer partially covered for 20 minutes.  Cool briefly and then puree in a blender until smooth (or if you have an immersion blender use that, it's even easier!)

2. Preheat oven to 400.  Return soup to the pot and add milk and tomato paste and season with salt and pepper.

3. Combine the egg yolk with mustard and cayenne, then stir in the cheese.  Whip the egg white until if forms soft peaks and then fold it into the cheese mixture.  Spread cheese over the tasted bread and bake until puffed and a little golden, 5-10 minutes, while you reheat the soup.

4. Serve the soup with a piece of cheese toast, cut in half diagonally, with fresh ground pepper.

Click here for printable recipe

The Easiest Cupcake Frosting Ever

So, this is another one that has me scratching my head and saying to myself, so why am I only figuring this out NOW? Because it is so simple, and so delish, and so adorable looking. This one is SO easy there is not really an official recipe involved - just a quick run-down of the process. Here's what you need:

Chocolate cupcakes

Marshmallows

An oven

A spoon

I made up a box of Duncan Hines chocolate cupcakes, because while I love a good homemade cupcake as much as the next person, sometimes you are just in the mood for cake that comes out of a cake mix box. I am, anyway. And since I was going for the easiest frosting ever, it seemed to make sense not to knock myself out on the cake part, right?

Anyway, here's what you do. Bake up a batch of cupcakes however you want to bake 'em. While they are baking, grab a bag of marshmallows - the regular size ones - and count out as many marshmallows as you have cupcakes. When the cupcakes have 3 minutes to go, take them out of the oven but leave the oven on. Balance a marshmallow on top of each cupcake (this is the hardest part of the entire thing) and carefully slide them back in. Bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, just until the marshmallows are soft.

They will probably still be pretty tall, but just take a clean spoon and press down gently with the back of it, and they will flatten right out. If anyone thinks this looks like the S'Mores version of a cupcake, you won't get any argument from me.

There you have it - frosting doesn't get any easier, right?

Spaghetti Tacos!

So this all started with two things.  First was this show that I have only a dim awareness of...it is called iCarly, and it is usually playing somewhere in the background when the teenager is home, and when she isn't watching House or Glee (two shows that I actually have heard of and like and watch.)  Until last week, I hadn't given more than a split seconds-worth of thought to the fact that iCarly even existed in the world.

Then I read this article in the New York Times.

And it got my competitive juices flowing.  Apparently spaghetti tacos are enough of a phenomenon on this show that kids across the country are asking for them for dinner, thanks to whomever this guy is on the show.

Made the traditional way, I could see why parents are scratching their heads.  But just to be totally fair, I did put one of the classic versions together.

Classic - did I just say that?  Anyway, the "recipe" on the iCarly site calls for spaghetti, meat sauce and a taco shell.  And a spoon.  Creative, but not as tasty as it could be.  I pondered this a while, and then it came to me.  Way back before iCarly was even a twinkle in anyone's eye, the New York Times printed a recipe for something called Spaghetti on a Stick by the always awesome Mario Batali.  It called for making an easy but rich tomato sauce, some gorgeous meatballs, and cooking up a mess of spaghetti.  You douse the spaghetti with the fabulous sauce, swirl a pile of the spaghetti around a chopstick, stick a meatball on the top of the stick to hold the spaghetti in place, wrap the whole thing in a piece of soft flatbread for easier handling, and there you have it - Spaghetti on a Stick.  I made it once, and it was scrumptious thanks to the whole sauce and meatball wonderfulness...but the whole stick thing just seemed like more trouble than it was worth.  But then this whole spaghetti taco business rolled around and a lightbulb went off in my head.

What if I made the Mario Batali sauce?  What if I made the meatballs tiny?  What if I used soft tacos instead of hard ones?  With no stick?

NOW we're talking.

Maybe I need to watch more Nickelodeon.

Maybe not.

Spaghetti Tacos, with thanks to  Mario Batali's Spaghetti on a Stick

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Spanish onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded
• 2 28-ounce cans peeled whole tomatoes
• Salt to taste

• 3 cups day-old bread, in 1-inch cubes
• 1 1/4 pounds ground beef
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup grated pecorino cheese
• 1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
• 2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound spaghetti
• Flour tortillas

1.

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.

2.

Add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes, until carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Simmer 30 minutes. Season with salt.

3.

Soak the bread in water for 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and squeeze out excess water with your fingers.

4.

Combine the bread, beef, eggs, garlic, pecorino, parsley,  1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper and mix with wet hands. Form the mixture into one inch meatballs.

5.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil on medium until almost smoking. Add the meatballs and, working in batches to avoid crowding, cook until browned, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, cover and simmer all the meatballs for 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

6.

Bring 6 quarts of water to a rolling boil and add 2 tablespoons salt. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions, until tender but still al dente. Drain well in a colander.

7.

Meanwhile, gently reheat the meatballs and sauce. Add the pasta to the sauce in the pan and toss until completely coated and pour into large serving dish.  Warm tortillas in microwave and serve with pasta, allowing folks to scoop out their own spaghetti and meatballs into tortillas.  

Click here for printable recipe

Asparagus and Ham Oven Frittata

There is something that is just so comforting about anything made with eggs.  I don't know what it is about them...maybe it reminds me of when I was a kid and my dad would make scrambled eggs for breakfast every Sunday.   At least I THINK it was my dad.  He was definitely the one who bought the crumb cake at the local bakery, and just on the basis of that I am going to go ahead and give him credit for making the scrambled eggs, too.



Hi Daddy!

Anyway,  this is why I love a good frittata - that and the fact that it is so dang easy to make.  Frittatas are usually made on the stovetop, but they can also be made in the oven and that is what I like to do -- they are amazingly easy that way.  Now, this particular one also helped me with this little project I have going on lately, which is to try a different cheese each week that I haven't tried before.  This particular week I tried a cheese called comte cheese, which was like a mash-up of cheddar and parmesan and was very delish...but if you can't lay your hands on some comte cheese, a nice sharp cheddar will work perfectly well.

So here's the deal.  Blanch a handful of asparagus in boiling water for a minute or two  - just until they are nice and bright green.  Chop up some ham (and dare I say it?  if you are clean out of ham, a handful of cooked bacon will work just fine.  Actually, if you are out of anything at all a handful of bacon will do just fine.  This is a basic truth in life.)  Mix up some eggs and toss in the ham and the cheese.  Pour it all into a round oven-safe dish.  I use a 9 inch cake pan for this - it works perfectly.  Now take your  bright green asparagus and arrange them in a pretty design, and pop the whole shebang in the oven for about 30 minutes.  Make a nice green salad in the meantime.  By the time you are finished making the salad and setting the table, your frittata will be brown and hot and wonderful.  Slice it up the same way you would slice a pie and you are all ready for the perfect comfort food meal!

Asparagus and Ham Oven Frittata, adapted from Il de France

• 8 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 cups grated comte or cheddar cheese
• 2/3 cup chopped or sliced ham
• 6 sun-dried tomato halves, softened in water and thinly sliced
• Pinch red pepper
• 14-16 asparagus spears, bottoms trimmed and blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Whisk eggs and milk until well-combined. Stir in cheese, ham, sun-dried tomato and pepper.

3. Grease a 9 inch round pan, pour in egg mixture. Arrange asparagus on top like the spokes of a wheel.

4. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden. Cool for 5 minutes, cut into sections and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

No Bake S'Mores Brownies

So, now that I have gone on the record and named my favorite cookbooks of all time (click here if you missed that post!) I can now start telling you about my new favorites.  Because life is better with more cookbooks.

But first, because I am me, I need to give you a little back-story.  While I spend the majority of my time photographing cookies and spaghetti and bacon cinnamon rolls, I do venture out of the kitchen from time to time to take pictures of other delicious things.  Like puppies.  A little while back I was lucky enough to photograph this dynamic due of adorableness:

Can you STAND the cuteness???

Anyway, their owners are almost as sweet as they are, and on the day of our shoot they brought me a delicious box of Fat Witch Brownies.  Which in case you haven't had one, are the Most Delicious Brownies On Earth.    And just for the record, the Fat Witch people have never heard of me, did not pay me either in brownies or anything else to say this, this is purely my own love and adoration speaking.   This is why I was so excited to hear that the Fat Witch Bakery Cookbook had just been published, full of recipes for unbelievable brownies of every kind...I couldn't get my hands on it fast enough.  And now that I have a copy, let's just say that there will be a steady stream of brownie making in my house, and I started out with the incredibly easy, amazingly scrumptious recipe for No-Bake S'Mores Brownies.

That's right...no bake.  I had my doubts, but I promise you, it's really true!  You crush some graham crackers into tiny crumbs, and mix in some mini-marshmallows and chocolate chips.  Then you melt some butter with some beaten egg, sugar and vanilla, stirring over low heat until it thickens just a bit.  Cool it down a little, then pour it over your graham cracker mixture.  Toss in a few more chips and marshmallows.  Mixmixmix.  Now spoon the whole thing into a pan that you have lined with foil and pop the whole thing in the fridge.  (I love using a fridge in place of an oven!).  30 minutes later it will have set into a pan full of s'more brownie wonderfulness.

Fat Witch Cookbook!  I have my eye on the Molasses Brownies next....

No Bake S'Mores Brownies, from Fat Witch Brownies Cookbook

• 10 graham crackers, crushed (about 2 1/4 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
• 3/4 cups chocolate chips
• 1 stick butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Line a 9 inch square pan with foil, leaving some hanging over the sides, 
and grease the foil with butter.

2. Mix graham crumbs, 3/4 cup marshmallows and 1/2 cup chocolate chips together 
in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

3. Melt the butter in small pot and stir in sugar, egg and vanilla. 
Stir over medium low heat until slightly thickened. Cool slightly.

4. Add sugar mixture to graham mixture and stir well. Fold in remaining marshmallows 
and chips.

5. Press mixture into pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove from pan using foil 
overhang, cut and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Pumpkin Slow Cooker Soup

Okay, so 'tis the season!  And by that, I mean Pumpkin Season:  Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Bread, and let's not forget Pumpkin Pie Cookie Bars, one of my first and best posts on this little blog.  But out of all of these, there's nothing quite like a warm, thick, delicious pumpkin soup, made from an actual pumpkin.

Now if I am being perfectly honest, that is one of those little decorative pumpkins from our local farmer's market, but he was just so dang photogenic that I had to take his picture.  He's not what you want for this scrumptious soup...for the soup you want a sugar pumpkin, which are actually not that hard to find in your garden-variety supermarket at this time of year.  Pick out a nice medium-sized one.

The next trick is to get someone else to cut up that pumpkin into nice little chunks.  I have a handsome Southern husband that I draft for this sort of stuff - it's definitely the hardest part of the whole recipe.   You cut the stem off as you would if you were carving it into a jack-o-lantern, and scoop out those seeds.  You'll want to save them to make toasted pumpkin seeds, which make the perfect garnish for this soup once you are ready to serve it.  Once your sugar pumpkin is hollowed out, then you need to chop it into smallish chunks - two inches or so - making sure you slice or peel the outside skin off. 

Once you have a nice pile of peeled and chopped sugar pumpkin, it's all downhill from here.  You give the pumpkin a quick saute with some chopped onion just to get the outside brown and then pile that pumpkin into your handy slow cooker, and pour in enough chicken broth to cover it up.  Toss in a little cheesecloth bag of spices and go find something else to do for five hours or so.

Back to those pumpkin seeds - at some point while your soup is cooking away, take those pumpkin seeds and toast them up...the very best recipe I have found is the one from Elise at Simply Recipes.  Don't skimp on the salt - it will seem like a lot but I promise it's not.  Here's the link:

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Fast forward five hours: your pumpkin is nice and soft.  Now ideally you have one of those hand-held immersion blenders - if you do, just lower it right into the slow cooker and blend away until the soup is smooth and creamy.  (Make sure you take out the bag of herbs first.)  If you don't, just ladle the pumpkin and broth into your handy regular blender - I KNOW you have one of those - and blend away.  Stir in a little cream, ladle it into bowls and sprinkle a little cinnamon on top.  And some pumpkin seeds.  Voila - it's pumpkin soup time!!

Pumpkin Slow Cooker Soup, from allrecipes.com

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium sugar pumpkin, seeded, peeled and cubed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cups chicken stock, or more as needed
• 1 sprig each fresh rosemary, thyme and sage
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Cinnamon for garnish

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add pumpkin and onion and saute until lightly browned (you may have to do this in batches).

2. Transfer to slow cooker and pour in enough chicken broth to cover the pumpkin. Tie all the herbs and spices into a piece of cheesecloth and add to slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for four hours.

3. After four hours, remove herbs and puree the soup with a blender.  Stir in heavy cream.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with cinnamon and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Click here for printable recipe.

My Favorite Cookbooks!

So, one of the questions I get a lot is what my favorite cookbook is. It's a question that requires a loooonnngggg involved answer, which is one of the reasons I was so delighted when Booklist magazine asked me if I would write an article on this very topic. It involved a long, soul-searching trip through my jam-packed kitchen bookcase, and an agonizing decision about which cookbooks to write about, but at the end of the day there were four favorites that ended up on the top of my my list.

The first was my very first cookbook, THE POOH COOK BOOK. It's out of print, but trust me when I say it is completely charming. Not especially practical, but adorable.  Next was THE SILVER PALATE COOKBOOK, which contains my favorite pasta recipe of all time, for which you need the following things:

 Pasta with Brie and Tomatoes.  Make it as soon as you can!

Next is what I call my "desert island" cookbook...the one I would want if I was stranded on a desert island. This desert island contains a fully decked out kitchen and a great supermarket, just so you know. Anyway, that one is THE NEW BEST RECIPE from Cooks Illustrated, from which I have made this, over and over again...

Cooks Illustrated's The Best Beef Stew.  Yes it is.

And last but not least, my new favorite, which is THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS. This gem of a cookbook finally ended my lifelong search for a decent chicken fried steak recipe, and for that the Southern husband will be eternally grateful.

However, for me cookbooks are about SO much more than recipes, and that is why I am so grateful to the Booklist folks for giving me the chance to say my piece about them. If you would like to read about my life-long love affair with these amazing books, click the link below...

My Life Is An Open Cookbook!

And in the meantime, I should let you know that I am already two recipes into the new FAT WITCH BAKERY COOKBOOK...and I think I am hooked again....so stay tuned to this channel!

Chocolate-Dipped Potato Chips

This is one of these things that I make and then think, how could I possibly have lived all these years on this earth and only be making these NOW?  As a devoted member of the Sweet and Salty Club, you'd think I would have seen the light ages ago, but it took until last weekend for me to figure this out...and let me just say that it was worth the wait.  Salty crunchy potato chip meets semi-sweet chocolate, and if you had trouble only eating one chip before, you are completely doomed now.

Here's what you do: grab a cookie sheet and line it with a sheet of wax paper.  Tear open a bag of ridged potato chips (the normal kind might not be thick enough to hold the chocolate) and pick out the best looking ones.  Melt about 6 ounces of chocolate chips by nuking them for 30 seconds at a time until they are smooth and creamy.  I used semi-sweet Ghiradelli chips for this, because Ghiradelli is my chip of choice whenever I am making something that requires serious chocolate.  Maybe it is because the Southern husband and I got engaged in San Francisco (home of the Ghiradelli factory).  Maybe it is because it is fantastic chocolate.  Maybe it is both.

Anyway, once you have your chocolate nice and melted, you just dip half of each chip into the the melty chocolate, lay it tenderly on the cookie sheet, sprinkle the tiniest bit of sea salt on the chocolate, and then put the whole cookie sheet in the fridge for about 20 minutes or so.

Then put the chocolate covered chips on a nice plate and stand back.  Eyes will widen.  Smiles will form.  And you will wonder why this took you so long to figure out.  You and me both.

Chocolate-Dipped Potato Chips, adapted from Real Simple

• 24 ridged potato chips
• 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Kosher or sea salt (don't use regular table salt, it won't taste as good)

1. Lay a sheet of wax paper on a cookie sheet

2. Melt chips in the microwave by heating for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each 30 second interval until smooth

3. Dip each chip halfway into melted chocolate and lay on wax paper.  Sprinkle with a tiny bit of salt.

4. Cool in fridge until hardened, then get out the way.  These are addictive!!

Click here for printable recipe

Roast Beef and Horseradish Coleslaw Sandwiches

Last week the Southern husband asked me if I realized we were having sandwiches for dinner at least once a week lately...and he asked in the hope that this was something that we would be continuing for a good long while.  I think probably because Sandwich Night (name that movie!) is a little more casual, a little lighter.  And nowhere near as many dishes to wash, and as the guy who does the dishes after dinner this is no small thing.

And so here is my latest entry in a long row of sandwiches that I have apparently been making a lot of.  The only "cooking" involved in this one is the assembly of the horseradish coleslaw, which is ridiculously easy to make, and by the way makes a pretty fabulous coleslaw for regular coleslaw use, not  just in great roast beef sandwiches.  A little mayo, a little horseradish and a little pepper mixed up with some chopped cabbage and carrots and you are in business.  I picked up some light rye bread and some nice thin-sliced roast beef at the deli counter, and then all that you have to do is layer on some of your scrumptious horseradish coleslaw.  Instant happy suppertime.

Let's hear it for Sandwich Night!

Roast Beef and Horseradish Coleslaw Sandwiches, adapted from Real Simple

• 2 slices rye bread
• 1/4 pound rare thin sliced roast beef
• 1/4 cup coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrot)
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon horseradish
• Fresh ground pepper

1. Mix coleslaw mix, mayo, pepper and horseradish until well combined.

2. Lay roast beef on rye bread, cover with horseradish coleslaw and top with second bread slice.  Cut in half and give three cheers for 5 minute dinners!

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Soup Bowl Lasagna

I have to say, I have a love-hate relationship with lasagna. I love it...but I kinda hate the production of making the traditional 13x9 inch pan of the stuff. The boiling, the grating, the layering, the baking, the cooling, the slicing...it's just exhausting. Especially for something that will be devoured in no time.

Which is why I love this recipe for soup bowl lasagna so very much. It's all the joy of lasagna in a fraction of the time. You cook up the lasagna noodles the way you always do, but instead of assembling all the ingredients in a baking dish, you skip right to the plate. Some warm marinara sauce, some spinach, a delicious mixture of warmed ricotta and mozzarella, the cooked noodles, some parmesan cheese...instant, super-easy lasagna! No muss, no fuss, no baking. This is a lasagna you can actually make on a school night. And even better, you can make exactly the amount you need, portion by portion, because you are assembling it right into individual soup bowls. Which you probably figured out. From the name of the recipe. :)

So for all of you who are looking for lasagna shortcuts, break out your soup bowls and give this one a whirl.

Soup Bowl Lasagna, adapted from Bon Appetit

• 12 ounces baby spinach
• 8 lasagna noodles, broken in half
• 1 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• Grated parmesan cheese

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add a tablespoon of salt. Blanch the spinach in the water for one minute, scoop out with a slotted spoon into a colander and drain.

2. Add noodles to the boiling water and cook until just tender. Drain.

3. Meanwhile, heat ricotta in heavy small saucepan until smooth. Stir over low heat for 2 minutes, add mozzarella and stir until melted, about one minute more. Remove from heat and grind in some pepper.

4. Warm marinara sauce in separate saucepan.

5. Time to assemble! Line up 4 soup bowls and ladle a quarter cup of sauce into each bowl. Top with two noodles. Divide spinach on top of noodles, and then divide cheese mixture on top of spinach. Top with second later of noodles, remaining sauce and grated parmesan. Serve at once.

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