Pecan Pie

I spent Thanksgiving with new friends this year: one of my classmate's parents were in town and she invited me and another friend over for the feast. It was such a lovely afternoon: her mom cooked a delicious meal and it warmed my heart to know that I have met such kind people since I've been here and that Thanksgiving didn't have to be spent alone (with a bowl of oatmeal).

To contribue, I decided to whip up that ubiquitous Southern Thanksgiving staple: Pecan Pie. I felt the need to represent the South in some way, so even though I'd never made the pie before, it had to happen. I turned to Martha for the recipe, but I've included the changes I think would send this puppy over the top.

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Pecan Pie

Slightly adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes 1 9-inch pie

pie crust

(I used Martha's basic pie dough but it didn't quite meet my expectations. I'm still searching for the best pie dough recipe but there are plenty of good ones out there. Or you can always buy one, if crust making isn't your thang. No judgment.)

4 eggs

1 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 granulated sugar

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups pecans, chopped

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Start by getting that pie crust together if you're making it. roll it into a 9 inch pie dish and stick it in the fridge. From the somewhat severe/painful burn I suffered dealing with aluminum pie tins and a very hot jelly roll pan, I would suggest using a real pie dish for this recipe since the pie is pretty heavy.

could my crust look anymore homemade? Its all part of the charm...right?

preheat oven to 350F

For your filling:

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, corn syrup, both sugars, vanilla, butter, and salt until smooth and creamy.

Fold in the chopped pecans--they don't need to be chopped, but I found the pecan halves a big unwieldy during serving.

Pour your filling into the pie crust--you may have a little left over.

Place your pie on a jelly roll plate in case of an overflow, and bake for about 30 minutes.

Check on your crust--if its getting golden and done, cover the edges of the pie with foil (careful not to burn yourself!) and stick it back in for another 20-30 minutes (maybe longer, depending on your oven), until the middle is slightly jiggly.

Cool for as long as you can before serving, and enjoy with big dollops of whipped cream.

(1.5 cups heavy cream + 4 tbsp powdered sugar + 1 tsp vanilla = my standard and delicious whipped cream recipe. You better believe I got every last bit off those beaters as a pre-thanksgiving feast treat)

Banana Bread Pancakes

These pancakes are a recently added rotation to my weekly breakfast menu. With a whole egg and cottage cheese in the mix, its a great way to get some protein in while enjoying sweet and delicious pancakes.

Banana Bread Pancakes

(adapted every so slightly from Peanut Butter Fingers)

1/2 cup oats

1/4 cup low fat cottage cheese

1/2 mashed banana

1 egg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Put all of the ingredients in your food processor and zap together until everything is combined.

Pour small scoops onto a griddle or skillet that has been sprayed with cooking spray over medium-low heat. I usually get 3 or 4 pancakes from the batch, depending on how big I make them.

Once the edges are golden, flip and cook for another couple of minutes.

Smother with syrup, fresh fruit, and some powdered sugar if you're in the mood to feast like a king, which, lets face it, I usually am.

{this recipe can be easily doubled, as seen above, or even tripled if you've got lots of hungry mouths to feed!}

Petite Lasagnas

I am of the school of thought that believes all good things are made better when they are miniature. We are the people who worship ramekins, who look for recipes that can easily be subdivided, and who are constantly putting entree dishes into muffin tins. We tend to create more work for ourselves with this habit, but all of that is easily forgotten when the end result is your favorite dish in its adorable miniature form.

One of my favorite miniature dishes to recreate are petite lasagnas. Not only are they precious, but they are the ideal single-lady dinner dish to make. It gives me the yummy comfort food fix of lasagna without a giant casserole dish of leftovers that I am forced to eat repeatedly throughout the week. These babies are also easy to freeze if you find yourself with too many servings and not enough mouths.



Butternut Squash & Spinach Petite Lasagnas

(the lovechild of this lasagna recipe and this lasagna concept)

1 packet of refrigerated wonton wrappers

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cloves of garlic, minced

a few cups of spinach, depending on how green you want your lasagnas to be

1/4 small onion

2 teaspoons italian seasonings

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 small to medium butternut squash

1 tablespoon olive oil

For your squash mixture:

Preheat the oven to 425.

Peel your butternut squash and chop it all up into small pieces. (You can also buy pre-peeled and chopped squash and save yourself time if your grocery store has it.) Throw the squash into a bowl and coat with the olive oil, 1 of your minced garlic cloves, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Spread everything out onto a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, or until your squash is easily pierced.

When its done baking, throw it all into your food processor and pulse until you get a heavenly orange puree--then set it aside.

For your spinach and cheese mixture:

Heat a smidge of oil in a skillet and throw your spinach in, cooking it until it wilts. Drain it in a colander and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. At this point, I like to chop the spinach into small pieces--remember its going into a mini cup, so you don't want huge pieces of spinach in there!

Slice your onion into thin pieces. Heat another smide of oil (enough to coat the bottom of your pan) and sauté your onions until they are golden. Toss in the other minced garlic clove and your spinach and cook for another couple of minutes, until everything is combined.

Meanwhile, pour your ricotta into a bowl and toss in 2 tsp italian seasonings, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. When your spinach is ready, pour the spinach-garlic-onion mixture into the ricotta and stir everything together to combine it.

Assembling your lasagnas:

Reduce your oven temperature to 375.

Spray a muffin tin with non stick cooking spray and lay 1 wonton wrapper into each cup, gently pushing down into the bottom of the cup and up the sides, creating a little wonton well.

Divide half of the spinach and ricotta mixture amongst the cups. Then, take your butternut squash mixture and add some to each cup. Add a sprinkle of shredded mozzarella to the top.

Cover with another wonton wrapper, gently pushing down on the previous toppings. Repeat the filling process, adding layers of spinach-ricotta, squash, and cheese. Finish with a final (and generous) sprinkling of cheese.

Note: I was able to make two layers on each of my lasagna cups, but you could just as easily do one layer  if you want lots of filling per cup. Just use your best judgment and see how much you can reasonably fit and how much filling you have made!

Put the muffin tin in the over and bake for 10 or 12 minutes, until the cheese has melted and your wontons are golden.

 

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This recipe can be easily amended to include any veggies you like, meat if you so desire, and different seasonings and sauces--whatever you think will taste good/you like in your lasagna will work beautifully. My one suggestion, however, is to not put a runny sauce (like tomato sauce) as your first layer if you are using it. The wontons will most likely end up soggy on the bottom, so I would cushion runny sauces with a ricotta mixture or something like it.

Porches

I've lived in the South for most of my life, and over the years, I've developed my own arsenal of things that are just quintessentially Southern. Sure, fried chicken, country music, and confederate flags can be found near and far in the southland, but I think there is a lot more to the South than those stereotypes. I see things like hospitality, story-telling, and affectionate ways of speaking to others. I hear real country music--like that of Blind Willie McTell and Muddy Waters, that can at times be so full of sorrow and that at others can make you want to grab your sweetheart and dance all night long. I am enamored with the South's love affair with food--the kind that has led to years of secret family recipes, Sunday night feasts, and every kind of pie you could ever dream of.  At its worst, the South is close-minded and judgmental to a fault, but at its best, the South has a slow and comforting pace and strangers who treat you like family.

My favorite Southern tradition however, is far more tangible: porches. Big, wrap around porches, with reading nooks and spaces to entertain on. Porches that act like an extension of the living room and the kitchen, where you can start your morning with breakfast and a light breeze and end your day with a big cup of tea on a swing, with crickets chirping while you watch lightning bugs in the yard. Its possible that I've over-romanticized porches, but I truly believe a porch is an essential component of a house. (which makes me wonder how I will ever reconcile my desire to live in a big city while owning a home with a giant porch. oh reality.)

I adore the idea of french doors in your kitchen that open onto a porch for eating, but I also love those giant porch bed swings. I can just see myself reading there all afternoon long (with some sweet tea or lemonade, if we're going to keep on with the Southern Theme)-it looks like pure bliss.

One of my good friends, who clearly knows me very well,  got me a book entitled Porch Parties for a birthday a few years ago. Its a guide for how to entertain on your porch, and it has advice for everything from place settings, food, decorations, and all the other things one should know when throwing porch bashes. I love the book and I long for the day when I can put it to its full use--for now, its just being used for its abundance of cocktail recipes. The one we made on my birthday is known as a Gumby Slumber, and its the perfect summer drink-especially if you're dealing with 100+ degree weather like we are here.

Gumby Slumber (from Porch Parties by Denise Gee)

For one drink you will need:

1 1/2 ounces pineapple juice

1 1/2 ounces cranberry juice

1 1/2 ounces orange juice

1 1/2 ounces spiced rum

1 1/2 ounces coconut flavored or white rum

combine everything into an ice-filled cocktail shaker--shake well, pour into a highball glass, and garnish with some pineapple if you're feeling fancy.

click through each photo for the source

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

In the last few weeks I have been pinning like crazy and I'm finally starting to understand how that website works. The only problem is that it makes me want too many things, or makes me want to bake too many yummy treats, and my DIY board is overflowing with far too many projects.

However, I did find a recipe for a cauliflower crust pizza and I decided I absolutely had to try it. I'm not really sure why, since I am not a big fan of cauliflower, but it looked so delicious. Plus, it means I get to eat a whole pizza without being ridiculously unhealthy, which I would consider  a huge success.

The recipe is from Lauren Conrad's blog (she has a blog? and cooks?) and I just followed her steps for putting together the crust. It was super easy and I got to use my food processor, which makes me very very happy.

Here is the finished product--my food photography skills most definitely need a bit of work. I topped my crust with pesto,zucchini, colorful sweet peppers, tomatos, and cheese. It was topping overload, but the mess was definitely worth it--it was absolutely delicious.