Spiced Pumpkin Cookies with Raisins and Oatmeal

Mmmm.... how I love fall food. Like pumpkins. And cookies.

The following is an adaptation of a Food Network recipe found here.

A few tips

• These cookies do not really change shape much during the baking (e.g., they don't flatten out very much), so I recommend shaping them into a ball and then flattening them the way you would a burger patty. This will make them much more "cookie" like in terms of shape.
• I used a medium-grade molasses, but having tried them I think a light grade would be better.
  
• I prefer Red Flame raisins for this recipe, which are larger and more moist than your standard Thompson raisins. (This is the same variety favored by Zingermans Deli in their famous and amazingly delicious cinnamon raisin bread).
• Do not mistake pumpkin pie filling for pure pumpkin puree. They are not the same, and are not interchangeable in recipes. Pumpkin pie filling has all manner of things in it besides pumpkin like sugars and spices. Pure pumpkin puree is just pumpkin.
  
• The raisins could easily be substituted for other things like crystallized ginger, dried cranberries, currants, chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, or just about anything else you'd like : - )
• I haven't tried it yet, but I bet that maple syrup (grade B preferably) would be an excellent substitute for the molasses.
  

1 1/3 cups whole-wheat flour (approx. 6 oz)
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal (or whatever is approx. 4 oz)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup canned plain pumpkin puree
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup light molasses
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg in a
large bowl.

Whisk pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, butter and molasses in a second bowl until well combined. Stir the wet ingredients and raisins into the dry ingredients until no traces of dry ingredients remain.

Grease the cookie sheets or use parchment paper. Roll the batter into little balls (about 1 inch in diameter), and then flatten each one on the cookie sheets. Bake the cookies for approximately 15-18 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Homemade Applesauce! And Apple Butter!

Homemade applesauce is seriously amazing! I tried it for the first time this weekend and it simply blew me away - I wasn't expecting it to taste nearly as good as it did.

A few tips

• Use a variety of apple types. I don't recall which types I used, but it was at least 4 varieties.
  
• Buy one of these apple peeler/corer/slicer - it seriously will make this recipe (and any other recipe that calls for peeling, coring, and slicing apples go way faster.
  
• I like organic apples b/c apples have one of the highest pesticide application rates of any fruit of vegetable (along with strawberries).
• You can add a variety of things to applesauce to change it around: raisins, cranberries, cloves, ginger, crystallized ginger, maple syrup, nutmeg - the list goes on an on.
• A read a blog post that suggested baking applesauce in a halved acorn squash with toasted walnuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sounds delicious!
• Naturally, applesauce is delicious in oatmeal on a cold fall or winter morning!
  

Here's the applesauce recipe! It is a version adapted from The Yellow Farmhouse cookbook, which was written by the editor if Cook's Illustrated (a book I highly recommend - excellent recipes!)

3.5 lbs apples (about 9-10 apples), peeled, cored, and sliced
2 Tbsp apple cider
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 honey
1 1x3 inch piece of lemon zest
1 3 inch cinnamon stick
Pinch salt (optional)

Place the prepared apples in a nonreactive 3 or 4 quart saucepan and toss with cider, lemon juice, and honey. Stir to coat. Add the lemon zest and cinnamon stick. Cover and cook over medium until simmering. Turn down to low and simmer very gently for approximately 30 minutes or until the applies are very tender. Stir frequently.

Raise the heat slightly to medium and cook uncovered for 10-15 minutes, beating frequently with a whisk. Add a small pinch salt if desired.

And here is the apple butter recipe! (Which is also a Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook recipe)

1 recipe applesauce above (or 4 cups applesauce)
1/4 cup apple cider
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Stir the first 4 ingredients together and place in a casserole dish. Bake at 325 for 3 hours, stirring every half hour. Add the remaining ingredients, stir, and return to the oven for an additional 1. Let cool and then enjoy!

Italian Sausage, Parmiggiano-Reggiano, and Fennel Soup

This recipe, I'm happy to report, is totally of my own creation! And, amazingly, it's delicious! Who knew!?!

Despite having a fairly long ingredient list, this actually isn't too hard to make, and it doesn't take too long either. The key to it is to use really good brown chicken stock. Regular stock will only make a so-so soup, but brown stock really brings it alive. Also, don't cut out the rinds, salt-packed capers, or fresh herbs - all are essentially to the flavor.

Enjoy!

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided in half
3 Italian sausages
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
2 cloves garlic
1 cup dry white wine
2 quarts brown chicken stock
2 large tomatoes, diced roughly
2 large parmiggiano-reggiano rinds
1 bay leaf
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp salt-packed capers, soaked in three changes of water for 5 minutes each
1 1/2 cups small elbow pasta
1 cup frozen green peas
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
1 Tbsp fresh tarragon, minced
Salt, to taste
Parmigianno-reggiano for grating
Extra virgin olive oil, as condiment
Crusty bread, for dipping

Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and cook until well-browned (don’t worry about cooking all the way through – just brown the sausage outsides). Remove the sausages to a plate. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and add the red pepper flakes and the fennel seeds. Fry for approx. 1 minute, and then turn the heat down to medium. Add the garlic and fry for approx. 30 seconds, or until the garlic is fragrant. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, and let simmer for approx. 3 minutes, or until slightly reduced.

Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, parmiggiano rinds, bay leaf, pepper, and capers to the pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for approximately 10 minutes. Slice the sausages into rounds, and then add them to the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pasta, and simmer for approximately 5-7 minutes. Add in the peas, parsley, and tarragon. Taste for salt.

Serve hot with extra parmiggiano for grating, extra virgin olive oil as a condiment, and crusty bread for dipping (e.g., a baguette).

Chicken Chasseur - French Hunter Chicken

This recipe is seriously God's gift to man. It is that good. It is an adapted version of a Cook's Illustrated recipe that I reallyreallyreally like. Do try it. And note this - it involves fire! Because it involves flambeing a dish, this recipe achieves one of the objectives I had when I started this blog - woot!

A few tips:

• Don't used dried tarragon - the fresh is essential. Indeed, I probably wouldn't make this again unless I had fresh tarragon. If you must, substitute the tarragon with an equal amount of fresh parsley.
  
• Please use a chimney match when lighting the brandy - you will burn yourself otherwise because the flames jump several feet into the air.
  
• This dish is excellent with roast potatoes or French potato pancakes (i.e., galette de pomme de terre).

1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces white button mushrooms , cleaned and sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 medium shallot , minced
3 tablespoons brandy
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 1/2 cups brown chicken broth
1 fresh tomato, diced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold), cut into 4 pieces
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon leaves

Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut chicken into 6 pieces and leaving the skin on, reserving the carcass for another purpose. Sprinkle chicken pieces evenly with salt and pepper. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Add chicken pieces skin side down and cook without moving them until skin is crisp and well browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken pieces and brown on second side, about 5 minutes longer. Place browned chicken skin side up on rimmed baking sheet and set aside.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from pan. Add mushrooms and cook over medium heat until mushrooms start to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add shallots; cook until softened, about 1 minute longer.

Remove pan from heat and add brandy; let stand until brandy warms slightly, about 10 seconds. Wave lit chimney match over skillet until brandy ignites. Return pan to medium-high heat and shake skillet until flames subside. Add wine; using wooden spoon, scrape browned bits from pan bottom. Simmer briskly until reduced to glaze, about 3 minutes.

Add broth and tomatoes and simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer briskly until liquid, mushrooms, and tomatoes measure approximately 1 1/2 cups, about 25 minutes.

While sauce simmers, place chicken in oven; roast breasts until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer, about 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer breasts to serving platter and tent loosely with foil. Continue to roast thighs/wings and legs until internal temperature reaches 175 degrees, about 10 minutes longer, then transfer to platter with breasts.

When sauce is properly reduced, whisk in butter, one piece at a time, until melted and incorporated. Add parsley and tarragon and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve immediately.