The Cupcake That Takes 1st Place

I'm lucky to live with a boyfriend who works near Trophy Cupcakes, and today I was lucky to taste one of their newer seasonal flavors: a candied yam with marshmallow cupcake.

The sticky-soft, lightly toasted marshmallow frosting made Trophy's s'mores cupcake my original favorite, even if the rich chocolate + graham cracker cake was a bit overwhelming. This new combination beats everything, in my humble opinion: the divine frosting paired with a cupcake flavor that's sweet but not cloying -- like a slightly over-sugared muffin or breakfasty quick bread. 

So even though I haven't loved that ubiquitous sugar-drenched sweet potato thanksgiving favorite since I was very young, candied yam with marshmallow now has a place in my heart -- in the form of a cupcake. 

Autumn treats to make today, serve tomorrow

I love Mark Bittman's 101 lists for the NY Times, and his 101 Things To Prep In Advance (of Thanksgiving) has some interesting fall-food ideas for non-holidays as well. Particularly:

24. Combine a little cooked wild rice with much more cooked quinoa; sauté crumbled sweet Italian sausage with onion and fresh rosemary. Toss together. Bake in an oiled dish or use as stuffing.

48. Cut sweet potatoes into wedges; boil until tender. Drain and toss with olive oil. Wrap each with a prosciutto slice and a sage leaf, then roast until browned.

53. Steam cauliflower florets and toss with olive oil. Roast with peeled whole garlic cloves and chopped bacon at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Chopped parsley is a worthwhile addition.

64. Mushroom Bread Pudding: Put 6 cups of good bread (day-old is best) cut into 1-inch chunks into a buttered baking dish. Beat 4 eggs with 2 cups of milk and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan and pour over the bread. Sauté 4 cups of sliced mushrooms until tender with a teaspoon or two fresh thyme leaves and mix into the bread. Bake until just set, about 40 minutes.

73. Roast beets until tender, then peel and cut into chunks. Toss with olive oil, sherry vinegar, toasted chopped hazelnuts and crumbled blue cheese.

84. Sage Crackers: Pulse 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup Parmesan and 4 tablespoons cold butter in a food processor. Add 1/4 cup cream and 1 tablespoon finely chopped sage. When just combined, roll as thinly as possible, score into squares, sprinkle with salt and bake at 400 degrees until golden. Let cool, then break into pieces.

92. Cranberry Truffles: Heat 1/2 cup simple syrup and 1/2 cup bourbon or water; add 2 cups dried cranberries and steep until soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid. Pulse the fruit in a food processor, adding just enough liquid so the mixture comes together. Roll spoonfuls of the cranberry filling into balls, then roll them in cocoa, mixed with pulverized nuts if you like.

Good Things to Those Who Wait

Top courtesy Zeets Jones
Middle: via Cooking Light
Bottom: "Nuthatcher atop a Persimmon" painting by Japanese aritst, Koson Ohara

"What is that?" a curious co-worker asked as she walked past my desk last week. I laughingly replied, "I'll have to let you know", as I, too, was a bit baffled by the strange tomato-like fruit sitting on my desk. Now that I've done my research, I'll tell you what it is: a persimmon (pronunciation: \pər-ˈsi-mən\), a fruit native to China that eventually found its way to California in the mid-1800's. Its color can range from a light yellow-orange to dark orange-red and it has the most beautiful flower-like leaf pattern on top. The first sentence in Wikipedia's entry on this mystery fruit describes it as "the fruit of the gods," which certainly sets some pretty high expectations! It is packed, however, with some godly great nutrients like beta-carotene, Vitamin C and potassium.

There are essentially 2 types of persimmons:

#1 The Fuyu: Small, squatty and flat -- like a tomato. In season late October through December. They can be firm when ripe (like an apple) and you can either wait until the Fuyu gets soft before eating, or you can eat them right away when they are still firm and crisp.
Uses: Can be cooked into stews or pies, included raw in salads or yogurt, or eaten all by themselves as a fruit snack.

#2 The Hachiya: Acorn-shaped. Patience, my dear: You're going to have to wait to enjoy this one. Due to its high tannin level, if you bite into an unripe hachiya, your mouth will be puckering due to its bitter, astrigent flavor. Think a forgotten cup of tea that has been seeping all day. This happened to me the first time I tried a persimmon and it was not pretty. When ripe, it possesses a rich, sweet and somewhat spicy flavor -- though you may have to wait upwards of weeks (yes, you read that correct: WEEKS) for it to ripen.
Uses: You're probably gonna wanna bake with this one. Most commonly used as a puree in cookies, cakes, brownies, breads, puddings, flans, and sauces.

Here's a round-up of some interesting recipes I found:

Persimmon Tarte Briochée
Gorgeous photo and recipe courtesy the blog, @ Down Under


Persimmon Bread by James Beard
Recipe info and photo courtesy the blog Moveable Feasts

Persimmon Salad with Sweet Ginger Vinaigrette
Photo and recipe via Food Gal

Rustic Pear Tart

A regular reader of A Lovely Morning (a blog I stumbled upon while wedding researching and have been loving ever since), I was drawn to a yummy looking recipe for a plum tart Kristina posted this past summer. While she served her's for breakfast, I decided to make mine an after dinner dessert for my mom's birthday this past September. It was a hit, and I made sure to save the recipe in my archives. Aside from the beautiful deep red and purple colors of the plums, my favorite part of this recipe is the crust. Not only is it the easiest-no-wait-crust EVER, but it is also delectably sweet.

The Crust

• 1 cup (4.5 oz) all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, lightly whisked
• 3 tablespoons firm but not hard unsalted butter, cut into a few chunks

With Raven's housewarming party coming up, I knew I wanted to bake something special to bring. With not a ton of time (as Nate and I are still in the process of moving into our new house) I needed something that was quick yet still pretty in presentation and, of course, tasty. I quickly dug up the plum recipe, but instead of using plums, I opted for a more fall appropriate fruit: pears. I decided to pair (hahaha, clever yes?) the crust recipe with another filling recipe I found for a gingered pear tart.

The Filling:

• 3 Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1/3 cup sugar (I used only about 1/4 cup and that was plenty)
  
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

As per Kristina's recipe, press the dough evenly around the bottom of 9 inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom, making sure to press the dough firming into the scallop edges of the pan (this is what gives the tart it's pretty border). Position the pears in a fan-like pattern and bake at 375 degrees for roughly 50-60 minutes. Check on it from time to time and remove when the edges are golden - do NOT let it brown too much or you'll get an annoyingly crunchy crust. Let cool for as long as your patience allows and transfer to a serving platter. I was fortunate to get this lovely set (brand is called "The Cellar") from Macy's as a wedding present.

Autumn Roast Chicken & Vegetables

A weekend away with friends needs only a few things: lovely seasonal weather, time to sleep in late, and plenty of good food. We began weekending together in Summer 2008, and while the weather is out of our hands, the food keeps getting better.

2 teaspoons took over the kitchen on Saturday night, for roast chicken and vegetables. Simple food. The ingredients and measurements are estimates -- adjust to suit your tastes and availability. Whole chicken would be nice practice for anyone attempting their first Thanksgiving turkey -- just remember that while the process is the same, the details will differ (specifically cooking time, and possibly your herbs).


Autumn Roast Chicken
One whole chicken was more than enough for six people (though admittedly we were not starving, thanks to plenty of snacks and a big late breakfast).

• 1 Chicken
• Fresh herbs: 5-15 springs of thyme, oregano, anything else growing in the garden
• 1 lemon
• 1 orange
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1 onion
• Olive oil
  
• Salt and fresh pepper

Rinse and pat dry the chicken, and lay breast up. Stuff with halved or quartered lemon and orange, quartered onion, and peeled garlic cloves, and about half of your herbs. You won't eat this stuff, so don't worry about perfect cutting or peeling.

Twist the wings up and back, and tuck the tips under the body -- your bird will be posed as if basking in the sun. (If you really love crispy wings, skip this step.) Tie legs together with kitchen string (or perhaps dental floss, if you happen to be weekending some place without kitchen string -- we won't tell anyone).

Drizzle bird generously with olive oil, or brush with butter. Salt and pepper well, and tuck the rest of your herbs under the chicken's wings, between the legs, and around the outside. We also recommend rubbing the zest of the lemon and orange on the entire chicken for extra flavor. Surround with vegetables (next recipe).

Bake at 400 for about 1.5 hours. Chicken is done when legs wiggle easily and juices run clear.

Earthy Root Vegetables
For those unaware of what exactly constitutes as a root vegetable, here's the short of it: it's the edible part of a plant that grows underground. Root veggies are typically packed with carbohydrates and dietary fiber. They are also easy on the wallet and you can get a nice selection for a meal for under $6-7. Now, most people are aware of potatoes, carrots, garlic, onions, (and probably beets -- Raven is a beet fiend and has been cooking a ton of great recipes with them lately. See her recent beet soup recipe here.) but there a few other notable roots out there that you should have on your radar:

Rutabaga - Think of it as a cross between a turnip and a potato (don't forget to peel this one)
Turnip - A little on the blah side, but here's a tip: the smaller the turnip the sweeter the taste
Parsnips - My new favorite root addition this season. It's definitely carrot-esque, though it has more spice than sweet.

I have always loved the ease, flavor, and heartiness of root vegetables. You really can't mess up this recipe. Simply peel (you can leave the potatoes unpeeled if you'd like) and cut the veggies, drizzle (well, more like pour) a good coating of olive oil over the entire dish. Season with salt, pepper and fresh herbs to your liking. We used fresh thyme, rosemary, and oregano straight from the garden. Dried herbs will work as well, though for this dish I highly recommend splurging on the fresh stuff.

You can either cook the veggies in the same pan as the chicken, or, if you plan on pairing this with a different entree, you can cook them in a separate dish at 450 degrees until the veggies are soft (about an hour). Check on them from time to time, and if anything starts looking a little dry, just drizzle a little more olive oil on it.

Despite our initial fears of preparing a whole roast chicken (come on, buying a whole bird is a little intimidating) this meal turned out to be extremely simple in both preparation and necessary ingredients. The most time consuming part of this meal was peeling and cutting all of the vegetables, and waiting the 2 hours for the chicken to fully cook. But when there's enough beer, wine, cheese, rock band and good friends to distract you from the delicious smells that will most surely tantalize you for the next 2 hours, the time seems to fly by.