I love apple crisps, especially when the evenings start cooling off and you have to start turning on the heat inside…then popping an apple crisp in the oven, the house filling with the smell of cinnamon…Mmmm!

Last night, I made the best apple crisp I have ever tasted and have finally found my go-to recipe for this perfect autumn dessert.

The topping:
The toasted pecans are amazing in it! Chunks of crunchy, flavourful nuts, mixed in with ginger, and a nice, strong sweet cinnamon. It’s perfectly crunchy and packed with dynamic flavours. Best.Topping. Ever. I will also try to use the topping on muffins.

The fruit filling:
As equally tasty and exciting in its multitudes of flavours. The tart granny smith apples join well with the dried cranberries, and the crystallized ginger in here adds that extra oomph. After baking, the filling does not get soggy, but the apples retain a bit of their crunch.

I prepared the recipe a bit differently, using a 9″x9″ glass baking dish and adding lemon juice to the apple mixture. The pan choice made no difference to the overall result, and the lemon juice was a good addition.

All together, probably the best crisp you will ever prepare. Honest.

Apple and Cranberry Crisp with Ginger-Pecan Topping
adapted from Bon Appetit

FILLING
4 medium Granny Smith apples (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, cored, chopped into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
1 tablespoon all purpose flour

TOPPING
1/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2/3 cup toasted pecans, coarsely chopped

FILLING
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Butter four 1 1/4-cup custard cups or soufflé dishes.

3. Mix all ingredients in bowl. Let stand until juicy, about 5 minutes. Divide filling among prepared cups.

4. Bake until bubbling at edges, about 20 minutes.

TOPPING
1. Blend first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Rub in butter with fingertips until coarse meal forms. Mix in pecans with fingertips.

2. Crumble topping over hot apples. Bake until topping is golden brown, apples are tender, and juices are bubbling thickly, about 25 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Test-kitchen tip: To toast pecans, preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the pecans in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until slightly darkened, about 8 minutes.

This dish, as simple as it sounds, was a big hit and I completely loved it! Packed with flavours, it’s a warm and hearty dish that’s perfect for these fall days. It can be fantastic side dish, and can even be a main dish.

The garlic is not too strong, but is definitely a prime component to the overall flavour. I loved the idea of steeping it all in boiling milk; it made the garlic stand out, but not become overwhelming. Slightly crisp asparagus mixed with a variety of mushrooms, surrounded by creamy bread and topped with melted cheese – can you say delicious? I will be making this over and over.

I found many recipes for this floating around, and ended up using a combo of several. The original seems to stem from Deborah Madison, but Washington Times also put out a recipe for it as well (adapted from Madison’s). My version comes from the two…I’m writing it out as I made it, but feel free to make your own combo. It seems quite versatile.

I halved the recipes that I found, as only three people were eating – however, there still wasn’t enough to go around (it was that tasty!).

Asparagus and Mushroom Bread Pudding
adapted from Deborah Madison
(this recipe is for three people – double these amounts for a 6-serving dish)

5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups whole or low-fat milk
3 -4 sandwich loaves, cut into thick slices (preferably stale) (mine were fresh and I toasted them)
Kosher salt
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut on the diagonal into 1/2 inch pieces and soaked in cold water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 spring onions, finely diced (2 to 3 tablespoons)
1 pound mushroom mix – I used fresh shitake, oyster and button, cleaned and coarsely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
2vlarge eggs
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 cups freshly grated Gruyere cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a round gratin dish.

2. Combine the garlic and milk in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then remove from the heat and set aside to steep (5 to 8 minutes).

3. If the bread is not stale, lay it on a large baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until crisp (but not hard, or the pudding will be mushy). Break the bread into chunks and put it in a large dish.

4. Pour the milk through a strainer over the bread (discarding the garlic) and let it sit while you prepare the vegetables, turning the bread occasionally so that it soaks up as much of the liquid as possible.

5. Fill a large skillet 2/3 of the way with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Lightly salt the water and add the asparagus pieces; cook about 3 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp-tender. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

6. Melt half the butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook for 1 minute, stirring, then add the mushrooms. Increase the heat to high and cook for several minutes, stirring, until the mushrooms brown in places and exude their liquid. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

7. Break the eggs into a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the parsley, oregano, 1/2 – 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Add the soaked bread and any liquid left in the dish, the asparagus-mushroom mixture and its juices and 2/3 of the cheese, mixing well.

8. Pour into the prepared baking or gratin dish and use a spatula to even it out. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and dot with the remaining butter. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until puffed and golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

I was put in charge of baking one of the desserts for the family’s Thanksgiving dinner, so obviously, I used this as an excuse to bake my favourite pie ever – the pecan pie. Amazingly sweet, rich and packed with pecans, I can never say no to a slice of pecan pie.

I had never made a pecan pie, so I didn’t have a favourite recipe for it on hand. So when in doubt, I always know I can trust Dorie Greenspan. She has a recipe for her favourite pecan pie in her book Baking: From My Home to Yours, so that’s what I used.

As usual, it was a perfect choice! Her recipe is different from the standard pecan pie in that it has chocolate chunks in it and is nicely flavoured with cinnamon. I loved these variations – the cinnamon really stands out and combines perfectly with the sweetness, as well as with the chocolate and pecans. The consistency was perfect. The taste was perfect. This is absolutely a “favourite” pecan pie.

She recommends a pie crust recipe, but since I was short on time and ingredients, I went *gasp* the crust mix route. I know my own homemade crust would’ve been better, but if a pie can still be delicious with a store-bought one, then you know you have a winner.

Chocolate Pecan Pie
adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours

3/4 cup light corn syrup (I used 1 cup)
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (about 7 ounces) pecan halves or pieces
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 9-inch single crust made with Good for Almost Everything Dough, partially baked and cooled (I used a mix for pie crust)

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the corn syrup and brown sugar together until smooth.. Whisk in the melted butter, then add the eggs one at a time, beating until you have a smooth, foamy mixture. Add the espresso powder, vanilla, cinnamon and salt and give the batter a good mix. Rap the bowl against the counter a couple of times to pop any bubbles that might have formed, then stir in the pecans and chocolate. Turn the filling into the crust.

3. Bake the pie for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make a foil shield for the crust by cutting a 9-inch circle out of the center of an 11-or 12-inch square of aluminum foil.

4. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Place the foil shield on top of the pie—the filling will be exposed, the crust covered by the foil. Bake the pie for another 15 to 20 minutes (total baking time is 30 to 35 minutes), or until it has puffed (the middle and the edges should be fairly evenly puffed), is beautifully browned and no longer jiggles when tapped. Transfer the pie plate to a rack, remove the shield and cool to room temperature.

Serving: Pecan pie is good at any temperature, and different at each one. It’s softest and most puddingish eaten warm (about 45 minutes out of the oven), most flavorful eaten at room temperature and most candy-like when it is chilled. At any temperature, it’s good with ice cream—vanilla, chocolate or coffee would be my choices.

Storing: Once cooled to room temperature, the pie can be covered and refrigerated for 1 day.

Playing Around: If all you want is a great plain pecan pie, omit the cinnamon, espresso and chocolate. If you want a sweeter pie, increase the amount of corn syrup to 1 cup.

Hm. Easy recipe; first you take the sauce and you put it on the dough.

That is how the recipe for Poutine Pizza was described to me and that is how I’ll describe this. I think this recipe is ridiculous – I love it, actually…

First, dice and soften an onion in a high heat pan with some butter, take some leftover rotisserie chicken, fry it in a dab more butter for 3 – 5 minutes, throw in a tomato and some garlic, 5 more minutes, the add a can for baked beans. Reduce to a “sauce”… :/

Blind bake your olive oil brushed pizza dough as this pie is a bit of a weight-er.

Spread the sauce, add the cheese, some dried oregano, and done.

The chewy crust and meaty chicken blend perfectly
with the chewy cheese and meaty beans!

I am not a formally trained chef. Actually, I think the only things I’ve formally learned regarding food came from a Home Economics class back in High School. Would you like to eat a firm scone in crookedly collared sweatshirt? I learned out of necessity (no surprise if you know me at all). I remember… hungry, young, broke or lazy or both… and all I’ve got is a zucchini and a tomato. What to do?

Each and every “hungry, young, broke or lazy or both” challenge brought me closer to understanding the nature of flavor locked inside every morsel of complied energy available in and around my kitchen (um i.e. zucchini).

Enter the sandwich… a complication of the “now”:

Fancy Sandwich
1 French baguette
1 zucchini
1 bunch asparagus
1 tomato
4 eggs
2 green (spring) onions
½ cup of cheese (your choice)
butter
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
1 tbs hot mustard
1 tbs polish mayo (sweeter than regular)
salt
pepper

Ok, take the zucchini and asparagus and slice, snap, and roast (350F 10 minutes). Take the tomato and onions, slice and dice, and mix with mustard, mayo, salt and pepper (add salt and pepper everywhere as you move through all these ingredients). Crack and whisk your eggs, add the cheese (grated), and cook in melted butter. Rremember, less in more when it comes to heat and eggs (I understand that an egg can be slow poached for hour or more!).

Cut the baguette in half, brush with the olive, and toast at 225F for 5-7 minutes (I slightly over baked mine – crispity crush). Remove from the over and rub with a garlic glove.

The flavors of this sandwich were exquisite. Very delicate and moist. The zucchini and asparagus marry very well. The “salad” bridges the profile by refreshing the palate and carrying the flavor of the rich, cheesy egg across the entire spectrum… t’was impossible to stop eating

Plate it on a tea towel as one big bad-ass sandwich; take a picture; write a post.

I hate eggs. Can’t stand them, especially perfectly poached, atop a crispy French baked starch, delicate, slightly sweet, partial to the moment, and often impossible to resurrect. Who wants that?

No, no, love them…

I only recently learned that you can take a pound of mushrooms, cook them, and eat them, so mushroom duxelle is becoming my Marmite, only delicious (kidding, actually sorta like Marmite).

Mushroom Duxelle
1 lbs mushrooms (your choice)
2 tbs butter
salt
pepper
¼ cup wine or 2 ounces of vodka (optional as this is breakfast)

Heat skillet; add very clean, finely chopped mushrooms, salt, and butter (the butter, seeing as the mushrooms won’t stick in the beginning, can be added at the end). Give it 10 -15 with some good heat behind it. Add a good splash of wine and move it around until it reduces.

I’ve reviewed poaching eggs before, try Eggs if you need to follow up.

The croutons… don’t know what happened, by a stroke of tasty genius hit me. These are, by far, the best crouton ever! But they are somewhat rich, so maybe they won’t fly in all crouton-ish applications.

Fried Croutons
French Baguette (in France them just call them baguettes)
2 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
salt to taste
pepper to taste

So cut up your fresh baguette into pieces the size you like, but not too small. We are going to need a bit of moisture and a small piece would dry out too quickly. Melt the butter in a bowl large enough to hold all your croutons. Add the oil, salt, and pepper, and whisk it up. Toss your croutons in the quasi-emulsion. Bake in an toaster over (or oven) at 350F for about 15 minutes.

Using this method, the croutons fry while toasting. I can’t say I’m sure, but it seems the butter adds a light nutty flavor and nice kind of crispy browning while the olive oil goes the distance in adding a firm chewiness.

Plate up! and DO NOT go back to bed; common problem I have – rich sleepy weekend breakfasts that insist Monday race itself back. This dish is light and breezy. Out the door and off to market

ADD: Omitted from this post was the drizzle of truffle oil to finish. Truffle oil is the best money you can spend, if you think you like truffles. Dizzle here, teaspoon there, infusions, finisher, starter, star and support, pfft… anyway. I hate to know there is none in the kitch.

Sigh… the marvels of flesh, and thusly protein. I lived a vegetarian from the ages of 18 – 28. I was in San Fran summer of 2003 and met my first pork rib – ever. I was raised not eating pork – never. Needless to say, my pork-free-vivre-veg-libre body did not quite understand what had happened.

Like a culinary pork-bomb fell… didn’t sleep or eat for 2 days.

Anyhow, that to say I now take meat very very seriously, so that when I’m being good or bad, I know it. Organic free range best-you-can-get for the money type of thing and sometimes foie gras

En tout cas…

…can’t cook if you’re hungry, so one fresh East Coast oyster each… and let’s get started…

I found (1 week, 7 visits, and 5 phone calls) a 3.5 lbs piece of organic Alberta filet – the tops. We were only 3 diners, so I trimmed it down to something gorgeous and generous. I removed the silver skin and anything that might be chewy.

Oyster to keep us going… and some scallop sashimi…

Now, grab a pot, one as narrow as possible, but still large enough to hold the whole filet. Place your trimmed filet inside and make a note of the highest point. Remove the filet and replace with olive oil, just covering the noted high point.

In another pot, any size, but – you are going to heat the measured oil in this pot (to 80C) and then pour it over the filet, which will later be place back in the narrow pot, so find something that’s easy to handle. Again, 80C! Note: Narrow = Less Oil = Less $$$ and waste.

Oyster to keep us going… and some scallop sashimi…

Heat a cast iron skillet to YEAH! and sear the whole filet to your liking. Go nuts because this is your only chance to add color (I was a bit too fragile and thought it lacked some color; would’ve liked to see a small fire in pan instead – inexperience to blame).

Heat the oil to 80C. Not sure if it’s me (I don’t often heat 1.5 liters of olive oil to a low number) but it shot past – and that’s not good. I added colder oil and brought the temp down, but Oil = $$$, so

Once there, pour over the now narrowly nestle meat and wait 15 minutes, rest, and slice. That’s it. Nuts. I got the “recipe” by hearing the words “lamb poached in duck fat”. Really? No. Way.

I also prepared a mushroom duxelle to top the acorn squash and new potato mash.

Oyster to keep us going… and some scallop sashimi…

Cast iron still hot? Good. Sear one perfect U-10 scallop per person. Pick you poison for flavor, but I used fresh cracked black pepper and Cloés Vanilla Butter. The butter is… butter, so it works well with the scallops, only trouble is I can’t lick the fry pan after the scallop leaves behind its buttery wet spot (?)

Oyster to keep us going… and some extra seared scallop…

Foie Gras. No. Do not discuss. My first and possibly last time buying it (at home and maybe anywhere). $6 and 50 grams.

Score. Sear. Serve.

Lastly, oyster to keep see us off, open the truffles. Slice. Serve.
Slice more; fry in butter; serve. Serve truffle kissed butter… no wet
spot left behind (?)

Red wine. Done.

Acorn and New Potato Mash
1 acorn squash
1 lbs new potatoes
1 tsp olive oil
4 tbs butter
cream
salt and pepper

Boil water and cook peeled and diced potatoes until tender. Half the squash, clean it, rub it with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast at 370F for 30 minutes. Combine roasted peeled squash and potatoes, cream and butter, salt and pepper to taste. Mash!

Mushroom Duxelle
2 lbs mushrooms (your choice)
2 tbs butter
salt
½ cup wine or 2 ounces of vodka (both of which you should be enjoying already)

Heat skillet; add very clean, finely chopped mushrooms, salt, and butter. Give it 10 -15 with some good heat behind it. Add a good splash of wine and move it around until it reduces.

I joined the Cookie Carnival group! Every month, members are sent a cookie recipe and we have the month to bake it. At the end of the month, the kind hostess, Kate, posts a roundup of all the contributing members. What I like about this group is its laidback approach – we don’t have to participate every month and we can post our results any time during the month. So here’s October’s cookie: Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies.

I’ve never even tasted a whoopie pie before, so never mind baking them! So I was pretty excited when I saw this was the recipe, as it’s always fun to try something new.

I really liked these cookies. I wasn’t sure what they would be like, but I was pleasantly surprised. They’re very cakey, and moist. Admittedly, alone they are a tad boring…but when combined with the pumpkin cream cheese filling, they are delicious! The filling isn’t too sweet, and tastes remarkably like pumpkin. I upped the spice amounts in the filling and am happy I did – I love the pumpkin pie flavour it has. When combined with the chocolate, it makes for some tasty cookies. The combo of textures is also really nice, as the filling is very creamy and smooth; it balances out the cakiness of the cookie perfectly.

They did take a long time to prepare, mostly because I only have one cookie sheet and you end up having to make about 40 cookies. Note to self – buy a smaller ice cream scoop for making smaller drop cookies like these; it would’ve made them far prettier, I think. I used a plastic baggie with a corner cut off to pipe the filling onto the cookies. I was stingy with the filling at first, but no worries…the filling recipe makes enough to be plentiful!

All in all, I really enjoyed these cookies, and would love to try them a variety of flavoured fillings. But for these fall months, the pumpkin was an awesome choice!

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Adapted from Martha Stewart

COOKIES

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

PUMPKIN FILLING

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg

COOKIES

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.

2. Place butter, shortening, and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

3. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla. Mix in remaining flour mixture.

4. Drop about 2 teaspoons dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets and transfer to wire racks using a spatula; let cool completely.

PUMPKIN FILLING

1. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese, butter and confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg; whip until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

2. Pipe or spoon about 2 teaspoons filling on the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping the flat sides down.

Every Wednesday, the local newspaper here prints a food section, full of recipes, stories and other fun food-related things. A few weeks ago, this section was all about French cooking, and featured this stunning tomato tart recipe, taken from Recettes en Aveyron, a cookbook by René Husson and Philippe Galmiche and published in France.

Being a tomato-lover, I had to make it. Given that it’s the end of the tomato season, I figured there’s no better time. Oh, and I bought my first tart pan ever this past weekend, so I was all set. And wow, what a beautiful thing this was.

It tasted absolutely wonderful. Its flavours were dynamic and rich, but still simple. You definitely want to use sweet, tasty tomatoes – if not, I have a feeling this tart would fall flat. The tomatoes take centre stage, so if you like tomatoes and have some really ripe, in-season ones, you’ll love the tart.

The mustard on the bottom adds a depth to the flavours, and the two types of cheeses blend perfectly. Some tomatoes, a little bit of parsley, and you’re done – a tart delicious and beautiful enough to serve with any meal you may be having.

I made a few changes with the recipe, so here’s the original with my alterations in italics.

Tomato Tart or Tarte à la tomate
Adapted from Recettes en Aveyron by René Husson and Philippe Galmiche

1 unbaked pie shell, 9 inches (23 cm) in diameter
3 large or 5 medium ripe tomatoes, peeled, and their peel (Peeling them is necessary – don’t skip this step!)
1 tablespoon (15 mL) Dijon mustard (I used Keen’s hot mustard, and more than a tbsp)
200 grams (2 cups/500 mL shredded firm cheese*) (I used about 1 1/2 cups fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons (30 mL) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons (30 mL) crumbled blue cheese
Olive oil

*Aged cheddar or other strong, white cheese.

1. Drop tomatoes one at a time into a large pot of boiling water, remove after 30 seconds with a slotted spoon (and place in an ice bath) and peel will come off easily. Save peel and chop it. Slice peeled tomatoes thickly, about 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick.

2. Spread bottom of pie shell with mustard.

3. Spread cheese over mustard.

4. Arrange tomato slices in overlapping circles on cheese.

5. Insert chopped peel between slices. (I skipped this step, and I am happy I did. I don’t think chopped peel would’ve been the right thing in here at all!)

6. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, parsley and blue cheese. Drizzle with a little oil.

7. Bake in oven preheated to 400 degrees F (200 C) for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

Soli has a good backlog of dishes he has made (from soup to poached eggs to filet mignon) that he still needs to post about, so I’m going to lighten the load a little here and write briefly about the amazing and simple breakfast he made a few weeks back: Egg-In-A-Hole (or Egg-In-A-Basket or Toad-In-A-Hole or Bird’s Nest, depending on who you speak to).

I loved this breakfast. Soli punched some holes out of normal, Italian white bread, threw the bread (and the holes!) into a buttered pan, and cracked an egg into each hole. Some pepper, some salt, turn the stove on…and then you’re done.

Soli did pop the pan into the toaster oven for a bit, to melt the cheese he had sprinkled over the top.

The end result was perfectly cooked eggs stuck nicely into toasted bread, with cheesy bread circles on the side, and you don’t even need a fork or knife. Good morning!