Favorite Gingerbread Cookies

I love making gingerbread cookies for Christmas.  I discovered this recipe several years ago on Recipezaar (now called Food.com--whatever), and have found it to be the best for making cutout gingerbread cookies.  This time I didn't have all of the spices it called for so I changed the recipe a little bit to compensate for that.  I think they turned out even better!
Original spice list: ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves (1 tsp of each)
My spice list:  cinnamon, garam masala (the Indian spice blend), nutmeg, ginger, and cocoa powder

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp garam masala 
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 cups flour plus more for dusting

In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar, molasses, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, garam masala and salt.  Stir constantly until it comes to a boil.  Immediately remove from heat and stir in the baking soda.  The mixture will become light and foamy; next, stir in the butter, mixing until it melts.  With a fork, stir in the egg and then the cocoa powder.  In 3 - 4 doses, add the flour to slowly incorporate it into a dough.  Dust a work space with a little bit of flour and dump the dough out, using your hands to knead it into a ball.  If the dough feels too sticky, add a bit more flour and continue to knead.  

Go ahead and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Divide the dough into two pieces and work with one at a time.  To make rolling out the dough a lot easier, put a big piece of plastic wrap over the dough.  This keeps the rolling pin from getting dirty and sticking to the dough.  Roll the dough to a 1/4 inch thickness.  Use your favorite cookie cutter to cut into shapes, and repeat the rolling process for the excess cutout dough.  Bake the cookies for 8 - 10 minutes.  If you like them crisp then keep them in longer!  I like to decorate with royal icing, and Alton Brown has an easy recipe on Food Network's website (Royal Icing recipe).  I've successfully made 1/3 of the recipe since it makes a TON of icing.  Make sure the cookies are cool before icing them.  Happy Holidays!!

Sweet Potato & Pecan Casserole

This was another favorite dish at my family's Thanksgiving dinner this year.  If your idea of sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving is deathly sweet marshmallow-covered sweet potato mush, maybe this one isn't your thing.  But since my cousins were literally fighting over the leftovers, I think they would agree that this is the way to make sweet potatoes.  I'm sorry to say that I didn't get a picture, but just imagine some creamy orange-gold potatoes baked with a crunchy, caramelized pecan topping :-)


Ingredients:

• 3 lbs sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• The topping:
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated, if possible)
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• pinch of salt

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.  Next, prick each sweet potato with a fork 4 - 5 times and microwave them on high for 3 to 4 minutes.  Don't cook all of them at once in the microwave, just two to three at a time.  This is just to speed up the cooking process.  Then, wrap each in foil, and stick directly onto the oven rack.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, turning them over halfway through the cook time.  They should feel soft when you give them a squeeze; if the potatoes feel stiff, they need more cooking time.  

Let the potatoes cool for several minutes before handling.  Open each foil pouch and cut a slit into the skin.  Using a fork, peel back the skin, remove the potato and put them into a large mixing bowl.  Add the butter and stir the potatoes with a whisk to incorporate and melt the butter.  Then whisk in the milk, vanilla extract, salt and 1 tbsp of sugar.  Next whisk in the egg.  Spread the potato mixture into a 9 x 13 pan sprayed with cooking spray.  

For the topping, mix all ingredients except the butter in a bowl; then stir in the melted butter until all ingredients are slightly moistened.  Sprinkle the topping over the potatoes.  Bake in a 350 degree oven, uncovered, for 25 - 30 minutes.  If the topping is not golden and bubbly enough, move the pan to the highest rack under the heating element and bake for a few more minutes.  Enjoy!

Italian Baked Mostaccioli

Believe it or not, this dish is a holiday staple in my family (tradition brought over from the old country, I’m sure).  I didn’t exactly have a recipe for it, but it’s a pretty simple dish so I just put in the ingredients I remembered.  It got some rave reviews at Thanksgiving, so I guess it’s a keeper!

Ingredients

• 1 lb box of mostaccioli, rigatoni or other tube-shaped pasta
• ½ lb ground beef
• ½ lb Italian sausage, casings removed
•  ½ cup ricotta cheese
•  6 cups of your favorite pasta sauce (my recipe follows)
•   ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
•   2 cups Italian cheese blend (or just mozzarella will be fine)
• Cooking spray
• Salt and pepper

Pasta sauce ingredients:

• 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup finely chopped red onion (about half of a medium onion)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt and pepper, to taste

To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Occasionally stir for 8 – 10 minutes, until the onions are soft and starting to caramelize.  Then add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and herbs for about 30 seconds before adding the tomatoes and water.  Add the teaspoon of sugar, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer.  When the sauce is simmering, cover and cook for 20 minutes.  Taste the sauce for seasoning and add salt and pepper, if necessary.  If it is too thin, leave the sauce uncovered and simmer for another 5 minutes. 

Boil a large pot of water for the pasta.  When it boils, season the water with salt (a few teaspoons) before adding the pasta.  Cook the pasta for 2 to 3 minutes LESS than the box says.  Since the pasta will also cook in the oven, you want to prevent it from being mushy when the dish is fully baked.  Meanwhile, brown the meat in a large skillet and lightly season with salt and pepper.  When the meat is cooked, drain on a paper towel-lined plate.  To prepare the dish:  spray a large 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray.  Spoon enough of the pasta sauce to cover the bottom of the pan .  Add the cooked pasta, and immediately sprinkle with the grated Parmesan cheese.  Add the meat in a layer over the pasta, and then dot the pasta and meat with pinches of ricotta cheese.  Cover with the remaining sauce and then cover with the Italian cheese blend.  Bake at 375 degrees, covered with foil, for 35 minutes.  Then, remove the foil to let the cheese brown for another 5 minutes.  Let sit a few minutes before serving.  Enjoy!!

Easy Butternut Squash Soup

I love butternut squash.  Maybe it's the name, maybe it's the gorgeous yellow-orange color, or maybe it's just because how tasty it is.  The fact that it's nutritious is just a bonus at this point.  Since its texture is so creamy, butternut squash makes an excellent soup, or even just cubed and roasted as a side dish.

Ingredients (for 2 servings):

• 1 lb (about 2 cups cubed) of butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 to 1.5 cups chicken broth
• salt and pepper
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg

The easiest way to peel a butternut squash is to chop it in half at the base of the neck, then chop off the stem.  With the larger flat side on the cutting board, use a sharp small knife to remove the skin in strips from top to bottom.  Unless you have a really good vegetable peeler, using a knife is best.  The base is a little more tricky since it is more rounded, but just be patient.  Don't forget to cut this in half to scoop the seeds out!

  Start by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and saute for 2 -3 minutes.  Then, add the squash to the pan, stirring to coat in the butter.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper (use less salt if your broth is not low sodium).  After another 2-3 minutes of sauteing, add the broth and bring to a simmer.  Keep covered and simmer for 10 minutes until the squash is tender.  Then, take the pan off of the heat and use either an immersion blender, a food processor or regular blender to puree the soup.  If you like having a few chunks, then just pulse the soup until you get the desired consistency.  Return to the heat and add the nutmeg, stirring for 1 - 2 minutes.  Do a taste test for more salt and pepper before serving.  Enjoy!

Easy Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Let's be honest.  Brussels sprouts have a bad reputation.  You may be thinking, "Well yeah, they taste awful," and have unpleasant flashbacks of bad cafeteria lunches.  Anyway, I think that you might give them another chance if you prepare them another (more delicious) way.  By roasting any vegetable, you bring out the best flavors by creating caramelization (is that a word?).  Here's probably the best part:  by slicing the sprouts, some of the leaves separate and turn into crunchy little chips after roasting in the oven.  Amazing.


Ingredients:

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb Brussels sprouts, rinsed 
• salt and pepper

Take each rinsed sprout and cut the tough part of the stem off.  Then, carefully slice each sprout.  Think of the stem as the South Pole and slice from North to South.  You should get 4 to 5 slices from each one, depending on their size.  Don't worry if some of the leaves separate; you'll end up with those extra crunchy pieces that are surprisingly addicting.  Line a baking sheet with foil and toss the sprouts with the oil, salt and pepper.  I used about 1/2 tsp of kosher salt (which = 1/4 tsp table salt) plus some ground black pepper.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for 7 - 10 minutes.  Check on the pan halfway to see if the sprouts need to be stirred around.  You're looking for a brown caramelized color, but also stick a fork in the slices to test if they are done.  Serve immediately, and be sure to marvel at how different (and delicious) Brussels sprouts can taste when you cook them the right way!

Smoky Black Bean Soup

In honor of October and fall, I made my first batch of soup for the season!  I adapted this recipe from a Cooks Illustrated soup recipe but added my own twist--specifically three smoky ingredients.  The guajillo chili pepper, smoked ham and chipotle chili powder all add an amazing smoky flavor that is perfect with black beans.  If you want to omit the guajillo or substitute some other dried chili, feel free!  Also, you could easily make this vegetarian by omitting the ham and substituting vegetable broth.


Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried black beans, soaked for 6 hours (or overnight) and rinsed 
• 2 and 1/2 cups water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 dried guajillo chili pepper (optional)
• pinch of baking soda
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 1 - 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground chipotle chili powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• black pepper
• 2 - 3 oz chopped smoked ham
• 2 cups chicken broth

First, cook the soaked beans with the bay leaf, guajillo pepper, baking soda, and 1/2 tsp table salt in 2.5 cups of water in a saucepan for 30 - 40 minutes until tender.  Do not drain the cooking liquid, but remove the bay leaf and guajillo pepper.  Meanwhile, chop the vegetables and heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven.  Add the onion, bell pepper, and carrot; sprinkle with 1/2 tsp kosher salt and some black pepper.  Saute until slightly golden, about 8 - 10 minutes.  Add the garlic and remaining spices, stirring around in the pan for 1 minute.  Then add the beans (in their cooking liquid) plus the ham and chicken broth.  Finely chop the guajillo pepper and add it to the pot.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  I used an immersion blender to add some body to the soup, but you could instead puree 1- 2 cups of the soup in a regular blender or food processor.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream and/or some chopped green onion.  Enjoy!

Homemade Apple Butter

Mmmm, apple butter.  Believe it or not, it takes me back to a first grade school day when we made apple butter and corn bread with our "eighth grade buddies."  Since then, I've picked up jars and jars of it at farmers' markets during the fall.  A few days of cool fall weather gave me an apple butter craving, so I decided to make my own!  The key is patience; with time, the apples cook down into a beautiful, thick "butter."  I used Jonathan apples, which were pretty tart by themselves.  Obviously, your choice of apple might change the amount of sugar necessary to get the desired sweetness.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups apples, peeled and chopped
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

As you chop the apples, toss them in a bowl with the lemon juice and water to prevent browning.  In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter and then add the apples (in lemon water), sugar, salt and spices.  Cover for 15 minutes to simmer; if the mixture is boiling, turn down the heat to low.  With a potato masher, mash the apples and continue to simmer without the lid for another 60 to 90 minutes.  Occasionally stir the apples and use the masher to obtain a smooth consistency.  You are looking for the apples to turn a caramel-brown color and very condensed.  To test whether it has cooked long enough, put a small dollop on a plate and wait 10 minutes.  If there is a pool of liquid that develops around the apple butter, it needs to cook longer in order to simmer out the excess liquid.  This is also a good time to taste for sweetness.  After the apple butter is ready, cool slightly before storing in a sealed jar in the refrigerator.  Personally, I think apple butter can go on anything--biscuits, pancakes, oatmeal, graham crackers, you name it.  Just pop it in the microwave to reheat.  Enjoy!