The Butler Buns

If i closed my eyes i can imagine being at my parents house, my dad is in the kitchen protecting ( i say protecting because otherwise we would come in and start picking at it) breakfast, my mom is upstairs putting last minute touches on the days events and my sisters and i (and our husband now) are slowly waking up and making our way to the kitchen. On special morning like thanksgiving and christmas there is no need to call us down for breakfast, the sweet aroma of the traditional butler buns are wafting in the air and enticing us to come down and start the day. "Well good morning chicky, happy (insert holiday here)" are the first sounds we here from my dad as we make our way to the coffee pot. By this time my dad has already unloaded the buns and is using his fingers to pick at the pan and offering us the scrapings of what was the buns. This tradition has been long standing in our family and is something that makes our holiday complete (that and moms croissants).
Well, this year will be the first year i won't see my parents on thanksgiving, so in honor of family tradition i decided to try and make them myself.
i did everything they said: Place them in the pan, NOT TO CLOSE!

Let them rise over night (hahah, maybe a little too close)

Put them in the oven on a pan

Cook for 30 min or until they "thump" (the technical term) and sound hallow

Let them rest...

and as Emril says : "BAM" they are ready.

Ok, so they are actually not supposed to have lumps of on the top... the topping is supposed to be gooey all over, however, they were still delicious.
Typically the tops don't have enough flavor (and by that i mean they are just bread and in my mind, why waste your time on "just bread") so we will eat the bottom and discard the tops. But this time i decided to add a little butter and the brown sugar and butterscotch mixture to the top so that maybe i wouldn't waste so much (because we all know i eat so much)
This was only my first time making them... next time i will be even more generous with the dry ingredients!!
I will admit without my dad protecting the rolls i burned my tongue and fingers by trying to eat them too quickly. In true family traditions i totally ate more then i needed, if S doesn't get home soon there won't be any left for him to have!
They were good... but dad you make them better!!

NOVEMBER?!?!

Already... i swear it was just yesterday that someone reminded me to start posting about November... and now we are well in to the month and i have done no posting.
It isn't because i haven't been cooking/baking, i just get sidetracked.
Recently i have succeeded in getting my hubby in the kitchen with me. He is actually a really great cook, very adventurous and willing to risk it all... where as me; very traditional and by the book, so we work very well together in the kitchen.
Everyday is a mystery, normally around 2 or 3 we will start talking about what sounds good for dinner. We throw around a couple different ideas, search the web and ultimately end up on something like soup or pasta.
Yesterday around 2pm i ask the daily question; "what do you feel like for dinner?"... "Soup, bread and good wine" came flying back over a text message...
Typically S doesn't care, so when he actually says what he wants i dive right in. Knowing that Clam Chowder is one of his favorites i got to work.
I searched multiple different sites before stumbling on this clam chowder recipe that was also going to help me find a "good" wine (in our house you have to specify "wine" or "good wine"... they are very different. "Wine" is normally cheap and picked out of the proverbial "bargain bin", "good wine" is normally a little more thought out and step up from the cheapest).
I personally don't like clam chowder... there is something about shell fish i don't care for.. Normally i just pick around the clams to find the potato's (i do LOVE potato's), however, this recipe didn't call for potato's, so i boiled some up in a separate pot and added them in the end.
The chowder was also not thick enough for me, so i added a little water/corn starch mixture to thicken it up a bit.
The flavor was subtle, so i will probably add more clam juice next time and more veggies... but all around it was a "good dipping" soup as S put it.

As for the rest of this month, well it kind of goes without saying... Thanksgiving is coming up next week... so that means; turkey, stuffing, cranberries & pumpkin pie!

Spicing up the blog

I think I am going to do it!
I have been holding off for awhile, waiting in the wings, hiding in the corner, blending into the crowd... but i think it is time!!
I am going to participate in my very first food event...
Frequently, food blogs will put on different themed events, it is a challenge of sorts to make you try something or do something new with cooking!!
I found this one while perusing around on the Dessert First blog (or type pad... difference??). It is called "Sugar High Friday" and from what I gather there are different "hosts" and they get to pick the theme, this time is all about spices!
I thought this would be a good event to participate in because it is a little less threatening than some other ones i have seen out there!
I have to use a spice in something sweet! I can do that!
I am thinking something spicy (but sweet!)!

Apple adventures

The other night my hubby and I were invited over to my parents house for a healthy bowl of squash soup, made from a wonderful squash we picked up at the farmers market earlier in the week!
My dad worked away in the kitchen stewing up this earthy delight full of other garden goodies such as; carrots, celery, potatoes, onions, garlic, apples and orange all mixed together with herbs and spices.
Naturally, my first response to the invitation was; "can i bring anything? how about dessert?". I always tend to offer up dessert or get volunteered for it!
This time i had an ulterior motive for jumping at the chance to bring dessert. I had previously seen a recipe on Kitchen Parade for an Estonian Apple Cake that looked irresistible. I figured "that looks light enough for an after dinner treat but substantial enough for a true dessert."
Lucky for me i had also picked up some beautiful apples at the farmers market that were just asking to be used for this purpose!
So i ran home after work and whipped it up! this was possibly the easiest cake i have ever made, my only set back was cutting up the apples.
The directions are to the point, the ingredients are few and the difficulty is lack-there-of.
I didn't have milk on hand, but i did have some soy milk, to the best of my knowledge it didn't change the consistency at all and no one seemed to make note of it.
The batter came out really thick, so i was a little nervous that it was going to be super dense and heavy.
(Confession: I usually make a little sampler of whatever i am making for my hubby; aka: official taste tester to try before i unleash my goodies on anyone!)
This time i had to go based on chance, i pulled it out of the oven, made a make shift carrying case for it and we were out the door!
Later that evening we dished it up and it was surprisingly light and fluffy in texture, not to heavy or dense. The creme anglaise is something that was worth the extra couple minutes it took to make it, it gave it that little something extra!
All in all (even with out my official taste tester giving it the seal of approval) it was really good!
Squash and apples... very October!

Ghosts, Goblins and Gourds

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins!!

It is pumpkin season!!! I am an adoring fan of most pumpkin flavored things; scones, pies, breads, seeds, soups, ice cream, cakes... on and on it goes!
So naturally I love this time of year!

Side Note: I think November might be my favorite food month, only because it is caught between October and December, so i get the best of both months. In my opinion October and December produce the best food flavors! They are warm, hearty and oh-so-good! (not always good for you, but thank goodness for thick sweaters!)

Back to October.

Some of the obvious October foods are (besides pumpkins): Apples
Cranberries
Beets
Winter Squash
Sweet Potatoes
Turnips

Some options i didn't realize were Octoberites:

Blackberries

Dates

Figs

Okra
Quince

Star fruit

Watercress

I think i will make it a point to try and bake/cook with at least 4 of those items listed on the "surprising" October list (I will try to fit it in between all my pumpkin cooking).

This just might have to be my first go at the pumpkin recipes (thank you wholeliving.com, aka Martha Stewart):

Pumpkin Butter
(http://www.wholeliving.com/recipe/pumpkin-butter?autonomy_kw=pumpkin&rsc=header_4)

Ingredients

2 pounds peeled, seeded, and diced sugar pie pumpkin (substitute canned if needed)

1/4 cup turbinado sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

Pinch of salt

Directions

In a stainless steel pot, combine pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar, and salt; bring to a simmer. (If using fresh pumpkin, stir until it's tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.) Continue simmering until the mixture starts to thicken, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a blender; blend until smooth. Return mixture to pot and heat for 10 minutes on low until it reaches desired thickness. Remove, cool, and serve.

Now... What to put it on!

The Background Story

Over the past couple years I have become increasingly more interested in food and all the different flavors and combinations.
I have typically stayed away from cooking because it is very subjective. I believe you have to have a lot of creativity to cook. You have to understand what flavors go together and not be afraid to try new things. Me, I love comfort and consistency, which is why I love baking so much. Baking is exact, you have to have the right measurements or else you come out with the totally wrong thing!
However, in my efforts to expand my culinary horizons (and with the addition of a new hubby), i have started to take on cooking. One of my new favorite things to do is to visit local farmers market and pick up a bunch of random produce and figure out how to make it in to something delicious!
One way i do this is feeding off of other peoples creativity. I search around on blogs and different cooking websites to figure out how people put together interesting, creative and yummy dishes.
I finally came to the conclusion that if i loved looking at all these food sites so much i might as well come up with one of my own! (giving back to the food community in a way).
Most of you know that there are millions of different culinary blogs out there, most to help educate others (which i have taken full advantage of!) and share the knowledge that the Blogger has. I however, am very young in my culinary journey and don't have much to share, which is why my blog is going to be educational for all of us! We will learn together!
I am constantly enamored with the changing seasons and the food each season yields. A flavor can be here and gone in a month! I am going to explore each month and the food and flavors it has to offer, finding new recipes and traditions commonly found in that month!

Enjoy!