A Pair of Bartletts

What Kind of Pumpkin Are You?

I LOVE FALL!  I love EVERYTHING about it!  I love the COLORS, I love the SMELLS and the FLAVORS!   God was so good to us when He created such richly colored and flavored things like pumpkins.  I think pumpkins are beautiful to look at and I love their flavor....in both sweet and savory things.  I also love pumpkins because they remind me of the Glory of the Lord.  Have you ever seen two pumpkins that look just alike?  If you have, then we're ALL going to be rich!  You can't show me two pumpkins that are 100% identical to each other...YOU CAN'T DO IT!  

Pumpkins are beautiful things...they come in  an incredible palette of colors, some have bumps, some have ridges and lines, and sometimes, they are as smooth as silk.   Some have knotty stems and some have really beautiful stereotypically formed pumpkin stems.  Some might even have a worm hole or two!

God's children are a lot like pumpkins.  We have lumps and bumps and we have things that to some, are "not so beautiful", but to others, are just breathtaking.  We have lines and ridges...and we can be rigid when we want to be...and at times, we can be as smooth as silk in the outward showing of our personalities.  But lumps, bumps or otherwise, God created us uniquely and as incredible individuals...each of us being a total masterpiece in the eyes of the Father.  It's hard to remember sometimes that God created the beautiful and the not so beautiful...but to HIM....total perfection.  After all, we are created in HIS image!

         "So God created man in his own image, 
       in the image of God he created him; 
       male and female he created them."

                                 Genesis 1:27

Well, believe it or not, this was what I was pondering today as I made a batch of some really fabulous pumpkin soup.  I hope that you will consider it all "food for thought", no pun(kin) intended!

I'll leave you with the recipe that I used, and yes the pictures above were from today's batch of soup.  I hope that you'll try it!  The recipe is adapted from one that belongs to one of my favorite Food Network chefs, Robin Miller.  You can find her exact recipe for this soup by clicking here.  I will include my recipe below, since I have a couple of things that I add in addition to Robin's INCREDIBLE recipe.  I hope that you enjoy it!  And if you are looking for economical...THIS IS YOUR RECIPE!  For those of you who are fellow American Frugal Housewives...you'll love it!

SMOKY PUMPKIN SOUP WITH CUMIN

1 can (15 oz.) of canned pumpkin**, ~OR~ 15 oz. of fresh cooked pumpkin

1 ½ cups of reduced sodium chicken broth

1 cup milk (I use Horizon Organic 2%)

1 pinch ground sage

1 pinch ground cinnamon 

½ tsp Sun Crystals (or other sugar substitute like Splenda)

15 turns of the peppermill

¼ tsp. sea salt

1 pinch ground bay leaves (or 2 whole bay leaves)

**MAKE SURE that you do NOT buy the pumpkin pie mix!  It should be the PLAIN canned pumpkin!

Whisk all of the ingredients together over medium heat. Serve hot!   If you like a smoother texture, you can process the soup through either a food mill or a food processor for a smoother puree.   If you are not a cumin fan, or if you are not sure if you are, then you may want to start with ¼ tsp. of cumin and then work up from there.  I love it, so I use the 1 tsp. that it calls for.

Enjoy!

 

 

French food anyone?

Well, let me just give a big shout out to Melissa D'Arabian, the newest Food Network Star!  I tried one of her recipes night before last and can I tell you something?  It was P-E-R-F-E-C-T!  I have never made ANY pastry dish, much less a French dish,  where it turned out like the picture off of the page of a magazine.  I can usually make them turn out pretty well, but there's always one or two little things that I usually wish may have turned out a little crisper, flakier, etc.  But folks....follow this recipe and you WILL NOT FAIL!  Although, my grocer was out of Gruyere cheese, but I substituted a really good fresh baby Swiss and it was still P-E-R-F-E-C-T!  (Don't just substitute any old cheese...you would need one that is of the same relative consistency and texture of the Gruyere in the recipe, otherwise, you would have either too much or too little moisture in the dish.  So, if you don't know a lot about cheese and you can't find Gruyere....I promise, you won't go wrong with a good baby Swiss (not the sliced kind, but the fresh kind that you would grate yourself--about $6.00 for a pretty decent sized chunk).  

Also...the recipe does give the instructions for making your own pastry.  However, if you are extremely busy, like me, refrigerated pastry crust is just fine...actually, in some cases, it's even better!  I used Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust (2 per box--not the crust in the pan but the kind that you would put in your own dish!).  

So, on with the recipe.  I have pasted it for you below, compliments of Food Network and Melissa D'Arabian.  I HOPE that you will try this!  It was absolutely DIVINE!  And if it's any testimony from the husband point of view, Rob LOVED this.  The reason that this thrilled me so much is that he is usually not a "savory pastry" fan.  But he COULD NOT stop talking about this.  He was totally shocked!  After all of his praises the other night, this recipe is DEFINITELY going to the FRONT of my recipe box!  

PLEASE try this and PLEASE let me know what you think!  One final little "cooks tip"....I would HIGHLY recommend that you slice the potatoes using a mandolin  or a food processor slicing blade (or like me,  a Pampered Chef Zyliss slicer, set to thin--not paper thin, maybe about 1/8" thick).  If you don't have evenly sliced potatoes and if they are too thick, this dish is not going to cook evenly and your layers won't be as pretty when you cut it.  But, if you don't have a slicer, just make sure and get the slices as uniform as possible.  You're going to be "dealing these out" in the dish almost like you would deal a deck of cards...they should move that fluidly in your hand.  So, if they don't then you might have them sliced too thick.  

Okay...are you ready?  I have included their text from the website, but the pictures below are mine, each step of the way.  I can't wait to hear from you!

Ingredients

• 4 strips bacon
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme (I was out of fresh, so I used about 1/4 tsp of dried thyme)
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 Pie Crusts, recipe follows (I used Pillsbury refrigerated pre-made crusts!)
• 3 medium baking potatoes, peeled
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
• 1 egg yolk, whisked with a splash of water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until just crispy. Drain on paper towel lined plate and set aside. Crumble the bacon when cool to the touch.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the thyme and cream over low heat to a bare simmer. Turn off the heat and let steep for about 5 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs.

Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator. (I "dock" the bottom of the pie crust with a fork so that it will not bubble up....this will let the steam come through and your crust will cook perfectly--you can see the fork's marks below)  Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and then finely slice the potatoes. Working in circles, arrange the potato slices in the pie crust, stopping to season each layer with salt, pepper, and about 1/4 of the crumbled bacon.

Continue layering until the pie pan is nearly full. 

Top with an even layer of the cheese and gently pour cream around and over the entire pie, allowing it to seep down between the potato slices. (You may not use all the cream.) (writers note: I used all of the cream and it was perfect) Roll out the remaining disk of refrigerated dough. Cover the pie with the dough and crimp the edges closed. Brush the top and edges of the crust with egg wash.

 Make a few slits in the center of the top crust, for the steam to escape, and put the pie pan on a baking sheet. Bake the torte until the crust is browned and crispy and the potatoes are cooked through, about 50 to 60 minutes. (My over is calibrated pretty well and 50 minutes was perfect).  

If the crust edges get too brown, cover them with some strips of aluminum foil. Remove the pie from the oven and let rest at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

(~~SEE THE PRETTY LAYERS!~~)

Pie Crust:

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), cubed and chilled
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 to 10 tablespoons ice water

Put the butter, flour, and salt in the food processor, and pulse lightly just until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing briefly after each spoonful of water. Keep adding water until the dough just begins to gather into larger clumps. Transfer equal amounts of the dough into 2 resealable plastic bags and pat each into a disk. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Remove 1 of the disks from the bag to a flour coated surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 10-inch round. Gently fit the rolled dough into a 9-inch pie pan, and refrigerate while you prepare the torte ingredients.

Yield: 2 (9-inch) pie crusts

The Hot Jezebel Revival

 

If the title of the post didn't' get your attention, then the sauce really will!  I posted about this sauce once when I was on my old Blogger account.  I have had a "hankerin" for some Jezebel sauce lately, so I thought I would do a revival post of the recipe.  I won't have time during the week to make it, but I'm planning to whip up a batch on Saturday! 

If you like hot and spicy, then THIS is the recipe for you!  It is best when served over a block of cream cheese with some wheat thins, triscuits or really any cracker you choose.  Wheat thins just happen to be my favorite.  This also keeps for quite a long while in the refrigerator.  It's also a great gift if you break the recipe out into smaller jars and add some sweet embellishments to the gift jars.  I must warn you though, like the name Jezebel, this sauce has quite a kick to it.  The combination of the dry mustard and the horseradish leave it packing a little punch.  But with the cream cheese, it lightens it up just a bit.  I hope you enjoy....please let me know if you try it!  I would love to hear back from you!

THE WIFE'S JEZEBEL SAUCE
1 (10 oz) jar of apple jelly 1 (10 oz) jar of pineapple preserves 1 (8 oz) jar of prepared horseradish 1 Tbsp of dry mustard 1 tsp. black pepper 1/4 tsp. of onion powder Mix all ingredients together in a bowl using a whisk.  Pour up into one large jar (or smaller jars for gift giving).  Refrigerate at least over night before the first serving to allow the flavors to marry.  After that, will keep in the fridge for about 3 months.   **You can also use apricot preserves instead of the pineapple for another twist on this little concoction!

***In addition to serving this with cream cheese and crackers, you can also glaze a ham with it.  And, just recently, I saw someone on "Diners, Driveins and Dives" on the Food Network who served this on burgers.  I haven't tried that one yet, but I'm sure it would give a burger quite a kick! 

Let me know what you think! 

For more great "Talk About Tuesday" post archives, drop by Lara Gallagher's blog at The Lazy Organizer.   This week is the last Talk About Tuesday post on her blog, but I will probably continue my own from time to time. 

Ina--YOU ROCK!

I really enjoy watching Ina Garten on The Food Network show, The Barefoot Contessa.  Actually, I think it's my favorite show from that network.  As of late, she has really been creating some very easy dishes, especially for the home cook.  The recipe to follow is just one of those that I'm talking about.  As a matter of fact, I will be making this dish before the week is over.   We really love fish and this looks SO incredibly easy to put together.  For those who are going to try it....DON'T go out and buy creme fraiche (pronounced "fresh").  You can make it at home and for a FRACTION of what you would pay for a container of it in the store.  Just get a glass jar, fill it with 1 cup of heavy cream and 2 Tablespoons of buttermilk.  Mix it together and let it sit out for 24 hours. Then refrigerate it....and you've got your own creme fraiche!  I hope that you will try this dish too.  If you do, please let me know how yours turns out!  (If you click on the link to the recipe below, you can get a nice pretty copy of your own to print)

MUSTARD ROASTED FISH
Ingredients
4 (8-ounce) fish fillets such as red snapper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces creme fraiche
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 teaspoons drained capers


Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.


Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. (You can also use an ovenproof baking dish.) Place the fish fillets skin side down on the sheet pan. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.


Combine the creme fraiche, 2 mustards, shallots, capers, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Spoon the sauce evenly over the fish fillets, making sure the fish is completely covered. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, until it's barely done. (The fish will flake easily at the thickest part when it's done.) Be sure not to overcook it! Serve hot or at room temperature with the sauce from the pan spooned over the top.

 

Labels: Food Network, Recipes