Apple Cider Pound Cake with Apple Cider Glaze

Last week I had a very special treat. My former coworker was visiting Chicago and invited me and the Monkey Scientist to have dinner at her sister's house.  I used to eat lunch with her every day, but now I hadn't seen her in months!  It was great to be able to spend time with her and catch up.  I can't believe how many people I used to work with have had babies since I left.  I miss the flurry of baby pictures I used to get in my email.



As I've mentioned before, my coworker isn't a big chocolate person.  I dug through my recently starred recipes in Google Reader and it seemed like everything was chocolate!  Finally, I came across this cake and I knew it was perfect.  I love cakes that are sweet and this cider glaze was perfect. I knew she'd love it.



Besides that, the Monkey Scientist gave me a bundt pan last Christmas and I still hadn't used it until now!  His mom makes a few really amazing bundt cakes, so I never wanted to compete with her.  Fortunately, this cake was far enough from her chocolate chip cake that I wasn't too worried. However, after the first 70 minutes I could tell the cake wasn't going to keep its shape and was going to become a pool of dough.  I threw it back in the oven for another 20-30 minutes, though, and it really did the trick.  So even if your cake is starting to turn brown around the edges, don't fret! Let it cook all the way through! (Especially if you have a silicon bundt pan).



To no big surprise, this cake came out really delicious. It's sweet without being too sweet, and has a nice subtle apple cider flavor.  I love the warmth of the cinnamon throughout.  I didn't reduce the cider quite enough so the glaze looks pretty white compared to what it should have looked like.  It didn't matter though - I liked the white color and it tasted great.



Apple Cider Pound Cake with Apple Cider Glaze
very slightly adapted from Buns in My Oven

Ingredients
For the cake:
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
6 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup apple cider
1 teaspoon vanilla
For the glaze:
1 cup apple cider
1/2 - 1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
dash of salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 325 and grease a bundt pan.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar.  With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time until incorporated.
3. In a large bowl, whisk to combine the dry ingredients.  In a measuring cup, combine 1 cup of apple cider with 1 teaspoon vanilla.
4. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry mixture and cider a bit at a time, alternating between which you are adding.  When everything in incorporated, spoon the batter into your bundt pan.  Bake for 70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (I used a silicon bundt pan and it took closer to 90 minutes).
5. Remove from the oven and let the cake sit for at least 20 minutes in the bundt pan.  Remove from bundt pan and allow to cool completely.
6. Add the remaining 1 cup cider to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Allow to boil for at least 10 minutes or until the liquid reduces by half (I don't think mine reduced enough, so it wasn't dark in color).
7. Add the butter, salt, cinnamon, and powdered sugar.  If it isn't thick enough, continue to add powdered sugar until it reaches desired consistency.
8. Allow to cool slightly, and then pour over cake.  I recommend doing this over a jelly roll pan so you can collect the drippings and pour it over again if you like (I did this 3 times).  Serve at room temperature.

Tourtière (French Canadian Meat Pie)

The strangest thing happened today.  I woke up and was dead set on making tourtière, for no apparent reason.  One of my mom's best friends is French Canadian (although she has always lived in the States) and every year for Christmas she makes the most delicious meat pie, called tourtière, that her family made growing up.  She knows I love it, so she always makes an extra and has us for dinner sometime the following week so that I can enjoy it.  It's become something I look forward to each winter.



A couple years ago, I decided I wanted to make it myself.  I dug around looking at recipes online and emailed my mom's friend for the recipe.  I had it sitting in my inbox for almost 2 years, but I never got around to making it!  So this morning, I dug it up and decided I just had to make it.  The Monkey Scientist thought I was crazy (Canadian food?) but he couldn't say no to meat and pie.



So I went to the store, and got everything I needed, and made two pies (one to eat, one to freeze for another night this winter).  We ate and enjoyed them and the Monkey Scientist went back to studying.  Then I was online and realized that - by total coincidence - it is Canadian Thanksgiving tomorrow.  Although I've always known this to be a Christmas dish, it appears that it is also eaten on Thanksgiving in Canada.  The Monkey Scientist told me he thinks I have a 6th sense for Canadian holidays - what do you think?



As far as the recipe goes, this one is something I will keep around.  It is the perfect meal for a cold day because it's so warm - both in temperature and from the cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg and cloves.  It just tastes like a Christmas night by the fire in New Hampshire to me.  The Monkey Scientist and I liked it with a little Chulula on top, but it is just great on it's own as part of a holiday meal - whether it's Canadian Thanksgiving, US Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, or just a winter's night with the family.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating!



Tourtière (French Canadian Meat Pie)
adapted from Yankee Magazine, All Recipes, and LB
makes 2 pies

Ingredients
filling
2 small potatoes, chopped
2 finely chopped onions
2 lbs ground pork
2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 c water
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
crust
4 c unbleached AP flour (plus more for the rolling surface)
1 tsp salt
1 3/4 c shortening
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp vinegar
1/2 c ice water
to assemble
1/4 c milk

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400F (you can wait to do this until you begin assembling the pies).
2. In a very large pot, bring several cups of water to a boil, then add the potatoes and onions.  Cook about 20 minutes, or until potatoes can be easily pierced with a knife.
3. Drain the water, and return the potatoes and onions to the pot.  Add the pork, beef, 1 1/2 c water, salt, pepper, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves to the pot.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
4. When the meat is done cooking, drain the liquid into a bowl and place the meat into a separate bowl. Put both bowls in the refrigerator and chill for at least an hour.
5.   In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.  Add in the shortening and cut with a pastry cutter until you have pea-sized clumps.
6.  Add the egg, vinegar, and ice water to the flour and shortening mixture.  Work into a soft, cohesive dough ball. Cut the dough into quarters.  On a well-floured surface, roll out each quarter of the dough ball into rounds for the bottoms and tops of each pie.  Transfer one pie crust into each of your your two pie dishes.
7.  Remove the liquid and meat from the fridge.  Scrape the solidified fat off the top of the liquid and discard.  Fill each of your pie dishes with half of the meat mixture.  Top with one tablespoon of the liquid in each pie.  Top your pies off with your last two pie crusts and pinch edges to seal.  Cut slits in the top of each crust so that steam can escape.
8. Brush the tops of the pies with milk.  Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve immediately or freeze until you're ready to serve.

Basic Oatmeal Cookies

On Saturday night, the weather was icky which made going out sound dreadful.  We've been pretty obsessed with Draw Something lately, thanks to my brother (it's a terrible addiction don't even start!) which inspired me to want to play Pictionary.  At the last minute, I was able to organize a few friends to come over and join us for an exciting game night!




We had such a wonderful time.  We started with CatchPhrase (if you have an iPhone, download Phrase Party and you don't actually need to buy the game!), and then moved onto Pictionary, Charades, and a game I'd never played before - Chinese Telegraph.  You can find a great explanation of how to play the game on Jenna's Everything Blog.  Next time you gather a bunch of your friends, I highly recommend playing this game.  I had to pull out a box of tissues because I was laughing so hard.  It was one of my favorite Saturday nights in a long time - I hope we'll get to have another game night again soon!



Since I threw the gathering together pretty quickly, I felt bad that I hadn't made many treats for my guests.  I am usually pretty good about keeping the ingredients for baked goods in the house, so I decided to throw together some cookies.  I wanted a pretty basic recipe so I went to my reliable Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.  My college roommate always used this cookbook, so when a Border's was going out of business I picked up a copy of my own and I love it!  I had all of the ingredients for these Oatmeal Cookies, as well as about 1/4 bag each of chocolate and butterscotch chips, so I quickly threw a batch together.



What a great recipe!  They're super easy to make and tasted delicious!  These are chewy cookies, but I bet if you took them out halfway through baking and gently banged the cookie tray on the oven door before putting them back in, they'd flatten out and turn out crispy if you're into that.  I don't usually add cloves or cinnamon to my oatmeal cookies but I will from now on.  They added a new level of flavor that we all really enjoyed.  Even though I only had 1/2 cup combined of chocolate and butterscotch chips, I thought they were the perfect amount to prevent the cookies from being too sweet or too chocolately (yes, I just said that.  I'm not a huge chocolate lover).  These were a great cookie that I could throw together in no time with the ingredients I had on hand!




Basic Oatmeal Cookies
slightly adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

Ingredients
3/4 c butter, softened
1 c packed brown sugar (I used light)
1/2 c granulated sugar (or Vanilla Sugar)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4-1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 c all-purpose flour
2 c rolled oats
1/4 c milk chocolate chips (optional)
1/4 c butterscotch chips (optional)

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or, even better, a beater blade) beat the butter on medium speed for 30 seconds.
3. Add the brown sugar, granulated (or vanilla) sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves and beat on medium speed until combined.  If you don't have a beater blade, make sure to scrape the sides down with a spatula. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
4. Add in the whole wheat flour and beat on low until incorporated.  Add AP flour, 1/2 c at a time, and beat on low until incorporated.  Add the oats and beat for 15 seconds or until incorporated.  If desired, add chocolate and butterscotch chips (or anything else, like raisins or craisins) and stir with a spoon until mixed throughout.
5. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet (optionally lined with a silpat mat or parchment paper).  Bake 8-10 minutes (mine actually needed closer to 12 min but they were a little big) until the edges are golden brown.
6. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute then transfer to a wire rack to allow to continue to cool.

Roasted Pumpkin and Lentil Soup with Chorizo

Finally the fall is here!

You know how I know?




I made soup!  I haven't made soup in months!  And my soup, it has PUMPKIN it in!  It truly is October, even if it feels like April outside.  (Although I'm sure when I'm in Minneapolis in a little over a week, I'll freeze my little tushy off!)




I came up with this soup on my own, though I consulted all sorts of recipes for ways to roast pumpkin as well as techniques for preparing lentils, meats, or squash in soup.  Everyone has their own ways of doing it - roasting the pumpkin or not roasting, pureeing or leaving everything whole, and even timing varied widely.  In the end, I just did what worked best for me.



I really enjoyed making my own recipe for this soup. I had a vision of exactly what I wanted, and I accomplished it.  I was hoping for a soup that was spicy and savory, yet sweet, and full of protein so that it would be filling.  I love lentils, but I'd never tried to use them in soup and I'm so happy with my results!




If you're interested in making your own soup recipe, check out this guide on Simple Bites.  It's definitely a skill worth learning.  Homemade soup is so much tastier and healthier than anything out of a can!  Almost any seasonal produce can go right in!  I love any excuse to use my immersion blender, so squash in the fall makes my favorite soups.



This soup came out so amazing.  I brought some leftovers to work and everyone was wandering towards me, asking what they smelled.  It was very filling and the flavors were complex.  I'm not sure how I feel about the pureed meat (that sounds disgusting) but honestly it didn't bother me in the final soup.  I actually love the texture of the blended soup.  If you're not into that sort of thing, you can probably just add it in at the end, after you blend the lentils and squash, or leave it out all together (although in that case, I'd add some chiles to increase the spice level).  I thought it was just perfect as is though!




Pumpkin and Lentil Soup with Chorizo


Ingredients
1 small pie pumpkin
1 1/2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp cinnamon sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb chorizo, casings removed and crumbled
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp all spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed and sorted
7 cups vegetable or chicken stock

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with tin foil.
2. Cut pumpkin in half and remove seeds and stringy insides.  Slice into 2-inch wide crescents.
3. Spread butter, maple syrup, and cinnamon sugar over the foil on the baking sheet.  Rub the pumpkin on both sides in the butter mixture.  Arrange in a single layer and bake 20-30 minutes, turning them over halfway through cooking time.  When they're cooked, remove and discard skin and chop pumpkin.
4. Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the chorizo and cook thoroughly. Remove to a separate bowl with a slotted spoon.
5. Add the onions, garlic, and ginger to the pan.  Season with salt, pepper, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves.  Allow to cook until soft, about 10 minutes.
6.  Add pumpkin, then lentils, then stock.  Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to low and simmer until lentil are tender, about 30 minutes (may take more or less time depending on the type of lentils used).
7. Puree using an immersion blender.  Serve immediately (just don't burn your tongue!)