French Croutons

Hey guess what? I got a job! I now work at a flower shop! Woo! I also ran out of allergy medecine the day before starting! I just couldn't understand later that night why I kept sneezing in cooking class. I think my classmate was ultimately the one to figure it out. "Do you have allergies?" OH right! I do! To flowers and stuff! I can be so thick sometimes. 

Today I made my first bouquet and I was so damn nervous. I haven't been quite trained yet so this was totally on the fly but by the third bouquet (3 people came in for a bouquet!) I think I had it down. White and pink hydrangeas, ornamental kale and some baby's breath. I really wish I could have taken a picture. 

Meanwhile culinary school has been keeping me well fed with bread, leftovers and bread. My last haul included a duck confit leg, gravlax, an oatmeal loaf and a kugelhopf. I left the bread out a little too long and needed to find a plan B that didn't result in even more breadcrumbs for the freezer. I thought I'd practice something we did in class as part of Soup Day. Buttered croutons! Lotsa BUTTER croutons. 

I'm just gonna brag a little bit and say that I was able to perfectly toss these bread cubes in that pan. Just like they say: it's all in the wrist (and the hands of god). 

French Croutons

This will probably seem like too much butter at first, but the croutons will soak it all up and taste delicious. Eat these soon as they won't keep that long with all that butter. Shouldn't be a difficult task.

2 thick slices of hearty loaf bread

2 tablespoons butter

Salt & Pepper

Cut the bread slices into equal sized cubes. In a saute pan melt the butter on medium heat. Wait until the butter has stopped foaming and throw in the bread cubes. Toss the cubes to coat them in butter. Keep tossing until they start to turn gold. Aggressively season the cubes with salt and pepper (as in- lots of both!). Taste a cube and adjust. If the croutons seem too greasy, lay them out to dry on some paper towel. 

Leftover Culinary Student Clam Chowder

My plan for feeding myself through culinary school was simple: family meal at school, leftovers from class and tuna fish sandwiches. I've done pretty well thus far but it turns out that I've had to change my plans somewhat since it looks like I could pretty mich live off of the bread left out from the bread making class. I've also been eating my homework. Julienned carrots, macedoined turnips or most recently: potatoes cocotte. When our chefs gave us the option of taking home some fish veloute sauce, I thought that I had just about everything to make some clam chowder. And I was right- All I had to buy was, well- the clams. 

Just some regular ol' sliced celery and carrots. Can you spot the cocotte potatoes? Swimming in their starchy water

Have I mentioned that I don't have a place to live yet? Or a job? Yeah- shit has been real round these parts but it's all good. Things are going to work out because- as the career services lady at school said: well, they just have to work out. Chowder is certainly a comfort food but for me it's also the soup that my mom made for Thanksgiving every year in France. She would have my dad bring back a few cans of clam chowder from the States and would doctor them up and serve it in a beautiful stoneware tureen. For years I had no idea that she didn't make this soup from scratch. I was shocked. But sometimes you have to make do with what you have or if you can't get what you want, you have to improvise. This is my improvised and indeed very comforting clam chowder. 

I'm sure I don't have to tell you that I didn't have a soup tureen in which to serve this, right? Ah well, I'll have time for that once I move into my own place. 

Almost perfect cocotte! Just another 50 or so potato and I should get it

Leftover Culinary Student Clam Chowder

This recipe is clearly not for everyone as you probably don't have leftover fish veloute lying around. To make it at home, buy 2 cans of clams and use the juice from both cans and adjust with cream or milk as needed. You can also add the clams from both cans instead of just one. If you don't feel like learning to cocotte a potato, just peel and dice 2 potatoes into roughly the same size. 

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 shallots, minced
• 3 stalks of celery, sliced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 4 cups fish veloute
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 10oz can of clams in their juices
• 12 cocotte potatoes (or 2 potatoes peeled and diced)
• Salt + Pepper

In a dutch oven or medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots and slowly sauté until translucent. Add the carrots and celery and continue to cook slowly until tender. Add the fish veloute, heavy and the juice of the clams. Stir to combine and adjust with more cream, milk or clam juice as needed. Add the potatoes and slowly simmer until the potatoes are tender. Add the clams and heat through. Season the soup with salt and pepper. Enjoy with some crusty bread. 

A Colonial Potato Wreath

Cotton blossoms, white pine, bittersweet and antlers

This year Christmas was spent in Chesapeake with my boyfriend's awesome family. A dinner in Colonial Williamsburg was a real treat as I had never been at Christmas and they are quite famous for their natural and authentic decorations- so, word to the wise: be sure to arrive before nightfall- colonial times did not include Christmas lights.

 We just loved the decorations and kept trying to figure out all the fruit, vegetables, dried flowers and other ornamentals that comprised each wreath. Pomegranates, oysters, apples, artichokes, bread rolls, playing cards, sliced and dried clementines, and even some burlap and woven wool were mixed into white pine, boxwood and fraiser fir wreaths. We were in love and vowed to make our own versions next year.

Natural wreaths and my momma

But then we got an idea. One hearty vegetable had been overlooked and we couldn't find one single potato in those adornments. Maybe they didn't have pretty potatoes back in the day, but today, you can pick up some gorgeous pink and purple potatoes in just about any grocery store. On our way back from dinner, we stopped off to get the necessary stuff to make our own natural wreath and here is what we came up with:

Do you love it? I love it. It's a freaking edible potato wreath! I have some ideas on how to improve the wreath for next year, but I would say this was a huge success. Looks good with a candle too. 

Tag's Potato Wreath
If possible, get similar sized potatoes which will help them roast evenly when you decide to cook the wreath.

• Assortment of mini white, red and purple potatoes
• 3-4 springs of rosemary
• 2 disposable pie dishes
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• Garlic powder

Using some kitchen sheers or scissors, cut a line through the middle leaving about 3 inches to the edge of the pie dish on both sides. Cut a few more lines through the middle of that line until you can easily bend the pointy edges back onto themselves (towards the edge of the pie dish) to create a sort of edge around the middle of the dish. You can kinda see this in the first picture of the wreath above. Do this with 2 pie dishes for some added support. Stack the pie dishes on top of one another.

Wash and scrub your potatoes and start adding them to the ring, making sure to alternate the colors. Add some springs of rosemary in and round the potatoes, trying to mask the edge of the pie dish.

At this point you can leave the wreath on a table for a few days before the rosemary starts wilting. If you'd like to keep it longer, you can either some water to the base of the ring or stick the rosemary stems in some water tubes hidden under the potatoes.

Once you are ready to eat the wreath, just add over the top, a tablespoon or two of olive oil, some salt, pepper and maybe a few shakes of garlic powder and roast in your oven set at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until tender. If some of your potatoes are much larger, you might want to cut them in half to ensure even cooking.

I left before the wreath was cooked but I imagine it was gorgeous on the table and tasty on the plate!

RAW Brussel Sprout Salad

Due to tremendous demand, I have pushed aside the PILE of other posts I had lined up and now bring you my now famous and widely coveted Brussel Sprout Salad with Pomegranates and Candied Pecans. I really don't see what's not to like in this salad. Brussel Sprout haters? Bet you've never tried it raw- am I right? And you know what- raw brussel sprouts aren't like raw kale where your jaw gets a workout and your innards get a good scrubbing. This salad reminds me of a coleslaw- rough greens with a tangy dressing and lots of delicious little goodies. And if you insist, go ahead and add some bacon- it wouldn't be amiss.

Brussel Sprout Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Candied Pecans
Inspired by a salad from Radish in Williamsburg, NY
I dressed this salad up for Thanksgiving with candied pecans, but for an everyday salad just throw in some toasted walnuts. It's all good. And the dressing asks for white balsamic vinegar but this is to avoid muddying up the salad. I've made this a couple times and still haven't procured any white balsamic vinegar... do as I say not as I do- am I right?!

For the Salad

• 1 overflowing pint of Brussel Sprouts
• 1 Pomegranate

For the Shallot Dressing

• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (or regular)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper (or black)

For the Candied Pecans

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
These nuts are very easy to make and make a great gift. Just add mason jar + ribbon!

• 1/3 cup dark-brown sugar
• 2/3 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt 
• Generous pinch of cayenne pepper 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pound pecan halves
• 1 egg white, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon water

Start off by making the candied pecans. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees

Combine the sugar, salt, cayenne pepper and cinnamon making sure there are no lumps. In a medium bowl whisk together the egg white and water until frothy. Add the nuts to the egg white mixture and mix until coated. Sprinkle the sugar mixture on top and keep adding it everything is nicely coated. Spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet, making sure the nuts are in one layer. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid clumps of sugar nuts. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

For the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a mason jar and shake vigorously until emulsified. Set aside

To remove the seeds from the pomegranate, fill a large bowl with water. Carefully cut the pomegranate in quarters. Working underwater, tear the quarters apart, releasing the seeds. The white pith will float to the top and the seeds will sink. Once you've freed all the seeds use a fine mesh strainer to strain out the pith floating at the top, then poor the water out through the strainer to catch the seeds. Rest the strainer over the bowl to dry the seeds while you finish the salad. 

The easiest way to cut the brussel sprouts is to use a food processor. Wash and trim the brussel sprouts and feed them through the food processor tube fitted with the slicing attachment. If you don't have a food processor, you can use a mandolin or a knife! Just slice as thin as you can manage. 

Toss the shredded brussel sprouts about 3/4 of the pomegranate seeds and 1/2 the dressing to start. Once you are happy with the ratios, top with a good handful of the candied pecans. 

This salad keeps pretty well in the fridge for a few days. 

No, not the slider- the salad beside it!

Double Apple Pork Shoulder

Sliders! and Brussel Sprouts!! Did I lose you there? I hope not because the brussel sprouts aren't even here yet- now it's all about a roasted pork shoulder and sliders!

This recipe clearly necessitates some planning as it needs 5 hours in the oven, but it is super simple and if you can think to throw this in the oven while making dinner on a Tuesday- you can eat for the rest of the week.

And that salad on the side? It's an adaptation from one of my favorite shops in Brooklyn- Radish. I loved the idea behind their Raw Brussel Sprout Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Walnuts and so I kinda kicked it up a few notches and made a better version ifIdosaysomyself. It was so good, we had it for Thanksgiving too.



Double Apple Pork Shoulder Sliders
Adapted from whatkatieate.blogspot.com
If you don't have Pickled-Candied Apples, try getting your hands on some pomegranate molasses.

For the Pork Shoulder

• 4 pound pork shoulder
• 6 tbls maple syrup
• 1 jar Pickled-Candied Apple with Star Anise
• 2 tbl whiskey
• 2 tbl soy sauce

Combine the wet ingredients and massage it into the pork. Place the shoulder into an oven dish and bake at 275 degree for about 5 hours or until the pork can easily be pulled apart. Pull the pork apart with 2 forks.

For the Sliders

• mini slider buns
• Roasted Apple Butter
• Dijonnaise (or combine some Dijon Mustard with Mayo to make your own)

Toast your buns under a broiler for about 2 minutes. Do not look away! Slather about 1 tsp of Dijonnaise on one side of your bun and slather maybe 2 tsp of Apple Butter on the other side. Pile on as much of the pulled pork shoulder as you can manage and secure everything between the two buns. Use toothpicks if necessary. 

APPLE BUTTER + PULLED PORK = YUM

Cranberry Pie

I'm gonna be honest. I've been cooking all day and I've had a few beers but I need to post this cranberry pie because it's awesome, I made it again tonight and no one believes in its awesomeness. This is for tomorrow when people are all: "OMG cranberry pie! Gimme recipe!!" *shoves pie into mouth*

If you've got your pie dough down, this recipe is super easy. Ya just mix the filling ingredients together in a big bowl and DONE. I highly recommend the double crust, but do what makes you happy. Today, what made me happy was a lattice crust. I've never done that before so we'll see how this one turns out. But go nuts! This is the time to experiment with maple leaf and turkey cookie cutters- or sprinkling raw sugars on top at the end after using an egg wash or maybe even a milk wash! Can you feel the enthusiasm!!

"Gobble gobble!" means HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Cranberry Pie 
Adapted from "Sampling's from Sully's Hearth"
My only thought here is to make sure to keep a double crust. The filling is fantastic with the crust and you just need to make sure that the ratio is right. Also- if your pie dish is deep, increase the filling by 50% but do not add more water. My pyrex dish above was fine with the regular recipe, but my Emile Henry pie dish needs the extra half recipe.

• 2 balls of Pie Dough
• 3 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 cup raisins
• 2 tbls flour
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp vanilla

Roll out both balls of dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Use 1 to line a 9" pie plate and leave the other between the parchment paper. Place both in the fridge.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and place in chilled pie shell. If desired, cut out decorative elements, then lay the rolled dough over the pie shell. Fold the edge under the lower pie shell and crimp the two layers together.
Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce oven to 350 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes. Cool before serving.

Apple Butter French Toast

The first thing I did with my apple butter was to make some french toast. I know this isn't exactly ground breaking, but it did rock my world. Especially when you have french toast for dinner. with a beer. BAM!

And have you ever tried baking bacon? I can't believe how crispy it gets. Next time I need to cook a big batch of bacon, this is surely the way to go. 

Crispy, easy bacon

Apple Butter French Toast with Oven-Bacon
Enough for 1 person

• 4 slices bacon
• 2 slices Portuguese bread
• 2 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbls butter
• Apple Butter
• Maple Syrup

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Line a cookie sheet with aluminium foil and place a metal cookie cooling rack on top. Place your bacon slices on the cooling rack. Bake the bacon for about 12-15 minutes or until crispy.

If your bread slices aren't stale, throw them in the oven, under the broiler, while the oven is heating up for the bacon. But sure to set your oven back to "bake" once you're done. 

Mix the eggs, milk and cinnamon in a soup bowl. This will make more than needed for 2 slices of bread, but it's hard to cost the bread otherwise. Melt the butter over medium heat in your skillet. Dunk your bread, once slice at a time, in the egg mixture, leaving about 30 seconds per side. Once the butter in your skillet has stopped foaming, transfer the bread slices. Cook for about 2-3 minutes on either side, or until cooked through and golden brown. While still warm, slather on some apple butter, normal butter and maple syrup. Serve with bacon and more maple syrup.

Apple butter, French toast AND bacon!

Apple Butter & Candied-Pickled Apples

I love canning. Let's just get that out there right this second. I will happily make and can jam after a full day at work if my fruit is looking dangerously ripe. You just can't understate the loveliness of homemade canned goods. When I went apple picking back in October and was able to get my hands on some fun and different varieties of apples, I wanted to do more with them then just eat 'em so after baking a pie or two, I looked around for a tasty way to can my apples. Apple butter sounded pretty good but most of the recipes I was finding began with applesauce and all the applesauce recipes are made in a crock pot. I don't happen to have a crockpot. Damn. So I started by making Candied-Pickled Apples with Star Anise because the recipe says that the apple pieces turn into little jewels and I like the thought of someone comparing apples to precious gems. 

Then I found a recipe for Apple Butter that begins with roasted apple slices and finishes in a food processor. Now that is clever! So here is what I'm gonna do- I'm going to share these recipes with you and then I'll show you what I did with them. Deal? 

Apple gems

Candied-Pickled Apples with Star Anise
Adapted from Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff
Makes about 4 half-pint jars

• 3 pieces star anise, broken up
• 2 cinnamon sticks, broken up
• 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 2 pounds crisp red apples, cored and diced (no need to peel)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar

Put the spices in a piece of cheesecloth and tie tightly. Add the rest of the ingredients to a large pot (preferably a dutch oven) and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring very gently- don't break those apple pieces! Keep the pot as a simmer, stirring occasionally for about 45 minutes until the syrup is thick and the apples are translucent. Discard the spices and can the apples as per canning method or keep in the fridge for a month.

Roasted Apple Butter
Adapted from jam it, pickle it, cure it by Karen Solomon
Makes 3.5 to 4 cups
If the end product seems a little dry from over-roasting the apples, stir in some apple cider.

8 pounds sweet apples
2 tbls freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cardamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel, quarter and core the apples. Lightly oil a few cookie sheets and arrange your apple slices in a single row. Bake for for 2 hours or until brown and fragrant. If your oven bakes unevenly, you may want to switch the position of your cookie sheets and flip them 180 degrees about 1 hour into their time in the oven.

In a food processor or blender, puree the fruit for about 4 minutes or until very smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and puree until everything is incorporated and the mixture is velvety. If the apples seems a little dry, add a splash of apple cider. Keeps refrigerated for about 1 month.

You can see the flavor in this Roasted Apple Butter

Halloween Treats

Do you know what's awesome? Halloween. Even in the snow, even when you don't have time to make those cookies you've been planning all month until you're actually in NY, even when those "one size fits all" orange knit tights don't quite fit, even when you have to bully a boyfriend and subsequently his brother into dressing up and donning some makeup, even when people keep guessing that you're a pumpkin- but especially when Halloween involves 1 scary movie per day (!!), Asian Buddy Holly, midnight showings of Frankenstein & Bride of Frankenstein and these sandwich cookies which are frankly too sweet. Great with black coffee though!

To everyone who has already celebrated Halloween or will be handing out treats (or tricks) tonight, have a happy Halloween!

Salt-N-Pepper Sandwich Cookies

Adapted from Baked Explorations

For the Cookies

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel, plus more for decorating

2 teaspoons white pepper (I used 1 tsp)

1/4 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder (like Valrhona)

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter,cut into 1 inch cubes, cool but not cold.

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar

3 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

3 ounces good quality dark chocolate (60 to 72%), melted

For the Vanilla Filling

5 ounces vegetable shortening, at room temperature

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small

 chunks, at room temperature

3 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon light rum

Make the Cookies

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, fleur de sel, white pepper, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, and add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating until each isincorporated. Add the vanilla and melted chocolate and beat until uniform in color. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again for 10 seconds.

Add half of the dry ingredients and beat for 15 seconds. Again, scrape down the bowl, add the remaining dry ingredients and beat until just incorporated.

Loosely shape the dough into two balls, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours (due to unforeseen circumstances, mines was in the fridge for 3 days...)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Unwrap one ball of dough and divide it into two equal portions. Place the first portion on a lightly flour-dusted work surface and return the other to the refrigerator.

Use your hands to knead the dough until pliable and form into a small disc. Roll the dough into a 1/4 inch-thick round. It will be slightly sticky, so you may have to flip and lightly flour it a few times while you work. Use a 2-inchround cookie cutter to create your sandwich tops and bottoms, and transfer them to the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch of space around each cookie. Continue the process with the remaining dough. Extra doughscraps can be refrigerated and rerolled, if desired.

Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a little fleur de sel, then bake them for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through the baking time. The tops of the cookies should look a bit dry and possibly cracked. Place the baking sheets on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer the cook­ies to the racks to cool completely before filling them.

Make the Vanilla Filling

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the shortening and butter until lump free and smooth. Add the sugar in three parts, mixing each part until just combined. Add the salt, vanilla, and rum and beat again for 10 seconds. The filling should be thick but spreadable (like the inside of an Oreo). If it is too thick, add a drop or two of water as needed. Keep adding water to reach the desired consistency, but do not add too muchwater or the filling will be too thin.

Alternatively if the mixture is too thin, add a few tablespoons of confection­ers' sugar.

Assemble the Salt-N-Pepper Sandwich Cookies

Use a pastry bag or a small spoon to apply about 2 tablespoons of filling to the flat side of a cookie. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top. Press down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edges of the cookie. Repeatuntil all the sandwich cookies are made. Let them set up for about 15 minutes before serving. Store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Malted Milk Sandwich Cookies
Adapted from Baked Explorations
I didn't have any malted milk powder so I just left it out and while I'm sure it would make for a delicious cookie, my batch did not suffer without it. 


For the cookies:
4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup malt powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 


For the vanilla filling:
5 ounces vegetable shortening, at room temperature
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small chunks, at room temperature
3 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon light rum


To make the cookies
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, malt, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 


In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat until just incorporated. Add half of the dry ingredients all at once and beat for 15 seconds. Again, scrape down the bowl, then add the remaining dry ingredients and beat until just incorporated. The mixture should come together almost in a ball. 

Loosely shape the dough into two balls, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. 


Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.


Divide each dough ball in half, to make four portions. Place one portion on a lightly flour-dusted work surface and return the other three to the refrigerator. 


Roll out the dough so that it is ¼ inch thick. The dough will be sticky, so you may have to flip and lightly flour it a few times while you work. Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to create the sandwich tops and bottoms, and transfer them to the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch of space around each cookie. Extra dough scraps can be refrigerated and rerolled once more, if desired.


Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes (mine took 7 min), or until they are just slightly browned.


Place the baking sheets on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the racks to cool completely. While the cookies cool, prepare the filling. 

To make the vanilla filling

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the shortening and butter until lump free and smooth. Add the sugar in three parts, mixing each part until just combined. Add the salt, vanilla, and rum and beat again for 10 seconds. The filling should be thick but spreadable (like the inside of an Oreo). If it is too thick, add a drop or two of water as needed. Keep adding water to reach desired consistency, but do not add too much water or the filling will be too thin.

Alternatively if the mixture is too thin, add a few tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar.  

To assemble the malted milk sandwich cookies

Use a pastry bag or a small spoon to apply about 2 tablespoons of filling to the flat side of a cookie. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top. Press down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the sandwich cookies are made. Let them set up for about 15 minutes before serving. Store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Sweet and Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

I have one last Halloween idea to share. If you are like my boss who doesn't let his kids carve their pumpkins until the day before Halloween (supposedly to avoid bugs and mold), you can still plan to make these roasted pumpkin seeds. I'm fairly certain I've done roasted pumpkin seeds before but I don't think they were very good (or I would have remembered...). This recipe is the tops. I roasted the seeds out of two pumpkins and ate half of them on Sunday. My jaw still hurts from that endeavor.

The hardest part of roasting pumpkin seeds is cleaning the seeds off of pumpkin gunk. When carving my pumpkins I usually have a garbage bowl and a colander over a bowl for the seeds. I find it easiest to clean the seeds in the sink under running water.

I opted to dry the seeds off a little before mixing them in a mixture of egg white, sugar, sea salt and cayenne pepper. The second time around I baked them for almost twice as long as the recipe suggested and ended up with really crunchy and caramelized pumpkin seeds. Majorly recommended. 

Besides just eating these by the handful, I've also thrown these into a lunch salad and on top of a Sweet Potato Soup with Goat Cheese.

But my favorite way to eat these is on top of an ice cream Sunday. If you dig the salty/sweet line, this is your Sunday: Vanilla Ice Cream + warm Bittersweet Chocolate Fudge Sauce + Marshmallow Fluff + chopped Walnuts + Sweet & Salty Roasted Pumpkin Seeds. It's the bomb diggity. 

Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

• 1 cup pumpkin seeds, cleaned
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, ground
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 375

Place your pumpkin seeds in a bowl and add just enough egg white to coat. In a small bowl combine the sugar, cayenne pepper and salt. Add the sugar mixture to the pumpkin seeds and toss to combine. Place the seeds in a single layer on a cookie sheet fitted with a silpat or parchment paper. Bake for 12-20 minutes until golden. To really get a nice color, you may want to bump your oven temp to 425 for the last 5 minutes. When you pull them out of the oven, sprinkle everything with some more sugar and cayenne pepper. 

Stores well in an airtight container for a few days. 

Lunch Salads

My co-workers always want to know what I'm having for lunch. It usually leads to a soliloquy on How Easy it Was and Oh, These Are Just Some Done-Up Leftovers. My boss recently asked me, in all seriousness: "Do you cook.... every day?" Yeah! Don't you?

Well for those who can't wrap their heads around bringing in lunch from home, here are a few of my recent salads. I love a good salad. 

cherry tomatoes + crumbled bacon +chopped walnuts + avocado + spinach + honey balsamic vinaigrette

Tip: Cook the bacon in a 400 degree oven on a cookie rack placed over some aluminum foil on a cookie sheet. Takes about 15-20 minutes and won't smoke up your kitchen!

broconcini + roasted peppers with capers + slice of Great Harvest bread + baby carrots

Tip: These peppers are better the following day so they make a great lunch

cherry tomatoes + roasted red peppers + black olives + assorted cheeses + assorted deli meats + lemon vinaigrette + spinach

Tip: Raid your office's fridge! This was all leftover from a social event and I happened to have spinach. Free lunch!

spinach + roasted beets + toasted pine nuts + goat cheese + fried egg

Tip: Okay, so I did this salad at home because even I can't fry an egg at the office.. But I roasted the beets the day before while making dinner so all I had to do was peel the skins off and BAM: delicious salad

General Tips:

• Clean, shred and bag your salad a day or two early. I like to keep my leafy greens at the ready in a large ziploc bag with a paper towel thrown in to absorb excess moisture. Romaine and spinach will hold up rather well and spinach is super good for you!
• Make a big batch of vinaigrette in a mason jar. I happen to love a honey balsamic vinaigrette and can make do with only that option so whenever I make some, I usually make a lot so I have it on hand. Not that it's hard to make: In a mason jar combine 1 tsp dijon mustard, 1 tsp honey, a few cracks of pepper, pinch of salt, 1 finger of balsamic vinegar and 3 fingers of olive oil. Seal the mason jar and shake to combine. 
• Aaah Nuts! I will add nuts to just about every salad, especially if it doesn't contain any other kind of protein. I have just about every nut out there and keep them fresh by freezing them. Don't let your nuts get rancid in your cupboard! 
• Get some small Tupperware and sandwich bags. If you don't want to take a whole mason jar worth of dressing to work, put it in a tiny Tupperware container. These are also handy for transporting things like hummus, olives ect. I use my sandwich bags for toast (when the salad doesn't seem hearty enough to get me through the day), baby carrots, snacking nuts, crumbled bacon bits, roasted pumpkin seeds- cookies! 
• Have dessert. I'm definitely not a chocoholic nor do I have a big sweet tooth but I have to admit that I'm a happier person if I finish my meal with something sweet. And it doesn't have to be big or "bad for you". I'm quite content with a piece of bittersweet chocolate or peach black tea sweetened with some honey. Treat yo'self 

Pear Sorbet

I don't think people like pears as much as I do. I know my dad loves them, but he's not around to help me get through a full container of this pear sorbet I recently made. 

A great way to use up those less then beautiful pears

My CSA recently included some pears in my box but by the time they made it to my door, they were looking rough. I was hoping that I could find something to do with them in my Canal House Cookbooks and I was quite lucky.

That pear has got to be mealy by now

They have an easy recipe for pear sorbet that includes pear brandy and I happen to have a bottle of Pear Brandy that my dad has lugged around since before I was born. I mean, the bottle looks old enough, doesn't it? And I have distinct memories of looking at this bottle as a child and wondering how they got that pear in there. 

I've been slowly eating away at the entire container of this pear sorbet. It's amazing and I hope there is still some left when my dad finally gets back for Thanksgiving.

Pear Sorbet

Adapted from Canal House Cooking Vol II 

I've been eating this sorbet with scoops of vanilla because I like the contrast between the creamy and the fragrant. I also love it topped with toasted hazelnuts and salted caramel sauce. 

• 5 fragrant, juicy, ripe pears
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup pear brandy

Make the simple syrup by combining the sugar with 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Heat the mixture while stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool

Meanwhile peel and core the pears. Cut them into chunks and add them to a food processor. Puree the mixture until smooth. In a medium bowl combine the pear puree, the simple syrup and the pear brandy. Make sure the mixture is quite cold before processing it in your ice cream maker.  The sorbet will firm up in the freezer after a few hours. 

The recipe says this sorbet is best eaten within 1 week, but I'm quite content with mine and it's already been a few weeks.