Tag: Nutmeg
Butternut Squash Agnolotti with Toasted Hazelnut Cream Sauce
- 1 package of Buitoni’s Butternut Squash Agnolotti
- 1/2 cup hazelnuts, blanched
- 1 stick of butter
- 1/4 cup sweet vermouth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- a pinch each of ginger, allspice, and nutmeg (1/8 teaspoon or less)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Sage leaves, for garnish
Continue reading Butternut Squash Agnolotti with Toasted Hazelnut Cream Sauce
Cherry Pie and Review of Taste of Home Cooking School Cookbook
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 cup cranberry juice
4 cups frozen pitted tart cherries, thawed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pie crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
7 tablespoons cold water
Note: I will give the directions as if I was making a large pie and will add commentary where the mini pie maker has different instructions. (I’m guessing most people don’t have a mini pie maker lying around!)
To make the filling, combine the sugar and cornstarch in a large saute pan.
Stir in the cranberry juice until smooth.
“Smooth” might be more appropriate |
Bring to a boil, stirring for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Remove from heat and add the cherries, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.
Gradually add the cold water. Start with 5 tablespoons and add 1 or 2 tablespoons more if needed. Toss with a fork until a ball forms.
Divide the dough in half with one ball slightly larger than the other. (You don’t have to do this if making mini pies.)
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger ball to fit in a 9-inch pie plate. When ready to transfer to the pie plate, loosely roll the dough around your roller and unroll into the pie plate. Trim dough 1 inch beyond the edge of the plate. (The mini pie maker comes with a cutter so I used that to get the correct shape. I then used another tool that comes with the product to push the dough into the mini pie plate.)
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Add the filling. (For mini pies, this is about 2-4 tablespoons of the filling per pie)
The book also goes through how to make a lattice-topped pie! Roll out the remaining pastry dough into a 12-inch circle. (I just used the cutter provided with my mini pie baker). With a pastry wheel (? No idea what a pastry wheel is. Feel free to use a pizza cutter or a knife), cut the dough into 1/2 inch to 1 inch wide strips.
Take half the strips (I just went every other that was cut) and lay them across the pie in with 1/2 inch to 3/4 inches between them.
Fold back every other strip.
Take one strip of dough and lay it perpendicular to the strips already on the pie. Unfold the folded strips over the perpendicular strip and fold back the strips that are running underneath that strip.
Lay down a second strip and continue the process until the lattice top is finished.
Trim the strips to fit in the pie and fold bottom pastry up over the edges of the strips and seal. (I couldn’t do this for mine, but I bet they would have looked much nicer!)
Bake at 425 F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for 45-50 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack. (I baked mine for 15 minutes and cooled on a wire rack).
I also made a normal topped pie |
I’m so excited about the lattice top! I obviously added a bit too much filling because it spilled over, but when I make a real pie, I now know how to do the lattice on top, yay!
Lobster Mac and Cheese
I have wanted to make Lobster Mac and Cheese for the longest time. So when I was having a crummy week, I thought it would be the perfect pick-me up. (I treat myself really well, don’t I?) Continental, a restaurant in Old City and Midtown, Philadelphia, have the most fantastic Lobster Mac and Cheese. Made with orzo, the restaurants use Fontina and Gruyere cheese to make a creamy, crave-worthy meal. I used a FoodNetwork.com recipe as a base with Continental’s version as inspiration.
I headed to DiBruno Bros. to pick up my cheeses, and they were somehow out of both Fontina and Gruyere. Sad day. DiBruno Bros. never disappoints though, and the cheesemonger helped me choose two cheeses: Comté and Tomme de Berger. Comté is very similar to Gruyere but is from France (rather than Switzerland). It has a slight nutty flavor to it, and melts wonderfully (it’s commonly used in fondue). Tomme de Berger also has a bit of a nutty flavor and is a blend of sheep and goat’s milk. If you can’t find these, substitute Gruyere for the Comté and Fontina for the Tomme de Berger.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups orzo
- 1 pint milk
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 8 ounces Comté cheese, grated
- 6 ounces Tomme de Berger, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 pound cooked lobster meat
- 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Bunny Carrot Cake
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup butter, melted and browned
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups loosely packed grated carrots (about 5 carrots)
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 2 (8oz packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Additional ingredients:
- 1 bag of coconut flakes
- green food dye
- jelly beans
Tools needed (paid links):
- grater
- electric mixer (hand mixer or stand mixer)
- 10-inch round cake pan
- 5 in round cake pan
Banana Berry Pecan Granola Bars
- 3 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 3/4 cup pecan pieces
- 3 ripe bananas
- 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tablespoons honey (to make vegan, substitute agave nectar)
- 3/4 cup dried berries (I used Trader Joe’s Golden Berry Blend)
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 3 tbsp whole flax seeds
- 1/2 tsp salt
Sauteed Spiced Pears with Pecans Over Ice Cream
Continue reading Sauteed Spiced Pears with Pecans Over Ice Cream
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
- 1/2 an onion, diced
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 1/4 cups 1% low fat milk
- 1 box uncooked elbow macaroni
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 4 ounces cubed sharp cheddar cheese
- 4ounces cubed gouda cheese
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Grated fresh Parmesan cheese
- Fresh parsley, chopped
Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies
I promise I’ll stop my cookie binge after this post. I was looking for a somewhat “adult” cookie for a bake sale at work and I came across this recipe for Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies. Ginger and lemon cookies? Hmm. This recipe takes a long time (a lot of refrigerating, freezing, etc.) so if you plan on making these Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies, make sure you have a good chunk of time, around 2 hours.
but they are so pretty it’s worth it! |
Ingredients
Ginger dough:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Dash of ground allspice
Lemon dough:
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg white
- the zest of 2 lemons
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
To make the Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies, begin by making the ginger dough. In a medium bowl, add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and allspice, stir with a whisk to combine.
Add 1/4 cup butter and the brown sugar to a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium until well combined.
You will end up using an entire egg in this recipe. To remove the yolk from the egg white, crack the egg over a bowl carefully. Split the two ends of the egg and move the egg from shell piece to shell piece until the white falls into the bowl and the yolk is left in the shell. Reserve the egg white for the lemon dough.
Add molasses and egg yolk to the sugar and butter. Beat until well blended.
Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
To make the lemon dough, add 5 tablespoons softened butter and the sugar in a large bowl. Mix at medium speed until blended. Add the egg white and beat until combined.
Add lemon rind, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, and vanilla using a mixer to blend.
In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat at low speed just until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; chill 30 minutes.
Unwrap ginger dough. Roll ginger dough between sheets of plastic wrap into a 13 x 8 1/2–inch rectangle (3/16 inch thick). (I honestly just eyeballed this). Chill 10 minutes.
Unwrap lemon dough. Roll lemon dough between sheets of plastic wrap into a 13 x 9–inch rectangle (3/16 inch thick). Basically I just tried to make it slightly thinner than the ginger dough. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Chill 10 minutes.
Carefully stack ginger dough on top of lemon dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border along one long edge.
Starting with the long side without a border, roll up dough, jelly-roll fashion. Seal edges (do not seal ends of roll). Cover with plastic wrap; freeze 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the freezer. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap dough. Cut with a sharp knife into 40 slices (I got 39 out of mine, so close!)
Arrange slices 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Bake one batch at a time for 9 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
So I can’t lie, this Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies recipe has to be one of the most time consuming and difficult cookie recipes I’ve ever made. But the result is pretty awesome. I was so proud of myself when they turned out looking like pinwheels!
You primarily taste the gingerbread, but the aftertaste is a light lemony flavor.
I thought these two flavors might compete with each other, but they end up being quite complimentary. Who knew?
Also, these Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies are pretty snazzy looking aren’t they? 🙂
Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies
Ingredients
Ginger dough:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Dash of ground allspice
Lemon dough:
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg white
- the zest of 2 lemons
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Begin by making the ginger dough. In a medium bowl, add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and allspice, stir with a whisk to combine.
- Add 1/4 cup butter and the brown sugar to a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium until well combined.
- You will end up using an entire egg in this recipe. To remove the yolk from the egg white, crack the egg over a bowl carefully. Split the two ends of the egg and move the egg from shell piece to shell piece until the white falls into the bowl and the yolk is left in the shell. Reserve the egg white for the lemon dough.
- Add molasses and egg yolk to the sugar and butter. Beat until well blended.
- Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined.
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- To make the lemon dough, add 5 tablespoons softened butter and the sugar in a large bowl. Mix at medium speed until blended. Add the egg white and beat until combined.
- Add lemon rind, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, and vanilla using a mixer to blend.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat at low speed just until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; chill 30 minutes.
- Unwrap ginger dough. Roll ginger dough between sheets of plastic wrap into a 13 x 8 1/2–inch rectangle (3/16 inch thick). (I honestly just eyeballed this). Chill 10 minutes.
- Unwrap lemon dough. Roll lemon dough between sheets of plastic wrap into a 13 x 9–inch rectangle (3/16 inch thick). Basically I just tried to make it slightly thinner than the ginger dough. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Chill 10 minutes.
- Carefully stack ginger dough on top of lemon dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border along one long edge.
- Starting with the long side without a border, roll up dough, jelly-roll fashion. Seal edges (do not seal ends of roll). Cover with plastic wrap; freeze 30 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the freezer. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap dough. Cut with a sharp knife into 40 slices.
- Arrange slices 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Bake one batch at a time for 9 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
Notes
Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola Sauce
Ingredients (makes 3 servings):
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon minced fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, divided
6 pieces of fresh pasta lasagna sheets, rolled thinner if desired (I used pumpkin pasta, no surprise there!) – about 1 lb.
1 cup fat-free milk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
1 tablespoon egg substitute or one egg, mixed
3 tablespoons hazelnuts, chopped
Fresh sage leaves for garnish
To make the Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola Sauce, add a salted pot of water to your stove over high heat. Bring to a boil.
Begin by making the ravioli stuffing. Add the pumpkin, panko, Parmesan, minced sage, salt, pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg to a bowl. Mix to combine.
Place another lasagna sheet on top of the original sheet, covering the pumpkin mixture.
Remove from heat. Add the butter, stirring until it fully melts. Stir in the crumbled Gorgonzola. Add more minced sage leaves if you’d like.
Add 6 ravioli each to three plates. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the Gorgonzola sauce. Add a teaspoon of chopped hazelnuts, a few sage leaves, and a sprinkle of nutmeg.
This Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola Saucewas pretty darn good. I think it could handle a boost in nutmeg though; there was something missing from the overall flavor of the dish.
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients:
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 large eggs
2/3 cup water
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
Cooking spray
1/2 cup chocolate chips
You can either half this recipe, or freeze the extra bread for up to one month. Just tightly wrap it in plastic wrap before putting it in the freezer.
The original recipe topped the bread with pecans or chopped walnuts, feel free to do that as well before baking.
If you think the bread is browning too much on top, cover it with tin foil towards the end (with 10-15 minutes left).
Skinny Iced Pumpkin Cookies & Review of Melt Buttery Spread
Kelly from Eat Yourself Skinny recently had a post trying out a new buttery spread called Melt with rave reviews. Luckily, Melt graciously sent me two packages of their organic buttery spread for me to try out as well!
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup Melt buttery spread
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Icing, for drizzling:
- 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
- 2-1/2 teaspoons 2% milk
- 3/4 teaspoon melted Melt buttery spread
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Continue reading Skinny Iced Pumpkin Cookies & Review of Melt Buttery Spread
Pumpkin Spice Bread
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
I am so excited that pumpkin season is back, and to share this recipe for Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting! I eat/drink pumpkin flavored things all year, but September through December are when I can truly indulge in my pumpkin obsession.
To kick off the season in style, I decided to make pumpkin cupcakes.
The cupcake recipe is adapted slightly from Annie’s Eats recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes and the icing is an adaptation of a Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting from Kraft.
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes:
- 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice K-Cups (about 3 tablespoons?)
- 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 8 oz. package of Cream Cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 16 oz package of powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pumpkin Walnut Muffins
VisitPhilly.com’s Philly Homegrown section recently posted fall recipes from local eateries in Philadelphia. All of them sounded amazing and I hope to try them all in the coming weeks, but my pumpkin obsession took priority. Metropolitan Bakery’s Pumpkin Walnut Muffins were calling me. I’ve adjusted the recipe a bit, but the general idea is still very much there.
The recipe made two dozen large muffins, or 4 dozen cupcake-sized muffins. Your friends and coworkers will like you a whole lot after you make this recipe!
Ingredients:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups pumpkin puree, canned
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 cups chopped walnuts