Fall Food List

Otherwise known as the fall food bucket list.

I figured since it is the day after Thanksgiving I should probably write this post. Because soon people are going to say it is not fall anymore. I like to hold onto fall as long as possible. And I have to say that I'm a bit in denial about Christmas this year. But that's to be expected, Thanksgiving is my favorite.

Earlier in the autumn season I started creating a list of recipes I wanted to make or try for the first time. I wrote with the good ol' pen and paper a list of warm deliciousness.

Fall

Pumpkin soup - Marshall's Abroad - not yet
Chicken Chili - Smitten Kitchen - not yet, but may be bumped to winter
Acorn Squash - Buzzfeed's Tasty Kitchen
Sweet Potato Waffles - Joy the Baker
Pancetta, White bean, Swiss Chard Pot Pie - Smitten Kitchen - not yet, again may be bumped to winter
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup - Pin - not yet
Apple Cheddar Scones - Smitten Kitchen

Bonus:
Pumpkin Scones - adaptation of  Joy the Baker
Pumpkin Pie bites - Pin
Brown Butter Pecan Pie Bars (with Sea Salt)
Pumpkin Cheesecake (with homemade whipped cream)

So... it looks like I haven't made much progress but when you are only cooking for one and you start to get tired of an item after two days...I'm doing pretty good. That's all I'm saying.

I don't mind having pumpkin items into December, so I will probably  keep chugging along on this list. Bonus are all recipes that came up and fit in the category. This year we did a twist on the classic desserts for Thanksgiving, which you can see from the pecan bars and the cheesecake. I may have to add Butternut Black Bean Chili to the list as I'll be making it for Tuesday night's dinner group.

** links coming soon! But feel free to comment with questions!

Quiche: Everything but the Kitchen Sink version

Friday night I came home from being out of town for the previous 24 hours.  It was a stressful day and I had been meaning to make quiche all week.  I forgot to buy a crust at the store {cause that’s what happens these days, store bought crust}.  So it was leftovers and quiche combined.

 

If you are like me and forgot to buy or are too lazy to make a crust make a simple cracker crust.  I used Ritz crackers because, well I was too lazy to make a flour crust.  Mix the smashed cracker crumbs with melted butter (3-4 tablespoons) and pat into a pie crust.  Bake for 10 minutes at 250 to set.

Chop up whatever veggies you have and sound like they would be good together.  I had roasted brussel sprouts earlier in the week and so that went in with the red bell pepper and zucchini.  I suggest adding some protein, we added sausage that actually had spinach, cheese, and garlic inside.  Fill your crust with the veggies and meat and top with shredded cheese.  I used cheddar and parmesan because that is what I had on hand, but my favorite is swiss.  Mix 3 eggs with ¼ cup milk and few dashes of pepper.  If you don’t have garlic in with a veggie I suggest adding some to the egg mix.  Pour over the top and bake for 25-35 minutes at 375 or until cheese is slightly browned.

Enjoy!

 

I also figured that since I just talked about coming to the table this was a perfect opportunity to show you what's been on my table lately.

Peaches and Cream Pie {Recipe}

This was so yummy that I had to share the recipe.  My family finished it in 2 nights flat!  It is delicious warm or cooled.  I think it would be fun to try a mix of fruit as well.

Unbaked pie shell

3 cups peaches chopped (make sure to skin)

Arrange the peaches in the bottom of the pie shell.

1 cup sugar (or less)

1/3 cup flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 eggs beaten

1/2 cup sour cream

Combine these ingredients and spoon or pour over peaches

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup butter

Cut the butter into the flour and sugar.  Sprinkle over the top of the pie.  Bake for 55 minutes at 350 until golden brown.  Enjoy!

Hope you are having a lovely Monday!

Sometimes and Always: Berry Edition

We made this deliciousness on Sunday!

Source: morganmoore.typepad.com via Haleigh on Pinterest

I am linking up with Megan on this warm day for her series of Sometimes and Always.  We got a heat wave here last weekend and so we went on our annual berry picking adventure.  The place where we go {It’s tradition} is south and near to coast so it was cooler than being at home!
  

Sometimes: I think I’ll just eat one more

Always: yeah right…what was I thinking?

Sometimes:  I make myself pick only the blackest of blackest berries

Always:  That takes too long and I end up with a few red ones

Sometimes: I dream of what I’ll make and other times I decide to figure it out later

Always: I know there is deliciousness coming soon

Sometimes: I think ‘we’ll go home right away and make jam!’

Always:  It is way too hot.  We’ll make jam…soon

Sometimes: I talk with friends or my momma as we pick berries

Always: It is way more fun to listen to other people.  They say the funniest things {out of context of course}

Sometimes: I think that berry picking is easy and not dangerous

Always:  I come home with some scraps; those bushes have some sharp thorns!

This is one of my favorite summer traditions and it helps that it tastes yummy too!  I used to come home covered in berry juice, but I’ve tamed my ways and look more presentable afterwards these days!

Hope you are enjoying summer!

Known for their Food

I went to my last cooking class. It was disappointing to be done, but we had a lot of fun making lots of food!

We made the food in a somewhat random order, so I’m just going to take you through a tour of the meal it’s self and put in the extras where needed:
To start off with we made Mozzarella in Carrozza. Which I told my roommates was like making grilled cheese into French toast. It was a different twist, but naturally delicious! For this recipe you actually {deep} fry the bread and cheese in olive oil. Olive oil is healthier for you, but for this recipe you want to not use extra virgin olive oil, just use the cheap stuff!

Then we had Insalata di Arance or Orange salad. We didn’t actually make it, and it has a punch of a taste. I feel like I’ve had a similar dish before and it is so easy. Oranges, red onion, olive oil, pepper, salt, and if you choose black olives and parsley. It is great for digestion, cleanses the palate and is in season all winter! Our first course was Tagliatelle alla Carbonara or pasta with carbonara sauce. We made the pasta. Yes we made them and it is so easy, well if you a pasta cutter that is. They are classified as egg noodles and then we put carbonara sauce which is white cheese sauce with eggs and bacon. Lots of eggs where used during this meal! Most people make the mistake of cooking the eggs before putting them in the pasta, but you actually mix the eggs with the cheese sauce and then you pour it over the cooked noodles and then mix in the bacon. The hot noodles and bacon cook the eggs. It is completely sanitary, but is still a little odd. This dish is very filling!

Our second course was Tortino Salato di Porri which literally translates to Savory Pie of Leeks. It is very similar to quiche, but the Italian version {obviously}. We added trout, but I think I wouldn’t put it in as ours had a little too much of a fishy flavor. I liked it so much because it has Swiss or Gruyere, ricotta, and Parmesan cheese. And I was excited for the onions and leeks. Yum!

Instead of having a meat we had the trout in the 2nd course and then the contorno or side to a meat dish was Parmigiana di Melanzane or Eggplant Parmesan. This is also a heavier dish because of the eggplant, but delicious. I’m planning on trying it out again for dinner tonight. It’s funny to me that we call it parmesan because it has just as much or more mozzarella in it!

I know this doesn't look super appetizing, see belowthis is before it's baked in the oven, looks much better!

For dessert we made zabaglione sauce which you can change up with different liquors. It is a pudding that was created in the region I live in. It can be served in cups, hot or cold and with a spoon or used as a sauce like we did. We had ours over traditional Christmas dessert bread. The combination was perfect.

I know that I do not put the recipes up, but I would be glad to type up any that you might want to try! I’ve been trying to take steps of the process during class. Maybe I will make a recipe book with pictures…we’ll see if that actually happens!

egg count for this meal{going by the recipes}=12

What did I do today?

Multiple times I found myself asking “So what did I do today?” Sometimes it was out loud, a few whispers barely audible and others only talking to myself in my head. I talk to myself a lot. A month ago, 30 days, I got on a plane in California to come here. In some ways it feels like I’ve been here for a long time. It feels natural; I don’t feel as surprised by things or scared out of my whits by everyday occurrences. In other ways it’s still that feeling of stepping off the boat or plane in this case. I want my time to count here. I want to soak it up and enjoy every minute of every adventure. That is why I ask “What did I do today?”
Today I didn’t have plans. My roommate Robyn and I didn’t get our act together to go anywhere this weekend and last night we both realized that that was a very good thing. We both had long weeks and need rest. It is so very hard to take rest when you are in a place for a very short time.
Yesterday I went to the open market and the grocery store to get ingredients for chicken pot pie (my friend Megan has wanted to make it for 2 weeks now). Then I went to a class visit to the museum of the Piazza Madonna. The building has been around for hundreds of years. First it was one of 4 entrances to the roman city where Torino stands now. Then it was more of an elaborate entrance and a place to pay taxes. It then was converted to a castle/residence for the queen. And then her daughter in law renovated it to her own personal style. I walked where people in the middle age walked, crazy!
After that friends met me and we walked Via Garibaldi which has tons of stores and is one of the streets of the fashion district. I got shoes! Yay! My sandals died last week. I have been looking at the open market, but they are getting rid of their sandals because it’s getting colder, the sandals are not my style (that’s putting it mildly), and Italian women have feet that are much smaller than mine. I got sandals for the bargain of €5! So excited!
We made chicken pot pie, but well it was like chicken soup with dumplings because in our haste to make food we forgot some stuff and the recipe forgot to mention stuff so we weren’t reminded…so we’ll have to have potatoes another night (:
This morning I researched Torino for some fun things to do. After researching, we (Robyn and I) found that the Royal Hunting Lodge closes after this weekend. Yes, everyone I went to the royal hunting lodge today. No I did not go hunting. Would I go hunting in sandals? Please, I’m smarter than that. (I got asked that question from a friend while coming home)
Before taking the tour Robyn and I grabbed lunch. First a crepe slathered in nutella. It was so hot to try and eat, and we got really messy. Then some grilled sandwiches from a café to cut the sweetness and round out the meal
At the Lodge we got our tickets that were free so it was more of a formality. We were told that the tour was only in Italian. Oh, and we were put on a tour that was not for another hour. We killed time by walking down a country lane and walking part of the grounds. When we went on the tour it was completely in Italian, and we tried to look like we knew what the tour guide was saying. We didn’t get caught…this time! The tour guide did use her hands to talk but not in the charades fashion that some Italians here do. I actually could understand a lot of what she was talking about. “No cell phones on or photography in the building.” “…the chandelier and windows are from Bologna and Verienze (Bologna and Venice) to give light to the space…” So proud of myself!
For dinner we had kebobs and baked bread with cheese and other goodness. Peaches made from the Cuisine class recipe are cooking in the oven. Recipe is posted below (:

Pesche alla Piemontese

6 fresh or canned peaches
2 ½ tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons butter
1 egg yolk (can be admitted)
5 almond macaroons crumbled (you can substitute another cookie or leave out it is for an almond taste)
2 (large) spoons of dark cocoa powder

Wash and cut the peaches in half. Remove the pits and scoop out some of the flesh and put into a bowl. Make the halves of peaches bowl-like and place in a baking dish that has been coated with butter. Mash the flesh and add in the sugar, egg yolk, chocolate and macaroons. Mix well and fill the halves of the peaches. Dot with butter and bake at 375 for about an hour.
I think it would be delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side or top.

Don't the peaches look yummy! Sitting in the middle ages replica garden. so nice!

A view from the Piazza Madonna

The evidence that there was at some point crepes and very messy eaters

The front gates to the hunting lodge Yes, that is a stag signaling that this is the royal hunting lodge