Pecan Pie

At first I was going to share this recipe before the holiday (in case any of you wanted to make it) - but then I realized it would be strange to share a recipe that hadn't actually been eaten yet. Sure the pie smelled amazing, but I'm pretty sure most people get the real enjoyment out of their pies by eating them. So I decided to wait until after the Thanksgiving meal to make sure that the pie really did taste as good as it looked/smelled.

And boy did it! It was sweet, but not too sweet. The crust was flaky and buttery and not tough at all (which can sometimes happen if you overwork the dough). So, in the unlikely event that you are still hungry, or didn't have enough pie yesterday, or just feel like celebrating for one more day. Here is a recipe that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser or even just a "you-pleaser."

Happy Holiday Season!

Pecan Pie

Pie Crust (trusty recipe from smitten kitchen)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
1 cup, chilled water

1. Cube the butter and place the butter back in the fridge. Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt.

2. Add the butter cubes to the flour mixture and using a pastry cutter (or two knives) to blend the butter into the flour. The texture when finished will resemble small peas.

3. Drizzle 1/2 cup of the cold water and using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula bring the dough together. When Almost completely combined, use your hands to bring all the dough together. You may need to add a little more water to bring it all together. *don't over mix*

4. Split the dough in 1/2 and wrap each ball in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Or until ready to use.

5. When ready to use, place the dough in between 2 sheets of wax paper and roll out to a circle big enough to fill a pie plate. Transfer to the pie plate and punch holes in the crust using a knife. Place back in the fridge until ready to bake.

Filling
3/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup pecans

1. Mix the syrup, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add the milk, flour, and melted butter and mix in the pecans.

2. Pour the filling into the unbaked crust.

3. Bake at 350 F for about 45 minutes, until set.

Happy Thanksgiving

courtesy of www.peanuts.com

I don't have a recipe to post today. Not that we didn't cook this week or that I don't have a pile of great new things to try staring at me as I sit here typing this. My plan is to bake a pecan pie later this week to bring to my in-law's house for Thanksgiving, or maybe a French apple cake. I just haven't decided yet. I'm trying to be a little more in the moment. And I think that means that sometimes you just don't plan out exactly what recipe to make and post for the week. I'll try not to make a habit of it.

But in the spirit of my favorite holiday, a day when I will set aside the law books and try as hard as I may not to discuss heightened pleading standards and conspiring tortfeasors, this week especially I am celebrating how wonderful my family truly is.

Today my parents drove all the way up from PA just to spend the day at an event hosted at my law school. And, while I'm not sure they actually enjoyed being cold-called by a nutty British contracts professor, I sure enjoyed watching it! I am so truly thankful of how invested they are (and always have been). And of course for my amazing husband with out whose support I'm not sure I would survive law school. (even if he hid at home today to escape the wrath of cold-calling professors)

There is so much to be thankful for. And so many reasons to be in the moment. I hope you get to spend the holiday with the people you are most thankful for.

Stay tuned for a pecan pie later in the week - or French apple cake - or maybe something totally different - who knows :o)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Baking Powder Biscuits

I didn't really need a baking powder biscuits "recipe." And if you like to bake you probably don't either. But I do love this cookbook from Williams-Sonoma. The pictures are gorgeous and they did something really neat with the instructions. They give you instructions to make the recipe by hand and by machine of choice (mixer, food processor, etc.), which I think is great. Sometimes I don't feel like carting out the stand mixer. And all of the food processor parts? Forget it. But this book is a little reminder that those things really aren't necessary, if you're willing to put in a little work.

So in that spirit, instead of using a pastry cutter, I used two knives (you know, how Grandma used to do). Well, if I'm being honest I wish I had just used the cutter. For two reasons: 1. my triceps started to really hurt after a minute (which is just a little glimpse into how out of shape I really am right now) and 2. when the butter and flour combine it should be like small peas and I got too fed up before then and went looking for my pastry cutter to finish the job. But couldn't find it, which just seems like the universe laughing at me, doesn't it??

But in any event, no matter what recipe you use, biscuits really are a quick way to make Sunday morning a little extra special - which I love.

Baking Powder Biscuits from Essentials of Baking, Williams-Sonoma

2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup whole milk

These instructions are to make by hand. For food processor steps, see below.

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F and lightly butter a 1/2 sheet pan.

2. In a bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. Add the butter and using a pastry cutter or 2 knives (see above) and cut in the butter until the mixture forms coarse crumbs the size of small peas.

4. Pour in the milk and mix with a rubber spatula just until the dry ingredients are moistened.

5. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead gently, just a few times, until it clings together. Pat the dough into a round about 3/4 inch thick.

6. Using a 3-inch round biscuit cutter (or the top of glass) to cut out the biscuits. Place the biscuits on the prepared pan. Gather scraps and repeat until all the dough is used.

7. Bake until lightly browned, about 15-18 minutes.


By Food Processor:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 F and lightly butter a 1/2 sheet pan.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in the food processor and pulse 2 or 3 times to mix.

3. Add the butter and pulse 3 or 4 times until the mixture forms coarse crumbs the size of small peas.

4. Pour in the milk and pulse for a few seconds just until the dry ingredients are moistened.

*go up to regular instructions and follow from #5.

Handmade Pesto

I don't usually go in for fancy kitchen utensils that only have one use. It seems so silly to have a special tool for zesting a lemon or poaching an egg. This is doubly important in our tiny apartment (and tinier kitchen) where things have multiple uses or they just aren't worth the space they take up.

But, when we made our wedding registry I knew that I would include one very specialized (seemingly silly) item that breaks all of the rules above. A mezzaluna. I had to have one. And considering how much Tom loves pesto, it wasn't too hard to convince him that it belonged in our kitchen.

So almost 7 months after receiving the mezzaluna I finally got around to making pesto without a food processor. And please believe me when I say it's worth the 30 minutes of chopping. In fact the 30 minutes is exactly WHY it's worth it. Because with my mezzaluna, it was basically 30 minutes of relaxing meditation. I highly recommend it. If you're stressed, or just want to not think about law school finals for a little while, it will work wonders. And in the end, you get yummy pesto. What's better than that?

Handmade Pesto from 101 Cookbooks
2 handfuls of basil leaves, washed and dried
3 cloves of garlic
1 handful of pine nuts
scant 3/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons good olive oil


1. Place 1/3 of the basil and 1/2 of the garlic on the cutting board and run the mezzaluna through until chopped. Add the remaining garlic and another 1/3 of basil and repeat. Add the remaining basil and slice until a fine mince.

2. Add 1/2 of the pine nuts and slice until incorporated. Add 1/2 of the cheese and repeat. Add the remainder of the pine nuts, slice. Add the remainder of the cheese and slice until all ingredients are evenly minced.

3. Form the pesto into a basil "cake" and place in a small bowl. Cover with olive oil and stir if using immediately. Otherwise, refrigerate and stir just before using.

Ginger Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

Last week I failed. I did not post. I did not cook or bake. Really I just barely kept it all together. BUT I'm back and maybe even better than ever. School has definitely gotten more stressful, but instead of completely losing my mind, I started doing yoga. And am trying to accept that it (life, school, etc.) is a process, which gives us only fleeting moments of perfection.

So with all of that in mind, I post one of most flavorful, yummy, crisp cookies that is just begging to be dipped in coffee or tea. This cookie will definitely help you relax. It will encourage you to slow down for a minute and to take a deep breath. To stop what you're doing and just be in the moment.


I hope you get to make these. Or that someone makes them for you. Because they go along way toward creating one of those fleeting moments of perfection that so many of us could use.

Ginger Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup rolled-oats
3/4 cup pecan halves

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cornstarch
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg

*or use 1 teaspoon ground ginger, but prefer the taste of fresh. I used a grater and just squeezed out the water with a paper towel.

1. Put the oatmeal and pecans into a food processor and grind until it has the texture of cornmeal.

2. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch, ginger, salt, and baking soda. Add the oatmeal/pecan mixture.

3. Put the butter in your stand-mixer bowl and beat until light (about 1 minute). Add both sugars and beat for 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides. Add the vanilla and the egg and mix until incorporated.

4. Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and mix until combined.

5. Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap and pack the dough into the pan evenly. Cover the top with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to cool (about 2 hours).

6. Heat your oven to 350 F. Remove the dough from the loaf pan and slice in half lengthwise. Cut into 1/4 inch thick cookies. Bake on cookie sheets with parchment paper for 15-18 minutes (until the edges are browned).

Lemon Roasted Chicken

In my apology last week for dwelling on the sweets, I mentioned lemon roasted chicken. And then, couldn't stop thinking about it. Lemony, garlicy, with some delicious potato chunks thrown in for good measure. Yum!

This is one of those pretty impressive dinners that truly doesn't take much effort. Yes, I basted and turned the chicken every 20 minutes, but other than that it just hung out in the oven and did its thing allowing me to study for my first-ever law final. So it worked out well for both of us. Though in the end the chicken was eaten and I had to sit for 4 hours typing as fast as I could about jurisprudence... so maybe "well" is an overstatement.

Admittedly, the only part of the chicken that had the lemon flavor was the breast, but all of the meat was juicy and full of flavor. And the potatoes! I'm going to sneak to the fridge and get some now, even though it's 7am. Is that weird?

Lemon Roasted Chicken

1 4 lb whole chicken
1 lemon, halved
1/2 head of garlic
salt & pepper
handful of thyme

3 handfuls of new potatoes, quartered
1/4 cup olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Make sure to remove the giblets package from the chicken. Rinse it with cool water inside and out; pat dry with paper towels.

2. Shove the lemon halves, garlic, and thyme inside the bird's cavity. Generously salt & pepper the cavity.

3. Place the bird in your pan breast side up and secure the legs with twine (or one of those special rubber bands made just for this purpose) and spread the potatoes around the pan.

4. Drizzle olive oil over the bird and potatoes and sprinkle the whole thing with salt & pepper.

5. Cook for 1 1/2 hours, rotating the pan a quarter turn and basting every 20 minutes. When the chicken is done, an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the bird will read 165 F. Let sit for 10 minutes so the juices settle and serve.

Pumpkin Muffins

So I realized as soon as I put these in the oven that I haven't done a dinner food post in a while. I can only really attribute this to the fact that I've scheduled my blog food project for Sunday mornings and I guess at that time I'd much rather eat muffins, and pancakes, and crisps, than lemon roasted chicken or pork chops. But here's the deal: these muffins make my faux pas seriously ok. They actually make it super tasty.
They are a cinch and I have two of my favorite food blogs to thank. Heidi over at 101 Cookbooks did a pumpkin muffin this week, which inspired me, and Smitten Kitchen is where I picked up the recipe. These muffins are a great way to bring something special to the morning and are so approachable that it makes me wonder why I don't make muffins every week (note to self: fear of your waist line keeps you from doing this). It takes one bowl, ingredients you probably already have with the exception of 1 can of pumpkin (which the recipe uses all of), and muffin cups.

So if you love fall (who doesn't love fall?!) and want your whole house to smell like Thanksgiving and/or a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte, this is the recipe for you!

Pumpkin Muffins from Smitten Kitchen

1 can solid-pack pumpkin (15 oz., not pumpkin pie filling)
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line muffin tin with cups.

2. In a large bowl (preferably with a pouring spout) stir together, pumpkin, eggs, oil, sugar, nutmeg, allspice, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add flour a bit at a time and mix until just combined.

3. In a small bowl combine cinnamon and extra tablespoon of sugar.

4. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 of the way full and sprinkle the cinnamon/sugar mixture on the top of each.

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.