Pear Pomegranate Salad

A friend of mine brought this delicious salad to a baby shower and then kindly sent the recipe along to me.  The recipe comes from the talented ladies at Our Best Bites.  I bought my very first pomegranate to make this salad and now I am quite enamored with the fruit.  The seeds are an absolutely gorgeous color.  And the longer I live the more convinced I become that candied pecans are a magical ingredient to give most any green salad a gourmet flair.

Pear Pomegranate Salad
Ingredients:
For the salad-
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup sugar
10 oz spinach and spring mix (or one head romaine lettuce (chopped) mixed with 6 oz of baby spinach)
Seeds from one pomegranate (about 1 cup)
2 pears that are still a little firm, cubed or thinly sliced
4 oz crumbled feta cheese
Juice of 1 lime

For the Sweet Red Wine Vinaigrette-
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 cup canola oil

1. Prepare a sheet of parchment paper or foil sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Combine pecans and sugar in a small nonstick skillet.  Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar melts and coats the nuts (about 10-15 minutes).  Quickly spread the nuts onto the parchment paper or foil and set aside to cool.

3. Toss together the spinach, spring mix (or lettuce, if using), pomegranate seeds, pears, and feta cheese.  Drizzle the lime juice over the top and toss again.  Stir in the cooled pecans.

4. To make the vinaigrette, combine the vinegar, sugar, garlic, salt and black pepper in a blender and process on high.  Lower the speed, and while the blender is running, add the oil in a steady stream.  Dressing may be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.  Shake well before serving.

Source: slightly adapted from Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites by Sara Wells and Kate Jones  

Sweet Crescent Rolls

These rolls have been part of our Thanksgiving dinner for the last couple of years.  I love the texture and flavor when they are made with part white whole wheat flour, part all-purpose.  Since this makes quite a large batch it's nice to know these can be frozen either baked or unbaked.  It's been great to pull out unbaked frozen roll dough already shaped into cute little crescents on Thanksgiving morning and let them calmly hang out on the counter to thaw and rise while we work on other parts of the turkey day feast.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water
2 scant tablespoons yeast
1 1/2 cups milk, lukewarm
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), very soft
6 1/2-7 cups flour (I like 4 cups white whole wheat, 2 1/2-3 cups all-purpose)
2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten, optional
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:
1. Mix water and yeast in large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer.  Stir until dissolved.  Add milk, sugar, salt, eggs, butter, 4 cups of flour and the vital wheat gluten, if using.  Mix until smooth.

2. Add additional flour until "tacky" to the touch.  Knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes).  Transfer to a large greased bowl and cover.  Let rise until double in size (about 1 1/2 hours).

3.  Gently punch down to deflate.  Divide dough into 5 equal portions.  Roll each portion into a circle about 8 inches in diameter.  Cut into 8 wedges.  Brush with melted butter, then roll up each wedge into a crescent shape.

4.  Optional Freezing instructions: At this point the unbaked crescents can be put on a baking sheet lined with parchment, covered with a layer of plastic wrap and a layer of foil, and frozen.  When rolls are completely frozen, transfer to a large freezer bag.  About three hours before you want to bake the rolls, remove them from the freezer.  Place rolls on baking sheets (either greased or lined with parchment paper or silicone liners), cover with greased plastic wrap and allow to thaw and rise until about double.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

5. Baking instructions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place on baking sheets (greased or lined with parchment paper or silicone lines) and cover with greased plastic wrap.  Allow to rise until double in size (about 45 minutes to 1 hour).  Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Source: adapted slightly from food.com via my friend, Sandy B.

Pumpkin Steamer

Hot chocolate is my go-to hot drink in the winter, but sometimes it's fun to change things up a bit.  This pumpkin drink is so full of fall flavor.  It's a lot like a pumpkin pie in liquid form.  This was a great way to use some leftover pumpkin and sweetened condensed milk that were hanging out in my fridge after Thanksgiving.  I didn't have any gingersnap cookies, but if I had, they would have gone perfectly with this drink.

Pumpkin Steamer
Ingredients:
3 cups milk (2% or whole)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
2 teaspoons vanilla
whipped cream (for garnish)
cinnamon (for garnish)

Directions:
1. Blend all ingredients (except the whipped cream and cinnamon) together in a blender until smooth and frothy.

2. Pour into a medium-sized saucepan and heat on medium high, stirring constantly until warmed through.

3. Pour into mugs and top with whipped cream and cinnamon.

*Instead of pumpkin pie spice I used 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, a pinch of ground cloves, and a pinch of ground ginger.

Source: from my friend, Wendy, also on www.favfamilyrecipes.com

Apple-Stuffed Acorn Squash

When I see seasonal produce on sale I just love knowing that if I buy it I have a recipe that will use it.  This is the acorn squash recipe I've been using for a few years.  It comes from my mom--one of my best recipe sources!

While I usually serve halves of this stuffed squash as a main dish, I actually prefer this cut in wedges and served as a side.  I usually keep side dishes really simple (steamed or raw vegetables, simple salads, etc.) but this is easy enough to actually pull off as a side as well.  I think it would go great with pork chops.  

Apple-Stuffed Acorn Squash
Yield: Serves 2 as a main dish or 4-6 as a side
Ingredients:
1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
1 1/2 cups cubed, peeled apples
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons chopped pecans

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.  Place squash cut side down in baking pan filled with 1/4 inch hot water.  Bake 30 minutes.

2. While squash is baking, in a medium bowl toss together apples, brown sugar, dried cranberries, melted butter, cinnamon and pecans.

3. Remove squash from oven, discard water.  Place squash cut side up in pan and fill each half with the apple mixture.  (I have to slightly pack in the filling to get it all in the squash halves.)

4. Bake 20-30 minutes longer, until the squash is tender.

Source: slightly adapted from my mom

Apple Muffins

A friend made these muffins and I just had to ask her for the recipe.  They are packed with apples, and with a little cinnamon and sugar crunch, it's hard not to like them.  I put toasted pecans in a couple of the muffins, and they are great with nuts too.

Apple Muffins
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat, 2 cups all-purpose)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups peeled, cored, diced apples (about 3 apples)
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped (optional)
Brown sugar and cinnamon for topping

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin pan with paper liners.

2. Stir together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  In a large bowl, mix together sugar, eggs, oil, applesauce and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.  The batter will be very thick.  Stir in the diced apples and pecans, if using.

3. Fill muffin liners about 3/4 full.  Sprinkle tops of muffins with brown sugar and a dash of cinnamon, to taste.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-24 minutes.  Makes 20 muffins.

Source: adapted from www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

Fried Green Tomatoes with Sour Cream Dill Sauce

Every year I try to grow a little produce, and every year it's a pretty dismal failure, but somehow I still get excited every spring to do some planting.  While my garden doesn't produce much, I still enjoy watching the plants grow, and I'm always optimistic that this will be the year I'll grow a tomato plant that yields a bounty.  Since that hasn't happened yet, I was very excited when my neighbor dropped by some green tomatoes along with a recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes with Sour Cream Dill Sauce.  I don't make fried foods very often, so it's kind of a fun experiment whenever I do.  These tomatoes were quite tasty, and even my husband, who does not like fresh tomatoes, liked these.  The Sour Cream Dill Sauce made these really fantastic.

Now I'm wondering if I can make a baked version of "fried" green tomatoes (and still enjoy them with this amazing dipping sauce).

I served these as a little salad on a bed of spinach with some avocado, crumbled bacon and parmesan cheese (although I forgot to put the parmesan on before taking pictures).

Fried Green Tomatoes with Sour Cream Dill Sauce
Ingredients for Sour Cream Dill Sauce:
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh dill
salt and pepper, to taste

Ingredients for Fried Green Tomatoes:
5-8 large green tomatoes
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
dash salt
1 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon garlic salt
pinch cayenne pepper
black pepper, to taste
vegetable or canola oil, for frying


Directions:
1. In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream, mayonnaise, and lemon juice.  Stir in the garlic, dill, salt and pepper until combined.

2. Slice tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick.

3. In a small bowl put 1 cup flour.  In another small bowl mix together the eggs, milk and dash salt.  In a medium-sized bowl or pie plate, combine the breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, remaining 1/2 cup flour, cornmeal, garlic salt, cayenne pepper and black pepper.

4. Heat oil to 350 degrees.  Dip each tomato slice first in flour, then in egg wash, and finally in the breadcrumb mixture.  Fry until golden brown (2-4 minutes), turning occasionally to brown evenly.

5. Drain on paper towels and serve with sour cream dill sauce.

Source: adapted very slightly from Serena's Kitchen at the Boone Hall Plantation, via my friend Wendy; salad ideas from Paula Deen

Cornbread Stuffing with Apple and Bacon

My friend started describing to me this cornbread stuffing she makes, and the more I heard about it the better it sounded.  This is a fun new way for me to enjoy fall flavors--in stuffing form.  I tend to associate cornbread with fall and winter, since I usually make it to have with chili, and this recipe makes wonderful use of leftover cornbread from chili night.  While one of the pleasures of fall is making a snack out of a fresh apple or enjoying sweet apple baked treats, it's so fun to incorporate apples into dinner as well.

Cornbread Stuffing with Apple and Bacon
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 slices bacon, chopped
1 apple, chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 cups crumbled cornbread

Directions:
Preheat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Add bacon and cook for 2 minutes.  Add apple, celery, and onion and season with the sage, thyme, salt and pepper.  Reduce heat to medium.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the crumbled cornbread and stir to combine.

Source: slightly adapted from Rachel Ray via my friend, Sara