TBWC2C Challenge: Apple-Pumpkin Brown Betty

I’m not quite sure what possessed me to volunteer to be one of the home cooks for Zach and Clay’s Super Awesome Cover to Cover Challenge over at The Bitten Word. I actually almost passed on it. When they first posted it, I could have been somewhere in the first 20 volunteers, I suspect. However, I decided not to, as Bill and I were traveling for most of the cooking time.

When they posted their request for a few more volunteers, I looked at the schedule again. I considered that our vacation rental had a kitchen. And then I said, “Why not?”

Then I got my assignment, an Apple-Pumpkin Brown Betty (APBB). I told Angelique that when I saw the recipe, I was thrilled. You know, in a food hoarder sort of way.… Continue reading →

2011 Thanksgiving photos

In poking around my photos, I finally found a few photos from Thanksgiving. Not many, and there are certain recipes (most of them) that we forgot to photograph. And it’s really a shame in the case of the apple-molasses pie, because that thing looked…

Well…

They called it the “Demon Pie”. So, yeah. Maybe it’s a good thing there’s no photographic evidence of it.

Anyway! On to the photos, with just a little bit of commentary for you as well.

I was astounded when I found my turkey’s neck had been left on. I actually wasn’t quite sure what to do at first. I didn’t want to try to roast it with the turkey, as I thought that might make it gross, but what the heck?… Continue reading →

[111] Quick Whole Wheat and Molasses Bread

Cover of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman

This recipe is the result of not having the ingredients on hand to make the bread Bittman suggests eating with baked beans, and having a lot of time on my hands while my friends hung shelving.

Not that it took a lot of time. In fact, I almost forgot I’d decided to make bread until near the end, and I still managed to whip it up and serve it. Under normal circumstances, this would make me feel like a dinner hero. Under the circumstances of beans simply not cooking, no matter how much I beg, it just made me feel like at least I had something else to feed the ravening hordes.

Not that Rob, Tony & Krysti are really much of A horde, much less “hordes”.… Continue reading →

[61] Sandwich Bread, Five Ways, Version 1

How to Cook Everything, Revised Edition by Mark Bittman

Well, we’ve discussed this bread a couple of times previously. First because the dough seemed to utterly fail to rise. Time took care of that. Then, since time took care of that, Bill and I decided to give it a go. This was despite the fact that the top of the dough had dried out quite a bit during the rise.

So, with all of that in mind, I’m going to launch straight into the recipe, and skip over the typically longer pre-recipe banter. Of course, there will still be cooking and consumption notes after the recipe. Also, as a note, I have and use a stand mixer for this, so those are the directions I’ll give. Looking at it, it appears Bittman prefers a food processor for this, but I <3 my stand mixer.… Continue reading →

[60] The Pumpkin Tureen

the cover of The Enchanted Broccoli Forest

When I saw this recipe’s title, I was curious. When I read the recipe, I had to make it. It’s soup. BAKED IN A PUMPKIN!

Seriously, as I think regular readers of this blog will know, I have been itching to make this recipe since the moment I laid eyes on it. Admittedly, I haven’t gone on and on about it, but at least two posts (maybe even three) mention that I’m planning to make it “soon”. It took awhile, but I managed.

Part of why it took awhile was because I wanted to make it when we had at least one dinner guest. While Bill and I are totally worth a lot of effort “just because”, this seemed like a lot of food and a lot of effort.… Continue reading →