Pumpkin Zucchini Bread

Well after trying three different recipes for bland and tasteless Pumpkin Zucchini bread I decided to develop my own recipe. After several attempts, serving my husband slices of bread and asking "what else does this need?" I finally came up with this winner.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, slightly beaten
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon almond extract
• 12 oz pumpkin puree
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 1 cup butter melted
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• ½ teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon Lemon zest
• 1 cup chopped or ground walnuts, almonds, currants, raisins, coconut (optional)

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Preparation Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Canola cooking oil spray two bread loaf pans (or 5-6 mini pans).
3. Mix eggs, sugar and vanilla in a bowl.
4. Stir in pumpkin puree and butter
5. Mix flour, baking soda, and spices in a separate bowl.
6. Stir dry ingredients into the first bowl containing the egg mixture.
7. Stir in the shredded zucchini.
8. Stir in nuts and other optionals, if you are using them.
9. Divide the batter into the bread loaf pans.
10. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 45 to 50 minutes.
11. Test bread with a knife or a toothpick to see if it is done. Insert the knife into the bread. If it doesn't come out clean, bake for an additional 5 minutes and re-test.
12. Remove the bread from the oven and let set for ten minutes.
13. Remove the bread from the pan, and place on a wire rack to cool

1 Recipe, 5 Base Ingredients, 7 Different Cookies

For this year's Christmas cookies I didn't have a lot of time, so I choose my most popular recipe and adjusted the flavors so that I would have a variety without having to buy a lot of additional ingredients. Each night I made one batch of cookies and after a week I had a great variety of Christmas cookies. They were such a huge hit that I was recruited to make another collection of them for the ladies tea party in April.  The texture of these cookies - ultra tender, ethereally light, melt-in-your mouth-is unlike anything you can get from a traditional cookie recipe.  The secret is over 200 years old - baker's ammonia. My base recipe is from the 1800's when baker's ammonia was a traditional ingredient in cookies.  

NOTE: Do Not eat the raw dough of these cookies. The ammonia cooks off during the cooking. You may smell a strong ammonia odor while these cookies are baking but never fear - by the time they come out of the oven the odor will be gone. Can they be made without the bakers ammonia? Sure, substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder. Just be aware that the texture will not be nearly as good. Bakers ammonia is available at the local pharmacy or via mail order from King Arthur Flour. It is well worth getting for the texture of these cookies.

Base Ingredients

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baker's ammonia

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 300. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In medium bowl beat together sugar, butter, salt, flavoring. Add flour & any dry flavoring and baker's ammonia and beat until the dough almost comes together. The dough will seem quite dry at first, but keep beating, eventually it will clump up and become cohesive. This could take up to five minutes.
• Squeeze the dough together, gather it into a ball, and scoop out pieces the size of a large gumball. Roll the pieces into a ball, then roll them in the coating ingredient.  Place them on the baking sheet and use the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar to flatten the balls to about 1/4 inch thick.
• Bake the cookies for 25 to 30 minutes until they are light golden brown around the edges.

Vanilla Dreams

Add

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons almond extract

Coating:

• Coarse sugar

Almond Dreams

Add:

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons almond extract

Substitute:

• 1/4 cup almond flour for 1/4 of base flour

Coating:

Crushed almonds mixed with course sugar

Lemon Dreams

Add

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons lemon extract

• 2 Tablespoons lemon zest

Coating:

• Coarse sugar

Chocolate Dreams

Add:

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons almond extract

Substitute:

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder  for 1/4 of base flour

Coating:

• Crushed almonds mixed with course sugar

• For Christmas use crushed almonds mixed with Christmas sprinkles for a festive touch

Coconut Dreams

Add:

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 teaspoons coconut extract

Substitute:

• 1 cup coconut  for 1/4 of base flour

Coating:

• Coconut  mixed with course sugar

Orange Dreams

Add

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 teaspoons orange extract

• 2 Tablespoons orange zest

Coating:

• Coarse sugar

Mint Chocolate Dreams

Add:

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 Tablespoons mint extract

Coating:

• Dip half the cookie in high quality melted chocolate and set on cooling rack to harden
• For a festive touch at Christmas - sprinkle Christmas sprinkles over melted chocolate before it cools. 

Bruschetta with Black Olive Pesto, Ricotta and Basil

This is the final recipe in my Bruschetta series. Enjoy.

Bruschetta with Black Olive Pesto, Ricotta and Basil                           

Serves 8 to 10 as an appetizer.                          
Use only a high-quality whole-milk ricotta for this recipe
                           
Ingredients                           

1    medium garlic clove , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
2    1/2    cup pitted kalamata olives
1/4    cup artichoke hearts
2    Tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan                       
2    Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil , plus extra for serving               
1    small shallot , minced (about 2 tablespoons)                       
1 1/2    teaspoons juice from 1 lemon                       
1 1/2    cups whole-milk ricotta cheese (see note)                       
    Table salt and ground black pepper           
4    tablespoons fresh basil leaves , finely shredded/divided                 

Instructions                           

Process garlic, olives, artichokes, grated Parmesan, olive oil, shallot, and lemon juice in food processor until uniform paste forms, about 10 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula once during processing. Combine ricotta with salt and pepper (to taste) and 2 tablespoons shredded basil in small bowl and spread to edges. Divide olive pesto among toasts and carefully spread over ricotta. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with reserved basil, and serve.    




I hope you have enjoyed this series of Brushetta recipes and perhaps even gotten inspired to try some other flavor combinations.  New tasty appetizers are always so useful for parties. I'd love to hear about your favorite.

Disappearing Artichoke Bruschetta

This was the biggest hit of all the different Bruschetta recipes I tested.   It literally disappeared. As an appetizer, latecomers didn't even have a chance to taste it! Better make extra. 

Bruschetta with Artichoke Hearts and Parmesan                            

Serves 8 to 10 as an appetizer.  
                          

Ingredients                          

14 ounces artichoke hearts , rinsed and patted dry with paper towels                      
2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon                      
1 medium garlic clove , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)                      
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil , plus extra for serving                      
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves , finely shredded                      
 Table salt and ground black pepper                      
2 ounces Parmesan cheese , 1 ounce finely grated (about 1/2 cup), 1 ounce shaved into strips with vegetable peeler                      
                      

Instructions                          

Pulse artichoke hearts, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, basil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in food processor until coarse puree forms, about six 1-second pulses, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula once during processing. Add grated Parmesan and pulse to combine, about two 1-second pulses. Divide artichoke mixture among toasts and spread to edges. Top with shaved Parmesan. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste, drizzle with olive oil, and serve.                      

Classic Bruschetta

The first in my series of Bruschetta recipes.

Bruschetta with Tomatoes and Basil             

Makes 8 large slices.             

This is the classic bruschetta, although you can substitute other herbs. Decrease the quantity of stronger herbs, such as thyme or oregano.    
                     
                    
 Ingredients                 

4          medium tomatoes , ripe, (about 1 2/3 pounds), cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice     
1/3       cup shredded fresh basil leaves         
1 1/2    tablespoons minced fresh mint leaves
2          tablespoons balsamic vinegar 
1          loaf country bread (approximately a 12-by-5-inch loaf), sliced crosswise into 1-inch thick pieces, ends removed         
3          large clove garlic , peeled       
7          tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil                                           
2          medium red onions (about 1 1/2 pounds), halved lengthwise and diced very fine                                       
1 1/2    tablespoons minced fresh mint leaves                                    
                                                           
                                                          
 Instructions                                                    

Heat 3 1/2 tablespoons of the oil in large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add onions and 2 cloves of garlic; sauté, stirring often, until softened, 7 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Continue to cook, stirring often, until onions are sweet and tender, 7 to 8 minutes longer. Stir in mint and vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set onion mixture aside. (Can be covered and refrigerated up to 1 week.)                                      

Mix tomatoes, basil, and salt and pepper to taste in medium bowl. Set aside.                                             

Heat broiler or light grill fire.                                     

Broil or grill bread until golden brown on both sides. Place toast slices on large platter, rub garlic over tops, then brush with oil.                                    

When the onion mix has cooled mix together with the tomato mix

Use slotted spoon to divide tomato mixture among toast slices. Serve immediately.

Really Good Bruschetta; Techniques

I was recently invited to an Italian themed party.  Well when I think Italian food, I think "There goes my diet"  But I don't want that to happen, and I can't not go to this party. So, since it was a pot luck, I signed up to bring "something w/veggies" (i.e. something I can eat even everything else is pasta) and started trying to find a truly Italian vegetable.  Well of course I thought of the tomato, but all alone that is kind of boring, and I've done the tomato, basil, mozzarella salad so many times I'm bored with it. So my next thought was Bruschetta. YUMMY! but still a little plain. So, I decided to "dress it up". I also needed to find out how to make it “transportable” for a party without having it go soggy or all the toppings falling off.  In my research I found the following information about the science of

Really Good Bruschetta!

There’s a whole lot more to bruschetta than chopped tomatoes and basil. I wanted smart flavor combinations that didn’t require a bib.

The Problem

The ingredients in modern bruschetta—toasted bread, tomatoes, and basil—may be an appealing combination, but in reality, the tomatoes usually lack flavor, excess liquid results in soggy bread, and precariously stacked toppings often end up on your shirt.

The Goal

I wanted my bruschetta to be full of flavor, easy to eat, and substantial enough to serve as either an appetizer or light entree.

The Solution

Aside from deciding on the ingredients, my biggest challenge was figuring out how to contain the toppings on our toasts so that they were easy to pick up and eat, even when drizzled with the standard vinaigrette.

I realized early on that to make the whole package structurally sound from crust to crown, I needed a “glue” to anchor the toppings to the bread. After experimenting with mayonnaise and viscous emulsified vinaigrettes, I discovered that the solution didn’t lie in a condiment, but in a technique.

By pulsing one of the topping ingredients in the food processor until it formed a rough paste, not only did I achieve the stable base I needed for the other toppings, but I provided contrasting textures. And to make sure it could offer optimum crunch with each bite, I toasted the bread and brushed it with fresh garlic butter right before topping it. I also discovered that while the individual toppings can be mixed up in advance, you want to assemble them right before you are ready to eat to avoid the toast going soggy.
 Check back again soon for a sampling of some of the recipes I m

Wild Rice Pilaf

This recipe took a little more time than I usually spend for a dinner side but it made enough rice to last for several weeks so it was good well worth the extra work.

To a heavy bottom pot add:

2 cups broth
2 bay leaves
4-6 sprigs of thyme tide with kitchen twine

Bring to a boil and add:

1 cup wild rice

Reduce to simmer and cook 35-40 minutes.
If all the broth is absorbed before the rice is softened add another 1/2 cup and cook until soft

Meanwhile to a 12" skillet add:

3 T butter
1 onion chopped fine
1 carrot chopped fine
1 t kosher salt

Sauté for 3-5 minutes then add:

1 cup rice (I used short grain brown rice)
1 cup orzo
Cook until transparent another 3-5 minutes then add:

2 1/2 cups broth
2 bay leaves
4-6 sprigs thyme tied with twine

Simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed
Discard herbs and combine wild rice and regular rice mixture. Set aside.

In your skillet melt:
1 tablespoon butter

Add:

2-3 large mushrooms chopped fine
3-5 garlic cloves (you can use roasted for a more mellow flavor)

Sauté until browned.

Stir mushrooms into rice pilaf.

In your steamer, cook 2 broccoli stems as described in the "Broccoli" post.

Add to your rice pilaf.

This is enough rice to serve a family of eight twice or a family of two for several weeks. Package according to your usage and refrigerate.