Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Ok, so I think (maybe) this will be my last pumpkin post for the season even though I still have pumpkin leftover!  I know you guys are probably sick of pumpkin and squash, but this recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies is amazing.  If you need a Halloween dessert to bring to someone’s party this weekend or if you’re just in the mood to indulge in your own delicious batch of goodness, then you need to try this recipe.  The recipe for the cake has been adapted from Gourmet magazine, while the frosting has been adapted by Bon Appétit magazine.  I put my own twist on the recipes — one of my usual substitutions being replacing oil with applesauce.  Even if you think you can’t stomach pumpkin anymore, you just have to take one for the team and try this recipe.  It’s worth it!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

As per usual, my husband and I have waited until the last minute to figure out what we’re dressing up as for Halloween.  Are you dressing up this year?  What are you going to be?

Cake Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups pumpkin
• 1/2 cup milk
• Nonstick cooking spray

Pumpkin Obsession Results in Pumpkin Soup

You’re not imagining things; all my blog posts have recently been pumpkin/squash-based recipes.  I can’t help it!  It’s October and perfect squash/pumpkin weather.  There’s also a few more logical reasons why I’ve been cooking with so much pumpkin and squash recently.  First, my mom’s friend cans her own pumpkin, and she gave me 2 quarts of it.  The day after Halloween she buys leftover pumpkins that no one wants and then cleans them and cans them, so obviously I was going to take advantage of this fresh, canned pumpkin.  Second, my mom told me about the possibility of a canned pumpkin shortage this season; I ran out and bought a huge 32 oz can of Libby pumpkin.  Third, I went to the Syracuse farmer’s market while visiting my parents and bought a 5lb spaghetti squash for $2 and a 2lb butternut squash for $1.  That is a great deal and definitely not one I’m going to pass up.

Since I can’t let this pumpkin go to waste, even though it is canned and can easily sit in my cool cupboard for another year, I made some pumpkin soup.  I decided I wanted to make my pumpkin soup a little thicker, more like a bisque, so I used less chicken stock and water than what the recipe called for.  After tasting it, I had to go back and add more salt and pepper.  But after seasoning it liberally, it tasted creamy and smooth.  I dipped some fresh Ciabatta bread in it.  Yum!

Here’s a list of what I’ve made this month with my pumpkin and squash:

• Pumpkin Spice Bars w/Cream Cheese Frosting
• Spaghetti Squash w/Sausage and Pomodoro Sauce
• Pumpkin Muffins w/Streusel Topping
• Cavatelli con Zucca
• Pumpkin Bundt Cake
• Pumpkin Soup

Here’s a list of what I’m going to make with my pumpkin:

• Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

What is your favorite pumpkin or squash recipe?  Is there something pumpkin/squash related that you’d like me to blog about?  Share your ideas with me… I always love to hear them!

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 white onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 tart apple, peeled and diced (Granny Smith)
• 2 cups pumpkin
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 tbsp dry sage
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 1/2 cup chicken stock
• salt & pepper to season

Directions:

1. Melt butter in saute pan over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and apple and cook 10 minutes.
2. Stir in pumpkin, wine, sage, bay leaf, stock, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer partially covered for 20 minutes.
4. Remove bay leaf and using an electric beater, puree soup until smooth.

 

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

This past weekend, we had some of our friends over for a dinner party and to watch a scary movie.  For dinner, I made cavatelli with zucca and an arugula salad with orange slices, sliced fennel, red onion, and a lemon vinaigrette.  Following dinner, I made this pumpkin bundt cake that I found from Betty Crocker.  The recipe calls for 3 cups of Biscuit mix.  I’ll admit, I’ve never baked a cake with Bisquick before, but this cake turned out delicious.  It came out moist and flavorful.  The simple frosting also added a vanilla sweetness that tasted perfect with the pumpkin.  We also made some warm apple cider with apple brandy.  It was the perfect autumn meal to share with good friends!

What is your favorite autumn food/meal to share with friends or family?

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Bisquick mix
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup milk
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups pumpkin
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 and grease and flour a bundt pan.
2. Beat the sugars, butter, milk, eggs, and pumpkin until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the Bisquick and pumpkin pie spice. Add Bisquick mix to wet ingredients and beat until smooth.
4. Spread in pan and bake for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Allow cake to cool for 10 minutes before turning upside down onto a plate or wire rack. Let cool completely.
6. Stir confectioner’s sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth and drizzle over cake.

Cavatelli con Zucca (Squash)

Cavatelli con zucca (squash/pumpkin) is a dish from Campobasso, Molise, Italy [COM-POH-BAH-SO].  Campobassani actually hand-roll the cavatelli making the dough from squash and potato and then topping with a butter sauce or a pomodoro sauce.  Instead of hand-rolling the cavatelli, I found a recipe via Mario Batali that mixes the cavatelli with butternut squash.  This dish is amazing and probably one of my favorite pasta dishes.  It’s perfect for the fall; hearty and satisfying, sometimes a big bowl of pasta after a long day at work is just what you need.  Pair it with a glass of sweet, white wine (Pinot Grigio) to offset the spiciness of the red pepper flakes.

Italy is made up of various regions (20 to be exact) that have their own capital city.  For example, Tuscany is probably one of the most famous regions, and its capital is Florence.  Campobasso is the capital of the region of Molise.  However, Molise is probably one of the least known regions as well as the most rural; it’s the second smallest province in Italy and home to about 300,000 residents.  The reason I’m talking about Molise and more specifically about Campobasso is because it’s where this dish originated from and also where my maternal grandfather’s relatives are from.

Even though Campobasso is such a small city, what is ironic, is that there are numerous people in Syracuse that have relatives from Campobasso (two of my friends’ families (ACV & LDN)).  Is it possible that even though Campobasso was so small and the internet was nowhere near existence, people in small Italian towns (via word of mouth) heard where their neighbors and friends were settling in the US and decided to move there?  Since there were other Campobassani in Syracuse, NY, maybe that’s why Frank and Carmella Farinacci (my great-grandparents) decided to move there; they had a connection and even the possibility of work.

I’ve been to Italy three different times now: the first time, I was studying abroad in Florence and actually met my future husband there; the second time, I was there for 2 weeks running a marathon in Florence with my future husband; and the third time, I was there for 1 month doing graduate school work and getting engaged to my future husband.  Even though I’ve traveled around various regions and cities in Italy, I never made my way down to Campobasso.  My mom went there when she was 16 to visit her cousins and relatives.  They are still there in Campobasso, so next trip to Italy will be to the south and more specifically, to Campobasso, to visit my relatives.

Do you have family in Italy?  If so, have you visited them?  What unique and local dishes did they make?  What is their regional cuisine like?

Molisian cuisine consists of rustic peasant fare – vegetables and game (rabbit, lamb, suckling pig, etc.)  They are also known for their sheep’s milk cheeses like Pecorino, Scamorza, Caciocavallo, and Provolone.

Ingredients:

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 lbs. butternut squash peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• Salt & fresh ground pepper for seasoning
• 1 package of cavatelli
• ¾ cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Peel, seed, and dice butternut squash and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
3. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil and add the onion and crushed red pepper. Cook over med-high heat about 5 minutes.
4. Add the squash, thyme, and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes.
5. Cover sauté pan and cook over low heat, about 8 more minutes or until squash is tender.
6. Meanwhile, add the cavatelli to the boiling water and cook until al dente (Cavatelli cooks extremely quickly because it is fresh pasta, so do not overcook or they will become mushy.).
7. Drain cavatelli, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.
8. Add the cavatelli to the squash mixture in the skillet, then stir in 1/2 cup of the pasta water and toss gently to combine.
9. Add the Parmesan cheese, season with salt and pepper, and stir gently. Add more pasta water if too dry.
10. Serve the pasta with more Parmesan cheese for sprinkling.

Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes w/ Apple Cider Cream Cheese Frosting

My husband’s family was in town this past weekend, so I decided to make some cupcakes for dessert.  I found this recipe for apple cinnamon cupcakes and I decided to make a cream cheese frosting with apple cider.  The frosting wasn’t as hard as I would’ve liked; I wanted to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes for a pretty presentation, but ended up taking a spatula and spreading it on messily.  To touch up the tops of the cupcakes, I decided to use three different toppings: vanilla crunch sprinkles, cinnamon crunch sprinkles, and melted caramel.  The cupcakes came out moist and delicious with subtle hints of cinnamon and apple.  The cream cheese frosting was not my favorite.  If I make these cupcakes again, I will definitely make a buttercream frosting that can be piped on the tops.  Making frosting can be quite tricky; adding too much liquid will make your frosting goopy.  Buttercreams are sometimes finicky as well.

Do you have a standby cream cheese frosting or buttercream that you use on everything?  If so, share it with me and I’ll post it.  Enjoy!

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 1 cup grated & peeled apple, diced
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven and line 12 muffin cups with cupcake liners
2. Mix the apples with the cinnamon and 1 tbsp sugar and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together.
4. Add the eggs, applesauce, and vanilla and mix until smooth.
5. Stir in the apple mix with any juice that has been released.
6. With a cookie scoop, fill the cupcake liners with the batter.
7. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting Ingredients:

• 6 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 2 tbsp apple cider
• sprinkles or melted caramel (optional)

Directions:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar, and apple cider until mixed.
2. With a spatula, spread frosting over tops of cupcakes.
3. Top with sprinkles or melted caramel.

Pumpkin Muffins w/Streusel Topping

My husband’s family was in town this past weekend, so I decided to make everyone some pumpkin muffins to munch on for breakfast.  I love these muffins because they are not only healthy, but delicious and seasonal as well.  If you want your muffins to be even healthier, add some flax seeds, omit the sugar and add honey, or omit the streusel topping.  I like the added texture and sweetness of the streusel topping, so I kept it.  I added some chocolate chips to half the batter as well to make it even tastier.  This recipe makes 12 regular-sized muffins, but you could also make 6 large-sized muffins to feed a smaller crowd.  This is one of my favorite pumpkin recipes that I make every year around this time.  Hope you enjoy!

What is your favorite pumpkin recipe?

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 3/4 cup white, whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Streusel Topping:

• 1/2 cup white, whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp butter, softened

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and line with muffin cups.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, pumpkin, eggs, and applesauce until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mix and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.
5. In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter until small, pea-sized crumbles form.
6. With a cookie scoop, spoon the batter into the muffin cups.
7. Sprinkle the streusel over the top.
8. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

*Makes 12 muffins

Spaghetti Squash with Sausage & Pomodoro Sauce

While I was up in Syracuse visiting my parents over Columbus Day weekend, I went with my mother and sister to the Syracuse Farmer’s Market.  One of the purchases I made, besides a beautiful outdoor Mum for $3.50, was a gigantic spaghetti squash for $2.  This thing was huge and weighed close to 5 pounds.  I love spaghetti squash because you can interchangeably use it like pasta except it’s a lot healthier and is a tasty alternative.  I adapted this recipe from Epicurious making several changes including adding Italian sausage.  It was delicious and very satisfying.  My husband and I were so full that we had enough left over for both of us to bring to lunch!

Have you ever tried making spaghetti squash?  How do you like to prepare it?

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 4 Italian sausages
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 3 1/2 cups diced plum tomatoes or 28 oz. can
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• Fresh basil
• salt & fresh ground pepper for seasoning
• Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Halve squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds.
3. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and lay halves, flesh side down, on sheet. Bake 35 minutes or until you can easily pierce shell.
4. While squash bakes, saute sausages over medium-low heat until cooked through and allow to cook.
5. In another pan, sauté garlic and onion in oil over medium heat 5 minutes.
6. Add remaining ingredients except fresh basil and Parmesan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Lower heat if sauce begins to boil.
7. Remove squash from oven. Scrape crosswise to pull strands from shell.
8. Slice sausage into bite-sized pieces and add to sauce.
9. Pour sauce over squash and garnish with basil and Parmesan cheese.

Finger Lakes Wine Country

Budget Travel recently voted the Finger Lakes Wine Country “the most beautiful wine region in the world.”  I might be extremely biased, but I do believe that the Finger Lakes region is unlike any other wine region in the world.  Not only is this region idyllic and home to almost 80 wineries, it also produces some of the best wines, especially Rieslings, in the world.

This past weekend, my family and I went to Seneca Lake to stop by a few of our favorite wineries (Fox Run, Anthony Road & Glenora).  Most of the Finger Lakes wineries produce exceptional and often times, award-winning wines.  Wine tastings are also extremely reasonable; for $1 or $2 (depending on the winery), you can taste anywhere from 5-6 wines.  Sometimes the wines are already chosen for you to taste and other times you can choose which ones you’d like to try.  What’s great about this is that if you are partial to dry reds, you can taste all dry reds if you’d like.  I personally like to try all of them; sometimes I like a nice dry red and other times I like a sweet port.  The Finger Lakes also produces some very good fruit wines; my favorites are Raspberry Rose and Blueberry Breeze from Glenora.  There are also some very unique grape varieties that are used in Finger Lakes’ wines:

Baco Noir – a French-American hybrid that is used to make fruity, red wines

Cayuga – a French-American hybrid that was “bred by Cornell University to be perfectly suited to the growing season of the Finger Lakes.” Glenora winery was the first commercial winery to release a varietal Cayuga white back in 1977.

Niagara – an American cross that is used for off-dry and dessert wines

Vignoles – a French-American hybrid that is typically used for dry, white wines

Have you ever visited the Finger Lakes wine region before?  If so, what are your favorite wineries and/or wines?

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Figs & Honey

Whole Foods grocery store was recently having a sale on fresh figs, so I decided to pick some up (thank you to my friend Beth for sharing this information with me!). Since I am a huge fan of breakfast-for-dinner, I decided to make lemon ricotta pancakes with fresh figs and honey last night.

Breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day; I will eat breakfast for lunch or dinner. In fact, some of my co-workers and friends can attest to the fact that I often eat a bowl of cereal for lunch or for dinner (only if my husband is working late of course!). However, I’ve noticed that I’ve become a sort of picky breakfast eater as I’ve gotten older; I don’t like cream cheese very much, so I won’t eat it on bagels. I’ll most likely have margarine (yes, I know) or sugar-free jelly (yes, I know). I don’t like runny eggs; my scramble eggs have to be hard or I will probably not eat them. Hollandaise sauce? Forget it… I can’t stand it or the way it looks (what is wrong with me?). Lox? Just tried those two weeks ago for the first time and hated them (I’m not crazy… really!). Well, what I do love and probably will always love are pancakes. Pancakes are one of those hearty, comforting foods that make our mouths water and our bellies happy. These pancakes were absolutely amazing and definitely a pleasant dinner alternative!

What about you? Do you like having breakfast-for-dinner? Are there any breakfast foods that you just can’t stomach? Do you think I should give lox a second chance?

Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cup milk
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups pancake mix
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 water
• 1 tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Mix the milk, vanilla extract, and lemon zest and add pancake mixture stirring until lumpy.
2. Stir the ricotta into the pancake mixture until lumpy.
3. Heat a griddle over medium heat and add butter until melted.
4. Spoon 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
5. Meanwhile, heat the water and honey in a sauce pan until honey softens up a bit.
6. Slice the figs into quarters and place on top of the pancakes and finish with a drizzle of honey.

Pumpkin Spice Bars w/Cream Cheese Frosting

Tis the season for pumpkin! I bought my first jar of the season this past weekend (actually my husband kindly bought it for me), so I decided to make pumpkin spice bars with cream cheese frosting from a Betty Crocker recipe I found. I decided to make a few substitutions. First, I substituted apple sauce for 1 cup of vegetable oil. 1 cup of oil is a lot; it’s definitely much healthier to use apple sauce if possible. Second, I used half whole-wheat flour and half all-purpose flour. This too is healthier and adds a little extra fiber as well. I also used pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clover. Pumpkin pie spice has a combination of all three, so if you don’t have it on hand, feel free to use any and/or all of the other spices.

These bars are just the thing to get you in the mood for fall; they’re especially perfect to share at a sporting event, an office event or a dinner party. Enjoy!

Bar Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white, whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350° and spray a 15 x 10 x 1″ pan with cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, beat eggs, granulated sugar, oil and pumpkin with wire whisk until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin spice and stir into egg mix.
4. When well combined, spread into baking pan.
5. Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 2 hours before frosting.
6. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla with electric mixer on low speed until smooth.
7. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, on low speed until smooth.
8. Spread frosting over bars.
9. Cut into 7 rows by 7 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.