Chocolate Microwave Cake

Finally...a microwave cake recipe I would make again. Believe me, I've searched and searched for a good one. On Saturday, my twitter feed had one from Food Network about an instant chocolate cake. I had all the ingredient so I went for it.

Instant Chocolate Cake
courtesy Food Network

Directions
Whisk 1/4 cup flour, 5 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 egg, 3 tablespoons milk, 3 tablespoons vegetable oil and a dash of vanilla extract and salt in a large mug until smooth. Microwave until puffed, about 2 minutes.

We made this in a cappucino mug because it was so much and I'm glad we did. It puffed up and would have overflowed in a regular mug. Whitney and I split it so this makes enough for two.

Couscous with Tomato and Thyme

This summer I decided to grow rosemary and thyme along with my basil. I have no idea what to use it for. So I'm trying to be creative and come up with reasons to use fresh herbs. The thyme and rosemary are growing like crazy. Unfortunately my basil isn't doing as well.

So I made my own creation and I liked it.

Couscous with Tomato and Thyme

1/3 cup uncooked couscous
1/2 cup water
1 tsp olive oil
pinch of salt
2 sprigs fresh thyme
10 cherry tomatoes-halved
1/2 lemon

Cook the couscous according to directions but add in the thyme leaves when cooking. After cooked, put in bowl along with cherry tomatoes and juice from the lemon. Add salt and pepper if needed. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil on the couscous.

This can be served hot or cold.

French Onion Soup

I saw this on The Chew Friday and couldn't stop thinking about it. So I made it. It ended up being super delicious and now I can't wait for the leftovers.

French Onion Soup
Courtesy of The Chew (Clinton Kelly)


2 pounds medium Yellow Onions (sliced)
1/2 bunch fresh Thyme (tied with kitchen twine) (I used 1/2 tsp dried)
2 Bay Leaves
1 teaspoons Salt
2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 tablespoon All-Purpose Flour
1 cup Full-Bodied Red Wine
4 cups Reduced-Sodium Chicken Broth
1 cup Water
1 teaspoon Black Pepper

6 slices Baguette (1/2-inch slices)
1/2 pound Gruyere or mild Swiss Cheese (grated)
2 tablespoons Parmesan (grated)

In a heavy pot, cook onions, thyme, bay leaves, salt, olive oil and butter over moderate heat, for about 45 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are a deep caramel color. Add flour and stir, cook for about 1 minute. Stir in wine and cook for about 2 minutes. Stir in broth, water, and black pepper and bring to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When ready to serve, toast baguette slices. Preheat broiler. Remove bay leaves and thyme stems from soup. Ladle soup into oven-safe crocks or bowls. Top with toasted baguette slice, then grated gruyere, then grated parmesan. Broil until cheese bubbles and turns light golden brown.

NOTE: If you don’t have oven-safe crocks, you can make cheesy croutons. Place toasted baguette slices on a baking pan, top with both cheeses. Broil until cheese bubbles and turns light golden brown. Place one cheesy crouton on top of each bowl of soup.

Helpful Tips:
1. This recipe is best taken slow, so make sure to take your time in all the steps of the recipe.
2. In the crocks, make sure to leave enough room for the bread and cheese.
3. If you don’t have oven safe crocks, put the Baguettes with Cheese on a baking sheet and heat them in the oven, then add it to the soup.

I didn't cook the onions as long as the recipe (my pot was starting to get too much brown stuff on the bottom) and I don't have oven safe crocks. But let me tell you this was delicious and worth the crying I did slicing 2 pounds of onions.

Spinach and Sausage Risotto

We love risotto and I'm always looking for new recipes. I found this one on the Sprouts website and adjusted it slightly.

Spinach and Sausage Risotto
Adapted from Sprouts

1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Sprouts Sweet Chicken Sausage, casings removed
1 Sprouts Hot Italian Sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, finely chopped
Coarse sea salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
1 bunch flat-leaf spinach, washed well, tough stems removed, chopped
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese


In a small saucepan, combine tomatoes (with their juice) and 3 cups water. Bring just to a simmer; keep warm over low heat.
In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add sausage and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up sausage with a spoon, until sausage is opaque and onion has softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
Add rice; cook, stirring until well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 minute.
Add about 2 ladles of hot tomato mixture to rice; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed. Continue adding tomato mixture, 1 ladle-full at a time, and stir the rice until it’s nearly all absorbed. Continue this process until rice is creamy and tender, about 25 minutes total.
Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

So how did I adapt this? I changed out the two sausage links for some sweet Italian sausage I had already browned (about 1/2 pound). I also used probably about 2 cups of baby spinach I had chopped up (we like that better than regular spinach). I had 14 ounce cans of Italian diced tomatoes and we probably had about 1 1/2 cups of that mixture left.

The risotto ended up being sweeter than normal ones because of the tomatoes. Dan really liked it and we are keeping the recipe.

Sorry for the quality of the photo. It was dark outside and the risotto was still in the pan.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Today is my birthday and rather than take the day off from work, I decided to work and bake cupcakes to take in to share. I love to bake and I don't do it anymore because really how much can I eat without turning into a blob of sugar.

So I decided to make carrot cake (healthy right...wink wink) into cupcakes so it was easier to transport. I searched high and low for a recipe that didn't have nuts (don't really care for them) and I found this one at Gimme Some Oven. Of course I don't have a food processor so had to grate my carrots by hand, but otherwise I followed it pretty well. It ended up with almost 30 cupcakes.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:
2½ cups (12.5 oz) all-purpose flour
1¼ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. grated nutmeg
½ tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp. salt
1 lb. (6-7 medium) carrots, peeled
1½ cups (10.5 oz) granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1½ cups canola, safflower or vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line cupcake pans with 24 paper liners. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt; whisk together and set aside.

In a food processor fitted with a shredding disk, shred the carrots (you should have about 3 cups). Add the carrots to the bowl with the dry ingredients and set aside. Rinse out the bowl of the food processor and fit with the metal blade. Process the sugars and eggs until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds. With the machine running, add the oil in a steady stream through the feed tube. Continue to process until the mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 20 more seconds. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the carrots and dry ingredients until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain.

Scoop evenly into the prepared cupcake liners, so that each is about 2/3 full. Bake for about 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan at least 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I didn't like her frosting recipe so I just used the one from Kraft.

The cupcakes were moist and flavored delicately. I'm really excited that I made these and everyone loves them.

Caprese Salad Panini

Sometimes the simple things are the most delicious. When we bought some basil plants last weekend I immediately wanted to make Caprese Salad. And then why not put it on bread. And then I went further and said panini. And thus this sandwich was born. Super easy, super delicious.

Caprese Salad Panini

Mozzarella Cheese, sliced
Tomato, sliced
Basil leaves, thinly sliced
Extra virgin olive oil, use the good stuff
Ciabatta bread

Sliced your ciabatta bread in half. Drizzle the oil over each slice, not too much on each side. Place cheese slices, then basil, then to,ago on the bottom. Put top piece on. Brush the outside of the bread lightly with regular olive oil. Place on a heated panini press (we use a George Foreman grill). Grill until the cheese is melty.

Cut sandwich in half and enjoy.

R is for Roasted Cauliflower

Just a simple side dish but delicious. I've really embraced vegetables this year and want to do more things with them.

Roasted Cauliflower

One head cauliflower cut into florets
Olive oil - about two Tablespoons
Garlic minced - to taste about one to two cloves
Salt and pepper

Toss cauliflower in oil then garlic, salt and pepper. Put on a foil lined baking sheet and cook at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn the cauliflower with tongs then cook another 15 minutes.

That's it.

E is for Eggs (Scrambled)

Somehow I have become the maker of scrambled eggs in the house. Dan says I have the magic touch. I'm not sure what I do, but they are definitely fluffy and delicious when I make them.

Scrambled Eggs

6 eggs
1/4 milk (can use heavy cream or 1/2 and 1/2)
salt and pepper to taste

Beat eggs with milk. Add salt and pepper. Heat non-stick frying pan with about 1/2 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. When butter is melted, add eggs. Use a spatula to scrape the sides when the curds start to form. Gently and slowly stir to the eggs to break up the curds in larger chunks. Remove from heat before the eggs are done. There is carryover temperature to those eggs and if you don't do that you will overcook them.

These eggs are super fluffy and delicious.

Focaccia Bread Recipe

So what do you do on a weekend that you are at home? Bake bread that's what you do. We pulled this out of the recipe box since we would be around. It definitely takes some time with multiple risings but it is worth it.

Focaccia Bread
Recipe found at recipezaar

1 1/2 coupes water
1 T olive oil
3 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 T sugar
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp yeast

Put all ingredients in bread machine and use dough setting.

Take dough out and on a lightly floured surface knead gently for 10 minutes. Put dough in a well greased bowl, cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

Knead the dough gently for one minute in bowl. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a rectangle.

Put dough on a greased sheet pan and let rise again for one hour.

Pour 1 T olive oil over top of dough. Poke the dough with your finger in two inch increments. Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.









The bread is really tender. I like this recipe because the rosemary and oregano are in the dough instead of just on top like most recipes I've seen.

General Tso's Chicken

In honor of Chinese New Year (well not really but I lucked out in timing) I made a new recipe...General Tso's Chicken. It was from my go-to show of the moment...The Chew. This one was from Clinton Kelly. I know, not a chef, but he loves to cook and experiment. Hey like us "home" cooks. Perfect right.

General Tso's Chicken
Recipe courtesy of The Chew

For Sauce:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
4 garlic cloves (sliced)
2 teaspoon fresh ginger (grated)
3 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 pound broccoli (blanched)

For Chicken:
3 tablespoon cornstarch
1 pound boneless (skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoon vegetable oil

For Side:
1 1/2 cups white rice

1. Prepare rice as per instructions on the package and blanch broccoli.
2. Begin sauce in large bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1/2 cup cold water until smooth. Add garlic, ginger, honey, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch for chicken, salt and pepper together until combined. Add chicken and already blanched broccoli and toss until coated.
4. Heat a large nonstick skillet with vegetable oil. Shake excess coating off the chicken and cook in batches until golden, 4-6 minutes.
5. Add the sauce mixture and cook until the sauce has thickened.

This packed a subtle heat mixed with sweetness from the honey and the ginger flavor definitely comes out. We cooked it all in a wok at the same time (no batches for us). Only thing I would do differently is not mix the broccoli with the chicken before cooking. I probably blanch mine more than normal and it is pretty cooked so it doesn't need to be cooked again. Dan thought maybe a touch more honey too. But overall pretty tasty.

Roast Chicken with Lemon and Thyme

In my quest to expand my cooking horizons, I finally made a roast chicken. I can't believe I've lived this long and not done it before. Really it is much easier than a turkey and doesn't take but an hour to cook.

Roast Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary
recipe courtesy of Food and Wine

1 chicken (3 to 3 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
Salt
Fresh-ground black pepper
4 3-inch-long strips lemon zest
1 small onion, quartered
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup water

Heat the oven to 425°. Rub the cavity of the chicken with the dried rosemary, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper and then stuff with the strips of lemon zest and the quartered onion. Twist the wings behind the back of the chicken and tie the legs together. Put the chicken, breast-side up, in a roasting pan. Coat the chicken with the oil and sprinkle it with 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of pepper, and the 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

Roast the chicken until it is just done, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer the bird to a plate and leave to rest in a warm spot for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour off the fat from the roasting pan. Set the pan over moderate heat and add the water. Bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan to dislodge any brown bits. Boil until reduced to approximately 1/4 cup, about 4 minutes. Add any accumulated juices from the chicken along with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Serve the bird with the pan juices.

Comments - A whole small onion did not fit in the chicken but we got as much in it as we could. I didn't make the pan juice in the last step but really the chicken was so moist it wasn't needed. I will say that the breast meat was juicy but not flavorful. So next time I'll find a different recipe that will make it taste better. But not bad for a first try. I'll be cooking more of these birds.

Fish in Parchment Paper

Have you ever wondered how they make fish stay moist? Have you ever wanted to make something you know costs lots of money in the restaurant? Then fish cooked in parchment paper is for you.

This truly is an easy recipe. And you can do all sorts of variations to it with vegetables and seasonings. But for my first try I wanted simple.

Fish in Parchment Paper
Recipe courtesy of chow.com

1 (6-ounce) firm-fleshed white-fish fillet, such as halibut, cod, or haddock (the fillet should be between 3/4 and 1 1/4 inches thick)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf, cut in half (optional)
Fresh herbs, such as chives, parsley, tarragon, or chervil (optional)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 thin lemon slices
1 tablespoon dry white wine or water

1. Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
2. Draw out a large piece of parchment paper (about 17 by 11 inches) and, with one of the longer edges closest you, fold it in half from left to right. Using scissors, cut out a large heart shape.
3. Place the fish in the center of one half of the parchment heart. (The heart should be large enough that there is at least a 1-1/2-inch border around the fillet.)
4. Set the parchment heart on a baking sheet. Drizzle the fish with half of the olive oil, rub the oil all over the fillet, and season with salt and pepper.
5. Lay half of the bay leaf and a few sprigs of herbs (if using) on top of the fish. Break the butter into little pieces and arrange them on top of the herbs.
6. Place the lemon slices over everything and drizzle with the remaining oil.
7. Fold the parchment heart over to cover the fish. (The edges of the heart should line up.) Starting at the rounded end, crimp the edges together, folding them over themselves and leaving the last two inches at the pointed end unfolded. Slightly tilt the package up and pour in the wine or water. Finish crimping the edges, then twist the pointed end around once and fold the “tail” under.
8. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake 10 minutes for a 3/4-inch-thick fillet or 12 minutes for a 1- to 1-1/4-inch-thick fillet.
9. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the parchment package to a dinner plate. Serve immediately, cutting into the parchment tableside using scissors or a knife.

I used a little dried herbs instead of fresh and also just water because I didn't have any wine open. I will definitely be making this again.

Meatloaf - The Chew Way

I decided that comfort food was needed on the weekend. Normally when I make meatloaf I just wing it with a little bit of this and a little bit of that. But I wanted to try something new and went with a recipe from The Chew.

Carla Hall's Meatloaf
Recipe courtesy of The Chew

1/3 cup Milk
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 small onion (grated)
1/4 cup grated carrots
2 eggs
1/3 cup prepared horseradish (I left this out)
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon hot sauce

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, mix breadcrumbs and milk until breadcrumbs are coated. To bowl add the remaining ingredients and mix until combines.

Pack mixture into a 9- by 5-inch oval loaf in a 13- by 9-inch shallow baking dish or pan. Bake until the loaf has an internal temperature of 155°F, 60 to 75 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

This was super flavorful and actually a little too moist. The grated onion and carrot had a lot of water so I think that made the mixture loose. I usually cook my meatloaf on a cooling rack on a sheet pan so the fat can drip out of it. The meatloaf was so loose that it sunk through the rack. Next time I will try and add more breadcrumbs.

Eggs with Sweet Potato/Apple Pancakes

As many of you have gathered, I'm obsessed with The Chew on ABC. I've had the cookbook since November and hadn't made anything. Partly because I'm afraid to bend the pages too much since Michael Symon autographed it. But he said use it to cook, so cook I did.

The first recipe I made was actually from Daphne Oz. Normally I wouldn't have made something of hers but she used sweet potatoes and I'm trying to expand what I use them for. Plus I thought this would be easy to make and Dan would eat it.

Eggs with Sweet Potato and Apple Pancakes
Recipe courtesy of The Chew

Ingredients

5 fresh eggs
1/3 cup olive oil
1 sweet potato peeled and grated
1/2 onion grated
1/2 apple grated
1 carrot grated
2 egg whites lightly beaten
1/4 Cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a pan lightly poach eggs.

In a medium-sized skillet heat 1/3 cup olive oil to medium-high heat.

Grate the sweet potatoes, onion, apple and carrot. Ring out the shavings in a cheese cloth or paper towel (this is to ensure the pancakes won't be soggy). Then in a large bowl, place shredded sweet potatoes, grated onion, grated apple, grated carrot, 2 egg whites and 1/4 cup flour. Then add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix well.

In a medium-sized skillet, Combine and drop: enough batter into hot oil to make 2 1/2-3 inch pancakes. Add more oil, as needed, and fry cakes in batches until golden on each side.

I wasn't sure what size of any of the vegetables to use. I used half of a Fuji apple since I like those. I also used a smallish onion and my sweet potato was medium large. I made three pancakes the first night and then the second day I cooked up the rest for lunch.

This was really nice. I decided that I didn't even need the egg to complete the dish.

Now it is time for me to tackle some more recipes from this cookbook.

Ham and Swiss Quiche

I was trying to clean out the freezer and had all of these ingredients. So I decided quiche it was.

Ham and Swiss Quiche
Recipe courtesy of about.com

Ingredients:
1 9" pie pastry
1 cup half and half
4 eggs, beaten
3 Tbsp. honey mustard (I used Dijon)
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/8 tsp. white pepper
1-1/2 cups cubed, cooked ham
1-1/2 cups shredded Swiss or Havarti cheese
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained (I only used about half of this)
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. To make Ham and Swiss Quiche, prepare pie crust and set aside. In medium bowl, mix half and half, eggs, mustard, flour, salt, thyme, and pepper and beat until combined.

Layer ham, Swiss cheese, and spinach in prepared pie crust. Pour egg mixture into pie crust and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 40-50 minutes until crust is golden and filling is set.

The key to making this work was layering the ham/cheese/spinach in the pie crust before pouring in the eggs. I've never done that before and it made for much more evenly distributed tastiness.

Pumpkin Bread

I've been making this particular recipe for years (and I mean years). It came from an old church cookbook I got shortly after we got married. I no longer have the cookbook but I cut this recipe out and taped it to a recipe card so I could keep it.

Pumpkin Bread

2/3 cup oil
2 2/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 can pumpkin
2/3 cup water
1 cup raisins
3 1/3 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Beat oil, sugar, eggs, water and pumpkin. Add spices, baking soda and baking powder; beat well. Add flour gradually, mixing well. Stir in raisins. Pour batter in 2 loaf pans that have been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-70 minutes.

The original recipe says you can add 1 cup of walnuts or pecans but we don't like nuts. It also says you can use 4 (1 pound) coffee cans half full. That tells you how old this recipe is. Do people even get coffee cans anymore?

Pizza Dough Recipe

I love to make homemade pizza. We used to always make it for Friday dinners when Whitney was home. We always use the bread machine to make the dough. For a long time we made plain dough but then we searched the Internet and found this one. Yummy is the only word to describe it. It is very fluffy so don't use it if you want a thin crust pizza.

Bread Machine Pizza Dough
Recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

1 cup flat beer
2 T butter
2 T sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp yeast

Put in bread machine in order and use dough setting. Let dough sit 10 minutes before rolling out.

We use a flavored beer, usually a berry type to add a little sweetness to the dough.

Cheesy Baked Tortellini

This is one of those recipes that you go...hey, I could have come up with it myself. But it is a favorite in the house.

Cheesy Baked Tortellini
Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese (we use ricotta)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves (we skip this ingredient)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves (1/4 tsp dried)
• 1 pound purchased cheese tortellini
• 2 ounces thinly sliced smoked mozzarella (regular works too)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8 by 8 by 2-inchbaking dish.

Whisk the sauce, mascarpone cheese, parsley and thyme in a large bowl to blend. Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Add the tortellini to the sauce and toss to coat. Transfer the tortellini mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top the mixture with the smoked mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheeses on top melt, about 30 minutes.

Scalloped Potato Gratin

Our first Christmas dinner was frozen lasagna courtesy of limited cooking in a condo. Our second Christmas dinner was ham this past Tuesday. We normally have broccoli and scalloped corn but Dan wanted to have scalloped potatoes too. I hadn't made them in years and luckily I actually had a recipe in my box (which means we've tried and liked it). These were really easy to make.

Scalloped Potato Gratin
recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 sprig fresh thyme (I used about 1/4 tsp dried thyme)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Butter (I sprayed the pan with cooking spray)
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices (I actually didn't even use this much)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for broiling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a saucepan, heat up the cream with a sprig of thyme, chopped garlic and nutmeg.

While cream is heating up, butter a casserole dish. Place a layer of potato in an overlapping pattern and season with salt and pepper. Remove cream from heat, then pour a little over the potatoes. Top with some grated Parmesan. Make 2 more layers. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Sprinkle some more Parmesan and broil until cheese browns, about 5 minutes.

So I got busy and the cream sort of bubbled up much more than it was supposed to when heating. And I added an extra layer of potatoes because I think my dish was smaller than the one he used. And I didn't sprinkle extra cheese on top and broil because we were already pretty brown when I pulled them out after 40 minutes.

But it was super tasty. Nothing like a good warm heavy cream dish with nutmeg to make anything taste good.

This is what half of it looks like after we ate

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

For thanksgiving morning I wanted to try something different so I found a recipe for pumpkin cranberry bread. This was a nice change to our normal pumpkin bread. The texture was moist and not too dense.




Pumpkin Cranberry Bread
Recipe adapted from epicurious.com

1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup picked-over fresh or frozen cranberries

Preheat oven to 350° F. and butter a loaf pan, 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 3/4 inches.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat together pumpkin, sugar, water, eggs, and oil. Sift in flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and spices and stir just until batter is smooth. Stir in cranberries and spoon batter into loaf pan, spreading evenly.

Bake bread in middle of oven 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean, and cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Turn bread out onto rack and cool completely. Bread may be made 4 days ahead and chilled, covered.