Okay, as soon as I posted the whole "come on over to my house and try a new dish" thing I had to go and find something. I've been wanting to cook something in the crockpot for awhile, and given that Friday is New Year's Day and I'm probably going to be hungover, I won't want to actually do a lot of preparing, but I will need to have dinner.
Thus, I am making (trying) Shrimp Jambalaya Friday night. To be accompanied by wine from my new wine fridge, possibly a movie or bad reruns of some sort, and a fire. If you'd like to come join, leave a comment. The recipe will be posted, complete with pictures, upon completion. And hell, if you decide you want to try jambalaya but you're going to be hanging out in your PJs all day Friday (and really, why wouldn't you?) feel free to come by and try it over the weekend. Just give me ample warning to when you show up so I make sure I'm acceptable. :)
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Pumpkin cranberry bread
I made this for a few people during the holidays. I admit that I haven't made it nearly as much this year as in past, but I love the combination of pumpkin and cranberry. This particular bread was a hit with some friends who got the loaf as they boarded a plane to see family in South Carolina (or so I'm told) so I thought I'd post this one. I must admit that it smelled so good that I'm planning to make another batch this weekend thanks to the abundance of cranberries I bought and froze earlier this fall. It took me a little longer to bake because I put too much in the pan-but I'm pretty sure it tasted great anyway, and if anyone wants any of this when I make it again, it makes two full loaves (or four mini ones)so speak up!
I admit that I didn't take pictures of this creation when I made it but I will when I do it again!
Pumpkin Cranberry Loaf (obtained from Boston.com/food)
Butter (for the pans)
Flour (for the pans)
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups mashed fresh pumpkin or 1 can (16 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 cup water
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 bag (12 ounces) fresh cranberries
1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pans. Line the bottoms with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit them. Butter the paper and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess. **I just buttered the pans, which works just fine as well. Whatever makes you happiest.
2. In an electric mixer, beat the vegetable oil and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one by one.
3. Blend in the pumpkin and water until incorporated.
4. With the mixer set on its lowest speed, add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. When the batter is smooth, remove the bowl from the mixer stand.
5. With a large spoon, stir in the walnuts and cranberries. Divide the batter evenly between the pans.
6. Bake the cakes for 1 hour, or until the centers spring back when pressed lightly with a fingertip. Adapted from Kathleen King.
I admit that I didn't take pictures of this creation when I made it but I will when I do it again!
Pumpkin Cranberry Loaf (obtained from Boston.com/food)
Butter (for the pans)
Flour (for the pans)
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups mashed fresh pumpkin or 1 can (16 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 cup water
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 bag (12 ounces) fresh cranberries
1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pans. Line the bottoms with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit them. Butter the paper and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess. **I just buttered the pans, which works just fine as well. Whatever makes you happiest.
2. In an electric mixer, beat the vegetable oil and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one by one.
3. Blend in the pumpkin and water until incorporated.
4. With the mixer set on its lowest speed, add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. When the batter is smooth, remove the bowl from the mixer stand.
5. With a large spoon, stir in the walnuts and cranberries. Divide the batter evenly between the pans.
6. Bake the cakes for 1 hour, or until the centers spring back when pressed lightly with a fingertip. Adapted from Kathleen King.
Let's try this again!
Okay, so to be fair, I haven't been posting as faithfully as I'd like. Blame it on the holidays.
No, really. There were cakes, and cookies, and candy, and pie, and pretty much everything in between.
I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (one of my signatures):
I made oreo balls (mint, regular, and peanut butter). I made homemade oreos. I made fudge (2 kinds). I made cranberry bread, pumpkin cranberry bread, gingerbread. I made cheesecake. I made ice cream, and I managed to host two parties in which every appetizer and meal item was made from scratch. More pics on that later.
So you'll have to understand when I say I'm tired. But never fear. Part of my New Year's resolution is to get better on this thing. I want to share recipes I love. I want to share the good ones and (maybe) the not so good ones. There will be quirky recipes, comfort food recipes, maybe even a few healthy ones thrown in for good measure. I have so many recipes of my mom's to go through and so many recipes of my own that I want to try!
I think in the New Year I'll try something on Fridays (or somewhere in the weekend) where I make a meal and just open my doors. I'll post what the recipe will be somewhere in the beginning of the week, and if you decide you'd like to come try it, you send me a comment or whatever, telling me you'll be coming so I know to clean the kitchen beforehand. No pressure, I'll be cooking anyway and if I have leftovers they'll either be used for lunches or frozen. This way it's a good opportunity to catch up with people and try something new. And it gives me a chance to do things I love. I saw someone else do this awhile back and thought it was a neat idea. Some nights perhaps I'll do breakfast for dinner. Maybe others I'll do a meal in the crockpot. And still others? Maybe a nice casserole dish or a stir fry or a soup. Either way, good times abound.
No, really. There were cakes, and cookies, and candy, and pie, and pretty much everything in between.
I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (one of my signatures):
I made oreo balls (mint, regular, and peanut butter). I made homemade oreos. I made fudge (2 kinds). I made cranberry bread, pumpkin cranberry bread, gingerbread. I made cheesecake. I made ice cream, and I managed to host two parties in which every appetizer and meal item was made from scratch. More pics on that later.
So you'll have to understand when I say I'm tired. But never fear. Part of my New Year's resolution is to get better on this thing. I want to share recipes I love. I want to share the good ones and (maybe) the not so good ones. There will be quirky recipes, comfort food recipes, maybe even a few healthy ones thrown in for good measure. I have so many recipes of my mom's to go through and so many recipes of my own that I want to try!
I think in the New Year I'll try something on Fridays (or somewhere in the weekend) where I make a meal and just open my doors. I'll post what the recipe will be somewhere in the beginning of the week, and if you decide you'd like to come try it, you send me a comment or whatever, telling me you'll be coming so I know to clean the kitchen beforehand. No pressure, I'll be cooking anyway and if I have leftovers they'll either be used for lunches or frozen. This way it's a good opportunity to catch up with people and try something new. And it gives me a chance to do things I love. I saw someone else do this awhile back and thought it was a neat idea. Some nights perhaps I'll do breakfast for dinner. Maybe others I'll do a meal in the crockpot. And still others? Maybe a nice casserole dish or a stir fry or a soup. Either way, good times abound.
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