Pretty Pumpkins!

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year! 

I love the crisp chill in the morning air, the smell of burning apple and cinnamon candles, spiced cider and pumpkin coffees. Cozy fall sweaters, the changing color of the leaves.

If you love pumpkins as I do but want to "jazz" up your display a little bit this fall, I pasted some pretty pumpkin photos below. Whether you prefer chevron, chalkboard paint or glitter, sky is the limit on how fun and creative you can be.

Send me some pics of your decorated pumpkins and I will display on the blog!

Happy Fall

The first day of Fall is this Sunday, even though it has definitely felt like Fall all week long. 

With temperatures in the 60's and nights dipping to the 40's, the chill in the air makes me crave spiced cider, apple picking, pumpkin pie and cozy sweaters. 

Even though I am sad to leave Summer behind the below images will hopefully get you excited for the fabulous Fall season ahead!

Pizza Party

My brother is really into making his own pizza and has gotten quite good at it. So, it was a big treat when he came over this week and whipped up some delicious thin crust pizza for all of us.

He gets his dough from a local pizza place. You can go into pretty much any pizza joint and ask for dough and they will sell you however much you need. 

He says the key to a good thin crust pizza is getting the dough nice and thin and using a good quality pizza stone. He puts the oven on 500 degrees and puts the pizza stone in there to get very hot. 

Construct the pizza on a separate wood board and make sure to use ample amounts of flour under the dough so it doesn't stick. Then carefully slide it onto the hot stone in the oven.

His speciality is a truffeled mushroom pie and a bbq chicken pie.

For the truffle mushroom pie (pictured below) he uses a truffled mushroom pesto that he buys at Murray's Cheese in NYC. If you live in the area I HIGHLY recommend stopping by Murray's and picking some up. It's ridiculous! If you don't live by a Murray's you can get the same kind of spread by pureeing mushrooms, garlic, Parmesan cheese and truffle oil. 

We spread the truffled mushroom pesto on the pizza and then topped with fresh mushrooms. Baked it in a 500 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes until it was crisp and bubbly and then topped with a drizzle of truffle oil. It was seriously out of this world!

For the second pie we used BBQ chicken cutlets, shredded mozzarella cheese, sweet onion and fresh cilantro. 

We started by lightly covering the dough with RAO's Marinara sauce and the shredded cheese. We then used diced chicken cutlets in BBQ sauce and thinly sliced sweet onion. Again we cooked this in a 500 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes and then sprinkled with fresh cilantro.

Both pies were so good I can't pick a favorite. 

Good thing I didn't need to as we had plenty to go around! 

Catch My Party

Check out Harper's 1st Birthday Party on the front page of Catch My Party today! 

Happy Labor Day!

Labor Day is upon us which means the long days of summer are quickly dwindling down and apple cider, lightweight jackets and fall boots are right around the corner.

With this coming weekend being the "last hoorah" of Summer most people will be attending BBQ's and swim parties and in need of a delicious dessert to bring. What better then a patriotic trifle.

The below recipe is super easy to whip up and I promise you, it does not disappoint!

Happy Labor Day Everyone! 

Patriotic Pudding with Nilla Wafers 

recipe adapted from Buttercup

What you'll need:

1 1/2 cups cold water

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup instant vanilla pudding powder

3 cups heavy cream

One box Nilla wafers

Fresh strawberries and blueberries

Directions:

On the low speed of an electric mixer, blend the water, milk, and pudding powder until thoroughly mixed, about 1 minute. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight) until firm.

In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well incorporated.

In a large bowl, starting with the wafers, make 5-6 layers with Nilla wafers, strawberries and then the pudding mixture, until all the pudding is gone. End with pudding and top with fresh blueberries and crushed wafers on top. Refrigerate about 30 minutes before serving. 

Uncle Jon's Garlicky Mussels in White Wine

We just got back from our last trip to the beach this summer. As Labor Day is quickly approaching, we enjoyed soaking up the last of the summer rays, drinking crisp white wine and feasting on seafood. 

We stayed at the beach well into the golden hour so we opted to stay in and cook rather then going out to dinner. 

We enjoyed a hearty serving of mussels and clams and lots of fresh crusty bread to soak up the delicious broth. And of course numerous bottles of vino!

Uncle Jon's Garlicky Mussels in White Wine 

What you'll need:

3 pounds mussels, scrubbed

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped shallots

7-8 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 cup dry white wine

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 

Directions:

To clean the mussels, put them in a large bowl of water and flour and soak for about half hour. Drain the mussels and remove the "beard" from each mussel and scrub with a brush. Discard any mussel that is not tightly shut.

In a large pot heat the butter and olive oil and and cook the shallots for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 5 more minutes. Make sure not to burn the garlic! Add the parsley, wine, salt & pepper and bring to a boil. 

Add the mussels, stir and then cover the pot. Cook over medium heat until all the mussels are opened (about 10 minutes). Throw away any that did not open. Pour mussels and broth in a big pot and serve immediately with lots and lots of crusty bread and a bottle of crisp white wine! 

My little Beach Bum soaking up the last rays of summer!

Crab-Corn Cakes with a Basil-Jalapeno Tarter Sauce

Last weekend my friend Lisa, her husband Paul and their adorable son Benjamin came over for the day. Lisa and I always cook a Farm to Table dinner when we are together (which you probably recall from previous posts). We usually decide our "menu" days before and start to prepare. This was a last minute date so we weren't our usual prepared selves. 

Lisa had found the below recipe from the Deen Bros. Cookbook a while back and had been wanting to test it out. I actually had everything except the fresh crab in my kitchen so it worked out perfectly. We made a trip to the local fish market to get the crab and were all set. They came out delish. 

Chunky pieces of crab that the basil-jalapeno tarter sauce complemented perfectly! 

Crab-Corn Cakes

with a Basil-Jalapeno Sauce

What you'll need:

for the Crab Cakes

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 scallions, trimmed and finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 pound crab meat

1/2 cup corn

1/2 cup dried bread crumbs

1 egg

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/3 cup yellow cornmeal

for the Basil-Jalapeno Tarter Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

2 teaspoons capers, drained and chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

Pinch of salt

Freshly ground pepper

Directions

In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the scallions and the garlic. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Place the mixture in a large bowl. Add the crab, corn, bread crumbs, egg, mayo, mustard, parsley and pepper to taste. mix well.

Divide the mixture into 12 portions and form into 1/2-inch-thick patties. Place the patties on a baking sheet and chill in the fridge for 1 hour. 

Meanwhile in a bowl stir together all of the tarter sauce ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the oil over medium-high heat. Dredge each crab cake in the cornmeal, turning to coat evenly. Sear the cakes for 3-4 minutes per side, until golden. 

Return the crab cakes to the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. 

Serve crab cakes hot with the Basil-Jalapeno Tarter Sauce.

We served them alongside crostini with fresh tomatoes, basil and red onion. 

       

and Linguini in a garlic sauce with fresh zucchini.