Pumpkin, Cheddar and Sage Biscuits

It's going to be a beautiful weekend here.  Temperatures are supposed to dip down into the high 60's during the day and 40's overnight for the next few days....before heading back up into the 80's next week.  So we actually get a peak into Fall.

What says autumn better than pumpkin and sage?  I ran across this little gem of a recipe in a new (or new to me anyway) magazine, Alabama.  Really reached deep into the creative juices for that title, eh?  While I'm not sure Alabama needs yet another magazine devoted to itself, this one isn't bad.  I mean I did get a new recipe, right?

These are flaky and moist and even with strong flavors like pumpkin and sage, they're still subtle.

I made mini-biscuits so I could serve them as an appetizer, but they would also be perfect full sized served as a side to some squash soup or just about anything, for that matter!  Plus, minus the baking time, these come together in about 15 minutes.

Here's the recipe:

Pumpkin, Cheddar and Sage Biscuits

Alabama Magazine, Sept/Oct 2011

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/4 cup smoked aged cheddar (I don't like smoked cheese so I used aged white cheddar)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 deg. F.  Stir together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks.  Stir in cheddar and pumpkin.  Mixture will look very dry at first; stir until it comes together.  Knead dough 2-3 times on a lightly floured surface; roll out to 1 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut dough with a 2-inch circle cutter and place biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake 16-18 minutes or until lightly browned.

Someone else is a little excited about the cooler temperatures!  He can finally control the neighborhood from the front yard.

Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage, Hazelnut and Brown Butter Sauce

It's officially Fall.  Southern Fall is not exactly like the Midwest Fall of my childhood.  Even though the calendar says it's officially Fall, what I consider to be Fall.....cool temperatures, turning leaves and boots.....doesn't happen in Alabama until November sometime!

That doesn't mean that I have to wait until November for Fall foods!  Like squash.  I love me some roasted butternut squash and I happened to have some staring at me on the counter this weekend.  I considered making soup, but we've had a ton of soup here in the last few weeks, plus I wanted to try something different.  I've never made ravioli and I have tons of sage in the garden, so this sounded perfect.

I guess I didn't technically "make ravioli".  I cheated and used wonton wrappers, but feel free to make your own pasta dough if you're a lot more ambitious than I am!  

This is relatively easy to pull together if you're a cheater like me.  Roast the squash and then mash it up.  I used a food mill, but a potato ricer would work great also.  You could probably even puree it in the food processor.  Then throw it in a pot over low heat to remove all the moisture.  Stir in the seasonings and you're ready to "make ravioli"!

Since wonton wrappers a a little larger, I used a small ice cream scoop for the filling.....a little more than a tablespoon.

Brush the bottom wrapper edges with an egg wash.

Place the top wrapper over the filling, flattening the filling and pressing out any air bubbles.  Seal the edges really well.....you don't want any gaps for the filling to seep out when you boil it.  That would be messy!  I sealed my edges with a fork to be on the safe side.  Sometimes I'm overly cautious.

Bring some generously salted water to a boil and toss in a few raviolis (don't crowd them).  When they rise to the surface of the water, they're done.  Remove them and toss them with the sauce (recipe below).

This is a perfect Fall dish.  The ravioli can be made ahead of time and frozen and then tossed direct from the freezer into the boiling water.  And this sauce comes together in five minutes.  Totally doable for an elegant weeknight dinner.  This would also make a great first course for your next dinner party.

Here's the recipe:

Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage, Hazelnut and Brown Butter Sauce

Bobby Flay

Ingredients


Ravioli:
2 butternut squash, halved and seeded
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
1 tablespoon finely chopped orange zest
2 teaspoons chipotle puree
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 sheets pasta dough, 12 to 14 inches long by 4 inches wide
2 eggs mixed with 2 tablespoons water
Chopped chives

Directions


Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Place squash on a baking sheet and roast until soft 30 to 40 minutes. Scoop out flesh and run though a food mill. Place the puree into a medium saucepan and cook over low heat until almost dry. Add the remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste. Lay a sheet of pasta dough on a lightly floured work surface and distribute a heaping teaspoon-sized portion of the filling at least 2 inches apart. Use your fingertip or a brush to moisten the edges of the pasta sheet with the egg wash. Carefully place a second sheet of the pasta dough on top of the first and press with your fingertips to separate the rows of filling. Repeat with the remaining dough. With a ravioli cutter or pastry wheel, cut along straight lines on the vertical and horizontal to form each ravioli square. Press the edges closed with your fingertips to seal well. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Carefully drop in the ravioli and cook for about 5 minutes. Drain, plate and spoon butter sauce over and garnish with finely chopped chives.

Brown Butter Sauce:


2 sticks unsalted butter
1/4 cup coarsely ground hazelnuts
1/4 cup heavy cream
8 sage leaves, chiffonade
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Melt butter in a medium saute pan over medium high heat. Add hazelnuts and cook until the hazelnuts are golden brown. Add the heavy cream and cook for 1 minute. Add the sage and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Jilla's Gameday Chili

Since chili is one of hubs' favorite things, it was one of the first things I attempted to make early in our marriage.  Back when I knew nothing about much of anything about cooking!  As I've improved in the kitchen, so has my chili.  It's gone through several renditions over the years, but this is the version I've been making for the past several.  It's thick, meaty and a tad spicy.....and it's always a hit during football season when the weather starts to cool off a bit.

Here's my cast of characters....cubed filet mignon, hot italian sausage, ground chuck, onion, garlic, kidney beans, black beans, jalapeno (or other hot pepper), chipotle peppers in adobo, canned tomatoes (crushed and diced), cumin, coriander, pimenton, ancho chili powder, and cayenne pepper.

Hubs informed me early on that he liked big chunks of meat in his chili.  Back in the day, I couldn't afford filet mignon, so I used the only chunks I saw at the meat counter....stew beef.  It worked fine!

For a little heat and extra flavor I use equal parts hot italian sausage and ground chuck.  If spicy is not your thang, use mild italian sausage.

Start by heating your oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Add in your chopped onions and saute until translucent, about 10 minutes.  Don't forget to season with salt and pepper as you go.  Add the garlic and saute for about 1 minute.

Because there is so much meat, you'll need to brown it in stages.  I like to start with the sausage because it has the most flavor.  Let's get this party started early, I say.  Brown that up and then remove it with a slotted spoon to a large bowl and set aside.  I then usually have to spoon out some of the extra fat that's accumulated.  Leave about two tablespoons in the pan.

Next brown the filet until it's medium rare.  Then toss it into the bowl with the browned sausage.

And finally brown the ground chuck.

This is where I thrown in whatever hot pepper I'm using.  I generally use a jalapeno pepper, but since I have an abundance of these little Cuban peppers (my gardener planted them and didn't label them, so I'm not sure exactly what they are, but I love them!).  Like I said, if you're not into spicy, leave these out or thrown in some chopped sweet red pepper.  It's your party....spice if you want to!

Now it's time for everyone to get into the pool.  Throw all that browned meat back in along with all of those accumulated juices.  Once all the meat is back in the pot add all of the spices along with the chipotle peppers and let them get acquainted for a few minutes.  Drain and rinse all of the beans and add them along with the cans of diced and crushed tomatoes.

Bring all of that to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for about 15 minutes.  Give it a taste and adjust your seasonings.  It might need a little more cumin or a little more heat in my case!  It's flexible.  You can absolutely serve at this stage, but I think chili is one of those things that just gets better every day, so I often make this the morning before I want to serve it or even the day before just to let all of the flavors fully develop and become one with each other!

For your football party, set out a group of condiments.....shredded monterey jack, sour cream, chopped cilantro, chopped green onions and some crushed tortilla chips (hubs prefers the blue ones)....and let your guests create their own perfect bowl.

Here's the recipe:

Jilla's Gameday Chili

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely minced
2 lb filet mignon, cut into bite size cubes
1 1/2 lb hot italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled
1 1/2 lb ground chuck
2 15oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 15oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 28oz cans Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes (if you can't find the fire roasted ones, regular works fine)
2 28oz cans Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes (ditto!)
2 chipotle chilis in adobo, chopped
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
1 teaspoon hot pimenton (smoked paprika)....you can also use mild pimenton
1/2 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper

Calzone Poppers

Try to ignore the fact that the pan is different in this picture than the rest of the post!  This photo was taken when I made these over Labor Day.

Before we get to the Poppers, you're going to have to indulge me for a few minutes of observations from my weekend sports watching.  

First of all, the college football game everyone is talking about around the water coolers this morning....Michigan and Notre Dame.  Ugh.  Poor hubs.  He had such high hopes for his beloved Irish this year.  Brian Kelly was supposed to return them to the promised land by bringing that high-powered offense with him from Cincinnati.  Unfortunately he also brought along his defense.  Do they even have a secondary?

He's been able to find solace in cheering for the Buckeyes the past several years, but that may not work out for him this year either.  We almost, and should have, got beat by Toodle-le-do.  Holy Toledo was that ugly.  If it weren't for untimely and costly penalties on their part, we'd be the Michigan of 2011.  Could be a long night in next Saturday's Cheater's Bowl.

And finally, I had to watch another inappropriate outburst from Serena Williams.  She's all rainbows and unicorns when she's kicking someone's tennis panties, but boy howdy does she get testy when the tables are turned.  Did you hear her tirade directed at the chair ump on the changeover?  Here's a thought, Serena.....learn these words... "I'm sorry.  I was WRONG."  Because, once again, you were.  Wrong for screaming out and celebrating a point that was not yet over, wrong for arguing with and attempting to intimidate the chair umpire because you don't know the rules, wrong for accusing her of being someone she wasn't, wrong for continuing to berate and belittle her on the changeover, and wrong for inappropriately and embarrassingly representing your country to the rest of the world on such an important and historic day.  And finally wrong for selfishly diminishing Sam Stosur's moment.  Because she deserved that moment for spanking your tennis panties 2 and 3.  You owe her and us an apology.  One that we'll never get because you did the same thing two years ago to Kim Clijsters and we never got an apology for that one either.  

Okay.  I'm finished.  On to the poppers.  These are a version of my mother's famous Calzone recipe and are perfect for you next game day party. 

Start with your favorite bread or pizza dough.

Bridgeford bread dough is the brand we've used for years to make the calzone.  It comes in packs of three frozen loaves.  I usually sit mine out first thing in the morning to thaw to be ready for dinner.  One loaf made about 16 poppers.   Sit the dough out to thaw and let it rise then punch it down before you start separating off chunks for the poppers.

I don't normally put pesto in the calzone, but I had about a half of a cup of my Lemon-Basil Pesto left from last weekend so I decided to use it up.  It's up to you if you add it or not.  They're perfectly delicious without it.

Fresh Mozzarella.   Last time I made them I used the small mozzarella balls but all I had were the larger ones this time.  I just cut them into small cubes.  Worked fine.

Pepperoni

And one clove of garlic to rub all over the dish you'll be baking them in.  I used a deep dish pie plate.

Why does my had look so fat?

Simply pinch off a generous chunk of dough.  You'll need enough to wrap around the pepperoni and cheese without any openings.

I put the cheese inside the pepperoni

Wrap the dough tightly around and make sure it's sealed well.

Here's one with the pesto.  I spread it on first then proceeded with the pepperoni and mozzarella.

Tuck them all into your dish (I had sprayed mine with cooking spray).  Brush on an egg wash (one egg, slightly beaten) and grate some fresh parmesan on top.  You can either pop these into a 350 degree oven now or cover and refrigerate to bake later.  Both work fine.  Bake for about 20 minutes until they are nicely browned on top.

I serve mine with a bowl of my favorite marinara sauce and watch them disappear.


Here's the recipe for my favorite pesto:

2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
2 cups basil leaves
1/2 cup parsley leaves
1/2 cup oregano leaves
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
juice and zest from one lemon
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In a food processor, pulse the pine nuts with the basil, parsley and oregano leaves, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest and olive oil until combined.  Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and pulse until smooth.  Scrape the pesto into a bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Can be stored in refrigerator tightly covered for up to two weeks.

Labor Day Fun

Before Tropical Storm Lee blew through here starting Sunday evening, we had a beautifully HOT weekend.  It's a good thing too, because I had my favorite two peanuts visiting.

And they wanted to swim!

They were here for a long weekend along with their mom and dad, aunts, uncles, cousin and great-grandparents!  It was a HOUSEFUL!!

All this swimming made for some hungy kids and I've been asked by a few friends and relatives to share what exactly I fed them all weekend!  Needless to say, I didn't have time for pretty food photos, so I'll take the lazy way out and point you in the right direction!

Let's see.....we had The Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls and the Barefoot Contessa's Cherry Almond and Cinnamon Granola for breakfast.

One night I made a whole beef tenderloin for sandwiches and served my version of this salad along with this brussels sprouts salad.  For dessert I made a dark chocolate dipped version of these oreo cookie truffles and these nutter butter cookie truffles.  These little truffles are delicious and were a HUGE hit with the adults and the little people.

The next day we fired up the pizza oven in the morning and had an all day pizza party!  For lunch I made the Markley's famous calzone recipe with a little twist and I'll be sharing that with you later this week.  It will be a perfect addition to your fall football parties.  That night I did four pizza's....your basic pepperoni and fresh tomato; a Mexican pizza incorporating the left over corn salad from the day before; a roasted red pepper with capers (recipe also coming) and goat cheese; and a grilled chicken and Lemon-Basil Pesto....yes, you'll get my pesto recipe soon, also!  It's the best EVAH!

 

On Saturday night I served pulled pork sandwiches made from a Boston Butt that had been dry-rubbed with Bobby Flay's rib rub and cooked for 8 hours in my slow cooker along with Balthazar's famous french fries!  This really is the only way to get french fries that are soft on the inside and perfectly crunchy on the outside.  They disappeared before I even got ONE!!

And on Sunday night, because I was exhausted and wanted to enjoy my last night with the family, we ordered Donato's pizza.  Sue me!