Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie is probably my favorite Thanksgiving dish besides mashed potatoes and rolls and pecan pie and apple pie and-screw it. I can't choose a favorite dish. But if I had to, this delicious pie might be it.

Pumpkin Pie

From: Cooks.com

 Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
Whipped cream (optional)

1. MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.
2. POUR into pie shell.
3. BAKE in preheated 425°F. oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

The Playlist:

1. Sea Wolf-You're A Wolf
2. Generationals-When They Fight, They Fight
3. Kid Congo & the Pink Monkeybirds-Pumpkin Pie
4. Yeasayer-Madder Red (The Golden Filter Remix)
5. Ennio Morricone-Rabbia E Tarantella

Focaccia

 

FOCACCIA IS THE BEST INVENTION OF ALL TIME, PROBABLY. It's better than the wheel, because wheels don't taste good with soup. 

Focaccia

From: Culinary Institute Of America 

Focaccia 
Yield: 3 lb /1.36 kg

Cornmeal, as needed
18 fl oz / 540 mL water
½ oz / 14 g compressed yeast
2 fl oz / 60 mL extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb 12 oz / 794 g hard wheat flour
½ oz / 14 g salt

Garnish Options
Crumbled goat cheese, as needed
Olives, pitted and sliced, as needed
Pine nuts, as needed
Sun-dried tomatoes, as needed
Chopped herbs such as basil and oregano, as needed
 

1. Line baking sheets with parchment. Scatter with cornmeal.
2. Combine the water, yeast, and oil until yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt. Mix the dough until smooth and elastic. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to ferment for 75 minutes. Punch down and scale the dough at 10 oz / 284 g per foccacia. Round off dough. Set dough on prepared sheet pan and proof at room temperature 1 hour.
3. Press the balls of dough flat and stretch slightly. Brush with olive oil and add any optional garnish items desired. Pan-proof an additional 30 minutes.
4. Bake in a 425°F / 218°C oven for approximately 30 minutes.

Variation Grissini: Prepare the dough through step 2. Punch down and scale at 1½ oz / 43 g. Round off the dough. Seton a sheet pan and proof at room temperature 1 hour. Roll the balls into long, thin sticks. Brush with olive oil or egg wash and top with desired seasoning: kosher salt, sesame seeds, or fresh herbs. Pan-proof an additional 15 minutes. Bake in 425°F / 218°C oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
 
Chef’s note: Focaccia may be lightly brushed with garlic and olive oil and served on its own, used as the base of an hors d’oeuvre or sandwich, or dressed with various additions

The Baked Brownie

OK, I have to admit I was kind of skeptical when I kept hearing how great the Baked brownie was. It's not that I've ever eaten a bad brownie, but I just didn't see how this one could live up to the expectations I had. I mean, it's just a brownie, right? WRONG. This brownie basically will render you speechless. It's definitely my favorite brownie, and Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Chocolate Brownie is a very close second. I actually used milk chocolate instead of dark because that's all I had, but it still turned out fine. But anyways, I am very glad I tried these and I encourage you to try them, too! Also, you will notice a playlist at the end of the post and I am adding that because I love listening to music while baking or cooking and I thought I'd put what I listened to just for fun :)

The Baked Brownie

From Baked: New Frontiers In Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp dark unsweetened cocoa powder
11 oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tsp instant espresso powder
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Butter the sides and bottom of a 9x13 Pyrex baking pan
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and cocoa
- Put the chocolate, butter, and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally utnil the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth
- Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. Allow mixture to come to room temperature

- Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and mix until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined.
- Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or brownies will be cakey.
- Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture and using a spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.
- Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top
- Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through, until toothpick inserted comes out clean
- Let the brownies cool completely, then cut them into squares

The Playlist:

1.  Phoenix-1901 (Fortune remix)
2. The Greenhornes-Saying Goodbye
3. The Velvet Underground-Sister Ray
4. Gogol Bordello-Super Taranta
5. The Black Keys-No Trust

The Velvet Underground song is 17 minutes long, so that was what I was listening to for at least half the time I was baking. What music do you listen to while in the kitchen?

 

(The Best) Chocolate Chip Cookies

Would I lie to you? No, I certainly would not. So when I say these are the best chocolate chip cookies on the planet, you had better believe it. Better yet, make a batch for yourself and after that first bite you will know...it's the absolute truth. I baked a huge batch of these for an art opening I was in recently, and they were eaten in less than an hour.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons

(8 1/2 ounces) cake flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds coarsely chopped milk or dark chocolate, or a mix of the two

Sea salt.

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

Ciabbata Rolls

Since I like to do things the old-fashioned way a lot of the time, this recipe is slightly adapted because I don't have a dough hook attachment for my mixer (which is about 700 years old) and mixed and kneaded the dough by hand. Like any recipe written by Daniel Leader (author of Bread Alone) these may take a bit of effort, but are so worth it.

Ciabatta Rolls

From Panini Express by Daniel Leader and Lauren Chattman

Ingredients:

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon tepid water (70-78 degrees)

1 teaspoon instant yeast

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the pan and brushing the rolls



1. Pour the water into a large bowl and then add the yeast, flour, salt, sugar, and olive oil and stir with a spatula to blend into a dough.

2. Turn the dough onto a well floured surface and knead for about 12-15 minutes (which will seem like quite long time to do by hand, so I recommend putting on some music you like so you don't get bored). You may need to dust the dough with more flour so it doesn't stick to your hands, so have a bowl of it nearby.

3. Oil a 7 X 11 baking dish and scrape the dough into the dish. Pat it with oiled fingertips to flatten it.

4. Let the dough rest 5 minutes, then use lightly oiled fingertips to push and stretch it across the bottom of the dish.

5. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm, draft free place until it has doubled in volume and reaches the top of the pan, about 2 hours.

6. Lightly oil a large baking sheet and invert the dough onto the baking sheet, then use a sharp chef's knife to cut the dough into six squares, then use the knife to push the squares three inches apart from each other.

7. Drape a sheet of plastic wrap over the dough pieces and leave them to expand by about 50%, around 40 minutes.

8. Preheat the oven to 475 F.

9. Remove the plastic and bake the rolls until dark golden brown, about 20 minutes.

10. Brush the hot rolls with olive oil and let cool completely on the baking sheet before slicing.

Chocolate Cookies With White Chocolate Chunks

I understand that the name of this recipe is none too original, but I hardly think it will matter to you when you have a delicious, dense chocolate cookie in your mouth. These cookies have a texture that is almost like a brownie, but they are still pretty light, and all the chocolate in them is balanced by the bits of white chocolate throughout the cookie.

You can make these using any combination of extras; dried cherries, nuts, and bits of candy (like M&Ms) are all good additions.

Chocolate Cookies With White Chocolate Chunks

3 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 1/2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder (regular is fine, too, but this is the kind that I used)

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

1 large bar of baker's white chocolate, cut into small chunks

Sea salt.

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4. Scoop spoonfuls of dough onto the baking sheet, and make sure there is an inch or two of space in between them. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until firm on the bottom but softer on the top, 12 to 15 minutes. The cookies may look like they are not done baking, but as they cool they will become firmer. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 5 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.