Pumpkin Pie

Yes, the pumpkin pie is a little late for Canadian thanksgiving but you Americans still have over a month away before your thanksgiving so store this pumpkin pie recipe in the safest place because it’s a weapon! Yes, it’s that good! My aunt took one bite and yelled, “OH MY GOD!” My grandma couldn’t get over it. I’ve been emailing it to the entire world. So yes, it’s that good!

Here is the recipe: (copied from an email I wrote a day ago…why store the same typed recipe twice when I can simplify?)

Pie Crust:
2/3 cup butter
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4-5 tbsp very cold water

Mix the flour, salt and sugar together. Cube the cold cold butter into the flour and kind of roll it between your finger tips until the butter and flour are an even crumble texture. Add the water and knead briefly until the dough has come together. Refrigerate for an hour.

Filling:
2 cups canned pumpkin (one can)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp molasses
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice (ground cloves would also work)
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 1/3 cup whipping cream
3 tbsp brandy or orange liquer

Whisk everything together.

This recipe makes one large 9 inch pie or two shallow 9 inch pies. So either roll the dough out once or cut it in two if you are making two pies. Roll the dough and place in the pie pan, pour the filling in and bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes, turn down the oven to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 40 minutes (or until the middle is cooked through…you can tell by the amount of jiggle)

And most importantly….eat the whole thing because you can’t help yourself because it tastes so darn good!!!

Roasted Acorn Squash

Here is another one that I made for thanksgiving dinner. My little cousin took a bite of one, spit it out and then rinced his mouth out. Hahaha. I thought it tasted great and so did the others! I guess squash is an acquired taste. It’s a great fall recipe, super warming and when you smell it, you can see the leaves changing colour in your minds eye. Did I mention that it’s super easy to make?

The recipe…

3 acorn squashes (I think also named pepper squash if you can’t find it. It’s shaped like an acorn and dark green)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon herbes de provence
1 teaspoon thyme
2 bay leaves
black pepper
2 tablespoons cold butter

Peel the squash (this is an extremely difficult task and you can skip it if your guests won’t mind.) Cut them in half, scoop out all of the seeds with a large spoon and dice the sides into chunky pieces.

Toss the squash with the oil, salt, herbes de provence, thyme, fresh cracked black pepper (just a few twists of the grinder) and the bay leaved then place on a baking sheet. Dot the cold butter evenly on top of the squash pieces.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for around 25-30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves before serving

Et voila!

Sweet Potato Soup

This soup is yummy! You can freeze everything that you won’t eat in a couple of days and reheat it at anytime making this a great lunch idea for a few nights ahead into the future. It’s also packed with nutrients and tastes like fall.

Here is what you will need, and need to do:

3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
2 teaspoons coriander
2 teaspoons thyme
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons salt
black pepper
8 cups water

Saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring every minute or so and not allowing the garlic to burn. Add the carrots, potatoes, ground coriander, thyme, bay leaves, cayenne, salt and black pepper, stirring everything together. Saute this mixture for an additional 10 minutes or so. Add the water, cover the pot and bring the water to a boil by turning the heat on the stove to max (sigh*Max). As soon as you get a nice rolling boil (meaning that the water is non stop bubbling and big bubbles), turn the heat down to low and simmer the soup for an hour. In small bathces, place the soup in a blender and puree it until the entire soup is pureed.

Enjoy!

And last but not least…Sweet Potato Quesadillas

Let’s Mexican-it up! This is a favourite of mine. There is a restaurant in Hamilton called the bean bar, and as much as I tried to choose something different  every time I went, I couldn’t. It was always the sweet potato quesadilla and for good reason…Putting sweet potatoes in a quesadilla (p.s. I have no idea how to spell this word) is the best idea ever! I made my own version which only tastes better so give it a try!

The recipe is this (it makes three)…

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

1 onion, diced finely

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 roasted red pepper (to roast a red pepper go here or here)

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Plus olive oil for grilling

Boil or steam the potato until it is soft (you can easily poke a fork though it). Transfer the drained, soft potato to a mixing bowl. In a frying pan, saute the onion with the coriander and cumin until the onion is soft, give it three minutes at least. Add the sauteed onion to the potatos. With a masher (or hand mixer) mash the potatoes with the onions and oil. Taste the mixture. Season it with salt and pepper. Does it taste good? Okay, move on. Evenly divide the potato mixture among the three tortillas and spread it on only one half. Add a few sliced of the roasted red pepper and divide the cheese among the three. Remember, you build this quesadilla on only one half. Now fold over the empty half of the tortilla and grill it in some olive oil on the stove for a minute or two on either side. The cheese should be melty and the tortilla slightly browned.

Now eat it…

SEE WHAT I MEAN?!!!!

Enjoy these fall recipes and stay warm!