Pumpkin Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Are you sick of pumpkin recipes yet?  Apparently I'm not.  Right now my friend Jacob must be thinking, "Where's the chocolate?"  I had actually planned a couple of savory, non-pumpkin recipes for this week, but then I wanted to bring a sweet to round out the pizza at an event for journalists I helped organize.  So I went with the seasonal favorite, pumpkin.  And who can say no to caramel cream cheese frosting?  The cupcakes were a big hit, and people asked permission to take home the last few.  Granted, of course.

This recipe from Tracey's Culinary Adventures produces a light and moist cupcake, slightly sweet and nicely spiced.  I thought it needed very little frosting, less than you see here.  The caramel flavor doesn't really come across in the frosting, so I would skip making the caramel and just go with a plain cream cheese frosting recipe.  Now, what should I make with the other half a can of pumpkin?

Reminder: I have a new Facebook page.  Please visit and "Like" it!

Pumpkin Waffles with Maple Butter

I love homemade waffles.  I grew up eating the kind you buy frozen, but there's no comparison with homemade.  Plus, when you have a little time on the weekends, waffles are really easy to make.  And these are pumpkin waffles.  They're spiced just like pumpkin pie, with cinnamon, ground ginger, and clove, and topped with a scoop of maple butter.

If you think that's decadent, I should tell you that the original recipe on Foodness Gracious included maple bacon butter.  Despite being a bacon lover, I decided to forgo the meat for breakfast.  And instead of using maple syrup to make the butter, I decided to try maple sugar, figuring the butter wouldn't get loose and runny the way it might when adding liquid.  Now, I actually never put butter on my waffles or pancakes, and I don't think it's needed here -- the maple sugar gets lost in the additional syrup you pour on top.  But I plan to spread this delicious butter on toast and English muffins, and it would be great on biscuits.  My other tweak is one I always use with homemade waffles, and that's to substitute half of the flour with white whole wheat flour.  Tastes just like regular waffles, and they're a little better for you.  Who's ready for brunch?

Handy tip: Freeze leftover waffles wrapped in plastic for a quick breakfast during the week.  Thaw on the counter, then heat in the toaster oven briefly.

I almost forgot: I finally made a Facebook page for my blog.  Visit it and "Like" it?  I don't have any giveaways to entice you with, but I hope to see you on that end anyway.

Maple-Glazed Apple Crostata

I always look forward to baking an apple pie in the fall.  The oven warms the house, and fills it with the smells of cinnamon and nutmeg.  My favorite is a traditional double-crust apple pie, but it's kind of a production.  So when I don't have all day, I turn to open-faced pies like this crostata.  I had made an apple crostata previously with cranberries, but plain ol' apple is usually what I want.  This version is packed with apples.  The recipe calls for just dumping them all onto the dough, but I wanted a fancier look.  Unfortunately, shingling the apples instead of dumping them into one big mound meant not all of them fit, plus they were so packed in that the slices became vertical instead of slanted.  No matter, still delicious.  My aesthetic quibble was actually the crust edges -- I didn't think the crostata needed a 3-inch border like the recipe called for so I went with 2 inches, and you can see it came up short.  But like I said, still delicious.

And it still managed to wow a crowd.  With the leftover apples that didn't fit, I made a halved recipe for the crostata, resulting in this smaller one we ate at home.  I used gala apples, which have great flavor and hold their shape well during baking.  And the bulk bag of organic galas cost the same per pound as the loose galas.  My one disappointment with this recipe was that you don't really taste the maple syrup you brush on the apples at the very end.  I suggest skipping that step, or using more syrup and then telling me how that turned out.

Cocoa Brownies

A while back I read that brownies made with cocoa instead of chocolate were superior, though I can't remember why.  In this recipe, Alice Medrich writes: "Cocoa brownies have the softest center and chewiest candylike top 'crust' of all because all of the fat in the recipe (except for a small amount of cocoa butter in the cocoa) is butter, and all of the sugar is granulated sugar rather than the finely milled sugar used in chocolate." The top wasn't as crackly as promised, but the brownies were wonderfully fudgy.

Medrich also notes that any unsweetened Dutch-process or natural cocoa powder works well in the recipe -- natural cocoa (this is the kind you usually find in your supermarket) will produce more flavor complexity while Dutch-process has a mellower, old-fashioned chocolate pudding flavor.  I went with a Ghirardelli natural cocoa powder, which gave the brownies a deep, bittersweet flavor.

Boston Globe Review: Savoring Moroccan Hospitality

Clockwise from top: Plate of goat cheese, feta, gorgonzola, pickled veggies, pita wedges, and olives; mocha latte with amaretto cookie; and Mrouzia chicken, topped with caramelized onions, plump raisins, and toasted almonds.

This has been one of my favorite assignments.  I also love the headline by my colleague Wendy that ran in the print edition: Savoring Morrocan hospitality.  It summed up both my experience and what I think the chef/owner's mentality is at Cafe Paprika, a Moroccan restaurant in Norwood.

I submitted a different photo of owner Lahcen Abaichi for the paper, but I wanted to share this personal one here. After his initial camera-shy protests, he said, "Wait, you have to get me with my photo of my mother."

You can probably guess at my verdict, but read all about it at: http://bo.st/PP3aRR.  I'm still thinking about those tagines and desserts.

Multigrain Focaccia with Grapes and Rosemary

Have you ever had roasted grapes?  They're a revelation to me.  They give this bread wonderful jammy and fruity spots after they bake up and get soft.  And they're not like grape jelly, which I don't care for.  The next time you roast vegetables with olive oil, throw some grapes into the bunch.  This focaccia is great too, and although it's time-consuming it is easy.  Most of the time is inactive, so you can fold laundry or watch TV, but do plan ahead and start that pre-ferment about 12 hours before you plan the rest of the process.

In King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, the intro to the recipe says: "This version, which is more than half whole wheat flour, may not reach the same heights as the fluffiest focaccia, but its creamy, chewy texture and fragrant flavor make it one of our favorites."  I love it.  It's not a proper focaccia, but it's crusty outside and soft and chewy inside.  The whole wheat gives it hearty flavor, and I used white whole wheat flour, which is just as nutritious as regular whole wheat flour but has a softer texture.  It's a more virtuous focaccia, and I prefer this to traditional focaccia.

The focaccia right before going into the oven.  Top-right down: the pre-ferment is ready to use; the sticky dough; and the dough after a couple rises and folded into a packet.

The other reason it's more virtuous?  Very little oil.  Have you ever used the nutrition calculator at Panera and seen what a difference in fat it makes to swap in another bread for your sandwich?  Or maybe you've made focaccia before, and seen the dough sit in about two-thirds of a cup of oil and suck it up like a sponge?  Joe made Peter Reinhart's recipe years ago, but after seeing how much oil went into it we never made it again.  This recipe has no oil in the dough, and calls for oiling the sheet pan generously, whatever that means.  The first time I used about a quarter-cup, and it was unnecessary.  This dough doesn't really soak up the oil, so it just splatters in your oven.  The second time I used about a tablespoon and it worked out perfect, plus there were no oven splatters.  I've already made this twice, and it's going to make repeat appearances in my kitchen through the fall and winter.

On a side note, the Huffington Post featured my Pumpkin Fritters photo and recipe in a roundup of savory pumpkin recipes today.  To see it there or check out the other recipes, visit http://huff.to/NUilKQ.

Happy Hobbit Day, and Second Breakfast Ideas

Image from Middle Earth News

Happy Hobbit Day!  Did you know there was such a celebration as Hobbit Day, or Tolkien Week?  Apparently September 22 was the birthday of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.  So have your second breakfast, followed by Elevenses, and get psyched about the upcoming Hobbit movie.  Bake up some Lembas bread, or try one of these recipes.

Ideas for your second breakfast:

Country Ham, Cheddar, and Tomato Quiche - Nice and hearty, yet somehow fancy.

Austen Cucumber Tea Sandwiches - They honor my other favorite English author, but they're great for breakfast or tea time.

Braided Lemon Bread - For lovers of lemon curd.

Bacon Cheddar Chive Scones - When you want bacon to start off your day.

Buttermilk Biscuits - Pastry flour makes these extra tender.

Cream Scones with Chocolate Chunks - Indulgence for breakfast.

Cinnamon Buns - You'll never eat the ones from a can again.

Maple Muffins - Perfumed with maple and studded with walnuts.

How are you celebrating Hobbit Day?