Pumpkin Soup Concentrate for freezing

It's fall y'all!
Every year about this time, our rural roads are full of pumpkins sitting on wagons and in wooden crates for mere pennies. I coerce John into pulling over and picking up at least 15 pie pumpkins that leave our hands dirty and filled with those weird little slivers that pumpkin stems give you. Maybe a little sticky thrown in.
But they're homegrown and only $5. I proceed to put them in the garage and slowly use them until it freezes here permanently and they are ruined....until a couple years ago. I now process the buggers right away. Procrastination is never my friend.
I thought you might like an easy freezer recipe to deal with pumpkins and winter squash in a creative and useable way!
I begin by cutting my PIE pumpkins (or any winter squash) in half and roasting them until tender. I then scoop flesh into a suspended jelly bag or cheesecloth and allow to drain at least 6 hours. This keeps the puree drier and less likely to hold water during freezing. Once drained I mash and make this recipe:

Pumpkin Soup Concentrate

2 cups pumpkin or squash puree
4 ounces blue cheese (I used Maytag)
4 ounces Mascarpone cheese
1 cup chopped onions
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
Salt & Pepper

Saute onions in olive oil until softened but not browned. Stir in remaining ingredients and pack into freezer containers.

For soup add: 2 cups heavy cream, coconut milk (unsweetened) + 1 cup stock of choice or 3 cups stock

For flatbreads: Using already baked flatbreads: top with pumpkin and bake 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Top with prosciutto crumbles and greens that have been lightly dressed with balsamic vinegar

I have been working on a souffle recipe as well and will update when the exact proportions are complete!

posted from Bloggeroid

DIY Planner

Are you a planner/personal agenda person? I am and always have been. I have a bunch of old leatherish binders, a really beautiful ($55!!!) Day designer, notebooks and most recently apps for phone and tablet and laptop that sync...."I can't even". All were sort of useful but not really functional for my life right now. I run a retail business and an Inn and 2 wholesale companies. When I have a mistake/forget things, it can go downhill quickly (I prefer the term...shit hits the fan). However none of the planners are for people like me. They are for people that do meetings, make appointments or snack day at elementary school or get a manicure (I wish!!). I also hate the whole month since I get overwhelmed, but can't do a daily since there are ugly surprises when I turn the page at 5am. The weekly ones are nice but there's no space for writing "don't forget to order Halloween wines". So I created my own!
I purchased a Piccadilly Tiffany blue notebook, gathered up a bunch of cool stickers and whatnot I had in my "project room" and got to work.
I added tab dividers that work for me and pages like "Thanksgiving" with room for a guest list, decor ideas and a whole square to plan "the feast"!!!
I added a page for my Christmas gift list, thoughts and ideas every week as well as a spot for gratitude and planning my cooking classes.
Here's a whole slew of photos to get you inspired to create your own planner!

posted from Bloggeroid

Autumn Apple Cider Gin Cocktail

Seasonal and fabulous! Buy the freshest apple cider possible at your local apple orchard!

1 part Beefeater or Hendricks Gin
3 parts Fresh apple cider
1 dash Angostura bitters per glass
Slices of Apples for garnish
Ice

Fill a rocks glass with ice. Stir in all ingredients and add an apple slice for garnish!

posted from Bloggeroid

Apple Cranberry Conserve

My absolute favorite preserving recipes are small batch, quick prep, simple ingredients, great flavor and versatile. Am I asking too much?
Last month at my Preserving Class we hit all the above listed points with the Apple Cranberry Conserve! I served the conserve with a double creme cheese, but since have loved it with grilled chicken, added it as a layer to a pumpkin quick bread and served it as an ice cream topper....

Something to keep in mind; because of the short cooking and processing times, I thought the flavor was better after sitting for a week or so. I just did a rough chop so the cranberries were not chopped and the apples were chopped the same size as cranberries. You could chop a bit smaller for a softer texture in a shorter amount of time.

APPLE CRANBERRY CONSERVE

2 ¼ cups diced apples (I used a combination of Ginger Gold and Paula Red)
¼ cup water
½ cup dried cranberries
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 package pectin (Powdered for a firmer texture, liquid pectin for a softer set)
2 ¾ cups sugar
¼ cup chopped walnuts

Combine apples, water and dried cranberries in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and add sugar. Return to a full boil and add liquid pectin and boil 1 minute without stirring. Remove from heat and stir in nuts. Fill jars, wipe rims, attach lids and rings and process in hot water bath for 5 minutes. Allow to sit at room temp for 24 hours undisturbed.

Making Shrub

As an "alcoholic beverage retailer" I get tons of publications with all the newest trends in cocktails, which is fun and frustrating. Fun because I always have new ideas from folks at the top of the industry, frustrating because we live in a small rural town in the midwest and "trends" are not the easiest to come by. Occasionally I concoct my own spin on cocktails if I can't find exactly what I need....hence the "shrub" recipe.

In all honesty I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but if it's made with vinegar, I'm usually game. The shrub is an old non-alcoholic beverage and you can read it's history all over the internet with a simple search. (I'm sorry, I hate to just repeat what someone else has said better before me :))

I had a quart of fresh strawberries needing to be used and lemons galore, so that's how I ended up with this recipe. I was a bit hesitant about strawberries as I don't usually care for strawberry flavored anything as it's SO sweet, but the shrub can really use the sweet to counter balance it's tartness. The recipe filled a wine bottle about 3/4 full so maybe yield is about 3 cups-ish.

Strawberry Lemon Shrub
2 fresh lemons, juiced
1 quart strawberries, hulled and cut in half
1 cup Champagne Vinegar (Champagne vinegar is a MUST or any delicate wine or rice vinegar. Do not use apple cider or white vinegar)
1 cup sugar

Combine strawberries, vinegar and lemon juice in a glass container. Stir and leave at room temperature for 48 hours. Add sugar, stir and allow to sit stirring or shaking occasionally up to 4 days.
Strain berries from juice using a jelly bag or cheesecloth and refrigerate before serving.

(This was the only photo I took and it's super tacky, but you'll get the point of what it should look like and the color is stunning!)



I served the shrub at my Preserving Class with Prosecco wine, a fruity, dry sparkling wine from Italy. You could also use and "Brut" sparkling wine. I would be hesitant to use any sweet sparkling wine. While the shrub is tart from the vinegar, it's still sooooo sweet in the layers of flavors. I also thought club soda was fantastic for a refreshing brunch drink! There are many cocktail recipes online, using shrubs in them. This keeps about a month in the fridge.

I think I'd like to try a pear/ginger shrub for the fall! Let me know what you try out and what your thoughts were on flavor combinations!!

Chicken Liver Pate for the freezer

Chicken Liver Pate

1 lb chicken livers
4 slices bacon
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp each fresh thyme, rosemary
2 Tbs butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp French spice blend (quatre epices)
5 Tbs bourbon

Saute bacon until crispy, drain on paper towel. Fry chicken livers until cooked through about 8 minutes adding garlic halfway through cooking. Combine spices, bacon, livers and remainder of ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. Add an additional tablespoon or so of butter if the mixture seems too dry.

I use the Quatre Epices quite often in pates, meatloaf and other savory meat dishes that need a little interesting flavor. Here is a basic recipe, but I did add a 1/8 teaspoon of allspice to mine as well.


1 tablespoon white pepper
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

If freezing, I always put a thin layer of olive oil to protect the top from freezer burn. Enjoy!

"Bon Voyage" Party Ideas and Menu

So, I know it's been a little while.....I thought you might enjoy seeing some photos from a recent "Bon Voyage" party I hosted for our 2 oldest daughters. The eldest is moving to Shanghai China and the middle daughter is moving to St Augustine Florida. I gathered some fun ideas from Pinterest and created a few of our own. I went with a "vintage world map" décor theme of pale blues, yellows and accents of green.

THE DECOR

I kept with the theme and cut and hand lettered a banner to hand across our dining room.



I simply cut the map into several equal triangle, wrote a letter on each and left 1 plain and punched 2 holes into the top of each. I then threaded jute through the hole and hung. I hung another full map above the dessert table and filled a huge blue glass vase with fresh sunflowers.



We placed small velum paper flags with "Bon Voyage" written in white ink and glued onto a wooden skewer. I used an assortment of tiny dishes and paper cups to be lively and fun as well as make sure I had enough small plates for everyone!

I also picked up some adorable "Airmail" style note cards and tied them in pairs of 2 with jute. (The idea WAS that each card would each have the girls new addresses on them and be ready mail, but hey...who knows their new addresses? Not my girls. So guests were able to take a packet home and I agreed to forward said addresses asap.)





THE DRINKS

Since this was mainly an outdoor party, I used my potting bench for outside drinks in buckets and set up a classic cocktail bar inside the dining room. A copper preserving pot and galvanized tub surrounded by wicker did the trick for the assorted craft beers and sodas and I included fun blue swirled straws!



We also had a cocktail bar set up for 2 drinks. The "Saint Augustine" and "Shanghai Tea". I found some super cute 6X8 inch chalkboards and wrote a recipe on each. I then included an ice bucket, lemon wedges, and assorted components for each drink. LOTS of fun!! Everyone got into the spirit and tried something new! I save several types of jars and wine bottles I like so I had fun putting the components into different bottles instead of just the same old thing! We didn't get straight on photos, but here I am making a (well deserved I might add) Saint Augustine!







THE TABLE

We had 28 guests, all family to wish the girls well. It's a bit of a challenge finding room for that many to sit together, so we set up 3 8 foot buffet tables in the yard. I covered the tables in 2 pale yellow curtain panels and 1 pale blue, flat, bed sheet instead of purchasing anything.



I used paper plates in a square style and wrapped the silverware in napkins and a piece of jute. We found some lovely bottles of Italian Barbera (Fuso is the brand) wine that paired well with our food and décor with a map label.



I tucked a few sprigs of statice flowers into Fentiman's Tonic Water bottles to brighten up the table and placed large world maps to cap off each end. The food was the main attraction however!


THE MENU

Appetizers;
Cheese Board
Baguette slices with pesto, tomatoes and feta
Fresh Radish Spread

Lemon Herbed Chicken
Seasoned Pork Tenderloin with Horseradish Sauce (on the side)
Wild Rice with Grilled Vegetables
Redskin Potatoes with fresh herbs and butter
Baguettes & butter
Fresh Cantaloupe
Sliced Sweet & Sour Cucumbers
Asian Coleslaw
Kale Salad with Peaches and Parmigiano Reggiano
Traditional Caprese Salad

Desserts;
Peach & Blueberry Cobbler
Pots de crème; Chocolate or Vanilla Bean
Victoria Sponge Cakes with Jumbleberry Jam
Old Fashioned "Dirt" Cakes

I am happy to post the recipes late this week, or feel free to message me for something in particular! Michigan is so full of fresh fruits and vegetables that this menu was easy to prepare and delightful to eat even for a large group! Most of the recipes were prepared in advance to keep me sane :) We did all of the grilling while guests arrived and had pleny of time to visit and have a drink before the meal.








And to finish up the great party, we did family photos. It will be the last time we are all together for at least 11 months.....so we seized the day. And the little dogs.