Happy Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It's been a chill Halloween day for us. John and I no longer have small children (and the cat holds a grudge if dressed up!) so we live vicariously through our trick or treaters and spent the day doing fall clean up! I am still on "pumpkin/squash status" meaning most everything baked or cooked in our house contains one or both! I have to leave very early tomorrow (at least in my book) and thought I would treat my driver to some breakfast! Since I need every moment to erase sleep creases and puffy eyes, it had to be something I could prepare in advance, be eaten out of hand and complement copious amounts of COFFEE!


PUMPKIN SCONES

2 cups flour
7 Tablespoons Sugar
3/4 teaspoons Freshly Ground Cinnamon
3/4 teaspoons Freshly Ground Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
1/2 teaspoons Ground Cloves
1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree
6 Tablespoons Butter
4 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
1 Large Egg

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients and spices. Cut in butter until mixture resembles large crumbs.

In a small mixing bowl, beat egg, cream and pumpkin until smooth. Add all at once to dry ingredients and using a fork, incorporate wet into dry. Try not to over mix, as this adds to a tougher dough.

Flatten into an 8-10" round and cut into 8 equal triangles. Sprinkle each with raw sugar. Place on a parchment lined pan and bake 12 minutes until golden. Watch carefully to make sure dough is completely cooked.

I have successfully added dried cranberries to these and they turn out great! I like my scones a bit less sweet but if you like you can also make a simple glaze of 10X sugar and milk...maybe add some additional spices to your glaze!

Happy Halloween!

We are in love with Cheese Straws

There is something about puff pastry that is irresistible. Buttery, flaky, light layers of dough that melts in your mouth instantly and comes frozen. I buy very little prepared foods in the grocery, but I have tried making my own puff pastry many times and too rarely get consistent results. Not to mention I have to start it about 4 days in advance of my recipe to account for chilling etc. So I purchase puff pastry with gladness in my heart, that someone thought to put it in a box and sell it! Cheese Straws are the 12 minute beauties that can come from puff pastry any day of the week. We love to eat them instead of bread and dip 'em in various sauces. So simple, so elegant (stand them upright in a clear glass cylinder vase) and so delicious. The sky is the limit on variations, I often wrap with proscuitto, bacon, chopped nuts and fresh herbs. Use whatever cheese you have on hand that melts well and I think the Microplane zester does the best job for grating my cheese really finely for these cheese straws. This week I had a cooking class at The Market and made Cheese Straws with homemade Black Olive Tapenade....yummy. I've made them several times, yet these were a bit of a rush job and I didn't roll out the puff pastry enough, so ugly and yet so tasty. (Note to baker...roll out the pastry at least 2 inches on each side.)

Feel free to get creative with your favorite cheeses and flavor combos, fresh herbs and spices. Enjoy!

2 sheets Puff Pastry sheets, defrosted at room temperature or overnight in the fridge
1 egg
1 Tablespoon water
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
1 teaspoon fresh Thyme, minced
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Freshly ground Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry dough out to 10X12 inches, approx. 2 inches on each side.
Beat egg and water together.
Brush pastry with egg wash and sprinkle evenly with cheeses, herbs, seeds and pepper. Lightly press into dough by running rolling pin over flavorings.
Cut each piece into 1 inch slices. Twist each strip and lay on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly browned and puffed. Be careful not to over bake. Cool and serve at room temperature.



BLACK OLIVE TAPENADE

1 cup Kalamata Olives, pitted
1 clove Garlic
1/4 cup Walnuts
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley

Pop everything into the food processor and pulse until a finely ground paste.

If you are using on puff pastry, you may need to bake straws an additional 2-3 minutes.

Brie Soup for the Soul

The beautiful bout of Indian Summer here has kept me raking leaves, grilling and enjoying the season's last garden flowers. It saved me from the most hated task of changing the closets and bureaus over to winter!

I did however, have the most lovely weather for The Market's ,Soups and Sandwiches, cooking class. It was windy, drizzle-y and just plain nasty! Thanks Mother Nature! Fall soups aren't as tasty if the weather is beautiful and 80!

It's no surprise I had to throw in a cheese soup recipe but I wanted something a bit unusual. After scouring many recipes, I put together my own! I think it turned out great! It's quick, takes little prep, velvety and not too rich. Elegant enough for a dinner party, yet pleases your palate when you are wanting something more home-style.

A couple notes on the brie cheese; cooking with cheese is like cooking with wine...if you don't like the cheese, it won't taste any better in your cooked dish. Choose a brie that you love, the flavors will be enhanced by the other ingredients! You can purchase brie and it will last about 2 weeks in your fridge, after that, you may not be thrilled with the flavors depending on where you bought it. The bland stuff you get at the grocery will garner a bland soup. You do not have to remove every little bit of the rind, it won't melt and it will strain out at the end!

While I garnished with fresh basil, I can't help but think some pear slices, sauteed in butter, salt and peppered, would be lovely on top of this soup! Enjoy.

BRIE SOUP

3/4 cups Chicken Stock
1/2 cup Dry White Wine
2 Tablespoons Balsamic or Sherry Vinegar
4 cups heavy cream
12 ounces Brie cheese, rind removed cut in 1 inch pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
Sprig of fresh thyme
Sprig of fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste
Additional basil or thyme for garnish

In a saucepan over high heat, bring stock and vinegar to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes until liquid is reduced to about 1 cup. Keeping on low heat, add rest of ingredients and cook and stir about 8 minutes until cheese is completely melted. Strain using a fine mesh sieve and serve immediately.


If you are interested in joining one of The Market's cooking classes, feel free to contact me via email erika@boulevardmar.com or call 517-423-6000. We have 5 Ingredient Appetizers, Holiday Feast, Gifts from your Kitchen and Easy & Elegant Entertaining coming up! We demo some techniques, talk about wine pairing, enjoy sampling every recipe and more!

An evening of wine and glitz...

"Ohh...SHINY!" was my very first thought, a little shallow but straightforward! John and I had the pleasure of attending a Diadema wine tasting with US Wine Imports on Saturday night at The Chophouse in Ann Arbor. With bottle prices starting at $100 and ratings at 92-95 points, these are wines that I don't usually splurge on for myself!

Diadema screams Italian from the delicious juice to the extravagant bottle encrusted with Swarovski crystals! Diadema is from Tuscany and you can check out their website at www.diadema-wine.com for fun! We sampled their Champagne, which is actually made for them in Reims France and was the perfect start to the tasting. Brut style (dry) with just the right balance of fruity and toasty, the Diadema Champagne would be a lovely for any occasion. considering the cost, it won't run your more than say Dom Perignon and the bottle is an incredible keepsake of your special time!! I decided to skip the oysters served with the Champagne...oysters just aren't my thing!

The 2009 Bianco is a white blend of Chardonnay, Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc which absolutely blew me away with it's elegance! Because of it's Stainless aging, it's very clean with very subtle floral notes and hints of apple and peach. I loved the Scallops that were served with the Bianco, it was a delightful pairing!

The 2007 Rosso Supertuscan was rated 95 points by Wine Spectator for good reason, WOW! A blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah made for a surprisingly elegant and full bodied red wine. A good amount of red berry fruit, but underlaying notes of coffee and maybe chocolate? The Rosso was full of tannins, and with such great structure, it left me wanting another sip!

Diadema owner Alberto, is offering a pretty sweet deal, he will create a personalized label for your wine bottles with a 12 bottle order! Wouldn't you be the most spectacular gift giver ever?! Not to mention, there is no wrapping required as all bottles are in a gift box. Viola! Christmas shopping is finished!

Diadema wines will be available at The Market by special order and you are able to buy by the bottle.

Pumpkin Fondue

One of my all time favorite vegetables is pumpkin. Sweet or spicy, baked, sauteed or pureed, I anticipate many pie pumpkins each autumn. I'm always looking for something a little different to do and this Pumpkin Fondue happens to be a fantastic recipe to make for yourself or share. {The fact that it is filled with CHEESE is a bonus in my book!} I originally made the recipe out of Gourmet magazine, but have tweaked things a bit to be more to our liking.

I adore a one-dish wonder and this is it! It can be served as an appetizer or a side to your feast. The idea that the cooking vessel is the pumpkin itself is quite trendy if you see this month's cover of Food Network magazine (or maybe it was Rachel Ray?) and shouldn't intimidate you! I use an old fashioned enamel roasting pan with perfect results and shallow enough to get the sucker out and onto a serving platter! (I made the mistake of putting it into a higher edged casserole dish the first time and it was a challenge to lift it out of the baking dish.)

The recipe calls for Swiss cheeses, but if you're a cheddar person, feel free to substitute! I have also successfully added blue cheese to my Swiss blend and it was fab! Cheese dishes taste a little bit better when you use a blend of cheeses; Gruyere and Emmentaler, Cheddar and Asiago, Butterkase and Manchego...it gives the finished dish more dimension. Some cheeses tend to be on the drier side and need a complimentary cheese to give it some goo (technical cheese term!). Shredded cheese from the grocery works well on pizza, but is not up to snuff flavor-wise for this recipe. If you want to use a squash, feel free! I made this in a butterCUP squash, a squatty, ridiculously tough skinned, dark green squash and it was delicious! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Fondue

1 5lb-ish PIE pumpkin (do not use jack o lantern type pumpkin)
1 lb. Cheese- 1/2 lb. Gruyere and 1/2 lb. Emmentaler or read above
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups stock, vegetable, chicken or veal
a generous pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
10 1/4 inch thick baguette slices, toasted until dry and crispy
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
a pinch of Salt
Remainder of Baguette sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices for eating

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut top off pumpkin and clean out seeds. Sprinkle salt onto inside flesh of pumpkin.

Chop or grate cheeses and set aside. Bake baguette slices until crunchy and golden brown. Mix heavy cream, stock and nutmeg together.

Place pumpkin into shallow roasting dish and layer baguette slices, then cheese, then cream mixture into 2 layers inside pumpkin. You may have baguette left over.












Put pumpkin top back on. Rub exterior of pumpkin with olive oil. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and pumpkin is golden brown. Using 2 spatulas, remove from baking dish carefully and place on platter. Serve with additional baguette slices or as a side dish. You'll want to scoop up the roasted pumpkin flesh with all the cheese as you are serving or eating!

A week of different...

So much I've meant to tell you, but our internet has been down for the last 6 days! I had to access a recipe via my blackberry (the horror of mini-type) and send all emails from my phone. "Ugh" would be the best description! So I thought I'd run a re-cap of the 10+ days I've been gone, with photos. Here's the highlights...

We said "Good-bye" to our Max. Eleven years of loyalty, mice catching, gardening companionship and master snuggler. It was a sad day.


We met a lovely woman, Monique, who owns Al Dente Pasta Company, here in Michigan at Silvio's Organic Pizza. She was kind enough to participate in The Market's Food Show! Her "Monique's Olive & Caper Sauce" is so fantastic! Silvio's Truffle Pizza is absolutely amazing! We also had the fresh grape, potato pizza, egg and pea pizza and a Sicilian style with anchovies! Paired with Green Hills Cab and Chardonnay and great company, it was all fantastic!


I made the nastiest recipe of rice pudding with fresh lychee fruit. I'm not sure what happened....it should have been so easy and wonderful. Instead I got glue with slimy globs of mauve fruit.

Tuesday mornings are better with wine! Giancarlo paid us a 10am visit at The Boulevard Market and brought his lovely Chianti, Chianti Classico (one of my favorite wines), his Super Tuscan and Vin Santo. Lovely Tuscan wines made my morning! They will be available at The Market soon!


I'm getting this bacon/pork wrapped meat down to a science! A turkey breast, rubbed with fennel pollen, sage and garlic and topped with Pancetta...autumn dining at home! I am harvesting the rest of the fennel pollen from my garden and drying it as we speak! Our family has become addicted to the stuff! It adds a lovely delicate flavor to soups, salads and more! The Market sells it as well, and it comes from California.


We visited an industry Food Show in Southfield and came away with some new fun ideas and products that you will see at The Market soon. My favorite was these new flavored Panko Crumbs...it's like shake n bake!!! I was given the "Pommery Mustard" flavor and it was great! We just put them on some EVOO brushed chicken breasts. So easy, so yummy, so 20 minutes and it's finished!

The good with the bad...it's what living is all about! The internet is back up and functioning, I'm catching up on emails without throwing my blackberry out the window. We are anticipating our first Culinary Book Club with Food meeting tonight and will post more on that tomorrow!

Farmers Market Jackpot

Today's visit to the Main Street Farmers Market in Blissfield yielded such a beautiful supper and still life I had to share it here! I like nothing better than to purchase beautiful things and if I can eat them...all the better!

John and Jamie are a bit under the weather, so some Local Chicken Noodle Soup was on the menu for tonight. Everything that went into my pot came from Lenawee County Michigan, the place we call home.

The concept that my " neighbors"
hard work, made my supper possible is always a bit awe inspiring to me.

You've already made the best chicken soup for your family, you don't need my recipe.

Feel free to send a comment if you really want the recipe!