Apple (Hand) Pies, Pumpkin & Apple Cider Muffins

In the fall I went berry and peach picking with my boyfriend at a local orchard (post to come later!) I originally had also planned to pick apples, but by the time we went to the orchard it wasn’t apple season. So, we went to our local farmers’ market and picked some apples up there!

With the apples, we made an apple pie but there was a lot of apple filling left over, so I used it to make mini apple pies and mixed the rest into pumpkin muffins.

There’s no real recipe for the pumpkin muffins. I used a Pillsbury Quick Bread/Muffin mix from the grocery store and added the apples, a 1/4 cup of apple cider (also from the market), and 1-2 tablespoons of rice protein powder to get the mix back to the consistency it was before the apples. I love this mix and stock up on it when it’s on sale. It’s only sold at certain grocery stores in my area and it’s a good go-to when you need to make something and only want to dirty one bowl. Before baking, I topped the batter with some granola and followed the baking directions on the package. Since I added ingredients, it made a few extra muffins.

Everyone loved the muffins at work and at home–maybe they tasted better because they knew they were a little bit better for them?

Recent Holidays

These past weeks and months have been filled with a lot of holiday prep, baking, and cooking. We usually spend Thanksgiving at my Grandparent’s house, but since they were out of the country we had to host ourselves. It has been such a long time since my family had to plan, cook, or execute a Thanksgiving meal that we didn’t really know where to start. My mom wanted to make a traditional turkey with traditional sides, but I wanted to take this opportunity to try something new. We decided on two smaller turkeys and we had a few sides.

This was my first time ever cooking a whole animal, let alone a turkey! I decided to use Bon-Apetit’s Cider-Brined Turkey with Star Anise recipe and purchased a locally raised, heritage breed turkey to go up against my mom’s Butterball to see if there really was any flavor difference.

To go along with the cider turkey, I opted for an alternative stuffing. Food & Wine’s Sticky Rice Dressing was complex, earthy, and delicious, and though a bit time-intesive, was pretty straight forward. I also made a side of curried quinoa with balsamic roasted brussel sprouts and my Grandmother’s pumpkin chiffon pie. I haven’t been able to perfectly re-create the pie using my Grandmother’s recipe, so I’ll hold off on posting it here until I can refine it further.

For Christmas, we went to our Grandparents’ and had a sort of second Thanksgiving/Christmas mash-up.

With my boyfriend, I made four different types of cookies to dish out to friends and family. Of course, we made the traditional milk chocolate espresso cookies (with Valrhona cocoa, one of my Christmas presents!) and linzer cookies filled with blackberry preserves and lingonberry preserves, plus two other types. It’s tradition for my boyfriend and I to look over the Washington Post’s Christmas Cookie Feature and this year we chose Cardamom-Brown Sugar Snickerdoodles and Salted Nutella Thumbprints. The Snickerdoodles (half recipe) were *awesome* and, to me, were a chai-inspired spin on the traditional. The thumbprints were very similar to the espresso cookies, so I wouldn’t make them again (just put nutella on the originals!).

This year I also made truffles with my friend Stephanie and also tried my hand at homemade vanilla extract. Last year we made many different types of truffles (base recipe to come in a separate post), so this year we simplified and made only two types of truffles and peppermint bark. Stephanie’s truffle was: Horchata – Milk chocolate ganache with egg nog, rice protein, dipped in white chocolate and drizzled with dark chocolate, sprinkled with nutmeg. Mine was: Christmas Cookie Truffle – Speculoos Cookie Butter Semi-Sweet ganache, dipped in dark chocolate, sprinkled with ginger crackers.

My family always celebrates Chinese New Year on New Years Day and this year was no different. We find it easier to have visiting relatives extend their Christmas stay by a few days and gather again for New Year, and members of the family in school always have the time off and are available. Chinese New Year changes every year, from January to February (this year was 1/23), so it’s easier for everyone this way. For the new years, we had two delicious roasted long island ducks, char siu chow fun noodles, potato stuffing with duck liver and many other delicious things. Unfortunately, I was so excited about the food that I neglected to take any pictures! My Grandmother’s cooking is so good, can you blame me? Since my family is from Hawai’i, we also ended the night with a delicious slice of Guava Chiffon Pie, using guava concentrate from the islands.

Lastly, on Martin Luther King Day I took the extra time off for the holiday to try out my mini-donut pan that I received as a gift for Christmas. I used a gingerbread cake recipe from Everyday Food January 2012 which subs pumpkin puree for most of the fat to make them healthier. Since I was baking them in a mini-pan, I followed the cooking directions on the back of the pan’s packaging and greased the pan, then baked them for 9 minutes, letting them cool a bit. These donuts were cute and tasted delicious, though they didn’t look as pretty after transport to the office. Also, the pan only holds 12 donuts, so I had to make *many* batches.

Do you make any special foods for the holidays?

Curried Quinoa with Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts

brussel sprouts, rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoons olive oil, or as needed
1/2 small onion, diced
1 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 tablespoon ancho chile powder

Combine all quinoa ingredients (last 7) in a rice cooker on quick setting, open, stir, allow steam to dissapate. If you don’t have a rice cooker, simmer all ingredients in a covered saucepan for 20 minutes.

For the brussel sprouts, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut off the ends of the brussels sprouts and then cut them into quarters. Place sprouts in a medium bowl and toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Pour sprouts on a baking sheet and roast 30-35 minutes or until sprouts are tender. Make sure you stir them a couple of times while they are roasting so that they don’t burn.

Mix together quinoa and brussel sprouts, serve warm.

Recent Creations

Here’s a little of what I’ve been up to lately in the realm of home cooking, baking, and general creation of delicious things.

I made chocolate whoopie pies with vodka caramel cream cheese filling (tinted green) for a co-worker’s going away celebration in March around St. Patricks Day. The cookies in a bag are from my boyfriend’s mom and are molasses spice cookies (I think the recipe is on the side of the Grandma’s Molasses jar). She also made the delicious chocolate cake in the bottom left. My boyfriend and I made the oatmeal raisin cookies in the bottom right (recipe from the Quaker Oat’s container).

For a work potluck, I made a simple blueberry and quince tart by layering blueberries and poached quinces on top of a pie crust and topping it with a simple crumble. Some parts of the quince were a bit tough since I didn’t remove the parts near the seed pods all the way, but it was a great way to use up fading fruit!

Around Christmas last year I made gingerbread houses with my family and spent two days during December making homemade truffles (Oreo, Fleur de Sel, and Hibiscus Tea) and peppermint bark for family, friends, and co-workers with my bestie Stephanie. We packaged them up with twine, artist tape, and stickers for the season. If I get around to it, I’ll post our truffle adventures, including a truffle class and recipes. I also made gingerbread cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and milk chocolate espresso cookies since exchanging cookies during the winter is a family tradition.

Continue reading →

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Goat Cheese Frosting and Quince-Ginger Compote

Last Thanksgiving I was looking for ways to mix new and familiar flavors together in order to get people to try new ingredients. When I saw the recipe for Pumpkin Layer Cake with Goat Cheese Frosting and Quince-Ginger Compote from a local food blog Bitten Word, I knew I had found the perfect fit. These cupcakes were such a hit at my office that I made them once for our group Thanksgiving Potluck and a few weeks later for our organization’s Holiday Bowling party.

The frosting is basically half goat cheese and half cream cheese, which makes the final product thicker and tangier. This way, it doesn’t compete with the spicy cake or become too sweet when paired with the quince topping. Since I used the recipe for a two-layer cake and adapted it into cupcakes, there was a lot of quince topping left over. This just meant that the second time I made the cupcakes I didn’t have to make the topping again! The topping also goes well with yogurt, oatmeal, or could be baked into a dessert of its own. I also drizzled some of the quince syrup on top of the cupcakes to add some more moisture and flavor.

If you aren’t able to find quince in your local grocery store, try substituting with Asian pears. The peak for the quince market often depends on your physical location and by the time you hear whispers of quince, they’re already gone!

Apple Picking at Crooked Run Orchard

Last year, October 16th 2010 I went to Crooked Run Orchard with my boyfriend to pick apples. Crooked Run is a bit of a trek from the city, but it isn’t the furthest orchard by far. Prices were quite reasonable and there were many variaties to choose from. Pumpkins were advertised, but the gourd lot was barren. Parking was a bit tight, but the day was crisp and sunny. After picking the apples I couldn’t believe that I had never been apple picking before! It’s such a fun activity, especially when you’re able to move at your own pace. We took our spoils home with us and made an apple pie out of the apples we picked. In my experience, picking or growing whatever produce you use makes the end product taste much better, since you know exactly what went into it.