Category: Food & Drink

A recipe I made last year and saved on Pinterest has disappeared from the internet except for a list of ingredients. So, I'm going to write new instructions and make it today to take to a party.

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

2 ¼ cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground allspice
¾ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp. salt
1 ⅓ cups canned pumpkin
¾ cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. Cream butter with the two types of sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Then mix in pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Pour liquid mixture into dry mixture and stir or lightly beat just until combined. Pour into a greased and floured Bundt pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbl. milk or half-and-half (add more if needed)
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Whisk together and drizzle over cooled cake.

Note: I'm a big proponent of keeping powdered buttermilk and powdered whole milk on hand for baking. With powdered buttermilk, you add the suggested amount of powder to the dry ingredients and the measure of water to the liquid ingredients. It's really convenient and you don't have to worry about making a special trip to the store for buttermilk. Also, it lasts for years.

It's time to appease the algorithm deities by posting a fresh link to my Thanksgiving recipe booklet! It's a convenient, downloadable document that will walk you through the daunting parts of creating the traditional white people Thanksgiving meal, plus it has a couple of recipes for appetizers that everyone might like.

I'll be following it next week, with a couple of little wrinkles. Over the past several years, I'd gotten rather lazy and I'd been catering much of the meal and filling in with homemade rolls, pies, etc. Last year, I made an unfortunate choice of restaurant and our meal was so terrible that I went to the store and made the whole thing over again the next day from scratch.

That broke the spell of catering for me, so this year I'm making the whole shebang myself, including a ridiculously huge turkey that I bought well in advance because I was concerned about rumors of a turkey shortage. Today was the day to take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to start thawing, which I did this morning.

Also on the menu: stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, my great-aunt's dinner rolls, and a couple of pumpkin pies. My aunt is bringing roasted sweet potatoes from her garden and I'm considering making 50/50 pumpkin/sweet potato pies this year to jazz things up a bit. I'll report back.

For an appetizer, I'll make the pomegranate salsa recipe from the booklet. Even if you're pretty confident about getting dinner on the table according to a strict schedule, it never hurts to have a little snack available just in case.

This weekend, I'll get my grocery shopping out of the way, then clean my house in fits and starts until it feels presentable. I'm only having three guests, five diners in total, so I really only need to worry about the living room, kitchen and bathrooms. We can close the other doors. Yes, I want my house to be clean but I also have a library book due on the 22nd. Priorities, you know.

The dog is guaranteed to be a pain in the ass the whole time because she is 100% pure chihuahua (did I ever mention that I got her DNA tested? Nothing but chihuahuas all the way down.) and she has zero trust in our judgment when it comes to letting evil strangers into the house. She will bark the whole time except when people are sitting quietly, and it will be annoying to all. But after nearly three years of houseguest-free existence, she's less socialized than ever, so that's just how it goes.

If I don't post again before the holiday, I hope you enjoy yourselves. If my recipes helped you out, let me know!

I love having some kind of sweet baked good with my coffee. Since I work from home now, I’ve developed a repertoire of muffins, scones and cakes that I can whip up in the morning and enjoy all week. One of them is a recipe I found online and immediately started adjusting to my own preferences. I cover this cake with foil and the apples help make it more moist over time.

Apple Pecan Coffee Cake

• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking spice or cake spice blend (I use Penzey’s)
• 1 large apple, peeled and chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Topping

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. melted butter
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Glaze

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp. milk
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, add apple pieces, and toss to mix. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, vegetable oil and sour cream. Add to the dry ingredients and mix just until blended. Spread into a greased 8-inch square pan. In a small bowl, mix the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the top of the cake batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Place on a cooling rack after removing from oven. Mix glaze ingredients and drizzle over the top of the cake once it’s cool. 

I've been a Kansas Citian my entire life – and the fact that I technically live in a Kansas City suburb now doesn't change that.

One of the staples of my formative years was the creamy coleslaw from Jack Stack and similar local barbecue restaurants. This is not at all a healthy veggie side dish, but it's delicious, so I've been working on trying to make a reasonable facsimile at home.

I found this recipe on Pinterest that appears to be the real deal. However, it turns out to be too sweet for my taste and the dressing preparation seems a little off, so I've been tinkering with it a bit. I think I've finally landed on a version that seems right to me.

Creamy Coleslaw, Kansas City BBQ Style

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup of sugar
2 tsp. celery seed
1 tbsp. minced onion
1/4 cup carrot, peeled and grated
1 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing
2 quarts (1.5 lbs.) shredded or finely chopped green cabbage

For the dressing, combine sugar, apple cider vinegar and onion in a blender or food processor and run for 20 seconds or until sugar is no longer gritty. Add Miracle Whip and process for another 20 seconds. Add celery seed and blend for a couple of seconds until mixed in. Put the cabbage and carrot in a large bowl and mix in dressing until vegetables are thoroughly coated. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

This makes quite a bit (although I would dispute the "serves 10-12" notation on the original recipe). For the two of us, I've been halving the recipe with good success. 

With the Kansas City team in the playoffs, naturally I need to make some football-watching snacks, regardless of whether I'm watching the game myself. Thus, I made a crockpot full of Rancho Gordo cranberry beans yesterday so we can have bean dip. Here's the recipe, which actually came from my sister.

Delicious Bean Dip

2 cans pinto beans or similar (If starting with dried beans, use 1 cup and cook in advance.)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup green or red bell pepper, chopped
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 cloves fresh garlic, pressed or minced
2 tblsp. Worcestershire sauce
4-5 dashes Tabasco sauce
2 tblsp. ketchup
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional, but recommended)
1/3 cup cooking sherry or wine (optional)

Heat oil in skillet on medium heat and add onion, pepper and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are soft. Drain beans and add to pan along with the Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, cayenne and ketchup. Cook for about 15 minutes, then add sherry or wine and continue cooking until re-thickened (about 30 minutes). Stirring should produce the consistency of refried beans. If you want them smoother, allow the beans to cool somewhat and use a blender or food processor. Serve with tortilla chips.