Pear-Hazelnut Quick Bread

 

Who doesn't love quick bread? It's bread. More quickly. My mother has been lusting after this flavor combination for some time (don't ask me about a certain pear-hazelnut cake that I have promised to make her), but this quick bread was able to mollify her for the time being.

It's ridiculously simple and open to plenty of variation. Being the lazy cook I am, I refused to peel the hazelnuts, even after I toasted them. I don't think it took a thing away from the overall bread. If anything, I think it made it nice and "earthy".

The hazelnuts on top are also a good touch, both for eating and viewing purposes.

Makes either one large loaf or 12 muffins

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (or whole-wheat flour)
1 cup all purpose (plain) flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground allspice
2 large eggs
1 cup nonfat/lowfat buttermilk
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups diced peeled pears (about 2)
1/2 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts, plus more for topping

Method

Preheat oven to 400 F for muffins and 375 F for a large loaf. Coat pan with cooking spray.

Combine the first eight ingredients in a large bowl.

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, buttermilk, brown sugar, butter, oil, and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients bit by bit, stirring until just combined. Add pears and hazelnuts. Stir until just combined (don't overmix).

Transfer batter to the prepared pan. Top with additional hazelnuts, if desired.

Bake until golden brown, until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 22-25 minutes for muffins, about 1 hour for the large loaf. Let cool in the tin (15 minutes for muffins, 45 minutes for a loaf) before turning out onto a wire rack.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Syrup Frosting

We can all admit it. Cinnamon rolls are heaven. The combination of frosting, cinnamon, and warm bread is something sent from the gods. And I don't care if the Brits turn up their noses at the prospect of eating one of these for breakfast. If it's so good, why start your day with anything else?

I stumbled onto this recipe from punchfork.com, and although I am frequently overwhelmed by the "oreo-stuffed brownie bars baked into a deep fried three-layer cake" recipes that seem to populate many baking blogs, these seemed to have just the right touch of "over the top-ness". Especially since I had finally sourced some canned pumpkin (thank you, Waitrose), I was eager to try putting pumpkin flavoring in, well, just about anything.

As I've said before, pumpkin is never a bad decision. And neither is maple syrup. This recipe is all about putting American tastes on a plate. And I salute them for it.

I was worried the recipe was too vague for the delicacies of roll-making with yeast. But, once again, my worries were unfounded. The original recipe insists that this is a "throw everything into a bowl" situation, one I didn't exactly test out, but even with my simplified baking techniques, the rolls came out fluffy and soft, not too dense. Indeed, perfection.

Ingredients

Crushed/Chopped Pecans

For the Dough
1 cup canned pumpkin or squash
2 large eggs (beaten)
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup soft unsalted butter
4 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
3 tablespoons brown sugar, light or dark
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast

For the Filling
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup chopped pecans

For the Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Method

Add the yeast to the warm water and wait 5 minutes. The yeast and water mixture should be foaming (or bubbling) softly. Add in the pumpkin, eggs, butter and combine.

In a separate bowl, add together the flour, milk, pumpkin pie spice, brown sugar, and salt. When combined add to the wet ingredients.

Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients together — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — until you've made a soft, fairly smooth dough.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise for about 1 1/2 hours, until it's almost doubled in bulk.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface. Roll it into a 14" x 22" rectangle; the dough will be pretty thin.

Use a pastry brush to brush the melted butter onto the top of the dough. In a medium bowl, mix together the filling ingredients and sprinkle them onto the butter creating an even layer, leaving one short edge free of filling (about 1 inch).

Starting with the short end that's covered with filling, roll the dough into a log.

Cut the log into 12 rolls.

Place the rolls into a lightly greased 9" x 9" pan that's at least 2" deep. Set aside, covered, to rise for 1 hour, or until the rolls look puffy.

Bake the rolls in a preheated 375°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until they're lightly browned and feel set. Remove them from the oven, and set them on a rack. Turn them out of the pan, and allow them to cool for about 15 minutes. Towards the end of the cooling time, make the glaze.

To make the frosting: In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, butter, maple syrup, confectioners' sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Mix on low speed until thoroughly combined and creamy. Feel free to adjust the frosting to meet your needs. If you like a thinner frosting, add in a little milk (start with 1 teaspoon) and slowly increase until you reach the desired consistency. If you want it to be thicker, add in a little more confectioners' sugar.

Blue Cornbread

There are a few things that I've brought with me from my home state of Arizona. A tortilla press. A precious bag of ground chiles of various heats. And a full bag of blue cornmeal, pride of Arizona farmers. The English seem not have realized  but corn in America comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, and, most importantly, colors (yes, yes, beyond the various shades of "yellow" and "white"). Any harvest festival will feature the ubiquitous "Indian corn", which features a fabulous variety of dark purples and reds. But there is also the famous "blue corn", found almost exclusively in Arizona and New Mexico, which is so dark on the cob that it almost looks purple to the naked eye. When ground into meal it gives tortillas and breads a wonderfully nutty quality, a bit more earthy than any other kind of cornmeal I've ever experienced.

I don't use my blue cornmeal often (although I technically I need to before its "sell by" date), but Thanksgiving is the perfect excuse to show the Brits a thing or two about American corn. And what better  way than with cornbread, another typically American concoction? Like biscuits, there are about a thousand and one recipes for cornbread, some involving actual corn kernels, some just sticking to the meal itself. I decided to pick one that emphasized just the cornmeal. Once the Brits decided that the blue coloring in the bread WASN'T mold, it went down a treat. Of course, there's no real reason for blue cornmeal in this recipe, plain ol' yellow cornmeal will work just as well. But, if you do happen to have some of the blue stuff lying around, why not use it?

Ingredients

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 cups cornmeal (preferably stone-ground and most preferably blue)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups well-shaken buttermilk (not powdered)
1 large egg

Method

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.

Whisk together cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl.

Whisk together buttermilk, egg, and melted butter in another bowl, then stir into flour mixture until just combined.

Scoop batter into a well-oiled loaf or cake tin (mine was 9" diameter). Bake until puffed and golden-brown and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tin for about 10-15 minutes. Turn out onto a rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Thai Mushroom Soup baked in a Pumpkin + Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Behold, the mighty pumpkin. Well, surprisingly, not that mighty in the land of the Brits. Despite the hordes of pumpkins and pumpkin-flavored items in the US, alas, the UK (as I have waxed lyrically about previously) seems to shirk the glories of this gourd.

Although pumpkin soup is not completely unknown on this side of the Atlantic, versions seem to promote the standard "peel, cube, and cook" varieties. Now, I don't know if you've ever tried to peel a pumpkin, but there are few less rewarding tasks in this world. And a task guaranteed to either cause significant harm to you and/or your pumpkin, probably leaving you with little desire to carry on in the soup-making task.

Which is why *this* version of pumpkin soup is so glorious. No peeling required! Just the standard jack-o-lantern trick of cutting a lid on the top and scooping out the glorious pumpkin seeds (to be toasted later). Baking the entire pumpkin also makes a great display for the table (Martha Stewart eat your heart out) and you also get to live dangerously: Will the pumpkin collapse in the oven? Won't it? Yes, the soup takes a bit of patience, but the combination of Thai and autumnal flavors in this thing are completely worth it. Originally this soup (in a much simpler yet absolutely still delicious form) was found via River Cottage and basically involves cooking a bunch of cream and cheese in a hollowed pumpkin. My version makes the concoction a bit more soup-like with some complex Asian flavors and some mushrooms thrown in for earthiness. It's a soup that's a bit time-consuming but wonderful on those cold autumn nights.

Serve 4-6

Ingredients
One large pumpkin
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 cups dried porcini mushrooms (rehydrated in boiling water and left to soak for up to 30 minutes, but SAVE the water which you rehydrated them in!!! If you don't want to use this, 2 1/2 cups chicken broth)
1 cup chestnut mushrooms, sliced
2 green or red finger chilies, diced
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
8 oz. gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 cup single cream
4 slices bacon (or bacon lardons), cooked and drained of fat
2 tbsp. Olive oil
3/4 tsp white pepper
Salt and black pepper to taste
Cilantro/Green onions (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 375ºF/191ºC.

Using a narrow pointed knife, slice around the stem of the pumpkin at a 45-degree angle. Scoop out pulp and seeds (but don't forget to keep the seeds for toasting!). Place the emptied pumpkin on a large baking tray that has been covered with aluminum foil.

Fill the pumpkin with half of the grated Gruyère cheese.

Meanwhile, heat a deep saucepan on med-high and add the olive oil. When hot, add the onion and garlic and saute for approximately 3-5 minutes. Add the rehydrated porcini mushrooms, chestnut mushrooms, and chilies. Cook for another 3-5 minutes, or until the mushrooms go soft and start to sweat. Add the bacon and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute. 

At this point, add the porcini mushroom water or chicken broth along with the coconut milk. Stir. Add in gently, while stirring, the 1/2 cup of single cream and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Season to taste with salt as well as the black and white pepper. 

A perfectly "done" pumpkin

Pour the mushroom soup mixture into the cavity of the pumpkin, on top of the gruyere cheese. Sprinkle the rest of the gruyere cheese on top of the soup mixture. Season again with salt and black pepper. 

Replace the lid of the pumpkin and place the entire thing in the oven to be roasted slowly. Depending on the size of your pumpkin, this may range anywhere from 1 to 2 1/2 hours. The key to cooking the pumpkin is to keep a wary eye on its structural integrity. Once the skin on the outside of the pumpkin starts to sag, be warned! There is a fine line between the glories of a cooked pumpkin and a heap of mush inside your oven. If in doubt, remove the pumpkin from the oven, remove the lid, and check for the done-ness of the inside flesh (should be fairly soft). 

When serving, make sure to scrape the inside of the pumpkin so that each bowl gets a good portion of the flesh and cheesy goodness (which by now has melted into the pumpkin itself) alongside the soup. Serve with cilantro and/or sliced green onions on top as garnish. 

Toasted Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

A fall classic and a great snack and/or soup topper!!

Ingredients

Seeds from one pumpkin (washed and dried)

Olive oil

Salt/Black Pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp achiote (or other chile powder)

1/4 tsp cumin

Method
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

After removing the seeds from the pumpkin, rinse with water, and remove any strings and bits of squash. Pat dry, and place in a small bowl. 

Add the cayenne, cinnamon, achiote, and cumin to the bowl and stir to coat.

Scatter the seeds on a sheet pan in a single layer and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Bake for 7 minutes and stir. Bake for another 7 minutes (or until seeds start to look dry and crispy). 

Pumpkin Ginger Bread with Hazelnuts

England needs to get on the pumpkin bandwagon. Yes, yes, we all know it's a "new world food" but that hasn't stopped the joys of tomatoes, turkey, sweet potatoes, etc. from making their way back across the pond. Pumpkins should be included in the list. And no, I don't just mean for Halloween purposes. Every year Tesco gamely puts out a crate of pumpkins right around October 31st. And from what I can deduce, no one buys them.
They sit there quietly rotting.
And weeping.
Also quietly.
Every once in awhile someone buys them for jack-o-lantern purposes but you can hear the poor pumpkins whimpering because they know their glorious tasty guts are being wasted. And once Halloween is past, the pumpkins disappear and Americans, come Thanksgiving time, search for them in vain.
No pumpkin pie for you.

And, really, that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what pumpkins can provide in terms of deliciousness. For some reason, don't ask me why, English Starbucks have yet to realize the true joys of the pumpkin spice latte. Everyone in America (so far as I can tell) looks forward to autumn for this precise reason. The appearance of pumpkin spice lattes (and pumpkin spice muffins) at Starbucks. Parades are held. Parties thrown. Why? Because they are delicious.

Ah well, allow me to add yet another reason why England needs to figure their pumpkin issue out. Pumpkin bread. With hazelnuts (which are uber-British and therefore I deem this recipe "fusion food"). And ginger. And cinnamon. And nutmeg. How can this ever be wrong?
This recipe is simple. And delicious. Coming straight from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything (Vegetarian)". I don't know why this particular loaf ended up in this version rather than the meat-eating one (do you put bacon in that version?) but regardless, it's phenomenal. If this doesn't get the Brits onto the pumpkin-eating bandwagon, nothing will.


Ingredients
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, plus butter for the loaf pan
2 cups all purpose (or plain) flour

Grated pumpkin, not as hard as you might think.

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup apple juice (or non-alcoholic cider)
1 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1 cup grated pumpkin (raw)
1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped

Method
Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

Stir the dry ingredients together. Cut the butter into bits, then use a fork or 2 knives to cut it into the dry ingredients until there are no pieces bigger than a small pea.

Beat together the juice, ginger, and egg. Pour into the dry ingredients, mixing enough just to moisten; do not beat and do not mix until the batter is smooth. Fold in the pumpkin and hazelnuts, then pour/spoon the batter into the loaf pan.

Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on the rack for 15 minutes before removing from the loaf tin.