You've Got To Taste This

I discovered a new brew, Pumpkin Ale from Buffalo Bill’s Brewery in California. Yes, the fall season is closing down for the winter months, but I’m hanging on until last call.

This particular beer caught my interest from across the store with its inviting fall packaging. Marketing got the best of me. I had to pick it up and take it home or back to the office.

The Ale is a microbrew consisting of baked and roasted pumpkin seeds. The combination of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg add a very unique flavor that ties the whole beer together. Some say it taste like pumpkin pie, I on the other hand had a delightful cider experience.

Check out 7 Ways With Beer for ideas on cooking with this frothy beverage.

Cheers!

What are some of your favorite seasonal brews?

I hate working with pastry sheets.  Complete and full disclosure.  I just despise working with the stuff and avoid it at all costs.  But then the other day, something about this recipe for Spicy Bacon Cheddar Butterflies caught my eye.  We were having a fondue party, and I was looking for a couple of quick appetizers to round out the meal, and when I was going through the December/January copy of Rachael Ray's magazine, they jumped out at me.  Seems kind of silly since there was no big write-up, just a little picture and a few recipe directions under the heading "Puff Pastry."  Usually that would have been enough to have me running for the hills.  Must have been the bacon.  Bacon makes everything better. Everybody knows that.

So I whipped these up this weekend, and even though I was cursing the pastry sheets under my breath because it is ridiculously hard to slice this once it's rolled up and the dough is softening, they actually didn't turn out half-bad looking, surprisingly enough.  With Thanksgiving on our heels, I thought these just might be the perfect thing to kick off your holiday festivities.  Even if you hate pastry sheets like I do.

Spicy Bacon-Cheddar Butterflies
Recipe from Every Day with Rachael Ray

I got all kinds of fun catalogs in the mail this weekend....the MOMA store, Willams Sonoma, Sur La Table ... gets me in the mood for shopping. Yes, I know the economy is horrible, but I'm in desperate need of holiday cheer.

Which brings me to the most adorable "Wine Bottle Attire" from Sundance catalog. They're a bit pricey at $24 for 3, but the idea is fantastic. For all of you that are crafty (which doesn't include me), I bet these would be easy to make.

Made me smile, and I'm betting they'd make a gift recipient smile too. Thought I'd pass along. Please post any fun finds in your holiday catalogs.

Jennifer

Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday.  Sure I love casseroles and fresh-baked rolls, but it's the desserts that are to die for.  I don't have a huge sweet tooth, but I do have a ginormous desire to stir, mix, fold, fluff, roll, and bake any recipe I can find.

This year, I'm going to my fiance's house and have offered to bring some kind of dessert.  Apparently they have a pumpkin pie recipe that they're bringing back into the dessert rotation, one with a meringue top, that sound divine, only no one has the recipe!  Anyone have meringue-topping tips to share?

For now, I've been checking out the abundance of pumpkin pie recipes on MyRecipes.com.  I'll be honest, I've never made, or even tasted, pumpkin pie before, so I'm almost overwhelmed by the amazing array of flavor combinations there are out there.  There's Classic Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Pie with Maple Cream and Sugared Pecans, Pumpkin Streusel Pie (pictured above), Soy Milk Pumpkin Pie, Gingersnap Pumpkin Pie, Cinnamon Streusel-Topped Pumpkin Pie, and even a Frosty Pumpkin Pie, served frozen.

The worst part?  They all look amazing.  What desserts do you most look forward to for Thanksgiving?  I'm an apple pie girl, myself, but I'm looking forward to a big slice of pumpkin pie this year.

This week we have been photographing themed holiday gift baskets (which will be up soon in our holiday package). One of my favorites was the spice basket that included a jar of Spiced Cider Mix, also known as Russian tea or spiced tea. To me, a cup of this tangy orange spiced tea just says "holidays".  I always make up a batch at the start of the season and find that nothing relaxes me more than sipping on a cup of this satisfying hot cider.

I do modify this recipe a bit and use Sugar-Free Tang, sugar-free lemonade mix, and Splenda, making it a completely sugar-free beverage with 0 grams of carbohydrate and 0 calories.  It's nice to have a guilt-free indulgence during this time of the year. And if I start to get the first hint of a cold or sore throat, a few sips of spiced tea is an instant soother. For some other options, check out our holiday collection of warm winter ciders.

Even if you don't want to do a complete spice gift basket, a jar of this mix alone makes a lovely gift.  Just package it in a fun jar, add a label with mixing instructions, and tie a festive ribbon around the top.  There's no better way to spice up the holidays.

I love a good steak, medium rare if you please.  When it comes to cooking steak though, I like to follow a recipe because I am clueless as to which cut is good for which style of cooking.  Last week, my son requested steak with rice and black beans, and since I had a craving for some red meat myself, he didn't need to ask twice.  As luck would have it, I happened to have ripped out a recipe for Skirt Steak with Lemon and Chili-Roasted Potatoes from Real Simple magazine, so we were in business in no time flat.

Although the skirt steak that the recipe called for can be a little pricey (it was $7.99/lb when I bought it), it produced such a flavorful, tender bite that I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again (although now I'll just pay attention to skirt steak sales more often).  The potatoes in the recipe didn't turn out the way I like them (my fave is crispy on the outside, soft on the inside), but the steak was spot-on and a definite keeper.  During the summer months, it would taste fantastic on the grill as an alternative cooking method.  Enjoy!

See recipe here.

Photo courtesy of Real Simple magazine.

As winter sneaks up on us and the temperature drops down to a bone-chilling low I have been determined to start a cozy bonfire. There’s just something about this time of year that makes me want to sit around a toasty fire with friends, a warm blanket, and a stick skewered with plump marshmallows. I love the sweet rustic smell of burning wood and toasted marshmallows that seeps into my hair and clothing.

I’ve been an avid devotee of the classic s’more for the first half of my life. Two perfectly roasted marshmallows placed on a small slab of Hershey’s milk chocolate and wedged between two crisp graham crackers. It doesn’t get any better than that. Or does it?

Sunday afternoon I ventured out of my comfort zone and conducted a s’more research project. On my visit to the grocery store my taste buds took a creative approach to picking out different s’more goodies for the bonfire. I admit that I went a little over board.

Lindt Milk Chocolate and Double Milk Chocolate Bars
Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark and Almond bars (I think you could really do some damage with the chocolate squares)
Marshmallows
Peanut Butter
Graham Crackers
Bananas
Anna’s Chocolate Mint Thins and Ginger Thins

I have no self-control when it comes to sweets and having a “sweet tooth” is an under statement. I have a whole mouth full of them. We mixed and matched at least seven different sweet sandwiches. A toasted marshmallow with the chocolate almond bar smashed between two ginger thins. Another marshmallow was paired with peppermint bark and packed between chocolate mint thins. Yum! The possibilities were endless. Peanut butter with roasted banana, a marshmallow, and double milk chocolate sandwiched with graham crackers. Mmmm!

The day ended with sugar rushes and bellyaches, but it was worth it. So before it gets too cold get outside, start a fire (safely), and treat yourself to a s’more.

Can you think of any creative s'more combinations? What are some of your favorites?

At MyRecipes, we appreciate that your time is precious so we strive to feature the fastest, easiest, and tastiest recipes in categories like desserts, appetizers, sides, and entrees. With the holidays rapidly approaching, we thought we would create a story that uses our favorite store-bought ingredients. You can find these products such as Walker's Shortbread Cookies, Bissinger's Dessert Shells, and Stonewall Kitchens Dark Chocolate Syrup at your local supermarket, specialty food stores or online. Most importantly, each recipes is FAST and uses 3 ingredients or less. We like to think of these creations like Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse in Salt Mini Cones and Vanilla Pound Cake with White Chocolate Pear Chardonnay Sauce as inspirations to give you permission to use whatever ingredients you have on-hand to make yummy and quick treats. Look for Brownie Sundae with Chocolate Sea Salt, Warm Waffles Drizzled with Winter White Honey, and Double Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies on the site during the first week of December.

The countdown to cookie time is on.  During the holidays (ok, and most every other month as well), baking cookies is my favorite thing to do.  It reminds me of afternoons spent at the kitchen counter heaping sprinkles on unsuspecting reindeer-like dough blob, delivery rounds through my office with small, freshly-baked holiday care packages, and that amazing chocolaty aroma that fills the house regardless of if you go homemade or slice-and-bake.

It's no surprise then that last night I got a craving for one of my childhood favorites: Muna Cake Mix Cookies. Growing up, despite having a perfectly sound family, I was basically adopted by my best friend's grandparents, Muna and Papa.  We spent long weekends playing on their farm, rattling their bull (Chester), and taking rides through the pasture.  But what I remember most is the amazingly fluffy cookies Grandma Muna used to make every visit. 

Luckily, Muna is a very cool Grandma and is on Facebook, so I messaged her for the recipe.  Thanks Muna!  These cookies will be perfect for my next round of holiday deliveries. They're super easy, thanks to the cake mix, which also gives them that homemade golden coloring.  Plus, the vanilla spices them up with an extra punch of flavor.

Muna Cake Mix Cookies

1 box yellow cake mix
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup oil
3 tablespoons cold water (less for crispier cookies)
Chocolate chips or M & M's

Mix all ingredients and form into balls.  Press "as many chocolate chips as you'd like" (that was our job) into the dough and bake at 350 degrees on a large cookie sheet for 8-12 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Tip: Make the balls dense and don't smush them flat.  They'll bake through and spread a little as they do.  I like to bake them tight on the cookie sheet, which makes them run together a little, but then you get perfectly square cookies, which makes this an easy to ship cookie recipe.

Looking for homemade gift recipes, cookie swap recipes, or this year's recipe for your Santa offering?  Check out our Cookie Countdown and get a cookie a day delivered to your email inbox. Pick a recipe, follow our secrets to perfectly baked cookies, and ship to your friends and family this holiday as homemade gifts. If you're cutting costs this year and won't be sending big cookie care packages, send a sugar e-cookie instead.  Just decorate, write your message, and send.

What's your favorite holiday treat to bake? 

I have a confession to make: I like Thanksgiving better than Christmas.  That's right, reindeer, move on over.  I'll take Turkey (and stuffing and gravy and casserole...) Day over Christmas Day any, well, day of the year.  Before you write me off as one cracker short of a sleeve, think about it: Thanksgiving Day packs all the flavor of Christmas into a holiday that's gift-free and low-stress.  It's all about family, being together, and over-stuffing ourselves.

That said, there are a few dishes that scream "Thanksgiving" to me that I hesitate to cook any other time of year for fear that I might slowly grow tired of them, namely Squash Casserole, Green Bean Casserole, and my Grandma Mary Sue's rolls. Then, on Thanksgiving, all that pent-up casserole coveting explodes, leading me to load my plate up with stuffing, gravy, dressing, casseroles, and rolls.  That's right--I'm one of those people who doesn't actually eat turkey on Thanksgiving.  I love turkey, but it's hard to compare to a good, buttery crackered squash casserole.

I already cooked one Thanksgiving dinner this year, and I'm done with my leftovers and ready for round two.  It'll be my first one that I spend with my fiance and his family  and I plan to bring a few traditions along for the ride.

What one dish are you looking forward to this Thanksgiving?