Pecan Bars

Belly up to the (Pecan) Bar
When life gets crazy, I bake. Others run or lift weights, but I self-medicate with cookies. This may not be the healthiest way to deal with life’s little curve balls, but the comfort is worth a thousand push-ups.

When this Barefoot Contessa recipe for pecan bars popped up on my Facebook feed, I knew I had to try them. I love pecans and anything with pecans—sweet or savory. Alas, the climate and soil of the East Bay are not optimal for a pecan tree, or I would have planted one within five minutes of moving in to our house.

With so much going on this month, I haven’t had time to make something for the fun of it…much less feed my family. So this recipe had been sitting on my try this pile taunting me. The perfect opportunity came last weekend for my sister’s impromptu gathering. After a stressful week, it was nice to get together as a family and relax…while yelling at the Cal game on TV.

The bars are good and I love that she uses honey instead of corn syrup. Not only does the honey give the pecan bars a more floral flavor, it’s just better for you. Plus, the addition of orange zest is delicious.

When I make them next time, I have a few tweaks. I would half the recipe (this makes way too many), and use regular butter instead of unsalted for both the crust and the filling. I like my pecan bars with a little more salt. Of course you could just sprinkle the cooling bars with some good-quality sea salt for a salted caramel feel. That would be darn tasty too!

Pecan Bars
Adapted from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa
(Makes 20 large squares) Read more…

Rizzo e Zucca (Rice and Butternut Squash)

Winds of Change

It was windy this morning with a tiny hint of chill in the air. This got me excited—it felt like fall had actually arrived (although warmer temperatures will stick around for a while). Right about this time of year my cooking habits change. My grill is used less and less, and my giant Dutch ovens start to see the light of day, on the stove or the heat of the oven. It’s all about the braising and the slow cooking, now.

My cooking technique is not the only thing that changes; my tastes change as well. I veer toward comfort food and fall-off-the-bone meats with mashed potatoes. Rice dishes become the norm. Apples, sage, sausage, and squash become my go to ingredients—as well as plenty of pork. And then, there is the Italian food…

Italian cuisine is a no-brainer in my house because it is approved of by my entire family. The recipes I choose are usually hearty, relatively simple, and definitely satisfying. A slow-simmered Sunday gravy (a.k.a meaty tomato sauce) can be the perfect end to a weekend of football and other sports. Throw in a nice bottle of wine and some fresh crusty bread, and I am a happy girl.

This week’s recipe is a typical Italian fall dish: one you will see often grace my autumn table. It’s easy to make, and oh so satisfying. Rizzo e Zucca comes from Lidia Bastianich cookbook titled, Lidia Cooks From The Heart of Italy. This is not your typical Italian cookbook. The recipes are mostly from the lesser known areas of Italy, and are the food that would be eaten everyday, by locals.

Rizzo e Zucca (Rice and Butternut Squash)
Adapted from Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy by Lidia Bastianich Read more…

Baked Farro, Bacon, and Butternut Squash

Costume (Butter) Nut
Do you remember your Halloween costumes from when you were a kid? I do. I remember being Raggedy Anne, and of course there was a mouse costume in there somewhere. One year I was a flamenco dancer, and I went as Wilma Flintstone another year. My favorite costume of all time had to be Cleopatra—partly because the make-up was totally fun, but the real reason was the mondo-cool dress.

My mom had this super-groovy one shoulder gold lamé disco dress that was just awesome. And because I was tall enough, I was able to wear it to be Queen of The Nile. Costume aside, the Gold Lamé Dress will forever live in familial infamy. I don’t remember actually seeing Mom wear it, but I have to assume she did at some point. It was just too fantastic to not wear it. Long live the 70s!

Why am I talking about Halloween costumes midway through September? Because it has been the topic of discussion around the dinner table for the last week. The planning has begun. For the boys the issue is do we care or not, and are we just too cool for Halloween? It’s Middle School. Gone are the Halloween parades, class parties and costume contests. In their place, the real world, where they have tests and homework assignments.

My daughter is in full planning mode which, frankly, scares me. Here’s why. Last week I came home to find her locked in her room (a.k.a. The Lab) furiously working on something with duct tape and scissors. Two hours later she emerges and proceeds to tape (yes, tape) a cardboard dragon costume to our Bassett Hound, Rocket. While we all found it funny, except for Rocket, it is this type of impulsive ingenuity that can make finding a Halloween costume for her difficult. It also means that her choices can be, well, different.

I am all for being your own person and not following the crowd. In fact I encourage all my kids to find their own beat. But someone please tell me why she thinks that being a squash for Halloween would be so totally awesome!? And where I can find a Butternut Squash costume? ‘Cause I doubt I’ll find it at Target alongside all of the frozen options…

Having me make the costume is not a possibility. She’s going to have to go a different route, because this is the only butternut squash I will be making…

Baked Farro, Bacon, and Butternut Squash Read more…

Baked Apple Dumplings

Fall Like Weather?
It’s about two minutes past the start of September, and in my mind, once Labor Day has come and gone, it’s Fall. That’s the kind of fly by the seat of my pants rebel that I am. Forget the thousands of years of science and astronomy. If the calendar says September 9th then it must be time for long sleeve shirts, flannel sheets, apples and pumpkins…unless you live here on the face of the sun where it will reach 102 degrees today.

Perhaps the heat has fried my brain, but pumpkin spice lattes and turning the oven on for a little Fall baking sounds like a great idea. The thought of apples and caramel and pecans and pumpkins has me going a little nuts.

There are so many fall baking ideas right now in the magazines and online that I am having a hard time choosing which ones to make. It’s safe to say I will be getting to all of them eventually…

What I have been seeing a lot are apple dumplings. I am a sucker for anything that involves apples, pastry, butter, and cinnamon so these are a no-brainer. This recipe adapted from Cooks Country is the bomb!

Baked Apple Dumplings
Serves 8