Leek Bread Pudding

Leek Bread Pudding Over the weekend we had our Cookbook Club dinner. The book we chose was Ad Hoc At Home by Thomas Keller. As you can imagine, the food was not only plentiful but also very, very good.

We had his famous fried chicken, a fig stuffed pork loin that melted in your mouth, a leek bread pudding that should be illegal, Swiss chard that was awesome, and a bevy of other tasty dishes that we will be paying for in miles walked or run.

As good as the food was, the best part was having us all together laughing around the dinner table. As we sat there wondering how we were going to tackle dessert after eating so much, the discussion turned to how thankful we were to have a group of good friends, who truly enjoy each other’s company, and share a real passion for good food. Our group has often remarked that the idea of the Cookbook Club was possibly one of the best ideas my sister ever had, and I whole-heartedly agree. No matter what our schedules are like, The Cookbook Dinner is something that we look forward to, and are loathe to miss–if only because of the company.

In this time of Thanksgiving, I give thanks for the many good things in my life. I am grateful not only for those who are part of my related family, but I am also thankful for the good friends both near and far that make up the family of my heart. Enjoy this season with family, good friends, good wine and, of course, good food! Read more…

Pumpkin Shrimp Curry

I sat down to write, planning a post about our traditional Trick or Treating Halloween Grilled Cheese dinner, but the only thin to pop into my head was, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

So I decided to go a different direction: East.

I admit I have been on a pumpkin kick lately. Don’t know if it’s because of Halloween or the time of year, but I have been making and consuming anything with pumpkin: Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, Pumpkin Spice Latte, etc. I’m a pumpkin-eating lunatic. Amazing I have not yet turned yellow.

Last week I made Pumpkin Curry for dinner from a recipe on epicurious.com, I adapted to my own tastes. (Read: spiced it up.) It was really good and, I bet it would be delicious even without the shrimp. You could easily substitute some browned chicken thighs.

Be prepared…this dish is heavy on the pumpkin. Not just a little thrown in, here’s some big-time pumpkin flavor. It’s all about the orange, baby.

So, whatever your plans are for the 31st—be it trick-or-treating, awaiting the arrival of the great pumpkin, or well, perhaps turning off the porch light and ignoring your front door—try this curry recipe, and at the very least spice up your Thursday dinner. Read more…

Sweet Potato Spoon Bread with Caramel Pecan Topping

If you don’t know what it is, spoon bread is a southern-style corn muffin soufflé. But that description doesn’t do it justice. It’s a warm fluffy mouthful of buttery cornbread happiness, and I guess you could say it’s one of my favorite things. My grandmother made it frequently as I was growing up for summer barbecues. When she passed away and I got the recipe, I was thrilled. I, however, make it year round because I love it too much to save it just for summer. Since I make the food around this here place, I get to make whenever I want. (Yes. I did stick my tongue out like a six-year-old.)

When I saw this recipe for Sweet Potato Spoon Bread in the November issue of Country Living Magazine, I knew I had to try it. It’s not your typical “Summer” spoon bread. It’s spoon bread for the Fall. Can I get an amen?

Plus, I love sweet potatoes and sweet potatoes are good for you. Of course, any health benefits are offset by the whole milk, brown sugar and the caramel pecan topping. But you can at least somewhat convince yourself that the bite of heaven in your mouth is actually doing your body some good…sort of. At least the orange juice has Vitamin C?

I have yet to try it in a casserole versus individual ramekins but if it works, it would be a great addition to your Thanksgiving table. Yep. I said it. The “T” word. It’s only 5 weeks away y’all!

Break Fast Shashuka

Shashuka For those of us observing Yom Kippur, our daydreams might turn to how we are breaking our fast. What could be more delicious than a fire-red sauce with gently cooked eggs?

David Lebovitz offers a beautiful Shashuka recipe that is adapted from both Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi and Secrets of the Best Chefs by Adam Roberts.