Not Quite Pecan Pie

Hope you all had the happiest Thanksgiving and a well deserved 4 day weekend!    It's still surprising to me how much menu planning and prep goes into the day and how quickly the meal comes and goes. 

Puppies may sit for pictures in front of Christmas trees, but they really prefer Thanksgiving.  Yes, puppies LOVE Thanksgiving. 

Like many of you, I planned my ingredients for the Thanksgiving cooking and baking extravaganza.  Somewhere in the process of putting groceries away, ingredients are bound to get lost in this house and this time it was the pecans.  You would think that an ingredient as important as pecans would be sheltered and cared for right around Thanksgiving time...since pecan pie is essential Thanksgiving eats in my mind.  Once a year that overly-sweet pie tastes just perfect after a little turkey and mashed potatoes.

Somehow, I managed to misplace those pecans so thoroughly that I had to come up with a  backup plan that didn't involve the running out to the craziness of grocery stores the night before Thanksgiving. 

A little internet searching and I found a recipe from Christy at Southern Plate for a pecan-free pecan pie  Yep, pecan pie made without pecans.  

Even better, pecan pie made with pretzels instead of pecans.  Genius. 

The idea that pretzels coated with butter and sugar could replace pecans seemed a little daring to me, but have to say I loved, loved, loved this--maybe even as much as pecan pie. I used my own favorite maple pecan pie recipe and then topped it with the pretzel recipe from Christy's blog.  The result was a pie that was almost indistinguishable from real pecan pie--the only giveaway was that some of the larger pretzel pieces gave a crunchy cookie texture to some bites(which I kind of really liked).  No one else had a clue that it didn't have pecans in it until I told them.  Really.   Shocking right?  This is definitely a make again recipe--maybe pecan pie will become a twice a year affair. 

Look what I found after the pie was cooling.  Of course. 

Faux Pecan Pie

adapted from Southern Plate

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust

Pie filling ingredients:
1 c pure maple syrup
1/3 c packed brown sugar

1/3 c white sugar
3 large eggs
4 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

"Pecan" topping:
1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
3 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and prepare pie crust.
2. Whisk together pie filling ingredients in large mixing bowl until well combined.
3. Pour into pie shell.
4. For topping, combine all ingredients in medium bowl and stir well to coat pretzels.
5. Sprinkle topping evenly over pie.
6. Bake in 350 oven for 1 hour, covering with foil halfway through baking if needed to prevent over browning.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before serving. (Best made day before serving

Glazed Pumpkin Donuts

I'm jumping on the baked donut bandwagon, even after swearing off purchasing any more one-use wonder types of pans.  I caved.  Cute, little donut pans...what resolve can withstand that temptation?  Not mine apparently. 

Baked pumpkin donuts are just about the easiest thing ever and they kind of look like they took more work than your average muffin don't they?  But yeah, not so much.  Easy peasy....as in dump the wet ingredients, turn on the mixer and then add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  I suppose if you were being technical about it all, this is really a muffin shaped like a donut, but since it's baked in a donut pan, it holds that donut firm shape.  And when dipped in a glaze, it's remarkably similar to cake donut.  I bet if you dunked the entire thing in glaze, you'd swear it was pretty darned close to a fried cake donut. 

The most time consuming part was filling the pans and even that was pretty easy.  I piped it one time and then used a mini cookie scoop the second time and have to say that I prefer the scooping version.  

Of course I used the cinnamon chips again...call me giddy from having found them for the holidays after a long year's absence.  I melted them with some butter, added powdered sugar and a splash of milk to make a glaze.  

I can't explain the powdered sugar on top of the cinnamon glaze except to say that I did because I could.  

Or more likely, I was hoping for that sugary sweet sensation that you get from a glazed donut.  Coming from person who finds most desserts too sweet, that's saying something.  In the end these are donuts and should send you into sugar shock with just a bit... I did actually prefer these with the regular 'ole sugary sweet glaze that forms that awesome sugary sweet crust on donuts.  Yep.  I liked them so much I had to take them to the office after just one lest I like them repeatedly at home all by myself.  I've included both glaze recipes below though so you can decide yourself. 

The recipe from King Arthur flour is definitely a keeper--these went pretty quickly.

Glazed Pumpkin Donuts

adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

3 large eggs

1 can pumpkin puree
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 3/4 cup flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In bowl of mixer combine eggs, pumpkin, oil, sugar and pumpkin pie spice and mix well
3. Whisk together dry ingredients and add to pumpkin mixture.  Mix only long enough to combine. 
4. Spray donut pans lightly with oil (these definitely need this even though the pans are generally non-stick.  I made the mistake of not greasing the first time and the donuts stuck like crazy)
5. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter into each donut cavity (about three cookie scoops full) and spread around. Tap gently to settle batter. 
6. Bake 15-18 mins.  
7. Let cool 5 mins and transfer to rack to cool completely before glazing. 

For the regular 'ole glaze:

5 tbsp butter, melted

2 1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 tbsp hot water

OR

For the cinnamon chip glaze:
1 cup cinnamon chips, melted
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp hot water (start with one and add second if needed to thin out glaze)

1. When donuts are cool, prepare glaze by whisking together all glaze ingredients. 
2. Place rack with donuts onto cookie sheets to catch dripping glaze.
3. Dip top half of donut into glaze and set on rack.  Allow glaze to harden.

Makes 20 donuts

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Pancakes

With snow finally forecasted to fall and the weather turning chilly, it just feels right to be let go of all inhibition and fully embrace pumpkin everything.   What could be more obvious than pumpkin pancakes right?

When I hear the word snow in the forecast, I get that irrational fear of being snowed in without baking supplies kind of like Laura Ingalls was during The Long Winter.  You never know when the next blizzard is going to roll in and who wants to be stuck with anything short of 12 cans of pumpkin for baking and for puppies right? Yes, my snow baking stash grew by epic proportions and we received less than an inch last night.   It's what Laura would do though, I'm quite sure. 

I also stocked up on cinnamon chips--love these things and they pair perfectly with pumpkin.  I have a hard time finding them outside of the holidays so stock up during the holidays when they are readily available.  They are phenomenal in pumpkin scones... I have those planned next weekend when some friends come over for brekkie.

Yes, you could just make pumpkin pancakes and they would be good but they are so much better with cinnamon chips...they add a cinnamon roll type flavor to the pancakes.  Can you tell I heart them so?

When I was in Alaska, we stayed with my friend of a friend in Homer.  She made these awesome sourdough pancakes for brekkie one morning and I watched closely while she made the starter the night before.  Then I mostly forgot and had to Google it.  It's pretty much 1-1 parts flour and water with some yeast tossed in.  For this recipe I combined flour and oats for a little whole grain goodness. 

The yeast adds a little, well, yeasty flavor and I love the slight tang of letting the batter sit overnight.  I especially love just tossing a few more ingredients into the bowl in the morning and getting right to the pancake making.

The oats made for a slightly flatter pancake, so if you prefer your pancakes fluffier, replace the oats with flour.  Flat, fluffy, pumpkin pancakes aren't too bad either way. 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Pancakes

INGREDIENTS 1 2/3 cups flour 1/2 cup rolled oats 2 cups warm water 1 teaspoon yeast 1/2 of a 15oz can of pumpkin 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon oil 1 egg 1 teaspoon baking soda Do not use a metal bowl or spoon The night before making the pancakes mix yeast, flour, oatmeal and water together. Cover and let sit in a warm place overnight. The next morning, heat griddle to 350.   Add pumpkin, salt, sugar, oil, egg, and baking soda to the pancake starter and stir to combine. Ladle batter onto griddle and sprinkle cinnamon chips over pancakes.  Cook until golden, edges are firm and bubbles rise to the top and pop.  Flip and cook 2-3 minutes more or until golden. Serve with your favorite combination of maple syrup,  powdered sugar and whipped cream

Chicken and Coconut "Paella"

The thing about a blog is sometimes you feel like you have to be clever or witty. The last thing I feel after a day at the office is clever or witty.  Heck, the last thing I feel after an hour at the office is clever or witty.  So what to do with all the food photos you have accumulating in Lightroom?  Write a post that is neither clever nor witty.  It's kind of been my M.O. for a while now.  Don't say I didn't warn you. 

Tyler's Ultimates is a cookbook I turn to often...but I do like that Tyler Florence guy.  I feel like I've neglected him so recently.  I bookmarked this chicken and coconut recipe ages ago and finally got around to making it a few weeks ago.  It was good but the chicken was a bit dry.  The original recipe calls for chicken thighs with bone and skin.  Since I have an aversion to bones, skin and any meat that is not completely homogenous in texture and color throughout, I substituted chicken breasts.  I stand by that decision. 

Except. 

Except that the first time I made this I cut the breasts in half to make them the same size as thighs. As it turns out, boneless breasts do not have the same cooking time as bone-in thighs. Duh Mary. 

If using breasts, do not cut them like this.  

And take care to only cook them them on the stove only long enough to brown each side--not to cook them through part ways.  They will have plenty of time to cook in the oven.

Tyler has the paella part of the recipe in quotes, because as it's similar in idea to a traditional Spanish paella, it's definitely different in flavors.  Love the flavors of this dish....coconut milk, ginger and ground coriander.  

If you've never had ground coriander seeds before, you should.  Like soon.  It has a great citrusy scent that I think is a little similar to Earl Grey. 

And even if you've never had ground coriander seeds, there's a pretty good chance you've had it in its full grown plant form...cilantro.  This summer I tossed out some coriander seeds thinking they were too old to be flavorful.  I threw them in the garden on a whim and a few months later I had cilantro growing everywhere.  Things growing from seeds will never cease to amaze me and my little black thumb. 

Once the chicken is browned and removed from the pan, you cook the onions, ginger and bay leaves for a bit.  Then you stir in the rice (and seasonings) like you would in a risotto. 

Unlike a risotto though, there is no standing and stirring.  Add the coconut milk and broth and stir once to mix through. 

Return chicken to pan, cover and place in oven. 

Tyler's recipe called for baking the dish uncovered.  I found that the first time I made this, the rice was a little dry and even crunchy in places.  The second time I made this, I baked it covered for the first half 15 mins and then uncovered.  The rice turned out perfectly. 

This has nothing to do with paella, but the red pan reminded me of my recent Ikea purchase.  It's too good not to share with those who are in rushing distance of a local Ikea.  

I will admit, I get excited when I see the Christmas trees and sparkle and twinkle go up in the stores... even in November.  Okay, even in October.  Yes, I am absolutely one of those.  Ikea is good to me because not only have they put up all of their Christmas displays by the checkout, but they've given me ample opportunity to indulge my love affair with all things red and white and all things gingham.  Their Christmas goodies and ornaments had so much red and white gingham, I cried tears of joy right there in the store.  I'd like to say the below bounty shows my great restraint and control, but really it shows my dislike of heart shaped thingies of any kind.  I bought all the red and white things I could find that weren't heart shaped though.  Why so many hearts Ikea?

Okay, paella again.  Kind of seems dull in light of the red and white Ikea happiness right?  It's still good nonetheless. 

Chicken and Coconut "Paella"

adapted from Tyler Florence's Tyler's Ultimate

Ingredients

1 tbsp ground coriander

2 large or 3 medium chicken breasts

freshly ground kosher salt and black pepper

3 tbsp coconut oil

1" piece of ginger, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup minced onion

2 bay leaves

2 c. basmati rice

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1 1/2 c. coconut milk

1 1/2 c. chicken broth 

Thawed frozen peas

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. 
2. Wash chicken breasts and pat dry.  Season well with coriander, salt and pepper--pressing into sides of chicken.  Heat 2 tbsp coconut oil in a braising pan oven over medium-high heat. 
3. Lay the chicken breasts in oil and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side, until golden brown.  Remove chicken from the pan.
4. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining tablespoon of coconut oil.
5. Add onion, ginger, and bay leaf and cook, stirring, for 3-5 minutes until the onion is soft. 
6. Add rice and season well with salt and pepper. Stir for a minute or two until the rice is well-coated with oil. Stir in lemon zest. 
7. Add coconut milk and chicken broth, stir and to a simmer. 
8. Return chicken to pan pressing into the liquid.   
9. Cover and place pot in the oven, and bake for 15 minutes.   Uncover and cook until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes. 
10. Remove the bay leaves, top with peas and serve. (Tyler's recipe called for a pea and watercress salad but I sad 'no thank you' to that and just served with peas.)

No Knead Cast Iron Loaf

I'm definitely not the type that finds kneading to be therapeutic so am a huge fan of no-knead bread recipes.   This particular recipe though trumps any of the ones I've made in the past.  It literally is as easy as measuring a few ingredients, a quick stir and covering to let sit overnight.  The next day you form it into a ball and let sit while you heat a cast iron pan, add the dough to the hot pan and bake.  

The result for that little teeny-tiny bit of effort...homemade crusty bread with a super moist crumb and a house that smells like the Wonder Bread factory.  Yes, I know Wonder Bread is not edible, but if you've ever lived near one of their factories, you know those loaves definitely scent the air in a delightfully delicious way that only the smell of baking bread can. 

The dough after sitting overnight.

It's definitely a little lot sticky so flour up your working surface pretty well before dumping the dough out and forming into a ball.  Flour on your hands helps too. 

Can you believe it?   It's magical. 

Since bread takes a 1/2 hour to bake, you'll have plenty of time for a little puppy meanness if you so desire.  One Halloween costume and just 5 minutes on the dog is all it really takes.  Every single year I do it knowing how much it horrifies her. Knowing it doesn't stop me...I call it asserting my alpha status once a year.  

Will the puppy meanness ever end?

If looks could kill. 

Dog vs. costume.  In the end, dog is triumphant.  Of course. 

No Knead Cast Iron Loaf
adapted from Williams Sonoma

3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon yeast

1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups water

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, yeast and salt. 
2. Add water and mix to combine. 
3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12-16 hours or overnight.
4. Heat oven to 450 degrees. When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 25 minutes. 
5. While the oven and pan is preheating, dump dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest until pan is ready.
6. Remove hot pan from the oven and carefully drop dough into ungreased pan. 
7. Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes. 
8. After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. 
9. Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack.  Let cool before slicing