Gingerbread Pumpkin Bars

I just love the scent of pumpkin spice. I crave the scents of  fall. These fabulous Gingerbread Pumpkin Bars from the blog Faithfulness Farm  are wonderful for a Thanksgiving dessert. The recipe makes a 10" x 15" pan, so be prepared to share.  I made a trial batch for my office, and I asked them to rate them. They gave the bars five stars out of five!!

Recipe for Gingerbread Pumpkin Bars:

Bars:

2-1/4 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
16 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/3 cup rolled quick oats

Filling:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1-3/4 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 large eggs

Glaze drizzle:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar and molasses until creamy. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Reserve 3/4 cup of this mixture and place in a small bowl. Scoop the remaining mixture into a 10" x 15" baking pan lightly coated with nonstick spray. Add the oats to the reserved mixture and mix until combined - set aside.

 

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice and mix until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing just until combined. Scoop the mixture over the uncooked base and use an off-set spatula to evenly spread the mixture over the top. Crumble reserved oat mixture over filling.

 

Bake until the topping is a golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

 

For glaze drizzle, in a small bowl, mix together confectioners' sugar, butter and vanilla. Mix in just enough milk until the mixture will easily flow from a spoon - drizzle over cooled bars.

I am joining Alison at The Polohouse for Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes and Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday.
Thank you for stopping by!

 Debbie

Foodie Friday

The folks at Rattlebridge Farm generously sent me three ingredients to try out as a mystery ingredient for their Foodie Friday event.

~ Preserved Farmhouse Lemons

~ Citron Lemon Cyprus Flakes (gourmet sea salt)

~ Preserved Meyer Lemons in Olive Oil (very finely minced)

I put on my thinking cap, and decided the minced Preserved Meyer Lemon would be nice stirred into orzo or rice. I added some basil, and we enjoyed the simplicity of this side dish.

Then I found a recipe for Radicchio, Bacon, Olive and Preserved Meyer Lemon Salad on a website At Home With Annie. We loved this, and I plan to serve it at a dinner party.

Here is the recipe:
2 strips bacon, diced and cooked
  1/4 cup preserved lemon, diced
  1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
  1/2 head radicchio, sliced, approximately 4 cups (I did not use)
  3‐4 leaves romaine lettuce, chopped coarsely, approximately 3 cups (I used Boston red)
  2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (more if you don’t have preserved lemons)
  4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper  

Heat a medium skillet over medium‐high heat and sauté the bacon. When bacon is done, add the olives and remove from heat. Toss all ingredients together and serve.

For our entree, I coated a piece of halibut with the meyer lemon and olive oil and baked in my convection/toaster oven for approximately 20 minutes. Mr. Mountain Breaths would like me to make this again.

We are leaving for vacation and when we return I'd like to make a Preserved Lemon Pound Cake with the preserved lemons I received. I may add some lavender since Rattlebridge Farm has shared beautiful lavender posts.

White Chocolate Cherries

The inspiration for these chocolate dipped cherries was found on the Simple Provisions blog, when I was lured in by the photography of the cherries. Her cherries are more beautiful than the ones I found in the grocery store, but I was thrilled to even find sweet and delicious cherries at this time of the year. So I washed, dried, dipped and sprinkled. They were ready to eat in 30 minutes. Joe loved them. It was certainly worth the small effort. 

I thought of saving the idea for Valentine's Day but we are cookied out from Christmas and were looking for something in the fruit category for dessert.

Serve with an empty bowl for the pits. 

Thank you for stopping by!

I will be joining Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm.

xxoo

Debbie

STAR S'MORES

Number three son requested the Star S'mores that he found on the cover of the Martha Stewart Living magazine you see in the photo. July 2012 issue. We planned on making the s'mores for the July Fourth holiday but never got around to it. The recipe can be found here. Star S'mores  I substituted organic wheat bran for wheat germ, and was happy with the results. 

We all gave these s'mores five stars. The homemade cookie part is so much better than the graham crackers that we typically use for our s'mores. A little more time consuming, but worth it. Homemade marshmallows would have been nice, but I haven't made them in a few years.

Thank you for stopping by! I am joining Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm and Seasonal Sunday.

xxoo

Debbie

CINNAMON-CHIP AND PECAN LOAF CAKE...AND BLOOMING AWAY

I've had this recipe since 2005, and am always asked for the recipe when I bring it to a gathering. We went to a pool party yesterday, and the hostess asked for the recipe. So while I have the recipe out, I thought it was time to share it on my blog. The recipe was created for a Pillsbury baking contest, and you start with a box of date bread mix. (I rarely use a boxed mix, but you really can't tell) The recipe calls for cinnamon chips, which can be found in the baking aisle near the chocolate chips.

CINNAMON-CHIP AND PECAN LOAF CAKE

Printable Recipe

1 16- to 17-ounce package date-bread mix

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

1/2 cup cinnamon chips

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 9x5x2-inch metal loaf pan.(I used a ceramic pan - see notes below)

Using electric mixer, beat bread mix and 1/2 cup butter in large bowl until crumbly mixture forms. Transfer 1/2 cup crumb mixture to small bowl; add remaining 2 tablespoons butter and rub in with fingertips until moist clumps form (for streusel). Stir sour cream and eggs into remaining crumb mixture in large bowl. Mix in cinnamon chips, pecans, cinnamon, and allspice. Pour cake batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with streusel. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack. Place streusel side up and cool 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

NOTES:  I used my Breville counter top oven to bake the bread, and I used the ceramic pan that you see below. I turned the temperature down to 300 after 30 minutes, and baked it for a total of 60 minutes.

Love the streusel!

Even though we have had a hot, dry summer, Joe has been watering my garden at least two times a day and we have plenty of blooms. 

Blooms, Blooms and more Blooms! Summer doesn't get any better than this. 

 Thanks for stopping by! I am joining Seasonal Sundays and Foodie Friday.

xxoo

Debbie

GET SOME BEANS ON!

Very simply put. BEST. BEANS. EVER.

2 cups kidney beans (drained)

2 cups butter beans or Great Northern (drained)

2 cups pork and beans

1/2 cup catsup

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 lb. bacon, chopped

1 cup chopped onion

Combine all the beans in a bowl, stirring gently. Stir in a mixture of the catsup, brown sugar and garlic powder. Brown the bacon and onion in a skillet; drain. Add to the bean mixture and mix gently. Spoon into a two quart baking dish and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

I am joining Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday. 

Needle, Thread and Apple Pie

It's hard to believe that there are school closings today, and it's due to the heavy rainfall and record flooding we had overnight. Many counties are under a state of emergency. Thankfully, the rain will be tapering off today and there is no significant rainfall for the next week. My heart and prayers go out to those who have flooded homes and businesses.  Our neighbors have lived in their home for 39 years, and the creek has NEVER overflowed. This year, it has overflowed three times.  

With the arrival of September, we anticipate the noticeable change from summer to autumn weather, which means that we may be spending some time indoors, and our thoughts may include sewing projects and crafts and perhaps some baking. 

My first September sewing project was to make a cover for my  Kindle that gets tossed into my purse :-)

I have sewed now and then, and one of my fondest memories is making a king size quilt, three patchwork Christmas tree skirts for gifts, and several pairs of shorts for my son when he was a little guy.

Have you started to crave apple pie? Since the school year is just starting here in New York, I know the teachers will be receiving an apple a day from their wonderful students LOL, and they'll be looking for their apple pie recipes.

I found this recipe about a month ago in the Penzey's Spice Catalog, and have been carrying it around in my purse like it is gold. And I'm sooo glad I baked an apple pie, because as soon as I took it out of the oven, the phone rang. Our wonderful friends wanted to visit, and I was happy to have dessert for them!

Candy Apple Pie (recipe courtesy of Karen found in Penzey's Spice catalog)

Recipe for Karen's Candy Apple Pie
 
"As if apple pie weren't good enough, this recipe has an incredible, delectable topping."


Pastry for 9" double crust pie:

1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature (3/4 Cup)
1 1/2 Cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3-5 TB. milk

Filling:

6 Cups thinly sliced, peeled tart apples, 8 or so (I used Granny Smith)
2 TB. lime or lemon juice (I used lemon)
3/4 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (I used Penzey's)
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg (I used Penzey's)
1/4 tsp. salt
2 TB. butter

Topping:

1/4 Cup butter
1/2 Cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 TB. whipping cream (I used Half-and-Half)
1/2 Cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400°. For the filling: In a bowl, toss the apples with the lime or lemon juice. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the apples and toss to coat. Line a 9" pie plate with the bottom crust pastry. Add the filling and dot with a little butter. Place the top crust over the filling. Trim the crust, seal and flute the edges. Cut slits in the top crust and bake at 400° for about 40-50 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the apples are tender. Meanwhile, make the topping. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the brown sugar, vanilla and cream. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, roughly 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the pecans. Pour over the top crust when the pie is done and bake an additional 3-4 minutes. It helps to place a pan on the rack under the rack the pie is on to catch any topping that drips off.

Crust:

Using a fork or your fingers, mix the butter with the flour and salt until it looks likes peas and crumbles. Drizzle the milk in bit by bit, using the fork or a spoon to blend the crust until it just sticks together. You may not need all the milk. Divide the dough in two pieces, one a bit bigger to be the bottom crust. Pat the pieces into disc shapes and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 20 minutes, which is about as long as it takes to peel and chop the apples. Dust tabletop with flour before gently rolling out crust.

With this post, I am joining Foodie Friday.
Thank you for stopping by!

Debbie

McVities biscuits, PG Tips, scones with English clotted cream and assorted jams for the Big Day. Instead of ringside in Westminster Abbey, we'll rise at 4 a.m. for breakfast tea for two and view the wedding of the prince and princess-to-be on television. No big deal for us since we get up at

5 a.m. every day for work. We won't be sleep deprived.

A tray makes our breakfast tea perfectly portable. (We'll be in our pajamas watching the Prince William and Kate Middleton nuptials.) The coffee pot has a timer and will start brewing at 4:00 a.m., so all we have to do is wake up when we smell the coffee!

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

When my husband was in the Peace Corps in Montserrat, he purchased a booklet of stamps that were designed to mark the occasion of the Royal Wedding of H. R. H. The Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer. The designs were based upon Royal Yachts from the mid-seventeenth century to the present day. He has always had a special place in his heart for Princess Diana ;o)

Debbie

Ala Mode Tablescape and Teeny's Vanilla Peach Coffee Cake

One of my favorite dinnerware patterns from Oneida is the
A LA MODE pattern. There are four patterns which include apples, pears, pomegranate and peaches.

My inspiration for this table was the Vanilla Peach Coffee Cake from Michael Lee West's new book "Gone With a Handsomer Man". The book is full of characters, and I honestly could not put it down.

Our Foodie Friday host, and author Michael Lee West, asked for volunteers to bake and photograph a few recipes that are mentioned in Gone With a Handsomer Man.  Teeny Templeton, the fictional heroine in the book, loved Vanilla Peach Coffee Cake.

While I was reading "Gone With a Handsomer Man", the power went out. I finished reading the book by candle light!  I am pairing the peach coffee cake with the "The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia!  We all know the sweetest peaches are grown in Georgia ;o)

You can enter MLW's contest to win some wonderful prizes. This is imaginery cooking with no calories!

Michael Lee West emailed me the recipe so I could post it.  By the way, Teeny Templeton got into big trouble for throwing peaches. Actually, she was arrested.  This is a wonderful dessert, and I hope you will try it. I could have eaten three pieces!

Teeny’s Vanilla Peach Coffee Cake

Yield: 8 servings

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

½ cup vegetable oil

3 cups all-purpose white flour

1 cup sugar (white, granulated)

½ cup sour cream

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla

Beat eggs. Add milk and oil. Whisk. Add vanilla and sour cream. Next, add dry ingredients. Mix. Pour into a greased 9 X 13 inch pan or well-seasoned cast iron skillet.

Prepare topping:

3 cups ripe peaches, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ cup chopped pecans

3 Tablespoons all purpose flour

Mix ingredients and spoon over batter. Bake 30 minutes.

My notes:  I sprinkled some dried lavender blossoms on top of the cake while it was baking, and it amplified the floral flavor of the fruit.

I am joining Susan at Between Naps On The Porch for  Tablescape Thursday and Michael Lee West for Foodie Friday.

Thank you for stopping by!

Debbie

Come To The Table 2009

On Wednesday, I'll be sharing some beautiful tablescapes from a charity event that I attended over the weekend. You won't want to miss it!

In the meantime, this is a repost of beautiful table settings that were donated by their designers and sponsors for a charity event that I attended in 2009. Each table was available for bid or outright purchase throughout the "Come To The Table" charity event. The annual event benefits the Peacemaker Program which is actively engaged in the prevention of child abuse.

I'll start with one of my favorite table designs created by my son Bryon's girlfriend (Alissa) and her mom. They did an outstanding job, and bought the dishes at my favorite dish store, Oneida.

"Silhouettes in Black and Cream"

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Eat Your Words

Easy as Pie

Hidden Treasures

Mangia! Mangia!

An Afternoon’s Interlude….Black Tie Optional

Golden Holiday

All that Glitters is Gold

Splendor in the Grass

Signed, Sealed, Delivered…..I’m Yours

Easter Sunday

In the Gray of Winter, a Flower Blooms

Panini & Bellini Brunch Buffet

Treasure Chest

Food for the Sole

Moroccan Nights

Up, Up & Away

Happy Hour

My Cup Runneth Over

Behind the Eight Ball

12 Months of Friendship

Simply Ooh La La (this table was loaded with Dooney and Burke purses)

Pottery

Café Delights

Irish Blessings

An Evening at Thornberry’s

Come to the Table 2008

Thank you for stopping by!

Debbie