TWD: Cran-Apple Crisps

It's TWD again! Em from The Repressed Pastry Chef is our host, so if you are interested in the recipe, be sure to head over to her page!

The best part about November's TWD is that we can bake any of the four recipes--in any order. So be sure to check out TWD's blog roll to see what everyone else is up to!

I happen to love fruit crisps of any kind in the fall. I'm pretty sure its one of my husband's favorites too--because that is usually something he eyes on a menu besides cake or ice cream.

I actually made these yesterday for dinner at my neighbors, but last minute plans to change to a sushi restaurant had them left behind in the refrigerator. So tonight, I was excited that these were all put together just waiting to be popped in the oven.

To be honest, if you are looking for a QUICK dessert on a week night, this is definitely a winner. I put this together in less than 20 minutes....that included peeling and chopping the apples. It's so incredibly easy...which I love!

The only change I made was omitting the coconut because I used all mine up for a German chocolate cake a few weeks ago for my Grandma's 80th Birthday party.

Pair these up with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or eat them all by themselves. Any way you choose, you can't go wrong, this was totally amazing!

Enjoy!

TWD: Sugar Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

To make life easier on all us TWD'rs, the month of November, we get to actually pick the order of the 4 recipes. This weeks TWD (at least for me) is Sugar Topped Molasses Spice Cookies.

When I read the November roster I picked these cookies first. Mainly because I have been craving gingersnaps and I figured this would be very close (well in reality they are gingersnaps). I made these along with peanut butter cookies on Halloween since my husband has been asking me to make those. I have always had good luck with Dorie's cookies so I figured we would be in for a real treat. (get it...trick or treat......yea....lame I know).

The molasses cookies were very easy to put together, they just need some freezing/chill time. I baked half my dough, the other half, I saved for later. (I'm in to freezing cookie batter now so that I always have some ready to go--you know, for EMERGENCIES).

The only difficulty I had with these were that they spread together despite keeping ample space between them. These were good, very molasses-y. The only thing is, I really like mine chewy and prefer the old time-y "Joy of Cooking" recipe that I made last fall. But if you are looking for one with a crunch ending with chewy, this would be your cookie. These would be great broken up over ice cream or even mixed in with some savory dishes like pumpkin ravioli. hmmm...I think I have an idea.....

Stay tuned for the rest of this months fabulous fall desserts that us TWD bakers will be whipping up. Don't forget to check out TWD's blogroll to see what the other bakers are up to.

A special thanks to our host, Pamela from Cookies with Boys for the Sugar Topped Molasses Spice Cookies. For the recipe head over to her page!

TWD: Cherry Fudge Brownie Torte

I actually planned for this TWD...and wasn't scurrying on Tuesday to complete it. Thank goodness, because this one needs cooling time AND setting time.

I read the recipe several times, and even doing that....I accidentally melted ALL the chocolate so I just added more chunks in the end. More chocolate never hurt anyone? I also added the mascarpone too soon to the mousse, however I don't think it really affected it. I left out the Kirsch because...don't throw anything at me but...I don't really know what it is? I know its an alcohol but do you go to the liquor counter and say "Yea, I want a bottle of your Kirsch". I'm not the liquor buyer of the house--I'm more of the beer/wine girl. But now that I'm expecting--I figured it might be best to leave out the booze? I just added more preserves to compensate. I also halved this recipe since my husband is still working off a cold and no one wants to come over!

I really enjoyed this recipe. I like fudge brownies and tortes so this was right up my ally. This, in essence, IS a brownie--a very fudgy one. I think the best part was the fact that it had cherries in it. While reading--I wasn't quite sure I would want/like the cherries (as did many of the other bakers) but I really did not find the cherry flavor to be over powering at all. In fact it was a nice change. My favorite part was the mascarpone mousse on top! Truly heavenly and added richness to the dessert.



I would definitely make this again!

Thank you to April from Short+Rose for hosting this week! For the recipe, be sure to head over to her page. You can also check out the other bakers from TWD's blogroll!

TWD: Sweet Potato Biscuits

Yes, I am late late late for this one. I wanted to make these early, but I was going out of town. Then when I returned from town, I of course didn't have the sweet potato I needed plus I had a sick husband on the loose and we all know how sick husbands are. So better late than never...

So Sunday morning, I decided was great time to make these. Plus, I wanted to make them with some gravy and eggs. I know, probably not what Dorie had in mind for these 'tea' biscuits, but I will tell you...they were an amazing alternative.

I REALLY enjoyed these biscuits. They were easy to put together and the flavor was so sweet and different from a regular biscuit. I will definitely make these again--in fact I saved half the biscuits to freeze so that I could eat them at a later time.

I did make a few changes. Im notorious for 'skimming' a recipe. Which is never a good thing. I saw that the recipe called for 'canned' sweet potato--I bought pureed sweet potato. The recipe called for TWO 15oz. cans. I only had ONE. The good news--the pureed sweet potato actually yields more just because it doesn't have the syrup that needs to be poured out. In fact, I needed to add more flour because my dough was too sticky. I also used half shortening, half butter because my grandma always told me to use shortening in biscuits.

I ended up letting these biscuits sit at room temp for about 30 minutes before throwing them in the oven because I was monkeying around trying to season my cast iron skillet. I think letting these sit was key for me---because my biscuits were not too flat like some of the other bakers complained about. Either mine rose because they had time to sit--OR I just rolled mine out thicker. One of the two. These are definitely a 'denser' biscuit.

These paired well with bacon gravy and eggs this morning--I think the salt / sweet combo was amazing. I will have to try these a bit later with some honey and some tea. We all loved them--including 'baby M' who has been kicking me like crazy ever since.

Thanks to Erin of Prudence Pennywise for hosting this week! For the recipe, head over to her page!

Spaghetti Made with Spaghetti Squash

If anything about pregnancy that changed me, it has been my taste buds. I always had this inclination that pregnant woman craved meat. This theory has been proved so wrong in my case. If anything, I have reverted back to what I knew and loved as a child. And that is carbs. Carbs ALL the way.

But since becoming an adult, I became more mindful of my carb intake, and so these last few months have been heaven on a stick for me because if I feel like eating carbs...I'm eating the carbs.

I found this recipe in Fine Cooking Magazines (a fabulous magazine by the way) and I was pretty intrigued by the fact that you could substitute spaghetti squash for spaghetti noodles. I figured this was some dirty trick--somewhat like the trick whole wheat pasta plays on you. Its all fine and good--until the grit from the whole wheat kinda ruins it for you. At least, that is how it is for me unless I can find a strong sauce to stand up to the whole wheat. (Don't get me wrong--I don't want to get down on whole wheat pasta--its really not a bad thing. It's loaded with protein so I try to choke it down on the general occasion).

But spaghetti squash? This is no bait and switch. I swear. It's quite pleasant actually and it's a great way to get in some extra vegetables while cutting the carbs! I will so make this again and again.

For the recipe-check out Fine Cooking's website!
(I didn't make too many changes except cut down on the onion--and as you can see in the photo--I have to keep the onion pieces large so my husband can pull them out since he can't eat them. )

Guy Fieri Roadshow opens November 17th!

I don’t normally ‘promote’ events on my blog but I was asked very nicely so here we go!

My husband and I are huge fans of Guy Fieri from Guy’s Big Bite on the Food Network. I like him because he has great recipes while my husband likes him because he’s no ‘foo foo’ chef PLUS he’s super fun to watch. Lets face it...Guy is a “guy’s guy”.

In fact, ever since his “Diner’s Drive-in’s and Dives” show aired, we have been avid watchers (although I will say do NOT watch this show on an empty stomach!). Now, whenever we travel, we make a point to Google his show and the city we visit just to see if there were any restaurants he had featured on his show. So far, we have made it to three of the restaurants! All have been a hit.

Our most recent visit--Bette's Oceanview Diner in Berkley, California

I ordered the pancakes, my husband ordered their version of eggs benedict

On top of Guys’ three TV shows, he has now ventured out doing live cooking/rock n’ roll style events called ‘The Guy Fieri Roadshow’! Each show will feature Hayden “Woody” Wood, an Australian Bartender de jour, a local chef from each city, and then Guy himself will cook and entertain you for the main event.

The tour starts November 17, and ticket sales are through Ticketmaster now. If you are from the Detroit area--our show is December 4 at the Masonic Temple where ticket prices start at $28.

Check out the site for a show near you, I bet it will be a ton of fun--most certainly so for all my foodie friends! www.guyfieri.com

I’m crossing my fingers for a press pass--so that I can give you the full detailed review of the event!

Cinnamon Banana Nutella Crepes

One of my favorite Sunday past times during the months of May-October is the Farmer's Market. First off, I love supporting our locals. Secondly, I absolutely love fresh fresh fruits and vegetables (I plant my own vegetable garden but growing in 'tubs' just isn't working out so well).

A few Sunday's ago while browsing the market, I was dealing with some serious hunger management issues and made a b-line for the crepe station. I quickly ran down the list of possibilities and settled on Nutella Banana Crepes. I love crepes, but I never in a million years would have thought to put Nutella in them. And this is coming from a girl who polished off an entire jar of Nutella upon returning from Italy this past May in about a week.

Now to be fair, I changed the recipe to make it my own. I make crepes at home quite a bit because they are so simple to make and I just love throwing fruit in them. I literally had breakfast on the table in less than 20 minutes. That includes prep time and half the clean up. I'm mighty slow--so you may be able to get it there in less time.

Enjoy!

**Tip: Don’t get discouraged if your first crepe is a flop, that is pretty common. Discard (or eat it with your fingers at the stove) and start again.

Cinnamon Banana Nutella Crepes

Crepes Recipe:

Recipe derived from Allrecipes.com

1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
¾ cup milk
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Filling Recipe:

2 oz. Cream Cheese
2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese (you can just use cream cheese if that is all you have)
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-3 Bananas sliced lengthwise

1 tablespoon Nutella hazelnut spread for each crepe

Directions:

For the Crepes:
In a medium sized bowl, lightly beat the eggs with milk and water. Add flour, salt and butter and mix until combined (just until all the lumps are out). The batter will be thin.

Heat a small non-stick skillet on medium high heat (about 8in. in diameter). You need this to be small because the crepe batter is VERY thin and will spread to the end of the pan. Spray with cooking spray. Pour about ¼ cup of batter into the skillet. Spread the batter around in a circular motion. The crepe should pull away from the sides but you can help it a bit with a flexible spatula. Flip once it begins to brown. Brown the other side, and plate the crepe with filling.

For the Filling:
In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients until well combined.

For Assembly:

Top each crepe with the Nutella first (the warmth will help this spread a bit easier), then spoon on the creme mixture, then the bananas and fold each side up and over. Serve with warmed maple syrup and an extra sprinkling of powdered sugar.