Not only did I decide on apples as this week’s theme, but apple pie, the best way ever to have apples! After the Cast Iron Apple Pie, I had to try this Hot Apple Pie Bourbon Cocktail. I know I made an apple and bourbon cocktail just last month, but this one sounds different enough that I don’t think I’m being repetitive. And we just had the first cold snap of the season, so I needed a warm cocktail. Don’t laugh, but here in Fort Lauderdale, a cold snap is anything below 70.
This apple cocktail is a twist on hot buttered bourbon and uses cider and butterscotch sauce to make the perfect Thanksgiving or fall cocktail.
Recipe Author: Annemarie at Just a Little Bit of Bacon Get the recipe
The Ingredients
This cocktail requires butterscotch sauce, and I decided to make the recipe the author linked to from the cocktail recipe. All the ingredients for both are shown below, but you can always buy the butterscotch sauce instead of making it.
This time of year it’s easy to find apple cider, so I had no problem finding any of the ingredients. In fact, I had everything but that and the cream on hand.
Bourbon, salt, brown sugar, butter, cream, apple cider, vanilla extract, cinnamon sticks, and allspice berries
The Process
Making this cocktail was very simple and straightforward. Here’s how my time was spent:
10 minutes to make the butterscotch sauce
20 minutes to make the cocktail
30 minutes total
The butterscotch sauce was just a matter of adding the ingredients to a saucepan and stirring. I put the finished sauce into a separate container to cool a bit, wiped out the pan, and used the same pan for the cocktail.
The cocktail was even easier. Just head the apple cider, steep the whole spices for 15 minutes, then add the bourbon and butterscotch sauce. That’s it. Well, I did take the time to remove the whole spices with a slotted spoon even though it’s not in the instructions.
The result was exactly what was promised: 2 mugs of apple pie with a touch of bourbon flavor.
Thanksgiving is almost here, and I’ve been looking for a dessert worthy of the biggest food holiday on the calendar. It took some searching, but I finally decided on this Cast Iron Pan Apple Pie. Apple pie used to be the only thing I could bake from scratch before I started this blog. It took some practice because I was a terrible baker, but I finally had one thing I could bake that wasn’t a disaster. But it’s been a few years since I’ve made an apple pie, and I thought this recipe looked like it would be a touch easier than my trusty recipe. So let’s find out if it is.
This is a three-layer apple pie baked in a cast iron frying pan. There are three layers of shortcrust pastry, with a delectable apple filling sandwiched in between. It makes a lovely rustic presentation brought to the table right in the pan.
Update 11/3/23: This recipe has been moved to the US Allrecipes site and updated, so the recipes are now in Imperial measurements instead of metric. I have updated the Get the Recipe button with the recipe’s new URL.
The Ingredients
This recipe is from All Recipes UK/Ireland site, so I had to make some substitutions. Apparently shortcrust pastry is a European thing, and the closest thing I could find here in the US was puff pastry. The internet seemed divided as to whether it could be used as a substitute for shortcrust pastry, so I decided to take a chance. I used my usual Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry.
Another item I had to substitute was the caster sugar. I’ve heard the term but didn’t know what it was. Back to the internet to find out! Caster sugar is finer than granulated sugar but not as fine as powdered sugar. I couldn’t find it locally but Amazon has a big selection.
I was prepared to order a bag when I found a way to make it. Just add regular sugar to your food processor (slightly more than you think you will need) and process for 1-2 minutes. The result will be finer grains of sugar as long as you don’t overdo it and end up with powdered sugar.
The rest was typical for baking and easily found at my local grocery store.
Update
So I went to the grocery store today, and I discovered I was wrong about the puff pastry as soon as I walked over to the dairy section. They had a big Thanksgiving display that included a better option: refrigerated pie crust. I had no idea there was such a thing! Frozen pie shells, yes, refrigerated pie dough, no. So I had to buy two packages along with more butter and apples so I could give this recipe another try. I’ll post a photo and the results ASAP.
Granny Smith apples, cinnamon, caster sugar, dark brown sugar, frozen puff pastry sheets, and butter
The Process
The first thing I did was making the caster sugar as I mentioned above. I processed just over 2 cups of granulated sugar for 1.5 minutes and only had a little bit leftover.
Then I got out was my scale so I would have everything measured out before I got started. Weighing ingredients is the standard in the metric system, and I’ve heard it’s more accurate. I’m not a fan, but it wasn’t so bad since there are only a few ingredients to weigh. Don’t have a scale? All Recipes has a Cup to Gram Conversion Chart that might help.
Next up was peeling, coring, and slicing the apples. Remember how I said apple pie used to be the only thing I could bake? I don’t normally buy big gadgets as I don’t have much storage space, but I was so committed that I bought an apple peeler/corer/slicer. It’s not a requirement but totally worth it. I had the apples ready in a snap.
Peeling, coring, and slicing the apples
All that prep work took about half an hour, but it was still quicker than making it all from scratch. Here is how my time broke down:
28 minutes to prep
45 minutes to bake
1 hour 13 minutes total
One thing I noticed was the puff pastry sheets were small enough to fit into the cast iron pan. That was great for the first 2 layers. I just used a rolling pin to roll out the top layer so it covered the entire pan and trimmed off the excess. It worked pretty well, but there was a gap between the crust and the edge of the pan after baking. Next time I will try rolling the excess into edging to cover the gap.
The apple pie is ready to go into the oven
Update
I gave this recipe another try using the refrigerated pie crust. It was still smashing, and I’m not sure which version I preferred. The crust on the second pie was more buttery, but it stuck to the bottom of the pan like crazy. That deprived us of much of the delicious brown sugar goodness we got with the first version and was kind of a bummer. The top crust was crisp and flaky, though.
I had to roll out the thawed crust just like I did with the puff pastry version. I’m sure that was because I used a 12-inch pan. A smaller 10-inch pan would have been closer to a standard pie pan and required little or no rolling.
In the end, my husband and I had trouble deciding which version was the best. They were both delicious! I think the version using the pie crust edged out the puff pastry version in taste and appearance. It was a little more buttery, and the top crust didn’t shrink away from the edges.
I made the most incredible stuffed acorn squash for Christmas dinner a couple of years ago. It was stuffed with apples, cranberries, and pecans, then drizzled with maple syrup. I’m tempted to make it for every holiday, but I can’t just keep blogging the same recipe. Well, I could, but it would get very boring! So this year I decided to make stuffed acorn squash for Thanksgiving dinner and with a savory twist instead of sweet. My husband has been asking me to make macaroni and cheese, so this White Cheddar Mac n’ Cheese Stuffed Squash was the answer to both our cravings. How perfect is that?!
The weather hasn’t cooled down in LA yet, but I’m ready for fall and some good fall comfort food. Let’s start with some extra-sharp white cheddar mac n’ cheese, shall we? I’m a huge fan of mac n’ cheese and have made many different variations using different types of cheese, but the classic cheddar is still my favorite. I’ve used extra-sharp white cheddar here, which goes so well with the acorn squash. You can use any type of squash you’d like, although you may need to adjust baking times.
The first thing I noticed when preparing my shopping list was this recipe makes 8 Mac n’ Cheese Stuffed Squash. It’s just the two of us, so I decided to cut the recipe in half. Two servings with Thanksgiving dinner and 2 more leftovers for dinner the next day sounded generous.
This time of year it was easy to find the acorn squash. I lucked out and had everything else on hand except the macaroni and extra sharp white cheddar cheese. They’re pretty basic items, though, so no problem finding either. A short grocery list is always good, and somehow even better during the holidays!
Acorn squash, pepper, salt, vegetable oil, milk, flour, extra sharp white cheddar cheese, butter, panko breadcrumbs, elbow macaroni, and nutmeg
The Process
This recipe only had the cooking times listed and no prep or total. I didn’t separate the prep and cooking times, but everything took exactly 1 hour.
Things went pretty smoothly and according to the instructions, although cutting the tops off the squash was tough at times. I tried my usual santoku knife and a serrated bread knife. The santoku was the best for this job, it just took some elbow grease. That reminds me, I need to be better about sharpening my knives.
Cutting the bottoms of the acorn squash was very easy, but it was also easy to cut too much off and create a hole in the bottom. You can see the holes in the photo below. It was my first squash, and I figured out what not to do pretty quickly.
Seeding the acorn squash
Getting the squash ready to bake was a good chunk of the work, and I was glad once I had them ready to bake. My only question during the entire process was on this step. Was I supposed to bake the squash with the lids on or off? The recipe and accompanying blog post’s pictures didn’t specify, so I chose to put them on.
Getting ready to bake the acorn squash. Spraying them with vegetable oil made it easy to ensure they were fully covered.
With the squash baking in the oven, it was time to move on to the macaroni and cheese. It took three pots going simultaneously, but it wasn’t too hectic. I used two 2.5-quart saucepans for the milk and macaroni. My 4.5-quart pot was perfect for the flour and cheese mixture that the milk and macaroni were ultimately added to.
Stuffing and baking the Mac n’ Cheese Stuffed Squash was easy, but I was disappointed that the macaroni and cheese didn’t bubble up like it was shown in the author’s pictures. that left me wondering if the macaroni I used was too small. Also, breadcrumbs didn’t brown, so I turned the broiler on for a few minutes to fix that.
This year, I decided not to make a turkey. My husband was horrified when I told him until I told him about the Butternut Stuffed Turkey Tenderloin with Cranberries and Pecans that I would be making. You see, he’s a huge fan of a turkey sandwich our favorite diner serves. It has turkey and all the fixin’s, so I knew he would like the sound of this stuffed turkey tenderloin. It doesn’t have mashed potatoes, stuffing, or gravy, but it is stuffed with some very yummy Thanksgiving foods. I’m sure we will both love it, and my mother-in-law will make the traditional stuffed turkey we also love. I’d say this is a win-win situation since we will get two Thanksgiving dinners. Thank goodness they aren’t in the same day!
Turkey tenderloins stuffed with a sweet and savory filling of butternut squash, cranberries, sage and pecans – this tastes like Thanksgiving, all wrapped up in one dish!
Recipe Author: Gina Homolka at Skinnytaste Get the recipe
The Ingredients
There aren’t too many ingredients for this recipe, which was a relief. I had planned to go to my local Publix to choose everything for this week’s menu in person, but I wasn’t able to. Living with chronic pain and mobility issues makes getting out to the grocery store impossible at times, so I had to order from Whole Foods this week. They had everything I needed except the most important ingredient: the turkey tenderloins. Doh! their app suggested chicken as a substitute, but I was not having it. Chicken is not for Thanksgiving.
Fortunately, my local Publix carries them, so I sent Mr. Pinner on a shopping trip. He’s not a foodie or cook, so I texted him pictures with the department he could find them in. He came through like a champ. The turkey tenderloins were 1.5-pounds, but more turkey can’t be a bad thing!
Turkey tenderloins, cranberries, butternut squash, garlic, spinach, chopped pecans, maple syrup, sage, salt, pepper, and shallots
The Process
I have to say I had a good time making this recipe. It was a little challenging, but I like a challenge. The hardest part was making the pockets in the turkey tenderloins. They were about the size of chicken breasts, so that helped. But it’s always a tense process because I’m concentrating on not cutting all the way through. Once that step was done, I felt so much better.
I cut the pockets into the turkey tenderloins as part of the prep work, and it all took 15 minutes, just as listed. I expected it to take longer since peeling a butternut squash is never easy (and it was a pain), but I was pleasantly surprised.
Speaking of the butternut squash, I wasn’t sure how much to use. The recipe says “1 1/4 cup 6 oz”. I didn’t know if that meant 1 1/4 cup OR 6 ounces (weight), or if it meant 1 1/4 cup PLUS 6 ounces. I went with 1 1/4 cup, and it was plenty. It took the neck of half of the squash, so I had lots of leftovers that I diced and froze.
Dicing the butternut squash
Prepping and cooking the filling went pretty smoothly. My one difficulty was having to hunt for the ingredients and their quantities in the list. They weren’t all listed in the order needed, so it took some time to read through to find what I needed next.
I expected stuffing the turkey tenderloins would be difficult or awkward, but it wasn’t that bad. I laid out 4 lengths of kitchen string, each about 12″ long, and then placed a tenderloin on it, pocket side up. Then I used a tablespoon (not the measuring kind) to slowly fill the pocket, packing it in a bit.
The tenderloin stood up like a taco, so not much filling fell out during this process. Then all I had to do was tie the strings and cut off the excess. They don’t need to be tied too tightly or the filling will squeeze out, just tightly enough to hold everything together.
Stuffing the turkey tenderloins (I ended up using 4 strings instead of 3)
From there it was just a matter of searing the stuffed turkey tenderloin and baking. All of the hard work was done 🙂
Recipe Changes
One change I made to the order of the instructions was to preheat the oven as I preheated the skillet (toward the end of the prep work). My oven takes forever to preheat, and it was ready just when I needed it.
Another change was using one skillet throughout (the recipe calls for two). I chose a large nonstick skillet with a lid, and I also used the lid when I baked the turkey tenderloins in the oven. The recipe says to cover the skillet tightly with foil, but since I had a lid, I went with that.
As I mentioned, I had homemade salted caramel sauce leftover from a recent recipe. Don’t let the salted part put you off! Adding a bit of salt is a trick to neutralize the bitterness.
I also had brown sugar, coffee, and whipped cream (leftover from the Pumpkin Caramel Milkshake I recently made) on hand. All I had to buy was the milk, and you know how much I love those short grocery lists!
Brown sugar, milk, caramel sauce, and coffee
The Process
I started this recipe by warming the caramel sauce in my microwave. It was too thick to pour straight out of the refrigerator. A 30-second burst and a good stir took care of that.
Next up was brewing the coffee. I decided not to time it since hot coffee was an ingredient and making it wasn’t part of the recipe. I’d guess it took me 8-10 minutes using a French press.
Once I had my ingredients ready, I got to cooking. The milk, brown sugar, and caramel mixture heated up fairly quickly, and it was as easy to make as it sounds. Just add everything to a saucepan and stir.
I had two big mugs of caramel coffee made and topped with whipped cream and caramel sauce in just 7 minutes.
Whew! After last week’s complicated individual beef Wellington recipe, I had to find something simple for this week. All that deliciousness was a lot of work, but good food doesn’t have to be difficult. Soups and stews can be a nice, easy way to prove that point. This Portuguese Caldo Verde Soup has been on my radar for a while, but I have been hesitant to make it because my husband doesn’t like sausage all that much. Then I caught him eating the rest of my sausage stromboli takeout and that went right out the window! So this week we’re having soup made with Portuguese sausage, potatoes, and a few other goodies. I’m ready to start cooking, are you?
Portuguese Caldo Verde Soup – A rustic sausage potato and kale soup with bold flavor and chunky texture. This slightly creamy version is so enticing, you’ll want to make it again and again!
Recipe Author: Sommer Collier at A Spicy Perspective Get the recipe
The Ingredients
I rarely cook with sausage, so I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to find chouriço. It turns out that my local grocery store stocks it in a 1-pound package for $6.49. And the best part was it comes in hot–my husband and I are spicy food lovers, so this was perfect for us. But even if you can’t find chouriço or linguiça, you should be able to find chorizo. It’s delicious and has a similar texture that should work well in caldo verde.
Once I had the right sausage, I went searching for the sherry. It’s not something I ever drink, and I only keep cooking sherry around. The local grocery store does have a decent wine selection (or maybe it looks that way, I’m not a wine person), but they didn’t have much of a sherry selection. But I’m cooking with it, not drinking it, so I wasn’t going to get picky. I went with Fairbanks medium-dry for $6.79.
All I had on hand was the smoked paprika and olive oil. Everything else was typical grocery store fare and easy to find, but I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of white beans to use. I went with cannellini, and they worked out nicely.
There were only three steps to this recipe, so it was pretty easy to make as you can imagine. The instructions do say to use a 6-quart pot, but I got away with a 5.3-quart cast iron pot. It had plenty of room, thank goodness!
Here is how my time broke down:
12 minutes to prep (vs. 10 minutes listed)
33 minutes to cook (vs. 18 minutes listed)
45 minutes total (vs. 28 minutes listed)
The recipe listed a total time of 28 minutes, but it took me much longer. The prep work was only 2 minutes more than listed, but the cooking time was the hold-up. It took a while to bring the soup to a boil at Step 2, and that was really what slowed things down. I don’t think time to bring the soup to a boil was included in the cooking or prep time.
The good news is caldo verde soup only requires some basic cooking techniques. My vegetable peeler did come in handy for the potatoes, but a simple paring knife would have also worked. I also used my zester for fresh lemon zest, but a grater would also work.
I prefer fresh zest, but you can substitute dried lemon zest or juice. You can buy dried lemon zest in the spice aisle. The general rule is 1 teaspoon dried lemon zest is equivalent to the zest of 1 fresh lemon. Lemon juice can also be substituted for zest. One lemon makes about 1 tablespoon of zest, so you would need 6 tablespoons of lemon juice for this recipe.
I have had this recipe on my calendar for ages, but I have kept pushing it back because I didn’t know what to pair it with. Then I found the Individual Beef Wellington with Mushroom Sauce recipe, and I instantly knew Baby Chai Caramel Fudgey Brownie Cakes were what I had been waiting for. Individual servings of the main course followed by individual servings of dessert? Perfection!
Fudgey Brownie Cake made into muffin sized portions with Chai Buttercream Frosting and a drizzle of Homemade Salted Caramel
I’m not really into baking, but I was surprised by how many ingredients I had on hand. The fresh items like milk, cream, and eggs had to be bought. I also didn’t have the dark chocolate chunks on hand and had to top off my vanilla extract. Still, I think I did pretty well since the list of ingredients for everything is pretty long.
Dark cocoa powder, dark chocolate chunks, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, eggs, chai tea, butter, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, milk, heavy cream, baking powder, salt, and vanilla extract
The Process
This dessert took me a total of 1 hour to make. Actually, it’s really three recipes:
salted caramel sauce
brownie cakes
chai buttercream
The salted caramel recipe is linked from the brownie and buttercream recipe. I’m not sure why it’s separate, but be sure you don’t miss it. It’s waaaay better than the stuff in a jar!
Salted Caramel Sauce
I started things off by making the caramel sauce since it had to cool. The instructions were easy to follow, and I appreciated the warning about adding the butter at Step 9. Everything went smoothly, though, and I had the caramel sauce made and cooling in no time.
One thing that the recipe didn’t say was the type of saucepan to use. I like my non-stick saucepan for caramel sauce because it’s so much easier to pour. It’s also much easier to clean once the pan has cooled. I’m sure I’m stating the obvious, but caramel sauce is extremely sticky!
Brownie Cakes
Next up was the brownie cakes. This recipe makes 10, so I had a couple of empty spots in my muffin tin. Making these was also easy, but I did have to hunt through the ingredients list to find the amounts needed. It would have been helpful if the ingredients were listed in the order needed.
I noticed that the batter was really thick. I didn’t really give it much thought, though, since I expected it to level while it was baking. As you can see from the photo below, it really didn’t level at all. My brownie cakes were very lumpy when I took them out of the oven. They looked almost the same as when I put them in. I suppose I could have leveled them, but I decided to go with the lumpiness since they would be topped with frosting.
Chai Buttercream
Speaking of frosting, that also went smoothly. The only mistake I noticed was the instructions didn’t say when to add the pinch of salt. I added it with the vanilla and butter. Anyhoo, a lot of mixing in my stand mixer and 3 cups of powdered sugar later, I had the buttercream ready.
It seemed like it was a typical buttercream consistency as I spooned it into the piping bag, and it was easy to pipe onto the brownie cakes. I wasn’t aiming for bakery perfection as these cakes seemed kind of rustic, but I did notice the frosting seemed a little droopy.
Thinking it was my imagination, I frosted the rest of the brownie cakes, drizzled them with the caramel sauce, and put them into the refrigerator. The next day I found that the buttercream looked like it had melted. It didn’t affect the taste at all, it just looked like I hadn’t refrigerated them. I didn’t mind, but it’s something to keep in mind if you’re making these ahead of time.
If last week was all about easy recipes, this week the pendulum will is swinging in the opposite direction. At least for this first recipe. Beef Wellington is a classic dish I’ve heard of but never had, although I did make Cranberry Hazelnut Turkey Wellington a few Thanksgivings ago. I’ve made a few complicated recipes for this blog and a few I only thought would be complicated. I have a feeling this is the real deal legit complicated recipe I’ve been both dreading and looking forward to. But I like a challenge and expanding my horizons, so here goes. Deep, calming breath, remember I got a good deal on the filet mignon (and I have 2 extra pieces just in case), and here goes nothing…
For special occasions, treat yourself to this beef wellington recipe made of tender filet mignon individually wrapped in puff pastry and served with a delicious mushroom sauce.
Recipe Author: Jessica Gavin at JessicaGavin.com Get the recipe
The Ingredients
There are a lot of ingredients for beef Wellington! As I mentioned earlier, I had the all-important filet mignon, but I was surprised at how little else I needed to buy. This recipe is full of basics like flour, olive oil, and butter, which I had on hand.
I did have to buy the prosciutto, some eggs, mushrooms, and shallots, and I found them all at my usual store. But Whole Foods apparently doesn’t stock frozen puff pastry and I’m not gourmet enough to keep it on hand, so I did have to make a second trip to Publix just for that. And I thought Whole Foods was the fancy grocery store. Whole Foods, you let me down.
It’s time to cook! I waited until the weekend to give this recipe a try. In the meantime, I read and reread the recipe and accompanying post to make sure I understood everything. I also took a peek at a few beef Wellington how-to videos. They were all for the traditional Wellington with whole beef tenderloin, but the technique was pretty much the same.
The recipe lists a total time of 2 hours 15 minutes, and I expected it to take me a bit longer as this was my first time making it. I was very wrong. It ended up taking me a whole hour less than that. I took my time and didn’t miss any steps, so I’m not sure how on earth I managed that.
Here’s how my time broke down:
38 minutes for prep
25 minutes to cook
10 minutes to stand
1 hour 13 minutes total
Prep work was everything I did before the Wellingtons went into the oven. That includes roughly chopping the mushrooms before processing them and time to chill in the refrigerator. Baking until the meat thermometer read 125℉ took 25 minutes, and I followed that with standing for 10 minutes before serving.
Yes, this recipe was more complicated than my usual fare, but it wasn’t as difficult as I imagined. I ended up with two beautiful servings of beef Wellington that my husband and I adored.
Cremini mushrooms minced in a food processor
To Serve
The author suggests green beans and potatoes to go along with the beef Wellington, so that’s what I served it with. She links to some of her recipes, but I went with a couple I’ve blogged about before:
I made the potatoes first, then the green bean bundles, then the beef Wellington. My oven’s warmer drawer came in very handy and kept the sides warm while the Wellingtons baked.
The One-Pan Sicilian Swordfish with Spicy Olive Oil Poached Tomatoes recipe I just made was pretty decadent for me, so how on earth am I going to follow that up? It took me a while to figure it out, but then I stumbled upon this Baked Feta with Cherry Tomatoes and Fresh Herbs recipe, and I had an ah-ha! moment. I’m trying really hard to think of a cheese I don’t like, and I’m coming up with nothing. But baking it somehow makes it special. I guess it’s because it’s not something I ever do for regular meals, just when for holidays or when we have guests. Add to that the fact that I pretty much always have feta cheese cold, and this is extra, extra special.
A super simple cheese appetizer featuring bold Mediterranean flavors.
There weren’t a ton of ingredients in this recipe, but I did have to buy almost all of them. Not a big deal as everything was easy to find on one trip to my local grocery store. Feta cheese is pretty common now, and they stocked a couple of different brands ranging in price from $4 to $8 for an 8-ounce block. I went with the $4 generic feta as I’ve tried it before and know it’s pretty good.
You might have noticed from the ingredients photo that I substituted grape tomatoes for cherry tomatoes. I had to do that on this and the swordfish recipe I just made. I’ve noticed that grape tomatoes are what are normally stocked, and I decided to investigate the difference between the two since I’m a tomato novice.
The reason seems to be that grape tomatoes are a bit hardier than their cherry cousins. A lot of grocery stores have taken to stocking them as they have a longer shelf life. They aren’t as sweet as cherry tomatoes, but they can be used interchangeably in most cases. I don’t have a super-sensitive palate, and I doubt I would be able to tell the difference. It’s just something I was curious about and wanted to point out in the interest of transparency.
Feta cheese, grape tomatoes (substituted for cherry tomatoes), basil, olive oil, chopped black olives, garlic, and oregano
The Process
The author describes this recipe as “super simple”, and I have to agree. I took my time slicing the tomatoes and still had it ready in under half an hour. In 29 minutes to be exact. Here’s how my time broke down:
9 minutes to prep
20 minutes to cook
29 minutes total
I decided to use the entire pint of grape tomatoes I bought for this recipe so I wouldn’t have any leftovers go to waste. I’m sure it was more than the 1 cup called for (I didn’t measure), so that might have been why my prep took longer than the 5 minutes listed.
Otherwise, the instructions were so easy to follow. A little slicing and chopping were all it took to get the tomatoes and herbs ready to go. Then it was just a matter of pouring the mixture onto the cheese and baking it all for 20 minutes.
The result was a warm, soft block of feta cheese with plenty of roasted tomatoes to enjoy it with. I served it on slices of a sourdough baguette. I even had a little baked feta leftover after the bread was gone, so I reheated it and served it on a baked potato for lunch. It. Was. Epic!
The title One-Pan Sicilian Swordfish with Spicy Olive Oil Poached Tomatoes might have given it away, but this week’s theme is tomatoes, and with that comes a story/confession. Before I started this blog in May 2017, I never used fresh tomatoes in my cooking. I’m not a picky eater by any means but I hate raw tomatoes. Even the smell of them disgusted me! Canned tomatoes were fine, as well as sun-dried and tomato products like ketchup and marinara sauce, but never, ever raw.
Then I found a few recipes that called for the real thing, and I felt I had to suck it up and use fresh tomatoes in order to be honest with my readers. If a recipe called for fresh tomatoes, then I was going to breathe through my mouth when I cut them up and deal with it. Authenticity is very important to me. Soon I found that the smell of raw tomato wasn’t as bad as I imagined it to be. I started slowly with cherry and grape tomatoes, but I’ve even managed to move to their full-sized cousins. I still hate them raw, but cooked fresh tomatoes now have a place in my kitchen. So without further ado, let’s try with some tomato-based recipes, starting with this Sicilian swordfish!
This one-pan fish dish is a true beauty! Everything gets cooked in the same skillet, so at the end of the meal, you’re looking at very minimal clean up. I love that!
I did have to do a bit of shopping for this week’s recipe. Who keeps swordfish fillets around, amirite? I don’t, but I found the lovely specimen during a haul from my favorite fish market. It’s 1 pound, 3 ounces, and I’m going to cut it into 2 generous portions for the hubby and me. He’s never had swordfish, so I’m really looking forward to introducing this unique fish to him.
Besides that, I found a couple of pints of grape tomatoes (guess they were out of cherry), the fresh herbs, and other ingredients during my regular shop. No fancy-schmancy super expensive special-order stuff needed for this meal, even though it’s a bit of a decadent treat for us.
Swordfish, grape tomatoes (substituted for cherry tomatoes), olive oil, mint, basil, and Tabasco sauce
The Process
I was so excited to make this recipe! Swordfish is a luxurious treat for me, but I’m pretty sure I always have it grilled with a little lemon and olive oil. Don’t get me wrong, it’s oh so good that way, but I’m always on the lookout for new things like this Sicilian swordfish recipe.
I’m still a bit stunned at how easy this recipe was to prepare. It took me 53 minutes from start to finish. I didn’t break out the prep or cooking times because there really wasn’t any prep. I started by poaching the tomatoes and did the prep work (what little there was) while they were cooking.
Swordfish has a uniquely meaty texture, so it’s not flaky and delicate like most fish. In fact, I found I had to be more careful while stirring the poached tomatoes because their skins started to slide off after a while.
Otherwise, all I had to do was cut the swordfish fillet into two pieces, measure some ingredients, and stir occasionally. I used my cast iron pan because it could go from stovetop to oven and was guaranteed to sear the fish nicely. It didn’t let me down! I ended up with seared swordfish fillets that were a little crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside.
It took me a little while to figure out what to make as my second pumpkin recipe this week, but it was worth the wait. The Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good recipe I just made was so decadent that I felt I needed to follow it up with something equally decadent. I considered cheesecake, but it just didn’t quite fit. Sure, it would be decadent, but cheesecake isn’t an easy dessert. The stuffed pumpkin was decadent and easy, so I kept searching until I found this Pumpkin Caramel Milkshake. Decadent, pumpkin, and easy. Yeah, this is it!
It’s that time of year! Time for all the pumpkin recipes like this Pumpkin Caramel Milkshake. And I’m not even sorry. You’ll love the flavors in the delicious shake!
Recipe Author: Mandy Bird at Mandy’s Recipe Box Get the recipe
The Ingredients
The list of ingredients for this milkshake recipe was nice and short, just the way I like them. I had to buy everything but the pumpkin spice but it was no trouble. Everything was easy to find at my local grocery store, and nothing was even a little expensive.
I had my pumpkin caramel milkshake blended up in 4 minutes, just a minute less than the 5 minutes total time listed on this recipe. It really was as simple as it sounded. All I had to do was measure the ingredients, add them to the blender, push a button, and blend.
This recipe mixed up a single glass but could easily be doubled if you’re serving 2. I topped mine with a generous squirt of whipped cream and sprinkled it with some extra pumpkin spice.
Since it’s officially Fall and Halloween is almost here, I simply had to try a couple of pumpkin recipes. This Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good recipe has been on my radar for a while, but I have to admit that something about it intimidated me. Maybe because it gives a bit of latitude in the ingredients. Or maybe because I think French cooking is complicated (and it can be). I’m not 100% sure, but I’m determined to get over it and finally give this recipe a try.
You might consider serving this alongside the Thanksgiving turkey or even instead of it—omit the bacon and you’ve got a great vegetarian main course.
Recipe Author: Dorie Greenspan at Epicurious Get the recipe
The Ingredients
The accompanying post gives the story behind this recipe and some background as to why it’s more of a guide. I realized I had some choices to make from the ingredients to the baking time. First up was the cheese: Gruyere, Emmenthal, or cheddar. I went with Gruyere because I know what it tastes like, it fit my budget, and it’s French. I’ve never tried Emmenthal, and it was pricey. Cheddar just seemed wrong.
Next up was chives or scallions. Chives aren’t outrageously expensive, but scallions are about 1/3 the price. I’m also more likely to use the leftover scallions, so they made the most sense for this recipe.
I did splurge on a loaf of country white bread from the bakery, though. Four fresh slices were around 5 ounces. Letting them sit unwrapped overnight in the refrigerator dried them out nicely and reduced the weight to just over 4 ounces.
Small pumpkin, garlic, stale bread, bacon, thyme, nutmeg, gruyere cheese, scallions, and cream
The Process
All my worry about making this recipe was for absolutely nothing. It was easy! The most time-consuming part was removing the seeds and strings from the pumpkin. Really! Here is how I spent my time:
24 minutes to prep
90 minutes to bake
1 hour 54 minutes total
I used a 3-pound, 4-ounce pie pumpkin and had almost too much stuffing. That might have been due to the fact that the block of Gruyere cheese I used as 6 ounces instead of 4, but is there really such a thing as too much cheese? Not for me! I had to stuff the stuffing (pun totally intended), but it all fit.
The author says to bake the stuffed pumpkin for about 2 hours and check it after 90 minutes. She also mentioned removing the pumpkin’s cap for the last 20 minutes to let the stuffing brown. That meant I needed to check my pumpkin at just over an hour into baking, and I’m so glad I did. A knife pierced it easily by that time.
I removed the cap for the final 20 minutes of baking, and the stuffing bubbled up and over the rim a bit. Not enough to make a mess, and it sunk back down pretty fast after I removed it from the oven. I was left with a lovely deep orange stuffed pumpkin that smelled heavenly. I couldn’t wait to try it!
