Yeasted Cranberry-Pecan Pumpkin Loaves

20 Nov 10 by | 9 Comments | 1,184 view(s)
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“The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight…”

-M.F.K. Fisher in The Art of Eating

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But what about the sound of good bread making? Yes, the sound, at least when it comes to these yeasted cranberry-pecan pumpkin loaves.

The boing, boing, boing of fresh cranberries bouncing, just like Tigger. While trying to stuff as many of these crimson beauties into the dough as possible, some inevitably ended up on my kitchen floor. Oops!

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Why do cranberries bounce?

Grapefruit Brulee

12 Apr 10 by | No Comments | 345 view(s)
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Ok, I admit it. I made a mistake last week. I bought only 3 grapefruit for brunch, figuring one half for each of us and leaving one extra. Normally, this would have been plenty as the girls aren’t too fond of plain grapefruit. But this time Tim, always happy to have an excuse to use his propane torch in the kitchen, played with fire and gave the grapefruit halves crunchy, caramelized tops.

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Hot Chocolate on a Stick

6 Mar 10 by | 5 Comments | 694 view(s)
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What do you think of when you hear the term “preacher’s wife”? Hmm…

One who sees only in black in white?

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Cinnamon Eggnog Scones

30 Dec 09 by | 1 Comment | 1,808 view(s)
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Growing up I detested eggnog. I probably still would except that our local dairy was giving out samples at the farmers’ market a few weeks ago. Not one to pass up free food, I got a cup, took a sip, and lo and behold had a “Mikey moment”. I liked it.

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Butternut Squash Soup

19 Dec 09 by | 15 Comments | 3,153 view(s)
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I like to think of winter squash as the Aretha Franklins of the squash family – just looking for a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Summer squash, such as yellow crookneck, pattypan, and zucchini, get lots of love here in the South. Sadly, we often relegate winter varieties such as butternut, delicata, and carnival to backup singer status (or really, something closer to William Hung, you know, like, “Please, dear God, never let him sing again.” OK, wait, hold on just a second. I’ll return you to the food related portion of this post in a minute, but seriously… I just discovered that William Hung has a Christmas album. And yes, it really is called Hung for the Holidays. I mean, wow. WOW. OK, sorry, back to the squash.)

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Bejeweled Pumpkin Risotto

2 Nov 09 by | 3 Comments | 431 view(s)
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Some things just go together. Like peanut butter and jelly. (Or is it peanut butter and chocolate?) Lately for me, it has been pumpkin and pomegranate, beginning with those cupcakes. Call this variation II on a theme.

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