All-Kinds-of-Deliciousness Sandwich

Hello to the two people in the world who read my food blog! Inspired by summer produce and, for the first time in weeks, having a little time to cook, I have made the bitchin'est sandwich ever. Nothing smells as good as roasting vegetables, especially with a solid helping of olive oil to get them sizzling. I like the Mediterranean combo of zucchini, eggplant, tomato, mushrooms, pepper... yum. There's a reason so many cultures eat these foods together.

Sandwiches also have a permanent place in my repertoire, and though I eat a lot of peanut butter and jelly, there is nothing says a sandwich has to be boring. This particular 'wich can be constructed with any combination of the veggies listed above. You could also put fresh basil on there, or parsley. I like cheese - try goat or provolone, but a little thinly sliced cheddar can be fine, as can a gooey cheese like brie (the milder the better, I find, to let the vegetables' taste shine through).

Today I used thinly sliced eggplant, zucchini, baby portobello mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes. Spread the first three on a baking sheet; give them a good drizzle of olive oil; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dried Italian spice blend; and pop 'em under the broiler for about 5 minutes (just until tender; the eggplant will cook fastest). Oil is key so that they don't get dry, shrively, and unappealing. Meanwhile soak the dried tomatoes in boiling water to soften them (if you're using the regular kind - drain them if you're using the kind stored in olive oil). Cut open a long roll (definitely something Italian - sorry if you don't live in an Italian neighborhood like me, where even the Met Mart has Italian meats, cheeses, and baked goods!) and give it a quick toast under the broiler, too, cut side up (if you're using a cheese like provolone or cheddar, it's nice to melt it under the broiler on one half of the bread). Then assemble and consume!

Uber-Delicious Pumpkin Nut Loaf

'Tis the season for fall favorites, I guess... this is the second pumpkin recipe in the very short life of this blog. But when you get a jones for a flavor, you gotta stick with it until it's done. I guess the pumpkin passion sprung from a cookbook my mom got me in October, called, appropriately, the New Pumpkin Cookbook. It's not really new, though -- it was published in 1981 by the group that puts on the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival. It's a beautifully laid out cookbook, printed in burnt orange and chocolate brown, with lovely accompanying line drawings of pumpkins and pies and people. And, of course, it's filled with great recipes using pumpkin.

I made bourbon pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, and made some pumpkin muffins a few weeks ago, but the pumpkin nut loaf I made the other day was the most delicious and, therefore, blog-worthy. It's fragrant, moist, sweet, spicy, and very pumpkiny. The woman who submitted the recipe to the cookbook is Eunice, "the wife of Francis Collings of Petaluma, two times World Champion Pumpkin Grower," so I guess she should know from cooking pumpkins. I followed the recipe to the letter except I put some whole wheat flour in there, and I also added a cup of dried cranberries, because they always lend a nice spark to spice loaves.

Eunice's Pumpkin Nut Loaf

1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup oil
1/3 cup water
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup cooked mashed or canned pumpkin
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans are good)
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins (optional)

• Sift together the dry ingredients into a large bowl. In a seperate bowl, mix together the oil, water, eggs, and pumpkin. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet, folding in until well blended. Add the nuts and dried fruit. Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan and bake at 350 for 1 hour & 10 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Bourbon Sugared Pecans

I wanted to make these for Thanksgiving but ran out of time. They're sweet and tasty and make a nice topping for pumpkin pie or a stand-alone snack food. I also think they'd be great chopped up and added to coffee cake or cinnamon rolls. The bourbon adds a little flavor depth without being strongly alcoholic. I used Knob Hill, which is pretty high quality; you could use brandy, too.


Bourbon Sugared Pecans

1 cup pecans (whole for a snack, chopped if using elsewhere)
4 tbsp butter
1/2 brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup bourbon

• Lay out a piece of parchment paper on the counter or a cookie sheet.
  
• Toast pecans in a dry pan over high heat, shaking the pan to keep them from burning, for about 3-5 minutes, until they smell toasty. Remove them to another bowl or plate.
  
• Melt butter in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the pecans and toss to coat. Cook for a few minutes, then add the sugar. Cook until the sugar melts and begins to bubble. Add the bourbon and cook for another few minutes, until the sugar sauce begins to stick to the pecans.
• Lay pecans out on the parchment paper to cool.
  

Pumpkin Pie Wontons

Well, I saw everybody else doing this blog thing, and it looked like so much fun! I cook a lot of food that is, in fact, damn delicious, and I'm excited to share it!

My good friend over at On the Hob sent me a recipe for pumpkin pie wontons a while back, so I decided to give them a try (especially since I had leftover pumpkin from Thanksgiving!). I modified her recipe a little bit, given what I had in the cabinet. These are very crispy and not too sweet at all -- you could use them as a little finger food appetizer (for a more desserty-item, I'd add another tablespoon or two of brown sugar). They look like pot stickers but are baked instead of fried, shaving off a lot of calories. Aside from a little melted butter, these are virtually fat free!


Pumpkin Pie Wontons

1 cup pumpkin, canned or mashed fresh
1 tbsp corn syrup
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla extract
16 wonton wrappers (approx.)
granulated sugar & cinnamon for dusting
1-2 tbsp melted butter

• Preheat oven to 400 deg. F. Mix first five ingredients together.
• Spoon 1 tsp - 1 tbsp mixture into wonton wrapper, depending on the size and shape of the wrapper you're using. Moisen the wrapper's edge with a little water, fold over, and seal to create a triangle or half moon shape. Repeat with remaining mixture and wrappers.
• Place wontons on an ungreased or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Brush them with melted butter and sprinkle over sugar and cinnamon.
• Bake for 16 minutes, then flip the wontons and bake for another 2 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool.