Thanksgiving Squash Muffins

 

Recipe from Vegetable Love by Barbara Kafka
Notes: I can't remember if I made these with pumpkin or another kind of squash. But from reading several recipes recently, I knew to avoid acorn squash which are stringy and watery. To embellish these muffins, I added chocolate chips to the batter, and walnuts on top. Dr. S loved these and they are indeed a delicious treat for breakfast. They are tender and moist, without the typical “pumpkin pie spice” flavour. With pumpkins and squash so readily available at the market, I'm going to be looking for other ways to use them in the upcoming weeks.

Apple Cherry Crumble Pie

 

Recipe from Wanda's Pie in the Sky by Wanda Beaver
Notes: We cut back this year and only took home 28 lbs of apples from the orchard. For a different treat, I tried making this two-fruit crumble pie. Using jarred sour cherries (purchased at Fresh From the Farm), I mixed the filling and made the crumble topping fairly quickly. I really like the addition of almonds into the crumble, as well as sliced nuts on the top which toast as the pie bakes. Unfortunately, the crumble was the best part. I found that the apples didn't cook through and that the filling wasn't cohesive (there isn't any thickener in the recipe). More and more, I'm preferring pies made with partially cooked apples, so I think that would be an improvement on this recipe too.

Apple and Raspberry Pie Lollipops

 

Idea inspired by Luxirare's Float
Notes: A friend of ours recently told me about Bakerella which is where I found a link to the idea of Pie Pops. The incredible detail and super-composed photography make Luxirare's pages seem like fashion shoots, but we loved the idea of a handheld pie snack and set about to make our own. Using the Cook's Illustrated vodka pie crust, we cut out rounds using a cookie cutter, then placed a paper lollipop stick (available at Bulk Barn) on one round. I cooked an apple pie filling gently on the stove, then Dr. S broke it down with a potato masher. To make the raspberry filling, I cooked some raspberries (that we picked at Watson Farmswith a bit of sugar, liqueur and tapioca starch until it thickened. Using a small cookie scoop, we put teaspoonfuls of filling onto the bottom pie round, then covered it with another piece of dough. We pinched the edges with our fingers, and also crimped it with the tines of a fork for good measure. I baked it at about 375°F until it looked browned. A few things we noticed, and will keep in mind for next time. Some pies leaked a bit of filling so we need to be very careful to seal them tightly. The lollipop sticks tend to slide out unless they are pressed into the bottom of the dough round. And the last thing? We wanted more filling per bite! All in all, it was a very fun experiment, and we surprised a dozen of our friends at a dinner gathering the next evening with a bonus dessert.

Transitional Multigrain Hearth Bread

 

Recipe from Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads

Notes: In the soaker for this bread, I used blue cornmeal, a little kamut flour, some golden flaxseeds ground in a suribachi plus a few other whole grains as specified in the recipe. Both the soaker and the biga went into the fridge for several days. I omitted sesame seeds from the final dough, but did use toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds. To get a nice crisp bottom crust, I placed the risen loaf on a preheated pizza stone in my regular oven. Despite following all these tips for making a complex, delicious whole-grain bread, I didn't like this one. It had that “healthy” mouth-feel, too coarse and crumbly. I used it for sandwiches and as breakfast toast, but didn't really enjoy it.

Shirley's Version of Pop Corriher's Applesauce Cake

 

Recipe from BakeWise by Shirley Corriher
Notes: The first time I made this recipe, I used raisins and jarred applesauce. It turned out to be substantial (filling a whole 10" tube pan), moist, and deeply satisfying. I didn't find the large quantity (6 tsp) of spices to be overpowering, even though I used freshly ground allspice. The second time I made this, the one pictured here, I used homemade applesauce and dried cranberries. It turned out a little too moist, but then again, I did use a few extra tablespoons of applesauce. Highly recommended.

Blackberry Pear Hazelnut Financier

 

Recipe from Gourmet, November 1995 via epicurious.com
Notes: With all of the egg whites left over from making two batches of creme anglaise, I searched online for financier recipes and found this one. There's nothing difficult in this recipe, but you do have to toast, skin and grind hazelnuts, as well as accumulate the egg whites. Instead of cranberries, I used the last of our frozen blackberries (from two summers ago I think!). I found the finished cake to be a little on the salty side, and the moistness and flavour were not that appealing.

Harvest Apple Challah

 

Recipe from King Arthur Flour
Notes: I volunteered to make the challahs for the upcoming Rosh Hashanah dinner at Dr S' parent's house, so I thought a trial run of this recipe would be a good idea. Apples are a traditional part of the Jewish New Year celebrations, and a round challah is also common for Rosh Hashanah. Having made a previous loaf from a different recipe, I knew that adding apples to egg bread would be a winning combination.

This challah recipe is a little unusual because it uses the chop suey or monkey bread technique. After the dough is made and proofed, the apples are encased in a bread dough envelope. Using a knife or bench scraper, the entire thing is cut up into smaller pieces which are then placed in a cake tin.

The trial loaf turned out quite well. It was tender and moist, with lots of apples. I found the egg flavour and colour to be lacking so I made the loaves for Friday using an additional egg. Leaving the skins on the apples wouldn't have been my preference, but I followed the directions as I thought doing otherwise would compromise the moisture level in the dough. The crown shape is a little unusual and I think I prefer the taste of a milchig loaf (like this one), but the challahs were well-received.

King Arthur has some step-by-step photos as well.