Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Our friend Mary Katherine brought these into work today. Oh my goodness! These are to die for! Here is the recipe that she got from Bon Appetit. Thanks for sharing MKat!





Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Ingredients
FILLING
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme
2 teaspoons maple extract
CAKE
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
Preparation
FILLING
Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add marshmallow creme and maple extract; beat until blended and smooth. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
CAKE
Sift first 7 ingredients into large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in another large bowl until blended. Gradually beat in oil. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend between additions. Beat in pumpkin. Add dry ingredients in 2 additions alternately with milk in 1 addition, beating to blend between additions and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Cover and chill batter 1 hour.
Arrange 1 rack in bottom third of oven and 1 rack in top third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment; spray lightly with nonstick spray. Spoon batter onto baking sheet to form cakes (about 3 level tablespoons each; about 12 per baking sheet), spacing apart. Let stand 10 minutes.
Bake cakes until tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking. Cool cakes completely on baking sheets on rack. Using metal spatula, remove cakes from parchment.
Line cooled baking sheets with clean parchment; spray with nonstick spray, and repeat baking with remaining batter.
Spoon about 2 tablespoons filling on flat side of 1 cake. Top with another cake, flat side down. Repeat with remaining cakes and filling. DO AHEAD Can be made 8 hours ahead. Store in single layer in airtight container at room temperature.

Chicken Mushroom Spinach Stuffed Crepes

For dinner that evening, we made chicken mushroom spinach stuffed crepes with the remainder of the crepes we made in the morning. See the post below for a basic crepe recipe.

Saute:

2 chicken breasts in a medium pan over medium high heat. Once cooked, chop and set aside.

In a separate large pan saute over medium high heat:

1 C thinly sliced onion for 3 minutes, then add

1 package of mushrooms sliced, saute for 5 minutes or until vegetables are soft

Add:

1 package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry

Chopped cooked chicken breasts

1/2 C sliced green onions

Keep that warm while making a bechamel sauce in a separate pot.

Melt 1 TBSP butter over medium low heat in a small saucepan. Add 2 TBSP flour to pan, creating a roux. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Slowly add 1 C 2% milk to pan stirring constantly with a whisk. After about 5 minutes, the sauce will thicken up. Season with salt and pepper to taste and 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg.

Pour sauce over chicken and spinach mixture. Stir to combine thoroughly. Preheat broiler.

Spoon 1/2 C mixture in the center of each crepe then fold ends and sides over (like a burrito). Place seam side down in a 13x9 glass baking pan spread with cooking spray. Top crepes with Gruyere cheese or reduced fat Swiss cheese and broil lightly until cheese is melted and brown.

Yields 10 crepes with 2 crepes per serving.

Crepes

I love crepes and I have finally (somewhat) mastered making them. It really isn't that hard but I definitely recommend a crepe pan, a non-stick shallow pan about 8 inches wide. Here is the basic recipe that works with sweet or savory fillings:

1 C all purpose flour

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 C low-fat milk-1%

1/2 C water

2 tsp butter, melted

2 large eggs

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, sugar, salt). Put remaining wet ingredients in a blender and process on low until just mixed. Then add dry ingredients and process until smooth. Cover batter and chill for 1 hour.

Once it has set for an hour you are ready to make crepes. Heat your non-stick pan over medium heat and pour 1/4 C batter into pan, quickly tilting the pan so that the batter thinly, evenly coats the bottom of the pan. That is the part that takes a little bit of practice. I usually eat the first few before I make pretty ones.

Cook for a minute. It is ready to flip when it can be shaken loose from the pan. Flip and cook for 30 seconds on the other side. Stack finished crepes between a single layer of wax or parchment paper until you have finished the batch. This recipe should yield 12 crepes.

Once done, you can do a variety of recipes. I like eating them for breakfast or dessert with a little honey or pumpkin butter or jam. They are an excellent dessert with a little Nutella. When we made a batch this weekend, we ate a few for breakfast then saved the rest for dinner.

Chef Vicky at the Lazy Goat

This is pretty cool. A GREENVILLE chef is named as one of four Breakout Chefs to Watch. Chef Vicky Moore, the Chef de Cusine at the Lazy Goat, is featured in the current Esquire magazine as a Breakout Chef to Watch.

The Lazy Goat is awesome and Jeff and I enjoyed a cooking class with Chef Vicky a couple of months ago. But the really cool thing is the other 3 chefs are from NY, New Orleans and Philly so Greenville is right up there with big culinary meccas. If you haven't had a chance to try the Lazy Goat, you definitely should go. I love the paella, the Morrocan lamb and the Spanish omlet pizza.

www.thelazygoat.typepad.com

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

I found this recipe on Cooking Light's website and made it this weekend. Awesome! I highly recommend!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread


2 cups sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup fat-free vanilla pudding
4 large egg whites
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, stirring just until moist. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into 2 (8 x 4-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack, and remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 32 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

CALORIES 152 (30% from fat); FAT 5g (sat 1.2g,mono 2.5g,poly 1.1g); IRON 1mg; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 10mg; CARBOHYDRATE 26.5g; SODIUM 137mg; PROTEIN 2g; FIBER 1.1g

Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2004

Disney Wine Dine Run

Disney just announced a new half marathon next year called the Disney Wine and Dine Run. You run 13.1 miles then you enjoy the Epcot Food and Wine festival! It is Oct 1-2, 2010. One of the really cool things about this half marathon is it will be at night!

I REALLY want to do this. Who wants to join me? Registration begins 11/16 and Disney races typically fill up fast. Check out www.disneywinedinerun.com

-- Joy

Sometimes you feel like a sandwich

Sometimes you feel like a sandwich and this week I did. On Wednesday night, I just didn't feel like cooking. I was on my own for dinner and decided to make a sandwich with some of the fixings we picked up from the grocery store on Sunday. Here's the ingredient list.

- Parmesan, Pesto Ham
- Ever-roast Roasted Chicken
- Horseradish Cheddar Cheese
- Sweet Hot Mustard
- Mayo
- All on Whole Wheat Sourdough

It was a good sandwich. My only complaint was in the bread. The sourdough was good, but the slices were so thick and the bread was so dense that it masked the taste of everything else. It dominated the sandwich too much. Next time, I'll try plain whole wheat or regular sourdough.

Funny story on the Ever-roast Roasted Chicken. It's a Boar's Head product and was on special. When I asked the girl at the deli counter if it was good, she said "ooooohhhh it's the BOMB! Tastes just like chicken noodle soup!". As though that's what you're looking for in deli meat. So she game me a piece to try. And you know what? It did tasted oddly like chicken noodle soup. But was also pretty good. And despite the odd similarity to chicken noodle soup, I bought some. I recommend everyone try it, at the very least to see how much it taste like chicken noodle soup.

-- Jeff