Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Soup with Bacon, Dates and Pecans | Secret Recipe Club

I belong to this cool online cooking club called The Secret Recipe Club. The premise behind the club is to be paired up with another food blogger, who by the way doesn’t know that you are – hence the “secret” part of the club. You get to browse their site for wonderful recipes and then make it by following 100% or putting your own personal spin on the recipe. Once a month there is the secret reveal, where you see who received your blog and what they selected to post. If you are interested in joining in the fun, simply click onto their site and read all about it.

Cranberry, Orange and Ginger Chutney Brie Cups | My Guest Post on Kitchen Confidante

About a month ago Liren asked me if I wanted to contribute a guest post and be part of her “Friends-giving” series. I was completely honored and immediately responded with a resounding yes. Now the only question lurking was what to make?

Last holiday season, I had a dinner party with Liren and Jean (Lemon and Anchovies) and gave each of them my Cranberry, Orange & Ginger Chutney. It was a perfect little gift for the holiday season. A few months later, Liren surprised me by highlighting the chutney in her Gorgonzola Tart with Cranberry Orange Ginger Chutney & Candied Pecans. I actually never posted the recipe for this chutney, until now. I thought this was perfect timing to highlight this tasty recipe.

Please click the link for Cranberry, Orange and Ginger Brie Cups and enjoy my guest post on Kitchen Confidante.  It is a simple holiday inspired appetizer that you will make over and over again.  Thank you Liren for inviting me to do a guest post on your lovely blog!

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Spicy Chili Jam

I have had an idea in my head for quite a while. Over the weekend, finally the inspiration unfolded for the idea and brought it full circle. I am excited to share with all of you, a new feature for Authentic Suburban Gourmet titled – “Simply Divine”. Each week I will share and highlight food and recipes that are both uncomplicated and tasty.

For those of you that know me, you will often hear me exclaim if something is tasty, fabulous or just plain great - that it is “Divine”. The word divine will often be followed by a twist of my wrist with the index finger pointing to the sky while expressing my delight. If something is “really” divine, then it gets a “double divine” while both wrists are twisting.

Do you ever eat something that has just a few simple ingredients but the combinations of flavors are simply amazing? It could be as simple as Nutella spread over a piece of toast with thin slices of banana garnishing the top or a bowl of al dente pasta with melted butter and freshly grated parmesan cheese. I bet you are picking up what I am putting down. Quite frequently, the simple things in life are often the best things in life. Simply Divine subscribes to that philosophy.

{ Photo from Inna Jam Website }

A classic grilled cheese sandwich is one of life’s simple pleasures. With its warm gooey cheese to the buttery crunch of the grilled bread, it just puts a smile on your face when you take your first bite and each one after. Hubby and I ventured to Costco on Friday night to pick up our household essentials plus more. One of the “plus more” items was right out of the oven, Roasted Garlic Ciabatta Bread. With two loaves, I had to be creative with utilizing. One of our favorite snacks is a grilled cheese sandwich and it was time to bring it up a few levels.

I sliced the roasted garlic ciabatta about half inch thick and spread butter on each side and let melt on the griddle pan. Next I layered with a deli slice of jarlsburg cheese and spread my newest find – Inna Jam – Spicy Fresno Chile flavor. The next step was to put the two slices together and grilled until both sides were golden brown and the cheese is completely melted. If you have not had Inna’s jam yet, I highly encourage you to purchase. The flavors are amazing, creative and delish.

I look forward to sharing more “Simply Divine” posts with all of you!

Quinoa Salad with Zucchini, Arugula, Tomatoes and Mint Vinaigrette

Quinoa which is pronounced – “Qin-wah” is a brilliant grain that is native to the Andean region of Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru prior to the domestication over 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. I guess we can agree that this grain has history and sustaining power.

One of my favorite dining destinations in Oakland is Bocanova and I often bring my clients there for lunch. A few weeks ago, I took a client there for lunch and I always look forward to seeing what the chef has prepared for the quinoa salad. Particular items on the menu change with the seasons and locally produced fruits and vegetables. This time zucchini was highlighted for the quinoa salad. It was raw and cut into thin julienne slices – just that perfect amount of light crunch.

For my visit, watercress adorned the salad with sprinkles of garden fresh baby tomatoes and dressed with mint vinaigrette. It was so refreshing, satisfying and tasty. I noted this as something to recreate and put my own spin to the recipe.

Last week, it was chilly and rainy – certainly a good reason to stay inside. Hubby and I did just that. With the fire on and the television queued up, we enjoyed this healthy and completely gratifying salad. I believe this would be a perfect salad for picnic or potluck. Enjoy!

Quinoa Salad with Zucchini, Arugula, Tomatoes and Mint Vinaigrette

Salad

1 C. Quinoa
2 C. Chicken Stock
½ t. Salt
2 Medium Zucchini, one inch julienne slices
2 C. Tomatoes, small orange or cherry, halved
2 C. Arugula
½ C. Pine nuts, dry roasted or toasted
¼ C. Cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a medium sauce pan, add the quinoa and chicken stock plus ½ t. of salt. Quickly stir and bring the mixture to a boil. After it boils, reduce the heat to simmer and cover with a lid for about 10 minutes. Check and stir the quinoa. If liquid remains, check every 2 to 3 minutes until liquid has evaporated. Set aside to cool.

Once the quinoa is cooled, add to a large bowl to assemble the salad. Add the zucchini, tomatoes, pine nuts and cilantro. Toss gently and add the vinaigrette and toss again to combine. Right before serving, toss in the Arugula. Taste and then season with additional salt and pepper as desired.

Mint Vinaigrette

1 C. Fresh mint leaves, lightly packed
3 T. Red wine vinegar
2 t. Dijon mustard
2 Garlic cloves, minced
½ t. Sugar
½ t. Salt
8 Grinds pepper
½ C. Olive Oil

Add all of the above ingredients to a food processor. Pulse until well combined. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your desired taste level. Set aside to strengthen the flavors for about one hour.

Fig, Prosciutto and Stilton Pizza

Simplicity. It is something that we all want to have at one time or another, but can’t always get it with our “go, go, go” lifestyles. My hubby and I cherish the days that we have where we don’t do a heck of lot, except watch our favorite television shows and eat delicious food. Saturday was such a day for us. We call them – “Veg days”.

Saturday was a cold and rainy day in the Bay Area, which meant it was a perfect day for “vegetation”. We simply turned on our gas fireplace, brought out all the fluffy blankets, sifted through our recorded shows and began the TV marathon. After a long week, it was a terrific way to wind down and not have to make too many decisions, except for what was the next show to watch.

My newest addition is “Pam Am”. I love the setting of the 60’s, the fashion and jumping back into era where things were so different. It is great to see women finding their “voice” and moving up in the world. We indulged in the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills; let’s just say that we had about four episodes to catch up on. In fact for Halloween, one of my offices had a “Real Housewives” themed day. For all of you who love this show, I was Dana from Beverly Hills and created my own $25,000 sunglasses. All in all, a really fun team activity and many laughs were shared by everyone.

{Our office Halloween Party - Real Housewives Theme}
.

For our day of relaxation, I made a simple pizza for hubby and me. I bought the ready made pizza dough from Trader Joe’s to make life simple. I added my homemade fig jam, a bit of Prosciutto, stilton and fresh figs to create a sweet, savory, salty and overall divine pizza. The flavor combinations are endless. What are your favorite pizza toppings?

Fig, Prosciutto and Stilton Pizza

Homemade or Store Bought Pizza Dough
Fig Jam
Fresh Figs
Prosciutto
Stilton Cheese

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees and place a pizza stone on the lowest rack of the oven. Let heat for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, take about a ½ cup of pizza dough and work it to form a circle that is about 7 to 8 inches in diameter. Simply stretch the dough and form into circle. Use a bit of semolina to prevent the dough from sticking to a pizza paddle. This will make it easy to slice onto the pizza stone and to remove when finish cooking.

Spread a light layer of fig jam onto the pizza dough and spread to the edge of the dough. Layer with 1 to 2 slices of Prosciutto torn into pieces. Next crumble about 1 to 2 tablespoons of stilton cheese over the pizza, spreading evenly. Top with 6 to 8 quarters of fresh fig.

Slide onto the pizza stone with the paddle and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until the pizza is golden brown. Remove and cut into four pieces and enjoy.

{ Roasted Purple Cauliflower with Gruyere Cheese }

Last week while strolling through my local farmer’s market, I came across purple cauliflower. It instantly caught my eye and into my reusable bag it went. Purple cauliflower's color is caused by the presence of the antioxidant group anthocyanin, which can also be found in red cabbage and red wine. This brilliant colored vegetable is displaying vibrant violet hues, purple cauliflower which may be different in color than its white counterpart, however, on the outside, that is the only difference.

It was the color that drew me in. I wondered if roasting it – would the color change? The answer if no – it remained vibrant. I did a simple preparation for a dinner last week. I simply broke off the florets and placed into a baking dish. I mixed the traditional white cauliflower with the purple. Added a bit of chicken stock, perhaps a quarter cup to a third poured over the florets. Then I drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. I grated about a half of a cup of gruyere cheese on top and baked at 350 for about 35 to 45 minutes until the cauliflower was tender.

It was such a simple dish to prepare and the flavors were amazing. I served with roasted chicken. We are trying to eat low carb and this did the trick! Hope that you are able to locate purple cauliflower where you live. Enjoy your weekend!



S'mores and Salted Caramel Sauce

Last week hubby and I went on vacation to visit our good friends in Northwest Arkansas. We originally met them here in the Bay Area a little over eight years ago and have been great friends ever since. A new job took them from here to relocate to Arkansas. It took a bit of adjustment to living in Northwest Arkansas but now they are settled into a beautiful brand new house and making friends. Even Simon, their doggie who is a schnoodle (schnauzer and poodle) loves his huge backyard.

We landed in Kansas City and picked up a rental car for the almost four hour trip to Northwest Arkansas. It was fun to experience and see other parts of the county. One of my bucket list items is to visit all 50 states – I am almost half way there. By the time we arrived at their house, it was dark. Spicy turkey chili and corn muffins were ready for us and I could hardly wait to have a glass of wine and catch up.  It was so wonderful to see Dean, Mark and Simon!

{ Dean, Mark, Simon and Me}

We took Simon for a walk almost every day around the expansive neighborhood and admired the beautiful homes. You certainly get more for your money in Arkansas versus the Bay Area. I guess there are different benefits to everywhere in the states, no matter where you live.

We visited the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art that is almost complete and ready for its grand opening on November 11th. The museum has its namesake originated from the nearby Crystal Springs and is designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. There will be a series of pavilions nestled around two creek fed ponds, galleries, meeting and classroom spaces and a large hall enclosed by glass. The museum was founded by art-enthusiast and visionary Alice Walton, of the Wal-Mart family. The admission is free and being sponsored by Wal-Mart. It will have a high style restaurant along with a museum store and of course, all of the beautiful art to admire.

{ Crystal Bridges under construction }

{ My Hubby next to the famous Arkansas Razer Back Hog }

One of our highlights of our trip was a dinner out to James at the Mill which is a fine dining experience that also houses a boutique hotel on the property. The service was spot on and the food was quite tasty. I began with a glass of Jordan Chardonnay and an appetizer portion of truffled Mac n Cheese with pepper jack béchamel and tempera portabella mushroom. It was delish and paired nicely with the chardonnay. For my entrée, I had pork tenderloin over barbeque sauce, sautéed spinach and potatoes gratin. The manager was kind enough to surprise us with a bottle of Vina Robles Cabernet Sauvignon since he realized it was our friend’s 16th anniversary. It was extremely thoughtful and not too mention delicious.

On the way home from dinner, we were planning to make s'mores outside by the fire. Unfortunately, mother-nature did not cooperate. We experienced a thunder and lightning storm. It was quite brilliant to watch since we don’t get these very often in the Bay Area. The next night, the weather did cooperate and we had our s'mores. Mark set us up with coat hangers to roast the marshmallows along with the graham crackers and chocolate bars. It was a perfect evening and just wonderful to spend time with our friends Mark and Dean and of course, Simon.

{ The outside fireplace where we enjoyed our delish s'mores }

Thought I would share a kicked up version of smores with all of you. How about dipping your completely assembled s'more in a warm handmade salted caramel sauce? I must say it was over the top delish!

Salted Caramel Sauce

1 ½ C. sugar
¼ C. water
½ t. lemon juice
1 C. heavy cream
2 t. Grey Salt

Stir sugar, water and lemon juice in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat; boil without stirring until the mixture turns deep amber brown. This should take about 9 minutes. Take off the stove and hold over the sink before pouring the cream mixture into the sugar mixture. It will boil and bubble. Once calmed down, add grey salt and set back on the burner and reduce slightly over medium low heat for about 8 minutes. Chill until thickened. Put into another container and slightly heat when ready to use.

S’mores

Marshmallows
Graham Crackers
Hershey Chocolate Bars

Roast marshmallow over flame until toasty golden brown and melted. Break a graham cracker in a half, add chocolate and melted marshmallow then put other half of graham cracker on top and press gently together. Dip in salted caramel sauce.

Dutch Baby Pancake with Brandied Peaches | Secret Recipe Club

Boy how time flies! It just seems like I was celebrating my third month with the Secret Recipe Club yet the fourth month is here already. If you are not familiar with The Secret Recipe Club, it is an online cooking group that each participant is assigned a “secret” blog each month. The secret is that each person doesn’t know who was assigned to their blog and what recipe that person will choose to create. If you are interested in getting involved in this fun group and meeting new food bloggers like yourself, check out the website.

This month I had the pleasure of being assigned Apron Strings. They have a tag line attached to their blog – “Cooking: it’s in our D & A”. I thought this was quite cleaver considering the D&A stands for Donna and Anne who are a reunited birth mother and daughter food blogging team. How cool is that? Donna and Anne have authored a cookbook together as well as creating this blog together.

Additionally Donna has authored several other cookbooks and Anne made it to a finalist in the hit show on Food Television – Ultimate Recipe Showdown. These two ladies certainly share the same D and A. After browsing through their extensive recipes, it was hard to narrow down however my mind was made up when I saw the Dutch Baby Pancake.

You might ask, what is a dutch baby pancake – if you have never experienced this delightful treat, I highly encourage you to make it soon. You might hear it referred to as German Pancake of Dutch Puff. It is very similar to Yorkshire pudding since it is made with eggs, flour and milk. Typically it is served with fresh squeezed lemon, powdered sugar and butter. In addition, it can be served with a fruit topping or syrup. I think it is a personal choice – quite frankly a generous sprinkle of powdered sugar and lemon, I am a happy camper.

A couple weeks ago it was hubby’s birthday. I shared the chocolate espresso cake that I made for him and I wrote in the post about a new breakfast place our neighbors took us out to breakfast to celebrate his birthday. It was called The Original Pancake House and they have locations in most states. I am not the breakfast food enthusiast that my hubby is, but this place impressed me. The selection was expansive, the service was spot on and the food was extremely tasty with large portions.

One of their signature dishes is The Dutch Baby Pancake and of course I had to have it. All I can say is – DIVINE! It was perfectly puffed, crispy yet chewy inside. They served a lemon sauce on the side that was too die for with zest of fresh lemon that just puckered your cheeks. If you have not been there before, check it out. Hope you like it as much as we did.

I have long wanted to make this breakfast delight at home so when I saw it on Donna and Anne’s blog, it was settled – that would be my entry for this month’s Secret Recipe Club. With such a simple recipe, I did not need to mess with perfection. The only variation was that I used salted butter versus unsalted. The cast iron skillet is the key to a perfect Dutch Baby. If you don’t own one, run to the store and pick one up. I actually purchased mine from TJ Maxx for about fifteen dollars.

I picked up a crate of fresh peaches from Trader Joe’s and thought that some spicy brandy peaches would be a perfect accompaniment for this delightful breakfast treat. You could use apples if peaches are not in season. Enjoy and be sure to check out Donna and Anne’s blog!

Dutch Baby Pancake

4 T. butter
4 large eggs
½ cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup half-and-half

For the topping:

Juice of 1 lemon
Powdered sugar

Spicy Brandied Peaches

1 Cup sliced fresh peaches
1 T. Sugar
1 T. Butter
½ t. Cinnamon
1 T. Brandy

In a medium sauté pan, melt the butter; add the peaches, sugar and cinnamon. Stir gently over medium heat and cook for a couple minutes. Remove the pan from the flame and add the brandy. Let cook off the burner for a minute and then return to heat through. Spoon gently into a small bowl to serve with the pancake.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Place a large cast iron skillet in the oven until very hot. Melt the 4 Tbs butter in the skillet. In a blender, whir together the eggs, flour, salt and half-and-half.

Pour the batter into the skillet over the melted butter. Slide the skillet into the oven, and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove the puffed pancakes from the oven, transfer them to a plate or shallow bowl, and pour on butter, sprinkle on lemon juice, and dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.