The Best D@#% Pumpkin Soup

I didn't name it, but I'm not disagreeing. This pumpkin soup isn't your typical creamy puréed soup. It's a broth based soup cooked right inside the pumpkin. That's right, i n s i d e the pumpkin. Save a pot, use the pumpkin!

I didn't get around to carving a pumpkin this year, but making this soup sort of felt like it. Broth, leeks, rosemary and salty parmesan cheese fill the cavity of the pumpkin. Pop on the top and roast away. Check out Pure Wow's

video

to get a better idea on how to make some d@#% good pumpkin soup.

The Best D@#% Pumpkin Soup
yields 1-2 servings

Ingredients:
1 small pie pumpkin, about the size of an acorn squash
1 clove of garlic, whole
1 leek, halved and thinly sliced
3 sprigs of rosemary, roughly chopped
2 cups chicken stock
lots freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a pairing knife and sketch out a circle about 5 in. in diameter. Sketching it out helps with making a more accurate cut. Now actually cut around the stem like you would a jack-o'-latern. Remove the top and scrape out the seeds and insides. Save the seeds for roasting later!

Place the garlic clove, leeks, and rosemary in the cavity of the pumpkin. Pour in your chicken stock. Freshly grind in a bunch of black pepper and sprinkle in the parmesan cheese. Put the top of the pumpkin back on and place it on your baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes. Your pumpkin should be shiny and golden when it's done. 

Remove the top and stir up the broth to mix up all the melty cheese. To serve, scrape spoonfuls of the pumpkin flesh from the inside and ladle into a bowl with the leeks and broth. Top with more cheese and pepper. 

Annie

Bites of My Life

Happy Halloween week! I love Halloween, I always have. I used to plan my costumes a year in advance. The second Halloween was over, it was back to the drawing board for next year. I swear against just buying a costume from the party store. It was always homemade and always elaborate. This years costume is ready to go, and food related, as it should be. 

Okay stay with me for this next part.  Secret is out, I was on a sugar detox for the past four weeks. You probably ask, well Annie, what about the brownies you made? What about the cookies? Ya, I actually didn't have any. I licked the spoon here and there just for taste testing, but I actually went a whole month without any sweets. You also probably ask, why would you go on a detox right before the holidays? With all the pumpkin baking and Halloween candy, I saw it as the easiest excuse to say no. I followed Clara's plan with a few modifications. I was strict on no dessert or candy, I didn't use any artificial sweeteners in my coffee or oatmeal, I stuck to plain yogurt and limited my carb and fruit intake. The result. Nothing. After all of that, I found strength to say no to desserts, but I found satisfaction in things like cheese, chips and queso, handfuls of trail mix and binges on almond butter. My advice - don't do it. I think if I would have allowed a sweet treat here and there I would have been less likely to binge in other unhealthy ways. The one positive was my built up will power to say no to copious amounts of sugar. Now that my detox is over I plan on using the will power to eat sweets in moderation, but now I have a lot of fall baking and eating to catch up on.  Bring on the pumpkin ice cream, ginger cookies and pumpkin bread! 

On a pumpkin note, I have a week full of Halloween posts planned. When was the last time I posted every day of the week? If all goes as planned TAB will be busting with bites this week. I've been blog giddy recently; gearing up for something very exciting happening to the blog next Monday. You won't want to miss it. 

-These slutty brownies got lots of attention last week (just what they wanted, darn sluts). Take a bite of the recipe if you haven't already.
-Remember my farm grown green tomatoes from last week? I stuffed them with quinoa, herbs and blue cheese, loosely based off this recipe. 
-Working on my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. Off to a good start, but more testing this week.
-A perfect rainy Thursday evening involved wining and dining, great conversation and great friends.
-I gear up every year for this local chili cook-off every year. Local restaurants cook up big crockpots of chili to compete for the "Carne Diem" title. I tried one with duck, one with chocolate, one with beer, one paired with a hush puppie and one with a jalapeno popper. My personal favorite actually won this year! Still waiting on my invitation to be one of the judges...
-A classy beer and fries pairing for a late night bite with friends. Our first meal of the night didn't quite suffice...
-Working on the weekends has its perks when you are friends with the kitchen staff. 
-Happy early birthday to our leading lady! She's NYC bound this weekend to see oldest sis and I'm extremely jealous. 
-Kathleen baked the most amazing spiced apple cake with maple frosting. With this being my first sweet in 4 weeks, I had two pieces. Then had a horrile headache and stomach ache...

Annie

Pillow Cookies

As if yesterday's slutty brownies weren't enough, today brings more sweet treats. I feel like at this point I should have a go to chocolate chip cookie recipe. Well I don't. So for your benefit and mine, I'm going to be testing out different recipes. First recipe test resulted in these little pillow puff chocolate cookies.

First recipe test went pretty good. The flavor was great, they looked great, had great color and were perfectly soft and fluffy inside. Definitely a recipe to keep in my repertoire, but I'm still working on it. I'm looking for something a little flatter and denser with that perfect chewy inside and barely crisp edge. 

The trick to getting these so soft is the melted butter. I honestly thought this would weigh them down and flatten them out more, but they kept their little puff shape all through the baking and cooling.

Chocolate Chip Pillow Cookies adapted from Pinch of Yum
yields 1 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (more as needed)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips 

Directions:
Preheat your oven 350 degrees. Microwave the butter for about 40 seconds to just barely melt it. It shouldn't be hot - but it should be almost entirely in liquid form.

Using a mixer, beat the butter with the sugars until combined. Add the extracts and the egg; beat on low speed until just incorporated - 10-15 seconds or so.

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until crumbles form. Use your hands to press the crumbles together into a dough. It should form one large ball that is easy to handle. This is the stage where you may want to add more flour. Add a little at a time, mixing with your hands or spatula. I ended up adding another 1/2 cup to get the right consistency. You want it right at the stage between "wet" dough and "dry" dough). Add the chocolate chips and incorporate with your hands.

Roll the dough into 12 large balls and place on an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE.  Take them out even if they look like they're not done yet. They should be pale and puffy.

Let them cool on the pan for about 30 minutes. Enjoy these heavenly pillows will a tall glass of milk!

Annie

These Brownies Are Sluts

No these brownies aren't wearing inappropriate clothing and no they didn't "get around," but they are a little slutty. 

My current food blogger girl crush is Gaby Dalkin (pronounced Goby) from What's Gaby Cooking. If you don't already follow her on Snapchat, stop what you are doing and give her a follow @whatsgabycookin. This SoCal based, avocado obsessed, slutty brownie extraordinaire has it going on. She is constantly posting new recipes of all the amazing food she is eating or making. Not to mention she is hilarious and seriously brightens my day every time she puts a new snap up. 

The recipe of Gaby's that has been at the top of my list are these slutty brownies. I mentioned how they don't "get around," but I guess they kind of do. They flirt with chocolate chip cookie dough, oreos and brownie batter, making them the ultimate slut. All for our enjoyment though. 

I love when my kitchen looks like this. Only good things come from copious amounts of measuring cups and spatulas covered in batter and dough. Props to mom for setting the backdrop with her killer marble countertops. 

Slutty Brownies adapted from What's Gaby Cooking
yields 16 brownies

Ingredients:

For the brownie layer:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup flour

For the Oreo layer:
1 package of regular or double stuff Oreos (you wont use them all)

For the cookie dough layer:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9x9 baking pan with foil. Use two sheets for extra sturdiness. Then spray the foil covered pan with cooking spray. 

For the brownie layer, in a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the sugar and cocoa powder once the butter is melted. Whisk to combine and remove from heat. Add the salt, vanilla and eggs and continuously whisk until the eggs are combined. Add the flour and continue to mix. Set batter aside.

For the cookie dough layer, cream together the butter and sugars in a mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix on low until everything is incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips with your spatula. Set dough aside.

To assemble, layer the cookie dough on the bottom of a 9x9 baking pan, pressing down to form the bottom of the slutty brownies. Layer as many Oreos that will fit on top of the cookie dough. No need to overlap. One single layer will do. Pour the brownie batter on top of the Oreo layer and make sure it's evenly layerd on top.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. Test with a knife to see if the center is done. If the knife comes out clean, let the brownies rest before serving. If the knife comes out with batter still on it, allow the brownies to bake about 5 minutes more. Once they are done, you have to let them rest. It's the hardest part, but it's crucial otherwise they will fall apart on you. 

Serve with a tall glass of milk, you'll need it!

Now get a little slutty and make some brownies. They went over far too well with all of my taste testers. 

Annie

Bites of My Life

Friends with babies and friends getting married, this weekend had me feeling way to young for all of that. It also made me realize I am totally fine with feeling young. I'm at that perfect middle ground stage where I have just enough responsibility to feel mature, but not enough where I can still lay in bed till noon and not feel bad about it. After catching up with sweet friends this weekend, and getting to gush about life after graduating, I was repeatedly reminded how much I love it.

-When your past and present job come together, insert clapping hands emoji.
-Return of one of my favorite breakfasts, savory oatmeal with a poached egg and hot sauce.
-I didn't plan it, but I think Thursday's popcorn and wine filled Shonda Rimes watch party, crosses #5 off the TDL!
-Oh lordy, Kathleen made this cashew cream and it's pretty much the most amazing thing I've had in a while. She made it as a dip for fruit, but saved me a little jar for snacking. The jar was way to small because I finished it off before I even got home from her house, did I mention she lives right around the corner from me? This is your push to make more Kat!
-Friday morning with me, myself and I. My local Whole Foods is offering $0.25 oatmeal through the 27th and you can bet I'm going to take them up on this deal a few too many times. 
-The perks of being obsessed with food results in friends dropping off grocery sized bags of farm grown green tomatoes for you. These are being turned into tonight's dinner!
-White chicken chili packaged up for an easy dinner for my favorite new momma.
-Dropping off dinner meant a chance to finally meet baby Juniper!
-A big bite shoutout to these two!

Annie