pear & rosemary bourbon cocktail

A lot of fall and winter cocktails and drinks seem to track toward the soporific - either really rich and creamy, like eggnog and or the warm and cosy like hot toddies, mulled wine and boozy hot chocolates. I’m not opposed to these drinks - they are all amazing in the right context (like when you can take a long afternoon nap directly afterward) but they can be a little overwhelming sometimes. I wanted to make an autumnal cocktail that didn’t feel quite so coma-inducing.

This cocktail has all kinds of fall flavour - crisp pears, earthy-malty whiskey, savoury rosemary and a bit of tart lemon to pep everything up. It’s cosy and soothing, but not sleep inducing. You could even have one before dinner if you are celebrating Thanksgiving today. It won’t take up to much room, so you can still have turkey, stuffing and pie. Happy Thanksgiving!

pear & rosemary cocktail:

• ⅓ cup pear juice or nectar

• 2 sprigs rosemary (plus a few for garnish)

• ⅓ cup sugar

• ⅓ cup water

• ½ a medium pear, roughly chopped (save the other half to slice for garnish)

• 4 ounces bourbon/ Tennessee whiskey

• 2 ounces lemon juice

• soda water

Combine pear juice, 2 sprigs rosemary, sugar, water and chopped pear in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a low simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and strain out solids. Chill in the fridge until cool.

Combine pear and rosemary syrup with lemon juice and whiskey, stir to combine. Serve between 4 glasses and top them up with a splash of soda water. Serve garnished with a sprig of rosemary and a slice of pear.

butternut squash cake with whipped cream cheese frosting

Pumpkin and carrots get all the attention in the vegetables-for-dessert world. But there are so many other vegetables you can dessertify. To be fair, sometimes zucchini loaf pops in and beets seem to be vying for a spot through certain natural type red velvet cakes.

But the options don’t end there. There are many more ways to dessert your vegetables. Butternut squash is practically pumpkin anyway-it's so pumpkiny that it’s most likely been masquerading as the pumpkin purée in the can you used for your last pumpkin pie. Probably. It’s a curcurbita conspiracy.

Also, there is really no such thing as a vegetable anyway. A vegetable is just a plant that we eat, that we don't call a fruit or a herb. In fact, loads of them are actually fruit, botanically speaking, just masquerading as vegetables. To confuse things even further, some fruits are not fruits (that interloper rhubarb!) and every plant that we don't call a fruit is either called a vegetable, herb, grain or just not food.

So squashes are fruits, so this must be a fruitcake then! In fact they are berries, in the botanical sense, since they have a bunch of seeds in one fruit-body.

Anyway, this ramble is just to say that we shouldn’t be too closed-minded about what does and does not belong in a cake. The butternut squash makes for a very moist, but still very fluffy, comforting, Autumnal sort of cake. The cake is probably moist enough that it doesn’t really need a syrup drizzle to keep things tender, but if you are feeling it, a bit of half strength simple syrup (1 part sugar to 2 parts water) with some vanilla and cinnamon wouldn’t hurt anything. Your call.

butternut squash cake:

adapted from Pastry Affair

• 4 large eggs

• 1 2/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1 cup vegetable oil

• 2 cups butternut squash puree (1 large butternut squash, roasted until very tender, peeled and mashed)

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• ¼ tsp each ground nutmeg, ginger & cloves

• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 6” cake pans with parchment paper.

Beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, butternut squash puree and vanilla until everything is evenly incorporated. Add in all remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.

Portion about ⅔ of the batter into the two prepared pans. Reserve the rest for later or make a few cupcake. Uncooked batter freezes really well.

Bake about 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans at room temperature or in the fridge.

whipped cream cheese frosting:

adapted from Just a Taste

• 2 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, at room temperature

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 1/3 cups cold heavy whipping cream

In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese until soft. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until well incorporated. Whisking at a medium-high speed, pour whipping cream into mixer bowl in a slow stream. Frosting should become very fluffy.

assembly:
Trim cakes as required to flatten and level the tops. If using, drizzle syrup generously over the cake layers and let soak in for a couple minutes.

Place one cake layer on a 6" cake board if you have it, or a flat plate or cake stand. Cover cake with a very generous layer of frosting. Sandwich next cake layer on top and frost cake quickly all over with an offset spatula, making sure to cover all exposed cake. Chill in the fridge for 15-20 minutes and then frost with another layer of frosting. Use a bench scraper at a 90 degree angle to tidy up the sides, evenly turning the cake as you hold the bench scraper and add more frosting to fill up any holes or crannies. Decorate with sprinkles if your heart is full of childlike wonder, or leave plain if you prefer a stark, cold, brutalist cake to help you to steel yourself to the cold grey winter to come.

pumpkin soup

I have learned that soup, and lots of it, is the key to a calmer, more organized, Konmari-ish and just generally better life. Specifically, making lots of soup and keeping it in the freezer is the trick. There is an incredible soothing effect from having a filling, healthy meal always ready to go in about 10 minutes. Plus, they are pretty inexpensive and you can feel really smug about getting lots of vegetables. 

Especially as the holidays bear down upon us all like a huge, looming, twinkling thing - soup in the freezer is the way to stability. If you can manage to make more than one type and freeze both, so you have soup variety in your life, you level up. Might I recommend tortellini chicken soup, roasted tomato or cream of mushroom to add some variety? 

This soup is a great way to use up any straggler pumpkins left over from Halloween. If you have one hanging around, hurry up and use i or you might get an unfortunate liquefied pumpkin ooze mess, as I did this year. You can also use butternut, kabocha or any similar squash, or a mix. 

pumpkin soup:

• about 2 pound pumpkin

• grapeseed or vegetable oil

• 3 cloves garlic, smashed with the flat of a knife

• 1 shallot, quartered

• 1 tsp ground coriander seed

• 2 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp chili flakes

• salt and pepper

• 3 cups chicken stock

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• fresh cilantro and limes to serve

Heat oven to 400°.  Halve the pumpkins and scoop out seeds and stringy pumpkin intestines.  Brush with oil and sprinkle salt and pepper all over the flesh. Roast skin side down until flesh is very tender, about 1 hour. Let cool until the pumpkin isn't too hot to touch and peel off the skin. Set pumpkin flesh aside. 

In a large stock pot, sauté the garlic and shallots in 2 tbs oil. When the garlic and shallot are soft and starting to colour, add the cumin and coriander seed, and sauté a couple more minutes, until the spices are very fragrant. Add chicken stock and pumpkin. Blitz with an immersion blender or in a food processor until very smooth. Return to low heat and add cream and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with some fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Freeze in single serve portions and rejoice. 

Pumpkin magic. Bibbity bobbity boo.

tortellini chicken soup

This soup is a deluxe, upgraded version of classic chicken noodle soup. I love chicken noodle soup, especially if I'm feeling on the cusp of getting sick. I like it pretty classic, broth, shredded chicken, a couple thin carrot slices and a bit of parsley on top. For the ultimate cold remedy, I add A LOT of garlic and chili flakes, it really clears the sinuses. 

This essentially has the same elements, but all dialed up to 11. The soup gets a vegetable kick from celery, tomatoes and shredded kale, the broth gets a boost from a bit of tomato paste, and creamy white beans for a bit more protein.  And the pasta gets the biggest upgrade: cheesy, plump pasta dumplings bobbing around cheerfully. 

I was a bit worried that the tortellini would go soggy after sitting around in the soup, but it held up really well. Even after freezing and reheating, it didn't turn into a mush. So save and freeze your leftovers at will. 

tortellini chicken soup: 

• 4 cloves garlic, smashed

• 1 shallot, chopped

• big pinch chili flakes

• 1 tbs oil

• 4 cups chicken broth

• 1 packet fresh or frozen cheese tortellini

• 2 chicken breasts

• 1 tin white cannellini beans

• 4 carrots, thinly sliced

• 4 stalks celery, thinly sliced

• 4 medium tomatoes, chopped

• 4 cups chicken stock

• 2 tbs tomato paste

• 2 cups kale, very finely shredded

• parmesan and parsley to garnish

In a large heavy pot, heat oil over medium high and add garlic, shallot and chili. Sauté until fragrant and just beginning to colour. Add tomatoes and cook a couple more minutes. Add broth and chicken, reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is cooked through.

Remove chicken breasts and set aside. Add beans and tomato paste to the broth. Finely shred chicken using two forks. Increase heat and bring soup to a boil. Add tortellini, carrots and celery. Cook about 2 minutes or until pasta is tender. Add kale and remove from heat.  

Serve with a big sprinkle of parsley and parmesan. 

pecan pie

Pumpkin is a vegetable (well technically a fruit, but never mind that) and therefore pumpkin pie is very nearly a salad. That's why Thanksgiving needs another pie, a pie that is definitely not a salad. It needs a sugar pie. Sugar pies are the ones with gooey, caramel-y, custardy filling. They might have nuts, like pecan pie, or raisins like buttertarts, or sometimes they are fairly unadorned, like a chess pie. I love sugar pies, of all types, with and without fillings and topping. They are jiggly and sweet and rich, and just what you need after a huge meal of turkey, stuffing and lots of potatoes. Happy Thanksgiving!

crust: 

adapted from Bon Appetit. Makes twice as much as you need, tightly wrap the unused portion and freeze it for another pie later. 

• ⅓ cup almond flour

• ¼ cup granulated sugar

• 1 big pinch salt

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 cup chilled butter, cut into pieces (my butter was not chilled, doesn't seem to matter too much)

• 2 large egg yolks

• 1/4 cup cold water

Combine almond flour, granulated sugar, salt, all-purpose flour and butter in a food processor and pulse until mixture is just combined and has a sandy texture. Combine egg yolks and water and drizzle them over the flour mixture. Pulse until just combined. Add a few drops more water if the dough isn't coming together. 

Dump the dough out onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and squish it into a rectangle. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours.  Roll out chilled dough to about 1/8th inch thick. Transfer to a pie plate and trim excess from around the edges. Crimp edges and put in the freezer until the filling is ready. 

filling: 

adapted from Martha Stewart

• 2 cups pecan halves

• 4 eggs

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

• 1 cup golden syrup (use dark corn syrup if you like, but golden syrup is nicer)

• 1/2 cup light corn syrup

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all filling ingredients and stir well until evenly mixed. Pour into chilled crust and bake at 350 degrees, about 50 minutes, or until the center just slightly wobbles when shaken, but the edges are set.