Tamale train came to town

For months, Caeser's Mom and I had been eagerly anticipating the Tampa stop of So You Think You Can Dance. Even without Mary's psychotic outbursts, I'm pleased to report the show delivered.

The top eleven finalists from Season 4 were there, although Twitch didn't perform, due to an injury. My girl Katee is awesome - which I already knew, but watching her up close confirmed it. Everyone did a great job, naturally. My only grievance was the corny space fillers by Courtney and Gev - painful, drawn-out improvisations that all of the 14-year-olds surrounding us found hysterical.

But. Regardless of the sentimental "reach for the stars" mantra and tears from the dancers (it was their last tour stop), it was an amazing show. Most of my pics came out blurry since it was so dark in the arena, but I'll get a few up here.

Pumpkin Madness cont'd

For some odd reason, I got the urge to make pumpkin bread at 8 pm last night. Really, I could have tackled any number of higher-priority things but when the mood strikes, go for it, right? (This is generally my motto in all areas of life.) This baby is from the Joy of Cooking - a mammoth tome given to me by my mom's friend as a bridal shower gift. Seriously, it's more than 1,000 pages.

PUMPKIN BREAD
*My modifications: I doubled the recipe with no problem, and used 4.5 tablespoons of butter and 4 tablespoons of sugar-free applesauce. (If you make one loaf and want to halve the butter, I'd do 2.5 tbl. butter and 2 tbl. applesauce.) I also added chopped walnuts and golden raisins.

One 9 x 5-inch loaf

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
Whisk together:
1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1⁄2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1⁄2 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves

Combine in a small bowl:
1⁄3 cup water or milk
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat in a large bowl until fluffy:
6 tablespoons (3⁄4 stick) butter, softened, or 1⁄3 cup vegetable shortening
1 1⁄3 cups sugar or 1 cup sugar plus 1⁄ 3 cup packed brown sugar
Beat in one at a time: 2 large eggs

Add and beat on low speed just until blended: 1 cup cooked or canned pumpkin puree

Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the milk mixture, beating on low speed or stirring with a rubber spatula until smooth and scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Fold in: 1⁄2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1⁄3 cup raisins or chopped dates

Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes before unmolding to cool completely on the rack.

For now, I'll stick with some recipes

I've had a lot on my mind the past few days.

But, I don't really feel like blogging about it. Instead, here are some tasty offerings from good friends William and Sonoma that I think you'll enjoy. Hope my introspection leads to some blog-worthy comments soon.

Beef Bourgignonne
from Williams-Sonoma Kitchen

Oui, this recipe was fantastique. I cut the ingredients in half, which was plenty for 3 or 4 average-sized appetite people. However, I was cooking for my husband, so there were NO leftovers! Quel horror. I also omitted the bacon and mushrooms (hubs loathes mushrooms, I'm indifferent). Resist the urge to skip the browning step before adding the beef to the crock pot - it really makes a difference.


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

5 lb. beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

5 thick bacon slices, cut into 1-inch pieces

5 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch
pieces

2 yellow onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick

5 garlic cloves, chopped

2 bay leaves

6 fresh thyme sprigs

6 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs

1 lb. white button mushrooms, halved

1 bottle Pinot Noir

1 Tbs. beef demi-glace

Steamed baby red potatoes tossed with
butter and chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for
serving (optional)


Directions:
Place the flour in a large bowl. Season the beef with salt and pepper, add to the flour and stir to coat evenly. Transfer to a plate, shaking off the excess flour.

In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil until almost smoking. Working in batches, brown the beef on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a slow cooker.

Add the bacon, carrots, onions and garlic to the sauté pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker along with the bay leaves, thyme, parsley and mushrooms.

Off the heat, pour the wine into the sauté pan and set over medium-high heat. Whisk in the demi-glace and bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the pan bottom. Add to the slow cooker, cover and cook until the meat is fork tender, 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Discard the bay leaves.

Transfer the beef bourguignonne to a platter and serve with steamed potatoes. Serves 10.



Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
adapted from Williams Sonoma Bridal Cookbook

There are a lot of butternut squash soup recipes out there, but this one is perfect because it's fast - and healthy. To make it really perfect, pre-roast the squash and store in the refrigerator so that you can whip up some soup when the mood strikes.

1 large butternut squash
1 large yellow onion
4-5 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup half and half
1 tbl. unslated butter

Preheat oven to 400F. Peel and chop the squash (it will roast faster if you chop into smaller pieces). Spread on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until soft when pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, finely chop onion and saute in the butter until translucent and slightly brown, about 10 minutes. In a medium saucepan, bring to a boil the chicken stock and add the onion and roasted squash. Simmer about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.*

Using a food processor, immersion blender or blender, puree the stock mixture in batches. When all batches are complete, add back to the saucepan and warm over medium-low heat.

If you care to, sprinkle some parmesan or shaved fontinella on top. I served this with cumin-toasted pita and a green salad.



* This step is actually really important, especially if you're using a blender. I have minor burns on my forearms to prove it! Boiling soup WILL force the lid off your blender. Cheers!