Orange!

Photo Courtesy of Jaime Green

Ever Since I can remember I have always been a fan of the color orange. All I can say is that it speaks to me. I can be having the craziest or most stressful of days but when my eyes spy the color orange, I am quickly transformed into a state of bliss. With that admission, it should come as no surprise that pumpkins also make me happy, right? I don’t remember the first time I had a love affair with a pumpkin but I have no doubt that it goes back to the first time I bit into one of my grandma's yeasty pumpkin rolls. She was a huge fan of the pumpkin and all of its health benefits. As I sat in her kitchen she would share how important a pumpkin was with its high amounts of potassium and vitamin C.

As important as that info was it was not as important to me as that delicious aroma that would be coming from the oven, what can I say, I was easily distracted by a bigger reward! I loved how she would take a pumpkin and use its flesh in all sorts of sweet and savory dishes. I remember being more fascinated by the many recipes she came up with than by cutting a jack-o-lantern out. GG taught me how to bake my first pie and she taught me how to use the versatile yeast dough to create anything from coffee cake to pizza crust. Since then, I have spent many hours researching pumpkin recipes and have yet to come across one I don’t like. When I started this particular blog post I wanted to post some of my favorite recipes but quickly realized I have already done that over the last few years. So here are a few new ones I have tried recently and my hope is that if you give them a try, then maybe you, too, will see why this lovely orange orb brings me sweet bliss... I’m jus' sayin'!

Pumpkin Caramel Empanadas

Empanada Crust Recipe
http://latinfood.about.com/od/appetizersandsnacks/r/empanada_dough.htm
Pumpkin Caramel Filling

1 15-ounce can pumpkin

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
¼ cup of Kraft Caramel bits

Place all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix well to combine. Set aside.

To make Empanadas:
Preheat oven to 350 F and divide chilled dough into 4 quarters. Roll out each quarter into 1/8” inch circles. Depending on your size preference you can cut circles out with circle cookie cutters or find a plastic lid that matches your size preference. Spoon about 1 tbsp (more or less depending on empanada size). I put 2 tbs. into the center of each circle. Fold the dough over so it resembles a “taco” shape. Seal the edges using the back of a fork to keep the filling in as well as to add that cool little decorative look. Brush with melted butter or beaten egg white and sprinkle with sugar or cinnamon sugar (optional). Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 20 minutes until golden brown. Be careful because the caramel can burn quickly so keep a watchful eye on these little treats.





Garlic Cumin Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups of fresh cleaned pumpkin seeds (rinsed and patted dry)
1 tbs. of olive oil
½ tsp. of garlic powder
½ tsp. of ground cumin
1 tsp. of kosher salt

Toss all of the ingredients together and spread out on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 F oven for approximately 20 minutes until brown and toasty. Cool and enjoy!





Pumpkin Ginger Jam
Courtesy of “The Pumpkin Cookbook”

6 lb pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
¾ cup of lemon juice
2 tbsp. grated lemon zest
1 cup of crystallized ginger, finely chopped
1 tbs. ground ginger
6 lbs of sugar

Makes 6 ½ quarts

Boil or steam the pumpkin until tender. Drain well and mash. Put the mashed pumpkin in a large pot with the lemon juice, lemon zest , crystalized ginger and the ground ginger. Bring to a simmer. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Bring to a boil and boil for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally as the pulp thickens.

Meanwhile, wash some glass preserving jars and then boil them in warm water for 10 minutes. Dry upside-down in a warm oven. They should still be warm when you are filling them. Sterilize the lids by dipping in boiling water.

To test the jam to see if it is set, drop a small amount onto a cold saucer. Place in the refrigerator briefly. Then pour the jam into warm jars and seal. (I did a final water bath of 15 minutes with the sealed jars just to be 100% safe)





Hot Pumpkin White Chocolate
Courtesy of Phyllis Hoffman "Celebrate”

Makes 6 servings

4 cups whole milk
1 (15-ounce) can of pumpkin
1 (14-ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
8 oz. of finely chopped white chocolate
*Garnish-Whipped cream, pumpkin pie spice, marshmallows

In a large saucepan combine the milk, pumpkin, condensed milk and spice. Bring to a simmer over medium heat while whisking constantly. Remove from heat and add chocolate, whisking to dissolve. Ladle into mugs and garnish as desired.

First Food Blogger Potluck!

So here it is smack-dab in the middle of Spring and I have been busier than ever hosting different sets of out-of-town guests week after week. I'm enjoying every bit of it but finding absolutely no time to blog, in fact, my brain is so "blogged" it's hard for me to even think what I'm doing next. So considering that yesterday I attended my very first food blogger potluck in Austin, I think it's only natural - as well as appropriate - that I write about it.

I have known about this event for almost a month now and though I don't like to admit that I ever feel pressure in the kitchen, I must say that this has been a little daunting, if not downright stressful. I guess what's the most stressful is coming up with something original. In the world of all things food there are two types of eaters. First are your friends who don't cook but absolutely love eating everything you make and are willing to listen to you go on and on about food if it gets them closer to a second piece - I am convinced they are just future foodies that have not accepted the title yet - and second, actual "Foodies" - the people that have been around the world through culinary adventures in their mouths. These are the ones that are looking for anything and everything that will awaken all five senses, the ones that will travel great lengths to satisfy an urge for something they read or heard about locally. These are also the ones that will listen to your stories and childhood memories about how food inspired you, helping to make you what you are today. Foodies will also share in your woes, when that recipe you were so sure was perfect failed to impress even the dog, and then give you suggestions on how to correct it as well as convince you to try it again. Foodies will help you find ingredients for dishes and have no problem jumping in a car with you to find some ethnic market on the other side of town. Foodies love to share and they usually do not keep "secret recipes". The world of the "Foodie" appears to be complex on the outside because they will try just about anything, but on the inside, they are simply compassionate and adventurous souls that find simple pleasures in things as basic as coming across a new use for an everyday ingredient or being able to share a recent recipe discovery. This is the type of foodie that I hoped this group would be made up of.

I am pretty sure (though my Mom may not have realized it) that my brothers and I were raised to be foodies from the start. Whether it was my Mom's need to provide healthy food choices or her survival skills to produce enough food for a family of 5 on a small budget, I am forever thankful for her willingness to encourage us to seek out and taste new foods. I have tried to do the same with my kids and I feel quite successful in that both my children do not turn their noses up to food from other cultures and are willing to taste new foods at a drop of the hat, be it intimidating or not.

At this point you are likely wondering "Is she ever going to get to the recipes for the potluck event?" Of course! But what fun is a blog entry without a bit of a story first? So I was up early yesterday and still completely dumbfounded as to what I was going to make. I felt that I had to make something "worthy" of the group - an idea that was quickly put to rest once I arrived. I started thinking of spring and about the one thing that I tend to blog about quite a bit. That's how it works here: Stories - Seasons - Caffeine - Violá! All of a sudden, I have my two items for the event.

Stories: I love talking about our Meyer lemon tree and all the joy it brings me. Seasons: Lemons are perfect for spring.
Caffeine: It gave me the jump start I needed to get going!
Violá: Vanilla infused Meyer lemonade and Greek Unorthodox Empanadas!

It may sound a bit odd but that's what 2 cups of really good coffee can produce early in the morning. I decided to take some yummy Greek notes (preserved Meyer lemons, garlic, oregano, feta & ground turkey) and put them in a tasty empanada dough. The lemonade was something I came up with while squeezing Meyer lemons for my husband's annual batch of limoncello some month's ago, and thought it would be great on a sunny spring afternoon.

Nervously, I walked up to a group of people tasting food and taking pictures. Quickly, I was put at ease as I met some amazing people that not only enjoyed my crazy empanadas but had nothing but encouraging words to help me out with my blog. One of these lovely foodies shared with me her first experience with this group and said that when she walked away she felt like she had finely found "her" people. Though I am still new at all of this, I did truly understand what she meant when she said "her people". So if meeting new people and tasting new foods and gleaning plenty of tech info is what this group is all about, then beam me up Scotty because I, too, may have found "my people"! I'm jus' sayin'!

Greek Unorthodox Empanadas




Empanada rough recipe below

Filling:
1 lb. ground turkey
1 Tbs. Olive oil
1 Tbs. minced garlic
2 Tbs. minced fresh parsley
1 Tbs. of fresh minced Sage
2 Tbs. of minced preserved lemons
1/4 C. minced onion
Salt to taste
1 tsp. lemon pepper
4 oz. of crumbled feta cheese

Sauté onions & garlic in 1 Tbs. olive oil until translucent.
Remove from pan and place in a large bowl.
Sauté turkey in the same pan, sprinkle with lemon pepper and salt to taste (not to much salt because the cheese is quite salty) When finished, drain and add to bowl of onions.
To the bowl add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Set filling aside.

Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch and cut desired size circles out. At this point they can be small appetizer size of large handful size.

Place a spoon full of filling (depending on size) in the middle and slowly fold dough over to create a moon shape. Crimp with a fork and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Brush each empanada with an egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 Tbs. of water) Place in a pre-heated 350 oven and bake until golden brown. Serve with the sauce below. I have been told they freeze well but never was able to control myself to freeze them, they were just to yummy!

Empanada Dough
(adapted from Laylita's Kitchen)

2 cups all purpose flour
1 stick of unsalted butter, frozen, cubed
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
4-5 T milk
1 egg, lightly whisked

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a food processor pulse the flour with the cold butter until you get a crumbly mixture. Transfer to a bowl. Add the egg and milk and knead in to form a sort of dough. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and bring together into a ball. Pat into a circle of 1 inch thickness, wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.


Greek Unorthodox Dipping Sauce

1 16 oz container of plain Greek yogurt
1/3 Cup minced scallions
3 Tbs. minced preserved lemons
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbs. minced fresh sage
1 Tbs. agave nectar (or honey)

Mix together and refrigerate before serving with empanadas.




Vanilla-Infused Meyer Lemonade

1 1/2 cups of Sugar
1 1/2 cups of water
1 split vanilla bean

Place the above in a pot and bring to a boil and then turn off heat and let cool.

Combine 1 1/2 cups of simple syrup and 1 cup of Meyer lemon juice in a large pitcher, fill with cold water and adjust to taste.

"I've got a golden ticket!"

"I've got a golden ticket!" as Charlie exclaimed to Grandpa Joe...

This is kind of how I felt when Addie Broyles (@broylesa) of the Austin Statesman told me last week that I got a ticket (after it was sold out) for her annual Austin Food Bloggers Bash put on by Austin360 and CLEAR.

With 2 tickets (not really golden, but computer printed) and a bottle of freshly-made limoncello in hand - as well as my husband as my date - we were off to start our annual week of SXSW fun. The event was held here in Downtown Austin at the Cedar Door as part of SXSWi (the South by Southest conference's interactive portion of the 10-day event). Since this party was for and about food bloggers, we naturally went using our online handles, namely @girlgonegrits & @tequilabob23. After signing in and having our picture taken, we were served the Cedar Door's famous Mexican Martini's, courtesy of Twin Liquors.



Of course, with this being both a party for foodies as well as a SXSW event, we fully expected some tasty food to go along with the drinks and we weren't disappointed. The spread was Texas soul food - AKA - Tex-Mex. Make your own tacos and nachos (minus the ballpark cheese goop) along with chips and salsa, the spread consisted of chicken, pork, beef and grilled vegetables as the main fillers. The chips were exceptionally tasty as were all of the meats and toppings. As the first wave of guests settled in, champagne was passed around and we toasted with Addie to another great year of great food and great people writing about it.



Out on the street was the "Ice Cream Man" whose sole mission is to travel the circuit of music festivals just to give out free ice cream - Hello! How amazing of a job is that I ask!?! Everyone can use a free ice cream and I didn't even care that the early evening temperature had dropped to the point that I was glad I had brought my sweater - I was ready! I went with a pineapple-basil ice pop and it was absolutely perfect, while my always predictable hubby went with the always perfect Blue Bell fudgesicle. We said our goodbyes to Addie, passed her a bottle of our 2010 limoncello and picked up a swag bag with cool goodies along with a few other sweet treats including some bacon pecan toffee from epicuriosites.com (all I can say when I bit into it is "oh mama!" - yes, it's that good) and a cool little snickerdoodle twinkie from Retro Bizarro Pastries.







After heading out, we walked maybe a block only to smell more delightful aromas coming from a food trailer serving up empanadas, which I took note of and promised to hit on the walk back. After popping into a few more "free drink computer geek" parties for my hubby, we found ourselves back at that food trailer, aptly called "Mmmpanadas". I went with the pineapple ginger version while @tequilabob had the green-chili chicken with chipolte mayo. Walking back to our truck, the rain started to come down but we didn't care because we were too busy indulging in those flaky empanadas with both sweet and savory fillings, each of us thinking the same thing - cause that's what you do after being married 20 years - that we will soooo be visiting this trailer again! Hand-in-hand walking in the rain, taking in all the energy of SXSW and realizing this is only the start of a great week in Austin. So yeah, I guess in the end, it was like getting a golden ticket... I'm jus' sayin'!