Mario Batali's Pennette with Kale Ragu

Even pirates need to eat their greens.

That's the first thing you learn in piratry school.  Right after the class on swashbuckling and before the tutorial on how to apply your temporary skull-and-crossbone tattoos.

I'll have you know that I'm a terrible swashbuckler.  But I'm actually quite an excellent temporary tattoo artist. That whole add water and wait thirty seconds business?  I've got that down.



Pirates are a dying breed, you see.  And so the powers that be can't just let any and every pirate wannabe loose onto the water, only to come down with scurvy in five minutes because they forgot the importance of eating fruits and vegetables.

Besides. If you're going to have to outwit comic book heroes such as Popeye.  A man who, being the spinach-lover that he is, truly understands the power behind the leafy green vegetable.  You're going to need to step it up.  Find your own superfood to stand behind.

This is where the almighty kale comes in.  Not only is it the perfect vegetable for when you're about to set sail on the high seas, but it's also ideal for those who are just about to attend a Halloween party.  Where there may or may not be a homemade ice luge.  From which you may or may not take a few candy corn-infused shots of vodka.

I mean, I didn't (mainly because I was running a 5 mile race two days later (i.e. today) and didn't want to completely screw up the electrolyte balance in my body).  But you might.

Lucky for you, I've got you covered. Kale is super rich in thiamine, a vitamin that alcohol tends to deplete from the body.  So just have a big bowl of this pennette with kale ragu before you leave.  (Which, trust me, is so absolutely delicious that you might even have two bowls.)  And you'll be good to go.

And if you also take the time to work on those swashbuckling skills?  You'll be golden.  I should know.  I have the fishnet stockings and the remnants of a few temporary tattoos to prove it.

Happy Halloween!



This dish may seem quite simple to you, and it is.  And so I think it's really a testament to Batali's genius that he can combine an onion, garlic, a leafy green, and some parmesan cheese in such a way that they taste like magic.  After this, you'll never have a problem eating your greens again.  In fact, you might as well pick up double the amount of kale that you need for this.  Because you'll be making it again.  Possibly the next day.

I added some winter squash to this because, well.  That's the kind of thing that I do (especially when I'm trying to cook up dishes for the 12 Weeks of Winter Squash!)  But I bet it would also be great with some red bell pepper.

Pennette with Swiss Chard Kale Ragu
Serves 4-6, adapted from Batali's Molto Gusto

1 delicata squash, diced and roasted in a 450 degree oven for 40 minutes (I added this)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small white onion, halved and sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 bunches kale or swiss chard (about 1 lb), stemmed and cut into thin strips
Maldon or other flaky sea salt
2 tbsp butter (Mario calls for 4)
kosher salt
1 lb pennette or any penne-like pasta
1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano (Mario calls for 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs fried in 1 tbsp olive oil until golden brown

1. Set the squash up to roast as instructed above.

2. Combine the olive oil, onion, garlic, and kale in a large pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion and chard are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.  Season well with sea salt.  Add 1/4 cup water, cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the kale is very tender.

3. Add the winter squash to the pot with the kale.  Add the butter, stirring until it melts.  Season with pepper and remove from the heat.

4. Around step 2, set up a pot of water with about 6 qts of water in it to boil.  Mix in 3 tbsp salt.  bring to a boil.  Cook the pasta.

5. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water when you do so.  Add the pasta and 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water to the kale ragu.  Toss over medium heat until the pasta is well coated.  Add more water if necessary to loosen the sauce.  Mix in the parmigiano-reggiano.

6. Transfer the pasta to serving bowls and sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top.

I am submitting this to Presto Pasta Nights, which is being hosted by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast.  I am also submitting it to Chaya's Meatless Mondays!

Pumpkin White Chocolate Chunk and Candied Ginger Blondies

What use is having twenty cans of pumpkin sitting on your shelves.  All beautifully lined up.  Polished until they sparkle just so.  If you're not going to use them.

Such is the question that Sophie posed to me when I kept standing in the kitchen.  Marveling at them.  Clutching my heart.  Beaming with pride.

Sigh.   They grow up so fast, don't they?



But, but, but.  I stuttered.  But if I USE them, then I won't HAVE them anymore.  

Precisely.  She said, throwing her hands up in despair as she walked back into her room.



I have this problem, you see.  Whereby I buy things.

Just in case.

Things like six bags of cranberries.  Things like 20 cans of pumpkin (they were on SALE people!).  Things like ten pounds of winter squash.

Just in case of what exactly I'm not sure.

In case of an apocalypse.  In case of a monsoon.  In case of it becoming spring before I have a chance to make every single cranberry recipe that my heart desires.

But then when I do find such a recipe, I store it away thinking, yes but I should save that bag in case something comes along that I REALLY want to make.  When in fact, the recipe that I have just found IS that recipe.  I'm just usually too distracted by my own neuroses to realize it. 



And then, this week I had a breakthrough.  That breakthrough being that I realized that there are only four days until Halloween.  And I have not featured a single pumpkin baked good yet this season.

Doesn't that seem like a crying shame to you?

So I searched.  And searched.  And searched.  And then I stumbled across these bars on Picky Palate.  And well.  Given the fact that I had a container of crystallized ginger to use up immediately.  (And by "use up" I mean that I had already eaten my way through one container in approximately three days because man that stuff is spicy and painful and sweet and all kinds of addicting.  And so I needed to get it out of my life and into the bellies of some unsuspecting individuals.  Immediately.)

I was pretty sure this recipe was "the one".

Also, did I mention that these only call for a quarter stick of butter.  Never mind the fact that they have multitudes of white chocolate chips in them.  They are practically health food.  At least that's how I advertised them.

The future doctors of America who I gave them to?  They totally bought it.  Have I mentioned yet that we are actually taught nothing about nutrition in all of med school?  Yeah, I'm totally capitalizing on that.  Totally.



These taste almost exactly like pumpkin pie.  Pumpkin pie with crystallized ginger on top.  We were doubtful about the ginger.  But you shouldn't be.  Because it's what cuts the sweetness of these luscious bars making your palate jump up and down in excitement.  Waking it up from the sugar coma that you are about to induce.  When you eat three of them because you just can't help yourself.  Not that I know anything about that...

Pumpkin White Chocolate Chunk and Crystallized Ginger Blondies
Makes 9, adapted from Picky Palate 

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 tbsp Greek yogurt
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped
1 1/2-2 cups powdered sugar
4 tbsp half and half

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Melt the butter in the microwave until hot and melted.  Stir in 3/4 cup white chocolate chips.  Let sit for a minute and then stir until chips are melted.  Set aside.

2. In another bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/2 cup white chocolate chips.  Stir in the melted chocolate/butter mixture.

3. Beat the two eggs in a separate bowl with the 2 tbsp greek yogurt (or sour cream).  Pour that into the flour/chocolate mixture and stir until combined.  Add in the pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt.  Stir until just combined.

4. Pour into a greased, aluminum foil-lined 8x8 baking sheet (or 9x13 if you want to double the recipe).  Top with the chopped bits of crystallized ginger.  Put in the oven and bake for 28-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

5. Allow to cool in the pan.  Cut and refrigerate.  Refrigeration helps these to take on a more blondie-like texture.  Before serving, make the glaze for them.  Mix the powdered sugar with the half and half until desired consistency is reached.  Drizzle over the blondies just before serving.

I am submitting this to Weekend Herb Blogging, which is being hosted this week by Chriesi of Almond Corner.

The deadline for Regional Recipes: GERMANY is Halloween!  Please email me your entries!

Thai Sweet Potato and Winter Squash Pot Pie (Vegan)

Remember this summer?

Remember when I went on that cruise to Canada for five days and four nights?  (Cruise.  To.  Canada.  Oxymoron.)




Remember when I forced cajoled pleaded coerced politely asked my brother to set up the prorated international internet on my phone.  So that I could "email my parents".  "Daily".  To let them know I was still alive. 

But really because I was sure that the only thing that would get me through each thoroughly hungover morning would be to check up on all of you lovely individuals and see how your days were going. 

It's true.  You made each hungover morning way better.  I swear.




Remember how my phone spent the whole trip trying to convince me that we were actually in the middle of the Indian ocean?  No, I guess you wouldn't remember that.  But I do. 

When we arrived at St. John in New Brunswick it tried to tell me that we were actually in New Delhi. 

I wish.  Is what I told it before I powered it off in the hopes of teaching it not to toy with my emotions like that.  Even though I secretly hoped that it was right and that the captain had somehow gone entirely off course.  And that I would disembark to find a large plate of palak paneer waiting for me.

Instead I found a Farmer's Market rife with maple syrup, maple sugar, maple fudge, and maple lollipops.  Yup.  We were definitely in Canada.



Remember when I came back and told you all about how terrible the food was?  Remember how surprised you were?

Yeah.  That was too bad.  But there's always a silver lining.

You see, the way dinner worked on the cruise was that every night between the hours of 6 and 7 we would trek over to our designated dining room.  Sit at one of our designated tables.  And be handed a menu.  The menu would have a slew of items that would be available every night for the duration of the cruise, but it also had a set of specials that would change every day.

On the first night, the vegetarian special was a cinnamon pumpkin, squash, yam and cheddar pot pie.  Which, if you know me at all, you know that I instantly closed the menu, didn't even look at any of the rest of the day's options and ordered. 

(And for the record, no I have no idea why they were serving a pot pie in the middle of August.  That really should have triggered some kind of skepticism in my brain.  But I was too distracted by the word "pumpkin".  Preceded by the word "cinnamon".  In short. I was brainwashed.)

To make a long story short, it was good.  Not great.  But good.  But I knew it could be better.  So I made a mental note to try to recreate it once I got home.

This is not that pot pie.  (Although if you do want that pot pie, the good folks over at The Novice Chef Blog have done a bang up job of recreating it.)

No, no.  This is, instead, what happens when I end up trying to brainstorm what I should make for this week's edition of the 12 Weeks of Winter Squash.  Decide to make the infamous Carnival pot pie.  And then walk to Sarabeth's to meet Dana of Dana Treat who was in town from Seattle for the weekend for coffee and cocktails.  (She was awesome in every meaning of the word.  We talked for over two hours without a single moment of awkward silence.  And I realized on my walk home that I want to be her when I grow up. True story.)

Anyways, it was on that fateful walk through Central Park when I really should have been thinking about the vestibular/auditory system that the idea for a Thai curry-infused pot pie popped into my head. 

I like to think it was a moment of divine inspiration.  Mostly because it ended up being absolutely delicious in every way.  But also because Sarabeth's is actually really close to Whole Foods and so I went grocery shopping immediately after our coffee/cocktail date (what, you mean you don't combine your stimulants with your depressants?  Weird.) while the idea was still fresh in my head.  Before I had any chance to doubt myself.

Isn't it great when serendipity exerts itself in the form of really good food?  I think.  Yes.



Thai Sweet Potato and Winter Squash Pot Pie with Pumpkin Biscuit Crust
Serves 4-5, an Eats Well With Others Original

1 2-3 pound winter squash, I used an orange kabocha, cut into chunks
1 large white sweet potato, cut into chunks
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 package tempeh, chopped
1 can light coconut milk
1 cup water
4 tsp red curry paste
2.5 tbsp soy sauce
1-2 tbsp brown sugar, depending on taste
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen peas
2 tbsp flour

For the biscuits  (adapted from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen)
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tbsp lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 450.  Toss squash and sweet potato chunks with 1 tbsp oil and some salt.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for 45-50 minutes or until fork tender.

2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large-ish pot.  Add in the onion.  Saute for 3 minutes or until translucent.  Add in one clove garlic.  Saute 30 seconds.  Add in red curry paste.  Saute 30 seconds.  Add in tempeh.  Saute 1-2 minutes.

3. Pour the roasted squash and sweet potato into the pot.  Stir.  Mix in the coconut milk, water, soy sauce, and brown sugar.  Stir until well combined.  Bring to a simmer.  Pour in the peas.  Cook until heated through.  Add salt, sugar, and curry paste to taste.  Add in 2 tbsp flour and stir until mixed in.  Remove from heat while you prepare the biscuits.

4. Lower oven to 400.  In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin, almond milk and lemon juice.  Feel free to use regular milk, soy milk, etc. if not vegan.  Next time I might add coconut milk to keep with the thai theme.

5. Pour the pot pie filling into a large dutch oven or oven-safe casserole dish.  Drop handfuls of the biscuit dough onto the top of the pot pie.  Bake for 20 minutes or until biscuits start to brown.

I am submitting this to the Hearth N Soul Blog Hop as well as to Chaya's Meatless Mondays. 

Pork Schnitzel with a Roasted Potato and Brussel Sprout "Salad"

I sometimes wish that more English words took their etiology from Germanic roots.

I think life would be more fun that way.

Then we could walk around saying things like "kartoffelpuffer" (potato pancakes) or "pfefferneusse" (small spicy cookies, although the word directly translates to "pepper nut") with reckless abandon.




In fact, not being one to ever abide by any sort of societal norms or grammatical standards (as is evidenced by my gratuitous use of periods and incomplete sentences) and being the trendsetter that I am.  This week, I decided to take matters into my own hands and begin the arduous process of enmeshing and infiltrating the English language with some key German phrases.



For example.  When my brother complained to me about having too many job interviews.  I said, "Daniel.  Stop being such a wiener schnitzel!" 

Yes, I did just call him a piece of pork that was covered in breadcrumbs and fried to all sorts of perfection.  And no, it did not actually mean anything.  But how much of language is actually about meaning and how much is about the force with which you say it?


All I'm saying is that he had no idea what I was referring to.  But it must have resonated with him because later that day I got a very solemn call from my mother asking me why I felt the need to do something as denigrating as to call my brother a "wiener schnitzel".  And to inform me that she really wished I would clean up my vocabulary. 

"No man wants to marry a girl who sounds like a truck driver" were, I believe, her exact words. 


Classic.




After throwing the term "wiener schnitzel" around for a few days straight, I decided that it was high time that I actually go ahead and make the damn thing.  Uncover the man behind the myth, if you will.

So I did some research and ultimately decided to use a recipe written by Elise of Simply Recipes.  Why her?  Well, with a last name like Bauer, I'm pretty sure that she knows what she's talking about.

At first glance, this recipe looks almost identical to one for pork milanese.  And it is.  It really truly is.  Except for one thing.  The paprika.

Germans.  Love.  Paprika. 

And with it's sweet smoky flavor.  Who can blame them? 

And so while this meal is neither the most decadent nor the most gourmet.  It tastes like a simple home-cooked meal should.  To be blunt.  It is just good.. 

In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I have decided from here on out, the term "wiener schnitzel" is only to be used as a compliment.  Scratch everything I said before.  Grab your best friend, significant other, favorite child.  And say, "You know you're the wiener schnitzel of my eye, right?"

And when they look at you like you're crazy.  Make them this dish.  They'll understand after that.  Trust me.



Pork Schnitzel
Serves 4, adapted from Simply Recipes

4 boneless pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp milk
3/4 cup panko
1 tsp paprika
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup green yogurt
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp chives
salt, to taste
warm water, to taste

1. Use a meat hammer to pound the cutlets to 1/4-1/8 inch thickness. I am a rebel and a pacifist and so I pounded nothing.  But they will be easier to cook if you pound them.  Trust me.

2. Set out three shallow bowls.  In one, combine the flour, salt, and black pepper.  In another, combine the beaten egg and 2 tbsp milk. In the third, combine the panko and paprika. 

3. Heat a skillet with the three tbsp olive oil on medium high heat.  Dredge the cutlets first in the flour, then dip in the egg/milk mixture, and then finally coat with the paprika/panko.  Place in the frying pan with the now hot oil and cook about 3-4 minutes on each side.  Remove from the skillet and cover with foil to keep warm.  Repeat until all cutlets have been cooked.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together the Greek yogurt, mustard, and chives.  Add in enough hot water until consistency desired is reached.  Mine was a little bit thicker than barbecue sauce consistency.  Add salt to taste.

Roasted Potato and Brussel Sprout "Salad"
This isn't really a recipe but more of a simple tasty side dish that can use whatever you have on hand.  Preheat oven to 450.  Cut potatoes into chunks and brussels sprouts into halves.  I used a small bag of mixed potatoes (red, blue!, and Yukon gold) and about 1.5 lb brussels sprouts.  Toss in about 1 tbsp olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and black pepper, place on a baking sheet, and roast for about 50 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.  When remove from the oven, toss with 1 tbsp roasted garlic olive oil and 1/4 cup toasted almond slivers.

This is my submission to Regional Recipes: GERMANY.  You have until the end of the day on October 31st to send me your submissions!

Ohio Creamed Corn with Bacon

I have made an extremely critical decision about my love life.  (Or the lack thereof.)

Of which I feel the need to inform you - my most captivated and voyeuristic audience.

I have decided that I am going to join JDate (a dating website primarily for Jewish individuals).



When I tell people this, (and I have only told approximately three people), they are usually quite enthusiastic.  Until about midway through the conversation when they pause and say, "Um, wait.  But you're not Jewish are you?"

And that is really the crux of the problem now isn't it.

You see.  For as long as I can remember (and wow I can't believe I am going to admit this to the world wide web at large).  I have had a "thing" for Jewish guys. 

It's certainly weird.  And certainly undeniable. You can ask any of my friends.  We'll be out at a bar and the guy who I end up being most attracted to is the one whose last name happens to be Cohen or Berkowitz.  Go figure.

(My ex-boyfriend's mother is probably reading this laughing hysterically right now (Hi Sandy!).  Saying, "Oh so THAT'S why such a nice little Italian girl dated my son for four years.  Yes, the world makes sense now.  Although her son is actually a really good guy.  So that also contributed.) 

(No really.  She does actually read my blog.) 



Anyway, so yes.  JDate.

But I am not Jewish.

But, as I learned recently when I did some research on the subject (a much better alternative than spending your time learning all of nerves in the head and neck, I'll have you know), you do not have to be Jewish to go on JDate.  They even have a little box that you can click if you're not.  So as soon as this excruciatingly hard part of my coursework is over in November.  That's what I'll be doing.

My mother will be extremely happy.  She actually really likes the idea of me finding a nice Jewish husband.  So long as she gets to be a young grandmother, that is.  A little factoid that she reminds me of every time we talk on the phone.

Which may or may not be why I only call her once a week.

Anyway, before I embark on this little endeavor of mine.  I decided that it's best to really appreciate pork while I still have the chance.

And by pork.  I mean bacon.

Hence this dish.  Ohio creamed corn.  With bacon.

Although, is it really Ohio creamed corn if the corn was grown in New York?  Eh, semantics.

Don't get all meshuggina on me.



So I'm going to be honest and say that I didn't really love this.  At all.  Maybe I don't like creamed corn.  Maybe I don't like the combination of bacon with lime and cilantro.  I can't really say.

I ended up just eating the bacon out of it.  Because that seemed like the healthy thing to do.  But I know that Kim of Stirring the Pot really enjoyed it, so I have a feeling it's just me. As you can tell from this post, I have very strange taste.  So take it with a grain of salt.

Ohio Creamed Corn with Bacon
Serves 4-6, adapted from Symon's Live To Cook

5 ears of corn (thankfully I got some of the last of the Farmer's Market corn!)
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 pound bacon, cut into 1-inch strips
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 recipe of corn stock
1/2 cup creme fraiche
(1 tbsp unsalted butter - Symon calls for this, but I didn't use it)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
grated zest of one lime

1. Cut the kernels from the cobs and set the kernels aside.  Use the cobs to make the corn stock.

2. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat.  Heat the tsp of olive oil.  Add the bacon and cook until crisp and brown, and until the fat is rendered, about five minutes.  Add the onion and sweat it for about 45 seconds. Add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring, for another 30 seconds.  Add the reserved corn and the salt and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Pour in the corn cob stock and bring to a simmer.  Cook until the liquid reduces to approximately 1 cup, about 10 minutes.  Add the creme fraiche and simmer until the mixture begins to thicken, about 3 minutes.  (Stir in the butter, if using.)  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cilantro and lime zest.  Season with salt if needed before serving.

This is my submission to Symon Sundays hosted at Veggie By Season and also to this week's Weekend Herb Blogging which is being hosted by Chris of Mele Cotte.

Apple, Sausage, and Brie Pizza on a Pumpkin Pizza Dough Crust

Yesterday, I cried.

I cried because, well.  If you want the technical terms, it's because my seventh cranial nerve sent fibers to my lacrimal gland in the form of the greater petrosal nerve, which synapsed in the pterygopalatine ganglion, which is in the nose. 

This is the explanation for why your nose runs when you cry.  The fibers get a little excited and just innervate everything everywhere in their near vicinity.  True story. 



In layman's terms.

I cried yesterday because at approximately 1 pm, I registered for the Boston Marathon. 

I'm sure most of you who are not runners are like, "Eh, so what?  You enter in your contact info, fork over some money.  What's the big deal?"

And normally, I would agree with you but the thing about the Boston Marathon is that the only way to enter it is to qualify. And to qualify, you need to be fast. 

And last year.  Exactly one year ago yesterday.  I ran a marathon.  My first marathon.  In 3:35:11. 

The thought of which still makes me cry.  Partly because it is, I think, one of the things (aside from this little corner of the blogosphere that I devote every ounce of my spare time to, of course) that I'm most proud of.  Partly because, after being injured, I am nowhere near that fast.  And partly because it has allowed me to do something that so few people get to do.  And that is to run the Boston Marathon.



Sorry for all this talk about running lately.  It's just that when you realize you've spent fifteen hours in the past week standing in a room with approximately fifty dead bodies in it. 

Paying $130 to run 26.2 miles and put your body through hell.  Feels kind of like winning the lottery.

At the least, it warrants a celebration.

Wait.  What's that you said?  Did I just hear you call for a pizza party?

Mmm.  Yes.  Your limbic system (i.e. the part of the brain that stimulates both arousal and a pleasurable response to taste. Brodmann's are 43 to be precise) knows where it's at. 

And yes, I am absolutely implying that sexual prowess is intrinsically linked to your ability to take pleasure in a bowl of ice cream.  Need help getting it up? Pull out the whipped cream.



Now, if you're thinking that this was going to be my entry into PFB round 5.  And that in a quite pitiable way, I forged ahead and made it anyway.  Then, well.  You have way too much faith in my planning and organizational skills. 

No, no, no.  This pizza was a whim.  Something that hit me when I made the mistake of walking down the cheese aisle at Whole Foods.  And managed to convince myself that brie was exactly what I was missing in my life.  I mean, really.  Who needs a man when you have a wheel of brie sitting in your fridge?

And that, my friends, is my new mantra.

Now, if you'll please excuse me. I have approximately 600+ structures in the head and neck that I'll need to be able to identify by tomorrow at 8AM.  And after that, I'll be done with anatomy for the rest of my life. 

Now that is a reason to celebrate.

Pumpkin Pizza Dough
1 tbsp yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp salt
6 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

Pizza
2 apples (I would use Granny Smith)
4 oz brie
2 links spicy sausage

1. In a small bowl, mix together the yeast, 3/4 cup water, and the brown sugar.  Let sit for about five minutes or until it starts foaming.  If this never happens, then the yeast are probably dead and, yeah.  You should buy new yeast.

2. While the yeast is proofing, in a small saucepan, combine butter, salt, and 3/4 cup water.  Heat until the butter melts.  Let it cool until you can stick your finger in it without getting burned. Pour this into the yeast mixture.  Pour all of this into the bowl of a stand mixer.

3. Measure out 6 cups bread flour.  Mix the pumpkin puree into the stand mixer.  Mix in the bread flour.  Using the bread hook attachment, mix the dough on speed 2 for 10 minutes.  Add enough flour so that after a minute of mixing, the dough sticks more to the hook than to the sides of the bowl.  The dough should be a little sticky but not TOO wet.

4. Cover the bowl of the stand mixer with a damp paper towel and allow the dough to rise until doubled, about one hour.

5. Preheat oven to 500.

6. After the dough has risen risen, cut off half of it.  Sprinkle the half with flour and mold it into a ball.  Place on a clean surface that's covered in flour and roll out to a desired thickness.  Place on a pizza pan. 

7. Cut apples into thin slices.  Layer onto pizza. 

8. Remove sausage from it's casing.  Cook in a small saucepan, crumbling it up using a spatula, until it is crisp and browned.  Sprinkle over the apple layer.

9.  Cut chunks off of your hunk of brie and layer them onto the pizza. 

10. Put in the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes or until bottom of dough is starting to get brown.

This has been yeastspotted!  And is being submitted to this week's Hearth N Soul bloghop!

Please submit your entries to Regional Recipes: GERMANY by October 31st!

Symon's Crab Tater Tots on a Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette

I would like to alert you all to the fact that I have been reborn.

Not as a Christian, virgin, or ultra-conservative Republican, try as though my mother might. 

Not as the wife of a certain alarmingly adorable and endearingly bald Iron Chef that I may or may not have built a shrine to in my apartment that has little to no free space in it and thus has no business holding shrines of any size, shape, or form.  Try as though I might.




Rather.  Yesterday morning, I woke up.  As a runner.

First, some back-story.  The parts that I didn't tell you along the way.

When I first started running again after an 8-month injury. I hated it.  Every step hurt.  I felt like I could never really get enough oxygen.  I was pretty sure that I could feel stress fractures forming in every bone in my body, including bones that have nothing to do with running.  And all I could think about the whole time was how much of a failure I was for barely being able to run a mile when, at one time, I would run 12 miles at a clip.  For fun.

It made me wonder how I'd ever started running in the first place.  Because, let's be real.  It sucks.  It sucks a lot.  I mean.  At least I had the memory of how good it could be.  But to start from scratch, thinking that it would always be this hard.  Who would choose to do that to themselves?

But let me tell you this.  Yesterday, I ran 8.5 miles.  And it didn't hurt.  My knees didn't feel like they were going to cave in after every step.  My chest didn't feel like it was going to explode.  It was a good run.  And it was the first time I really felt like myself again, after all this time.

They say that if you can run a mile, you can run a marathon.  And after yesterday.  I believe that.



And so one thing that all this has taught me is that maybe I shouldn't doubt so much.  A lesson that came in handy this week while making these crab tater tots, which are the Symon Sundays recipe of the week.


You see.  I don't really like crab.  I don't really like white potatoes.  And  I really don't really like deep frying.  To be blunt.  I was not enthused.

But I forged ahead anyway.  Sometimes, even in the unlikeliest of situations.  This is the kind of thing that you need to do.

So I forged through melting butter.  I forged through mixing up the dough.  I forged through tasting the dough.  I forged through thinking that the dough was thoroughly unimpressive.

I even forged through frying, which went against every fiber of every cell in every bone of my body.  Even the ones with hallucinatory stress fractures.

But then, in the end.  It all just came together.  The crab tater tots actually tasted like. Well.  Tater tots.  And who doesn't love tater tots?

And though it seems like an unlikely combination, they went beautifully with the butternut squash salad with warm cider vinaigrette, which is a symphony of fall flavors if ever I've had one.  I highly recommend that you make this today.  And that you go for a run.  Because, though those first few runs will suck.  You need to get through them in order to get to the ones that make your head spin with happiness.  They're there.  I promise.




Before I get to the recipes, I just want to thank everyone who voted for me in Project Food Blog.  While I didn't make it to the next round, I was absolutely floored by all of the positive feedback I got from you.  My readers.  And honestly, your opinion matters more to me than having a little medal appear next to my name each week. 

ALSO.  As you may have guessed, I am currently training for a half marathon with Team In Training, a group that raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.   LLS is the world's largest voluntary health organization and it's dedication to funding blood cancer research and providing monetary support for patients is second to none.  The majority of people who are afflicted with blood cancers are children.  Young children.  And so finding a cure to save these young lives is non-negotiable.  I would love it if you could support this wonderful cause by donating to my fund.  Even a donation as small as $5 would be much appreciated.  Both by me and by the child who's life you help to save.  Thanks guys!

Crab Tater Tots
Makes about 35 tater tot-shaped tater tots or 12 patties, adapted from Symon's Live To Cook

2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup flour
1 egg
1 cup seasoned mashed potatoes (I used more...2 medium/large potatoes worth)
8 oz crab meat
panko
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying

1. In a small pan, combined the butter and water over medium-high heat.  Simmer until butter is melted.  Lower the heat and mix in the flour.  Keep mixing until the paste that forms peels away from the side of the pan.  Remove from heat and let it cool for five minutes.  Mix in the egg.

2. Mix the egg into the seasoned mashed potatoes.  Mix in the crab. Heat oil for frying.  Symon recommends using canola oil and deep frying.  However, I used olive oil and shallow fried.  Your call.

3. Take a handful of the potato/crab mixture (or less depending on how large you want your tater tots to be).  Roll in some panko until it is completely covered.  Place in the oil, turning once in the frying process.  They should take 2-3 minutes to cook. Place on a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

**NOTE - This can be made vegetarian by omitting the crab and I bet it will still taste fabulous.  I would also like to try it with some chives mixed in.  Hellagood.

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette
Serves 4, adapted from Nigella Lawson via Got No Milk

1 1/2 lb butternut squash cut into 3/4 inch dice (I used three small-ish squash....not sure how much the total weight was).
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
3/4 cup apple cider (fresh from the Farmer's Market goodness!)
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 shallot, diced
2 tsp dijon mustard
arugula, I used a lot because I wanted a hearty salad but use as much as your heart desires
1/2 cup walnut halves, toasted
1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
salt and pepper to taste.

1. Preheat oven to 450.  Grease the bottom of a baking sheet with olive oil or spray it with cooking spray.  Put the butternut squash dice on the baking sheet.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Pop in the oven and roast for 45 minutes or until fork tender.

2. In a small pan, combine the apple cider, cider vinegar, and shallot.  Bring to a boil and then reduce until liquid amounts to about 1/4 cup (about 6-8 minutes).

3. Remove from heat and whisk in mustard, olive oil, and maple syrup.  Whisk in 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper.

4. Place the arugula in a large salad bowl. Toss with butternut squash, walnuts, and gorgonzola.  Add just enough vinaigrette to coat the arugula leaves.

This is my submission to Symon Sundays, which is being hosted over at Veggie By Season, as well as to Souper Sundays which is being hosted by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen. 

Pumpkin Spice Milkshake with a Cranberry Sauce Swirl

Voting for Project Food Blog Challenge #4 is officially underway!  If you like what you see here at Eats Well With Others, I would appreciate it SO MUCH if you could head on over and vote for me and my spinach-onion curry pizza on a pumpkin-infused pizza dough!  You have until tonight at 9PM to vote!

Here is what I have to contend with.

A father who "can't" eat vegetables because they "bother" his stomach.  And yes, we have tried many times to go over the difference between "can't" and "won't" as well as get a clear definition of the word "bother".

As I have yet to find anything in the medical literature about a man who can stomach multiple glasses of red wine without any problem but whose body will reject steamed broccoli.  I am going with the more psychiatric diagnosis of "it's all in your head" with a treatment of "tough love".  Basically, he's not allowed to leave the table until he has eaten all of the vegetables on his plate.  No ifs, ands, or buts about it.




I also have a brother who, though he is lactose intolerant, has been known to wake up at 3 in the morning.  Covered in sweat.  Absolutely fiending for a milkshake.

He is the opposite of my father in this respect.   Whereas my dad will avoid anything that makes his stomach so much as twitch, my brother will throw all caution to the wind.  Brave rain, sleet, snow, and severe stomach pain.  Just so he can get his fix.

Personally, I'm just happy that he craves milkshakes and not heroin.  And has a metabolism that rivals that of a wild boar.  Because with these kinds of pleasure-seeking habits he could get himself into some serious trouble.



Fortuitously enough, I received an email about two weeks ago from Foodbuzz advertising a contest that Lactaid was holding for the best lactose-free smoothie/milkshake recipe.  With the grand prize being an all-expense paid trip to the Foodbuzz Festival.


Now I'd like to say that my motives for entering this little competition were completely altruistic.  That I did it all so that my brother would be able to enjoy a milkshake without being haunted by the knowledge that his small intestine would not be pleased with him afterward.

But that would only be partially true.  You see.  I really want to go to the Foodbuzz Festival.

And I really wanted to spend an afternoon taste testing milkshakes.  It seemed way more fun than going to anatomy lab and spending hours fruitlessly attempting to identify the arteries, veins, and nerves of the face.

Oh and trust me.  It was.



A few hours, one carton of ice cream, and some very high blood sugar later.  I had done it.

Pumpkin spice milkshakes with a cranberry sauce swirl.  All the best of Thanksgiving in one cup.  There is cinnamon, nutmeg, maple syrup.  Imagine pumpkin pie.  In liquid form.  With ice cream.  All completely lactose-free.  Heck, I think I am even going to need a cold shower.

I think that the Carvel near my parents' house is going to be seeing a lot less business in the coming months.  That's for sure.

Now.  Any suggestions for how to somehow incorporate vegetables into a glass of red wine.  Would be much appreciated.



Pumpkin Spice Milkshake
Serves 2, an Eats Well With Others Original

1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup Lactaid fat free milk
1 cup Lactaid vanilla ice cream
4 tbsp maple syrup (the real stuff)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
dollops of cranberry sauce to swirl in (recipe below)

Mix everything, except for the cranberry sauce, in a blender.  Blend until everything is combined.  Pour into two cups.  Fill a piping bag fitted with a #12 tip with the cranberry sauce.  Pipe it into swirls on top of the milkshake.  Alternatively, grab a spoon and throw a dollop of the cranberry sauce on top of the milkshake.  It will be just as delicious.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Makes about 2 cups, adapted from Tyler Florence

1 12-oz package cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
2 tbsp cranberry juice
1/2 cup water

Place the cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cranberry juice, and water into a pan.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Then simmer until sauce has thickened to desired consistency.  I simmered until most of the liquid was gone and the sauce was very jam-like.  For the milkshake, I then put it in a food processor/blender and pureed it.


*As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a coupon for a free carton of Lactaid milk in order to create this recipe, which is an entry into a contest to attend the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival.  Feel free to check out Lactaid's site for additional information about these products, as well as Moovision - a new site they just launched!

Also, please email me your entries to Regional Recipes: GERMANY!

Chickpea and Quinoa Salad with Lemon and Tahini

Voting for Project Food Blog Challenge #4 is officially underway!  If you like what you see here at Eats Well With Others, I would appreciate it SO MUCH if you could head on over and vote for me and my spinach-onion curry pizza on a pumpkin-infused pizza dough!

Exciting things don't usually tend to happen to me.

I know I talk about things like meeting matchmaker cabdrivers and setting world records for making the most PB+J sandwiches in one minute.

But honestly, this weekend I rode in three cabs.  Each of which was completely nondescript and totally un-noteworthy.

And I did not set a single world record.



You're snoring already, I see.  That's okay.  Yesterday I was forced to listen to a truly boring individual talk about methylation of DNA for two hours.  And I did not listen to a single word he said.  Karma's a bitch, isn't it?

Ah, but here's where you should perk up.  This weekend, I walked my first red carpet.  Okay.  It was not red.  In fact, it looked distinctly like tar.  But it felt like a red carpet, and isn't it truly the thought that counts?

You see, thanks to the wonderfully amazing folks over at POM Wonderful (and wow, who knew that they have an Abercrombie and Fitch model on their website.  If drinking gallons of POM can get me a guy like that...I'll bathe in the stuff.) I was able to attend one of the NYC Wine and Food Festival's Grand Tastings!

Basically, the NYC Wine and Food Festival is a festival centered around food and wine (duh) that is hosted by the Food Network and Food and Wine magazine.  Each day there are a series of events, cooking demos, book signings as well as grand tastings where you basically walk around this HUGE tent with a wine glass hanging around your neck and gorge yourself on free food and wine from some of NYC's most famous fine dining establishments.  It was basically what I imagine heaven to be like. 

The festival was located at Pier 54 and in order to get there, you need to walk along the West Side Highway, a favorite running and biking route among the city's physically inclined.  However, rather than have festival-goers mingle with the sweaty and dehydrated, the Wine and Food Festival planners blocked off half the running path for us.

It was a very VIP moment.  I may or may not have posed and put on my movie star face as I walked down the strip.

By which I mean. I probably did. 



So that was how I spent my Sunday.  Gorging myself on amazing food and amazing wine.  Thinking to myself the entire time.  Man.  This was not the time nor the place to wear my skinny jeans.  (Note to self. Next year.  Wear something with an elastic waistband.)

And to think, this was after the mouth-watering dinner I attended on Friday at the Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park, hosted by POM Wonderful, to kick off pomegranate season (more on this in a later post!)

To say that I was stuffed beyond belief (and very happily so).  Is an understatement.

And what does one do when one has eaten more gourmet chocolate and than one cares to remember? One goes back to basics.  Fresh flavors.  Clean eating.

Hence this chickpea and quinoa salad, which is good for you in every sense of the word.  Whole grains, fiber, vegetables, healthy fat, vitamin E.  Good for your mind, good for your body, and good for your tastebuds (which really means good for your soul).  I'll be eating this every day for the next week.  Because you just never know when a red carpet or a little black dress is going to present itself.  Word.



Chickpea and Quinoa Salad with Lemon and Tahini
Serves 4, adapted from Lisa's Kitchen

1 cup dried chickpeas or 1 can chickpeas
1 1/2 cups red quinoa
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 medium eggplant
1 shallot, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
juice of one lemon
3 tbsp tahini
sea salt and black pepper, to taste

1. If using dried chickpeas, soak them over night in water for at least six hours.  Drain them.  Place them in a pot with enough water to cover them plus an inch.  Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer until soft.  This can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours.

2. Dice the eggplant. Heat a nonstick skillet.  Spray with cooking spray.  Saute eggplant until cooked through.  Set aside.

3. Mix 1 1/2 cups red quinoa in a pan with three cups water.  Season with salt.  Cover and bring to a boil.  When boiling, lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until all of the liquid has dissolved.

4. While this is happening, mix together the ingredients for the dressing - shallot, garlic, lemon, tahini, salt, pepper.

5. When the quinoa, eggplant, and chickpeas are done, mix all together with the dressing and the chopped parsley.

This is going to Weekend Herb Blogging, which is being hosted by Prof Kitty of The Cabinet of Prof Kitty.  And to the Hearth and Soul blog hop!

Please send in your recipes for Regional Recipes: GERMANY!

And remember to vote for me over at foodbuzz! Thanks so much in advance, I can't do this without you guys!

Please Vote For Me! - Curried Spinach and Onion Pizza on a Pumpkin Pizza Dough Crust

If you've ever wanted to make your own pizza dough but were too afraid or weren't sure how, now is the time to grab the bull by the horns and get to it!  I've posted a step-by-step picture tutorial to walk you through it as my entry for Project Food Blog Challenge #4!  If you like what you see, please head on over to Foodbuzz to vote for me!  I can't move onto the next round without your support!  You have 72 votes for this round and I would really appreciate it if you would make Eats Well With Others one of them!

Spinach and Onion Curry Pizza on a Pumpkin Pizza Dough Crust - Project Food Blog Challenge #4

I have been harboring a fugitive in my apartment.

Unbeknownst to me, of course.  I'm not the type of person to willingly open up my doors to the criminally insane.  (And if you believe that, I've also got a flying pig to sell you.)



Seriously, though.  I let this one specific character in almost a year ago.

We met in the supermarket.  He was one of many (though he doesn't really like it when I say that) cans of pumpkin sitting on a shelf at Whole Foods, on sale for a dollar a pop.  Maybe it was his green casing that caught my eye.  Maybe it was the allure of the luscious orange puree that he promised to yield when opened.

I can't remember anymore.  Nor does it really matter.  In the end, he was on sale.  He was organic.  He was "100% pure".  And thus he made his way into my shopping cart, onto my shelves, and into my life.  



And we really lived peaceably for quite some time.

Then, yesterday, I was musing about what to cook for this next PFB challenge, which is to provided a "how-to" picture tutorial for any dish of your choosing.

I was pretty set on making pizza.  I grew up on homemade pizza, you see, having a father whose grandfather used to own a pizza parlor.  Pizza dough making is in my blood.  In fact, it is highly likely that I am actually comprised of some early twentieth century pizza dough particles.  So really, it's also in my bones.

So I left for running practice yesterday morning with a plan.  And came back to the image you see above.

Mr. Pumpkin Puree over there had leaped from my bookshelf.  Into my bed.  And was laying there.  With the most seductive look he could muster given that he doesn't actually have any facial features.  Saying, "Take me, I'm yours."



Well, there was no way I could cohabitate with him after that.  He obviously had some personality disorder/mental issues and though I am supposedly being taught how to issue a Mental Status Exam and diagnose such things, in reality, I know nothing about anything.  I am not a trained psychiatrist regardless of what my mother seems to think when she calls me at least once a day trying to diagnose everyone in our family with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

So I dealt with this situtation the only way I knew how.  I baked.

Out came the KitchenAid stand mixer, a veritable superhero and champion of all things that are good in this world (specifically red velvet cakes, focaccia, and Italian meringue buttercream), ready and willing to aid me in the fight against deviant cans of pumpkin puree.

And that was how this pumpkin-infused pizza dough was born.  On a wing and a prayer. With a pinch of baker's yeast.  If you didn't believe in serendipity, you will now.  Because this was the best pizza dough I've ever made.

Let's get started.



The key to making dough of any kind is to make sure your yeast is still alive and kicking.  To "proof it" as they say in the professional baking world.  To do this, just mix 1 tbsp dry active yeast or 1 packet with 1/3 cup brown sugar and 3/4 cup of lukewarm water.  I just use the hot water from my tap.  You don't want it to be TOO hot, however, as that could kill your yeast.  If it's too hot to stick your finger in for more than five seconds, then it's too hot.  Rule of thumb.

Swirl it around with a fork.  And then walk away from it so that it can do its thang.  Just as a watched pot never boils, a watched bowl of yeast never proofs.  Trust me.



While you're waiting, take 2 tbsp of butter and place them in a small saucepan with 3/4 cup water and 1 tbsp salt.  Melt the butter over low heat.    When this mixture has cooled down enough that you can stick your finger in it (remember the 5 second rule!), go and check on your yeast/water/sugar mixture.

It should look foamy.  Kind of like the bottom left picture above.  This means it's alive and ready to raise the roof.  And your dough.  Good stuff.

Pour the water/butter/salt mixture into this and mix it all together.



Now, it's time to gather your next two ingredients - bread flour and our favorite little sexual deviant, the can of pumpkin puree.

I like to use King Arthur Flour for all of my baking needs.  You can use whatever you want, but King Arthur Flour is good quality stuff.  So if you want your bread to taste good.  I would use this.



Measure out 6 cups of bread flour (720 grams) into a large bowl.  When I am baking, I always measure by weight.  It's way more accurate than using measuring cups and actually way less messy.  Especially for yeast breads where the ratios are extremely important.  Definitely worth the twenty or so bucks that I paid for it.  In fact, considering all of the therapy visits it's saved me from by sparing me from the trauma of wet droopy doughs...it's basically paid for itself.

Mix 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree into the yeasty mixture.  If you haven't been doing this in the bowl of your stand mixture already, then pour the whole gloopy mess into it.  Using a dough hook, mix the bread flour into the pumpkin/water/yeast mix 1 cup-ish at a time.  When all of it has been incorporated, let it beat the dough for about 10 minutes on speed 2.  If the dough is seriously sticking to the side of the bowl, then it is too wet.  Add more flour until the dough can be stirred for 2 minutes while staying stuck to the hook and not to the bowl.  I had to add probably around 1 cup more.


Plop the dough into a large bowl.  Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm area for one hour.  I like to put it on top of a preheating oven.

Which reminds me, you should start preheating your oven to 500 degrees.  Stat.



Once it has risen, cut the dough into two equal pieces and set one aside.  Take the other one and roll it into a ball.  Cover it and your hands with some extra flour if it is too sticky.

At this point, the clouds may part and the heavens may open up, shining their light down on your ball of dough.  I don't guarantee it.  But it is certainly possible.



Take a pizza pan and lightly dust it with flour.  Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it just about meets the edges of the pan.  If you find that it is resistant, let it sit for a minute or two.  Turn on some light FM.  Drink a glass of white wine.  Dim the lights.  Really foster a relaxing environment.  Then, when it's got its guard down.  Go at it again.

And voila!  You can now breath a sigh of relief.  Firstly, because the hard part is over - you have just made your first pizza dough!  And secondly because, man you have shown that pumpkin puree.  He will not be trying to jump into your bed anytime soon.  Although that's more than I can say for your mouth. 

Oh, and remember the half of the dough that we set aside a minute ago?  Wrap that baby in plastic wrap and pop it in the freezer.  You've just got next week's dinner in the bag.  Amen to that.



Toppings time!

The beauty of pumpkin pizza dough is that you can really take it in any direction you want.  Mix a little cinnamon and ginger into the dough while adding in the flour, and you have the makings for a dessert pizza.  You can go the traditional route and top it with some cheese and tomato sauce.

Or you can really shake things up, as I did, by piling on the spice.  In the form.  Of curry.

You have doubts, you say?  Well, I did too.  However, the spiciness and heat of the curry is complemented beautifully by the subtle almost-sweetness of the pumpkin.  Trust me on this.  I may not be the millionaire matchmaker but I know my flavor pairings.  Especially when it comes to a certain orange vegetable.



Slice two onions into thin slices.  Saute in 1 tbsp oil and a pinch of salt for 20 minutes over medium-low heat or until the onion is slightly brown.  Add in 2 tsp curry powder.  Throw in about 7 cups baby spinach.  Saute, continuously stirring all the while, until the spinach is wilted.  Taste for seasoning.  Using a spoon, place the spinach/onion mixture on the pizza, trying to leave as much liquid behind in the pan as possible.

Cut up some fresh mozzarella into thin slices, about 8 oz.  Layer it onto the pizza.

Cook at 500 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until the bottom of the pizza is a light shade of  brown.

Cut into eighths.  And enjoy.

Inspiration for this pizza dough was gotten from What's Cooking Mexico.  This has been yeastspotted and will be also making an appearance over at Meatless Mondays.  This has been linked to Marla's Happy Post on Family Fresh Cooking!

This is my entry for Project Food Blog Challenge #4.  If you like what you see, I would really appreciate it if you would head on over tomorrow (Monday, October 11) after 9AM and vote for me!

Thanks so much to everyone who voted for me in last week's challenge.  I cannot and will not be able to do this without your support!  And I am eternally grateful to those who have propelled me along thus far.  It's been a crazy fun four challenges...so please help me to stick around for more!

Today is your last day to enter into my challenge over at MarxFoods!  So please go check it out.  There are some FUN prizes!

Also, please send me your entries to Regional Recipes: GERMANY by October 31st!