Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Have you have tried something at a bakery and knew you had to try it at home? It happened with us and a very special lemon poppy seed muffin. The subtle lemon flavor with the bite of the poppy seed make these a great breakfast (anytime?) treat. 

We made mini muffins, but this recipe is good for any sized muffin. 

The original recipe is over at Food.com: http://www.food.com/recipe/lemon-poppy-seed-muffins-100943

Enjoy! 

Oven baked wings

Leave it to Alton Brown to come up with the perfect way to make wings without a deep fryer. This is a time consuming recipe, but the results are definitely worth it. We chose to make 12 wings with two different sauces; our own 6 ingredient bbq sauce, and a honey sriracha sauce. 

Here's the recipe, according to Alton: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/alton-browns-buffalo-wings-recipe.html

Some notes: 

• When steaming the wings, you'll know when they are done with the meat is a little darker and loots like boiled meat
• Don't skimp on the drying off time. The oven baking will only be successful if the wings are dry
• With the honey sriracha sauce, melt the butter first before adding the other ingredients

Prep time: 1 hour and 15 mins
Bake time: 40-50 mins

Wings: 

• Using a steamer basket, steam the wings for about 10 mins. You'll know they are done when they look a little darker. 
• While the wings are steaming, line a baking sheet with paper towels and place a cooling rack on top.
• When the wings are done, pat them dry and line them up on the cooling rack. Place them in the fridge to dry for at least an hour
• Once they are out of the fridge, pre-heat the oven to 425. Replace the paper towels with parchment paper and ditch the cooling rack. Line the wings in a single layer on the parchment paper and bake for 20 mins. Flip them and bake for another 25-30 mins, or until the skin is crispy and browned.
• Toss the baked wings with your sauce of choice. Serve and enjoy! 

Spinach and Feta Quiche with Quinoa Crust

Another winner from Cooking Light! This one is from the December 2014 issue and we were drawn to it because of the unique crust. The cooked quinoa gives this quiche a welcome crunch. Because of the ingredients, this could be a very impressive brunch entree! According to Cooking Light, this costs $2.09 per serving. We'll let you do the math on this one. 

Prep time: 20 mins
Bake time: 35 mins

What you'll need:

• 2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled
• dash of black pepper and salt
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 bag of fresh baby spinach, about 6 oz
• 1/2 cup milk
• dash of salt, black pepper and red pepper
• 4 large eggs
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 oz feta, crumbled

What you'll need to do:

For the crust combine the quinoa, black pepper and egg in a bowl. Mix well until combined then press the mixture into a 9 inch pie pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375 for 20 mins. Cool and set aside.

For the filling, saute onion until translucent, then add spinach. Saute for about 3 mins. Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, whisk milk, salt, black pepper, red pepper, 4 eggs, 2 egg white.  

Arrange the spinach mixture on the bottom of the crust then pour the egg mixture over the spinach. Sprinkle the feta over the whole quiche. Bake for 35 minutes at 375, until mixture solidifies. Let sit for about 5 mins then serve!

Cranberry Orange Muffins

We've had an epiphany: orange zest is amazing in baked goods. While old news to some, it was a revelation today when we bit into a cranberry orange muffin and we had to immediately make it at home. 

This is another recipe trifecta: easy, cheap and uses staples you already have in your pantry. 

The original recipe came from The Food Network and we substituted milk with half and half because that's what was in the fridge!

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

What you'll need:

• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar 
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup half and half

What you'll do:
Preheat the oven to 375.

In a small sauce pan, simmer the cranberries and orange juice. When it bubbles, take it off the heat to cool and plump. 

Coat a 12 muffin tin with cooking spray. 

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, cream butter, orange zest and 2/3 cups of sugar until fluffy, remembering to scrape down the sides. 

Add the eggs in one at a time and beat well after each egg. 

Alternate folding in the flour and half and half, being careful not to over mix.

Fill the muffin tin and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Roasted Broccoli, Mushroom, and Barley Salad

Nothing like finding a delightful new side dish to complement your meals. This one comes courtesy of Real Simple-of course with a few tweaks to suit the pantry. 

The original recipe calls for an anchovy flavored dressing, but that's not really our jam. Instead, we substituted the anchovy paste with sriracha paste. Bonus points: this is very easy to make and you can substitute the vegetables with whatever you have handy.

Prep time: 10 minutes 
Cook time: 25 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 1 
  cup quick cook 
  barley
• 1 
  large bunch broccoli, cut into florets
• 1-2 shallots, cut into rings
• 1 
  pound 
  cremini or oyster mushrooms, halved if large
• 4 
  tablespoons 
  olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sriracha paste
• 2
   garlic cloves
• 3 
  tablespoons 
  fresh lemon juice
• Feta

What you'll do:

Wash and chop the vegetables. Preheat the oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with foil. 

In a large bowl, mix the broccoli, shallots and mushrooms with the olive oil, salt and pepper. When they are coated, spread in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until browned.

While the vegetables are roasting, cook the barley according to directions. 

Mix the remaining tablespoon of oil, crushed garlic, lemon juice and sriracha. Set aside.

When the vegetables are done, mix with the cooked barley and toss with the dressing and sprinkle with feta. Serve hot or cold! 

Pumpkin Spice Muffins!

Nothing says fall like pumpkin spice _____ [fill in the blank]. Everywhere we turn it's pumpkin this and pumpkin that...not that we're complaining. The subtly of the pumpkin taste makes baked goods a little more savory and not too sweet. Pumpkin flavored breads and muffins then have a great diversity, either as a sweet dessert (maybe paired with cream cheese frosting?) or as savory breakfast bread with just a dab of butter.

From The Smitten Kitchen, this pumpkin muffin recipe is easy, quick, and only includes one non-pantry staple item: canned pumpkin. The muffins are spongy and moist. We tweaked it slightly to up the pumpkin spice taste. 

Prep time: 10 minutes

Bake time: 25 minutes  

Makes 16 muffins (can probably make 12, slightly larger ones)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice 
• 1 15 oz can pureed pumpkin 
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice + 1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 350 and grease standard size muffin tins. 

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin spice.

In a larger bowl, combine pumpkin, vegetable oil, eggs and 1 1/4 cups of sugar. 

Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and mix until combined.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full (or slightly more for 12 muffins vs. 16) and sprinkle with the pumpkin spice and sugar mixture. 

Bake for 25 minutes, rotating the pans half way to ensure equal baking time. Muffins are done when a wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. 

Smoothies!

We've been on a smoothie kick as we try to salvage some of the summer produce. You don't need a fancy Magic Bullet or juicer for these, but a good blender goes a long way! 

Think of these smoothies as a way to use some overly ripe produce, or just a way to be refreshed as summer winds down.

Green Smoothie 

Makes 2, 12 oz smoothies and is good for 2 days

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado
• 2 cored, peeled and chopped medium sized apples (we used gala but up to you)
• 4 cups chopped and de-stemmed spinach (very important step to ensure non-chunky smoothies!)
• 3 cups apple juice

What you need to do:

Make sure your ingredients are chopped/diced before tossing in the blender. Use the "chop" or "mix" setting on your blender for about 2 mins. then, switch to "purree" or "liquify". Blend until smooth and add any flax or chia seeds as desired.

Mixed berry smoothie

Makes 2, 12 oz smoothies and is good for 2 days 

• 2 cups frozen mixed berries (do not defrost)
• 1 cup plain yogurt (regular, as we thought Greek would be too tart)
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 cup milk (we used plain almond milk, but can see the merits of vanilla almond milk!)

Make sure your ingredients are chopped/diced before tossing in the blender. Use the "chop" or "mix" setting on your blender for about 2 mins. then, switch to "purree" or "liquify". Blend until smooth and add any flax or chia seeds as desired.

Vietnamese BBQ Pork & Noodle Salad

This is a new one for us-trying Vietnamese flavors at home. Pork, delicate rice noodles and some great spice make for a light yet filling meal. The rice noodles are called "rice sticks" or "rice vermicelli" and can be found in most large grocery stories in the Asian food aisle. Don't be fooled by the actual rice noodles, which are flatter and a bit larger.

The recipe calls for pork loin, but we wanted to use chops for thrifty reasons (natch).

It's a great meal for the week as it stores separately and heats up great.

This is from the September 2014 issue of Cooking Light and has been adapted to take advantage of our pantry and tastes, which tend to run a bit spicier than most.

Prep time: 25 mins
Cook time: 60 mins + 1 hour marinate time

What you need:

• 5 teaspoons of sesame oil (not usually found with the other oils, but is in a smaller bottle in the Asian food aisle)
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sriracha paste (it's not the type with the squeeze top, but a screw top)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large shallot, chopped (or 2 medium shallots)
• 6 pork chops. thinly sliced 
• 1 package rice vermicelli 
• 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch of carrots, julienne cut
• 2 tablespoons chopped, dry roasted peanuts

What to do:

• Combine 1 tablespoon sesame oil, soy sauce, sriracha paste, brown sugar, garlic and shallot in food processor until smooth. Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade.Place pork in ziptop bag and marinate with remaining sauce for at least an hour. 
• Cook noodles according to directions, toss with 2 teaspoons of sesame oil. 
• Pre-heat broiler and place pork on broiler pan covered in foil. Broil about 3 minutes on each side, until pork is no longer pink in center.
• To serve, plate amount of noodles desired with 1/2 cup lettuce, 1/4 cup cucumber, 2 tablespoons carrot and drizzle with 1 tablespoons of marinade. Top with pork chop and 1.5 teaspoons chopped peanuts and enjoy. 

How to fake a barbecue

Summer in an apartment is missing one big thing: a grill. We've toyed around with the broiler and wanted to share some key lessons. Combine this method with our six ingredient barbecue sauce and you've got yourself a summer cookout (in your kitchen).

Prep time: 4-8 hours (plus marinating time)

Cook time: 30-35 minutes

What you'll need:

• Your favorite barbecue sauce (you can use ours)
• 3 pounds of legs and thighs 

What you'll need to do:

Marinate the chicken pieces in the barbecue sauce for at least 4 hours. 

Once it's good and soaked, preheat your broiler and place the pieces skin side up. Broil for 5-7 minutes until the skin is just a bit fire kissed. 

Preheat your oven to 350. Place the chicken in a rack above a baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until juices run clear. 

Ta da-barbecue in your kitchen. 

Blueberry Coffeecake with Almond Streusel

A delightful way to take advantage of berry season. This one comes by way of the July issue of Cooking Light, with some tips from us to help any first time bakers.

This cake is light and fluffy, but also has some fantastic flavor in every bite. It's a good breakfast companion with a strong cup of coffee. 

The recipe specifically calls out not baking this in a dark or nonstick pan. 

Prep time: 25 minutes

Bake time: 45 mins

What you'll need:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups fresh (or frozen) blueberries (if using frozen, don't thaw the berries. Just bake a bit longer if necessary)
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup nonfat buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind (the whole rind of a medium sized lemon)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (about half a lemon)

What you'll need to do:

Combine 2 cups of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and mix with whisk. Place your blueberries in another small bowl and sprinkle two tablespoons of the flour mixture over them and toss to coat (This apparently helps the blueberries not bleed into the mixture). 

In yet another small bowl, combine brown sugar, rolled oats, sliced almonds, 1 tablespoon flour and cinnamon. Stir in the 2 tablespoons of melted butter and mix, making sure to break up any large chunks of brown sugar. 

Preheat your oven to 375. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, 1/4 cup butter and oil until blended. Add the egg and beat well. Alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Stir in the lemon rind and juice.

Grease the pan and spread half the batter, then layer with 1 cup of blueberries. Spoon the rest of the batter over the blueberries, then top evenly with the brown sugar mixture.

Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Cool and enjoy!

Sweet Pepper Pasta

Say that three times fast!

This is one of the most simple and satisfying meals. To boot, it also helps you eat seasonally.

Roasting the peppers give them a great taste, while topping it with burrata or fresh mozzarella is just fun.

Prep time: 45 mins
Cook time: 20 mins

What you'll need:

• 1 16 oz package of linguine or fettuccine 
• 2 red peppers
• 2 yellow pepper
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 package of burrata (if that's not available, fresh mozzarella or ricotta)
• olive oil 

What to do:

Boil the water and cook the pasta according to directions.

Quarter the peppers and lay them out in a single layer on a foil lined broiler pan. Broil the peppers for about 10 minutes, or until the skin is blackened. Once they are nicely roasted, put them in a ziptop back and let sit for about 15 minutes. When the peppers are cooled, peel the skin and discard.

Take our your favorite food processor and puree 1/2 of each color of pepper and set aside. Chop the other half. 

Heat up the olive oil and brown the garlic. Toss in the chopped peppers and saute for 5 minutes. 

Drain the pasta and mix with pureed peppers. Top with chopped pepper mix and buratta. Serve immediately and enjoy. 

Broiled Pork Chops Marinated in Mustard

We dream of summer grilling and backyard barbecues. But, living in a city, we have a tiny kitchen and no grill! We've found the broiler is a better than average substitute for that just-grilled flavor.

This recipe riffs off the marinated pork chops with green bean and grilled crouton salad in the June 2014 issue of Cooking Light. While the original recipe uses the extra dressing for the salad, we decided to increase the number of chops and substitute the salad with some roasted asparagus and yellow sweet potato fries. 

The mustard gives the pork a tangy flavor and marinating it overnight allows that flavor to permeate the whole chop. 

Prep time: 8-12 hours marinating time, 30-40 minutes actual active time
Cook time: 12 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 heaping tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 6 boneless pork chops (thinly sliced)

What you need to do:
Whisk together the red wine vinegar, mustard and olive oil until well combined. 

Using a fork, pierce each chop on both sides.

Place the chops and marinade in a ziptop bag and shake to coat. Make sure each chop is coated evenly. Chill in the fridge for at least one hour before broiling.

When you're ready to broil: 
Pre-heat the broiler and line the broiler pan with foil. Broil each side for 4-5 minutes. We broiled the first side twice, just to brown the edges a bit, but once per side is enough. 

Just Desserts: Coconut Cake

We saw this delicious recipe for easy coconut cupcakes on Serious Eats and wanted to put our own spin on it (and use up some coconut milk in the process). The coconut flavor comes out in all aspects of this cake, from the glaze, to the shredded coconut, to the coconut milk infused cake. 

While the original recipe calls for making your own cake, we opted for a semi-homemade feel and used a boxed cake mix. 

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 30-40 mins (depending on which mix and pan you use)

You'll need:

• 1 package of white cake mix
• 1 can of coconut milk (not low-fat or light)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract)
• 1 cup shredded, sweetened, coconut, divided
• 1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) confectioners' sugar

What you'll do:
Make the cake according to the directions, but substituting the liquids for the same amount of coconut milk. For example, the Betty Crocker mix we used called for oil and water. Instead, we used the same amount of coconut milk. 

Bake according to the box directions.

When the cake is cooled, you can start on the glaze. If you start too early, the glaze hardens. 

Mix the confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons of coconut milk until smooth. Add additional milk to get the right glaze thickness to your liking. If you're feeling wild, add a teaspoon of vanilla extract for extra flavor. 

Sprinkle the shredded coconut over the glaze and serve. 

Fontina, Asparagus & Leek Strata

It's been awhile, but trust us it's worth it.

We've never made a strata before and if you're like us, you weren't sure what to expect. Think about it like a hearty combination between a quiche and a casserole. This particular recipe comes from Cooking Light, with some tweaks and notes from our kitchen. 

Some advanced warning: this is a bit of a time consuming recipe, but it is worth it as it makes some great leftovers. 

Prep time: 8h30 mins (includes chill time)
Cook time: 45 mins

You'll need: 

• 1 tablespoon butter 
• 1 healthy sized bunch of asparagus, chopped (or a 10-12oz frozen bag)
• 3 small leeks (remember, only use the white parts of the leek and don't use the tough, green parts)
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 12 slices of regular old white bread
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fontina cheese
• 2 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1 large egg white
• 1 cup breadcrumbs

What to do:

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add asparagus, leeks, and water. 

Bring to a boil, simmer on reduced heat for about 10-15 minutes, to make sure the vegetables are tender (but not too tender, or the strata will be too mushy). When you're done, strain the vegetables. 

Mix in parsley, tarragon, lemon rind, salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

Coat a 13x 9 baking dish with a little butter. Place 6 of the bread slices in a single layer on the bottom of the pan. 

Layer on top of the bread 1/2 the asparagus mixture, followed by 1/2 cup of the cheese.

Repeat with the last 6 pieces of bread and the other half of the mixture and cheese. 

In a separate bowl, combine the pepper, salt milk, eggs, and egg white, and stir with a whisk until well-blended. Pour the milk mixture over strata. Cover strata, and chill for 8 hours or overnight.

When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees, sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top and bake for 40 minutes, until the cheese starts to bubble and the strata is set. 

Ricotta Cups with Hazelnuts

This dessert will  help you keep to your New Year's resolution of eating more sweets! These cupcake sized ricotta bites are light and fluffy and surprisingly very easy to make. This is not an overly sweet dessert and you can vary the toppings depending on your mood. We edited this recipe from the Pillsbury site to make it less sugary and to fit regular sized muffin cups.

One word of advice: go with the whole milk ricotta and not light of skim. You want that fuller flavor of the whole milk.

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus one hour or more for cooling)
Cook time: 10 minutes
Makes 12 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 15oz container of whole milk ricotta 
• 1/2 powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1 box of refrigerated pie crust, brought to room temperature
• 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (or other toppings of your choice, like mini chocolate chips)
• flour for your work surface

 In a large bowl, combine ricotta, powdered sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla. You can use an electric mixer, or a spatula, but make sure to mix until smooth and creamy. Once mixed, place it in a resealable bag (a piping bag if you have it, or use a sandwich bag) and refrigerate for at least one hour.

While the ricotta mixture is cooling, start on the pie crust. Preheat the oven to 425.

Unroll the crust on your floured work surface. To cut the dough, we used the diameter of a one cup measuring cup, and that fit the regular muffin cups perfectly. A 3-4 inch round cookie cutter would work as well. Press the dough into the ungreased muffin cups and bake for 10 minutes. The cups should be browned when finished.

Take the ricotta mixture out of the fridge and begin piping it into the cups. If you used a resealable plastic bag, just cut one corner to make an instant piping bag. Sprinkle with the topping of your choice and enjoy!

Fattoush!

We all know we have to eat salads, but sometimes it's really hard to get excited about a bunch of leaves. Fattoush, a Lebanese bread salad, is a good way to have your daily dose of veggies, while keeping you interested enough to finish it! We love the version from Mark Bittman's app "How to Cook Everything"  and added our own touches to suit our tastes.

This salad is only as good as its ingredients, so try to find the best product for the best results. If you plan on having leftovers, do not dress the whole salad or toast all the pita, only what you plan on eating that night.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes (to toast your pita)

Ingredients:
Salad:

• 6 inch whole wheat pitas, cut into strips or wedges
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 vine ripened tomatoes (medium ripe). chopped and seeded
• 1 medium cucumber, diced and seeded
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped and seeded
• Choice of greens (romaine works well, or a spring mix)
• pinch of salt

Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper

Combine the parsley, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, salt and greens in a large bowl. Set aside.

To make the dressing, whisk the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper until it forms a creamy mixture. Store it in your favorite dressing dispenser. If you plan to refrigerate it, be sure to mix it and bring it to room temperature before using.

Add your toasted pita to the greens mixture, pour the dressing and toss! 

Crispy Cauliflower Patties

Vegetables are great, but vegetables coated in panko? Out of this world.  This is another gem from Cooking Light, with our edits to better fit a busy schedule.

Try pairing this with a some greens and a tangy vinaigrette, or place it on an English muffin for a light sandwich.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• Cakes: (makes about 8-10 patties)
• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1 peeled yellow potato, cut into 4 wedges
• 2 large shallots, sliced into quarters 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 
• 2 cups of Trader Joe's mixed shredded cheese (Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina and Provolone) or, just Fontina
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup panko, lightly toaster
• 2-4 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese 
• 
  
• Sauce:
• 2 tablespoons light sour cream 
• 2 tablespoons mayo
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh chives
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Preheat oven to 400 and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. 

Cut the florets off the head and mix it with the cut potatoes and shallots. Drizzle olive oil on the mixture and spread it on the baking sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes. They should be tender. Keep the baking dish handy, you'll need it for the patties.

Cool the mixture for about 15 minutes. While it's cooling, toast the panko by placing it in a pan on low heat until lightly browned. Combine with the Parmesan in a shallow bowl.

Once the mixture is cooled, pulse until chopped. Place in a large bowl and mix in cheese, salt, pepper and the eggs.

Form small patties out of the cauliflower mixture and dredge it in the panko mixture. Line them up on the baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes on each side.

To make the sauce, just combine the sour cream, mayo, chives, pepper and garlic. 

• 
  

Tex Mex Mac and Cheese

We wanted something a little spicy after gorging ourselves on sweets all through Thanksgiving. Rachael Ray had an interesting take on mac and cheese by adding jalapeños . It sounded interesting, but we wanted a bit more spice and have a soft spot for cheddar, so we put our spin on the recipe.

However, because of the spice, this could be an overwhelming main dish. Instead, we served this as a side with baked chicken breasts and roasted asparagus.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 5 jalapeños, diced
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, diced
• 5 tablespoons of flour
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 cups of buttermilk (any milk is fine too, the buttermilk just added some richness)
• 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 package of tube or curly pasta like a rotini

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 casserole dish and cook the pasta according to the package direction. 

Melt the butter slowly in a medium sauce pan, something big that will hold all the ingredients. 

When the butter is melted, add the jalapeños, onion and garlic. Cook until tender. 

Add the flour, cumin and chili powder and stir until smooth. Then slowly add the milk, stirring until well incorporated. Once the mixture looks smooth, add the cheese gradually. Stir until thick.

Mix the sauce with the pasta. Put the mixture in the casserole dish and sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly on top. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling. 

Just Desserts: Buttermilk Pound Cake

After making those pumpkin cookies, you may have some left over buttermilk. I found this delightful recipe from All Recipes for a buttermilk pound cake. It's the recipe trifecta: delicious, low maintenance, and good for breakfast (that's our trifecta anyway).

We drizzled the lemon glaze from our Lemon Ricotta Cookies on top for some added zing (1.5 cups of powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, zest of one lemon. Stirred until smooth).

Pop over to All Recipes for the full cake recipe!

Just Desserts: Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

It's Thanksgiving time, which means pumpkin everything. We spotted this intriguing pumpkin black and white cookie recipe from Serious Eats and tweaked it a little.

The texture of these cookies is a great mash-up between a cookie and a cupcake: slightly crispy edges and a spongy middle texture. You have the option of making your own cream cheese frosting (like we did for our pumpkin roll with cream cheese frosting) or take it easy on yourself and purchase some of the premade stuff. 

Prep time: 30 mins (not including softening time for the butter)
Bake time: 10 minutes per baking sheet

Cookies:

• 3 cups  all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup buttermilk 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice blend
• 3/4 cup salted butter
• 3/4 cup (5 1/3 ounces) dark-brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2/3 cup (4 3/4 ounces) sugar
• 15 ounces pumpkin puree (one can)
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg

Pre-heat oven to 350 and line your baking sheets with wax paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice blend. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, cream together softened butter, brown sugar. Then, alternate combining the flour mix and pumpkin puree with the butter mixture. Once fully combined, add in the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla extract. 

Using an overflowing tablespoon, drop dollops of the batter onto the lined baking pan, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Flatten the cookies to roughly 2 inches of diameter. Bake for 10 minutes, until edges are browned and the middle is spongy. Cool for 15 minutes then frost.