Sorry October!

I'm so sorry I went the whole month of October without a post! Here's what I've been working on:

mache with warm brie & apples

What is not to like about this tasty little lunch or snack? Warm brie with honey, pistachios, fresh lettuce (just mache was not available at Treasure Island, but is in this little mix pictured below), apple slices and toast are a fun combination. The layered crostinis they beg you to make are a real treat.

maple baked beans

This recipe is actually from the Stonewall Kitchen cookbook, but it was included in the barefoot contessa at home book. I used some awesome bacon from the farmer's market, and this was really great! There are a lot of good flavors (maple syrup, brown sugar, ketchup, chili paste, ginger) that cook in a low oven for a while and come together well.

blue cheese burger

jalapeno cheddar cornbread

There's nothing too special about this burger except that you put blue cheese on top. I used ground beef from our CSA Farm, Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm. Of course it was delicious. The cornbread has cheese, green onions, and jalapeno in the batter, and they do a great job of making the bread more flavorful than the original.

apple dried cherry turnovers

These turnovers are an easy dessert to make in the fall when there are lots of great apples. You can just use the frozen puff pastry from the store and most of the ingredients are things you would likely already have in the pantry.

cauliflower gratin

This gratin is made by making the same cheese sauce you would use in macaroni and cheese, but you pour it over cauliflower instead of pasta! This makes cauliflower delicious, of course, but not nearly as healthy.

italian wedding soup

I brought this soup in to work for our Soup Wednesdays, and it was a hit! There are meatballs in the soup made with ground chicken and chicken sausage. I will definitely be making this again!

brownie pudding

This is one of the best desserts I've ever had. It was crisp on the outside and gooey brownie-like on the inside.

coq au vin

It felt good to check off this classic. Thankfully, it did live up to its reputation! The broth in the stew was really great to dip bread in. The chicken in this recipe is from Cedar Valley as well.

old fashioned gingerbread

This bread tastes like cake (because, basically, it is) and is really wonderfully spiced. Golden raisins and crystallized ginger are baked in and are yummy morsels.

caesar club sandwich

This is so good. It's a chicken caesar salad with arugula, pancetta, and sun dried tomatoes on ciabatta bread.

caesar club sandwich (again)

radishes with sea salt and herb butter

This was...interesting. It's from the Barefoot in Paris cookbook, and maybe my palate is not yet sophisticated enough to appreciate this, but it wasn't great. The radishes are super bitter, which is kind of enjoyable, and the butter softens that taste, but the flavors don't come together at all. You taste three things separately: radishes, butter, salt. Not bad, though.

portobello mushroom lasagna

This lasagna was made after I spotted a mushroom stand at the farmer's market. I got some portobello's and some other fancy kinds that I don't know the names of, and the result was an earthy, satisfying lasagna. It was great with a green salad.

caramel pecan sundaes

This was my first attempt at making caramel, and it was much easier than I thought it was going to be! Although, I think it would have been impossible without the candy thermometer.

Ina Garten recently came out with a new cookbook How Easy is That? I read some reviews online that were quite negative and accused her of just recycling recipes. But, I think I'll give it a shot anyway.

Recipes from this post:

Italian Wedding Soup

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/italian-wedding-soup-recipe/index.html

Cauliflower Gratin

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/cauliflower-gratin-recipe/index.html

Apple Dried Cherry Turnovers (the recipe below doesn't have the dried cherries, but you just add them in to the apple filling)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/apple-turnovers-recipe/index.html

Blue Cheese Burger

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/blue-cheese-burgers-recipe2/index.html

Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Bread

Barefoot Contessa at Home Cookbook

Maple Baked Beans

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/maple-baked-beans-recipe/index.html

Mache with Warm Brie and Apples

Back to Basics Cookbook

Radishes with Butter and Salt

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/radishes-with-butter-and-salt-recipe2/index.html