Fall Recipe Roundup

 Cheesy Cheddar Pull-Apart Bread by Brown Eyed Baker

INGREDIENTS:

1 large loaf or boule-style Italian bread (Sourdough or French could also work)
½ cup butter (unsalted or salted is fine), melted
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
8 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)

Chopped fresh parsley, to garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a sheet of heavy-duty foil with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Cut a cross-hatch pattern into the top of the bread by slicing ½-inch grid lines into the bread, stopping about ¼-inch from the bottom of the bread so that it stays together. Place the bread on the piece of foil that has been sprayed.

3. Stir together the melted butter, garlic and scallions.

4. Gently separate the bread with your fingers, then spoon the butter mixture in all of the seams, making sure it is evenly distributed among the whole loaf. Wrap the loaf up in the foil and place on a baking stone or directly on the oven rack and bake for 10 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F.

6. Open the foil and sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of the bread. There will be a lot of cheese, so try to push down as much as you can in between all of the crevices in the bread. Leave the foil open and return it to the oven. Bake until the cheese is completely melted, bubbling and starting to brown on top, about 15 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving, then sprinkle with parsley (if desired) and dig in!

 Recipe and Photo courtesy of  Brown Eyed Baker

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes (with caramel sauce) 

by Closet Cooking

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/8 teaspoon ginger

• 1/8 teaspoon cloves

• 1 egg

• 1 cup milk

• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• caramel sauce or vanilla bourbon caramel sauce to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves in a large bowl.
2. Mix the egg, milk, pumpkin puree, butter and brown sugar in another bowl.
3. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
4. Heat a pan over medium heat and melt a touch of butter in it.
5. Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the mixture into the pan and cook until the surface starts to bubble and the bottom is golden brown, about 2-3 minutes, flip the pancake and cook the other side until the bottom is golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. 

photo and recipe courtesy of Closet Cooking

Sweet & Smoky Roasted Pumpkin Soup by Season with Spice 

INGREDIENTS:

1 small pumpkin - peeled, deseeded and cubed. (use 6 cups of pumpkin cubes) 2 tbsp butter - softened (omit for dairy-free version) 

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 bay leaves

1 yellow onion – chopped roughly 

3-4 garlic cloves - crushed

Dash of freshly ground black pepper

2 cups chicken broth (add cold to blender)

1 tsp of Season with Spice's ground ancho chili pepper

Salt to taste

Toasted pecans (optional) - crushed

DIRECTIONS:

1. Slice pumpkin in half and remove seeds and pulp. Then peel pumpkin (I find it easiest to cut pumpkin into 1-inch wide slices first, then peel skin with a sharp knife), and chop into cubes. Place pumpkin, along with onion and garlic, into a metal bowl.

2. Preheat the oven to 350F.

3. Mix butter, olive oil, and maple syrup in a small bowl. Then pour over pumpkin cubes and mix well.

4. Place the pumpkin cubes flat on a baking pan – use a plastic spatula to ensure all the liquid is transferred from the bowl to the pan. Tear the bay leaves into 4 pieces each and place between pumpkin cubes. Put baking pan into oven and roast for 30 minutes, or until pumpkin cubes are softened.

5. Add cold chicken broth to blender. Then add in the cooked pumpkin – again using a plastic spatula to ensure all the liquid is transferred. Blend to desired consistency, and transfer to a pot on the stove.

6. Heat soup to a simmer, and stir in ground ancho chili pepper, black pepper, and salt (and crushed pecans, if using). When thickened to desired texture, serve hot with a side of French bread.

Notes:

 -The majority of pumpkin soup recipes include milk or heavy cream, but I find the milky taste can overpower the flavor of the pumpkin, and isn’t really needed anyway since the blended pumpkin already provides a nice creamy texture. If you do want a slightly richer taste, I recommend stirring in 1 or 2 more tablespoons of butter during the simmering process.

-To speed the process up, you can skip the roasting step, and instead cook the pumpkin on the stove.

-Save the pumpkin seeds for roasting into a delicious fall snack

photo and recipe courtesy of Season With Spice

.

Apple Dulce de Leche Tart by Roxana's Home Baking

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• 6 tbsp cold diced butter
• 2 tsp icy-water
• 4 Fuji apples
• 3 honey crisp apples
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup dulce de leche

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a food processor add the flour, salt and butter. Pulse few times until the mixture resembles fine bread-crumbs. Add few drops of water at a time and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball.
2. Take the dough out and with your fingers press it in a 12X4 tart pan covering the sides as well.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
4. In the meantime, peel and core the 4 Fufi apples. Cut them into 8-10 slices.
5. Place them in a saute pan with the 3 tbsp of butter and cook over low heat until just begin to brown on the edges. Set aside.
6. Peel, core and roughly chop the remaining 3 apples. Put them in a small saucepan with the sugar and cook for about 20-25 minutes until soft but not mushy.
7. Heat the oven to 375F. Remove the plastic wrap from the tart shell, cover it with parchment paper and fill with baking beans/uncooked rice.
8. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and the beans and cook for 5 more minutes.
9. When baked, take it out of the oven completely (without turning off the oven) fill it with the cooked chopped apples and arrange the caramelized apples on top.
10. Return to the oven and bake for 30 more minutes.
11. Just before taking it out of the oven, heat the dulce de leche for 1 minute in the microwave and as soon as the tart is baked brush the dulce de leche over the sliced apples.
12. Cool completely before serving.

photo and recipe courtesy of Roxana's Home Baking