back in the kitchen...pumpkin turnovers

Thanks to some gentle prodding from my dear friend, Kathleen, I'm back to blogging from Marsha's Kitchen. Summer is just such a busy time for us and our business that it is hard to find time to prepare new recipes - usually we eat the quick tried and true old ones. I look forward to sharing many new recipes once again over the fall/winter/spring months. Besides, I need to be up and running so I can participate in her White Christmas/Winter White meme on Dec 15th! Look for more information in the coming weeks on her blog.

The new recipe I tried today was from the blog of a Minnesota food writer, Sue Doeden (All about Food). She also writes a weekly newspaper column in several newspapers. She calls these little bites of pleasure "Grab-and-Go Sweet Pumpkin Turnovers".
Since the oven was heated up I also made some banana bread (2 small loaves and some pumpkins & leaves in my silicone molds).
I always add chocolate chips to my banana bread and today since I had extra chopped walnuts from the turnovers they were tossed in as well.When the baking was done I made myself a cup of tea to go along with the "sampling" and also to have a little break before I tackled the pile of dishes.
One bite into the crispy pumpkin turnover and the leaf banana bread went back on the serving plate so I could "grab" a second turnover :)
The cinnamon sugared leaves and acorns made out of the scraps of walnut studded pie crust were pretty darn good as well :)
The recipe as copied from All About Food on this POST.
Grab-and-Go Sweet Pumpkin Turnovers

* 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking spice blend, pumpkin pie spice blend or your favorite baking spice
* 1 (14.1 ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
* 1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
* Milk
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 egg white, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar and spices. Set aside.

Unroll one pie crust on work surface. Sprinkle with half of the chopped walnuts. Use a rolling pin to roll over dough, pressing the nuts into the dough.

With a 3 1/2- to 4-inch round cookie cutter, cut 8 rounds from the dough.

Repeat with remaining pie crust in package.

Spoon one tablespoon of pumpkin mixture onto the center of each round. Moisten edges with milk, fold in half and press edges together to seal. Combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Brush turnovers with egg white. Sprinkle each with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place on ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake in preheated 450-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 16 turnovers.

The first ones are sweet and crunchy with the cinn/sugar topping, Sue states in her notes that after being stored the pastry will be soft. I'm leaving these sit out for a while so that when Jeff comes home he gets to taste the crunch as well.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - not home yet, but I'm confident it will be a 2nd thumbs up :)

grilled salmon with lime butter sauce...

We love grilled salmon and I have previously shown you a cedar planked recipe and a salmon with rosemary and lemon recipe and they both are favorites. A while back I had bookmarked another recipe posted by my friend, Carol, (There's Always Thyme to Cook) because I was curious about the lime butter addition. The recipe she used is also from Epicurious and you can find it HERE but the sauce is slightly different. The version I used didn't include jalapeno or shallot.Served with grilled peppers, baby bellas and zucchini it was a wonderful meal.

Grilled Salmon with Lime Butter Sauce
recipe from Epicurious.com

* 6 (6-oz) pieces center-cut salmon fillet (about 1 inch thick) with skin
* 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lime zest
* 6 tablespoons lime butter sauce

Prepare grill for cooking over medium-hot charcoal (moderate heat for gas).

Season salmon all over with salt and pepper, then grill, flesh sides down, on lightly oiled grill rack (covered only if using gas grill) 4 minutes. Turn fillets over and grill (covered only if using gas grill) until just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes more. Sprinkle fillets with zest and top each with 1 tablespoon lime butter sauce.

Lime Butter Sauce
recipe from Epicurious.com

* 1 large garlic clove, chopped
* 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted

Purée garlic with lime juice, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth. With motor running, add melted butter and blend until emulsified, about 30 seconds.

My notes: I always brush the salmon itself with olive oil before grilling to help prevent sticking. I used a garlic press rather than chopping the garlic and used my stick blender with great results.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

Roasted Banana Cinnamon Rolls

I saw this recipe on the blog Picky Palate and since it was so easy with it's semi-homemade ingredients it was worth a try. The bananas were cut up and roasted with butter and brown sugar in the oven and the dough was a can of Pillsbury french bread spread with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. You can find step by step photos and this original recipe of the blog author by clicking HERE.

I love bananas and I love cinnamon rolls but this combo was not for me but Jeff did like them. If in a pinch I will make rolls with the french bread dough again but just leave out the bananas.

Marsha - Thumbs down
Jeff - Thumbs UP

ice cream social for one...

I'm a little early to the party but my friend, Suzy, from Kitchen Bouquet is having an ice cream social this weekend. Please click HERE to see all the other's participating, I am early posting to this event so today she has a flashback to some of the entries from last year's social but please recheck her blog throughout the weekend to see all this year's participants..

I love a good mocha latte and when I saw a recipe for mocha latte ice cream in the July 2010 issue of Southern Living magazine I knew this was the one to make for Suzy's virtual party.
It has been a busy week of work and gardening for me so yesterday afternoon was the perfect time to take a frozen latte coffee break.
I thoroughly enjoy a good cup of coffee whether hot, frozen or floral.


This recipe was my first time using the egg custard base and I think it makes for a much richer and creamier ice cream. However, it is not a quick make like the eggless versions as you need to remember the custard needs time to chill - in this case overnight.
It tastes as good as it looks...maybe even better, well worth the wait :)

Mocha Latte Ice Cream
from Southern Living magazine (July 2010)

Yield: Makes about 1 qt.
Ingredients

* 3/4 cup sugar
* 2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 1 tablespoon instant espresso
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups milk
* 1 cup heavy whipping cream
* 1 egg yolk
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (vanilla extract may be substituted)
* 1 cup chopped pecans
* 2 ounces finely chopped semisweet chocolate
* Garnish: dark-chocolate sticks

Preparation

1. Whisk together first 4 ingredients in a large heavy saucepan. Gradually whisk in milk and whipping cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 10 to 12 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly. Remove from heat.

2. Whisk egg yolk until slightly thickened. Gradually whisk about 1 cup hot cream mixture into yolk. Add yolk mixture to remaining cream mixture, whisking constantly. Whisk in vanilla bean paste. Cool 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

3. Place plastic wrap directly on cream mixture, and chill 8 to 24 hours.

4. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 8 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring once halfway through. Cool completely (about 30 minutes).

5. Pour chilled cream mixture into freezer container of a 1 1/2-qt. electric ice-cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. (Instructions and time may vary.) Before transferring ice cream to an airtight container for further freezing, stir in pecans and chocolate. Garnish, if desired.

My Notes: I used vanilla extract, skim milk and mini chocolate chips and it still tastes great.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - not home but I am sure he will enjoy some later :)

wine soaked strawberries...

One of my favorite summer treats is ice cold Bartenura Moscato with sliced peaches in a glass. After you drink the slightly bubbly wine, the wine soaked peaches are heavenly. On a recent cycling trip we stopped at the Morgan Creek Winery near New Ulm, MN. During the wine tasting I was telling our server about the peaches and she insisted I buy their Sweet E dessert wine and do the same thing with fresh strawberries. It didn't take much convincing and while camping this weekend we had the wine soaked strawberries for dessert along with a few chocolate/pecan covered strawberries. The wine soaked strawberries did taste good but it has nothing on the moscato/peach combination :)
We really enjoy our camping and cycling excursions but not from a tent...
but in an rv with all the comforts of home.
J is becoming a pretty darn good griller too :)

for Lenae...

I ran into a friend yesterday at the local farm stand and she told me to buy lots of strawberries and make something because she was sick of looking at the potatoes and sausage post :) Here you go Lenae!

No cooking involved, I didn't have time but farm stand strawberries and raspberries on spinach with side crunchies of farm fresh kohlrabi and radishes. I ate outside since I have been cooped up in the office all day and noticed how many butterflies are in the garden today. To see the butterflies go to my garden blog HERE.

Potato Kielbasa Skillet...

I'm married to a hunter so I have an abundance of venison sausage in my freezer. I found this recipe on the Taste of Home website for Potato Kielbasa Skillet and it looked good so I tried it tonight substituting vension for the kielbasa. It was a "keeper" recipe :)

Potato Kielbasa Skillet
from Taste of Home - original recipe can be found Here.
Ingredients

* 1 pound red potatoes, cubed
* 3 tablespoons water
* 3/4 pound smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
* 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 4 cups fresh baby spinach
* 5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

Directions

* Place potatoes and water in a microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes or until tender; drain.
* In a large skillet, saute kielbasa and onion in oil until onion is tender. Add potatoes; saute 3-5 minutes longer or until kielbasa and potatoes are lightly browned.
* Combine the brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, thyme and pepper; stir into skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Add spinach and bacon; cook and stir until spinach is wilted. Yield: 4 servings.

Marsha - Thumbs Up
Jeff - Thumbs Up