Wings. Oh, delicious wings. Put a pile in front of me and they’ll be gone in a matter of minutes. Especially while watching football. And with the Super Bowl right around the corner (GO PATS!), what better time to share this finger-lickin-good recipe for some spicy wings? This recipe combines all of the key elements to create the perfect wing: crispy, spicy, sticky, and the kick of ginger provides just the right amount of uniqueness from the other, more traditional, party wings.

Spicy Ginger-Honey Wings
Print this Recipe!
Adapted from Food & Wine

• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 pounds party wings (wingettes and drumettes), patted dry
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Frank’s Red Hot sauce
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
• 2 tablespoons scallions, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with vegetable oil.

In a medium bowl, start by combining your dry ingredients: flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Now, add the chicken to the bowl the the flour mixture and toss to coat.

Arrange the chicken on the baking sheet in a single layer and spray with vegetable oil. This part really helps with getting the chicken nice and crispy, so don’t skip this step!

Bake the chicken for 45 minutes, turning twice, until browned and crispy. Since the oven is at 500 degrees, things can get kind of smoky in the oven, so just keep an eye on them

While the wings are in the oven, begin preparing the sauce. In a medium bowl, add the hot sauce with the butter, soy sauce, honey, and ginger.

Lightly whisk the sauce together to combine all of the ingredients.

When the chicken is finished baking, using tongs, dip the wings into the sauce to coat each. As you take each wing out of the sauce, arrange it on a platter.

Garnish with scallions and serve piping hot with plenty o’ napkins!

It was actually kind of frightening how good these were. I even started to question my level of self control as I kept going back for more.

So, what I’m trying to say is, if you make these for the Super Bowl, and you’re watching the game with more than one person (yourself), definitely make a couple batches, because they’ll go very, very quickly!

Have fun watching the BIG game while watching (and rooting for!) this pretty little thing:

and eating these spicy little things:

What are you planning on making for this year’s Super Bowl?

Pin It

[Chels]

Last week I invited some of my favorite blogger friends (turned real life friends!) over for a fun holiday craft night. After much discussion over email, we decided this had to happen. There are very few things in life that are better than a night filled with glitter, crafts, appetizers, friends, and a holiday mix on the iPod!

Along with making a simple cheese plate and serving some wine, I decided to prepare a quick appetizer before the girls arrived. I had bookmarked a recipe for sausage- cheddar balls that I found from Martha Stewart that I thought would make perfect bites for a night of crafting. And they just might be my newest favorite appetizer to make now, too!

Sausage-Cheddar Balls (makes 45)
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Print this Recipe!

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese (I used Cabot’s 50% reduced fat)
• 1 pound breakfast sausage (I purchased mine at the meat counter at Whole Foods. Just remove the casings when you’re ready to prepare the dish)
• 1/2 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons unsalted buter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and baking powder.

Add in shredded cheese. With your hands, toss to coat the cheese with the flour mixture.

Add sausage, onion, and butter and continue to mix until well-combined. Pardon the not-so-appetizing photo below! Eep.

Mold into a little loaf to make sure everything is coated nicely and combined.

Form 1-inch balls and place on a parchment or Silpat-lined baking sheet.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until they’re golden brown and cooked through and serve while warm. And just like that, you’re all done! I told you these were quick.

These little delights are just perfect! The cayenne packs a nice surprise of heat and the onion adds just the right amount of texture. I never would have thought to buy breakfast sausage to make these but it worked out wonderfully. I actually ended up having some leftovers that I tossed in a salad for lunch the next day.

Bite-sized appetizers are a great solution for get togethers, such as post-work blogger craft nights!

On the cheese platter I served some Cabot cheeses (their Tuscan cheddar is SO good), goat cheese with cranberries, prosciutto, marinated olives, and Stonewall’s red pepper jelly. I probably could have eaten the entire thing by myself. Oof.

As far as crafts, if you want to know the truth, we pretty much got high off of glitter. A week later, I’m still finding random bits of the sparkly stuff scattered around my apartment, hehe.

I bought some kraft star ornaments from Paper Source and used PVA to adhere glitter to them. So simple!

Sues brought some clear ornaments that we decorated with glitter as well. We used Glitter-It! Glue that we poured in the ornaments to coat the inside, then poured any excess out. We then poured the glitter into the ornament, again to coat, and poured the excess glitter out. And just like that, you have a sparkly Christmas ornament! So fun. We got a bit carried away.

Kristen glittered a kraft Z, for her last name!

I did a heat embossing demonstration. Perfect for holiday card making!

So, remember how I said we got a bit carried away with the glitter? Well, I have about a zillion and two mason jars stacked around my apartment, so I decided to glitter one. Then brought a bunch out for everyone else to glitter. I obviously don’t have a single use for a glittered mason jar but it’s stunning, especially after I braided satin ribbon and tied it around the top of the jar! Pretty trumps practical in my book

Some snaps of bloggers taking snaps! Kristen, Becca, and JQ, who most likely live tweeted these photos Love hanging out with these friends!

We also made some glittered twitter handle mitten/ornaments, thanks to the genius that is Julie Q.

At the end of the night we decided to make this an annual event… and also discussed doing a Valentine’s Day craft night. There are just far too many excuses to glitter everything in site.

[Chels]

I love a good dip recipe and since Thanksgiving is right around the corner I figured I’d share a very simple recipe for you to bring to Thursday’s dinner if you’re still trying to figure out what to make! I’m working all day tomorrow then going straight to my parent’s house so I needed to make something ahead of time that would travel well. Thankfully there’s an industrial fridge in the cafe of my job so that’s exactly where this dip will be living for the 7 hours I’m working at the gym

Spinach, Onion, and Bacon Dip (serves 8-10)
Print this Recipe!

• 5 slices of bacon, thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 cup milk (I used 1% since that’s what I had on hand. You could use something heavier if you wanted a creamier end result)
• 1/4 cup plain Greek Yogurt
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 (8 ounce) bar cream cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (or Parmesan/Romano blend)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a saucepan, cook bacon until crisp, about 10 minutes and drain on paper towel-lined plate. Discard all but one teaspoon bacon fat from pan.

Add onion to pan, season generously with salt and pepper, and stir; about 8 minutes. Add flour and combine.

Incorporate spinach, milk, Greek yogurt, sour cream, and cream cheese.

You can just break up the block of cream cheese in the pan using a spatula and continue to stir until it’s all melted, which should only take 2-3 minutes. Continue stirring until you have a creamy consistency.

Add the bacon back to the pan.

And incorporate 1/4 cup of grated cheese.

Continue to stir until everything is blended together.

Transfer the spinach dip into a shallow baking dish and top with the remaining 1/4 cup of the grated cheese.

Bake for about 15 minutes until the dip is golden brown and bubbling.

Since I made this ahead of time for a Thanksgiving appetizer, I just skipped the baking part and I have it chilling in my refrigerator. I’ll just bake it Thursday before guests arrive at my parent’s house so it will be nice and fresh. I was always taught never to make a dish and bring it to someone’s house if I haven’t tried it on my own, so I decided to make a small ramekin portion so I could sample it and snap some final photos for the sake of this blog post. Really, I just wanted it for lunch this afternoon and thought that was the perfect excuse, who are we kidding

Garlic Toasts

So, so, so easy. Instead of buying a box of crackers or crostini, I decided to just make my own. I actually think sometimes it turns out to be more economical to make your own, anyway! Plus, you can add whatever ingredients you want to make them even tastier.

I bought two loaves of Iggy’s bread, a sesame loaf and a basic French baguette, and I sliced them on an angle.

Arrange them neatly on a cookie sheet.

In a small ramekin I took about 3-4 tablespoons of good olive oil and three cloves of minced garlic. I simply brushed the garlic/oil mixture over each slice of bread, sprinkled grated Parmesan cheese on top and baked until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes on 350 degrees.

Done! And YUM!

If you’re still struggling trying to decide what to contribute to a Thanksgiving dinner, or any dinner, a good dip is always a win, win. People love gathering around food like this and it’s usually one of the first things to go at a party.

The little hints of salty bacon are the perfect touch to take an ordinary spinach dip to the next level and the buttery garlic toasts act as a perfect crunchy scoop.

What are you planning on bringing to Thanksgiving dinner? My mom and aunt run the show at our Thanksgiving and we always have so.much.food. This year I’m contributing this dip so I don’t take up too my of my mom’s valuable kitchen time. I’ll help her clean up the kitchen and wash some dishes, too I can’t wait to spend the next couple days with my family!

[Chels]

If you put a white potato and a sweet potato in front of me, I will choose the sweet potato. Every. Single. Time. In any form. Not because they’re healthier (which they are), but because they are packed with so much more flavor. I can eat a sweet potato with absolutely no adornment at all and be perfectly happy. But plain white potatoes always make me feel like something is lacking: ketchup! cheese! lots and lots of garlic! Sweet potatoes are where the flavor’s at. White potatoes are vehicles for other fun stuff.

I’m especially in love with this sweet potato cake recipe because it keeps the simplicity of the sweet potato, but adds just a touch of maple and a super light yogurt dipping sauce. Heavenly. And it makes me happy fall was invented.

Sweet Potato Cakes with Maple Sage Yogurt (makes about 24 cakes):
Print this recipe!

• 2 lb. sweet potato
• 2 T butter
• 2 t maple syrup
• 2 t milk
• 1/8 C flour
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 batch maple sage yogurt (see recipe below)

Start by boiling the sweet potatoes since it can take a while. But then move right on to making the yogurt so you can chill it a bit and the flavors can all meld together.

Just put your potatoes in a large pot, cover with water, and let water boil. Reduce the water to a simmer, cover, and wait about 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes can easily be pierced with a knife.

Maple Sage Yogurt (makes about 1 cup):

• 6 o.z non-fat greek yogurt
• 1.5 t maple syrup
• 1 t finely chopped sage

While you’re waiting for the sweet potatoes to be done, you can mix the yogurt together. It’s super quick and easy! Just combine the yogurt, 1.5 t maple syrup, and 1 t finely chopped stage. Mix well and put yogurt in fridge.

Here’s another one of those photos that will be going in the book I will someday publish called “kitchen aftermath.” It’s going to be a compilation of photos of beautiful messes in the kitchen.

When your potatoes are done, drain them and let them cool for about 5 minutes. Remove skins (they should come off easily).

Add in butter, 2 t maple syrup, and milk. And mash with a potato masher.

Sprinkle mashed potatoes with the flour (this will help hold the cakes together a bit more) and form small cakes using your hands.

Put 1 T olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and place cakes in pan. Let cook about 1-2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Continue until all sweet potato is gone, using more olive oil as needed.

Place sweet potato cakes on a plate and add a dollop of yogurt on top.

The only thing better than mashed sweet potatoes is probably these sweet potato cakes. They were incredibly light, but packed with flavor.

The yogurt was wonderful because it encapsulated the sagey flavor of fall without intimidating. And it offered a light sweetness without overpowering the tanginess. It complimented the sweet potato really well with its light tang and corresponding maple touch. In fact, I would probably eat the yogurt by the spoonful without any potato involved.

Technically, this would make a very wonderful side dish or appetizer.. But let’s be honest, I’m all about making sweet potato cakes into a meal. Which is exactly what I did.

Do you have a potato preference or are you an equal opportunity potato-ist?

[Sues]

On days where I work at my gym, I almost always try to bring my own lunch to save some moolah. But some mornings I’m in such a rush trying to get out of the house on time (read: half asleep) that I completely forget to pack something to eat. Thankfully, my gym has quite a nice cafe. Such a nice cafe that oftentimes I find myself jotting down what I had for lunch so I can try to recreate it at home.

Last week the soup of the day was a butternut squash and apple, which on a crisp fall afternoon, was just what the doctor ordered. Creamy and flavorful, I couldn’t help but continue thinking about the soup long after I finished eating lunch. So, I took matters into my own hands and found a similar-sounding recipe courtesy of Food and Wine.

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup with Cheddar Serves 4
Adapted from Food and Wine
Print this Recipe!

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup apple cider or spiced cider
• one 1 3/4 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 1/2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• salt and pepper
• 1 McIntosh apple, roughly diced
• cheddar cheese for garnish, grated
• chives, thinly sliced for garnish

In a large pot, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over medium high heat until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add the cider to the pot and allow it to cook until it’s syrupy, about 3-5 minutes.

Next, add the butternut squash and broth and bring to a boil. Cover and allow to sit for about 40 minutes, until the butternut squash is tender.

Now, transfer to your blender. I did this part in batches and spooned it from the pot into a smaller bowl then poured it into the blender so I’d have more control over it. My luck, I’d attempt to lift my heavy pot and dump all of the scalding hot soup all over myself! Makes for one extra dish to wash but it’s worth it

Puree the butternut squash then transfer back to the original pot and add the heavy cream.

Season with a bit of salt and pepper. You’ll want to keep the pot warm while you prepare the apples.

For the apples, you’re first going to melt the butter in a skillet. Once warm, add the diced apples,

and allow to cook until lightly golden brown. Season with salt and pepper.

Now, you’re almost ready to cozy up to a bowl of delicious soup. But first, you have to prepare each bowl, the fun part First, garnish with cheddar. Naturally, I used Cabot’s Seriously Sharp. It’s always stocked in my fridge!

Then top with sauteed apples and chives.

When I was younger, I never considered soup to be dinner. I was a weirdo. Because a hearty and filling soup like this is definitely the perfect way to end the day. And the perfect midday pick-me-up, too!

What’s your favorite seasonal soup? I hear we’re supposed to get snow (?!?!?!?!??!) in Massachusetts in a couple days? I need warm and comforting foods so I can happily hibernate this season

[Chels]

Whenever I’m looking for a simple and quick side dish, I typically tend to roast some well-seasoned vegetables. Or even if I’m just trying to save some moolah, roasted veggies is a very inexpensive but filling dinner option Just because life is busy and I’m hardly ever home these days, doesn’t mean I have to eat poorly!

Depending on the vegetable, I’ll drizzle some olive oil on top before roasting. The thing with that is, I tend to use a good olive oil. One that won’t take away from the vegetables or leave an unappealing or bitter taste. Recently, Sues and I were each sent a bottle of award-winning California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which as food bloggers, made us extremely excited! A couple years ago we were sent home from the Foodbuzz Festival with our own bottles and I must say, this was one food item I was not wiling to share with anyone! But then again, I don’t really like sharing any food with anyone. Oink.

The Everyday California Olive Ranch Olive Oil that we were sent has a “floral, buttery, and fruity aroma. Smooth flavor with hints of green apple”. The 100% California grown olives are cold pressed within hours of picking to produce a better taste and the green bottle keeps the oil fresher longer. In short, there are a lot of things that can be wrong with any old olive oil. And there is absolutely nothing at all wrong with California Olive Ranch.

Roasted Cauliflower
Print this Recipe!

• 1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• GOOD olive oil
• Juice from half of a lemon
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

• Place cauliflower florets in an oven-safe baking dish and arrange in a single layer.

• Add garlic and spritz cauliflower with lemon juice and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, or really, any other spices you’d like. This recipe is a great base for so many different flavors!

• Uncovered, roast for 25-30 minutes or until the cauliflower is nicely browned and at a doneness that you prefer.

• While the cauliflower is still hot, sprinkle with Parmesan.

And serve immediately.

I popped these florets in my mouth like candy! They were delicious with just the right amount of saltiness and perfectly buttery. I’m not going to lie, I think I ate the entire dish for dinner. Well, with a little help from my friend Melis, who made an impromptu visit to my apartment after work today. I offered her some and she said she didn’t think she liked cauliflower but, naturally, I made her try it anyway and she actually loved it. I do quite enjoy making people get over food “dislikes” Although, it’s difficult not to love something that’s perfectly seasoned with Parmesan and good olive oil

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, if you’re in the Boston area, California Olive Ranch is, for a limited time, partnering with Emack and Bolio’s (one of my favorite ice cream shops!) and producing an olive oil ice cream! I’ve heard this is a fantsatic, albeit unusual pairing, so I’m dying to try it out from the professionals! You’ll be able to enjoy this concoction from Tuesday, September 20th-Friday, September 30th at the Emack and Bolio’s at:

290 Newbury Street, Boston
100 City Square, Charlestown
Porter Square Shopping Center, Cambridge

Now, dig in!

[Chels]

It’s starting. The most wonderful time of the year. No, not Christmas. Pumpkin season. I even mixed pumpkin puree into my oatmeal yesterday. Yes, I stockpiled about 6 cans from last year just in case it was tough to find in stores this autumn (like you don’t remember the great pumpkin drought of 2009? Nightmare). But it really is the most wonderful time of the year because, while it’s pumpkin season, my basil plant is still flourishing, summery fruits and veggies are still available, and it really is the best of both seasons. I’m slightly confused, but mainly happy.

I first made soft pretzels back when Chels and I had our Orville Redenbacher Oscar’s party. I didn’t blog them because, well, I was trying to throw a party and am not good at photographing each step of a recipe when I’m also trying to do 8392 other things. Basically I’m the worst party thrower ever. I’ve been wanting to make soft pretzels again ever since, but this time with a twist. Beer pretzels are better than regular old pretzels. And if you’re going to make beer pretzels, you may as well make pumpkin beer pretzels! See my logic there? This is how my brain works from September-November.

I also made two dipping sauces because I couldn’t decide if I wanted mustard with my pretzels or a sweet dipping sauce. Instead of deciding, I made a pumpkin beer mustard and a sweet pumpkin dip and alternated bites.

‘Tis the season. Embrace it with all your heart. Ready, set, go!

Pumpkin Beer Pretzels (makes 12 pretzels):
Print this recipe!

• 1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 t)
• 1/2 C warm water, plus 2 C warm water
• 1/2 T sugar
• 1/2 t fine sea salt
• 1 t olive oil
• 1 C pumpkin beer of your choice
• 3-4 C all-purpose flour
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2-3 T coarse salt
• 1 T butter, melted
• Dipping sauces (see below)

(pre-heat oven to 425 degrees)

I chose to use Southern Tier’s Pumking because it’s one of my all-time favorite pumpkin ales.

In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over your 1/2 cup of warm water. Let rest for about 5 minutes.

Then stir in sugar, salt, and olive oil. Pour in the beer. It will get all kinds of frothy as it reacts with the yeast already in the bowl. It was kind of fun to watch, but then, I’m easily entertained.

With a wooden spoon, stir the flour in one cup at a time. You don’t want your dough to be too sticky, but you don’t want it to be too dry either. I started by adding 3 cups of flour (you can always add more in as you knead it. Or need it. Hehe).

Now, knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 8 minutes. Or you can throw it in your mixer with the dough hook for about 3 minutes and save your muscles that work. As I kneaded my dough in the mixer, it started getting sticky, so I ended up adding another 3/4 C flour in.

Once you’re done kneading, place your dough into a lightly oiled bowl.

Place bowl in a warm spot, cover with a kitchen towel, and let sit for about an hour to rise.

When you come back to it, it will likely look something like this:

Punch the dough down and you’re ready to form the pretzels! Start by dividing the dough into 12 balls, so you can make sure your pretzels will all be relatively the same size.

Take one dough ball and roll it into a rope, like so:

Shape the rope into a pretzel by forming into a “u.”

And crossing one end down.

Followed by the other end.

Now, mix your remaining 2 C warm water with 1 t baking soda in a baking pan or other shallow dish. Dip the formed pretzels in. And then place on a greased baking sheet.

Continue with the remaining dough balls.

Cover with a kitchen towel again and let rise for another 20 minutes.

Now brush each pretzel lightly with beaten egg. Sprinkle with coarse salt.

Pop in the oven at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Right when they come out of the oven, brush them with a little melted butter and let cool.

Now for the dipping sauces, which you can make ahead of time if you choose. In fact, you should make the mustard ahead of time because it needs to sit for a bit. While I was doing my mustard research (right before I started baking the pretzels), I realized that the mixture was supposed to sit for a day or two before processing. Um, oops. I decided to just make my own mixture on my own terms. The pumpkin beer mustard I made ended up coming out wonderfully. It was super strong (likely because the flavors didn’t have time to mellow), but what’s the point of mustard if it’s not strong? I loved it!

Pumpkin Beer Mustard (makes about 3/4 C):

• 1/2 C yellow mustard seed
• 3/4 C pumpkin beer of your choice
• 1/8 C apple cider vinegar
• Pinch of black pepper
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• Pinch of cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg

In a medium bowl, mix together mustard seed, pumpkin beer, and apple cider vinegar. Put in fridge for about 2 hours (or up to 2 days) to marinate.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor and process until the mustard seeds are ground and the mixture thickens.

Whoa! I couldn’t believe it went from looking like a brown liquid to a thick yellow mustard, all from a little processing. Pop it back in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. If you let it sit for a day or two, the flavors will begin to mellow.

I had briefly considered adding a cinnamon sugar mixture to my pretzels, but wasn’t certain I wanted them to be sweet over savory, so I refrained. Instead, I decided to make a sweet pumpkin dip. This is basically the easiest dip in the world. I used fat free sour cream in mine, but definitely would have used plain Greek yogurt if I had any on hand.

Sweet Pumpkin Dip (makes about 1 C):

• 1/2 C pure pumpkin
• 1/4 C brown sugar
• 1/4 C fat free sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
• 1/4 t cinnamon
• 1/8 t nutmeg

I told you this one was easy. Just mix all the ingredients together and put in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.

Your pretzels are ready. Your two dips are ready. And you’re ready to dig in. With the extra beer on the side, obviously. Not my fault the Southern Tier bottles are so big!

You obviously don’t have to make both dips, but if you’re horribly indecisive like me, you might want to.

I literally tore off a piece or pretzel and dipped it in the mustard.

And tore off another piece and dipped it in the sweet pumpkin dip.

And could not have been happier. But then, I really enjoy weird food combinations.

The pretzels themselves are actually pretty fabulous without the dips. The pumpkin beer taste was not overwhelming at all and was more of just an essence. The pretzels were soft, chewy, salty, and everything a soft pretzel is meant to be.

You could certainly make these pretzels even more pumpkin-y (yes, it’s a word) by adding cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg to the mix, if you want to go for a sweeter pretzel. You could even mix in pumpkin puree. There’s something about pumpkin and pretzels that just works. And beer. Always beer.

With football season starting, these would be the perfect game time snack. I’m not a huge football lover, but when there’s good food involved, I’m always in, so I’m planning to develop some more fabulous game time snacks this season.

OK, time for me to go have my pumpkin oatmeal breakfast. I told you, when I go in, I go all in.

Favorite Pumpkin Recipes on We are not Martha:

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Pumpkin Pie Martini
Cranberry Pumpkin Granola
Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns
Pumpkin Chicken Tacos
Pumpkin Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Spinach
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Chicken Potpie in a Pumpkin
Pumpkin Pancakes
Pumpkin-Swirl Brownies
Pumpkin Fudge
Pumpkin-Chocolate-Chip Squares
Pumpkin Quinoa Parfait
Pumpkin Pie Bars
Molasses Ginger Cookies with Sweet Pumpkin Dip

Has pumpkin season started for you or are you waiting until the official start of fall?

[Sues]

Gap Jeans Giveaway Winner!

The winner of last week’s Gap jeans giveaway is Lauren from Keep It Sweet! Congrats, Lauren; I’ll email you ASAP to get your contact info

Hi again! Before I leave for corn-cation (I’ll be spending the fall in pumpkin land), I wanted to share one last (IF I can contain myself, that is) corn recipe. You need to make this with fresh corn muffins with basil, unless you have a fear of corn overload, in which case, stay far far away. But I say you should indulge while you can. You’ll regret it when the corn disappears for the year.

And really, this soup is a beautiful thing. Why, you ask? Well, how often do you see corn soups that aren’t packed with cream or milk? This? Has nothing of the sort. Sure you see some sour cream in the photo below, but that’s simply for topping the corn soup if you choose (plus, I used fat-free). Other than that, the soup becomes creamy all from the help of the corn. And maybe some of your muscle strength. If you have any.

Fresh Corn Soup (serves about 6):
Adapted from Fine Cooking via Summers & Suppers
Print this recipe!

• 5-6 large ears of fresh sweet corn, shucked
• Kosher salt
• 3 T olive oil
• 1/2 C- 3/4 C cup diced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 C chopped celery
• 1 medium red potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• Fresh black pepper
• 1/2 t cayenne
• 1 small tomato, chopped (optional, for topping)
• Sour cream (optional, for topping)
• 2 T fresh basil, chopped (optional, for topping)

Here we go again, cutting the corn off the cob. Make sure you don’t cut too close to the cob. You should have about 3 1/2 to 4 C of corn kernels.

But don’t throw away those cobs. In fact, I hope your arms aren’t tired. Because you’ve only just begun. Now, take one of the cobs and stand it on its ends in a shallow dish. Scrape as much off the cob as you can, extracting all the “milk” and solids possible. Repeat with the remaining cobs. This is what mine looked like. It took a lot of arm strength. At least for me. But I’m kinda weak. And I was most definitely using the wrong knife.

Now, take those totally bare cobs and break them in half. Put them in a 4-quart pot with 6 cups of water and 1 teaspoon salt (and ignore the fact that I left some kernels on my cobs… Ooops. My arms hurt). Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce to medium low, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Then you can throw the cobs away, put the liquid in a separate bowl, and set aside.

Put the pot back over medium-high heat and add oil. Sauté onion in the oil for about 3 minutes, until translucent.

Then add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Turn the heat down to medium and add celery. Cover the pot and continue to cook, making sure to stir occasionally for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables soften.

Add the potatoes, pepper, and cayenne. Stir.

Pour in the corn stock. Doesn’t that sound lovely? Corn stock. I think I shall cook only with homemade corn stock from now on. In fact, maybe I’ll can it and sell it.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover and lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes, until the vegetables are softened enough to puree.

Add all of the corn kernels, except for 1 cup.

Simmer for another 10 minutes.

Now you’re ready to puree the soup. For this you’ll need either an immersion (hand) blender or an actual blender. I recently got an immersion blender but hadn’t had any opportunity to use it for quite some time. This soup made me so just why I needed one. It made everything SO easy. I just stuck the immersion blender in the pot and blended away.

If you need to use a regular blender, just puree the soup in batches and pour it back in the pot when it’s all pureed.

Now for the fun part. Taste it. And add more salt or pepper if needed. Add the rest of your corn and all that beautiful corn milk/solid you worked so hard to get.

Simmer for another 5 minutes.

And serve warm or at room temperature, with as many toppings as you choose. I mean, you could even add bacon in there if you so desired. Why not, right?

I’m honestly still kind of amazed that I made a soup so thick and creamy with no cream or milk or anything of the sort, whatsoever. This is just plain corn and was truly one of the creamiest soups I’ve had. One of life’s little miracles, I suppose.

Or maybe it just goes to show what a whole lot of corn and a blender can do.

The color of this soup is just pure happiness. Especially when contrasted with other brightly colored toppings.

If I were smart, I would have made 10 batches of this and froze it for those long winter months. But my freezer is too small and constantly packed (with what? I don’t know). Plus, I generally prefer to enjoy seasonal vegetables in-season. Hence why I don’t eat pumpkin when it’s not autumn. Otherwise, I wouldn’t appreciate it half as much during its very special time of the year.

Enjoy this soup. Enjoy fresh corn. And enjoy the rest of the summer. Also, be safe if you’re in an area that could be affected by the hurricane this weekend. It’s iffy what will happen in the Boston-area, but I’m thinking it will mostly be lots of rain and wind. I’ve got an exciting event planned on Saturday (I’m interviewing Giada DeLaurentiis!), so I’m hoping the storms hold off

Then again, this soup is pretty perfect for an end of summer stormy weekend.

Do you have a favorite summer soup?

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While you’re all sipping pumpkin beers and lusting after pumpkin spice lattes, corn season continues for me. I’m actually going to post two corn recipes today. Because let’s get realistic: We don’t have much time left and you need these recipes now. OK, and I have 8432 posts I need to get out and they’re piling up more and more. A good problem to have, I say

With an obsession with corn and a heartily blooming basil plant (thanks, Dad!), I knew I wanted to combine the two. And when I spotted a recipe in the summer issue of Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, I knew right away I needed these muffins in my life. I love corn muffins/bread anyway, but it’s rare to find them made with actual real corn. Sad, right? Plus, if I didn’t do something with my basil plant soon, I’m pretty sure it would have taken over our apartment. Now, that would be a pretty awesome (and scary) blog post.

Fresh Corn Muffins with Basil (makes 12 muffins):
Adapted from Everyday Food’s Summer Issue
Print this recipe!

• 1 C corn kernels, from about 2 cobs
• 2 C flour (plus more for coating tin)
• 1/4 C cornmeal
• 1 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1 t salt
• 1/4 t red pepper flakes
• 1 1/4 C buttermilk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 C unsalted butter, melted (plus more for coating tin)
• 1/4 C basil, chopped

(pre-heat oven to 375 degrees)

These are incredibly quick and easy to make and the toughest part is cutting the corn off the cob. But it’s only two cobs, so don’t complain (wait until you see my next recipe… muhahaha).

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and red pepper flakes.

Then, in a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and melted butter.

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, until just combined. Then fold in the corn and basil, making sure they’re spread throughout the batter.

Lightly butter and flour your muffin tin.

Scoop about 1/3 C of batter in prepared tin, filling about 3/4 of the way.

Bake muffins at 375 degrees for about 25-30 minutes, until muffins are lightly golden. Like so:

Let them cool a bit before taking out of the pan. But only a little bit because these are SO good warm. Though I’ll admit I ate a few cold and those were fantastic, too. I ate a lot of these over the past week. When you live in a household of two and make muffins 12 at a time, trouble can ensue.

Luckily, these had fresh vegetables in them, minimizing my guilt a bit. Right? I love a corn muffin with actual real-life corn in it. Fresh corn. And fresh basil. The colors are beautiful and the taste incredible.

The original recipe actually called for a bit of sugar, but I left it out because you know what? Fresh corn at this time of year is sweet enough. And I wanted these to be savory muffins that weren’t packed with white sugar. The red pepper flakes gave them an awesome kick that wasn’t overpowering at all.

I mean, you could slather these in lots of butter, too, but really it’s not necessary. I made a delightful fresh corn soup to eat with the muffins and there was lots of dipping going on. I’ll be posting that recipe later today… And then I think I’ll take a little corn-cation. Not because I’m sick of it, but because I think I got too much of an arm workout from the next recipe. You’ll see.

And I’m pretty sure corn-cation is my new favorite word.

Do you have an ultimate corn muffin recipe? What does it involve?

For some weird reason I’m anti creamed vegetables and “cream of…” soups, but I’ve heard muffins with creamed corn in them are out of this world amazing.

If you get a chance, please don’t forget to vote for us as CBS Boston’s Most Valuable Lifestyle Blogger. Thank you so much!!

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I can’t be the only one in absolute disbelief that summer is almost over, right? I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have brought it up. Especially on a Monday morning.That was rude. But I’m already entering that “summer is ending” depression. Especially considering the amount of summer recipes I have filed away that I still desperately want to make before time is up. I know it’s still just mid-August, but the thing is, I’ve seen about 10 different varieties of pumpkin beers in stores already, while I’m sitting here still crushing on corn and tomatoes. Don’t get me wrong; I’m just as obsessed with pumpkin beer as the next gal, but I’m so not ready for it. Pumpkin beer is meant for sitting on the deck with a light sweater on, the sun setting at 6:00 p.m. and the leaves falling. We’re not there yet.

August is for corn. And this will not be the last of the corn recipes you see from me this season. Because, while I don’t love eating it off the cob, I do enjoy incorporating it into multitudes of recipes. These corn cakes are super quick, easy, and satisfying. While they make a perfect appetizer, I definitely served them as a meal, with a light couscous salad. To me, this is summer. On a plate.

Corn Cakes (makes 8-10):
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Every Day Food
Print this recipe!

•  2 T plus 1 t extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 C fresh corn (from about 3 ears)
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 C cornmeal
• 3 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

Of course, you need to start by getting the corn off the cob. Chels and I actually did this for our guacamole last week and employed a little Rachael Ray technique. Place a small inverted bowl inside a larger bowl. Put the base of the corn on top of the inverted bowl and cut the kernels off. If you use this technique, the kernels will fall right into the larger bowl instead of landing everywhere in your kitchen. Which saves you months of finding corn kernels under the toaster and between the cracks of your stove.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a skillet over medium heat. Put corn and zucchini in the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring often, until vegetables soften.

Put corn and zucchini in a bowl to cool a bit. Add the scallions, eggs, and cornmeal to the mixture.

Stir to combine.

Wipe your skillet clean and heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Scoop out about 1/4 C of the corn mixture and form into a small patty.

Cook for about 3 minutes, until set on bottom.

Flip the cakes and cook for another 2 minutes, until the cakes are cooked through.

Transfer to a plate covered with a paper towel. And repeat with the remaining corn mixture.

Sprinkle the corn cakes with delicious feta cheese.

Serve the cakes warm.

But not with a pumpkin beer. Seriously, that would mess with my senses in a major way. These corn cakes deserve light and summery accompaniments. Like a spritzer. Or glass of cold white wine. Seriously, I don’t even really like white wine, but with these? Heavenly.

I ate the leftovers for lunch for two days and both days, I said to myself that these were the best lunch leftovers I’d ever had.

And with that I say, please summer, don’t even leave me. I feel as though you just got here. I just bought 6 more ears of corn yesterday and plan to whip up some other corn dishes soon, so stay tuned for more. After all, corn season really lasts straight through September, yes? And right when that’s done, I’ll plan on breaking out the pumpkin beer. But please, let’s hold on to summer a little bit longer.

What’s your favorite way to eat fresh corn?

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