Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls and Perfect Salmon

Last fall, Sarah and I decided we had to make pumpkin cinnamon rolls.  This involved me looking through dozens of recipes, until we found one we both approved of (meaning it had pretty pictures).  It surprisingly included whole wheat flour.  I thought they turned out really well, but were best right after they were baked.

And then for actual dinner, we made really simple salmon and vegetables, roasted on cedar wraps.  I've made this salmon so many times.

Recipe: Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting (from Good Life Eats)
Ingredients:
Dough:
1/4 cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm milk
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup pumpkin puree (we used fresh)
1 tbsp melted butter
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I just used regular white whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cardamom

Filling:
1/2 stick butter (modified from original recipe)
2/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp each of allspice and ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves

Frosting:
4 oz cream cheese
1 stick butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
powdered sugar, to taste

Directions:
Stir yeast into water in a large bowl, let rest about 5 minutes, until it blooms.  Stir in the milk, eggs, pumpkin, butter, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom to the yeast mixture.  Beat vigorously for 2 minutes.

Slowly add the all purpose flour, a bit at a time, until the dough is stiff enough to knead.  Begin with 1 1/2 cups of flour and increase if necessary.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead until smooth and elastic, adding flour if necessary.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, ~1 hour.

Combine the filling ingredients, except for the butter, in a small bowl.  Transfer the risen dough to a lightly greased work surface, and pat or roll into a 16" by 12" rectangle.  Spread softened butter over dough and then sprinkle with sugar mixture.

Roll the dough into a log the long way, it'll stretch to about 20 inches long.  Using a very sharp knife, slice the dough into 15 slices.  Place slices in a greased 9x13 baking dish.  Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, ~45 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 375 deg F oven, until they're brown around the edges and golden brown across, ~20-30 minutes.

While rolls bake, prepare the frosting.  Beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth.  Add in powdered sugar, a little at a time, until desired consistency and sweetness is reached.

Frost warm rolls with cream cheese frosting and serve immediately.  Store leftover frosting in the refrigerator.

Recipe: Brown Sugar and Mustard Salmon
This really doesn't require a formal recipe.  Preheat oven to 400 deg F, and put salmon on cedar planks or foil, on a baking sheet.  Add some s&p to both sides.  Squirt some dijon mustard on, then sprinkle with brown sugar.  Bake for ~15-20 minutes, depending on thickness of fish.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Okay, so these are incredible!  Make sure you freeze the cream cheese, otherwise it can get extremely messy.  I didn't make the topping, but I'm sure it's delicious.  I halved the recipe, and it turned out perfectly.

Recipe: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (from Annie's Eats)
Ingredients:
Filling:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Muffins:
1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp each of ground cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Topping:
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tbsp flour
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut in pieces

Directions:
To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and mix until well blended and smooth.  Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.  Freeze at least 2 hours.

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350 deg F.  Line muffin pan with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil.  Mix on medium-low speed until combined.  With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing until incorporated.

To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl, stir until combined.  Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is coarse and crumbly.  Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom (1-2 tbsp).  Slice the log of cream cheese into 12 equal pieces.  Place a slice of cream cheese in to each muffin well.

Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely.

Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving (otherwise the cream cheese will be VERY hot!)

Notice that one is missing?  :)

A Thanksgiving Dessert Compromise

We had our own Thanksgiving meal at home this past fall.  We used to go to my mom's parent's condo, then we started bringing them with us to my dad's parent's place.  This time we decided to keep it simple, with just us.  My sister was supposed to join us, but had a lot of work to do, so she stayed in Brooklyn.  Normally, I have to fight to include pumpkin in the menu.  My mom loves it (although not as much as I do), but my dad and sister are not fans.  They however both love cheesecake.  I decided that if I made a cheesecake, and swirled some pumpkin in, maybe they would be okay with it.  Well, I didn't hear any complaints!
This was my first time baking a cheesecake in a water bath.  It came out so creamy!  It still cracked on top, but I blame the pumpkin for that.

This was a beautiful, and delicious, dessert.

Recipe: Deluxe Pumpkin Cheesecake (from Culinary Covers)
Ingredients:
1 cup crushed gingersnap cookies (I used some gingersnaps, and some graham crackers)
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
4 8-oz packages reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
2 tbsp cornstarch
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Optional garnishes: chocolate syrup, caramel ice cream topping, whipped topping, additional crushed gingersnap cookies

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 deg F.  Place a greased 9-inch springform pan on a double thickness of heavy duty foil.  Securely wrap foil around pan.

In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs, pecans and butter.

Press onto the bottom of the prepared pan.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until set.  Cool on a wire rack.

For filling, in a large bowl, beat 1 package of cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch until smooth, about 2 minutes.  Beat in remaining cream cheese, one package at a time.  Add remaining sugar.  Add 2 eggs, beat on low speed until just combined.  Add remaining eggs and vanilla, beating on low speed until just combined.

Place 2 cups filling in a small bowl, stir in the pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Remove 3/4 cup pumpkin filling and set aside.  Pour remaining pumpkin filling over the crust, top with remaining plain filling.  Drop reserved pumpkin filling by spoonfuls over cheesecake, swirl with a knife.

Place springform pan in a large baking pan, add 1 inch hot water to larger pan.  Bake at 350 for 55-65 minutes, or until center is just set and top appears dull.  Remove springpan from water bath.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen, cool 1 hour longer.

Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight.  Add garnish, if desired.

Baked doughnuts

I bought a doughnut pan last fall.  For some reason, I have only used it once.  This needs to be remedied.  But I did make some delicious pumpkin doughnuts when I used it last fall!  The recipe includes a glaze, but I didn't make it.  I was transporting the doughnuts and figured that would be a bit messy.  But I'm sure it's delicious.

Recipe: Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts (from Culinary Cory)
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 deg F.  Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon, set aside.  Cream the brown sugar and butter.  Stir in the pumpkin, eggs, milk and vanilla.  Slowly add in the dry ingredients, mix until barely combined.

Spray the donut pan with cooking spray and fill each donut mold halfway with pumpkin batter.  Bake at 375 for 6-8 minutes or until the exterior springs back when touched.  Allow to cool completely, top with glaze if desired.

Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Lasagna

I am obsessed with pumpkin.  I also absolutely love goat cheese.  So when I saw a recipe that combined the two, and put them in a creamy lasagna, I knew I had to try it.  Overall, this was a really great dish.  I think it could have used a bit in terms of seasoning, but that's definitely easy to remedy!

Recipe: Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Lasagna (from One Perfect Bite)
Ingredients:
1 lb dried lasagna noodles

Bechamel Sauce:
1/2 stick unsalted butter (4 tbsp)
4 tbsp flour
3 cups whole milk
2 tbsp fresh creamy goat cheese
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly grated nutmeg

Filling:
1 can (29 oz) pumpkin puree
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tbsp minced fresh sage (I didn't use)
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup bread crumbs (the recipe said to use unseasoned, but I used seasoned and liked the flavor it added)
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp goat cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup brown sugar (I think I would use less next time)
1 tbsp salt (I didn't use the full tbsp)
Freshly ground pepper

For assembly:
1/2 cup bread crumbs (again, I used seasoned)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 deg F.  Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Boil noodles until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.  Rinse in cold water, and then lay out in a single layer.

Meanwhile, to prepare sauce, melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat; sprinkle in flour, stirring continuously with a wire whisk.  Cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes.  Whisk in milk slowly, then add goat cheese, salt and pinch of nutmeg.  Heat to a simmer; cook, whisking often, until thick and creamy, about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

To prepare filling, combine pumpkin, thyme, sage, nutmeg, bread crumbs, goat cheese, parmesan, brown sugar, and s&p to taste in a large mixing bowl.

To assemble lasagna, spread 1/3 of pumpkin mixture on bottom of lightly greased 9x13 pan.  Cover with a layer of lasagna noodles, placed lengthwise side by side, overlapping edges.  Spread another 1/3 of filling over noodles; top with 3/4 cup of bechamel sauce.  Top with another layer of noodles, remaining filling, and another 3/4 cup of bechamel sauce.  Cover with a final layer of noodles and remaining bechamel sauce.  Sprinkle with bread crumbs and parmesan.

Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with non-stick cooking spray, and place it sprayed side down over the lasagna, folding the edges down.

Bake until heated through and bubbling, about 50 minutes.  Remove foil, bake until topping is golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Remove pan from oven, cool 10 minutes, and enjoy!

Pumpkin Banana Muffins

I used to make this bread all the time while I was in undergrad.  I have recently been craving pumpkin bread, and I had some overripe bananas to use up.  I halved the recipe, and made it into muffins instead.  It made 12 regular muffins and 12 mini muffins (that were a bit on the small side).  Now I just have to figure out what to do with the leftover pumpkin!

Pumpkin Banana Muffins (adapted from Spark People)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tbsp canola oil
2 eggs
1 overripe banana, mashed
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup buttermilk
Nonstick cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Mix the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl, and make a well in the center.
Mix the sugars, oil, eggs, banana, pumpkin and buttermilk well, in a medium bowl.
Pour the liquid into the dry mixture, and fold together with a spatula until just combined.
Spray a standard muffin pan and a mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Using an ice cream scooper, fill the standard muffin pan.  If there is leftover batter, fill the mini muffin pan.
Bake regular muffins 20 minutes and mini muffins 10 minutes.