This is part four in my series of pumpkin dessert recipe roundups. I’ve already looked at cheesecakes, trifles, and bread puddings. And you thought pumpkin pie was the only thing you could serve at Thanksgiving! For this post, I’m turning my attention to pumpkin cakes.

Who doesn’t love cake? It’s really the ultimate dessert, isn’t it? That’s why we serve it at all the important milestones of our lives. You get married, there’s a cake. Baby shower? Cake. Birthday? Cake. You get the picture.

Pumpkin is a great ingredient to use in cakes. I love spicy desserts, full of cinnamon, nutmeg, and other classic flavors of the fall. These cake recipes all include these wonderful flavors that are associated with pumpkin and offer something different for those of you who don’t love custard (which is part of bread pudding, pumpkin pies, and trifles). Plus, just about all of them include cream cheese frosting. Is there anyone who doesn’t like cream cheese frosting?

This recipe for pumpkin raisin bars is what I used last year for Thanksgiving. They turned out to be delicious, but I had some issues with them. For some reason, the center of the cake completely collapsed when I took it out of the oven. I think I was too concerned with making sure that they didn’t overcook, that I undercooked them. Luckily, it made a huge amount of the bars, so I was able to salvage the parts that were cooked, and just slathered even more cream cheese frosting on them. They turned out really well, despite my issues.

Nothing sounds better to me than this pumpkin cake with sage ice cream and pumpkin cherry compote, but come on? Who really has the time to make a compote, bake a cake, and whip up a homemade ice cream during this crazy holiday season? I know I don’t, which is a shame because I love sage and I really want to try it.

If you’re a huge fan of pumpkin pie and apple pie, you may want to try this recipe that combines the best of both: pumpkin-apple streusel cake. It looks delicious and I’m sure that the two flavors mesh really well together. Nothing says fall like apples and pumpkin.

If you’re looking for something a little more traditional, how about this recipe for spiced pumpkin layer cake with cream cheese frosting. It may just look like a basic layer cake, but with coconut, pineapple, and dried currants stuffed into the cake, there’s a lot going on.

With a title like pumpkin gooey butter cakes, is it any wonder that this recipe comes courtesy of Paula Deen? Essentially, she just undercooks the cakes to leave the center a little gooey. Isn’t that I what did last year?

This pumpkin-honey cake recipe caught my attention because the cream cheese frosting has pumpkin in it too. The directions have a whole lot of decorating instructions, though, and that makes me a little nervous. I’m a lot of things, but expert cake decorator is not one of them.

Do any of these recipes have your mouth watering?

Related posts

• Thanksgiving pumpkin desserts part one: pumpkin cheesecake
• Thanksgiving pumpkin desserts part two: pumpkin bread pudding
• Thanksgiving pumpkin desserts part three: pumpkin trifles

In this column, I’ve tried to break certain stereotypes about vegetarians: that we all support PETA, or that vegetarians and vegans are the same thing. Now I’m going to drop another knowledge bomb on you: vegetarians can be just as unhealthy as the rest of you. For example, last night, I took a wonderful vegetarian protein source, tempeh, which is also full of iron and calcium, and made a recipe that involved flour, breadcrumbs, sugar, and butter. Oh, copious amounts of wonderful, artery-clogging butter.

Yes, out of all of the recipes for broiled tempeh, or stir-fried tempeh, I managed to find a recipe for tempeh buffalo wings– and man, were they delightful.

These wings, or “tempeh wingz” as the recipe is actually titled, were obviously originally made by hippies, so I had to modify the recipe slightly. For instance, I do not own rice milk, so I used regular milk. I also don’t have panko, which are Japanese breadcrumbs, so I used regular breadcrumbs. The sauce also calls for agave nectar, but since I’m not Deb, I don’t have that in my kitchen. I ended up using sugar instead, which is a huge mistake that I’ll get to in a moment.

The process of making this is kind of interesting. First, you dip the cut tempeh into the milk, then you dip it in your flour and spices, followed by another milk bath, before it’s covered in breadcrumbs. You bake for 10 minutes on each side, and there you go. The sauce, the recipe for which is also at this link, is a little off for me. For one, it only calls for 2 1/2 T of hot sauce (btw, you have to use Frank’s. That’s not even up for discussion), and you really need way more than that. There is no way you should have 4 T of butter and 4T of ketchup and only use 2 1/2 T of hot sauce. That’s just crazy talk.

The big thing with the sauce though, is the agave nectar/sugar. YOU DON’T NEED IT. Again, I’d like to draw your attention to the 4 T of ketchup. That’s a lot of sugar right there. You don’t need any additional sweetener– it becomes a little sickly. When I made this, I had to add a crapload more hot sauce and a bunch of salt and pepper to try to counter-balance the sugar.

After some major doctoring though, these turned out deliciously. Even Luke, who was intrigued by the familiar buffalo wing smell, but weirded out by the whole tempeh thing, was intrigued. In fact, he ended up snagging several of them, saying that “they seem so wrong, but I still want some.” Now if that’s not an endorsement, I don’t know what is.

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I’m continuing to scour the internet for you, providing all sort of pumpkin dessert recipes for you to consider for your Thanksgiving feast. I’ve already discussed pumpkin cheesecakes and pumpkin bread puddings. In this post I want to discuss an option that may not even be on your Thanksgiving dessert radar: trifle.

I know I, for one, always think of trifle as a summer dessert, with its layers of cake, fruit, and custard. My siblings and I were obsessed with our mother’s trifles when we were growing up, always begging for her to make it. With layers of peaches, berries, pound cake soaked in orange juice (and sometimes liquor, when we got older), and vanilla pudding, they were (and continue to be) truly delicious. It shouldn’t come as a surprise then that I never thought about making a pumpkin trifle.

That all changed, however, when I was looking for something different to do for a Thanksgiving dessert a few years ago.  I caught an episode of Paula Deen’s show and she was making a pumpkin gingerbread trifle. She made it look incredibly easy and delicious. I thought it was a perfect recipe to try, and it was a big hit. Indeed, it was very easy to make. Essentially, all you have to do is make some pudding, bake some boxed gingerbread, and then put everything together. As I said, it won a lot of good reviews.

Paula Deen’s is not the only recipe for pumpkin trifle, though. Epicurious has a competing recipe for a pumpkin gingerbread trifle. If you have the time, and want to feel like more of a gourmet, this recipe is probably for you. It includes a recipe for homemade gingerbread to use, as well as a pumpkin mousse to layer it with.

I’ve longingly looked over this recipe for autumn trifle with roasted apples, pears, and pumpkin caramel sauce for years now, but I’ve never had the guts to try it. Guts may not be the right word, because there’s nothing in it that I think would pose a problem, but it looks like it takes a lot of time, which I generally don’t have. Who does? In any case, it looks amazing, with homemade cinnamon pastry cream, pumpkin sauce, and roasted fruit, all layered with lady fingers. This is the type of recipe I would love someone else to cook for me!

Finally, there is this recipe for pumpkin praline trifle. It’s advertised as very similar to a tiramisu, so if you like the famous Italian dessert, you may want to check this out. It definitely sounds great, with the mascarpone cream, pumpkin filling, and ladyfingers.

Have any of these recipes piqued your interest?

Related posts

• Thanksgiving pumpkin desserts part four: pumpkin cakes
• Thanksgiving pumpkin desserts part two: pumpkin bread pudding
• Thanksgiving pumpkin desserts part one: pumpkin cheesecake

With the cost of everything shooting up I have been looking a lot closer at what I am spending and trying to find ways to cut the costs. As I sat thinking about this while the TV droned in the background, a commercial for a national chain of sandwich shops came on. they were touting their $5.00 dollar foot long sandwiches and I decided to see what I could come up with for $5.00 dollars. I went shopping at the local grocery store in town and went to Wal-mart as well. I came up with a couple of different simple dishes that I think are more satisfying than a foot long sandwich and will feed 2 to 4 people.

First up is my Sausage and sour kraut dinner. I picked up the ingredients for this meal at my local grocery store.

• smoked sausage ring $2.79
• can of whole kernel corn $0.59
• can of sauerkraut $1.09

Total $4.47 and with frequent shopper card discount the cost was $4.21, a savings of $0.26.

This is pretty simple. Heat up the sausage, sauerkraut, and corn. You can do this in the microwave or on the stove. Serve and eat. This will easily serve 2 people. The sausage can be grilled, or fried instead of just heated in the microwave if you like. After cooking this meal I decided that this really was not much different than opening a can of soup or chili and not really a good home cooked meal. I need to try a bit harder to offer up a good filling meal that is simple, has a fairly short list of ingredients, and will stick with you for a while.

So here is my weenie mac and cheese.

• 16 oz. Elbow macaroni $0.97
• 16 oz. Velveeta cheese $2.76
• Hot dogs $0.77

Total $4.50

I am a big fan of the Velveeta shells and cheese box mixes. I am not, however, a big fan of the cost. This is my version of that for a lot less money. this makes a meal that is more than enough for at least 2 meals for 2 people or to feed a family of 4.

Cook the macaroni until tender.

While the noodles are cooking, dice up the Velveeta cheese and hot dogs to make it easier to melt into the noodles. You could melt the cheese in the microwave or in a pan if you like.

Drain the macaroni.

Put the noodles back in the pan. Add a little milk, the cheese and hot dogs. Mix well. Continue stirring until all of the cheese cubes are melted and mixed in with the noodles. Serve and enjoy.

So there you have it. A decent meal for about the same price as a double mocha flappa whatsit from the coffee drive through.

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I’ve been digging through all the pumpkin dessert recipes out there so you don’t have to! This is the second in my series of posts about pumpkin desserts, the first being about pumpkin cheesecake. In this installment, I want to turn my attention to one of my favorite desserts of all time (whether or not it’s made with pumpkin): bread pudding.

I love, love, love, love, love bread pudding. There is something so rustic and soul-warming about it. It’s the perfect texture due to the combination of bread and custard. Aside from that, it’s incredibly versatile. If you’re a chocoholic you can add chocolate chips, chunks, or sauce. If you love fruit, you can add just about any type of berry, bananas, apples, or anything else. Of course, if you just like bread pudding, there’s the great standby recipe.

This post, however, is dedicated to pumpkin bread pudding, a great option for your Thanksgiving feast. The recipe that I’ve used is this one from the Inn at Sandwich Center: pumpkin bread pudding with caramel sauce. The thing that I really love about this recipe is that there isn’t too much sugar in it. In fact, it’s surprisingly not sweet, which is why you have to drench it with caramel sauce. It’s nice, though, that everyone can control how sweet they would like their portion to be. Make sure you don’t forget the caramel sauce though, because as I implied, the pudding itself isn’t quite sweet enough. Honestly, you can just buy a jar of caramel sauce. If you’re embarrassed, pour it into a sauce pan to heat and serve, no one will ever know.

Epicurious has a competing recipe for pumpkin bread pudding with caramel sauce. It doesn’t seem like there are enough eggs to make a really luxurious custard though. I do, however, have to admit that it seems a whole lot easier than the Sandwich Inn’s recipe.

This recipe is pretty unique because instead of adding a pumpkin custard to leftover bread, it adds custard to pumpkin-cranberry bread. Of course that creates a whole other step of having to bake the pumpkin bread itself, but it’s definitely a unique take on the dish, and it has me curious. If you’re curious too, check out pumpkin bread pudding with cranberry caramel sauce.

OK, so it’s not bread pudding, but this recipe for pumpkin ginger rice pudding looks fantastic. If you’re being ambitious, I would recommend giving it a look. It calls for fresh pumpkin (or butternut squash), so it’s probably a little too involved for me. I’m perfectly happy to open a can of pumpkin, thank you very much.

This recipe for pumpkin ginger bread pudding has all the same great flavors as the rice pudding, but it too expects you to cook your own pumpkin. I do love Anne Burrell, though, so I’ll give her a pass.

Are you as big a fan of bread pudding as I am? Will you be serving some pumpkin bread pudding at your Thanksgiving this year?

Related posts

• Thanksgiving pumpkin desserts part one: pumpkin cheesecake
• Thanksgiving pumpkin desserts part four: pumpkin cakes
• Thanksgiving pumpkin desserts part three: pumpkin trifles

As part of my Great Pumpkin Massacre of ‘09, I have been going through the bags of frozen pumpkin puree that I have stored in my freezer and making delicious treats. This weekend, I decided to bust out a recipe I had made once before: pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Fall to me = pumpkin, so I will put it in just about anything if you let me. It just makes everything instantly better. So chocolate chip cookies? Pretty damn good. Add pumpkin to that? Amazing.

The funny thing about these cookies is that I make them totally wrong– and I can’t figure out what it is that I’m doing different. Three possibilities: the recipe is actually from the King Arthur Flour website, so they naturally tell you to use King Arthur Flour. I do not, because I have no idea what that is. They also tell you to add walnuts, which I also do not do, because nothing ruins a dessert or a bread faster than nasty little nuts hiding inside, just waiting to ruin all of your flavor fun. The third (and the more I think about it, the most likely) possibility is that the fact that I’m using real pumpkin puree instead of canned is affecting the dough.

Whatever the reason, my cookie dough does not look like the cookie dough that they show you in the recipe. That dough looks firm and solid– like normal chocolate chip cookie dough. My dough, on the other hand, is much fluffier. This results in a almost cake-like cookie. In fact, I would say that they’re reminiscent of muffin tops. While I would prefer a more substantial cookie, it’s still freakin’ chocolate chip and pumpkin. So whatever the texture, it is delightful.

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Thanksgiving is coming, and along with the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and cranberry sauce it also means pumpkin desserts! Yes, I usually eat so much at the main meal that I swear I won’t have dessert. If we’re being honest here, I’d much rather have another helping of stuffing over dessert, but at the end of the day, if Thanksgiving is about anything, it’s about gluttony (oh, and giving thanks), so there’s always room for dessert.

Every year I bring a pumpkin dessert to the festivities, because I know it just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without something spicy and pumpkin-y to end the meal. Well, the first part of the meal, anyway, because later in the evening, the first round of sandwiches come out. In any case, I’ve tried to remain somewhat creative in my choices for dessert, avoiding the traditional pumpkin pie, and opting for something a little less obvious. Because of this, I’ve browsed through many recipes, and I want to share some of the ones I’ve tried and some of the ones I’ve wanted to try in a series of posts. This first entry focuses on pumpkin cheesecake!

A great alternative to pumpkin pie is the pumpkin cheesecake. The only drawback is that cheesecake is quite heavy and may not be the best accompaniment to such a huge dinner. It is delicious, though. In the past I’ve tried Emeril Lagasse’s recipe. It turned out really well (even though I skipped the bourbon spiked cream, which I’m sure is delicious). I liked that it was made in a food processor (mostly because I don’t have a standing mixer). However, my food processor at the time didn’t fit the whole cake and I had to do it in batches. This recipe does make an enormous cake, which may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your situation.

If you want some other choices, this recipe for pumpkin cheesecake crumble squares looks interesting. I like that there is some ginger in the filling; I’m sure that adds a great flavor. The topping has sour cream in it, though, and I’m not a big fan of sour cream in my cheesecakes.

Epicurious has a great selection of unique pumpkin cheesecake recipes. There’s a pumpkin-pecan cheescake that includes a caramel praline topping. I’m sure it’s delicious, but it’s a lot of steps, for me, and I’m a little afraid of sugar work.

Epicurious really loves those sour cream toppings. If you dig them too, you should check out these recipes: pumpkin cheesecake with bourbon sour cream topping and pumpkin cheesecake with marshmallow-sour cream topping and gingersnap crust.

If I were going to try one this year, it would definitely be this recipe for pumpkin ginger cheesecake.

Do you have a favorite pumpkin cheesecake recipe? Are you going to be trying one this year?

Related posts

• Thanksgiving pumpkin desserts part four: pumpkin cakes
• Thanksgiving pumpkin desserts part two: pumpkin bread pudding
• Thanksgiving pumpkin desserts part three: pumpkin trifles

Each week, fabulous recipes grace Debbie’s in-box and pop up on her computer screen, and she’s sharing her favorites with you.

I’ve got to admit, that even though I don’t eat wheat or white carbs, I always have a bite or two of stuffing on Thanksgiving. It’s partly because my dad makes the most wonderful stuffing imaginable, and partly because stuffing says “tradition” like no other side dish.

Imagine, for a moment, a Thanksgiving without a traditional stuffing. C’mon, try it — you’ll be all right. It’s fun to shake things up a bit and have something unexpected to put on your plate, isn’t it? If you’re a little too steeped in tradition and want to branch out a bit this year, here are some alternatives to a traditional stuffing that you and your guests are sure to enjoy. You might just create a new heirloom recipe for your family.

Butternut squash and cheddar bread pudding — This could very well be a near-perfect dish to go with turkey. There’s bread, but lots of cheese, cream, kale, and butternut squash will disguise it from anything resembling stuffing. And you’ve got your green veggie and orange veggie baked right in.

How about an autumn potato salad? Heidi Swanson breathes new life into a roasted potato salad with a mustard vinaigrette, roasted carrots, shallots, parsnips and scallions. Wouldn’t that be lovely with turkey — and a dish without all the bread is a welcome change.

Kona’s butternut squash risotto sounds like the perfect way to ditch the stuffing and enjoy something new to complement turkey (or Tofurky?). It’s seasonal, slightly sweet and rich … a Thanksgiving tradition in the making!

This barley bake is very simple, but with mushrooms, fresh parsley and onions all cooked in broth, it will compliment your turkey perfectly. And you can easily add your favorite ingredients to jazz it up a bit and wow your guests. Oh, and there’s pine nuts … score.

OK, technically this recipe for rice stuffing with apples, herbs and bacon is a stuffing, but non-traditional in that it’s rice. Who makes rice stuffing? Well, you could. I’m just saying. It’s got bacon.

How about you? Any non-traditional alternatives to stuffing to share with us?

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• Hold the Meat – this butternut squash risotto will save your Thanksgiving
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I admit, my eye-catching title sure doesn’t make it sound simple, but trust me, this is the easiest healthy breakfast you could possibly create. You can plan ahead a little, right? It’s that simple.

I’ve been experimenting with oatmeal in the slow cooker and I’ve gotten it down to a science. It’s not only convenient, but it’s also the healthiest way to cook oatmeal to get all of the nutritional benefits. I didn’t think I’d ever say this, but it’s not just about the ingredients here: the process is important in boosting the nutrition of this yummy breakfast. Yeah, I admit it — there’s a place for technique.

We’re not talking some snobby French cooking school technique … just follow these three simple steps and you’ll have your healthy oatmeal.

1. The morning before you plan on eating the oatmeal, put the ingredients into your slow cooker and allow them to soak all day.
Ingredients:

• 1 c. whole oats
• 3 c. water
• 1/2 c. organic whole milk yogurt, plain
• 1 c. dried fruit (try to find unsulfured and unsweetened or fruit sweetened; I used currants in the above picture)

Why would you do such a thing as to soak your grains? The yogurt interacts with the oats, causing the anti-nutrients to dissipate, leaving a more digestible grain and boosting vitamin content, especially B vitamins.

2. Before bed, set your slow cooker to low. You want the oatmeal to cook about 7-9 hours, so plan your bedtime and waking time accordingly.

3. Wake up to your delicious breakfast! You want to try to serve this oatmeal with a little fat, which helps the nutrients absorb better. Swirl in some unrefined coconut oil, a little whole milk yogurt, flax or hemp seed oil or even some organic butter.

Did I mention all of the amazing benefits of this breakfast, besides the nutrition?

• Convenient — It is hot and ready for you when you wake up, smelling up the house with its hearty aroma.
• Variable — You can change it up so it is never the same oatmeal twice. Use different dried fruits, add nuts and seeds before serving, even swirl in more yogurt.
• Cheap — Oh, it is cheap to make (buy whole oats in bulk) and there is no packaging to clutter up the house and the environment.
• Portable — It can be portable — just stick it in a thermos, coffee cup, container of choice and eat it on the run.

You know you have the 24 hours to spare, and you’re dying to try this oatmeal. All the cool kids are doing it….

This article was originally posted on That’s Fit three years ago by me. It has been altered to fit CliqueClack Food’s style.

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My Idea of something different for dinner is adding some onion or bacon to my burger instead of having them plain. My wife, on the other hand, thinks cheeseburgers once a week is too often. She likes to try different things and likes a variety in the weekly menu. This chicken casserole is a good change of pace.

This recipe is a good one to add to your repertoire. It is simple and quick to prepare. You can use any meat in place of the chicken without having to change any other ingredients. We have used canned tuna and diced ham in place of the chicken and it’s just as good.

Sour Chicken Casserole

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups diced cooked chicken (I used chicken thighs)
• 18 oz noodles cooked (I used egg noodles)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 16oz container sour cream
• 1 cup shredded cheese ( I used Wal-mart’s fiesta blend shredded cheese)

The easiest way to cook the chicken is to get some boneless skinless breasts and grill them. Add a little seasoning salt to them and grill until done. Dice the breasts and set aside.

My wife prefers thighs to breasts so we usually mix some seasoning salt into a little flour, add the chicken thighs to the flour and coat lightly, but completely. Add a few tablespoons of vegetable oil to a large frying pan and heat to a medium high temperature. Add the chicken thighs to the frying pan and cover. Cook the thighs for 5 to 8 minutes and turn over. Fry on the second side until done. This will take another 5 to 10 minutes depending on the actual heat of your stove and the size of the thighs. After the thighs are done set aside to cool. Remove the skin and remove the meat from the bone and dice. You can dice up the skin and add it to the casserole or enjoy the tasty snack while you are preparing the casserole for the oven.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine chicken, noodles, Cream of Chicken soup, Cream of Mushroom soup, and the sour cream. Mix well.

Pour into greased 9×13 casserole dish. Sprinkle top with the shredded cheese.

Bake 45-60 minutes.

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I’m aware that I put capers in almost everything lately. There’s definitely a caper energy permeating my household these days … and why not? They add a subtle saltiness and tang to any dish and I love the complexity that capers add to something that could be humdrum without them.

That doesn’t necessarily apply to this pasta recipe, because I don’t think there’s anything hum-drum about it. I have Emeril to loosely thank for my inspiration for this dish, with his fresh seafood pasta recipe, but beyond the seafood, tomatoes and white wine, they really don’t have a lot in common.

I was going for something distinctly tomato-y, but with some unexpected flavors, and I think I accomplished that, but without offending any traditionalists with a weird taste sensation. It’s traditional with a twist and it was a big hit tonight.

Seafood Pasta with Tomatoes, Baby Spinach and Capers

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces pasta, cooked to package instructions
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound mixed seafood (we used the Trader Joe’s seafood blend with calamari, scallops and shrimp)
• 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon pesto
• 14-ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons capers
• about 4 good-sized handfuls baby spinach
• a drizzle of balsamic vinegar (about 2 tablespoons)
• 2 pinches sea salt or to taste
• lots and lots and lots of freshly ground black pepper
• pecorino romano cheese, freshly grated

Cook the onions and garlic over medium heat in some olive oil until translucent, just a few minutes. Add the seafood and saute for about 3 minutes, before adding the tomatoes and white wine. Cook for about 5 minutes of until seafood is done. Add the pesto, capers and beans and heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in a drizzle or balsamic vinegar and the spinach, folding until spinach is wilted. Serve with grated cheese.

Just 1/4 teaspoon each of cinnamon and cumin and a 1/4 cup of currants or raisins would change this dish dramatically, giving it a Moroccan flair. Try it for a fun and exotic meal.

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I bought brown rice tortillas this week, and that means quesadillas in our house. The little tortilla pies are not something we indulge in very often because they just don’t come out great with corn tortillas. Since Owen and I don’t eat wheat, and we find it hard to work with the texture of the sprouted grain tortillas, we weren’t really left with much choice until I stumbled upon these little beauties at Trader Joe’s.

Of course we couldn’t keep it simple — it’s like unleashing a newly released prisoner in Las Vegas, right on Brothel Street. It’s hard just to ease into it once you’ve been given permission to let loose. We made two different kinds of quesadillas tonight, and it was our melding of two cultures that created the masterpiece.

Yes, we put pesto in a quesadilla, along with homemade sausage from the local meat market, two kinds of cheese and some caramelized onions and mushrooms. A little drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar and a thing of culinary beauty was born.

Quesadilla with Pesto, Sausage and Caramelized Onion

Ingredients:

• 2 tortillas (we used brown rice ones)
• about 2 tablespoons pesto (we used our homemade pesto)
• gourmet sausage (about 1 per quesadilla; we used sun-dried tomato basil), casings removed
• 1 onion, thinly sliced and caramelized
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced and sauteed until just browning
• mozzarella cheese, shredded
• feta cheese, crumbled
• aged balsamic vinegar (10 years of syrupy sweetness)

Cook up veggies while scrambling the sausage in another pan until browned and cooked through, about 5-10 minutes.

Then assemble the quesadilla in the following order: bottom tortilla, mozzarella cheese to taste, sausage, onions, mushrooms, feta, more mozzarella, top tortilla.

In a 12-inch skillet over low-to-medium heat, place the quesadilla with a smaller skillet on top, to squish things together so the cheese acts like glue when it melts. Try for about 5 minutes a side, or until cheese is melty and tortillas brown to taste.

Cut with a pizza wheel into four piece and drizzle with the balsamic vinegar just before serving.

You may never go back to a Mexican quesadilla again.

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Ugh. Thanksgiving. I’ve never been much of a fan of this holiday. After all, when you’re not eating turkey, what’s the point? I know, I know, being thankful, family, blah, blah, blah. The thing is, I can do that without fighting traffic and spending all day in the kitchen. Fact: one of my favorite Thanksgivings was when my friend Elizabeth and I stayed in New York instead of going home and had grilled cheese at a diner and watched Harry Potter on IMAX. That’s how it should be done.

However, this year I am doing more of a traditional Thanksgiving, so I’m trying to figure out things to cook. Luckily, Elizabeth sent me this AMAZING recipe for butternut squash risotto. I made it last week, and it was a huge hit. The recipe yields something like 10 servings, and it was gone in like a day and a half. Of course, the whole “10 servings” thing is really if you’re using it as a side dish, but it’s rich and filling enough that it can easily be a main dish befitting a certain November holiday.

As far as risottos go, it’s actually not that hard to make. The difficulty for me came in the beginning when I had to coordinate cooking the risotto, heating up the vegetable stock and sauteing the sage. That’s kind of a lot for me to do at the same time. Once I got past that, however, I was golden.

Oh, speaking of which. The reason it was kind of difficult was because I had to make the stock out of bouillon cubes, so there was an extra step involved. Pro tip: use Knorr vegetable bouillon cubes instead of vegetable stock. It gives you a much richer (and according to Luke) beefier taste. It really enhances the flavors and helps make sure that the butternut squash isn’t too sweet.

The only other tricky part comes whenever you make risotto, which is to make sure you stir! Once you start adding the stock to the rice, you’re not going anywhere. The directions say that it takes between 15-30 minutes for all of the stock to absorb into the rice, but it took me at least 45. I was having a real My Cousin Vinny experience, wondering if it takes longer for water to soak into a piece of arborio rice in my kitchen than it does anywhere else on the face of the earth. Luckily though, everything worked out in the end.

Other than the timing, this recipe isn’t nearly as difficult to make as it may seem. Hell, if I can make it perfectly on my first try, I’m sure you can. The other cool thing about this, is that it’s relatively healthy and definitely inexpensive. One serving contains 371 calories, 10 g fat, 1.4 g fiber, and more importantly, only costs about $1.77. You can find a full nutritional and cost breakdown on the Cheap Healthy Good website.

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Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Hands down. No contest. I love all the food, the great times with family (without the stress of having to worry about presents), and the football. I love the turkey, the stuffing, the potatoes, the vegetables, the pies. I love it all.

One of my fondest memories of Thanksgiving is making sandwiches out of all the leftover food. In my family, we wouldn’t even wait until the next day, we would make sandwiches around eight in the evening, after dessert. It seems like in recent years, the Thanksgiving sandwich has become more and more popular, and why shouldn’t it? It’s delicious.

I’ve noticed the Thanksgiving sandwich popping up in more and more places. From local sub shops, to pubs and restaurants, even fast food places have started to feature the Thanksgiving (even D’Angelo has one). Each sandwich has subtle variations, but they are essentially the same: turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing in-between some bread. One of my coworkers swears that there has to be gravy for it to be a true Thanksgiving, but I don’t think it’s a necessity.

For me, the beauty of the Thanksgiving sandwich really comes from the stuffing. It’s all about the stuffing. I haven’t been shy about the fact that sage is one of my favorite herbs and it’s traditionally found in stuffing. Add to that the sweet and tart flavor of the cranberry sauce, and you have yourself a very delicious sandwich.

There’s something more to the sandwich, though. It’s not just about tasting good, there is some nostalgia at work. I can’t eat a Thanksgiving sandwich without getting a warm feeling inside, as I’m flooded with memories of Thanksgivings past and all the delicious food they contained.

Are you a fan of the Thanksgiving sandwich too?

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• Thanksgiving pumpkin desserts part two: pumpkin bread pudding

How much do you love sweet and sour chicken wings? That gooey glaze, licking your fingers when they are sticky and covered in that gooey glaze, the golden-brown, appetizing color of the wings, covered in that gooey glaze.

You guessed it: for me, it’s all about the gooey glaze.

But to get that gooey glaze, you need sugar, and lots of it, right? Well, not necessarily. I’ve been experimenting with agave syrup as a sugar replacement in baking with great success (like in berry muffins, banana coconut muffins and Halloween orange muffins) , and tonight I decided to use it to make sweet and sour chicken wings. C’mon, doesn’t that picture say it all? They were fabulous.

I based this recipe on these sweet and sour chicken wings, but I didn’t want to use all that sugar. We honestly don’t eat refined sugar in our house because it just doesn’t make anyone feel good. This time of year, I’m particularly interested in protecting our immune systems and with so many healthy substitutes out there, I just can’t find a need for refined sugar.

Plus, have you seen my kid on sugar? The last time was a family party when my well-meaning mother-in-law made him some gluten-free brownies. It was very thoughtful and he loved them, but not long after he was out on the lawn in the dark, running around in his pajamas making alien noises. I know he’s weird, but the sugar definitely had something to do with that behavior.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Wings Sweetened with Agave Syrup

Ingredients:

• 12 large chicken wings, with wing tips cut off
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup agave syrup
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Whisk together ingredients for sauce, then coat chicken wings in about 2/3 of the sauce. Line a cookie sheet with foil and arrange the saucy wings. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Flip wings, pour the rest of the sauce over them and cook for another 25 minutes.

Take them off the foil before they cool, or they will stick. Ask me how I know.

You can play with this recipe a bit if you like. Try adding some fresh minced ginger, or some five-spice powder. A little oyster sauce or hoisin sauce would be lovely as well.

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Each week, fabulous recipes grace Debbie’s in-box and pop up on her computer screen, and she’s sharing her favorites with you.

This isn’t the first time I’ve written about healthy crock pot recipes (five to be exact) and I’m sure it won’t be the last. More and more, I’m finding — thankfully! — crock pot recipes made with whole foods, not cream-of-yuck-with-a-side-of-sodium condensed soups as one of the main ingredients.

A cause for celebration? You bet, because the slow cooker is the life preserver of any busy mom or work-a-holic or just about anyone who wants a healthy, homecooked meal waiting for them when dinnertime rolls around. Let’s just say it: the crock pot saves lives.

Eggplant and chick peas is one of those Perfect Pairs … and someday I’ll write a post about it. Really. But for now, just enjoy this vegetarian ratatouille with chick peas. There’s almost nothing I like better in my crock pot than a chick pea stew. They soak in the flavors and they’re so hearty.

Speaking of eggplant, if you missed my recipe test drive of eggplant moussaka in the crock pot the first time around, give it a look. We adored this recipe and it was so, so easy.

Savory bean and spinach soup sounds so hearty and nutritious. And when it comes out of your crock pot and it’s ready to serve, you sprinkle cheese on it. It’s all good when covered in cheese.

Now this recipe is unlike any I’ve done before, but how could butternut squash and tomatoes, joined by leeks, white beans, bacon and cheese not be scrumptious?

Crock pot chicken and apples, with its orange and marjoram flavors sounds delicious, but I’ve never liked boneless, skinless chicken breasts done in the crock pot. They end up with a uniquely disgusting texture unlike anything edible. I may exaggerate a little, but I would recommend using boneless, skinless thighs at the very least, and probably a bone-in chicken part would be even better, like drumsticks.

Ah, so here’s a recipe that does it right. This crock pot chicken cacciatore calls for bone-in chicken thighs which will be truly succulent when slow-cooked, red wine and lots of Italian seasoning.

Here’s another rich chicken stew that uses chicken thighs. There’s just a bit of whipping cream in this recipe, but I’d replace it with plain yogurt or sour cream because they are cultured products and easier to digest. The sourness would also add to this dish, which is already flavorful with lots of lemon and fresh parsley.

Some meats that do well in a crock pot are slow-cooked beef and pork, and this coffee-braised pot roast with caramelized onions sounds heavenly.

I’ve been planning on making pulled pork in the crock pot for Owen’s birthday party for a while now, but this recipe for BBQ beef may just win out. Do you suppose I could do both?

I love that this beef stew recipe includes green beans and pasta, and you can cook it all right in the crock pot. You don’t even have to dirty an extra dish to cook the pasta, and you all know how much I love to save a dish!

It took me a long time to find a good crock pot chili, so I developed the recipe myself! This one’s got three kinds of beans, ground meat (I like buffalo) and green pepper, an ingredient that adds so much to chili, I find.

What do you mean, that’s only eleven recipes? Don’t forget to click on the link to my earlier article, five healthy slow cooker meals — that makes sixteen!

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It’s no secret that we love pancakes in our house (chocolate chip banana pancakes, buttermilk pancakes, all good things about pancakes….), especially for a weekend breakfast. It’s pretty much a tradition that every Saturday morning, Keith whips up a batch of the-flavor-of-the-week pancakes, often involving chocolate chips. We can’t change who we are, even at breakfast time.

In fact, we’re so set in our ways, you could probably walk into our house on any given Saturday morning and find the following things going on: Keith slaving away over a hot griddle, carefully tending to the pancake-of-the-week; Owen, with a giant grilling spatula, safely helping Keith flip the pancakes from a distance; Debbie cleaning up around and in-between Keith and Owen, determined not to spend the rest of Saturday in the kitchen. You might also hear Owen grumbling at his well-meaning mother for cleaning the batter bowl before he finished licking it….

We’ve been in a pumpkin groove lately, what with the pumpkin cornbread, the pumpkin carrot muffins and the pumpkin coconut ice cream. It only stands to reason that we’d pull our trusty ol’ pumpkin pancake recipe out of the files (read: Keith’s brain) for the season.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sprouted spelt flour (or flour of your choice)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice or nutmeg, or a combination
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 cups milk (we use unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl, whisk wet ingredients together in another. Add wet to dry and carefully mix until just moistened. Do not overmix. Cook the way you like — griddle, pan, oven — and enjoy. I always sprinkle ground flax seeds on mine, but you can serve yours with just butter and syrup if you like.

I just wanted to point out that even though these are fairly dense pancakes, with the pumpkin puree and the whole-grain flour, they are fluffy at heart. Look at the picture to see how they puff up while cooking; they are a wonder to behold, and nothing less. And our kid is eating squash, but please don’t tell him that pumpkin is a squash.

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A. Camille Nicholson is a graduate student in Cultural Studies and English Literature. Although she worked as an E-Commerce Developer during the .com’s height, she attributes her burgeoning interest in the culinary/baking arts to her volunteer duties at a local non-profit bakery and the past two years teaching cooking classes for kids.

I have loved the Twinkie since the dawn of my birth. As a child of suburban New Jersey in the 1980s, my fuschia green lunchbox frequently entertained the usual elementary lineup: Watermelon Ssips, a bologna or peanut butter sandwich, chocolate milk (which inexplicably required school permission), and a member of the Hostess snack cake family — typically, its irascible younger sibling, the Twinkie.

I have consistently defended the Twinkie against verbal assaults from more nutritionally minded acquaintances. However, the Twinkie’s reputation is slightly better than what they assert, although, admittedly, by a small margin. Surprisingly, one Twinkie provides only 150 calories and 4.5 grams of fat. Although it contains corn derivatives and two types of glycerides, the only preservative embodied within its banana yellow sheath is absorbic acid. When introduced in 1933 during the Great Depression, its offering of two cakes for five cents assisted those enduring financial deficit.

Additionally, the Twinkie participated in the war effort. During the 1940s, the Allies wove banana peels into mats to prevent German troops from landing along Britain’s shores. The Continental Baking Company, at the behest of the National Board of Strategic Banana Reserves and Rationing, ceased to make banana flavored Twinkies. And, in the 1960s, the rumor of long-lasting Twinkies made the snack cake a favorite for bomb shelters.

Considering the childhood memories nestled within the oblong shape, I was unsurprisingly overjoyed to discover my ability to create them from scratch without undergoing the shame of purchasing a family-pack in-store, as a non-family person.

So, if you want to create your own ‘Twinkies’ or cream-filled cakes, feel free to follow the instructions below. I particularly owe gratitude to the site that reprinted the Vegan Lunchbox’s recipe.

Homemade Twinkies

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

- Get a normal cupcake/muffin tin. If you want the oblong shape, Hostess sells its own Twinkies Bake Set, but you can purchase a ‘petite loaf pan’ for around $10-12 from any bake or craft shop such as Michael’s.

- If you’re feeling lazy, use a box of yellow cake mix and follow the directions. However, if you’re feeling more adventurous, make your own batter from scratch. However, I suggest using cake flour (which is lighter) and omitting the peaches.

- As usual, Pam the pan, preheat at 350, cook for about 15 min, and cool.

- To make the cream filling, use the typical buttercream frosting recipe . If you have a pastry bag injector (or a quart-sized Ziploc bag with a pastry tip), fill the bag with the frosting until partially full. Now, here comes the magic which made me enamored with Twinkies from childhood on. Stick the pastry bag into the center of the muffin and squeeze until the cream enters the cake and a bit of overflow appears at the cake’s top. If you used the canoe or petite loaf pans, insert three holes into each snack cake. Feel free to fill some with strawberry jam for a healthier and adult treat.

- If you want, stop there and enjoy your moist, buttery snack. However, if you secretly desire to seep those lovely lasso cakes in a vat of hot boiling liquid, continue on your quest.

- A nice offset of creating homemade Twinkies is that they feature half the fat (and half the cost, as one box of cake mix yields almost 20-25 cakes).

Deep Fried Twinkies

- Freeze or refrigerate the cakes for 2-4 hours (to prevent disintegration and oil absorption).

- Once thoroughly chilled, roll the Twinkie in flour, dip into an egg beater batter, and roll in flour again.

- In the meanwhile, heat four cups of vegetable oil in a large, covered soup pot until it reaches a boiling point. Once it is hot enough, reduce the heat to a simmer. When you sense the oil will no longer rebel against you, uncover the pot, and insert your cake into the oil. Allow it to remain for 30 seconds (but no more than 90-120 seconds) and use metal tongs or a fork to submerge and rotate the Twinkie. Leave it in for the full time limit if you want a crispier snack cake.

- Fry 1-2 cakes at a time until complete.

- Enjoy with whipped cream and a glass of milk.

On a side note, because the homemade snack cakes lack cellulose gum they will absorb less oil and might not require the glass of antacid that I will still suggest you keep on standby.

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Every Friday at work we have a treat day: a different person each week brings in food for the group. This is voluntary and we do have some people that do not participate. For those of us that do, we get something tasty each Friday morning. Sometimes this treat is doughnuts from the grocery store and sometimes it’s homemade cookies or brownies or some other dish. A few weeks ago Jeff Lim brought in a Hawaiian dish that was really good. I asked him for the recipe and thought I would try making Kalua Pig myself.

I am not one that tries new foods all that often. I know what I like and pretty much stick to that. Hell, I never even tried Chinese food until my wife and I got together. Chinese food is a favorite of hers so I agreed to take her to a Chinese restaurant. I don’t mind Chinese food, but I still prefer a cheeseburger.

I have tried different styles of BBQ pulled pork before and have never really been all that impressed, so as I looked at the pot of pulled pork I was not sure I’d really like it. When I tried it I realized that it was not at all like the pulled pork I had tried before.

Kalua Pig
Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Ingredients:

• 4-5 pound pork butt
• 2½ tablespoons Hawaiian salt (substitute kosher salt)
• 2 tablespoons liquid smoke
• 1 banana leaf (substitute 4-5 whole, unpeeled bananas)
• 4-6 ti leaves (substitute aluminum foil)
• ¼ to ½ a small head of cabbage, shredded
• 1 to 2 cups white rice
• chicken broth, enough to cook the rice

Usually Kalua pig is cooked in the ground over hot lava rocks. I don’t have a large supply of lava rocks or a way to heat them so I used the oven instead.

Trim any excess fat from the roast. Make several shallow long cuts along the roast or pierce liberally with a fork. (This allows the salt and liquid smoke to penetrate the meat.) Rub with salt and liquid smoke. Wrap the roast with banana leaf or place whole bananas on top of meat.

Cut the ribs from the ti leaves and wrap over the banana leaf. Substitute aluminum foil, if ti leaves are not available. (Ti leaves can often be obtained from a local florist). Tie securely with twine.

Roast in a 325-350 degree oven for about 45 minutes per pound. When meat is done, remove ti leaves, banana leaf (or bananas) and shred pork.

I did replace the Hawaiian salt with the kosher salt, the banana leaf with 5 whole bananas, and the Ti leaves with tin foil.

After the roast was cooked and shredded I put a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil in a frying pan, added the shredded roast and cabbage and fried the mixture until the cabbage was tender. Serve it over the rice cooked in the chicken broth.

My version was very good, but a bit lighter in flavor than what I had tried at work. I suspect that because I used the substitute ingredients the flavor was less. The next time I make this I will increase the liquid smoke and kosher salt rub.

Overall it was a very good recipe and we had 3 good meals out of it. I’ll be making this again soon.

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I don’t ask for much these days. As a mom of an almost-five-year-old who really, really likes me to put him to bed, I don’t get out much. So after a long week, when Friday night finally rolls around, I drink.

I know what you’re thinking, but work with me here. I’m not talking vodka in a secret flask inside my semi-attractive yet hefty mom purse. The perfect wine to match the delectable meal Keith and I have prepared for ourselves, to unwind and satiate — that’s what I’m talking about.

Sometimes, if we’re really lucky, there’s some of the bottle left for after Owen goes to bed. That’s when the real fun begins. Not because we’re drunk, because by that time the wine has basically put me to sleep. That’s right, it’s time to get out the chocolate. Sure, the caffeine might counteract the alcohol a bit and keep me awake to watch a TV show or two, but really, the pleasure is in how the wine and the chocolate compliment one another. In the words of any Japanese female judge on the original Iron Chef, they make my mouth happy. Or make my taste buds sing.

Last Friday night was a particular treat, because we were drinking Cline Ancient Vine Zinfindel. It went fabulously with our Delmonico steak, but I had forgotten just how perfectly this particular wine goes with chocolate. Believe me, I won’t forget again.

I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t even pair it with any fancy gourmet chocolate, like Green and Black’s 85% Dark, or Dagoba’s Eclipse or Ghirardelli’s Midnight Reverie (just a few of my favorites). No, this particular Friday night was one of desperation, so I shoved handfuls of Sunspire Grain-Sweetened chocolate chips down my wine hole, chased by the Cline Zin.

OK, I’m not ashamed to admit it, because it was perfect.

I’m guessing I know what you’ll be doing this Friday night.

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Our (apparently coerced) Guest-clacker today is Stephen Degon, a retired manufacturing and engineering executive whose hobbies include food and wine. That means he loves to cook, eat, and drink, but not write about it.

Well, it’s that time of year again, when we all start to think about the perfect Thanksgiving feast. Thanksgiving is such a special holiday because it reminds us of how fortunate we are, even if we are in the throws of a financial downturn. It means family and friends without the need for gifts. This should lead to a no stress holiday right?…WRONG! Everyone feels enormous pressure to make the perfect meal, accompanied by the perfect sides, and served alongside a perfect wine.

Which brings us to what we really want to talk about…wine. Turkey is a fowl, so it should have white wine, right? How about the dressing? Does it contain lots of meats? How are the veggies prepared? All of these questions should factor into your wine selection, but most important is “what kind of wine do you really like?”

Here are some suggestions, depending on your particular leanings.

Cote du Rhone is a lighter red from France that provides an excellent alternative to the full bodied reds you might normally love to have with a good steak. Made up of granache, petit syrah, and mouvedre varietals, it has a peppery finish, which pairs well with a meat dressing, and goes great with turkey and gravy. You can find these for $15 to $20 in most wine stores.

If you really don’t like reds, but prefer whites (maybe reds give you a headache), then think about a sauvignon blanc varietal from New Zealand. These highly acidic whites have a flowery nose and a grassy taste which is clean and fresh, and will cut through the sweetness of those yams and squashes which are usually spiked with too much sugar. You can find an abundance of these wines for $10 to $15 a bottle.

Of course, for those who really love red wine, any food provides an excuse to imbibe. A Bordeaux varietal mixture goes great with turkey and all the fixin’s. These wines will contain cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot, malbec, and cabernet franc. Lighter than a California cab, they will bring some compromise between the wine and the food for the palate to concentrate on. $15 to $30 will be needed for these.

A good California cabernet sauvignon will command your attention more than the food will. You can spend anywhere from $10 to $100+ for these, depending on your budget and taste. Some suggestions are:

• Lower Budget: Sabastiani cabernet sauvignon from the north coast…around $15
• Coppolla Claret for about $18
• Beringer Knight’s Valley for about $22
• Ferrari-Carano cab for about $30

You almost can’t go wrong serving wine with turkey dinner…just try to stay away from anything sweet like a white zin, reisling, or gewurtztraminer, and you’ll do fine.

a retired manufacturing and engineering executive
whose hobbies include food and wine.  That means he loves to cook, eat, and
drink, but not write about it.

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Join Debbie as she raves about whole foods, rants about chemicals and generally celebrates cooking and eating with fresh, local, nutritious foods. And sometimes she might get a little feisty….

We’re in the heart of it now… the beautiful season we call autumn. There are so many things to love about the fall in New England: the spectacular foliage, the crisp sunshiny weather and the seasonal foods. Let’s celebrate the fresh, whole food and autumn-inspired recipes that the season brings us. You just might find a new favorite.

You’ve read all about our organic apple-picking adventures and some of the ways we love to enjoy our apples. As I type this post, I’ve got some butternut squash seeds roasting in the oven and my house is just starting to take on that glorious toasty smell you only experience this time of year. Owen will be pleasantly surprised when he wakes up and finds he’s got a fun snack to accompany his breakfast (spoiled boy!).

We’re basically purists when it comes to seed-roasting, but if you want to venture out, Heidi Swanson has some unique ideas for fancy toasted pumpkin seeds: three great recipes, to be exact.

You may not associate cabbage with the fall, but we’ve gotten so many wonderful heads of it this year from our CSA farm that we’ve been enjoying it often. We’ve tried sweet and sour cabbage wedges, Moo Shu vegetables and most recently, Heidi Swanson’s (there she is again….) Tassajara warm cabbage salad. This is actually the first year in a long time that I haven’t made some homemade sauerkraut with it, but we’ve still loved every cabbage-y bite this fall.

One last thing that I must eat before I can declare it fall is some type of orange squash stew. Yes, I’ve got to have my butternut squash sage pizza, but I need a stew. Chicken, pumpkin and kale stew is one of my favorites and we finally cooked it up this week. It is astounding how just a few ingredients combine together so perfectly to create a simple and spectacular dish.

What are some of your favorite fall dishes?

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TV’s in full swing and we’re just about to enter November sweeps. Do you have something to say about what you watch? Are you a sci-fi junkie, or maybe nighttime soaps float your boat? Perhaps you’re up-to-date on all the latest TV news and have your own take on what it means for the television world. You might just be a writer looking for an outlet, a place to share your unique voice. Hopefully you’re snarky, knowledgeable and funny, without being insulting and overbearing.

With November also comes the holidays, and well, people eat during the holidays. Do you like to cook? Bake? Eat? Maybe you create original recipes and want to share them with the world. I’m betting you like to scour the internet for top-notch recipes too, don’t you? Maybe you like to eat out and drink out and write about your experiences. You might consider yourself a food snob, or you want to tell all the food snobs where to go and praise the simple food in life. If you’ve got something to share about all things edible, CliqueClack Food may have a place for you.

You can go about writing for CliqueClack in a number of ways:

• Submit a Guest Clack for CC Food or a Guest Clack for CC TV.
• Send a writing sample to applications@cliqueclack.com and tell us the types of posts you’d most likely write for CliqueClack.
• If you’ve got an idea for how you could regularly contribute to either CC TV or CC Food, send your ideas along to applications@cliqueclack.com. Maybe we’ve got a void you can fill!
• Questions? cc-comments@cliqueclack.com works great!

We hope to hear some fresh new voices soon!

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There’s almost nothing good about Daylight savings time. Now that we’ve changed the clocks back (fall back…), I wake up — mind you, at an ungodly early hour — and it’s light out. Yeah, who cares? I’m cooking dinner by the light of the moon and craving foods with vitamin D. How can that be right?

You know what else? I’m hungry. Sure, it made sense that on Sunday we ate dinner at 4:45, since our bodies technically still believed it was almost six o’clock. Yes, you read that right. I might as well start cultivating the white hairs upon my head, because we could have taken advantage of the senior citizen early bird specials that night. But yesterday it was Tuesday, so you’d think my body would have somewhat adjusted.

No dice.

The four-year-old and I went to Trader Joe’s Tuesday morning to pick up a small refrigerator’s worth of groceries, and as soon as we walked in the door, I was overcome with intense hunger pangs. We’re talking “OMG, I must have skipped lunch, I think I might pass out” hunger. Since I’m not fasting (dude, who does that?), I couldn’t explain it, other than the fact that it must have been very close to lunchtime. I checked my watch: ten o’clock.

Now that’s just embarrassing, but as my stomach growled through the almond butter and jelly aisle, I knew something had to be done. That’s when He approached.

I was engrossed with deciding between the curry simmer sauce or the Thai green curry sauce (Thai won this week), when I heard an amiable, “Hello!” right behind me. I turned to see the happiest man alive. Well, I assume he was anyway, because he was holding an open bag of dark chocolate-covered pretzels. And he was offering them to me. For a moment, I thought I might be the happiest person alive, but then I looked at the smiling face in the seat of the shopping cart (yes, I know he’s too big for the cart … don’t judge me) and my smile faded proportionately.

As I wiped the drool from my chin, I explained to Him that Owen was allergic to wheat and that I couldn’t in good conscious eat chocolate-covered pretzels in front of him. While I waited for my mom-of-the-year award, I got something better. He returned with an open bag of Snap Pea Crisps, because He didn’t want Owen to not be able to get a sample of something just because he had a food allergy. And he gave us a nice big handful to share.

With that small act of kindness and mercy, my hunger monster was stopped dead in its tracks and my hope and faith in the kindness of humanity was restored. Yes, Daylight savings time still sucks, but I’m a little less hungry now, thanks to the kindness of a stranger.

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In the event that I came off as a total food snob when I referred to baked ziti as plebian (even though I think it’s completely delicious!), here’s one of our favorite recipes that most food snobs wouldn’t even consider making (because there’s canned tuna in it). We did, however, serve it to a food snob far more snobby than the likes of me, and it was a well-loved meal.

About 7000 years ago, or something closer to fifteen years, I acquired a fun little cookbook by Barbara Russo called Quick and Easy Elegant Pasta (long since out of print, unfortunately for you!). It’s all true. The recipes are so simple to make, with few ingredients yet lots of flavor, and there really is something distinctly elegant about each recipe. Whether an ingredient or a combination of ingredients, an interesting method or presentation, there’s something special about each of these recipes.

Over the years, her recipe for linguine with tuna and red wine has morphed into something revered in our household, both for the amazing base recipe Ms. Russo created, but also because we have altered it to suit our ever-changing culinary sensibilities.

Pasta with Tuna, Red Wine and Capers

Ingredients:

• 2 cans tuna in water (we use tongol)
• about 1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano (or to taste)
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 2 tablespoons capers
• crushed red pepper to taste
• grated pecorino romano
• 8 ounces pasta (we like brown rice spaghetti with this dish)

Cook pasta according to directions.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, place the tuna, onion, garlic and oregano in enough olive oil to coat everything and keep it moist. You may add more olive oil at any time, or you can try using tuna packed in oil. Cover and cook over low to medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring every so often.

Add the red wine to the pan and reduce for about 5-10 minutes. Add the capers, crushed red pepper and any other seasonings you might like (always sea salt and freshly ground black pepper).

Toss sauce with pasta and grate fresh pecorino romano over the whole deal before serving.

Variations:

• Add sun dried tomatoes.
• Add roasted red peppers.
• Add some fresh chopped herbs — basil, parsley, oregano, thyme would all work well in this dish.
• Switch out the capers for anchovies or olives.
• You could probably even add some diced tomatoes if you wanted a heavier, more Italian-style sauce.

What do you think — are you too snobby to try it?

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