Pumpkin Pie Butter

Here's a little secret, I have a thing for making homemade butter. It is surprisingly easy. With an electric mixer you can whip up your own butter in under 10 minutes. My favorite part is turning regular butter into compound butter by adding in different ingredients. I've made a tequila butter, jam butter, blue cheese butter, and tonight a pumpkin pie butter. 

You don't need to make your own butter, you can simply use a stick of the store-bought stuff. I've also eliminated the pumpkin puree from your typical pumpkin butter because, well I think it makes the butter too sweet and frankly I am not a fan of the texture. No worries though, this blend of spices will surly satisfy your pumpkin craving. 

ingredients 

1 lb butter (4 sticks or 1 quart of cream)

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon 

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground all spice

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/ 4 teaspoon salt 

Add spices to butter and mix until incorporated. Store in the refrigerator. 

I suggest spreading some love onto a biscuit, pancakes, waffles, or even a sweet potato! 

xo, 

Oh Mary!

Happy weekend everyone!
3 cups tomato juice
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce 
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3/4 teaspoon Tabasco
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Premium vodka
2 jumbo shrimp
olives

In a blender combine the tomato juice, lemon juice, lime juice, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and hot sauce and process until smooth. Transfer to a nonreactive container and add salt and black pepper, to taste. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

When ready to serve, fill each glass with ice.

Add 1 ounce of vodka to each glass, then fill the glass with the Bloody Mary mix. Stir well, and garnish each glass with 2 shrimp, olives, and desired veggies.

* recipe adapted from Emeril's Bloody Mary Mix 

Quino-a-what-a?

Now that I know how to pronounce it, I am officially jumping aboard the quinoa (keen-wah) bandwagon. Everywhere I go I am hearing about this super food!
In case you haven't climbed aboard already, here are five reasons why and three recipes to try!

Quinoa is...

• excellent source of protein
• low in fat and filling (the perfect diet food)
• good source of calcium and other vitamins and minerals
• gluten-free
• very versatile (use in substitution for rice, stir fries, risotto, couscous, even breakfast cereal)

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers 

{fuss free cooking}

Quinoa Burger

{eat well...living thin}

Black Bean and Sweet Corn Quinoa Salad 

{mel's kitchen cafe}

xo,

A Chocolate Haunting

Nothing tests my will power quite like walking into the super market and seeing those big bags of Halloween goodness. Reese cups, Snickers, M&Ms, and Butterfingers all perfectly packaged in their bite size wrappers. Forget about ghosts and goblins, it's the chocolate candy bowl in the kitchen that is haunting me; forcing me to eat one every time I walk by : 0

Anyways, in case you need to rev up your chocolate with more chocolate, or you end up with an abundance of candy and not so many trick or treaters, or you have a networking event and want to make a little take home gift to attach your business card to, or you need an idea for a Halloween party favor, here's what you do!...

{annie eats}

ingredients 

1 lb. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

3 Butterfinger bars (or 8 fun size bars), chopped

3 toffee candy bars, chopped

8 Reese cups, cut into wedges

1/4 cup of honey roasted peanuts

3 oz. yellow and orange peanut M&Ms, chopped

3 oz. good quality white chocolate, chopped

directions
Line a baking sheet with foil.  Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Heat, stirring occasionally until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.  Pour the chocolate over the foil and smooth into a thin layer with a spatula.  Evenly sprinkle the chopped candy bars, Reese cups, honey roasted peanuts, and peanut M&Ms over the melted chocolate.  Press gently to adhere the candy to the melted chocolate.  Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.

Melt the white chocolate, again using the double boiler method, until smooth.  Drizzle over the chilled candy bark.  Return to the refrigerator and let chill again until the white chocolate is set, 3o minutes more.

Peel the sheet of chocolate away from the foil and break into irregular pieces.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Happy Haunting, 

Trick Your Husband

I am one of those on-again off-again vegetarians. I will go a few months without eating meat. I feel great consuming only what I can confidently say does not have feelings. But then something like a boneless buffalo wing will throw me off the wagon. It is never something impressive like a sirloin steak or pork chop.

My husband on the other hand, will not knowingly eat things made with vegetarian substitutions. However, he does eat and enjoy these meatballs, blissfully unaware that I have substituted the ground sirloin for an eggplant.

These meat-a-balls (insert Italian accent) are similar in texture and flavor to your typically ball of meat. I enjoy them many ways; with or without sauce, hot, cold, with pasta, on a sandwich etc.

I suggest you make them with your favorite marinara sauce for meatless Monday, and with a slice of provolone on toasted ciabatta for Tuesday's lunch.

Ingredients

1 large eggplant

1 cup or so of store-bought seasoned breadcrumbs

1 egg

1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

a little milk

1 small garlic clove, grated

small bunch of fresh parsley

extra-virgin olive oil

S&P

Slice eggplant in half lengthwise. Bake at 400F until inside of eggplant is soft. Once cooled, scrape out ‘guts’ of the eggplant into a mixing bowl. Add breadcrumbs, egg, cheese, milk, garlic, parsley and salt and pepper to taste until you have reached your desired texture. Roll into meatballs. Place on baking sheet and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Bake at 350F until brown, about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Jack's Cider

There's nothing like a warm cup of apple cider on a crisp fall night to get you feeling warm and fuzzy. That is of course unless it is spiked with some Jack Daniel's, now you're really feeling warm and fuzzy!

I made this recipe the other night for a party. Judging by the huge grins and squinty eyes at the end of the night, it was a hit!

I'm not one for overly sweet drinks or even mixed drinks (I am more of a beer, wine, or tequila on the rocks type of girl),  but this Jack Cider is not too sweet and not too tart. Just the perfect combination of flavors. I'd like to think that this drink is the quintessential fall cocktail. That and maybe the pumpkin latte.

ingredients

2 cups of your favorite apple cider

1/2 cup Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey

2 cinnamon sticks

2 cloves

*makes about 2 large drinks

Simmer until warm and serve. Make sure to remove the cloves before you drink.

Careful, they go down easy!



Cheers!