Rabbits, Apples and Pumpkins
I had high hopes for my braised rabbit, you know, the one I made the previous weekend. I started with rabbit salads for lunch. Nearly every day, I had another decadent and delicious rabbit salad packed up in a plastic container ready for me at lunchtime.
My plans for the bulk of the rabbit were to shred the meat completely and sauté it with a wild mushroom ragu to serve over egg noodles (inspired by my friend Robert’s Pot Roast blog). However, it never made it that far. You see, my dogs – dog in particular – are thieves. Last Thursday, I had the meat shredded in a bowl on the kitchen table and ready to go.
The phone rang. I got up to answer it. I went into the bathroom to wash my hands and when I returned, the bowl remained on the table – only it had nothing in it. The dogs sat on my living room chairs looking up innocently at me, as though nothing could possibly be wrong. Yet, the bowl had nothing in it.
So, I ate some Manchego cheese for dinner and went to bed.
At my last visit to the farm, I purchased a lot of apples, Macon, Macintosh, Golden Delicious, all local and useful in different recipes. Among them, I picked up two Rome apples. These unusually large apples are great for baking… and bake them I did! Now, usually, I bake my apples by coring them, and filling the center with chopped up walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg and honey. This time, I filled them with chopped pecans, dried cranberries and maple cream (an unbelievably delicious paste that comes from Maple Sap). They came out fantastically! The maple cream formed a hard caramel around the outside of the apple and the nuts, creating an almost Candy-Apple texture and giving it an amazing taste. I dusted the finished apples with cinnamon and indulged.
I also made a second batch of pumpkin bread. The first time I made this recipe, it came out delicious, but the whole grain flour made it a touch too dry for my taste. So I have modified it a bit since the last batch. Specifically, I added a bit more pumpkin puree (12oz instead of 9 ½), a ¼ cup of hazelnut oil, and a mixture of white whole wheat (1 ½ cups) and All purpose flour (2/3 cup) I must say, the modifications have produced moist and delicious bread. This weekend, between my brother, cousin and me, we finished them.
I was so happy to find that so many of you tried my pumpkin bread recipe (TaGa-LuTu and Troy)! I am always so happy when something I produce in my kitchen inspires others. It is so much fun to see how other people interpret the recipes too!
This coming weekend, I have the first meeting of my newly formed book club. I wanted to create a menu themed to the book. However, that idea proved challenging based on the book itself. So, instead, I think I will make butternut squash soup topped with sage and a goat cheese and mesclun salad, followed up with many fun desserts… pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream, banana bread, mini-tarts filled with cannoli cream. I may also mull some hot cider on the wood stove with fresh cranberries and sliced orange, then serve hot toddies.
My plans for the bulk of the rabbit were to shred the meat completely and sauté it with a wild mushroom ragu to serve over egg noodles (inspired by my friend Robert’s Pot Roast blog). However, it never made it that far. You see, my dogs – dog in particular – are thieves. Last Thursday, I had the meat shredded in a bowl on the kitchen table and ready to go.
The phone rang. I got up to answer it. I went into the bathroom to wash my hands and when I returned, the bowl remained on the table – only it had nothing in it. The dogs sat on my living room chairs looking up innocently at me, as though nothing could possibly be wrong. Yet, the bowl had nothing in it.
So, I ate some Manchego cheese for dinner and went to bed.
At my last visit to the farm, I purchased a lot of apples, Macon, Macintosh, Golden Delicious, all local and useful in different recipes. Among them, I picked up two Rome apples. These unusually large apples are great for baking… and bake them I did! Now, usually, I bake my apples by coring them, and filling the center with chopped up walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg and honey. This time, I filled them with chopped pecans, dried cranberries and maple cream (an unbelievably delicious paste that comes from Maple Sap). They came out fantastically! The maple cream formed a hard caramel around the outside of the apple and the nuts, creating an almost Candy-Apple texture and giving it an amazing taste. I dusted the finished apples with cinnamon and indulged.
I also made a second batch of pumpkin bread. The first time I made this recipe, it came out delicious, but the whole grain flour made it a touch too dry for my taste. So I have modified it a bit since the last batch. Specifically, I added a bit more pumpkin puree (12oz instead of 9 ½), a ¼ cup of hazelnut oil, and a mixture of white whole wheat (1 ½ cups) and All purpose flour (2/3 cup) I must say, the modifications have produced moist and delicious bread. This weekend, between my brother, cousin and me, we finished them.
I was so happy to find that so many of you tried my pumpkin bread recipe (TaGa-LuTu and Troy)! I am always so happy when something I produce in my kitchen inspires others. It is so much fun to see how other people interpret the recipes too!
This coming weekend, I have the first meeting of my newly formed book club. I wanted to create a menu themed to the book. However, that idea proved challenging based on the book itself. So, instead, I think I will make butternut squash soup topped with sage and a goat cheese and mesclun salad, followed up with many fun desserts… pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream, banana bread, mini-tarts filled with cannoli cream. I may also mull some hot cider on the wood stove with fresh cranberries and sliced orange, then serve hot toddies.
Wow! You surely know how to cook.
Why thank you!