rain again..ugh!

It’s another Saturday and it’s raining again. I woke up this morning with a list of things to do. After having breakfast and doing my usual morning routine, I decided to replenish my pantry with my Honey Pecan Granola and since the sky was gray and it was a bit chilly, I also made a pot of Butternut Squash-Apple Soup, which was perfect for a dreary day.
 
If you like pumpkin and a little nosh to go with your coffee or tea, you must try Yossy Arefi’s recipe for Pumpkin Crumb Cake. You can either use an 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan for the cake. From start to finish, it takes approximately an hour to make. For the recipe you’ll need light brown sugar, all-purpose flour, pumpkin pie spice blend, salt, unsalted butter, eggs, pumpkin purée, neutral oil, baking powder and baking soda. If you would like to put a glaze on the cake, you’ll need confectioners’ sugar, pumpkin spice blend, salt and milk. 

Ms. Arefi starts by prepping the crumb topping first followed by the cake. Once the cake batter is made and poured into the prepared pan, you crumbled the topping over the cake and bake for approximately 40 to 45 minutes. After the cake cools completely you can either drizzle the glaze on top or merely dust with confectioners’ sugar as I did. What a delightful cake. The cake was moist with a delicate crumb. I made my own pumpkin spice blend based on the accompanying recipe to the pumpkin crumb cake. The flavor had lovely notes of cinnamon and nutmeg complemented by the other ingredients including cardamom. A wonderful cake that’s not too sweet.
 
As I said before, one can’t have too many chicken recipes. I’ve been holding on to a recipe by Sam Sifton of The New York Times since April for Chicken Paprikash. For the recipe you’ll need chicken thighs and drumsticks, kosher salt, black pepper, neutral oil, unsalted butter, large yellow or Spanish onion, fresh garlic, Hungarian paprika (sweet or hot or a combination), all-purpose flour, crushed tomatoes or a fresh tomato that’s chopped, chicken broth, egg noodles and sour cream.
 
The chicken is seared until the skin is crispy and deep golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan and add chopped onions and minced garlic; sauté until softened. A little flour to help make a roux is added followed by crushed tomatoes and chicken broth. The chicken is placed in the pan with the sauce and cooked for approximately 25 to 30 minutes.
 
The chicken is served on top of noodles and the pan sauce poured on top. This dish was delicious. I just wish I had a bit more sauce to pour on top. For two people, I halved the ingredients needed, but I should have kept the original amounts for sauce. After baking in the oven uncovered, the sauce reduced down, despite the addition of some water to the baking vessel. Overall, very tasty and hearty for a fall evening.
 
I love bourbon either on the rocks or served as a cocktail with apple cider. I’ve share the Martha Stewart recipe for Apple Cider Sour; now I have another, Bourbon and Apple Cider Cocktail from the website “Creative Culinary.” For the recipe I used pure apple cider that I purchased at Dreyer Farms where they sell cider from Melick’s Town Farm. For the recipe you’ll need chilled apple cider, bourbon, maple syrup (optional), ginger beer and apple wedges for garnish.
 
Using a Mason jar filled with some ice, I add the cider, bourbon, maple syrup and shook. I dipped the rim of an old fashion glass into apple cider followed by a dip into a saucer of cinnamon sugar. I strained the cider mixture into an old-fashioned glass filled with some ice and topped with the ginger beer. What a yummy drink. The recipe is well-balanced as far as bourbon to cider and a hint of maple syrup rounds out the flavors. Both my husband and I enjoyed our pre-dinner cocktail.
 
Well, that’s all for today. Our CSA share will come to an end in a few short weeks. I have other recipes in the pipeline to share that use those ingredients. 

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Pumpkin Crumb Cake
By Yossy Arefi
The New York Times/NYT Cooking
 
 
Time: 1 hour
Yield: 1 (8-inch square or 9-inch round) cake
 
FOR THE STREUSEL
½(packed) cup/100 grams light brown sugar
½cup/64 grams all-purpose flour
1teaspoon store-bought or homemade pumpkin spice blend (see Tip)
Pinch of salt
¼cup/56 grams unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
 
FOR THE PUMPKIN CAKE
Nonstick cooking spray
1(packed) cup/200 grams light brown sugar
2large eggs
1cup/230 grams canned pumpkin purée
¼cup/56 grams unsalted butter, melted
¼cup neutral oil
1tablespoon store-bought or homemade pumpkin spice blend (see Tip)
½teaspoon fine sea salt
1teaspoon baking powder
½teaspoon baking soda
1½cups/190 grams all-purpose flour
 
FOR THE GLAZE (OPTIONAL)
¾cup/75 grams confectioners’ sugar
¾teaspoon pumpkin spice blend
Pinch of salt
3 to 5teaspoons milk (any kind will do)
 
PREPARATION

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
2. Make the streusel: In a small bowl, combine the sugar, flour, pumpkin spice and salt. Add the butter, then pinch the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture forms pebble-size crumbs and is evenly moistened.
3. Make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and eggs until pale and foamy, about 1 minute. Add the pumpkin purée, melted butter, oil, pumpkin spice and salt; whisk until combined and smooth. Whisk in the baking powder and baking soda, then whisk in the flour.
4. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smooth the top and tap on the counter a few times to release any large air bubbles. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top.
5. Bake the cake until puffed and golden, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Set the cake in the pan on a rack to cool. After about 15 minutes remove the cake from the pan and set it on the rack to cool almost completely.
6. When the cake is just slightly warm, make the glaze, if using: Add the confectioners’ sugar, pumpkin spice, pinch of salt and 3 teaspoons of milk to a bowl. Whisk until smooth, adding a bit more milk as necessary to form a glaze that is very thick but can be drizzled.
7. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake.

 
“TIP - Make your own pumpkin spice blend by combining 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, ½ teaspoon ground allspice and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves. Makes about ¼ cup.”​

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Chicken Paprikash
“The Fresher the Spice, the Better the Chicken Paprikash”
By Sam Sifton, The New York Times, April 14, 2016
 
Time: 1 hour
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
 
Ingredients
3 to 4pounds chicken thighs and drumsticks, or whole chicken legs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon neutral oil, like canola
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large yellow or Spanish onion, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons Hungarian paprika, sweet or hot, or a combination
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes or 1 large ripe tomato, chopped
1 cup chicken broth, homemade or, if not, low-sodium
1 pound egg noodles
¾ cup sour cream
 
PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 400. Season the chicken aggressively with salt and pepper. Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large, heavy, oven-safe sauté pan or Dutch oven set over high flame, until the butter is foaming. Sear the chicken in batches, skin-side down, until it is golden and crisp, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Then turn the chicken over, and repeat on the other side, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate to rest.
2. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the accumulated fat in the pot. Return the pot to the stove, over medium heat, and add the onion. Cook, stirring frequently with a spoon to scrape off any browned bits of chicken skin, until the onion has softened and gone translucent, approximately 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and stir again, cooking it until it has softened, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the paprika and the flour, and stir well to combine, then cook until the mixture is fragrant and the taste of the flour has been cooked out, approximately 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and broth, whisk until smooth and then nestle the chicken back in the pan, skin-side up. Slide the pan or pot into the oven, and cook until the chicken has cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, set a large pot of heavily salted water to boil over high heat. Cook noodles in the water until they are almost completely tender, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Drain the noodles, and toss them in a bowl with the remaining butter, then toss again to coat.
5. Place the chicken on top of the noodles, then add the sour cream to the sauce, stir to combine and ladle it over the whole.

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Bourbon and Apple Cider Cocktail
From the website “Creative Culinary”
By Barbara Kiebel
 
 
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
 
Ingredients
2 ounces Apple Cider chilled
1 ounce Bourbon
½ to one tsp maple syrup optional
2 ounces Ginger Beer chilled
Apple wedges for garnish
 
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine the cider, bourbon, and maple syrup in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake until very cold (if serving a crowd, combine these two ingredients in a pitcher and refrigerate for at least an hour.
 
Strain mixture into an ice filled glass and top with the chilled ginger beer. Stir gently.
 
Garnish with an apple wedge and serve.
 
Notes from Author
About that apple slice. I love the cute star shape in the center of an apple as much as the next guy but for practicality’s sake, well, you have to get to the center of the apple and only get maybe two good slices. I don't advise wasting most of the apple for that effect. Simply use apple wedges instead of slices!
 
I've made this cocktail several times since this post and have taken to putting a rim on it with sugar and cinnamon.
 
Mix a combination of 2 Tablespoons of sugar with a teaspoon and a half of cinnamon on a flat plate. Rub the edge of the glass with maple syrup or cider, and dip it in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Proceed according to above directions.

bourbon_and_apple_cider_cocktail_by_barbara_kiebel.pdf
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