Roasted Chestnut, Mushroom, and Currant Stuffing

Christmas has been at my cousin Stephanie's place for the last 7 years. She makes a huge, elaborate holiday meal for the entire extended family, and her dinners are a lot of fun. Her Christmas dinner is the one event that CK looks forward to every year.

Sadly, she has decided to spend her Christmas out of town this year, which means we're all on our own. Because we've relied on her so much, we're all scrambling trying to figure out what to do.

My small contribution this year is the stuffing.

The first time I tried this recipe, my chestnuts blew up, and I spent hours cleaning the tiny bits of chestnut splattered all over my oven. I had an awful time cleaning the mess I made. I finally figured out a proper way to roast chestnuts, and I must thank Duane Keats for that. He told me to first soak the chestnuts, and then roast them for 40 minutes on low heat (approx 150-200F). His instructions worked perfectly. I did use a sharp knife to cut an X in each chestnut before baking to allow steam to escape...juuuuust in case.

This stuffing is awesome. It is bready on the inside, and slightly crispy on top. The chestnuts and currants add a nice hint of sweetness, and the spices add a comforting taste. Try it, you won't be disappointed.

I wish everyone a splendid holiday, and a happy new year!

Roasted Chestnut, Mushroom, and Currant Stuffing
- 1 loaf of Italian bread, ripped or cut into 1 inch pieces
- 8 oz, 227g of your favorite mushroom, sliced thinly
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 4 celery stalks, finely chopped
- 1 leek, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup of dried currants
- 3 cups of chestnuts (in the shell), roasted, de-shelled, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp of fresh sage, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp of finely chopped fresh thyme + 1 sprig of fresh thyme
- 1 tsp of dried rosemary
- 1/4 cup of milk
- salt
- pepper
- small pinch of cinnamon
- small pinch of nutmeg
- small cube of butter, plus extra for greasing

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 300 F/150C. Place the bread pieces on a baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until fully dehydrated. Another way to dry the bread pieces is to leave them out over night.

2. In a lightly buttered pan, sautee the onion, leek, shallot, sage, rosemary, and finely chopped thyme until the onions are translucent. Add the celery and mushrooms, and sautee for another minute or two. Add the chicken broth, a sprig of thyme, a pinch of cinnamon, and a pinch of nutmeg, and allow the broth to come to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. The broth should be slightly salty so that it is not bland when added to the bread. Turn off the heat, and discard the sprig of thyme.

3. Pre-heat the oven to 350F/180C. Grease a 9x13x2 rectangular baking dish with butter, and set aside. In a large bowl, slowly add the broth mixture to the dehydrated bread. Add milk, dried currants, and chestnuts. Mix well. Be careful not to break the bread pieces. Spoon the bread mixture into the greased baking dish. Bake uncovered for 35 - 40 minutes.

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Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Icing and Coconut

Happy early Halloween everyone!

I made these pumpkin muffins a few days early JUST in case you were looking for that last minute pumpkin recipe before Halloween.

I'm sure some of you are pumpkin and apple'd out, but October is not over yet friends.
These pumpkin muffins are good for you, very filling, and full of spice. They are good for any occasion, and the cream cheese icing and shredded coconut add a very nice touch. I brought some for my sister and her boyfriend, and they each ate two on the spot.

I was in a festive mood, so I decorated a few with a Halloween theme.

This recipe yields 16-18 muffins.

Pumpkin Muffins
- 1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour, sifted
- 1/2 cup of all purpose flour, sifted
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- 1/2 tsp of baking soda
- 1 tsp of cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp of all spice
- 1/4 tsp of ground clove
- 1 cup of pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- sweetened shredded coconut to garnish

Cream Cheese Icing- 1 (8oz, 250g) package of light cream cheese at room temperature
- 1/4 cup of butter at room temperature
- 1 cup of icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
- 1 vanilla pod

Method for Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Icing and Coconut

Make the Pumpkin Muffins:1. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C.

2. In one bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and dry spices together. In another bowl, mix the pumpkin, milk, egg, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and ginger together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix well with a fork.

3. Line a muffin tray with baking cups. Spoon the muffin mixture into the baking cups until they are 3/4 full. Repeat until all the muffin mixture is used up.

4. Bake the muffins for 18-22 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside until they are fully cool.

Make the Cream Cheese Icing:
1. With an electric mixer on high speed, mix the butter and cream cheese until smooth.

2. Slowly add in the icing sugar while mixing.

3. Add the vanilla extract. Cut a vanilla pod in half, and scrape the vanilla seeds into the icing. Mix until evenly distributed.

Assemble the Muffin:
1. Using a butter knife, smear a thin layer of icing over top of the muffins.

2. Place the muffin on top of a plate, and sprinkle shredded coconut over top of the muffin until completely covered. Tip the muffin upside down to allow any loose coconut pieces to fall off.

Using low fat cream cheese for the icing will result in a slightly thinner consistency. If you want a think and creamy icing, it is best to use full fat cream cheese.

Here are some of the Halloween muffins I made:

For the next little while, you will have to excuse my posts. I have such a large backlog of travel posts, I'm not sure where to start and finish! I just got back from a short trip to Boston, so stay tuned for a mish mash of posts from Ottawa, Sydney, New Zealand, and Boston.

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Banana Pumpkin Pancakes

I had a few people over for breakfast, and made these awesome banana pumpkin pancakes. My friend E is obsessed with pancakes, and with a nickname like 'The Pancake King', you know he is a man who likes his pancakes.

And, when 'The Pancake King' tells you that your pancakes are the best pancakes he has ever had, you can't help but feel proud.

These pancakes are very filling, and the bananas add a nice touch of sweetness. I made some candied pecans to go with the pancakes, and it was a winning combo.

Although the spices seem more than plenty when reading the recipe, the spice taste is in fact very mild and not overpowering. Just try them, they seriously rock.

This recipe yields 6-10 pancakes (depending on size of pancakes).

Banana Pumpkin Pancakes
- 1/2 cup of all purpose flour, sifted
- 1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour, sifted
- 1/4 cup of packed brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground or freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 large pinch of ground cloves
- 1 large pinch of all spice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup of pumpkin puree
- 1 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp freshly grated ginger
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 medium banana, cut into slices or small pieces

Method
1. In a bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and mix well. In another bowl, combine the olive oil, pumpkin puree, ginger, egg, and milk and mix well.

2. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients, and mix until smooth. Add the bananas, and mix with a spoon until the bananas are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

3. Heat a lightly greased skillet on medium heat. With a small ladle or large spoon, scoop the batter onto the pan (about 4 inches diameter), and heat until the top begins to bubble or until you can flip the pancake without making a mess. Heat the other side until golden brown. Repeat Step 3 until the batter is used up.

Pancakes

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Date Cake

Five things that have gone obsolete:

1.) Cassette tapes and Walkmans (my favorite was my Color Me Badd tape)
2.) Black and white televisions
3.) Typewriters
4.) Poodle skirts
5.) Ready-made date cake mix

Number 5 is the reason for my post today. My aunt Mims loves date cake. She used to buy the ready-made date cake mix, and make it on a weekly basis. Our grocery stores stopped carrying it about 10 years ago, but she still reminisces about it from time to time. She never learned how to make it, so I decided to make it and bring her back to the good 'ol days.

This recipe yields 1 loaf.

Date Cake
Adapted from Sunshine Recipes
- 1 1/2 cups of chopped dates to which 1 cup of boiling water has been poured over
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1 1/3 cups of 7 grain flour (or a mixture of all purpose flour and 7 grain flour)
- 3/4 cup pecans, chopped
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup of milk
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C.

2. Cream together the sugar and oil. Add in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the dates with water, egg, and milk. Mix well. Stir in the pecans.

3. Grease a loaf pan (9x5x3 inches). Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Remove the date cake from the pan, and let it cool on a cooling rack.

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Healthy Banana Bread

This is a super healthy banana bread recipe that my mom-in-law shared with me. As mentioned, she is the Queen of making healthy desserts that taste amazing. This is no exception. Every time I make this, my banana bread doesn't even last a day. It smells awesome when it first comes out of the oven, and tastes great when served warm. I love peeling off and eating the crunchy top of the loaf when it is still hot.

This recipe yields 1 loaf.

Healthy Banana Bread
- 1 cup of mashed ripe bananas
- 1 cup of sifted all purpose flour
- 1 cup of 9 grain flour (or whole wheat flour)
- 1/3 cup of milk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C

2. Sift the all purpose flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. Add in the whole grain flour and sugar.

3. Add in the oil, bananas, and eggs. Mix well.

4. Combine the milk and lemon juice, and stir until a uniform batter is formed. Stir in the walnuts.

5. Grease a loaf pan (9x5x3 inches). Pour the batter into the loaf pan.

6. Bake for 60 - 70 minutes. Note that the top of your loaf will brown before it is fully cooked. Remove banana bread from pan, let it cool on a cooling rack, and serve.

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