Pumpkin Puree.

Have you ever tried to make your own pumpkin puree? Sure, it's easy to throw one in your shopping cart while you're at the grocery store, but I had a thought this year... "What's really in this, and why haven't I made my own before?"

So, after Halloween had come and gone, I used the (4) pumpkins that Joseph had grown in his garden. I was delightfully surprised how easy it was to make my own puree.

I started with (1) medium sized pumpkin.

I cut it in half and scraped everything out of the center, and then cut them into quarters.

I ended up using two more pumpkins because one didn't look like enough. I buttered up the pumpkin slices and baked them for (2) hours.

The apartment smelled SO good. They looked really pretty when they came out too.

I let them fully cool and then I scraped out everything from the skins. Once I had most of them scraped out, I threw them into the food processor.

And this was the finished product. I had to let it strain over night to get all of the excess liquid out, but once it was done, it was perfect. The endless possibilities I thought to myself: pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies! I love pumpkin flavored everything, it's the best. Stay tuned for what I actually used it for :)

Breakfast Treat.

What's your favorite breakfast food? Mine just happen to be eggs...

And this morning, since I had a late start into work, I thought I would make something that happens to be my weakness: Garlic & Herb Baked Eggs. It's quite sinful. I thought I was starting a new diet this week but I just couldn't resist making them since I had all of the ingredients.


The only thing missing?? A nice crisp piece of a french baguette. Shoot!

It's the perfect way to start the First Snow Day in Iowa :)

Lamb Burgers.

Did you get a chance to see what we did with the massive lamb leg in my previous post?

Well, this is what we did with the left overs, and I must say, I impressed even myself with the following creation:


I diced up all of the left over rare lamb leg meat, and discarded the parts that I thought were too cooked. Then I threw the pieces into the our food processor.


I processed them on a consistent setting until I thought that the meat was well ground and ready to handle.


Erin, Joseph, and I talked about what flavors we thought would compliment our lamb-burgers. After a quick trip to Gateway Market, we picked up some Feta Cheese, and stuffed the inside of the burgers with it.


I carefully combined the "top" and "bottom" of the patties halves and molded them closed to seal the cheese in during the grilling process.


I threw them into the grill pan on medium-high heat and let them cook on each side for about (6) minutes, per side.


While they cooked, I drizzled oil all over our "buns" and thew them into the oven to quickly brown.


I periodically checked in with the meat to make sure it was cooking to perfection.


Once the buns and meat were done, I threw them onto plate and had Joseph & Erin dress them with the condiments that they liked.


The small bar of condiments included everything from sauteed mushrooms to avocado to jalapenos. The final end result was a.maz.ing. The flavor combinations that we created were incredible. The meat was perfectly seasoned from the night before and all of the spices really stood out. I can't wait to make these again.... or even a slight variation!

Braised Lamb Leg.

A while ago, Erin and I collaborated in the kitchen and made the most amazing Braised Lamb Leg. One of the many perks of her job at Better Homes & Gardens as an Associate Food Editor requires her to take her work home with her, literally. The lamb board sent her a huge lamb leg to try, so to our gain, she brought it over and we made a dinner night out of it.

We had this massive lamb leg and started by poking small holes into the top of it.


For added flavor, we peeled a bunch of garlic cloves and inserted them into the holes.


While Erin finished up with inserting all of the garlic cloves, I started slicing up potatoes and onions to go into the roasting pan with the lamb leg. I threw them into a saucier with some salt, pepper, and broth, and brought the broth to a slow simmer.

While we cooked, Joseph photographed and made sure we had something to drink.


Someone has to make sure the cooks are taken care of!

Once the broth was simmering, I added some fresh thyme to the mix.


Erin and I concocted a small batch of special herbs and spices that we would smear all over the lamb leg.


Erin sprinkled the fatty side of the leg first.


Once the top was all covered, she started to rub it in.


...and then turned it over and did the same to the bottom of the leg.


Once it was coated in herbs, we flipped it over and threw it in the roasting pan with the onion & potato mix.


Into the oven it goes!

After a couple of hours, we were ready to serve it up and finally eat!


While the lamb was braising, I made some sides: Kale with Sauteed Mushrooms.


Red Wine Risotto.


And finally.... everything came together :)


The meat was SO tender and flavorful. It was one of the most memorable meals that I have ever had or made. Up next? What we did with the leftover lamb leg.

Favorites of September & October 2011.

So you've noticed that I haven't blogged in TWO months.... I haven't! Where has the time gone? I had to look through my last couple months worth of photos to see what I have been up that it seems as though it has only been a few weeks since my last post.

As I reminded myself of the recent happenings and reflected on them, I put together a compilation of photos that really brought a smile to my face or stood out among all things. I haven't included everything yet as I am going to do individual posts for the bigger and more important things, but I think you might enjoy these... for now:

1.) Fall is by far one of my favorite seasons; the changing colors of the leaves, to the slight chill in the air, and the need to wear a scarf :) Oh, and champagne is always in order!


2.) Weekly bonfires is also one of my favorites. I think sitting around a bonfire and just watching is so therapeutic, especially after a long and stressful day or week. It's kind of like watching a candle flame, but in larger terms, obviously.


3.) Scott Yoshimura, is my favorite too, of course. We all attended the release of his bands' new CD. Raygun, in the East Village, hosted the event and provided PBR while playing the new Envy Corps CD.


4.) I have a hard time saying no to a party! Joseph, Jenn (another one of my favorite people), and I attended the HUE event at The Des Moines Art Center. The color of the evening was Vermillion. It was a pretty fun time with a lot of fun people like Betsy Pearson & Lucy Shay, also a couple more of my favorite people :)


5.) Aside from cooking (which I will be posting more pics of later), I have also been baking up a storm. From cakes to cupcakes to cookies and even napoleons!


6.) Oktober Fest. Enough said? It was a blast! My favorite was that I got to hang out with all my long-time favorite people: Joseph, Sarah, Meredith, Bethany, Seth, and even some new ones like Mr. Sorenson, and his sister Emily, and her boyfriend Zach!

...And the one and only Garrett of course!


7.) We all attended the World Food Festival last month. It has grown so much since the last time I went... maybe 4-5 years go. It was awesome to see all the new additions to the once very small festival.


8.) Doing all things Fall is what I missed most about the Midwest while living in California. We never really saw the change of seasons or got o fully experience them. SO, we had to go to Apple Orchard picking and Pumpkin Patch searching. More on this later, but just a little teaser for now!


9.) Brunch. Probably of my favorite things that I picked up in San Diego. It was a must, ever week, for us and will continue I'm sure through Winter :)


10.) Camping, I have to confess is not one of my favorite things, but with the right people, it makes for an amazingly fun time.

11.) Weddings, one of my all time favorite things. You get to hang out with all the people you haven't seen in ages as well as all the people you love. We had (2) weddings within a matter of weeks within each other. Congratulations to my cousins' Debby & Chito, as well as my long time good friend Marci and her new hubby Andy :)

Squash Blossom Pizza.

Here's a little something that I forgot to post from a couple of months ago. I didn't get many pictures of the process, but Erin did, check out her blog post here.

We bought the pizza dough at Gateway Market and then while I made the garlic and white cheese sauce for the base, Erin fried up the squash blossoms. I had never had squash blossoms before and they totally made this pizza. They really taste like you are eating squash. We added some pieces of squash from Joseph's garden, tomatoes from Sarah's. Viola! We topped the pizza with the blossoms once it was all done, and I drizzled some honey on my slices to add a little sweet to the super savory taste. Love it!