Smith Family Weblog

I adapted this recipe for Pear and Apple Phyllo Crisp to make what is essentially butter, pastry and just enough fruit to move leftovers squarely into the “breakfast” category.

I brushed about seven or eight layers of phyllo with melted butter, sprinkled it lightly with sugar and cinnamon and added a thinly sliced apples to the top. Incredibly easy, very casual, and great with cinnamon ice cream.

Especially in the morning.

Here’s a great recipe for a very moist pumpkin spice Bundt cake, complete with buttermilk icing. As my friend Dawn would say, enjoy!

I made a batch of caramel apple martinis for “girls’ night in” with my friends from work a few weeks ago.

I would love to find apple schnapps that isn’t completely sour, because I think that would lend itself a bit better to this drink. Nevertheless, here’s my recipe:

• 2 parts vanilla vodka
• 1 part butterscotch schnapps
• 1 part apple schnapps

Shake and pour into a caramel-coated glass.

Nothing says fall like highs in the 80s and steaming bowls of soup, right? Well, at least on one count, we’re enjoying the spoils of the season.

I used the last few potatoes Mom sent home from her garden to make Ina Garten’s Roasted Leek and Potato soup on Sunday. It was a good use for the bunch of arugula in our crop share this week, too.

I love the crispy shallots on the top, along with a bit of grated cheese.

Last night, Ava made this recipe for Sweet Potato Soup with Blue Corn Chips almost entirely by herself. We used leftover mashed sweet potatoes as the base, adding chicken stock, seasonings and a swirl of chopped chipotle peppers. The girls loved this dish, and the blue corn chips were a huge hit with them, too.

I’ve been using fat free Greek yogurt in place of creme fraiche and sour cream, and milk in place of cream for these soup recipes. Any other tricks or tips? What are your favorite fall soup recipes?

Technically, I’m not sure I can call this “whole wheat bread,” because only half of the flour is whole wheat flour. I’m experimenting with different white/rye/wheat flour ratios as I bake from my new no-knead cookbook. While this loaf had the highest whole wheat content yet, it was still unbelievably soft. I added a couple of tablespoons of honey, too, which provided a nice balance.

This would be what Barbie would carry in her little pink hip flask…

I made a batch of bubble gum infused vodka last week by steeping six ounces of vodka with 15 pieces of Super Bubble. It was pink, but not entirely fabulous. Perhaps I need to mix it with something. Any suggestions? Bubble gum flavor is hard to pair!

I am always on the lookout for ultra simple recipes for week nights. My friend Lori claims to be in the same boat, but she regularly sends me links to “quick and easy” dishes that have seven different herb and spices alone—plus another 10-12 ingredients. I have no doubt they are fabulous, but at 5:30 pm on Monday, I don’t have the patience. (Unless, of course, there’s wine involved. Or friends. Or friends with wine. If it was LORI with wine, I’d never stop cooking.)

I’ve noticed that if a recipe has more than six ingredients, I’m pretty unlikely to make it on a week night. But this—which I’m not even sure counts as a “recipe”—is truly easy. Roast a butternut squash or two, toss it in the blender with a bit of chicken stock, water and/or milk, add some salt and pepper, and you’re done. With all that extra time on my hands, I sauteed some sage, grabbed some bacon from the freezer, and added a bit of shredded cheese.

If only I hadn’t given away that bread…

When Doug and Karyl were here last weekend, Doug brought along his cookbook, Artisan Bread in Minutes a Day.

I’m familiar with the no-knead process. (For the record, I’m also familiar with plans that involve cooking in other people’s kitchens, but I was pleased—and relieved—to discover Doug is a neater cook than I am.)

I found the promise of “five minutes a day” intriguing—the previous no-knead recipe I’ve used usually has me up at 3:30 am to put it in the oven,  when the inconvenient and rather inflexible 20-hour clock ends.

These recipes, though, require the standard two-hour rising window, and then you can bake the bread immediately, or store the dough in the fridge for up to three days(!).

Doug made these two gorgeous loaves with rye, whole wheat and unbleached white flour.

The bread was smooth and soft, save for the perfectly crusty exterior. I think the pan of water in the bottom of the very hot oven does the trick.

Doug bought me my own copy of the book while he was here, and I put it to use this weekend, making a batch of peasant bread. I was surprised to find the five-minute promise made on the cover is really true. I made one small loaf of walnut sage bread, and liked it enough to make a larger loaf, too.

The only problem with this recipe?

The resulting three or four loaves of bread, which disappear in short order (along with a half stick of butter).

I think that last loaf—and the one yet to be baked—will have to be shared.