Fabulous Fall Recipes

We've often talked about how much we love the interiors on Canadian House & Home online. In addition to beautiful places, though, Canadian House & Home also has DIY ideas and scrumptious recipes, such as the Apple-Stuffed Pork Rib Roast shown above. If you're feeling like you need a new influx of fall recipes, we highly recommend that you check out Canadian House & Home's fall recipes. Bon appetit!

Amazing Cupcakes

We love different flavored cupcakes as party desserts! Cupcakes are the perfect size for an individual, and are easier to eat while mingling at a party than cake or pie. However, it takes a special recipe to elevate a cupcake from "kid-fare" to something truly decadent. The website MingMakesCupcakes is a great resource for recipes that take a humble cupcake to the next level. Her creations include, (from top to bottom), Number 13- Sour Cream Fig Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, Number 18- Sour Cream Apricot Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting and Toasted Almonds, Number 6- Banana Cupcakes with Maple Brown Butter Frosting, and Number 32- Graham Cupcakes with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting. Any one of these recipes would be fantastic as dessert for a party. Enjoy!

Bread Pudding Apple Pie = Happy Men

This is a picture of the Bread Pudding Apple Pie made using this recipe from Allrecipes.com.
It was a hit. No, an epic hit.  It was made for a bunch of guys and this is the picture taken hastily before it was completely devoured a la mode.  If you would like to wow 'em with a new recipe (and an easy one, too!), this one comes highly recommended!  

Spring Desserts

It is that time of year again... farmer's markets and grocery stores are filled with gorgeous berries. We love a great recipe for berry shortcake, cobbler, or homemade ice cream. Try these from AllRecipes.com!

Can't wait to get our hands on...

...a copy of THIS!  The Farm Chicks have penned a cookbook with down home recipes.  Throughout the recipes, they also give tips on how to do little projects to bring style to your home.  Check out Barnes and Noble online for your copy.

Maybe we'll do a cookbook someday.  :)  Or, maybe it will be a tell-all on all the crazy, unscripted things that happen in the midst of trying to entertain flawlessly!  Yes, that would be more like it...but the crazy, unscripted things are what happen in real life, and we think they aren't always so bad.  Besides, "flawless entertaining" can be quite dull in our opinions.  :)  

Host an Easter Brunch

You've heard us chat about the very fabulous entertaining site, Hostess With The Mostess.  True, this site is a great resource for party ideas...but one thing we've grown to love the most about Hostess With The Mostess is the Recipe Box!  The recipes on this site are perfect for parties because they are yummy, eye-pleasing, and actually relatively simple!  Which means you won't have to scour Whole Foods for some crazy, obscure ingredient just to prepare these dishes.  We've picked a few below that we think would be quite delightful for an Easter brunch.
Mini Blueberry Turnovers

Vegetable Torta With Fresh Basil

Scallop Salad & Sweet Vanilla Chili Dressing

Pots of Gold Brie with Salad

Mojito (perfectly fresh for spring!)

Happy 2009!

The two of us gals are, technically, 100% Dutch. At least, that's what our ancestry is. Truthfully, our family is pretty much as American as can be. We don't speak Dutch and we don't have many Dutch recipes---it's been too many generations since our ancestors came to the United States. However, in the community we grew up in, many families had closer ties to the Netherlands and, therefore, had preserved Dutch traditions better than our family managed to. One of those traditions is Oliebollen on New Year's. Many Dutch-American families will gather today, New Year's Day, and share homemade Oliebollen with each other. The stuff is kinda like the Dutch version of doughnuts. If you'd like to try the recipe out, you can find it right here at allrecipes.com. Our family never made the stuff...but sometimes, as kids, we were lucky enough to be invited over to a friend's house where Oliebollen was being prepared. It's pretty good stuff!

We hope that whatever you are doing today---the very first day of 2009---you are feeling happy and hopeful about the coming year. We thank you for reading the Babs Blog! We love hearing from you and hope that you'll continue to check in with us in 2009! :)

---Jill & Kari

Cheers!

2009 is nearly here! Time to celebrate with people you enjoy! Check out allrecipes.com for a great list of fun, festive cocktails to make at your New Year's shindig. We hope you have some kind of celebration planned----big or small----and we wish each of you happiness and hope for 2009!

Peppermint Chocolate Fudge---YUM!

Chocolate and peppermint are pretty good together. Actually, they are excellent together and they seem to only make their appearances together around the holidays! Try this yummy recipe from Allrecipes.com and you won't be disappointed:

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
• Dash salt
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1/4 cup crushed hard peppermint candy

DIRECTIONS:

1. In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt chips with EAGLE BRAND® and salt. Remove from heat; stir in peppermint extract. Spread evenly into waxed paper-lined 8-or 9-inch square pan. Sprinkle with peppermint candy.
2. Chill 2 hours or until firm. Turn fudge onto cutting board; peel off waxed paper and cut into squares. Store covered in refrigerator.

Let us know how your peppermint chocolate fudge turns out! :)

Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Just spied: This delicious peppermint hot chocolate recipe on Allrecipes.com. It has received a bunch of very favorable reviews and it's super easy:

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cups milk
  
• 3 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 4 peppermint candy canes, crushed
• 1 cup whipped cream
• 4 small peppermint candy canes

DIRECTIONS:
In a saucepan, heat milk until hot, but not boiling. Whisk in the chocolate and the crushed peppermint candies until melted and smooth. Pour hot cocoa into four mugs, and garnish with whipped cream. Serve each with a candy cane stirring stick.

Hmmm...We are thinking that this recipe might save us from spending all our holiday gift money at Starbucks, paying over $3.00 for a peppermint mocha on a regular basis. Try this one out, and let us know what you think!
(We especially think that this would be the perfect toasty drink for when we decorate our trees this year!)

Plentiful Persimmons

We were lucky enough to grow up with an entire line of mature persimmon trees in our yard. Mom (Babs) would make the most delicious persimmon cookies---a batch never lasted very long as they were a favorite. Probably because we grew up with persimmon trees, we make the incorrect assumption that everyone knows the merits of this pretty fall fruit. If you've never tried baking with persimmons, you're missing out. Here are two recipes to try:

Persimmon Cookies from Allrecipes.com


Traditional Indiana Persimmon Pudding from Allrecipes.com

Stop By For a Spot o' Tea?

When we were kids, Mom (the real Babs!) would make this fabulous spiced tea mix. It had Tang in it and it was yummy, yummy, yummy. A big batch would last us through the winter and we would often take it along on family camping trips for when we needed something hot to sip by the campfire. It was also a great "gift tea"---put into mason jars with a cute lid cover, it made a really festive and sweet gift for Sunday School teachers or friendly neighbors. Whenever fall rolls around, it always seems like it's time for a nice hot mug of the Tang Tea. Allrecipes.com has the Tang Tea recipe! We recommend that you check it out and make a batch to get you through the upcoming chilly months. (Another great thing about Tang Tea: it's inexpensive to make and a batch is quite plentiful!)

For the Love of Butternut Squash...

Butternut squash pretty much rocks. It's extremely versatile, has a really delish taste, and begs to be used in Autumn cooking! We are butternut squash fans and recently, three recipes crossed our path...much to our butternut squash-loving delight! Try them for dinner...you won't be disappointed!


First is a goodie from Williams-Sonoma: Kerchief pasta with Carmelized Squash and Fresh Herbs. Yum. Try it. Anything with the word "carmelized" is to die for.



The second dish is also a Williams-Sonoma treat: Penne with Butternut Squash, Sage and Bresaola. If you aren't so familiar with "bresaola," think "proscuitto." Sooooooo good.



Lastly, a simple but yummy Butternut Squash Bisque from Allrecipes.com. So hearty and toasty on a chilly fall day!

Another Reason to Love Fall...

This Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe by Williams-Sonoma is a favorite. Full of delicious spices, it just tastes like autumn. Really, in the world of cheesecakes, this one isn't tricky to make. We've tried this recipe out for you and can attest, it's a winner. Any guest would enjoy a slice---or make it to surprise coworkers at the office or a hard-working hubby!

Pecan Pie Bars---Yum!

This weekend was perfect for trying a new fall recipe! Allrecipes.com to the rescue, once again! These pecan pie bars were delicious and the house filled with a yummy scent. These are a "cake mix bar," so they are very easy...if you are looking to whip something new up, try these bars!

The Perfect Fall Dessert

We here at the Babs blog love pumpkin pie. It's traditional, and if it weren't served after Thanksgiving dinner, a couple of men in our family would protest. However, another wonderful fall dessert idea is carrot cake. Dense and moist, full of classic spices, and topped with a not-too-sweet cream cheese frosting... carrot cake makes a wonderful addition to the fall table. Our favorite recipe comes from the Celebrate! cookbook by Sheila Lukins, but many wonderful carrot cake recipes can be found elsewhere.

Fall Recipes

If you are like us at the Babs blog, you may sometimes be hesitant to try new recipes out on guests. But the wonderful website allrecipes.com has thousands of recipes, many that have been tested and rated hundreds of times! So if the butternut squash soup or pumpkin cookies look like a perfect addition to your fall entertaining menu, you can try them with confidence!

Try a Bruschetta Bar!

Mmmmm....bruschetta. So many toppings---all delicious!
Here's a fabulous and easy party idea: consider a bruschetta bar! Call some friends for an impromptu, after-work happy hour. Don't worry about a perfectly clean house or perfect decor. Just focus on a casual and fun opportunity for you and your friends to unwind after a long day of work. Stock up on a couple bottles of good wine and some other beverages, according to what your crew likes. Then, lay out the makings for a bruschetta bar! Prepare the bread, lay it on on a platter, and supply several bowls full of different bruschetta toppings. You can click on either of the pictures above for bruschetta recipe ideas. (The top recipe/photo is from Epicurious.com and the bottom is from The Food Network).

To prepare the bread for basic bruschetta, follow this recipe:
Preheat your oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit OR prepare a gas or charcoal grill with high heat (450 degrees Fahrenheit, approximately). Slice a good-quality bread (baguettes, loaves of artisan bread, etc.) around 1/2 thick. (You'll need lots of slices---figure around 4-6 pieces of bruschetta per person. If you are only doing the bruschetta bar and it's around dinner time, you'll want to make sure you have enough because some people will consider happy hour to be their dinner!)
Lightly brush both sides of bread slices with olive oil. Toast slices in oven for about 10 minutes, turning once and keeping an eye on the oven so that your bread does not burn. You'll want it to be crisp, but not burnt. If you are grilling on the gas or charcoal grill, figure only 3 or 4 minutes to get the bread crisp.
Remove bread and rub each slice with a sliced clove of fresh garlic.
Optional: sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Topping ideas:
Here's the easiest bruschetta topping:
4 ripe tomatoes, diced
3 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped
2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 minced clove of garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and spoon onto bruschetta.

There are so many yummy things that can be put on bruschetta. Don't stress over your Happy Hour party! Scour the internet for a couple more recipes and call up those friends. Impromptu gatherings are often the best!