maple-oat scones

oh my heavens. home from vacation, and first-day-back i thought it would be fun to work 11 hours at the office, go to the gym, have dinner and shower, make bread dough and prep the crock pot for tomorrow’s dinner, pack tomorrow’s lunch, finish laundry and read some blogs. what? is this my normal?

yes.

and our poor dog probably thought we gifted him to our bffs Joel and Molly while we were away for eight days. psych, Wallace! you are still our stinky puppy.

we had the best time in New York, visiting my sister Celeste, and her boyfriend Luis. Brooklyn is wonderful, the weather was delightful (sunny, but chilly), our Thanksgiving dinner party was a huge success! Celeste and I cooked for two days: mushroom stuffing; kale and brussels sprout salad; potato and fennel gratin; roasted sweet potatoes with coffee-bourbon-caramel drizzle (you HAVE to try making that beauty yourself!); Celeste made an incredible pork roast wrapped with prosciutto, kale, apples and mushrooms; she also made parker house rolls from scratch and i ate six million of them!! i made white bean dip and ginger-pomegranate champagne punch for the pre-dinner cocktail hour; and for dessert there were pumpkin panna cotta with candied hazelnuts and brown-butter apple pie. some of our guests brought delights such as Tibetan dumplings and seaweed salad, which were so good! (the amount of dumplings i consumed while in new york city numbers in the hundreds.. i’m positive.) we played catch phrase with our friends til 3am, and i ate more rolls and dumplings!

our Thanksgiving dessert plate

Celeste’s beautiful pork roast!

Thanksgiving sisters!

we also saw some sights, shopped some stuff, and ate a lottt. as far as celeb-sighting in The City (cause i know you care!), Jesse Eisenberg was totally on our flight over to NYC, and we spotted Katie Holmes both in Central Park and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where we saw the Warhol exhibit. which was incredible! my favorite part: seeing the Avedon portrait of Truman Capote IN PERSON, like, i stuck my face right in front of it. since studying photography in college and shooting portraiture for a living, it was breataking to see Avedon’s beautiful work, up close. just absolutely astounding… Avedeon was really the master. i’m still dreaming about it.

my husband and me, waiting for the F train on a chilly night

Soho sunshine

we had a wonderful time.

as we’re trying to keep up with catching-up, these days i am drinking large, large amounts of coffee. which i think deserve a sweet treat alongside, don’t you agree? i bring you homemade oat-nut scones — easy enough for ME to bake! i’m not that great at baking (though i land griddle scones in the winning column every time), i’ll admit. and scones, especially the store-baked type, can be a dry disappointment, filling me with simple carbs and regret. i know! combine those symptoms with the $4 i have to spend on a coffee-shop scone?….

sad sophie.

these are so easy and just as delightful as a scone should be — soft, a hearty crumb, not too sweet and not too large (go ahead and eat a whole one!) oh yeah, and coffee’s best friend. we’re enjoying these as an afternoon treat when the fifth cup of coffee for the day sounds really perfect. i really like the chopped pecans, and the nuttiness brought by toasting the oatmeal. a maple glaze gives a simple, cozy sweetness.

i hope you had a wonderful holiday, and if you’re still being stared at by leftover turkey, may i suggest my favorite part of post-Thanksgiving? turkey pot pie!

enjoy.

adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

makes 8

• 1 1/2 cups oats (Old-Fashioned rolled or quick oats will work)
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (pure or homemade)
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 10 tablespoons butter (cut into pieces and chilled well)

toast the oats and pecans in a 375-degree oven (or if you’re me, in a dry skillet on medium heat, walking away just long enough for them to nearly over-toast — so keep your eye on ‘em) until browned and fragrant, and set aside to cool. if you’re smart and used the oven method, increase oven temp to 450 for baking scones.

whisk cream, egg and maple syrup together, pouring just about a tablespoon of the mixture into a small bowl for brushing tops later.

in a food processor, pulse together flour, baking powder and salt until combined. add butter pieces and pulse 12 – 14 times; look for pea-sized butter in the mixture, or thereabouts. add this mixture to oats/pecans, then fold in milk mixture, just until dough comes together. (here i became worried that the dough seemed much too wet — i was imagining a dry biscuit dough — but don’t fret! press on.) turn out onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a large circle about an inch thick.

cut into 8 wedges and brush tops with remaining tablespoon of milk mixture. set at least 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake at 450 for 12 – 15 minutes, until golden brown.

devour while warm with a big cup of coffee, or cool for glazing.

for glaze, stir 2 – 3 tablespoons maple syrup into 1/2 cup powdered sugar and drizzle over scones.

penne and the jets

the other night, we went to a completely magical place for dinner.

my Uncle Brad and Aunt Jane — wonderful, warm and often-smiling folks — occupy and manage a camp and retreat facility in the woods about an hour from us, off a logging road called Socialist Valley. they live in a cabin that has been part of the grounds for just about ever. since at least a million years ago when my great-grandma Martha cooked and lived at the dining hall herself. growing up as a home schooler, it was difficult for me to meet kids my own age and make friends, so i became obsessed with attending summer church camp on this campus. it was the highlight of every year for me, and i adored the swimming, canoeing, night games, hiking, chapel services and lifelong friendships i made there. and when Brad and Jane took over management, the food from the dining hall started being fantastic! previously, there had been french toast too tough to cut through with a knife and fork (and which quickly became a game of french-toast frisbee), spaghetti you could stand a fork in, and squares of sweaty, greenish scrambled eggs cut from a pan. however, Jane cooks roast beef and creamy mashed potatoes, real eggs for breakfast, burgers from the outdoor grills, and puts healthful twists on dishes that are so tasty — kids don’t even know how nutritiously they’re eating.

i love summer camp!!

camp is a very different place in the dark and the cold, like when we visited last week, than in the lively summers. but the cabin is such a warm and welcoming place despite the dark… glowing the only lights in the night for what seems like miles. Jane fills their log cabin with candles and rustic touches, autumn leaves and oranges and reds, and cooks wonderful meals for us. i love visiting the Cabin! our winter evenings there are usually filled with board games, wine and laughter. she made us Breakfast for Dinner on our visit, a bread pudding with roasted asparagus, which was wonderful, and plenty of coffee. afterwards we bundled up and hiked around the campus with flashlights and rubber boots — a special Night Tour for my husband, who never got to attend to this camp. we got to see some updates to the campus and the buildings, but the smell of the trees and the sounds of the creek had me certain that i was 14 years old, huddled against the evening cold and dark, searching for my friends during Capture the Flag. camp counselors with Super Soakers were surely around the next corner!

this super-simple pasta would fit right in with Brad and Jane’s cozy cabin. a creamy pumpkin sauce coats tender penne noodles with a sprinkle of crisp rosemary… pumpkin makes a wonderful savory dish, despite how often it is lauded for pies, cakes and cookies. this has been one of my FAVorite Autumn dishes ever since i saw it in Martha’s magazine years ago. the spikes of flavor from the red wine vinegar and red pepper flakes bring a liveliness to this creamy, comforting dish. make it with your own pureed squash if pumpkin is not your thing. and pretend you’re in a cabin in the woods, playing Backgammon with Brad and Jane, deer and elk as your neighbors, and an industrial freezer hum the only sound for miles.

penne in creamy pumpkin sauce

serves 4

adapted from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food

 

the advantage of frying the rosemary in the olive oil is two-fold: it creates a crispy garnish, and also infuses the oil as a tasty base for the sauce. 

• 12 ounces penne, or other short pasta
• coarse kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary (substitute a little less if using dried)
• 1 15 oz pure pumpkin puree
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup half-and-half cream
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

salt a large pot of water and bring to a boil. cook pasta according to package directions. drain, reserving 2 cups pasta water, and set aside.

in same pot, heat olive oil over medium. when hot, fry rosemary until just beginning to brown (60 – 90 seconds). transfer rosemary to a paper towel to drain, using a slotted spoon.

carefully add remaining ingredients, being cautious of the hot oil that could cause splattering. add 1 cup reserve pasta water and stir until everything is heated and smooth, 2 – 3 minutes.

add pasta to sauce and thin with more pasta water if necessary to create a smooth sauce. season generously with salt. serve sprinkled with crisp rosemary. enjoy!