I saw this Caramel Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding recipe on the Southern Living Website and I knew that I was making it. I am, as you know, on a bourbon and pumpkin kick right now..so I added bourbon. You can certainly leave it out..but it is SO good with it.

Soaking the pudding overnight allows the flavors to blend before baking. This was an extremely moist, flavorful bread pudding, which by the way isn’t usually one of my favorites. I am thinking a steaming plate of this …a good cognac and a fire in the fireplace would be a great end …read more

First of all, I had the coolest email. Totally unexpected; BonAppetit blog asked me to participate in their Blog Envy contest this year. Bloggers will submit their best holiday recipe and readers will vote. The top recipes will be made in the test kitchens of Bon Appetit and the prize is a trip for two to NY and dinner at Le Bernardin restaurant with Editor-in-Chief Barbara Fairchild and the BA Foodist himself, Restaurant Editor Andrew Knowlton.

Would I like to win?
Uh…YEAH.

Can this recipe win?

Pumpkin has many personalities. Americans have experienced the sweet, spicy version we love so much in our pumpkin pies and pumpkin breads. More recently we have learned to love pumpkin and coffee in pumpkin lattes. And slowly we are accepting that pumpkin is also a versatile ingredient for savory dishes like pumpkin gnocchi, pumpkin ravioli, and pumpkin soup…

I told you that this next week was Pumpkin Week at Baking Delights and I meant it. We are going to start off with a Baking Delights Pumpkin Smack Down Challenge.

Is homemade pumpkin puree tastier than the canned kind? And…most important of all…Is it worth the trouble? I am starting the week with 5 sugar pumpkins from my local produce stand. They were on sale for 99 cents each. If you ever wondered if there really was a difference you are not going to want to miss this week on Baking Delights!
Here’s the highlights…

Happy Weekend!
It is chillier and chillier in the mornings. The leaves are turning color and the days are shorter. It is an awesome time of year -  probably my favorite time for food. The flavors of autumn are spicy and robust, warm and comforting. It is a great time to try new combinations and new spices and ingredients. Try switching Chinese Five Spice powder for the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, or apple pie spice in your favorite recipe. The addition of star anise to the rest of the “normal” autumn ingredients can push it over the top. Brown the butter …read more

These pumpkin muffins were awesome..there is just no other way to describe them. The pumpkin and browned butter worked together to add a beautiful color and an amazingly rich flavor. The ingredients list is long but it is easy to put together.

These are perfect for a breakfast, brunch, or snack. Moist, dense and spicy; pumpkin muffins are autumn in a hand-held package.
Next week is PUMPKIN WEEK on Baking Delights! If you ever wondered:

Pumpkin Gnocchi is an easy pasta to make. No eggs, no fat, nothing really but pumpkin, seasonings of choice, and flour. How simple is that? And yet..the result is a faintly pumpkin-y pasta dumpling that goes with anything. Use it as a side, or a main course …and I am thinking it would be amazing added to soup.
The thing is that I have been getting behind on grocery shopping. We have pretty much had to make do with the scraps and bits left on the empty pantry shelves. In fact, the refrigerator echoed the other day. I swear it did. …read more

 
Ready?
Let’s go…

Some people love summer. To me autumn is the best because the pace slows down, in my mind anyway, and it seems a time to savor the moments spent with loved ones. I always imagine myself and my husband seated in a romantic New England Inn, this time of year. I know that it is unrealistic with our lives to expect it to happen, but the imagining is wonderful. I imagine we have been strolling through crimson woods, talking and at last, when the purple dusk just starts to envelope the world we go in to sit in …read more

I had an exhausting day of shopping yesterday and ended up getting home late, stressed and ready to tell everyone that if grazing was good enough for the horses it was good enough for them. I hate being rushed, and i hate running late, and I really wanted to make a good meal since we had been having alot of Desperation Casserole lately.
I made the Chicken, Onion, and Potato Gratin and it was superb. Had I not been in such a hurry I would have made it to serve the next day so that the gratin could soak up …read more