Friday Cocktail - Apple Hot Toddy - Holiday Fun

The holidays are coming and I think it's safe to say that libations will be needed given the current political climate.

Do you have Rachel Maddow enthusiasts and family members who worship at the alter of Rush Limbaugh?

Let's say you don't have political issues in your circles of love.  Win!  Yeah, right.  No one gets off that easy.  We all have some version of the Grandmother, Aunt, Uncle, neighbor...your very own parents who love to bring up your weight (too low! too high!), the way they think you should raise your kid (tip: their way is the only way!), or thinks that talking about your dating life or biological clock are appropriate dinner conversation.  

Oy.  You might want to make a punch bowl full of this stuff and pray the serenity prayer:

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference."

Amen!

Also, quick tip.  It's never about you.  It is always, always about them.  Fear, self-loathing, insecurity and a range of other negative emotions are the ingredients for being critical and nasty towards others.

Autumn in Atlanta, GA

I was out in Atlanta, GA this past weekend and was ready to move there as I headed back to Chicago.  The weather was beautiful, housing affordable, people nice and amazing parks to run and play in year around.

Ever gone to a Hibachi grill?  This was a first for me.  Lots of fun for both kids and adults.

My brother introduced me to Turducken.

Pumpkin Bourbon Cheesecake

A very disturbing thing happened the other day. A wonderful and very thoughtful friend brought me a very sweet treat from a little bakery that shall remain nameless. The treat was supposed to be a Pumpkin Bourbon Cheesecake and I was excited to try something that sounded and looked so good. So you can imagine my disappointment when the treat was anything but sweet, not to mention completely lacking in taste. Don't you hate it when that happens? You expect to be wowed and end up ingesting something that could be mistaken for chalk. It's like a slap in the face!

There's not a lot that gets under my skin as much as bad food from a bakery whose sole purpose in life is to churn out great baked goods. In my insulted state, I did what anyone would do, I found a recipe and made my own. I found the recipe on Smitten Kitchen and knew it would be amazing just from reading the ingredients. I switched out the graham cracker crumbs for ginger snaps and the result was fantastic and worked wonderfully with the pumpkin and spice filling. After tasting this, my bitterness over that bakery's utter failure, slowly faded away. I am now in a blissful state of forgiveness. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Bars

I know this recipe is a little past due since the Thanksgiving/pumpkin season was about a month ago but really, when it comes to sweet things, there really is no such thing as out of season. I would eat a yule log in June if it were placed in front of me. That said, if you like your desserts in season, copy, paste, print and save it for next year.

These bars can be a nice little change from the typical pumpkin and pecan pie combinations that usually make it on to the Thanksgiving dessert table. Cut these up and lay it out on a three-tiered dessert stand and it will also add some height and variety to the dessert offerings. These bars have a middle that tastes and has the texture of pumpkin pie. The crust has more of shortbread consistency and taste and obviously the top is just a ridiculous concoction of coconut and butterscotch chips that provides a serious yum factor to the bars. So make it now or later but please enjoy!


Source: Annie's Eats adapted from Joy the Baker, originally from Kraft

For the crust and topping:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
12 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup old-fashioned oats
½ cup chopped pecans
For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Butterscotch chips, for topping

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil, extending the foil over the edges of the pan. Lightly grease the foil. Combine the flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a small mixing bowl and toss with a fork. Add the pieces of butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the oats and chopped pecans.

Reserve 1 cup of the crust mixture and set aside. Add the remaining crust mixture to the prepared baking pan and press onto the bottom of the pan in an even layer. Bake the crust alone in the oven for 15 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the filling.

To make the filling, combine the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until smooth and well combined.

Once the crust has been removed from the oven, pour the filling into the pan and smooth over the crust. Sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture and butterscotch chips, as desired. Bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Slice and serve.