Last week my friend Holli and I went to a quilting class. It was our first quilting class and we pinky swore before we went that we would behave so we wouldn’t get kicked out of class. Sometimes we can be a bit, how shall I say … rowdy. Anyhow, we went and we were very, very good. Although they did set us up to work by ourselves over in the corner – I don’t know if they were trying to tell us something?

The only real problem was that Holli signed us up for “Beginning Quiliting Three.”  Which begs to reason that there was a Beginning Quilting One and Two. But, she didn’t care about that. She knew she wanted to make the table runner that was advertised in Three and that is what she signed us up to take.

At first we were freaking out a bit when we realized we had NO clue what we were doing, but then I told her “Don’t worry, I’ve got this. I read a blog on quilting once.” and then we laughed and made the best of it. We moved a little slower than some of the other ladies in the class, but the instructor was very kind and helpful and we were able to get through without cutting off our fingers. Later this week we have a date to get together and finish up the work we weren’t able to complete during class. It won’t be perfect, I’m sure, but it will be mine and it will have some pretty amazing memories attached to it when I pull it out each holiday and put it on my table.

I’ve noticed that a lot of folks will freak out a bit when they get in the kitchen because they think they have no clue what they are doing. They might make one small mistake and then their confidence will lag and they’ll start making other mistakes and at the end they’ll throw their hands up and say “I can’t cook! I’ve never been able to cook!”

Here’s what I want each of you to do when you think you’re in over your head. Laugh. Make the best of it and realize that it’s your hot mess and have fun with it. So what if your cake is crooked with pocked icing – how does it taste? Who cares if your chicken is too hard to eat around the edges – just cut that part off. And, if you figure out you’re out of mushrooms at the last minute – add apples instead. I promise you’ll never forget the night you had apple, red onions and bell peppers for dinner. The memory will remain – and make you smile. Besides, maybe you’ll get lucky like I did, and they actually ROCK!

Give these a try. They are totally different, but I really really liked them. Bob thought they were a little weird, but what does he know? I felt like the sweet apple really offset the vegetables in a delicious contrast.

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My original plan was to post a week of nothing but pumpkin recipes. Then, I realized I had a lot more than one week of posts I could write on pumpkin and that it might get rather boring to read only posts on pumpkin day after day – no matter how yummy they may be. Thankfully, you have been spared of my over-indulgent ways.

I also do a great service to humanity by letting you know that no matter who tries to convince you that brownie mix from a box mixed with pumpkin is delicious fudge – it’s a lie. It just isn’t going to happen. Fail. Epic disgusting fail. Just trust me on this.

Instead I’ve decided to do a round up of some of my own favorites that are NOT fails along with a few that I can’t wait to try.

First, I’ll start off with a few oldies (but goodies) from my own blog.

Pumpkin Butter – this stuff is like heaven in a spread. Personally, you had me at “butter”. One of my good friends told me once ~

“I see now why pumpkin butter should be simmering while you sleep. The smell makes you crazy, driving you to eat everything in sight!”

Roasted Pumpkin Gratin – if you’re looking for something savory and different at dinner time, this is the recipe for you.

Most recently I posted both Pumpkin Pancakes (Egg Free) 

and Pumpkin Custard. Both are delicious!

Last week I made a batch of Pumpkin Fudge  (the real stuff), with only a few modifications (I will post the recipe with modification at the end of this post!) This stuff is go-oo-ood. I highly recommend the addition of nuts to this recipe. I thought it was too rich without.

I can’t wait to try these Pumpkin Pockets. They remind me of McDonald’s Pumpkin Pie. Only better. Because you don’t have to eat them in your car. There’s a rule that says you have to Mickey D’s pies in your car. Katie told me this, once. I have no reason to doubt her. I think these might be gorgeous sprinkled with clear sanding sugar, don’t you?

Photo Courtesy of Kraft

And, what about Whole Pumpkin Pie Soup? Nom nom nom. Alton always makes my heart sing. If you want to impress anyone – just cook your food inside the pumpkin. It’s rocket science!

Photo Courtesy of Food.Com

This Pumpkin Dip is one that my friends and I have been wowing friends and guests with for many Octobers. Don’t knock it til you try it ~ it’s the bomb-diggity! (Somebody vouch for me here – I just went out on a limb and said “bomb-diggity!”)

And, speaking of bomb-diggity, last, but certainly not least is my most favorit-ist pumpkin recipe EV-AH, Colonial Pumpkin Bars. I could lie and tell you that the best part of this recipe is the “bar”, but I’m like honest Abe ~ I cannot tell a lie. It’s the butter, cream cheese and sugar icing that does me in. I seriously have to refrain from eating straight from the spoon.  So don’t skip that part. I had actually forgotten about this recipe until I was flipping through one of my older notebooks the other day and found it. I quickly called my heterosexual life partner, Holli. (You tomato, I say tomato. You say BFF, I say HLP.)

Holli ~ “Yeah, what’s up.”

Angie Pangie ~ “I’ve got three words for you. Colonial. Pumpkin. Bars.”

Holli ~ “Holy crap. I had totally forgotten about those.”

Angie Pangie ~ “I know, right? How could we forget, just look at my hips and you’ll easily remember! Helllllllo. Cream cheese icing on a spoon anyone?”

Holli ~ “I’m on my way over. Now.”

Holli and I share an unnatural love for Colonial Pumpkin Bars and Cream Cheese Icing. It’s part of the reason we’re life partners, I think. Anyhow, waste no time. Make these pronto and you’ll be happy you did.

Now, do me a favor and tell, me – what is YOUR favorite pumpkin studded recipe? I can’t wait to try them!

Oh, yeah, and here’s my modified version of the Pumpkin Fudge.

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My kids love to go to Cracker Barrel. The food isn’t very exciting to them - they just want to go and spend time looking at candy and toys. They would probably ask to eat at The Broccoli Buffet on a regular basis if they had a big attached store full of caramels, gum balls, sock monkeys and cork pop guns.

photo credit: sunsetgirl creations

We usually go out to eat with Grandma on Sundays and if we can get the girls to all agree on one restaurant it’s a small miracle. We eat boring food and buy sock monkeys more often than I care to admit. It helps cut down on the arguing. Don’t you judge me. Besides, I like sock monkeys.

During our most recent visit to Cracker Barrel I noticed an advertisement for pumpkin custard. I didn’t order it, but I sure did come home and make my own.

Photo from http://www.crackerbarrel.com/

I often use the microwave to make my chocolate custard, so I went with the microwave for this version, too.

I whisked fresh pumpkin (canned is o.k., too), evaporated milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt together in a 2 quart microwave safe bowl. Then I microwaved the custard at 50% power for about 4 minutes.

Custard requires eggs to become firm (eggs=food glue). Because we don’t want scrambled eggs in our custard we must gradually add the egg so that it warms up slowly and doesn’t cook all at once. This is called “tempering” your egg.

Beat 1 large egg in small bowl.

I removed the warm custard from the microwave and added a tablespoon to egg stirring gently. Then, I added another tablespoon and stirred again. I did this a third time and checked the temperature of the egg mixture.

It was warm and ready to pour into the pumpkin mixture.

Whisk well and pour 1/2 cup portions into 4 individual bowls and transfer the bowls to the microwave.

This can be a bit tricky because, as I’m sure you all know, microwaves all vary. Most of the time you can put the custard in your microwave for about 3-5 minutes on medium and it will set up and be firm. My microwave is one of those fancy convection-grill-microwave-fold your clothes and does the dishes machines – which is to say it’s not very good at being just a microwave. I had to cook my custard for closer to 10 full minutes before it was done. You want this to look just barely set in the middle – maybe even a teensy bit jiggly. As it cools it will set up more.

Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving, or chill in the fridge until serving.

Before serving I added some gingersnap cookie crumbs over the top. (I’ll teach you how to make the cookies another time – they are so good. I <3 gingersnaps with all my heart.) A dallop of cream, some cinnamon and a caramel drizzle to finish it off.

Superb! This was a bit too intense for Lilly (she loves pumpkin, but I think the ginger turned her off), but the rest of us just loved this. It was delightful!

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Food allergies absolutely suck.

If you are lucky enough not to have any food allergies, count yourself as blessed. They are a total pain to deal with.

I am allergic to berries.

photo credit: selkie30

And I will admit, it’s not particularly fun. I cannot have blueberry muffins or strawberry shortcake. Bummer, huh?

I used to think it was really awful. Then along came Babs.

I used to tell people that she was born with a cold. She spent what seemed like the first 18 months of her life ill. She wheezed, coughed, hacked, sneezed and always – I mean always – had a runny nose. She was a very unhappy baby.

When she was not quite two I took her to an allergist and found out she was allergic to soy. And wheat. And egg yolks. She had been drinking soy milk or formula since she was itty bitty – because we thought maybe it would make her a little less stuffy. Not so much.

So, we cut out soy. And wheat. And eggs. That’s when I realized that having an allergy to berries wasn’t really all that bad.

Within a week – I had the happiest, smiling, sweet baby girl. Honestly, I’m not sure she’s ever stopped smiling. That’s what every teacher Bab’s has ever had says at that first conference “She’s such a happy kid!”

Over the years, Bab’s allergies have changed. Some have gone away, some new ones have cropped up. Some are severe, some are not so bad. But one thing that she is still allergic to is good ol’ chicken eggs.

photo credit: huppypie

When you have a child with food allergies it can be heart wrenching to watch them miss out on goodies that their friends are eating. That is why I came up with this pancake recipe – because I don’t ever want to tell Babs that she can’t have pancakes again.

These pancakes are absolutely delicious. The flavors are perfect for fall. They smell heavenly and topped with butter pecan syrup – you’ll think you’ve died and gone to that pancake house in the sky.

Give them a try. Let me know what you think!

Mix together all the dry ingredients. I add pecan meal to my batter, which I buy from Gordon’s Food Service. These ground nuts give pecan flavor to the pancakes without making them crunchy. You can leave them out, but you’ll need to add a little extra flour instead.

I also use powdered buttermilk in this recipe. I buy it in the baking aisle and am really fond of this product. When something calls for buttermilk I do not always want to buy an entire carton of buttermilk when I only need a bit. This is a perfect solution! You can certainly use the ol’ lemon/vinegar in milk solution, but we typically have skim milk which just doesn’t really fit the bill.

If you want to use real buttermilk, or milk with lemon or vinegar – omit the buttermilk powder and replace the water with the buttermilk.

Mix together all the wet ingredients, except the pumpkin. Gradually add the water until the dry ingredients have fully absorbed the liquid. Add the pumpkin last and stir to combine everything.

Heat your skillet to 350 degrees and spray with cooking oil. If you add a few drops of water to the pan (before the oil) they will be hot. Just kidding. I was just checking to make sure you were paying attention. The water will dance around, sizzle and evaporate almost immediately. After you oil the pan, add 1/4 cup of batter and let it cook until you see air bubbles all around.

When you are cooking pancakes the real trick is to keep your pan the right temperature and not to use too much oil. Other wise you end up with crispy deep fried pancakes. Which are good, but not really what we’re going for here.

If you notice your pancakes are browning too fast – or burning even – before the air bubbles are forming, pick up the entire pan and remove it from the burner and count to 30 before replacing the pan on the burner. This will let it cool back down and you can continue cooking the pancake without burning it.

The other great option for pancake cooking is an electric skillet. Remember how popular these were several years ago? You can pick up one of these guys at a rummage sale for next to nothing these days – and they have a dial that lets you set the temperature – so your pancakes are cooking at exactly the right temperature at all times.

Flip over the pancakes and cook the other side until they are done all the way through.

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This is an Amish Candy Onion.

Now, I do not know how they know it is Amish. It could be a Baptist onion or a Pentecostal onion. I mean, it’s not like they can ask the onion about it’s religious preferences.

“Ms. Onion, may I call you Candy?”

“. . .”

“Alright, well, Candy, is there anyway that we can help support you in your religious beliefs before we turn you into a sweet onion tart?”

“. . .”

Candy doesn’t have much to say. She’s the quiet type as it turns out. But, what she lacks in conversational skills, she more than makes up for with flavor.

This girl is packed with absolute deliciousness. Delectable-ness.

Amish Candy Delectable-ness.

I’ve used Candy’s relatives in lots of goodies. Onion Rings. Pulled BBQ Chicken. Fish en Papillote.

I knew that she’d be perfect when I decided to make this tart. The magazine I pulled the idea from used pizza dough and called it onion bread. I used crescent rolls and called it a tart. Not because she’s … you know … a tart (she’s Amish for goodness sake!), but because tarts are associated with sweet stuff and Ms. Candy Onion is most certainly sweet.

This recipe will make you look like you’re a rock star – it’s absolutely gorgeous when done. This is a simple, fast and excellent side dish to serve with soup and salad. We had ours with a stir fry proving that Angie Pangie never plays by the rules it honestly doesn’t matter how or what you serve it with. Just serve it. Today. Soon.

Pull out your trusty 10″ Iron Skillet. If you do not have an iron skillet go directly to the store and buy one use another oven proof pan until you can get an iron skillet. I’m going to be using the iron skillet a lot over the next few weeks, so you really do need one. Really. Every kitchen needs one. They are fairly affordable and you can often find them dirt cheap at second hand stores. Just make sure it’s not rusty, because that would be gross.

Anyhow, pull out your oven proof skillet. If your pan likes to stick you can lightly oil or spray the bottom.

Place a roll of crescent roll dough in the bottom of the pan. It only needs to go up about an inch to maybe a half inch. You can tear pieces off here and there and patch it together to get it in the right shape. Set the dough aside.

Slice your sweet onion into rings. I used my handy-dandy mandoline to quickly slice it into evenly sized pieces, which will help it cook evenly.

If you do not have an Amish Candy Onion, do not despair. You can use any sweet onion you are able to find at your market. If you cannot find a sweet onion of any sort (that’s just a darn-dirty shame, by the way) then you can just add a little more sugar to the onion and it will give very similar results.

Add two tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and a teaspoon of brown sugar to the pan. Cook until it is soft and caramel colored. Dish the onions over the crust, sprinkle with a smidge of salt and lightly with Parmesan cheese. Bake the tart at 375 for about 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cut into wedges for serving. Serve warm. We also ate our leftovers cold the next day for lunch – which was almost as good.

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