Pumpkin Maple Macaroni & Cheese

20 Comments

Autumn is by-far my favourite season. I love the chilly air and getting to wear sweaters/hoodies and boots again. I love being cozy! This past week it went from 30’C on Monday to 4’C on Tuesday. What a change! Autumn came very abruptly this year! I quickly dug out my favourite sweaters on Tuesday and retired my favourite pair of sandals for another year. 

Another thing I love about Autumn is the changing colours of the trees. I love the rich fiery reds and deep golden yellows. So pretty! I love switching from iced teas and frapuccinos to apple ciders, hot chocolates and pots of delicious warm tea. I love the smoky smell of the fall where all the farmers in the area are burning off their fields. And more than anything, I love fall baking and cooking. I love cooking with butternut and acorn squash, apples & cinnamon, anything with maple, cranberries, pears, sweet potatoes….and pumpkin. Mmmm….pumpkin. I have a little obsession with pumpkin. :)

And this is why I decided to kick off my fall baking/cooking season with Pumpkin Maple macaroni and cheese. I was extremely intrigued when I stumbled on this recipe while surfing the web the other day. I love maple and pumpkin together. But in a macaroni and cheese dish? Somehow…it works. Quite well in fact! The beer gives the dish an underlying richness. The maple and pumpkin give the dish a hint of sweetness, while the cheese lends the dish a balancing level of saltiness. Mustard, cloves and nutmeg make the sauce savoury and something quite special. Don’t be scared to try this dish, as I realize it sounds a little “out-of-the-norm.” I definitely recommend you take the chance and make this easy, fall-inspired dish. It’s a real winner; one to warm up cool autumn nights.

If you are equally obsessed with baking/cooking with pumpkin, check out the recipes I previously posted on The Fig Tree that have pumpkin as a main ingredient:

Pumpkin Honey Walnut Bread
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
Pumpkin Pie Bars


Ingredients

  • 1 pound of short-cut whole wheat pasta; such as macaroni or penne
  • 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons of flour; slightly rounded
  • 1 cup of amber beer (such as Half Pints Bulldog Amber Ale)
  • 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
  • 2 cups of milk (skim works fine)
  • 2 pinches of ground cloves (or 1/2 teaspoon of allspice)
  • 1 teaspoon of ground mustard
  • pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1-14 ounce can of pure pumpkin purée
  • 2 and 1/2 cups of shredded sharp yellow cheddar cheese; divided
  • sweet paprika for sprinkling
  • chopped parsley, chives or a sprig of thyme for garnish

Method


1. Pre-heat oven to 350’F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and then cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.


2. Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour ensuring no lumps develop; cook for 1 minute. Raise heat a small bit and add beer. Whisk well to ensure no lumps form. Once the beer has evaporated a bit (about 5 minutes), whisk in the maple syrup and milk. Season with cloves or allspice, mustard, cayenne and the nutmeg. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow the mixture to cook on medium heat until the sauce leaves a thick coat on the back of a spoon (about 3 minutes).


3. Whisk in the pumpkin purée then stir in 2 cups of grated cheddar cheese. Mix until the cheese is melted. Combine the pasta and the sauce and arrange in a casserole dish or individual ramekins. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Dust tops lightly with paprika. Bake for 15 minutes and/or broil to allow the top to get brown and bubbly.


4. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley, chives or sprigs of thyme.


Source: Rachel Ray

Honey Drenched Almond Phyllo Coil

3 Comments



Back during my last year of university, I lived in an apartment by myself near the only Moroccan restaurant in town. I frequented the restaurant quite a bit, as the food was to die for. And since I was at the restaurant a fair amount, the chef and I became really good friends. I would often head from classes straight to the restaurant where he would show me how to make various Moroccan dishes including incredible vegetarian tagine and savoury couscous with olives. The curried lentil soup was incredible. How I miss it! It was incredible on a cold day with a piece of rye bread. Hamid taught me how to make preserved lemons. And how to make briwats which is a Moroccan appetizer of cream cheese and herbs wrapped in phyllo and deep fried. Ah-ma-zing! We’d sit and drink Moroccan tea (chinese gun powder tea brewed with fresh mint leaves and sugar) and discuss topics in French. I really enjoyed chatting about food with him. He was extremely knowledgeable and passionate. I also learned a lot about Moroccan culture in general.
 Around Christmas that year, he made me a basket of Moroccan pastries as a gift. They were incredible! Flaky pastries were filled with toasted almonds and pistachios, drenched in honey, topped with sesame seeds and some filled with a delicious pastry cream. I fell in love with Moroccan desserts! Sadly, my friend would not give me any of his actual recipes. I guess the restaurant had to keep their best customer coming around to stay in business! *hah* 


My friend ended up moving to Montreal to work at another restaurant a few years back. A while after he left, I stumbled upon this recipe for a honey drenched phyllo coil and decided to try and make it for nostalgia sake. And I have to say, I was pretty impressed with how it turned out. It tasted very similar to one of my favourite desserts my chef friend used to make me. 

This past weekend, I decided to pull out my recipe for the honey phyllo coil and make it for my family as a pretty little treat for after sunday dinner. I think it went over really well. You only need a small piece, as it’s very rich and sweet. But it’s a delicious treat to have with tea/coffee after dinner. Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 3 cups of blanched almonds
  • 2/3 cup of granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup of butter; softened
  • 2 tablespoons of orange flower water (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 5 to 6 sheets of phyllo pastry
  • 1/4 cup of butter; melted
  • 1/2 cup of liquid honey
  • 2 tablespoons of sliced almonds

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 400’F. Grease side and bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan and set aside.

2. Make Almond Paste: in a food processor, chop almonds with sugar until powdered. Add the butter, orange flower water if using and cinnamon. Pulse into little balls form. Set aside.

3. Place 1 phyllo sheet on a work surface. Brush lightly with the butter. Note: Make sure to keep the rest of the phyllo covered with a damp tea towel so it does not dry out. 

4. Divide the almond paste into 5 pieces. Roll each into 16 inch long (40 cm) logs. Place one log along the long edge of the buttered sheet of phyllo; leaving 1/2 inch border at ends. Roll firmly and pinch ends together. Brush lightly with butter.

5. Roll, seam down, around the edge of the prepared pan. Repeat with 4 more rolls. Keep spiralling the rolls until the bottom is well covered. 

6. Bake in the centre of the oven at 400’F until crispy and golden brown (about 10 to 12 minutes). Drizzle with honey right after you take the coil out of the oven. Garnish with almond slivers. Serve & enjoy!

Source: Canadian Living Magazine – October 2004

Oriental Edamame Salad

Leave a Comment

So, tonight I wanted something light for dinner. Something small in preparation for a trip I’ll be taking soon. I have a feeling I’ll be overindulging in food to the extreme – as I’m going to Las Vegas for the first time! :) I cannot wait to explore the Las Vegas strip and check out all of the neat restaurants along the way. My friend Paul suggested we do a 24 hour buffet while there. A 24 hour buffet! I’m pretty excited. I’m also looking forward to spending some time by the pool, checking out some clubs, have a veggie burger at Cheeseburger in Paradise (my favourite restaurant from Hawaii) and maybe taking in a Cirque de Soleil show. I’ve never seen one and I’ve heard Love (The Beatles) is incredible. 
Tonight I stumbled upon this recipe and thought it was exactly what I needed; something light and healthy. It turned out to be extremely delicious and actually quite filling. It would be nice as a small side salad for lunch or go well with some homemade (or take-out) sushi.



Ingredients

  • 6 to 8 cups of water
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 2 cups of frozen shelled edamame
  • 1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of sesame oil (or 2 tablespoons of canola oil)
  • 1 tablespoon of good quality soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of honey (or agave nectar)
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon of garlic-chili paste
  • 1/8 cup of unsalted peanuts
  • 1 tablespoon of toasted or raw sesame seeds

Method


1. Add salt to the water and then bring the 6 to 8 cups of water to a rolling boil. Add the edamame and allow it to cook for 5 minutes. Drain edamame and set aside.


2. Dressing: Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, oil,  honey, salt, pepper, ground ginger and garlic-chili paste. Note: I personally don’t like the taste of sesame oil, so I used canola oil which has a very mild taste. Feel free to use which oil you like best.


3. In a large bowl, combine the grated carrot, edamame, and peanuts. Drizzle the dressing over top. Note: The dressing recipe made quite a bit, so you may want to only add half and see if it’s to your liking. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the salad.


4. Chill salad in the fridge overnight. 


Source: adapted from Color Me Vegan by Colleen-Patrick Goudreau