Yesterday I made pecan sandies using this recipe. They were delicious and totally devoured by us and by our flower-bringing lunch guests. My only caution when making this recipe is to be careful if you’re grinding your pecans in the food processor—keep a close watch on them, as a moment too long and you’ve got pecan butter instead of pecan meal! (Of course, now we also have a little something special and unexpected to spread on toast, but it was fortunate that I had more pecans on-hand.)

I also made grilled vegetable sandwiches with gouda cheese and garlic mayonnaise, and a butternut squash soup with spinach and rice. Yum. The best part is that there are leftovers of everything (except the cookies!) for lunch today.

My mother is Swedish, which is a wonderful thing foodwise at Christmastime! Last year, my siblings and I each took over a part of the traditional recipes to help her out a bit. I really enjoyed learning how to cook all of the yummy Swedish Christmas dishes I’ve been eating my whole life, and I’m looking forward to doing it again this year.

Here is my mother’s recipe for Janssons frestelse (Jansson’s temptation). So easy, and so unbelievably delicious.

Janssons frestelse (Jansson’s temptation)

2 yellow onions, sliced thinly
3 tbsp butter
6 medium raw potatoes, peeled and cut into small strips (julienne style)
20 Swedish sprats/ansjovis (save the brine)*
1-1/2 cups heavy cream

- Saute onion in 1 tbsp butter until nicely browned
- Butter a baking dish
- Layer potatoes, onions, and anchovies (finish with a layer of potatoes)
- Drizzle 1 tbsp of the brine from the can over the top
- Dot with remaining butter (2 tbsp)
- Pour 3/4 cup of the cream over the top
- Bake at 400 degrees for about 50 minutes, adding the remaining cream (3/4 cup) after 15 minutes

Janssons may be covered and reheated at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes or so and kept warm until serving. Aahh!

*Authentic Swedish ansjovis (available at IKEA and specialty food stores, a common brand name is Abba) are larger and much less salty than the “anchovies” we buy here. They are actually sprats (a different kind of fish), pickled in sugar, salt and spices. If you can’t get to IKEA or find true Swedish ansjovis elsewhere, you can use good quality Italian anchovies. Use the same number—the saltiness makes up for them being smaller. The taste will not be absolutely authentic, but it will still be yummy!

Brown the onions in plenty of butter.

All ready to go in the oven!

Today is Lucia Day and the start of the Christmas season! Fittingly, we received half a foot of fresh snow here in the Hudson Valley today, and I have spent the evening cooking for tomorrow’s potluck lunch in the art department I work for. Here’s the first recipe of the night, Chocolate Sour Cream Cake. This has been my mother’s go-to recipe for many years of birthdays and other celebrations—I wonder how many slices I have eaten over the course of my life! It is so simple and delicious, and goes very nicely with a little whipped cream and a cup of coffee.

Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

2-3/4 cups flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 pound unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 heaping tbsp instant cocoa
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a mixing bowl, combine the first 3 ingredients. Take off and reserve 1/2 cup crumbs for top of cake. Add eggs, sour cream, baking soda, and vanilla and mix well (I find it easiest to use an electric mixer). Pour half of the batter into a well-greased tube (Bundt) pan. Sprinkle instant cocoa on top of batter. Mix chocolate chips in rest of batter, and pour that over the bottom half. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs over the top of cake. Bake at 350° 1 hour or until the tester comes out dry.

You’ll want to cut yourself a slice when it’s just out of the oven, but try to resist! This cake is really at its peak at room temperature (or even refrigerator-cold the next day). To serve, invert the cake onto a pretty plate—the crumbs will be on the bottom. You can garnish with a bit of powdered sugar if it’s for a fancy occasion, but it will look nice just by itself.

I try to make the majority of our meals from scratch, but tonight was all about odds/ends/leftovers. This was so easy and delicious! I can’t really even call it a recipe, but here’s what went into it (makes 2 large bowls):

1 small (16oz) box Imagine butternut squash soup
1 spicy italian chicken sausage (defrosted, sliced)
2 small handfulls dried mushroom tortellinis (cooked, drained)
2 cups Trader Joe’s Greens With Envy* (defrosted, chopped)
2 tbsp shredded asiago cheese

Put everything but the cheese into the soup. Heat. Serve sprinkled with asiago.

That’s it! Yuuuummmm.

*Greens With Envy is the best frozen veggie product EVER: organic spinach, broccoli, edamame, asparagus, and green beans. I try to always have it on hand, as it can be added to just about any dish for extra deliciousness and nutritiousness.

I made this recipe up as I went along last night, and it came out GREAT! So delicious, and so easy. It’s a little bit spicy, but in the most pleasant way. If you’re vegetarian, you can omit the chicken sausages and use vegetable broth.

Pumpkin Mushroom Soup
makes 6 large bowls or 9 cups

12 oz mushrooms (I used portobellos, but you can go fancier), diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp flour
1 tsp curry powder
3 cups chicken broth
15 oz canned pure pumpkin (NOT pie filling!)
2 chicken sausages (any kind; I used Trader Joe’s asiago & mushroom chicken sausages)
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp sugar
shredded asiago cheese

In a large saucepan or pot, sauté mushrooms and onion in olive oil until very tender, about 10 minutes. You may want to partially cover the pan to keep everything moist. (If using precooked chicken sausages, slice into half moons, set aside. If sausages are uncooked, cook them now, slice, set aside.) Stir in the flour and curry powder until blended. Gradually add the broth, stirring. Add the sausage. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and cook while stirring for 2 minutes or until somewhat thickened. Add the pumpkin, milk, sugar and spices. Heat through on medium-low heat while stirring. Serve with a sprinkle of asiago cheese.

Three loaves of Lena’s pumpkin cranberry bread are cooling in the kitchen (I already snuck a little piece; it’s amazing). The house smells like winter.

What a busy, short weekend it has been.

Snow is coming tonight!! I’m going to bed early and resting myself for a short short workweek…

This really is the best vegetarian chili (or any kind of chili, really) recipe, honestly. I make a big pot of it just about every other week and freeze it in containers for lunches and dinners.

Vegetarian Chili
serves 8-12

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 tbsp chili powder
28 oz can crushed tomatoes with basil*
14 oz can black beans*
14 oz can kidney beans*
1 cup corn kernels
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup bulgar wheat
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Heat oil in a large pot. Add onions, carrots and garlic; sauté until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add yellow pepper, jalapenos, celery and chili powder; cook another 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, beans (with liquid), corn, salt and spices. Bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in bulgar wheat. Cover and simmer at least 30 minutes (I usually let everything simmer for a couple of hours to let the flavors really develop, but it’s okay to take it off when the veggies and bulgar are soft), stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Just as you’re taking the chili off the heat, stir in the balsamic vinegar. I know it might seem weird to put it in, but trust me—it really does make the chili taste extra amazing.

*I take the easy route and use canned beans and tomatoes. You can soak dried beans and use fresh tomatoes if you prefer, of course, but you will want to add water to make up for the liquid in the cans.

My new favorite site to start the day is Simply Breakfast.

After a week of colder than usual days, it’s a scorchingly hot and humid weekend. A caffè freddo from Bread Alone in Rhinebeck takes the edge off (a bit).

Today we went to the Dutchess County Fair in Rhinebeck, which meant lots of greasy-yummy foods and smelly-cute animals!

We started the day with deep fried Oreos. Seriously, could anything possibly be more distinctly American? They were good, but not quite as good as you might imagine such a thing would be.