It is the beginning of fall, and oh my have I been busy! Last week was the most challenging week for me. It was also my week for giving back to the community. In that one week I did my somewhat irregular cooking demonstration for the Cancer Center. I have not done as many cooking classes for the Cancer Center as I would have liked to as time is a constraint for me. Nevertheless I always come away from the class feeling great having volunteered to teach Cancer patients how to improve their health through other ways of cooking and eating better.

I guess by biggest challenge of the week was the March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction. This was the first time I participated in such an event that has been ongoing for the past 15 years. I was not sure what to expect and what my competitors will be preparing for that night. This year the title of the event was “Prepare for the Journey” befitting the challenging road ahead these premature infants have to endure.  As befitting the title, the board members decided to have us chefs prepare foods from around the world, with each restaurant, chef, or caterer, selecting a country they would like to represent. I decided to go back to my roots and prepare dishes from Asia. I made two dishes; an appetizer called Penang Fried Flat Rice Noodles, and an entrée of Asian Spiced Country Style Ribs with Mango Slaw. To my utter surprise, I took second place for my appetizer noodle dish. Initially I was very overwhelmed by the competition as I did not know how I was going to handle making food for 300 to 350 people all by myself, even though they were to be bite size. In the end, everything worked out with the help of my ever so supportive husband, Steve, my wonderful friend Karen, and my son Nick. The four of us pulled it off! Getting placed was just the cherry on top of the icing.

The next night, I was also involved, as a sponsor, in the annual silent auction held by the Professional Women of Fayetteville. This year’s theme was Cowboy Roundup. Since last year, I have been providing the dessert by hosting a chocolate fountain for the event and Itz (where the event is held each year) sponsors the hor d'oeuvre. Again, it was a fun-filled night, but by the end of the night I was so ready to let my weary bones rest. All in all, it was a great week and I am proud to have been involved in all these events. If you have not checked out my website lately, please do take a look. I have added a photo gallery and you can catch a glimpse of these events posted in my photo gallery.

Talking about my website, I have also added a blog site. I have not had a chance to start blogging, but this will change soon. Please feel free to bookmark my site to catch my blogs. I have great plans for my blog site. Again you will get recipes, and pretty soon I will be able to show pictures of step-by-step techniques on some of the recipes and of course more pictures of food.

Okay back to fall. The weather is cooling down and fall crops are slowly appearing in the markets. Pumpkins can be found everywhere. Did you know that pumpkins are classified as a fruits and not a vegetable? Pumpkins are members of the gourd family,  which include musk melon, watermelon and squash. Pumpkins are not only good for carving Jack O Lantern, they are great for eating too. We tend to akin pumpkin with pumpkin pies but they can be prepared just like any other winter squash. The seeds, also called pepitas are great when roasted. They give off a wonderful nutty flavor. Enzymes in the whole “pumpkin”, including the seeds, exfoliate dead skin cells while promoting skin repair. It cleanses, conditions and moisturizes while helping to firm the skin. Pumpkin is an excellent source of anti-oxidants, vitamins and essential elements the skin needs.

Fall also brings us other root vegetables such as turnips, potatoes, parsnips, and beets. Leafy greens such as kale, turnip greens, mustard greens, broccoli and many others are also slowly making their appearance but are more prominent towards the end of fall. Asparagus re-appears again after its spring showing for a second crop along with leeks.  In addition, apples though present all year round, are best in the fall. There are just so many varieties of apples to choose from nowadays. If you think fall crops are dull and lacking in variety, think again. It is up to you to use your imagination to create wonderful dishes with what nature has offered us during the cooler months. Still can’t imagine why you would want to venture eating fall harvest? Try these recipes out.

Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

2 acorn squash, halved

½ pound pork sausage, crumbled

½ cup onion, minced

½ cup celery.

1 red delicious apple

2 cups cooked brown rice

½ cup dark raisins

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoon maple syrup

2 tablespoon melted butter

Method

1. Place squash; cut side down, in shallow baking pan. Fill pan with 1/2 inch water. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Scoop out seeds.
2. Meanwhile, cook sausage with onion and celery in a medium skillet over medium heat. Drain. Except for butter, combine with remaining ingredients in a large bowl then let cool.
3. Set squash, cut side up, and brush with butter. Fill evenly with cooled rice stuffing.
4. Wrap stuffed squash with foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Asparagus and Leek Soup

1 ½ cups leek, washed thoroughly and finely chop white and light green part

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 shallot, minced

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

3 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 pound asparagus, trim and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cups chicken broth

¼ cup sour cream

Method

1. In a saucepan cook the leek, garlic, and shallot in the butter medium heat, stirring, until the leek is softened.
2. Add the asparagus, thyme, the broth, and 1/2 cup water, and simmer the mixture, covered, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the asparagus is very tender. Reserve a few asparagus head pieces for garnishing.
3. Purée two thirds of the mixture in a blender until it is very smooth, stir the purée into the mixture remaining in the pan, and whisk in the sour cream and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cook the soup over moderately low heat until heated through, but do not let it boil. Blend the soup with an immersion blender or place in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Garnish soup with reserved asparagus heads.

Pumpkin Crème Brulee-- by Chef Gale Gand

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2 pinches nutmeg
1 pinch ginger
1 pinch ground cloves
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/3 cup coarse sugar or raw sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves over medium heat, stirring occasionally, just until it comes to a boil. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to infuse at least 15 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the granulated sugar. Whisking constantly, gradually pour in the hot cream mixture. Whisk in the pumpkin puree. Pour the mixture into 4 ovenproof ramekins and arrange in a hot water bath.
4. Bake in the center of the oven until almost set but still a bit soft in the center, 30 to 40 minutes. The custard should "shimmy" a bit when you shake the pan; it will firm up more as it cools. Remove from the water bath and let cool 15 minutes.
5. Tightly cover each ramekin with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic does not touch the surface of the custard. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, and up to 24 hours.
6. When ready to serve, preheat a broiler to very hot (or fire up your kitchen torch). Uncover the chilled custards. Pour as much coarse sugar as will fit onto the top of 1 of the custards. Pour off the remaining sugar onto the next custard. Repeat until all the custards are coated. Discard any remaining sugar.
7. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan and broil until the sugar is melted and well browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool 1 minute before serving.
   

Books to Read--As I am starting my journey into the world of blogging I have been visiting other blogging sites. One of the two most popular sites is amateurgourmet.com and chocolateandzucchini.com. Both have books published by the writer of the blogging site. The Amateur Gourmet is written by Adam Roberts, a typical Jewish law student who used to dine on fast food and anything microwavable. Roberts ventures into the land of foodiedom and starts a website of his own called amateurgormet.com where he writes accounts his visits to restaurants, cooking tips, recipes with his own brand of comedy and wit. If you are new foodie, try Adam’s website first and then maybe buy his book The Amateur Gourmet: How to Shop, Chop, and Table Hop Like a Pro. Chocolate and Zucchini also starts out as a blog site written by Clotilde Dusoulier. Clotilde relates her passion for food and  her life in Paris.  Her blog site has wonderful illustrated pictures of food with great recipes. The same can be said about her book Chocolate and Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen. Do check out either one of these blog sites and before you know it, you are a hooked foodie blogger.

Kitchen Gadget. Mandolin. I recently had to purchase a new mandolin as I could not find my old cheap Japanese mandolin that I have come to rely on all these years. I really resisted buying a new one but having to julienne 20 pounds of carrots, 50 pounds of  mangoes, and over 40 cucumbers by hand was a little overwhelming to say the least. I eventually gave in and bought a mandolin made by Kitchenaid. For the price I paid ($29.99) it was well worth it. Mandolins nowadays come with a safeguard to prevent shaving off your fingers. I did like the Kitchenaid brand because it came with the julienne insert, both thick and thin, one slicing insert, and a grater insert. It definitely made my job a lot easier and faster.  There are of course many brands and variety of mandolins out in the market. My suggestion is to find one that fits the job that you most perform with a mandolin, how well it is design (flimsy, bulky, etc.) and is it comfortable to use. One feature I did not like about the Kitchenaid brand was the safety holder. It was awkward to use and it did not hold the item I was cutting tightly enough.

Cooking Technique. Pan-Roasting. My favorite way to cook tender cuts of meat especially steaks and chicken and continue to let it finish cooking in the oven. Pan-roasting is a very popular technique use in restaurants. It helps cooks free up space on the range and also allows the meat to finish cooking in the oven at a regulated temperature to the doneness desired without drying the meat out. When pan-roasting, the meat is seared initially to form a nice crust to seal in the juices and give the meat a nice caramelization. To achieve this technique, it is important to use a heavy bottom sauté pan that is oven safe. Another important factor is to use oil that has a high smoking point such as canola oil or peanut oil. Start by heating the pan on medium-high heat. Once the pan starts to get hot, add a little oil initially. When the oil is almost smoking, place the meat in the hot pan. Do not overcrowd as this will defeat the purpose of searing. Finish cooking the meat in the oven. Timing depends on what you are cooking. Warning: Have a pair of mittens ready when you remove the pan as it is very hot!

Kitchen Tips. To clean out your coffee grinder or spice grinder of the gunk that is left behind, add a few pieces of torn bread and run the grinder. The bread will clean out the leftover coffee grinds or spices and I use a paper towel to clean out the leftover breadcrumbs.

When ricing potatoes with a potato ricer, add a piece of butter at the bottom of the ricer before putting in the potatoes. This will prevent the potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the ricer and it also helps melt the butter that is needed for the potatoes.

Use squeezed out rinds lemons or any cut up citrus fruit to freshen up the garbage disposal by grinding the rinds in the disposal. Citrus rinds also works great on smelly cutting boards. Just rub the rinds over the board and rinse with hot water.

Halloween. It will not be an October newsletter without mentioning a little about Halloween. I am sure you are guilty as I am to buying bagful of candy to give out to the little ghouls that come visiting. Some of us start a little earlier, like say the beginning of October, to “practice giving out treats” to the little visitors. Sometimes we even make several trips back to the store to get more candy because they somehow have mysteriously disappeared like Casper the ghost. Be aware, Halloween is the beginning of the sweet binge that stays with us all the way up to New Year if not longer. Just remember, only buy enough candies to be given away and do not buy any sooner than two days before Halloween to prevent temptation. The pros about buying late is sometimes the candies go on sale as stores do not want to keep these one time a year novelty after it is over.

If you plan to throw a Halloween party for your kids and would like to do something different, check this website out published by Epicurious.com. http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/entertaining/partiesevents/halloween_kids_parties There are recipes that you can create to make the day even more fun for your kids.

Summer has been fun but I can’t wait to see what fall and winter has to offer. As Mama would say to Forest Gump, “Life is like a box of chocolate. You never know what’s in it.” Whatever it may be, I hope to cycle through the bad with as much patience and relish in the good times. Until my next newsletter, eat well, stay healthy and live life to the fullest!

Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live--Socrates