we have embraced autumn by happily adapting our nightly menu to include the yummy produce of the season.  often, we just bake sweet potatoes or butternut squash to have with our meal (both of these are BIG cravings of mine right now!), but we have also been cooking some delicious new recipes that showcase the tastiest fall fruits and vegetables (thanks to some inspiration from the october issue of real simple).  here are just a few of the recipes we have made: 

cheese ravioli with apples and pistachios:

i want to start making and freezing things for david and i to enjoy once baby jack is here, so we don’t end up eating take out or prepared foods every. single. night.  my mom has very graciously agreed to help in this endeavor and she is planning to make homemade spaghetti sauce, banana bread, vegetable soup, and chicken and dumplings for our freezer…YUMMY!  plus, she will be with us for the first week and cooking every meal for us—thanks, mom!  and, i have plans to make a big slow cooker full of pinto beans to freeze as well as a few different types of lasagna.

but, i am out of other ideas…do any of you have any food for thought?  what keeps well in the freezer to be enjoyed during those first few weeks of learning how to be someone’s mommy and daddy?

one of my favorite things to make for a “fancy” breakfast are ebelskivers,  light, puffy pancakes filled with jam, curd, fruit or cheese.

i bought this cool pan about a year and a half ago and we use it all the time!

we LOVE the lemon-mascarpone filled pancakes!  the pancakes contain a creamy filling of sweet-tart meyer lemon curd blended with mascarpone, a soft fresh italian cheese made from cream.

here’s how you can make your own!  recipe adapted from williams-sonoma.

in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese and 1/4 cup meyer lemon curd (surprise, surprise…! we buy ours at trader joe’s and it is DELICIOUS!!!) until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.  cover the filling and refrigerate until ready to use.

in a bowl, whisk together 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the zest of 1/2 a lemon.  in a small bowl, lightly whisk 3 egg yolks, then whisk in 1 3/4 cups buttermilk.  whisk the yolk mixture into the flour mixture until well combined; the batter will be lumpy.

in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat 3 egg whites on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir the egg whites into the batter in 2 additions.

put 1/2 tsp. butter in each well of a filled-pancake pan.  set over medium heat and heat until the butter begins to bubble.  pour 1 Tbs. batter into each well.  put 1/2 tsp. lemon-mascarpone filling into the center of each pancake and top with 1 Tbs. batter.  cook until the bottoms are golden and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes.  using 2 skewers, flip the pancakes over and cook until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes more.  transfer the pancakes to a plate.  repeat with the remaining batter.

dust the pancakes with confectioners’ sugar and serve warm.  makes about 40.

but i also want to try this recipe soon for jalapeno-cheddar corn cakes!  YUM!

delicious!  this recipe makes about 6 generous servings.  we had to use two le creuset pans to make it all fit.  it is great the day it is made AND wonderful for leftover lunches.

Pasta al Forno (adapted from a lottie + doof recipe)

• 1 pound pasta
• olive oil
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 pounds broccoli rabe and swiss chard washed and stemmed
• salt
• 1/2 pound ricotta cheese 
• butter
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• grated asiago cheese

cook 1 pound of pasta in salted water until extremely al dente, about 8 minutes.  lift the pasta from the water and pour in a large bowl to cool; drizzle lightly with olive oil to keep it from sticking together.
using the boiling water, blanch the broccoli rabe and greens for 1 minute or so.  drain in a colander.  when they are cool, roughly chop the greens and set aside.

heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat.  warm the garlic in the oil, but don’t let it brown.  add the chopped broccoil rabe, greens, and red pepper flakes.  lightly salt the greens, stir them around the pan, and turn off the heat.
to assemble the dish, add the cooked greens to the cooked pastsa and mix gently.  add the ricotta and mix again.
butter a shallow earthenware gratin dish (or two in our case).  put the pasta mixture in the dish and sprinkle generously with grated asiago cheese.

preheat the oven to 400°F.  shortly before serving time, bake the pasta for 15 minutes.  uncover and bake for 5 minutes more.  serve immediately.

i adore homemade fries.  i usually just cut some russet potatoes into wedges, toss with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, and bake until almost bunrt to enusre they will be crispy.  however, this recipe produces amazingly crispy and garlicky fries that don’t require charred edges from overbaking to be perfect.  i ate a whole plateful last night alongside a crispy salad with a homemade dijon vingarette and i didn’t even need any ketchup!  however you decide to serve them, i think you will be pleasesd.

garlicky oven fries (adapted from a Lottie and Doof recipe)

• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 russet potatoes, each cut into 8 wedges
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon six-pepper mix 
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 6 garlic cloves, minced

preheat oven to 475° F.  combine the garlic and oil in a large bowl and microwave until the garlic is fragrant, about 45 seconds.  transfer 5 tablespoons of the oil (leaving the garlic in the bowl) to a rimmed baking sheet, tilting the sheet to coat evenly.

add the potatoes to the bowl with the remaining oil and garlic mixture and toss to coat.  wrap tightly in plastic wrap and microwave on high power until the potatoes are translucent around the edges, about 3 minutes. 

combine the cornstarch, salt, pepper, and garlic salt in a small bowl. sprinkle over the hot potatoes and toss well to coat.  arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and bake, turning once, until deep golden brown and crisp, approximately 40 minutes.  enjoy.

i’ve been coveting a juicer for a long time…i would look them up, read all the reviews, talk to people about the ones they owned, and dream up all the crazy juice concoctions i would make once i had one to call my own….i was literally swooning over juicers!

well, we bought one a few weeks ago and i couldn’t be happier about it!  a big thanks to mimi and pawpaw for some generous christmas money, which, when paired with the hefty balance left on some VERY OLD crate and barrel gift cards (thanks goodness those don’t expire!), we paid absolutely nothing for one of the greatest presents we have ever bought ourselves.

to date we have made, carrot juice, which david loves but i don’t care for; carrot, apple, celery juice; strawberry, apple, ginger juice; and orange carrot, red carrot, apple, strawberry, ginger juice—SO YUMMY!  not sure which combination has been my favorite so far, but that kick of ginger in the juice sure makes my taste buds smile!

fresh juice: another thing to make my mornings bright and happy.