Cranberry Walnut Bread

The "Wine and Cheese Party" has long been a staple of Bonaccorsi family meals. These "parties" are the dinners where we cut up bread, apples, and all our favorite cheeses and sit around the kitchen counter, snacking up a storm. If we're feeling really fancy, we'll occasionally bust out the shrimp cocktail. No matter how fancy or casual we're feeling, though, there's always a loaf of cranberry walnut bread from Whole Foods. Actually, there are two loaves, because this dream bread heats up like a dream for the next day's breakfast.

I have strong feelings about this bread and wanted desperately to make it myself while I was still in my bread making craze. When I looked up the recipe online, though, I found that the recipe for the exact Whole Foods bread isn't the greatest thing for your health (which is probably why it's so delicious) I decided to spruce it up a little.
This version uses whole wheat flour, a lot less sugar, and apple sauce instead of the fats that the traditional recipe.

I am seriously considering making this bread again and bringing it to Thanksgiving dinner with me, but that might be a little much as I am already responsible for the cranberry sauce (recipe to come). If you're hosting the meal this year, I strongly encourage you to make this bread--the smell alone is totally worth it!
I hope you love this bread as much as we do, whether you serve it at a feast or a wine and cheese party.

Cranberry Walnut Bread
Makes 2 round loaves

3 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs honey
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 tbs unsweetened apple sauce
1 cup milk (I used almond milk)
5 tbs butter
1 Tbs dry active yeast

In a small pot or microwave safe bowl, heat the milk and butter until the butter is melted. Cool the milk Add the sugar and honey, and mix until dissolved.
All ow the mixture to cool until it is warm (105-110ºF), then mix in the yeast. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes, or until the milk bubbles through the butter layer on top.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, nuts, and cranberries.
When the yeast has proofed, add to the flour mixture, along with the apple sauce. Mix with a fork until thoroughly combined.
Turn out on a floured surface and knead the dough well for about 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Form the dough into a ball and cover with flour. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and allow to sit until doubled in size, about an hour and a half. *If you need to move a little more quickly, you can let it rise for an hour, but the longer it sits, the more the flavors will develop.*
Preheat the oven to 400ºF
When the dough is risen, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for 1 minute.
Divide the dough into 2 balls and allow them to rise, covered, for 30 minutes.
Bake the 2 balls on a pizza stone or parchment lined sheet for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 350ºF and continue baking for another 45 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool to nearly room temperature before slicing.
Enjoy!

I Miss You, so Here's a Plum Cake

Hey all! I've gotta say that only posting ince a week s killing me in a small way. I miss the days when I would come home from work, crank up the oven, oblivious to the summer heat, and bake, cook, simmer, and steam almost every day of the week. I'm lustful for the days of spontaneous meringue-ing, baking brownies in the middle of the night. Oh, and this early November snow? I'm finding my hands subconsciously rotating like I'm stirring soup.
I'm an addict. This is withdrawal. It's bad, bad, very bad.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, though. THANKSGIVING IS COMING! This means day after day of shameless cooking. Cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, pot pies, crumbles, smoothies, and custards are all coming your way in the very near future. Oh, and I get to make all the dishes to satiate your sweet tooth every sunday from Thanksgiving until Christmas--an even longer period of shameless cooking with even more spices!

See how dark the batter is? That's from all the vanilla!

I miss you--writing these posts, thinking of new ideas--just as badly as I miss my pink rubber spatula back home. Because I miss you and you're even more fantastic than Christmas cookies and sweet potatoes (the highest of praise in my book) I made you a plum cake. Gone are the days when prunes were the dreaded black, crinkly rocks in the very back of the cabinet. Soaking the prunes in warm milk, and folding them into a thick, vanilla scented batter brings them to life like you wouldn't believe. So bake up, eat up, and enjoy a deeply vanilla cake with bursts of sweet and savory prunes.

Vanilla Plum Cake
Makes 1 9 inch cake

1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1.5 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
6 large prunes

Preheat the oven to 400ºF, and prepare 1 9-inch cake pan by greasing, lining with parchment, greasing again and dusting with flour.
In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the milk for 1 to 2 minutes, until it's very hot but not boiling. Add the prunes to the hot milk and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and flouw until light and smooth. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing until well incorporated. Remove the prunes from the milk when they are plump and softened. Add the lemon juice to the milk and mix.
Add 1/2 the flour to the butter and egg mixture, when it is fully combined, add half of the milk. Add the rest of the flour and milk, mixing well.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and scatter (or carefully arrange) the prunes in the batter. Lightly cover the tops of the prunes with more batter to prevent burning.
Bake at 400º for 20-25 minutes. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before turning out to slice.
This cake is great served at any temperature, but is at its best when served warm!

Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Sugar Glaze

Sometimes things are best left untouched. I can never resist messing with a recipe that I already love, making it vegan, gluten free, or otherwise "alternative". Some of these attempts are more successful than others, much more successful.
Take, for example, the humble pumpkin cookie. These classic cakey treats are the epitome of an adaptable recipe. They're also the epitome of delicious. This past weekend, I was home from school for fall break and I decided that pumpkin cookies were needed, and that they would be made without eggs, any form of fat, and minimal sugar.

Needless to say, they came out tasting exactly as you would expect a cookie that was essentially flour, spices, and pumpkin puree to taste. They had the texture of rubber cement and tasted of somehow overly sweet pumpkin skin.
They were bad.

Luckily, I didn't use all the pumpkin puree, so I was able to whip up a batch of the highly favored original recipe. Unlike my little mounds or orange rubber, these cookies are cakey, surprisingly light in texture, and so fragrant you're going to wonder how you can use them as air fresheners (all you can do is bake more). They're deeper and darker than a standard pumpkin cookie because of the brown sugar and molasses. These burnt orange beauties are a fall classic, tying together the holiday taste of gingerbread and the homey taste of pumpkin, perfect for an afternoon treat with a cup of coffee, milk, or hot cider.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Brown Sugar Glaze
Makes 24 cookies

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup molasses
6 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the cinnamon, ginger, flour, salt, and baking powder. In another bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and molasses until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin, vanilla, and egg and stir until thoroughly combined. Add the flour mixture and stir mix well, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Drop by rounded tablespoon-and-a-half-fulls on your lined baking sheets and bake until the edges are firm, about 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack for glazing.

Glaze:
3 Tbs unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 cup powdered sugar
Bring the first 3 ingredients to a boil in a small pan, stirring. When the mixture deepens in color, after about 2 minutes, remove from the heat and add the powdered sugar and stir until it cools slightly. When the glaze is still warm, drizzle it over the tops of the cookies.

Vegan, Flourless Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies

It's fall, and I'm excited. I'm super psyched for sweater weather, crunchy leaves, the pretty contrast of orange leaves against a blue sky, and pumpkin. I'm excited for pumpkin.
I go a little crazy in the all, adding pumpkin and cinnamon to just about everything I bake and eat. Pumpkin and spinach curry, pumpkin mousse, pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup. I especially love adding it to chocolate.
The sweet earthy flavors of chocolate and pumpkin are surprisingly similar and go together beautifully, especially with a healthy splash of vanilla and a healthy dash of spice.
These cookies are vegan and flour-less, but that's not a matter of them being trendy, it's a matter of getting the best texture possible. They're like loose fudge and the oats provide just enough texture to keep these guys in the cookie category.
I hope you love them as much as I do, and share them with your vegan friends who have Celiac's (I really hope that's not a thing, it would just be too sad.)

Flourless Pumpkin Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Makes 24 cookies

1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 fake egg (mix 2 Tbs baking powder, 2 Tbs water, and 1 Tbs oil of choice)
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger


In a bowl, mix the oats, cocoa, spices, baking powder and salt.
Combine the "egg", pumpkin and sugar and mix well, until slightly fluffy.
Add the oat mixture to the pumpkin and mix until thoroughly combined.
Scoop 1 Tbs rounds onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350ºF

Pollo in Pomodoro

I was planning on making grilled chicken with fennel for dinner. For me, this dish is just summer on a plate, so I figured it would be perfect for early August.

Today, it was 65º and rainy. Today was fall all the way, without a bit of summer in the air. Tonight's dinner called for something tender, cooked for at least an hour, preferably stewed in a spicy tomato gravy.

Tonight was a pollo in pomodoro night.

I spend my falls and winters making soups, and stews, and curries. This is my favorite late summer version, as it takes advantage of all the fresh summer tomatoes, is filling on cold nights, but is still light and super healthy, filled with fresh veggies, low fat white meat, and herbs.

Pollo in Pomodoro

Serves 4

olive oil

4 chicken drumsticks (skinned)

4 chicken thighs (skinned)

salt and pepper

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 stalk of celery, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

red pepper flakes to taste (1/2-1 tsp)

2 cups crushed tomatoes

2 cups vegetable stock

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, chopped fine

1 tbs chopped basil

salt and pepper

Heat a deep, heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven, over medium heat, when hot, add olive oil. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper and add them to the hot pot. Brown the chicken on both sides, 6-7 minutes each.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pot, along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables begin to sweat, about 3 minutes.

Add the garlic and pepper flakes and cook until you can smell the garlic, about 3 minutes more.

Add the crushed tomato, and stock to the pan. Use a wooden spoon to deglaze the bottom of the pan.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed

Add the chicken, basil, and rosemary to the sauce and add enough water or chicken stock to almost cover the chicken. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes to a half hour, until the sauce comes half way up the chicken.

Serve with polenta or roasted sweet garlic roasted zucchini.

Enjoy!