pumpkin bars with maple cream cheese frosting

Thanksgiving feels like it was ages ago, though it was just last week that I was huddled around our dining table, 14 unnervingly-cheerful family members by my side, reaching for my second [or was it third?] helping of turkey and Butterbeer.

What I wouldn't do to have some leftover turkey here at the apartment so as to stop chewing on my own hand whenever I get hungry. The lack of quality food and utter depression that accompanies it can only mean one thing: we've approached finals season.

Presumably, I spend most of my days holed up in my room or at a coffee shop, frantically reading hundreds of pages of Spanish literature and philosophy that I shirked during the semester, writing the best-quality term paper[s] I can a week before the due date, and waking up every morning praying that I'm back in my fluffy bed at home, having left all final exams and papers behind me.

Okay, admittedly, it's not that tragic. Mostly it's been painful not being able to play PS3 when AC:R sits next to my television remote forlornly, abandoned and neglected, wondering how it got stuck with a good-for-nothing college student who really should have read that 200-page Spanish novel 2 weeks ago when it was assigned rather than spending hours doing so yesterday in order to write a paper due next week.


...not that I'm, you know, bitter or anything.

Pumpkin Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
A bakedbeen original
Makes 18-24 bars

For the pumpkin bars, you'll need:

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 15-oz can pumpkin [not pumpkin pie filling]
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 heaping tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• a few shakes of cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup crushed pecans
• 1/4 cup raisins

For the maple cream cheese frosting, you'll need:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 4 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla

To prepare the pumpkin bars:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line and grease a 9x13-inch baking pan. In a large bowl, beat eggs, oil, brown sugar, and pumpkin until fluffy, 4-5 minutes. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.  Using a wooden spoon, hand-mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Be careful not to over-mix. Once mixed, toss in the pecans and raisins and give the batter another turn. Pour the batter into the prepared pan for 25-30 minutes, until set. Let cool completely before frosting.


To prepare the maple cream cheese frosting:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Lower mixer speed to low and slowly add in powdered sugar. Mix until combined. Add maple syrup and vanilla. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat for another 3-5 minutes, until fluffy. Refrigerate until frosting reaches spreading consistency, about 30 minutes. 

Once bars are cool, spread the cream cheese frosting evenly over top. Garnish with whole or crushed pecans, if desired. Refrigerate at least 45 minutes before slicing.

Luckily, after a week of unprecedented amounts of catch-up and studying, Noosh and I got to spend the afternoon and evening out, shopping in pleasantly nippy, chilly weather and meeting up with good friends for an extraordinarily entertaining little dinner party.

For the occasion, I decided to bake. I felt as though I hadn't baked in years, although I made about 4 desserts for our Thanksgiving dinner last week. I'll blame it on finals-prep having drained the life and joy out of me.

But I digress: baking. Pumpkin bars with maple cream cheese frosting, to be precise. For some reason I have this delusion that baking with pumpkin after Christmas is just blasphemous, since pumpkin is the epitome of fall deliciousness and happiness, and the only thing I want to do when winter rolls around is stuff a pillow over my head and hibernate for 3 months. So I figured: I only have two more weeks at the apartment, I have a can of pumpkin in my pantry, and it would be going against nature for me to use it after I'm back for intercession; might as well put it to delicious use.

I always view pumpkin in the same light I do carrots, when it comes to baking. They both have a sort of mild, dense, earthy quality about them which pairs wonderfully with spices, nuts, and dried fruits. Pumpkin bars I've had in the past are typically made with just pumpkin and spices, and have a really pleasant cake-y quality to them. But I like my pumpkin bars heartier, so always add ground nuts [what's more fitting than pecans?] and raisins to give them some body and a sort of rustic, cold-weather touch. Maple added to the frosting to tie it all together, and you're left with a beautiful fall dessert.

Simple, but comforting. As is spending an evening after a stressful week with good friends and good food.

And with a happy belly and residual smile from a wonderful night, the next two weeks don't seem quite so daunting.

sunday brunch and oatmeal raisin scones

Out of the hundred or so cookbooks I purchased this summer [okay, maybe just 11], I'd have to say one of my favorites is Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles. I mean, I'm already madly in love with Tony's dry, sardonic wit, and to see that so eloquently translated in a cookbook was a match made in heaven. It's not one that I've actually used for recipes yet [I'm not exactly a connoisseur of bistro-style cooking, let alone have hours upon hours to make my own demi-glace], but it's one that I enjoy reading as though it were a novel.

Which, you may know by now, is a quality I think is essential in a good cookbook. Not just recipes, but vignettes. Not just photographs, but memories of places and emotions felt there. Not just cooking tips, but life advice.

And in Les Halles, Tony is brilliant.

[I promise I'm not going to spend this post just propagandizing this book.]

Anyway, the point is, one of my favorite things Tony says is that his book is not going to teach you how to cook.

Well, then, what's the point of buying a cookbook, right?

Well, "to teach you how to love food."

...Or at least, something to that effect, with a little less fluff and a little more cursing thrown in. So I've been trying to look at recipes as more guidelines than actual rules, giving me an idea of proper ratios for flours and baking powders, spices and vegetable stocks, and kind of letting my mind run wild with ideas. Yesterday when Tommy popped by to help with the basbousa, we decided to do some baking for today's Sunday brunch, and settled on one of my favorite treats in the entire world.

Although, crepes filled with butter and sliced strawberries and topped with powdered sugar are a damn-close second.

Scones, of course. Oatmeal-raisin scones, this time. The base recipe comes from Breakfast, Lunch, Tea, but has been adjusted to suit my own tastes. The end result was something hearty, not-too-sweet, with a consistency in between that of a scone and a biscuit. Perfect with a slather of butter and a drizzle of honey. And of course, some good company.

Oatmeal-Raisin Scones
Original recipe
Recipe yields 10-12 scones, depending on the size

You'll need:

• 3 cups of flour
• 1 cup of oats
• 2 heaping tablespoons of baking powder
• 2 tbsps sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 stick of butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 1 1/4 cups of heavy cream
• 2 tsps vanilla
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, sugar, and salt until well-mixed. Cut in butter until incorporated [you can use your hands here]. In a separate bowl, combine cream, vanilla, and lemon juice. Make a well in the middle of the dough and pour in the about two-thirds of the cream mixture. Using your hands, mix the flour and cream mixture until the batter comes together. It shouldn't be sticky; if too wet, add more flour; if too dry, add more liquid [you may not use all the liquid, which is fine]. Finally, add in raisins and give a quick mix with your hands.

Form discs of dough and spread them out across the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the tops of the scones are light golden-brown. Let cool at 10-15 minutes before serving. Scones are best served warm, but can be kept airtight at room temperature for up to a day. Serve with butter, jam, honey, or clotted cream, as they are not very sweet.

I'd have to say, scones are the best way to start a day. Particularly when paired with amazing crepes, made perfectly by Noosh, and scrambled eggs with onions, tomatoes, and feta, courtesy of Tommy. I'm thinking this needs to become routine...

What can I say? My friends know how to eat.

Great minds and all that.

salted caramel bread pudding

In my head I pictured it as a nice daytrip to the city, catching up with an old friend, gracefully strolling through art museums, admiring the gorgeous weather and scenery, eating some quality meals over quality conversations, and a pleasant drive home.



...Then again, when does anything ever go as planned?

Yesterday Noosh and I took a roadtrip to DC to see Kevin, whom I haven't seen since his visit last September [if you will recall the bread pudding and apple pie that were both epically conquered within 24 hours.] Dropped the car off on the outskirts of the city, took the metro in, and made it just in time for the three of us to grab some lunch at Capital Brewery. And by 'just in time' I mean about an hour and a half after the fact, since Kevin's phone lied misinformed us about the hours of operation of a few locations.

But it was a delicious lunch just the same. Even if they did leave the sauerkraut off of my Reuben [to which I remember Kevin and Noosh asking me if it was really a pity at all that they forewent the fermented cabbage, but I happen to enjoy sauerkraut very well, thank you very much]. Would recommend for sure, if you're ever in the area.

After lunch we strolled through the city for a bit, catching up on life [I distinctly remember telling Kevin beforehand that I'll be leaving the country, but he seemed to disagree], and mid-afternoon met up with Cory and Daniel [who had driven up for the day, after sleeping in until almost 11], at the National Gallery for the Chester Dale: Impressionism to Modernism, Nam June Paik, and Canaletto and his Rivals on Venice exhibitions. [The Venice exhibit was truly breathtaking, but all three were phenomenal.]

I should also mention that I had been carrying a 16-oz baguette in my purse for the grand majority of the day, including our museum visit. Also an unopened box of light brown sugar, but that was less of an issue since it was wrapped in a plastic bag. But I was pretty positive that museum security was going to kindly request that I discard the baguette, since, I mean who in their right mind carries an unopened, enormous loaf of French bread in their bag? 

Well, I got in just fine. So that's a tip for any of you who want to visit a museum and are worried about them taking your bread away from you: it's totally chill. Does make me wonder, though, what other oddities they must see on a regular basis...

Anyway, spent a few hours there before heading back to Kevin's apartment to make dinner. Because it seems as though whenever Kevin and I are in the same vicinity, cooking a meal is inevitable. Which I am more than happy about.

Canaletto, Santa Maria della Salute and the Entrance to the Grand Canal, looking East
1744 
[not my image]

A delicious dinner of bak choy, kalbi with radishes, Cantonese tomatoes and eggs, sauteed drumsticks, and chicken gizzards. Everyone pitched in, either prepping, cooking, dish-washing, clearing the table, what-have-you, so it was a very lovely little dinner party.

Can I just say, though, that only for you, Kev, would I try a chicken gizzard. And I must say, the taste was just fine. The texture I abhorred, with a burning passion. But at least that's something else to cross of my list, eh? [Even if I plan on never letting one touch my plate again.]

the spread, in terrible lighting

Kev put me in charge of dessert, as per usual, and so I went with another bread pudding [seems to be a tradition to bake bread pudding alongside our meals? sure]: salted caramel bread pudding, to be precise. Really, all I was thinking was thank the lord I can take this poor, abused loaf of bread out of my purse.

Salted Caramel Bread Pudding
Adapted from The Comfort of Cooking

You'll need:

• 1 (16-oz) loaf unsliced French bread
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce [homemade or store-bought]

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Using a serrated knife, slice bread into 1-inch cubes. Spread bread evenly across baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine milk, brown sugar, vanilla, eggs, and raisins. Toss toasted bread in the milk mixture until well mixed. Cover bowl and chill for at least 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Gently pour soaked bread into a greased casserole dish, cover the top with aluminum foil, and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover  and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until pudding is set. 

Pour caramel sauce into a bowl and heat for 30 seconds, or until warm. Serve with bread pudding.

The pudding is delicious. I wish I had had some more of my things over to photograph with, but Kev's gorgeous D7000 was fun enough to play with. After we thoroughly demolished the entirety of the bread pudding and salted caramel sauce, Noosh very kindly did the dishes as Cory and I played Fruit Ninja, and then the four of us [sans Kev] decided to go out for a midnight crepe run [because we needed more food after that feast, obviously] at Crepeaway. Also definitely recommend, if you're in the area [and they stay open until 4 am, I believe.]

Enjoyed some crepes, chatted some more, realized it was nearing 12:30 and we should probably head back to the metro station if we intended to leave DC that night morning, said our goodbyes, hopped on the metro, and drove home. Definitely one of the most painful late-night drives of my life, and I can hardly remember what happened between me parking the car and waking up at 1 pm this morning.

Save that it was one of the best daytrips that I can remember.

Edit: The very sweet hostess of Sweet as Sugar Cookies, Lisa, has invited me to participate in her Sweets for a Saturday with this recipe post. Thanks so much, Lisa! I'm truly honored. :)