The autumn light and colors of Vermont

Ever since our time in Vermont this summer, I have been dreaming about returning. "You would love it so much", I told my dad over the phone. He loves nature like I do. Rivers and forests are where he feels most at ease, so I knew it would be a gift to him to spend time there. I asked Nadia if we could visit once again to witness the foliage and quickly made arrangements for our trip.

I took the kids and my parents during what has to be the most beautiful time of the year. No question about it.



Nadia and I had just arrived from our workshop in France. I had two days to recover, but Nadia had literally gotten off the plane when she came to pick us at the airport. "You must be exhausted" is the first thing I said to her. She smiled. I knew she was, but it was good exhaustion. She was beaming.

As soon as we left the airport, I realized we had arrived at the peak of foliage. We couldn't have picked a better time.

"Stop, stop right there" I shouted. I couldn't believe my eyes. Fire-colored trees lined by a lake on the side of the road made the most beautiful sight. We jumped off the car and ran to admire it. Breathtaking.



The kids played with the dogs and fed the chickens and ducks. We took walks every morning stopping every minute to take it all in. My dad and I took over two thousand images of foliage, rivers and children playing.

"When will we go to the pumpkin patch?" Jon asked over and over again. That was the one thing that he really wanted to do. "Don't worry. There will be plenty" Nadia reassured him. There were indeed. We visited a different pumpkin patch every day and they loved it.

Rolled around the dried yellow leaves and laughed hard.



We visited the Middlebury farmers' market on a Wednesday. Also stopped at Nadia's friend Ethan Mitchell's family farm where three generations live surrounded by trees and thirty sheep. I left so inspired once again.

As we were driving around, Nadia pointed out the rivers and areas that had been affected by hurricane Irene. The damage was visible, but things were slowly coming back to normal. I saw the devastation in Williamstown where we had spent time this summer.



Nadia cooked for us everyday. Red kuri squash and leek soup, roasted chicken with root vegetables, quinoa spaghetti with roasted squash and herbs, banana and quinoa bread and apple crisp with the apples we picked at her friend's orchard. We were so thankful for everything she did for us.

My parents left eternally grateful and happy to know that I do indeed have great friends. I even spotted a tear in my mom's eye when she hugged Nadia goodbye. They were touched by her.



So I left ready to come back. Another season perhaps.

Vermont has stolen my heart.





Thank you Nadia once again for your generosity and hospitality. We can't wait to come back. Oh and Nadia... Jon is still waiting for his slingshot. He loves you.

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The autumn light and colors of Vermont

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Pumpkin, Quinoa and Hazelnut Gnocchi and Some Chocolate Pot de Creme

Our farmers market finally started again. I cannot believe it has been six months already since we enjoyed our last farmers' market tomatoes, berries and more. Even after all these years, I still find it fascinating how when the rest of the country is going into almost hibernation, we are now enjoying being outside and our growing season begins once again.



It was about 6:30 on Sunday morning when J. came rushing in our room. "Can we go to the farmers' market park and get some doughnuts with the sprinkles on them?" It is one of the things we look forward to the most. Walk around, get fresh produce and eggs for the week, something to eat and then head across the street to the park.

We played hard indeed.



C. took the kids to a friend's house to give me some time to work and unwind. Sometimes, there is nothing better than an empty house and silence.

I put all my farmers' market goodies away, sat down and then felt a sudden urge to make gnocchi. It had been a long time.



I remembered my years in the pastry kitchen when our head chef would arrive early in the morning, before any of his cooks did, so he could make pasta in peace and quiet. Kneading, rolling, filling, folding... Not a word, just music and his pasta.

Perhaps the silence I found at home was really what inspired me to make these gnocchi. Little dumplings of roasted red kuri squash from the market with Robert and Paula's eggs, quinoa flour and hazelnuts. They were delicious and rich tossed in brown butter, fresh sage and toasted hazelnuts.



For dessert, these little pots of chocolate and hazelnut butter custard made with coconut milk and vanilla bean.

The perfect ending.

Red Kuri Squash, Quinoa and Hazelnut Gnocchi with Brown Butter, Sage and Toasted Hazelnuts

makes enough for 2 large or 4 small servings

1 lb (454 grams) roasted red kuri squash puree (1 medium red kuri squash)
olive oil and salt to roast the squash
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup (60 grams) quinoa flour
1/4 cup (30 grams) hazelnut flour
2 Tbs (20 grams) tapioca starch
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Dusting gluten free flour mix
3 Tbs butter, browned
2 Tbs frsh sage, finely chopped
2 Tbs toasted hazelnuts, chopped
Parmesan cheese, optional

Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. Cut each half into strips and place them on a baking sheet. Toss them with a little olive oil and salt. Roast them at 400F for about 30 minutes or until tender. Let them cool for a few minutes until cool enough to handle.

Puree the squash into a large bowl with a food mill or a potato ricer. This allows the puree to be light and fluffy and the dry ingredients are incorporated quickly without having to overwork the dough. Weigh 1 lb of puree.

Add the egg yolk, quinoa flour, hazelnut meal, tapioca starch, salt and nutmeg. Mix with a fork. It will be a sticky dough.

Dust a wooden board or your work surface with flour. Coat your hands with flour. Take a medium ball and roll it into a long log that is about 1/2" thick in diameter. Cut this log into 1- 1 1/2" pieces. Roll each piece on your fork to create indentations and drop it on a baking sheet lined with lightly floured parchment. Repeat until you have cut all the dough.

You can cook them on freeze them at this point. To freeze them, stick the baking sheet in the freezer and when the gnocchi are hard, put them in a freezer bag. If you decide to freeze them, do not thaw them out before cooking.

To cook them bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop the gnocchi in it. They are done when they float to the surface.

In the meantime, heat the butter in a large saute pan. Let the butter brown. Add the sage and toss the cooked gnocchi in it. Serve with toasted hazelnuts and parmesan.

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Pumpkin, Quinoa and Hazelnut Gnocchi and Some Chocolate Pot de Creme

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Pumpkin and Hazelnut Doughnuts and a Clafoutis

It has been all about pumpkins in our family lately. Pumpkin patches, pumpkin carving, baking with pumpkins, books about Halloween and the meaning of it all... I never thought I would say this, and forgive me if I sound like a cliche, but children's enthusiasm for holidays can really be very, very contagious. Life through their eyes takes on a complete new meaning and to be able to experience it makes my heart flutter sometimes. Of course, I am also in a constant hormone-induced emotional state, which doesn't help either, but I love this time of year more and more.



I have never been a big fan of any fried dessert, but ever since Lara started on her doughnut cookbook project, I have become increasingly curious about testing new recipes myself. Then earlier last week, I stumbled upon an old cake doughnut recipe we used to use at work. "We are making pumpkin doughnuts today!", I told my little boy. His face lit up and immediately went to drag his step stool into the kitchen. Big mistake on my part as a meltdown soon followed when he found out he couldn't stand in front of the hot frying pan. "Why not?", he asked.



I know I should have probably roasted my own pumpkin, but this time I cheated and used canned pumpkin puree. Some pumpkins are too watery to use in such preparations so if you are going to roast your own, make sure to use a cheese pumpkin or even butternut squash which are meatier. I also added some hazelnut flour into the doughnuts and coated them in a hazelnut cinnamon sugar mixture while hot.

I had some leftover puree and immediately thought of Claudia Fleming's pumpkin and hazelnut clafoutis. Comfort and rustic food at its best. And no need to mention that both of these should be eaten right away. Love that.



Pumpkin and Hazelnut Doughnuts

375 grams flour
55 grams hazelnut flour
10 grams baking powder
8 grams baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
10 grams salt
110 grams pumpkin puree
60 grams whole milk, room temperature
40 grams sour cream, room temperature
100 grams sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
60 grams butter, melted

Canola oil, for frying

400 grams sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
50 grams hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and finely chopped

In a large bowl mix together the flour, hazelnut flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk the pumpkin, milk, sour cream, sugar, eggs and melted butter. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and fold until it comes together. Don't worry if it's lumpy.

Dust your work surface with a bit of flour and dump the dough on it. Knead lightly until it comes together. Dust the top lightly with flour and roll to 1/2" thick. Using a doughnut cutter or two round cookie cutters, cut out the doughnuts and place them on a sheet pan with a silicon mat or parchment and dusted with some flour.

To fry the doughnuts, fill a pan up to 2" of canola oil. Heat the oil until it reaches 375F. Do not over-crowd the pan with doughnuts. Fry about 5 at a time (depending on the size of the pan). They will sink to the bottom but then float to the top. Turn them over and let them cook for an additional 2 minutes or so.

Drain them on paper towels and while hot, coat them with the cinnamon-hazelnut sugar.

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Pumpkin and Hazelnut Doughnuts and a Clafoutis

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A Pie in the Making and a Happy Thanksgiving

We started our Thanksgiving dinner prep today by making the croutons for the stuffing, brining the turkey, making the cranberry sauce and rolling out the pie dough for the pumpkin pie. For me, the anticipation is the most exciting part of the whole thing. I love prep work and organizing every single step in my head.

We picked out some fresh flowers today called "wax flowers" for our table setting. We are using recycled spice jars as vases and placing them next to each person. I love little details.



I hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

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A Pie in the Making and a Happy Thanksgiving

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Pumpkin and Pistachio Baked Alaska

Baked alaska definitely has a nostalgic and even kitschy sentiment in my mind. I have many childhood memories of eating baked alaska at the restaurant where my family always celebrated our gatherings. Plaid tablecloths and 80s decor come to mind when I think back at those times. All the kids always looked forward to dessert just so we could watch the waiter burn the meringue tableside. It was almost like anticipation before watching fireworks in the summer.




This is another one of my leftover series creations. I always have fun taking leftover components and creating new desserts from them. Here are some baked alaskas filled with pumpkin ice cream and pistachio joconde and covered with snow white Italian meringue. I also wanted to finish the gingerbread sugar dough by creating these sandwich cookies that are filled with roasted apple buttercream.



Do you ever feel like you need time to recuperate from the weekend? We had a great one and I hope you did too!

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Pumpkin and Pistachio Baked Alaska

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Pumpkin and Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwiches

Since I was gone for practically three weeks, I have not been thinking about the upcoming holidays. It suddenly hit me when we went over to a friend's house for dinner and their entire house was beautifully decorated with autumn motifs. Halloween is around the corner (still don't know if our little boy will end up wearing the costume we got him) and Thanksgiving and Christmas follow soon after.

Although I grew up eating lots of winter squash, I had never really had it as an ingredient in a dessert until I came to the US and tasted pumpkin pie. I immediately fell in love and to this day, pumpkin pie is my favorite part of the American holidays.




As you might have noticed, I love ice cream and particularly ice cream sandwiches. The weather is still warm enough to be enjoying ice cream outside.

We got some great looking pumpkins the other day, which I roasted. I used some of that flesh for this ice cream and froze the rest. I found that the flesh was a bit more watery than the regular canned pumpkin puree, but it tasted excellent. We also roasted the pumpkin seeds and ate them right out of the oven with a bit of sea salt. Deliciousness.

Gingerbread Sugar Cookies

250 grams butter
125 grams powdered sugar
1 egg
370 grams flour
3 grams salt
2 grams baking powder
3 grams ground ginger
2 grams ground cloves
1 gram ground cinnamon
Egg wash
Sanding sugar

Cream the butter and the powdered sugar with the paddle attachment. Scrape the bowl and add the egg. Mix until combined. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder and spices and add to the mixing bowl. Mix until combined.

Turn the dough on to your work surface and shape it into a disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap and flatten it some more. Refrigerate overnight.

Remove dough from refrigerator and roll to 1/8" thickness. Cut with a square cookie cutter that is about 3" and place them on a sheetpan lined with a silicon mat or a piece of parchment paper. Brush the tops of the cookies with egg wash and sprinkle sanding sugar on top. Bake at 350F for about 8 minutes. Let the cookies cool before assembling the ice cream sandwiches.

Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream

450 grams whole milk
100 grams heavy cream
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
170 grams sugar
70 grams egg yolks
200 grams fresh pumpkin puree

Cut a medium size pumpkin in half. Place on a sheetpan cut side down and bake at 375F for about 30 minutes or until flesh soft and scoopable. Measure 200 grams of the pumpkin flesh, puree and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk, heavy cream, half of the sugar and the spices. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the rest of the sugar. When the milk mixture comes to a boil, temper into the egg yolks and whisk. Return this base to the pan and cook to 82C or until it coats the back of a wooden spoon.

Strain this custard through a fine sieve into a clean bowl. Mix the pumpkin puree into it and place the bowl over an ice bath to cool it quickly. Let the ice cream base rest in the refrigerator overnight.

Churn in ice cream machine and when done, pour into a frozen quarter sheetpan. Freeze until solid.

Cut ice cream with the same size square cookie cutter used to cut the gingerbread sugar cookies. Place the ice cream squares between cookies and serve,

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Pumpkin and Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwiches

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