This recipe is very near and dear to my heart. My mother, Darlet, made THE BEST pumpkin and zucchini bread. In honor of her would-be 70th birthday, I would love to share with you one of her most loved recipes. She was never known as Mrs. M., but as Mom to everyone that came into the house. Even the boyfriends (which, now that I look back on that, I find it a little disturbing. But she WAS the most kickass mom EVER!!)
Although I’ve never tried to emulate it before, I did recently roast a whole pumpkin for homemade pumpkin ravioli (recipe will be posted later this week!! Promise!) and had a lot of leftovers that I froze, their fate to be determined at a later date. Now I know what I’ll be doing with them 
- 2/3C Shortening
- 2 1/2C sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1lb pumpkin (canned or fresh cooked and mashed/food processed)
- 2/3C whole milk
- 3 1/3C flour
- 1/2tsp baking powder
- 2tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2tsp salt
- 2tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2tsp ground cloves
- 2/3C chopped walnuts
- 2/3C chopped raisins (I always hated them in this when I was younger, but I may try them out this time)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 2 loaf pans.
Cream shortening and sugar.
Add eggs one at a time
Add pumpkin
Alternate milk and flour until well combined.
Add spices, nuts and raisins.
Pour into loaf pans and bake for 60-70 mins.
Thank you for everything, Mum. <3
I’ve posted this recipe in the past, but I just found some pictures I took the last time I prepared it for some friends. So I figured it would be a good thing to update. Don’t let the bacon, butter and cream fool you. This dish is much lighter than it appears.
This is a simple country-style French dish that is hearty, nourishing and wicked, wicked good! It’s origins are in the French province of Brittany. One of the six Celtic nations, Brittany is gastronomically revered for producing some of France’s best beers, white wines, crêpes and seafood.
1 large onion, sliced
4 oz butter
8 oz bacon slices
1 ½ pounds potatoes, peeled & thinly sliced
1 ½ pounds fresh cod fillets (any medium to firm textured white fish such as haddock, roughy or halibut may be substituted)
1 cup heavy cream
Heat oven to 350°. Sauté the sliced onion in 2 tablespoons of the butter. Prepare in a greased casserole dish which is an appropriate size to pack in all the ingredients firmly. Cover the bottom of the oven dish with a layer of bacon slices, then half of the onion, then half of the potato slices. Layering it all like a sandwich.
Cut the fish into medium sized pieces and place on top of the potatoes. Season well with salt & freshly ground black pepper. Reversely, cover the fish with the rest of the potatoes, then the onions and then the bacon. Season well with salt & freshly ground black pepper again. Pour over the cream. Dot the top with the remaining butter. Bake in the oven for about an hour. It will be done when the top is well browned and the cream is bubbling vigorously.
With the potatoes integrated within the dish, all you need is a side green vegetables. I’d suggest roasted asparagus.
Yankees suck!
All I had to work with tonight was a little less than a pound of left over fresh haddock from dinner this weekend. That recipe will be up here one of these days. It ruled! Not that this recipe is one for the ages, but it is light, and taste fresh and delicious.
1 pound fresh cod, halibut, sea bass or haddock
2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced thick on the diagonal
2 medium yellow squash, halved lengthwise and sliced thick on the diagonal
1 half large white onion
2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and minced
1 medium shallot, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon Zatarain’s Cajun seasoning
Half fresh squeezed lemon
Heat oven to 425°. Melt the butter with the oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and shallots and sauté for 5 minutes. Try to control the heat. Do not brown or burn the garlic. Salt & pepper both sides of the fish filet. Spoon a small amount of the sauté mixture into a baking dish and place the fliet on top. Spoon a small amount of the sauté mixture on top of the filet. Toss zucchini, squash, Cajun seasoning and a bit more salt & pepper in the sauté pan for a minute or two and add to the sides of the baking dish around the fish filet. Place onions on top of the filet and squeeze fresh lemon juice all over everything. Bake for 25 minutes. There are several different directions you can go with seasoning this dish. Try dried oregano, rosemary or thyme. Maybe lemon pepper. Go for it! Enjoy! Yankees suck!
4 large red apples, cored (I like Fuji Apples)
2 tablespoons butter, softened
4 tablespoons sugar or Splenda
¼ cup Burgundy
1 cinnamon stick
4 lemon slices
Heat oven to 375°. Place apples in a large saucepan and cover with water. Boil apples, covered, for five minutes. Transfer apples to a small baking dish, just large enough to hold the apples. Whisk together butter, sugar and wine. Pour the butter mixture into the hollows and over the apples. Pour a few tablespoons of hot water into the bottom of the dish. Break up the cinnamon stick and add it to the dish. Add the lemon slices. Bake for about 40 minutes basting several times during baking.
Rich and creamy, sweet and succulent. Scallops are one of my favorite foods. This dish is simple as it is unique.
1 pint sea scallops
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup cream
¾ cup milk
½ cup Italian flavored bread crumbs
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Heat oven to 400°. On the stove, melt butter in an oven proof sauté pan and add scallops. Stir well and sauté for about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and blend well. Slowly add cream and milk. Cook while stirring often until slightly thick. Season with salt & pepper. Cover with the bread crumbs and transfer to the oven. Bake in oven till crumbs are browned, about 10 minutes.
Now that I’m living back in the Boston area, what better than to shell out some recipes that are regional favorites. At first I thought, Clam Chowdah!! Then, I thought, no way. I’m not confident enough to attach my name to any home cooked clam chowder recipes just yet. There are too many good places around the corner to get great chowder. Why waste time at home? Legal Sea Foods, Woodman’s and Newick’s are my favorites.
1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes in a thick puree
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
2 19-oz cans of small white beans, rinsed and drained, about 4 cups
1 medium onion, cut crosswise into ¼-in thick slices
6 bacon slices
Heat oven to 400°. Stir together tomatoes, brown sugar, mustard and salt in a bowl. Gently stir in the beans and transfer to a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Arrange onion slices in one layer over beans, then cover onion with the bacon. Bake uncovered, until bacon is browned and beans have absorbed most of the liquid, about an hour and a half.
Swordfish has a texture that makes so easy to grill that many people overlook other ways to cook it. I tried this recipe out and fell in love.
2 ½ pounds of fresh swordfish
All-purpose flour
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
½ cup marinara sauce
4 tablespoons of butter
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 shallots, sliced fine
Heat oven to 300°. Cut the fish into ½ inch thick slices if they aren’t already (try getting the butcher to do this when you buy it), dry well, and sprinkle lightly with flour, salt and pepper. Mix the marinara sauce with four tablespoons of the butter. Place the oil in a baking pan and add the fish. Cook for five minutes on each side on top of the stove over medium heat. Remove from the heat. Add the marinara sauce/butter mixture and sliced shallots. Cover and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Enjoy. Yankees suck!
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