Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Obviously Fall is the best time of the year for me, I look forward to it every year. There are multiple reasons for it, and one of the many perks of this season are all the specialty drinks, such as apple cider, hot cocoa, and so on. More specifically, I get so excited to order all the new Starbucks drinks that are featured. My favorites are the Pumpkin Spice Latte & the new Salted Caramel Mocha. However, an obsession with Starbucks can start to add up after a while and get pretty expensive. So, I decided to make my own Pumpkin Spice Syrup to add to my favorite drinks at home. The syrup is easy to make and it also makes a lot (it made roughly two mason jars worth). One of my favorite drinks that I have made with the syrup is a pumpkin hot white chocolate. Whip up a big batch of this and make your favorite specialty drinks all season long!! Enjoy :)

Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Pumpkin Hot White Chocolate

For the Pumpkin Spice Syrup:

1C Pumpkin Puree

3C Granulated Sugar

2t Vanilla

3 ¾C Water

1T Cinnamon

1 ½t Ground Nutmeg

¾t Ground Cloves

¾t Ground Ginger

Directions:

1. To Make the Pumpkin Spice Syrup: Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat, stirring to keep the syrup from burning. Let the mixture cook together until it starts to coat the spoon, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain the mixture using a cheesecloth or tea towel into a jar for storage. Keep the syrup in the refrigerator until ready to use. 

LSU Weekend in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

I know I haven't posted in almost a week... bad, bad, bad blogger. I'm sorry! I went out of town to go back to visit the University of Alabama for LSU Weekend. Unfortunately my Bama Boys lost in OT :( but I still had so much fun, and I was so happy to see everyone that I hadn't seen in like 2 years!! I promise I will post a recipe tomorrow and get right back on schedule! In the mean time, here are some pictures from my weekend!! Enjoy :)

Tomato Corn Pie with Black Pepper-Biscuit Crust

I happened to come across some really gorgeous heirloom tomatoes and I also had frozen fresh corn in the freezer from this summer. So I decided to make a hearty pie. The corn filling is cheesy, while the fresh tomatoes provide a yummy sweetness. I especially love the crust. It really does have a great biscuit texture, but still has flaky layers. I added a bunch of fresh cracked coarse pepper for a little kick, and I love that. I will definitely be using it on some chicken pot pie soon! Enjoy :)

Black Pepper-Biscuit Crust

Tomato Corn Pie with Black Pepper-Biscuit Crust

For the Biscuit Crust:

2C AP Flour

1T Baking Powder

¾t Salt, Divided

1t-1T Fresh Cracked Coarse Pepper (to your liking)

6T Unsalted Butter, Very Cold & Cut into ¼inch Cubes

¾C Buttermilk

For the Tomato-Corn Pie:

1 ½C Corn

4 Medium Heirloom Tomatoes, Peeled & Sliced & Deseeded & Patted Dry

Sprinkle of Sugar

5 Strips of Bacon, Cut into Cubes & Fried until Crispy

¼C Sour Cream

4oz Goat Cheese

2T Fresh Chives, Sliced

1 ½C Cheddar Cheese, Shredded

¼t Cayenne

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

1T Butter, Melted

Directions:

1. To Make the Biscuit Crust: Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until it resembles a coarse meal. Add the milk & coarse black pepper, and pulse until it forms dough. Split it in half and roll each out on a well-floured surface. Fit one of the piecrusts into a 9inch pie plate.
2. To Make the Tomato-Corn Pie Filling: Mix the corn, crispy bacon, sour cream, goat cheese, chives, cheddar cheese, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Place the sliced tomatoes on top of the crust and then sprinkle with salt & pepper and a little sugar. Spoon the creamy corn mixture on top of the tomatoes and lightly spread it evenly over the tomatoes. Fit the other piecrust on top, folding it over the edges of the bottom one and crimping to seal in the juices.
3. Brush the top of the pie with butter and cut slits in the top to let out steam.
4. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling & hot.

Pumpkin Doughnut French Toast Casserole with Salted Caramel Sauce

So, when I made those Buttermilk-Glazed Pumpkin Doughnuts a couple days ago, we had some left over. The recipe made a lot, and the two of us couldn't possibly eat them all. So I figured why not turn them into a french toast casserole for the next morning. I have made a lot of french toast casseroles, but none of them had featured doughnuts. This is just a win-win in my book. And even if you don't use my pumpkin doughnuts, you can always go buy any doughnuts you like to substitute! But, I especially loved the golden orange color of the casserole, it just screams fall. And always make sure to drizzle some delicious salted caramel sauce on top! Enjoy :)

Pumpkin Doughnut French Toast Casserole with Salted Caramel Sauce

For the Baked Fresh Toast Casserole:

4 Large Eggs

1C Half & Half

½C Whole Milk

¼C Pure Pumpkin Puree

1t Brown Sugar

½t Vanilla

½t Cinnamon

¼t Salt

10 Leftover Buttermilk-Glazed Pumpkin Doughnuts, Cut into Cubes & Dried

Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce or Maple Syrup

Directions:

1. For the bread, you need to cut the doughnuts into bite size cubes and place them onto a baking sheet. Let the cubes become stale for 4-6 hours. Once the cubes are stale, spray a baking dish (we did individual ramekins) and stuff them into the dish and press down, so that it is fully packed.
2. To Make the Batter: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, half & half, milk, pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until completely incorporated & creamy. Pour the batter over the bread cubes and press down so that the batter soaks into all of the cubes.
3. Cover the dish with tinfoil and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.
4. The next morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
5. Bake the casserole for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your baking dish.
6. Serve hot with Salted Caramel Sauce or Maple Syrup.

Buttermilk-Glazed Pumpkin Doughnuts

I haven't been posting many desserts lately, and that's about to change. Today, I'm going to share Buttermilk-Glazed Pumpkin Doughnuts. They really don't need an introduction, I mean what's better than a doughnut? Nothing. And add pumpkin to the mix... delicious! I also loved the sweet dough that balances with the tangy buttermilk glaze. They had a dense, cakey texture, but they weren't too heavy. Enjoy :)

Buttermilk-Glazed Pumpkin Doughnuts 

For the Pumpkin Doughnuts:

1 ¾C AP Flour 

2t Baking Powder

1t Salt

1t Pumpkin Pie Spice

½C Sugar

1T Butter

1 Egg

1t Vanilla

¼C Buttermilk

½C Pumpkin Puree

½-1C AP Flour, For Rolling

Canola Oil, For Frying

For the Buttermilk Glaze:

2C Confectioners’ Sugar

¼C Buttermilk

1t Vanilla

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, spices, and sugar. Whisk together the remaining wet ingredients (except for the oil) in another bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir them around the bowl until the mixture is well combined.

2. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, rolling the dough to about ½inch thick, and then cut with a doughnut cutter.

3. Heat 2 inches of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, gently slide the doughnuts into the oil and fry them until one side is lightly browned. Gently flip the doughnuts and allow the other side to cook until lightly browned. Remove from the oil to a paper towel lined plate to drain.

4. To Make the Buttermilk Glaze: Whisk together all of the ingredients in a bowl until smooth. Dip the hot doughnuts into the glaze, making sure they are completely covered. Remove from the glaze to dry on a cooling rack.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

To go along with our Shrimp-Corn Chowder, I decided to serve it with homemade Cheddar Bay Biscuits. As most of you know these biscuits are the popular bread served at Red Lobster, so I figured that they would be a perfect side for our soup. I made a few changes to the recipe I found, and they were great! They would be awesome with any main dish to be honest, and guess what... they are super easy to make. So whip these babies up next time your in a bind for time and I guarantee you that everyone will be satisfied! Enjoy :)

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

For the Biscuits:

2 ½C Bisquick Baking Mix

¾C Milk

4T Cold Butter

¼t Garlic Powder & Old Bay Seasoning

3T Chives, Thinly Sliced

1C Cheddar Cheese, Grated

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

For the Garlic Butter:

4T Butter, Melted

½t Fresh Parsley, Minced  

1t Garlic Powder

Salt, To Taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a mixing bowl, using a pastry cutter. Don’t mix too much & leave small chunks of butter throughout. Add in the chives, cheddar cheese, milk, garlic powder, old bay, salt, and pepper. Mix by hand until combined (don’t over mix).
3. Drop roughly ¼C size balls of dough onto a cookie sheet (I used an ice cream scoop).
4. In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter, parsley, garlic powder, & salt. Set aside.
5. Bake for 10 minutes and brush some of the butter on top of the biscuits, and return to the oven to bake for another 10 minutes. Once they are cooked through & golden brown, brush them with more garlic butter.
6. Serve immediately. 

source: cheddar bay biscuits.

Soup Sunday: Shrimp-Corn Chowder

We're finally back from our trip to the mountains. It was super cold, but a lot of fun! We went hiking, shopping, fishing, and ate a whole bunch (duh). But I'm glad to be back. So, it's back to posting recipes! Well, obviously it is Soup Sunday again, and this is by far my favorite soup recipe (like ever). If you have ever been to Atlanta (or plan on going in the future), then you have probably eaten at Taqueria del Sol. It is possibly the busiest taco stand downtown. Sometimes you'll have to wait 1-2 hours just to eat. It's absolutely delicious... I always order two fried chicken tacos with a shrimp-corn chowder on the side. And lemme tell you, this soup is heavenly. It is so thick and creamy that you just instantly melt as you sip it in. It's sweet, but spicy, which is my one achilles heal. And then you have chunks of sweet corn, fresh shrimp, and poblano peppers. The soup is just divine. So, I knew that I had to recreate it. And I actually succeeded. This soup was seriously amazing, and just like Taqueria's. I beg you to make this, just do it, please. It's just that good! Enjoy :)

Shrimp-Corn-Poblano Chowder with Cheddar-Bay Biscuits

For the Chowder:

4T Unsalted Butter

1-2 Poblano Peppers, Seeded & Diced
1-2 Jalapeno Peppers (leave whole if you want it more spicy)
1 Bell Pepper, Diced (red of yellow preferably)
3 Cloves of Garlic

1 Small Sweet Onion, Diced

3 Stalks of Celery, Chopped

1T Lobster Base

½t Chili Powder & Old Bay

¼t Cayenne, Paprika, & White Pepper
Freshly Grated Nutmeg (around 1/8t or a healthy pinch)

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

1/3C Sugar (you can use a little more if you want it sweeter)

1 15oz Creamed Corn

2C Sweet Corn, Charred in a Skillet (we love corn, so we started doubling it to 4C of corn)

2lbs Shrimp, Diced

8-16oz Lump Crab Meat (this is completely optional, but crab makes everything better)

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Melted

½C AP Flour (sometimes you might need 2-4T more to make it thicker)         

1Q Heavy Cream

1Q Half & Half
Seafood Stock, For Thinning (if needed, completely optional)
Handful of Chives, Minced

Directions:

1. Preparing the Vegetables: Puree the poblano peppers, jalapeno peppers, bell pepper, cloves of garlic, diced onion, & celery in a food processor. Process until the veggies are finely chopped or minced (it should look like confetti). Drain out the excess liquid. Melt the 4T of butter in a large soup pot, and add in the vegetable puree. Saute for 3-5 minutes over medium heat or until they become tender and slightly translucent. When the vegetables have softened... add in the shrimp, crab, cream, half & half, seasonings, sugar, and lobster base. Let it simmer until the roux is ready. 
2. To Make the Roux: Begin making the roux by melting the one stick of butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Once the butter is hot enough and at a liquid state, add a pinch of flour to see if it is hot enough to start making the roux. If the flour bubbles, then it is ready. Whisk the flour into the melted butter until a thick, rough paste forms. Make sure to whisk constantly until no lumps of flour remain. It becomes smooth and thinned out some. Cook the roux until it reaches the white stage, it takes about 3-5 minutes. At this point, the roux should lose its raw, uncooked smell. Set it aside until you are ready to add it into your soup.
2. Making the Chowder: Bring the soup to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer and add in the roux. Whisk vigorously until the roux is completely incorporated and no large roux lumps remain. Simmer until your desired thickness, roughly 15-20 minutes. Add in the creamed corn and charred/grilled/fresh corn (whatever your preference is, we like to grill our corn because it gives the soup a mild smoky flavor). Adjust the soup with salt, pepper, and sugar to your liking. If the soup has gotten too thick for your tastes, just add in some seafood stock to thin it out a bit. 
3. Serve the soup hot with a garnish of minced chives and have some warm Cheddar-Bay Biscuits on the side!