Recipe: Mushroom, Sweet Potato, and Cheddar Stuffed Focaccia

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For gatherings like Friendsgiving/Thanksgiving, instead of thinking about just the traditional or typical dishes, I like to brainstorm what will have the biggest wow factor for a group of people without any tedious steps. For this recipe, I partnered with Cabot Creamery to create a stuffed focaccia recipe that is simultaneously impressive and unfussy. Loaded with a combination of sweet potato, pan-roasted mushrooms, caramelized onions, and—of course—lots of Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar, this recipe bakes up a big slab of cheesy carby goodness that is easy to slice up and feed a group while serving up earthy, autumnal flavors.

This is a same-day focaccia recipe. For a more minimalist focaccia where you will want the dough itself to develop a more complex flavor, it is typically recommended to allow for a longer fermenting process of at least overnight or even a few days in the fridge. But since this one is a vessel for the mixture of delicious mushrooms, melty creamy sharp cheddar, and other goodies, I opted for a quicker dough recipe. Plus, something I struggle with when I am getting ready to have people over is fridge space, since I’m stocking up on more groceries than normal, so I wanted this recipe to avoid having a big bowl in my fridge overnight. 

The dough comes together very easily with the help of a stand mixer, and there are three rest periods for the dough where you just leave it to do its thing and can focus on other tasks, resulting in a nice bouncy, pillowy bread. The only step that involves some attention to detail is decorating, but that’s completely optional! This bread will taste great whether or not you opt to adorn it with extra ingredients as I have here.

I’m proud to have had Cabot as a partner for several recipes now, so when I visited Vermont in the early fall of this year, it was cool to spot Cabot’s distinctive plaid-accented packaging among goods labeled as locally made there. Cabot is a farmer-owned cooperative, which means the ownership of the company is comprised of a group of farmers working together; those New England farmers are also the same people who are raising the cows that provide the milk to produce their wonderful cheeses, butters, and other dairy products. Now that I am back home all the way on the west coast, I can find Cabot cheeses in my local grocery stores too—that’s the proof that those farmers grew stronger by being together.  The plaid motif on Cabot’s packaging is a nod to the fact that they are proudly farmer-owned, and to the fabric that connects them.

Even though I’ve gained plenty of confidence in my cooking skills over the years, I never want to take any chances when I am cooking for guests. If I want to make a cheesy focaccia—as I have done for many a dinner party now—I know that using one of Cabot’s cheddars is an easy way to set myself up for success. But let’s get into a little more detail about that, and everything else that goes into making this bread.

Notes on the key ingredients for this Mushroom, Sweet Potato, and Cheddar Stuffed Focaccia:

• Mushrooms: Working as a recipe developer has taught me to pay even closer attention to seasonal produce than I did before, and now one thing I look forward to in the colder months is mushrooms! While the standard round button mushrooms are in stores all year, some of the more exciting varieties—like golden chanterelles—are only prevalent at this time of year and to me, their earthy flavor conjures memories of fall and winter hikes crunching on fallen leaves on the damp forest floor. I really got carried away with all the options when I was shopping for mushrooms for this recipe and you definitely don’t have to use this much variety! I do recommend choosing at least a couple different kinds to bring some complexity. Specifically, I find that shitake mushrooms bring a ton of rich umami flavor to the filling and shimeji (or beech) mushrooms look very cute for decorating the top.

• Sweet Potato: Incorporating thinly-sliced sweet potato into this recipe brings the autumnal vibes, in terms of both flavor and color. I used a mandoline to get even, thin slices that easily cooked through while the bread was baking. Look for the kind of sweet potato that has vibrant orange or red-orange flesh inside, like a red garnet.

• Red Onion: A little caramelized onion brings a lovely subtle sweetness to the filling. The onion, as well as the mushrooms, get pre-cooked on the stove during one of the rest periods for the dough.

• Cheddar: This bread incorporates Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar in two different formats. I like to grate about one-third of the dairy bar to sprinkle into the bottom of the pan underneath the dough; this crisps up while the bread is baking and becomes the first thing that hits your tongue as you bite into the freshly-baked bread, bringing  a nice tang of that sharp cheddar flavor. I break the rest of the dairy bar into rough crumbles and layer some in with the filling, while reserving some to dimple into the bread’s surface. I like the idea of every bite being a little different, with some being a chunky piece of mushroom and others being extra cheesy.

Notes on decorating the stuffed focaccia: 

I wanted to add an extra wow-factor for my focaccia since we eat with our eyes first! The decoration that I created uses sweet potato slices to form fall-colored roses and some extra mushrooms to give a hint to what’s stuffed inside. I love that this floral motif can be achieved by anyone, even if they do not have access to edible flowers or the ability to grow their own (like I do for some of my other bakes on this blog). You can definitely get as creative as you like when you are making your own version of this recipe, but here are some tips I can pass on about decorating focaccia as I have here:

• Soak some—but not all—of the sweet potato slices in cold water. This will make them stiffer and more hydrated, which will make it easier to poke them into the dough’s surface and prevent them from burning as quickly. It also causes the slices to curl a little, making them look more like rose petals. You’ll also want some unsoaked slices to remain flexible so you can roll them into a spiral to form the center of each rose.

• Mushrooms work really well as decorations; since they are so naturally full of moisture they don’t shrivel too much as the bread bakes. I think the shimeji (or beech) mushrooms worked especially well on mine. I also used some golden chanterelles.

• Choose herb/vegetable leaves that are flat and tender. Leaves can easily shrivel and crisp up in the oven but for best results, you’ll want to select ones that can be pressed onto the surface of the dough. This direct contact is what will help them preserve their shape in the oven, so the flatter and more flexible the leaf, the better. I used red-veined sorrel here because I love how they have a bit of a purple tint when they come out of the oven and add to the autumnal vibe; baby red chard could be a good substitute. I also used some lemon thyme, which has more tender leaves and flexible stems than other varieties of thyme I find at the grocery store.

• Generously brush everything with olive oil before baking. This provides a protective coating on all your edible decorations and reduces how much they will shrivel in the heat of the oven.

Decorating is, of course, the most labor-intensive aspect of this recipe but the good news is that you can do something much simpler, or skip the decorating entirely! Here is how you can adapt the recipe below if you wish to make the yummy bread, but don’t want to spend as much time making the floral motif on top.

Easier version—Fall leaves: Use a cookie cutter to cut the sweet potato slices into fall leaves. You can place these directly on the surface of the dough along with a few mushrooms and baby chard leaves to create a cute autumn forest motif. Brush everything with a coat of olive oil before baking.

Easiest version—Mushrooms only: Reserve a few mushrooms and place them on top of the focaccia as the decoration. Again, you’ll want to coat everything with a generous brush of olive oil to preserve their form and texture. If you choose this option, I recommend using about half a sweet potato’s worth of slices as part of the filling, since you’re not getting any sweet potato flavor on the top of the loaf.

How to Make the Mushroom, Sweet Potato, and Cheddar Stuffed Focaccia

Ingredients

1 cup lukewarm water
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp instant dry yeast
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus about 1/4 cup extra for drizzling
1 tsp kosher salt, divided
4 cups mushrooms, cleaned and broken down into small pieces
2 tbsp Cabot Salted Butter
1/2 red onion, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
8 oz (1 dairy bar) Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar
1 small sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced
red veined sorrel or baby chard leaves, for decorating (optional)
lemon thyme, for decorating (optional)

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Procedure

Prepare the dough: Combine water, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer and stir together gently. Allow to bloom for 5 minutes. Fit the stand mixer with a dough hook and turn on low; gradually incorporate flour, then 2 tablespoons olive oil, then 1/2 tsp kosher salt.

Turn stand mixer up to medium-high and knead for 5 minutes. Dough should pull completely away from the sides of the bowl while the dough hook is spinning, but feel a bit sticky when touched or when not in motion. If the dough seems too dry, add 1 tsp water, or if the dough seems excessively sticky and is not coming together, add 1–2 tsp flour. Knead for an additional 2–3 minutes.

Shape the dough into a ball with your hands. Drizzle a small amount of the extra olive oil into the bowl, add the dough ball, and rub some of the oil on top. Place in a warm spot and cover with plastic wrap or a wet tea towel and allow to rest for 1 hour, or until the ball has doubled in size.

In the meantime, prep the cheddar. Grate roughly one-third of the dairy bar with a box grater. Set grated cheese aside. Break down the remaining cheese into small chunks, about 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch in size; you could cut them into cubes or just use the tip of a small knife to break pieces off. Place cheese chunks in the fridge until needed.

Second rest: Line a 7x11-inch (2 quart) baking dish with parchment paper and coat with a bit of the extra olive oil. Sprinkle the grated cheddar into the bottom of the dish.

Scoop the dough out of the bowl and press out the excess air. Divide the dough in half. Stretch each half into the shape of a rectangle that is slightly smaller than the baking dish; note that the dough will expand so it does not need to fill the size of the whole dish yet. Place one half over the grated cheddar in the dish. Keep the other half on a separate piece of parchment paper that has been lightly oiled with the olive oil. 

Cover both halves with plastic wrap or a wet tea towel and allow to rest for 1 hour.

Prepare the filling: While the dough is resting, pan roast the mushrooms and caramelize the onions. Heat a large non-stick skillet on medium. Reserve a few mushrooms for decoration and add the rest to the dry pan. Sauté until the volume is reduced to about two-thirds of the original and the mushrooms are squeaky as you move them around with a spatula. Remove the mushrooms from the pan.

Add the butter to the pan, then add the onion slices. Reduce the heat to low once you notice the color becoming more vibrant. Cook the onions until they are tender and start to brown on the edges, about 10 minutes.

Add the mushrooms back to the pan, as well as 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Turn the heat back up to medium. Stir often to encourage evaporation, and cook until the mushrooms seem to have released their excess moisture, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool until the dough is done resting.

Once the dough has completed its second rest, the bottom half should be able to be stretched to fill the bottom of the pan. Shape as needed. Then add about one-third of the sweet potato slices to the pan, followed by most of the cheddar chunks, followed by the mushroom and onion mixture. 

Third rest: Place the other half of the dough on top of the mushrooms. Press the two halves of dough along the edges to seal shut and tuck them under, though this does not need to be perfect. Allow to rest, covered, for an additional 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F.

Decorate the top of the bread and bake: Press the remaining cheddar chunks into the surface of the bread. Press your fingers into the dough to form additional dimples. 

To make a sweet potato rose, cut a slice of sweet potato in half and roll into a tight spiral. Roll the other half around the first. Place this firmly into the surface of the dough where you want the center of the rose to be. Starting with the smallest slices of sweet potato available, firmly insert slices around the rose’s center to form petals. Select gradually larger sweet potato slices and keep adding them as petals until the desired size is achieved.

Repeat to form other roses as desired. (You may not end up using all the sweet potato).

Add vegetable leaves and mushrooms to complete your decoration. Brush everything with a generous layer of olive oil. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt over the top.

Bake for 35–40 minutes or until the top is a light brown. Note that after 30 minutes, you may wish to check on your decoration and add small pieces of foil over the parts of the sweet potato that have darkened, to prevent burning. 

Carefully lift the bread out of the pan via the parchment paper and allow to set for a couple minutes before slicing and enjoying!

Thank you so much to Cabot Creamery for sponsoring this recipe! Visit their website to find out where you can get their delicious cheeses, such as their naturally-aged cheddars, near you!

Halloween Fun for O Organics

I was commissioned to style and shoot some Halloween content for Albertsons (the grocery store company that also owns Safeway) featuring their O Organics line. This was my second time being hired by Albertsons to make and capture food art for them, and I love working with them because they ask me to include more human elements the photos (for example, hands-in-frame shots) than I usually include in the content on my own account and this challenges me to set up scenes differently and try different camera angles than my standard flatlay style that I’ve become known for.

For this shoot, they also asked me if it would be possible to add a spooky foggy effect to some of the photos. Actually, they originally asked if it was possible for me to use dry ice in the photoshoot. However, I was nervous about the idea of shooting this dynamic element whose movement I wouldn’t fully be able to control—this is why I am a food photographer and not an event photographer! So instead, I asked them if they would be okay with me editing the spooky fog/mist effect into the photos and fortunately, they trusted me to do what I thought was best to achieve that mysterious Halloween vibe!

I had recently learned about the AI editing tools on Canva from my friend Anisa, The Wonky Stove. I learned how to use the Magic Edit feature from this post of hers. (I’ve since learned that I got very lucky with timing and this was a feature I was able to try for free at the time but is now behind their Pro subscription paywall.) I was able to upload my un-magical photos I’d shot, select the areas where I wanted to add spooky fog, and type a prompt to describe what I wanted to add to the photo. The AI is still in its early stages here (which I am definitely ok with!) so it didn’t immediately produce a result I wanted and instead changed up way too much of the photo. But I was able to use what I got out of the tool to then edit together the AI-altered photo and the original photo to produce exactly what I wanted. I imagine this is what movie editors do, but just at a way smaller scale. Conclusion: it was still very necessary for a skilled human (me!) to produce these photos so robots haven’t taken over my job just yet.

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Here are the before-and-afters of the photos where I used this process.

Without AI

with AI

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Without AI

With AI

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Here are some other photos from the shoot. Fun fact: I used black electrical tape over my nails in these hands-in-frame shots to look like I had black nail polish on!

Chinese Sticky Rice Stuffed Mini Pumpkins

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This is a great way to use all those cute mini pumpkins you bought as fall decorations and turn them into a fun fusion side dish. I know you’re gonna ditch them for Christmas decor soon anyway so you might as well fill them with savory satisfying sticky rice, sweet Chinese sausage (lap cheong), and umami-rich salted egg yolks.

If you’ve had the lotus leaf bundles filled with sticky rice at dim sum places, that is lo mai gai. Gai means chicken. This recipe is inspired by the dim sum classics but with a couple of differences: there’s no chicken to fiddle with, so the recipe is a lot more foolproof, and instead of wrapping the rice mixture in lotus leaves and steaming the bundles to give the glutinous rice its addictive, sticky texture, the rice is stuffed into raw mini pumpkins! As the pumpkins roast in the oven, the rice gets treated to a cozy steamy environment that gets the same job done. (Note that you will still need a bamboo steamer setup for the first round of cooking the rice.)

I just winged it when I made the rice mixture for these, but I have attempted to capture the necessary info below for you to replicate this idea yourself. This dish is super flexible, and the great thing about making it at home is that you can adjust it to your own tastes! I, for one, am always bummed that there’s only like one little piece of sausage and not enough salted egg yolk when I order lo mai gai, so I included way more here.

Some notes about the ingredients:

• sticky rice: This is an Asian short-grain rice that is often labeled glutinous rice. (It does not contain gluten!). It’s quite firm and starchy so you’ll want to soak it overnight and wash it thoroughly before using.

• lap cheong: This is Chinese cured sausage with a slight sweetness and visible fatty bits. I like the brand Kam Yen Jan.

• dried shiitake mushrooms: You will need to soak these for a few minutes before they can be sliced.

• salted egg yolks: I buy these ready-made in a vacuum-sealed pouch at the Asian supermarket.

• mini pumpkins: All roasted pumpkins are safe to eat! But they definitely vary in texture and flavor. Play around with what you have and make note of what you liked best for next year! If using pumpkins that you’ve had lying around since fall began, be sure to check that they are still unblemished and un-moldy.

Please note that measurements below are estimates. Taste along the way and adjust to your preferences!

Awkwardly Vague instructions for Chinese Sticky Rice Stuffed Mini Pumpkins

Ingredients

1 cup glutinous rice
1–2 tbsp shaoxing wine, or to taste
1–2 tbsp light soy sauce, or to taste
1/8 tsp white pepper
1 tsp kecap manis (optional)
1 large dried shiitake mushroom
2 Chinese sausages (lap cheong), cut on a bias into 1/8-inch slices
about 4–5 salted egg yolks
1–2 scallions, chopped, whites and greens separated
2 water chestnuts, thinly sliced (optional)
about 4–5 mini pumpkins, gutted and seeded
neutral oil (like peanut or avocado)
kosher salt
thyme, for garnish (optional)

Procedure

The night before, leave the glutinous rice to soak in regular water. The next day, transfer the rice to a fine mesh colander and rinse, using your hand to agitate the rice, until the water that comes out is noticeably less starchy.

Get your bamboo steamer setup ready. Pour rice into the middle of a large sheet of parchment paper. Double up the paper if needed. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of shaoxing wine over the rice. Fold up all the sides around the rice to form a bundle that you can place in the bamboo steamer. Steam rice for 20 minutes.

While the rice is steaming, soak the shiitake mushroom in boiling water for 10 minutes, or until soft. Discard tough stem and slice the cap thinly.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

When rice is cool enough to handle, transfer to a mixing bowl. Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce, white pepper, and kecap manis. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Add sausage, scallion whites, water chestnuts (if using); mix together.

Brush oil all over the pumpkin bases and lids and season flesh with kosher salt. Place on a foil-lined baking tray. Fill each pumpkin with rice mixture then push a salted egg yolk into the middle. Place matching pumpkin lids on top and bake pumpkins for 40 minutes or until tender.

Fluff up rice. Optionally, you could remove the egg yolk and crumble it on top. Garnish with remaining scallion greens and, optionally, thyme.

When enjoying, be sure to scoop the tender pumpkin flesh and eat it with the rice!

Recipe: Cheddar Tart with Beets and Fall Squash

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For this recipe, I partnered with Cabot Creamery to create a cheesy tart that would be lovely to serve at fall gatherings. This tart features Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar in two ways: a snappy cheesy rosemary shortcrust that smells so good when it’s baking in the oven, as well as the filling that goes inside it, which is a flavorful layer of a cheddar and almond spread reminiscent of an old-school party staple, the cheese ball. This smoky, tangy, creamy filling helps to hold in place the topping for the tart—marinated roasted beets and honeynut squash that have been thinly sliced and rolled into rosettes. The edible bouquet in an autumnal palette is likely to impress your guests; but the great thing is, so much of it can be made ahead!

When I was a kid, I remember being completely wowed by the flavor combos from those cheese balls covered in nuts that would always be present at holiday parties with my parents’ friends. So, the filling in this tart is a tribute to that combo. It’s indulgently creamy and tangy from the Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar, super savory, a little smoky with the addition of paprika, and has such a satisfying texture thanks to the inclusion of sliced almonds. 

I think I loved that combo so much because back then, my family did not keep cheese around very much in our fridge. In fact, up until probably middle school, I thought that the powdery stuff in the green can and the plasticky American cheese slices were the only cheeses that could be purchased directly for cooking at home. That’s why it still makes me so excited that, as a grown-up, I can now get Cabot Creamery’s delicious naturally-aged, rich-flavored cheddars to cook and bake with to my heart’s content. Cabot is a co-operative owned by farm families throughout New England & New York and 100% of profits go back to the farmers. Having access to such high-quality cheeses with that level of freshness would’ve rocked Kid Me’s world. Now, being able to make my own cheese spread at home, just how I like it, brings me so much joy—and I hope it does for you, too!

Here’s what you need to know about the key ingredients for making my Cheddar Tart with Beets and Fall Squash:

• Cheddar: The cheddar gets used in both the crust and the filling, so it’s gotta be a great one. I used Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar which is so good for those of us cheddar lovers who enjoy an intense, sharp flavor. I always like to go for their cheese bars and grate the cheese fresh right before I need it.

• Butter: Cutting the butter into cubes and freezing it is a major contributor to keeping the crust snappy and buttery without feeling greasy. I used Cabot Salted Butter for this recipe to bring extra rich savoriness to the tart shell.

• Vodka: Using vodka instead of water to bring the crust ingredients together is my other trick for keeping the tart shell super crispy! I have tested this crust recipe with just chilled water and I do not recommend this substitution.

• Beets: For this recipe, whole beets are first roasted until tender. The skins come right off after roasting. Then, the beets need to be chilled so they can easily be sliced into thin “petals” with a mandoline. The slices get marinated in a simple, bright vinaigrette before being rolled into rosettes. The autumnal colors of this tart are achieved by roasting 1 red beet and 3 golden beets together. The red beet slices are a deep maroon, while areas of the golden beets that come in contact with the red beet become a more vibrant red shade. To keep some slices at their natural bright golden color, keep them separated from the red beet.

• Squash: I used a honeynut squash for this recipe but butternut squash would work just as well. Unlike the beets, I peeled and sliced the squash before roasting. Keep the squash slices separate from the red beet if you want them to stay solid orange.

This recipe is great for gatherings because much of it can be done the night before. In fact, it is even recommended that you get the components prepped well in advance, for an easy low-key assembly when you are ready to serve.

Considerations for prepping ahead:

• For best results, make your pastry dough the night before and let it chill, molded into the tart pan, overnight. Then all you have to do is pop it in the oven the following day.

• The cheddar and almond filling can be made the night before and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator. The day-of, just take it out and allow it to come to a spreadable consistency while the tart shell bakes.

• The roasted beets need to be chilled slightly in order to be sliced by the mandoline, so do plan ahead for this. I recommend doing all the prep for the beet and squash rosettes ahead of time. I used a mini muffin tin to hold the rosettes together before I arranged them all on top of the tart filling. You could do this the night before so the rosettes are ready to just pop onto the tart before serving!

If you need an additional shortcut:

• This tart can be simplified by using a ready-made pie dough for the crust. The overall flavor of the tart will be less complex and less cheesy but there is still a lot of flavor in the cheese and almond filling and the roasted veggie topping. If you choose to pursue this shortcut, mold the pie dough to the tart container and then follow the package instructions to fully bake the crust before following the recipe for filling the tart.

One thing that can be scary about baking for guests is that a lot can happen in an oven! You put your lovingly-prepared dough, batter, or pastry in but you can’t truly be certain what it will look like coming out. This is why I like to make tarts where the shell is baked completely through first; the filling and topping here do not require additional bake time. The tart can be served at room temperature so it’s one less thing to worry about keeping warm while you are enjoying the conversation of your dining companions.

How to Make a Cheddar Tart with Beets and Fall Squash

(Makes one 9-inch tart)

Ingredients for the Crust*

1/2 cup (1 stick) Cabot Salted Butter, cut into small cubes then frozen
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 oz (about 1/4 cup) Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar, grated then chilled
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
4–6 tbsp vodka, chilled

Ingredients for the Topping

1 medium (about 1/2 lb) red beet, trimmed and cleaned
3 medium (about 1/2 lb each) golden beets, trimmed and cleaned
1 medium (about 1 1/2 lbs) honeynut or butternut squash, peeled and cored
4–8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
kosher salt
black pepper
3 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp sugar
fennel fronds, for garnish (optional)

Ingredients for the Filling

4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
2 oz (about 1/2 cup) Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar, grated
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup sliced almonds, roughly chopped

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* For a shortcut version, see notes above about substituting a ready-made pie crust.

Procedure

To make the crust: Add the flour, Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar, salt, and rosemary to a food processor. Pulse briefly to combine. Scatter in frozen Cabot Salted Butter cubes and pulse until the texture resembles wet sand. Add 1 tablespoon of vodka and pulse a couple of times; repeat vodka step, adding 1 tablespoon at a time and pulsing briefly after each, until the mixture looks like it is just barely starting to form clumps. Dump the mixture into a 9-inch tart pan and use a spoon to quickly press the mixture evenly against the bottom and sides, keeping everything as cold as possible. (A sheet of wax paper could also aid in smoothing out the mixture). Chill the unbaked tart shell in the freezer for 20 minutes or in the refrigerator for 1 hour or up to overnight.

To make the topping: Preheat oven to 400°F. (Beets and squash can be baked simultaneously; just keep an eye on separate bake times.)

Coat beets lightly with olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Tightly wrap beets in foil, place in a baking dish, and bake for 1 hour or until tender. (If you wish to keep some of the golden beet completely yellow, wrap and bake those separately from the red beet.) When beets are cool enough to handle, gently rub off the skins. Then, place in the refrigerator to cool completely. 

Use a mandoline to thinly slice the squash. Coat slices lightly with olive oil. Arrange evenly onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and season lightly with salt and pepper.  Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes. 

Slice cooled beets thinly with a mandoline and lay slices out on a baking sheet. Overlap red beet slices on gold beet slices to dye them as desired to create color variation, or keep some gold beet slices on a separate tray to preserve their color.

Whisk together apple cider vinegar, sugar, a pinch of kosher salt, and 2 teaspoons olive oil. Drizzle evenly over the trays of beet and squash slices and allow to marinade for at least 5 minutes.

Roll the beet and squash slices into rosettes. Start with a small slice of squash, and roll into a tight spiral (the squash  can usually be rolled into a tighter spiral than the beet). Fold or cut subsequent slices in half and keep wrapping them around to mimic the appearance of rose petals. For best results, place rosettes into a mini muffin tin to keep them together, and pre-assemble all the rosettes before placing them on the tart. (This can be done a day ahead.)

To make the filling: Add cream cheese, Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar, Greek yogurt, worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and pepper to a large bowl. Use a hand mixer to whip ingredients together until combined. Fold in almonds. (This filling can be made ahead. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator and allow to soften outside the refrigerator before spreading.)

To bake the tart shell: Dock the chilled shell with a fork to prevent it from puffing while baking. Line the inside with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights (or dry beans). Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake in the 400°F oven for 20 minutes. Remove the lining and weights, then bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before filling.

To assemble the tart: Spread the filling evenly inside the baked tart shell. Gently press the veggie rosettes into the filling; extra beet and squash slices can be used to fill in empty spaces after the initial rosettes are placed. If desired, garnish with a few fennel fronds, or fresh herbs of your choice. Be sure to use a nice sharp knife when slicing, and enjoy!

Thank you so much to Cabot Creamery for sponsoring this recipe! Visit their website to find out where you can get their delicious cheeses, such as their naturally-aged cheddars, near you!

Mini Salmon and Kabocha Squash Pot Pies

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I wrote up a recipe for Kvarøy Arctic Salmon for mini pot pies filled with a creamy, hearty filling of salmon, kabocha squash, and corn. This was inspired by the herring and pumpkin pie from the Studio Ghibli movie Kiki’s Delivery Service. Ages ago, my friend Sandy gave me the idea to try to recreate the fish pastry design from the movie and I finally was able to do a version that I was really proud to share.

I am pretty late to watching all the Studio Ghibli movies. I watched Kiki’s Delivery Service for the first time last year. I happened to be in Stockholm when I watched it, and then found out the next day that the city in the movie was actually inspired by Stockholm! So I got to see one of the buildings that was recreated in the movie right after. Because the experience was so serendipitous, this movie will have a special place in my heart.

You can get the recipe for these pot pies on Kvarøy Arctic’s website.

Recipe: Brown Butter Sweet Potato Sage Streusel Muffins

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For this recipe, I partnered with Danish Creamery to come up with a tasty fall treat. I love baking in the fall, warming up the house with the smell of cozy spices. But as you may know by now, I do not have the biggest sweet tooth, so I wanted to create a recipe for something that feels like a treat and has all the best of flavors that the season has to offer but is *not too sweet*. These muffins are made by first making brown butter with Danish Creamery European Style Sea Salted Butter to give it a wonderful nuttiness, before using it in a batter that’s loaded with sweet potato, fresh chopped sage, and Chinese five spice, sweetened with maple syrup. The streusel topping is also made with brown butter and I added a touch of salt and ground peanuts, giving it a little bit of a sweet-salty vibe that I think is quite addictive!

I’m calling these “muffins” but don’t expect the bready, crumbly kind—these are rich and moist from all that brown butter and fresh mashed sweet potato. The texture on the inside is going to be similar to a decadent carrot cake or banana bread but to provide a nice contrast, the streusel topping is crumbly and light, almost like the edges of a cookie.

With the brown butter being such a major ingredient in both components, you’re going to want to use a high-quality butter to start. Danish Creamery European Style Sea Salted Butter is made with just high-quality cream and a touch of sea salt and it is slow-churned in small batches for a velvety texture and rich flavor. It contains 85% butterfat, which beats out most other European style butters that contain 82%–83%. Browning butter is actually a good way to determine the richness of a butter; avoid butters that create a lot of splatter as they are melting, as that is an indication of their higher water to fat ratio. This butter, on the other hand, melted very smoothly and foamed up gently before turning the rich amber-colored liquid gold that is toasty brown butter!

Let’s get into the details of what you’ll need to do to get these lovely autumnal muffins.

Key ingredients for the brown butter sweet potato muffin base:

• Brown Butter: What is brown butter? To make brown butter, all you need is good quality butter like Danish Creamery European Style Sea Salted Butter (and a pot and a spatula)! Nothing else goes into it; you are simply cooking the butter and toasting the milk solids in it to intensify the flavor. Bring the butter to room temp first, then cut it into a few smaller pieces and put it in a light colored pot or pan; you’ll want to be able to watch the color so a dark pan is not recommended. Cook the butter on medium-low heat, swirling or gently stirring occasionally until it starts to get foamy. Once it starts to foam up, stir constantly for 2–3 minutes, watching the color. Once the color starts to change, take it off the heat and keep stirring until all the foam subsides, and what you’ll be left with will smell amazing and resemble the color of amber; if you remember the color of the stuff they extracted the dinosaur DNA from in Jurassic Park, that’s the color you want! (But it’ll be way tastier.)

• Mashed Sweet Potato: This recipe requires the real stuff: fresh mashed sweet potato. You will need about 1 large-ish sweet potato to get the 1 cup needed for this recipe. I have tested this recipe with both steamed and roasted sweet potato and both turned out great. I do not recommend cooking your sweet potato by microwave as that will probably dry it out. My favorite method is roasting. To roast sweet potatoes: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Wash the sweet potatoes and prick them all over with a fork. Place the sweet potatoes directly on the middle rack of the oven. Place a foil-lined baking sheet underneath them to catch anything that drips. Bake for 40–50 minutes or until they are completely soft inside. You should be able to scrape them easily from the skins and mash them up with just the slightest amount of pressure. You do not need a perfectly smooth purée for this recipe but there shouldn’t be big lumps. This can most definitely be done ahead; just bring it to room temp before using it in the batter.

• Sage: I used 2 tablespoons of finely chopped sage for this recipe. I know that sage can be pretty divisive, but I love it. To me, it’s one of the flavors that makes Thanksgiving food special, even more so than the pie spices and the fall gourds. I actually felt that there could’ve been more sage flavor, but Spouse, who is not as much a fan of sage, thought that it was enough to notice it’s there without being at all bothered by it. I think that sage lovers could bump this all the way up to 3 tablespoons if they wanted. Conversely, if you hate sage, you can totally leave it out.

• Maple Syrup: I used maple syrup as the only sweetener in the muffin batter because it brings a gentle sweetness and complements fall flavors so well. And ol’ maple syrup will do, as long as it’s the real stuff. 

• Chinese Five Spice Powder: I wanted to do something a little different for fall baking here, so instead of a blend of classic American pie spices, I used Chinese five spice powder. What is five spice? It doesn’t always have only five spices, but the number five is called out because the ingredients are meant to represent the five elements in Chinese mythology. It typically has cinnamon, star anise, clove, fennel, and sichuan pepper. I opted for this because it is a pantry staple for me and I liked that it is a little bit more savory-leaning. You can substitute a pumpkin pie spice blend if you don’t have it, but I find that the heavy cinnamon content in those makes the blends a bit stronger than five spice, so I’d reduce the amount if making this substitution.

Things to know about making the streusel topping:

Once again, you’ll be making brown butter for the streusel that goes on top of the muffins, giving them that appealing, crackly mushroom top. You could brown all the butter for the recipe at once and then measure it out for each component; however, I found it was easier to do them separately and use the measurement markings on the butter wrapper. Either way, you will want to make the streusel first anyway to give it a little bit of time to chill. 

In addition to the brown butter, the other key ingredients for the streusel are a touch of five spice, dark brown sugar, regular white sugar, kosher salt, and unsalted roasted peanuts. 

Why roasted peanuts?  I included finely chopped peanuts in my streusel because I wanted the crumbly topping to have a salty-sweet quality to it, in the vein of kettle corn or salted caramel. The peanuts helped bring in a savory quality as well as nice texture to the streusel mixture, and combined with the kosher salt, the result is definitely a nice little touch of a salty balance for the maple and sweet potato muffin base. You can substitute in any nut you’d like for this. If you have a nut allergy, you could also sub in breadcrumbs, or finely crushed chicharrones!

How to get the most visually appealing muffins: 

To get bakery-style muffins that are nice and full with a mushroom top, there are a couple of special but easy tricks I used here that I will now share with you. (Note that in the photos, I used a vintage muffin tin that is proportioned a little differently but to actually test the recipe and bake the muffins shown, I used a modern, standard muffin tin and standard paper liners.)

You’ll notice that this recipe makes 9 muffins. I filled the muffin cups all the way to the top using an ice cream scooper to scoop out the batter into a nice domed shape. The amount of batter will rise and fill out the muffin cups nicely this way. You can certainly divide the batter into 12 muffin cups, but they just won’t have the muffin top you see in the photos, and you’ll want to test for doneness a couple minutes early.

Another major trick is to give the muffins a burst of high heat at first to get the tops to really rise up, and then lower the temp for them to bake evenly through the rest of the way. I start the oven at 425°F for the first 5 minutes, and then turn it down to 350°F for the rest of the time. You can skip this step if you don’t have time to watch the oven, and just bake them at 375°F for 20–25 minutes.

The last tip is to really pile on the streusel topping. Even if the top looks totally covered when you first put the muffins in the oven, keep in mind that as they rise, the surface area of the tops will increase, creating gaps in between the chunks of streusel. This recipe makes a very generous amount of streusel for if you are making 9 muffins; you might not end up using every single crumb of it, but get on them as much as the muffin tin will allow to get fully streusel-covered muffins in the end. 

Now that you know all my tricks for how to produce aesthetic muffins, happy baking!

How to Make Brown Butter Sweet Potato Sage Streusel Muffins

(Makes 9 muffins)

Ingredients for the Streusel

5 tbsp Danish Creamery European Style Sea Salted Butter, cut into chunks
1/3 (packed) cup dark brown sugar
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup roasted unsalted peanuts, finely chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Ingredients for the Muffin Batter

1/2 cup (1 stick)  Danish Creamery European Style Sea Salted Butter, cut into chunks
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp Chinese five spice powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 cup milk or nut milk
1 cup sweet potato, cooked and mashed*
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp sage, finely chopped

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Notes

* Recommended method for mashed sweet potato: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Wash the sweet potato(es) and prick all over with a fork. Place directly on the middle rack of the oven. Place a foil-lined baking sheet on the rack below. Bake for 40–50 minutes or until completely soft inside. You should be able to scrape the flesh easily from the skins and mash with slight pressure. Sweet potato mash can be made ahead. Measure 1 cup and allow to come to room temperature before using in the recipe.

Procedure

To make the streusel: 

Brown the butter: Cook the butter on medium-low heat, swirling or gently stirring occasionally until it starts to get foamy. Once it starts to foam, stir constantly for 2–3 minutes, watching the color. Once the color starts to change, take off the heat and keep stirring until all the foam subsides. The melted butter should now be the color of amber. Set aside.

Whisk together brown sugar, sugar, and five spice in a small bowl. Mix in brown butter. Add flour, chopped peanuts, and salt. Use a folding and pressing motion with a spoon or spatula to gently combine everything together; texture should be similar to a dry shortbread dough. Pack together into a disk and place in the fridge to chill for 5–10 minutes; it should feel slightly firmer but not be hard or solid.

To make the muffin batter:

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Follow the same instructions above to make brown butter. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, five spice, baking powder, and baking soda.

Once brown butter has cooled, transfer to a mixing bowl. Stir in salt, maple syrup, milk, sweet potato mash, eggs, and sage in that order. Gently fold in one third of the dry ingredients at a time. Combine until just homogenous. Batter should be thick but wet.

To assemble:

Line or grease 9 cups in a standard muffin tin. Divide the batter evenly among the 9 lined cups (using an ice cream scooper is recommended for this). 

Use your hands to crumble up the disk of streusel dough into mixed sized chunks ranging from the size of a pea to finer crumbs. Cover the tops of the muffin batter with the streusel and press in gently.

Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for an additional 15–18 minutes. Muffins are cooked through when an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to set for about 3–5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. If desired, add a sage leaf on top of each to garnish. 

Once fully cooled, store leftover muffins in an airtight container. However, the streusel will soften over time.

Enjoy them on their own, or give them a swipe of some softened Danish Creamery European Style Sea Salted Butter for some extra indulgence.

Thank you so much to Danish Creamery for sponsoring this recipe! Visit their website to learn more about their legacy of carefully-crafted Old World-quality butter made with milk from family farms since 1895.

How to Turn Your Favorite Dinner Roll Recipe into Pumpkin-Shaped Buns

Cozy sweaters, the crunch of colorful leaves under your boots, and pumpkin spice everything—admit it, fall is a season that has a special place in your heart. Why else would you be reading this blog post? But if you are a lover of both hygge vibes and savory flavors, perhaps you don’t wish for every fall baking project to be flavored with sweet cinnamon and clove. Perhaps you’re looking for another way to create something yummy and pumpkin themed, that satisfies your savory cravings too?

In this blog post, I am going to walk you through how to turn your favorite dinner roll recipe into pumpkin-shaped buns that are perfect for hamburgers or decadent breakfast sandwiches.

These instructions should work with any gluten-based dinner roll recipe that typically makes 12 rolls in a 9”x13” baking dish (I have not tried it with alternative/gluten-free flours). We are instead going to divide that dough recipe up into 8 equal parts to make 8 pumpkin-shaped buns that are sized like a fluffy hamburger bun. For mine, I used @arjolee’s cheesy everything bun recipe, which is my go-to recipe for making the tastiest savory buns that are plenty full of flavor to eat just on their own. (You could also follow the same shaping steps with an existing favorite hamburger bun recipe.)

Most dinner roll recipes have you first allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, and then undergo a second proof in the baking dish after the individual rolls have been divided and shaped. However, in this case, it will realistically take a bit of time for you to do all the tying of twine that is needed to create those pumpkin shapes, so the dough effectively undergos that second proof in that time.

If you love pretzels and you’re looking for something to snack on with a little more chew while satisfying your autumnal obsession with all things pumpkin shaped, then I have a more precise recipe for pumpkin-shaped pretzel buns too, which you can check out here.

Here’s how to turn your favorite dinner roll recipe into pumpkin-shaped buns:

Start by making your batch of dough as you normally would. You can use whatever gluten-based 9”x13” bun/roll recipe you’d like and it should work, but I recommend using my pal Ariel Lee’s recipe, which is the one I used in the photos. Allow the dough to undergo the first proof.

While the dough is proofing, prep your twine so you can do all the shaping efficiently when the dough is ready. Tying twine around the balls of dough is what creates those indentations of the pumpkin shape as the dough expands in the oven. Cut thin, food-safe baker’s twine into about 10-inch pieces. You will need 4 pieces of twine per bun and we’re making 8 buns, so you’ll need to prep 32 pieces of twine.

Preheat the oven according to your recipe.

After the first proof, divide the dough evenly into 8 portions. As you work with each portion, leave the others covered under a damp tea towel. Dust your hands lightly with bench flour but don’t use too much on your work surface as you’ll need a bit of surface tension.

Roll each portion of dough into a ball gently using the method used for shaping a boule: Flip the ball over and pull all of the edges into the middle to form a little pouch. Then flip it over again. Cup your palm and fingers gently around the ball to form a cage and roll the dough in a circular motion, using the tension with the work surface to seal the seams on the bottom and create an even ball shape. This will result in a nice domed surface on top while gently handling the dough to keep it light and airy. Repeat with all 8 pieces of dough.

For each portion of dough, lay out 4 pieces of twine to form an asterisk. They don’t have to be perfectly symmetrical; if you wish for your pumpkins to be a little more wonky because that is part of their charm, go ahead. However, I tried both irregular criss-crossing of the twine and others where I tried to make them as neat as possible and I found that the ones where I tried to keep them even are the ones that turned out looking the most pumpkin-like. The uneven shapes were more reminiscent to me of heirloom tomatoes.

After laying out the twine on your work surface, place a ball of dough face-down in the middle and tie both ends of each individual length of twine into a double knot. Take care to have them just gently curving around the ball of dough; do not make a tight loop around the dough. The dough will expand significantly by the time it is done baking, so you don’t want the twine to be cutting in too deeply into the final shape.

When all 4 knots are tied, trim off the excess twine and flip the ball over. Make any adjustments needed.

Place your trussed dough baby on a parchment-lined tray and cover with a damp towel.

As you repeat the process with the other dough balls, give the buns at least 3 inches of space around them on the tray because they will expand! By the time I was done tying up all the dough, the earlier ones had already started to rise quite significantly, starting to form that pumpkin shape. Unless you’re working in a very cold place—or you’re exceptionally fast at typing knots—you probably won’t need much of a second proof.

Here’s what mine looked like by the time I was done tying them all and getting my eggwash ready. Let yours proof until they are starting to puff beyond the loops of twine, like you see below; it should just take a few minutes unless it’s super cold! (Note that after taking this photo, I divided them onto two trays so that there could be more space between them. Don’t overcrowd your trays!)

At this point I brushed a beaten egg yolk over the surfaces of the buns. Using just the egg yolk for the eggwash is what gave them their rich brown color and glossy finish so I definitely recommend it! The everything seasoning is optional, but tasty!

After brushing on the eggwash, bake the buns according to your recipe’s instructions. I found the baking time to be the same for these 8 larger buns as for making 12 smaller buns packed together in a baking dish.

When the buns have baked, allow them to cool a bit for safe handling. You’ll find that the twine is now embedded into the buns and they’ve baked up around it, and you of course need to remove all the twine before serving/eating. I do not own a bread lame, but that would be very useful here. Instead, I used a faux lame in the form of a stainless steel razor blade. I gently cut into the surface of the buns along the lines created by the twine, in order to free the twine cleanly without the bread getting torn up. Be sure to remove all the twine before eating!

To finish things off, I added a little pepita/pumpkin seed into each bun to resemble the pumpkin stem.

I hope these step-by-step instructions help guide you to making the pumpkin-shaped buns of your cozy fall baking dreams. If you found these instructions helpful in making your own, please be sure to tag me, @lilybubbletea, on Instagram so I can see your creations!

Recipe: Turkey and Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Shells in Butternut Squash Sauce

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When the weather starts to cool, I feel this uncontrollable compulsion to buy and roast a butternut squash. I know it is totally basic but my brain feels like it has been hard-wired to crave fall squashes with their subtle natural sweetness once it finally starts to feel like fall in San Francisco. Luckily, butternut squash purée is so versatile! Roasted in the oven with a bit of good olive oil, salt, and pepper and then whizzed up in the blender with some boxed broth and nutmeg, it can then be used for so many different dishes just by tweaking the amount of liquid added. A thick purée makes for a lovely spread on toast, a slightly thinner one becomes wonderful fall pasta sauce, and an even thinner consistency gives you a nice butternut squash soup with just those six ingredients.

This year, for my first roasted butternut squash purée of the season, was the first time I incorporated real, freshly grated nutmeg into the mix. Instead of the ol’ spice jar of powdered nutmeg I’ve had in my cupboard for almost a decade, I reached for a real life nutmeg nut from Spice Tribe and it smelled so incredible as the fine shavings were released into the blender. A little bit goes a long way with nutmeg, but it is truly the secret ingredient that puts the fall vibes in the butternut squash purée, and using a high quality version really does make it feel like something special.

I think I have been making a butternut squash lasagna every fall for almost my whole adult life, but this year, I learned of the joys of stuffed pasta shells and I have clearly been missing out until now. I don’t know why but I am utterly fascinated by the concept of a pasta that is shaped just like a seashell being stuffed with loads of cheese, herbs, and other goodies. Whoever first came up with this idea was so creative! I know the classic way to do them is with a tomato sauce but I think that my butternut squash sauce is the perfect base for a fall version.

This version of stuffed shells has smooth butternut squash purée with a hint of nutmeg for the base, and they are filled to the brim with seasoned ground turkey, sun-dried tomatoes, ricotta, mozzarella, and a bunch of herbs reminiscent of a good Thanksgiving stuffing. You’ll be surprised how much filling one of these pasta shells can hold, and biting into one of these is quite a feast of flavor!

When I make savory fall dishes, I find myself reaching for Spice Tribe’s Masa Mole blend. It contains ancho chile, guajillo chile, cumin, cinnamon, garlic, onion, allspice, oregano, chipotle and I think of this blend of warming chile powders and spices as a savory equivalent to “pumpkin spice” when it comes to bringing out all the flavors that I want to enjoy with my fall vibes. I used it to season my ground turkey in this recipe, and it instantly transformed the mince into a cozy, flavorful base for my pasta shell filling.

The making of this hearty autumnal dish has the following stages:

• Roasting the butternut squash: I like to do this the night before since it is safer and easier to run things through the blender when they are cooled. Make sure to roast it until the edges get a little browned and caramelized. That’s what gives the sauce so much good flavor with so few ingredients.

• Making the sauce: Blending up all the roasted squash with freshly grated Spice Tribe Island Nutmeg and some boxed chicken broth transforms it into a smooth autumnal pasta sauce.

• Making the filling: Cooking up the ground turkey with some Spice Tribe Masa Mole seasoning blend brings warm spices and the flavor of smoky chilies into the mix. Lots of herbs help give this filling its robust flavors. The sun-dried tomatoes bring a nice little tartness to balance out the creamy cheeses.

• Stuffing the shells: Par-boiling the pasta shells and stuffing them with the turkey, sun-dried tomato, and cheese mixture is the most fun part (aside from eating, of course). Unlike with dumplings, there’s not a lot of downside to really packing the filling in there; I was amazed at how sturdy the shells were and how much I could cram in them.

• Baking until bubbly and melty: Giving the cheese some time in the oven to melt is what transforms this dish into a completely indulgent, gooey skillet of fall pasta goodness. This dish is not exactly light, but it is delicious!

How to Make Turkey & Sundried Tomato Stuffed Shells in Butternut Squash Sauce

Ingredients For the Sauce

about 2 lbs butternut squash, peeled and seeded
1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp Spice Tribe Island Nutmeg, freshly grated
3/4 – 1 cup chicken broth

Ingredients For the Filling

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 small yellow onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
6 oz ground turkey
2 tsp Spice Tribe Masa Mole blend
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup ricotta, excess water drained
~ 1 tbsp thyme, leaves picked
1 tbsp sage, finely chopped
1 handful basil leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes*, chopped into 1/4” pieces
1 egg, beaten
1 cup mozzarella, freshly grated

Ingredients For the Stuffed Shells

18 jumbo pasta shells, plus extra for backup
3/4–1 cup mozzarella, freshly grated
~8 sage leaves
1 sprig thyme
cooking spray
fresh herbs for garnish, such as basil and oregano

*Look for sundried tomatoes that are packed in oil with minimal additives.

To make the butternut squash sauce, preheat the oven to 425°F. Cut butternut squash into chunks, about 10–12 pieces. Add squash pieces to a baking dish and add olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss until the pieces are evenly coated. Bake for 30 minutes, flip over squash pieces, and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until very tender. Allow to cool slightly. (Note: Squash can be roasted the night before.)

Transfer roasted butternut squash and any oil from the baking dish into a blender. Add nutmeg and 3/4 cup chicken broth and blend on high until smooth. Sauce should be similar in thickness to marinara sauce; if needed, add more broth and blend again. Set sauce aside. 

To make the filling, heat oil in a nonstick skillet on medium heat, then add onions. Start sautéing and turn heat down to low once onions start to brown. Continue to allow the onions to caramelize, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Turn heat back up to medium and add turkey, salt, pepper, Spice Tribe Masa Mole blend, and brown sugar. Sauté mixture until turkey is just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and allow to cool slightly.

To the cooled turkey mixture, add ricotta cheese, chopped herbs, sundried tomatoes, and 1 cup mozzarella. Mix together, pour beaten egg on top, and mix thoroughly.

Boil pasta shells according to package instructions for stuffed shells.

Set oven to 385°F.

Add 1 1/2 cups of butternut squash sauce in an even layer to the bottom of a 10-inch cast iron skillet.

Scoop filling into pasta shells. (Be generous; you should be able to fit 1 to 1 1/2 heaping tablespoons in each.) Arrange filled pasta shells in the skillet. Top with remaining sauce, a thin layer of additional mozzarella, a few sage leaves, and a bit of thyme.

Spray a sheet of foil with cooking spray on one side to prevent the cheese from sticking and cover the skillet. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted and gooey. If desired, place under the broiler for 2–3 minutes to brown the top.

Garnish with fresh basil and oregano and enjoy.

Thank you so much to Spice Tribe for sponsoring this recipe! Check them out on Instagram here or visit their website to purchase high quality spices and unique small-batch spice blends.

A Festive Champagne Brunch Done My Way

As the weather is finally starting to cool over here in San Francisco and we’ve finally started to get some much-needed rain, it finally feels right for me to shift my creative brain towards thinking about the festive season. It’s at this time of year that my mind is pulled to two extremes—I either want to be cozied up at home, warming my house with the smell of things baking in the oven and simmering on the stove, or traveling off to snowy places with charming town squares illuminated with holiday lights. Now that I’ve started busting out the fall-scented candles, I’m daydreaming about styling big platters of food and finding excuses to invite friends over for bubbly (but also about the prospect of actually getting to travel to someplace festive for the holidays this year). I am not big on family gatherings, but I do love so much the opportunity to celebrate small things with the people who are dear to me, and while that’s something we should do all year round, there is something about crisp cool air and gloomy skies that makes me crave that togetherness in my home.

For this blog post, I got to partner with Champagne Taittinger; founded in 1734, they are one of the last remaining family-owned and operated champagne houses. I am sharing an idea for a festive brunch idea to pair with Taittinger’s Les Folies de la Marquetterie, a wine that was created to be a tribute to autumn and those feelings of being at home. It mirrors a fall palette in its golden color and has delicate bubbles that remind me of the twinkling lights of the European Christmas markets in my daydreams. To me, it tastes very bright at first and then has a finish that is kind of oaky; in the tasting notes, it says it is “full-bodied and fruity on the palate with golden peach flavors leading to a finish with light woody notes”. It is a full flavored and complex champagne, so they recommend that it be paired with something robust like roasted meats.

I paired Taittinger’s Les Folies de la Marquetterie with Cantonese roast duck from a local restaurant and homemade waffles with scallions and lap cheong (sweet Chinese sausage) in the batter. The combination of duck and waffles was inspired by a brunch restaurant in London that I visited during Christmastime in 2019, so when I think of a festive brunch, I think of this combination! I thought it would be fun to style them together on this big vintage platter that I recently found on one of my antiquing hunts and I filled it out with slices of cara cara oranges, fresh jujubes, and lots of fresh herbs.

When you think of champagne pairings, you probably do not think of Cantonese roast meats. However, I recently came across this article on Food52 about why champagne goes with Chinese takeout. The article goes into how the two are perfect for one another because the bubbles of champagne allow you to better savor foods that are greasy by cleansing the tongue with every sip and its acidity provides balance when you are eating foods that are savory-sweet. So, although a Cantonese roast duck was probably not top of mind when roasts were noted as the recommended food pairing for Les Folies de la Marquetterie, I saw an opportunity to present a food from my childhood and my culture in a different light. And what I learned from that article was totally true! The succulent duck tasted sooo delicious with the champagne; taking a sip of it in between bites made each bite feel as if I was tasting the yummiest duck for the first time. 

I think most Westerners do not see Cantonese roast duck as a delicacy because of its typical presentation—I am talking about the ones you see hanging in the windows of bakeries in Chinatown or in the hot deli of Asian supermarkets—but for me, it is very much a special occasion food. If you go to one of these at Chinese New Year, they will be absolutely packed with uncles and aunties trying to order their siu ngap (roast duck) and siu yuk (roasted pork belly with crackling skin). Getting a roast duck was always a special treat when I was young, and I loved everything about it from savoring the fattiest parts of the skin that the rest of my family didn’t want to the soup my parents would make by simmering the bones with pickled mustard greens afterwards. Now that I am grown and living in an area with so many local shops that sell them, I can get a roast duck whenever I want and I can make whatever sides I want—even waffles!—but it will always feel like a special occasion when I bring one home.

I was thrilled that Taittinger was willing to give me the opportunity to share this idea of pairing Chinese roast duck with their beautiful champagne. As you may know if you’ve read the captions of many of my Chinese food posts on my Instagram, I have been actively trying to present the foods of my culture in a way that showcases its complexity and deliciousness, as well as its worth. For too many too often, Chinese food is only known as cheap and ugly, despite its rich history and the sheer volume of possibilities it brings to the palate with all of its regional nuances. I am always so grateful to work with a brand that supports my efforts to rewrite the narrative of Chinese food in America and it means so much to me that Taittinger allowed me to showcase their special festive offering alongside a nostalgic dish. I am so proud to work with a brand that has such a rich heritage and prestige of its own, yet is still so open to diverse ideas. 

Truth be told, I am not an expert when it comes to sparkling wines and their pairings, but duck is prominent in French cuisine just as it is in Chinese cuisine, and both cultures have iconic ways of preparing it that are absolutely delicious. So to me, sharing the duck dish that I grew up with as a pairing with this lovely champagne made lots of sense. No one would question pairing champagne with duck confit or duck à l'orange so this meal is my Chinese-American spin on that. If you are like me and colder days put you in the mood for celebrating things big or small, I hope you will consider making one of Taittinger’s champagnes a part of your celebration, and I hope that this post inspires you to think outside of the typical pairings to bring along a dish that is special to you.

Thank you so much to Champagne Taittinger for sponsoring this post!

Recipe: Pumpkin-Shaped Pretzel Buns

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These photos of my finished and styled pumpkin-shaped pretzel buns are my favorite fall photos I have ever taken, so I really hope you like them too.

Having made pretzels several times now, I am still completely fascinated by them. I am awestruck and terrified by their traditional lye baths, and both relieved and amazed by how a baking soda bath can get the same brown look. I am mesmerized by the contrast in colors, and simply adore how such a relatively quick dough recipe can produce something so satisfying.

When fall rolled around and I started obsessing over pumpkin-shaped everything, I knew in my heart of hearts that pumpkin-shaped pretzels absolutely needed to exist. So, I decided to turn my go-to pretzel recipe into pumpkin-shaped pretzel buns. To be completely clear, this recipe will not produce the texture of a firm, chewy, traditional German pretzel. This is much more like the texture you’d find at a pretzel stand in an American mall (which I’ll shamefully admit I much prefer). Another disclaimer: I’ve made my soft pretzel recipe (adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction) a few times, but unfortunately I only had a chance to try this pumpkin-shaped version once so far. So there are some caveats and learnings I want to share with you that won’t match the photos.

Some important notes:

• Take a look at this photo below of the buns fresh out of the oven. This will show you the correct type of bakers twine to use. Do NOT use the coarse, textured brown twine seen in the beauty shots! That is clearly just there for the rustic aesthetic.

• Also note that I tied the twine rather snugly around my dough balls. By the time I took the dough out of the water bath, I could already tell that I had made a mistake, as the dough does expand quite a bit with the boiling and baking processes. Keep your twine wrapped loosely to start, to avoid the twine getting so deeply embedded into your buns.

• I went for rather irregular segments with my twine wrapping. Maybe go for a more symmetrical look so you don’t end up with heirloom-tomato-shaped pretzel buns.

• UPDATE: I now have a step-by-step tutorial, with photos, for getting more symmetrical pumpkin-shaped buns. Check it out here!

But whether you do a better job than I did, or just the same regretful job as me, you’ll be able to enjoy them the same way. Tear those buns into wedges along those perforations, catch the smell of freshly baked pretzel rising out the middle, then dunk segment by segment into coarse mustard or cheese sauce. You certainly won’t regret that.

How to Make Pumpkin-Shaped Pretzel Buns

Ingredients

3/4 cup warm water
1 tsp (slightly heaped) active dry yeast
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups AP flour, plus more for dusting
nonstick cooking spray
coarse salt, for sprinkling
6 pepitas/hulled pumpkin seeds

For the Water Bath

9 cups water
1/2 cup baking soda

Procedure

Combine warm water, yeast, and honey in the bowl of your stand mixer and stir gently. Allow yeast to bloom and foam up for 5 minutes.

Add butter, brown sugar, and salt, and stir together. Fit stand mixer with the dough hook and turn on to the lowest setting. Begin adding flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a dough starts to come together. Use a rubber spatula to scrape everything together. If the dough is sticky, add a little bit more flour.

Turn the mixer to medium high and knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it feels smooth and bouncy. Turn the dough onto a clean worksurface and roll into a smooth ball. Grease the inside of the mixing bowl, and place the ball of dough back inside. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rest in a warm place for 20 minutes.

On a lightly floured worksurface, divide the rested dough into 6 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.

In a large pot, combine water and baking soda for water bath and bring to a boil. Preheat oven to 425°F.

While waiting for the water to boil, wrap cotton baking twine around the balls of dough to form the ridges of a pumpkin shape (see notes above) and tie together loose ends or follow the typing steps shown here.

Place buns in boiling water bath for 10 seconds on each side, then place on a parchment-lined baking tray. (I find it is easiest to do this one at a time, placing the pumpkin upside down into the water first, then flipping in the water, then scooping onto the tray.)

Sprinkle coarse salt onto the buns. Brush with additional water from the water bath if necessary for more salt adhesion.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until the buns are a rich brown color.

Allow buns to cool slightly before cutting and removing the twine. Stick 1 pepita into the top-center of each to form a leaf/stem.

Recipe: Spiced Honeynut Squash Toasts

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Note: This is not your #basic fall squash recipe!

As a diehard member of Team Savory, as much as I love the smell of pumpkin spice and everything nice come autumn season, my stomach never really craves baked sweets. So I am always trying to come up with ideas to capture fall flavors in ways that are appealing to my own tastes. I realized that pairing honeynut squash with Spice Tribe’s Masa Mole spice blend would be a lovely foundation for a savory fall-themed toast; it contains cinnamon—one of the usual fall suspects—but beyond that, it brings those warm vibes through toasted Mexican chilies.

It was at that point that I decided I was declaring honeynut squash mash toast a thing—the yummiest autumn-iest alternative to avocado mash toast!

If you haven’t heard of honeynut squash before, it’s like a smaller, super adorable, deeper-colored version of butternut squash. Just look at how it is barely bigger than spice bottle. Freakin’ cute!

If you take anything away from this recipe, I hope it is this combo of mashed squash and this spice blend. Much like avocado toast, and toast in general, it feels a little silly to me to set a strict recipe for a toast, so top that spiced honeynut sqaush with whatever you like! In this example, I opted for fried halloumi and crispy sage, followed by a drizzle of good-quality maple syrup because, admittedly, that little bit of sweet does really bring out the natural sweetness of the squash even in a savory dish. I sometimes find halloumi to be too salty though, so if you don’t have a halloumi brand you love but still want that fried cheese goodness on top of your toast, firm queso fresco is a great mild option that you can fry up the exact same way.

Are you ready to swap your avocado toast routine for THIS?:

How to Make Spiced Honeynut Squash Toast

Ingredients

1 honeynut squash; peeled, deseeded, and cut into small cubes
4 slices of sourdough bread
12 sage leaves
5–6 oz halloumi cheese*, cut into 8 slices
3/4 tsp Spice Tribe Masa Mole blend
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
4 tbsp maple syrup
Olive oil
Kosher salt
1 sprig of tarragon (optional)
Sprinkle of Spice Tribe Maras Chile Flakes (optional)

* If you find halloumi to be too salty, queso fresco is a great alternative that fries the same way.

Procedure

Preheat oven to 425°F. **

Line a baking tray with parchment paper or foil. Add honeynut squash cubes and toss in some olive oil and salt to taste. Roast in oven until fork-tender, about 20–30 minutes.

In the meantime, toast bread slices to preference and set aside. (I like to heat some olive oil in a skillet, toast one side of the bread in the oil, flip, and then turn off the heat and let it sit in the pan while I prep everything else. This makes one side crusty and soggy-resistant for toppings without making the overall toast too hard.)

In a small skillet, add enough olive oil to cover the bottom in a thin layer, and heat the oil on medium. Carefully add sage leaves, trying to make them land flat in the oil. Remove the leaves when they start to crisp and look fully soaked with oil; they will continue to crisp up after being removed from the heat. Transfer to a paper towel to drain excess oil.

Using the same skillet and now sage-infused oil, fry slices of halloumi until golden brown on both sides. Transfer fried halloumi to a separate plate.

Sprinkle the Spice Tribe Masa Mole seasoning over the cooked squash, and mash squash with a fork until homogenous. 

Spread the ricotta equally on the toasts, followed by the spiced honeynut squash mash. Top with fried halloumi and crispy sage. Drizzle maple syrup over the top of each toast. Optionally, garnish with tarragon and Spice Tribe Maras Chile Flakes. Serve immediately.

**Shortcut version: Alternatively, you could steam the honeynut squash in the microwave until soft. Place cubes in a shallow bowl and cover completely with a wet paper towel. Microwave until fork-tender, about 3 minutes. Season with salt to taste before following the same directions as above for the cooked squash.

Thank you so much to Spice Tribe for sponsoring this recipe! Check them out on Instagram here or visit their website to purchase high quality spices and unique small-batch spice blends.

How to Make a Korean-Inspired Snack Board

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I have been really into themed nibble boards lately. Part of the appeal lies in them being another avenue for traveling the world at home through food, which has become the theme of my coping mechanism for staying home during the global pandemic. But I think I like nibble boards specifically because it takes the concept of eating meals family style—something I grew up with—and extends it to delicious snacks just being out all day for the taking.

I made this Korean-inspired board in partnership with Bibigo USA. In addition to using their super snackable mini wontons and putting a spin on pimento cheese spread by incorporating their gochujang sauce, I also tried to include crunchy snacks that I thought were really popular or iconic to South Korea. If you don’t live in Korea but you’d like to give this themed board a try, I recommend seeking out a local Korean grocery store if you have access to one, and seeing what snacks appeal to you there. (For my SF Bay Area friends, I got all the snacks, as well as the chestnuts and Bibigo mini wontons at The K Market.) If you don’t have access to a Korean shop, perhaps look into what other ethnic markets are available in your area, and try making a nibble board as a way to explore a cuisine that is new to you.

How to Make a Korean-Inspired Snack Board and Gochujang Pimento Spread

Ingredients For the Gochujang Pimento Spread

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
8 oz sharp cheddar, grated
2–3 tbsp Bibigo Hot & Sweet Go-Chu-Jang Sauce
2 tbsp mayonnaise 
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp diced pimentos, drained
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients Requiring Prep

12 chestnuts
12 Bibigo Pork & Vegetable Mini Wontons
Oil for frying

Ingredients for Assembling the Board

Asian pear, sliced
Grapes
Honey butter chips
Honey butter almonds
Korean seaweed crisps
Sesame crackers
Sage, for garnish

Procedure

To make cheese spread: Combine cream cheese, cheddar, Bibigo Hot & Sweet Go-Chu-Jang Sauce, mayonnaise, and garlic powder in a food processor and process until homogenous. Transfer to a bowl and stir in diced pimentos. Salt to taste, if needed. (Can be made 1–2 days ahead; keep covered in refrigerator until ready to assemble board.)

To roast chestnuts: Preheat oven to 400°F. Using a sharp paring knife, carefully cut an X into each chestnut. Place cut-side up on a baking sheet and bake for 10–15 minutes until fragrant and cut part of shell curls back.

To fry the mini wontons: Fill a small pot about 1.5 inches deep with oil. Heat the oil and deep fry mini wontons in batches. Allow excess oil to drain on paper towels.

Assembling the board: Transfer cheese spread to a serving dish. Arrange cheese spread, chestnuts, and mini wontons on serving board. Fill in the remaining space with the other ingredients. Garnish with sprigs of sage. Allow cheese spread to soften slightly at room temperature before serving.

Thank you so much to Bibigo USA for sponsoring this recipe! For more recipe ideas and to learn more about their products, visit their website!

Downloadable Pumpkin Wallpaper

Just popping in to share a casual photo of some cool looking pumpkins that I took last weekend at Clancy’s Pumpkin Patch. The staff seemed nice and attentive there and they had a cool variety of pumpkins of all sizes. I went home with some mini white ones and mini orange ones with really interesting looking stems, but I would have liked to bring home this big gray one!

Save the images to your phone to use them as your wallpaper (these are sized for the iPhone X).

>> Click to download Pumpkin Patch wallpaper <<

Please note that these are for personal use only and not to be used for any commercial purposes. All copyright of these images is retained by me, Lily Morello.