Pumpkin Butter

I've always heard about pumpkin butter and was actually reluctant about it. I know as a pumpkin lover that sounds crazy right? I think I just couldn't get the pairing of pumpkin and butter out of my head. It's actually more comparable to apple butter and reminds me of a jam almost.

It is actually delicious and can be used for things other than putting on top of toast. If you heat a tablespoon or so of it with some skim milk until the two are combined and add that to your coffee with some pumpkin pie spice and a dallop of fat free cool-whip you can have yourself a homemade pumpkin spice latte! I will have to come up with a recipe and post it sometime here before my favorite season is long gone.

Pumpkin Butter
From danicasdaily.com

Ingredients:

1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup agave syrup or honey
1 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup
1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Cinnamon
3/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
Pinch of salt

Directions:

Combine the pumpkin, agave nectar, maple syrup and vanilla extract in a small saucepan over medium heat, mixing until well combined. Stirring constantly, cook for about 15 minutes, or until thickened. Stir in the spices and salt, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove the pan from heat, and transfer your pumpkin butter to a small bowl or jar. Let cool completely before covering and refrigerating. Pumpkin butter will keep for about 2 weeks in a covered air tight container in the refrigerator.

Bierock Casserole

Bierocks are a traditional German dish. They're usually pastry or rolls stuffed with beef and sauerkraut or cabbage. I noticed a recipe once that was a bierock casserole and I loved that idea but noticed the recipe seemed bland and needed more oomph. So I took the idea and ran with it and decided to make it for my German potluck where I made the German Pumpkin Cheesecake and Pumpkin Cream Puffs.

I think it is safe to say that a lot of people are turned off by sauerkraut. I know it does not smell the best but I love it. I think it is delicious, especially on a brat with brown mustard and onions. I expected that my potluck guests would be reluctant to try this dish because of the sauerkraut but they all tried it and proclaimed that they actually liked it and barely noticed the sauerkraut. Yay! I love surprising people with food!

Some fun facts about German food and drink (for fun thats why!)

You would have to try one kind of German bread per day for almost a whole year in order to be able to taste them all! There are over 300 different kinds of bread in Germany.

Germans really do love beer; they rank second in world-wide beer consumption per person after Ireland.

Betcha didn't know one of those! ;)

Bierock Casserole

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

3 (8 oz) cans refrigerated reduced-fat crescent rolls
3/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb turkey sausage
2 cups sauerkraut, drained
1 (1 oz) package dry onion soup mix
2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 cup dark german beer (such as becks or st paulis girl)
1 1/2 cups pepperjack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Brown onion, ground beef and sausage in a large skillet over medium high heat. Drain fat then stir in beer, sauerkraut, onion soup mix, caraway seeds, and garlic powder and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Press one and a half packages of crescent roll dough in the bottom of a lightly greased casserole dish (9x13). Spread the meat and sauerkraut mixture on top. Sprinkle with pepperjack. Then layer the rest of the crescent roll dough on top of the beef mixture, overlapping just a little. Sprinkle with the parmesan.

Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Peanut Butter Dog Treats

This weekend, Shawn (my boyfriend) and I decided that our relationship revolves around food. We are always eating and if we're not eating we're talking about food. All of my favorite moments with him are usually involving food somehow. I am not sure if this is sad or pathetic or what but thats what we decided...that was just a sidenote.

To dogs! Kirby (my dog) loves food as much, if not more than Shawn and I. Okay so maybe it's not possible to like food more than we do but he's a pug so the little fatty will eat anything. Perhaps he gets it from his mama. He actually eats tomatos and grapes and snatched up a generous chunk of a poblano pepper that I dropped on the kitchen floor while making soup the other day.

Clearly, Kirby is special but he, like probably every dog on the face of the earth, looooves peanut butter. It makes him crazy. There's no point of even putting effort into trying to get him to do a trick with peanut butter involved because he fricken loses his mind and will do every trick he knows in one sloppy series of frantic movement regardless of what you tell him. You just know if he could talk he would yell "There! I did them all now give me the treat already!"

Speaking of tricks, Kirbs got a few good ones down...given that they aren't peanut butter treats. I am still working on some but this one is a work in progress but it is my favorite. :) (I pretend to shoot him and he "plays dead")

Peanut Butter Dog Treats

From all-natural-dog-treat.com

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups white flour

1/2 cup peanut butter (all-natural or organic)

1 cup water

2 tablespoons oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine oil, peanut butter and water. Add flour, one cup at a time, forming a dough. Knead dough into firm ball and roll to 1/4 inch thickness.

Cut into 3 to 4 inch pieces. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes. Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

German Pumpkin Cheesecake

I love cheesecake, and I love fall, and I love being German. I decided to get crazy and combine these 3 loves for my German potluck and take a pumpkin cheesecake recipe and turn it into a German cheesecake recipe.

Changing baking recipes is always risky, at least for me anyway, so I was terrified. I think I held my breath the whole 3 hours it took to make. I know that sounds like a lot but it wasn't so bad. I was able to get a workout in while it baked and even some cleaning so if you're feeling the need to be productive, make this cheesecake!

It's one of the best cheesecakes I've ever had and I've had probably half of the cheesecakes available on the Cheesecake Factory menu. It's perfectly creamy and has a wonderful hint of fall flavors including pumpkin and cinnamon spices without being overpowering...mmm...my mouth is watering writing about this...

German Pumpkin Cheesecake
Adapted from foodnetwork.com and allrecipes.com

Crust:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs
2 3/4 cups sugar
Salt

Cheesecake:
2 pounds Quark (or 2 8 oz neaufchatel and 16 oz Quark), at room temperature (if you can't find it, learn how to make it here)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
6 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups sweetened whipped cream

For dusting:
powdered sugar
pumpkin spice

Directions:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Brush a 10-inch springform pan with some of the butter. Stir the remaining butter with the crumbs, 1/4 cup of the sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, packing it tightly and evenly. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a rack, then wrap the outside of the springform pan with foil and place in a roasting pan.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, beat the quark (or cream cheese and quark) with a mixer until smooth. Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups sugar and beat until just light, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beaters as needed. Beat in the sour cream, then add the pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, 1 teaspoon salt and the spices and beat until just combined. Pour into the cooled crust.

Gently place the roasting pan in the oven (don't pull the rack out) and pour the boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes about halfway up the side of the springform pan. Bake until the outside of the cheesecake sets but the center is still loose, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the door briefly to let out some heat. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for 1 more hour, then carefully remove from the roasting pan and cool on a rack. Run a knife around the edges, cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

Bring the cheesecake to room temperature 30 minutes before serving. Unlock and remove the springform ring. To finish, place a dollop of the whipped cream on each slice and sprinkle with powdered sugar and pumpkin spice.

Quark: German Cheese

As I said in my last post, I recently had a German potluck. I must say I am pretty proud to be German. My dad was born in Germany and I adore my little blonde-hair blue-eyed grandmas thick german accent. I've never been to Germany (although it is something I would love LOVE LOVE to do!) but I have been fortunate enough to be exposed to the great food...

Beer, bratwursts and saurkraut...they may not smell the best but they sure do satisfy this tummy. I think the little German in me forced me to move into my neighborhood, German Village, where on every corner there are german pubs and restaraunts with good authentic eats. The food is fabulous here and brings me back to visiting my family in Minnesota eating my grandmas and grandpas german potato salad, fried bread, german pancakes and Spaetzle or as us American's call it "spatula".

I wanted to try and be daring and take a pumpkin cheesecake recipe and make it German...seeing as to how my risks don't always go as planned, I made the cheesecake and the cream puffs in case one didn't work. I lucked out and both turned out great...German and fall flavors all in one...can't beat it.

Apparently in Germany, when they make cheesecake they use quark instead of cream cheese like we American's do or ricotta like many Italians do. Quark is a soft creamy cheese comparable to cream cheese. It's hard to find but relatively easy to make. It takes about 12 hours, but it was worth it...in my eyes at least.

Quark

From Germancorner.com

Ingredients:

1 quart buttermilk

1 large Pyrex form with lid or any other form with lid
1 large colander

1 cheesecloth or plain linnen

Directions:

Pour the buttermilk in oven proof form, cover with lid and put into oven overnight at lowest temperature (150 F). Next morning line the colander with cloth and pour the lumpy buttermilk into it. Cover with the ends of the cloth and let drain in sink for about 2 hours. This process can be speed up by putting a bowl filled with water on top. This instruction will make about 1/2 lbs of quark.

*Totally off topic but if you like comedy I recommend checking out Orny Adams. I was up late one night unable to sleep and turned it to comedy central and this guy was doing standup and I was laughing away...alone...in my bed. His jokes are clever and I think he may be a bit intoxicated which is all the more funny...you might be able to check him out here http://www.amazon.com/Orny-Adams-Takes-the-Third/dp/B004AD9L9E/ref=pd_vodsm_B004AD9L9E