I had clipped out this recipe a year or so ago and recently rediscovered it.  The recipe is by Louis Lambert, a chef in Texas.  He first made these Carmelitos for Lady Bird Johnson.  Since then many presidents including Clinton and both George and George W. Bush have tasted these decadent bars.  They are full of chocolate hips, pecans and dulce de leche.

It made so many that I took a sampling everywhere I went it.  The great thing is it looked really
sweet but wasn’t.  I used canned Dulce de Leche but next time will make it from scratch.  There
really is no comparison.

3 cups plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
2 1/4 cups light brown sugar
One 16-ounce jar dulce de leche (1 1/2 cups); see Note
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan. In a large bowl, whisk 3 cups of the flour with the baking soda and salt. Add the butter, oats and brown sugar and mix until combined. In a small bowl, mix the dulce de leche with the remaining 3 tablespoons of flour.

Pat half of the oat mixture into the baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Scatter half of the chocolate chips and pecans over the crust. Dollop half of the dulce de leche mixture on top. Crumble the remaining oat mixture evenly into the pan. Cover with the remaining chocolate chips, pecans and dulce de leche. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the edges are set. Let stand uncovered at room temperature overnight. Cut the carmelitas into bars and serve.

After making so many sweet bakery treats I was ready for something different.  Inspired by this photo of Salt Roasted Pears on marthastewart.com I decided to try it out.

This was simply divine.  The pears were soft but very moist and the combination of caramel with a touch of salt was perfect. My mom, who was a bit skeptical when she saw the pan filled with salt was pleasantly surprised.  I think this would be make a simple but elegant end to a fall dinner party.

In the interest of full disclosure 1 tried the caramel sauce that came with this 2 times with no success and went back to an old standby of mine.  To me it seemed to dry and too low heat. My old standby had more water at a higher heat. I used a loaf pan which worked perfectly.

Salt Roasted Pears with Caramel Sauce
Adapted from Marthastewart.com

Serves 6

6 Bosc pears
1 1/2 pounds coarse salt

Caramel Sauce
1 1/4 cups sugar
2/3 cups heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Arrange the pears upright in an 8 inch ceramic dish that is 4 inches deep.  cover pears with salt, allowing stems to stick out.  Bake until pears are tender when pricked with a fork, 60 to 75 minutes.

Remove pears from the salt, allowing a small amount to cling to each pear.  Place each pear on a serving plate, Pour caramel sauce over top, and serve.

Caramel Sauce

Pour the sugar into the center of a saucepan.  Pour 1/3 cup water around the walls of the pan.  So not stir; draw your finger through the center of sugar to moisten it.  Over high heat, bring to a full boil and cook without stirring, swirling the pan occasionally to even out the color, until the mixture is medium caramel in color, 5 to 10 minutes.  Immediately turn off the heat and use a wooden spoon to slowly stir in the cream.  It will bubble and may splatter.

After spending days cooking with apples I thought it was time to move on to another fall treat, the pumpkin.  I was looking at one Pumpkin Cupcake recipe until I saw this one at the Smitten Kitchen. I was over there checking out the latest cute pictures of her son.  The Maple Cream Cheese Frosting sounds like a delicious addition boost the flavor.

These cupcakes are deceptively light with the perfect spice kick to them.  Thankfully I had a volunteer meeting to quickly take these to and more importantly away from my house.

Pumpkin Cupcakes With Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting
Smitten Kitchen adapted from David Leite
17 to 18 cupcakes

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin

Frosting
Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Make the cupcakes:?Preheat the oven to 350° (175°C). Line a cupcake pan with 18 liners.

In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl.

Add the eggs 1 at a time to the mixer, scraping down the sides after each addition. Alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in the pumpkin until smooth. Scoop the batter among the cupcake liners — you’re looking to get them 3/4 full. Rap the filled pans once on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on racks completely.

Make the frosting:
In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy. To assemble the cake, frost the top of one cake, place the other cake on top. Frost the sides and top, swirling decoratively. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes to set up frosting

I have been trying out different salads with apples the last few days.  This is one of my favorites.  I love the crunchy textures and the tangy apples mixed with the sweet dates and creamy goat cheese.

Apple, Grape & Date Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Serves 4

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup Medjool Dates, seeded and chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
1/2 cup grapes, halved
4 cups mixed greens
3-4 ounces goat or feta cheese crumbled
3 tablespoons walnuts, toasted and chopped
Raisin Walnut Bread croutons (see below)

Apple Cider Vinaigrette

1/2 cup apple cider
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 shallot finely minced
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Place apple cider in a saucepan with cinnamon stick.  Cook until reduced to 2 tablespoons.  Pour into a small bowl and cool.  Add apple cider vinegar, shallot and olive oil.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Whisk until emulsified.

Raisin Walnut Bread croutons

3 slices raisin walnut bread cut into cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat over 350.

Place raisin walnut bread cubes into baking dish.  Sprinkle olive oil over cubes and stir until they are coated.

Bake in the oven until slightly browned.

Looking through my files I was shocked that I had never shared these Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with you.  After trying Lemon Ricotta cookies, I was intrigued with using ricotta in other recipes.

I found these on Bobby Flay’s site and decided to give them a try. The pancakes were so light  and fluffy with a hint of lemon.  The blackberries and yogurt add a tart and sweet finish to the pancakes.
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
By Bobby Flay

Looking through my files I was shocked that I had never shared these Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with you.  After trying Lemon Ricotta cookies, I was intrigued with using ricotta in other recipes.

I found these on Bobby Flay’s site and decided to give them a try. The pancakes were so light  and fluffy with a hint of lemon.  The blackberries and yogurt add a tart and sweet finish to the pancakes.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
By Bobby Flay

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
Juice and grated rind of one lemon
Butter, for griddle
1 6-8 ounces container yogurt ( used greek plain)
Fresh raspberries
Confectioners’ sugar
Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt in a small bowl. Whisk together the cheese, eggs, milk, lemon juice and zest in a large bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Brush the griddle with butter..Pour approximately ¼ cup measure of the batter on the griddle and cook on both sides until light golden brown.

Top with fresh raspberries, yogurt  and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

Root beer floats and I go way back. Often, on Sunday nights after church, my family would go to the local A & W.  It was the old school pull up and order into the metal box.  This had to have been mid 60’s to early 70’s.

While in high school I worked at Knott’s Berry Farm in the ice cream shop.  I worked there to get free admission to the park where we would dance the night away on the weekends.  Of course, as a Baptist preacher’s kid, this was not allowed so it involved sneaking and scheming.  But that is for another blog.  When it got super hot we had to warn the customer to not push the ice cream down with the straw.  The warm root beer mixed with the ice cream created a volcano if pushed.  Of course, human nature makes it impossible to resist so the warning would no sooner leave my mouth than some smarty customer would push the ice cream with the straw.  Ice cream would foam over and lucky me got to mop it up.

Those experience didn’t quench my  love of  A & W Root Beer.  I still enjoy a super cold root beer once in awhile.  My niece and nephews went through a phase this summer of wanting root beer floats. When I saw this Root Beer Float Cake, from the cookbook Baked,  I knew they I had to make it for them. It is dark but light and bursting with flavor though no one will guess what that flavor is. Serve with a big scoop of ice cream.

Root Beer Float Cake

Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

2 cups root beer (don’t use diet)
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs

Preheat even to 325 degrees F.  Spray the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray, or butter generously and dust with flour, knocking out the excess.

In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder and butter over medium heat until butter is melted.  Add sugars and whisk until dissolved.  Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

In a small bowl whisk the eggs until just beaten.  Then whisk into the cocoa mixture until combined.  Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture.  The batter will be slightly lumpy.  You can give it a quick whisk if you like, but don’t over beat the batter or it could cause the cake to be tough.  Don’t worry, the batter is very loose.

Pour the batter into prepared pan and cook for 35-45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking until a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely then loosen edges with a butter knife and turn out onto a cake plate.

Chocolate Root Beer Frosting

2 ounces 60% cocoa, melted
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup root beer
2/3 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
2 1/2  cups powdered sugar

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using an electric hand mixer, beat softened butter and cocoa powder.  Once combined add the melted chocolate, salt, powdered sugar and root beer.  Beat together until smooth.  Spread on top of cooled cake.  Slice and serve with  vanilla ice cream.

I have had a craving to bake with apples.  Maybe it is because a bit of fall has arrived here in Southern California, which means a slight cool breeze. That is all I needed to break out the fall clothes and more importantly the fall cooking.

I found this Chunky Apply Walnut Cake in The Silver Palate Cookbook.  This cake is dense, moist and filled with chunks of apple and crunchy walnuts.  The glaze that goes over has a buttery apple flavor that soaks into the cake.

Looking up the recipe on the internet it was apparent that this was a favorite cake on The Silver Palate menu. I can tell you that everyone devoured this cake from co-workers to my family.

Chunky Apple Walnut Cake

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup walnuts, coarsley chopped
3 1/4 cups coarse chunks of peeled Granny Smith apples
3 tablespoons Calvador or Applejack
Apple Cider Glaze (optional)

In large bowl beat vegetable oil and sugar until thick and opaque. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each edition.

In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients: white flour, cloves, cinnamon, mace, baking soda and salt. Stir in whole wheat flour. Add to oil and egg mixture until well blended.

Toss apples and walnuts in 1 tablespoon flour to lightly coat. Then stir fruit and nuts into batter along with Calvados until pieces are evenly distributed.

Pour batter into greased bundt pan. Bake 1 hour 15 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean

Let cake rest in pan 10 minutes, then unmold and pour glaze over warm cake.

Serves 10-12.
Apple Cider Glaze

4 tbsp sweet butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
6 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp Calvados or Applejack
4 tbsp sweet cider
2 tblsp fresh orange juice
2 tbsp heavy cream

Melt butter in small saucepan and stir in both sugars. Add remaining ingredients, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat slightly and cook for 4  minutes.

Remove from heat and cool slightly. Pour over cake while still warm.

Autumn makes me think of soup on the stove.  My favorites are Roasted Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper.  A creature of habit, I make those several times a season. In the process of checking out several new blogs I found a corn soup that had chipotle chilies in it.  I just couldn’t get past the 4 cups of half and half so I researched other recipes and put this one together.  This one utilizes more broth and less half and half.  While I am sure it is less creamy I hope you find it a lighter alternative.

Spicy Corn Soup
inspired by Use Real Butter and Food Network.com

6 medium ears of sweet corn, grilled and cut off the cob?1 chipolte pepper, seeded & chopped
1 clove garlic, minced?1 large yellow onion, minced?4 cups low sodium chicken broth?1 1/2 cups half and half
Salt and pepper to taste?cumin, to taste
relish?by Use Real Butter
reserved grilled corn?1 tbsp red bell pepper, diced?1/8 tsp jalapeno pepper, minced?1 tbsp honey?3 tbsps white vinegar?salt to taste
Divide the corn in half.
Saute the onion and garlic until softened. Combine half the corn with the onion, garlic, chilis, spices, and half of the broth in a food processor and pulse until it forms a coarse paste. Add more broth as needed. Leave it a little chunky or process until smooth depending on what you like.  Empty the contents into a saucepan and stir in the half and half. Heat to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Let it simmer for 15-20 minutes. If you want the fullest flavor, reduce the volume of the soup by half.
Mix the relish ingredients together in a bowl and cover for at least an hour. Serve the soup with the relish.

Last year I tried making homemade granola bars for the first time.  I love the sweet and salty flavors with the crunchy texture.  That weekend I had my first gallbladder attack and ended up with a surgery to remove it a few weeks later.

Somehow the foods I ate that weekend prior to the attack just haven’t appealed to me, until now.  I saw these bars on another blog and decided to give them a try. These tasted great but were on the crumbly side.  I love the vanilla, brown sugar and honey sauce that binds the bars together.  Next time I will add a bit more honey and line the pan with parchment paper.

I substituted from the original recipe changing out the nuts and adding the coconut.  You can easily do the same.  I think they would also be good with the addition of a bit of cinnamon.

Granola Bars
adapted from Alton Brown recipe

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup cashews, chopped
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup chopped dried fruit, any combination of apricots, cherries or blueberries
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Directions
Butter a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Spread the oats, cashews, almonds, and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan. Place in the oven
and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium
saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.

Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F.
Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine.
Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture
in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to
cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending BlogHerFood09 in San Francisco.  I had the opportunity to meet all of the foodbloggers who had inspired me to start my blog.  Heidi Swanson of 101Cookbooks and Matt of Matt Bites led a great workshop on photography.  My take away – read my camera manual!  One of my favorites was hearing Ree from The Pioneer Women talk on one of the panels.  She was so sweet and seemed like she was quite down to earth.  I introduced my boss to her site and she has become addicted.  We have to go to Oklahoma next year for business and want to stop by and say hi.

I met Joy the Baker and made new friends like Patricia at Brownies for Dinner. Rocco di Spirito asked me if I would’ve been naughty had I been at the dinner the night before.  He sure was cute and that boy knows how to work a room, even if it was full of  foodies who were a bit disgruntled at being served frozen meals for lunch. Note to future Rocco dates, eat the bacon risotto. Trust me.

The awesome women behind The Pioneer Woman, Simply Recipes and Steamy Kitchen threw a rockin after party and sent us home laden with gifts from Starbucks and Chefs Catalog.

I came home and threw together Blondie bars for our staff meeting this morning.  They were inspired by Cookie Pie and Smitten Kitchen.  They are full of dried cherries, white chocolate chips and toasted pecans.  Yum.  I am wishing I hadn’t given them all away.  There were none left by the end of the meeting.

Blondies
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch kosher salt
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup pecans, toasted & chopped
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.

Butter an 8×8 pan.

Mix melted butter with brown sugar and beat until smooth.  Beat in egg and then vanilla.  Add salt and flour.  Mix in pecans, chips and dried cherries.

Pour into prepared pan.  Bake 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle.