Butternut Squash Soup! Jean Georges Vongerichten

Soups, stews, and chili's are on the minds of many as the fall cooking season rolls around. 

This Butternut Squash Soup is Jean George's recipe, that I was privileged to observe in a cooking demo, years ago. Ten plus years later, I went to the famous Jean George's in New York, (Trump Hotel Central Park, first floor) and had this very soup!! Ever since then, I’ve fallen in love with Jean George's Butternut Squash Soup. In fact as I write this, October is only half way, and I’ve already made it twice! The only recipe that I will ever use for the rest of my life belongs to Jean-Georges Vongerichten. And today, I will share it with you. It’s not a secret, actually. I’ve come across the recipe in a few places, including a demo that he did on Good Morning America in 1998! The first time that I made it, I was pleasantly surprised at the short ingredient list and simple preparation method. Is it possible that something so amazingly delicious could be this simple to make? The answer is, Yes! Everyone raves about this soup!

Fast and Easy Halloween Treats Part 2!

Hot cocoa for the kiddo's on Halloween morning or when they come back from Trick or treating, to warm them up! 
Adapted from- Taste of Home

Here's looking at you! Halloween guests of all ages will get a kick out of this eerie “vision” staring back at them. It couldn't be easier to make!

Fast and Easy cookies and treat's for Halloween!

 Halloween treats that offer no tricks, just treats! If you want to put together a fun Halloween party for the kids or even the adults. And you don’t want to spend a day and a half baking fancy treats. You might like some of the fun Halloween treat ideas, I’ve collected for you today.

These are so cute!  Lit­tle bun­dles of un-dead goodness!

Halloween Peppers stuffed with Butternut Squash Risotto

My favorite season is Fall! And, October is one of my favorite months! There is just this feeling in the air, cooler in the evenings and lovely crisp mornings. The leaves are turning and pumpkin patches start to pop up which always puts a smile on my face. Fall foliage, warm woolly sweaters, crackling fireplaces...... Oh, who am I kidding. I live in Scottsdale, where today it's 84 degrees (no joke) and we are wearing flip flops, shorts and a sunglasses. But I digress. Let's talk about something important that happens in October, rain or shine. That's right..... Halloween! Suddenly toward mid October, witches, ghost's and scary goblins start popping up on the neighborhood houses.....so fun! I like to get busy in the kitchen with the bounty of Fall fruits and vegetables, so many ideas....so little time! Today I am offering a tasty and festive dish....

Zucchini Meat Loaf Provence

When Fall and Winter come marching in with a chill in the air....I think .....meatloaf.  It was one dish I had a lot growing up.  I didn't even think about putting zucchini in my Mom's recipe, until I tasted this in one of my cooking classes, years ago.  It keeps the meatloaf very moist, and the best part is that the kids don't even notice the vegetables! My kids loved this growing up and Wee Bear goes a little crazy every time I make it.

Extreme Banana Bread!

 


This is not your typical banana bread.  Although the ingredients may be the same, this recipe packs 5 bananas in the batter (and one for the top).  It's quite possibly the best banana bread you will ever make!

Recipes for ultimate banana bread abound, but because they include an overload of bananas for flavor, the bread’s texture is often soggy. I wanted a moist, not mushy, loaf that tasted of banana through and through. Let's face it, it's banana bread, you're not painting a masterpiece! It's not a special occasion dessert, it's a very clever way to use over ripe banana's that would of been thrown out, into a pretty descent mid morning snack!

It is not a special-occasion dessert. It is a quick and clever way to use up bananas that are too brown and mushy to eat. It is a way to turn something you would have thrown away into a pretty decent midmorning snack. - See more at: http://www.davidwalbert.com/2010/06/06/pretty-good-banana-bread/#sthash.SkHd46tO.dpuf

It is not a special-occasion dessert. It is a quick and clever way to use up bananas that are too brown and mushy to eat. It is a way to turn something you would have thrown away into a pretty decent midmorning snack. - See more at: http://www.davidwalbert.com/2010/06/06/pretty-good-banana-bread/#sthash.SkHd46tO.dpuf

It is not a special-occasion dessert. It is a quick and clever way to use up bananas that are too brown and mushy to eat. It is a way to turn something you would have thrown away into a pretty decent midmorning snack. - See more at: http://www.davidwalbert.com/2010/06/06/pretty-good-banana-bread/#sthash.SkHd46tO.dpuf

It is not a special-occasion dessert. It is a quick and clever way to use up bananas that are too brown and mushy to eat. It is a way to turn something you would have thrown away into a pretty decent midmorning snack. - See more at: http://www.davidwalbert.com/2010/06/06/pretty-good-banana-bread/#sthash.SkHd46tO.dpuf

Paccheri pistachios, dried tomatoes & ricotta ... Cibo Squisito!

Paccheri are very large tubes. In fact, they are so large that they collapse when cooked, trapping inside them whatever they have been sauced with. The name means "slaps", because they supposedly make a noise like slaps, when lifted by a fork. You'll hear the "slap"  in the following recipe!

Pumpkin Cookies with Penuche frosting!

I made these easy drop cookies a couple weeks ago for a football party at Sweet One and TT's house, they are so soft and chewy. Then, I posted a picture the other day on Twitter and you all went a little nuts!!