A Continuing Zen-kitchen Study: Onigiri

One of my objectives this year is to delve deeper into the art of Japanese cuisine. I know that such an objective will not be fully realized until I physically travel to Japan and poke my nose around their kitchens, but that is a dream to be accomplished in the future. I'm going to take advantage of my access to Japanese tradition (through reading, relationships with friends and teachers, etc) to propel me through, and try to do some justice in my own kitchen.

I have a strange approach to food traditions in that I turn my nose up at "fusion", but I try to make those experiments happen in my own kitchen with what I have available. I guess I prefer to make a culinary-type fusion based on the ingredients I have at hand instead of trying to pick a few different regions (ie: Mexican-Japanese) and combining their techniques to make something happen. To me, cooking has to inspire the cook from the ground up. Creating original dishes is simply being able to dive into your toolbox, built from experiences in every kitchen you can possibly access, and use any ingredient passed to you by season or budget to make something tasty. This is how it has worked for me at least...so perhaps I will not be able to tell you exactly how to make perfect Onigiri, but I will try my best to recreate my experiences and what I think tastes awesome.

This recipe is inspired by my experience learning how to make onigiri, sushi, and gyoza with my college Japanese teacher, as well as some technique tips from Just Hungry.

I think maybe we'll make this a trilogy...we all love trilogies, don't we? Let's start with Part I: the Onigiri!

Onigiri

(Japanese rice balls with seaweed)

Sushi rice

Rice vinegar

Sea salt

Sugar

Seaweed (nori works, so do those "sea veggies" things they sell now)

Sesame seeds

Plastic wrap

A small bowl

1/3 C measuring cup

Onigiri has simple ingredients, the trick is in the technique. First you should prepare your sushi rice. You can make as much or as little as you want, but 2 cups of rice should make you 6 Onigiri the size of your palm. 

To set up your station you should have a little bowl of water, a salt shaker, a sheet of plastic wrap, and a dry bowl to help with shaping.

To prepare the rice, you really have to do it by taste...that is honestly how I was taught, so I'm going to describe the correct flavor to you, and leave you to your good judgement. In the rice bowl, you add in a good shake of rice vinegar, a dash of salt, and a couple Tablespoons of sugar to start. Adjust flavors to balance the rice vinegar, and to achieve the stickiness you need to hold form. You don't have to add sugar if you don't want, but that is what Onigiri tastes like to me (sushi rice), so I still add it.

To assemble, take 1/3 C of the rice mix and plop it into a small rice bowl (could also be known as a finger bowl) that is lined with plastic wrap that has been sprinkled with water and a dash of salt. This method will keep you from chapping your hands with hot rice and salt. Bring the ends of the plastic wrap together and start twisting until you have a little rice pouch at the bottom, keep twisting! This technique helps to compact the sticky rice without sticking to your hands. You can choose at this point to form them into triangles or into balls. Remove the plastic when you achieve the desired shape. I formed triangles this time and rolled a piece of seaweed to add flavor, aesthetic, and even a convenient holder against the stick factor. Alternatively, you can roll the onigiri in sesame seeds, or add fillings like beans or fish.

This is a fantastic snack to add to your lunch or something to have after work/school. I love just having them in the fridge or hanging out on the counter to pick up on the go. They remind me of the scene in Miyazaki's Spirited Away where Haku gives Chihiro an onigiri snack and she loves it so much she is brought to tears, crying out her sorrows (it was also enchanted, but that is a great way to curb someone's panic attack). It is definitely a good comfort food. I think I'm going to make some more now!

Enjoy! And stay tuned for part II, which will have my recipe for Panko Chicken ^.~

Chicken Stock for the Soul of your Kitchen...and Stomach!

So, the day after that magnificent chicken has been roasted and the carcass is waiting in the fridge, it is time to spend some time on your chicken stock. Really, the active time is about 5 minutes, and every once in a while you have to check on it to see if you need to skim any of the fat off the top. I feel like making stocks intimidates some people, but it is ridiculously easy and will increase your cooking abilities ten-fold. Imagine having homemade stocks waiting in your freezer with your own kitchen's flavors to awaken a soup, stew, or a new sauce you've been wanting to try out. It feels good and tastes better! Plus, without all of the preservatives and excess noise that mass-produced stocks coming from a can or carton give you, you really are getting a healthier product.

I should probably tell you what kind of stock I have made in order to give you a good starting point. Chicken stock should be very simple, the flavor deriving from the carcass of a roasted chicken, that already has spent it's life hanging out with herbs, spices, and other aromatics. The bones have so much hidden flavor that is absolutely necessary to extract. Additionally, using the entire bird will make you a more sustainable cook.

You will notice that the recipe has a very simple list of ingredients. This is because the stock is a base for an infinite variety of sauces, stews, braises, soups, risottos, rice dishes, and any myriad of applications. Because of it's versatility, the end product (the stock) needs to be rich, but without flavors that will take over everything else. Therefore, you will not see me throwing in handfulls of herbs and spices *gasp!* I know...

Some ideas for stock use:

• Measure out amounts of chicken stock into containers that can be frozen. You can choose the measurements based on your favorite recipes, or recipes that you wish to make in the future. Anytime you need some stock, you'll have reinforcements awaiting your order in the freezer. 

• You can also put stock into ice cube trays and pop one out whenever you need a bit of richness in a sauce. 

• Also, if you want in on a secret, the carcass can be boiled a second time, to make what Ferran Adrià called the "second stock" and use that to make your next stock even richer. I feel like this tip would be especially useful for someone who finds themselves using stock quite often. Also, a good idea in preparation for the holiday season.

• You can use this same recipe to make turkey stock after Thanksgiving! Mind-blowing, I know :)

Basic Chicken Stock

Inspired by The Family Meal: Home Cooking with Ferran Adrià

Onion

Celery (could use celery seed)

Carrot

Garlic

Chicken Carcass

Water

For the stock that I made, I used the carcass from the roasted chicken that I made the night before. I stored it covered in the fridge (along with some of the drippings). For the aromatics, you only need onion, celery, and carrot. I believe I threw in a few cloves of garlic because I just can't resist, and I used celery seed instead of celery, which is a great substitute if you absolutely don't have any celery in the house. 

A little ugly, but I couldn't resist.
It's so exciting to see what it turns into!

Chuck everything in a big pot, no need to chop anything! Then pour in 8 cups or so of water, enough to cover everything and bring to a boil. Skim the foam from the surface and simmer for 2 to 2-1/2 hours.

Strain everything through a fine mesh sieve and you have fresh stock! Store in the freezer up to six months in small containers. You only want to defrost what you are going to use that day, and in that case take it out the day before and store in the fridge so that it thaws correctly!

May you have many more delicious dishes coming from this important preparation task!

Not a baker you say? Try Irish Soda Bread!

I love homemade breads, but they can really be a pain.

A hard truth I’ve had to swallow is that high-quality bread is very expensive in the United States. Of course, when I’m met with a challenge like that, I jump straight to the recipe vault and try to create my own version.

I like to know where the ingredients of my food come from and how they are being prepared. Thus, I put myself through making things like hot sauce, jam, breads, crackers, etc. and find that they are much easier than I initially thought.

This particular bread also has some significance in Louisville, where the Irish are a part of our city’s history. The neighborhood Irish Hill was named for its original inhabitants of Irish (and German) Catholics who built up the working-class neighborhood as immigrants to Louisville in the late 1800s.

Today we see most of that Irish background in names and places, such as the Irish Rover on Frankfort Ave or what I like to call the Celtic Quarter on Bardstown Road where Molly’s, O’Sheas, and Flannagans entertain the Highlands on the weekends. Don’t get me started on the St. Patrick’s Day Parade … man, this city is awesome.

I digress … the homemade bread we are making today does have roots in that emerald island across the Atlantic, but it is also a very sensible bread to make at home. The ingredients are simple, easy to find, very affordable, and easily manipulated. The dough is soft and pleasant without requiring much kneading or beating or slapping or resting like most breads do.

This bread provides a dense loaf that saves well through the week. Plus, if you happen to find it a little stale, all you have to do is add some butter to a pan, warm it up and toast it in the pan with butter until revived. I don’t know if you’ve ever made bread at home, but if you spent 12 hours making 4 loaves and you found three of them stale the next day, you would probably be a little discouraged (I'm talking to you Homemade French Bread). Our dear soda bread nips that problem in the bud.

It makes a fantastic accompaniment to eggs, a good snack with apple butter, and of course the perfect companion for afternoon tea. So, get that dutch oven or iron skillet out and let’s get baking!

• White Soda Bread

• Traditional Recipe from The Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread

4 C All purpose flour

1 t Baking soda

1 t Salt

14 oz. Buttermilk

That is really all you need to make delicious bread.

If you don’t happen to have buttermilk and don’t feel like weathering the storm to get to your local supermarket, you can actually curdle your own milk with either lemon juice or vinegar. A tablespoon and a half in 14oz. of milk should make the milk curdle; you will see it separate and thicken after about 5 minutes. Stir it up and you’re ready to go.

Of course, actual buttermilk is the best … and because we have access to it, that’s what I recommend.

I cooked this in my iron skillet because it is non-stick and provides an even cooking surface for the bread. A greased and floured cake pan would work. Traditionally, it is cooked with a cover on (such as in a dutch oven), but I cooked mine without a cover and it turned out beautifully.

Preheat your oven to 425º

Sift all of the dry ingredients into a bowl and combine. Create a well in the middle of the flour and pour in the buttermilk. Mix to combine into a sticky dough and lightly knead with floured hands, adding a bit of flour to make the dough more manageable. Do not over-knead because you will lose the gasses necessary to make the bread rise.

Form the dough into a round flat shape and cut a cross into the top of the dough and put it in the oven. After 30-40 minutes you should have a golden loaf bursting forth from your happy iron skillet or baking vessel.

However, you can’t get too excited because the loaf needs to rest. Technically, you are supposed to wait until the loaf is completely cooled, but seriously, who can do that? I cool it on a wire rack until I can handle it without discomfort. If you cut it too soon, the inside won’t be so spongey when you steal yourself a slice. It’s okay though, even if you are impatient, slather some butter on that happy warm piece of heaven and you’ll be content, I promise.

Wrap it in a tea towel to keep it moist. I found that wrapping it in foil and a tea towel lengthens the life of the bread. Enjoy warm with a hot cup of tea or cocoa on these winter nights. It is great to have around the house for pop-in guests at this time of year. There’s nothing better than sitting down to share tea or coffee with fresh homemade bread.

I hope you enjoy!

Quick and Warm Winter Breakfasts: Pan-fried apples and Oatmeal

I lived in Austria for a year while studying abroad. During that year, the winter was the longest I can ever remember. There was a time when the sun didn't shine for 40 days, and the majority of those days were swirled in snow storms. I actually do have those stories of walking miles to school in snow up to my shins. Still, wouldn't trade those memories for the world!

The best part of that winter though was waking up and knowing that a warm breakfast was in my near future. We had so much fun sharing our recipes among our six roommates and five hungry neighbors (who were just as much our roommates) from muffins to breads to omelets to crepes and finally to today's recipe: pan-fried apples and oatmeal. This quick and easy breakfast is warming to the soul and will keep you well-filled until lunch, or perhaps beyond!

Pan-Fried Apples and Oatmeal

1 Apple, cored and sliced thin

1/2 C Oatmeal

2 T Butter

Brown or raw sugar

Cinnamon

Cardamom 

Apple cider (or water)

Heat the butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add about a tablespoon of sugar and your seasonings and melt into the butter. Add the apples and fry in the sweet seasoned butter until they begin to soften. After a few minutes you can add the oatmeal and fry it up with the apples. When the oatmeal begins to toast you can add in your liquid. We added apple cider and it was amazing! I normally add water, so that works too, but the cider really packed a punch of flavor.  Finally, put a lid on it and lower the heat. The oatmeal should soak up all of the liquid and you will be left with a glorious bowl of happy, warm breakfast.

Bon appétit!!

Complimenting the Snow with Tempura Okra

Christmastime has passed and I'm back to pay a little more attention to the archives of Louisville Lady Gourmet. I really hope that you, dear readers, had as much inspiration for culinary greatness as I did over the holiday. In my free time, I was combing the massive collections of recipes that were flooding from my fellow bloggers and food writers, and boy was I excited. I also reviewed some traditional methods that I want to perfect and keep in my culinary arsenal.

The New Year is on its way (can you believe it?), so that means making new goals and trying new things...at least for me. I really want to investigate a few styles of cuisine that I have experienced or even cooked before, but want to see what I can do with the ingredients we have here in our fair city.

I got started early on my goals by tackling Tempura. I believe that anyone who tries tempura is truly amazed at what the Japanese have done to fried food. Tempura, if prepared correctly, is minimal on the grease, texturally exciting, packs massive taste from both the batter and the fresh ingredients, and is completely addictive. Oh yes, addictive.

So, what can you tempura fry that excites the Louisville palate? Only one of my most favorite foods in the entire world: Okra! I fried the okra whole, and doing so yielded an ethereal taste-bud explosion. The whole okra was beautifully crispy on the outside and was not soggy at all in the center. The okra seeds in the middle have always been my favorite to eat, and this tempura okra kept the seeds moist for optimum popping.

For seasoning, I simply went for salt and chili powder to give it a little kick. I felt like a tempura dipping sauce would have been a little much...and might not allow the integrity of the okra to shine through. Being the first time trying it, I wanted to get the full effect. I think that a lighter sauce, perhaps with a citrus base instead of soy base would go well with these. Honestly, I was satisfied just popping them in my mouth until they were all gone.

Let's get on with the tempura technique. I think that the tutorial by Chef Tadashi Ono via Saveur is spot on. I'll outline what I did here and you can check out the video and tutorial on Saveur from there!

Tempura Okra

2 1/2 C Cake flour

2 Egg yolks

2 C Ice water

1/4 C Crushed ice cubes

Fresh Okra

Dredging in cake flour first

This recipe can be used for any vegetable, herb, or meat that you want to cover in a perfect tempura batter. If you are going for meat, shrimp is the most popular and delectable. Vegetables should be in uniform shapes, you can even tempura herbs--my favorite is tempura parsley...it's like eating bright, flavorful lace. Make sure that everything is prepared before you even start on the batter. That means whatever you are frying needs to be washed, dried, and brought to room temperature. This will maximize crunchiness.

Heat a cast iron skillet with about an inch of canola or vegetable oil to 360º add 1/4 C sesame oil before you start frying for that authentic tempura flavor. Plus, it smells awesome! If you don't have a thermometer, check the temperature with the batter. The batter should bead and immediately rise and bubble to the top.

Put 1/2 C cake flour on a plate to dredge the okra in first. This step will help the tempura batter adhere to the okra. You can dredge them before your prepare the tempura batter to ensure that the batter is fresh. When the flour from dredging and the batter meet, you get that quintessential tempura batter with crispy bits intact!

Tempura batter mixing with 4 chopsticks

Now for the magical batter.
Place two egg yolks in a large bowl. Using two chopsticks mix the yolks with 2C ice water, ice included. This reduces gluten absorption. Then grasp four chopsticks and hold upright so that they make a square in the bowl. Do not use a whisk, do not use a fork, just take the chopsticks without fear (and a little practice), and gently incorporate the flour with the egg-water mixture. Your batter should be lumpy because those flour bubbles are gold. The batter will reach the consistency of heavy cream. At this point your oil should be hot and your okra should be dredged and ready for action!

Leave room for even frying!

Using just two chopsticks now, pick up the dredged okra one piece at a time and swipe it through the batter and directly into the hot oil. Do this quickly until you have filled up the pan about 3/4 full. The okra needs to have enough room to cook evenly and not stick to itself. Make sure that they have room. Gently stir and take your chopsticks to drop more batter on top of the okra pieces. If you have some pieces left over, you can strain those out and serve them as a bed for the tempura or reserve them for toppings on salads. After about 2-3 minutes they should be fried. The color should be just turning to golden...not brown, not white as the batter, but just thinking about turning. Then quickly remove the okra and put them on a baking sheet lined with paper towels.

Drain on towels

Fry in batches until you are all out of okra. Remember to sprinkle with seasoning while hot. Then immediately consume with joy and happiness knowing that you can take techniques from across the world and transform our ingredients here at home. Stay curious and stay hungry!

Final product! Eat away!

めしあがれ！

Inside the Kitchen with Louisville Lady Gourmet! Eggplant Lasagna with Saffron

Hello dear food-lovers! Today marks the day of my first original article for the Inside the Kitchen column with the Insider Louisville publication.

I currently write two columns for them, the first being Juice which is a health food column released on Tuesdays, and the second is Inside the Kitchen with the Louisville Lady Gourmet, which will feature both ambitious and delicious recipes as well as my comments on the food culture of Louisville.

So, on Tuesday or Friday you will receive a link to my Insider Louisville Column!

Today's Inside the Kitchen post is about an irresistible Eggplant Lasagna (sans pasta) with Saffron. Layers include roasted eggplants, tomato sauce, saffron risotto, and mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.

I hope you enjoy: Inside the Kitchen Eggplant Lasagna with Saffron

I am enamored by food, and my insatiable appetite has brought me many adventures in cooking. Transforming fresh food into the gastronomic trinity of breakfast, lunch, and dinner is my only true addiction, and I thank our hometown for nurturing that set of skills.

As Louisvillians, we have such a wealth of resources to stretch our culinary muscles, from our public cornucopia farmers markets to our flourishing and exciting dining scene. We are constantly surrounded by good food and inspiring cooks, so let me give you a peek inside my kitchen to see what this Louisville Lady Gourmet is getting up to.

My favorite memories usually revolve around sharing food with dear friends. Nothing unites us more in merry conversation than a warm dish of nourishing food, am I right? Add a bottle of wine and the conversation gets a little louder and the laughter even more frequent.

The moment I can dish out seconds is when I know we’re sharing a great moment together. This dish did the trick with its warm tomato sauce nestled in melted, fresh mozzarella cheese and rounded off by the yielding bite of the roasted eggplant and the creamy saffron risotto. If you are a fan of saffron, here is your chance to see what it can do next to tomatoes, and it is pretty much what saffron can do to anything… turn it to culinary gold!

Eggplant Lasagna with Saffron
Adapted from Bon Appétit

2 Eggplants

1 Onion, minced

Olive oil

Butter

1 C Rice (arborio is preferred for risotto)

Pinch of saffron

1/4 C White wine

1 C Water

Salt

Black Pepper

Homemade Tomato Sauce (recipe below)

Garlic

Sage

Salt

Black Pepper

2 C Fresh mozzarella cut into cubes

1 C Grated parmesan

Some notes before we begin:

I recommend using a mandolin slicer for the eggplant, but a sharp knife will do. You just need thin, uniform slices.

Remember that risottos become fluffy and creamy through movement, so if you have some pan-tossing skills, this is a good time to exercise them (or begin practice– it’s so fun, don’t be scared to try it!).

The tomato sauce can be made with whole, peeled tomatoes or canned tomatoes; a food processor or an immersion blender is useful for making the sauce too.

The best way to approach this recipe is in three parts. Even though this is a lasagna sans pasta, it is still true to its layered form: Roasted eggplants, saffron risotto, homemade tomato sauce, and your cheeses. You won’t be disappointed.

To roast the eggplant, simply wash, slice, and distribute them on a baking sheet and drizzle them with olive oil on both sides, just enough to roast evenly. Slide them in the oven at 400º for about 15 minutes until they are browned but not burnt. If some of them do happen to burn (those sneaky oven hot spots are a pain, aren’t they?), just get some greek yoghurt out and eat them as chips. See, all is not lost! Set the browned ones aside to cool for lasagna layering.

The saffron risotto is such a delight to make. Stirring and tossing the risotto until it is fluffy and changes to that golden hue may well induce philosophizing on how great life is.

We all know butter makes everything better, so heat about a tablespoon of butter and about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Then add 3/4 of minced onion and let it dance around until soft and translucent. At this point add the rice and sauté until it turns opaque–right at the point before it starts toasting–then incorporate the saffron and add the white wine! This will deglaze the pan and take care of anything beginning to stick to the bottom. The wine should reduce down for about a minute, then you can add the water. Cover and cook the rice through for about 15 minutes, stirring and tossing occasionally, season with salt to taste.

The tomato sauce is my own experiment, and I have found that sage is magic in any tomato sauce, so that is my herb of choice. If you have another favorite, such as basil or oregano then go for it–again, this is your kitchen, do what makes you feel good. If you don’t have a blender or food processor, use crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce depending on how thick you desire your end product.

In a saucepan, sauté the remaining 1/4 of the minced onion and a couple cloves of minced garlic in olive oil. When that begins to smell fragrant, add the sage and fry that up as well–this releases the flavor of the herb. Then you add in your tomatoes, salt, and pepper and stir until combined. Simmer until it becomes the consistency you want, season and adjust to taste, and now you have a great tomato sauce!

Finally, you layer all of these ingredients together: bottom layer sauce, then saffron risotto, then mozzarella, then eggplant, and parmesan, then repeat until you run out of ingredients. I used a 9×13 glass baking pan and repeated the layers twice. Cook in a 400º oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and bubbly. Let it set for about 10 minutes before serving.

I served it in bowls, but if it sets up nicely you can try to plate it. In any case, seconds are truly irresistible.

Go forth and create, dear food-lovers, it was a pleasure to have you in my kitchen! Bon appétit!

Halloween Special: Part 1 + Great News!

Good day to you all! Man, it was a busy weekend around our house, because we threw an incredible Halloween party! I absolutely love Halloween, it is among my favorite days of the year. The feeling of fall with all those warm colors, the bite of the chill air, the warm spices and autumn harvest goods filling up the kitchen. Couple all those goodies with horror movies and ghost stories that scare me into a fit of nervous laughter, and I'm all set! My guilty pleasures of the season include some choice movies like The Halloween Tree, Hocus Pocus (which I watch about 50 times during the last two weeks of October), a sprinkling of slasher films, and whatever horror classics that Wild and Woolly Video recommends.

If you happen to be in Louisville and are planning a Halloween party, I highly encourage you to stop by our darling Wild and Woolly. I went in there the day of my party, consulted with one of the employees on some good horror films that had a decent Halloween party soundtrack and an uncomplicated plot, and I came home with an armful of incredible movies. I was recommended Carnival of Souls (a Criterion Collection choice that had a spooky organ soundtrack), The Blob, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Night of the Living Dead. I couldn't have asked for anything better...I really love this city, and places like Wild and Woolly make it beyond awesome to live here.

The other super important part to any party...well, any day really, is the food! My roommate and I had been planning this menu for ages, I had been decorating the house little by little every week, and we were discussing ways to divvy up the kitchen space to work well together. Can you tell that it had been a while since we threw a party together? We were kind of renowned for it back in college, and the happy days of high adrenaline and having our house full of happy, laughing, loud talking, fun guests was upon us again. What a joyful preparation! Oh, and we went to see Dracula at Actor's Theatre for the 4PM matinée showing...might not be doing that again because we were super pressed for time preparing the food and drinks and such--although it was a fun show to kick off the evening!

Allow me to show you our menu! I'll give you a couple recipes today and we'll continue on for a couple days this week. If you're throwing a Halloween party, I highly recommend these recipes...they were very fun, not too labor-intensive, and of course Halloween-themed!

Savory: Ghostly Bruschetta, Mummy Dogs, Hot as Hades Chips and Salsa, Witch's Concoction Dip and Crudités, Sausage Balls, Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, and Deviled Eggs.

Sweet: Jack's Sinfully Sweet Sandwiches (Whoopie Pies), Slasher Cupcakes, Chocolate-covered Apricots, Edible Arachnids

Drinks: Glühwein and Philadelphia Fish House Punch

Today I think I'll share the Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, Chocolate-dipped Apricots, and Mummy Dogs. Here we go:

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin Seeds

Smoked Paprika

Chili powder (I use Chimayo chili)

Salt

Olive oil

Roasting pumpkin seeds is a yearly ritual during Halloween. Not to mention that eating pumpkin seeds is really healthy for you, providing quite a dose of fiber and other essential minerals that I won't bore you with--just know that they are fun to eat and not bad for your health either! You may have seen dark green pumpkin seeds for sale in the store, and these are the seeds without the hull. However, the hull, or shell of the pumpkin seed is actually edible, and that's how I eat them because I don't want to go peeling all of those already slippery suckers after I just mutilated a pumpkin to harvest them! Oh, by the way, I did a Día de los Muertos pumpkin this year :) check him out!

Try to get as much of the pulp off of the seeds as possible. It would behoove you to rinse them off as well--a step which I skipped and I was okay with. Then you make a spice mixture to taste with about 2T of olive oil. Toss the seeds in them to coat and put them in a 350º oven for about 15-20 minutes. You can toast them as golden as you want...I like mine well done, but 15 minutes is probably the least time you want to dedicate to it. Allow them to cool, and DIG IN! I would say that these pumpkin seeds are the ideal reward after creating your jack o'lantern--then just light him up and munch away.

Chocolate-Dipped Apricots

Dried apricots (as many as you want to serve)

3 Chocolate candy bars (Cadbury Royal Dark is my favorite)

Special equipment: Parchment paper and a wire rack

This is a piece of pie, but so elegant and delicious at the same time! Added bonus: the make up the Halloween colors! A gorgeous addition to any Halloween party table, and I daresay more classy than a bowl full of that fun-sized noise... I digress.

You don't need to buy fancy melting chocolate to dip your favorite food in, just use your favorite chocolate bar (I recommend using dark chocolate because milk chocolate probably won't set as well). I set up a double boiler with about an inch of water in the bottom pot. Bring it to a rolling boil, set your other pot on top with the chocolate inside. You should break the chocolate into squares to ensure even melting. At this point you can take turn the heat of or turn it to low, depending on how much steam is escaping. This method keeps the chocolate from burning and gives the chocolate all the time it needs to evenly melt. Don't stir too often because you will be punished with bubbles :( but you shouldn't be afraid to check on it and give it a few stirs to even it out. When the chocolate has melted, you are all set to dip your dried apricots in them, as far as you want to (I did mine about half way, or to the point where my finger was), and let them cool on a wire rack with parchment paper under it to catch the drips. If you want them to set and be shiny you can put them in the fridge for about a half hour.

I served this in a clear bowl to accentuate the orange and dark brown as Halloween colors. It rounded out the dessert table nicely.

Mummy Dogs

Hot dogs

Breadstick dough

Mustard (optional)

This recipe is not my typical choice for party food, but it is so adorable, I had to jump all over it! I halved the hot dogs both vertically and horizontally to have more little mummies, but you can just cut the hot dogs in two if you want something more substantial. It's finger food, so I figured I would make it go as far as I could. 

The idea is this: Cut off strips of the breadstick dough. I took both ends and did a little jumprope motion to twist it up and lengthen it, then I wrapped it around the hot dog, leaving a little spot where the eyes would go, and mummifying it. It's like a Halloween version of pigs in a blanket. You put them in a 350º oven for about 20 minutes or until they get as golden as you want them, and then you can choose to dab some mustard eyes on them or leave them eyeless, which I guess was my approach. Everyone loved them, and they were a great fit for the theme.

We will continue with this menu throughout the week so keep on the lookout!

As for the great news... Louisville Lady Gourmet is going to be writing a couple of columns for the Insider Louisville publication! I am so excited!!!!! I will keep you posted for my first published articles! I can't believe this is happening--I get to write about my favorite city, its food culture, and what's going on in my kitchen. There couldn't be anything better! 

I hope you enjoy today's Halloween treats!