Welcome back!  Today, we have a delicious Thanksgiving treat: Pumpkin Cheesecake! Pumpkin is a wonderful seasonal ingredient that works well in many contexts, and since we had already made a Pumpkin Basque Cheesecake , we decided to incorporate pumpkin in a more traditional-style cheesecake this year. This cheesecake features a spiced, nutty crust in addition to the smooth, creamy filling for a rich blend of flavors and textures. Pumpkin Cheesecake Makes a 7" cheesecake Ingredients: Crust: 30 grams pecans 70 grams cookies such as Biscoff or Speculoos 3 tablespoons melted butter 1/4 teaspoon salt Filling: 2 boxes (16 ounces) cream cheese, softened 300 grams steamed pumpkin (we used a kabocha pumpkin) 2 eggs 40 grams Greek yogurt 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon corn starch 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt Directions: Prepare the crust: Add the pecans and cookies into a large food processor or...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a delicious noodle recipe: Dandan Noodles! There are many variations on this dish, but its origin comes from the Sichuan Province in China. It's originally made with a spicy meat sauce and pickled vegetables, and with no soup. However, variations on the recipe can include soup, and many versions, including this one, include peanut butter, which we find to be a unique ingredient that works surprisingly well. Overall, it's very simple because it was originally sold by street vendors carrying the noodles with a pole, but it's still very enjoyable! Home-Style Dandan Noodles Makes 4 servings Ingredients: About 8-12 ounces noodles, depending on how much you want 1/2 pound ground pork 2-3 tablespoons salted mustard green, chopped (optional) 3 tablespoons green onion 1 tablespoon garlic, minced 1 teaspoon ginger, minced 1 tablespoon cooking rice wine 4 tablespoons sesame sauce 4 tablespoons peanut butter 1/2 cup + 1 cup water 1 tablespoon crisp chili o...

Welcome back!  Today, we have another recipe in our pesto journey: Pesto Calabrese! This variation also hails from Calabria in Southern Italy - in fact, it is the same region that produced the Nduja Pasta. This pesto deviates from the typical Genovese Pesto much more significantly than the Sicilian Pesto, with two main notable differences. The Pesto Calabrese incorporates cooked ingredients to provide an additional dimension of flavor as well as ricotta cheese to thicken up the texture. And because it is a Calabrian dish, you can always add an extra kick of spice with some extra Calabrian chili flakes. Pesto Calabrese Makes 4 servings Ingredients: 12 ounces pasta 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 small red onion or 2 shallots, chopped (about 1 cup) 1 large red bell pepper, charred, peeled, and diced* 12 ounces tomatoes, chopped 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 teaspoon dried oregano 20 grams basil (about 1/4 cup packed) 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt to taste 200 grams ricotta cheese 50 grams Peco...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a recipe for one of the most classic American breakfast dishes: Pancakes! Pancakes come in all shapes and sizes across different cultures, but the American pancake is iconic for its thin-but-slightly-fluffy texture that's conducive to all sorts of variations, including pancake art, and being topped with a small slab of butter and/or maple syrup. Plus, they're a quick and fun dish to make (something that the kids will love!) and you can experiment with all sorts of different fillings. Pancakes Makes about 8 medium-sized pancakes Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 1 egg 1 1/4 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 tablespoons melted butter (optional) Directions: Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add in the salt and sugar and mix. Beat an egg and pour it into the dry mixture. Pour in the milk, vanilla extract, and butter (if you want to use it). Mix until the ingr...

Welcome back!  Today, we have an fresh and easy Italian dish: Caprese Salad! Caprese salad is possibly the most iconic Italian dish that isn't also loaded with carbs: it's really just cheese, tomatoes, and basil. These are also the three colors that make up the Italian flag, as well as the three ingredients that you find on the classic margherita pizza. There's just something refreshing about eating the juicy tomato with the creamy mozzarella together; plus, it's super healthy! Caprese Salad Ingredients: Fresh mozzarella cheese Tomato Basil leaves Extra virgin olive oil Balsamic vinegar Directions: Slice the mozzarella and tomato into similar sized slices. Aim for about a quarter of an inch. Pick and wash some basil leaves. Arrange the ingredients in the pattern of tomato, cheese, and then basil. Drizzle some olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top. Balsamic vinegar isn't always a necessary addition, but we found it to be a nice flavor contrast with the rest of the in...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a recipe for a delicious summer treat: Fruit Tart! When you find yourself with a wide range of fresh fruit - especially berries - you can put this dessert together for a dish that everyone will love. In addition to the fruit topping, you'll need a tart crust, obviously, and a nice pot of creme patissiere. In a way, that makes this rather similar to our Apple Tart  recipe, but the preparation is still slightly different! Fruit Tart Makes a 10" tart Ingredients: For the crust: 90 grams unsalted butter, softened 20 grams sugar 35 grams powdered sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 egg 20 grams almond flour 150 grams all-purpose flour For the filling: 2 cups milk 1/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup cake flour 2 tablespoons corn starch 4 egg yolks 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla pod For the topping: Fresh fruit, like berries, peaches, kiwis, mangoes, or whatever is in season. Directions: Prepare the crust as specified in our Sweet Tart Crust rec...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a recipe for a baking essential: Creme Patissiere, aka Pastry Cream! Creme Patissiere is a type of custard that is used in a wide variety of delectable desserts, like Fruit Tarts or Cream Puffs. It's a technique that you'll want to develop in order to broaden your repertoire of baked goods, but thankfully, it's not hard at all to master. Creme Patissiere Ingredients: 2 cups milk 1/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup cake flour 2 tablespoons corn starch 4 egg yolks 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean Directions: Take the cake flour, corn starch, and 1/2 cup of milk and mix until there are no specks of flour left. The mixture should be very smooth. Put the egg yolks into this mixture and mix them in smoothly. Put the rest of the milk (1 1/2 cup) and the sugar in another pot. If you're using vanilla bean, scrape the seeds into the pot, adding the pod in as well. Heat this on a stove and mix.  Once the milk is bubbling slightly...