What could be more traditional on Halloween than pumpkin?   Ghoulishly good . . .

In a large stock pot over medium heat, sauté, stirring occasionally, until tender
(about 10 minutes):

3 T butter
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 rib celery, diced
1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced

Stir in and bring to a simmer:

1 can pumpkin puree
1/2 C dry white wine
1 T dried sage
1 bay leaf
1 C cream OR half & half
4 C chicken broth
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 t fresh-ground black pepper
Reduce heat and continue cooking, partially covered for 15 minutes. Puree until smooth with a stick blender or transfer in small batches to a regular blender, let cool for a few minutes (for safety’s sake!) then carefully puree til smooth. Then add:

1 1/2 cups diced HoneyBaked Ham

Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf and ladle into bowls.

I don’t know how many gallons of this I’ve made through the years but it has to be truckloads.  This is so addictive - my fridge is never without it.   Keeps for about a week refrigerated in a mason jar.  If everyone has a signature recipe, this is probably mine.

2 14-oz. cans RoTel tomatoes with chilis, drained well
1 t cumin
6 scallions, sliced thin
juice of 1/2 lime
1/4 C fresh cilantro, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced fine

Mix everything well together and serve.

Perfect for a casual Saturday brunch out on the porch with a few close friends.  Before pouring these, I like to rub the rim of the glass with a fresh cut lime and then dip it into a saucer filled about 1/4′ deep with Old Bay Seasoning.   I’ve also tried coating the rim with Emeril’s Essence - - - talk about kicking it up a notch!!!

32-oz. V-8 Juice
16-oz. vodka
16-oz. clam juice
8-oz. beef broth
4 t horseradish
juice of 2 limes
2 T Worcestershire sauce
2 t celery salt

• Stir all ingredients together in a pitcher. 
• Moisten the rim of tall glasses with the cut edge of a lime.  Pour some celery salt onto a plate and dip the rims to coat.  Fill with ice cubes, bloody mary mix, garnish with a celery stalk and serve.
• Take away everyone’s car keys, sit back and enjoy!

This is delicious served with black beans and rice as side dishes.  My husband raves about this recipe which I made up while looking for an alternative to chicken to accompany rice and beans.  

1/2 C butter
6 mushrooms, sliced thin
3 scallions, sliced thin, green part included
1 tomato, diced
1 t crushed fresh garlic
*1 T fish sauce  (see note)
1 fresh lemon, juice of
1/3 C dry Vermouth
1 lb. medium shrimp, shelled & deveined
1 dash of Old Bay Seasoning
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Melt butter in large skillet. Add mushrooms, scallions, tomato and garlic. Saute over medium heat until limp.
2. Add fish sauce, lemon juice and vermouth.  Simmer for several minutes to allow flavors to develop.
3. Add shrimp and cook until just pink, stirring occasionally.  Sprinkle with Old Bay and season to taste with salt and pepper.

NOTE:  Fish sauce, also called nam pla or nuoc cham, is a salty, light-brown liquid made from fermented anchovies. It’s a cornerstone of southeast Asian flavors, but use it sparingly, as its flavors are strong. Look for it in Asian markets or in the international section of your grocery store, and keep it in your pantry away from heat and light (it’ll keep a long time). If you can’t find it, substitute soy sauce.

I’m on a soup kick this week, and this is another one of my faves.  I grew up in Tampa which has always had a large Cuban population, and I love Cuban food.  This is a classic soup at the Columbia Restaurant in Tampa which has been serving up Cuban fare in the same location since 1905.

1/2 lb. dried garbanzos
1 ham bone
1 beef bone
2 qts. water
1 T salt
1/4 lb. salt pork cut into thin strips
1 onion finely chopped
1 chorizo sliced into thin rounds
2 potatoes, peeled and cut in eighths
pinch of saffron
1/2 t paprika

• Wash garbanzoes.  Soak overnight with 1 T of salt in enough water to cover beans.  Drain the salted water from the beans.  Place the beans in a 4-qt. soup kettle.  Add 2 qts. water and the ham and beef bones.  Cook for 45 minutes over low heat, skimming foam from the top.
• Fry salt pork slowly in a skillet.  Add chopped onion and saute lightly.  Add to beans along with potatoes, paprika, and saffron.  Add salt to taste.  When potatoes are tender, remove from the heat and add chorizo.  Serve hot in deep soup bowls.

At the first sign of cool weather, my meal-planning thoughts turn to warm and hearty soups.  I made this up a couple of years ago when I was craving curry and this hit the spot.  This is comfort food in a hurry, rich and satisfying. 

1 1/2 C chicken broth
1/2 C chopped onions
2 T butter
2 T all-purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 C cream
2 C cauliflower, chopped (fresh or frozen)
1 t curry powder
hot sauce to taste (a few drops of Tabasco Habanero sauce is wonderful)

• In a medium saucepan, bring chicken broth, onion, cauliflower, curry powder, salt and pepper to a boil.
• Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until cauliflower is very tender.  Remove from heat.
• Carefully ladle half of mixture into blender or food processor and puree until smooth, or use blender stick in saucepan (far simpler).  Repeat with remaining soup.  Pour into large bowl.
• Melt the butter in the soup pan.  Whisk in the flour until smooth.  Add the cream all at once.  Cook until smooth and bubbly, whisking continuously.
• Stir in the cauliflower soup mix and cook until heated through.  Adjust seasoning to taste with salt, pepper and hot sauce, if desired.

Every now and then a recipe on a label catches my eye and I give it a try.  This is one I tried years ago from a Rosarita Enchilada Sauce can and it has become an all-time favorite. It goes together quickly, and tastes even better the second day. 

1 10-oz. can Rosarita Mild Enchilada Sauce
1 10-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
6 fajita size wheat tortillas
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4 x 1/4 x 2″ strips (easier to do if you put them in the freezer for about 30 minutes before slicing)
1 12-oz. jar roasted red bell peppers, drained
1 1/2 C shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
1 2.5-oz. can sliced black olives, drained
1/4 C sliced green onion

• Combine enchilada sauce and soup; set aside. Lay 2 tortillas side by side in 11 x 7 inch baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.
• Spread half the chicken and half the peppers and 1/2 cup each of sauce mixture and cheese over tortillas.  Repeat layers and top with remaining 2 tortillas.
• Spoon remaining sauce and cheese over top.  Sprinkle with olives and onions.  Bake, covered, at 350 for 45 minutes.

I took the traditional homemade chili recipe of 1 lb. hamburg, 1 can of kidney beans and 1 can of tomatoes and kicked it up a notch or two, replacing the hamburg and kidneys with sirloin steak and pintos and plain tomatoes with Rotel.  It’s the new default week-night chili.   

1 1/2 lbs. round steak, cut in 1/2″ dice
3 T EVOO
1 28 oz. can Rotel tomatoes, drained
2 15 oz. cans pinto beans, undrained
1 onion, diced
1 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 C chili powder (I use McCormick’s Ancho Chili Powder)
1 T cumin powder
2 T dry sherry
1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro

Garnish:
sour cream
sliced scallions
shredded cheddar cheese

• In large saucepan heat olive oil over medium high heat then add steak, stirring to lightly brown all over.  Add onion and garlic, stirring to prevent garlic from browning.  Heat until onion is translucent.  Stir in chili powder and cumin.
• Add drained tomatoes and pintos, bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes until heated through and flavors develop. Sitr in sherry and cliantro. 
• Serve over hot rice, and garnish as desired with sour cream, cheddar cheese and sliced scallions.

I’ve been making these for years - based on a recipe from “The New Basic Cookbook”.  This makes about 10 good size servings, so you can make it and freeze a portion for later. These smell so good simmering in the oven. You’ll never buy canned again! 

1 lb. dried navy or Great Northern beans
8 oz. slab bacon, cut into 1/4″ cubes
1 C chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 C packed brown sugar
2 C ketchup
6 T maple syrup
6 T dark molasses
1/2 C Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t salt
1/4 t freshly ground pepper

• Rinse and pick through the beans. Soak them overnight in a large pot of water.
• Rinse the soaked beans well under cold water, and place them in a heavy saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, 45 minutes to an hour. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid.
• Preheat the oven to 300 F. Place a 2 quart flameproof casserole or dutch oven over medium heat and sauté the bacon until it is slightly crisp and fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, and cook until wilted, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Add the brown sugar and stir over medium heat until it has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Then stir in the ketchup, syrup, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Add the drained beans and mix well.
• Cover the casserole and transfer it to the oven. Bake, stirring occasionally, (making sure you scrape the bottom of the casserole), for 2 1/2 hours.
• Add 3/4 cup of the reserved bean liquid, recover, and bake 30 minutes. then remove the cover and bake until the sauce is thick and syrupy, another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring once.

These are so good even my tomcat Jubal can’t resist them.  I have to set them outside to cool to keep him out of them.  I like to mix a double batch of the dry ingredients and keep half in a large zip-lock bag in the freezer for a quick batch - just add the wet ingredients.  These are a Saturday morning tradition around here - they’re easy to make up and pop in the oven while doing chores around the house.

2 ½ c flour
¾ C Splenda Brown sugar for baking
2 ½ t baking soda
½ t salt
1 t cinnamon
½ t freshly ground nutmeg
3 C Raisin Bran cereal
½ C All Bran or milled flax seed & soy cereal
½ C powdered buttermilk
2 C water
½ C oil (1/2 C applesauce may be substituted)
2 eggs, beaten
1 t vanilla
½ C chopped walnuts

• Pulse all dry ingredients in food processor until it appears coarse. May do in two batches if the processor bowl isn’t quite large enough. Add to a large mixing bowl.
• Pulse all the wet ingredients in the food processor until well blended.
• Create a well in the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the center of the well, then fold the dry ingredients in, about 10 to 12 strokes. Do not over mix.
• Let mixture sit for at least 15 minutes, or it will keep for several weeks in a non-metal container in the fridge.
• Preheat oven to 400. Spray muffin tins with Pam, and fill 2/3 full with muffin mix.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Makes 24 muffins