Does anyone else struggle with how quickly time seems to go once we cross the threshold of Halloween? It seems as though the trick-or-treaters have barely left my doorstep when the holiday deluge begins… and I know, in the blink of an eye and amidst all of the holiday festivities, we’ll be taking down the Christmas tree and welcoming in a new year. So, this year, I’m determined to enjoy every minute!

Remember last month when I told you about the nice people over at POM Wonderful offering to let me sample some of their wonderful, all-natural POM pomegranate juice? The good news is that I still have a few bottles hanging out in my fridge and I’ve got a great new recipe to share with you.

Mulled beverages (cider, wine, you name it) make me think of the holidays and there’s nothing better than the smell of something mulling on the stove… hints of cinnamon and cloves wafting through the house. Makes me want to drag out the sweaters and the twinkle lights!

The addition of pomegranate juice to a classic mulled cider brings an interesting sweet-slash-tangy twist to the drink. But – even better than that – a splash of port or brandy adds a whole other level of goodness. (Add the alcohol directly to the glasses of those who care to partake and leave the pot alcohol-free for the kids and non-drinkers among you.)

This recipe halves and multiplies easily to fit your needs… whether that be a cozy night in for two or a holiday party for twelve. And, you can store any leftovers in the fridge and heat up a mug in the microwave the next day.

Mulled Pom-Apple Cider
1 cup pomegranate juice
2 cups apple cider
2 tablespoons mulling spices
port or brandy

Warm the pomegranate juice, cider and mulling spices to a very low simmer in a large non-reactive pot over low heat. Allow to mull, stirring occassionally, until fragrant, 30-45 minutes. Do not to let the mixture boil. Strain and serve in clear mugs or glasses. For those inclined, add a splash of your favorite liquor. Serves four.

It is! It’s my birthday! What better way to celebrate than with cupcakes?

And… because I stumbled across this over at The Boastful Baker… who pulled it from Brownie Points… (both of which are fantastic blogs!)… a little getting to know you quiz!

GETTING TO KNOW YOU QUIZ

Metal or non-stick?
Non-stick for now. The future is negotiable.

Cast iron or stainless?
Cast iron all the way.

Cutting board: silicone or wood?
Both!

Knife: carbon steel or stainless?
Carbon steel – I’m a Wusthof girl.

KitchenAid or hand mixer?
I love my KitchenAid. I bought it as a wedding gift for myself five years ago and still get excited when I get to bring it out.

Cooktop: gas, electric, induction?
Electric for now… though we just recently discovered that our kitchen has a gas line, so I’m hopeful that one day I can change that answer to gas!

Side-by-side, freezer on top, fridge on top?
Side-by-side in the kitchen… fridge on top in the garage.

Apron or whoops?
Whoops!

Mashed potatoes: by hand, ricer, or mixer?
Weeknight meals are by hand with a masher… for special occasions/holidays I do the mixer.

Sandwich or wrap?
Sandwich — I never, ever turn down bread… particularly a good sourdough.

PB & _________ ?
Strawberry All-Fruit… or milk chocolate… or dark chocolate… or bananas… on toast… or an English muffin… I could go on and on.

Pancakes: syrup or applesauce?
Syrup – even the cheap stuff. And, on really decadent days, peanut butter. Yummm…

Cake: scratch or mix?
Scratch. Without a doubt. Though I do have an undeniable love for boxed butter cake with uber-fudgy frosting.

Chili: beans or no?
With beans… unless we’re putting it on a hot dog or nachos or frito pie… then no beans.

Napkin: cloth or paper?
Paper.

BBQ: takes the whole weekend to make or take out?
Someday I’ll learn to truly BBQ, but until then sign me up for some take-out.

Chicken: white or dark?
White.

Ice cream: cone or dish?
Either is great. Both is fine, too.

Pumpkin is one of my favorite things ever. Put it into a pie, a bread, a cookie… a latte… you name it and I’ll love it. It’s why I love the arrival of fall (well… that and the departure of the heat and humidity of summer).

The one thing I’ve always been hesitant to try at home has been pumpkin pasta sauce. Sure, I’ve had pumpkin ravioli while out at restaurants… but I’ve always shied away from pumpkin pasta sauce at home.

With this dish, another fear has been broken. This pumpkin penne is so simple, yet so very flavorful — we’ll no doubt be whipping it up again and again this fall. I used chicken sausage because it’s what I had on hand at the moment, but a sweet/mild Italian sausage would taste great, too… as would the addition of sage. Time the sauce so it’s ready at the same time as your pasta and you’ve got a quick meal in minutes! Happy Fall, Y’all!

Pumpkin Penne Pasta
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus some for sprinkling
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 pound penne pasta, freshly cooked to al dente
2-3 links chicken sausage, heated and sliced

In a medium pot, combine cream, pumpkin puree and Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and then reduce heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes.

Add the cream sauce to the cooked pasta and sliced sausages and stir gently. Plate and sprinkle with additional cheese if desired.

Good things come in small packages… and that’s certainly the case when it comes to this week’s Foodie Friday feature over at FGG… orange-cranberry mini muffins.

Another month gone again already? Let’s not even talk about the fact that it seems as though it’s barely been a couple of weeks since our last Daring Baker Challenge… the speed at which time flies only depresses me. The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

The French macaron (or macaroon) is one of those things that I’ve always only admired from afar. After all, the cool kids have been churning out gorgeous macarons in countless flavors and beautiful colors for quite some time. Me? I’ve always been afraid to try. I mean, seriously, have you seen how delicate these things are? Surely I cannot be trusted.

And then along comes Ami with this month’s challenge. Time to make friends with the whipped egg white and conquer another fear! (But I still went in with HUGE amounts of self-doubt and absolutely positive there was no way I was getting trademark macaron “feet” on my first try.) However… small win… I at least managed to not wait until the very last minute this month!

I opted to go for a chocolate on chocolate combination — chocolate macarons with cinnmon-chocolate ganache. I read and re-read the instructions… I combed the forums for tips and tricks (and, quite honestly, success stories to make myself feel better)… and then… I took a deep breath and got to work.

Everything actually came together suprisingly smoothly. I piped my little macaron rounds and popped them into the oven. After five minutes, I pulled them out and raised the oven temp. While I waited for the oven to warm up, I eyed my macarons suspiciously… no sign of feet. None. Nada. Zip. I was bummed. But… since there was no turning back at that point (I’d still need to post something, even if it was a footless macaron)… I continued on.

Back into the oven went the macarons and, a few minutes later… “I HAVE FEET!!” Needless to say, my husband was more than a bit confused. This has to be one of the most beautiful success stories ever — sure my little macaron feet are a bit more “out” than “up” but for my first go, I must say that I am rather proud of the results.

I let the macarons cool a bit while I made my ganache and then pulled them off the silpat and matched them up by size. Filling them was a breeze — I only broke one cookie and it was, no doubt, the tastiest mistake ever. And then…. I stood back and admired my work. And it was good. So good, in fact, that it’s highly likely that I’ll give these another try for Thanksgiving and yet another for the Christmas holiday. No doubt every time I make them I’ll wonder why in the world I waited so long to give them a try.

*BTW… for those of you wondering what’s up with the title of this post: I can’t help it — every time I hear or see “macaroon,” I think of this. You’re welcome.

Thanks, Ami, for a fantastic challenge and a wonderful learning experience! Be sure to check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll to see all the other beautiful macarons popping up across the blogosphere.

Macaroon making is somewhat labor intensive, yet simultaneously less difficult than you think it will be. One thing you must do is have your egg whites at room temperature. This ensures they beat up properly, as texture is an integral component to macaroons. You will be piping the batter onto parchment paper or nonstick liners, and some home bakers use stencils to make sure their macaroons are uniform in size. It’s your choice.

Be aware that you are beating your egg whites first to soft peaks. Soft peaks means that the peaks of the meringue curl over when you lift up the beaters. After you add the granulated sugar to the soft peak meringue, you will beat the mixture to stiff peaks, which, true to their name, stand straight up. Be careful not to overbeat your eggs.

You will also be folding the nut flour into the meringue. As with most recipes when you combine something with beaten egg whites, be gentle in your mixing to keep the egg whites light.

Some recipes call for drying the piped macaroons on the counter prior to baking for 30 minutes to an hour. This recipe stipulates that you bake the macaroons at a low temperature for 5 minutes, then take them out of the oven, raising the temperature, and baking them for an additional 7 to 8 minutes. Drying is necessary to get the trademark “feet” on your macaroons. Experiment to find the best technique for you.

If you plan on using parchment paper rather than nonstick pan liners, be careful when removing the macaroons from the paper, as they can stick and are very delicate. Some recipes suggest lifting up a corner of the paper and letting a drop of water fall onto the hot baking sheet, thus producing steam, which helps the macaroons release.

Flavor variations are infinite. In Fleming’s original recipe, she calls for adding vanilla bean seeds to the granulated sugar, and folds in the zest of a lemon to make lemon macaroons. You can add cocoa powder, instant coffee or espresso powder, green tea powder, fruit zests. You can tint the batter (use powdered food coloring to keep from adding too much moisture to the batter). The same goes for fillings—anything goes. Ganache, buttercream, jam, caramel, custard.

An important note about coloring and flavoring: liquid food coloring can be used, but be cautious! Use 1-3 drops maximum, otherwise it increases the moisture in the batter, and that can ruin the macaroons. Trick: mix the liquid color with the almonds and powdered sugar and to let that air dry for a couple of hours. This reduces the moisture a little bit. If you use more than 3 drops of food coloring, you’re going to have a disaster. That means using fruit puree is out. One way to flavor the macaroons is to use 1-2 teaspoons of citrus zest, 1-2 teaspoons of matcha (green tea powder), or 1-2 teaspoons of herbs or freeze-dried fruit powders. If you want savory macaroons, you can try 1 teaspoon of saffron or other savory dry flavorings. If you want to use powdered color, up to 1 tablespoon is a safe amount.

Preparation time: Not taking into account the amount of time it takes for you to bring your egg whites to room temperature, the whole baking process, including making the batter, piping and baking will probably take you about an hour to an hour and a half. How long it takes to make your filling is dependent on what you choose to make.

Actual baking time: 12 minutes total, plus a few minutes to get your oven to proper temps.

French Macarons
(adapted from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern)
2 1/4 cups (225 grams) confectioners sugar
2 cups (190 grams) almond flour
2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
5 egg whites (room temperature)

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Combine the confectioners sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.

Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.

Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.

Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off.

Pipe one-inch-sized mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper). (Stack the baking sheet onto a second sheet to assist with getting a proper rise)

Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375 degrees F. Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.

Cool on a rack before filling.