Fallish Feast for the girls

Last Friday night I hosted a girls night and it was the perfect excuse to put out a spread.

The Fallish Feast:

Appetizers
Strawberry Daiquiris:

A dozen ice cubes
2 cups whole frozen strawberries
1/4 cup limade concentrate
1/3 cup spiced rum

Blend and enjoy

White Wines - "3 blind moose chardonnay 2006" and "Sutter Home Muscato 2007"

Cheese Plate

Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits
Sliced Tilamook Medium Cheddar & Vintage Sharp White Cheddar
Bon Appetite Cheese Ball

2-8oz packages of Cream Cheese softened
6 green onions, chopped
1 tbs McCormicks "Bon Apettite" Seasoning
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
1/4 cup dry sweet cranberries
Combine cream cheese, onions, Bon Apettite and mustard with hand mixer. Use spatula to form ball in bowl. Lay out a sheet of saran wrap or wax paper, lay out almonds and cranberries in even layer on wrap. Place ball on top and roll cheese to coat. Can be formed into a ball or a log. Refridgerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

Dinner
Salad

Baby greens, sliced grape tomatoes, candied walnuts, gorgonzola cheese, served with Wishbones Raspberry Hazelnut Vinegrette.

Candied Walnuts

2 cups whole walnuts, 2 tbs butter, 2 tbs brown sugar, toss in fry pan over medium high heat for 5 minutes until blended. Dried on baking stone

Apple Butternut Squash Soup - from Cornell Dining (thank you DAD)

1/4 cup butter (or oil)
1 medium onion, diced
2 tsp curry powder
1 butternut squash
1 Granny Smith Apple
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 cups water
3 cups fresh apple cider

Sautee onions in butter and curry powder. Peel, deseed and chunk squash and apple and add to onions. Add enough water to cover, boil for 30 minutes or until tender. Puree with immersion blender. Return to pot, add apple cider. Heat and serve. Garnish with Candied Walnuts if you like.

Cranberry Chicken

2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken
1/4 Cup butter
1 medium onion julienned
1/2 cup sugar
1 bag fresh cranberries, pick through to remove flawed and spoiled berries

Arrange chicken in baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook onions in butter until soft and starting to brown. Add sugar and cranberries. Cook over medium-high heat until sauce begins to gel. Pour over chicken. Cook at 400 degrees until done - about 30-45 minutes.

Desert

Hazelnut Pumpkin Cheesecake
(adapted from Cooking Pleasures Magazine - Nov 2006 Pumpkin-Praline Cheesecake)

Cook 2 small pie pumpkins, and puree pulp (2-3 cup yield) / 1 can Libby's Pumpkin. Can be done in advance and refrigerated.

Crust
2 cups crushed Vanilla Wafer cookies
1 cup chopped and toasted hazelnuts
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
Combine ingredients and press into the bottom of buttered spring form pan. Cook at 350 degrees for 10 minute. Cool on rack

Cheesecake

3-8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
2-3 cups pureed pumpkin.
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
4 eggs

Wrap bottom of spring form pan with heavy duty foil. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Either process ingredients in food processor or use mixer. Blend cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg and blend thoroughly. Add two eggs at a time and blend till combined. Pour over cooled crust. Place spring form pan in shallow baking dish and fill pan with enough hot water to cover the bottom half of the cheesecake pan. Bake 60-75 minutes until edges are puffed and top is dry to the touch. Center will move slightly but not ripple. Remove cake from water bath, remove foil. Cook on wire rack for 1 hour.

Topping
1/2 cup packed brown sugar.
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts

Heat brown sugar and cream in small saucepan over medium heat until dissolved, stirring constantly lead. Reduce heat to medium low. Simmer 5 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat, stir in nuts. Pour over cheesecake. Move Cheesecake to refrigerator for 6-8 hours or overnight.

Pumpkin Pie Lattes at home

8 oz fresh brewed coffee
2 tbs Toriani Pumpkin Pie syrup (or 4 pumps)
1/4 cup steamed milk (milk heated in shallow sauce pan, stirring while heated until just barely boiling)

If you get a chance to try out any of these recipes, I'd love to hear how it turns out for you. The soup felt a little bit like a risk, but was a very pleasant surprise.

My soup will be linked at But I Had a Tiara's Soups on Saturday, go here and see the other soups listed, including JC's Pumpkin Chili!