Monday, September 26, 2005

Feeling fallish

You may notice that this week's menu has hints of fall and comfort foods. Even though it is still well over 100 degrees out here I still get that "fall time" feeling when it gets to this point in the year.

After glancing through a few cookbooks looking for something that reminded me of the fall season I found this recipe. These sturdy cookies have a nice maple flavor and are pretty thick. They have a crisp outside but are soft and chewy in the inside. I'm not one who usually enjoys nuts in baked items but I think in these cookies they bring such a depth of flavor and crunch.

Maple-Walnut Cookies
This casserole for dinner went over really well. This has a lot of sauce, so if you like that this one is for you! I did vary the recipe a bit and my changes are noted. The sauce is smooth and creamy and with the tender broccoli/chicken combo the texture is very pleasing.

I served Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Hazelnuts (CL) along with this. Shredding the sprouts in the food processor saves on time and this side comes together very fast. The toasted hazelnuts bring crunch and of course the bacon and drippings only help to add to the overall great taste. As long as the sprouts are left crisp tender and not mushy it's surely to be a hit!

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole (CL)

Recipes

11 comments:

  1. Yum! I could especially eat a cookie right now. Can't believe it's over 100 degrees in your neck of the woods! I'm so glad it's started to cool down where I am.

    Paz

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  2. Both recipes look good! I've had my eye on the casserole. I don't particularly like broccoli, but it will eat it if its flavor is disguised.

    I made the chicken pita burgers tonight and have everything ready to assemble for lunch tomorrow. I also roasted some sweet potatoes to go along with them. I'll try and remember to post a review tomorrow!

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  3. All that food sounds really good. Of course, I'd want the cookies the most, but the chicken and the brussel sprouts sound tasty too. Damn. I need a chef.

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  4. Oooh! Those look good! That casserole looks so creamy...it's raining here now so I could do with something like that :)

    BTW, I love your blog's new look! Impressive! How I wish I knew how to do these things (three-columns, archiving by category, etc)...is there a "blog templates for dummies" out there perchance? :)

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  5. YUM, YUM, I want some. I am a secret casserole lover. This dark family secret is not helped when you go and post a LIGHT casserole. Well, I must feed the addiction now, thanks to your post. We may have to add some casserole to the menu this week.

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  6. I've been feeling fall-ish for about two weeks now, and the weather is finally considering taking a turn cooler.

    Casseroles, green chile-chipotle short ribs, mushroom soup, and beef burgundy are all just around the corner...

    Nice looking batch of cookies! Still have never gotten over that brussels sprouts dislike from childhood, though.

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  7. Those brussel sprouts sound great! I love them, but my standard preps are getting old. I'm definitely going to try this.

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  8. Paz - The cookies were so good! They develop in flavor over a couple days and they keep very well!

    JJsooner - I hope your pitas turned out well!

    Robyn - Thanks1

    Joey - It was definetly creamy! Thanks, it took some time to get it right and I wish there was a template for dummies - I could use it!

    Punky - I look forward to seeing what you make!

    s'kat - Thanks! I wouldn't touch brussel sprouts with a 10' pole when I was younger but for some reason I really like them now!

    Lora - Thanks!

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  9. My pitas were a hit w/ the coworkers! I served them with roasted sweet potatoes. Yum.

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  10. Glad to hear they went over well!

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  11. joe, thanks for posting the maple walnut cookies. I tried them today and they were great. here are the notes I wrote on them:

    great cookies! the maple walnut taste is excellent. the cookies are very sturdy and dense. crisp outside and dense chewy inside. I overbaked one tray and they were more crunchy. I didn't care for those as much. it is best to bake until they are JUST getting golden on the edges. I baked at 350 for 11 minutes and they were overdone, so check early, esp if you are baking at 375.

    I used half real maple and half pancake syrup because I didn't have enough real maple syrup for the recipe. I used good quality maple extract and a full tsp of it. you could taste the maple in the cookies, for sure. but even more maple wouldn't have been a bad thing. I only used 1 c chopped walnuts and that was plenty. any more would have bee overkill. I used brown sugar in place of maple sugar.

    the dough was VERY dry and crumbly. I formed the dough into 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls and then flattened the balls with my hands to form evenly thick disks. the cookies do not spread during baking, so what you put in is pretty much what you get out.

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