Monster Makeup Skills!

I'm getting really excited about Halloween, even though I'm pretty sure it will end up being a night spent giving boatloads of candy to all 4 of the children who live in our building. :o/ Anyway, I saw this over on bellasugar and it blew my mind. I'm a little sad there isn't very much back to back footage of the before and after, because this girl looks NOTHING like Jared Leto without her insane makeup skills. Anyway, here's a trick and a treat rolled into one!

Autumn Leaves Cobbler

The filling for this cobbler is inspired by the colors of the autumn leaves for which New England is so famous, the season's offerings (sweet apples and tart plums) and their traditional spicy accompaniments (cloves and cinnamon)! I am adjusting to baking for two, so the recipe only yields about 4 servings. It also helps to keep the whole thing economical. Cutting the recipe down increases the number of different things you can bake so, it sort of stretches your staples (flour, sugar, butter, eggs). You'll also notice that I put a lot of notes in the recipe, these are just things I include so people know how many corners you can cut while still baking from scratch! See? NO EXCUSES! If this sounds good to you, make it happen! Also, I put it in a very small casserole dish, but it's really easy to double if you need more to share. Enjoy!

For the Crust and Dumplings
1 cup all purpose flour

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp butter (chilled and cubed)

1 tbsp shortening (chilled and cubed... just throw it in a small bowl with the butter and put the bowl in the freezer while I do all of the rest of my prep.)

1.5 tbsp cold water


Preheat your oven to 375 degrees(F) and grease a 6x6 glass baking pan...or some equally small vessel suitable for baking. Then in a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Grab your butter and shortening from the freezer and pinch them in until the mixture looks like wet sand. Add the water. It should just be damp enough to hold together when you close it in your fist. Mash the dough into one lump, cover the bowl and put it in the fridge while you prepare your luscious fruit filling.

Luscious Fruit Filling
1 tbsp corn starch (Okay, so this isn't really something that people usually keep on hand, but it's cheap, and it goes a really long way. It is what makes your cobbler so luscious!)

1/2 c sugar

1/16 tsp cloves

1/8 tsp cinnamon ( I know these are infinitesimal measurements. The thing is, I want a little interest, but I don't want to loose the flavors of the fruit either. I usually just do one tiny pinch of the cloves and two tiny pinches of cinnamon.)

1 small apple

1 medium nectarine or peach (These are actually kind of expensive this time of year as they are not in season, but I had some squirreled away in the freezer from the summer time. It shouldn't set you back too much to just buy one peach or nectarine, but you know... we're trying to be cost conscious here.)

2 small plums (all of the fruit should add up to one pound total...so should you find yourself substituting, keep that amount in mind.)



Combine the sugar, corn starch, cloves and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Peel, core, and slice your apple into 1/2 to 1 inch slices, pit and slice your stone fruit to the same size. (To pit the nectarines and plums I usually just cut them in half starting at the stem and going around, twist one side off then pick the pit out with the tip of the knife.) Mix the fruit with the sugar and set aside while you get back to your dough.

Take about 1/3 of the dough and break them into little marbles (1/2 inch diameter?) and put them in the bottom of your baking vessel. Then put the fruit slurry (it should already be throwing juice) in the pan. Finally, roll out the remainder of your dough until it's big enough to cover the fruit (you don't have to make a seal like a pie, but you know, try to cover as much of the fruit as you can). I don't actually own a rolling pin, so I use one of those aluminum water canteens to roll out my dough. I used to have a really lovely Bordeaux bottle, but it got knocked off it's home on top of the fridge...

Bake for 1 hour, then broil for 3 minutes. Cool for 15-30 minutes before wrapping yourself and your cobbler buddy (mine is my lover) into a cozy blanket with steaming bowls of autumn-y goodness!

**Also, since this is a Nissa original, I would greatly appreciate credit if you decide to share this one, thanks! **

Southern Hospitality

It is my weekend routine to take some time to read all of the wedding blogs I follow, so I have a week's worth of posts to keep me blissfully entertained for at least an hour. My favorite part is the when some of them post "links for Friday" or something like that.

Now, even though I'm in New England at the present, doesn't mean I don't know a thing or two about sweet tea, and biscuits! I present to you the most charming party/wedding idea of the week...


via
As soon as you get over how pretty the whole thing looks, you remember that it's a bar of fluffy (I choose to believe they're still piping hot), melt in your mouth biscuits ready to be slathered with that gorgeous honey! Yes, THIS is the world in which we live!
The link I found was on Snippet & Ink, but they found it in the archives of 100 Layer Cake. I follow both of these stunning blogs, and my only regret is that I didn't know about them until I became a bride to be! We aren't planning our wedding until after I've finished graduate school, so for now I just read for the sake of being inspired in my day to day life by beauty and love. I think in graduate school, you need that sometimes. :o)

This weekend is a 5 day weekend for me...hooray! Pop quiz:

Am I taking time to catch up on my:
a)sight seeing?
b)homework?
c)baking list?
d)appointments?
e)all of the above?


Yes! Yes! It's "e"!

I'm already off to a good start with running errands all around town yesterday (which happened to take place around the Freedom Trail), and I made banana muffins last night. I used the recipe from the bakery I used to work for. It was a little bit of that happy place, right here in Boston!
Anyway, here is your prize for guessing correctly on the quiz!

Are you ready for Halloween?

Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch

As I made my morning cup of tea today, I realized that I am almost out of sugar! The horror! Perhaps going to the store to pick some up some will remind me to get crackin' on my miles long baking list

-Banana Bread
-Apple-Plum-Nectarine Galette
-Fox and Obel Brownies
-Chocolate Chip Cookies
-Apple Sauce (Technically not baked, but still makes the apartment feel like a home.)
-Pumpkin Pie (Brad's favorite)
-Pumpkin Pasties for the Trick or Treaters! (And candy, just in case their parents are lame.)

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Did anyone else blink and open their eyes to find that September was over?