This was an unexpected recipe.  To be honest, Phillip and I weren’t exactly excited to make this one.  But, it turned out much better than we anticipated.  The dish was pretty easy to put together and even though the vegetables weren’t in season, it still had a relatively light, fresh taste.  Here’s how it came together:

First I sauteed two diced zucchini in some olive oil.Once the zucchini had some color, I moved them to a plate and sauteed an onion and some garlic.The recipe called for halved grape or cherry tomatoes, but Publix didn’t have any this week.  I had some fire-roasted diced tomatoes in the pantry though, so I drained those and threw them in.After adding some wine, I mixed some additional wine with a little cornstarch.  The recipe called for arrowroot, but I didn’t have any arrowroot, had never heard of arrowroot, and really didn’t want to purchase any arrowroot.  So I checked for a substitute online and cornstarch can be subbed in equal measure.  Done.  I stirred in the wine/cornstarch mixture.  Then, I added the cream.The sauce thickened while the pasta boiled and I worked on adjusting the seasonings.  I ended up adding salt, a little lemon pepper, some Italian seasoning, and a few shakes of dried basil.  I also thinned the sauce with a little chicken broth.  Finally, it was time to add the zucchini back in and toss with the pasta.

We topped ours with a little parmesan.

This made a nice weeknight meal and there were plenty of leftovers.  I think this would be a great recipe for the summer when fresh vegetables are plentiful.  All in all, a nice way to round out the Sweet as Pie November menu.

Until I made this pie, I had never tasted pumpkin pie so I was glad to see this recipe for Pumpkin Cream Pie show up on the Sweet as Pie menu this month.  That’s been one of the great things about cooking club – it makes me try things I wouldn’t normally try, like pumpkin pie.  I didn’t have high expectations for it since I didn’t think I would care for pumpkin, but I must say this light pie was pretty tasty.  Here’s how it came together:

First, I made a graham cracker crust with graham crackers, powdered sugar, and melted butter.

There were so many crumbs leftover that I made a second pie (looked in my pantry, found a guide recipe online, and ended up with a chocolate pie made with Eagle Brand and whipped cream and topped with toffee bits – also very yummy). 

I baked the crust for a few minutes to set and then while it was cooling worked on the filling.  I mixed some half and half, cream, a package of cook and serve vanilla pudding, and pinches of nutmeg, ground cloves, and cinnamon on the stove until bubbly and thickened.

Off the heat I stirred in a little bit of bourbon and the pumpkin (from a can).  The mixture cooled for a while in the fridge. 

When I was ready to finish mixing the filling, I started on the whipped cream to fold into the pumpkin mixture.  This required whipping cream and brown sugar (I used dark brown sugar since I’d just used the last of my light brown sugar).

OH MY GOODNESS.  This was the best part of the whole thing.  I could have eaten this whipped cream with a spoon.  I want to try it on peach cobbler, apple pie, pecan pie, bread pudding, or basically, anything.  Deliciousness.

Anyway, I folded the whipped cream into the pumpkin mixture, spread the filling in the crust, and put the whole thing in the fridge to set.  The final product:

Despite our reservations, Phillip and I actually enjoyed this pie.  We took it with us to the beach for Thanksgiving and Phillip’s mom and Mimi both really liked it too.  I’m not sure I would care for a heavier, richer pumpkin pie, but this light and creamy version provided a nice contrast to the typical chocolate fare I usually enjoy on Thanksgiving.  I’d consider making it again, and I will definitely be making the whipped cream to use with something (anything) else.

I have been on the lookout lately for opportunities to expand our vegetable menu items, so I was glad to see a recipe for Roasted Cauliflower on this month’s Sweet as Pie menu.  Cauliflower isn’t one of my favorite veggies, but I was eager to give it a shot.  This recipe could not have been easier to put together.

I cheated and started with two packages of cauliflower instead of cutting up an entire head.  After mixing the cauliflower with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and put into the oven to roast.Roast until the cauliflower is starting to brown.While the cauliflower is roasting, mix some panko crumbs with some melted butter.I think next time I might even toss in some extra seasoning here – maybe some ranch dressing mix, or some chipotle, or a parmesan blend I usually use for dipping bread.  Yes, this is an excellent idea.  Anyway, put the roasted cauliflower in a dish and cover with the panko mixture.  Then just pop it back in the oven until the panko browns and crisps.  I got impatient and put mine under the broiler to brown – worked out fine.We served this as a side to a really yummy pork tenderloin recipe I found on Pinterest.

Green bean casserole also made an appearance.

This was a really easy recipe and I think it would work well with any number of vegetables.  Phillip absolutely loved it.  I liked it okay, but I think that was mostly because of my less than enthusiastic position on cauliflower.  Next time I think I’ll try roasting a variety of vegetables – broccoli, mushrooms, and maybe some asparagus – to break up all the cauliflower.  If you’re looking for an easy vegetable side dish, this one deserves a shot.

I was really excited to see French Onion Soup on this month’s Sweet as Pie menu since it’s probably my favorite soup.  I’ve made the America’s Test Kitchen version in the past, but was hoping Pioneer Woman’s simpler version would be just as tasty and require less prep.  Although the soup did not have as rich a flavor as the America’s Test Kitchen version, it was still really yummy and I would definitely make it again.  Here’s how it came together:

First, melt PW’s favorite ingredient in a dutch oven.  Then add the onions and saute until tender.  I liked that with this recipe I got to put the onions in the oven to finish caramelizing which meant I didn’t have to carefully monitor them (which, admittedly, had been a problem for me in past attempts). 

Once the onions come out of the oven, add wine, chicken and beef broths, worcestershire sauce, and minced garlic.  I tasted it at this point to check my seasonings and couldn’t resist adding a little bit of thyme – it just needed a little something to punch it up a bit.  Allow this to simmer for a while and then it’s ready to serve.  Very simple as far as French Onion soup goes.

We served ours with slices of French bread and plain ol’ Swiss cheese melted under the broiler.  I love soup recipes because you typically get several meals out of one batch.  This soup was no exception and fed us both several times throughout the week.  As I said, I like my French Onion soup to have a deeper, more complex flavor, but I think using red wine instead of white might help out on that front.  Overall, I think this is a solid recipe and definitely deserves another turn at our table, even if I end up playing around with the flavoring some next time.