This is exactly what you think about when you think of pub food. This Irish dish was adapted from the comforting colcannon dish. This dish definitely brought me back to my days of living in Glasgow. The onions and Guinness make an incredible smell. Make sure not to use too much kale - in my case I used spinach because I wasn’t able to get to the farmer’s market, and I think I added a bit too much and it overpowered the onion mixture. This is a great comfort food, and really easy - just needs a lot of time in the oven. This recipe is from the Farm to Table cookbook, I’ll put the recipe below.

Serves 4

4 large (8-10 oz each) russet potatoes, scrubbed (we used 4 smaller ones and each had 2 for the meal)

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided

2 medium (3 cups) onions, thinly sliced

1 cup Irish-style stout

1/2 bunch kale

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

salt and pepper

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Rub the potatoes with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and place directly on the oven rack. Bake until they squish easily when gently squeezed, 45 minutes - 1 hour.

2. Heat the remaining oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Add a splash of the stout and scrape up any browned bits. Continue to cook, occasionally deglazing the pan with the stout until the onions are a deep brown and all the stout is used, about 45 minutes total.

3. Tear the rough ribs and stems away form the kale and discard. Roughly chop the leaves and add half the kale to the onions, tossing with tongs to wilt the leaves. Add the remaining kale, toss, cover, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

4. With a serrated knife, slice off the top quarter of each potato. Use a soupspoon to scoop out the flesh, leaving a 1/4 inch thick shell on the bottom and sides. Mash the flesh with the buttermilk, butter, and mustard powder. Gently fold in the onion-kale mixture and season with salt and pepper. Mound the mixture into the potato shells, sprinkle the tops with the cheese, and place on a baking sheet. Bake until cheese is melted, about 20 minutes, and serve warm as a side dish or a vegetarian main course.

Ok, I don’t have a pic for our Halloween dinner, so I’ll just link to the two recipes we used. The shrimp and pasta was great. When you’re making it you think the sauce isn’t going to be that great or flavorful - it just doesn’t look like much. But when you get it in the bowl and tossed it’s a great light flavor. The squid ink pasta was great - kind of a slimy texture but a bit richer than regular semolina pasta. I found this at Buon Italia in Chelsea Market. I’ve also seen it in Dean&Deluca, which might be closer to you if you’re not in NYC. The Pumpkin crumb cake was also a hit. Don’t be intimidated by all the steps, it’s really not that hard, just follow carefully. The vanilla cake was nice and moist, the pumpkin filling was just sweet enough and the crumb top was a nice crunch. I highly recommend both of these recipes. This was about as celebratory as we get for Halloween so we were quite happy!

So this recipe said it made 4 servings. Granted, I didn’t make the scallop part - they’re really expensive! But the risotto to pumpkin ratio didn’t really leave enough risotto for 3 people. If you really like pumpkin, then that’s fine, but we all wanted a bit more creamy risotto goodness. It was good though - just a basic basic white risotto recipe with some blanched pumpkin added - lot of goodness though. I’d like to try the whole recipe someday with the scallops when my pocketbook allows. This with a great salad and white wine - Bon Appétit!

This is a great entree salad. The pumpkin is super hearty and the polenta adds a nice creaminess. I found this recipe on Epicurious. I did change some of what they did. First, there is so much instant polenta around I didn’t bother with the cornmeal bit, and I actually just used the pre-made polenta already in a roll and sliced it and fried it which cuts down on a lot of the time. I also didn’t have any pomegranate juice or sherry vinegar, but I did pick up some pomegranate seeds at Trader Joe’s this week so that added a great sweetness. For the dressing, I just used my own balsamic vinaigrette. The candied pumpkin seeds are great, and you can only make them if you’re using a pumpkin rather than a butternut squash. While the seeds were great, I do prefer butternut squash roasted rather than pumpkin. This recipe, I feel, is a nice suggestion and can be changed a lot of ways.

I thought this would be a different, lighter way to use pumpkin this week. You can either use canned pumpkin purée that doesn’t have anything added, or roast a pumpkin and purée it in a blender - minus skin of course. These cakes make a pretty orange color and look really nice and fall-y when you cut into them. The pumpkin gives the dish a nice nutty flavor that’s not overly sweet and balances the sweetness of the crab. I think I’ll be doing some more refining on this recipe, but Johnathan and I were really happy with it. You can make these smaller for appetizers or serve 1 per person as a first course or light lunch. I just served them over mixed greens with balsamic vinaigrette. Here’s how I did it:

Serves 2-4

1 - 7oz package lump crab meat (frozen or fresh)

1/3 cup pumpkin purée - canned or homemade

2 tablespoons mayo

1 tablespoon chives

1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence

1 clove crushed garlic

1 cup panko bread crumbs - I bought some chive panko bread crumbs from Whole Foods

salt and pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl until well mixed. Score mixture with your hands, into 4 parts. Form each quarter into a patty. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours, covered.

2. Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large fry pan. Cook each patty about 2 minutes per side. Serve hot.

I didn’t like the name Rachael Ray gave this recipe, and she repeated it so many times on the show I couldn’t bear to do it again. This was super easy, super fast, but I’ve had better tasting recipes from her. It could be me not making it great, but I think the sauce in general needs a bit more “umph”, maybe chicken or chorizo. I did use wheat penne which I think gives it more substance. I should have made a good side dish, but time sometimes doesn’t always permit. Check out the recipe here and see what you think.

In general, I like white pizza, but find it a bit dry. I wanted to do some sort of white pizza but with a sauce to keep it moist. I made my usual pizza dough recipe but added a 1/2 cup of parm for something different. The saltiness from the parm and the pancetta was enough, so don’t add too much to the squash purée. Here’s how I get ‘er done.

Serves 4

2lb butternut squash, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 shallot minced

2 cloves of garlic minced

handful of basil

1 cup of parm

8oz fresh mozzarella

8oz ricotta

1 cup of pancetta - I had the precut stuff from Trader Joe’s. If you cut your own make sure it’s small and will cook easily on top of the pizza

Pizza Dough Recipe

Preheat oven to 500F

For Butternut Squash Purée:

1. In a large sauté or sauce pan, heat olive oil and add garlic and shallots. Sauté them for about 4 minutes. Add squash and let it get brown, about 8 minutes. Add about 1 cup of water and cover the pan. Let the squash cook until it’s tender and getting mushy.

2. Let the squash cool a bit. Transfer it to a food processor or blender. Add the basil. Blend the squash until it makes a thick purée. If it’s too thick add a tiny bit of water, or chicken stock.

3. Roll out your pizza dough to the size of your pan. Put the dough on the pan (this is important - you don’t want to be stuck with a heavy pizza on your counter and it rips during transfer.) Spread the butternut squash over the pizza, making sure not to get it too thick. Add the mozzarella, then ricotta, then sprinkle all over with parm. Finally, sprinkle the pancetta on top. Cook in your preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes or until brown and bubbly.

Jamie Oliver does it again! This is the best tomato sauce I’ve ever made - and now I know the secret I haven’t seen from Giada - Balsamic vinegar and sugar. After I added these two ingredients, it was WOW!! I actually forgot to add the parm to the sauce, and I think it’s great without it, but if you’re a huge parmesan fan like me, you might want to add it, or sprinkle plenty on top. The recipe calls for plum tomatoes, but I had diced tomatoes - organic which I think helped because a lot of canned tomatoes that are already chopped can be bitter. So try to use plum tomatoes and smash them yourself in the sauce. This is an easy sauce you can make over and over, I count this better than Newman’s Own too. Here’s how it’s done:

Serves 4

1lb piece of ricotta cheese (I had a 15oz tub of it from TJ’s - I think it’s a bit different but still works)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 a dried chili, crumbled - I just used chili pepper flakes

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

knob of unsalted butter

2 14oz cans of good plum tomatoes

3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1lb pappardelle or fettuccine - whatever you want to use

handful of fresh basil, torn into pieces

2 handfuls of freshly grated parm cheese (optional in my opinion)

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Rub the ricotta with the olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano and chilli and place on a baking tray. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden and firm. In a pan, slowly fry the onion and garlic in the butter and a good drizzle of olive oil. Cook for 4 minutes until sweet and softened. Add the tomatoes, simmer gently for about 15 minutes, then mash the tomatoes with a spoon. Add the balsamic vinegar and the sugar and stir until you have a nice tomato sauce.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted boiling water (NEVER EVER put oil in your pasta water - it makes the pasta slick and it won’t hold the sauce) cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve a glassful of the cooking water, then drain the pasta. Toss the pasta with the tomato sauce and add a little of the reserved water to loosen, if necessary. correct the seasoning carefully to taste, then working quickly, add most of the basil and parm cheese. Place in a warmed bowl, rip over some extra basil and crumble the baked ricotta over the pasta.

I haven’t eaten a baked potato in a really long time. It’s not a comfort food I crave when it gets cold. It was however something really easy to make and I needed to use up some veggies and toppings before they went off. I also baked the bacon in the oven, and it tastes so much better - crispy, flat, and the fat drips below, so it’s not cooking in it. The salad is all from the farmer’s market, and was a nice warm compliment to the potato, rather than a cold salad. Here’s how it happened:

Serves 4 (or 2, then 2 for lunch the next day)

4 Large Russet Potatoes

4 strips of bacon

1 shallot, minced

1/2 lb green beans

1 bunch of spinach

1/4 lb of Shitake mushrooms

salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 375. Wash potatoes, and puncture with a fork so they don’t explode. Rub with salt and olive oil. Place on a foiled cookie sheet in the oven for 1 - 2 hours. They’re done when you can stick your fork easily through the skin.

2. Place bacon on a roasting pan, with slats, and bake in the oven with the potatoes for about 20 minutes.

3. In a large sauté pan, over medium heat add couple tablespoons of olive oil and add the shallots. Let them cook for about 2 minutes. Add the green beans and cook for another couple minutes. Add mushrooms, cook for a minute, and then add spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted. Salt and Pepper to taste.

4. Slice open potatoes and fill with your favorite stuff - I used creme fraiche, bacon, raw onions, and chives. Johnathan had cheddar cheese on his rather than the creme fraiche. Use whatever you have on hand!

I wanted to feel less guilty about eating a gooey rich mac&cheese, so I decided to add some veggies. I used zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes as the “noodle layers” and the mac&cheese as the sauce layers. It was awesome it just doesn’t serve as pretty as a true lasagna. I used a basic cheese sauce that’s used in a lot of recipes, and you can change the ratio and/or cheeses used in the sauce. I used about equal parts gruyére and cheddar - fontina and a blue cheese would also be a great compliment. I also put some images of the different stages in case I don’t explain it well. Here’s how it happened:

Serves 6

1 lb elbow macaroni, or any small pasta

1 quart of milk - I like to use whole milk for cooking

8 tablespoon (1 stick) of unsalted butter

1/2 cup all purpose flour

8oz Gruyére cheese, grated

8 to 12oz Cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1.5 cups bread crumbs

2 small eggplants, sliced thin

2 zucchini, sliced thin

2 tomatoes, sliced

salt, pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile heat milk in a saucepan, but don’t let it boil. Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan, about 4 quarts. Add the flour and continue to whisk for about 2 minutes. While whisking, add the hot milk slowly and continue to stir. Let the milk cook for another minute, until it’s thickened and smooth. Turn off the heat and add all of the cheese and stir until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and the nutmeg. In a large bowl, add macaroni and coat with the cheese sauce.

3. In a 13×9 inch oven proof dish, layer about 2 cups of the pasta on the bottom of the dish. Next, layer with the slices of zucchini, covering the bottom pasta layer. Add another layer of mac&cheese. Layer Eggplant. Spoon on one more layer of mac&cheese and top with sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle top with bread crumbs. Bake uncovered in the oven for about 30-40 minutes or until the top is brown and bubbly. Let stand for 5-7 minutes before serving.