With the holidays coming up I am starting to think about feeding a crowd in our new house. I like to try to make our festive meals from scratch and it is always a bit of a juggling act with only one oven. When I think about my dream kitchen renovation one of the things I want to build in is a double wall oven. I’ve never had a double oven and it seems like it would make cooking for a crowd a million times easier. How great would it be to be able to roast a turkey in one oven while baking all the side dishes in the other?!  Two ovens would also make recipe testing easier. I could make dinner while still working on a new cake recipe. Here is what I am thinking:

Today I am working with my friends at King Arthur Flour to do a fun fall baking giveaway and to talk quick breads. As you know, I am huge fan of quick breads. I love making them for school snack, serving them up on weekend mornings, and taking them to friends just because. What is not to love about a slice of warm bread with a cup of hot tea on a chilly fall day?!

After my trip to the Greenwich Food + Wine Festival I got thinking more about weeknight meals. I loved Sara Moulton’s and Richard Blais’ presentations, but they didn’t really feature a lot of cheese. However, the dishes they made could feature plenty of cheese. In my year of working with Sargento I have had a lot of fun documenting the popular food trends of food trucks and mushrooms but it really all comes back to the cheese. I am no stranger to cheesy weeknight meals and I wondered if I could take Sara’s and Richard’s dishes and make them a little cheesier, so to speak.

Today I am stopping in with a quick, healthy fall snack I think you will love. In keeping with pumpkin obsession this month, the other day I made this delicious fall flavored hummus. It was a great new twist on our regular homemade hummus and paired beautifully with salty cracker and crudite. We loved the overtones of pumpkin in the silky smooth dip. I added a little extra olive oil on top for an extra-decadent touch, but you can decide if you want to do that once you’ve made it. While I can’t exactly hand this out on Halloween night, I can definitely pack it in my daughter’s lunchboxl. It will be terrific paired with some salty pepitas and her favorite carrot sticks in a fall snack.

We love grilling even when the temperatures begins to drop. However, we do draw the line at grilling when there is actual snow outside. Since the move our grill has been sitting in the basement. We plan to get it out again soon, but that is pretty far down our to-do list at this point. Instead, as luck would have it, I was sent a new OptiGrill in the mail to try at home and that is what we have been using. It ideal for indoor grilling any night of the week. I find it especially easy since it means I don’t have to run outside and light the coals while I juggle the kids dinner time as well.

I’ve had a lot of fun stuff going on this week. Fall is in full effect, gorgeous leaves are falling in our yard, and the kids are finally starting to wear fleece jackets. Work-wise, the holiday season is ramping up and I’ve been doing a lot of fun articles for various media outlets. I am personally so excited about all of the Halloween stuff that is starting to pop up around the web. I am so in the mood for our first holiday in our new home!

– My daughter and I want to make Gabby’s wreath for our front door. It looks super cool!

– Need a pick-me-up? Make a Tutti Frutti Smoothie for your kids after school.

– BOO! These sweet meringue ghosts are a cinch to make and are great little treats for kids./

– I love Megan’s post about changing gears and making the most of it.

– Don’t forget to make a carrot souffle for your kids this fall!

Have a great weekend!

It is finally (finally!) pumpkin season and I am having a blast baking up sweet treats. First up, I made two batches of pumpkin bars back-to-back last weekend. The recipe is in the book. Honestly, it is such a great recipe it is worth buying the book just for that! Then, over the weekend, my daughter and I baked up this sweet loaf and added a generous swath of cream cheese frosting for good measure.

There comes a time every fall when I feel I must, simply must, have a cheesy casserole for dinner. It kind of like the way I crave soup the second I see snow, and want fresh pesto the moment spring flowers bloom. This year I decided to take my craving to the meatless side and make a decadent mac and cheese ramped up with the addition of sweet caramelized onions and earthy mushrooms.

The first thing I cooked in our new home was acorn squash. When I wandered into Whole Foods, exhausted from unpacking, I immediately spotted the seasonal vegetable display and instantly knew that is what I needed to make. Squash is one of our favorite fall vegetables and I cook it as often as possible when it is available. I like to prepare it simply, roasted with oil and sprinkled with a little browned butter and Parmesan. I love the sweet flavor and autumnal aroma that wafts through the kitchen as it roasts.

One of the ways I ease my way into cold weather cooking is with soup. It is nurturing and fortifying, without being super heavy like a winter lasagna. Over the weekend the temperature finally dropped a bit and I made this easy pot of soup for dinner. It was perfect for a cool fall night and fit the mood with all the delicious pumpkin flavor.

Last weekend I took a little time off from unpacking to attend the Greenwich Food + Wine Festival. Part of my role as a Sargento flavor correspondent this year is to investigate popular new flavor trends that are changing the food scene. Specifically, I am documenting two topics: the current explosion of food trucks, and popularity of cooking with mushrooms. I’ve been having a blast diving into both subjects, sampling food trucks all over the area, and cooking with mushrooms any chance I get. At the Greenwich Food + Wine Festival I was particularly interested in attending the crispy taco demonstration by Richard Blais, and the Weeknights Meals with Sara Moulton.

Hi! Moving day has come and gone. If you have ever moved you will totally understand what I mean when I say we are living in a sea of boxes and moving paper. Hopefully it will all be cleared up and everything will be in at least a temporary place soon. I can’t wait to cook my first meal and arrange my container garden on the back porch. Then I will know this is really home. I’ll be back on Thursday with my first “new home” recipe. In the mean time, here is some great reading from the around the web. Wish me luck!

– Birthday party train started? Make DIY thank you notes with your printer!

– Phoebe’s take-out! Nom, nom, nom.

– Teach kids to share recipes with their friends by making their own recipe book.

– Kind of obsessed. Reminds me of high school.

– Mmm, apple cider season. This is such a great video!

– Perfect for when we all get tired of apple pie.

– Cool fall mornings call for fruity oatmeals.

– Cakes become downright artistic. Love.