Pumpkin Cream Cheese

Pumpkin Cream Cheese: 8oz cream cheese, ½ cup canned pumpkin, 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 Tbs brown sugar, dash of salt

Apricot, Cornmeal & Sage Cookies

Message-In-A-Cookie Cutters from Williams-Sonoma.

Gluten-Free Brownies

MAKES 9 BROWNIES

INGREDIENTS

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup white rice flour

2 tbsp. tapioca flour

1 tbsp. potato starch

1/4 tsp. xanthan gum

1⁄4 tsp. fine salt

1 cup roughly chopped walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oven to 325°. Grease an 8" x 8" baking pan with butter. Line the pan with parchment paper; grease the paper. Set the pan aside.

2. Melt the butter and the chocolate together in a 2-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir to make a smooth batter. In a separate bowl, mix together the white rice flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, xanthan gum, and salt; pour into the egg mixture, add walnuts, and stir until incorporated. Pour the batter into the baking pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40–45 minutes. Let cool on a rack. Cut and serve.

Chocolate and Hazelnut Cake

For the cake
400g shelled dried hazelnuts
1 tsp cocoa powder 
250g dark chocolate, about 70%, broken into pieces
200g butter, plus a little more for greasing the tin, softened
200g caster sugar 
5 egg yolks 
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp brandy (optional)

For the chocolate glaze
100g caster sugar
50g dark chocolate (about 70%) 
20g butter

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Put the hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast until browned, checking regularly they aren't burning – about five minutes.

Turn down the heat to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Tip the hazelnuts into a clean tea towel, wrap them up and leave for a minute, then rub vigorously with the tea towel to loosen and remove their papery skins. When cool, reserve about 30g of the nuts to garnish the cake at the end and pulse the rest in a food processor until fine.

Grease the bottom and sides of a 23cm springform tin, then dust the insides with cocoa powder. Line the base with baking parchment and butter the parchment.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place over a pan of barely simmering water – the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. Melt the chocolate, remove the bowl from the pan and leave to cool.

With a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition and adding a pinch of salt with the last yolk. With a rubber spatula, fold in first the hazelnuts and then the chocolate and alcohol, if using. Spoon into the tin, smooth over the top and bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Place the tin on a wire rack and leave for 20 minutes before releasing the sides of the cake tin and leaving to cool completely. Invert the cake on to a plate, and remove the base and the paper.

To make the glaze, tip the sugar into a small pan with 100ml water and warm over a low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil and boil hard for three minutes. Remove from the heat and cool until it's very warm, rather than volcanically hot (you can put the base of the pan into the sink filled with a couple of centimetres of cold water to speed this up). Stir in the chocolate and butter until it's melted, blended and glossy. Pour over the cake and finish with the remaining nuts.

Ploughman's Soup

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2 tbs oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped, plus extra celery sticks to serve
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 50g sliced pancetta, rind removed, roughly chopped
• 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, chopped
• 175ml dry cider
• 2 cups (500ml) chicken stock
• 1 thyme sprig
• 2 cups (240g) grated mature cheddar, plus extra good-quality cheddar to serve
• Chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish
• Crusty bread rolls and chutney, to serve

Method

1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, garlic and pancetta and gently cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until softened slightly but not coloured.
2. Add the apple and stir to combine, then add the cider, stock and thyme. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 25 minutes until the apple is softened. Remove from heat, add the grated cheddar and stand for 10 minutes.
3. Discard the thyme sprig, then blend the mixture with a stick blender until smooth (or puree in batches in a blender). Season the soup with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Transfer to a vacuum flask or thermos to transport to the picnic. Garnish with parsley. Serve with bread, chutney and extra cheddar and celery.

Roasted anjou pear and walnut bisque, smoked salt and white pepper meringue

Lime Shortbread

12 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, divided
Zest of 2 limes
2 Tbsp lime juice (I used slightly more)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt

In the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and 1/3 cup of the powdered sugar until lightened in color. Mix in the lime zest, lime juice, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add dry ingredients into butter and sugar mixture, and beat until combined.

Form dough into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (more if you want larger cookies), cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Remove dough from fridge and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice dough into 1/2 inch thick rounds. Place on cookie sheet about one inch apart. Bake until edges begin turning golden brown, about 13-15 minutes.  Remove and let cool on wire rack. While cookies are still warm, toss in remaining powdered sugar. Let cool completely before serving.

Chocolate-Orange Hazelnut Bark

• Prep Time15 minutes
• Total Time45 minutes
• YieldMakes 8 servings

• 1 navel orange
• 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2/3 cup hazelnuts, skins removed, coarsely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt

Directions

1. Line a small (9-by-13-inch) baking sheet with aluminum foil; refrigerate. With a vegetable peeler, remove zest from half the orange. With a sharp knife, cut zest into very thin strips, each about an inch long.
2. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted and completely smooth. Mix in half the zest and hazelnuts. Immediately, pour onto prepared baking sheet; with a flexible rubber spatula, spread into an 8-by-10 inch rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. (To help spread chocolate, tip baking sheet up and down.) Sprinkle with remaining zest, nuts, and coarse salt.
3. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. To serve, break into pieces. To store, transfer to an airtight container, and refrigerate, up to 3 days.

Blood Orange Caramels with Toasted Almonds and Sea Salt

3 cups blood orange juice, strained
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup toasted almonds
2 teaspoons sea salt flakes

Line the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Butter parchment paper and set aside.

Place blood orange juice in a 4-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Let boil until liquid is reduced to 1/3 cup.

Remove from heat and stir in sugars, butter, and cream. Return to high heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn heat to medium and let boil until a candy or deep fat thermometer reads 248 degrees F (or when a half teaspoon placed in a glass of icy cold water turns into a firm, chewy ball), about 17 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Scatter almonds on bottom of parchment paper. Pour caramel over almonds. Let sit until cool and firm, about 2 hours. Remove from baking dish and sprinkle salt flakes over top. Cut into 1-inch pieces.

Blood Orange Panna Cotta

2 1/3 cups fresh blood orange juice (from about 12 blood oranges), divided

• 1 3/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 7 teaspoons finely grated blood orange peel, divided
• 2/3 cup fat-free plain greek-style yogurt
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds, crushed (from about 16 pods)

Pour 1 cup juice into medium saucepan; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand 15 minutes.

Stir gelatin mixture over low heat until gelatin dissolves, 1 to 2 minutes. 

Add 1/2 cup sugar and 5 teaspoons orange peel; stir until sugar dissolves, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Strain into medium bowl, pressing on solids. Discard solids in strainer. Cool juice mixture 10 minutes. 

Whisk yogurt, cream, and lemon juice into orange juice mixture until smooth. Divide among six small goblets. Chill until set, at least 4 hours ahead.  Stir 1 1/3 cups orange juice, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons orange peel, and cardamom in medium saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil until reduced to 6 tablespoons, 16 to 17 minutes. Strain syrup into small bowl; chill.

Spoon some of syrup over each panna cotta and serve.

Sausages Braised In Cider

Bacon Gorgonzola Stuffed Baby Red Potatoes

Salted Caramel and Chocolate Cake

Pillow Cheesecake with Salted Butter Caramel Sauce.

Pillow Cheesecake with Salted Butter Caramel Sauce

Mini Pancakes

Frozen Banana Bites

Cookie Bowls

Chilled Double Chocolate Torte.

Mini Ruffle Cakes (made out of cupcakes).