Baked Acorn Squash Recipe

You'll love this recipe for fall and winter. It's a very easy recipe which everyone will love. The Acorn Squash is baked with butter, brown sugar and maple syrup: it's sweet and buttery. You can follow the exact same steps with a butternut squash. Yummy!

Serves 2
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 1 hour
Difficulty: *

Ingredients:
- 1 acorn squash
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Preheat your oven at 400°F / 200°C.

2. Cut the squash into half, scoop out the seeds (you can toast them! See Recipe).

3. Melt the butter in your microwave, then add the sugar and the syrup to the butter. Add some salt and freshly ground pepper.

4. Stir well the butter mixture and brush it on the inside of the squash as well as on the cut edges.

5. Place the halves on a baking sheet, cut side up. Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour until the squash is tender when pierced with a knife or fork. Serve 1 half per person.

Enjoy!

Home to make Plum-Vanilla Jam

I am lucky to have a plum tree in my garden so it's easy to make Plum Jam in this season. But you can also buy the fruits of course and make this jam the exact same way. I use red plums, ripe and sweet. The good thing with jam is that you can prepare several jars and eat it all year long! And my secret to get natural pectin is... lemon pips!

For about 4 jars
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: about 2 hours
Difficulty: **

Special utensil: empty spice bag/tea bag or gauze for cooking

Ingredients
- a bit more than 2 pounds red plums (use 1kg)
- 1 pound (use 500g) caster sugar
- lemon pips (from one lemon)
- 1 whole vanilla bean

1. Pit the plums and weight the pitted fruits. You should have about 2 pounds.
2. The quantity of sugar should be twice less than the quantity of plums. So if you have 2 pounds of fruits, you should use 1 pound of sugar.
3. Slice your lemon to get all the pips from it. Put them into the spice bag and close the bag securely.
4. In a big stainless steel pan, mix the pitted plums and the sugar. Add the bag containing the lemon pips.
5. With a knife, halve the vanilla beans lengthwise. Scrape the seeds into the fruit mixture and add the whole bean (optional).
6. Heat your pan on medium heat until it starts boiling. Then lower the heat and let cool slowly for about 2 hours. Mix frequently to prevent sticking.
7. To test if the jam is ready, use the spoon test: Dip a spoon into the hot jam and let the liquid drip off on a cold plate. The drops should be thick and not liquid. That's when your jam is ready!
8. Pour your jam in the jars, and return each jar upside down. Let cool like this and only return the jar when the jam is completely cool.

Enjoy right away, if you are patient, in a few days!!

Brioche made with bread machine - Try it!

I've had my bread machine for about a year and I only made bread with it until 3 month ago. Then I started making jam (peach, strawberry etc.) and once, I tried to make a brioche. What a nice surprise! It's not only quick and easy; it's also delicious, fluffy and flavorful, like you would expect it from a brioche bought from a bakery. Find some time on a Saturday to try this recipe and enjoy your brioche for breakfast on Sunday morning.... yummm!

Serves 8-10
Preparation time: about 1h30 (with my machine) + 45 minutes to let rise
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Difficulty: *

Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup water (at room temperature)
- 1/3 milk
- 3 eggs lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup (1 stick / 50 grams) butter, softened and cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 bread machine yeast (dry active yeast)
- egg wash

To garnish/flavor your brioche:
- Orange cinnamon brioche: add the grated zest of 1 orange + replace water with orange juice + add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- Dried fruit brioche: add 1/2 cup of dried fruits to the flour + add the zest of 1 lemon
- Chocolate chips brioche: add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to the flour
- Create your own!

Place the ingredients in the bread pan in the following order: water, milk, eggs, butter, zest or spices (if applicable), sugar, flour, chocolate chips or dried fruits (if applicable).

With a finger, make a small indentation on one side of the flour and add yeast. Make sure the yeast does not come in contact with the liquid ingredients.

Follow the instructions of your machine for the "Dough" program. When the cycle is complete, remove the dough from the bread pan to a clean, lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. With your hands, roll each piece into a 20-inch rope.

Lightly grease and flour a large baking sheet. Place the dough ropes on the baking sheet, twist them loosely and form a circle. Cover the ring with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place, until doubled in size (about 30/45 minutes). Preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C.

When the ring has doubled in size, lightly brush it with egg wash, using a pastry brush.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the brioche is golden brown. Let cool before slicing.

Tangerine Creme Caramel - So Sweet

Try this original dessert inspired from the traditional Crème Caramel. I added my own touch by making a Tangerine caramel instead of a regular one. It gives a nice and subtle citrus flavor to the creme.

Today is the day of crepes!

In France this Tuesday, every family will make crepes to celebrate La Chandeleur. Learn more on these thin delicious pancakes (Wikipedia). I recommend you to make crepes all year long since it's very easy and can be either sweet or sour. This recipe is for sweet crepes but if you want to try the sour version, do not add sugar and replace the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour. You can then fill the crepes with mushrooms, cream, ham and shredded cheese for instance... mmmm!!

About 10-12 crepes
Preparation: 10 minutes + 15 min resting time
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: *

Ingredients:
- 1 cup/125g all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup/25cl milk
- 1 pinch salt
- zest of 1/2 lemon or orange (optional)
Note: you can add any flavor you want to the batter: grand marnier, vanilla extract, orange blossom extract etc.

Heat the milk in your microwave just a little bit (15 seconds are enough): it will ease the mixing of the ingredients.
Put the flour in a large mixing bowl. Make a hole in the middle and add the egg, the sugar, the salt and the zest or flavour if you are using any. Add a little bit of milk and start whisking. Gradually add in the milk until the batter is smooth.
Let rest for 15 minutes minimum; if you have more time, you can wait up to 1 hour.
Before starting cooking, check the consistency of the batter: if it is too thick, add a little bit of milk.
Cook the crepes for about 2 minutes on the first side, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, then turn and cook the other side for another 1 or 2 minutes.
Serve warm with your topping: sugar, chocolate spread, jam, fruits, whipped cream etc. My favorite is sugar and lemon: sprinkle granulated sugar on your crepe and then drizzle some lemon juice...