IN MY KITCHEN, FALL 2025

Posted in In My Kitchen by sallybr

In My Kitchen posts are hosted by Sherry, from Sherry’s Pickings. Please visit her site to see what everybody else is sharing this month. I join four times each year, on the first day of January, April, July and October. If you are a food blogger, consider taking part of this fun event. It is a chance to share those little things you bought or received as gifts and that make your life in the kitchen easier.

Starting with a gift from my beloved husband…

Phil surprised me with this beautiful cup, from our favorite artist, Mary Rose Young. He is always searching for her pieces, that can be quite expensive, but every once in a while he lucks out and finds a reasonable deal on eBay. I might have to make a cookie inspired by this beautiful design, like I did in the past (see my cookie post here).

In our kitchen…

This is my favorite acquisition of the season! I used to have to find boxes to put my bakes to take to the homeless meals on Fridays, always a bit of a hassle. Now I simply use this multi-layer system. I can fit all the cookies, brownies, it is fantastic. You can find it here.

In our kitchen…

My second set of bread stencils! I shared my first adventure with this type of stencil in a recent post, you can get these stencils here. I just love using them…

In our kitchen…

This is my improvised enclosure for air-brushing. It does not have high sides, which is great for maneuvering the gun, but it is big enough to enclose the spray. When the paper inside gets too full with paint, I toss it and put a new one. I cannot tell you how much I love this! You can find special air-spraying boxes and they are expensive and hard to clean. This is just perfect for me…

In our kitchen…

This was a huge task but I am so glad I finally did it! Organized all my cookie stencils in binders. There is a method to the madness, so they are organized according to patterns, styles, in a way that I can find them without too much hyperventilation.

In our kitchen…

I love this powder, which is available here. I’ve been using it often in sugar cookies, usually with a little orange zest. Smells amazing as it bakes!

In our kitchen…

I’ve had these rolling pins for a while, cannot remember where exactly I got them, but they make the most adorable cookies… Speaking about rolling pins, my favorite source by far is Pastrymade, and they do need all the help we can give them. A fantastic Ukrainian company that makes the very highest quality products. Most of mine come from Pastrymade, so I highly recommend them!
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In our kitchen…

Every year I like to get a new Springerle mold for the season, and this was my choice for 2025. I intend to put it to use very soon… Ordering information here (don’t forget to add the specific cutters, made exactly for that shape).

In our kitchen…

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We love this one! An extra-wide spatula, that works wonderfully for things like salmon on the grill. You can order it here.

In our kitchen…

This is called a Gyro-Cut tool and I am quite happy with it. Sometimes getting the Cricut out just to cut a simple shape seems like too much effort. For a template that can be used and discarded, a simple piece of paper works, and the Gyro-Cut does a great job to make it happen. Available here. I just blogged about the cookies made with those templates, and you can see them in my cookie blog (click here).

In our kitchen…

A Nordic Ware Pirouette Bundt pan… Available here. You simply cannot go wrong with Nordic Ware. The cakes un-mold like a dream. Here is my first adventure with this pan, a little Apple Cider Bundt Cake.

In our kitchen…

Another great little gadget to hold your phone to make photos or videos. I highly recommend it, simple to assemble and works like a charm! Available here.

And now it’s time to let our furry friends bark their piece,
as they’ve been patiently waiting…

Mr. Osky wants to bark first…

OF COURSE I DO! I am the Oldest, Wisest, THE UNCHALLENGED ALPHA DOG, the one who rules all dogs of All Known Kingdoms in the Known Universe!

I patrol our domain with a slow but determined walk. And I bark the bark
that pierces ears without mercy.

Star would like to point out that she patrols it all much much better, navigating edges of precipices without hesitation. Pack rats know no peace in the Kingdom of Tatarrax! Frogs, squirrels, birds, the eventual careless grasshopper, nothing is off-limits to this incredible huntress…

It is hard to believe so much power and might lies behind those sweet dark eyes…

I am a great patroller myself, particularly of the Higher Territory of our Palace!

But to be honest, I prefer to play ball with Mom and Dad. I play until I am spent, and then I play some more…

Every evening after my humans are done with some silly dishwashing and kitchen tidying up, I make sure to ring the patio door bell over and over until they realize it is time to go out and play with the Prince!

I find it all profoundly silly. I prefer to just be my Badass Self… The ball can chase itself, for all I care.

Well, we all know he likes to play Bad Ass but he can also be pretty mellow and cute, even at his advanced age (he will be with us 15 years next month, so we believe he is close to 16 years old now).

Cute? Do you really think he is cute? Cuter than me? Cuter than my cute little sister?

Well, well, well… We don’t play favorites in the Kingdom, you are all adorable and well-behaved…..

EXCEPT… when you steal food from the countertop!

Or when you come back from the backyard covered in burrs, and we all know how much “fun” it will be to get them off your delicate fur…

But, all things considered,
Summer has been pretty nice for the pups…

They watched a lot of TV…

Ziggy Star Barker took extended naps in her favorite spot…

And Prince Freckles of Tatarrax did the exact same thing…

At times, when the stars were correctly aligned, The Alpha Dog allowed himself to relax next to a lesser Whippersnapper…

That’s all for now, folks! We will see you again when the New Year of 2026 starts… Until then, have a wonderful time!

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen, Fall 2024

TWO YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, Fall 2023

THREE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, Fall 2022

FOUR YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, October 2021

FIVE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, October 2020

SIX YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen (and Beyond), October 2019

SEVEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, October 2018

EIGHT YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, October 2017

NINE YEARS AGO: Little Bites of Paradise

TEN YEARS AGO: Coxinha de Galinha: A Brazilian Delicacy

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Prosciutto-Wrapped Shrimp Skewers

TWELVE YEARS AGO: A Simple Dinner

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Brown Butter Tomato Salad

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Spelt and Cornmeal Rolls

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Roasted Potato and Olive Focaccia

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire

25Sep2025

COTTAGE CHEESE FLOURLESS MUFFINS

Posted in Breakfast & Brunch, Pizzas & Small Dishes by sallybr

Honestly, not sure what to call them… they remind me of the sous-vide egg bites sold at Starbucks, but are more complex in flavor and texture. Low-carb, perfect for a light lunch. Leftovers, kept in the fridge, heat surprisingly well in the microwave, no rubbery texture. Love them!

COTTAGE CHEESE FLOURLESS MUFFINS
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

3 large eggs
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 bell pepper, seeded, de-veined, chopped small
½ cup spinach, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon paprika
dash of nutmeg
grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Heat oven to 375F. Spray a muffin tin with oil. Reserve.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, and spices. Whisk very well until everything is incorporated together. Add the veggies and the mozzarella cheese, fold to combine. Fill the muffin tins about 3/4 full, sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until all puffed and golden on top. Serve warm or at room temperature.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I have a slightly problem digesting bell peppers, usually red and orange are not too bad, but when I made them a second time, I used black olives instead of bell pepper, and loved the way they turned out. If bell peppers don’t love your digestive tract, consider that change. I was quite happy with the way they re-heated a couple of days later, when I had them for lunch. Will definitely make this recipe again and again, I hope you’ll give it a try.

ONE YEAR AGO: Açai-Blackberry Sorbet

TWO YEARS AGO: A Bouquet of Macarons

THREE YEARS AGO: Chocolate-Hazelnut Tartlets

FOUR YEARS AGO: Turkey Taco Salad

FIVE YEARS AGO: Cheese and Pesto Emmer Roll-ups and Elaine’s Cookbook Review

SIX YEARS AGO: Mango-Hazelnut Entremet Cake

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Lebanese Lentil Salad and a Cookbook Review

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Cottage Loaf

NINE YEARS AGO: Sourdough Loaf with Cranberries and Walnuts

TEN YEARS AGO: Sichuan Pork Stir-Fry in Garlic Sauce

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Our Green Trip to Colorado

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Ditalini Pasta Salad

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Celebrate Wednesday with a Thai Seafood Curry

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Post-workout Breakfast

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Semolina Barbecue Buns

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Lavash Crackers

20Sep2025

CAMPFIRE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Posted in Cake by sallybr

I cannot take credit for the design, it is from a cookbook I highly recommend: Cupcakes for Any Occasion, by Rachel Lindsay (click here to order it). She used lemon cupcakes for her version, I opted for chocolate, going for a reverse creaming method that is so simple and easy to bake.

CAMPFIRE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
(inspired by Rachel Lindsay)

for 10 cupcakes:
100g all-purpose flour
25g unsweetened cocoa powder
140g white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
50g unsalted butter, room temperature, soft
1 large egg
120ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 + ½ tsp baking powder

for the buttercream:
226g butter, very soft
452g powdered sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream (or more to adjust consistency)
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
6 Oreo cookies, crushed fine
orange, red and yellow food gel coloring
Pretzel sticks (four per cupcake)
mini marshmallows (1 to 2 per cupcake)

Heat oven to 350F. Prepare a muffin type pan with cupcake liners.

Whisk the milk, egg and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Reserve.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, salt, butter and sugar into the stand mixer
bowl with the paddle attachment. Mix on a medium speed until all the butter looks like small pieces of sand. Add half the milk mixture, mix to incorporate until smooth. Give it a final minute mixing in high-speed. Add the rest of the milk, and whisk until fully smooth.

Add to the lined pan, a little more than half full. These cupcakes rise a lot. Bake until a toothpick comes clean, about 16 minutes. Let cool completely before icing.

Make the buttercream. Whisk the butter in high speed for five minutes. Add half the powdered sugar, mix at medium-speed until fully smooth. Increase speed to high for 30 seconds. Add the other half of the sugar, pinch of salt, vanilla and heavy cream. Whisk in medium to high-speed until smooth. Adjust consistency if needed.

Keep half of the buttercream in the mixer. Add to it the Oreo crumbs. Transfer that to a piping bag fitted with a round tip. Divide the rest of the buttercream (around 110g portions) to smaller bowls. Dye each portion red, yellow and orange. Place them over plastic wrap as straight lines side by side. Make a sausage with that plastic wrap and insert into a piping bag fitted with a medium size leaf tip.

Decorate the cold cupcakes first with “stones”, using the Oreo buttercream. Add “flames”, stick Pretzels to make the decorations, using small marshmallows for additional touch.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I love the way the addition of Oreo cookies make the buttercream perfect to mimic stones. That could come in handy for Halloween designs in the future. I made a little mistake and used Pretzel sticks to insert the marshmallows, but in the cookbook she advises using toothpicks, and they will work a lot better, so keep that in mind if you want to try these. I am so happy with the way they turned out!

One extra bit of advice: when you pipe the “rocks”, smooth the surface with a brush to make them more round and smooth. I did not do that to some of them, and wish I had. Once the buttercream hardens you cannot quite smooth things out.

ONE YEAR AGO: La Couronne Lyonnaise, Two Ways

TWO YEARS AGO: Have a Heart

THREE YEARS AGO: Chocolate-Hazelnut Tartlets

FOUR YEARS AGO: Turkey Taco Salad

FIVE YEARS AGO: Cheese and Pesto Emmer Roll-ups and Elaine’s Cookbook Review

SIX YEARS AGO: Mango-Hazelnut Entremet Cake

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Lebanese Lentil Salad and a Cookbook Review

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Cottage Loaf

NINE YEARS AGO: Sourdough Loaf with Cranberries and Walnuts

TEN YEARS AGO: Sichuan Pork Stir-Fry in Garlic Sauce

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Our Green Trip to Colorado

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Ditalini Pasta Salad

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Celebrate Wednesday with a Thai Seafood Curry

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Post-workout Breakfast

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Semolina Barbecue Buns

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Lavash Crackers

16Sep2025

CROISSANT SOURDOUGH BREAD

Posted in Breads by sallybr

I first saw this cool recipe over at Karen’s Kitchen Stories, and I knew I had to bake a loaf for us. After making it I’ve noticed that many bloggers and bakers are talking about it, so apparently it is one of those baking adventures that went viral. I hate the term “viral” but will reluctantly put it to use. It conveys the right picture, I guess. Without further ado, my take on this tasty bread.

For the recipe, visit Karen’s blog with a click here.

It is a straightforward sourdough formula, the trick is to incorporate frozen grated butter in the second half of the bulk fermentation. The dough is rich, and the addition of so much fat slows down the fermentation a bit, so it won’t rise during fermentation as much as a ‘normal’ sourdough will.

This is the dough all soft and bubbly before you add the butter….

The frozen butter is added (in two steps), and the dough folded over to enclose it….

After shaping and retarding it in the fridge overnight, you are ready to slash and bake…

The bread smells amazing as it bakes and the addition of butter somehow made it develop a very nice golden crust…

It has wonderful taste and texture, and it is not “greasy” at all. Toasts beautifully also… I don’t normally make stuff for us that has a lot of butter, so this was a special indulgence. If you like to bake sourdough bread, definitely consider this recipe for a change.

A huge thank you to Karen for the inspiration!

ONE YEAR AGO: Gochujang Grilled Chicken Thighs

TWO YEARS AGO: Feta Eggs with Zucchini

THREE YEARS AGO: Poilane-Style Bread, a simplified version

FOUR YEAR AGO: Broccoli Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Tahini Dressing

FIVE YEARS AGO: Turkey-Spinach Meatballs with Cardamon-Tomato Sauce

SIX YEARS AGO: British Baps, a Technical Challenge

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Japanese-Style Cupcakes with Cherry Blossom Icing

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Quick Weeknight Soups

NINE YEARS AGO: Sourdough Loaf with Cranberries and Walnuts

TEN YEARS AGO: Sichuan Pork Stir-Fry in Garlic Sauce

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Our Green Trip to Colorado

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Ditalini Pasta Salad

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Celebrate Wednesday with a Thai Seafood Curry

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Post-workout Breakfast

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Semolina Barbecue Buns

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Lavash Crackers

12Sep2025

CHICKEN THIGHS WITH APPLES AND SAGE

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

A real nice recipe that has Fall written all over it. I was inspired by a blogger I follow but was a bit disappointed when I made it exactly as published. So I tweaked things around and also incorporated a step in which the chicken is cooked under pressure, giving the wonderful melt-in-your-mouth texture I love. I will give you an alternative to skip the pressure cooking.

CHICKEN THIGHS WITH APPLES AND SAGE
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

for the chicken:
1 Tbsp olive oil
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
3/4 tsp each salt and black pepper, or to taste
3/4 tsp paprika

for the apples:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium gala apples, cored and sliced thin
2 large stalks celery, sliced 1/4 inch thin
1 shallot, minced
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp each minced fresh thyme, rosemary and sage (or 1/2 tsp each dried)

for the sauce:
1 cup apple juice
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water, reserved

In liquid measuring cup whisk together the apple juice, honey, apple cider vinegar, and dijon mustard. If cooking chicken in a pressure cooker, separate that amount in two parts (no need to be exact, eye balling is fine).

Heat a skillet over medium high heat, or if using a pressure cooker, do this step right in the pan. Sprinkle chicken on both sides evenly with paprika, salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil into skillet or pressure cooker, when very hot add the chicken and brown on both sides. If using a pressure cooker, add half of the cooking liquid, bring to a gentle boil, close the pan and cook under pressure for 12 minutes. Release pressure under running water, reserve the meat. If the liquid does not reach halfway up the pieces of chicken, complete that volume with water.

If cooking the chicken on a skillet, remove the pieces to a platter, add more oil to the pan, and sautee the celery, shallots and pieces of apple, seasoning with cinnamon and nutmeg. If cooking the chicken under pressure, sauté the apples and veggies using a clean skillet the same way described above. When the apples are soft, add the apple juice mixture, season with a little more salt and pepper, if so desired. Return the chicken to the pan. If the chicken was cooked in the pressure cooker, simply warm everything together for a couple of minutes, then add the cornstarch slurry and the fresh sage. Serve immediately. If the chicken was not prepared under pressure, simmer with the pan covered until fully tender, probably 15 minutes. Add the sage and the cornstarch slurry right before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: We really loved this preparation for chicken, in fact I made it twice in the same week per husband’s request! I am totally comfortable with the pressure cooker, so for me it’s really not a big deal to use it, but I realize it can be intimidating. For this reason I included the instructions to cook without it. But there is something about the texture that I absolutely love. It gets tender and never rubbery. I like to start the pressure cooking step right away, because the veggies and apples are ready so quickly. Once the chicken has been cooking for 5 minutes I start sautéing the celery, shallots and apples, and everything comes to the finish line harmoniously. A little white rice, and steamed broccoli, nothing else needed…

ONE YEAR AGO: Gochujang Grilled Chicken Thighs

TWO YEARS AGO: Feta Eggs with Zucchini

THREE YEARS AGO: Poilane-Style Bread, a simplified version

FOUR YEAR AGO: Broccoli Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Tahini Dressing

FIVE YEARS AGO: Turkey-Spinach Meatballs with Cardamon-Tomato Sauce

SIX YEARS AGO: British Baps, a Technical Challenge

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Japanese-Style Cupcakes with Cherry Blossom Icing

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Quick Weeknight Soups

NINE YEARS AGO: Sourdough Loaf with Cranberries and Walnuts

TEN YEARS AGO: Sichuan Pork Stir-Fry in Garlic Sauce

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Our Green Trip to Colorado

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Ditalini Pasta Salad