falling for apps

Vance's birthday weekend! So much cooking, eating, drinking and having fun! More recipes to come, but a few fall appetizers for entertaining.

Hello Brie, I love you.

small brie (8 ounces)

1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2-3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons milk

In a small sauce pan, add butter, sugar and milk. Stir until dissolved. Warm brie on serving plate in the microwave for about 1 to 2 minutes (feeling how warm it gets after a minute). When brie is warm, pour on brown sugar sauce and top with nuts and dried cranberries. Serve with crackers - and love every second.

Spicy Pumpkin Harvest Hummus (clearly, the healthier option)

1 can chick peas, rinsed

1/2 packed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

juice of half a lemon

3 tablespoons tahini

1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

2 tablespoons water

2 garlic cloves, minced

little less than 1/4 cup EVOO

In food processor, pulse together, chick peas, lemon juice, tahini, garlic and water. When pureed, add pumpkin, Cayenne, cumin, salt and drizzle about half the EVOO on top. Pulse more - this mixture can be a bit thick so you might have to stop and scrape the sides. Add more EVOO and blend until consistency of your liking. Once in serving bowl, top with a little shake of pepper. Serve with crudites and warm pita slices. 

In true birthday fashion, we tried out a new cocktail. 

The Jack Rose is one of the six basic cocktails (martini, manhattan, old-fashioned, side car, daiquiri & jack rose) according to the 1940's primer The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks by David A. Embury. In a shaker combine 1 1/2 ounces applejack, 1/2 ounce grenadine, and the juice of 1/2 lime. Shake fast and furiously with much cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with a lime. I added a bit more applejack to cut the sweetness of the grenadine. These cocktails are quite good - on the sweeter side, but tasty.