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Brett Braley-Palko 10/24/16 Brett Braley-Palko 10/24/16

Virtual Pumpkin Party 2k16 - PUMPKIN GRANOLA!

If you haven't noticed by now, Fall is my favorite season. I enjoy the ritual of it, the open window chapping my lips and cooling my coffee before I have time to finish it. The unpacking of sweaters and the boots with broken zippers. The festivals that sell apples on sticks and the only Catholic church in town that sells beer on tap from a pick-up truck. I've said it before, but I missed this season dearly. I missed it while in California and how different it tasted when I lived in Italy, too. There's nowhere else in the world like a Pennsylvania autumn. Beautiful, crisp, silent and yielding to the most sleepy of urges and memories, swaying branches and moth-eaten scarves.

I like that there are only certain foods that are only appropriate in the fall, the cans of pumpkin puree and the misshapen gourds they sell roadside and at Wal-Mart. The bags of kettle corn my mother makes at the candy shop that goes stale after a week. I used to have pumpkin pie on my birthday instead of cake. When Sara emailed me about participating in the Virtual Pumpkin Party, I tried to make a cake in a gutted pumpkin and it never turned out right. So I took all the flavors appropriate of Fall, the threshold flavors of the holiday seasons, and put them into a snack I could have anytime of the day - granola, by the handfuls and on my morning yogurt. Something to wake up to, to sustain me when work gets too stressful. A break and a rest, a prize and a necessity--that's what fall is to me these days.

I was so happy to participate in this year's Virtual Pumpkin Party. Check out Sara's (Cake Over Steak) and Aimee's (Twigg Studio) posts for a full list of those contributing to #virtualpumpkinparty!

Pumpkin Granola

Ingredients:

4 cup uncooked oats
3/4 cup pumpkin seeds (I used these easy directions for mine!)
1/2 cup pecans, chopped roughly
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste, based on if you used salt in your pumpkin seeds!)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1 egg white
2 TB molasses
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/4 cup tahini or peanut butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F and prepare a baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper
In a large mixing bowl, stir together oats, seeds, pecans, sugar, salt, and spices with a wooden spoon
In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk together remaining ingredients together until wholly incorporated
Using your wooden spoon, create a well in the center of your dry ingredients and, stirring slowly, pour in your wet ingredients
Stir until all dry ingredients are coated (here, I actually used my hands because it was easier!)
Spread mixture onto baking sheets and bake for 25 minutes, stirring 3 times at around every 8 minutes, as the high oil and sugar content can burn the oats easily
Take out of oven, allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to two weeks

Brett Braley-Palko 10/20/16 Brett Braley-Palko 10/20/16

Caramel Apple Brie en Croute

The nights are cold and I can see my breath and the days are cloudless, relentless. The backyard is dappled red, then orange, and brown and brittle grass pokes through. It's the perfect weather for reading out on the porch, cuddling up under a blanket to watch a bad horror movie, or drink a beer while the sun fades to bruised clouds that stretch out over the fields by my house.

It's fall now, a fall that's been going on for weeks but never fully committed itself to sweater weather and foggy breath. I'm still waiting on that. But in the meantime, I was inspired by Farmhouse Pottery's Baker's Rolling Pin to create a dish that highlights all the beauty of autumn, but can be made year-round. I think I found the perfect mix in this caramel apple brie en croute dish.

Caramel Apple Brie en Croute

Ingredients:

¼ cup of spiced orange caramel sauce (you will have a lot leftover, but it keeps well and is good on everything!)
1 wheel of brie
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cold
½ tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
¼ cup ice water
7-8 slices of a honeycrisp apple (or whatever variety you like!)
1 egg, whisked with 1 TB water to create an egg was

Directions:

Place butter, shortening, vanilla, flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor, fitted with the blade attachment.
Pulse processor five or six times, or until fats are the size of peas and incorporated into the flour.
With motor running, pour water in a slow and steady stream through the tube until dough forms and sticks away from the walls of the bowl. You may need a little more water to get a solid dough.
Dump dough onto a floured work surface and pat into a disc.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit at this time.
When thirty minutes are done, roll dough out onto a floured work surface and roll out into a circle shape about ¼” in thickness
Now, for ease, use a dinner plate as your pattern and cut dough into a large circle
Reserve the remaining dough for another use and just focus on the dinner plate-sized circle now
Place brie wheel in center of your dough and lay apple slices on top
Pour your caramel over the apple and brie
Now, paint edges of dough with a pastry brush and your egg wash
Take edge of dough and fold into center of apples, pinching slightly to hold shape
Repeat with remaining edges to seal into a dumpling
Brush with more egg wash and sprinkle with a little sugar
Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until crust is puffed and golden, but check at the 15 mark as cheese may leak out and you might have to clean this up to prevent burning!
Allow to cool slightly, but serve warm with more apple slices and carame

Brett Braley-Palko 10/16/16 Brett Braley-Palko 10/16/16

Sunday Muffins! (Pumpkin and Tahini, to be exact)

Tomorrow I’m going to be an uncle. My sister’s scheduled for delivery at 7:30. I keep waking up and checking the time, thinking I slept through the weekend and it’s Monday so soon. On Thursday I took her pregnancy photos, I stayed for an hour and we talked about our own childhood and the brother we both don’t call. On Friday I looked at jewelry for her, trying to put a thousand moods into one small necklace. On Saturday I stayed busy, idle hands and all that. I walked Milo, bought books on farming, went to the vet for the dogs’ pills.

And now it’s Sunday and I’m wasting time. I woke up at dawn and fed the animals. I sat with a cup of hot, hot coffee and sprinkled cinnamon in it. I made these muffins to greet the morning, anything to fill the space between now and when Lana comes into the world.

Pumpkin Tahini Muffins

I know the ingredient list seems long, but it's mostly spices! For airy, crumbly muffins, I would suggest following the directions closely and not dump them all in at once. Also, if you are making regular-sized muffins, there are adjustment notes below as well. Happy baking!!

Ingredients:

2 ½ cup AP flour
½ TB cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 TB cornstarch
10 oz pumpkin puree
1/3 cup tahini
2 TB dark molasses
¼ cup olive oil
1 TB freshly grated ginger
1 TB pure vanilla extract
6 TB butter, softened
1 ½ cup dark brown sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
3 TB cream cheese, softened
2 TB confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400*F and prepare 6 jumbo muffin tins with liners (you may also use a dozen regular-sized muffin, but see note below)
Sift together flour, spices, salt, soda, and cornstarch in a large mixing bowl
In a measuring cup, whisk together pumpkin, tahini, molasses, oil, ginger, and vanilla until well-mixed
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy
Add egg, one at a time. Don’t add subsequent egg until previous is fully incorporated
With mixer on lowest speed, alternate between flour mixture and pumpkin mixture, ending with wet ingredients until a batter forms
In a separate bowl, mix together cream cheese and confectioner’s sugar (just with a fork is fine), set aside
Using an ice cream scoop, scoop batter into all 6 liners
Now, pinch off about ½ TB of your cream cheese and place on top of all 6 batter-filled cups
Top with another scoop of batter (your cup should be about full but not over flowing)
Bake for 28-32 minutes, checking at the 28 mark for any browning
Remove from oven, allow to cool before serving

Note: If using a regular-sized muffin tin, you will make the following adjustments to the recipe: You will divide the cream cheese by ¼ of a tablespoon instead of a half; you will have one scoop of batter in each muffin cup and not two; your bake time will be reduced to approximately 16-18 minutes instead of 28-32

PS - Make sure to sign up for my newsletter! More to come on that later!

Brett Braley-Palko 10/13/16 Brett Braley-Palko 10/13/16

Herbed Goat Cheese Straws

October is my favorite month, it’s the beginning of the holiday season, the threshold to gathering, laughing, worrying less about your diet. It’s the start of colder nights, warmer beds that beg you to hit the snooze button a few more times. My breath fogs my glasses when I got o check the mail. Milo wears sweaters now, he sleeps motionlessly on my pillow next to me. We daydream of farming, fireplaces, and flea markets. This is my first year home to see the leaves turn, to greet her like an old friend. I’m keeping recipes like the one below in my back pocket to have ready when family visits. We won’t have much time to prep a big meal; my sister gives birth to her first child on Monday and I know all of my time will be spent with her these next few weeks.

Herbed Goat Cheese Straws

Ingredient:

½ cup unsalted butter, cold
1 ½ cup goat cheese (I used a delicious herbed apricot blend from Vermont Creamery)
1 ½ cup AP flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 TB rosemary
½ TB thyme

Direction:

Preheat oven to 350*F and prepare a half sheet pan with a parchment paper
In a bowl, use a wooden spoon to cream butter and goat cheese together
While still stirring, add flour, salt, and herbs gradually
Turn out onto a floured work surface and pat into a rectangle
Use a rolling pin to roll out to about a foot long and a ½ inch thick
Cut into a dozen strips
Pick up one strip, an end in each hand. Turn each end alternately to twist
Lay onto your baking sheet
Repeat with remaining strips
Bake for 10 minutes, turn and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until golden brown

Brett Braley-Palko 10/11/16 Brett Braley-Palko 10/11/16

PARIS, FRANCE.

It’s sometimes hard for me to distinguish between memory and fantasy. Between a linear reality and a self-preservation tactic. I find memories like pennies on the ground. Tails-up, unlucky, not worth much until you have a pile of them. I leave it alone. I leave it there for somebody else. It might grow a patina and smell like a bloody lip, but I leave it alone all the same.

This trip was different. I remember every detail of Paris. How many cups of espresso we drank one morning and how many magazines we flipped through at night. I remember the roads there better than in my own hometown. It was magnified, every sense heightened to take it all in. We walked a lot, got blisters, fell asleep at three in the afternoon. We ate eggs every morning and stuttered our way through the menu, nodding in agreement with the waiter when words fumbled. The discounted shoes, knock-offs in the flea market alleys. The bright blue sky and the long shadows the buildings casted at sunset. How quiet it all was an hour before midnight, sometimes our cravings for the best of us and we went out for ice cream. It was all real, all lying before us in a vast cityscape of garbled conjugations and silent consonants. We only explored those things we knew from the internet, the whole rest of the world was in hiding, secrets we discovered together.

I will go back to Paris; I have to now. I want to celebrate another birthday sitting on a picnic blanket by the Eiffel Tower. There are still over 20 restaurants I want to try. I want to buy antiques and reclaim them as heirlooms. I want to spend a day reading, a day sleeping, and a day walking. But there’s never enough time and I am back to work now. Butfive days in Paris were perfect. I am sure these memories won’t escape me so soon.