The Sweet Room

Sleeping on these pillows will definitely give you sweet dreams!

I need those pillows in my bedroom. Stat.

Can you imagine, waking up to a cupcake?

The Sweet Room (above) is one of Hotel Maison Moschino’s gorgeous rooms located in the old neoclassical railway station in Milan, Italy. The common thread connecting each guest room is a fairy tale theme – because to sleep is to dream, and dreams are fairy tales that we are allowed to experience first hand.

I need to plan a trip to Italy (or just take up sewing). These are so fun!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Brownies

Can we talk about these? Just for a minute?

Pumpkin cheesecake and rich, fudgy brownie. Amazing, right?

My first batch was a disaster. I repeat, disaster! I attempted to create mini pumpkin cheesecake brownies using my mini muffin tin. Cute, right? The result? A huge mess! Despite my best efforts these tasty morels did not come out of their tins. I had to use a spoon to scoop the brownie batter out and failed at my attempt to mold them back together.

I then opted to use my muffin top pan to allow more surface area in case the unforgiving scenario was to repeat itself. That, and the fact that I drenched the pan in cooking spray, worked like a charm. They aren’t the most beautiful dessert, and my girlfriends did coin the term “delicious disaster” for them but the pumpkin-chocolate combination with its touch of cinnamon in the brownie batter marries the two flavors beautifully.

I hope you're able to make a batch of these delightful delicious (disasters)!


Pumpkin Cream Cheese Brownies
Adapted from: Bakers Royale

Ingredients

Brownie Portion

8 tablespoons unsalted butter
4oz. unsweetened chocolate (I used semi-sweet)
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ tablespoon salt
2 large eggs
½ cup all-purpose flour

Directions

Place butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over simmering water. Stir frequently until mixture is melted. Remove chocolate mixture from heat and stir in sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring until each is incorporated before adding the next. Stir in flour with a wooden spoon until mixture is glossy (about 1 minute).
      
Pumpkin Mix Portion

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon  vanilla extract
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spices
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup of sugar, plus two tablespoon
2 tablespoon flour

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and using your electric blender, mix until blended.

Assembly

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease muffin top pan with cooking spray. Fill muffin top pan 2/3 of the way up with brownie mix and gently pour a spoonful of pumpkin mix on top. Using a skewer or a toothpick, lightly swirl brownie and pumpkin mix together.

Bake for about 25 minutes. Allow Pumpkin Swirl Brownie to cool in pan for five minutes on a cooling rack before removing.

Look at that layered beautiful-ness...

This combination of flavors strikes a glorious taste bud...

...Enjoy!

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread

Nothing smells like a fall kitchen like the aroma of pumpkin cranberry bread!

The incredibly moist inside is studded with tart cranberries and pecans. That combined with the wonderful blend of pumpkin and spices gives the bread a delicious burst of flavor!

This recipe makes a lot of quick bread. I used one bundt pan and four mini loaf pans (which, I might add, are adorable and great for giving away as gifts) or you could use two loaf pans.

You'll be thanking me after you make this! Enjoy!


Cranberry Pumpkin Bread
Adapted from: Shared Sugar

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup oil
4 eggs
2 1/2 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 tsp cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cup chopped pecans (optional, I added)
2-3 cups fresh or frozen (not dried) cranberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two loaf pans (I used one bundt pan and four mini loaf pans). In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, water, oil and eggs until just combined. In another bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients.

If using frozen cranberries, place them in a strainer and run them under water for a few minutes until mostly thawed.

Then, add cranberries and pecans to the dry ingredient mixture. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix with a wooden spoon by hand. Mix until the batter is combined, but don’t over mix. Distribute the batter equally in the pans, which should fill each about half way.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center (I took my bundt pan out at 50 minutes and the mini loaf pans out at 35 minutes). Cool on a wire rack.

Look at those savory ruby jewels...

....gorgeous, festive and flavorful!

New Design!

Delightful Bitefuls got a facelift! 

It was long overdue and I couldn't be more pleased!

HUGE thanks to Cheryl Rutherford, my friend, co-worker and gifted digital designer, for your creative genius, time and patience.

Cheryl is one of the most creative people I've met. Whether she is behind her camera, creating a t-shirt or designing a website she is always inspiring.

She's even written short stories and illustrated them with photographs! Come on now, she's amazing!

Check her out! Cheryl's ability to design and create will blow you away.

Cheryl Rutherford: Digital Designer

web + paper + life

Chery's CafePress Shop

xoxo

World's Largest Pumpkin Pie

This is the world’s largest pumpkin pie, certified by Guinness World Records.

It has a 20-foot diameter and weights 3,699 pounds!

The massive pie took over thirteen hours to bake in a specially made oven. Crews began actually baking the pie at midnight on Friday. They gave it about two hours to cool on Saturday before weighing it and splitting it up into roughly 5,000 slices to feed the hungry crowd.

Some crazy stats about this pie...

Ingredients include:

• 187 No. 10 cans of pumpkin
• 233 dozen eggs
• 109 gallons of evaporated milk
• 525 lbs of sugar
• 7 lbs of salt
• 14.5 lbs of cinnamon
• 3 lbs pumpkin pie spice

Largest Pumpkin Pie

• Diameter: 20 feet
• Thickness: three inches
• Volume: 132,300 cubic inches, 572 gallons

Did you know?

The canned pumpkin market is worth $141 million in the U.S., but about 80% of those sales come in the last three months of the year, according to research group IBIS World.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Turkey and Zucchini Green Chili

With Thanksgiving right around the corner it was only fitting to make this soup.

Especially since I already know this is as close as I'll get to cooking the turkey on Thanksgiving Day.

I’m in charge of dessert. Go figure, right?

This soup has great flavors from the onion, garlic, green salsa and ground turkey. Add a dash of hot sauce and it's even better.

This is a healthy, flavorful and satisfying soup; perfect for this chilly fall weather we are enjoying in Vancouver.


Turkey and Zucchini Green Chili
Adapted from: Closet Cooking

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil
1 onion (diced)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 tablespoon cumin
1 pound ground turkey
3 cups chicken stock (low-sodium, low-fat)
2 cups green chili salsa (mild)
1 can white beans (rinsed and drained)
1 teaspoon oregano
2 jalapeno peppers (or to taste, diced) (I did not add)
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound zucchini (cut into bite sized pieces)
1 can of corn

Directions

Heat the oil in a pot. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin and saute until fragrant, about a minute. Add the turkey and cook until no longer pink, about 5-10 minutes

Add the stock, green salsa, beans, oregano, peppers, salt and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the zucchini and corn and simmer until the zucchini is tender, about 10 minutes.

Raspberry Crumb Breakfast Bars

Guess what?

These are breakfast bars (and they have brown sugar and butter in them).

I normally think of breakfast as a healthy meal (when I'm not eating waffles, pancakes or crepes) but can easily be swayed.

The crumbly oats, tart raspberries and hint of lemon make these bars irresistible.

The title told me these are for breakfast and let me tell you, I ate a lot of breakfast today.


Raspberry Crumb Breakfast Bars
Adapted from: Sweet Pea's Kitchen via Baked

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

Raspberry Mixture
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up the two short sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.

Put the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until combined. Add the butter and pulse until loose crumbs form.

Reserve 1 cup of the mixture and set aside. Pour the rest of the mixture into the prepared pan and use your hands or the back of a large wooden spoon to push the crust into an even layer at the bottom of the pan. The crust should touch the sides of the pan. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let the crust cool. Keep the oven on while you make the raspberry filling.

In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon and flour together. Add the raspberries, lemon juice and butter and use your hands to toss gently until the raspberries are evenly coated. Spread the raspberry filling evenly on top of the cooled crust. Sprinkle the reserved 1 cup crust mixture evenly on top of the filling.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, rotating the pan every 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling starts to bubble around the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cut into squares and serve. The bars can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to two days.

Delicious and nutritious...

Enjoy!

Easy Apple Cake

Oh my... this is heaven, I tell ya', heaven!

Besides a toothache, a few extra pounds and a sticky mess this Easy Apple Pie is divine.

As if a baked apple pie isn't good enough once this slice of heaven comes out of the oven you use a skewer to poke holes in the cake. Then, pour your brown sugar butter topping over the cake and watch it, and all if its wonderfulness, seep into the cake.

Bakerella suggested not using all of the sauce as she bathed her cake in brown sugar but I say bathe, baby bathe. The apple cake soaked it up wonderfully and each bite was bliss. We ate ours with vanilla ice cream as this is rather decadent (probably because of my need to pour all the topping) but absolutely divine and totally a fall dessert.

Apples, pumpkin, spices... oh, this is going to be a great baking season!


Easy Apple Cake
From: Bakerella

Ingredients

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups oil
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups diced apples
1 cup chopped dates rolled in flour
1 cup chopped walnuts

Topping
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and cinnamon with a wire whisk and set aside.

Combine sugar and oil using a mixer until blended. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing until combined. Add flour mixture and mix well. Stir in nuts, dates and apples. The batter will be very thick.

Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until done (I took mine out at 38 minutes).

Cool cake and using a skewer, poke holes in cake. Cook topping ingredients on stove until mixture bubbles. Pour topping over cake letting some (ha… more if you like) seep into the cake.