I needed to bring a dessert to work on Wednesday to celebrate two of my interns passing their licensing exams. Licensed Marriage Family Therapists and Licensed Clinical Social Workers jump through MANY hoops during their preparation for licensing! After a Masters degree, they need 3000 hours signed off under supervision (that's me), and THEN they prepare for two grueling exams. All of this takes YEARS while they are paid a pittance.

Congratulations to Alicia for passing her second exam. She is now a full fledged LMFT. She still meets with me while the Board of Behavioral Sciences processes her FEES and send her a real license in the mail with her license number! Paulina is on the social worker tract, and just passed her first test. We call her a "LC", which is half way to LCSW!

I decided to bake an Italian Apple Tart from Dolce Italiano by Gina DePalma. This is a fabulous fall dessert with a pastry crust, apples, a custard-like filling, and a crumbly topping.

It is a real winner! If you don't already have a copy of Dolce Italiano, go get one NOW!

First, let me say how crazy it made me that our host website was having tech difficulties, so I have not been able to blog for three days. To those who called, concerned that I had died or was in the hospital, it was just a website problem, so thanks for your concern. Ever the loyal blogger, I will go back and post what I had planned for the missing days!

Last week we had a busy weekend with friends. Pam and Carroll kicked off the season with a "Welcome Back" Party last Thursday evening. Welcome back from WHAT, you ask? Every November is when the "snowbirds" return to the desert for "season". They typically have another home is a cooler or snowy or rainy location, and spend winter and early spring in Palm Desert, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells, or Palm Springs (all within 30 miles). This return from November to April or May is both good and bad for those of us who are "year-rounders". While we are able to deal with the heat of the summer, and most of us schedule our vacation sometime from May through September when it is HOT, we do enjoy the lack of crowds, traffic, and being able to walk into restaurants without reservations most nights. The change is dramatic! The city of Palm Desert alone, goes from 32,000 residents in the summer to 82,000 during "season"! The same trend is true for the rest of the valley cities, which tend to double from November to May!

Pam and Carroll started things off with a lovely cocktail party with fabulous entertainment. Marilyn and Randy of Rodeo Drive Music, sang from 4-&:30 while we enjoyed cocktails and appetizers. Then we all moved to Tea House Wine Bar for a delicious dinner! Pam and Carroll are gracious hosts who arranged every detail for a memorable evening!

Friday and Saturday, we spend with our old friends, Lynn and Gary from Carmel. I met them 20 years ago when we all lived in San Carlos. We have spent some delightful weekends visiting their Carmel home, and they have been to the desert a coupe times over the years. This week, Gary joined his golf buddies for a week of golf, and Lynn flew in for the weekend. We had lots of fun catching up on our lives, and planning a spring weekend in Carmel!

Sunday, we went out for burgers and beer with Jan and Les. It was quite a social weekend!

I haven't cooked for days! I need to get back to my kitchen!

This wonderful recipe is from Fine Cooking: Sweet Cakes.
Since we seemed to be on a roll with ginger this week, I decided to try this no-bake dessert. It is creamy, and delicious with bits of candied ginger.

12 oz. gingersnap crumbs (about 2 1/4 c.)
5 T. unsalted butter, melted (I reduced this)
8 oz. cream cheese at room temp
1/2 c. plain low-fat yogurt (I used light sour cream)
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. minced candied ginger
1 lb. marscapone cheese
1/3 c. heavy cream

Spray a 9" springform pan. Dust pan with a little sugar, and knock out any excess.
Combine gingersnap crumbs with melted butter. Sprinkle half of crumbs in bottom of pan, and pat down evenly.

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, yogurt, sugar, vanilla, and candied ginger until smooth. Scrap down sides of bowl. Add marscapone and cream, and beat until mixture is thoroughly combined (don't over beat).

Carefully spoon half the mixture over gingersnap crust. Sprinkle half the remaining crumbs evenly over marscapone cream in pan. Top with remaining marscapone mixture, and finish with remaining crumbs. Gently tap pan on counter to eliminate any air bubbles. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill overnight.

Run a thin knife around edge, and remove springform. Cut into slices and serve.

It is official! I'll be back in Bologna the end of May 2010. I am booked for three weeks of private Italian language classes. I will be in an apartment in a city I love that has fabulous food. Since Brad will not be with me, there will be no excuses for speaking English. I will be forced to put my skills to use, and have daily lessons and practice. I better start NOW, reviewing what I do know!

Brad and I will return later in the year for our vacation to Italy.

I chose this week's ingredient: GINGER. I love the taste of fresh ginger, and thought it would be interesting to see what people came up with for appetizers. I tried two different combinations of tastes. The first are curried lamb spring rolls with a ginger dipping sauce: The lamb spring rolls were delicious, especially with the tangy dipping sauce,

Ginger dipping sauce: Stir together:

1/2 c. ginger preserves
1/2 c. Chinese plum sauce
1 T. soy sauce

Spring roll filling:

1 T. olive oil (or sesame oil)
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3/4 c. baby carrots, finely chopped
1" piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 T. soy sauce
1 t. curry powder
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1/2 lb. ground lamb

10 spring roll/egg roll wrappers
1 egg, beaten
peanut oil for frying

Cook ground lamb in a skillet. Drain and place lamb in a bowl. In a clean skillet, heat oil, and add onion, carrot, ginger and garlic. Saute for about 4 minutes. Add soy sauce, curry powder, salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and toss with cooked lamb in bowl.

To assemble spring rolls, place about 1/4 c. filling near a corner of the spring roll wrapper. Fold corner nearest filling over top. Fold two diagonal corners in, and wrap toward corner opposite where you started. Seal edges of last corner with your finger dipped in beaten egg. Repeat until all filling is used. Makes 8-10 spring rolls. Chill until ready to fry.

Heat peanut oil in a saucepan. Add the spring rolls, 2-3 at a time, and fry evenly for about 1 minute, turning once, until golden brown. Drain on a brown paper bag.

I also made a ginger-marinated shrimp appetizer adapted from a recipe in Better Homes and Gardens Appetizers, 2009. Here was my way of using their ingredients:

16 large shrimp in shells (about a pound)
1 t. orange zest
3 T. orange juice concentrate
1 t. olive oil
1 t. grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
16 fresh sugar snap peas
2-3 oranges, peeled, seeded, and sectioned
16 fresh pineapple chunks

1. Peel and devein shrimp, leaving tails on.
2. Place shrimp in a resealable zip lock bag in a bowl. Add zest, juice, oil, ginger, garlic, salt, cayenne pepper to bag. Seal bag and toss gently. Marinate for 1-2 hours in the fridge.
3. Steam pea pods for 2-3 minutes. Rinse with cold water and drain.
4. Set oven rack 4-5 inches from the heat, and preheat broiler. Broil shrimp for two minutes, turn over and broil other sides for an additional 2 minutes.
5. Skewer shrimp, pea pods, and fruit.

These were musicians roaming the streets of Bologna, playing jazz, during the September, 2008 festa called Mezza Notte, where music of all kinds was performed around the centro storico all evening.

I got this brilliant idea from Janie's blog, Panini Girl. She used a larger kabocha squash, which held more filling. It sounded so good, I wanted to try it, but just for the two of us.

I found a red kuri squash that looked about the right size for 4 servings instead of 8.
I had never tasted this variety of dark orange teardrop shaped squash, similar inside to a pumpkin, but taste like a smooth butternut squash. It is delicious!

First, cut off a lid, like you would for a jack-o-lantern. Hollow out the seeds and stringy stuff. Salt the inside of the squash.

Heat oven to 450, with rack in lower third of oven. Toast slices of French bread baguette for about 7 minutes. (I needed 9 baguette slices.) Reduce oven temp to 400.

Whisk together 1 cup of heavy cream, 1 cup chicken broth, and 1/2 t. nutmeg.

Grate 5 oz. gruyere and 5 oz. emmental cheese and combine. Bristol Farms was out of emmental, so I used gruyere and fontina.

Line a baking pan with foil. Put squash in the pan. Place a layer of toasted bread in bottom of squash. Add 1/3 of your grated cheese. Pour about a third of cream-broth mixture. Repeat with two more layers to end up about 1/2" from the top of the squash.

Cover squash with it's lid, and brush all over with olive oil. Bake for 1-1 1/2 hours until squash is tender.

When you take off the lid, you will have a delicious "bowl" of cheesy bread fondue that is a fabulous side dish (or vegetarian meal). It is like a squash bread pudding.

How do you eat this luscious thing? Well, the fun way would be to set it in the middle of the table and give everyone a spoon! Make sure to get all the yummy squash from the sides and bottom. I scooped out the mixture onto our plates. We had enough for 6 servings, so the rest of it is waiting for leftover night!

I love all kinds of squash. I've been on a butternut squash kick lately. I like it roasted, and plain with a little butter and parmesan cheese, made into soup, or risotto. Every year in the fall, Williams-Sonoma comes out with an organic version of butternut squash puree that is really good. Of course, I can roast and puree my own, but some work days, you want to throw dinner together in 30 minutes! Brad brought me home a couple of jars.

In the past two weeks, we have had a butternut squash risotto "smackdown". I made butternut squash risotto two ways: with caramelized onions, and with apple. The first recipe is from Williams-Sonoma.com. I reduced the butter, used two large onions, caramelized, and added LOTS more fresh sage.

Ingredients:
7 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 Tbs. minced fresh sage
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups butternut squash puree
2 Tbs. olive oil
2/3 cup caramelized onions
2 cups Arborio rice
1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 Tbs. of the butter. Add 1 Tbs. of the sage and heat until the butter browns. Strain the butter into a small bowl and discard the sage. Cover the bowl to keep the butter warm.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the stock and squash puree. Bring just to a simmer, 8 to 10 minutes; maintain over low heat.

In a large saucepan or risotto pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the caramelized onions and rice and stir until the grains are well coated with the oil and are nearly translucent with a white dot in the center, about 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 Tbs. sage and the rosemary. Add the wine and stir until it is absorbed.

Add the simmering stock mixture a ladleful at a time, stirring frequently after each addition. Wait until the stock is almost completely absorbed before adding more.

When the rice is tender to the bite but slightly firm in the center and looks creamy, after about 30 minutes, stir in the remaining 3 Tbs. butter, the cheese, salt and pepper. Add more stock if needed so the rice is thick and creamy. Let stand for 2 minutes. Drizzle with the reserved sage butter and serve immediately. Serves 6.

For the butternut-apple risotto, I used:

1 T. olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 apple, peeled, cored and grated
1 cup arborio rice
2 c. butternut squash puree
3 c. chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion, apple and rice in olive oil for a few minutes. Add squash and chicken broth. Cook, stirring occasionally until rice is done (about 20 minutes).

My favorite was the first version with the caramelized onions. It was dark, rich and earthy. Brad loved the sweeter version with apple flavor. Both will stay in the recipe file! I still have another jar...

The weather is cooling down. It is beautiful outside. Yet, I have been a prisoner in my own home for over two weeks. There is a terrorist rat in my backyard!

I have a SEVERE phobia of rodents. No sarcasm here. I really freak out, and can't even look at a picture of a mouse.

After our wedding, when we were commuting to the Bay Area, Brad had returned to his job in San Jose, and I had the rest of the week off at our home in La Quinta. The ceremony and reception had been in our home with caterers and guests in and out all weekend. On the Wednesday evening after the wedding, I saw a tiny field mouse skitter across the baseboard across the room from me. I barricaded myself in the master bedroom, stuffing beach towels under the door. I called Brad in hysterics while trying to breathe during my panic attack. There wasn't much he could do from San Jose, so he suggested calling the security guy at the main gate. The poor guy came, and searched the house for an hour, pulling out all appliances, and finding...nothing. I grabbed a change of underwear, my toothbrush, the book I was reading, and a bathing suit. The security guy brought me my purse and keys from the kitchen. He checked the entry hall again, and I made a dash to my car in the driveway, asking him to turn off lights, lock the house, and leave my key at the front gate of our community. I spent the next three nights at the closest hotel (where our wedding guests had just stayed). It took the exterminators three days to catch the little guy. I lived by the hotel pool, ordered room service meals, and read several books from the hotel gift shop.

Just about every two years, there has been a minor "incident" of some kind. There are "fruit rats" in the desert. Three years ago, we had one in our yard, but it ate bait and was dead the next morning. Two years ago, I was driving, and one crossed the intersection in front of my car. I had to stop driving in the middle of the street. I couldn't safely drive with it in my vision. Thank goodness there were no cars behind me. I sat there in the middle of the street with my eyes closed until it was gone.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a party for some Slow Travel friends. The day before, Brad moved our two pool rafts to the side of the house. That was when he saw this current unwanted visitor. He made a really wise choice, and did NOT tell me. I would have completely freaked out. 19 people in my yard, opening and closing the door, and all that food! What we don't know can't hurt us, and yes, ignorance was bliss! I was able to sit outside, drink my coffee, enjoy the flowers, with no terror. Now I am a prisoner.

A couple mornings after the party, I saw some rat "droppings" on the patio. I ran inside, told Brad, and THAT was when he told me he had seen a rat. I made him search the whole yard: under every bush, behind the pool, under the patio furniture, EVERYWHERE! He saw it again, on the side of the yard by the pool rafts.

We called in our exterminators. There are 4 bait traps. The critters are supposed to eat the poison, and DIE!. Not this rat. After a couple days, I hired new exterminators. He added bait, and also set several huge spring traps. Brad checks every day. New rat poop, but no dead body!

Last Saturday, almost 2 weeks after the party, I was on the phone in my kitchen. I happened to walk by the glass door, and the little f**ker ran across the patio right in front of me. Now I have the visual, as well as the fear!

Ego and I go outside only to our front courtyard. Even the dog has had to readjust. He has found new areas to go potty, but I miss the comfort and privacy of my back yard.

I am used to walking outside to pick fresh herbs when I cook. The other night, I couldn't make dinner until after Brad got home to go outside and pick me some sage!

I'm a therapist. I know this is "all in my head". I went to an anxiety specialist once. She said it was a very "deep ingrained phobia". There were no childhood traumas. I know I learned this from my mom. All of this insight is quite useless to me. I will not go into my backyard until one of two things happens: a dead body, or a few days with no new poop (so I can pretend he went to the neighbor's to die). This is SO creepy.

Ok, now you know what a neurotic mess I am. I am on edge, and living in what I am calling a "hostile environment". Every day, Brad wonders if we will have to move. I hope this ends soon. I have a dinner party in a couple weeks. I need a vacation.

I love complicated baking recipes with outstanding results. Many food bloggers know about the Daring Bakers. Well, this recipe is for the Lazy Bakers! I call it a "cheater recipe" (anything with a mix), but it is simple and delicious, so who cares. Thanks to my friend Jan, for this yummy fall treat.

6 apples
1 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 package oatmeal cookie mix
1 stick butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1/2 c. chopped toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 baking dish. Peel, core, and slice apples in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine caramel sauce with cinnamon. Toss the apples with the caramel mixture, and spread evenly into the prepared baking pan. In another bowl, mix oatmeal cookie mix, cold butter pieces, and pecans. Using a pastry blender, combine until butter is incorporated into tiny pieces the size of peas. Sprinkle the dry mixture over the apples evenly, and bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown. Cool slightly, and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Pistachio-Crusted Tilapia: Serves 4:

4 pieces talapia
1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. finely chopped pistachios
1/2 c. panko crumbs
2 sprigs thyme
1 sprig rosemary
1/2 c. mayo

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine pistachios, panko, chopped thyme and snipped rosemary. Rinse the tilapia, and dredge it in flour. Spread some mayo on each side of floured fish pieces, and coat in pistachio-panko mixture. Bake on an oiled baking pan 10-12 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the fish.

For the reduction:
Pour about 1/3 cup of pomegranate juice into a small saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until it reduces by half and is consistency of syrup.

Garnish with rosemary, thyme, and pomegranate seeds.

Everyone had so much fun last week with olives, I decided to go all out and do mushrooms THREE ways. I LOVE all kinds of mushrooms, but used only portobello or baby bellas for these recipes. Thank you, Candi, for choosing mushrooms!

I. Portobello and Brie Cups (from www.Pillsbury.com)

1 package (6 oz) fresh portabella mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup sliced green onions (4 medium)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
* I added 3 slices crisp crumbled bacon
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
3 oz Brie cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 24 miniature muffin cups with cooking spray. Clean and finely chop mushrooms.

2. In a skillet, stir mushrooms, butter and garlic. Cook and stir over medium heat 5 to 6 minutes or until butter is absorbed and mushrooms are tender. Stir in onions and mustard.

3. Unroll dough; separate into 4 rectangles. Firmly press perforations to seal. Cut each rectangle in half lengthwise; make 2 crosswise cuts to form 6 squares of dough from each rectangle. Press 1 square of dough into each muffin cup, letting corners stand above top of each cup. Spoon about 1 tablespoon mushroom mixture into each cup.

4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Meanwhile, cut Brie into 24 pieces. Remove cups from oven. Place 1 piece of Brie over mushroom mixture in each cup.

5. Bake 2 to 4 minutes longer or until cups are golden brown and cheese is softened. Cool 5 minutes; remove from muffin cups. Cool slightly before serving.

II. Portobello Pate (from Better homes and Gardens: Appetizers 2009)

8 oz. portobello mushrooms
2 T. butter
1/4 c. dry white wine (I used dry Sherry)
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
2 T. butter, softened
1 1/2 t. snipped fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. white pepper
Toasted baguette slices

Clean mushrooms, and finely chop. In a large skillet, heat 2 T. butter over medium heat. Cook mushrooms about 5 minutes until tender, and most of the liquid has evaporated. Add wine, cook 2 minutes more. In a medium bowl, combine mushrooms, cream cheese, softened butter, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. Beat with an electric mixer until nearly smooth. Cover and chill 3-24 hours. Serve on toasted baguette slices. Store in fridge for up to a week.

III. Grilled Portobellos with Gorgonzola

I've been making these for years! Spray a baking sheet. Slice portobellos (or leave them whole, rounded side down, as a side dish). Brush mushrooms with olive oil. Sprinkle with crumbled gorgonzola. Broil for 4-5 minutes.

I am proud to have two veterans and graduates of the United States Air Force Academy in the family. Brad graduated from USAFA in 1970, and Casey in 2000. In the above photo you can see the beautiful Chapel in the background.

Here are Brad's memento's from his 5 years in the Air Force:

I was able to visit the Air Force Academy for Casey's graduation in 2000. It is a gorgeous campus in Colorado Springs. According to tradition, Brad was honored to pin on Casey's bars at the ceremony when he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.

Books I read in October:

Plain Truth by Jody Picoult
That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
Testimony by Anita Shreve
The Pawn by Steven James
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

My favorite was Peace Like a River. It was a family drama, set in the 60's, where the teenage son becomes an outlaw by shooting two boys who are bothering the girls in town, including his little sister. He runs away from the law, and his loyal family takes off across country to look for him.

November Books:

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
Mudbound by Hillary Jordon
The Recipe Club by Andrea Israel and Nancy Garfinkel
The Tenth Justice by Brad Meltzer
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Last book club was at Barbara's. She made a great salad, and I brought the rest of dinner. I made a broccoli-cheddar quiche, and parmesan-caprese tart, and she had yummy Halloween cupcakes from Bristol Farms!

Fall colors are so beautiful! For me, seeing brilliant fall leaves are right up there next to poppy fields and miles of sunflowers. It is tough to do living in the California desert. I began my annual "fall colors hunt" in September when we were in Seattle! Here were the early photos I got there.

Three weeks ago, I had a little "fall fix" in Orange County when I found these:

I CRAVE seeing those fall colors! The weather has cooled off in the desert, so it FEELS like fall, and I am finally wearing jeans and sweaters (I know, it is still in the high 70s), cool in the mornings and evenings, but there are no fall leaves! All the traditional "spring flowers" are blooming, and it is beautiful to see lots of pansies, geraniums, snap dragons, petunias and impatiens, but where are the colorful autumn leaves??? I hit a jackpot of color on our recent visit to Oak Glen, in the San Bernadino mountains. I made Brad stop the car at least a dozen times for a leaf shot!

Here is my FAVORITE! Isn't nature's paintbox amazing? There's an idea! Maybe I shall paint some autumn leaves of my own!