Wilde Week #34

1. I'm almost ready for fall to turn into winter.  Mostly because I love my winter coat.  Though I'm not ready for the cold that comes with winter.  I just want to wear cute, cozy clothes, drink peppermint hot chocolates and sit in front of a roaring fire.  I do not want it to be so cold that the Boyfriend and I have to cut through the grocery store on our walk home from dinner out, just to warm up for a second.

2. Last week I had the car (we only have one car and by we, I mean BF owns a car and I can buy a train pass) because BF was out of town for business. I took the opportunity to stop at my favorite cheap jewelry store - Charming Charlies!  That adorable firefly(?) necklace is from there and is only $10!  I wanted to buy the entire store.  I love cheap, fashiony jewelry.

3. I have a new love - Polar Orange Vanilla Seltzer.  It tastes just like a creamsicle, but it doesn't have any sugar or artificial sweeteners.  Go buy a case, you'll love it.

4. The BF and I went out Saturday morning and decided to pick up some pumpkins for carving.  We stopped at the garden center and totally got hosed on the price of these pumpkins.  They'd better turn into the most awesome jack-o-lanterns and the seeds better taste amazing.

5. I met some of my girls in Midtown Manhattan for brunch on Sunday.  After deciding 2 hours was too long to wait at Penelope, we headed over to Sarabeth's and I had the most amazing apple cinnamon French toast.  I want to go back and get more!

6. Is anyone else obsessed with Pretty Little Liars?  I'm totally outside of the age demographic, but I don't care, I love it.  How much longer can this show go on?  Are the books still being written? The BF made fun of me while I watched it this Tuesday and now I'm counting down the days until the show starts up again in January!

7. Mums everywhere.  They are so pretty and cheerful, but I hate them.  Because they are the harbinger of winter!  I'm moving to Florida and bringing New York City with me.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween week is upon us and I'm so excited!  Halloween was always my favorite holiday of the year.  Getting dressed up, trick or treating, eating all those tiny candy bars.  So much fun.  I'm pretty sure I went trick or treating all the way into high school.  Well, I went until I shot up six inches and couldn't pull off "cute" anymore. Nobody wants to give a five foot nine girl candy.

I decided to make one final Halloween treat for all of us.  After Christine shared with me what good candy corn is supposed to taste like (vanilla and sugar), I decided to make my own version of candy corn.  

Candy corn mallomars!

Using my favorite almond sugar cookie and simple vanilla marshmallow recipes, these mallomars came together quickly.  I also was sure to use high quality sanding sugars (because cheap-o ones taste a little bitter) to give a little sparkle and shine to these treats.

Now I think I'll go and hand these out to the people that work around my apartment building.  We don't get trick-or-treaters, so I'll just have to make my own fun!  

One Year Ago: Hurricane Sandy! & Butternut Squash Cake
Two Years Ago: Pumpkin Raisin Muffins
Three Years Ago: Butternut Squash Soup

Candy Corn Mallomars

A Wilde Original

For the Cookies

1 stick butter, room temperature

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup almond flour

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Yellow food coloring

In a large bowl, beat together butter, powdered sugar and salt until smooth.  Add almond flour and vanilla and beat until combined.  Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the edges.  Add egg and combine.  Finally, add flour slowly until completely mixed.  Add enough yellow food coloring to give a bright yellow dough, mix until evenly colored.

Scrape batter out of the bowl and onto a large piece of plastic wrap.  Place dough on a large piece of plastic wrap and fold over.  Gently press dough flat with your hands.  Using a rolling pin, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness.  Place dough on a baking sheet and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Lightly dust work surface with flour and unwrap chilled dough.  Stamp out dough with a 2-inch round cookie cutter and place cut dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Place this baking sheet in the fridge for 30 minutes.  Collect dough scraps and roll into a ball and re-chill and cut until you use all of the dough.

Preheat oven to 350 F while the cookie dough shapes are chilling.  Take cut dough straight from the fridge and place in the oven.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to turn golden brown.  Remove from the oven and let cool, on the baking sheet, on a wire rack for 1 minute.  Remove cookies from the sheet and let cool completely before decorating.

For the Marshmallow

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cold water

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 tablespoons powdered gelatin

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Pinch kosher salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

Orange food coloring

Orange sanding sugar or sprinkles

White sanding sugar

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water and vanilla.  Add powdered gelatin and whisk until no more lumps are present.  Set near the stove.

In a 2-quart pan, combine 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water, corn syrup, salt and sugar.  Clip on a candy thermometer and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Allow the sugar to dissolve undisturbed and let the temperature rise until it reaches 250 ºF.  Remove sugar syrup from the heat and whisk in bloomed gelatin.

Pour syrup into the bowl of your stand mixer with whisk attachment.  Turn it up to high speed and whip for 8- 10 minutes.  Once the mixture is white, glossy and fluffy, transfer about 1 1/2 cups into a piping bag.  Add orange food coloring to remaining marshmallow in the bowl and beat until the color is even and bright.  Transfer orange marshmallow to a second piping bag.

Pipe rounds of orange marshmallow on top of the cookies.  Top with a dollop of white marshmallow.  Let marshmallow set for 30 minutes.  Dip white marshmallow tops in white sanding sugar.  Sprinkle orange marshmallow with orange sanding sugar.  Pretty!

Butternut Squash & Goat Cheese Pizza

Happy Friday everyone! Is it just me, or has this week just flown by?  It was just Tuesday yesterday, right?

Since it is Friday, I thought we all deserved some pizza.  The Boyfriend says that he can eat pizza every day of the week, because pizza has so many options!  And he's completely right.  One day it could be a classic pepperoni and the next day this amazing butternut squash pizza.

But don't tell him he's right, I'm good with pizza once a week! Though I am totally having this for lunch all weekend. It was ah-mazing. It's that time of year that I want to put squash on and in everything and this pizza was a result of one of those thoughts.  That, and the idea that goat cheese belongs on everything.

Do you know who wanted nothing to do with this pizza?  The boyfriend.  He made some sort of bleghing noise and asked what I made for him. What's your favorite type of pizza?  Are you a classic lover? Or do you prefer something a little crazy?

One Year Ago: Cheesey Polenta with Sausage
Two Years Ago: Povitica
Three Years Ago: Yeast Donuts

Fall Pizza

A Wilde Original

I made this pizza in the easiest way possible, with store bought pizza dough and the pre-cut butternut squash.  For dinner I just don't have the time to make my own dough and peel and cut a whole squash.  You could even go super lazy and buy one of those pre-baked pizza crusts!  No judging here, I do it All. The. Time.

2 cups cubed butternut squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt & freshly cracked black pepper
1 recipe pizza crust (or store bought)
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
2 cups baby spinach
Balsamic vinegar

If you are using a pizza stone, pop it in the oven now. Preheat oven to 400 ºF.  Toss butternut squash in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast squash for 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and transfer to a bowl.  Increase oven to 450 ºF.

Roll out pizza dough to a 16-inch circle and place it on a thin layer of cornmeal.  Drizzle top with olive oil and spread over the entire pizza.  Slide pizza onto pizza stone, or bake on a baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove crust from the oven and top with butternut squash and goat cheese.  Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and top with baby spinach and sprinkle with a dash of balsamic vinegar.  Cut it up and chow it down!