We had the most incredible dinner tonight, and I have BlogHer to thank. As I mentioned in my last post, I was able to attend a really fun blog conference in San Francisco last Friday. In attendance were most of the nation’s best food bloggers and quite a few professional chefs, along with many delicious food brands. In between informative lectures I was able to roam the halls of the Intercontinental Hotel to try various foods, fill up my swag bag, and be all around thankful for a fun day out of the office. One of the best recipes I tried was a homemade gnocchi with pumpkin-sage cream sauce. I found a similar recipe today and tried it out for dinner. It was one of the best meals we’ve had in recent memory, so I’m passing it along. Let me know if you try it!

Tip: I cheated and bought whole wheat gnocchi at Trader Joe’s, which was so easy and yummy. No need to make your own gnocchi when TJ’s makes it already.

Recipe for Pumpkin-Sage Cream Sauce, from Country Living

• 1 cup(s) heavy cream
• 1/2 cup(s) pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup(s) fresh-grated Parmesan
• 16  fresh sage leaves, sliced into thin strips
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) fresh-ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter

Directions: Combine the cream, pumpkin puree, Parmesan, sage, salt, and pepper in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Simmer the mixture until slightly thickened, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Toss with cooked pasta and serve immediately.

At work I’ve been reading a lot of food blogs in preparation for a conference I’m attending this week called BlogHer Food in San Francisco. I’m really excited to go because it’s one of the largest blog conferences for foodies. I realize I’m not a food blogger, nor will I probably ever be, but after visiting so many amazing food blogs I got inspired to create my own post about a recent adventure in the kitchen.

A few weeks ago, after months of talking about it, I finally made jam. Joy was visiting from Portland, so Sharon and I dragged her to Old Soul at Forty Acres for breakfast, followed by a quick visit to the Oak Park Farmer’s Market for ingredients. We decided to see what the market had in stock before determining what type of jam we’d make. We settled on a strawberry peach jam. Unlike professional chefs, we had no recipe in mind so we guessed at the amount of produce we’d need. Probably not the smartest idea when you’re making jam…but…whatever.

Next we ran over to Target for Mason jars, as evidenced by this photo of me grinning like a Cheshire cat.

We came back to my apartment, much to Jonathan’s excitement, and took over the kitchen while he resumed his typical Saturday morning position on the couch. Joy made guacamole for us to devour while Sharon and I started prepping the fruit.

After looking at several recipes, we decided to make up our own version of jam. Surely we wouldn’t need as much sugar as the recipes called for, right? (It was SOOO much sugar!) We soon found out that, yes, jam needs lots of sugar to get thick. We stirred, and stirred, and stirred for a loooooong time. Joy managed to burn herself about 18 times through this process.

Finally we were able to pour and then seal the jam up using a nifty contraption I bought at Target.

Surprisingly, the jam turned out really well. Jonathan and I already finished our first jar. I’m already dreaming about a visit to Apple Hill in a few weeks so I can try my hand at apple butter and applesauce.

Sweet treat!

You should feel really good about yourself right now. Because I trust you so much, dear blog readers, I’m willing to share a very secret family recipe called, “Miller Muffins.”

It’s simple, really. Buy a box of Beer Bread Mix from Trader Joe’s. When it calls for a “carbonated beverage,” choose Miller High Life. It’s a classy beer with a light taste–just ask my husband. Then, butter up the muffin tins real good. Mix, bake and serve warm!

Your guests can thank me.

Glee’s Thong Song scene. Squash season. Michelle’s new blog. Blustery fall days. My brown Roxy beanie. Safeway Fudge Mint cookies-just like Thin Mints but bigger! Twitter lists. Etsy Christmas shopping. Pumpkin pancakes with banana/brownsugar/walnuts by Jonathan. Sunset on Laguna’s Rooftop Lounge with my family. Reading Time Magazine in bed. Night time walks through quiet neighborhood streets. An extra hour of sleep. Roxie sandwich picnic. Potato, Leek and Feta Tart.

photo credit to: sassyradish

I have so many things to say, and they all start with garlic and end with chicken stock. It’s been an exciting night in the kitchen. So exciting that my eyes are still puffy from the onions.

• Buckeyes: The best little chocolate peanut butter cookie you’ve ever tasted. Marlene’s recipe is delicious, but I’m too lazy to type it out tonight so I’m linking to a similar option on Cooks.com. These take time to make but are totally worth it.
• Snowball cookies (aka Russian Tea Cakes): I loved making these at my Aunt Debbie’s house as a kid. They are so cute!
• Grasshopper Pie: My mom makes this for Christmas and it’s delicious. I especially like this pie because it’s different than most Christmas desserts, but still very festive. I am not posting my mom’s recipe, but found one that looks very similar. Mmmmmmmm good.
• Bread pudding: I tried this Real Simple recipe last night for the Melvin’s Christmas party. It was very easy. I actually substituted the croissants with ordinary dinner rolls because the grocery store didn’t have croissants. The dinner rolls were much cheaper and tasted great. Reminds me of the Westmont President’s Christmas Party.
• Candy Cane Trader Joe Joes Cookies: Ahhhhh the perfect go-to dessert that requires no work whatsoever. Eat with hot cocoa, or put on top of ice cream. Delicious.
• William Sonoma Peppermint Bark: Another easy treat that requires no baking. This candy is expensive which is why I wait until I go home for Christmas and steal some of my mom’s. I’ve tasted good imitations, but nothing beats the original.

Bring on the Christmas pounds!!

Next week: Unforgettable Christmas gifts of the past

• Preheat oven to 400. Bake squash in shallow baking pan about 1hr. Cut lengthwise and cool to room temp.
• Cook chopped onion in butter over low heat, partially covered until soft and stirring often (about 15 min)
• Meanwhile, remove seeds from squash and scoop out pulp. Puree.
• Add onions to puree
• Cook puree and chicken stock about 10 min until soft. Add the cream and seasonings to taste.

Croutons:

• Melt 3 tbsp butter. Mix in chopped bread and freshly grated nutmeg to taste
• Cook at 400 for 10 minutes, flipping after 5
• Serve soup with croutons, parsley, Parmesan cheese and nutmeg. Sooooooo good!!!