Gluten-Free Rosemary Apple Cranberry Crisp

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that it snowed at my dad's house on Christmas day. It's quite the rarity in Texas (and Georgia). So the day after Christmas, Dale and I woke up early to take a snowy walk before everything started to melt. It was beautiful and quiet and so so cold.

Part of my dad's land houses wild horses being broken for riding. They're all so majestic with hair-covered hooves, long manes, and feisty spirits. Seeing them run and play in the snow was nothing short of amazing.

See more photos from Texas here.

When we got back from Texas last Saturday, Dale and I headed to Pura Vida for a final dinner there. It closed as of the 31st and was our most favorite date spot with the best coconut steamed buns and sangria. I will miss it.

I must say, it was nice to return to my kitten and my bed and a bit of normalcy. Although I do miss Texas.

On New Year's Eve, we had dinner with some friends. It was a southern style potluck situation, and I was asked to bring dessert. Our friend who was hosting the party has Coeliac disease, so I wanted to make something gluten-free so that she too could have dessert!

Apple Crumb Tartlets with Speculoos Crust

Sometimes I just need to get away, need a break from the usual, a change of scenery, some new views, that sort of thing. So I am very happy to be in Texas for a couple of weeks. I've had leisurely mornings and wine infused evenings. I've made cranberry jam and buttermilk cake and learned how to use Dad's new smoker.

Looking out and seeing pasture and horses and trees and little else relieves me. I love being able to sit on the porch or walk around outside and hear no cars or other city sounds. Or head to Denton square and wander around with a friend. And plan a slew of cookies to bake. Dale arrives on Sunday. And thank goodness because I am in dire need of good coffee. Plus, he's pretty good company.

Before I left Atlanta, I was determined to bake some tartlets and a chocolate cake. The cake will come later. For now, I have these tartlets for you. They came out of an urging for apple pie. I do love apple pie--warm and comforting and fulfilling.

Sometimes though, I want a little crumble in place of the pie crust. Since I'd made speculoos a day or two earlier, I decided to incorporate them via a cookie tartlet crust. Because how could that be bad?

Cranberry Sauce (with vanilla bean and cardamom)

So I know the Thanksgiving meal is probably set in stone at this point, but we need to talk. This is about more than Thanksgiving. It's about cranberry sauce.

I feel bad for cranberry sauce. It's like the ugly stepchild of Thanksgiving foods, shoved into a can then plopped into a bowl at the holidays only to be neglected in favor of gravy and butter.

It's just that it doesn't have to be this way. Fresh cranberry sauce is a thing of beauty!

Part of what I love about the holidays is that everyone has self-designated specialties. Dad handles most meat cookings and sauces. Mom handles stuffing and taters. Dale's got the brussels. Over the years, mine has become dessert (surprise, surprise). And at Thanksgiving, that means pumpkin pie and pecan pie and, well, pie. But what that also means, I've decided, is homemade cranberry sauce. Mainly because I just freaking love it. On every part of the holiday meal. It gives everything the perfect tang and sweetness, which, let's be honest, is often missing from things like turkey and stuffing.

This cranberry sauce is sorta something to call home about. There's a whole dang vanilla bean in there y'all! And fresh orange juice! And a heaping spoonful of cardamom! (Cardamom is never a bad thing. Never.) This cranberry sauce is deserving of year-round praise. Although it is especially appropriate at these times what with the season and all.

Butternut Squash Muffins

Last week, Dale was in Nicaragua doing super cool coffee things. Because he's cool and talented and interesting like that. While he was gone, I remembered a few things that I'd forgotten since having Dale around all the time:

1. Sometimes, I forget to eat dinner.

2. I'm pretty sure that my cat loves laying next to me on the couch more than anything in the entire world.

3. I need someone around to talk to at home, otherwise, I descend into nonsensical one-sided conversations with my cat. It's pretty normal.

4. I get really cold at night. Like really.

So, while Dale was off doing adventurous, awesome things, I was here working on a paper, which I presented at a conference on Saturday, and I was working on a contract. Totally thrilling, right? Then, I roasted a butternut squash, stirred in some sugar and spices and things, sprinkled with streusel, and ate these muffins.

Pear, Sage, & Toasted Vanilla Hand Pies

It's crazy how motivated I get to do anything but study when I have nothing but studying that needs to be done. Nothing gets me in a cleaning, purging, organizing mode quite like having a million pages to write/read/cryover.

Thus, in the past two weeks, I have done some updating, reorganizing, and contemplating. I got a new TV stand (it's mint green, tall, and dashing). New soap dispensers (because it's the little things that make a difference, right?) and the European sham of my dreams. Dale got some geeky things--a vintage Chemex and baby blue coffee mugs. And I have been scouring the webs and stores and places for seating, preferably sofa-sectional-chaise style. That will be a bit of investment however, so these are only cushioned daydreams currently.

I guess this began with a mission to revamp my spaces. Space makes such a difference in mood and motivation and other such things. It's about light and situation. It's about wishing I could paint things and frame them and hang them and love them. It's about bookmarking DIYs. It's about plans of furniture building, starting with a rustic coffee table, ending hopefully with a substantial dining table (which I currently lack, even in insubstantial form).

Spiced Buttermilk Bundt Cake

So now that fall is in full swing, how have you been spending it? Watching leaves changing? Buying new boots (yes!)? Yearning for food-filled holidays?

Or have you been drowning in pumpkin? I have seen so much pumpkin out there on the webs. Too much pumpkin I think. Don't get me wrong. I like pumpkin, especially in pie form. It's just that I'm feeling a bit overloaded with pumpkin recipes. Plus, there are some places that pumpkin (or its flavor counterparts) is not meant to be, such as in coffee. No more homemade pumpkin spice lattes please. Just stop. Please. I'm begging you.

Besides, there are so many other delicious, warm, beautiful fall flavors! Like pear and apple, which I've clearly been obsessed with recently. And spice!

Yes, I rang in fall with spices tossed in buttermilk cake. Mini bundt ones of course, because that's how I do. There's just something about allspice, clove, nutmeg, and the like that make everything feel and smell and taste like fall.

Apple Turnover Bread Pudding with Maple Cream Sauce & a Keys to the Kitchen Virtual Dinner Party

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of having lunch at Star Provisions with Aida Mollenkamp and some lovely Atlanta food ladies (some of whom I had previously only known virtually) to celebrate Aida's fabulous new cookbook, Keys to the Kitchen.

Not only is Keys to the Kitchen filled with beautiful pictures and recipes, it's pretty much the ultimate kitchen resource. It teaches you tons of basics like how to brown butter, how to make stock, how to properly store your produce, what tools you should have in your kitchen, different cuts of meat, and types of herbs. Dale actually used the cookbook as a guide when breaking down a whole chicken for the first time. Pretty awesome.

As part of her cookbook release, Aida came up with the great idea of having a virtual dinner party made up of recipes from her cookbook! I obviously chose dessert, because, you know, I'm into sweets. Dale has a major love for bread pudding, and I've never made it for him before. So when I saw the Apple Turnover Bread Pudding with Maple Cream Sauce, I knew it was the one.

Spiced Apple Cider Caramel Sauce

Did you know that you can split, scrape, and chop up a vanilla bean, throw it in a saucepan, place it over medium heat, toast it for a few minutes, then grind it up with a mortal and pestel and have this amazingly delicious vanilla powder stuff to mix with sugar? How did I not know this before coming across it last week on the lovely blog Top with Cinnamon? Never again will I simply bury scraped vanilla beans in my sugar. Never again. OhmygahI'msoobsessedwithit! For real.

Speaking of obsessed, last weekend at the farmer's market, Dale and I got some Mercier Orchards apple cider. And holy moly, it's good! I've decided that warm, spiced apple cider poured over bourbon is my official go-to fall drink. Mmm yes.

So naturally, I began thinking about spiced cider and dessert. Something warm and smooth and comforting.

This caramel is it. Creamy, sweet, thick, delicious, magical.

Sticky Cinnamon Pecan Bars

So how did you kick off the first days of fall? Pulling sweaters and jeans (except those evil skinny ones) out of the back of the closet in anticipation? Instagramming pictures of the changing leaves? Skipping in joy through cool morning air? Digging up dead basil from your herb garden? (or did that last one only happen to me?)

It seems many people celebrated the start of fall with pumpkin in their bellies with all the delicious looking pumpkin treats I've seen floating around the food blogosphere. And while I do love pumpkin, it's not really something I'm chomping at the bit to dive into at the first sign of fall. My pumpkin desires don't really kick in until November, ya know, with that whole Thanksgiving thing. My pecan pie desires, however, are in full force.

But just to be sure I wasn't getting too predictably Thanksgiving-ish about it, I made pecan pie in bar form with cinnamon shortbread crust and cinnamon pecan filling. Because that totally changes everything...