Vanilla Black Tea Rice Pilaf

I tend to go through phases...phases where I can't get enough of eating a certain dish, sipping a certain drink, or using a certain ingredient. Lately, I've had tea on the brain. But when I say tea, I mean tea as a whole (as opposed to one certain variety), so that actually opens up a whole world of possibilities.

Cabbage with Bacon and Cream

With St. Paddy's Day less than 3 weeks away, the Progressive Eats bloggers have come together this month to share a menu fit for the occassion. Whether  you want something traditional, something with an Irish twist, or something green—we've got some recipes that you're bound to enjoy!

Citrus Salad with Honey-Tarragon Vinaigrette | #ProgressiveEats

Does your body ever crave something, but you just can't figure out what? You walk through the kitchen, opening the fridge, then the pantry, then the fridge, then the pantry—and still, nothing seems right? When this happens to me, that yearning can usually only be satisfied with one of two things: dark leafy greens or citrus fruit.

Bloody Feetloaf (aka Halloween Meatloaf)

With Halloween less than a week away, I thought it would be fun to ask the other Progressive Eats bloggers if they'd join me in putting together a Halloween-inspired menu today. Cute and spooky, orange and black, maybe even kinda gross (that's me!)—I love all of the spirited menu inspiration that surrounds All Hallows' Eve!

Red Beans and Coconut Rice

This month's Progressive Eats menu celebrates the foods of the Caribbean. Aaaaah, the Caribbean...home of all sorts of places that I long to visit, but probably never will. Unless I win the lottery that I usually forget to play. But that doesn't mean a girl can't armchair-deskchair-kitchentable travel!

Even though there are all sorts of wonderful ingredients and dishes I could have chose from, due to last-minute-itis, I kept it simple and made a Jamaican staple, red beans and coconut rice. This dish may look unassuming, but since it is simmered in coconut milk and infused with the heat of a Scotch Bonnet chile, it is both rich and nuanced, as well.

Blueberry Lavender Shrub Syrup (Drinking Vinegar)

In case you haven't guessed, I'm on a bit of a shrub kick. I can't seem to get enough of the these amazing drinking vinegars once the weather gets hot and sticky. When poured over ice and topped off with some sparkling water, I'm hard pressed to find anything more refreshing (aside from plain ice water). So, when I found out that this month's Progressive Eats theme was "summer bounty", my brain immediately started scanning the fruit, berries, and herbs that I'd been stocking up on this past week.

Ham and Greens Corn Muffins

When Liz announced that our Progressive Eats theme for this month would be "Things Made in a Muffin Tin", I had my mind set on making something unexpected. I wasn't going to make muffins or cupcakes, I would make delicate little meat pies, beautiful apple roses, or maybe even tiny little shepherd's pies. But as you can see, that didn't happen. I made muffins.

Not that there's anything wrong with muffins. I mean, I'm always saying that I wish I had more muffin recipes here on the blog, so really this was a great opportunity for me to add another one to the recipe index. I checked the fridge for things that I already had in the house that would make a tasty muffin, and when I spied a container of leftover ham from the crockpot and remembered that I'd frozen some collard greens a few weeks back, I could just taste them inside a hearty corn muffin.

Almond Pretzel Bread Pudding | #ProgressiveEats

Welcome to this month's edition of Progressive Eats, which I am very happy to be hosting this month! Since today just so happens to be National Pretzel Day, I invited everybody to share a recipe featuring pretzels as an ingredient, a recipe for pretzels (or using pretzel dough), or a condiment that went perfectly with pretzels—and boy did they deliver!

My love for pretzels has never been a secret, I've shared everything from regular homemade soft pretzels and pretzel sticks to homemade pretzel dogs to cinnamon-sugar pretzels, pretzel bites to pretzel pockets, and even pretzel crackers and pretzel croissants! Initially I planned on trying my hand at homemade pretzel rods to share today, but time got away from me and I had to push that endeavor back...but only temporarily.

Apricot Riesling Mustard

I have a wee addiction to condiments. My collection of homemade, gifted, and storebought jars and bottles always get to a point where they've taken over both the pantry and refrigerator shelves. I know something's got to give when I can't find a space to put any actual food (aka, food that isn't a condiment), yet there doesn't seem to be anything to eat beyond a mustard and jam sandwich. But it would be a sensational Spicy Mango Mustard and Vanilla Moscato Peach Jam sandwich!

Now is one of those times. This amazing batch of homemade mustard was the tipping point—the absolute last jar I could squeeze into the fridge. But it was worth it. Yellow mustard seeds plump overnight in a sweet Riesling wine before they get a blitz in the food processor. The crazy heat of the mustard is mellowed by the addition of some good apricot jam.

Stovetop Green Bean Casserole

When I sit down to plan our Thanksgiving menu, I start out by making a list of dishes down the left side of my paper. Most are very distinct, so I only leave room for the name of one dish to be written beside it. Others are more a category than a dish, so I leave room for two or three options. Without fail, this is how my menu planning begins:

• Turkey
• Gravy
• Stuffing
• Potato
• Sweet Potato
• Cranberry Sauce
• Side Dishes
• Bread/Rolls
• Desserts
• Drinks

Pumpkin Cheesecake w/ Gingersnap Crust

You know how time flies, right? One holiday sneaks up on you, then you blink and another one is right in your face. Well, this month I'm prepared. I'm grabbing Thanksgiving by the horns and wrangling it in. Starting November 1, I'll be sharing recipes and roundups featuring recipes fit for Thanksgiving all month long...because Thanksgiving is my favorite food-day of the entire year!

Why mention that now when it's still October? Well, I'm taking advantage of this month's pumpkin theme for Progressive Eats to get a head start on November. Thanksgiving and pie go hand in hand, and traditionally it's always been pecan and pumpkin pies in my family. When I got older and started making my own pies, I started adding another one or two to the mix every year.

Well, this may be the year that I add a cheesecake to the mix. I decided to bake this last week and test it out on my extended family last week at my grandpa's 90th birthday celebration. Let's just say that I didn't bring a single piece home. The rich, creamy, lightly spiced cheesecake filling sits perfectly atop a spicy gingerbread crust and is adorned with crunchy bits of candied pecans.

I know this is practically sacrilege, but it's almost like Pumpkin Pie Plus. It tastes an awful lot like pumpkin pie...but richer and creamier. And you'll have to check back with me on this (once I've eaten it a couple more times), but it wind up replacing pumpkin pie altogether on our Thanksgiving tables of the future.

Pumpkin Cheesecake w/ Gingersnap Crust

This spiced pumpkin cheesecake that sits between a gingerbread crust and a layer of candied pecans is a delicious alternative to pie this Thanksgiving.

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert vegetarian soy-free Thanksgiving American fall winter

Ingredients (serves 10-12)

for the crust:

• 4 ounces gingersnaps
• 1.5 ounces (1/3 cup) pecan halves
• 2 ounces (1/4 cup firmly packed) brown sugar
• 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

for the filling:

• 16 ounces cream cheese, at soft room temperature
• 8 ounces (1 cup) pumpkin puree
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 6 ounces (3/4 cup firmly packed) brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• pinch of fine sea salt

for the topping:

• 2 ounces (1/2 cup) pecan halves
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• pinch of fine sea salt

Instructions

Make the crust:

Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan. Combine gingersnaps and pecans in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Add the brown sugar and melted butter and pulse a few times until it is the texture of wet sand.

Pour the crumbs into the springform pan and use your fingers to pan the mixture into the bottom and about 1-2 inches up the sides of the pan as evenly as you can get it. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.

Make the filling:

Rinse and dry the bowl for the food processor. Add all of the ingredients for the filling to the bowl and puree until very smooth, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides if needed. Pour and scrape the filling into the chilled crust, smoothing the top.

Set the whole thing onto the prepared baking sheet and slide into preheated oven. Bake until the cheesecake is set and a thin-bladed paring knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

Let cool completely on a wire rack, removing the outside of the springform pan once you see the sides pull away. You can run a thin-bladed knife around the edge to be sure that nothing sticks first. Wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Make the topping:

Set aside 10 pecan halves; finely chop the rest. Heat the butter in a small pan over medium-high heat. Once melted, add the pecans and sprinkle the sugar and a pinch of salt over them. Cook, stirring, until the sugar melts and the nuts are toasted and covered in caramel.

Transfer to a piece of parchment paper and allow to cool completely. If it sticks together in large clumps, just use a sharp knife to chop it back up into fine pieces.

Just before serving, sprinkle the candied pecans evenly over the top of the cheesecake and arrange the extra pecan halves evenly around the perimeter.

-adapted from Williams-Sonoma Thanksgiving Entertaining

Welcome to Progressive Eats, our virtual version of a Progressive Dinner Party. This month's theme is all about Pumpkin and is hosted by Jeanette Chen who blogs at Jeanette’s Healthy Living. With Autumn’s arrival, it’s the perfect time to start using fall’s harvest in our menus. We have some great ideas this month to use pumpkins in all sorts of dishes, both Savory and Sweet.

If you're unfamiliar with the concept, a progressive dinner involves going from house to house, enjoying a different course at each location. With Progressive Eats, a theme is chosen each month, members share recipes suitable for a delicious meal or party, and you can hop from blog to blog to check them out.

Savory

• Pumpkin Cappuccino Soup from The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Pasta with Mascarpone Pumpkin Sauce and Toasted Walnuts from Creative Culinary
• Kaddu Ka Ambal - Sweet and Tart Pumpkin Curry from Spice Roots
• Roasted Pumpkin Herb Focaccia from Pastry Chef Online

Sweet

• Pumpkin Cheesecake w/ Gingersnap Crust from All Roads Lead To The Kitchen
• Pumpkin Cream Cheese Brownies from Never Enough Thyme
• Pumpkin scones from Mother Would Know
• Skinny Pumpkin Chai Latte from Jeanette’s Healthy Living
• Caramel Topped Pumpkin Cheesecake from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Snack Cake from Miss in the Kitchen

We have a core group of 12 bloggers, but we will always need substitutes and if there is enough interest would consider additional groups. To see our upcoming themes and how you can participate, please check out the schedule at Creative Culinary or contact Barb for more information.

Apple-Cheese Spread

Welcome to the September edition of Progressive Eats. Today our menu celebrates the diversity of apples! I know I've mentioned once or fifteen times before, so I will refrain from reciting my fond memories of apple picking in the crisp fall air. But I do love me some apples.

I've already dipped into the apple tree a few times this season, sharing a couple of desserts like Fried Apple Hand Pies and Whiskey Caramel Apple Pie, a savory Tangled Apple, Pistachio, and Golden Raisin Salad, and even an apple-infused drink with my Apple Pie Hot Toddy. So yeah, I'm not afraid to use ALLTHEAPPLES!

I've got another savory dish for you today—a simple spread, actually. It's great for munching on with crackers or toast while you're watching a game or reading a book, but I also think it would be the perfect appetizer addition to your Thanksgiving menu. The sweet, rich caramelized shallots in sherry are really the key to highlighting the flavor of the apples, so don't skip that step.

Yogurt Plum Coffee Cake

Let me ask you a question. Do you eat coffee cake for breakfast or for dessert? I've always thought of it as an a.m. food—surely because that's how we ate it in my house growing up. It's just like having a Danish or something. A nice slice alongside your...duh...coffee!

I only ask because I've noticed a fair amount of people who consider coffee cake dessert here in this wide world of food blogging. Is it a regional thing? A family-specific thing? A who-gives-a-f*ck thing? (I'm guessing that last one is the majority.) For me, it will always be a breakfast or brunch offering, though.

Cake in the morning just makes sense anyway. You know, more hours to burn it off.

Peach-Rosemary Shrub Syrup

I've been meaning to try making (and drinking) a shrub for at least 3 or 4 years now. I'm not really sure why I've waited so long, seeing as they couldn't be any easier to make. So, when you think shrub, does your mind automatically go to the bushes outside your childhood home? Or, if you're like me, a little TLC song might start playing on a constant loop in your head. (Yes, I know it's scrub, not shrub. I can't help the way my mind works.) What I'm really referring to are the shrubs that are also known as "drinking vinegars".

Basically, you macerate fresh fruit or berries with sugar until the fruit is soft and the sugar is dissolved, then you add vinegar and allow the mixture to infuse for several days. You can add fresh herbs or spices for different flavors. Once the mixture has infused, you strain out the solids and use the resulting sweet and tangy syrup to flavor things, usually drinks (though you could use it in vinaigrettes or sauces, as well).

Bloody Beer w/ Antipasto Kebab garnish

Don't you think a kebab party sounds like fun? I'm thinking outdoors, sunny but mild, and a grill that's hot and ready. I see a table lined up with dishes that are piled high with cubes of all sorts of raw meat and fish...baked tofu...bowls filled to the brim with chunks of fresh vegetables and fruit...and jars upon jars of skewers in bamboo, wood, and metal just waiting to be threaded.

I'm thinking there's a stack of baggies at the end of the table with bottles of marinades in all sorts of fun flavor profiles sitting next to them. People thread their skewers, slide them into baggies, then cover them with their marinade(s) of choice. Seal the bag, write their name on it, and set it in a cooler for half an hour or so. When they're ready, they can mosey on over to the grill.

Of course, there would also be a table filled with fruit and pound cake, and other things you might slide on to a skewer to eat raw or as a dessert. Oh, and plenty of fun sauce and dipping options, as well. Probably some sort of chocolate fountain; it doesn't have to be big.

Soda Chanh (Vietnamese Lime Soda)

I'm sure that every household has at least a few must-haves sitting in their fridge at all times. Among a few other things, in my house, limeade is one of those things. We love lemonade, too—but it's limeade in some form or another that takes the cake. I try to make different forms to liven things up a bit, but for the most part, limeade is limeade. Freshly squeezed lime juice, sweetener, and water.

Whether it's a fizzy version like Neebu ka Sharbat (Indian Sparkling Fresh Limeade) or a flat one like Fresh Limeade with Chia Seeds, they all go quickly. This Vietnamese Lime Soda (or Soda Chanh) has sparkles and mint, which makes it extra refreshing. When researching it a little, it seems that some people use mint, some don't...some people rim the glass in salt, some don't. I chose to include both. You know, to add a little variety to our limeade routine.

As written, this recipe is particularly tart. We liked it, but if you want it a little sweeter, then simply make (and add) more simple syrup, or stir in some superfine sugar, honey, agave, what-have-you. I enjoyed the salted rim, but the kids said they'd rather have it without. In her book, Steamy Kitchen's Healthy Asian Favorites, Jaden Hair says that Gin makes a nice addition if you want to booze it up (my words, of course). I didn't try it...meant to, but I turned around and it was gone. But I squeezed an extra cup of juice to make another batch. This time, adult-style.

Rhode Island Clam Chowder

So, did you know that Rhode Island Clam Chowder was a thing? Until recently, I didn't. You see, lately I've been in the mood for seafood. Well, okay—I'm almost always in the mood for seafood. So how let's just say that I'm craving it even more than usual. This leads to me scouring my bookshelves and the internet for ideas and inspiration. It was on one of these missions that I happened across an article by Sam Sifton called The Clam Chowder Wars, and in turn, Rhode Island Clam Chowder.

Now, I've found myself to be in the minority when I declare Manhattan Clam Chowder to be my favorite type. Manhattan variety has a tomato-based brothy base, with a hint of heat from crushed red chile flakes. It's not only the flavor, it's the brothiness; I tend to prefer brothy soups. It was actually the very first recipe that I shared right here on my blog over six years ago, and I just happened to post an updated recipe less than a week ago.

That said, I do like the creamy New England variety...I think. Yes, I'm ducking right now. I saw that only because I can't remember the last time I ate any. It was probably when I was still working in restaurants. So, it's been at least seven years. You can probably guess where this is going; you'll be seeing yet another clam chowder recipe in this space soon.

Vassilopitta (New Year Wish Cake)

I love hearing people's new year traditions. Whether a tradition between a small family unit, or something native to a region or country, it's so fascinating to get that glimpse into what makes people tick. Growing up, we didn't really have many traditions revolving around welcoming a new year. Unless you count watching Dick Clark, counting down with the ball, and yelling "Happy New Year" as the hour changed, hugs and kisses all around. Okay, I guess that is a tradition in itself. But I'm thinking something beyond that.

A few years ago, I started with the twelve grapes at the twelve strokes of midnight thing. I always prepare five cups of twelve grapes and we try to gobble quickly as the year changes. It's a pretty fun tradition, but I don't like that it takes away from the kissing and hugging. I mean, giggles and gagging are always a good time, but I miss kisses and hugs with loved ones on the hour.

One tradition that I started myself when the kids were young is drinking mimosas all day on New Year's day. I used to pop the cork at midnight—and then I had kids. I just couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to enjoy a whole bottle of champagne before passing out (from exhaustion). So, I'd wait and the hubs and I would pop the cork as soon as we woke up...full bottles of orange juice (and maybe some other fun juices and additions) ready in the fridge. Don't worry (I know you were), I buy sparkling juices for the kids.