Florentine Cookies (also known as Lace Cookies)
Perfect for dipping into hot drinks.

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• Cookies:
• ½ cup butter, unsalted is best if using salted nuts
• ⅔ cup packed brown sugar, light or dark
• ⅓ cup powdered sugar
• ¾ cup flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 TBls light corn syrup
• 1 egg white
• ½ cup sliced almonds
• ¼ cup salted pumpkin seeds
• ¼ cup dried fruit (cranberries, cherries, etc)
• Chocolate for drizzle, white or dark

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Melt butter and combine sugars, corn syrup, vanilla together in a bowl.
• Add in almonds, pumpkin seeds and fruit to the bowl and then stir together with the egg white. I wait to add the egg white here because I do not want to add the egg white to the butter if it is too hot. The mixture of the sugars with the butter as well as the mix-ins will help cool down the butter so the egg white does not scramble.
• Once combined, add in your flour and mix until a batter is form. This will not be as thick as a chocolate chip cookie dough or the red velvet cookies; due to this it will spread. These cookies are supposed to spread and crisp. 
• Taking a small cookie scoop or a Tablespoon, scoop out your cookies onto a lined or greased cookie sheet leaving approximately 3 inches between.
• Bake for 10 minutes, but check at the 5 minute mark. If you’d like to take them out at 5 minutes, you may, they will just be thicker in the center.
• Once your cookies have cooled, you can take melted chocolate and drizzle it over the cookies. This isn’t the only difference between a traditional Florentine and mine, but this is a big difference; usually you would spread a thin layer of chocolate onto the bottom of the cookies whereas I just drizzle atop it. 
• Enjoy with a warm drink, dunking if you’d like! 

Bonfire Syrup
Toasted Marshmallow

• Arrange your marshmallows on a lined cookie sheet and place in the oven. Turn your oven on like normal, for 350 degrees and allow marshmallows to toast while the oven is preheating. DO NOT WALK AWAY. Frequently look at the marshmallows. The more burnt the top of the marshmallows are, the more toasty the end result will be. 
• While this is heating up, you can get your water on the stove to a low boil and pour in the white sugar to make a simple syrup. (You’ll note that a normal simple syrup is a 1:1 ratio of water and sugar. However due to the added sweetener and the gelatin in marshmallows, you need the extra water.)
• Once your marshmallows are toasted, turn off the oven and remove the marshmallows; allowing them to cool slightly to touch. 
• After making sure that your white sugar has melted, scrape your toasted (burnt) marshmallows into the pot with your simple syrup and whisk vigorously. The added sugar in the marshmallows will cause your mixture to bubble and rise; please reduce the heat to medium to low-medium depending on your comfort level with heated sugar. (Also, ALWAYS use metal or wooden utensils in hot sugar and candy, if the sugar gets to a certain temperature, it is possible to melt your rubber utensils and then you have to start your project over.)
• Once most of your marshmallows have reduced, keep heat on low-med and add in your honey, molasses and brown sugar. (If you use dark brown sugar, reduce molasses to 1 tsp)
• Whisk and make sure that all sugar and marshmallows are dissolved. 
• Remove from heat and add in the cinnamon and vanilla and the pinch of salt; mix.
• Store in an airtight glass container in the fridge. Best if used in a week, but it will last up to a month. 

The 'ber months of the year are here for 2023, and we love nothing more than to curl up with some soup on the first days of cool temperatures. Christina has once again served us a wonderful recipe that will hit the spot on those fall nights. 

Don't forget to grab one of our Fireside Soup Mugs when they are released on September 23rd! Hopefully by that time we will have some chilly (or chili?) nights. 

Curried Cauliflower Chili
w/Potatoes and Chickpeas

Christina Williams, West & Taylor

Westandtaylor.com

This recipe came to life in the midst of needing supper but having not gone to the store that week. I’m an avid fan of working with what you have, so I headed to the pantry and the freezer for ingredients that would make a hearty soup/stew. When I saw what I had on hand I was instantly reminded of my favorite Indian dish, Aloo Gobi; I prefer the cauliflower over the potatoes so this leans on the cauliflower. After tasting the soup and knowing exactly what I would do differently next time, I took notes and developed this. I’ll even give you some of my notes on how I will continue to play with this recipe in the future.

Prep Time: 30 minutes |Total time: 1 hour to overnight

Ingredients

• 32 oz of broth
• 16 oz frozen cauliflower
• 10 oz frozen riced cauliflower, optional
• 17 oz (or half a bag) frozen diced potatoes
• 1 can of garbanzo beans/chickpeas
• ½ cup diced onions
• 6 cloves of chopped garlic, or 1 Tbls minced
• 15 oz tomato sauce
• 1 package (1 oz) onion soup mix
• 1 package Knorr Vegetable Mix, optional
• 1 Tbsp Yellow or Sweet Curry Spice blend (I used Spice House brand)
• 2 tsp Red Curry blend (again Spice House brand), optional 
• Olive oil for sauteing the onion and potato
• S/P to taste, remember if you use both the onion soup and vegetable mix you may not need as much salt.
•  

Preparation

• In a large pot or dutch oven, saute the onions, garlic and potatoes in olive oil until the onions are soft and the potatoes are lightly browned. Feel free to pull these out and roast until the end of the soup making process if you’d like your potatoes to be on the cripsier side.
• Pour in your broth and add in the curry seasonings, bring to a slow boil and add in your chickpeas.
• Add in your cauliflower, onion soup and vegetable mix (if using). Mix and taste, add salt or pepper if you need. (Because I like the cauliflower aspect of the dish that inspired this, Aloo Gobi, I add in riced and chunks of cauliflower. If you don’t like the cauliflower idea that much, leave out the riced so you can easily eat around the cauliflower if needed. However, I will say the riced cauliflower helps provide the ‘rice’ that the inspiration dish often comes with.)
• If you’ve roasted your potatoes, onions and garlic, now’s the time to add them to the pot.
• Now, you’ll need to add in your tomato sauce and possibly a can (the tomato sauce can) of water, depending on how thick you’d like your soup. 
• Turn the heat up and make sure it comes to a boil before bringing it to a simmer and allowing it to sit for about 15 minutes. Stirring frequently so the ingredients do not stick. 
• As with any chili, this is in my opinion better the next day, but if you must eat it straight away I do recommend letting it rest-off the heat-for about 30 minutes. This not only allows the flavors to meld but if you use the vegetable mix, it will make sure that the dehydrated vegetables in the mix are rehydrated properly.

Notes:

• The Red Curry blend is optional but I almost always put paprika in my recipes and since this is curry inspired and Red Curry usually has paprika in the blend, why not just lean into it?
• If you have left over roast potatoes, by all means, use them instead of frozen.
• Going forward, I may turn this into a creamier stew by replacing a portion of the broth with coconut milk, but again this was born from what I had on hand at the time. 
• If you prefer a spicier curry, please by all means use a hot curry blend, add peppers or use more curry powder than in the recipe.

Leftover Jam Jar Uses
Leftover Jar Dressing & Jam Marinade/Glaze

Christina Williams, West & Taylor

westandtaylor.com

One thing I hate is waste. I try to use as much scraps and leftovers as possible in my kitchen; from saving vegetable cut off for stocks or adding eggshells and coffee grounds to my garden beds I try not to toss usable waste.

Total Time: 15- minutes

Ingredients for Leftover Jar Dressing

• 1-2 Tablespoons of jam, scrape the jar
• 1-2 teaspoons mustard
• Equal parts Olive Oil and Vinegar
• Start with ¼ cup but add more if you are making a large amount
• Use up extra scraps by infusing your vinegar with strawberry tops for an added zing.
• 1 Tablespoon of minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon of minced onion, fresh. If using dried, use only 2 teaspoons
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon Honey, optional

Preparation

• If the jam is stuck to the bottom of the jar, heat up a little water and sit the jar in it until the jam releases.
• In the nearly empty jar of jam add the garlic, onion and oil and vinegar, put the lid back on and shake vigorously. 
• If you are using an empty jar of mustard, then pour the oil, vinegar and jam mixture into the mustard jar and shake. 
• The empty jam jar is the perfect container to store the dressing until time to use. 
• Taste the jam and add the honey if you’d like it sweeter. 
• Salt & Pepper to taste.

Ingredients for Jam Marinade/Glaze

• 1-2 Tablespoons jam
• 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Honey
• 1-2 Tablespoons Lime Juice (or Apple Cider Vinegar if you are using this on red meat)
• 1 Tablespoon Sriracha/Hot Sauce -or to taste
• 2-4 Tablespoons Oil
• I used a mix of toasted sesame oil and olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons Paprika
• S & P to taste

Preparation

• If the jam is stuck to the bottom of the jar, heat up a little water and sit the jar in it until the jam releases.
• To the jar add all ingredients and shake until combined.
• This marinade and glaze is perfect for any meat or vegetable; just remember darker fruit jam (grape, cherry, blackberry) are better on red meat and pork, while lighter jams (peach, orange marmalade, etc) are perfect combinations for salmon, shrimp or chicken. 
• If using as a glaze as well as a marinade, brush the meat with the mixture before and during the cook time and then spoon the remaining mixture over the meat in the pan right before removing the meat. 
• After removing the meat, add 2 Tablespoons of butter to the glaze in the pan and let reduce until a glaze forms that will leave a trail when the spoon is pulled through it.