Sweet Cherry Pie

Posted by Alexis Tirado

A listener called in because she's making a cherry pie and she's using frozen cherries. Luckily for this listener, Johnny Iuzzini, executive pastry chef for Jean Georges and Nougatine, was on air to share his baking tips. Johnny prefers sour cherries for pies. He also told the listener: "Don't put [your pie] in the fridge overnight. People don't realize that pies can hold up overnight outside. The second you put them in the fridge they're going to take on the moisture and humidity in the fridge and that's when your pie shell gets gummy or moist." Listen to the audio clip below to get all of Johnny's tips on making a sweet cherry pie.

Nigella Lawson explains what a dundee cake is all about!

Posted by Alexis Tirado

The lovely Nigella Lawson, who's latest cookbook is called, "Christmas: Food Family Friends Festivities,"stopped by our radio studios for the Thanksgiving Hotline. She talked about a dundee cake which is like a boiled fruitcake. What makes this cake stand out? "The never changing feature of a dundee cake is that it has a concentric circle, a hole on the top. That's what makes it a dundee cake," explains Nigella. Listen to the mp3 below to learn more about this cool cake.

Image courtesy of Delia online.

Pumpkin Pie à la David Burke

Posted by Katie Macpherson

Sick of the same old pumpkin pie? Chef David Burke, chef/owner of David Burke Townhouse, Fishtail by David Burke and David Burke at Bloomingdale’s, suggests to our listener Dana that she transform her pumpkin pie into a crème brulée! After making her regular pumpkin pie ahead of time, Chef Burke told Dana to cover her crust with a bit of foil, put some sugar on the top of the pie, and stick it under the broiler (or under a blowtorch). Delicious!

Meringue troubles? A James Beard Award winning chef comes to the rescue!

Posted by Alexis Tirado

Gina DePalma, pastry chef of Babbo Restaurant and Enoteca in New York City answered a question from Eve, a trucker who called on the road. Eve needed to know how to bake her meringue toppings without having them sweat. Gina, who won a James Beard award for Outstanding Pastry Chef, told Eve to make sure she doesn't over beat her eggs. She shares more of her insights in the mp3 below.

Taste of New York

Posted by Jennifer Sendrow

On a chilly November night in Tribeca, New York magazine's 11th annual Taste event brought together hundreds of guests and more than 40 chefs and mixologists for a night of eating, drinking, and schmoozing. I can't bring you a taste, but I can give you a look.

Rockwell Group has designed events for clients ranging from the Academy Awards to Cirque du Soleil. For Taste, they creatively reused utensils to create displays that included several large screens made of punched paper plates. I wonder if I could pull this off for my holiday party with my trusty Exacto knife and a little help from Martha Stewart Crafts.

Bartender Thomas Waugh from Death & Co. calmly stirred the first of many cocktails for the thirsty masses.

Pegu Club's Douglas Fir Gimlet was infused with genuine tree taste: think Christmas, not car air freshener.

Clover Club owner Julie Reiner served harvest punch garnished with quince slices.

Chef James Tracey from Craft channeled his inner Martha, studiously arranging a display of fall decorations as he served Nantucket Bay scallops with pumpkin and kaffir lime.

Bobo chef Patrick Connelly got even more creative with his table, covering it with dried grass, adding a taxidermied pheasant, and serving his chocolate pudding with cocoa nibs and salted pumpkin seeds inside small pumpkins.

Chef Brad Farmerie of Public served perfectly fried oysters that could convince even the most die-hard raw bar fan to cook a mollusk or two.

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Mini Cupcake Madness!

Posted by Mario Bosquez

They're perfect for at-home entertaining and for taking to school and work holiday functions. They're called mini cupcakes and we went straight to the expert! Melissa Bushell of Baked by Melissa joined us on Living Today to discuss the finer points of decorating smaller-sized cupcakes.

Melissa says it's best to work with frosting that is at room temperature; taking care that the heat of the kitchen doesn't raise the temperature of the frosting so much that the icing becomes runny and harder to manage.

Melissa also says that in order to ice cupcakes of any size, simply take a small plastic storage bag, fill it with icing, and snip one corner away. Melissa says you can have quite a bit of control when icing the mini-cupcakes this way.

If you want to have colored icing, Melissa recommends liquid food coloring; taking care not to use too much food coloring since a little goes a very long way. Also, in order to evoke the feeling of the holiday season you can also dye vanilla cupcakes and icing (using food coloring) in the colors of fall such as varying shades of orange.

Melissa doesn’t use cupcake wrappers because she feels they aren't really necessary for mini-cupcakes.

One final tip (and this is a lot of fun) -- Melissa says smaller cupcakes are perfect for taking two of them, putting them together icing-to-icing, and enjoying an impromptu cupcake cookie! See below!

Our visit to The Chocolate Show!

Posted by Katie Macpherson

National Chocolate Day may have been last week (October 28), but let’s be real--here at Martha Stewart Living Radio, the celebration of chocolate never ends. I recently checked out the New York Chocolate Show and got to hang out with some of the most talented chocolatiers from around the world. Whether you were there to taste cacao nibs or see chocolate woven into fabric, this show really didn’t disappoint.

Check out these seasonal chocolates from Martha Stewart Living Radio-regular Jacques Torres. These chocolate squares are filled with pumpkin pie (outer circle) and apple pie (inner circle) filling!

Did you know that camels can be milked? This chocolate, imported from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, is the first chocolate to be made using camels’ milk. The company uses between 3,000 and 4,000 camels on their farm outside of Dubai. (My question--do the camels spit at the milkers?)

Rhonda Kave of Roni-Sue Chocolates in New York City is all about combining chocolate with unique flavors. She’s handing out her Diablo Truffles, which have a spicy chile-infused kick to them.

Roni-Sue is also well known for their interesting uses of bacon--even combining it with popcorn!

Speaking of bacon, this sizzling bacon bar from Christopher Michael Chocolates cracked me up. The bacon combined with chocolate and smoked sea salt was delicious--and the popping candy makes it seem like it’s “sizzling” in your mouth!

These delicious chocolate spreads and marshmallows are from Parisian chocolatier Boissier. Check them out the next time you’re in the City of Lights.

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Sandy's Doughnut Sandwich

Posted by Sandy Gluck

Last week, I talked about ciders and punches and it made me think of apple cider donuts and how much I like them. So I figured, why not make one into a sandwich. Maybe a little out of the ordinary, but it seemed to me that those autumn flavors, coupled with a really nice cheese, might make a delicious sandwich. I've enjoyed apple cider donuts at Hearth restaurant in NYC and found their recipe at Smitten Kitchen. I swapped in a cup of whole wheat flour for 1 cup of all-purpose, and added a grated apple and I was on my way! These were delicious; cakey, with a wonderful crumb. Perfect for a doughnut, a little less so for a sandwich, there was no way I could halve these horizontally. Not one to be put off, I simply topped them with thin slices of a young Manchego cheese (Cheddar would work well too), and a dollop of a mayo-mustard-honey mix, and voila! An open-face, doughnut sandwich. Necessity truly is the mother of invention.

What makes Sandy smile....

Posted by Sandy Gluck

There's something about pumpkins that makes me smile. Whether it's thinking about Halloween, Cinderella in her chariot, or their round, inviting shape, well...they make me happy! If you love pumpkins as much as I, you'll be happy to know that there's more to the pumpkin than a custard-y slice of pie (not that there's anything wrong with that).

While those jack-o-lantern pumpkins are perfect for decorating and carving, they're not the choice for cooking. Instead, look for sugar (also known as pie) pumpkins. Make sure it's bright orange in color, anywhere from 2 to 5 pounds, and heavy for it's size. No bruises or soft spots and you're ready to roll. Earlier this week, I brought in toasted pumpkin seeds for Monty and Shavon, along with a savory side dish of pumpkin wedges roasted with olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt, and a pinch of sugar, seasoned with a little vinegar once tender. But check out all of the pumpkin recipes below -- they'll make you smile too!

Puree:
Sugar Pumpkin Puree

Pumpkin seeds:
Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkins with pasta:
Pumpkin Pasta
Penne with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce
Rigatoni with Roasted Pumpkin and Goat Cheese

On the Side:
Roasted Pumpkin with Shallots and Sage
Pumpkin and Pecorino Gratin

Baking Up Pumpkin:
Ginger Pumpkin Bread

The Sweet Side of Pumpkins:
Chocolate-Pumpkin Tart
Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Pumpkin Cream Pie

Ghoulish Goodies!

Posted by Jennifer Sendrow

Today on Morning Living, we got ready for Halloween with Sharon Bowers, author of the frightfully cute book "Ghoulish Goodies."

Sharon's pumpkin haystacks are simple to make and easy to pass around at kids' parties. To make them just a little spookier, the same recipe can be used to make creepy crawly spiders. The only difference is that these haystacks use butterscotch or peanut butter chips for a tawny hue, while the spiders are a deep dark chocolate.

On Morning Living, we often find that our listeners are just as creative as our guests. Linda in Detroit got inspired to send us a photo of her own "ghoulish goodie" -- a cake she made this weekend for her niece and nephew. Share your ghoulish treats with us at morningliving@marthastewart.com!

Sharon also shared her pumpkin cheesecake topped with a chocolate sour-cream spiderweb. It was rich, delicious, and great looking to boot, but she assured us that even a busy mom like her can whip it up in no time. Here's the recipe.

Spiderweb Pumpkin Cheesecake
Makes 12 servings

Ingredients:
16 graham crackers
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs

For topping:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Crush the graham crackers by putting them in a plastic bag and beating and rolling them with a rolling pin. Combine with the butter and sugar in a 10-inch springform pan and press with the bottom of a glass to form a compact crust.

2. Blend the cream cheese, sugar, pumpkin, and spice until creamy and smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Pour over the prepared crust and bake for 45 minutes, until set. Allow to cool on a rack for at least an hour. Chill the cheesecake overnight in the refrigerator.

3. Melt the chocolate with the heavy cream in a double boiler or in the microwave in 10-second bursts, stirring after each. Pour the chocolate glaze over the cooled cheesecake, spreading just to the edges with a knife, but not going over the sides.

4. Spoon the sour cream into a small plastic bag and use a toothpick to poke a hole in one corner. Drizzle a spiral of white across the top of the chocolate glaze.

5. Using a toothpick or the tip of a knife, gently pull through the sour cream and chocolate in alternating lines about 1 12 inches apart, wiping the toothpick in between each: one from the center all the way out, then wipe the knife or toothpick, and then pull one from the outer ring all the way to the center, and so on, all the way around the circle. Chill the spiderweb-topped cheesecake thoroughly to help set the glaze.