Sole with Brown Butter Lemon Sauce

It's not every day that a four-year-old asks for Sole A La Meuniere, but you know when he does that it must be something special.  My kids aren't big eaters.  I've said it before, but it's true.  This is the ONLY recipe I have that everyone wants more of.  The last few times I've made it I have noticed the disappointment on my husband's face when the boys say they'd like seconds leaving none for him.  So, next time we'll be making a double batch and there will be seconds for everyone!

Ingredients

1 lb. Dover Sole fillets

Grapeseed Oil

1 1/4 tsp. Salt

6 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter

1/2 tsp. Black pepper

2 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

1 C. Flour

1/4 C. Flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Dry the sole fillets. Mix flour, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a large flat dish (I use a pie plate).  Dredge the fillets in the flour and shake off the excess. Stack layers of fish between wax paper.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan over a medium high flame. When the oil smokes, add 2 fillets and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side (depending on thickness). Transfer to a baking sheet and place in the warm oven; repeat with the remaining fillets. Add oil as necessary, heating to the smoking point before adding the fillets.  

Meanwhile, in a saucepan melt butter over a medium flame, stirring frequently. It will melt, foam, subside, and then begin to bubble again and turn a nutty brown.  Remove from heat immediately as it burns quickly at this point.   If you feel like you need more help with the brown butter, see this tutorial: How to Brown Butter.  Add the lemon juice, parsley, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and several grindings of white pepper to taste. Serve the fillets on warm plates with the sauce spooned over.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

 The trouble with most pumpkin cookies is that they are gooey - not in a decadent way, but in a "I can't let these touch each other or they will all stick to each other" kind of way.  A while back I came upon the Cook's Illustrated recipe for Pumpkin pie, where you cook some of the liquid out of the pumpkin to help improve the texture.  I thought maybe that would help with pumpkin cookies a bit.  The base for this recipe is based on these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies and I really love the result.  To me brown butter and fall go hand-in-hand.  To be sure they are still soft, especially if you are not careful to cook them thoroughly, but especially right out of the oven they have a nice crispy exterior.  They tend to soften more as they are stored.

Ingredients 

1 C. (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter
1 C. White Sugar
1 C. Light Brown Sugar
2 Lg. Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 C. Canned Pumpkin Puree
3 C. All-purpose Flour
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp.Ground Cloves
12-ounce bag Milk Chocolate Chips, not semisweet
Nonstick cooking spray, parchment paper or stoneware baking sheet

Instructions

Slice butter into smaller chunks and place in a saucepan or skilled over medium heat, stirring frequently.  Do not use a dark bottomed pan and it will be hard to tell when the butter is adequately browned.   See How to Brown Butter for a photo tutorial.   Remove butter from heat immediately and allow to cool for about 20 minutes.

While you are browning the butter, on a separate burner, place pumpkin puree in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to simmering and reduce temperature.  Cook stirring frequently until the mixture has reduced and thickened slightly and looks glossy.  About 10 minutes.  Allow to cool for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.

Directions Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper.

Pour browned butter in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Beat in the white and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree.  Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds. Stir in the chips.

Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges.  Adjust time for stoneware. Often people want their cooking a little softer, so they take them out while they are still soft in the middle.  Pumpkin cookies will be naturally softer and so you really do want to make sure they are cooked in the center.  Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Take the cookies off with a spatula and cool them on wire racks.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

My kids love the packets of apple cinnamon oatmeal, but I always feel funny about them.  Like, what is really in them?  And, oatmeal is so easy to make, does it really need a shortcut?  I get the whole traveling, camping utility of oatmeal packets, but I also like knowing I can spell everything in the food I serve my family.  So, I came up with this recipe as an alternative.  This is super quick and tastes so fresh.  Right away you'll notice the true apple taste is nothing like the store bought flavor.

Ingredients

2 Apples

2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

3/4 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

1 C. Oatmeal

2 1/4 C. Water

2 pinches Salt

Instructions

Peel apples and grate them over a medium sauce pan.  Add brown sugar, cinnamon, oatmeal, water and salt and stir to combine.  Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium low.  Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until water is absorbed.

Makes 2 large servings, 4 kid-size.