“These are the lightest, fluffiest most melt-in-your-mouth cookies ever,” says Lauryn. “I love the texture from the oats, the sweetness from the chocolate chips, and added flavor from a mix of warm fall spices. I just can’t get enough.”

That’s some endorsement from a professional baker who is always up to her elbows in wonderful things to eat.

RECIPE: PUMPKIN OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients For 2 Dozen Cookies

Light and fluffy pumpkin chip cookies. Photo courtesy BellaBaker.com.

 
*Do not substitute pumpkin pie filling, which is sweetened and seasoned.

1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F and lightly grease 2 baking sheets. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, old fashioned oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2. BEAT together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl, until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla to the butter mixture and beat until well blended. Blend in the dry mixture until just combined, being careful not to overmix. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in chocolate chips.

3. SCOOP cookie mounds onto the prepared baking sheets, using a small ice cream/cookie scoop.

4. BAKE at 350°F for 14-16 minutes until cookies are lightly brown at the edges and set in the middle. Cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes then remove and place on cooling racks to cool.
  

We were inspired by this dish from Harry & David to whip our own version of amaretto mashed sweet potatoes, a sophisticated take on the classic.

This dish can be made in advance without adding the garnish; reheated in the microwave, garnished and served.

If you like a touch of color and a bit more flavor complexity, some add minced parsley.

Preparation

Ingredients For 6 Servings

1. COOK whole potatoes until done (we used the microwave). Cool to touch. Remove pulp and mash with other ingredients.

2. TASTE and adjust seasonings as desired.

3. GARNISH and serve.
  

Handmade, seasonal non-pareils. Photo
courtesy Li-Lac Chocolate.

They’re from Li-Lac Chocolates in New York City’s Greenwich Village, a company that just celebrated its 80th anniversary.

They’re available in dark or milk chocolate in 1/2-, 1- and 2-pound boxes, they are $21/pound.

If you prefer to make something yourself, get some seasonal sprinkles and shake them onto icing or whipped cream:

Chocolate turkeys abound, but this one adds something special: candy corn “feathers” on its tail.

The jumbo chocolate turkey is handmade to order, in dark, milk or white chocolate. It’s $75.00, also at Li-Lac Chocolates.

Kids will swoon for it; but it can serve as a centerpiece.

Perhaps award it as a prize to the best-behaved child?

[1] Shrimp tempura from CBCrabcakes.com (photo © CB Crabcakes).

[2] People who resist eating veggies may be instantly converted to vegetable tempura. Here’s the recipe (photo © American Diabetes Association).

[3] Kabocha squash tempura is a winner. Here’s the recipe (photo © Refugee Kitchen).

[4] Mixed vegetable tempura. Here’s the recipe (photo © Heather Christo Deliciously Allergen Free Recipes).

Recipes are below.
 
 
TEMPURA HISTORY

While we think of tempura as a quintessential Japanese food, it was introduced to Japan in the mid-16th century by Portuguese missionaries and traders. Prior to then, the concept of deep fat batter-frying was not part of Japanese cuisine.

Culinary historians say that the word “tempura” appears to come from the Latin word “tempora,” a Portuguese reference to Lent, Fridays and other Catholic holy days when meat was avoided and fish and vegetables were consumed. (The Latin phrase tempora cuaresme, which means “in the time of Lent.”)

The dish that inspired the word was a meal for Lent, when the Catholic Portuguese could not eat meat. Presumably, the Japanese mistook “tempora” as the dish’s name and called the frying technique tempura.

The types of tempura that are popular today—fried seafood and vegetables—gained popularity in the mid-18th century and became firmly established in Japanese cuisine. Tempura continues to evolve in style, most recently into sushi “tempura rolls.”

In the U.S., tempura even has its own holiday: January 7th is National Tempura Day.
 
 
TEMPURA TIP: THE RIGHT BATTER MAKES TEMPURA LESS OILY

Tempura batter is traditionally made with eggs, ice water, and low-protein wheat flour. You can also buy tempura batter mix in the Asian products section of the supermarket or in Asian food stores.

According to Nisshin Seifun, makers of a tempura batter mix used by fine restaurants, some brands do a greater job of limiting oil absorption (as does a cold batter, which is why ice water is used).

In the absence of a package of tempura mix, made with low-protein wheat flour, try this recipe:
 
 
RECIPE #1: TEMPURA BATTER

Ingredients For Batter

 
Vegetable & Seafood Options

 
Plus:

3. MAKE the batter: Beat the egg in a bowl. Add the ice water and flour; mix lightly. Be careful not to overmix the batter or you’ll get tough, chewy dough. Japanese chefs make the batter by swirling the ingredients a couple of times with chopsticks. It’s O.K. to leave lumps in the batter.

4. HEAT the oil to 340°F. If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer, drop a small amount of batter into the oil. If it sinks halfway down and then comes to the surface, the oil is about 340°F. If it doesn’t sink, it’s about 360°F or more.

5. FRY the vegetables first so as not to impart a seafood flavor to the oil.
 
 
RECIPE #2: TEMPURA DIPPING SAUCE (PONZU SAUCE)

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MIX the ingredients well. If you only have soy sauce and vinegar, it will do in a pinch.

Learn more about our favorite international foods by checking out the pull-down bar at the right.
 
 

One of the simplest desserts, enjoyed since early times, is figs with honey. It couldn’t be easier: just decide how many figs you want to serve to each person (we serve three or four, depending on size), and plate them with a drizzle of honey. Other decisions:

Ingredients For 4 Servings

Preparation

1. DISSOLVE the gelatin in 3 tablespoons of cold water, for about 10 minutes.

2. PLACE the cream, vanilla bean, vanilla extract, fig purée, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Add the gelatin to the pan, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds, or until the gelatin is well blended with the cream.

3. POUR the cream mixture into molds, cover, and refrigerate for 3 hours or until set.
 
 
A BRIEF FIG HISTORY

By the time of the Bible, figs had been cultivated for thousands of years. They may have been the first crop* cultivated—perhaps first in Egypt. From there they spread to Crete and around the 9th century B.C.E., to Greece, where they became a staple.

The ancient Greeks loved figs so much that they enacted a law forbidding the export of the best quality figs (in the ancient world, at least 29 varieties of figs were cultivated).

Figs spread throughout the Mediterranean. They arrived in the New World in the early 16th century, with Spaniards explorers. When Spanish missions were established in what is now southern California, the monks cultivated planted fig trees. Today, California is one of the largest producers of figs, along with Greece, Portugal, Spain and Turkey.
 
 
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*Agricultural historians believe the order of cultivation to be figs, wheat and barley, grapes, olives, sugar, tea, rice and sesame. Different historians have different orders, and archeological digs regularly reveal new information.