Weekend Cooking: 2 Easy Recipes to Start and End a Meal

Welcome to the new year! I'm so looking forward to another year of your food and cooking and travel and review posts. They always brighten my week.

In the coming months, I have some exciting cookbooks to share with you plus some food movie discoveries and maybe even thoughts on recipe organizer / meal-planning software. I so appreciate everyone's input on the apps I listed last week. Just as soon as I find some of that mythical free time, I'm going to investigate them.

I tried two new recipes for this year's New Year's Eve dinner party and both were huge hits. I'm not at all surprised because they come very trusted cookbooks. The really nice thing about these recipes is that they're dead-easy to make and can be used for a fancy party or for a weekday meal.

Because I was getting ready for company, I didn't take the time to photograph the finished dishes; just too much going on to set up a nice shot. The photos aren't mine, and all rights remain with the original copyright holders.

The first recipe comes from What's Gaby Cooking, a cookbook I wrote about last year (thanks to the Abram's Dinner Party). This hummus was much loved, and everyone thought it tasted better than plain hummus. My husband ate the leftovers for lunch. I plan on making this often, just to have on hand for healthful snacking and for quick lunches. The photo comes from Gaby's website and is really for a different hummus. The look, however, is just about right.

Artichoke and Smoked Paprika Hummus
Serves 6

• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and peeled
• 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts packed in water or brine, drained
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste (I used a little more)
• 2 cloves garlic, or to taste, peeled (I used 3)
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, plus more for garnish
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• 3 tablespoons water (I used olive oil)
• Extra-virgin olive oil for garnish

In a food processor, process the chickpeas by themselves for 1 minute, or until clumps form. Scrape down the sides and process again for 30 seconds. Add the artichoke hearts, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, paprika, and salt and process until smooth. With the machine running, drizzle in 1 tablespoon of water [I used olive oil] at a time through the hole in the lid until you get a very smooth, light, and creamy mixture. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more salt, garlic, or lemon juice if needed. Transfer to a serving bowl, drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle with a little smoked paprika, and serve.

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The second recipe comes from the first Smitten Kitchen cookbook, which I reviewed five years ago (yikes! time flies). The recipe calls for a 9-inch tart pan but I used a 9-inch springform, which worked just fine, although I didn't get the fluted sides. This tastes like the perfect marriage of a pumpkin pie and a cheesecake. It was easy, easy to make and the leftovers were great the next day. I think this will be a staple in my house next fall. The photo is from the cookbook.

Marbled Pumpkin Gingersnap Tart
One 9-inch tart
Serves 8

Crust

• 4 ounces gingersnap cookies (about 16)
• 3 ounces graham crackers (5½ full sheets)
• 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake Batter

• 4 ounces cream cheese, well softened
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 large egg yolk

Pumpkin Batter

• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• 1¼ cups pumpkin purée
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• Few fresh gratings of nutmeg
• 1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425F.

For the crust: In a food processor, finely grind the gingersnaps and graham crackers (you should have about 1½ cups crumbs). Add the melted butter, and process until the crumbs are moistened. Press the mixture evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch round tart pan with removable bottom. Place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet.

For the cheesecake batter: Beat the ingredients in a small bowl until smooth.

For the pumpkin batter: In a medium bowl, beat the egg and egg white lightly. Whisk in the pumpkin, sugars, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Gradually whisk in the cream.

To assemble: Pour the pumpkin batter evenly over the crust. Dollop the cheesecake batter over the pumpkin batter, then marble the two together decoratively with a knife.

To finish: Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350F and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes. or until a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the tart completely on a rack or in the refrigerator. Serve the same day, and refrigerate any leftovers.

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Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

NOTE: Mr. Linky sometimes is mean and will give you an error message. He's usually wrong and your link went through just fine the first time. Grrrr.
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