Pumpkin Pies, Apple Pies, Pecan Pies...pie, pies, pies

Mini Crumble Apple Pies

So my drive home at 5:30am Thanksgiving morning was from Alexandria to Greensboro.  Charles and I left my house in Alexandria, VA at approximately 5:15am  and drove into DC to pick up a friend. 

Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake for when people come and go

So I feel like DC is unique in that friends rotate through here.  People start to hit the 2 to 3 year mark and then they start to think about moving away.  I mean there are not too many people in the area that are actually from DC.  Or maybe its just that I am getting to that age where  my friends and I have been out of college for 3 or 4 years and are looking for the next thing, the next job, the next city to explore.  So, people come and go.  Good friends move away and then some how old friends move here.  Seriously, this just happened this week.  One friend is moving after Thanksgiving, but another college friend just got a job here. Congrats to both!

Pumpkin Raisin Cinnamon Rolls

What do you do on a random Tuesday night after being in Salt Lake City for a week...you bake pumpkin cinnamon rolls.  Well you make them on Tuesday night, then you wake up the next morning bake them, glaze them and bring them in to the office.  Happy Wednesday everyone!

Pumpkin Pancake Time!

So, its pumpkin pancake time.  Well what I mean is that it is time to eat them and often.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with eating these pancakes...trust!   It is officially that time when I start to get excited about Thanksgiving and the holiday season in general, about stuffing myself with all of the things this time of year has to offer, the time of year where it starts to smell like winter.  I mean it did snow over Halloween weekend.  In all seriousness it should not have snowed in October in DC. 

Semi-homemade Chicken Korma Empanadas

What do you do on the metro?  Any form of public transportation really?  1st: do you wear headphones - yes or no? 2nd: do you read a book, newspaper or magazine? 3rd: do you play with your blackberry or iPhone? 4th: do you people watch...blatantly?  I mean shoot, I am writing this on my iPod touch right now, headphones in, completely rocking out and tuning everyone out around me, on my way to meet Kathryn for dinner. (Aka grilled cheese and tomato soup.  Did I mention it is starting to get cold in DC? Like serious chill in the air some days.)  By the way I totally love her random surprise visits! 

Okay so this week has been filled with lunches that involved these delicious empanadas served with a side of roasted greens beans and okra.  I was totally like a little kid in the grocery store this past Sunday when I saw that Harris Teeter had fresh okra.  I got so excited!  So, these empanadas are my attempt at a Latin-Indian Fusion.  They reheat amazingly in a toaster oven set to 325 degrees F for 15 minutes.  Delicious!  Give them a try because they are super easy and the crust stays super flakey even after four days.  Any who enjoy and happy weekend!

Go Pirates! Vanilla White Chocolate Cakeballs

So its fall and well part of my fall is ECU football and I have really been missing out this year.  Lucky for me they had an away game that was practically in my backyard.  Well, by my backyard I mean 30-45 minutes away in Annapolis against Navy.  Hey that is totally still close!  Anywho for this game I made purple and cold "funfetti" cake balls with white chocolate and used purple and gold frosting to decorate.  I must admit they were not the best cake balls I have made.  Why does white chocolate have to burn so easily?  Basically the problem was that I was so worried about burning the white chocolate, that I ended up with too thick of a white chocolate coating on the cake balls.  The inside is delicious though, promise! 

Oh and we won!  Our quarterback even set records, which totally made up for us freezing our butts off during tailgating and the game.  Then again, what better way is there to spend a fall Saturday than chowing down on homemade pop tarts(Thomas they were awesome!), playing cornhole and drinking beer with friends?   

And then there was the football game.  GO PIRATES!  So, I made the cake balls of course...but, well I made pasta salad too, but this is a blog about baking not cooking pasta salad.