Guess what? It’s Saturday afternoon, and I’m off work early today! I’ve been working every day straight since November 1st, but today I was able to leave work in time to enjoy a bit of the gorgeous late fall sunshine and 75 degree weather we’re having here in North Florida.

Even though my work is crazy right now, and I won’t have a full day off for another week, I’m really very happy. I’m working with some great people – residents and medical students – who are proving to be fantastic young doctors. We’ve been doing lots of serious work, and the hours are long, but I’ve loved every minute of it.

Plus, they let me talk food with them. How great is that?

Last week I baked up a batch of Jennie’s chocolate chip cookies for my team. The cookies really don’t take all that much time to make and are SO much better than store-bought cookie dough. I think the bribe was successful. They let me go home early today. See? It worked.

One of them asked me last night about the first thing I planned to cook when I had my first day off. I was stumped. I have stacks of food magazines sitting around, waiting to be flipped through and pages torn out or earmarked. Even with all that inspiration lying around, I didn’t have a recipe in mind. And then I realized that it’s almost Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving! The thing about working for 19 days straight (13 so far) is that the time just flies by. It was just Halloween last I checked.

Time to put on my Thanksgiving Thinking Cap and come up with some menu ideas.

For now, I’ll share a mashed potato recipe with you. Our traditional Thanksgiving mashed potatoes are made by my dad. He’s our resident Mashed Potato Genius. His recipe is rich and creamy, and when the bowl of potatoes is set out on the table, I can’t keep my finger out of it. Just to taste it, you know, for seasonings. And maybe a second or third taste. And then I realize I’ve gotten out a tablespoon, and it’s all down hill from there.

This recipe is not that one, but it’s a close second. Just assume it’s calorie- and fat-free. Which it’s not. But you can pretend it is.

Yield: Serves 6 to 8.

Parmesan Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Adapted from this recipe from Ina Garten. Her version of the recipe can also be found in her cookbook, which I love, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. To try to cut down on at least a little of the fat, I used nonfat Greek yogurt instead of full-fat sour cream in these potatoes. I didn't notice any difference in the flavor or texture.

Ingredients:

3 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled
1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup whole milk
1 stick (4 ounces; 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Place the potatoes and 1 tablespoon of salt in a 4-quart saucepan with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer covered for 25 to 35 minutes, until the potatoes are completely tender. Drain.

In a small saucepan, heat the half-and-half, milk, and butter.

Put the potatoes into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix them for a few seconds on low speed to break them up. Add the minced garlic to the potatoes, then slowly add the hot cream and butter mixture to the potatoes, mixing on the lowest speed (the last quarter of the cream and butter mixture should be folded in by hand to avoid splattering). Fold in the yogurt, Parmesan cheese, remaining salt, and pepper; taste for seasoning and serve immediately.

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As October comes to a close, I’m leaving you with a treat on this Halloween. During our trip to Napa, we stayed in the town of Yountville, home of The French Laundry. We didn’t eat there, but I did spend some time wandering through the The French Laundry’s gardens, just across Washington Street, in front of the famous restaurant. It was a stunning garden, and I kept wanting to go back. I was tempted to pick a tomato or a carrot, but I didn’t. I was a very good girl. All I took were photos, and I’m sharing these with you today.

Note: I’m about to hit a very busy stretch at my work for the next couple of weeks that may not allow me much time for cooking, much less photographing or writing about it. Please bear with me in the days of silence that may follow – I’m still around, just taking a short break from the blog while duty calls!

I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately, even though it’s October, my favorite month of the year. My trip to the Napa Valley last weekend helped snap me out of it for those several days, but I can feel that blah feeling coming back on already. It may have something to do with the fact that I’m about to be sequestered away at work for a couple of weeks, living on cafeteria food for lunch and – more likely than not – dinner. Or maybe it’s just because everyday life has gotten hectic. Those of you with kids in school and busy jobs and sick family members and the occasional family crisis know what I’m talking about.

When I start feeling this way, with good case of the Blahs, I crave comfort foods. I skipped a Gator football game a couple of weekends ago to stay home and make soup. That’s right. I stayed home and missed a game – homecoming, even – to make soup.

And it felt great.

As it turned out, I had the entire late afternoon and evening to myself. The kids were off with my sister-in-law, having a sleepover with their cousins, and my husband was at the football game with some friends.

That afternoon of solitude and slicing and chopping and stirring and sticky, slimy pumpkin innards was exactly what I needed.

I remembered something that day two weeks ago when I made pumpkin soup. I always think it’s the comfort food that I crave when I get the blues, but really, it’s the cooking. It’s the process.

That Saturday afternoon, as I picked up my chef’s knife and steadied the pumpkin on the cutting board, I felt the heaviness I’d been carrying begin to lift off my shoulders. I didn’t even really want the soup at that point. I just wanted to make it.

Pumpkin Soup with Gruyère

Adapted from this recipe from Fine Cooking. Serves 4 as main course, 6 as an appetizer. Note: This recipe calls for 6 cups of diced pumpkin. I was able to get this amount from two large grapefruit-sized pie pumpkins.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
6 cups 1-inch diced peeled, seeded pumpkin
1 small sweet potato, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
8 medium fresh sage leaves
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
4 to 6 cups lower-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup packed grated Gruyère, plus more for garnish
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Melt the butter in a heavy duty 4- to 5-quart pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin and sweet potato and garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Add the wine and sage leaves and nutmeg and cook, stirring, until the wine evaporates, about 5 minutes. Stir in 4 cups of broth, cover, and simmer, adjusting the heat as needed, until the pumpkin and sweet potato are very tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup of Gruyère and stir to incorporate. Using a handheld or standard blender, purée the soup (in batches if necessary). Season to taste with salt and pepper [Note: I needed to add about 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt for my seasoning preference.].

Return to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly and adding more broth as necessary to achieve a thin soup with the consistency of heavy cream. Serve warm. Garnish with a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg and a hefty grating of Gruyère.

To make ahead: The soup can be made up to 3 days ahead. Cool, cover, and refrigerate; reheat to serve.

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