[Molly] To celebrate the golden season,
I'm hosting a lunch
for the real farm spouses of wheat harvest.
-To harvest. -To us.
[Molly] We'll stuff ourselves silly
with my hearty sausage squash, bean and chard soup.
Yum.
Wheaty and cloud-like
jumbo cheesy pitas on the side.
Oh, yeah.
Look at those cheese pulls.
Crispy, spicy broccoli with tangy yogurt
that takes these veggies to a level ten... stun.
And for dessert,
everyone gets their own
decadent sweet potato mini cakes
with cream cheese frosting.
Oh, so beautiful.
Happy wheat harvest.
[theme music playing]
Look at these beauties.
Hey, this is me, Molly Yeh.
This is my husband, Nick.
This is our growing family.
And this is our farm on the North Dakota, Minnesota border,
the place where I eat, sleep and breathe food.
It's wheat harvest.
So, I'm throwing a tasty lunch for some of my favorite
fellow farm wives because,
we deserve it.
For dessert, I'm baking up my sweet potato mini cakes
with cinnamon cream cheese frosting
which are super moist,
perfectly spiced,
and decorated with a slew of beautiful accessories.
To get started,
I've got a couple of sweet potatoes here
that I've just roasted until they're tender.
So I'm scraping out the flesh,
I don't wanna get the skin in,
and I'm gonna mash them up
and add directly to the cake batter.
And what that does is
infuses the cake with so much moisture,
and then you also get the nutrition
of a sweet potato.
So, these are basically,
healthy little cakes.
I'll drizzle in a third of a cup of butter milk,
which will add that great tanginess,
and also since the buttermilk is cold,
it will help to cool down the hot sweet potato.
I don't wanna be combining hot sweet potato with eggs
and then getting a scrambled egg cake.
Ew. Gross.
I'll mash this until it's smooth.
I love wheat harvest.
It's the epitome of natural beauty on the farm.
It's just a whole mood and I'm here for it.
The buttermilk has done its job
of cooling down the sweet potato,
so now it's safe to add a couple of eggs,
half a cup of neutral oil,
and then one and a half cups of sugar.
Now, I'll whisk this up.
I love this orange color of the batter.
It's so good.
Okay, this is combined and smooth,
I'm ready to add my dry ingredients.
One and three quarters of a cup of all-purpose flour.
I'm sprinkling the dry ingredients evenly
over the surface of the batter
so that they get evenly distributed.
One and a half teaspoons of baking powder,
three quarters of a teaspoon of baking soda,
which will react with the acidity of the buttermilk
and allow these cakes to get extra fluffy.
Three quarters of a teaspoon of kosher salt.
Some beautiful autumnal cozy spices,
half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
Gotta have cinnamon with sweet potatoes.
Half a teaspoon of nutmeg.
And then, a quarter teaspoon of cloves.
A little bit goes a long way,
but it adds great dark depth.
I'll whisk this all together into my batter now,
but before I incorporate the dry ingredients in
with the wet ingredients,
while they're still on top of the batter,
I'll give them a rough little whisk,
just to combine them amongst each other
before incorporating with the wet ingredients.
Okay, and now I'll gradually
whisk all of this together.
And the batter is still maintaining that gorgeous orange color.
Now that I can no longer see any dry bits of ingredients,
I'm gonna stop mixing, I don't wanna over mix.
I've got my cute as a button mini cake pans here.
These are four-inch cake pans
that are greased and lined on the bottom
with parchment paper.
I found these online but if you don't have these,
or you don't wanna wait to order them online,
this batter bakes up beautifully as cupcakes
or just a regular eight-inch cake as well.
I'll divide the batter evenly between the cake pans.
And it's always cleanest to use
one of these ice cream scoops.
These will ultimately divide in half
and then decorate as two layers.
It will be like layer cakes for dolls.
These will bake now at 325 degrees
until a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean,
so about 35 minutes.
Oh, yeah, baby.
I'll let these cool while I make my frosting.
This is a straightforward cream cheese frosting
that gets lovely warmth from some cinnamon.
I'm starting with one stick of butter that's softened,
and then eight ounces of softened cream cheese.
The tangy brightness of a cream cheese frosting
with a hearty spice cake
is a match made in cake heaven.
I'll mix these until they're combined and creamy.
And then I'll sweeten with three cups
of powdered sugar.
Add half a teaspoon of cinnamon,
which will be just the perfect amount
to complement the cinnamon that's in the cake.
I'll mix this, slowly at first,
so that the powdered sugar doesn't fly everywhere.
We're not ready for any snow storms yet.
I'll add a pinch of salt,
and a splash of vanilla...
and a drizzle of heavy cream
that makes this luxurious.
This looks smooth and cloud-like.
Mmm.
I'll scrape this into a piping bag,
fit it with a large round tip,
and decorate.
My cakes are cooled.
First thing I'll do is I'll cut this big thick layer
into two shorter layers.
I'll use a serrated knife
to just very carefully saw it in half.
Okay.
Ta-da.
I'll stack these up
with a layer of frosting in-between.
I'll start in the center,
then just pipe this on,
working my way out to the edge.
I'll put on its hat...
then top with another thick layer of frosting.
And because it's fun,
I'll just smooth it out with my mini offset.
Give it some nice texture and shape.
I've got my canvas,
and now I have all of my toppings.
Some candied sliced oranges,
candied ginger,
edible flowers and fresh herbs,
I've got thyme and rosemary.
Super cute.
I could do this all day.
I get to.
I have four more cakes to decorate.
Here I go.
Oh, so beautiful.
Happy wheat harvest.
Coming up, my wheaty Midwest version
of a deli Middle Eastern delight.
Wheat season has sprung on the farm.
And now it's time for it to spring up in my kitchen.
Am I right?
In honor of those carbacious crop,
I am making my jumbo cheesy-stuffed pitas
with whole wheat flour.
They are fluffy and chewy,
and pockets of melty feta deliciousness.
I am so into these.
I am starting with a variation on my go-to pita dough.
I'm subbing in some of the bread flour
for whole wheat flour,
in honor of the wheat fields.
So I add one and a half cups of whole wheat flour,
I wouldn't sub it in for all of the all-purposer bread flour,
just a little bit.
If you use too much wheat flour,
it can get kind of dense.
Sometimes, when I'm really feeling the wheat harvest's spirit,
I'll text Nick to bring in a bucket of wheat berries,
and grind my own flour in a blender.
I'll combine the wheat flour with two and a quarter cups
of bread flour.
You could also use all-purpose flour,
but I like that oomph that a bread flour adds.
One and a half tablespoons of sugar
for just a hint of sweetness.
It'll also feed the yeast
to help make the dough rise and get fluffy.
Two and a quarter teaspoons of instant yeast.
I love using instant yeast
because you can throw it in with the dry ingredients.
There's no proofing necessary.
And then, one and a half teaspoons of kosher salt.
I'll get this combined,
that's it for my dry ingredients.
For my wet ingredients,
I'll add three tablespoons of olive oil
for richness and flavor,
and one and a half cups of warm water.
I'll give it a rough mix with my spatula.
I'll knead this with my stand mixer now,
it's fitted with a dough hook, for about seven to ten minutes
until the dough is smooth and slightly sticky.
I'm really excited to see my friends
who are coming over,
who also happen to be farmer's wives.
I don't want that to define them.
Harvest is such a beautiful time of year,
but it's also kind of a crazy time of year
since farmers stay out in the fields till past sundown and...
I don't wanna wait for Nick to come home to eat dinner,
so, having the ladies over.
This dough is nice and smooth,
and I love seeing the flex of whole wheat flour in here.
Thanks, Nick.
[people cheering]
I'll ball this up
so that it has a smooth top surface,
and then stick it top down into the bowl.
I wanna get this evenly coated in oil,
and then I'll flip it back over,
and then I'll cover this up and allow it to rise
until it's doubled in size,
and then divide it into balls and proof those
while I make the feta filling.
This filling is bright and salty,
a little spicy and herby,
and it's melty.
It's got it all.
I'm starting with four ounces of crumbled feta.
Feta makes everything betta
I'll zest in a lemon.
Sour lemon with the salty feta
are BFFs foreva.
I'm just lightly shaving off
the very top layer of the lemon rind.
You never wanna get too deep when you're zesting a lemon
otherwise you could get some bitter flavor.
About a teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves.
It balances out the brightness,
because thyme is so dark and earthy.
A bit of spiciness,
it's extra tasty in this.
And then I'll combine this,
and when I stuff it into the pitas,
I'll also add in a slice of mozzarella.
So you get the meltiness from the mozzarella,
and the snappiness from the feta.
Filling's ready.
Let's check on these balls.
Hello. They look good.
So, shaping these is pretty much
just like making a dumpling.
I'll grab a ball of dough,
and then flatten it out.
Okay, this is so satisfying.
I've got a slice of mozzarella,
this is just deli mozzarella not fresh mozzarella.
Fresh mozzarella would have too much moisture
and make these soggy.
I'll flatten out the dough
so that it's a little bit bigger
than the slice of mozzarella,
and then top this with a heaping tablespoon
of the feta filling.
Pinch the edges up to seal that cheese in.
And then when these bake,
the pita will get puffy and the cheese will get melty.
Yum.
I'll flatten this back into a pita shape,
and then stick it back onto my sheet pan.
And now I'll keep on filling.
So these are grown-up versions
of these cheese-filled breadsticks
from the school cafeteria that
were my lunch everyday for a while in high school,
I would dunk the breadsticks in marinara sauce.
[sighs] They were delicious.
I'll bake these now at 500 degrees
for about six minutes until they're puffy
and got some golden splotches on them.
Yum.
These look awesome.
They would be delicious as-is,
but to get them party-ready,
I'll brush them with some melted butter
with some olive oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper.
Oh, yeah.
It just gets them glossy,
and adds more flavor on top.
Oh. That garlic smells so good.
I'm just gonna load these up.
Go to town with that parmesan.
Is this the ultimate carb fest?
Yes.
A bit of Za'atar, which is a Middle Eastern spice blend.
It's got thyme, sumac,
which is bright and kind of lemony,
and sesame seeds.
And lastly, some parsley for a gorgeous pop of green.
These look so good.
All right.
I'm going for it.
Right here, right now.
Oh, yeah.
Look at those cheese pulls.
I mean...
What?
That's so good, it doesn't even make sense.
It's melty, it's salty, and that little bit of lemon,
it's the perfect amount of brightness.
What could beat feta?
Next,
the soupy secret to a no-stress meal.
When Nick's in harvest mode,
I like to have a few go-to dinners
that are super easy but are still super flavorful,
and this soup is one of those.
I am making my sausage squash, bean and chard soup
which is so comforting and hearty.
It is sure to satisfy all the farmers
and their spouses to the core.
And it's all built in one pot.
I'm starting with a pound of spicy Italian sausage,
which is such a great shortcut to more flavor.
I'll brown this sausage over medium high heat,
and I break it up with a spoon.
Oh! It smells so good already.
One of the first things I learned
being married to a farmer is that during harvest,
if the farmer calls and says, "Hey,
"I'll be in in 20 minutes for dinner,"
give it, like, an hour.
That's probably a more accurate
representation of time.
So, during harvest,
time sensitive dishes like...
sunny side up eggs, or a steak...
aren't good options,
but soup,
since it just gets better the longer it simmers
is a perfect option.
I'm smelling the fennel,
there's a lot of red pepper in this sausage.
I like an extra spicy Italian sausage.
All right.
I'm ready for my veggies.
I have chopped yellow onions,
celery and butternut squash.
I'll toss these all in.
I'll add a good couple of pinches of salt
to draw the moisture out of these veggies
and help them soften quicker.
I'll stir these around,
and bathe these veggies in the sausage fat
and allow them to soften
for about five to eight minutes.
As the veggies finish up softening,
I'll toss in some fresh rosemary,
some garlic,
and a couple of bay leaves to infuse the soup with herbiness.
So, whenever I add garlic to a soup like this,
I have my liquids standing by to add
as soon as the garlic starts smelling good,
because then when you add the liquids,
it kind of stops that cooking of the garlic.
I'll pour in a can of whole-peeled tomatoes,
and then break them up with my spoon.
And then some beans,
a can of chickpeas and a can of cannellini beans
that have been rinsed and drained.
They add such great creaminess.
And now I'll bring it together
with a quart of low sodium chicken stock.
And I'm using low sodium,
just to make sure that I'm not over-salting it,
and six cups of water.
Up to a full pot.
And I'll stir this around and bring it to a boil,
and then reduce to a simmer,
and allow this to cook for about 25 minutes
until the squash is tender.
I'm ready to be cozy.
My soup is almost done simmering.
I'm gonna finish it up with a pile of Swiss chard
because the bitterness,
it's a nice, bright moment
in an otherwise very hearty soup.
I'm just removing the stems,
these are a little bit too tough.
I'll feed them to the chickens.
And then I'll roll up these leaves
and chop them into pretty skinny ribbons
that will be easier to eat
when you're spooning up the soup.
All the warm colors in the soup,
between the squash and the tomatoes
and the sausage,
they need something green.
My favorite color.
Okay, and I'll pile this in.
I like this kind of balance.
A little bit of sausage,
a lot of greens.
It's cooking down already.
Yum.
Yeah, I'll season with a little more salt
and some black pepper.
And it looks gorgeous to me.
Now, this absolutely needs sourdough for dunking.
And I happen to have
some toasting in my oven right now.
I'll ladle up a bowl.
Piled high,
so that the good stuff peaks out.
I'll finish with a tiny drizzle of olive oil,
a little black pepper.
So, the bread is basically the spoon in this scenario.
A spoon that can also soak up soup.
Mmm.
All of those flavors go so beautifully together.
That is one cozy soup.
No, that is one super soup.
Still to come,
a delicious roasted side that will broc your world.
For a celebratory side,
I am roasting up some extra crispy broccoli,
and plating it on a bed of tangy yogurt
and then covering it all
with a storm of spicy everything bagel seasoning,
that takes these veggies to a level ten...
stun.
I've got a pan of broccoli florets here
and I'm gonna get them so gosh darn crispy
under the broiler,
to the point where they just melt in your mouth.
All broccoli needs is
a good glug of olive oil
and a generous amount of salt.
I'll toss this so that
this broccoli is evenly coated in the olive oil.
I've got my broiler going on high,
and I'll stick it into the broiler
just for a few minutes
until it gets super crisp.
Now, in the short amount of time
that this broccoli takes to broil,
I'm gonna whip up the other accoutrements.
I've just got plain Greek yogurt here,
which will be just the perfect creamy counterpart
to the hot, crispy broccoli.
And it doesn't need much.
I'll mix it with a drizzle of olive oil
for added richness,
and salt and pepper.
I'll plate the yogurt underneath the broccoli
so that the broccoli stays crispy on top,
and then also,
when you wanna dip the broccoli in the yogurt,
it's all right there,
in the same dish.
I'll do a pretty swoop.
Like that.
The base is done.
Let me check on my broccoli.
Oh, yeah.
I'll eat that.
Look at all those crispy little bits.
Those are my favorites.
That is a rustic tangle of broccoli,
if I ever saw one.
I'll top it with everything bagel seasoning
that's been zhushed up with Aleppo pepper and lemon zest
for a great fruity brightness.
Couple of lemon wedges,
and some hot sauce.
Looks awesome.
All right.
Time to get this dinner party started.
Mmm.
-Yum. -[woman 1] Ooh.
-This looks amazing. -[woman 2] It does look good.
-[woman 1] Wow! -[woman 2] This is your first harvest
-with three kids? -[Molly] Yes.
-IT will be. -[woman 1] Whoa! That's a lot.
The broccoli's my favorite.
Mmm, it's so good.
Who wants cake?
[woman 2] I would love some cake.
[Molly] This is my ode to a grain duster.
-[woman 1] They're so pretty. -[woman 2] Thank you.
Mmm.
Shall we pack any leftovers up
for the spouses?
If there are any.
Yeah, their pain.
[all laughing]
To harvest.
-Yes. -[woman 1] To harvest.
To us.
-Cheers. -Cheers.
-Thanks for coming. -[laughing]