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pulse until combined, but not pulverized.
    4 Bake the muffins. Scoop the batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups, then top each with an even sprinkle of topping. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out with a few crumbs but not wet, about 30 minutes.
    5 Make the compound butter. While the muffins are baking, combine the butter, cinnamon, raisins, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Blend with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon until the sugar becomes less granular. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Serve softened.
     
    tip! I play with compound butter all the time. Try a savory twist on these muffins by substituting plenty of fresh thyme and lemon zest for the cinnamon and raisins, then leave out the sugar and add a pinch of salt instead. Also try almonds and a drop of vanilla with sugar, or hazelnuts and sugar.

pumpkin pecan pie french toast WITH BUTTERSCOTCH SYRUP
    b read is baaad. To quote the great poet LL Cool J, it’s “not bad meaning bad, but bad meaning good.” The English often have something called “fried bread” for breakfast and that’s it, no frills, just bread fried to a crisp in fat! When I lived in New Orleans while attending Loyola University, my sophomore twenty could easily be attributed to the Creole answer to fried bread for breakfast, pain perdu. I make my own kind of fried bread, known by most as French toast. This is one of the recipes I never have to measure, and I find plenty of ways to play with the flavors. The dash of pumpkin pie spice really warms up the flavors. MAKES 8 SLICES
    FOR THE BATTER
    4 eggs
    ½ cup whole milk
    2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
    ½ cup pumpkin puree
    1 tablespoon granulated sugar
    1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
FOR THE COATING
    3 cups cornflakes, crushed
    1½ cups finely chopped pecans
    Kosher salt
FOR THE FRENCH TOAST
    8 slices stale Texas toast, 1½ inches thick
    2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for frying
    2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for frying
FOR THE SYRUP
    2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    ¼ cup butterscotch liqueur
    ¼ cup pecan liqueur
    1 cup grade A maple syrup
    Kosher salt
    1 Make the batter. In a shallow dish, whisk together the eggs, milk, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin puree, and sugars.
    2 Mix the coating. In another shallow dish, combine the cereal, pecans, and a pinch of salt.
    3 Dredge the bread. Place the bread slices in the egg dish and soak on each side until well coated and soaked through, but not soggy. Immediately place the bread in the coating and press down on both sides and the edges to coat. Repeat with the remaining slices, place on a parchment-lined plate, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
    4 Make the syrup. In a small pot, melt the butter over low heat. Add the butterscotch and pecan liqueurs and bring to a simmer, then add the maple syrup and stir. Taste the syrup and season with a tiny pinch of salt. Keep warm over low heat.
    5 Fry the bread. In a large skillet or griddle over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons oil. Remove the bread slices from the refrigerator and cook until golden, turning once, 5 to 7 minutes per batch. Add 1 more tablespoon of butter and oil for each batch, if needed.
    6 Serve. Serve warm with the butterscotch syrup. Refrigerate any remaining syrup in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
     
    tip! If you want to make your own pumpkin pie spice blend, start with cinnamon, then add a little ground allspice, ginger, and nutmeg until you like your personal blend.



In my early days of cooking I had a problem with making appetizers because all I really wanted to eat was the main event. I loved to order a meal of appetizers in restaurants, but I felt like they just didn’t matter at home. Who makes themselves appetizers? Then friends started coming over for informal hangouts and I had to build a lineup of recipes that worked for these occasions. I had breakfast and dinner down, but what about small bites?
    In the beginning