Monday, November 29, 2010

Thanksgiving Dinner

Brined Turkey with Gravy
Broccoli Casserole
Roasted Butternut Squash with Fresh Garlic
Thanksgiving Potatoes
Stuffing
Cranberry Relish
Italian Olives
Pumpkin Crescent Rolls
Pumpkin Pie
Delish:)

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Turkey Brine

How easy is this.

Add contents of jar to one gallon water and bring to a boil.

Stir and let cool completely.

Here's the FRESH 12 pound turkey breast.

Put turkey in brine bag, add cooled brine, place in refrigerator until ready to cook.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all:)

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Creamy Olive Spread

Creamy Olive Spread
1 8oz. Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1 small jar green olives, chopped
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Mix all together. I served it with Pita bread rounds

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Thursday, November 11, 2010

Fall Hominy Stew

Fall Hominy Stew
(Inspired by Delightful Country Cookin')
2 pounds Italian sausage (take out of casting)
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano and cumin
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 cans hominy, drained
1 cup frozen peas
salt and pepper to taste
Brown meat in a large stockpot. Add green pepper and onion and cook for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Add broth, spices, and squash, and bring to a boil; simmer for about 15 minutes, or until squash is tender when pierced. Add hominy and peas and simmer until heated through. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 12
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Monday, November 8, 2010

Marie-Helene's Apple Cake

I have seen Marie-Helene's Apple Cake on a few blogs and decided to try it.
My house smelled like a French bakery:) Marie-Helene's Apple Cake
Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
4 large apples (if you can, choose 4 different kinds)
2 large eggs
3/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter an 8-inch springform pan and put it on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in small bowl.
Peel the apples, cut them in half and remove the cores. Cut the apples into 1- to 2-inch chunks.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until they're foamy. Pour in the sugar and whisk for a minute or so to blend. Whisk in the rum and vanilla. Whisk in half the flour and when it is incorporated, add half the melted butter, followed by the rest of the flour and the remaining butter, mixing gently after each addition so that you have a smooth, rather thick batter. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the apples, turning the fruit so that it's coated with batter. Scrape the mix into the pan and poke it around a little with the spatula so that it's evenish.
Slide the pan into the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean; the cake may pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for 5 minutes.
Carefully run a blunt knife around the edges of the cake and remove the sides of the springform pan. (Open the springform slowly, and before it's fully opened, make sure there aren't any apples stuck to it.) Allow the cake to cool until it is just slightly warm or at room temperature. If you want to remove the cake from the bottom of the springform pan, wait until the cake is almost cooled, then run a long spatula between the cake and the pan, cover the top of the cake with a piece of parchment or wax paper, and invert it onto a rack. Carefully remove the bottom of the pan and turn the cake over onto a service dish.
The cake can be served warm or at room temperature, with or without a little softly whipped, barely sweetened heavy cream or a spoonful of ice cream. Marie-Helene serviced her cake with cinnamon ice cream and it was a terrific combination.
This was an amazing cake and so easy to make.
I can't wait to buy Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table cookbook.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Pumpkin Scones with Pumpkin Butter

Pumpkin Scones
2 cups flour (this time I used whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter
1/3 cup 2% milk
1/2 cup pumpkin (if canned, be sure there are no spice or sugar added)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix together flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Cut butter into small pieces and cut into flour. Mixture should look like coarse crumbs. In a separate bowl mix together the pumpkin, milk, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture and mix until the dough comes together (don't over mix).
Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead gently 3-4 times, and then shape/pat dough into a circle about 1 1/2 inches thick. Slice in half, and then cut each half into 4 equal pie shaped wedges, (I used a pizza cutter.)
Brush with egg glaze (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk or cream)
Bake in a 400 degrees oven for 20 minutes.
Pumpkin Spice Butter
1/4 cup (half a stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
Combine all and mix till creamy.
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Tuesday, November 2, 2010

What to do with the leftovers..........

Saturday I made "Company Pot Roast" from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa.....Back to Basics cookbook. It was amazing!! I ended up with a lot of leftovers, so...........I created this.
Company Pot Roast
Shepherd's PieI added some thawed frozen vegetables, cut up the meat, added the sauce and put the leftover mashed potatoes on the top. Baked it at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Don't you just love Ina's recipes.