The Morning After The Morning After....

Yesterday was our Thanksgiving. Sort of.

Thanksgiving day we joined my father-in-law for a turkey-and-all-the-trimmings brunch in the dining room at the retirement community where he lives.

The brunch was served buffet style on long tables lined with commercial chafing dishes. Sliced turkey; sliced ham pieces (floating in some sort of liquid); stuffing (cornbread type, I think, though it was hard to discern); instant mashed potatoes; gravy (also from a can); green beans with limp, soggy bacon (swimming in the brine in which they were canned); mashed sweet potato casserole; cranberry sauce (again, from a can) and rolls. This kind of meal is what we have come to expect from the head 'chef' (I use that term quite loosely).

But, we love turkey dinner leftovers, so we decided to roast our own turkey on Saturday.

We prepared our dinner for just the two of because we wanted to make just a few items that we love and experiment with a new, highly seasoned stuffing that wouldn't necessarily appeal to our usual dinner guests.

I found the stuffing recipe, Ciabatta Stuffing with Chorizo, Sweet Potatoes and Mushrooms, at Food52.com and I'm glad I did. It was amazing. Instead of using cured chorizo, Tom used a half of a 10-ounce tube of Mexican chorizo. The result was a little spicier than what the cured chorizo would have been, but it perfectly complimented the sweetness of the potatoes and the earthiness of the mushrooms (combination of shitaki and crimini).

Rather than bake the stuffing in a pan, Tom stuffed the bird with it and then with what stuffing wouldn't fit in the cavity of the bird he cooked a small bowlful in a frying pan and ate it for breakfast topped with a fried egg over easy.

Tom made the mashed potatoes. I made the gravy from the stock that I had simmering on the stove all day.

One of our favorite holiday side dishes is Marie's Parmesan Roasted Onions. Onions roasted in a wine and cream sauce until they're just barely soft and oh so sweet.


Then, of course, we needed cranberry sauce.

Several years ago, I saw filmmaker, David Hahn, on a cooking show (I can't remember which one) talking about a new product he developed called Cranberry Fool. A cranberry sauce of sorts: whole fresh cranberries enhanced with dried cherries, currants and raisins with a splash of vanilla. I decided to make my own Cranberry Fool Sauce. It's much better than canned cranberry sauce and what's so awesome is that you can add some chopped candied jalapeños to the sauce and spoon it over cream cheese or bake it with brie for a special appetizer.


The last side dish, which didn't turn out so well, was the Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon, Onions and Balsamic. I just roasted them too long. We ate them anyway.

It was a fairly simple Thanksgiving dinner...



We have lots of leftovers, most of which are vacuum sealed and stored in the freezer. I kept out some turkey to make soup this afternoon. 

I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with the warmth of family and friends.

Next stop.... Christmas.

Top Five Readers Choice for 2011

I know that I have been absent for quite some time....almost a month. But I do have a good excuse. I've been sick since the day after Thanksgiving and I'm still not fully recovered.

It hasn't been anything life threatening...only that horrible cold/flu/crud that has been sweeping the country with a vengeance...but at my age, recovery is a slow, tough process.

I am ashamed to admit that I didn't bake one holiday goodie. No cookies. No breads. No cakes. Nothing. It was all I could do to get myself ready for our trip to Reno to visit our oldest son and his family for Christmas.

But, I'm happy to say it feels like I am on the mend and ready to start posting again.

I'm going to start the year with a resolution: take better photos. Tom gave me a tripod for Christmas and I'm going to purchase some good lights. I'm looking forward to sharing much better photos with you in the future.

But this post will include old photos because this post is about last year, specifically the top five posts you liked, according the the number of hits the post received. Then tomorrow, I will post my top five favorite recipes for 2011.

Let's start with your top five:

Number 5: BANG BANG SHRIMP

I posted this recipe back in October 2011 and it instantly became one of the most downloaded recipes. It's a simple, but delicious dish: shrimp dipped in panko bread crumbs and fried and served with a spicy, sweet mayonnaise based sauce.

Number 4: TIMPANO

Posted back in March 2008, this recipe has topped the list every year since then. It is a traditional Italian dish that requires a lot of prep work, but is worth every second.

Layers of homemade meatballs, Genoa salami, hard cooked eggs, chunks of provolone cheese, cooked ziti and a rich Italian meat and tomato sauce baked in a homemade crust!



Number 3: GRANDMOTHER BREAD

I started making this bread last January after I scoured the inter-webs for what to do with the leftover whey from making ricotta cheese. Now, every time I make ricotta... a simple 30-minute process... I save the whey in plastic zip-lock bags in 3-cup measurements and store it in the freezer to use for making this bread. It makes two beautiful, delicious loaves.



Number 2: ASIAN TURKEY MEATBALLS WITH SESAME DIPPING SAUCE

Since posting this recipe back in 2010, it has been consistently popular with all of you, as well as the guests at my dinner table.

I've made the meatballs as a main dish and served them with steamed or fried rice and sauteed cabbage, and also made smaller, bite-sized meatballs for appetizers. They are a low-cal, low-fat delicious dish.



And finally......

Are you ready????

You are not going to believe this!!

Taaa Daaaa!!!

Numero Uno!!: CAPRESE SKEWERS

These skewers were part of a post that contained ideas for five separate appetizers. So how do I know it was the Caprese Skewers that were popular? Because this photo....

....has been "pinned" on Pinterest several thousand times, as well as featured in the Health and Fitness Blog on GlamourMagazine.com and in Food Served Best on a Stick at TheKitchn.com, in addition to being linked back from several other individual blogs.

Who knew that putting Caprese Salad on skewers in bite sized morsels would be such a hit? I sure didn't. But a hit they were....and I thank all of you for spreading the word!

Tomorrow, I will post my top five choices for 2011. Stay tuned.

It's Final

There's no going back. The menu is committed to MS Word and printed, with lovely graphics of course.

For appetizers, bite-sized Asian Turkey Meatballs. I found this recipe at Gina's Skinny Recipes and loved them. I made them for the first time and posted the results in March 2010. I've made them many times since then, both for appetizer and entree.

To keep things simple, we will steam some shrimp and serve it with a quick and Remoulade Sauce.

I was going to keep the appetizers down to only two, but I've been wanting to try Suzanne's Cranberry Salsa, so I put that on the appetizer menu as well.

The turkey is in a cooler in the garage submerged in apple cider. Tom will make the stuffing in the morning, but tonight he's going to prepare the mashed potatoes, refrigerate them overnight in a casserole dish and we'll warm them in the oven tomorrow just before dinner.

The turkey giblets will be thrown in a pot of water with some onion, carrot and celery to be simmered all day on the stove. That wonderful turkey stock will be used for my gravy.

Instead of the traditional overly sweet candied sweet potatoes or sweet potato pudding, I'm going to roast chunks of fresh sweet potato with a little butter and a touch of pure maple syrup.

Fresh green beans will not be in the form of a casserole. They will be cooked until just done with bacon and butter. Simple, easy, delicious. I don't know why I never thought of cooking them that way, but I guess you have to have the vast experience of the chef who introduced me to them ~ my niece's husband, who is a chef and culinary instructor in southern California.

We may not have green bean in casserole form, but we will have casseroles of sorts. First, my son Mike's recipe for Cauliflower Gratin, which combines cauliflower with cream and copious amounts of Parmesan, mozzarella and goat cheeses for one of the best gratins I've ever eaten.

The second casserole is Marie's Parmesan Roasted Onions. To. Die. For. Honestly.

I don't like canned cranberry sauce. But I saw David Hahn, a filmmaker, on some cooking show a few years back promoting Cranberry Fool, a cranberry topping that he and his wife use to make and gave as gifts. Since he was trying sell his new product, he didn't give the recipe, but the ingredients are listed on the jar: cranberries, cherries, currants, raisins, vanilla and NO SUGAR, although I do add about 1/2 cup. How hard is that? I think his product contains fresh cherries, but we obviously can't get them year round, so I use dried cherries. I've made it ever since in place of cranberry sauce and I've even added candied jalapenos and served it over cream cheese as an appetizer. Pretty darn yummy...and I don't care for cream cheese.

We cannot have Thanksgiving dinner without rolls. I found the recipe for Sweet Potato Buttermilk Dinner Rolls at Pinch My Salt in 2008 and made them for Thanksgiving that year, too. They are absolutely delicious.

Finally, for dessert I am making Pumpkin Spice Latte Cheesecake that I saw at The Pastry Affair. The recipe calls for 3 teaspoons of espresso powder, but I already know I'm probably going to use a little bit more.

Here's the menu in a more formal state:

I have a lot of prep work to do, so I better get started. I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday weekend filled with fun, love and good food! Happy Thanksgiving!!

Candied Jalapenos and My Thanksgiving Menu

In my last post I said I would post the recipe for the candied jalapenos that I used in the Vietnamese Slaw and on the Pork Banh Mi Sandwich. We love these at our house. We use them for everything, from salsa to topping sandwiches. I took a jar to my son's house and they were a hit there as well. I've known folks who just chop up a few, mix them with cream cheese and serve it on crackers.

The recipe is the lazy person's method and has only three ingredients: a jar of pickled jalapenos, sugar and a touch of alum (which is optional). No picking jalapenos from the garden. No slicing. That's all done for you.

I buy the pickled jalapenos in the 64-oz. jar, so that's the amount I will use for the recipe. If you decided to use a smaller jar, just reduce the amount of sugar and alum by the same ratio.

You should keep the Candied Jalapenos in the refrigerator. Fair warning: they won't last long!

Candied Jalapenos

• 1 - 64-oz. jar pickled jalapenos
• 2-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon alum

Drain the liquid from the jar of peppers into a non-reactive pan. Add the sugar to the pan with the liquid and bring the mixture to a full boil. The sugar she be completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in alum. Allow the liquid to cool for 30 minutes.

Pour the cooled liquid back into the jar with the peppers. Do not allow to overflow. If there is any liquid remaining in the pan, discard it. Screw the lid back on the jar and refrigerate for a few days. Keep refrigerated.

That's it. I told you it was the lazy person's method.

Now, I'm already planning for Thanksgiving dinner. I think Tom's sister and brother-in-law will be coming, depending on their travel schedule, but whether we have company or not, we will have the traditional roast turkey, stuffing and gravy.

It's the rest of the meal I'd like to change up some.

Let's start with appetizers. First of all, I will make mini-sized Asian Turkey Meatballs. And a few days I saw a recipe for Baked Brie Bites @ Plain Chicken and I think I'd like to give those a whirl sometime before Thanksgiving, but they sound yummy without all of fuss of an En Croute.

The main course will, of course, be roast turkey, but I will put it in an apple cider brine the day before. The bird will be stuffed with a traditional bread stuffing, but Tom likes to add some fruit as well, like chopped apples and dates, along with the onions and celery. When we put the bird in the oven, I put the giblets and neck in a pot of water with some onion, carrot and celery and, when we are ready to serve, I make a gravy with the rich turkey broth.

I feel like switching up the side dishes this year. We usually make the traditional mashed potatoes, but I made Parisian Potatoes last month and I think I'll make them instead of mashed potatoes this year.


Not wanting to stray too far away from the traditional, green beans will still be on the menu, but not in the form of a casserole. A few years ago at a family reunion, my niece's husband made the tastiest green beans I've ever eaten. The dish consisted of simply fresh green beans, crisped bacon and butter, all of which were cooked together until the green beans were tender. Amazing.

A couple of years ago, I visited Marie @ Proud Italian Cook and copied her recipe for Parmesan Roasted Onions. They are rich, savory, creamy and delicious. And even if I'm the only one who eats them, they will be served Thanksgiving Day.

It's hard to decide what to do with a sweet potato. I'm not fond of the overly sweet candied sweet potato, nor do I care for the grated sweet potato casserole I've made the last 3 or 4 years. I'm thinking of roasting sweet potato rounds or wedges this year.

Of course, I will have my version of Cranberry Fool, a cranberry sauce made with fresh cranberries, a little sugar, dried cherries, raisins with a touch of vanilla.

For dessert, I am making a Pumpkin Spice Latte Cheesecake posted at The Pastry Affair

I don't think anyone will leave hungry.

What are you serving for Thanksgiving dinner?



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Asian Turkey Meatballs with Sesame Dipping Sauce

After all the desserts I've posted lately, I thought it was time to post something healthy and, of course, delicious.

A while back I received this recipe in my Google reader from Gina's WW Recipes. Gina posts corresponding Weight Watcher points and calories for all of her recipes. Since I am not an expert on Weight Watchers nor can I verify the accuracy of her data, I am not including them here. You can visit Gina's blog for those details.

However, I can verify that these meatballs are simply delicious.

I've already made this recipe twice. The photo is of the larger, dinner sized meatballs. I served them with a sauteed cabbage with a hoisin/soy sauce glaze. I also made the meatballs in a smaller, individual appetizer size, put a toothpick in each one and set the dipping sauce nearby.

The original recipe calls for an additional 1/4 teaspoon of salt. I left it out. I think soy sauce, even the low sodium type, is salty enough. The recipe also included 2 tablespoons of lime juice in the dipping sauce which I left out, too, and I liked it without the additional acidity. In addition, I increased the amount of sesame oil in the meatballs and dipping sauce.

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Sesame Dipping Sauce
Adapted from Gina's WW Recipes
Makes 12 large or 30 appetizer size meatballs

Meatballs:

• ¼ cup panko crumbs
• 1¼ lean ground turkey
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon ginger, finely grated
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 3 green onions, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil

Dipping Sauce:

• 4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 green onion, finely minced

Preheat oven to 500ºF.

In a bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the meatballs and mix with your hand until well combined.

For larger, dinner size meatballs, shape ¼ cup of meat mixture at a time into a ball and transfer to a baking dish or sheet pan that's been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake until cooked through, approximately 15 minutes.

For appetizer size meatballs, use a small ice cream scoop or tablespoon size portion and shape into meatballs approximately 1-inch in diameter. Bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes.

While meatballs are in the oven, whisk the dipping sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.

When the meatballs are done, transfer to a serving dish and drizzle with about 1 tablespoon of the dipping sauce. Serve the meatballs with the remaining sauce.
PRINT THE RECIPE HERE

Thanksgiving Is Over And We Are On The Way To Christmas...

Or...

Are you sick of turkey yet because it's almost time to roast another one!

I love turkey. Really I do. But I am sick of it. But, by the time Christmas rolls around I will be craving it again. I do this every Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Every year I say I am going to roast a turkey more often, but I don't. I don't know why. I roast chicken, why not turkey? It doesn't make sense to me, but then nothing makes much sense to me during the holidays. My head is filled with baking cookies, bars and quick breads and trying to decide what to buy whom for Christmas.

So, anyway, back to the turkey. We roasted a 22 pounder and had 8 people for dinner (plus a take-home-care-package-dinner for my niece who was in New York oogaling Daniel Radcliff ~the star of Harry Potter, if you're not up on those kinds of things~ as he came out of the theatre where he stars in Equus. Anyway, we had LOTS of leftover turkey and all the trimmings.

Leftovers, Day One: Of course, the first dish I made using the leftover turkey was the obligatory Turkey Soup, but I punched it up just a little by adding some tortellini I had in the pantry.



I bought some mushrooms and a zucchini, threw in some onion, carrot, celery and our leftover green beans. I make a large pot of turkey stock to use for making the gravy and I used what was leftover from that, plus a little chicken broth, thyme and a bay leaf. I served it with those amazing leftover Sweet Potato Buttermilk Rolls that I made using the recipe from Pinch My Salt and voila! Dinner is served.

Leftovers, Day Two: I was watching the Today Show Friday morning and saw a segment with the Scottos using leftover turkey and thought, Gee, I think I might have some around here somewhere! One dish that caught my eye was turkey in a marsala cream sauce over pasta. Yeah, I know. I'm a sucker for a velvety cream sauce.

Tom made it Saturday night...



Following is the recipe, cut in half, with Tom's changes:

Fettucine with Turkey, Mushrooms & Onions in a Cream Sauce
Adapted from The Today Show, from Fresco by Scotto Restaurant

1 pound linquine
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup bacon, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup onions, diced
1/2 cup mushroom, sliced
2 cups diced leftover turkey, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup leftover turkey gravy
1/2 cup Marsala wine
salt & pepper
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, combine the oil and butter over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the bacon and saute until crispy. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until the onions are almost transparent. Add the turkey meat and toss to mix evenly.

Add the Marsala wine to the pan and cook for about 1 minute. Add the cream and the gravy, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook pasta according to package directions. When the pasta is cooked, drain, and add directly to the turkey sauce. Toss well to mix evenly. Serve immediately with grated parmesan cheese.


Leftovers, Day Three: By this time, we are wishing we had purchased a 10 pound turkey, but we marched forward. I had some puff pastry shells and a bag of peas and carrots in the freezer, so I pulled those out. I chopped up some onion and celery and made a nice gravy base with a butter and flour roux and the last of the leftover turkey gravy and a little chicken stock. I added the turkey, onions, celery, half of the bag of peas and carrots and a small can of corn I had in the pantry. I baked the puff pastry shells and we had Sort-of Turkey Pot Pie...



I had a little homemade cranberry sauce left so I made a cranberry sauce vinaigrette by adding some raspberry wine vinegar, dijon mustard, sugar, oil and salt and pepper and served it with salad greens and tomato slices. I think it kind of over powered the greens and would have been better on a chunky chopped salad, but it was good enough...



And, best of all, it used the very last of the leftovers! Can I get a Hallelujah!