Thanksgiving: Part Two

So now I am back from my thanksgiving-cooking hiatus to share my thoughts on one of my favorite days! My family's feast went perfect and everyone seemed stuffed and happy.

The item that took the longest to prepare was my dinner rolls. They are yeast rolls that have to rise several times, need to shaped, and due to their popularity I need to make several batches.  I use the the basic Better Homes and Gardens dinner rolls and then I shape them into crescents and sweet rolls (with cinnamon sugar).

For the sides I made a apple and sausage stuffing with sourdough bread and dried cranberries. I absolutely loved this recipe. It was simple, quick and rustic. And more importantly it was delicious. This was an Ina Garten recipe.

Ingredients

• 16 cups 1-inch bread cubes, white or sourdough (1 1/2 pound loaf)
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 cups medium-diced yellow onion (2 onions)
• 1 cup medium-diced celery (2 stalks)
• 2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cored and large-diced
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 pound sweet  Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Place the bread cubes in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake for 7 minutes. Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Remove the bread cubes to a very large bowl.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, melt the butter and add the onions, celery, apples, parsley, salt and pepper. Saute over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Add to the bread cubes.

In the same saute pan, cook the sausage over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until browned and cooked through, breaking up the sausage with a fork while cooking. Add to the bread cubes and vegetables.

Add the chicken stock and cranberries to the mixture, mix well, and pour into a 9 by 12-inch baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes, until browned on top and hot in the middle. Serve warm.

Side Note: I prepared the stuffing while the turkey was cooking and did not add the chicken stock until right b

Ingredients

• 16 cups 1-inch bread cubes, white or sourdough (1 1/2 pound loaf)
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 cups medium-diced yellow onion (2 onions)
• 1 cup medium-diced celery (2 stalks)
• 2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cored and large-diced
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 pound sweet or spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Place the bread cubes in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake for 7 minutes. Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Remove the bread cubes to a very large bowl.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, melt the butter and add the onions, celery, apples, parsley, salt and pepper. Saute over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Add to the bread cubes.

In the same saute pan, cook the sausage over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until browned and cooked through, breaking up the sausage with a fork while cooking. Add to the bread cubes and vegetables.

Add the chicken stock and cranberries to the mixture, mix well, and pour into a 9 by 12-inch baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes, until browned on top and hot in the middle. Serve warm.

Side Note: I prepared the stuffing while the turkey was cooking and did not add the chicken stock until right before I put the stuffing in the oven. You could easily prepare days ahead and then just add stock when ready to cook.

I also made a corn bake. This was very popular. It is just corm muffin mix, corn, creamed corn, a cup of sour cream, an egg, a couple tablespoons of butter, and two cups of shredded cheddar cheese. I also add peppers. This year I just used red peppers but I have also used green chilies.....it is whatever floats your boat.

For dessert I made a pumpkin pecan pie. I love this recipe....it is the best of both world. I spices up a pumpkin pie and tones down the sweetness of a pecan pie. Needless to say there were no leftover pieces.

I also made an apple pie with a cheddar cheese crust...can you tell that I like cheese???

And my last dessert was a pumpkin maple bread pudding with a amaretto hard sauce.

This was one of my most successful Thanksgivings. I am so very blessed to have a wonderful family that I can cook delicious food for! Hope you  all had a great holiday!

Thanksgiving: Part One

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I hope you are in the process of creating and/or feasting on a fabulous meal! I am part way though on my cooking for the "big show"!

Yesterday was prep day. I made my Pumpkin Pecan Pie, a Apple Pie with a Cheddar Cheese Crust and enough yeast rolls to feed an army. I set up my Pumpkin Maple Bread Pudding and let it sit over night. The bread for the stuffing was cut and is not getting stall in the dinning room.

For the rest of the I plan on making a Sausage Stuffing with apples and dried cranberries, a corn bake, and the other usual suspects (turkey, squash, potatoes, gravy and green beans.) I will keep you posted with pictures and recipes.

I am so grateful to be able to have to all of this wonderful food and being able to spend time with those that I love!

Pecan & Pumpkin- A Love Story

So this weekend I was looking for something yummy to make but everything I looked at was big and heavy. There were several cheesecakes I wanted to make but with only two of us eating and the fact that we would not be home due to Thanksgiving...I didn't want bake something that would go to waste. So I found on the Food Network's site a recipe for Mini Pumpkin/Pecan pies. 

The recipe calls for mini muffin tins but this girl does not have a budget to go out and get things like this for one recipe...so I used my regular sized ones. The recipe says to form 24 balls for the crust, so I just made 12 and used 2 tablespoons of the filling in each instead of 1 for the minis. They turned out wonderfully just instead of one biters they were 2-3 biters!

I liked the recipe; it was easy to follow. The baking time takes a bit because you have to bake the crust and than the filling but really no big deal. They were yummy, plus you can have a few then freeze the rest. Side note: If you are going to use pumpkin puree instead of the pre-spiced stuff (I always do) make sure you add some cinnamon and nutmeg or it will be blah tasting. 

Here's the recipe:

For the dough:

• 1/4 cup pecans
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for shaping dough
• 6 tablespoons butter, ice cold
• 2 to 3 tablespoons ice cold water

For the filling:

• 1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin filling
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped plus 24 halves for garnish
• Special equipment: 2 (12-cup) mini muffin tins

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray the bottoms and sides of the mini muffin tins with cooking spray.

For the dough:

In a food processor, pulse pecans with the sugar, salt, and flour, until the nuts are ground and the ingredients are combined. Add in butter and pulse until dough resembles coarse meal. Slowly pour in ice water through the feed tube, pulsing, until the dough comes together. Remove from processor bowl onto clean work surface sprinkled with flour.

Form dough into a ball and divide evenly into 24 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and evenly press into each cup, until the bottom is covered. If the dough is sticky, dip your finger in flour first.

Bake 15 to 18 minutes, until the crusts are very golden. Check periodically to make sure they don't get too brown.

Meanwhile, make the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and yolk with the corn syrup, sugar, pumpkin filling and vanilla. Stir in the chopped pecans.

Remove dough from oven and spoon 1 tablespoon of the filling into each cup. Top each with 1 pretty pecan half. Return the pans to the oven and continue baking, for 12 to 15 minutes more, until the pumpkin filling is set. Allow to cool before removing from the pans.

(Thanks Sunny Anderson &Food Network)

When it comes to gingerbread men, Betty got it wrong!

I love love love gingerbread men. So this weekend I felt festive and I wanted to make them. But I did not have a recipe and so I just googled one. I ended up with a Betty Crocker (which claimed to begift material) and I trusted the Betty Crocker name as she has done me no harm in the past. I know I am going to get some crap for this but  the recipe is a dud!
I love my mom's recipe (which I will find and share). The BC gingerbread was very cake like....I tasted more flour than molasses, ginger, and cinnamon. I know this may not be popular but I hate cake so naturally a cakey-cookie is not my thing. My mom's cookie is more cracker like but still soft. Her cookie is light and versatile-crispy on the bottom and soft on top. I mean the BC cookie has 7 cups of flour- holy gluten! It tasted like a gingerbread cookie that was mass-produced and shipped out for millions aka store-bought!
I am not hating on Betty (truth be told I love her) but this cookie sucks and I now have dozens of them (hence the 7cups of flour)!
So after Thanksgiving I will acquire the yummy gingerbread recipe and share it with you all!

As a side note I will be making a gingerbread house this holiday season and the BC recipe just might work!

I'm back and I am bringing a cocktail with me!

So I haven't been writing in a while but I am back. I just finished all of my graduate school applications-I thought the process was going to kill me! But now those applications are out of my hands and I would like to have a cocktail in my hands.
It is less than a week until Thanksgiving and the holiday season officially starts.....when it comes to food I love seasonal stuff. I have found though for Thanksgiving and Christmas a lot of the adult beverages are very heavy and if you have more than one you are headed for a bellyache. So the other day I found eggnog flavored club soda and I had a stroke of genius!

Here my Light Eggnog Fizz:

• 11/2 oz. whipped cream flavored vodka (several brands make this flavor-I went with Burnett's)
• a generous splash of Light Eggnog (I love light eggnog....regular is too heavy and I suggest Stewart's Eggnog)
•  4oz. Polar Eggnog Seltzer
• a dash of nutmeg

Stir together and serve in a tumbler and to really set the mood I serve mine with snowflake shaped ice cubes. This drink is light, festive, and tasty-plus you can drink them all night!

Try them out and let me know what you think!