Crockpot Thai Chicken

In my search for more crockpot dinners, this was a big hit. Not too spicy and excellent served over rice.

Ingredients
2 medium onions cut into thin wedges
1.5 cups sliced carrot (3 medium)
1 small red sweet pepper, cut into bite-size strips
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon finely shredded lime peel
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce 
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2-3 teaspoons red curry paste
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup frozen peas
Hot cooked rice
Chopped peanuts (optional)
Snipped fresh cilantro (optional)

In a slow cooker, place onions, carrot, and sweet pepper. Top with chicken. In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, peanut butter, lime peel, lime juice, soy sauce, ginger, curry paste, and garlic until smooth. Pour over all in cooker.

Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours or on high-heat setting for 2-1/2 to 3 hours. Stir in coconut milk and peas. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

Serve chicken mixture over hot cooked rice. If desired, sprinkle each serving with chopped peanuts and cilantro. 

Butternut Squash Lasagna

I adapted this from a Martha Stewart recipe with the addition of Italian sausage. I think kale or Swiss chard might be a nice way to add some veg as well.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated (2 cups)
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup loosely packed fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/4 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock (I used a bit more since I had no cook noodles)
• 3/4-1 lb sweet Italian sausage, cooked
• Lasagna noodles
• 4 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese (1 1/4 cups)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss squash, oil, and 1 teaspoon salt on a baking sheet. Season with pepper. Bake until light gold and tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Combine ricotta, cream, yolks, mozzarella, and a pinch of nutmeg in a medium bowl. Season with salt.
3. Melt butter in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. As soon as it starts to sizzle, add sage, and cook until light gold and slightly crisp at edges, 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Place squash in a medium bowl, and mash 1/2 of it with the back of a wooden spoon, leaving the other 1/2 in whole pieces. Gently stir in sage-butter mixture and stock. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Spread 3/4 cup of ricotta mixture in a 9-cup baking dish. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1/2 of the butternut squash mixture over noodles. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1 cup of ricotta mixture over noodles and top with half of cooked crumbled sausage. Repeat layering once more (noodles, squash, noodles, ricotta/sausage a). Sprinkle Parmesan over ricotta mixture.
6. Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until cheese is golden and bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe can be prepared ahead of time, double wrapped and frozen. I'm thinking it would be easy to double the recipe and freeze one.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, approx. 1#
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 Tbs olive oil
1 can black or kidney beans
Cumin, to taste
Chili powder, to taste
6-8 tortillas
1.5c shredded Montery Jack or Mexican cheese
1/4c butter
1/4c flour
1 - 15oz can of chicken broth
1c sour cream
1 - 4oz can diced green chilis

Preheat oven to 400*
Heat olive oil in a pan. Dice the chicken, season with salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder. Cook chicken with the onion until just done. Remove from heat. Add beans and corn and mix together. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with nonstick spray or olive oil. Put the chicken mixture in each tortilla with a sprinkle of cheese and place in the pan seam side down.

Melt the butter and add flour to create a roux. Cook for 2-3 minutes, slowly whisk in the chicken broth to create a thickened sauce. Take off heat and stir in sour cream and chilis. Pour over enchiladas and top with remainder of the cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes until cheese topping in melted.

Santa Fe Chicken

A new crockpot recipe! The end result has a fair bit of liquid, so it would work well over rice, or strain with a slotted spoon well before you put in a tortilla.

Ingredients:
24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast
14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
15 oz can black beans
8 oz frozen corn
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth
3 scallions, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (original recipe called for 1 tsp garlic powder)
half a chopped onion (original recipe called for 1tsp onion powder)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
salt to taste

Directions:
Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the crock pot. Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top. 

Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning to taste. Serve over rice or tortillas and your favorite toppings- like sour cream and cilantro.

Crockpot Lemon Chicken

This is a great little recipe that's quicker than many crockpot recipes. I also successfully doubled this as well. We served with angel hair pasta and it was delish!

Ingredients
1tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 Tbs butter
1/4 c water
3 Tbs lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp chicken bouillon granules
8oz pkg cream cheese (lowfat or fat free works fine)\
Fresh parsley for garnish

Mix oregano, salt and pepper and rub into chicken breasts. Melt the butter in a skillet and brown the chicken breasts 3 to 5 minutes on both sides. Place chicken in slow cooker.
In the same skillet, mix water, lemon juice, garlic and bouillon. Bring to a boil. Pour over the chicken in the slow cooker.
Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours. Add the parsley to the slow cooker 15-30 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
About 15min before you're ready to serve, remove the chicken and add cream cheese. Whisk until smooth and serve over chicken on a bed of rice or pasta.

found on Pinterest

Marshmallows

Fun to make for home or gifts and delicious in hot cocoa.

Ingredients:
1/4c powdered sugar
1/4c corn starch
vegetable oil (for pan)
2 - 1/4oz envelopes of gelatin
1.5c granulated sugar
2/3c light corn syrup

Sift together powdered sugar and corn starch and set aside.
Brush the bottom of an 8x8 inch pan with vegetable oil and then cut a piece of parchment, approximately 8x12 to cover the bottom and 2 sides with overhang. Place in pan and brush the parchment with oil too.
Dust the bottom of the pan with about half your sifted sugar/corn starch and set aside.

Fill stand mixing bowl with 1/2 cup cool water and sprinkle with gelatin.
Meanwhile, in a medium pot with a candy thermometer attached, combine granulated sugar, corn syrup and 1/2c water and bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce heat to medium and cook until you reach soft ball stage at 240*. Remove from heat.

Turn on stand mixer and beat gelatin on low for about 30 seconds. Then slowly pour in sugar syrup down the side of the bowl with mixer running. After everything is poured in, increase mixer speed gradually (I found I needed 1-2 min at at least two higher speeds to get to the highest speed without splashing everywhere).
Beat on high until doubled in volume and thick and ribbony - about 12-15 minutes.
If adding extract, do so in the last 30 seconds or so. I used scant 1tsp peppermint extract.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Use wet fingers to smooth out surface and sprinkle remaining powdered sugar/corn starch over the top. Let rest, uncovered in a cool and dry place, for 4 hours or overnight.

Invert marshmallow to a cutting board. Use a pastry brush to brush off powdered sugar mix and reserve on cutting board for dipping the newly cut edges in, as well as dusting the knife before and between cuts.

Variations:
For coffee marshmallows, dissolve 6 Tbs instant espresso in 1c boiling water. Set aside to cool to room temp and then substitute where water is called for.

For chocolate marshmallows, mix 6 Tbs cocoa and 3 Tbs hot water until a smooth paste is formed. Add to gelatin mixture before adding syrup. Also add 1/4c cocoa powder to sifter when doing powdered sugar and corn starch.


From Country Living magazine

Spinach and Gruyere Breakfast Strata

This Cook's Illustrated recipe was our Christmas morning breakfast and looked lovely in my 8x8 Spode Christmas baker. Also you prep ahead and bake off the morning of, which I like.

Ingredients:
8-10 slices French or Italian break (1/2 inch thick) - I used a day old baguette
5 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
4 medium shallots, minced (~1/2c)
1 - 10oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
salt and pepper
1/2c Sauvignon Blanc
6oz Gruyere cheese, grated (~1.5c)
6 large eggs
1.75c half and half

Cut and dry bread either in an oven at 225* for 40min (flipping once halfway through) or leave out overnight. When cooled butter slices on one side with 2 Tbs butter and set aside.

Heat 2 Tbs butter in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Saute shallots until translucent, about 3min; add spinach and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach and shallots are combined ~2min. Transfer to medium bowl and set aside.

Add wine to now empty skillet, increase heat to medium-high and simmer until reduced to 1/4cup, 2-3 min; set aside.

Butter 8x8 inch baking pan with remaining 1Tbs butter and arrange half the buttered bread slices, buttered side up, in a single layer in dish.
Sprinkle half of spinach mixture then 1/2c of grated cheese.
Use remaining bread to make next layer
Sprinkle with remaining spinach/shallot mix and another 1/2c of cheese.

Whisk eggs until combined, whisk in wine reduction, half and half, 1tsp salt and pepper to taste. Pour egg mixture over bread layers; cover surface flush with plastic wrap and weight down.
Refrigerate at least 1 hr or overnight.

Remove dish from fridge and let stand at room temp 20 min. Preheat oven to 325* with rack in the middle position.

Uncover strata and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until both edges and center are uffed and edges have pulled away slightly from the sides of the dish, 50-55 minutes. Cool on wire rack 5 minutes before serving.


from Cooks Illustrated

Slow Cooker Pork Ragu

This is a double recipe so there will be some to freeze for another dinner.

Ingredients
2 large carrots
2 medium onions
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 Tbs tomato paste
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried oregano
2 - 14.5oz cans diced tomatoes
2.5-3 lbs pork shoulder, trimmed and cut in half (at least)
Fettuccini and parmesean for serving

Combine carrot, onion, garlic, tomato paste, herbs, 1.5tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper in slow cooker. Add tomatoes and their juices; add pork and turn to coat.

Cook on high for 5-6hrs or low for 7-8hrs, until pork is very tender. Pull pork from sauce and place on cutting board. Shred with 2 forks, discarding any fatty bits. Serve with fresh fettuccini and ample parmesean.

From Real Simple, Jan2013

English Toffee

After some searching, this is the toffee recipe I landed on for the holidays. It takes some patience and lots of stirring, but the results are delicious!

Ingredients:
1lb granulated sugar
1lb butter, unsalted
3oz water
1tsp salt
1tsp vanilla extract
1lb chopped almonds
1.5lbs bulk dark chocolate, not chips

Combine sugar, butter, water and salt in a heavy saucepan. Over medium high heat, stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Using a candy thermometer, keep stirring constantly until temperature reaches 298 degrees. When it reaches temperature, take off heat, add vanilla and stir well to combine. Then immediately pour out on a silpat. Using an offset spatula, quickly spread to desired thickness. You can either leave as one big sheet or score break lines in the toffee as it begins to cool. To score, oil a chefs knife with canola or safflower oil and repeatedly mark lines in toffee as it cools. Edges will cool first, so be strategic.

When cool, wipe excess butter off the toffee with a paper towel. If you scored the toffee, break it up for dipping. If you left it as a sheet, you'll coat it entirely with chocolate, then break into shards.

To temper chocolate (the easy way), chop chocolate finely and put in a microwave safe mixing bowl. Reserve a good sized chunk of chocolate for the last step. Microwave in 15-20 sec bursts, stirring for 15-20 sec after each time. When the chocolate has only a few small lumps after a microwave burst, add the reserved chunk and stir for a minute or more. All the small lumps should melt and the chocolate should thicken. Your larger chunk will not, it's there to add the right crystals and cool your chocolate. Now your chocolate is tempered.

Either dip the individual pieces and lay on parchment or pour chocolate on the sheet of toffee and spread with an offset spatula. Sprinkle with chopped almonds and allow to cool completely. Reserve any leftover chocolate by pouring onto parchment to cook and then wrap in plastic.

Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies

Someone posted a link to ths on FaceBook, so I gave it a try. The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:
For the cheesecake filling
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons sour cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

For the cookie dough
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk
2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To prepare cheesecake filling
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in sugar and salt until smooth. Mix in egg yolk, sour cream and vanilla - cover and place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

To prepare the cookie dough
In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar and salt until creamy and combined. Mix in egg yolk until incorporated. Gradually add flour and mix just until combined.

Scoop out level tablespoons worth of the dough and roll into balls. Place balls onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Using the handle end of a thick wooden spoon make an indentation in the center of each ball.

Place into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully use your thumb (or the end of the same wooden spoon) to press the middle of the cookies back down, remaking the indentations. You want a pretty large indentation so you can have enough filling. Place cookies back into the oven, rotating them from their original position, and continue to bake until slightly golden around the edges, about 7 minutes.

Remove cookies from the oven and fill the indentations with the cheesecake filling. I piped in the filling to keep the edges clean, but you could use a teaspoon. Place back into the oven and bake for 7 more minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer cookies to a wire rack to cook completely.

When cool, place cookies into the refrigerator to chill before serving.
Makes about 32 cookies.

Chocolate Cherry Chunk Cookies

So I occasionally shy away from Martha Stewart recipes since they can be unnecessarily complicated, but these cookes came together very easily. That said, the individual ingredients are spendy (how can dried cherries be so spendy??) Regardless, they are tasty!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups oats
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 4 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I simplified by using dark chocolate chips)
• 1 cup toffee pieces (I used Heath bits)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour and baking soda.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice during mixing. Add the egg; mix on high speed to combine. Add the vanilla; mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, and mix on low speed until well combined. Add the oats, cherries, chocolate, and toffee pieces; mix to combine after each addition.
4. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of dough onto a lined baking sheet. Repeat, spacing 2 inches apart.
5. Bake cookies until golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container up to 2 days.

http://www.marthastewart.com/318628/tories-cherry-chocolate-chunk-cookies?czone=food/best-grilling-recipes/side-dishes-and-desserts&center=276943&gallery=274281&slide=259496

Raspberry Cordial

Tis the season for wonderful fresh berries. My mom used to make this every summer and then it was a special treat for Christmas. Adults had it after dinner and kids were allowed a little poured over vanilla ice cream!

Ingredients:
2 c sugar
2 pints ripe raspberries (I used a half flat of half dry pints)
1 qt vodka (4c or 32oz) note: a 1.75l bottle makes two batches of cordial

Directions:
Place sugar in 3 qt glass jar with lid. Add berries and vodka, stir and cover. Place in dark cool place. Each week for 2 months open jar and stir. Strain cordial through a cheese cloth into decanter. Makes 1 1/2 quarts.

Raspberry Sour Cream Muffins

These muffins could be made with any berry of your choice. They are fast, easy and delicious.

Ingredients
2c bread flour
3/4c granulated sugar
1tsp baking soda
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4Tbs melted butter
1c sour cream
1 large egg
2tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 1 large orange
1.5c fresh raspberries
Topping: 2Tbs Demerara sugar, 1tsp cinnamon, mixed together

Place paper liners in a 12 cup muffin tin. Preheat oven to 400* with rack in the middle.

In one bowl, combine dry ingredients and whisk together (flour, sugar, bp, bs, salt).
In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (butter, sour cream, egg, vanilla) and orange zest.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
Stir in raspberries.
Divide mixture eveny between ups. An ice cream scoop is helpful. Sprinkle tops with cinnamon sugar.
Bake 15-18 minutes.

Recipe from Small Parties by Marguerite Marceau Henderson.

Cajun Skillet Beans

This recipe is from the Moosewood Restaurant cookbook - page 167

1 medium onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 celery stalks (1 cup chopped)

2 red bell peppers

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Pinch of cayenne

Pinch of salt

14 oz can of crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 15-15 oz cans of black beans (recipe calls for black eyed peas)

Chopped scallions

Grated cheddar cheese

In a large (wide) saucepan (that has a cover), sauté the onions and garlic in the oil on medium heat.

Chop the celery and bell peppers, and add them to the pan.

Continue to sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the thyme, basil, oregano, salt, black pepper, and cayenne.

Cover and And cook for 5 minutes, until the onions are golden, stirring once or twice.

Add the tomatoes, honey, and mustard and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.

Add the beans, cover, and stir occasionally until thoroughly heated (about 10 minutes for canned beans.

Serve with scallions and cheese on top.

Be sure to warn folks it's hot (temperature), those tomatoes really hold the heat!

8 oz serving: 200 calories, 10.2 g protein, 4.5 g fat, 31.7 g carbohydrate, 143 mg sodium, 0 cholesterol

Gruyere and Carmelized Shallot Fondue

A great fondue recipe with the addition of carmelized shallots. A great way to ring in the new year!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/4 cups thinly sliced shallots (about 6 ounces)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups (or more) dry white wine
14 ounces grated Gruy(re cheese (about 3 1/2 cups packed)
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
Generous pinch of ground nutmeg
1 sourdough baguette, cut into 1-inch cubes - or any other dipping treats like apples, broccoli

Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add thinly sliced shallots and sauté 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low; sprinkle shallots with sugar, salt and pepper. Sauté until shallots are caramelized, about 15 minutes. Transfer shallots to small bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups wine to skillet; boil 1 minute.

Pour wine into heavy medium saucepan; set over medium-low heat. Toss cheese with flour in medium bowl to coat. Add half of caramelized shallots to wine; add cheese mixture by handfuls, stirring until cheese melts and is smooth before adding more. Thin with more wine if mixture is too thick. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Transfer cheese mixture to fondue pot. Set pot over candle or canned heat burner. Top fondue with remaining caramelized shallots. Serve with bread cubes.

From Epicurious.com

French Onion Soup

This recipe for French onion soup is from Cook's Illustrated and is one of Seth's favorites.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 3 pieces
6 large yellow onions (about 4 pounds), halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices
Table salt
2 cups water, plus extra for deglazing
1/2 cup dry sherry
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups beef broth
6 sprigs fresh thyme, tied with kitchen twine
1 bay leaf
Ground black pepper
1small baguette , cut into 1/2-inch slices
8ounces shredded Gruyère cheese (about 2 1/2 cups)

INSTRUCTIONS
For the soup:
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees.
Generously spray inside of heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place butter in pot and add onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, 1 hour (onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume).

Remove pot from oven and stir onions, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Return pot to oven with lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.

Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing heat to medium if onions are browning too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until pot bottom is coated with dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. (Scrape any fond that collects on spoon back into onions.)

Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.

Stir in broths, 2 cups water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.

For the croutons: While soup simmers, arrange baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in 400-degree oven until bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

To serve: Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Blue Cheese salad dressing

From Cooks Illustrated. It makes just enough for a couple of days. So much better than store bought, if not better for you.

Ingredients
2.5 ounces blue cheese , crumbled (about 1/2 cup)
3tablespoons buttermilk
3tablespoons sour cream
2tablespoons mayonnaise
2teaspoons white wine vinegar
1/4teaspoon granulated sugar
1/8teaspoon garlic powder
Ground black pepper

Mix the blue cheese and buttermilk together first, mashing with the back of a fork until it looks like cottage cheese. Then mix in remaining ingredients. Store leftovers in a tupperware in the fridge.

Chocolate Covered Seafoam

This recipe reminds me of two things - the Crunchie candy bar you can buy in Britian and the candies from See's my Dad used to buy for himself at Christmas. This adaptation is fun and pretty easy. And it makes a ton!

Ingredients
75 grams honey (1/4 cup)
140 grams light corn syrup or glucose (1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon)
400 grams sugar (2 cups)
20 grams baking soda (3 1/2 teaspoons)
1# tempered chocolate


Lay out a large silpat on the counter.
Combine the honey, corn syrup and sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan--one large enough to allow the mixture to quadruple in size (which it will do when you add the baking soda at the end). Moisten the mixture with enough water so that there are no dry patches of sugar - about 1/4c- then wash down any stray sugar crystals that might be clinging to the side of the pan.

Set the pan on high heat and cook and cook and cook until a candy thermometer reaches 300 F and is a light amber color. While the mixture is cooking, do NOT stir it at all. Don’t worry about it mixing properly, it will do that on its own when it starts to boil.

When the honeycomb is sufficiently cooked, take the pan off the heat. Dump in all of your baking soda and whisk vigorously until it is well combined; while you whisk, the honeycomb will foam up dramatically. After the soda is whisked in, gently pour the mixture out onto a silpat and allow to cool completely, about one hour.

Once cool, break into smaller pieces and dip in the tempered chocolate. Honeycomb is hygroscopic, meaning that it sucks in moisture from the air, leaving an unprotected initially crisp candy sticky and gooey in a matter of hours, so coat fully.

Adapted from http://seattlest.com/2007/02/13/seattlests_answer_to_violet_crumble_.php

Fleur de Sel Caramels

I have a crush on my new candy thermometer. I used a Barefoot Contessa recipe but made the serving pieces much smaller. Man, Ina Gartner must have good teeth! These are lovely little party gifts, or Xmas stocking stuffers.

Ingredients
Vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon fine fleur de sel, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with parchment paper, allowing it to drape over 2 sides, then brush the paper lightly with oil or a bit of butter.

In a deep saucepan (6 inches wide and 4 1/2 inches deep), combine 1/4 cup water, the sugar and corn syrup and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until the mixture is a warm golden brown. Don't stir -- just swirl the pan.

In the meantime, in a small pot, bring the cream, butter and 1 teaspoon of fleur de sel to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat and set aside.

When the sugar mixture is done, turn off the heat and slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. Be careful -- it will bubble up violently. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until the mixture reaches 248 degrees F (firm ball) on a candy thermometer.

Very carefully pour the caramel into the prepared pan and refrigerate until firm. I sprinkled my salt on the caramel when it was still a little soft and pressed it in a bit. When the caramel is cool, pry the sheet from the pan onto a cutting board. Cut into bite sized squares. It's easier to cut the caramels if you brush the knife with veggie oil.

Then wrap the candies in glassine or parchment paper individually, twisting the ends. Store in the refrigerator and serve the caramels chilled.

Foodnetwork.com

Playdough

I made playdough for my little buddy Sol Miller and it worked like a dream.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1 cup salt
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (optional for improved elasticity)
food coloring (liquid, powder, or unsweetened drink mix)
scented oils

Whisk dry ingredients together in a large saucepan. Combine the water and oil and pour into dry ingredients. Stir over medium-low heat while mixture thickens. As it comes away from the side of the pan, test for done-ness by pinching to make sure it's not too sticky. Turn it out on a Silpat or board and knead until smooth. Add food coloring and flavoring as desired.

Cheater's Risotto

I learned to make risotto when I lived in Milan, and I love it but it takes eons. This is from Cooks Illustrated and cuts the time down substantially. It still tasted great, so I'm a believer!

Ingredients:
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1.5 cups water
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion , chopped fine (about 1 1/2 cups)
Table salt
1 medium garlic clove , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon juice from 1 lemon
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Bring broth and water to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain gentle simmer.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in large Dutch oven over medium heat. When butter has melted, add onion and ¾ teaspoon salt; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is softened but not browned, 4 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until grains are translucent around edges, about 3 minutes.

3. Add wine and cook, stirring constantly, until fully absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir 5 cups hot broth mixture into rice; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until almost all liquid has been absorbed and rice is just al dente, 16 to 19 minutes, stirring twice during cooking.

4. Add ¾ cup hot broth mixture and stir gently and constantly until risotto becomes creamy, about 3 minutes. Stir in Parmesan. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter, lemon juice, parsley, and chives; season with salt and pepper to taste. If desired, add up to ½ cup remaining broth mixture to loosen texture of risotto. Serve immediately.

Cider Glazed Turkey

This was my first roast turkey of fall and the recipe from Real Simple didn't disappoint. It was an elegant deep golden brown color, and the gravy was much more flavorful that anticipated (very cider-y though, so be forewarned).

Turkey Recipe
Ingredients:
4 c apple cider
2 Tbs cider vinegar
4 Tbs butter, room temp
salt and pepper
4 stalks of celery, halved crosswise
4 carrots, halved crosswise
2 medium onions, peeled and halved
12-14# turkey, patted dry and giblets discarded
1 tart apple (granny smith or pink lady), halved
8 sprigs fresh thyme
8 sprigs fresh sage

Heat oven to 375*.
Make the cider glaze: Boil the cider until reduced to 3/4c, 25-30min. Add the vinegar, 2 Tbs uttter, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 ts pepper and stir until the butter has melted.

In a large roasting pan, scatter the celery, carrots and onions; add 1c water. I kept in the roasting rack, but you could put the turkey directly on top of the veg.

Season the turkey cavity with 1/2 tsp salt and pepper and stuff with the apple, thyme and sage. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels and rub with remaining 2 Tbs butter, and seasons with 2 tsp salt.

Roast turkey, basting every 30 minutes with the pan juices for 2 hours.
Continuing roasting, basting every 15 minutes with the cider glaze, until a thermometer in the thigh reaches 165* (30-60 minutes more).

If the turkey is browning too much, tent with foil. If the veggies in the pan start to scorch, add 1c water.

Carefully tilt the turkey to empty the cavity of juices into the roasting pan. Transfer turkey to a cutting board, tent with foil and let rest 30min to 1hr before carving. Reserve the pan contents for gravy.


Bourbon Gravy Recipe
Ingredients:
4 Tbs unsalted butter
1/2c all purpose flour
3-4 c low sodium chicken broth
salt and peper
roasting pan and its contents
1/2 c bourbon or dry white wine

Make the gravy base: (can be made up to 3 days in advance, refrigerate covered)
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over med-hi heat. Add the glour and cook, whisking, until smooth and golden brown, 4-5 minutes. Whisk in 3 cups of th ebroth, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 ts pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.

Discard veggies from reserved roasting pan and strain and separate the drippings. Place the empty roasting pan over two burners. Add the bourbon/wine and cook over med-hi heat, scraping up the bits stuck the pan, for 1 minute. Add the gravy base and turkey drippings (approx 1.5c) and cooked until warmed through, 2-3 minutes. Adjust consistency with broth, if needed, and adjust seasoning as needed.

Turkey Curry in a Hurry

From Cooks Illustrated (with some adaptations), so you know it will come together the way its supposed to. This was a great use of leftover roast turkey.

Ingredients
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion , sliced thin
2 Tablespoons curry powder
Table salt
4 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 4 teaspoons)
4 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2cups vegetables , roasted (we like broccoli and cauliflower, or fresh bell pepper)
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas , drained and rinsed
1 cup water
10 ounces shredded cooked turkey (about 2 cups)
1 cup frozen green peas
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (don't use nonfat)

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until just shimmering. Add the onion, curry powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until the onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2. Stir in the roasted vegetables, chickpeas, and water and cook, stirring frequently, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the turkey and peas and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes more.

3. Off the heat, stir in the yogurt and cilantro. Season with salt to taste and serve immediately.

Cardamom Poached Apricots with marscapone and pistachio

Thanks to Holly for being my guinea pig and taste testing my recipe. I was looking for something to use my homemade marscapone with and these fit the bill. This is a nice little cheese course style dessert. They're a little sticky for finger food, but I think a fork with these would be a little silly too.

Ingredients:
1.25c water
3/4c superfine sugar
6 cardamom pods crushed
2 tsp lemon juice
8oz dried apricots
1/2c marscapone cheese1c finely chopped pistachios

Make a syrup on the stove top with the water, sugar, cardamom and lemon juice by bringing to a boil and then simmering for 1-2 minutes.
Add the apricots, return to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
Remove for heat and scoop out apricots with a slotted spoon to a cutting board or plate to cool.

Once cooled, cut a slit in the apricots and fill with a little marscapone. I used a little pastry tube which worked great.
Dip the cut end into the pistachios so they stick to the marscapone, but they'll stick to the apricot pretty well too.
Refrigerate if your marscapone needs to firm up, but serve at room temp.


Recipe from Small Bites by Jennifer Joyce, a great Christmas gift from Nancy and Diane who are very supportive of my foodie habit!

Pastry Crust in the cuisinart

This is the go to Callahan family pie crust. From the kitchen of Nancy Bishop, long time family friend and superior cook!

Ingredients:
1 1/3c flour
1 tsp salt
1 stick of butter, cut in pieces
1/4c very cold/ice water

Put the flour, salt and cold butter pieces in the cuisinart and pulse to form a coarse meal. While running, slowly pour in cold water in a steady stream until a ball of dough forms - it may not take a whole 1/4c.

Roll out and fill your pie!

Kale Chips

After some recipe trials, this is the best version. I can eat more kale in one sitting in chip form than should be possible.

Ingredients:
Kale leaves of your choice (tuscan and curly both work), washed and DRIED
olive oil, in a mister ideally
salt or other seasoning

Preheat oven to 350*.
Rip the kale from the vein and dry it well with a paper towel. Arrange leaves in a single layer on a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. Mist (or drizzle) a bit of olive oil and bake for 15 minutes.
Your chips should be dry, flaky and a little brown on the edges. Sprinkle with salt (or truffle salt!) and eat.

Homemade Pasta

I used this to make ravioli, but it could be used for spaghetti, etc. This uses the Kitchenaid which I alo use the pasta roller attachment with.
I use organic 'happy' eggs which are a little smaller so I generally need closer to 3c of flour. It's easier to add more flour than dl with dry dough.

Ingredients:
4 large eggs
0.5 c water
3-3.5 c all purpose flour
0.5 tp salt

Place eggs, eater, flour, salt in mixer bowl. Using flat paddle beater, turn speed to 2 and mix for 30 sec. Switch to dough hook and beat for 2 min on speed level 2. Remove dough and hand knead for 1-2 min. Let rest for 20 min. Cut into quarters before processing.

Buckeyes

I made these and took them to work to rave reviews. The chocolate dipping is a bit tricky, but even if they're ugly they taste great!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups peanut butter (smooth, but you can use chunky if you are looking for more texture)
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (from about 14 graham crackers)
Salt (optional, see note up top)
3 cups confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks or 5 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
12 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72%), coarsely chopped

Make the filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter together until combined. Add the graham cracker crumbs and beat for 10 seconds. Add the sugar and butter, and mix on the lowest speed until it stops floating off everywhere, then increase the speed until the ingredients are combined. Scrape down the whole bowl well, then mix again. The mixture will be quite sturdy and a little dry — perfect for shaping. Set it aside while you prepare the coating.

Make the coating: Melt the chocolate either over a double boiler, stirring until it is completely smooth or in a microwave in 30 then 10 second increments, stirring before you start it again until it is completely smooth. Let it cool to tepid (about 100 degrees, though I’d go a little cooler next time for a thicker coating; I had a few ounces of chocolate leftover) while you shape the peanut butter centers. [Alternately, you can temper the chocolate (fairly simply instructions here) for a perfect showy finish.]

Assemble the candies: Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Scoop out slightly more than one tablespoon’s worth of filling (their suggestion; I used a scoop that made them a little smaller) and use your hands to form it into a ball. Place the ball on the prepared sheet and repeat the process until all of the candies have been shaped. They can sit close to each other but make sure they are not touching.

Using a fork or large skewer, dip each ball into the chocolate and roll it about so that almost the entire candy is coating, leaving a small circle uncoated. I found it easiest to stick the skewer in the side, angle the bowl I was using towards it and make sure it became submerged as I rolled the candy around.

Chill the buckeyes until they are set, about 30 minutes.

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen blog

Pea and Radish Salad with Chevre

A non-lettuce salad option for summer.

Ingredients:
1c frozen peas
1c frozen shelled edamame
1c fresh sugar snap peas
4 thinly sliced radishes
crumbled fresh goat cheese to taste
vinagrette to taste (I like red wine, dijon and EOO)

Cook your frozen peas and edamame in salted boiling water, transferring to ice water as soon as they're done. Blanche sugar snap peas the same way. Drain all the green things well and transfer to a medium bowl. Add sliced radishes and toss with your vinagrette. Garnish with goat cheese.

Adapted from Bon Appetit April 2011

Brown Sugar-Balsamic Swirl Ice Cream

You need some variety of ice cream maker for this one and you need at least a day to let the custard chill. Boiling the balsamic down will be roughly equivalent to making a batch of tear gas on the stove, so turn on your vent. It is, however, worth it.

Ingredients:
1.5c heavy whipping cream
1.5c whole milk
3/4c dark brown sugar (divided 1/2c, 1/4c)
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
6 egg yolks
1/2-3/4c balsamic vinegar

Combine cream, milk, 1/2c sugar and vanilla in a heavy saucepan. Bring cream mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

Meanwhile, whisk yolks and 1/4c sugar for 2 minutes until very thick and pale.

Gradually whisk some of the hot cream into the eggs to temper it. Once you're sure you've not scrambled your egg yolks pour it all back into the saucepan so you can make your custard.

Stir over medium heat until custard thickens and you get a temperature of about 180* - being careful not to boil it. This only took me a couple of minutes. Ice bath your saucepan or pour custard into nested bowls to rapidly cool. Stir constantly until it's all cooled off - about 15min. Cover and chill overnight.

Sometime well before the ice cream making step, put your balsamic in a saucepan and bring to a boil. I started with 1/2c but next time I'm going to 3/4c. Bring the vinegar to a rapid boil in as soon as 3 minutes (depending on how hot your stovetop gets) you'll be to syrup. Remember, boiling hot it won't really look thick at all. If it looks thick in a hot pan, it will be like glue in ice cream and you will lose all your fillings. To test you can put a drop on something cool and check the consistency. Let cool to room temperature.

Put your custard in the ice cream maker. After it has processed entirely, pour in your balsamic syrup and let blend for 5 seconds. Any more and you'll not have a swirl, but a nice overall flavor to your ice cream.



from Bon Appetit Dec 2010

Shrimp Salad with Tarragon-Caper Dressing

You can make a poor man's lobster roll or serve this on salad greens or with crackers.

Ingredients:
1/2c lite mayo
2 Tbs capers, drained and finely chopped
1.5 Tbs finely diced sweet onion
1 Tbs chopped fresh tarragon
1/4 tsp celery seeds
1/4 tsp tabasco
1/2c finely chopped celery
1lb fresh shrimp meat

You don't need instructions. Mix it all together. It's best if it can sit in the fridge a little before diving in.


From Bon Appetit Aug 07

Marinated Chicken Kebabs with Arugula and Corn Salad

The recipe is for 1 serving, but it will expand. Just figure 1 chicken breast per person and multiply everything else accordingly. We did this on the grill initially and it worked great.

Ingredients:
1/4c low fat greek yogurt (1/2 individual container)
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp chopped fresh dill (or 1 tsp dried)
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1.5in pieces
1c baby arugula
3/4c (~1 ear) corn kernels
olive oil and a bit more lemon juice to dress salad
salt and pepper to taste

Combine yogurt, lemon juice, and dill. Season with salt and pepper. Add chicken and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerated 1 hour, or up to overnight.

Heat broiler with rack in top position. Tread marinated chicken on metal skewers and place on a wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil chicken, turning occasionally, until cooked through and dark brown in spots - about 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile toss arugula and corn and drizzle with lemon and olive oil.

Mini Cheesecakes

I bought super cute 2oz mini ramekins and promptly needed to find something to bake in them! This is for 12 mini cheesecakes

Preheat oven to 350*

Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup sugar

Mix together well and divide equally between ramekins, pushing with fingers to compact crust.

Filling:
8oz softened cream cheese
3/4 sugar
2 Tbs vanilla
2 egg whites
3/4 cup sour cream

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer until well blended. Add egg whites, mix well, add sour cream and mix thoroughly. Pour equally into ramekins until almost full.

Bake 20 minutes until center is almost set. Turn off oven, open door and let sit in oven for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and refrigerate until chilled. Top with berries if desired.