Saturday, November 29, 2014

Turkey dinner 2 days late





Since Cassie had to work on Thansgiving, I made dinner for us today.

Roast turkey
Cornbread stuffings with dried cranberries

Wilted Lettuce

 Classic Wilted Lettuce Salad

Ingredients
4 bacon strips, cut up
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 green onions with tops, sliced
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 to 10 cups torn leaf lettuce
1 hard-cooked egg, chopped
Directions
In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a
slotted spoon, remove to paper towels to drain.
To the hot drippings, add the vinegar, water, onions, sugar, salt and
pepper, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Place lettuce in a salad bowl; immediately pour dressing over and

toss lightly. Top with egg. Serve immediately. 

Cranberry chutney
4 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup water
2 cups sugar                             
2 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
1 teaspoon salt
2 tart apples, peeled, cored and diced (i use granny smith apples)
2 pears, peeled, cored, and diced
1 small yellow onion
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup crystallized ginger, diced or 1 teaspoon of dried ground ginger

In a deep 6 quart saucepan, bring cranberries, water, sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves and salt to a boil over medium heat.

Stir frequently for about 10 minutes, until cranberries start to make a popping sound.

Once cranberries begin to pop, reduce heat to simmer. Add diced apples, pears, onion and raisins, and continue stirring frequently until mixture begins to thicken. (10 to 15 minutes.)

Remove from heat. Stir in ginger. Cool to room temperature. Remove cinnamon sticks and cloves before serving.


Recipe makes about 3 quarts. I heated my jars and poured in the hot cranberries, sealed the jars with canning lids and turned them upside down until cool. This seals the jars slightly, enough to store them in the refrigerator for a couple of months. Plenty long enough to get you through the holidays.
Thomas Keller Mashed potatoes
Whipped Yukon Gold Potatoes
© Max Kim-Bee
Whipped Yukon Gold Potatoes
CONTRIBUTED BY THOMAS KELLER
ACTIVE: 30 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 1 HR 10 MIN
SERVINGS: 8
VEGETARIAN
These potatoes from Ad Hoc have a wonderfully fluffy texture because they're passed through a ricer or food mill to make them especially airy. But they're also nicely rich, thanks to generous amounts of butter and heavy cream.

4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
2 tablespoons snipped chives
Put the potatoes in a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain and return the potatoes to the pot. Cook over moderate heat for 1 minute, shaking the pot to dry the potatoes.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter in the cream. Working over the saucepan, pass the hot potatoes through a ricer or food mill. Stir with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the chives.


Maple Glazed Yams
1 pkg. Melissa's Organic baby Yams (16 0z) Peeled, cut 1" pieces
3/4 C maple syrup
6 Tbsp butter, melted
Splash orange pineapple juice or 1/2 tsp. grated orange peel
6 Tbs. dried cherries (Ranier)
1 1//2 Tbs parsley chopped

Oven @ 350
Cook yams in salted boiling water 3 minutes. Drain, transfer to 13x9 baking pan. blend syrup, butter, orange; pour over yams, sprinkle with salt and pepper
 and bake about 30 minutes. Mix in cherries, continue cookeing 15 minutes and sprinkle parsley over top.  Serve

Dessert was pumpkin pie with whipped cream and Pecan praline topping

Topping
1/2 cup (95 grams) packed light or dark brown sugar
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons (45 ml) heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt, or a little less of a coarse salt
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract

3/4 cup (85 grams) pecans (I coarsely chopped 1/2 cup, left the last 1/4 cup in halves)

Make pecan praline topping: In a small/medium saucepan set over medium-low heat, combine the brown sugar, butter, cream and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until thick and bubbly, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla and pecans.

Serve pie: In wedges, ladles with pecan praline sauce. Extra pie (an unfamiliar phenomenon) keeps in the fridge for up to a week.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Country ribs and baked potatoes


Oven-Roasted Country-Style Ribs

Ingredients
3 -4 lbs country-style pork ribs or 3 -4 lbs boneless sirloin pork chops
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup catsup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Place ribs or chops in roasting pan.
In 2 quart saucepan combine remaining ingredients.
Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a full boil (5 to 8 minutes).
Pour over ribs or chops turning to coat all sides.
Bake, turning every 20 to 30 minutes, for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until meat is fork tender.
Serve with cooking sauce.


Saturday, November 1, 2014

Pizza with sourdough



Since the sourdough starter had been sleeping in the back of the refrigerator for 7 or8 months, I thought it was about time to bring it out and wake it up.  I was surprised that it started bubbling right after the first feeding and came back to full strength in only 4 days.  I made some sourdough French bread dough then made pizzas with it.