Day 365: Pan-Seared Duck Breast & Roasted Red Pepper Cheesecake

I have been thinking for some time about what I would make for my last day cataloging my dinners and recipes.  This past week I let people make requests for what I made, and I thought that Day 365 should be something I've always wanted to make, or something "epic."  You know how in the movie "Julie & Julia" Julie's last meal was Julia Child's beef bourguignon--a classic and elegant dish?  I thought of doing that, but I've made that meal before, albeit a long a time ago and it never made it onto this blog.  It was hard for me to come up with something I've "always wanted to make" because I feel like this whole journey has been about what I've always wanted to make.  But I finally got the idea--duck.  I can't even remember if I've eaten duck at a restaurant before.  But whenever I hear of someone having it, it sounds so fancy and wonderful.  So that's what I made, pan-seared duck breast.  I researched some recipes to find one that I thought looked yummy.  I stumbled upon this Anne Burrell  recipe that looked good, and it was delicious!

For "grown-up time" I served the appetizer that I had wanted to serve for Randy's birthday but wasn't able to.  This recipe was from Giada De Laurentiis, but I didn't follow it perfectly.  For starters, she requires a 4-inch spring form pan.  Who has a 4-inch spring form pan?!?!  My smallest is an 8-inch.  So I used a loaf pan and adjusted the cooking time accordingly.  Secondly, we ran out of eggs this morning.  I go shopping tomorrow.  I had already sent Randy to the store to get a few things, not realizing that eggs was one of the things I needed him to get.  So I decided to be inventive and used about a tablespoon of mayonnaise instead.  The appetizer was still delicious!!!  Here's the recipe:

Roasted Pepper Cheesecake
Remember how I said that cheesecake is Randy's favorite dessert?  That's why I thought it would be fitting to serve this as an appetizer on his birthday, but that didn't happen.  But it was still an excellent addition to tonight's meal!

4 oz cream cheese, softened
4 oz ricotta cheese
2 oz goat cheese, at room temperature
1 egg (or 1 TB of mayo, like I used)
salt, pepper
2 jarred roasted red peppers, sliced
1/2 cup apricot preserves
pita bread

Preheat the oven to 350*.  In a food processor, combine the 3 cheeses, mayonnaise, and salt and pepper.  Pulse until smooth.  Carefully fold in the sliced red peppers, being careful not to overmix and turn the cheese mixture pink!
Line a bread pan with parchment paper, and pour in the cheese mixture.  Place the pan in a larger pan and pour hot water around the bread pan, until it comes up about halfway.  Bake for about 30 minutes.  (If you are using a 4-inch spring-form pan, you probably want to bake it longer, like 45 minutes.)
Let cool and then refrigerator for a few hours.  Flip the cake out of the pan and top with the apricot preserves.
Cut the pita bread into wedges and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Bake at 425* for about 10 minutes, or until crispy.  Serve with the cheesecake.

Strawberry Margaritas
Combine equal parts strawberry syrup and tequila, and half as much triple sec or orange liquor.  Shake and serve over ice.  Garnish with orange zest and mint leaves.
To make strawberry syrup, heat frozen strawberries in a sauce pan.  Add 1-2 TB of sugar.  Cook until strawberries are soft.  Mash strawberries up and then strain the liquid into a jar, removing the solid pieces of fruit.

Pan-Seared Duck Breast with Grape Sauce
I knew going into this that the toughest and most important part of cooking a good duck breast was rendering the fat.  Duck has a very thick layer of fat between the meat and the skin which needs to be rendered completely.  The skin should be crispy, but obviously not burnt.  This is a slow process, when compared to cooking other meats.  Randy thought it was absolutely perfect, and I'll admit that the meat and skin of my duck were to die for.  But I did think our meal could have benefited from a minute more of fat-rendering, but then again, I've always had a really weird thing about meat fat in a meal.  All in all, we definitely want to have this again.  The duck was absolutely delicious--easily my favorite meat, now.  Super flavorful and melt-in-your-mouth good!

4 duck breasts (I only used 3--those babies aren't cheap!)

salt
olive oil
2 cups red seedless grapes
2 strips of bacon, chopped
2 TB red wine vinegar
1/2 cup port wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock

Score the skin of the duck breasts with a sharp paring knife.  Season them with salt, and let the breasts sit out for about 10-15 minutes to come to room temperature after being in the refrigerator.  Place a little olive oil in a skillet and then the duck breasts, skin-side down.  Bring the skillet up to medium heat and cook them low and slow to render all the duck fat--about 25 minutes or so.  Then flip the breasts over and cook for another 10 minutes on the meat side.  If you want to finish them in the oven, go ahead, but you may not need to.  Remove the breasts and let them rest for a good 10 minutes.  Add the grapes and the bacon to the pan and cook on medium-high until the grapes are splitting open and the bacon is crispy.  Remove half of the grapes and set aside.  Add the red wine vinegar and the port to the pan and cook until the wine is reduced by half.  Add the chicken stock and continue cooking until that is reduced by half.  Add the grapes back to the pan.  Slice the duck breasts in strips and pour the grape sauce over them.

Day 359: Apple & Walnut Crostata, Beef Stew with Butternut Squash and much more!!!

Happy birthday to my amazing husband, Randy!!!  He is 31 years young today!  Next to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Randy is the most important thing to me.  We have been together for six years, but have known each other for 9+.  I look forward to many, many more years as your wife, my dear!  You make my life comfortable, relatively easy, and all kinds of wonderful!
Of course I wanted to make Randy's day special with food, so here's how it went...

BREAKFAST: eggs benedict (Randy's favorite breakfast) & spiced Americano
While I was serving breakfast, Randy told me that he secretly hoped I was making eggs benedict.  I love how we know each other so well!

Spiced Americano
This is a great coffee for the very cold months!  The spices in it add an extra warmth--perfect for right before heading out into the cold to go to work!  (Or to sip around the house while doing dishes and laundry.) ;)

1 cup espresso
1 cup boiling water
spiced simple syrup (recipe follows)
whipped cream
cinnamon and cinnamon sticks (for garnish)

Let's talk about espresso.  (First off, it's a pet-peeve of mine when people call it EXpresso.  It's ESSSSpresso.  Ahem, mother.) ;)  I don't have an espresso machine, but you don't really need one to make espresso--especially if it's just going into a different drink like a latte, cappuccino, or Americano.  I just use half the amount of strong coffee grinds as water.  So for 1 cup of espresso, I use 2 cups of water and 1 cup of coffee grinds right in my coffee maker. 
I've been making a lot of simple syrups for drinks lately.  A simple syrup is very easy to make.  It's just water and sugar boiled on the stove until the sugar dissolves.  Generally I like to do 1 cup of water to 1 cup of sugar.  But you can use only 1/2 cup of water, too, for a thicker syrup.  For this spiced syrup, use 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of water, a pinch each of cinnamon, allspice, and ginger.  Once the sugar dissolves you are done!
Combine this syrup with the espresso and the boiling water.  Top with whipped cream (you can make your own with 1 cup of whipping cream and a couple TB of powdered sugar--whip until stiff peaks form) and a dash of cinnamon.  I stuck 2 cinnamon sticks in each Americano.

LUNCH: broccoli & cheddar soup in homemade bread bowls
Randy brought a few of his co-workers home for lunch and I made this soup and bread bowls and served it with salad.  We also had leftover Italian cream cake and coffee dessert.

DINNER: apple & walnut crostata, apply & thyme martini, beef stew w/ butternut squash, and chocolate & brie Panini
I started out the evening disappointed.  The appetizer that I originally wanted to make for "grown-up time" required hours of refrigeration.  I don't know why I didn't read the recipe more thoroughly a few days earlier!  Luckily, I had enough ingredients for a great back-up plan!  I told Randy that it just meant that his birthday food could be extended one more day--we'll have that appetizer tomorrow or the next day. :)

Apple & Walnut Crostata
Randy loves gorgonzola cheese so this was really a great alternative to my original plan.  I adapted this from Giada De Laurentiis' recipe.

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
3 TB cold butter
pinch of salt
1/3 cup cold water
2-3 apples, peeled, cored, sliced
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese
2-3 TB butter
cinnamon

For the crust, place the flour, cheese, cold butter, and water in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse until fully combined and the dough comes together.  Pull the dough out and place on a piece of plastic wrap and wrap the dough tightly and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. 
In a saucepan, place the butter and apples and cinnamon and cook over medium-high heat until the butter melts and apples become soft.  Turn off the heat and add the walnuts and gorgonzola.  Stir.
Preheat the oven to 400*.  Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out and onto a greased baking sheet.  Pour the apple filling in the middle of the dough and then fold over the edges of the dough to form a crostata.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Apple & Thyme Martinis
A martini is Randy's favorite "mixed" drink.  I prefer something a little sweeter than a traditional dirty martini.  This is a perfect compromise, though definitely closer to a traditional martini than a sweet drink.  This was the second simple syrup I made today!

10 oz vodka
6 oz apple juice
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
5 sprigs of thyme, plus more for garnish

Place your martini glasses in the freezer.  Combine the vodka and apple juice and refrigerate them.  In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and 5 thyme sprigs and bring to a boil.  Simmer until the sugar dissolves.  Allow to cool.  When ready to serve, pour the vodka, juice, and simple syrup into the chilled glasses and garnish with a few sprigs of thyme.  Add ice if desired.

Beef Stew with Butternut Squash

This is a great dinner to come from the cold to and it's a little more elegant than a traditional beef stew or pot roast.

2 lbs stewing beef
2 TB olive oil + 2 TB butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/3 cup flour
salt, pepper
2 TB chopped rosemary
2 TB chopped thyme
1 lb butternut squash, cubed
1 cup marsala wine
2-3 TB sundried tomatoes
3-4 cups beef broth

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt the butter with the oil over medium-high heat.  Cook the onions until they're translucent.  Add the garlic, thyme, and rosemary and cook for another minute.  Place the flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl and toss the beef in it.  Add the beef to the pan and cook until brown on the outsides of the cubes.  Add the marsala wine, squash, and sundried tomatoes.  Cook for a few minutes to let the alcohol cook out.  Pour the beef broth into the pot until it covers the beef and squash.  Simmer for one hour and then serve.

Chocolate & Brie Paninis
I thought this looked like a really cool and different dessert.  Actually, it seems like the perfect, hearty afternoon snack for my kids when they're older.  But Randy and I really enjoyed them as a sweet/savory dessert.  The basil is a great complement to the chocolate and we never would've thought of that!

Make a sandwich with artisan crusty bread of sliced brie cheese, chocolate chips, and chopped basil.  Butter the outsides of the sandwich and place on a grill pan with a weight on it to press it down (or use a panini press).  Flip the sandwich when it has dark grill marks on one side.  Serve warm.

     

Days 356 & 357: Prosciutto & Linguine Frittatas and Italian Cream Cake

 Today we had an "appetizer" gathering for a belated Christmas party with Randy's side of the family. (The crazy side of the family--see photo above.) ;)  Then my parents came over in the evening for dinner and Randy's birthday, so I was up at the crack of dawn preparing food.  I made 2 appetizers and a dessert for our Christmas party and then we had a roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and broccoli au gratin for dinner.  His birthday cake this year was an Italian Cream Cake. Sunday (Day 357) was another busy day and it was a "leftover" day food-wise. :)
The appetizers I made for the party were (once again) my jalapeno poppers and these prosciutto & linguine frittatas...

Prosciutto & Linguine Frittatas (Giada De Laurentiis)
1/2 lb linguine
7 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
6 oz diced prosciutto
5 oz mozzarella cheese, diced
1/2 cup freshly grated Asiago cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt, pepper, nutmeg

Cook the linguine in a large pan of boiling salted water for about 8-10 minutes to al dente.  Drain in a colander and use kitchen shears to cut the pasta into smaller pieces.  You should have about 3 cups of pasta in the end.
Preheat the oven to 375*.  In a blender or food processor, combine the eggs, milk, cream, and mascarpone.  Pulse until well combined.  Transfer the mixture into a large bowl and add the cut pasta, the prosciutto, mozzarella, Asiago, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, and a dash of nutmeg.  Stir the ingredients to mix thoroughly. 
Spray a couple muffin tins with cooking spray.  Fill the muffin cups so the mixture comes about to the top.  Bake for about 30-35 minutes.  Allow them to cool a few minutes before removing from the pan.

I let Abby look through a recipe book of holiday desserts that I have so she could pick what kind of dessert to make for our Christmas gathering.  She picked out an arrangement of cupcakes in the shape of a Christmas tree.  Together we made chocolate cupcakes from scratch with vanilla buttercream frosting.  Here is our creation:

Special Note: We had an "ugly sweater" contest which is why Randy's shirt has a giant bow on it!

Italian Cream Cake (Ree Drummond)
I sometimes struggle to come up with a cake design for a grown man.  Most elegant cakes are kind of girly--I don't want to give Randy a birthday cake with flowers all over it.  I like the birthday cake to somewhat represent the person they're for.  Last year Randy requested a chocolate chip cake with chocolate frosting for his party.  That was perfect because the chocolate frosting with white icing designs looked great and wasn't "girly" at all!  This year, I decided to do this Italian Cream Cake because it required literally no design.  It's more about the flavor and architecture of the cake.  And since Randy's Italian, it was the perfect fit!

5 eggs, separated
1 stick butter
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 TB vanilla
1 cup sweetened coconut
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup buttermilk
Frosting:
16 oz cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter
2 tsp vanilla
2 lbs powdered sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened coconut
1 1/2 pints fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350*.  Butter and flour 2 round cake pans.  Beat the egg whites until stiff and set aside.  In a large bowl, cream together the butter, oil, and sugar until light and fluffy.  Mix in the egg yolks, vanilla and coconut.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and baking powder.  Alternate adding the buttermilk and dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.  Mix until just combined, then fold in the egg whites.
Pour evenly into the prepared cake pans and bake about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes.  Then turn the cakes out onto cooling racks and allow to cool completely.
For the frosting, beat the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar until well combined.  Mix in the pecans and coconut.
To assemble, cut each layer of cake in half lengthwise so you are left with 4 layers.  Spread the first layer with frosting and top with blueberries.  Repeat the cake, frosting, and blueberry layers until you have 4 layers of cake.

 

For a fun drink with dessert, I made pomegranate bellinis.  To make, simply combine 1 cup of pomegranate juice, 1 cup of cranberry juice, and 1 cup of simple syrup with 1 bottle of champagne.  Mix and pour into champagne flutes garnished with pomegranate seeds, lemon slices, and mint leaves.  Cheers to Randy!

Merry Belated-Christmas & Happy New Year from this Ugly-Sweater Rockin' Family to Yours!

Day 352: Pecorino Cracker Appetizer, Salad, and Leftover Calzones

Exactly one week from today (Tuesday) is Randy's birthday.  That means this is the start of his birthday week.  I have to call it that because as his birthday approaches and I start pouring through my recipe books trying to decide what to make him for his birthday dinner, I always decide on too many things--so I have to spread it all out over the course of a week or so, culminating in the best of the best for his actual birthday dinner.  I'm pretty sure it's clear by now (so close to the end of my year-long blog journey) that a major way I show my husband love is by cooking for him!
So although tonight we had leftover calzones, which isn't necessarily anything special in this house, I made a new appetizer for us. 

salad and calzone dinner

When Randy comes home from work, we like to try to have what we call "grown-up time."  While I'm cooking dinner, I usually have a little bit of "down time" when something is baking or simmering on the stove.  During this time, Randy and I like to sit down together and have a little dinner appetizer and maybe a drink.  We catch up about our days and reconnect.  This time is so important and precious to us because four nights a week he's rushing off to his second job right after dinner, so we normally don't get any alone time after the kids go to bed.  We also like the fact that our "grown-up time" is generally first in our evening (unless I'm running behind in the dinner-making process).  It's a good reminder to us to keep our relationship with each other a major priority in our lives.  Then if I have to finish preparing dinner, he goes and plays with the kids (usually "couch monster").  That's always a precious thing for me to watch!

Tonight's appetizer was pecorino crackers, a recipe from Giada De Laurentis.  I put out some raspberry jalapeno jam to go with them and I made rum daiquiris.  It was a fantastic "grown-up time!"  Here are the recipes:

Pecorino Crackers
1 1/4 cups freshly grated pecorino cheese
1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup flour

Start by "creaming" together the butter and cheese in a bowl with a hand mixer.  Add the salt, pepper, and cayenne and mix.  Add the flour 1/4 cup at a time until the dough comes together.  Pull apart the dough in teaspoon-size sections and place on an ungreased baking sheet (or one lined with parchment paper) and press down gently.  You should get 20-24 crackers from the dough.  Bake at 350* for about 15 minutes, or until the edges start to brown.  Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to cool rack or plate.  Serve with savory jam or crumble over soup or salad. 

Rum Daiquiris (Recipe by John Cusimano, who uses dark rum, but I didn't.)
3 oz spiced rum
1 oz simple syrup
juice of 1 lime
lime slice for a garnish

(To make a simple syrup, simply boil equal parts water and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.)  In an ice-filled shaker, shake together the rum, syrup, and lime juice.  Pour over ice in small glasses.  Garnish with a lime slice.

Day 334: Jalapeno Poppers

I hope all of you had a very merry Christmas!!!  It's Christmas night as I write this and I'm sitting in my PJs eating Chinese food, because, unlike some members of my family, I didn't totally pig out at Christmas dinner and I happened to still be hungry around suppertime.  :)  We certainly had a wonderful Christmas and I can't believe it's already all "wrapped up."  Ha.  Go ahead, shake your heads in embarrassment, it's okay. 

On Christmas evenings, I generally sit back and reflect on the day.  I'm still not sure if this is a good or bad thing.  I end up wondering if it was Christ-centered enough, if we had as much fun with family as we could have without stressing about this and that, and if my kids were really as grateful as they could've been for their gifts.  Was I as grateful as I could've been???  I think it's good to be self-reflective as long as it doesn't become an obsession.  After all, we can't redo Christmas this year, but we can grow in the coming year and try better next year.  But my family certainly did have a fantastic Christmas and I like to think that the answer is "yes" to the questions above.  And now I'm hopeful that my kids will sleep for a week.  Just kidding!  I know they'll be up with the sun tomorrow morning. :)

Anyway, the recipe I want to share in this post I made for the first time last Friday (12/19, Day 334).  I hosted a surprise baby shower and my friend has been craving jalapenos and all things spicy all through this pregnancy.  So when I saw this recipe from Ree Drummond when I was watching her show last week, I knew I had to make it!  Coincidentally, I also made them as appetizers for today's Christmas dinner.  They are delicious and a huge crowd-pleaser!

Adorable lollipops made by a friend for the shower!

Jalapeno Poppers

10-20 jalapenos (however many poppers you want--get half as many jalapenos)
8 oz cream cheese (a container of cream cheese "spread" that you can spoon out is best)
1 package of bacon

Preheat the oven to 275*. Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet to bake the jalapeno poppers on.  My advice--WEAR GLOVES!  So, while wearing a pair of clean, latex gloves, cut each jalapeno in half and clean out the seeds and pale veins.  Then, place a spoonful of cream cheese in each jalapeno half.  Cut all the bacon strips in half and take each half slice of bacon and wrap it around the jalapeno half.  Secure the bacon with a toothpick.  Place the poppers on the baking rack.  Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the bacon is crispy.  Devour!

Catching Up: Days 320-331

I look forward to the day this 365-day journey is over and I can just blog when and where I feel like it, for whatever (food-related) reason.  It will also mean my new website will be up and running!  Yep, can't wait for that!  In the meantime, however, please enjoy this rambling re-cap of the last 11 days with some new recipes sprinkled right in!

Days 320 & 321: Randy and I had the privilege of being out 2 days in a row!  Friday (12/5) was to celebrate my birthday.  We went to Leo's Ristorante in Worceester which was fabulous as always.  Then on Saturday night our church had a Christmas Gala which we attended.  It was a very nice evening and good food!

Day 322: I made my chicken & spinach alfredo pizza for our life group.  However, I cheated and used store-bought pizza crust, unlike the link above.  It wasn't as good. :/

Day 323: (Monday, 12/8)  Randy worked late this night so I drove my kids down to Auburn to visit my parents.  My mom and the kids and I went to Applebee's (or as Abby used to call it, "Bumblebee's", her new favorite place) for dinner. 

Day 324: Parmesan-Crusted Chicken, mashed potatoes, garden salad.  Today was a really gross day weather-wise.  Normally, it's my grocery shopping day, but I wasn't bringing the kids anywhere.  I let Abby pick something out of one of my cookbooks for us to bake together.  Her first pick was a roasted chicken with carrots and onions.  haha!  But after I nixed that idea, she picked these linzer cookies (luckily she picked something with few ingredients--so I had them all!):

Linzer Cookies
3/4 lb of butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
raspberry preserves
powdered sugar

In an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar until smooth.  Add the vanilla, then the flour and salt and mix until the dough comes together.  Dump dough out onto some plastic wrap.  Form it into a disk, wrap completely, and chill for 30 minutes.  Then roll the dough out and cut circles or different shapes you may desire.  Cut a small circle out of half of the shapes.  Place on ungreased baking sheets and chill for another 15 minutes.  Bake in a 350* oven for 20-25 minutes, until edges begin to brown.  Allow to cool to room temperature and make "sandwiches" by spreading the raspberry preserves on the flat side of the cookies without a hole.  Sprinkle powdered sugar on the cookies with a hole and then place those cookies on top of the raspberry preserves.


Day 325: Sunday-Dinner Pot Roast on a Wednesday!  How awesome.

Day 326: Home all day to cook and play!  Spent the morning preparing the sauce and meatballs for the good ol' faithful: spaghetti and meatballs.  I also made up the dough for the gingerbread cookies we would make the next day.

Day 327: Tonight I made Hawaiian pizza and mozzarella spedinis.  These are a very filling but very delicious appetizer!  We also made our gingerbread cookies and read the story "Gingerbread Baby" by Jan Brett as a family.  We moved our family movie night to tonight (Friday) since Randy would be gone Saturday night.  Couch-cuddling and watching "The Santa Clause" was a great way to spend the night!

Mozzarella Spedinis
Inspired by an appetizer we had at Il Forno's about 4 or 5 years ago...

6 slices of white, hearty bread (or however many you want to make)
6 slices of mozzarella cheese
butter
breadcrumbs
2 eggs, beaten + water for dipping
2 cups or so of oil for frying

Spread the butter thinly on the slices of bread and fold in half over a slice of mozzarella cheese.  Press firmly to make a "tight" sandwich.  When the oil is hot enough for frying (350* or so), dip the sandwiches into the egg and water mixture and then into the breadcrumbs and then place in the oil.  Fry the spedinis in batches and place on a paper towel when golden brown and finished frying.  Serve with warm marinara sauce.

Day 328: Randy was out tonight so the kids and I rocked the leftover pizza from last night.  Delicious and easy!

Day 329: (Sunday 12/14) Surprise birthday party in the family!  I made a carrot-cake and chocolate-praline crisps.  Here is the EASY recipe for those crisps:

Chocolate Praline Crisps
12 whole graham crackers
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Layer the graham crackers on a baking sheet.  In a saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter, and vanilla to a boil and boil for 4 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in pecans.  Pour over the graham crackers and bake in a 350* oven for 10-14 minutes or until bubbly and pecans are lightly toasted.  Let cool slightly.  Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave and then, using a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off, drizzle the chocolate over the crisps.  Let cool until chocolate is firm.  Cut into triangles to serve.

Didn't get a picture of the crisps, but the cake was pretty enough for 2 pictures!

Day 330: Our church had an outreach event at Roll-On America, our Happy Birthday, Jesus! party.  It was a great night with pizza included!  Dinner=done. :)

Day 331: TODAY!!!  Served up some restaurant-style salsa along with chicken quesadillas.  #comfortfood

#yesplease

Day 317: Turkey Bowtie Soup w/ Cornbread Croutons (Day 2 of T-Day leftovers)

Last night we used up the last of the sausage stuffing in my sausage bechamel shells.  Tonight, I used about half of the turkey that remained and a good portion of the turkey stock we made on Thanksgiving night to make a turkey soup.  We also had our cornbread stuffing leftover, so we turned those into croutons for a soup topping.  Randy did that for me by following my instructions since I had to leave to deliver food for a small catering gig.  (I'll include some of those recipes at the end of this post.)  So here's the original recipe for the cornbread stuffing:

Cornbread Stuffing (Tyler Florence)
1 loaf cornbread, cubed (6 cups)
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 large onions, finely chopped
4 TB softened butter
1-2 tsp fresh sage, chopped
salt, pepper

In a small bowl, mix the soft butter with the sage to make a "sage butter."  Melt the seasoned butter in a sauté pan over medium heat and add the onions.  Cook for about 15 minutes, or until soft and golden.  Place the cubed cornbread in a large bowl and pour the cooked onions on top.  Mix the egg and heavy cream together and pour over the bread and onions.  Season with salt and pepper. 
I used this stuffing to stuff my turkey and then baked the rest of it at 375* for about 25-30 minutes.

Cornbread Croutons

To make the croutons, take the leftover stuffing and add a little olive oil or chicken broth to moisten it again.  With your hands, take clumps of the stuffing about the size of a tablespoon and squeeze slightly (to help them maintain their form) and place on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with a little extra olive oil if desired and season with salt and pepper.  Bake in a 350* oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until brown and fragrant.



Turkey Bowtie Soup
5 cups turkey stock
3-5 large carrots, sliced
2 stalks of celery, sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
about 1 cup or more of leftover turkey (blend of both white and dark meat)
3/4 lb of bowtie pasta
salt, pepper to taste

In a stockpot, boil the stock with the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic.  Once the broth comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the carrots to cook for at least 5 minutes.  (You can do this step earlier in the day and then let the broth and vegetables sit until you're ready to finish preparing dinner.) 
Bring the soup back up to a boil and add the pasta.  Season with salt and pepper and let the pasta cook for a few minutes.  Add the already cooked turkey and allow the soup to simmer for a few minutes.  Taste to adjust the seasonings.  Serve with the cornbread croutons on top.

To some, this picture is a lonely sight--dinner on a TV tray, solo.  But to a mom of littles, it is pure bliss.  My kids were in bed when I got home and hubby was off to work.  I enjoyed a few moments of peace while watching "Chopped" and sitting in front of our newly trimmed tree.

Intimate Catering Gig... A Few Recipes...

Goat Cheese & Onion Tartlets
I often serve these as appetizers for get-togethers, especially around this time of year.  I served them for Thanksgiving this year and last and they are always a big hit!

1 package (2 sheets) of puff pastry, thawed

1 TB butter
1 TB olive oil
1/4 cup onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
2 TB chopped scallions
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 egg
salt, pepper
3-4 oz goat cheese

Out of 1 sheet of puff pastry, I'm able to get 9 circles cut out with a circular cookie-cutter.  This makes 18 circles, total.  Cut them out and place them on a greased mini-muffin or tartlet pan and push them in to create small shells.  Preheat the oven to 350* and place the prepared shells in the refrigerator.  In a small skillet, melt the butter and drizzle in olive oil.  Place the red and white onions in the skillet and cook over medium heat until caramelized, about 15 minutes.  When good and brown, add the scallions and cook for just another minute and then turn off the heat.  In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and heavy cream.  Season with salt and pepper and add the onions.  Divide the onion/custard mixture among all of the tartlet shells.  Break up the goat cheese and divide equally among the tartlets.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Serve warm.

Crab Cakes with Remoulade Sauce
Randy and I love crab cakes as an appetizer.  There's a restaurant in Maine called Yellow Fins and their crab cakes are amazing.  But I have to brag a little and say that Randy claims these are better than Yellow Fins' cakes. ;) And now I have to be completely honest and say that the recipe belongs to Ina Garten, who can do no wrong in the kitchen and provides fool-proof recipes!  I leave out capers and Old Bay seasoning, but you can add them if you want.

2 TB butter
2 TB olive oil
3/4 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)
1 1/2 cups small-diced celery (4 stalks)
1/2 cup small-diced red bell pepper (1 small pepper)
1/2 cup small-diced yellow bell pepper (1 small pepper)
1/4 minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 lb lump crabmeat
1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tsps Dijon mustard
2 eggs, lightly beaten

In a large sauté pan, cook the butter, olive oil, onion, pepper, parsley, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper until the vegetables are softened, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Cool to room temperature.  Add the crabmeat, mayo, breadcrumbs, Dijon mustard, and eggs.  Mix well.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  When ready, melt 4 TB butter with 1/4 cup of olive oil in a skillet to fry the crab cakes.  I use a small melon-baller to make mini crab cakes, but you can form the cakes however works for you.  Fry for a few minutes on each side, then remove and place on a paper towel to drain.  Serve hot with remoulade sauce.

Remoulade Sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 TB small-diced pickles
1 tsp course-grain mustard
1 TB white wine vinegar
pinch of salt and pepper

Place all ingredients in the food processor and pulse several minutes until the pickles are well-minced and the ingredients are combines.  But do not puree.  This can be served cold or at room temperature.

I also served grilled lemon chicken skewers.  Chicken on a stick--fun stuff!