Thanksgiving 2013

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We definitely put the double-ovens to use this year. Wall-to-wall food - and most of it came out of the oven at the same time. It was one of the easiest get-on-the-table meals I've had the pleasure to do.

My normal Thanksgiving routine is 20 minutes before dinner to tell everyone to get the hell out of the kitchen. I do not want your help or your company. It's not that I don't love everyone, it's I just don't want to kill someone or have anyone end up at the ER because they got nailed with a pot of boiling water while standing in the middle of the kitchen trying to be helpful.  It's a chaotic ballet honed from many years working in chaotic kitchens. Victor and I can dance extremely well in a kitchen together but well-meaning friends and relatives don't often share the same dance-steps. It's for your safety and my sanity.

This year, however, the menu fell into place a bit differently. At the crucial three minutes before sit-down, the only things on the stove were potatoes and gravy. Everything else came out of the oven and onto the table in its serving container. It was calm and totally civilized. Almost unnatural.

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The downside of this, of course, is there are a lot of hot dishes on the table that can burn unsuspecting hands. Fortunately, the family is smart enough not to grab bubbling and steaming plates without a quick cursory touch. It was win-win because everything hit the table at once and it was all hot. And no one was injured.  You know your own family.  Maybe little red picks or something if they're not clever enough to keep from burning themselves...

The 2013 Menu

Appetizers

We started off with just a few appetizers this year. I really tried to cut back on the overall food production because we had a smaller group than usual. It was a success in that I only cooked for 20 instead of my normal 40. We had 12 at the table.

We had 2 Baked Brie in Puff Pastry. One with fig jam and walnuts the other with bacon jam.

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The baked bries were actually quite simple. Cheese and filling wrapped around store-bought puff pastry and baked in the oven.

The one above was brie and bacon jam. OMG GOOD!

Katja's Bacon Jam

  • 1 lb smoked bacon
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar
  • Tabasco sauce to taste
  • 1 cup coffee
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup real maple syrup
  • black pepper to taste
  • extra water, as needed

In a non-stick pan, fry bacon in batches until beginning to brown and get crispy. Once cool, cut into 1″ or so pieces and set aside. In SOME of the rendered bacon fat, sautee onions and garlic until translucent. Transfer all of the onions and bacon to a heavy based pot or cast iron pot and all the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine; simmer over med-low heat for 2 hours. Every 25-30 mins, stir pot and add water (as needed). “Jam” should be thick and void of liquid when finished. Let cool for about 20 minutes. Using a food processor, pulse to desired texture. Serve almost any way you can think with bacon: on a burger or chicken burger, on a BLT, on any sandwich, really, etc.

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This particular brie had the fig jam and walnuts. It spilled over into my already-dirty oven and when I put all the dishes in the oven to heat before dinner, it caught fire. I scooped the burning cheese out of the oven using a long spatula and dropped pooling masses of flaming lava into the sink as the kitchen filled with smoke. Another reason why it's smart to stay out of the kitchen when I'm cooking - you could get seriously burned from a flaming oven.

Next was a Pork Pie with Mushroom Sauce.

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I actually made this a couple of weeks ago and put it in the freezer. I made pork pies for dinner and had leftover filling and pie dough.   It froze great. This is a rustic tart with a single crust that is folded over the filling, leaving a center vent section.

Pork Pie

  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 1 carrot, minced
  • 1 stalk celery, minced
  • 3 tbsp parsley, minced
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp sage
  • Pie dough

Preheat oven to 375°.

Butter 9" tart pan.

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients.

Roll out the dough and center in tart pan fill and then fold the excess dough over the top, leaving a vent hole.

Bake until the crust is browned and puffed slightly, about 45 minutes.

Serve warm.

Next were Pumpkin Meatballs. It's a variation of a recipe I created at work many years ago.

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I made my own meatballs. Feel free to use frozen. I also added about a cup of canned pumpkin to the mixture because I only used a half-can for the rolls. Waste not, want not.

Pumpkin Meatballs

  • 1 jar pumpkin butter
  • 1 cup pumpkin
  • 1 cup steak sauce

Mix ingredients and pour over cooked meatballs. Cook until heated through.

I did stove-top but these can easily be done in a crock pot. And as I sit here and type, I'm wishing we had some in the 'fridge right now. I'd eat them cold.

Our 4th hors d'oeuvre was a Bruschetta with Pesto, Chevre, and Roasted Red Pepper.

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Victor makes pesto every year from the plethora of basil we grow. It goes into the freezer in small containers and we pull it out in winter when we need the tastes of summer. For this, he toasted thin baguette slices covered them with pesto, then herbed chevre, and finally a roasted red pepper strip.  Yummy simplicity!

Pesto alla Genovese

  • 6 cups loosely packed basil leaves
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts, preferably Italian
  • 1/3 small garlic clove
  • 1/2 cup fruity extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt (or to taste)
  • 2/3 cup pecorino romano cheese

Place blender jar in freezer to chill. Soak basil in a large bowl of cold water; let stand 5 minutes. Lift leaves from water. Repeat two more times using a rinsed bowl and fresh water each time. Rinse bowl again and fill with cold water. Soak the cleaned leaves in the water, 15 minutes or quickly blanch and immediately plunge into ice water.

Combine nuts and garlic in chilled blender jar and add the olive oil. Purée until nuts are very finely chopped and mixture is creamy. Add salt.

Lift a handful of basil from water, shaking off excess water from leaves and add to blender. In four additions, Use 3 or 4 short pulses and purée just to combine (do not over-blend). Add cheese, then, using 2 or 3 very short pulses, purée just to combine.

Place in bowl and cover with a thin film of oil.

 

The Main Event

The place to start is with the Turkey and Gravy.

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I wrote this description elsewhere with some friends... When roasting the bird I first pour a bottle of red wine into the roasting pan. Yes, a full bottle. Of reasonably good wine.

I don't futz much with the bird, itself. I melt a cube of butter and pour it over and rub it into all the cracks and crevasses. Salt and pepper, maybe a pinch of sage.  Into the oven it goes. Stuffed.

Meanwhile, I have the neck, liver, gizzard, and heart simmering on the stove top with a few quarts of turkey broth. I boil it down and let it all concentrate...

When the bird come out, the roasting pan goes onto two burners.  ALL of the accumulated juiced are used for gravy. I add maybe a cup of flour - more if it's a juicy bird - and let it simmer and thicken. I mince the giblets - all of them - and add them to the mix. I add enough of the simmering broth to make it the perfect consistency, and then I strain the whole thing into a pot so I end up with the most silken and flavorful gravy on the planet.

It's definitely commercial kitchen gravy-making. I don't concern myself with lumps or stray bits of dressing or whatever in the pan because it's all going to be strained out in the end - but it all adds flavor. I rarely ever need to season.

I make a vat of gravy because I will NOT run out of gravy. Period. Any leftover gravy is used for hot turkey sandwiches, turkey pot pie, or added to the soup. It's the least-expensive part of the meal - and the best.

The turkey comes out of the oven at least an hour before dinner. It has plenty of time to reabsorb those juices and I have plenty of time to make the gravy in advance. It then just needs to be reheated while mashing the potatoes.

After the bird is Nonna's Stuffing.

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I don't have a recipe for her stuffing although I've made a reasonable facsimile of it in the past. It's a bread dressing with ::drumroll:: chicken livers and Jimmy Dean sausage. Yeppers - chicken livers. You don't distinctly taste either but they add a richness that is really good. Pretty good stuff, indeed.

Colorful Carrots with Honey and Dill

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Carrots simply blanched and then drizzled with a mixture of butter and honey, and topped with a bit of dill, salt, and pepper. Cover and into a hot oven.

Broccoli Casserole

This was okay, but not really worth the trouble. The nice thing is it can be made in advance. I think the recipe came from an old Woman's Day or some-such magazine.

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Broccoli Casserole

  • 4-5 cups small broccoli florets
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cube butter
  • 1½ cups panko bread crumbs
  • 2 tsp. dried sage
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 tsp mustard
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • 3 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add broccoli, and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain and transfer to a 9" x 13" baking dish and set aside. Heat oil and 2 tbsp. butter in a 10" skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, and cook, stirring, until browned, about 5 minutes; transfer to a bowl and set aside. Add 3 tbsp. butter to skillet and melt. Remove from heat add bread crumbs and sage; season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Heat remaining butter in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add flour, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add milk, mustard, and nutmeg, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until sauce is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cream cheese, 1 cup cheddar, mayonnaise, and eggs until smooth; season with salt and pepper and set sauce aside.

Pour sauce evenly over the top of the broccoli. Cover and bake about 20 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle bread crumbs on top and return to oven until crumbs are browned.

As I said, good - not stellar. I'll be making something else next year.

But here's something that was pretty good - a Wild Rice Pilaf!

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I was looking for a vegetarian side because while not everything I make has meat in it, a lot of things have chicken broth. I adapted this one from Bon Appetit.

Wild Rice Pilaf

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 cup chopped shallots
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup wild rice
  • 1 cup black barley
  • 1 cup whole grain brown rice medley
  • 5 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 tbsp dried thyme
  • 1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 cups red seedless grapes
  • 1 1/2 cups green seedless grapes
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted, chopped
  • 1 tbsp finely grated orange peel

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and celery. Cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Add wild rice, black barley, brown rice, and a pinch of salt. Pour in about 5 cups broth and thyme and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer about 45 minutes - maybe a bit longer.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°. Drizzle grapes with olive oil and roast until beginning to wrinkle, about 15 minutes. Transfer to bowl and drizzle with vinegar.

When rice is done, add grapes and any juices, walnuts, and orange peel and toss well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

This came out pretty good. The downside of most vegetable broths is they lack the punch that a good chicken stock has.  Next time I make this I will boil down a couple quarts of vegetable broth to concentrate the flavor. But it worked quite well as it was - and there were leftovers to put in the turkey soup.

And then there is one of my most-favorite dishes - Marie's Sweet Potatoes.

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I only get them at Thanksgiving because that's the only time she makes them. They're worth their yearly wait. I don't have a recipe but they're a mashed sweet potato with a caramely-brown-sugary-pecan topping that is heaven in a casserole dish. A definite hit. I used to make a second sweet potato dish but really see no reason to. Like her Jelly Strips, these are the gold standard.

No Thanksgiving would be complete without Pumpkin Rolls. I've been making these for 20 years, I think. They are the best.

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It's a really simple recipe that can be made the morning of Thanksgiving without a lot of fuss. They make great turkey/stuffing/cranberry sauce sandwiches and are also great dipped into turkey soup.

Pumpkin Rolls

  • 1 package dry yeast
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup warm milk
  • 7 to 8 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups pumpkin
  • egg wash made by beating 1 large egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water

In a mixing bowl proof the yeast with 1 teaspoon of the sugar and the milk for 5 minutes.  Combine 7 cups of the flour, nutmeg, salt, and the remaining sugar and blend in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg, the pumpkin puree, and the yeast mixture and mix until it is combined well.

Using a dough hook, knead — adding as much of the remaining 1 cup flour as necessary — for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Form the dough into a ball, transfer it to a well-buttered large bowl, and turn it to coat it with the butter. Let the dough rise, covered in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until it is doubled.

Turn the dough out onto your counter, divide it into 24 pieces, and form each piece into a ball. Place the balls onto a buttered sheet pan and let rise, covered with a kitchen towel, in a warm place for about 45 minutes or until they are almost double in size.

Brush the rolls with the egg wash and bake them in the middle of a preheated 350° oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until they are golden brown.

And finally, we have Cranberry Sauce. This year, I made the basic and also made a Cranberry Orange Relish that was really good.

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The relish is in front with the sauce in back.  The relish recipe called for part of it to be pureed, but I didn't read the recipe very well and put all the cranberries in t once so I stopped at a coarse chunk. It came out great. Nice and tart.

Cranberry Sauce

  • 12 oz pkg cranberries
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water

In a heavy saucepan combine the cranberries, sugar, and water. Simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the cranberries have burst and the sauce is thickened. Cool and refrigerate.

Cranberry Relish

  • 1 1/4 lb cranberries
  • 1 large orange
  • 3/4 cup sugar

Place cut-up orange - with peel - and 2 cups cranberries in food processor with 3/4 cup sugar and process until pureed. Place in sauce pan and bring to a boil. Stir in remaining cranberries and cook until cranberries pop and sauce is thickened.

Serve warm or cold.

 

Desserts

Now we're talkin'! This is my most-favorite part of the meal. I really had to pare down the offerings this year. Only 12 people. I could easily make 12 desserts and not bat an eye. I really wanted to make an Italian Sour Cream Cake that is in my mom's cook book, but Victor reminded me that we were only 12. Three desserts was excessive as it was. And we knew Marie would bring another. I did let him know, though, that he would have to eat half of the cake because there weren't going to be a lot of others to share it with...

First up is my mom's Walnut Pie.

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I like this better than Pecan Pie - and I love Pecan Pie. Mom switched out corn syrup for maple syrup and created a total winning dessert.

Walnut Pie

  • 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 1 1/4 cups maple syrup
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups walnut halves and pieces
  • pinch salt
  • 1 unbaked 9" pie shell

Preheat oven to 375°

Mix flour, brown sugar, maple syrup, butter, and a pinch salt in saucepan. Stir and heat just until butter melts.

Beat eggs with vanilla. Add sugar mixture. Stir in walnuts.

Pour into 9" unbaked pie shell.

Bake in lower third of oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until center is set. Cool.

It doesn't even need whipped cream - and I love whipped cream.

Next up was the Sweet Potato Cheesecake. That I forgot to put the sweet potato in. What can I say?!? It was still an awesome cheesecake.

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Yeah - Sweet Potato Cheesecake sans sweet potato.  This has a nice pecan crust. I usually use walnuts in my cheesecake crust but this came out really good.

Sweet Potato Cheesecake

Pecan crust

  • 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
  • 1 pkg graham crackers
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 5 tablespoons melted butter

Mix pecans, graham crackers, and sugar in food processor until finely blended. Add melted butter and pulse until well-mixed. Press mixture evenly over bottom of pan. Bake at 375° until lightly browned all over – about 10-12 minutes. Reduce oven to 325°

Cheesecake filling

  • 1 cup sweet potato puree
  • 3 8 oz pkgs cream cheese
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup whipping cream
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 2 tsp tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp ginger

With mixer, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in granulated and brown sugars until mixture is well blended and smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until blended. Add sweet potato mixture, the whipping cream, sour cream, maple syrup, and spices. Mix on low speed until well blended.

Wrap bottom of cheesecake pan with heavy-duty foil, pressing it up the sides. Pour batter over crust. Put cheesecake pan in a  roasting pan at least 2 inches deep. Set pans in 325° oven and pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cheesecake pan.

Bake until cake barely jiggles in the center when gently shaken, about 55 minutes. Remove from water bath and cool on a rack, about 1 hour, then chill until cold.

And, of course, there was Pumpkin Pie.

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Deep-dish, tender, flaky crust. It was good. Victor had me make two of these because it's his favorite.

Pumpkin Pie

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
  • 1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk
  • 1 unbaked 10″ pie shell
  • Whipped cream

Preheat oven to 425°. Beat eggs, sugar, maple syrup, and spices in large bowl. Add pumpkin amd mix well. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

Pour into pie shell. Bake at 425° F. for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Top with whipped cream before serving.

And, last but certainly not least, Marie's Bundt Cake.

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She got this really fun bundt pan with stars on top that - while fun to look at - does not always cooperate when trying to get the cake out of the pan. We had one years ago that we finally threw in the garbage we had so many problems with it.  But Marie was not going to let a pan get the better of her. This time the cake came out perfect - and tasted great.

So... another gastronomic holiday has come to a close. We had a great time, ate a lot of food, had fun conversations about a variety of topics, and just relaxed and had fun.

Just the way Thanksgiving should be.

And the Turkey Soup?!?

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Stellar. Mom would have been proud.

 


Bacon Jam

 

Okay. Stop what you're doing right now and make this. Really. And make at least a double batch. Really.

I have just found my new favorite food. Really.

My friend Katja mentioned this on Facebook the other day and had the recipe in her notes. I read it and knew I had to make it immediately. It's funny, because while I like bacon, I tend to like it as bacon - with eggs at breakfast, on a burger or BLT - and leave the chocolate-dipping and crushed over cupcakes to someone else.

Yet, when I read the recipe I knew I had to make it right away. It hit all of the right buttons. Part of it was definitely the ingredients - this is food-science at its finest. Frying, caramelizing, smoke, sweet, acid, spice - and the brilliance of coffee, one of my most favorite ingredients in soups and stews. Another part was imagining all I could do with it.  My mind goes into serious overload, sometimes, when I start thinking about what I can do with something.  It's why I pretty much never make the same thing twice the same way. There's just too many things to eat to keep making the same things the same way all the time...

But I digress...

I decided to start off with a double-batch - I had that much confidence that it would be fabulous. And I was right - it is fabulous!

I started it at 3pm and planned on putting some on top of the pork chops we were having for dinner. Dinner is at 5 o'clock sharp, because Nonna needs her routine, so instead of pureeing it boiling hot, I just spooned some onto the chops.

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O.M.G.

It was thick, gooey, sweet, smoky, just a tad spicy and rich beyond belief. A little of this will go a long way. Victor took a bite and immediately thought of adding it to baked beans. I went with a cheeseburger. But a couple slices of bread and some lettuce and tomato would work, too.

I'm wishing I had a pressure-canner because I'd love to make a lot and give it out as gifts - water bath would not work with this. Maybe I'll have to speak with Santa.

In the meantime, grab the ingredients and make it. Tonight.

Here's Katja's recipe. I used regular Tabasco and added some smoked paprika.

Bacon "Jam"

  • 1 lb. smoked bacon (or use regular bacon and add liquid smoke) **
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
  • 3 T(ablespoons) brown sugar
  • Tabasco sauce to taste **
  • 1 c coffee
  • 1/4 c apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 maple syrup (BUY THE GOOD STUFF)
  • black pepper to taste
  • extra water

In a non-stick pan, fry bacon in batches until beginning to brown and get crispy. Once cool, cut into 1" or so pieces and set aside. In SOME of the rendered bacon fat, sautee onions and garlic until translucent. Transfer all of the onions and bacon to a heavy based pot or cast iron pot and all the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine; simmer over med-low heat for 2 hours. Every 25-30 mins, stir pot and add water (as needed). "Jam" should be thick and void of liquid when finished. Let cool for about 20 minutes. Using a food processor, pulse to desired texture. Serve almost any way you can think with bacon: on a burger or chicken burger, on a BLT, on any sandwich, really, etc.

** I used TJ's bacon ends and pieces and chipotle Tabasco to add the smokiness

I really do see this as being a regular item in the 'fridge.

 

 

 


Miracle Canned Caramel

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I have baked and cooked for more years that I care to admit to. I have learned a bazillion tricks of the trade over the years and have probably forgotten more things than the average person will ever know. That's not a brag, it's just that food has been my passion since forever and I have always made it a point and taken the time to learn new things.

And today, I learned another one.

Did you know you could boil a can of sweetened condensed milk - in the can - for three hours and turn it into caramel? It's a freakin' miracle!

A dear friend of ours down in Atlanta posted a Facebook comment looking for the best Thanksgiving desserts. I answered with my mom's Walnut Pie recipe I'll be making. Another friend posted a Southern Comfort Caramel Apple Pie recipe that I will have to make some day. Another for a Bourbon Chocolate Pecan pie. Chocolate and Vanilla custards...So many desserts, so little time...

And then I saw a recipe for mini caramel tarts. As I read I couldn't believe my eyes. All it was was a can of sweetened condensed milk that had been boiled in water for three hours. I immediately got up and put a can on to boil.

Three hours later, I pulled it out of the water, opened the can - it spit at me so be careful - and swooned. OMG! A deep caramel sauce was staring back at me! I was dumbfounded.  I spooned it into the filo cups that just happened to be in the cabinet - we do have some odd things lying about - and then topped a few with chocolate chunks and the rest with candied pecans.

Stellar. Simply stellar.

The actual recipe is pretty simple. Tracie tops them with whipped topping but I thought they screamed for a pecan. And her instructions are simple and to the point:  Take the label off the can fill a pot with enough water to cover the cans or can. Boil the cans for three hours. Just glance at it once in awhile to make sure still covered. When it's done, let it cool a bit, or all the way. Open can, stir up and spoon into shells. Let chill in the fridge till completely cool.

It makes enough for about 2 packages of prepared mini phyllo shells.

The mind is spinning with more possibilities. I think I have a new toy to play with!


Pork Pies and Bean Soup

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I cooked up a bunch of navy beans yesterday and took a pound of ground pork out of the freezer. I didn't have a real plan, but I had an idea. But after a yummy birthday lunch none of us were in a dinner mood.

Today, I had a bunch of cooked navy beans and thawed ground pork. I needed an idea.

My sister had made a comment about adding vodka to pie crust a few days ago, and while I knew the science behind it, I had never made a crust with vodka, before - so... I decided a pork pie with a vodka crust was in order. And bean soup.

I have been making the same pie crust for years - using the food processor. It is pretty no-fail and makes a perfect 2-crust pie. I decided to tweak it a bit with some vodka. The results were stellar. I think I shall be adding a couple of tablespoons of vodka in my crusts from now on!

Pie Dough

for a double crust:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/3 cup cake flour
  • 1/2 lb butter, frozen
  • pinch salt
  • 3 tbsp ice water
  • 3 tbsp cold vodka

Using a food processor, add flour and salt. Pulse to mix.

Chop up frozen butter and add. Pulse until butter is incorporated and mixture looks grainy.

Slowly add ice water and vodka. Pulse until mixed.

Turn out onto counter. Press and form mixture into 2 disks . Wrap in plastic and refrigerate about an hour to allow the flour to properly absorb the water and to relax the gluten.

Roll out crust and place in pie plate. Crimp edges and fill.

For a sweet crust add 2 tbsp sugar.

That's the basic.

For the pork pie, I used one crust for three pies and the other for a tart that I froze for Thanksgiving. This should actually be good for 6 pies.

Pork Pie

  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 1 carrot, minced
  • 1 stalk celery, minced
  • 3 tbsp parsley, minced
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp sage
  • Pie dough

Preheat oven to 375°.

Grease a jumbo muffin tin with butter.

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients.

Roll out the dough and cut out 6 8" circles.

Center the rounds in the tins. Divide the filling evenly among the cups and fold the excess dough over the tops, leaving a vent hole in the center.

Bake until the tops are browned and puffed slightly, about 45 minutes.

Serve warm.

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For the soup, I sauteed celery, carrots and onion in a bit of bacon grease and then added the beans and a couple cups of turkey broth. I let it all simmer and then hit it with an immersion blender to make it creamy. I added S&P - no other spices. It didn't need anything...

Victor thought the pork pie could have used a cream sauce. I think he's right. Maybe a creamy green peppercorn sauce or something along that line...

I'll figure something out by Thanksgiving...


Butternut Squash Soup Tim and Victor's Totally Joyous Recipes http://www.tahoet.com/tjrclone

Butternut Squash Soup

 

 

I was kinda brain-dead when I got home this afternoon. I was a bit tired and had no idea what I wanted for dinner, let alone what I felt like cooking. Had we been in San Francisco, I would have called Andy's and had Chinese food delivered. Alas, we're not in San Francisco and delivery out here in 'burbia is pretty non-existent.

Staring blankly in the kitchen, I espied a butternut squash. Soup. Dinner is solved. I even had a loaf of homemade bread in the freezer. Dinner definitely solved.

I tell ya, the beauty of our kitchen is we can come up with just about any idea and have the ingredients to make it. Or, at least, enough of them to fake it. I generally don't shop for meals, I just buy ingredients, and let the meals come together based upon what else is in the house.  It's not a system for everyone, but it works for me. I've had to give a bit more thought to it since Nonna moved in, but now I keep a few frozen Italian dinners in the freezer for the days I go off on a gastronomic tangent.

Butternut Squash Soup

  • 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut in cubes
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 4 oz pancetta, diced
  • 1 qt chicken broth
  • 1 can red beans, drained
  • 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Mix squash with olive oil and roast in a 425° oven about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute onion and pancetta until onion is translucent. Add garlic and quickly cook. Add broth and bring to boil.

When squash is cooked, add it to the soup. Use an immersion blender and blend the soup, leaving a few chunks.

Add the beans and the tomatoes and heat everything through.

Check for seasonings and add salt and pepper, as desired.

Serve it up and top with a dollop of sour cream if you're feeling fancy.

The real beauty of soup is you can add just about anything you want. It's stuff in a broth. You can be as creative or as un-creative as you like - it will still work.

Of course, it helps when there's a loaf of homemade bread in the freezer...

Which reminds me... I was really good about keeping bread dough in the 'fridge for making a loaf of bread when I got home, but summertime is more conducive to buying than baking. Methinks this weekend I shall start my dough, again.

'Tis the season...


Spinach Risotto with Chicken Meatballs

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I was looking through a past issue of La Cucina Italiana last night and came across a recipe I didn't recall seeing before - a risotto with chicken meatballs.  It may have been that I automatically dismissed chicken meatballs as being something I would just never make so why bother continuing - but this time I was intrigued and stopped to read it.

I'm glad I did.

I'm not a fan of chicken sausage, ground turkey, or other poultry-replacement items. I just don't see the reason. There's no there there. By the time you add enough filler and spices to make it palatable you've probably negated any supposed health benefits you were expecting. And speaking of expecting, regular ground turkey is usually 15% fat - just like an 85/15 ground beef. And it includes skin and connective tissue and all that.  Yummy. All-white ground turkey is less fat, but it's also dry and flavorless - unless you add fat to it. Why bother?!?

And ground chicken at the grocery store always looks skeevy to me. Totally unappealing. So... I chopped my own. I bought a package of organic boneless skinless chicken thighs and went to work. I roughly cut it and put it in the food processor. After just a few pulses I had a perfect chopped chicken for meatballs.

And I have to admit they came out pretty good. Very simple with a nice texture. They might actually be good in a soup. Winter is on the way... we'll see..

 

Spinach Risotto with Chicken Meatballs

loosely adapted from La Cucina Italiana

Meatballs

  • 1 lb chicken thighs, chopped
  • 2 slices bread, torn in pieces
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tsp chopped parsley
  • 1/2 tsp sage
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup white wine

Place chicken thighs in food processor and coarsely chop. Soak bread in milk. Add parsley and spices. Mix with chicken.

Form into about 30 small meatballs.

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Add meatballs in one layer and sprinkle in carrots. Reduce heat and cover. Cook about 10 minutes. Add wine and cook - again covered - about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.

Risotto

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 leek, finely chopped
  • 4 oz pancetta, diced
  • 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 4 cups chicken broth mixed with 1 cup water, hot
  • 1 cup grated parmesan or grana padano
  • 7 oz baby spinach
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Melt butter and oil together in large skillet. Add leeks and pancetta and cook until leeks are wilted and pancetta is beginning to brown - about 6 minutes.

Add rice and stir continuously until it is fully coated about 1 minute. Add 1 cup wine and cook until absorbed, stirring all the while.

Add 1 cup broth and stir until it is mostly absorbed. Continue adding hot broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until broth is mostly absorbed before adding the next.

Continue until rice is cooked. You may have broth left over. Stir in chopped spinach and stir until wilted and combined.

Add cheese and stir until combined.

Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper, as desired.

Serve with meatballs and broth.

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Nonna ate 4 meatballs and a pretty good portion of risotto. It's always a telling sign when she remarks that there's too much food on her plate - and then cleans it!

 

 


Lasagne

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Homemade lasagne with light-as-a-feather homemade lasagne noodles. It just doesn't get any better. Really.

This morning Victor asked if I would like lasagne for dinner. I said "yes" so fast I scared myself. No one in their right mind - or me - could possibly turn down an offer like that!

Victor went to work making his basic sauce with Italian sausage and let it simmer while he made the pasta.

The pasta is his go-to recipe he adapted from Lydia and he uses it for many of his fantastic pasta dishes.

Cooking fresh and cooking from scratch isn't as difficult - or impossible - as we are led to believe. Food manufacturers are the ones who are telling us we're "too busy to cook" because they want to sell us their mass-produced-faux-food with the questionable ingredients devoid of any real nutrition. You really can get dinner on the table without opening a lot of boxes and not once turning on the microwave - and you can do it in no time, at all.

What it does take, however, is an actual desire to do it. I am so glad that desire is in our house.

Fresh Egg Pasta

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp salt

Spoon 2 3/4 cups of the flour into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Beat the eggs, olive oil and salt together in a small bowl until blended. With the motor running, pour the egg mixture into the processor. Process until it forms a rough and slightly sticky dough. If the mixture is too dry, drizzle in a very small amount of warm water and continue processing. Scrape the dough out of the work bowl onto a lightly floured counter.

Knead the dough with the heels of your hands until it is smooth, silky and elastic – 5 to 10 minutes of constant kneading.

Flour the work surface and your hands lightly any time the dough begins to stick while you’re kneading.

Roll the dough into a smooth ball and place in a small bowl. Cover and let the dough rest at least an hour before rolling and shaping.

This time around he made sheets of pasta and simply trimmed them all to size.  And since it was fresh pasta, he didn't cook it first.

The dish was layered with sauce, pasta, cheeses - mozzarella, provolone, asiago, parmesan, romano, and ricotta - pasta, sauce, sausage, more cheese more pasta, more sauce...

It was covered and then went into a 350° oven for an hour.

It came out and cooled and set for about 3 hours and then went back in for 30 minutes covered, and 30 minutes uncovered - again, at 350°.  The first bake-and-cool set the lasagne so it cut easily and held its shape after being reheated.

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It was awesome!  The pasta was light as a feather and the filling a perfect blend of flavors. I put a pretty good piece on Nonna's plate and when she saw it she exclaimed that it was too much. She ate every bite and said she wanted it for dinner again, tomorrow!  Too much, indeed. Victor and I actually went back for seconds, although they were definitely smaller portions the second time around.

We also had a loaf of fresh bread to accompany dinner. I couldn't let a homemade lasagne get paired with a store-bought loaf!

This is a James Beard recipe, adapted from his Beard on Bread cook book.

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Italian Feather Bread

Makes 2 free-form loaves

  • 2 packages active dry yeast
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 cup warm water (100° to 110° )
  • 1/3 cup butter, cut into small pieces
  • ¾ cup hot water
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 5½ to 6 cups all-purpose flour
  • Cornmeal for the pan

Stir the yeast, sugar, and warm water together in a large mixing bowl; let sit till yeast dissolves and starts to proof. In the meantime, melt the butter in the hot water and let cool to lukewarm. Add the salt, and combine with the yeast mixture.

Add the flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough almost comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured board. Using a baker’s scraper or a large spatula, scrape under the flour and dough, fold the dough over, and press it with your free hand. Continue until the dough has absorbed enough flour from the board and becomes easy to handle. Knead for 2 to 4 minutes, being sure to keep your hands well floured, because it is still a sticky dough.

When the dough is soft and smooth, let rest for 5 or 6 minutes and then divide into two. Roll each half into a rectangle about 12” long and 8” wide. Starting from the wide end, roll this up quite tightly, pinching the seams as you roll.

Butter  one or two baking sheets well (I used one) and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place the loaves on the sheets, and let them rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk.

Bake in a preheated 425° oven 40 minutes, or until the loaves are a rich, golden color and make a hollow sound when you tap the crust, top and bottom, with your knuckles. Cool on a rack and slice when quite fresh.

I wrapped one loaf after it cooled and put it in the freezer. I'd rather make a full recipe and freeze than make a half-recipe.

Everything was so good I didn't even butter my bread - and I always butter my bread.

There's enough lasagne for lunch tomorrow and half will go into the freezer for another meal in the coming weeks.

Yum.

 

 

 


Tim and Victor's Totally Joyous Recipes http://www.tahoet.com/tjrclone

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Cake

Tim and Victor's Totally Joyous Recipes https://tjrecipes.com

 

I didn't roast my pumpkin this year.  It's been tradition for a while that I get a huge fairytale or cinderella pumpkin, roast, puree, and then freeze the puree in 2-cup containers for use throughout the season. Pumpkin soup, pumpkin risotto, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cake...  I like pumpkin.

Alas, Nonna really doesn't care for pumpkin, so I decided I'd just pick up a couple of cans this year and have it on hand for the occasional dish. At last count, I had picked up 10. Time to use up some pumpkin. Granted, it's not going to go bad any time soon, but, still... 10 cans is a bit obsessive.

I decided I wanted a dessert since Victor is cooking a fabulous lasagne today - complete with homemade lasagne noodles - so I headed off to Epicurious to see what ideas they had.

Right away, I found a recipe that not only would use up some pumpkin, but also use up a couple of apples that were in the fruit bowl.  Win-win!

I haven't cut into this one, yet, but dayum! does it ever smell good!  It is just wafting through the house.

I followed the recipe pretty much as written. It seemed very straightforward. I'll let ya know later how it actually tasted, but I don't think anyone will be disappointed.

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Cake

adapted from Bon Appetit

Apple Topping

  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 4 cups diced apples
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

Cake

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup (firmly packed) brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamom
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeng
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 large eggs

preparation

For apples:
Melt butter in skillet Add apples and sauté until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add sugar and cinnamon and sauté about 3 minutes longer. Cool.

For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Combine flour, brown sugar, butter, and salt in large bowl. Beat until mixture resembles coarse meal. Set aside 2/3 cup of mixture for topping. Beat pumpkin, sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, spice, and baking soda into remaining flour mixture, beating just until smooth. Beat in eggs.

Transfer batter to pan. Scatter apples evenly over top. Sprinkle reserved topping over apples.

Bake cake until topping is golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 20 minutes.  Remove pan and place on platter.

Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream.

 

Okay. This rocked the casbah!

Make it. Right now.

 


Alsatian Potato Pie

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I was perusing a Huffington Post food slideshow the other day. You know how they are - 101 ways to cook [fill in the ingredient] or 9000 ways to bake a chocolate cake. Some of them are good, others?!? I don't think so.

The fun thing about them, though, is they can send me off into the Neverland of recipe. One click leads to another leads to another... Somewhere or somehow, I ended up on Martha Stewart's site with an Alsatian Potato Pie staring at me. It sounded so ridiculously good that I had to try it.

I'm really glad I did - it's ridiculously good!

The concept is thick-sliced potatoes, cooked until barely tender, and then layered in puff pastry with leeks and cheese. Later, after it has baked and is almost done, a heavy cream reduction is poured in.

My kind of recipe!

I have to admit I could have sat down and eaten the entire thing, myself. It was ridiculously good.

This is loosely adapted from Martha...

Alsatian Potato Pie

  • 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 5 cloves garlic, crushed with the flat side of a large knife
  • 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
  • Black pepper
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 medium leek, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
  • 1 (14 ounces) frozen puff pastry, (such as Dufour), thawed
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used a block of pepper jack)

Cover potatoes with water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add a pinch of salt; cook until just tender, 13 to 15 minutes. Drain. Let cool.

Bring 1 cup cream, the garlic, and nutmeg to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook mixture until reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.

Cook leek in butter until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in parsley; season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400°degrees. Set 1 sheet puff pastry on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Add the potatoes, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around and overlapping potatoes slightly. Top with the leek mixture and cheese; season with salt and pepper. Cover with remaining dough and gently press edges with a fork to seal. Cut 2-inch slits lengthwise in center of crust, 2 inches apart.

Bake pie until golden brown and puffy, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven. Pour cream mixture into pie vents with a funnel. Bake 10 minutes more. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

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Did I mention it was ridiculously good?!?

Everything about it was just slightly over-the-top. This may become a cold winter night staple.

It was ridiculously good.

Sharing the plate was a thin-sliced chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto. I quickly sauteed it in a drizzle of olive oil and then set the pan under the broiler.

Ridiculously good.


Creamed Chicken with Rice Cakes

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What to do when you have two disparate ideas for dinner? Why, make both of them, of course!

I wanted rice cakes and I wanted something creamy since the weather has turned winter-ish.  The logical conclusion really was to make both. Rice cakes and chicken stew. A perfect combination. I figured the rice cakes could take the place of potatoes or noodles. What the heck.

Rice cakes are tricky. You really need a sticky, glutinous rice or they tend to totally fall apart. Arborio or other short-grained rices work well. Brown rice and long grain rices, not as well. I have a jar of Thai sticky rice that I used. It was the perfect glutinous foundation.

I cooked one cup of rice according to package instructions and then let it cool a bit. I placed it in a bowl and added 1 egg, about a cup of shredded cheese, a bit of garlic powder, sage, salt and pepper. The sage was in honor of the chicken.

I formed them into patties and then put them in the 'fridge to chill completely - cold rice cakes have a better chance of staying together. Right before cooking, I rolled them in plain, unseasoned flour and fried them in grape seed oil until crispy-browned.

They had a nice, creamy interior and a slight crunch on the outside.

They came out well.

The chicken stew was chicken tenders cut up, celery, carrots, mushrooms, and frozen mixed vegetables. I added about a third of a cup of rice to thicken it. The rice pretty much broke down and made it creamy-good!

Nonna cleaned her plate.  Again.

That's always a good sign...

 

 


Sopa de Tomate

 

It was just a  few hours ago that I wrote that I rarely follow recipes. Here is one of those rare occasions.

I just got the latest issue of Saveur magazine and skimming through, I saw a photograph of eggs poached in tomato soup.

My heart skipped a beat. I seriously love eggs served in slightly unorthodox ways.  Over pastas, in soups, atop a burger... People all over the world eat eggs at any meal. Here, they're relegated to breakfast with a warning about not eating too many of them. Bah. Humbug. Eggs are one of the best foods a body can eat.  A barely-firm white with a silken runny yolk... gastronomic heaven. And the closer to the chicken that you can get them - the better they are.

The soup in question is from the Alentejo region of Portugal. It's south-central Portugal with a varied landscape - from beaches to rolling plains to granite hills.

This is rustic food at its finest - and my favorite form of food. I would really rather eat the basic foods of the locals than the latest Michelin-starred dish-of-the-moment. These are foods steeped in history and refined over the years. Their flavor belies their simplicity. And it's interesting watching how the flavors are layered - from bacon to chouriço to onions, garlic, tomato...  Everything built upon what was done before.

I followed the recipe fairly closely, but traditionally, a toasted slab of bread would be placed in the bowl, egg placed on it, and then soup ladled over all. I opted for a sliced baguette on the side that I used to wipe the bowl clean.

Sopa de Tomate

  • ½ lb. thick-cut bacon, cut into ½" pieces
  • ¼ lb. cured Portuguese chouriço sausage, cut into ¼" cubes
  • 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 (28-oz.) cans whole peeled tomatoes, seeded and crushed
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1-2 eggs, per person

Heat bacon in a 6-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a bowl; set aside. Add sausage to pan; cook until browned, 4–5 minutes, then using a slotted spoon, transfer to bowl with bacon. Drain and discard all but 3 tbsp. fat from pan and add onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly caramelized, 10–12 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1–2 minutes more. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, and 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, uncovered, until soup is slightly thickened, about 1 hour. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Purée soup with an immersion blender until smooth; transfer to a 14" high-sided skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Working with 1 egg at a time, crack eggs into a small bowl and carefully slide into soup. Using a spoon, baste eggs with soup, until whites are firm and yolks are just set, about 5 minutes. Place eggs in bowls and ladle soup over the top. Garnish with reserved bacon and sausage.

Nonna had manicotti. I had a feeling this wasn't going to be one of her favorites so I described the dish to her and then gave her another option - she took the other option. I have a few items in the freezer now that I can pull out for her when I want to cook something that may be a bit over-the-top for her.  I'm learning.

I think this may be resurrected this winter. I can see this simmering on the stove with snow falling outside...

And maybe I'll look for a recipe for a traditional Portuguese Pão Alentejano...


Baked French Toast

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I read food magazines and cookbooks the way other people read novels.  Some people get immersed in the mystery or the science or the other-world. I'm fantasizing an intimate dinner party with Meryl Streep with hand-made pasta...

My mom would talk about reading a recipe and tasting the ingredients in her mind as she read them - adding this, substituting that - and pretty much reworking the recipe as she read.

It's genetic. I do the exact same thing. It's why it's difficult for me to follow a recipe - and also difficult to write them. I can tell you what I did today, but it's more than probable that I'll do it differently next time.

It's one of many reasons why I'm not a famous cookbook author or food blogger. My skill lies in doing it - not explaining how I did it.

Once upon a time, working in commercial kitchens, it was easy to replicate the same dish over and over. The same ingredients were always there, along with the same pots, pans, utensils... It's almost robotic. And it was the expectation. Doing menu and recipe development was merely playing food scientist - mixing ingredients following prescribed techniques. It was often knowing what you wanted the end-product to be and working backwards to achieve it. I found all of that to be very easy - I could be very precise in what I did, how I did it, how long it took step one, step two...

But cooking at home is not cooking in a commercial kitchen. I don't always have the same ingredients or the same utensil in front of me, and I definitely don't have the luxury of playing with someone elses food budget.

On many levels it is more difficult to be a home cook than a commercial cook - and while I have worked with a couple of real [expletive deleted] chefs in my life, I don't think anything would compare to a screaming toddler or two.

Which, in a way, is seguing right into where I was starting with all of this...

I received my latest copy of Fine Cooking magazine and found a great article - Make Ahead Breakfasts for a Crowd - written by my dear friend Debbie Koenig! Debbie is pretty much the reason I started food blogging in the first place, after talking food all during Thanksgiving dinner many moons ago, so it's always a special thrill to see her byline in newspapers and magazines.

One of the dishes she created was a baked apricot french toast. Back in my Lake Tahoe days, we used to make what we called "Tahoe Brunch." It was a savory baked french toast that would definitely satisfy a hungover crowd. Totally different than what Debbie created, and totally different than what I made, today, but you get a glimpse of how my mind works... Baked French Toast is the concept that links everything together. It doesn't matter that the actual ingredients are totally different - it's the concept that matters.

So after reading the article and recipes, I brought home a loaf of walnut raisin bread knowing that some would go for dinner and some for a great baked french toast today.

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I went with Debbie's concept and made it sweet. I started with a layer of sliced bread and spread some mascarpone cheese and lingonberry preserves over the top. I then added another two layers of bread, cut to fit an 8x8 baking dish.

I mixed a cup of heavy cream with 4 eggs, a pinch of salt, a tbsp of vanilla, and 1/4 cup sugar. I slowly poured it all over, covered it with plastic wrap and placed it in the 'fridge overnight.

This morning I covered it in foil and baked it at 350° for about 45 minutes. I didn't remove the foil as I didn't want this one to get too crispy on top. The crust of this particular bread is chewy even after soaking in milk overnight.

Hot out of the oven with maple syrup on top. Oh yum.

I love the idea of a crunchy corn flake topping and the apricot nectar in the custard is brilliant, so maybe we can do this for Christmas morning to go along with Uncle Ross' pancakes! I think I can follow her recipe pretty much exactly as written. At least once.