Turkey Tales...

Thanksgiving seems like a distant memory after 10 glorious days in the sunny Caribbean celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. But I do want to share some of our Thanksgiving dinner with you as it was one of the best and most fun holidays in many years! Coming soon will be some unusual recipes from the Virgin Islands including Curried Goat and Chicken Foot Soup...stay tuned!

Dad surveying the turkey right out of the oven.

The Herb Crusted Brined Turkey with Apple Cider Gravy was the best turkey any of us had ever had. Really worth the effort and will become our annual turkey tradition!

You can find the complete recipe on my most recent blog. Here's a shot of the bird with his Herb butter crust ready to go into the oven. I made two diversions from the recipe. #1: I used 2 sticks of butter for the herb crust, rather than 3. That seemed like a lot even for me! #2. I stuffed the turkey with my husband's grandfathers bread stuffing recipe made with sausage, apple, raisons, onion, garlic, and lots of fresh herbs. The cider gravy on this turkey was exceptionally yummy!

Here are the Turkey Roulades all stuffed, tied and ready to roast. These turkey breasts had a traditional bread stuffing and I served them with rich brown gravy (recipe also on the last  blog).

TWICE BAKED STUFFED SWEET POTATOES

with BROWN SUGAR/PECAN TOPPING

Very easy and can be done a day ahead of time and just reheated on Thanksgiving morning. Bake the sweet potatoes at 375 degrees until very tender. Let cool. Carefully scoop out the centers and mash with butter, a splash of cream, salt and pepper.

Refill the skins. Melt about 1/2 stick butter (depending on how many potatoes you have to top.) Add 1 Tbsp. of brown sugar, dash of salt and about 1/4 cup of pecans. Top the potatoes with the butter mixture and either bake for 30 minutes until hot and bubbly or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Before you reheat them the next day, bring to room temp on the counter and then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

 

BOURSIN CREAMED SPINACH

Even those who say they don't like spinach will probably love this dish. It has a delicious mild and creamy herb flavor! This dish can also be made a day ahead and baked just before your big dinner. If you are doing ahead, wait to top with bread crumbs until just before baking so they don't get too soggy. I doubled the recipe for 7 of us and there were NO leftovers!

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 cup yellow onions, diced
2 Tbsp. flour
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 pkg. (5.2 oz.) Boursin Cheese
1 pkg. 10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry of moisture
2 Tbsp. parmesan cheese, grated
1 tsp. lemon zest
Salt/Pepper/Dash of Cayenne/Dash of nutmeg
2/3 cup coarse bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Saute onions in 1 Tbsp. butter until soft; about 5 minutes. Add flour and stir to coat onions. Gradually whisk in the milk and heavy cream stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Simmer for a couple minutes. Stir in Boursin a little at a time until melted and smooth. Remove saucepan from heat. Add spinach, parmesan, lemon zest, and seasonings. Transfer spinach to a buttered baking dish.
Combine crumbs, 1 Tbsp. butter, Olive Oil and salt and pepper. Top spinach with crumbs, gently packing down to stick to the spinach. If you are not doing ahead, bake for 20 to 25 minutes until crumbs are golden and sauce is bubbly. If you are doing ahead, wait to top with crumbs. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bring to room temp and add crumb topping before baking.

We also had a surprise from my nephew, Chris who brought a rich and flavorful pork pie. He got the recipe from a friend's French Canadian grandmother. He has yet to share it with me, but I can't wait as this was a delicious and creative addition to the Thanksgiving banquet.

JUST DESERTS...
My brother, Skip and his wife Esther brought 2 beautiful pies: Apple and a Bourbon scented Pumpkin Pie with a very decorative crust.

And I made the...

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE WITH

GINGERSNAP AND PECAN CRUST

TOPPED WITH PUMPKIN ICE CREAM

Ingredients:
For the Crust:
Gingersnap cookies, about 20 two-inch cookies broken into pieces (I used Pepperidge Farm.)
1/2 cup pecans, toasted
1 Tbsp. sugar
Dash of salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling:
1 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree (I used Libby's.)
1 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream, chilled
2 lbs. cream cheese, softened to room temp
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks

For the garnish:
About 24 pecan halves toasted with butter and a little cinnamon and brown sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x2 1/2 inch (or higher) spring-form pan.

Make the crust:
In a food processor, process the cookies with the pecans, sugar, salt, and cinnamon until the cookies become fine crumbs, about 20 seconds. Add the  melted butter and pulse about 10 times just until incorporated.
Wrap the outside of the prepared spring-form pan with a double layer of heavy-duty foil to prevent leakage.
Using your fingers or the back of a spoon, press the mixture into the base and part way up sides of the prepared pan. Use a flat-bottomed, straight-sides glass to smooth the crumbs over the bottom and farther up the sides, but not all the way to the top. Be sure to press the bottom thoroughly so that the crumbs are evenly distributed. Lay plastic wrap over the crumbs to keep them from sticking to your fingers to continue pressing the crust to a thin, even layer. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed (or overnight if doing ahead).

Make the filling:
In a small, heavy saucepan, combine the pumpkin puree and sugar. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a sputtering simmer stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture has darkened and thickened to the consistency of applesauce, about 5 minutes.
Scrape the mixture into a food processor (I used a blender.) Process/blend for about a minute with the feed-tube open so steam can escape, scraping down the sides. With the motor running, add the chilled cream, softened cream cheese and process for 30 seconds or until smoothly incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the eggs and yolks and process for about 5 more seconds.

At this point, I put the filling in a large zip lock bag and refrigerated overnight. If you are baking rght away...
Bake the Cheesecake:
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Set the pan in a larger pan and add hot water to come up halfway on the spring-form pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Turn off the oven without opening the door and let the cheesecake cool for 1 hour. Transfer the cheesecake to a rack (center will be slightly jiggly) and cool to room temp, about an hour. Arrange the pecan halves around the perimeter of the cake.

PUMPKIN ICE CREAM

Ingredients:
1 qt. vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 Tbsp. orange juice or orange liquor (I omitted as I didn't have either on hand.)
2 tsps. pumpkin pie spice

Preparation:
In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix with the mixer on medium until well combined. Put it back into ice cream container and freeze until firm, about 4 hours.

How simple is that?? And doing so much of the dinner ahead of time made Thanksgiving morning very relaxed. I even got to watch a little of the parade!

Hope your day was also happy...bellies filled with delicious food and hearts filled with the love of family!

I am very excited to share some Caribbean cooking with you next time. We are also rolling right into Christmas...I am working on the menu as we speak!

At the Bitter End Yacht Club in Virgin Gorda about to dig into a
fabulous piece of Pan-seared Grouper!

 

Until then, thank you for sharing another episode of:

www.cookwithcindy.com

I Love Turkey!

For those of you who don't look at email on the weekend you are going to have 2 blogs from me Monday morning! This is the first time I have power-blogged, but I want to let you know about this fantastic sounding turkey recipe in time for the holiday and time is running short. This recipe may be just what you are looking for if you want a slightly different twist on roasting your turkey. This also is the FIRST time I have blogged a recipe that I have not tried myself, but I am totally confident, since it is from Anne Burrell of Food Network fame, that it will be delicious. Since I have not made it myself, photos will be sparse, but I will add a couple photos from turkey's past!

BRINED HERB-CRUSTED TURKEY

WITH APPLE CIDER GRAVY

Brine:
7 quarts water
1 quart apple cider
3/4 cup Kosher salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
1 head garlic, cut in 1/2 equatorially (don't you LOVE that word?!)
1/2 bunch rosemary
1/2 bunch fresh sage
6 bay leaves
1 (12 to 14 lb.) turkey

Herb crust:
1 bunch fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped
1 bunch fresh sage, leaves finely chopped
3 sticks butter, room temp
Kosher salt

Gravy:
1 large onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2 inch dice
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 Granny Smith apples, cut into 1/2 inch dice
5 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
1 bunch thyme
Kosher salt
1 quart chicken stock, divided
2 cups apple cider, divided
1/2 to 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (this is where you can use your cooked brown flour again)

Preparation:
To brine the turkey:  Combine all ingredients for the brine in a large container. I am using a large garbage bag set in the turkey roaster. Add the turkey and let it brine in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Turn the bird every so often so all parts benefit from the brine.

To prepare the turkey for cooking:  Remove the turkey from the brine the night before roasting and pat it thoroughly dry with paper towels. This is different from what I have done when brining in the past. Generally, I would rinse the bird thoroughly, but this time will go with Anne's method. Combine the rosemary, sage, and butter for the herb crust in a small bowl. Season to taste with Kosher salt. Work the butter under the skin of the turkey and massage it into the breast and the legs. Massage the butter on the outside of the skin as well. Tie the legs together over the breast so they will protect it during cooking and help keep it moist and juicy.

Gravy prep:  Put the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, apples, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and thyme in a roasting pan and season with salt. Arrange the turkey on top of the veg and refrigerate overnight UNCOVERED. This will help the skin dry out and become really brown and crispy. Make sure that there is no raw food near the turkey in the refrigerator. After refrigerating overnight, the turkey is ready to go in the oven.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Put 2 cups chicken stock and 1 cup apple cider in the bottom of the roasting pan. Roast the turkey in the preheated oven until the skin gets really nice and brown, about 40 minutes. Lower the oven temp to 350 degrees for the remainder of the cooking time. Baste the turkey every 30 minutes or so and add more stock to the roasting pan, if needed. Cook about 15 minutes per pound. Once it gets to the proper color, tent the turkey with aluminum foil to prevent it from getting too dark.

Remove the turkey from the oven when an instant read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the turkey registers 160 degrees. Make sure that the thermometer is not touching a bone when doing the reading. When the turkey has reached the proper temp, remove it from the roasting pan to a cutting board and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. (I usually get impatient waiting, but this year am sticking to the 30 minute wait time!) Cover loosely with foil.

Strain all the veggies over a bowl to separate them from the stock/mixture. Discard the veg. Skim off the fat and add it to the roasting pan. This is the fat for the roux. Put the roasting pan over 2 burners and over a low heat whisk in the flour. Cook until the mixture looks like wet sand, about 4-5 minutes. Slowly whisk in the remaining cup apple cider, remaining chicken stock and the stock/cider mixture. Cook until the mixture has thickened and reached a gravy consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Pour into a serving pitcher or bowl.

Carve the turkey, transfer to a serving platter and serve with the gravy.

ENJOY!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING
TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!

WISHING YOU A DAY FILLED WITH LOVE AND JOY!

I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR THE BOUNTY OF MY LIFE.

THANK YOU, ONCE AGAIN FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE MY PASSION FOR COOKING WITH YOU!

www.cookwithcindy.com

Thanksgiving Tidings...

We just got back from the Thanksgiving Day Parade here in Plymouth. This is the second largest Thanksgiving parade in the country, after the Macy's Parade and this year it was truly spectacular! It has everything you want to see in a parade: marching bands, drum and bugle corps, horses of all kinds, old cars, floats, those big huge balloons that take several people to hold down and of course, Santa riding in to conclude the parade.

But before we get into Christmas I want to share my Thanksgiving Day menu and give you a couple "do-ahead" tips. I made two cranberry relishes last week; one is a repeat from last year--back by popular demand, Ginger Cranberry and the other is a fairly standard Cranberry Orange relish with the addition of pineapple. These sauces keep well for a week or more in the fridge making them a quick and easy do-ahead for your big dinner. And so much better than the stuff from the store.

You can find the Ginger recipe from my November 30, 2012 blog. The freshly grated ginger root gives the cranberry a nice kick. Here's the recipe for the new sauce:

CRANBERRY ORANGE PINEAPPLE SAUCE

The Ginger Cranberry is on the left and the Orange Pineapple on the right.
They look nearly identical, but taste very different!

Ingredients:
3 cups fresh cranberries (1 12 oz. bag)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Peel and cut the other half into small pieces; remove any white membrane
Zest from the whole orange
8 oz. can crushed or chunk pineapple in its own juices (not sweetened). I used crushed so the pineapple itself disappeared, but left a nice pineapple flavor.
1 cup water

Preparation:
Bring all ingredients to a boil over moderate heat stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered stirring occasionally until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. Cool completely and then store in tightly covered glass container in the refrigerator.

Here is the complete Thanksgiving Day menu. You will find some of these recipes on last year's November 2012 blog.

Hors D'oeuvres will be handled by my brother Skip and his wife Esther, and his son Chris and wife Sarah who are also joining us at my Dad's this year with their adorable 2 year old baby, Peregrine.

*TURKEY ROULADE WITH CLASSIC STUFFING AND RICH BROWN GRAVY
*HAM WITH CLOVE STUDDED ORANGES AND MAPLE SYRUP
*BRINED HERB-CRUSTED TURKEY WITH SAUSAGE STUFFING AND APPLE CIDER GRAVY

*TWICE BAKED SWEET POTATOES WITH PECAN, CINNAMON, BUTTER AND BROWN  SUGAR TOPPING
*BOURSIN CREAMED SPINACH
*STEAMED PEAS AND PEARL ONIONS

*BAKED ROLLS
*SPICY CRANBERRY GINGER RELISH
*CRANBERRY ORANGE-PINEAPPLE SAUCE

*PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE WITH GINGER SNAP CRUST
*PUMPKIN ICECREAM

Esther is also bringing an apple pie and who knows what other goodies will show up on the harvest table!

Today I also want to talk about a do-ahead gravy that I made last week. It may be the best gravy I ever made and takes all the last minute frantic effort out of doing gravy when everyone is ready to sit down and eat. This gravy can be frozen for a couple weeks. I took this photo after freezing the gravy.

Here's another trick which you may want to try. I just learned about it. Cook white flour before using in a brown gravy or rich stew. It darkens the color and I believe removes any of that 'floury' taste that sometimes occurs. All you do is heat a dry, clean skillet over medium heat. Add 2 cups white flour and stir frequently with a wooden spoon or heat-proof spatula. Just as the flour begins to darken stir constantly. I stirred for 20 minutes and said "enough!", but the technique I read about said to stir for 50-60 minutes. The stirring is important as the flour can burn fairly easily which stirring avoids. This is how the flour looked before and after:

 

You can store the cooked flour for up to a year in the freezer.

DO-AHEAD RICH BROWN GRAVY

Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil/1 Tbsp. melted butter
Turkey parts-I used 2 large legs cut up by the butcher into 2" rounds. Necks or wings would also work well.
2 Tbsp. cold water
8 cups chicken or turkey stock
2 cups water
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 large sage leaf
2 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup browned (or white) flour
Salt/Pepper to taste
Pinch of cayenne

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine onion, carrots, celery, olive oil, 1 Tbsp. melted butter in a large roasting pan and toss to coat. Place the turkey parts on top of veg. Liberally add salt/pepper. Put the roasting pan in the preheated oven and cook until the turkey wings are browned and vegetables are caramelized and softened, 40-45 minutes.
Transfer turkey and veg to a large stockpot. Place the roasting pan over a stovetop burner on medium heat. Pour 2 Tbsp. cold water into the pan and bring to a boil, scraping up all browned bits. Transfer mixture to the stockpot and add 8 cups chicken or turkey stock and 2 cups water, thyme, sage leaf, garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered until meat falls off the bone, about 3 hours. Skim off turkey fat throughout the process and set aside 2 Tablespoons.
Strain turkey stock through a fine mesh strainer and reserve 6 cups of stock. When I made this, 6 cups was all that was left after it bubbled on the stove for 3 hours.
Heat 3 Tbsp. butter and 2 Tbsp. reserved turkey fat in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle in flour and cook, whisking continuously until it begins to thicken, 3-4 minutes. Simmer until desired thickness. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne to taste.

On turkey-day I will scrape some of the turkey pan drippings into the pre-made gravy to give it a little more richness as it reheats. This recipe sounds like a lot of steps, but it is VERY easy and makes a perfect gravy. Next time I think I might try adding 1/2 cup dry vermouth or white wine or possibly some shitake mushrooms.

Yum! Yum!

Here are a couple more photos from today's parade...

Playing the fife while riding these crazy bicycles looks like no easy feat!

Preparing a big Thanksgiving dinner does not have to be stressful. By doing a few things ahead of time it takes a lot of the work out. Tomorrow I am going to share with you the recipe for the turkey I am making this year. It's one from Anne Burrell using some different techniques, but much of the work is done ahead.

I am incredibly grateful for the beautiful day I spent with my husband, cousins Joe and Kathe and tens of thousands of other people all feeling the spirit of this tremendous season. There was lots of love in the air.

Thanks, as always for sharing with me!

 

www.cookwithcindy.com

Birthday Indulgence!

NOVEMBER 13, 2013-HAPPY BIRTHDAY JERRY!

My husband celebrated his birthday last week and I must say I really spoiled him. He was pampered, petted, indulged and WELL-FED! We started the day with breakfast in bed.

Gently Poached Duck Eggs atop Irish Smoked Salmon nestled on Whole Grain English Muffins.

I did not use my own method for poaching (see Perfect Soft Eggs March 9, 2013 blog) because the duck eggs are so large I was not sure they would fully poach so used a more traditional poaching method. I always add about a tsp. of cider vinegar to the water and a tsp. of salt. Bring the water to a gentle boil. Crack the egg in a separate small bowl and slowly slip the egg into the water. Do not boil hard. You may have to coax the whites to keep them together. Look at the size of this duck yolk!

Recently I asked my husband about his favorite lunch as a kid growing up. Without hesitation he said Campbell's tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches so I surprised him with a variation of his childhood favorite. This soup is very easy to make and best if made the day before. I found the recipe online (www.finecooking.com/recipes/meyers-classic-tomato-soup.aspx) and they say the soup stores in the fridge as long as you boil it every 2 days. They also suggest it freezes well, which I am doing with the leftovers so we will see.

Because I was not the Birthday Girl, I put a simple squiggly garnish on my bowl of soup.

CLASSIC TOMATO SOUP

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 large white onion, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, smashed and peeled
2 Tbsp. flour
3 cups chicken broth (I generally have home-made on hand, but did not this time so used Swanson's.)
28 oz. can whole peeled plum tomatoes (including the juice)
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 sprig fresh thyme
Salt/Pepper to taste
3 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh dill (or other herb like Basil or Chives)
Creme Fraiche Horseradish/Dill garnish, optional

Preparation:

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large soup pot over medium low heat. Add onions and garlic and cook stirring occasionally until soft, but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add the flour and stir to coat the onion and garlic. Add the broth, tomatoes, sugar, thyme, 3 Tbsp. dill and 1/4 tsp. each of salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat while stirring the mixture to make sure the flour is not sticking. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes.
Discard the thyme sprig. Let cool briefly and then puree in 2 to 3 batches in a blender or food processor. I know you know this, but use caution when blending hot liquids. They really can explode. I know this from experience. ;-0 Rinse out the soup pot and return the pureed soup to the pot. Taste for seasoning and adjust salt/pepper if necessary. Either put it in the fridge or reheat to serve.

Garnish:
Mix 1/2 cup creme fraiche with 1 Tbsp. minced fresh dill and 1 Tbsp. well-drained horseradish; a little salt and pepper. Because I like to play with my food I put the garnish in a honey-bear plastic bottle and scripted the birthday message on Jerry's soup and used a squiggle design on mine. A simple dollop would also work. The topping added a lot to making a simple classic soup very special.

The grilled cheese sandwiches were made with a smoked Gruyere. Perfect complement to the old-fashioned, comforting soup on a cool fall day.

THE MAIN EVENT...

LOBSTER MAC AND CHEESE

When I am using a new recipe I usually do not deviate from ingredients or instructions until I have made it once and then do my own tweaking. This was also a new recipe for me from Ina Garten (Food Network's Bare-Foot Contessa) and it was ridiculously delicious! No tweaking necessary!

Ingredients:
Kosher salt
1 lb. Cavatappi or elbow macaroni*
1 qt. milk
8 Tbsp. (yes, that is 1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup flour
12 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated (about 4 cups)**
8 oz. extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (about 2 cups)
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 lb. cooked lobster meat (I used 3 chix-1 1/4 lb. lobsters***)
1 1/2 cups white bread crumbs (crust removed)

*     I like the Cavatappi because it is a little heavier and its curly shape holds lots of sauce.
**   I didn't have enough Gruyere so used 3 cups of each.
*** I steamed, cleaned and chopped the lobster the night before, which made the preparation much easier.

Preparation:
Drizzle olive oil into a large pot of boiling, salted water. Add the pasta and cook per directions; 6-8 minutes. Drain well. Set aside.
Heat the milk in a small saucepan, but do not boil. In a large pot, melt 6 Tbsp. butter and add flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. Still whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a few more minutes (5-8) until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 tsp. salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and lobster and stir well. Place the mixture in either 6 to 8 individual buttered gratin dishes or one large buttered casserole. I actually divided into 1 medium casserole and 1 small casserole intending to freeze the small dish. I also wanted to use all of the lobster in the larger casserole so left the smaller one as a plain mac and cheese.

Melt the 2 remaining Tbsp. of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on top.

Jerry is not a major fan of cake so I decided to surprise him with a very special pie. I also know a charming  young lady from Spiddal who would LOVE this pie as it contains her favorite combination of chocolate and peanut butter-GENUINELY. Hi Clodagh!

 

FROZEN CHOCOLATE-PEANUT BUTTER PIE

This pie is fairly easy to make although I did have some mis-steps and since I have promised to share not only the things that go right, but those that don't, I will tell you the story.

A trick for whipping cream is to put the bowl, beaters and the cream in the freezer for a few minutes before you start whipping. The chilled utensils and cream whip up faster so that is what I did. Unfortunately I did not thoroughly read the recipe ahead of time to see that I needed to make the crust and let it cool completely before adding the filling. Because the crust needed about an hour to put together including cooling time, I forgot about the cream which froze nearly solid. I ran it under hot water and loosened it enough to squirt out of the container, but what was intended to speed things up actually really slowed them down! The lesson here, read the directions thoroughly before starting your recipe...and, in this case, make the crust earlier in the day.

Ingredients:
For the Crust:
1 3/4 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (I like the Nabisco brand Famous Chocolate Wafers.)
3 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Pinch of salt

For the Filling:
6 oz. cream cheese, at room temp
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (not chunky or natural; I used Skippy.)
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 cups heavy cream

For the Topping Drizzle:
2 oz. good quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. peanut butter

Preparation:
To make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the cookie crumbs, brown sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Add the butter and toss with a fork until all the crumbs are moistened. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9" pie plate. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, then bake until set, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and salt until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the peanut butter and vanilla and beat again. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Stir 1/3 of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture to lighten it up.

Using a rubber spatula gently fold in the remaining whipped cream. Transfer the filling to the cooled crust. Freeze uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to 1 day covered with plastic wrap.

I put the garnish on before freezing. To garnish the pie: Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat until melted (2 bursts of 15 seconds). Transfer to a zip-lock baggie and snip the end off one corner and drizzle over pie. Do the same with the peanut butter. We ate this pie after 4 hours in the freezer, but the consistency got even better with longer freezing. This may be the best pie I have ever eaten.

What a day of feasting we had!

Even JoJo got in on the fun!

 

THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME FOR

JERRY'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!

 

THANKSGIVING IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER SO THAT MEANS MORE FESTIVE HOLIDAY COOKING.

 

TUNE IN AGAIN SOON FOR MY THANKSGIVING DAY MENU WHICH WILL INCLUDE TRADITIONAL FAVORITES ALONG WITH SOME NEW SUPRISES!

 

www.cookwithcindy.com

 

 



Irish Flavorites!

My husband and I just returned from 2 glorious weeks in the west of Ireland in a little village called Spiddal. We own a guest house there which is rented throughout the year. In October, we make an annual pilgrimage to do repairs, yardwork, big clean, spiff up, etc. It is truly a labor of love and this year we only had one day of rain in 14! Quite unusual for Ireland in October. Our kitchen window overlooks the ocean. Here is a shot of the sun setting over Galway Bay.

I do a lot of cooking and baking in IRE. It is rare for us to go out to eat, although there are some wonderful restaurants in the area. Cooking in Spiddal is challenging as I have no recipe books, very few utensils or measuring cups, baking dishes...it's a pretty stripped down kitchen and you never quite know how things will turn out, but that is half the fun! I'm going to start with some oat cookie/ cakes that were delicious and almost seemed healthy!

I am calling these cookie/cakes as they were thicker than cookies
and nearly had the consistency of a cake; almost like a scone.

The apples (and butter!) kept them nice and moist.

OAT COOKIE/CAKES

Ingredients:
1 cup coarse whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups oats
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 sticks softened Irish butter (I love Irish butter!)
1 cup raisons
2 small apples, cut in pieces
1 cup sugar
2 eggs

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. This is another tricky detail as my oven in Spiddal is calibrated in numbers from 1 to 9 rather than degrees, but the conversions are not that hard to figure out. On my oven 350 degrees is between 4 and 5. Here is a standard conversion chart:
275°F = 140°C = gas mark 1
300°F = 150°C = gas mark 2
325°F = 165°C = gas mark 3
350°F = 180°C = gas mark 4
375°F = 190°C = gas mark 5
400°F = 200°C = gas mark 6
425°F = 220°C = gas mark 7
450°F = 230°C = gas mark 8
475°F = 240°C = gas mark 9

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the raisons and apple to the dry ingredients--the flour mixture coats the raisons and apples so when mixed with wet ingredients they don't clump up. In a separate bowl cream together softened butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat after each addition. Mix the creamed butter mixture into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly until just held together. Drop by heaping tablespoon on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let them cool a few minutes before removing from pan and then place them on a rack to cool completely. These were great with a pot of tea!

I was watching a cooking show one night and saw an interesting recipe for potatoes. In Ireland potatoes are ubiquitous and often served several different ways at a meal: boiled, mashed, and fried. This recipe is a little different and went well with steamed carrots we had just dug from Sarah's garden mixed with frozen peas and lamb chops from Mr. Feeney, our local butcher.
SMASHED NEW POTATOES WITH HERBS AND GARLIC

Ingredients:
16 new, small white potatoes, scrubbed, left whole with skins on
2 cloves peeled, but whole garlic
Big sprig of rosemary
Salt/Pepper
4 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup grated cheddar (I used a nice local Irish cheddar, but any cheddar will work.)
4 Tbsp. chopped Herbs-chives, parsley, sage, additional rosemary, thyme--your choice

Preparation:
Cover potatoes with salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Drain. Discard rosemary. Chop garlic and smash potatoes and garlic with a large fork or potato masher. Do not mash completely; leave them a little chunky. Add 4 Tbsp. butter, 1/2 cup grated cheddar, salt/pepper, and herbs of choice. I used the above herbs. They recommended tarragon and parsley on the show which sounds great, but I didn't have any tarragon growing. Put the potatoes in a shallow baking dish (you may want to dot with a bit more butter and sprinkling of cheese)  and reheat until very hot, about 15-20 minutes. Very simple, but the herbs and cheddar are a nice twist. Now on to...more potatoes!

COLCANNON
This is an old fashioned Irish traditional way to serve potatoes and as with almost every recipe has variations. I like to make it simple with cream and lots of butter mixed into the mashed potato and steamed cabbage. It can also be made with steamed kale, green onions, regular onions or leeks. This time I did add some leeks because they are in season and I had a ton of them on hand. As I said we just raided Sarah's garden so the root veg were plentiful. In Hungary, my Mom's homeland, there is a dish called Kaposzta's Kocka Galooshka, which is a cabbage and noodle dish. Very similar, but here in IRE the potatoes replace the noodles...of course!

Ingredients:

10-12 potatoes, peeled and rough chopped

1/2 cabbage cut into big chunks; don't skimp on the cabbage. If it is small, use the whole head.

1 leek cut into thin slices, white part only

1/4 cup cream or milk

2 Tbsp. salt

5 Tbsp. butter

Salt/Pepper to taste

 

Preparation:

Place peeled and cubed potatoes in a pot. Cover with water and add 1 Tbsp. salt and bring to boil and cook until fork tender; about 15 minutes. Drain well in colander. In same pot add cabbage and leeks. Cover with water; add 1 Tbsp. salt. Bring to boil and cook until tender; about 10 minutes. Drain. Mash potatoes in a glass pyrex type bowl or dish. Add cabbage and leeks. Stir in 5 Tbsp. butter and 1/4 cup cream or more if potatoes are not creamy making them really rich and delicious. This can be made ahead of time and reheated. Leftover colcannon also makes great potato pancakes in the morning or if you just want to fry the cakes without going to the fuss of adding egg and flour they hold together nicely; probably because of so much butter!

 

Just a quick word about PARSNIPS. They are not either mine or my husband's favorite veg, but since we had so many freshly dug I decided to make a whipped parsnip dish with butter and cream. I am calling it PARSNIP CREAM. To make: peel parsnips and cut into cubes. Cover with salted water. Bring to boil. Drain well in colander. Whip (this was not easy as I don't have a mixer, but whipped by hand with a fork) until creamy. Add butter, a little cream and salt and pepper. Again, very simple, but delicious. They also made wonderful cakes the next morning for breakfast. Just drop a heaping tablespoon in olive oil and form the cake with the spatula and your fingers. Cook until brown and turn and brown the other side. I served these parsnip cakes topped with Irish smoked salmon and poached eggs with white pudding which is the oppositie of black pudding; kind of like a spicy sausage, but contains no pigs blood as does black pudding.

 



I think the most exciting thing I made in Ireland this year was a roasted duck. They were on sale at the market for 9 Euros and I couldn't resist. I asked the  butcher what kind of duck it was and he said FREE RANGE...that didn't give me much information, but I have never cooked a duck anyway so didn't have much to go on. It was absolutely delicious, but my technique was imperfect. Here is the roasted duck which was yummy, but the flaw was not completely rendering the fat under the skin.



I have since done some research and am going to try this again at home and let you know how it goes. The 2 biggest errors were: #1. I cooked at high heat and I believe the recommended method is long, slow heat; and #2 (and I KNEW this!!) I did not score the skin. Oh well, as I always say, the fun is in the doing and it won't always be perfect, although I must say that the orange sauce I made for this plump duckling was scrumptuous so you'll be hearing about that soon. After our first duck dinner, I cooked the duck two different ways: Duck Risotto (out of this world!) and a rich root vegetable soup made with duck stock. Not to mention the duck made about 2 cups of duck fat which was used in all sorts of ways for flavoring and frying.

Until next time, this is Cindrina (that's my Irish chef name) saying goodbye from Spiddal, County Galway.

LIVE LARGE, COOK BIG, GET CREATIVE IN THE KITCHEN.

PLEASE TUNE IN AGAIN SOON FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF:

WWW.COOKWITHCINDY.COM

P.S. Thanks again to all of you who have been following my quest for the position of Chief World Explorer for Jauntaroo. For those of you who do not know, I did not make the final five. Your support meant the world to me and I had a blast along the way!

 

 

Umbrian Lentils and more...!

I bought these beautiful Umbrian Lentils at my favorite gourmet store...HomeGoods!  Lentils are so versatile and work well with many different flavors, spices, herbs, pork, bacon or shellfish, like shrimp. This is how I made mine...
UMBRIAN LENTILS WITH SAUSAGE AND GARLIC



 Ingredients:
1 package Umbrian lentils-1 lb. (or any type of lentils; the Umbrian just made it a little more special.)
2 cups double rich chicken* stock to cover lentils
4 Italian sausages out of their casing
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 stick celery, coarsely chopped
1 bay leaf
Bouquet Garni (I used parsley, a sprig of rosemary and lots of thyme)
Salt/Pepper to taste

Preparation:
Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan. Add sausage and chunk it into pieces with a wooden spoon. As it starts to brown, add garlic, onion and cook for about 5 minutes on medium high heat. Add carrots, celery and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the lentils and cover with chicken broth. Toss in the herbs. Reduce heat, cover and cook until lentils are tender; about 30 minutes. Add more water or chicken stock if the lentils start to dry out. Season with salt and pepper.

* Store bought chicken stock is perfectly OK to use, but I prefer to make my own and generally have a quart or two on hand in the freezer. To make double rich chicken stock, simply re-cook chicken stock with more chicken bones, herbs, mirepoix, etc. using the original chicken stock as the base for cooking all over again. Makes the stock super rich and yummy!

 This is a hearty, fall meal good on its own or serve with steamed veg or a side salad for a perfect casual supper. It's great with a full-bodied red wine, too.

Next, is the soup course I made for Chickie's Birthday Bash...The ginger and orange flavors blend perfectly to give the Squash Bisque a spicy, bright flavor! The soup can be made in the morning of your dinner party or even the night before.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH BISQUE

WITH GINGER AND ORANGE ZEST

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. olive oil, plus more for roasting squash
1 Tbsp. butter
1 large butternut squash (about 2 lbs.) seeded and cut into chunks
3 large carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. peeled and minced fresh ginger root (about a 1 inch piece)
2 quarts vegetable or chicken stock
Zest from 1 orange
1 tsp. dried ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste
Freshly chopped parsley for garnish

I finished my soup with a yogurt/maple, spiced topping by adding about 1/4 cup maple syrup to 1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt. Mix in 1/4 tsp. of cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp. dried ginger and a little salt. Play with the flavors until it's as sweet or spicy as you like.

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 385 degrees. Put the butter squash skin side up on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and roast in oven until very tender; about 30-40 minutes. Let cool completely and then peel off the skin. This makes the peeling very easy. Set aside. Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 Tbsp. butter over medium heat in a large sauce or soup pot. Add carrots, onion, and fresh ginger and cook for about 5 minutes until lightly browned. Add stock and orange zest, dried ginger, nutmeg. Cook until carrots are tender and then add the squash and cook for another 15 minutes. Let it cool. Puree soup in a blender or food processor until smooth and creamy. Cover and put in refrigerator until ready to re-heat and serve.

The main course for Chickie's birthday dinner was Shrimp and Mushroom Risotto (to find recipe go to my main blog page, top left, Search for Recipe box), steamed asparagus and roasted red pepper with lots of garlic. To roast the red peppers, heat broiler on high. Place whole red peppers on a sheet of foil large enough to wrap the peppers up after they have charred. Place them as close to flame as possible and char all sides until blackened. Wrap in the foil and let cool completely. When they are cool, peel off blackened skin, pull out seeds, stem and membranes and slice into strips. Add as much chopped garlic as you dare and extra virgin olive oil. When ready to serve, heat in a frying pan so the garlic gets a little brown. Serve peppers warm. These peppers keep about a week, but the garlic intensifies as they age.

The first night I met my husband I was roasting peppers in my kitchen in Jamaica Plain. The house was filled with the rich, pungent aroma of roasting peppers. It made a big impression on him...23 years later we're still roasting peppers!

I wrote about Chickie's dessert last time: Double fudge brownies with homemade orange sherbet and chocolate ganache. I had some good feedback from my friend Deb on the ganache. It was way too sweet for her liking. This sauce is incredibly rich and sweet. You might want to start by using just 1 cup of sugar. Taste and add more sugar in increments until it is the sweetness you desire.

I'm closing today with a wonderful green salsa recipe I made recently with fresh tomatillos from Teri's Farmstand. What a treat to have fresh from the garden tomatillos in New England!

TOMATILLO SALSA VERDE

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. tomatillos

3 cloves garlic, roasted with the tomatillos

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup cilantro leaves (also from Teri's!)

1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

1/4 tsp.+ sugar (adjust to your taste)

2 jalapeno peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped (or again, adjust to your heat liking)

1/2 tsp. hot pepper flake (I used cayenne or omit if you don't like it too hot.)

1 tsp. smoked paprika or a smoky Chipotle like Victoria Taylor's Seasonings

1 tsp. salt

I just love the look of these tomatillos ready to roast--so green!

Preparation:

Remove the papery husks from the tomatillos and rinse well. Tomatillos are sticky. Cut the tomatillos in half and place cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet. Add the whole, unpeeled garlic cloves to the baking sheet.  Place under a broiler for 5-7 minutes until lightly browned, but unlike the red peppers you do not want to char them. Place the tomatillos, garlic squeezed out of the skin, lime juice, onions, cilantro, jalapeno peppers, and sugar in a blender or food processor and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped. Season to taste with salt. Cool in refrigerator. I served with a traditional guacamole and blue corn chips. I think this would also make an awesome sauce with chicken or shrimp or even pork!

 

As you know I can go on and on about food and cooking. I realize I just blogged a few days ago, but we are leaving for Ireland for 2 weeks so I was craving one more food blog before we go. I will do lots of cooking in IRE so stay tuned for some ideas with a Gaelic twist!

 

Thank you for your support and votes/likes for the position of Chief World Explorer for Jauntaroo. You can keep voting every day until the end of October!

http://www.bestjobaroundtheworld.com/submissions/view/6515

 

LIVE, LOVE, COOK!

www.cookwithcindy.com



Chickie's Birthday Bash!

I know I promised to share my recipe for Umbrian Lentils, but in the meantime, two very important things have happened.
#1. This past weekend I made my sister-in-law, Chickie an over-the-top Birthday dinner...and #2. I just found out this afternoon that I am one of the top 50 candidates for the position of Chief World Explorer for Jauntaroo. Umbrian Lentils coming soon...

First, Jauntaroo's Chief World Explorer...out of 3000 candidates, I was selected in the top 100. Thanks for voting for me!! Next assignment was to create a 3 minute webisode about your home-town. From there, Jauntaroo selected 50 candidates to move forward. Next, I ask your help in again viewing and 'LIKING' my 3 minute video to get me into the final 5. We will have about a month to vote. Here is the link. I cannot thank you enough for your support. I am very excited about this opportunity! I'll keep you posted...

http://www.bestjobaroundtheworld.com/submissions/view/6515

Now on to the Birthday Bash! I'm going to start with Chickie's dessert...DOUBLE FUDGE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES with HOMEMADE ORANGE SHERBET and RICH CHOCOLATE SAUCE.

DOUBLE FUDGE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. flour

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8" baking pan with parchment, leaving overhang on all sides. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Melt butter and chocolate over very low heat. Place the chocolate squares on top of the stick of butter and let it melt and drip into the butter. Stir from time to time until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar. Whisk in eggs, 1 at a time, until combined. Whisk in cocoa and salt (I sifted my cocoa as it had gotten kind of lumpy). Fold in flour until combined.

Pour batter into pan. Bake until set and a toothpick comes out clean-about 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan on a rack-about 15 minutes. Gently lift brownies by parchment out of pan and transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely. Cut into 9 squares.

These may be the best brownies I have ever eaten; delicious with a delicate crust and moist, rich interior. Very easy to make.

For our Birthday Bash dinner, I made an orange sherbet to go with the brownies. Note the color of the sherbet. No food coloring so it is not bright orange, but very flavorful. Both the sherbet base and brownies can be made in the morning. Churn the sherbet about 2 hours before you want to serve.

ORANGE SHERBET

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. finely grated orange zest
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice (I used prepared juice from the store.)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 cups whole milk

Preparation:
In a blender, add sugar, vanilla, orange zest, salt, orange juice and lemon juice. Pulse until the sugar is dissolved, about 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and whisk in the milk. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until very cold, about 2 hours.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and proceed according to directions of your ice cream maker. For me, that was about 22-25 minutes of churning.

Transfer the sherbet to a tupperware type container and freeze for 2-3 hours. The longer you freeze, the harder it gets. I thought the consistency best at 2 1/2 hours.

Top this scrumptuos brownie with the orange sherbet and the best chocolate sauce you will ever taste. I first experienced this sublime sauce at a dinner party. It's our neighbor Karen's specialty sauce and is great on just about everything or anything. She has given me a double recipe, but it freezes very well so it makes sense to make a double batch so you always have it on hand. I think what sets it apart is the use of evaporated milk, rather than heavy cream as most ganaches call for.

KAREN'S CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1 1/2 (14 oz.) cans evaporated milk; 21 oz. all together
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Preparation:
Melt butter, chocolate over low heat stirring occasionally until combined. Add evaporated milk, sugar, and vanilla. Stir until all ingredients are shiny and thoroughly blended.

I am going to close with the full menu and promise I will share the Butternut Bisque, which was super yummy and Umbrian Lentils next time.

Starter:                        Butternut Bisque with Ginger and Orange Zest
Main:                          Shrimp and Mushroom Risotto
Accompaniments:       Steamed Asparagus
                                    Roasted Red Peppers with lots of garlic
Finale:                         Double Fudge Brownies with Orange Sherbet and
                                    Hot Chocolate Ganache

I had so much fun putting this meal together for Chickie. What a fabulous birthday celebration we had. Happy Birthday Chick!

As always, thanks for sharing my passion for cooking.

TUNE IN AGAIN SOON FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF:

 

www.cookwithcindy.com

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF MY RUN FOR CHIEF WORLD EXPLORER!