Turkey Pot Pie

What better to do with leftover turkey than make turkey pot pie.

Ingredients
1 cup of chopped celery
1 cup of chopped carrot
1 cup of chopped onion
1 teaspoon dry thyme
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half and half (I use fat free)
1/4 cup flour
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 cups of turkey (mixure of white and dark meat)
2 pie crusts
1 egg

In a saute pan, melt the butter and add the celery, onion and carrot. Season with salt and pepper.  Cook the vegetables until they are soft (especially the carrots and celery).  Add the flour and make sure it mixes well.  Add the cream, stir and let it start to bubble and thicken a bit. Then add the chicken broth continue to stir and let the sauce thicken back up.  Add the chopped up turkey and 1/2 cup of frozen peas. Mix well. Season again with a little salt and pepper to taste.

Cover the bottom of pie plate with the first pie crust.  Fill the crust with the turkey vegetable mixture.  Add the second pie crust to the top.  Place slits in the top and then cover the top with egg wash.

Bake on 425 degrees for about 40 minutes.

I made a salad with baby arugula and drizzled it with a little grapeseed oil and white balsamic vinegar. I served some of the left over Shallot-Gin Cranberry Sauce with it.  Frankly the salad was quite tasty with the cranberry sauce mixed in it.

This meal was rated 4.5 asparagus spears

Thanksgiving 2011

It was our year to spend with my in-laws for Thanksgiving so we had Chris's parents and sister over to celebrate.  It was nice having a much more intimate gathering as opposed to our usual 40 plus people on my side of the family.


Menu
Appetizers
étoile Rosé
Assorted Cheeses and Crackers

Hot Pepper Jelly over Cream Cheese



Brie, Midnight Moon, Assorted Olives

Main Course
Shallot-Gin Cranberry Sauce
Green Bean Casserole with Madiera Mushrooms
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Sweet Potatoes
Fresh Turkey
Pork Sausage Stuffing
Dinner Rolls
2009 Newton Chardonnay
2009 Matthew Fritz Pinot Noir Carneros


Dessert
Pumpkin Bread
Homemade Apple Pie
Vanilla and Pumpkin Ice Cream


My plan on Wednesday night was to make as much as I could ahead of time so that S and I could watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade together on Thursday morning.  For those of you who know me well, you know my obsession with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  I watch it every year.  While I wasn't able to watch the entire parade we saw a good amount together and S seemed to enjoy it; she pointed at the balloons, she saw Abby Cadabby on the Sesame Street float and really enjoyed the singing and dancing. Unfortunately she missed Santa at the end because of nap time but don't despair, I taped the rest of the parade for her. I don't think Chris has noticed it yet on the DVR otherwise I am sure it would have been "accidentally" deleted as he hates watching the parade.

So Wednesday night I was able to make the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, chop the vegetables for the stuffing, prepare the shallots for the cranberry sauce, make the cranberry puree and set the table. I decided I was going to buy flowers and attempt my own centerpiece. I was actually quite pleased with how the flowers turned out, typically I'm not so good with floral design.

This left making the stuffing, preparing and stuffing the turkey, making pumpkin bread, making the apple pie and making the green bean casserole for Thursday. I was actually quite impressed with myself I got everything done and did 3 loads of laundry all before 2:30 p.m. when our company arrived.


Shallot-Gin Cranberry Sauce

I had never actually made cranberry sauce before but found it to be quite easy.  I found this recipe on Gilt Taste, it is from Anthony Myint and Karen Leibowtiz, Mission Street Food.

Ingredients
1 quart cranberry juice
1 cup sugar
12 ounces fresh cranberries (or frozen)
3 shallots, finely diced
Zest of 2 oranges
Salt
Splash of gin, to taste (optional, but if you're concerned about alcohol, simmer it for a few minutes before adding )
Fresh tarragon, chopped, to taste (optional, but very nice)

1. The day before, generously salt the shallots and reserve them in the fridge.
2. Reduce the cranberry juice by half, then add the sugar and fresh cranberries. Cook on low until the cranberries are very tender. Drain the cranberries and reserve the liquid. In a blender, puree about half the cranberries with a few tablespoons of the reduced juice to get a smooth puree, and reserve the puree, along with the soft cranberries, in the fridge.
3. The following day, drain the shallots and combine them with the cranberry puree, the soft whole cranberries, orange zest, and gin and tarragon, if using.

Green Bean Casserole with Madiera Mushrooms

While I know my husband loves the regular old green bean casserole with canned green beans and cream of mushroom soup I was looking for something a little more exciting this year, something with fresh vegetables. I thought this was a good compromise.  This recipe was from the November 2011 issue of Cooking Light magazine.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups chopped sweet onion

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

1 (8-ounce) package pre-sliced button mushrooms

1/3 cup Madeira wine or dry sherry

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

1 cup (about 2 ounces) canned fried onions (such as French's)

1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Place beans into a large saucepan of boiling water; cook 4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain well. Place beans in a large bowl; set aside.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and thyme to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms; sauté 10 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently. Stir in wine, salt, and pepper; cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir in flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in chicken broth; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Add mushroom mixture to green beans; toss well. Place green bean mixture in a 2-quart glass or ceramic baking dish. Combine fried onions and grated cheese in a small bowl. Top green bean mixture evenly with fried onion mixture. Bake at 425° for 17 minutes or until top is lightly browned. 

Mashed Potatoes

I made my usual mashed potato recipe.  I used a combination of red potatoes and yukon gold potatoes; I had just under 5 lbs of potatoes (4lbs, 11 oz to be exact).  Wash and peel the potatoes, cut them into quarters.  Boil potatoes in water that is slightly salted.  When the potatoes are done (you can pierce them with a fork) drain the water and put them back into the pan.  Using a hand masher begin to mash the potatoes, add 2 tablespoons of butter, 3 tablespoons of sour cream, 2 palms of Montreal Steak Seasoning, a little salt and 1/4 cup of milk.  Continue to mash until you get the consistency that you are looking for.  I sprayed a corningware dish with some cooking spray and then added the potatoes, I let them cool before I put them in the fridge.  On Thursday I added about a tablespoon of butter (more to come on the butter) and then heated them for about an hour on 350 degrees.

Sweet Potatoes

Since we had such a small crowd I only made 4 sweet potatoes. Clean them and then bake them on 350 degrees for about an hour.  Let them cool and then you should be able to just peel the skin right off.  Cut them into smaller chunks. In a bowl two separate bowls melt butter in one and place brown sugar in the other. Roll the potatoes in melted butter and then roll in the brown sugar.  Place the potatoes in a baking dish and cover in the fridge. On Thursday I heated them for about an hour on 350 degrees.

Pork Sausage Stuffing
2 bags of Brownberry or Pepperidge Farm Sage and Onion Stuffing Mix
2 - 1 lb packages of Jimmy Dean Regular Pork Sausage
2 cups of chopped celery
2 cups of chopped onion
3 cups of chicken broth
2 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, melted plus 1 tablespoon

Saute the vegetables in 1 tablespoon of butter, season with salt and pepper.  Let the vegetables cool a bit and then in a large bowl combine the stuffing, vegetables and slowly add the melted butter, chicken broth and the pork sausage.  Make sure everything is combined well and the pork sausage is broken into small pieces.
When you are ready to stuff the turkey put as much of the dressing as you can in the turkey and the remainder in a corningware dish sprayed with cooking spray. Cook on 350 degrees for an hour, make sure the pork sausage is cooked all the way through.

Turkey
We ordered a fresh Amish raised turkey from Standard Market, it was an 18 lbs turkey.  We cooked ours in a Nesco roaster so we had the oven space for all the side items.  I stuffed the turkey and then liberally coated the skin with olive oil and melted butter.  Seasoned with salt and pepper (lots of pepper).  I added a tiny bit of chicken stock to the bottom of the roasting pan.  We cooked the turkey on 325 degrees and turned it up at the end to 400 to get the skin a little more brown.  We basted the turkey throughout the cooking after the first hour. 

As far as the gravy goes I used a Turkey base that I got from Williams-Sonoma and then added some of the drippings/juices from cooking the turkey to it.



Dinner is Served... Happy Thanksgiving!


Homemade Apple Pie
To make the apple pie I used the filling I made a couple months ago when we received so many apples in our fruit deliveries.  I defrosted the filling over night.  On Thursday I used the Pillsbury Unroll and Fill Pie crusts, I placed the first crust covering my pie pan. Filled it will the apple pie filling and then added the second crust on top.  I put a couple of slits in the top and then cooked it for 40-45 minutes on 425 degrees.  I forgot to take a picture before we started serving it so here is one with a few missing slices.  It was quite delightful!  We served it with Oberweis Vanilla and Oberweis Pumpkin ice cream.

Pumpkin Bread
I cheated on this one and bought a package of pumpkin bread mix from Trader Joes. You just add water, oil and egg.  Pretty simple.  I made two small loaves.  I did make my own glaze for the top.  I used 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and then added a tiny bit of milk (maybe 1 1/2 teaspoons) and just drizzled it over the top.  The sad part is we were all so full no one actually had any on Thanksgiving, but S and I tried it out on Friday and it was delicious.  S LOVES it!

We had a great day, I think everyone enjoyed their dinner.  So I mentioned I would get back to the additional butter I added to the potatoes before heating them on Thursday.  As I was preparing everything Thursday Chris told me to be sure to use lots of butter. I proceeded to tell him how much butter was in everything and he felt the potatoes may need more.  So I figured, its Thanksgiving why not.  Well, the additional butter ended up cooking over right at the end of the cooking time and started to smoke in the oven. There was so much smoke that our smoke alarm went off.  I had just put S down for her afternoon nap and thought to myself what perfect timing, she is sleeping and dinner is ready.  Well, her nap did not last long at all, you see when one smoke alarm goes off in our house all of them do.  This includes the one in S's room and the one in the hall directly outside of S's room. The poor little girl was petrified when the it started sounding.  We ended up with windows open and someone fanning the smoke detector for a good 20 minutes.  Nothing says Thanksgiving like a smoke detector! 

Overall, we had a great day and we have so much to be thankful for. I hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving!



S waiting for the company to arrive



Our Final Vegetable Delivery for the Season

This post is a bit tardy considering our delivery was over a week ago.  It was the final delivery of the season and it brings a tear to my eye.  I'm going to miss the anticipation of finding out what we were getting in our bushel. I guess we will just have to wait until June when deliveries start up again.

Fruiting Crops – 2 Butternut squash, Popcorn

Brassicas – 1/2 stalk of Brussels Sprouts, or Broccoli, maybe Cabbage

Alliums –Onions or Garlic

Cooking Greens – bunched Chard, perhaps Kale tops



Salad Greens –bagged Lettuce, bagged Spinach or Arugula
Root Crops – 2# Carrots, Beets, Parsnips, Kennebec potatoes

Butternut Squash

Last Sunday we went to my sister's baby shower for her husband's side of the family and friends.  It was a very nice afternoon and she got a ton of wonderful gifts.  When I got home I decided I was going to do something with the crazy amount of butternut squash we had from the past 2 CSA deliveries, especially since I was going to need room in our fridge for Thanksgiving.

I used 2 squash for Butternut Squash soup, 1 for Macaroni & Cheese and the other was cubed and blanched and put in the freezer to be used at a later date.

I heard about the Macaroni and Cheese recipe from my Aunt Marylynn. She saw it in the September 2011 issue of Cooking Light magazine and made it for her family; they all really enjoyed it including my cousin Neil who apparently despises Butternut Squash.  The recipe is actually called Creamy, Light Macaroni & Cheese, it has 390 calories per serving. The recipe below makes 8 servings, click the link for the complete nutritional information. The best part about this is it's a very kid friendly recipe.  S enjoyed it!


Creamy, Light Macaroni & Cheese

• 3 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 [1-pound] squash) 
• 1 1/4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth 
• 1 1/2 cups fat-free milk 
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 2 tablespoons fat-free Greek yogurt
• 1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
• 1 cup (4 ounces) grated pecorino Romano cheese 
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
• 1 pound uncooked cavatappi
• Cooking spray 
• 1 teaspoon olive oil 
• 1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Combine squash, broth, milk, and garlic in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer until squash is tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Place the hot squash mixture in a blender. Add salt, pepper, and Greek yogurt. Remove the center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Place blended squash mixture in a bowl; stir in Gruyère, pecorino Romano, and 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano. Stir until combined.

4. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain well. Add pasta to squash mixture, and stir until combined. Spread mixture evenly into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray.

5. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add panko, and cook for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Sprinkle evenly over the hot pasta mixture. Lightly coat topping with cooking spray.

6. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.

Butternut Squash Soup with Crisp Pancetta
I found this recipe on my Food & Wine Magazine app on my iPad.

•  4 medium butternut squash (6 pounds)
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 12 very thin slices of pancetta (3 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 large Spanish onion, chopped
• 6 thyme sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 quarts chicken stock or low-sodium broth
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• Sugar (optional)  

1.   Preheat the oven to 400°. Halve the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Set the squash on a rimmed baking sheet, cut sides up. Put a piece of butter in each cavity and season generously with salt and pepper. Drape the squash halves with the pancetta slices. Roast the squash for 45 to 50 minutes, or until tender.
2. Transfer the pancetta to paper towels to drain. Crumble and set aside. Scoop the squash out of the skins into a bowl.
3. In a large, heavy stockpot, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened but not browned, about 6 minutes. Add 3 of the thyme sprigs and the bay leaf. Stir in the squash and the stock and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat and simmer the soup for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Pick out and discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Working in batches, transfer the soup to a blender or food processor and puree until thick and creamy-smooth, about 1 minute per batch. Transfer the soup to a clean saucepan. Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper (and sugar if desired).
5. Reheat the soup if necessary. Ladle into 12 bowls. Garnish the soup with the pancetta, the leaves from the remaining 3 thyme sprigs and a drizzle of olive oil.

Make Ahead: The soup and roasted pancetta can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Reheat the soup and re-crisp the pancetta before serving; the soup may need to be thinned with stock or water. 

I made the soup on Sunday night and started to puree it until I woke S up in the process.  So I ended up having to finish pureeing it on Monday night.  We just re-heated the soup and it was delicious.  I didn't add any sugar.  We ate it with some crusty bread.  Yum!

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Another meal that Chris loves is pot roast.  I found this recipe on the Whole Foods website so I gave it a try last week. It was super easy and quite tasty.  


Ingredients
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour* 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper 
1 teaspoon dried thyme 
1 (1 1/2-pound) boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat 
3 tablespoons canola or extra virgin olive oil 
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups) 
2 Russet potatoes*, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces 
2 small onions, cut into wedges 
2 cloves garlic, minced 
2 cups reduced-sodium beef broth 
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste


Directions
On a plate, combine flour, salt, pepper and thyme. Dredge meat in flour, coating all sides. Heat oil in a large saucepan and brown meat on both sides, turning once, about 7 minutes total. Meanwhile, place carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic in a 5 or 6-quart slow cooker. Top with browned roast. Pour 2 tablespoons water into the pan you browned the roast in, scrape up any browned bits and add that rich liquid to the slow cooker along with the beef broth and tomato paste. Cover and cook until beef and vegetables are very tender, 8 to 10 hours on the low-heat setting or 4 to 5 hours on the high-heat setting. 


Nutritional Information
Per serving: 330 calories (110 from fat), 13g total fat, 2.5g saturated fat, 50mg cholesterol, 520mg sodium, 26g total carbohydrate (4g dietary fiber, 8g sugar), 28g protein

Standard Market

For months we have been waiting for the opening of Standard Market which is just down the street from our house.  Well it finally opened a couple weeks ago and we love it!  The market focuses on locally sourced foods.  They have a great wine and cheese section which we have been frequenting.  They have a huge seafood counter which I haven't gotten anything from yet but I am looking forward to it.  The meat department is great.  We have gotten a few items from there, but most importantly I am looking forward to the fresh turkey we ordered for Thanksgiving.

One of the things that Chris has found to be wonderful (besides the beer selection) especially when I am out of town is there Meal for Two dinners.  A couple Fridays ago we thought we would give one a try, it was Chicken Parmesan night.  For $14.99 you received, a salad, 2 large chicken breasts, fresh pasta and marinara.  The food was really good and the best part it was super easy to prepare.  I also couldn't believe the amount of food we got.  This is going to be great for a quick meal on nights when I am at work late and don't have time to cook.

Chris gave meatloaf night a try last week when I was at the gym.  I wasn't able to take pictures because he and S had devoured the meatloaf and mashed potatoes by the time I got home.  It also came with a side of steamed broccoli.  The best part in my opinion was he got his meatloaf fix (since I am not usually a big fan) and I didn't even have to cook.  Although I must admit I did try a little piece when I got home and it was quite good.

Chicken Sausage and Vegetable Soup

I love experimenting with soups once the weather gets cooler.  This one turned out great. Thanks to my sous chef, Becky for doing a lot of the chopping.

Ingredients
Bilinski Spinach & Garlic Chicken Sausage (12 oz package)
Diced Carrot, 2 cups
Diced Celery, 2 cups
Diced Onion, 2 cups
Fresh Ground Pepper
Sea Salt
Vegetable Broth, 32 oz
Cannellini beans, 1 can - rinsed and drained
Dark Red Kidney Beans, 1 can - rinsed and drained
Fire Roasted Crushed Tomato, 14 oz can
1 large zucchini, diced
Baby Kale, rough chop
Red Cardinal Spinach, rough chop

In a dutch oven, brown sliced chicken sausage. Add the celery, carrot and onion and continue to sauté.  Season with ground pepper and sea salt.  Once the vegetables begin to soften add the kidney beans and cannelloni beans along with the vegetable broth. Bring to a slow boil and then reduce to simmer.  Add the can of fire roasted tomatoes.  Simmer on low for a couple of hours with lid on dutch oven.

Add zucchini, and 2 big handfuls and 1 small handful of the fresh greens.  Place lid back on dutch oven until zucchini has softened and greens have cooked down.