Friday, December 25, 2009

Never Fail Turkey


Anyone that knows my husband knows that he has two hobbies that he can't live without. One is triathlons and the other is BBQ. When we lived in WA, he took a class and has spent a lot of time practicing and perfecting his smoked meats. His newest project has been smoking turkeys. He has smoked a few turkeys and it has been a work in progress. This week he willingly and happily told our friends he would smoke their Christmas turkey. It was by far his best and it looked perfect! The picture above is the end result of our friends turkey. Before he smokes the turkey he brines it for about twelve hours to infuse the bird with fluid. It makes it a really moist and perfect turkey. Here is the recipe for his brine:


From Dan Gill


Estimate how much liquid will be required to cover the bird. For each gallon of water add:


1 1/2 C. salt

1/2 C. Molassis

1 1/2 T. crushed or minced garlic (or use garlic powder)

1/2 T. onion powder

1/4 C. pepper

1/2 C. lemon juice

1/2 oz. maple flavoring

12 oz. ginger ale


Cover bird completely with brine and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, remove from brine and drain the brine from the bird while preparing smoker or roasting pan. At this point, Port usually injects the bird with melted butter and garlic. He also takes room temperature butter and dry rub and rubs it under the skin of the bird. He smokes the bird on his smoker between 200 and 250 degrees until the internal temperature reads 165-170 degrees. Use the same temperatures and cook until the same temperature if using the oven.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Individual Potato Gratin

From Sister's Cafe

This will be one of our side dishes for Christmas Eve.

Ingredients:
Vegetable spray
2 large russet potatoes, rough peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup grated swiss cheese
2 green onions, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray 8 muffin tins with vegetable spray (I used the jumbo sized muffin tins). Layer potato slices, cheese, and onions into each muffin cup. Season with salt and pepper and top each gratin with 1 or 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, removing the foil halfway through cooking time. Invert gratins onto a plate and serve.

Orange Baked Ham



This will be our main meat for Christmas Eve dinner.

From Ina Garten

Ingredients
1 (14 to 16-pound) fully cooked, spiral-cut smoked ham on the bone
6 garlic cloves
8 1/2 ounces orange marmalade
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 orange, zested
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the ham in a heavy roasting pan.
Mince the garlic in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the marmalade, mustard, brown sugar, orange zest, and orange juice and process until smooth. Pour the glaze over the ham and bake for 1 hour, until the ham is fully heated and the glaze is well browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Beef Wellington


We do our big dinner on Christmas Eve and Christmas day we usually just do a big breakfast and appetizers. This will be one of our appetizers, but I have modified to be in bitesize form.
Adapted From Tyler Florence
Ingredients
For the Duxelles:
3 pints (1 1/2 pounds) white button mushrooms
2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Beef:


1 (3-pound) center cut beef tenderloin (filet mignon), trimmed and cubed
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 thin slices prosciutto
6 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves only
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Flour, for rolling out puff pastry
1 pound puff pastry, thawed if using frozen
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Minced chives, for garnish


Directions
To make the Duxelles: Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add butter and olive oil to a large saute pan and set over medium heat. Add the shallot and mushroom mixture and saute for 8 to 10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.
To prepare the beef: Drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper and sear all over, including the ends, in a hot, heavy-based skillet lightly coated with olive oil - about 2 to 3 inutes. Meanwhile set out your prosciutto on a sheet of plastic wrap. Make sure the cut enough pieces of prosciutto to cover each piece of beef. Using a rubber spatula cover pieces of prosciutto evenly with a thin layer of duxelles. Season the surface of the duxelles with salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves. When the beef is seared, remove from heat, smear lightly all over with Dijon mustard. Allow to cool slightly, then roll up in the duxelles covered prosciutto . Tuck in the ends of the prosciutto as you roll to completely encompass the beef. Set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to ensure it maintains its shape.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Remove beef from refrigerator. Set the beef in the center of the pastry and fold over , brushing with egg wash to seal. Trim ends if necessary then brush with egg wash and fold over to completely seal the beef - saving ends to use as a decoration on top if desired. Top with coarse sea salt. Place the beef seam side down on a baking sheet.
Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash then make a couple of slits in the top of the pastry using the tip of a paring knife - this creates vents that will allow the steam to escape when cooking. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until pastry is golden brown and beef registers 125 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from oven and rest before eating.

Coconut Pecan Frosting

Every year we have German Chocolate cake on Dec. 23 to celebrate Joseph Smith's birthay. This is the homemade frosting I make for the cake that I make that comes straight from a box! The frosting is so good that Port has to run a half marathon every Dec. 23 to have enough calories to enjoy it!

From Cooks.com

1 c. evaporated milk
1 c. sugar
3 egg yolks
1/4 lb. butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine all ingredients in sauce pan. Cook over medium heat and stir until mixture thickens. This takes about 12 minutes.

1 1/3 c. coconut1 c. chopped pecans
Beat until frosting is cool and thick enough to spread.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Spicy Bake Macaroni


From Everyday Italian with Giada DeLaurentis


I saw this recipe on the Food Network and my mouth started watering. I love love love macaroni and cheese and something in my brain thinks that if there is a vegetable in it, it must be healthy.


Ingredients
Salt
1 pound elbow macaroni pasta
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound assorted mushrooms, quartered
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained of excess liquid
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/3 cup
1/4 cup Romano, plus 1/3 cup
2 tablespoons butter, softened, plus 2 tablespoons
12 ounces mozzarella cubed (about 2 cups)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Cook until the mushrooms are tender and the onion is golden, about 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes, spinach, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/4 cup Romano. Spread the softened butter in a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish and sprinkle half of the bread crumb mixture inside the dish to coat.
In a large bowl combine the vegetable mixture with the cooked macaroni, cubed mozzarella, the remaining Parmesan and Romano cheeses, and the nutmeg. Spoon into the prepared baking dish, top with the remaining bread crumb mixture, and dot the top with the remaining butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Coconut-Macadamia Triangles



Picture and Recipe from Kitchen Cafe

These are a new favorite at our house. Port's all time favorite cookie is white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, mostly because of the macadamia nuts. These bars were a huge hit because they had all the best things in them...aka..macadamia nuts! Port didn't really want to share with any of us. Luckily it is the holidays and there are plenty of treats to go around.

*Makes 24 triangle bars


*1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
¾ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup unsalted macadamia nuts, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
½ cup shredded coconut
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted



Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil letting the edges hang over the pan slightly and lightly grease.Combine 1 cup flour, 1 tablespoon brown sugar and ½ teaspoon salt in a bowl. Whisk together to combine. Scatter butter pieces over the flour mixture and using a pastry blender or two forks, cut in the butter until small crumbs form. (Alternately, you can use a food processor to do this.) Turn the flour butter mixture out into the prepared pan. Press the mixture into the pan in an even, solid layer.Bake until the edges are golden, about 10 minutes.Meanwhile, combine 2 tablespoon flour, ¾ cup brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, egg and ¼ teaspoon salt. Beat with a wooden spoon until thoroughly blended. Stir in the nuts and coconut until blended.Spread the coconut topping over the warm baked bottom crust. Return to the oven and bake until the topping is lightly browned and the edges pull away from the sides of the pan, about 15-20 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan (this is important so the caramel layer doesn't fall apart upon cutting). Cut into twelve 3 by 2 ¼-inch rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half on the diagonal to make triangles. Dip one corner of each triangle in the melted chocolate and let cool on a sheet of waxed paper.

***I would probably not do the chocolate again. Port requested another batch with no chocolate. He really liked just the caramel and nuts.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Southwestern BBQ Chicken Salad



From Sisters' Cafe

This salad was really delicious. It reminded me of a salad we used to get all the time at Red Robin in WA. Our Red Robin here does not carry it, but this is a great substitute!

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 head Iceberg lettuce, chopped1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 Haas avocados, diced
shredded cheese, Mexican blend or cheddar
crispy tortilla strips

Stir shredded chicken in with the BBQ sauce until well coated. Of course you can use less or more sauce, it's up to you! Toss together the lettuce, cilantro, corn, beans, and chopped veggies. Top with shredded chicken, cheese and crispy tortilla strips. Drizzle ranch or cilantro lime dressing over salad and enjoy!

*to make crispy tortilla strips simply slice about 10 corn tortillas in narrow strips and place on cookie sheet. Spray with vegetable oil cooking spray and sprinkle generously with salt. Place under the broiler and let bake until crispy and brown around the edges.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Skillet Nachos

This was so fast and easy and it was huge hit with my family. Definitely will be making this again.

From Sisters Cafe

½ lb ground beef
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
1 small zucchini, chopped (1 cup)
1 cup chili beans in chili sauce (from 15-oz can)
1 cup thick-and-chunky salsa, divided
Tortilla chips
1 ½ c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (6 oz)
sliced ripe olives
diced fresh tomatoes
sour cream

Brown ground beef. Drain and remove ground beef to a plate; set aside. Using the same pan, stir-fry bell pepper and zucchini for 2 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Stir in chili beans and ½ cup of the salsa; cook until hot. Stir in ground beef.
Line tortilla chips on a broiler safe pan. Spoon dollops of the mixture atop the chips. Sprinkle with olives and tomatoes. Sprinkle with cheese, to your liking. Put under broiler (not super close) until cheese is melted, only a couple of minutes.
Serve with remaining salsa and sour cream.