A Report on How All my Dishes Came Out

Our Thanksgiving Feast 2014 (held yesterday)

Rich Turkey Gravy (roux method)

My husband, his sister and I celebrated our Thanksgiving yesterday, the day AFTER Thanksgiving. This past week I have been describing the dishes I planned to make, or had made as I went along. I made the Cran-Cherry Relish with Port earliest, on November 21st, since cranberry relish will last for quite a while once made.  I made a decision regarding what I intended to do with my turkey, i.e. butterfly a smaller bird, "dry brine" or "salt rub" on it, and I planned to rub an herbed butter under the skin before roasting. I described all this in my post of November 24th. I went into  my method for making a simple, delicious turkey stock in preparation for my Rich Turkey Gravy to come on November 25th. In the November 26th post, I went into the making of my favorite Sweet Potato Casserole, which is an old recipe and always wonderful, as well as my plans for a recipe of Stuffing with Bacon, Cornbread & Chestnuts and also how I planned to make my Riced Potatoes with Boursin and Chives.

As well as these preparations, I also created a recipe for a Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie, which came out unbelievably good. The smell of it while baking was certainly a precursor of the flavors to come! I used my recipe for Spicier Pumpkin Pie for our pumpkin pie.

The Results

Cran-Cherry Relish with Ruby Port

Cran-Cherry Orange Relish with Port

I hadn't tasted the Cran-Cherry Relish with Port, except for licking the spoon after it was made and stored in the fridge. This was a most amazing recipe. I have always loved my Cranberry Orange Relish, but this new recipe truly topped even that old favorite. Oh, my was it good!

Rich Turkey Gravy

The gravy was made using the roux method, described in my post titled, Two Methods to Make Great Turkey Gravy. It turned out excellently, although there were almost no pan juices from the turkey, to give that extra boost of flavor.

Stuffing with Bacon, Cornbread & Chestnuts

Stuffing with Bacon, Cornbread & Chestnuts

My Stuffing with Bacon, Cornbread & Chestnuts was good. To me, it was no better than my original "Better Than Mom's Stuffing" recipe. Considering the cost of the jar of chestnuts from Williams Sonoma, it was not worth that much. My sister-in-law, who loves chestnuts, was quite enamored of this version of my stuffing, and also said that the cornbread in the mix gave it just that tiny bit of crunch. She felt it was a keeper. I may keep the cornbread part, but spending over $18 for the chestnuts - when, to me, their flavor was undetectable  - was not worth that price. Period. I love chestnuts also, but I would much rather use them in something with less other flavors vying for attention. If you should want to try this new version of stuffing, go to the original recipe for Better Than Mom's Stuffing, use only a 1-lb loaf of sandwich bread and substitute 8 ounces of cornbread for the rest. The chestnuts are up to you. Or use regular pecans or walnuts as the recipe states. Those are the only differences in my newer recipe. 

Riced Potatoes with Boursin & Chives

Riced Potatoes with Boursin & Chives

I love my riced potatoes no matter how I choose to prepare them. Most often made with cream cheese, we are perfectly content with them. I often add chopped scallions if they are in my vegetable drawer. Sometimes I sub a 4-ounce log of goat Chevre for the cream cheese. I have, on occasion, mixed the riced potatoes with Boursin cheese in past. It is pricier than buying cream cheese or even the goat cheese, so it is generally reserved for special occasions. It is always wonderfully good, and these potatoes were no different.

Roasted Salt-Rubbed Butterflied Turkey

The Dry-Brined or Salt-Rubbed Turkey

My review of the butterflied and salt rubbed turkey are mixed. If you choose to salt rub your turkey, keep these thoughts in mind:

• Once the turkey has been salt rubbed and left to set, the skin cannot be loosened to insert an herbed butter or other flavoring underneath. To add an herbed butter under the skin, this must be done prior to the salt rub.
• The salt on the turkey will cause various things to happen: 1) the skin contracts and dries, giving an exceptionally crispy skin once roasted. 2) the salt will cause the juices to stay locked inside the turkey while roasting, leaving almost no pan drippings. 3) You will need an alternate to pan drippings for basting purposes. 4) If you have a salt sensitivity, while the turkey is perfectly seasoned (in other words, it is perfectly salted, without tasting salty), it can make you as exceedingly thirsty as if you ate a really salty ham.

Our turkey, sliced and served

As for the first point, I had already made a very flavorful herbed butter I intended to place underneath the skin before roasting. This was the first time I made a salt rubbed turkey, so it was a surprise, how much the skin contracted. I could not loosen the skin at all without tearing. Instead, I used the herbed butter to baste the turkey while roasting.

I always use the pan drippings from the turkey to add into the stock I've made previously. This gives the stock that extra "roasted turkey" flavor, making an already flavorful stock exceptional. With less than a quarter of a cup of pan drippings to add, there was no real boost to flavor. While my gravy was great, it could have been even better.

As to the last point, I do happen to be very salt-sensitive. After dinner I was drinking water like there was no tomorrow. This truly surprised me, because although I knew how much salt was applied to the turkey (3 tablespoons - which is not that bad, considering the bird was 13 pounds), it did not taste salt-y at all. It just tasted absolutely, perfectly seasoned. It was also pretty juicy, easy to cut and eat. It was really, fantastically - GOOD. 

As I bought a turkey that was between 12 to 14 pounds and butterflied (or spatchcocked) the turkey, it roasted in 90 minutes. This was a real plus. The whole salt-rubbed, butterflied turkey was delicious. I say this with no reservation.

My recommendations on this matter? 

If you do not have a salt sensitivity and do not need the pan juices, this method is highly recommended. On the plus side, this method is for you if:

• you love crispy skin
• you love perfectly seasoned turkey all the way through
• you want a turkey that roasts quickly (butterflied)
• you love a turkey that stays moist
• you have no real salt sensitivity

The Pies

Spicier Pumpkin Pie with Galeux D'Eysines Pumpkin

I used the Galeux D'Eysines French heirloom pumpkin puree in my Spicier Pumpkin Pie for our Thanksgiving. The Galeux D'Eysines pumpkin, once roasted, was one of the wetter types I have used. It exuded massive amounts of liquid while baking, and once I removed the squash meat from the skin, I set it into a colander for a further few hours to drip. This left me with a total of about 3 cups of pumpkin puree from this whole pumpkin. In comparison, the Jarrahdale blue squash, set in a colander after removing the flesh from the skin, exuded little liquid, and yielded about 12 cups of pureed squash. I have used the Jarrahdale squash for the past 3 years to make my pies, and it has a wonderfully silky texture, great for pie. The Galeux D'Eysines pumpkin was also one of the most silky-smooth textured of the various squash or pumpkins I have used and yielded a most beautiful and exceptionally tasty pumpkin pie. It also had the brightest orange flesh inside of any squash or pumpkin I have used, yielding a really beautifully colored pie. 

The Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie was heavenly. Absolutely one of the best flavored pecan pies you could ever want! I will post that recipe next time. 

I hope everyone had a most wonderfully, blessedly happy Thanksgiving holiday. I sure did!

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Happy New Year and Glorious Mushrooms

Our New Year's Eve Table

I hope everyone enjoyed the turn of the year 2014. When I was a child  back in the 1950s, never in my wildest dreams did I ever think of anything beyond 2000. And here I am, still young, and still enjoying each year as it passes. 

Some of my appetizers

Last evening was a very quiet one in our household. We are not great party-goers, my husband and I. It has been so frigidly cold here that it does not seem inviting to try and venture outside. Tonight it is supposed to get down to -24 yet again. Brrrrr! My sister-in-law would have been here to at least eat with us, but she had a tooth problem, got it fixed and stayed at home to let the numbness wear off. So, just the two of us, but I still made lots of little snack foods, as usual. I made more of the Smokies in Puff Pastry, Red Pepper Hummus with Caramelized Onion, another of those pre-made pizza shells with spinach dip, some sweet and sour meatballs (those made with chili sauce and grape jelly), a relish tray of sweet gherkins, hearts of palm and assorted olives, and one of those rolls of mozzarella with prosciutto. I had pita chips and carrot sticks for the hummus and some of my Herbed Onion Bread to go with the meatballs. It was all delightful, and we had more of the holiday cookies for dessert.

Smokies in Puff Pastry

Smokies in Puff Pastry

Makes about 75 (one package of "Lit'l Smokies")

1 (14 ounce) package "Lit'l Smokies"
1 (1.1 lb) box Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets

Remove puff pastry from freezer at least 45 minutes before working with it. Remove one sheet to thaw on a flat surface. Check after about 15 to 20 minutes. If the first flap begins to lift a little (do not force it or it will break off), set the pastry up like a little tent with the flap lifted out, allowing for air flow. As the dough thaws, open the flap more and allow the inner flap to drop down. Once sheet is completely thawed, flour a large surface and roll out the sheet to about a 14 - 15-inch square.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. With a pastry cutter, cut strips one way a little less than the width of the Smokie. Measure length of strip needed by using one Smokie. Set it at one end and roll until there is enough to overlap. Cut the piece there, then use this as an approximate measure for all the rest. The length will be between 3 - 4 inches.

How to cut and roll Smokies in Puff Pastry

Roll one Smokie, and moisten the far end with water, so it will adhere. Set the rolled Smokie on a baking sheet, seam side down and continue until all the Smokies are used. Bake the wrapped Smokies for about 25 minutes, or until they are puffed and brown. 

NOTES: Do not try to re-roll any scraps from the puff pastry, as the dough will not puff up the same way.

_______________________________________

One of the appetizers I made for last night was the Boursin Stuffed Mushrooms. I love mushrooms. I do not love them quite so much as my husband, who, it seems, loves them "the more the merrier." I love them IN things, but not so much alone. Stuffed mushrooms are good, but there is too much mushroom to filling ratio, so they just seem flat. Mushrooms all by themselves are pretty bland, and need things to spice them up. Boursin Cheese is a very high fat content cheese, smooth and creamy and most excellent flavor. There are various herb combinations available. In my town, the only one available is garlic and herb. One of my favorites (eaten elsewhere) is black pepper. Anyway. looking up the fat content in Boursin cheese, I noticed that someone (many someones) had used Boursin to stuff mushroom caps. I thought, hmmmmm....I have some Boursin in my refrigerator.... So this is what I did:

Boursin Stuffed Mushrooms

1 (5.2 ounce) container of Boursin (I had garlic and herb) 

Boursin Stuffed Mushrooms

1 pound "Baby Bellas" or Creminis
1/2 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
2 small cloves garlic
a few grinds of black pepper
1 teaspoon salt (I used Alder Smoked Salt)

Set the Boursin in a bowl to soften. Brush clean the mushrooms and remove the stems. Chop the stems finely and put them in a skillet with the butter to saute until lightly browned. While the mushroom stems are sauteing, mince the garlic and thyme. (I also ran my finger around the inside of the mushroom caps, removing gills, for no other reason than that it allowed more room for the filling!) When the mushroom stems are light brown, add in the thyme and garlic and saute for another 3 minutes, until fragrant. Add this mixture to the Boursin in the bowl, along with the few grinds of pepper. With the salt in the palm of one hand, with the other hand take pinches of the salt and drop them into the dry mushroom caps, using a slightly larger pinch for the larger caps and smaller pinch for smaller caps. Mix the Boursin and mushroom stem mixture thoroughly and use all the mixture to fill the mushroom caps. Set them on a baking sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray and bake them in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes. _________________________________________________________

Yum!  These have to be the best stuffed mushrooms I have ever tried. The little pinch of salt in the mushroom cap seems to have helped with the blandness of the mushroom, too. It is an easy recipe and Gluten-Free too.

Today I am going to be making a dinner, and my sister-in-law will be attending, now that she is feeling better. I am making a Prime Rib Roast as the main event, with twice baked potatoes and Green Beans with Gorgonzola as the sides. I found online a few years back a high-roast method for making the roast and it works so perfectly, I will be using it again today. In essence, you set the oven to 500 degrees put the roast in and time it for 5 to 7 minutes per pound (5 minutes being rare, 6 being medium and 7 being well), then when the time is up, leave the roast in the oven, shut the oven off and do not open the oven door for 2 hours. The roast is so perfect so following that recipe is my go-to these days.

High Temperature Roast Prime Rib 

High Temperature Prime Rib Roast

1 prime rib roast between 4 - 8 pounds
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
Pepper, to taste
4 cloves garlic, smashed into paste
2 teaspoons rosemary leaves, minced
2 teaspoons thyme leaves, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

The night before, unwrap the roast and leave uncovered in the refrigerator, to better brown in the oven later. Remove the roast from the refrigerator at least 4 hours before roasting, to come to room temperature. Mix together the salt, pepper, garlic rosemary, thyme and mustard and rob all over the roast.

To calculate the roasting time: multiply the weight of the roast in pounds. Multiply this number by 5. This number will be the amount of minutes the roast will be in the heated oven. This will yield a beautifully medium rare roast. If you prefer your meat at medium, multiply the weight by 6 minutes.

Examples: For a four pound roast, medium rare: 4 x 5 = 20 (minutes). For a 4½ pound roast, medium rare: 4½ x 5 = 22½ (minutes). For an 8 pound roast, medium rare: 8 x 5 - 40 (minutes). For a 5 pound roast, done medium: 5 x 6 = 30 (minutes).

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Yes, 500 degrees. Line a roasting pan with foil (far easier to clean up later). Set a roasting rack into the pan and set the roast, fat side up, onto the rack. Once you place the roast in this extremely hot oven, begin the timing you have calculated for the weight of your roast. Once this time is elapsed, time the roast for another 2 hours and shut the oven off. At this point DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR FOR ANY REASON, until those two hours are up.

Once the time has elapsed, understand that since the roast has been "resting" for two hours, it has reached the best temperature and needs no "resting period" beyond this. Carve the roast at once and serve. 

___________________________________________________________________


For dessert I am serving the Dulce de Leche Turtle Cheesecake I described in my last post. I will be finishing the toppings on the cheesecake a little later today. 

Right now I have my potatoes baking. They need to be out of the oven before I need to have the roast going in, since I cannot use the oven for approximately 2 1/2 hours. I will scoop out the potato and mix it with fried bacon, sour cream, chopped scallions, and shredded cheddar cheese, salt and pepper, waiting to fill the potato skins until later in the afternoon. Once the roast comes out of the oven I can reheat the oven and bake the stuffed potatoes for a little bit to get them warm and delicious. Somewhere in between I will get the green beans prepared.
 

Green Beans with /Gorgonzola

Green Beans with Gorgonzola

Serves 4

1 pound fresh green beans or yellow wax beans
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 - 2 cloves garlic, finely minced or through a garlic press
1 teaspoon salt, more if needed
¼ cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

In a very small saucepan combine the butter, oil and garlic and set the pan over the lowest setting possible, or even half off the burner. The desired end is a very low and slow heating of the oils and garlic. The garlic is gently poached in the oils. Allow the garlic to steep for about 20 minutes, never boiling.

Snap off stem ends and cut the green beans as desired, whether French cut, blunt cut, or left whole. Place them in a steamer basket and bring the steaming water to a boil, lower heat to medium and steam for about 10 - 12 minutes, or until just tender. Drain off the water and return the beans to a pan. Add in the butter and garlic mixture (you may, if desired, strain out the garlic at this point) to the beans and toss well, with the salt. Pour the hot beans into a serving bowl and strew the Gorgonzola over top. Once the cheese is on top it will begin to melt, so serve immediately.


I give my very best wishes to all my readers for a most wonderful New Year's Day and a terrifically blessed year 2014.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, trying new things weekly. I would love to hear from you, to help me continue my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest. 

Holiday Recipe Ideas

Cookie Plate 1

I finally got all my cookies finished, just in time to make up all the gift plates for handing out as gifts to family. I ended up making more varieties of cookies than usual, and certainly more iced cookies than usual. I created 3 new cookie recipes and one new fudge recipe. The new cookie recipes are Gingerspice, Cardamom Almond and Chocolate Hazelnut Pepperballs, (these last recipes were featured in my last blog post). The new fudge recipe was for Pecan Praline Fudge, though that was a last minute switch. I originally meant to make it maple and walnut flavor. I just happen to have Pecan Praline flavoring in my cupboard so I used that, but either way it would be excellent. Other cookies I made were Springerle, Rolled Butter Cookies, Miracle Peanut Butter Cookies, Cherry Bon Bons and Pistachio Tea Cookies. I also finally got around to making my Grandma's Nut Pita recipe. This is not a terribly sweet pastry, but delicate and delicious nonetheless.

Grandma Hromish's Nut Pita

Makes two 9 x 13 inch pans

Dough:
4 cups flour
1 package dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
½ pound unsalted butter (2 sticks)

Nut Pita

1 cup cream, (evaporated milk will work)

Filling:
12 large eggs, separated
4 cups ground walnuts
2 cups sugar
¼ cup whiskey
Vanilla for brushing
Powdered Sugar for dusting

Mix the yeast into warm water to soften. Mix together and blend well (by hand or machine) all ingredients for dough and then divide dough into four parts. Roll out one part and line a 13 x 9" pan.

Make the filling by beating together all of the egg yolks plus 2 of the whites, the sugar, whiskey and nuts. In a separate bowl, beat the rest of the egg whites and fold this into the yolk mixture. Pour half of this mixture into the dough-lined pan.

Now roll out the second part of the dough and lay it atop the filling. Repeat with the other portions of dough and filling in a second pan. Slash tops of dough with a knife or prick with a fork and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until done. When done, sprinkle the top with vanilla, or use a pastry brush. Slice into diamond shapes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

NOTE: If you want to try this, but 2 (9 x 13-inch) pans seem too much, I split the recipe in half, using these measurements:

DOUGH: 2 cups flour, 1¼ teaspoons instant yeast, 2 tablespoons water, 1 stick unsalted butter and ½ cup cream or evaporated milk. Divide dough into only 2 parts. 

FILLING: 6 large eggs, separated, 2 cups ground walnuts, 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons whiskey. Follow the same directions as above, using one of the whites with all the yolks, then beating the rest of the whites for the meringue.   

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cookie Plate 2

All that done, I had to put my thoughts on what to make for Christmas Eve. In our house, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are both times for lots of little nibblies. Tidbits and appetizers of all sorts are set out and we graze the evening away. This year I made a few things; some new and some old. I set out a cheese and salami tray, with an applewood smoked Gruyere and some Swiss cheese. I also set out a little round of Boursin with garlic and herbs. This is such a spectacular flavored and textured cheese, though it is 60% butterfat. Be prepared. I had made some quince paste a month or so ago so I also set out some Manchego cheese with slivers of the quince past on them. Cheese seems to play a large part in appetizers, for sure, and it didn't stop there.

I made my Bean and Cheese Dip as it is my husband's favorite (and just plain GOOD).

Bean and Cheese Dip

Bean & Cheese Dip

Makes about 3 cups

1 (11.5 ounce) can Bean & Bacon Soup
1 (5-ounce) jar Kraft Processed Cheese (Bacon flavor is great)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
¼ teaspoon hot sauce, optional
1 cup sour cream
 
In a deep 1-quart casserole, combine soup, cheese, brown sugar, Worcestershire, mustard, onion and hot sauce (if used). Cover and microwave at high for 4 - 5 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring twice during this time.

Stir ½ cup of bean mixture into sour cream, mix, then return all to the casserole and mix in well. Cover again. Microwave at medium low (30%) for 2 minutes or until heated through, stirring once. Serve with crackers of your choice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also made were: Smokies in Puff Pastry, a ready-made pizza flat bread with Spinach Dip spread over top and then covered in a mixture of shredded cheeses and baked. I first learned of this at my sister's house in October, where she used a Boboli crust. Where I live no store carries Boboli, but there are other brands available. She also had made an appetizer using those little bags of Mini Sweet Peppers. I liked the concept, so what I did instead is to make what started off as a cheese ball, but then I thought of just stuffing the little peppers (cut in half, stems and seeds removed) with the cheese ball mixture. So, that cheese ball never made it to a ball shape after all, though it is simple enough to roll into a ball and then in some nuts or herbs and chill. This is the mixture I made for my cheese ball:

Cheese ball mixture in Sweet Pepper halves

A Cheese Ball Variation

2 (8-ounce) blocks of cream cheese, at room temperature
6 ounces freshly shredded Parmesan and/or Romano cheeses
2 teaspoons dry onion soup mix
1/3 cup caramelized onion (or substitute with chopped scallions)
4 slices (thick-slice) bacon, fried, drained, chopped finely
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup pecans, chopped
3/4 cup craisins (dried cranberries)

Place the cream cheese and Parmesan/Romano into a large bowl and add the dry onion soup, caramelized onion (or scallions), bacon, rosemary and Worcestershire. Using a mixer, combine these ingredients. Add in the pecans and craisins until well blended. If making this into a ball, chop more pecans or fresh herbs and roll the cheese ball into this and then wrap in plastic wrap and chill until needed. If using this mixture to stuff the mini sweet peppers, you will need about 1 pound of them. The bag I bought was a 1-pound bag and it was just about perfect for the amount of cheese ball mixture.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the way, if you, like me, dislike the fact that all the dry soup mixes and bouillons seem to have MSG, I created my own mixture of a Dry Onion Soup Mix. I use the stuff in things like oven roasted potatoes, Herbed Onion Bread, and now the cheese balls (plural, because I made some to take to my sister-in-law's for Christmas Day snacking). The recipe is simple, and far more flavorful than store-bought dry onion soup. It makes about 1/4 cup worth, which is equivalent to one pouch of store-bought. It is simple to make multiples of the recipe, though be careful to stir it well before using smaller portions, such as the 2 teaspoons called for in this cheese ball recipe. The onion flakes tend to accumulate at the top of the mixture, and the other spices settle. Just mix all the ingredients together and store in a tightly sealed glass jar. I did not use any bouillon in the mixture, as most of them have MSG, which I am avoiding. To make this into a soup, either buy a good stock or make your own to use as the liquid base.

My 2013 Christmas Eve Table

Dry Onion Soup Mix

3 tablespoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar, optional
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon celery seeds, crushed or ground
¼ - ½ teaspoon black pepper


I hope I have given some ideas for making creative appetizers for the holidays or for any party. I love making all these little things. With help it is even more fun. I wish all of you the very best of the holiday season.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.