Sneak Peek: 2010 Thanksgiving Menu

Alright I'm back from my vacation and have lots of recipes and pictures to share! First things first...here is a sneak peek of the recipes that will quickly follow, within the next week.

2010 Thanksgiving Menu

Appetizer:

• Deviled Eggs by Betty Crocker

Sides:

• Momma's Stuffing by my Mother
• Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes by Me
• Sweet Potato Biscuits by Bon Appetite
• Sweet Potato Casserole by Me
• Homemade Marshmallows (for the Sweet Potato Casserole) by Martha Stewart
• Roasted Cranberry Sauce w/ Herbed Candied Walnuts by Bon Appetite
• Cider Gravy by my Mother

Main Entree:

• Cider-Glazed Roasted Turkey by Gourmet

Dessert:

• Spiced Phyllo Dough Pumpkin Pie by Bon Appetite

Fresh Pumpkin Fudge

• Happy Halloween! I'm not one for dressing up, but I'm certainly celebrating the holiday by making some pumpkin fudge from scratch. What a treat! Too bad I can't give it out to any trick-or-treaters. I'll have to just give them the Reese's Peanut Butter cups, which is probably for the best, since I keep snacking on them. Anyways...I hope y'all are finding your own special way to celebrate this All Hallow's Eve!
• 
  

• Ingredients:
• 3 cups white sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup butter
• 
  
• Directions:

1. Line one 8x8 inch pan with foil and grease with non-salted butter.
2. In a 3 quart saucepan, mix together sugar, milk, corn syrup, pumpkin and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and continue boiling. Do not stir.
3. When mixture registers 232 degrees F (110 degrees C) on candy thermometer, remove pan from heat. Stir in pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, butter and nuts.
4. Beat mixture until it is very thick and loses some of its gloss. Quickly pour into a pan w/ foil.
5. Let mixture sit until it is cool, light brown and firm.
6. Lift foil out of the pan. Cut into smaller squares and serve!

Pumpkin MANIA: Pumpkin Chip Muffins Recipe

That's right! More pumpkin recipes. Hopefully by the time pumpkins are out-of-season, we won't be sick of them.














As I was making dinner in my kitchen, the other night, I happen to come across a recipe card, which I wrote about a year ago. I meant to send the hand-written recipe card to my mom, but then again that's what food blogs are for! Sorry mom. :) Anyways, here is the recipe. It's almost identical to the pumpkin bread recipe, but with dark chocolate chips. Yummy...


Ingredients:

4 Eggs
2 Cups Sugar
2 Cups fresh Pumpkin Puree or 1 can Pumpkin Puree
1 1/2 Cups Olive Oil
3 Cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups dark chocolate chips



Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Grease cupcake pan.

Mix eggs, pumpkin, sugar and oil in a large bowl.

In a seperate bowl sift in flour with baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

Mix the egg mixture with the flour mixture and add dark chocolate chips.

With a large spoon, fill each opening in the cupcake pan with 3/4 of the pumpkin chip mixture.

Place into preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

1941 Boston Cooking School Pumpkin Bread Recipe (w/ New Improvements)

Level: Intermediate

Nothing is better then baking on a cold Sunday afternoon. After spending yesterday morning at All Seasons Pumpkin Patch in Cashton, Wisconsin, I decided that I needed to bake my Pie Pumpkin.












I found the recipe in my 1941 Boston Cooking School Cookbook, but decided to make some tweaks in the end. I used oil instead of butter, a few more eggs and lots of baking soda (to help the bread rise.) Nonetheless, it turned out great! Not too sweet and not too moist. Just perfect.

Ingredients:

2 cups of fresh pumpkin puree (see Pie Pumpkin blog post for instructions) OR 1 can of pumpkin puree

4 eggs

¾ cup olive oil

2/3 cup water

1 ½ cups white sugar

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.
3. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended.
4. Grease the loaf pans with olive oil.
5. Pour mixture into the prepared pans.
6. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven.

Makes 2 loaves of bread.

Celebrating my German Heritage: Glühwein

Level: Super Easy!

Deemed a popular beverage around the world , Glühwein (German), grzane wino(Polish) , vin brulé (Italian), vin chaud (French), Glögg (Swedish), Mulled Wine(English) is an excellent cure for pre-holiday fever. Typically it's consumed around Christmas time, but then again...it's October...and it's cold outside, so those seem like good enough reasons to whip up a batch.


Ingredients:

1 large orange
3 cinnamon sticks
13 whole cloves
1/4 cup honey
1 bottle red wine (red table wine or a bottle of merlot)


Directions:

1. Gently zest the orange . When finished zesting, slice the orange.
2. In a large (non-aluminum) pot, combine the orange zest, orange slices, cinnamon sticks, cloves, honey and wine.
3. Without boiling the mixture, simmer on low heat for about 25 minutes or until hot. Taste and add more honey if necessary.
4. Strain and serve.

Mac & Ale'n Cheese

Level: Hard

If you've never had a heart attack, this recipe is surely a one way ticket to hell - a good hell nonetheless. A place where all your desires and temptations come to eat!

One of my biggest temptations is Mac and Cheese. Without a doubt, if I had to choose between eternal life and mac and cheese, I'd say "kill me now...cause I'm all about the cheese."

What's so great about this recipe? Well... it's made with 2 cups of cream, lots of cheese and beer. All three weaknesses of mine. :)

Anyways...that's enough ramblings for now. Enjoy.

















Ingredients:
1 (12 oz) package medium pasta shells
1 stick sweet cream unsalted butter
4 shallots, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 (12 oz) bottle of IPA or Pale Ale beer
2 cups whipping cream
1 block (16 oz) Sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups cheddar flavored Kettle Chips, crushed

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. Fill a large pot with lightly salted water, and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the macaroni, and return to a boil. Cook until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain well.
3. Melt the butter in the saucepan over medium heat.
   
4. Add the flour, and stir until the mixture becomes paste-like and light golden brown, about 3 minutes.
   
5. Gradually whisk the mustard, the beer, and milk into the flour mixture; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook and stir until the mixture is thick and smooth, 5 to 10 minutes.
6. Stir in the cheese, until it melts and becomes a sauce. Season accordingly with salt and pepper.
   
7. Turn off the heat, and stir in the cooked macaroni.
   
8. Place Mac and Cheese in a baking dish and sprinkle shallots, garlic, and then the crushed cheddar kettle chips on top.
9. Bake for 15-20mins, or until the top is starting to brown.
10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving.
    

Honey Glazed Roasted Vegetables

Level: Easy

As I was bundling myself up this past winter, I'd huddle over the stove (to keep warm) and created this winter vegetable recipe. Although, no one will blame you if you make it year around :) I certain do!

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

1 bag (8 oz) baby carrots

2 large potatoes, cubed

2 tbls honey

1 tsp pumpkin spice

½ tsp minced garlic

¼ tsp salt

4 tbls cultured unsalted butter, cubed

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the chopped onion, baby carrots, diced potatoes, honey, pumpkin pie spice, garlic powder and salt. Mix the ingredients well, until all the spice and honey are evenly distributed.

In a lightly buttered baking dish, pour the mixture of vegetables and spices. Next, place cubes of butter and heavy whipping cream on top.

Cook vegetables for 40-45mins or until the vegetables can be easily pierced.

Makes 4 servings