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Thanksgiving Dry Run

18 Nov

So I did a test dinner tonight that will be a lot like what I will make on Thanksgiving Day for dinner. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about how well this recipe would go. It is one I picked up from America’s Test Kitchen on a braised turkey with gravy. The trick in this one is that you butcher the chicken so you are cooking all the parts. They also recommend brining the turkey. Now I have heard both sides of the argument on this one and I am still not sure which would be best. I know that brining does help to keep things moist, but if you are like me, you may not have the room in your refrigerator for a tub to brine a whole turkey in, so I skipped the brining process. Everything turned out really well without it so I think you can get away with not doing it.

Braised Turkey with Gravy

Salt and Pepper

1 cup sugar

1 (5-7 pound) whole bone-in turkey breast, trimmed

4 pounds turkey drumsticks and thighs, trimmed

3 onions, chopped

3 celery ribs, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 bay leaves

6 sprigs fresh thyme

6 sprigs fresh parsley

1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, rinsed

4 tablespoons butter, melted

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup dry wine

Gravy

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper

For the Turkey: Dissolve 1 cup of salt and the sugar in 2 gallons of cold water in a large container. Submerge the turkey pieces in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 3 to 6 hours.

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Remove the turkey from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels. Toss the onions,celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, porcini mushrooms and 2 tablespoons of butter in a large roasting pan; arrange everything in an even layer. Brush the turkey pieces with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and season with pepper. Place the turkey pieces, skin side up, over the vegetables, leaving at least 1/4 inch between the pieces. Roast until the skin is lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees. Pour the broth and wine around the turkey pieces (it should come about three-quarters of the way up the legs and thighs). Place a sheet of parchment paper over the turkey pieces. Cover the roasting pan tightly with aluminum foil. Return the covered roasting pan to the oven and cook until the breasts register 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 hours. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 20 minutes.

For the Gravy: Strain the vegetables and liquid from the roasting pan through a fine-mesh strainer set in a large bowl. Press the solids with the back of a spatula to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the vegetables. Transfer the liquid to a fat separator; allow it to settle for 5 minutes. Reserve 3 tablespoons of fat and measure out 3 cups of braising liquid.

Heat the reserved fat in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour is a dark golden brown and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Whisk in 3 cups of braising liquid and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the gravy is thick and reduced to 2 cups, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the gravy from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

I’ll be honest- butchering the turkey was no easy feat, even with poultry shears and a good sharp knife. If you could get it butchered before you even bring it home, that would be ideal. If not, it took me about 20 minutes to do it. I didn’t think that was too bad, considering I had never done that with a turkey before. I think the results are well worth the work that goes into it. The turkey came out done perfectly. It was very moist and the skin was nice and crispy. I took the foil off for the last 10 minutes or so to crisp up the skin and it was great. It also made carving easy since all the parts were removed already.

There’s a stuffing recipe that goes along with this recipe so you can make use of the turkey wings (thought I forgot about them, didn’t you?). This recipe is designed to make stuffing for 10-12 people, so if you have a smaller group coming, cut the recipe down appropriately. I cut in half for today since they were only 5 of us for dinner and it was the perfect amount with just a bit left over.

Bread Stuffing with Sausage, Dried Cherries and Pecans

2 pounds hearty white sandwich bread (20 to 22 slices) cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I actually used a large loaf of french bread instead, and it came out fine, so use whatever bread you like)

3 pounds turkey wings, divided at the joints

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 pound pork sausage

4 tablespoons butter, plus extra for the baking dish

1 large onion, chopped fine

3 celery ribs, chopped fine

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme leaves

2 tablespoons minced fresh sage leaves

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

3 large eggs

1 cup dried cherries

1 cup pecan halves, toasted and chopped fine

Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower middle positions and heat the oven to 250 degrees. Spread the bread cubes in an even layer on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Bake until the edges have dried but centers are slightly moist, 45 to 60 minutes, stirring several times during baking. (You can toast the bread up to 1 day in advance.) Transfer the cubes to a large bowl and increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees.

Use the tip of a paring knife to poke 10 to 15 holes in each wing segment. heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the wings in a single layer and cook until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Flip the wings and continue to cook until golden brown on the second side, 4 to 6 minutes longer. Transfer the wings to a medium bowl and set aside.

Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the sausage; cook, breaking the sausage into 1/2-inch pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the rendered fat in the skillet.

Heat the butter with the rendered fat in the skillet over medium heat. When the foaming subsides, add the onion, celery, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened but not browned, 7 to 9 minutes. Add the thyme, sage, and pepper; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add 1 cup of broth and bring to a simmer, using a wooden spoon to scrape browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the vegetable mixture to the bowl with the dried bread and toss to combine.

Grease a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with butter. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, remaining 1 1/2 cups of broth, the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and any accumulated juices from the wings until combined. Add the egg/broth mixture, cherries, pecans and sausage to the bread mixture and gently toss to combine; transfer to the greased baking dish. Arrange the wings on top of the stuffing, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and place the baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake on the lower-middle rack until the thickest part of the wings registers 175 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 60 to 75 minutes. Remove the foil and transfer the wings to a dinner plate to reserve for another use. Using a fork, gently fluff the stuffing. Let it rest 5 minutes before serving.

The stuffing was great! I think putting the wings on the top was a great idea and added some turkey flavor to the stuffing. The dried cherries add just the amount of tartness to the dish and they rehydrate a bit with the broth while cooking.

I served the meal with mashed turnips and boiled potatoes, but on Thanksgiving I will be making mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole and cranberry sauce. We’ll also be starting the meal off with a butternut squash soup. I’ll be posting the recipes for the butternut squash soup, sweet potato casserole and green bean casserole over the next few days if you want to check them out.

I also made a triple berry pie for dessert, which I have posted on here before. This time I used only frozen berries, but it turned out just as well if you want to try it that way.

I hope everyone has great plans for their Thanksgiving. I’ll be posting more recipes and I promise to take pictures of everything on Thursday while I am cooking (I am very bad about remembering to do that, I apologize). Until next time, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal.

 
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Posted by on November 18, 2012 in Cooking, Dessert, Dinner, Gravy, Holidays, Pie, Side Dishes, Turkey

 

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Good Eats Meatloaf and Roasted Green Beans

24 Oct

I love meatloaf. I know I have said that on here many times, but it’s always worth repeating. When we got out somewhere, if it’s on the menu I want to try it. Of course, some times I am disappointed by the results, but hey, you still have to try, right? So tonight when I decided to make meatloaf, I turned to a recipe from Alton Brown and his “Good Eats” program. I like a lot of the things he makes (and he’s great to follow on Twitter if you are on there) so I figured this recipe was a no-brainer. It got a lot of good reviews from people on Food Network’s website also, so I had to give it a try.

Good Eats Meatloaf

6 ounces garlic-flavored croutons
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and broken
3 whole cloves garlic
1/2 red bell pepper
18 ounces ground chuck
18 ounces ground sirloin
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg

For the glaze:
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Dash hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon honey

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

 

In a food processor bowl, combine croutons, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and thyme. Pulse until the mixture is of a fine texture. Place this mixture into a large bowl. Combine the onion, carrot, garlic, and red pepper in the food processor bowl. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped, but not pureed. Combine the vegetable mixture, ground sirloin, and ground chuck with the bread crumb mixture. Season the meat mixture with the kosher salt. Add the egg and combine thoroughly, but avoid squeezing the meat.

 

Pack this mixture into a 10-inch loaf pan to mold the shape of the meatloaf. Onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, turn the meatloaf out of the pan onto the center of the tray. Insert a temperature probe at a 45 degree angle into the top of the meatloaf. Avoid touching the bottom of the tray with the probe. Set the probe for 155 degrees.

 

Combine the ketchup, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and honey. Brush the glaze onto the meatloaf after it has been cooking for about 10 minutes. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Allow it to rest for 10 minutes, covered, after removing from the oven. Slice and serve.

This recipe is great. The meatloaf and the glaze have a nice combination of bite from the hot sauce, cayenne and chili pepper and a sweetness from the honey. We all loved it and I’ll definitely be making this one again.

I decided to serve this with some boiled potatoes and green beans. I love green beans too, and I am always looking for a new way to make them. I came across this recipe from Williams-Sonoma that is simple and tastes great from the roasting.

Roasted Green Beans and Carrots with Red Onion

3/4 pound green beans, trimmed
1/2 pound carrots, peeled and cut diagonally about 1/4 inch thick
1 red onion, sliced
2 large garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Place an 8-by-11-inch heavy roasting pan or a very large, ovenproof fry pan on the rack.

Bring a large saucepan three-fourths full of water to a boil over high heat. Add a pinch of salt and the green beans. Cook the beans until they turn bright green and are just tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain the beans and plunge them into a bowl of ice-cold water to stop the cooking and drain again.

In a large bowl, toss together the beans, carrots, onion, garlic and olive oil. Sprinkle with the cumin, season with salt and pepper, and toss again to thoroughly combine. Transfer the vegetables to the preheated pan and spread them evenly. Roast, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned, 45 to 55 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.

It was a something different to do and I like roasting vegetables. The flavor seems a little more intense when you roast them. You could easily add other vegetables to this if you wanted to, choosing some other fall root vegetables like parsnips, turnips, or sweet potatoes.
We also made some of the all-purpose gravy I have made before, because you must have gravy with meatloaf. Overall, it was quite a good meal.
Well, I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow night, so I am not sure I’ll get a meal in, but we’ll see what happens. Until next time, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

 

 
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Posted by on October 24, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Gravy, Vegetables

 

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Time to Strip (Steak) in the Kitchen (and Some Mushroom Gravy too)

18 Oct

Michelle had picked up a couple of nice looking New York strip steaks the other day and today seemed like a good day to make them.There’s nothing really fancy about them or cooking them either. You can easily pan fry them or just put them under the broiler, which is what I usually do. The other thing about steak is you want to make sure you let it rest before you slice it so all the juices stay in the steak and not run out all over the plate, leaving you with dry meat. I had bought the mushrooms a few days ago and I have been looking for an excuse to make some mushroom gravy, and this was it. Mushroom gravy is great with meat loaf or Salisbury steak, but I think it can work well with other steak or just to have with some mashed potatoes.

New York Strip Steaks with Mushroom Gravy

2 New York strip steaks, about 10 ounces each

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon butter

10 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

1 shallot, minced

3/4 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 1/2 cups beef broth

Take the steaks out of the refrigerator and sit, covered, on the counter for 30 minutes to 1 hour to allow them to come to room temperature. Preheat the broiler and position a rack about 4-5 inches from the element. Season the steaks liberally with salt and pepper. Place the steaks on an aluminum foil-covered broiler pan and place the steaks under the broiler. Heat for four minutes and then flip and heat for another four minutes. Remove the steaks from the oven to a serving dish and loosely tent with aluminum foil and allow to rest for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the butter in a medium skillet and add the mushrooms and shallot. Saute until the mushrooms and shallot are soft and the mushrooms are a deep brown, about 6 minutes. Stir in the thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the broth and the Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, whisking until thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on the side with the steaks.

If you want a creamier sauce, you could add a 1/2 cup of heavy cream in the last-minute of the cooking of the gravy to give you the creaminess you want. Of course I served it with mashed potatoes and some broccoli, but creamed spinach would be great with this as well to make it a classic steak dinner.

That’s it for tonight. We won’t be home for dinners the next few nights but I’ll be back on Monday with a new recipe and I have some plans for a few things next week, so check back and see what I come up with. Until then, enjoy the rest of your evening and enjoy your meal!

 

 
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Posted by on October 18, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Gravy

 

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Pass the Stove Top Roast Chicken

23 Jul

There’s nothing quite like some roast chicken. Crispy skin, juicy meat, it just plain tastes good. However, there are some days (today  being one of them) where it is just too hot to turn on the stove. Sometimes you feel like using the stove for something else, like a cake or a pie. Today, it was just too hot for the oven but I had some chicken pieces that I wanted to cook. This recipe, from America’s Test Kitchen, gave a good solution of roasting the chicken on the stove top. I still got the dark brown crispy skin and the moist meat, and got a really good pan sauce to go along with it.

Stovetop Roast Chicken with Lemon-Herb Sauce

Chicken

3 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces, trimmed

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3/4 cup chicken broth

Lemon-Herb Sauce

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 medium shallot, minced

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon

1 tablespoon butter, chilled

Salt and ground black pepper

For the chicken: Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add the chicken pieces skin side down and cook without moving until golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes.

Using tongs, flip the chicken pieces skin side up. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the chicken broth to the skillet, cover and cook until the thickest part of the breast registers 155 degrees and the thickest part of the thigh/drumstick registers 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 10 to 16 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate, skin side up.

Pour off the liquid from the skillet into a measuring cup and reserve. Wipe out the skillet with paper towels. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil to the skillet and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Return the chicken pieces to the skillet skin side down and cook undisturbed until the skin is deep golden brown and crisp, the thickest part of the breast registers 160 to 165 degrees, and the thickest part of the thigh/drumstick registers 175 degrees, 4 to 7 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and tent loosely with foil. Using a spoon, skim any fat from the reserved cooking liquid and add more broth if needed to measure 3/4 cup.

For the sauce: Heat the oil in the now-empty skillet over low heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the reserved cooking liquid, and bring to a simmer, scraping the skillet bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Simmer rapidly until reduced to a 1/2 cup, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in any accumulated juices from the resting chicken; return to a simmer and cook for 30 seconds. Off the heat, whisk in the parsley, chives, lemon juice and butter; season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce around the chicken and serve immediately.

I served the chicken with some noodles and peas. the sauce was spectacular and went perfectly with the chicken. I would make this one again for sure.

I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring for dinner. I’ve been bad about planning things out lately; we’ve just had so much going on that I haven’t really had a chance to plan. Now that Sean is home from his trip south (Yeah!) maybe we can plan things a little better. Check back and see what the next meal will be. Enjoy the rest of your evening and enjoy your meal!

 

 
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Posted by on July 23, 2012 in Cooking, Gravy, Poultry

 

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A Father’s Day Feast for Brunch

17 Jun

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. We decided to do a brunch for Father’s Days and have everyone over here for it. We made quite a bit of food, and of course I didn’t think about taking pictures of everything until after people had already started eating, so I apologize in advance for the pictures. We put out quite a buffet spread and I’ll share some the recipes here today. We made corned beef hash and home fries, both of which I have posted recipes on before. We also made pancakes, which I have posted on before and scrambled eggs. We did make a few things that I haven’t posted recipes on before, which I will share over the next few days. We made a Sausage Gravy with Biscuits, A Cheese and Onion Quiche, Crabcakes, Steamed Mussels, a Blueberry Coffee Cake, Banana Bread and a Fruit Salad. For today, I’ll tackle the Sausage Gravy and the quiche.

Sausage Gravy

8 ounces pork sausage

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/3 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 package refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (you can certainly make your own, but we were pinched for space and time and opted for Pillsbury.)

Preheat the oven 350 degrees. Place biscuits on a cookie sheet and bake for 14 to 17 minutes until golden brown. Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink. Remove the sausage and drain on a paper towel-lined plate, reserving 1 tablespoon of the drippings in the skillet. Whisk the flour into the hot drippings until smooth; cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk, and cook, whisking constantly, for 5 to 7 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the sausage, salt and pepper. Serve over warm biscuits.

The quiche was just as easy, although we did cheat a little and used a pre-made refrigerated crust for the shell.

Cheese and Onion Quiche

1 pre-made pie crust (you can certainly make your own if you like)

4 tablespoons butter

6 cups thinly sliced onion

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

6 eggs at room temperature

2 cups cheddar cheese

2 cups cream, half-and-half or milk, heated gently until warm

Heat the oven to 425 degrees and set the rack in the middle. Prebake the chilled crust until the crust begins to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove and let cool on a rack while you prepare the filling. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Put the butter in a large skillet over medium heat; when the butter melts. add the onion and some salt and pepper. Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is very soft and lightly browned, at least 20 minutes; adjust the heat so it doesn’t brown or crisp up, but just cook it until the onion practically melts. Add the thyme and stir, turn off the heat and cool slightly. Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and then add the onion mixture.

Put the semi-cooked shell on a baking sheet and pour in the egg mixture. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until almost firm (it should still jiggle just a little in the middle) and lightly browned on top; reduce the oven heat if the edges of the shell are darkening too quickly. Cool on a wire rack; serve warm or at room temperature.

There are many more things you could add to the quiche to suit your tastes. You could add some bacon, mushrooms, or any variety of vegetables that you might like, such as broccoli, asparagus, peppers, tomatoes, spinach, really nearly anything you want. Make sure the vegetables are parboiled and cooled before you add them to the eggs and don’t overcrowd it by adding too many things.

That’s all I have time to talk about today. Tomorrow I will go over some more recipes from the menu – the crabcakes and the mussels. Check back tomorrow for those recipes. Until then, enjoy your Father’s Day and enjoy your meal!

 

 
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Posted by on June 17, 2012 in Breakfast, Cooking, Eggs, Gravy, Pork

 

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Here Chicken, Chicken, Chicken Fried Steak!

01 May

I haven’t had chicken fried steak in a long time, and I have never tried to make it myself, so this will be a good experiment. I looked at a bunch of different recipes and this one from America’s Test Kitchen seemed to be the easiest and best one to try, so here we go.

Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy

Steak

3 cups all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

6 cube steaks (5 ounces each) pounded 1/4 inch thick

4 to 5 cups vegetable oil

Cream Gravy

1 onion, minced

1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 cups milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Pinch cayenne pepper

For the steak: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 200 degrees. Toss the flour, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, and the cayenne together in a shallow dish. In a second dish, beat the buttermilk, egg, baking powder and baking soda together (it will get foamy).

Pat the steaks dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Dredge the steaks through the flour, then coat with the buttermilk mixture, then coat again with the flour. Lay the battered steaks on a wire rack.

Pour the oil into a large Dutch oven until it measures one inch. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 375 degrees. Fry 3 of the steaks until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes, then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Return the oil to 375 degrees and repeat with the remaining steaks. Transfer the steaks to a clean wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.

For the gravy: Carefully strain the oil through a fine mesh strainer into a medium pot. Return any browned bits from the strainer along with 2 tablespoons of the frying oil to the Dutch oven. Return the Dutch oven to medium heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the onion and thyme and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the broth, scraping up any browned bits. Whisk in the milk, salt, pepper and cayenne and simmer until the gravy has thickened, about 5 minutes. Spoon the gravy over the steaks before serving.

Try to maintain a consistent oil temperature while cooking. Give the oil a chance to get back up to temperature before starting the second batch of steaks so they don’t become greasy and they cook all the way through. I making mashed potatoes with this, that seems like the side dish we should have to go with the steak and the gravy. You can find my recipe for mashed potatoes here. I’ll also just be steaming some green beans as our side dish.

I had planned to cook this last night, but I just started a new pain medication for my feet and it really knocked me for a loop, so everything got pushed back a bit. I’ll add some pictures so you can see how the steak turned out. Tomorrow, Sean would like breakfast for dinner, so we’ll be making pancakes, but I am going to post a recipe that I use for some homemade turkey sausage patties that turn out quite delicious. Check back tomorrow for that one. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

 

 

Last minute substitution with the peas for the green beans, but other than that, I think they turned out really well. The steak was nice and crispy and the gravy came out good as well.

 
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Posted by on May 1, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Gravy, Potatoes

 

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Face to (Open) Face With Leftovers

19 Apr

So I have some leftover turkey from a few nights ago and some leftover roast beef from the other night, so what to do with them? Well we decided a good option would be to make open-faced sandwiches for dinner tonight. We can use the turkey, use the roast beef, use the gravy, the stuffing and the mashed potatoes and get rid of all the leftovers in the fridge. There’s not much to these recipes so they are pretty easy to follow, but I think you could pretty much wing them if you wanted to.

Open-Faced Roast Beef Sandwiches

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 medium onion, sliced

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups leftover au jus

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

4 slices bread (your choice as to what you like best)

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard (optional)

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish (optional)

Leftover roast beef, sliced thin

Salt and pepper

Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook until slightly brown. Gradually whisk in the au jus until smooth. Whisk in the Worcestershire sauce and simmer until thick, about 3 minutes.

Toast the bread under the broiler, about 1 minute. Spread the mustard and horseradish, if using, on the toasts; place each on a plate. Pour some gravy over the toast; top with the roast beef and then more gravy. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the sandwiches with the leftover mashed potatoes.

Some people like to melt some cheese over their sandwich; it’s not my thing, but hey, if you like it, go for it. put the cheese on top and place the sandwich under the broiler for a minute, and you’re all set.The open-faced turkey sandwiches are just as easy:

Open-Faced Turkey Sandwiches

Leftover turkey meat, sliced

Leftover turkey gravy (if you don’t have any, you can make this quick gravy recipe)

Leftover stuffing (I have some leftover Stove Top I’ll be using; you can always make Stove Top quickly, or use your own recipe for stuffing if you have one. I haven’t posted one, but I will soon :) )

Slices of bread (again, use what you like)

Salt and pepper

Heat the gravy in a large skillet until bubbly (if the gravy is too thick for your liking, you can thin it out with some stock or water). Add pieces of sliced turkey to the gravy and heat through, about 1 minute. Re-heat the leftover stuffing in either a small saucepan or the microwave (I did it in the microwave for 1 minute). Toast the bread under the broiler, about 1 minute. Remove the toast from the oven, place on a plate, and cover the toast with gravy. Place some turkey slices on top of the gravy. Scoop some stuffing on top of the turkey slices; cover on top with some more gravy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

With the sandwiches and the leftover mashed potatoes, you’re just about all set. If you have any leftover veggies (and we do, so I am using them) add them to the meal, or make some fresh veggies as a side dish, or make a small salad and you are all set. You’ll have used up the leftovers for the week, which is a beautiful thing.

I’m not sure what I am making for dinner tomorrow. I am heading over to Adams Farms in Newburgh to shop tomorrow, and to pick up a $50.00 gift card I won from them (it pays to follow places on Facebook and Twitter!), so I hope to find something there to make for dinner tomorrow night in the seafood department. Tune in tomorrow to see what I was able to get. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!


 
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Posted by on April 19, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Gravy, Leftovers, Potatoes, Poultry, Sandwiches, Turkey

 

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Back to the Kitchen For Some Fried Chicken

22 Mar

Hectic schedules, homework, late work days, you name it and it has a way of interfering with life in general, including cooking dinner. We ended up having leftovers the last 2 nights because of crazy schedules, doctor’s appointments and everyday life, but today I am going to get back in the kitchen and I am going to make some fried chicken.

I don’t make fried chicken too often, and when I do I usually oven fry it to cut down on the mess and all the oil needed, but tonight I think I am going to really fry it. I could use the deep fryer, but I am going to do it on the stove this time, and I am going to try a different recipe tonight, one I got from America’s Test Kitchen.

Fried Chicken

1 quart buttermilk

3 tablespoons salt

4 pounds bone in chicken pieces (halved split breasts, thighs, and/or drumsticks)

5 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

5 to 6 cups vegetable oil

Whisk 3 1/4 cups of the buttermilk and the salt together in a large bowl until the salt dissolves. Add the chicken and coat thoroughly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour (Don’t let the chicken soak much longer or it will become too salty).

Whisk the flour, baking powder, thyme, pepper, and garlic powder together in a large bowl. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of buttermilk and rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse wet sand. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk soak and then coat thoroughly with the flour mixture and lay it on a wire rack set over a baking sheet while the oil heats.

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 200 degrees. Pour 1 inch of the oil into a large Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat to 375 degrees. Add half of the chicken, skin-side down. Cover and cook until deep golden brown on the first side, about 10 minutes (After the first 4 minutes, re-arrange the pieces if some are browning faster than others).

Turn the chicken pieces over. Continue to fry, uncovered and maintaining an oil temperature of 315 degrees, until the chicken pieces are a deep golden on the second side, about 7 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate to drain for 5 minutes, then lay on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Add additional oil to the pot as needed to maintain a depth of 1 inch and return it to 375 degrees before frying the remaining chicken.

With the fried chicken, I am going to serve mashed potatoes and gravy. I have made mashed potatoes many times in the meal plan, and if you would like to see the method I use for the potatoes, you can check an earlier blog posting here. You definitely need to have some gravy with this one as well. I have posted a quick chicken gravy recipe before, but since I don’t have any pan drippings to use, I am going to use the all purpose gravy recipe that I have used in the past.

All Purpose Gravy

3 tablespoons butter

1 carrot, peeled and chopped fine

1 rib celery, chopped fine

1 onion, minced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth 

2 cups beef broth

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme, or 1/4 teaspoon dried

5 whole black peppercorns

Salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and cook until softened and well browned, about 9 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thoroughly browned, about 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in the broths and bring to a boil. Add the bay leaf, thyme, and peppercorns and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 20-25 minutes, skimming off any foam that forms on the surface.

Pour the gravy through a fine-mesh strainer (or gravy separator) into a clean saucepan, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids. Season the gravy with salt and pepper to taste.

I’ll be serving all this with some simple steamed green beans. It’s just a pound of green beans (stem ends trimmed) in a steaming rack in a large pot of boiling water just touching the rack. I cover and steam the green beans for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the beans are crisp-tender.

If there are any leftovers, there’s nothing like some cold fried chicken with some potato salad for a nice lunch or dinner the next day. Tomorrow is Friday, which means we’ll be having fish. I picked up some tilapia this morning so we’ll be having a nice simple baked tilapia with some brown rice and asparagus tomorrow.   Check out the blog tomorrow so you can see how it goes. Until then, enjoy your day and enjoy your meal!


 
1 Comment

Posted by on March 22, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Gravy, Potatoes, Poultry, Vegetables

 

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Simple Saturday Roast Chicken and Vegetables

04 Feb

A busy day of laundry, errands and ordering new glasses for Sean kept me from writing earlier in the day, but the meal is still simple if you want to use it for another day. I love a roasted chicken. Nice crispy skin, moist chicken and nicely roasted vegetables make a great meal, and the best part is you can cook the whole thing in one roasting pan, cutting down on the pots and dishes to clean after the meal.

A couple of things about roasting. if you have the time to do it, a container large enough and the refrigerator space, brine the chicken the night before you roast it. Brining really can bring out the flavor and tenderness of not only chicken, but turkey and pork as well. As the meat soaks in the brine it absorbs it, and then retains it during cooking, resulting in very juicy and excellent tasting meat. It’s not essential to do it before roasting, but it can really add to a roasted meal. For 4 pounds of chicken (either a whole bird or pieces) use 1/2 cup of salt and 1/2 cup of sugar dissolved in water in a container or bowl large enough to hold the brine and the meat. Then submerge the chicken in the brine, cover and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes. Remove the meat from the brine, rinse and pat dry with paper towels, and that’s it, your good to go. The second thing I recommend is using a roasting pan with a rack in it. Chicken roasts better when it’s not resting on the bottom of the roasting pan. If air can circulate up and around the bird, the meat will cook more evenly and the skin will be crisper. If you don’t have a roasting pan with a V-shaped rack, you can use a flat rack inside the roasting pan. if you don’t have that either, you can always use a bed of chopped onions, carrots and celery to raise the chicken off the bottom of the pan and then use these vegetables later on for gravy.

Roast Chicken and Vegetables

1 (3 1/2 to 4 pound) whole chicken, brined if desired

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tablespoon minced parsley

Salt and pepper

6 garlic cloves, peeled

4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

2 small onions, peeled and cut into quarters

2 ribs celery, cut into chunks

8-10 small red-skinned potatoes (or other potatoes you have, just halve or quarter them)

2 parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup water

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix 2 tablespoons of the butter, parsley, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together. Spread the butter under the skin over the breast of the chicken. Season the chicken with additional salt and pepper all over. Toss the garlic, carrots, onions, celery, potatoes and parsnips in a large bowl with the oil until well coated. Season with salt and pepper. Add the vegetables to the bottom of the roasting pan. If using a V-rack, they can go under the rack. If using a flat rack or no rack, form a nest around the edge of the pan and then place the chicken in the center of the vegetables, breast side up. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and brush it over the chicken. Pour the water into the roasting pan. Roast the chicken for 40 minutes.

Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees, rotate the position of the pan in the oven, and continue to roast the chicken until the thickest portion of the breast registers 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 minutes longer. Tip the chicken so that the juice from the cavity runs into the roasting pan. Transfer the chicken to a carving board and let rest, uncovered, for 20 minutes before carving. Turn the oven temperature back down to 350 degrees and continue roasting the vegetables if you want to brown them some more while the chicken rests. If not, you can re-heat the vegetables on the stove top before serving over medium heat in the roasting pan for about 5 minutes.

After you remove the vegetables, you may want to use the pan drippings to make a quick gravy for your chicken. it’s a very simple recipe and easy to do, just watch out, because the pan drippings may be salty.

Quick Chicken Gravy

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, minced

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups chicken broth

2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, minced

Salt and pepper

While the roasted chicken rests, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook until brown, about 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, add 1 cup of broth to the roasting pan and scrape up any drippings. Pour into a large measuring cup and spoon any fat off the top. Add the remaining broth as needed to measure 3 cups.

Slowly whisk the measured broth into the saucepan. Add the bay leaves and simmer until the flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and stir in the parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

That’s it, the whole meal is done, and you have two pots to clean (1 if you used a foil pan you can throw away). Don’t throw away that chicken carcass either. Save it in a storage bag or throw it in a pot of water right away and make some homemade stock with it. One carrot, one onion, one stalk of celery, 2 bay leaves, and enough water to cover the carcass is all you need. Let it come to a boil and then turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for a few hours. Strain out the carcass and vegetables and you have plenty of your own stock to use in various recipes. Trust me, it tastes so much better than what comes in a can.

And we have another meal in the books. Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday, so I won’t be cooking anything but the snack foods we talked about on Thursday, but I will be writing about something; I just haven’t decided what that will be yet. Any suggestions? I’d love to hear if you have any ideas of things you might like to see or topics to tackle. Leave a comment and let me know. Two final notes: First, the Fish and Chips from last night turned out great! The fish was crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside and not greasy at all, and the fries were awesome! I recommend the recipe and we’ll certainly have it again one day. Secondly, I made a trip to Williams-Sonoma today and bought a new 12-inch skillet, a flat rack for a roasting pan or baking sheet, a new gravy separator (Sean dropped the other one and shattered it, accidents happen!) and a cake mix for a lemon bundt cake they have that tastes really good and we can never find (I know, I should make it from scratch, but I’m lazy when it comes to baking). I am sure we could have bought more, but we tried to limit our spending for the day and had a coupon to use. It was a good trip and I am sure we’ll go back again. I hope everyone has a great night and get ready for the game tomorrow!

 

 
3 Comments

Posted by on February 4, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Gravy, Potatoes, Poultry, Vegetables

 

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(Meat)Loafing Around

25 Jan

I love meatloaf. It is probably one of my favorite things to eat, and not just for dinner. I love a nice meatloaf sandwich for lunch the day after, either cold on some rye bread, or warm as an open-faced sandwich with some gravy on it. Either way, it’s good with me. I was really looking forward to making this meal of Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, and Corn.

I’m sure everyone has their own meatloaf recipe that they swear by. I actually have 3 or 4 different recipes that I use, depending on what I feel like having. Sometimes I wrap the meatloaf in slices of bacon, sometimes I use sautéed vegetables in the ingredients and sometimes I hollow out a loaf of Italian bread and bake the meatloaf inside it. Any of them are good recipes to use, but for today I am just going to make the standard meatloaf that I make. There’s nothing hard or fancy about it, it doesn’t take very long to make and you could even double the recipe if you’re feeding a crowd.

Meatloaf

1 pound meatloaf mix (this is a mix of beef, pork and veal that you can get at most grocery stores)

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon celery salt

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon onion powder (or you could use 1 onion, chopped fine and sautéed)

3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs (or dried, if you’re using store-bough)

1 large egg

1/2 cup ketchup

Tomato paste

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the meatloaf mix, dry mustard, celery salt, Worcestershire, oregano, pepper and onion powder  until evenly blended. Add in the breadcrumbs and egg and mix again until blended, then add in the ketchup and mix again (I mix this all by hand to really work things in. It’s messy, but the results are worth it). Form the mixture into a free-form loaf onto a foil lined baking sheet. Coat the mixture with tomato paste (as much or as little as desired. I use more to get a nice coating on it). Bake the loaf for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center reads 160 degrees. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

I have found that baking the loaf free-form results in a crustier exterior all around and tastes better than the sogginess that happens when you bake it in a loaf pan. As I said before, everyone has their own take on what they add to meatloaf. Some people use saltines in the mix with breadcrumbs, some make it spicier with Tabasco, some add bacon inside and out, some add cheese, the choice is really yours. i would love to hear how other people make meatloaf. I am always looking for a new recipe for it to try out.

Now on to another great part of having meatloaf – having the mashed potatoes with it. Nothing else seems to go better (although my Dad would tell you that french fries go better, but he ate fries with everything). Mashed potatoes, like the meatloaf, are very easy to make and don’t take a lot of time.

Mashed Potatoes

2 pounds russet potatoes (4 medium), peeled, quartered, and cut into 1-inch chunks

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted

1 cup milk, hot (or half and half, whichever you prefer)

Salt and Pepper

Cover the potatoes by 1 inch of water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender and a fork can be slipped easily into the center, about 20 to 25 minutes. Drain the potatoes in a colander, tossing to remove any excess water. Wipe the saucepan dry. Add the potatoes back to the pot and mash to a uniform consistency (or process through a food mill or potato ricer back into the dry pot. Using a flexible rubber spatula, fold in the melted butter until just incorporated. Fold in 3/4 of the milk, adding the remaining 1/4 as needed to adjust the consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I always used to mash the potatoes by hand or use a mixer until I started using the potato ricer and I am glad I did. The potatoes don’t get the air into them that they would get with a mixer and they become finer than mashing by hand. The result is a much denser puree that tastes better, in my opinion.

The gravy recipe I am using is the same one I used earlier in the week for the turkey meatballs. Actually, I am just using the same exact gravy since we have it left over, so that makes it simple for me. I’ll post the recipe here again or you can check out Monday’s blog if you would like to see the whole thing.

All Purpose Gravy

3 tablespoons butter

1 carrot, peeled and chopped fine

1 rib celery, chopped fine

1 onion, minced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth (used canned, box or your own. I am using my own because I have it. otherwise, use low sodium)

2 cups beef broth (same as the chicken. i don’t have my own right now, so I am using Swanson’s low sodium)

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme, or 1/4 teaspoon dried

5 whole black peppercorns

Salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and cook until softened and well browned, about 9 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thoroughly browned, about 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in the broths and bring to a boil. Add the bay leaf, thyme, and peppercorns and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 20-25 minutes, skimming off any foam that forms on the surface.

Pour the gravy through a fine-mesh strainer (or gravy separator) into a clean saucepan, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids. Season the gravy with salt and pepper to taste.

You can make the gravy ahead of time and refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 2 months. Just re-heat it over low heat, stirring to recombine, until warm and smooth.

That just leaves the corn for tonight’s dinner. I am just using frozen corn kernels tonight, since you can’t get good corn here this time of year. The frozen kernels taste fine (better than the frozen cobs do, I think. Sean disagrees with me and loves the frozen corn on the cob) and take no time at all to make. Nowadays, you can but the steamer bags for your microwave and cook them that way in about 5-7 minutes.

Gee, we’ve really gotten good at making these easy dinners, haven’t we? Nice, simple dinners make the weeknights so much better after a long day of work and an afternoon of doing homework. it’s great that there are so many meals we can make either ahead of time or in practically no time at all. I’d love to hear some input or ideas on some other quick meals that can be made. if you have any, please feel free to share. Tomorrow is supposed to be fish day if I can get to the market to check out the fish. If not, we’ll be substituting the Warm Chicken Salad into tomorrow. It’s Michelle’s pick and one that we like to make often (another quick, easy meal, or lunch for that matter). Until then, enjoy your evening and see you tomorrow!

 
9 Comments

Posted by on January 25, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Gravy, Potatoes, Uncategorized, Vegetables

 

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