Leftovers from Turkey Day : Pot Pie!!!

I always give away leftovers. In fact, I run out of containers by the end of the night. A good hostess gift for me is always bring your OWN containers when you come for dinner. Makes it easier.

This Thanksgiving I was stingy with the doggy bags because I've had pot pie on the brain since the weather has turned cool.

I have never been a fan of those gross frozen chicken pot pies that have very little meat and a glue like consistency. I don't think I have ever really had GOOD homemade pot pie.

I have seen a lot of good looking ones on blogs lately, with short pastry crust, puff pastry, bottom, top, both, lattice or none.
I decided to do my own thing and it came out so great, I hope I can recreate it!

Every ingredient was leftover from Thanksgiving dinner, except some frozen peas and an onion. You can basically throw in any combination you like.

Here is how I made it. The next time, I think I will do individual little pot pies.

I had about 2 cups of white meat turkey leftover, so I diced it up.

I sauteed one chopped onion in 3 tbsp butter on medium heat in a large skillet.
To the onion and butter mixture I added all of my leftover Thanksgiving roasted vegetables. This consisted of carrots, Brussels sprouts and 3 kinds of potatoes (purple, Yukon gold and red potatoes).
I threw in about 1/2 cup of frozen peas.

Next, I threw in the cut up turkey and 1 cup of the leftover gravy that I had.
To the gravy, I added about 1/3 cup of half & half and 2 tbsp of flour to thicken.
A little salt & pepper and simmered until the sauce was nice and thick, about 5 minutes or so.



Now, I decided on no bottom crust, don't need the extra calories, believe me.
I poured the turkey vegetable cream mixture into a buttered ceramic pie dish.
I rolled out one sheet of puff pastry and laid it over the pie pan.
Pricked it with a fork and brushed with one beaten egg (egg wash).
Baked at 375 for 30 minutes till the puff pastry was nice and puffy.



Come on over for leftovers, there are plenty!

A Black Friday Thanksgiving

I had a little problem on Thanksgiving.
I woke up Thursday morning with the mother of all MIGRAINE HEADACHES.

These f....ng things are debilitating as anyone who is plagued with them knows.
I have the pleasure of vomiting, pain behind my eyes that only a baseball bat to the skull would soothe, and light sensitivity.
That being the case on Thurs (and not being able to even LOOK at the food, let alone smell it), my husband made the executive decision at noon to cancel the event.

My family was very understanding and all were able to make it on Friday, the day after and forgo waiting in lines at the mall at 4 a.m. for their Black Friday bargains!

Here are some photos from our Thanksgiving feast and a great canape recipe to follow.

Smoked Salmon Appetizer (recipe to follow)

Tom Colicchio's Onion Stuffing

Second Helpings

My Herb Roasted Turkey Breasts

Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie)

Roasted Potatoes Carrots & Brussel Sprouts

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Apple Pecan Tart (DIVINE!)

And the Winner is............

I hired a 3 judge panel from the firm of Blaze, Blaze and Baumberger to choose the most clever comment for the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook Giveaway.

I was just too jaded and dizzy to choose a winner, so I picked 3 women to do the job, all whose opinions I highly regard.
One is an excellent baker, one is an excellent writer, and the other an excellent cook and wine drinker, so how could I go wrong?

So congratulations to briannechase who wrote:

"U-Haul rental for cross country move from Michigan to California - $1900
Grocery trip to Safeway to stock my very first single girl cupboard/fridge - $300
Cheap-o cookware for my very first single girl kitchen - $60
Preparing and cooking my own dinner in my very first single girl apartment and then proudly displaying my very first cookbook on my empty kitchen counter - PRICELESS :)

... For some single girls there is carryout - for me there is Ina Garten!"

Please contact me with your name and address and I will mail out your new "back to basics" cookbook! You clever girl!

Baked Ceci & Tomatoes & a Blog Lunch

I lied. I said I wouldn't be posting again until Friday, but I had to get this one in before the bell.
I wanted something light last night before the feasting begins, so made some nice pan seared fish w/ lemon and capers and a healthy Super Side. The story below.

I had the great fortune of meeting a bunch of local NYC bloggers last week for lunch at LUPA ristorante. Mario Batali's always fun osteria. Traffic was hideous, but I should know better than to drive into Manhattan during the day. I am a glutton for punishment!


(photo taken by Rachel)

The guest of honor was Peter from Kalofagas Greek blog. He was visiting from Canada, and we had the pleasure of lunching with Giff from Constables' Larder, Stephane from Chefs Gone Wild, Rachel from Bacon and Rhubarb and the lovely Claire from Colloquial Cookin'. A great group of people with much to say about food, wine, NY restaurants and travel. It was lovely to meet all of them.

A few weeks back, Peter posted this unusual, but simple recipe for baked chickpeas.

It was a great weeknight side dish to pan seared fish. Healthy and low fat too!
I am always looking for recipes that meet those 2 requirements.
I will definitely be adding this to my recipe file.

Baked Ceci (chickpeas) w/ Tomatoes: adapted from Peter's recipe

1 can of ceci (garbanzo beans or chickpeas, same thing), drained
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup water
handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 small onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients together and place in a baking dish.
Drizzle with olive oil and bake at 375 for about 40 minutes.

Gruyere Shortbread Crackers

I got this great idea for an easy make ahead and freeze hors d'oevres from Whisk a great food blog.

She made freeze ahead dough and turned out fabulous looking cheddar shortbread biscuits to put pepper jelly or slices of smoked salmon on top.
Just take the dough out the night before and thaw them in the fridge, slice and bake!

I made this at 10 pm at night, wrapped the dough logs in plastic wrap and froze them in freezer bags.

I changed Miss Whisk's recipe by substituting gruyere for cheddar. I think you could do any cheese. Parmesan would probably be amazing.
I also added some fresh rosemary, since that is all that's left in my garden now that it's almost winter.

I also noticed that a very similar recipe is in Ina's new book "back to basics".

Here is the recipe for the dough to make ahead and freeze:



1 cup of flour
4 oz. of cheese (cheddar, gruyere or Parmesan) grated
1/3 cup (about 3 oz.) of unsalted butter
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp fresh rosemary or thyme

Mix all ingredients in a food processor until a nice clump of dough forms.
Roll out into a log, then cut in half and wrap in plastic wrap and freeze.



Take the logs out the night before you are going to bake your shortbread crackers and slice into 1/4" sliced rounds.
Make sure your dough is chilled because they will spread on the baking sheet.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

I will be serving these with my cheeses and olives on Thanksgiving.
yUmMy!



I will be back on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving with the announced winner of the Ina book giveaway and hopefully lots of food photos and recipes!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday to all of my friends in cyber space!
Stacey

Thanksgiving 101: Cranberry Orange Relish

Here is another simple recipe for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
I am not a cranberry fan, but people seem to lick the spoon for this one.

I know there are some people that can't give up their canned, sliced cranberry sauce. I don't think this recipe even resembles that can of disgustingness jello-like congealed condiment.



This is fresh, a bit spicy and you can make it a week ahead!

Cranberry Orange Ginger Relish:

~ 1 bag of fresh cranberries (for some reason my cranberries were not round this year!)
~ 1 1/2 cups of orange juice
~ 1 cup sugar
~ 2 tbsp finely chopped peeled ginger
~ orange peel strips for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves. Lower heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. You can mash some of the berries if you like. Transfer to a bowl and cool. Garnish with shaved orange peel. You can keep this in the fridge for a few weeks. It's like jam.



A good idea: Spread some goat cheese on crostini and top with a little cranberry relish!
A nice Christmas appetizer IF you have any left!

Thanksgiving 101: Apple Pecan Tart

For my Thanksgiving dinner, I always make one cake, and one pie. I try to freeze them a week ahead so I can concentrate on all the savory sides and the turkey.

This year I am changing it up a bit.
Instead of the usual chocolate pecan pie, which is like candy, I am making an apple pecan tart from the NY Times last weekend. They offered suggestions for recipes to freeze ahead for turkey day.

Ok, I haven't actually had a taste of this tart yet, but it looks pretty damn good.
I took a photo and am wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap and then in foil.
You are supposed to thaw it the fridge and reheat it in the oven before serving.



I made Debra from Smitten Kitchen and Dorie's "unshrinkable" crust pie shell. It wasn't such a pleasure to work with, as Debra professed, but it did not shrink in the par-baking process, and I didn't need pie weights (in my case, ROCKS from my garden!), so that in itself was a pleasure.




*PS: I took a picture for my secret admirer (who sent me the apple corer, NO I DO NOT NEED PIE WEIGHTS, THANK YOU!), so she can see that I used the corer for the apples! Thank you very much!



Click on this link for the NY Times recipe if you like how this looks, and I will tell you on Friday how it tastes!

Barefoot Giveaway!!!!

I am a huge fan of Ina Garten, a.k.a. The Barefoot Contessa.
I own her first 2 books and really love them. The original Barefoot Contessa is my favorite of them all. Her simple recipes always deliver and become part of my cooking repertoire.

My husband and I met Ina last year while eating lunch at E.A.T. on Madison Ave., Eli Zabar's excellent luncheonette, where a delicious egg salad sandwich will set you back $17.

I stalked Ina and grabbed her mink coat arm and said "Ina, what are you doing here? I just watched you this a.m. on Food Network making a pear clafoutis!!".
What an idiot I am. Couldn't I think of anything better to say?

She was most gracious, came over to our table (she had no choice, with me holding onto her coat sleeve) and chatted with us for a few minutes and was SO NICE! She was beautiful and genuine. She is definitely the queen.

Well, I was lucky enough to receive her 6th book, and I looked thru it, and it is very nice. Great photos, as always. Very basic, hence the title "back to basics".
I have made a few of these recipes already, without having to consult a cookbook.
So, I decided I don't need to add yet another cookbook to my collection, so I will have a pre-holiday giveaway.

Leave me a comment as to why you would like this book, and the most clever comment will win! Please submit your comment by Wed. 11/26. Winner will be announced on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving!
Have a great weekend!

Only the BEST Biscotti

I love Susan at Food Blogga. She is one of the first blogs I started reading about a year ago. I think she must be nuts because this is the second year she does this Christmas Cookie post.



Who has time for this? It's enough to have to bake, cook, plan menus and get ready for the holidays, but posting hundreds of other people's recipes, along with their photos? I hope she hired a high school kid to help her.

I am not much of a cookie baker. I just don't enjoy it. I am getting better at cake baking, but cookies just aren't my thing. Maybe it's a dough issue.

Well, with this amazing recipe, there is definitely a dough issue, or lack of one.

It is Susan's mother in law's biscotti recipe that she got from her Italian Bakery Sciallo Bros. in Providence, Rhode Island. You can buy these via mail order too. Her M.I.L. was nice enough to share the recipe last year with Susan's readers and I have made them at least 10 times. They are big pain in the ass to make.
There is basically NO DOUGH. There are only 2 eggs to moisten, so this biscotti is the really hard to work with. Jaw breakin' goodness.



I modified the recipe down to 2 cups of whole almonds, instead of 3 cups, and I do half the recipe dipped in semi sweet chocolate, the other half for the boring people!

They are definitely the best biscotti we have ever tasted, great for dipping in Vin Santo, or coffee, or not dipping at all. (I am a big dipper).

Here's a tip:
Keep your hands wet while working with this so called "dough". It is very crumbly, and I even splash a bit of water in the bowl to bind it together.

GOOD LUCK!

Susan's Mother in Law's Almond Biscotti:

1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups King Arthur flour
pinch of cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp softened butter
2 cups of almonds (original recipe calls for 3 cups)

2 eggs beaten with 3 tbsp vanilla (I use a little less)

egg white for egg wash to brush on loaves

Oven at 350 degrees.
Mix all the ingredients together, except for the eggs (best if you use a standing mixer, I of course, do it free hand, I know I am a glutton for punishment).

Add the 2 eggs and vanilla while the machine is going around.

I use water to wet the mixture so it will form properly into loaves.
Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. I make 3 logs and flatten them down with wet hands.

Brush with egg white.
Bake for about 40 minutes, but start checking on them at 30 minutes.



Remove them from the oven, and slide them onto a cutting board with a big heavy spatula. Let them rest no more than a few minutes, or they will be too hard to slice. (if you don't let them rest, then they will fall apart when you slice them! see what I mean about these being high maintenance baking!).

You don't have to twice bake these biscotti. They harden while they are cooling.
Slice on the diagonal into 1" slices. When cool, you can dip them in chocolate.



These truly are worth the effort. I love them and so does everyone who tries one.

Enjoy!

One more note: Susan does a lot of charity work and gets involved in worthy causes like Blogger Bakeoff whose slogan is "Bake Bread Give Dough".

Since the declining economy & loss of jobs, a lot of our local soup kitchens and food banks are seeing more families in need these coming months and are overwhelmed. They are short staffed and short on funds.
Since we (who are reading this) all love food, what a nice gesture this holiday season to donate some time or money to your local soup kitchens, churches or food banks.

If you need help finding out where your local food bank is, click on this link Feeding America and type in your zip code! Ti's the season.

Farfalle w/ Shrimp Artichokes & Spinach

This is a recipe that was solely created from things in my freezer and pantry.

I made this as an easy weeknight dinner. The sauce is finished by the time your pasta is done cooking.

Not only is it pretty, but it is delicious and healthy.
Great with a nice glass of crisp Pinot Grigio.



Pasta w/ Shrimp Artichokes & Spinach:
serves 4 peeps

~ 8 oz. of farfalle (bow ties), you can use whatever pasta you like
~ 1 small 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes (seasoned or unseasoned)
~ 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
~ handful of kalamata olives, chopped
~ 1 can of artichokes, drained and halved
~ 1 bag of uncooked shrimp, defrosted and butterflied (cut slit down the spine)
~ bag of baby spinach (if you have arugula, that's fine too....see how easy I am?)
~ dash of hot pepper flakes
~ salt and pepper

Cook your pasta as per directions. While pasta is cooking, make your sauce.

In a heavy skillet, saute your garlic 2 minutes, then add your shrimp. Saute about 3 minutes until you start to see some lovely shrimp color.

Now add your tomatoes, artichokes, olives and seasonings. Simmer until your pasta is done. When your pasta is done, drain and add to your shrimp and sauce.
Turn the flame off and toss with baby spinach to wilt.



Easy. You're done! So good!

"Stuart Little" Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf

My 3 1/2 year old neighbor James was helping me make little individual meatloaves yesterday.
He exclaimed that Stuart Little and his brother tracked down a meatloaf bandit!

OK, I believe most of what toddlers tell me, but I was skeptical about this one.

After googling it, James was correct. There is a 2003 episode called "Stuart Little and the Meatloaf Bandit".
I will never doubt the boy again.



Another note before we get started:

I am amazed and give kudos to all of you moms who let your kids help you in the kitchen.
I was never allowed to cook when I was a kid or a teenager, because my mother did not want the mess. Cooking with kids is certainly messy!!!
I don't have kids so don't have fingerprints on my fridge, or goldfish crackers on my floor.
It sounds like I run a tight ship, doesn't it?
I will say, it was really fun making the loaves with my favorite boy.

Now back to making meatloaf.

This is my most requested recipe. No lie. I make them for dinner parties in the winter and people love them.
They are pretty little packages, tightly wrapped in bacon. How can you go wrong?



Stacey Snacks Bacon Wrapped Meat Loaves
(makes 4 loaves)

~ 1 onion, finely chopped
~ 2 garlic cloves minced
~ 2-3 lbs. of meatloaf mixture: I use ground pork, veal and ground beef
~ 1/2 cup ketchup
~ chopped fresh rosemary
~ chopped fresh parsley
~ 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
~ a shake or 2 of Worcestershire sauce
~ 3/4 cup of seasoned breadcrumbs
~ 1 egg
~ salt and pepper
~ 1 lb. package of bacon slices (I use about half the package)

I start by sauteing my onion and garlic in a pan with some olive oil until soft.
I add the cooked onion and garlic to my meat mixture.
Mix everything in a bowl together except the bacon.
Don't over mix.



Now form your lovely packages into 5" long loaves. Cut bacon slices to drape over each loaf. About 4 half slices for each little mini meatloaf. Pack them tightly on the meat to keep them moist.

I bake them on a rack over a cookie sheet to catch the drippings. Less mess this way.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 35-45 minutes. Temperature should reach 160.
Let rest about 10 minutes on cutting board before slicing, otherwise the slices will fall apart. Let the juices redistribute and solidify.



I serve this with roasted potatoes and green beans w/ pesto.

This is great for sandwiches the next day, as you can imagine!

Grandma's Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This past weekend, I baked my cakes and pies to freeze for Thanksgiving.
I find that if I get that task out of the way, I feel much better & relaxed.
Most cakes and pies (except an apple pie) with butter content freeze very well if they are wrapped tightly in plastic wrap then aluminum foil.

I always make one cake and one pie.
I usually make my grandmother's sour cream coffee cake or an apple cake of some kind.

When I looked at Debra at Smitten Kitchen's "cubes of colossal cheer" Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cake recipe, it was almost exactly like my grandmother's cake, except Debra bakes her cake in a glass 13 x 9 pan and adds an extra cup of sour cream.

I am not a fan of baking in a Pyrex glass pan, only because of presentation.
Cakes look nicer on a cake pedestal and sliced. Just my opinion.

So, here is the very best sour cream coffee cake with walnuts and chocolate chunks. You can really make any topping you like, as long as it has light brown or dark brown sugar, a nut and cinnamon. I love the addition of chocolate chips too.

This cake freezes beautifully.

Grandma's Sour Cream Coffee Cake:

Topping:

1/2 cup of brown or light brown sugar (doesn't really matter)
1/2 cup of chopped walnut or pecans
1/2 bag of chocolate chips
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon



Cake Batter:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 stick butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix your ingredients for the topping and middle of the cake in a small bowl.
Now mix your flour, baking powder and soda w/ salt in another bowl.

In a third bowl, mix your butter w/ sugar, incorporating your eggs with the sour cream and vanilla.
Slowly add your flour mixture into the butter/sugar mixture.

Butter and flour a tube pan (this cake will stick if you don't grease your pan properly).
Pour half your batter in the pan and sprinkle half your brown sugar nut topping on that.



Now pour the rest of the batter on top and then top with the rest of the sugar topping. You may have some topping leftover, which I keep in a Ziploc bag.

Bake for about an hour at 350. Start testing the cake for doneness (is "doneness" a word?) at 50 minutes.
Wait until cool enough to remove from pan.



This is so good for breakfast (and lunch and dinner!).
Enjoy!

Sunday Night: Lidia's Chicken w/ Sausage & Potatoes

This is my friend Sarah's favorite Sunday dinner.

It is from a Lidia Bastianich cookbook, so how can you go wrong? Besides Ina, she is the queen.

I made this on Sunday and as Sarah suggested, just used chicken thighs.
I started with the best sausage that I buy from a local guy and the results were fantastic.

You don't really need a recipe, it's just a couple of steps, however, it does make a nice mess on your stove top!

Here is the recipe convoluted from Lidia to Sarah to Stacey: This is peasant food at its best.

package of 8 chicken thighs, season with kosher salt and pepper
4 big good links of Italian sweet sausages, cut into thick pieces
1/2 lb. of potatoes, sliced in half. I used baby red and Yukon gold
6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed w/ the back of a knife
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Brown your sausage in a heavy skillet coated with olive oil. When browned, remove w/ a slotted spoon to a roasting pan.
Now for the messy part: brown your chicken thighs in the fat and oil from the sausage, about 15 minutes. Remove and put in the roasting pan with the sausage.
Next step is to brown your potatoes in the pan with the oil and drippings.
I removed them a bit early because I knew they would brown in the 450 degree oven.
Transfer to the roasting pan.




Throw in your smashed garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs and push around a minute or two and add to your roasting pan.
Roast about 15 minutes, then open the oven and splash with 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar and cook a few minutes longer till potatoes are nice and brown.
Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley and serve.

This is kind of like my sausage and peppers recipe, easy, you can really do your own thing. The vinegar makes it special and the house smelled so good from all the yummy ingredients. I love this kind of comfort food.