Once a Year: Turkey Pot Pie

I don't need a reason to use frozen puff pastry.

When Pepperidge Farm sent me some sheets I knew exactly what I would do with them.



I would make a turkey pot pie the day after Thanksgiving with the leftover vegetables and turkey meat.



It is simple and DELICIOUS! Why do I only make this once a year?

I used the roasted vegetables from the day before and added some frozen pearl onions and frozen peas (they can defrost in the pot).



Add heavy cream and leftover gravy and whisk in some flour & a tablespoon of butter, salt and pepper, and don't forget the leftover turkey diced up.

Simmer for a minute or two then pour into a baking dish.



Roll out defrosted puff pastry sheet into a 12" round and fit over a pie plate or individual serving bowls to cover.



Make some holes in the top to vent & brush with an egg wash.

Bake at 400F for 25 minutes until top is puffed and golden brown.



......and with the rest of the turkey leftovers we had turkey sandwiches on the Ham & Gruyere biscuits with cranberry ginger relish!

Thankful

I have plenty to be thankful for this year.

I have a great family and wonderful friends.
(My husband aint too bad either!).

I always remember this great saying: "HEALTH is WEALTH".
If you are healthy, you can do anything.

I am thankful that we are able to be together on my favorite holiday and enjoy this beautiful meal.
Here are some of the highlights.

The Spread



Roasted Vegetables



Nibbles







Cranberry Relish



Kid Eating Egg



Really Good Walnut Tart



Sweets

Great Cocktail: Ginger Martini

Our friend David made one of the tastiest martinis I have ever had.
It is his own concoction, and I watched him prepare the mixture so I could share it with you all.

First, you have to be a fan of ginger (Ciao Chow, look away).
I LOVE GINGER, so this drink had my name all over it.

David's Ginger Martini:

In a shaker with ice, add 1 part vodka, and 1 part ginger ale.
(we used half a bottle of vodka and half a bottle of ginger ale).

Grate a large knob of fresh peeled ginger root on the smallest grates of a microplane zester.



Squeeze in half of a lemon.

Let sit a few minutes, then shake away. You can strain out the ginger bits if you like, but they sank to the bottom, so you can probably skip that step.

This has a big kick from all the fresh hot ginger, and also sweetness from the ginger ale soda.

I think the next time we will garnish them with candied ginger slices.



Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

Stuffed Hens & a Cheese Platter

Since I am in holiday mode, and sticking with the stuffed bird theme, I made Cornish hens (remember those?) and stuffed them with a rice stuffing.

I cooked basmati rice, then mixed in a skillet w/ melted butter, pistachios and golden raisins, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
I stuffed this rice mixture into the cavities of the birds and baked at 375F for one hour.



It was a bit of a pain getting the rice out of the hens, but it was delicious with all the pan juices mixed in!



I made a cheese platter consisting of St. Agur blue cheese from France; Comte (the King of Gruyeres!); Jarlsberg from Norway; and a nice farmhouse cheddar from England called "Old Winchester", all from my local cheese shop.

I swiped some bread with the blue and placed a date on top.
I couldn't help myself.

Country Biscuits w/ Ham, Gruyere & Chives

I received an email from my friend Rosemary that said "MAKE THESE PLEASE".

It was a recipe for Gruyere & ham scones. I am not a big fan of scones, so I decided to honor her request by making biscuits instead.

I am certainly not a country girl, and have always been intimidated by good old fashioned Southern recipes, like fried chicken, biscuits, and grits.

But this was seriously easy.

I looked at a million recipes for biscuits then came up with my own concoction.

I guess we can call them City Biscuits. Whatever.

They were fabulous and I am making a batch to freeze for Thanksgiving.

The next time I make these, I will try a cheddar and dill combination.
You can use any cheese and any herb.
Ham makes them special and perfect for breakfast.



Stacey's City Biscuits w/ Gruyere, Ham & Chives:

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1 cup of Gruyere cheese (feel free to use any cheese you like)
1/2 cup of chopped cooked ham or cooked bacon
2 tbsp of chopped chives (I had them in the garden!)
1 cup buttermilk (you can add 1 tbsp lemon juice to a cup of whole milk, let sit 5 minutes and it is as good as buttermilk)

Preheat oven to 425F and line baking sheets w/ parchment paper or Silpat.



Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and cut in the butter w/ a pastry cutter or your hands to resemble coarse meal.
(Ann from Thibault's Table has a great trick: she cuts the cold stick of butter into the flour with the large holes of a box grater! I tried it and it worked GREAT! Thanks Ann!)

Stir in the cheese and buttermilk and mix with a fork until the dough comes together.

Pour the dough out onto a floured board and knead a few times. Roll out the dough to a 1" thickness.



Cut out with biscuit cutter, I made small ones and big ones. It's all good.



Bake 12-15 minutes until light brown.
You can also brush w/ melted butter for extra yummy fat.



Next, I will be entering county fairs and pie contests.
(don't count on it).

Fig Moutarde & Some Random Bites

I forgot to tell you that I made homemade fig preserves back in the early fall.
I didn't tell you about it because I didn't love the results.

It came out too thick and I had to add water and microwave it to get it out of the jar.

Well, instead of throwing it out I made a a fig moutarde (mustard).

I had an amazing cheese course at one of my favorite restaurants, Dell'Anima in NYC recently and they served a fig moutarde next to a Pecorino Toscana. I loved it.

So, I added a tablespoon of grainy mustard with a few tablespoons of the thick fig stuff to make my own fig moutarde. I served it on roast pork sandwiches as well as on a cheese plate.




Good Combo:

I had another fantastic pizza at Jim Leahy's Co. in Chelsea this week.
How about this seasonal pie: Brussels sprouts, bechamel, lardons and chestnuts.

WOW.




I made Giada's Escarole and Bean soup. It was very simple and satisfying.



and that's that!

Honeyed Walnut Tart w/ Candied Orange Peel

Instead of my usual chocolate pecan pie for Thanksgiving, I decided on a walnut tart.

Why?
Because I had a huge amount of walnuts, and I didn't have corn syrup (which is a key ingredient in pecan pie), and I had a large container of candied orange peel in the outside fridge.
So I decided to use what I had on hand, for a change!

This was excellent.
It was like the Greek honey & nut dessert, baklava.

It took all of 15 minutes to put together, because I made the dough ahead of time.
I baked it and froze it for Thanksgiving.

Honeyed Walnut Tart: (loosely adapted from Bon Appetit 2005)

You can use a prepared pie crust or make your own pate brisee:

Filling:

2 cups of toasted walnuts, chopped
1 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons of chopped candied orange peel
zest of a lemon
3 large eggs
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp of fresh lemon juice

Line a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom with your pie shell and keep chilled until ready to fill.

Mix the first 4 ingredients together in a large bowl.



In another bowl, whisk the eggs, honey and lemon juice and then pour over the nut and sugar mixture. Stir until blended.

Pour into prepared pie shell and bake for 35 minutes at 350F.



Wait until cooled, then cut into slices!

If making this ahead and freezing, defrost at room temperature before serving.

Enjoy!