Our Favorite Recipes
If you think in metric, you can convert the US measures in these recipes using the conversions at this converter website.
Creamy Dark Hot Chocolate Mix
Ingredients:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 cups cocoa or cacao
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 ½ cups powdered milk
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Putting It Together:
- I like to sift it together.
- Fill your cup half full with the mixture and then pour the milk or water over the mixture.
- You can either mix it with hot water or warm milk and if you like cayenne and chocolate, you can opt for cayenne instead of cinnamon.
- We like it with a splash of good vanilla and marshmellows!
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Chilaquiles with Red Sauce and Chicken
Chilaquiles is one of those dishes with as many recipes as there are cooks. This dish is usually used to get rid of the leftovers. Feel free to be creative, though this recipe is a good start.
Ingredients:
- 4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 2-3 fresh serrano chiles
- 1 large garlic clove, chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped
- ½ cup (120 ml) chicken broth
Putting It Together:
- Process above in blender until pureed (a little texture is nice).
- Add 1 tablespoon (15 ml) kosher salt to sauce.
- Heat a generous amount of oil in a large skillet.
- Cut corn tortillas into eighths and add to hot oil.
- Fry tortillas until crisp. Turn frequently. Remove then drain on paper towel.
- Fry sauce. Reduce the sauce for about 5 minutes.
- Add cooked, shredded chicken to the sauce in the pan.
- Add a pinch of oregano to the sauce.
- Add tortilla chips to the sauce in the pan.
- Serve and garnish with cheese - Mexican queso fresco -- plus Mexican crema.
- Top it off with 1 easy-over egg for each serving.
Serves 3.
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Honey-Baked Pizza Crust
from Marlene Hammes
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup (60 ml) hot water (105-115º F) (40.5-46º C)
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) honey
- 1 package (15 ml) yeast
- 3 cups (383 g) all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) Italian dressing (dry mix)
- ¾ (180 ml) cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) oil
- corn meal
- 1 cup (240 ml) pizza sauce
Putting it together:
Preheat oven to 350º F (177º C). Combine first three ingredients and let set for 5 minutes. Mix 2 cups (255 g) flour, salt and Italian dressing mix. Combine honey mixture with flour mixture. Add warm water and oil. Mix well. Stir in remaining flour until dough is smooth and elastic. Knead for five minutes. Set aside and cover for 45 minutes. Roll out pizza dough with corn meal dusted over well-greased pizza pan. Cover with 1 cup (240 ml) pizza sauce and favorite toppings. Be careful not to overload crust with toppings so the crust can bake all the way through. Bake 20-25 minutes. Brush crust with melted butter. Let set for five minutes before serving.
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Chocolate Chip Craisin Cookies
Ingredients:
- 2 cups (255 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ (2.5 ml) teaspoon baking powder
- ⅓ cup (60 g) (packed) light brown sugar
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 sticks (1 cup) (225 g) salted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- 12 ounces (340 g) orange craisins (about 2 cups)
- 12 ounces (340 g) semisweet chocolate chips (about 2 cups)
Putting it together:
Preheat oven to 300º F (150º C). In medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Mix well with wire whisk. Set aside. Blend sugars in a large bowl using an electric mixer set at medium speed. Add butter and mix until grainy, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add eggs and vanilla extract, and mix at medium speed until smooth. Add the flour mixture, craisins, and chocolate chips. Blend at low speed until just combined. Do not overmix. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets, 1½ inches (4 cm) apart. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer cookies immediately to a cool, flat surface using a spatula.
Yield: About 4½ dozen cookies
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Grandma's Banana Bread
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup butter
- 1⅓ cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup banana, mashed
- ½ cup pecans, chopped
- 1 tablespoon flour
Preheat oven to 350º F (177º C). Grease a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Sift together first five ingredients above in a large bowl and set aside. In another bowl, cream sugar and butter. Blend in eggs and vanilla until well mixed. Add dry mixture alternately with mashed bananas until just moistened. Coat pecans with remaining flour and stir into batter. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let sit for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
You make a mix by combining all dry ingredients into a bag. On baking day, melt the butter and add eggs & vanilla. Then add to dry ingredients. Finish off by adding the banana to the mixture and baking.
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Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
Ingredients:
- 1¼ cups (112 g) oatmeal (not instant)
- 2 cups (480 ml) buttermilk
- 2 eggs, well beaten
- 1 cup (125 g) flour
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
- ¼ cup butter (57 g), melted
- ½ cup (120 ml) blueberries
Putting it together:
Mix oatmeal & buttermilk. Add eggs. Combine dry ingredients & mix them into oatmeal mixture. Stir in butter. Batter is ready to pour on griddle. Cook on a hot griddle, adding blueberries as desired. Flip and cook other side until golden brown.
Makes 12 pancakes.
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Black Bottom Cake
from Grandma Margaret Merz
Batter Ingredients:
- 2 cups (255 g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups (300 g) white sugar
- 4 teaspoons (20 ml) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt
- 1 cup (240 ml) milk
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) melted butter
- 4 tablespoons (60 ml) cocoa
Topping Ingredients:
- 1 cup (200 g) white sugar
- 1 cup (180 g) brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons (60 ml) cocoa
Putting it together:
To make the batter, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add milk, butter and cocoa. Pour into greased 9x13 inch (23x30 cm) pan.
Mix together the topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter. Then pour 2 cups (480 ml) boiling water over the top. Bake at 375º F (190º C) for about 35 minutes.
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Overnight Oven-Baked French Toast
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (180 g) firmly-packed brown sugar
- ½ cup (113 g) butter
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) light corn syrup
- 12 slices dried-out white bread
- 1½ cups (360 ml) 2% milk
- 5 eggs
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon (1 ml) salt
Putting it together:
In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened. Pour into the bottom of a 13x9x2 inch (30x23x5 cm) baking pan. Arrange bread on top.
Beat milk, eggs, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl. Pour over bread, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 350º F (177º C).
Remove cover from pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until set and golden brown. Serve immediately.
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Apple Oatmeal Coffee Cake
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup oats
- ½ cup oil
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup apples, peeled and chopped
- ⅓ cup nuts, chopped
Preheat oven to 350º F (177º C). Mix dry ingredients together in 2 quart batter bowl. Add remaining ingredients; mixture will be quite thick. Pur into deep dish baker (spritzed). Bake for 35 minutes.
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Banana Splitsville
Basic Caramel Software:
- 2 cups (400 g) sugar
- 1 cup (240 ml) water
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) light corn syrup
Caramel Sauce Software:
- 1 batch caramel
- 2 cups (480 g) heavy cream
Banana Brulee Software:
- 4 bananas
- Sugar for coating
Additional Splitsville Software:
Hardware:
- Small, heavy saucepan
- Clean soup spoon
- Candy thermometer (technically optional, but we suggest you use one until you get the hang of things)
- Parchment paper
- 2 sheet pans or other heatproof surface
- Aluminum foil
- Cooling rack
- Butane torch (available at most hardware stores -- darned handy)
- Safety goggles (see above)
- Plastic squirt bottle (available at most grocery stores)
Combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a small, heavy saucepan and place over high heat. As soon as the sugar has dissolved, heat your thermometer under warm tap water (to prevent thermal shock) and attach to side of pan, making sure that the bulb is completely submerged. Do not stir the mixture or agitate the pan at this stage.
When the mixture reaches 230º F (110º C), reduce the heat to medium and allow the sugar to color gradually. As the temperature approaches 300º F (149º C) the color will start to turn to amber. At this point, it's safe to swirl the pan gently to help distribute the heat evenly. As the caramel heads towards 340º F (171º C), it will reach a deep amber color.
Remove the pan from the heat and slowly stir with a metal spoon, allowing it to cool until the caramel falls from the spoon in a solid stream, like a string. When it does, it's doodad time.
Form doodads by holding the spoon 12 to 16 inches (30 to 40 cm) over the caramel and drizzling the patterns on the parchment. (Hint: allow the spoon to unload into the pan for a few seconds before attempting doodad. This will allow a narrower stream.) Quick back and forth motions or side to side movements are best. It's all in the wrist. Allow doodads to cool for 15 minutes then peel the paper off (not the other way around). Stack in an airtight container with wax paper between each piece.
After making 15 to 20 doodads, you should have sufficient caramel remaining to move on to the sauce phase. So, return the remaining caramel to medium high heat and continue cooking until you see the first sign of smoke. Immediately remove from the heat, and add the cream, all at once, at arms length. (It will boil furiously.) Once the mixture calms down, return to medium heat and boil 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool to room temperature, move to squirt bottle and refrigerate for up to a week.
To make the bananas brulee, quarter the bananas (peel on) and rub into sugar to coat thoroughly. Remove peel and place on cooling rack over several layers of foil. (Don't try this on your dining room table.) Don your safety goggles and fire up your torch. Hold the torch so that the very tip of the flame barely touches the banana, and move quickly back and forth until the sugar melts, turns brown, and bubbles. As soon as it looks like caramel, move on. You know you've got it down when a solid, glasslike sheet of gold (no graininess) has formed on the banana.
To do the split (so to speak), squirt a pattern of caramel sauce on a chilled plate, top with 4 banana pieces (Lincoln log style), top with the ice cream of your choice (we like our peachy vanilla from Churn Baby Churn), and finally, a doodad.
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Bananas Foster
- ¼ cup (½ stick) butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup banana liqueur
- 4 bananas, cut in half lengthwise, then halved
- ¼ cup dark rum
- 4 scoops vanilla ice cream
Combine the butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a flambé pan or skillet. Place the pan over low heat either on an alcohol burner or on top of the stove, and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the banana liqueur, then place the bananas in the pan. When the banana sections soften and begin to brown, carefully add the rum. Continue to cook the sauce until the rum is hot, then tip the pan slightly to ignite the rum. When the flames subside, lift the bananas out of the pan and place four pieces over each portion of ice cream. Generously spoon warm sauce over the top of the ice cream and serve immediately.
OR
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup (1.75 ounces) dark brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon banana liqueur
- 2 under ripe bananas, sliced in half lengthwise
- ¼ cup dark rum
- ½ teaspoon finely grated orange zest
Melt butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over low heat. Add brown sugar, allspice and nutmeg and stir until sugar dissolves. Add banana liqueur and bring sauce to simmer. Add bananas and cook for 1 minute on each side, carefully spooning sauce over bananas as they are cooking. Remove bananas from pan to a serving dish. Bring sauce to a simmer and carefully add the rum. If the sauce is very hot, the alcohol will flame on its own. If not, using stick flame, carefully ignite and continue cooking until flame dies out, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. If sauce is too thin, cook for 1 to 2 minutes until it is syrupy in consistency. Add orange zest and stir to combine. Immediately spoon the sauce over bananas and serve. Serve with waffles, crepes, or ice cream.
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Dr Mary's Barbequed Baby Back Ribs
- Heat oven or electric skillet to 450º F (232º C). Put olive oil on thawed baby back ribs. Then rub with garlic salt & cumin or your favorite rub.
- Place ribs in roaster or electric skillet on edge, spiraled in the pan to give greatest air exposure to the ribs; seal with aluminum foil.
- Roast on 450º F (232º C) for 12 minutes. Turn oven or skillet to 250º F (121º C) & roast for another 3-6 hours, depending on amount of ribs. The ribs are finished when the meat is falling off the bone but still juicy.
- Take out of oven & allow to cool completely. They save in the refrigerator for 2 days or freezer for several weeks. The ribs must be refrigerated at least overnight before grilling; otherwise, they will fall apart when grilling.
- On grilling day, cover with your favorite barbeque sauce. I like KC Masterpiece original or honey teriyaki or my own mixture using ketchup, a little mustard, molasses, brown sugar, chopped cooked onions & a little vinegar. Grill to caramelize at about 400º F (204º C).
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Dr Mary's Addictive Crunchy Carmel Corn
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup butter
- ½ cup white corn syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 7-8 quarts popped popcorn -- at least 3 bags of microwave popcorn
Combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in a sauce pan. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring often. Turn off the heat. Then add ½ teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon vanilla. It foams. Pour over the popcorn in a large roasting pan and stir.
Bake for 1 hour at 250º F, stirring every 15 minutes. It will be crunchy when cool.
It seems like a lot of corn, but it magically disappears!
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Dr Mary's Best Beans Ever!
from Burnita Besser
- ½ pound diced bacon
- ½ pound ground beef
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 can (28 oz) pork 'n beans
- 1 can (17 oz) lima beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- ½ cup BBQ sauce
- ½ cup ketchup
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
Cook meat and onion. Drain and transfer to a greased 2½ qt baking dish. Add all beans. Mix/combine remaining ingredients and add to rest.
Bake at 350° F for 45 minutes covered and then 15 minutes uncovered.
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7-grain Pancakes
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 t vinegar
- 2 beaten egg whites
- 1 heaping t brown sugar
- ½ t salt
- 2 c milk
- 1 heaping t soda
- 2 c flour
- 1 T melted butter
- ¼ c 7-grain hot cereal
Mix egg yolks, milk, soda, brown sugar & vinegar. Add flour, mix well. Stir in butter, fold in egg whites. Original recipe called for buttermilk in lieu of milk, I believe. Great for making artistic pancakes.
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Sand Art Brownies -- for gift giving
- ⅔ tsp salt
- ½ c plus 2 T flour
- ½ c cocoa
- ½ c flour
- ⅔ c brown sugar
- ⅔ c sugar
- ½ c chocolate chips
- ½ c white chocolate chips
- nuts, if you wish
Place ingredients in a 1 qt jar. Place the directions on the jar.
To make, mix contents of jar with:
- 1 t vanilla
- ⅓ c water
- ⅓ c oil
- 3 eggs
Pour into a greased 9x9 pan. Bake at 350° for 27-35 minutes.
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Bread -- for bread machine
- 7/16 cup tap water
- 1 cup fresh milk
- 4 cups bread flour
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1½ teaspoons dry yeast (or 2 teaspoons dry yeast for RAPID setting)
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Mary Hartwig's Lady Fingers
- ½ cup melted butter
- 1 cup flour
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup chopped, roasted pecans
- ½ cup coconut
Add sugar, salt & vanilla to the melted butter. Add nuts and coconut, then flour. Mix well. Shape small bunches into finger shapes. Place on un-greased cookie sheet, bake at 350º F for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool, toss in bag of powdered sugar to coat.
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Dr. Mary's BBQ Meatloaf Recipe
I love this recipe and my daughter, Stefi, can almost eat one of the loaves all by herself! I always think that I'll freeze one loaf and eat the other. But, somehow the second one never makes it to the freezer. This is easy and fun to make with kids.
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- ⅔ Cup rolled oats
- ¼ Cup BBQ sauce
- chopped medium onion
- salt to taste
- ½ tsp McCormick Montreal Steak flavor of Grill Mates or to taste
- 2 beaten eggs
- 1 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3 strips of cooked bacon(optional)
Mix together all but the bacon and pat into two loaf pans. I use ceramic pans and usually warm up the loaf and pan in the microwave before placing it into the oven. Then I only have to bake them for about 30 minutes. Crumble bacon over the top for the last few minutes of baking. If you don't heat up the pans, you'll have to bake longer. You can also place all of this into one pan and bake for one hour. Serve with BBQ sauce and a smile.
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Harvey Wallbanger Cake Recipe
from Robbi Royce
This easy, traditional recipe made the rounds during the 70’s, and the origin is uncertain. It takes the potent flavors of the Harvey Wallbanger cocktail and puts them into a deliciously moist cake. Look for the small single-serving bottles of the liquors if you do not keep them on hand. Instructions are also given for muffins.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
Cake:
- 1 box (about 18.75 oz) yellow cake mix
- 1 cup oil
- 4 eggs
- ¼ cup Galliano liqueur
- ¼ cup vodka
- ⅓-oz package vanilla instant pudding mix
- ¾ oz orange juice
Glaze:
- 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 tablespoon Galliano liqueur
- 1 teaspoon vodka
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a Bundt pan.
Place cake mix, oil, eggs, liqueur, vodka, pudding mix and orange juice into a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes.
Pour evenly into Bundt pan, and bake for 45 - 50 minutes.
For the glaze, mix powdered sugar, orange juice, liqueur and vodka until smooth. Drizzle over the warm cake and let cool to room temperature for glaze to set. Yield: 1 Bundt cake -- about 10-12 servings.
For Muffins:
Fill mini-muffins and/or muffin paper-lined tins ¾ full. Bake mini-muffins for 10 minutes or 20 minutes for regular muffins. Drizzle glaze over cooled muffins or sprinkle with powdered sugar.
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Good Eats Brined Roast Turkey
OK, here it is. This is the wonderful turkey recipe featured at the GeekAmI website. Enjoy!
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, also featured in Food Network Magazine
Ingredients
- 1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
- 1 cup kosher salt
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 gallon vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 1 ½ teaspoons allspice berries
- 1 ½ teaspoons chopped candied ginger
- 1 gallon heavily iced water
For the aromatics:
- 1 red apple, sliced
- ½ onion, sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup water
- 4 sprig rosemary
- 6 leaves sage
- canola oil
Directions:
Click here to see how it's done.
2 to 3 days before roasting:
- Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38º F.
- Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.
Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:
- Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
- Preheat the oven to 500º F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
- Place the bird on a sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
- Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.
- Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500º F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350º F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161º F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 ½ hours of roasting.
- Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.
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Make Ahead Rich and Creamy Hot Chocolate
Makes 10 chocolate balls, enough for ten 1-cup servings
- 1 (12-ounce) bag (2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Microwave chocolate, cream and salt in a large bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, about 2 minutes. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. Roll 3 tablespoons chilled chocolate mixture into ten 2-inch (5-cm) balls. Individually wrap balls in plastic wrap and transfer to zip-lock bag. Refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
To make 1 cup of hot chocolate, combine 1 unwrapped chocolate ball and 1 cup whole or low-fat milk in large mug. Microwave, stirring occasionally, until smooth, about 2 minutes. Enjoy!
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Starbucks Outrageous Oatmeal Cookies
I am addicted! This is THE actual recipe for the cookies you get at Starbucks. The recipe makes 24 DELICIOUS cookies.
Ingredients:
- 1½ cups old fashioned oats (not quick cooking)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup dark raisins
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt
- 6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla
- 4 tablespoons (60 ml) dark raisins, for topping
- 4 tablespoons (60 ml) golden raisins, for topping
Putting it together:
- Preheat oven to 350º F (177º C).
- Blend oats, flour raisins, cranberries, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg, cinnamon, and vanilla; beat until combined.
- Gradually add oat mixture to butter mixture; beat until combined.
- Combine raisins for topping in separate bowl and set aside.
- Drop dough by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches (5 cm) apart onto two lightly greased baking sheets.
- Place 1 mounded tsp of raisins on top of dough.
- Bake about 12-16 minutes, until cookies are golden brown, but still soft. Cool on sheets before serving.
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Butterflied, Dry Brined Roasted Turkey with Roasted Root Vegetable Panzanella
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2011
Ingredients
Turkey:
- 3½ tablespoons (50 ml) kosher salt
- 1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) rubbed sage
- 1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) dried thyme
- 1¼ teaspoons (6 ml) whole black peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) whole allspice berries
- 1 13 to 14 pound (5.9 to 6.4 kg) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed and reserved for giblet stock
Panzanella:
- 1½ pounds parsnips, peeled and cubed into ½-inch pieces
- 1½ pounds rutabaga, peeled and cubed into ½-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vegetable oil
- ½ pound (227 g) red onion, diced into ½-inch pieces
- 8 ounces (227 g) medium Brussels sprouts, shredded on the thin slicing blade of a food processor
- 8 ounces hearty sourdough or multigrain bread, cut into ½-inch cubes and staled
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup (60 ml) apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml)fresh thyme leaves
- kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Directions
- For the turkey: Four days before service, place the salt, sage, thyme, black peppercorns, and allspice into a spice grinder and pulse until the peppercorns and allspice are coarsely ground, 5 to 6 pulses. Set aside.
- Set the turkey, breast-side down, on a large cutting board with the tail closest to you. Use an electric knife or heavy-duty kitchen shears to cut up one side of the backbone. Turn the bird around and cut back down the other side of the spine. Reserve the backbone for Giblet Stock. Discard any fat pockets or excess skin found inside the turkey. Turn the turkey breast-side up and use the heel of your hands to press down on both breasts, until you hear a cracking sound and the bird has flattened slightly.
- Rub the seasoned salt on both sides of the turkey. Place the turkey on a parchment paper lined half sheet pan, breast-side up with legs running with the long side of the pan. Store, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 4 days.
- Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and leave at room temperature for 1 hour.
- For the panzanella: Place the parsnips and rutabaga in a large nonstick roasting pan, toss with vegetable oil and set aside.
- Place one rack in the middle of the oven and a second one far enough below so the roasting pan will fit. Heat the oven to 425° F.
- Place the turkey directly on the middle rack of the oven with the legs perpendicular to the metal bars of the rack. Place the roasting pan with the parsnips and rutabaga on the rack below the turkey and roast both for 30 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to 350° F. Add the red onion to the roasting vegetables and stir to combine. Continue to roast both the vegetables and the turkey until a probe thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 155° F, an additional 40 to 50 minutes.
- Remove the turkey from the oven onto a cooling rack set inside a half sheet pan and rest for 30 minutes.
- Add the Brussels sprouts, bread cubes and garlic to the roasting vegetables, stir to combine and roast for an additional 15 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the oven and immediately transfer to a serving bowl. Pour the apple cider vinegar in the warm roasting pan, stir and scrape off any browned bits from the pan. Pour the vinegar mixture over the salad, add the thyme and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Carve the turkey with an electric knife and serve with the panzanella.
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Mary's Savory Roasted Little Potatoes & Yams
Potatoes--red, yellow, purple, white--Any potato you love the best! Yams and sweet potatoes work great for this recipe, too!
Preheat oven or roaster to 450º F.
Either purchase little potatoes or cut your potatoes into 1-2 inch chunks. Coat them with olive oil and arrange on a cooking sheet or roaster pan. They should not touch each other. Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt.
Put in the oven or roaster for 10 to 15 minutes at 450º F.
Turn the temp down to 300º F, and check the potatoes in 30 minutes. They will probably be done or near done. They should be a little crispy on the outside, soft and creamy on the inside and be perfectly salted. It's a really pretty dish if you mix many different colors of roots to this dish. I also like to put wedges of onions in as well. Lightly coat the onions with the olive and lightly salt them before baking.
You can serve them with gravy, but they are warm and wonderful all by themselves! MMmmmmm
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Aunt Burnita's Almond Butter Caramel
- 1 c butter
- 1 1/3 c sugar
- 1 T light corn syrup
- 3 T water
- 1 c coarsely-chopped, blanched almonds, toasted
- 4 - 4 1/2 ounce bars milk chocolate, melted (Hershey bars)
- 1 c finely-chopped almonds, toasted (I buy blanched, slivered almonds)
Melt butter in large saucepan. Add sugar, corn syrup & water. Cook, stirring occasionally, to hard crunch stage (300º F). Quickly stir in coarsely-chopped nuts. Spread in lightly greased pan (I use a jelly roll pan). Cool thoroughly. Turn out on waxed paper. Spread top with half of chocolate. Sprinkle with half of finely-chopped nuts. Let set. Turn over on waxed paper. Spread with rest of chocolate & sprinkle with rest of nuts. Chill to firm if necessary. Don't undercook or it will be sticky.
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Grandma Merz' Apple Pie
- 1 qt or more apples, sliced
- 1/2 c sugar
- cinnamon to taste
- 1/2 c sugar
- 2 rounded T flour
- 1/2 c cream, evaporated milk or half & half
Place sliced apples in unbaked pie crust. Sprinkle over top 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, flour and cream until smooth. Pour over top of apples. Bake at 400º F for 45 to 50 minutes. Craig grew up on this pie and didn't know apple pies could have crusts on top until he left home! This is the best!
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Stovetop Rice Recipe by Alton Brown
- 3 cups water
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups long-grain rice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Pour the water into an electric kettle. Place the butter into a medium saucepan and set over high heat. Gently jiggle until the bubbling ceases and the butter just begins to brown. Flip on the electric kettle. Add the rice and salt to the saucepan and stir constantly until the kettle clicks off or the rice begins to brown, whichever comes first. Carefully add the water to the pan, stir and cover with a lid. Decrease the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, let stand for 5 minutes, and uncover. Fluff with a fork and serve.
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