Merry Christmas!

Somehow, word got out that John and I like to cook. It looks like there will be much to blog about in 2010. Keep an eye out for John's adventures with his new pasta maker. I will be keeping myself busy with the newest additions to my cookbook library (America's Test Kitchen! Ina Garten!! Julia Child!!!).

All this, and we haven't even opened the gifts from my family yet. I hope next year Santa gets us a bigger kitchen...

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas!!

Cranberry Orange Mini-Loaves

Still looking for some last-minute holiday gifts? Make your friends and family some of this cranberry bread. Everyone knows that carbs make the best gifts. Unless your friends are on the Atkins diet, in which case, they shouldn't be your friends anyways.

In a Sandra Lee-esque moment, I bought a bunch of Christmas-themed mini loaf pans for $1 each (no, I did not create a matching tablescape). If you live near a Christmas Tree Shop, you might be able to find some yourself. I had made a regular sized loaf of cranberry bread a few weeks ago just to test drive the recipe. I made it extra festive and tasty this time around by adding more cranberries and sprinkling the tops of the loaves with turbinado sugar before baking. This recipe makes one regular sized loaf, or four mini loaves.

Cranberry Orange Bread
adapted from How to Cook Everything


Ingredients:
4 Tbsp. cold butter, plus more for greasing the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp. orange zest
1 egg
1 1/2 cups cranberries, washed, dried, and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease loaf pan(s).

2. Stir together the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into bits, then use a fork or 2 knives to cut it into the dry ingredients until there are no pieces bigger than a small pea (you can use a food processor for this step, but not for the remaining steps).

3. Beat together orange juice, zest, and egg. Pour into dry ingredients, mixing just enough to moisten; do not beat, and do not mix until the batter is smooth.

4. Fold in the cranberries and pecan, then spoon the batter into loaf pan(s). Sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake until bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For one large loaf pan, bake about an hour. For mini loaves, bake about 40 minutes. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.

Download a printable recipe here.

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Slow-Cooker Indian Butter Chicken

I was supposed to go to my company's holiday party on Saturday night but it was canceled due to a huge snow storm. When I found out the party was off, I was actually pretty excited because all I really wanted to do this weekend was stay in, cook lots of delicious things, and re-watch Season 5 of Lost. Check out all the snow we got here at the Italian restaurant:

In the past, I haven't had much luck with Indian food or with cooking anything in the slow-cooker. However, my luck changed for the better with this curry. This was easy to do, and so warm and comforting on a blustery, snowy weekend. I know that curry is not really the most photogenic food, but I promise if you like Indian food, you'll love this recipe. John, while scarfing this down, said, "I think Indian food has now replaced Mexican food as my second-favorite type of cusine" (Italian is first, if you hadn't figured that out). Despite all of the spices in this dish, it wasn't hot at all, but you could turn up the heat by using a hot curry paste (I used mild) or adding the optional cayenne pepper.

The ingredient list might seem a little intimidating if you've never cooked Indian food before. However, I was able to find everything at Wegman's (they have a well-stocked International Foods section). One thing to note is that cardamom is really expensive (Wikipedia says it's the third most expensive spice in the world, after saffron and vanilla). I found a giant bag of cardamom pods at a local Indian grocery store for a much better price than what Wegman's was selling it for. Um, if anyone knows what to do with a surplus of cardamom pods, please let me know.

We served this over white basmati rice, with some naan bread and samosas on the side (both found frozen at the Indian grocery... bonus!).

Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

recipe adapted from Meal Planning 101

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

15 green cardamom pods (strung together with a needle and thread or wrapped in cheesecloth: see photo below)

2 tsp. curry powder

1 Tbsp. curry paste

1 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional, if you like it hot)

2 tsp. tandoori paste

1 tsp. garam masala

1 can coconut milk

1 can tomato paste

1 cup plain yogurt

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, brown onions, garlic, and chicken in oil over medium heat. Cook just until onions are soft and the chicken is no longer pink. Pour this into your slow cooker, then add the remaining ingredients (except for the yogurt).

2. Mix gently and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours. About a half hour before serving, remove your cardomom pods and stir in the yogurt. Season with salt, if needed. Let it cook for the remaining half hour, then serve over rice.

Makes about 6 servings

Download a printable recipe.
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The Best Chicken Parmesan in the World

Yep, I'll say it, it's the best. I challenge anyone to make a better chicken parm.  I've been perfecting this recipe for several years now and I think I've got it down pretty good.  The key to the recipe, besides my homemade tomato sauce, is the breading to chicken ratio.  I believe Bec has mentioned that before on the blog, well this is the recipe that started it all. Isn't all cooking about ratios anyway?  A lot of Italian restaurants pound the crap out of the chicken breast so it's so thin that it's impossible to NOT over cook.  I'd rather have a nice tender piece of meat that tastes delicious, than a burnt piece of crusty chicken.  If you're like me, then this recipe is for you.

So once again, I'm including two recipes in one, the chicken parm of course, and my tomato sauce recipe.  Now, let me start by saying I rarely measure anything in the kitchen, unless on the off chance I'm baking or following some new recipe.  Like I said, its all about the ratios.  Also, use good ingredients, I can't stress this enough.  Use the good fresh mozzarella, not that pre shedded in a bag crap.  Also, you should use imported DOP certified San Marzano tomatoes.  The difference between these and anything else is night and day. 



Chicken Parm

Ingredients
Chicken breasts, cut into strips (one breast yields 3-4 strips)
Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
Locatelli (Pecorino Romano) cheese, grated
Eggs
Butermilk or heavy cream
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Vegetable Oil (optional)
Tomato sauce (recipe follows)
Mozzarella cheese (fresh, cut into thin pieces)
Basil (fresh or dried)

Directions

Cut the chicken breasts into strips and trim off any fat and that annoying hard white cartilage thing that’s in the breasts sometimes. On a big plate or bowl, break 2-3 eggs and scramble them a little bit and add a few tablespoons of buttermilk. In another big plate or bowl, spread out a good amount (1 1/2 cups) of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs. On the same plate, mix in half that amount (3/4 cup) of grated Locatelli. Mix the cheese and bread crumbs thoroughly.

Now dip the chicken strips one at a time in the breadcrumb mix, then in the egg, then another dip in the breadcrumbs. Make sure to get a good coating of the breadcrumbs the second time. When they are all coated, they’re ready for the oil. Now most of the time I bread the chicken the night before and keep them in the fridge, I also find that they fry more evenly when I keep them chilled at least for an hour or so. But you can fry them right away, just the same.

In a nice big frying pan, coat the bottom of the pan with about a quarter inch of oil (I use about half extra virgin and half vegetable) and get it hot . Now fry the strips for about 3 minutes on each side until they get a nice golden crust.  Place on a plate with a couple paper towels to sop up the excess oil.  Note:  You can stop here and enjoy these as some of the most delicious chicken tenders you've ever had.

In a 13 x 9 pyrex, or similar size oven safe pan, spoon in enough tomato sauce to coat the bottom, and lay in the strips to form a nice layer. Add a bit of tomato sauce over the chicken, not covering them completely. I like some crispy bits without the tomato sauce covering every bite.  Add the pieces of mozzarella over the chicken, and top off with a little dusting of Locatelli.

Bake in the oven until the cheese melts throughout and just starts to brown. (350 degrees for 25-30 minutes) Finish browning the cheese under the broiler, but be careful not to burn the cheese!

When its still hot, sprinkle with basil (fresh if you have it) and serve.

John's Tomato Sauce

Ingredients
2 28oz. cans DOP Certified San Marzano peeled tomatoes (I like Cento brand)
extra virgin olive oil
small onion, diced fine
3 cloves of garlic, minced
½ cup good red wine (make sure its a good wine you plan on drinking)
kosher salt
Locatelli (Pecorino Romano) cheese
Fresh Basil

Note: The important thing about this sauce is the tomatoes. The DOP San Marzano’s are every bit worth the hefty price tag. I’ve tried a lot of different brands, and these are the hands down winner. Once you try them, you won’t use anything else. (these below are Organic, I bought a ton of them because they were on sale at Whole Foods for $3.29 / can.)

Directions
Coat the bottom of your sauce pot with a good amount of extra virgin olive oil. Turn the flame to a medium simmer. Add in a half cup of finely chopped onions and cook until they are just translucent (about 8 minutes), then add in the garlic. (Now I have been known to cheat here when I don’t have fresh garlic or an onion on hand, I get nearly the same results with a tablespoon or so of garlic powder and just a little bit less of onion powder. After all, this sauce is all about these tomatoes). You only want to cook the garlic for a minute or two, do not burn it!

Next add the two cans of tomatoes. Fill each can halfway with water and pour back into the sauce, making sure to get all the bits from the can into the sauce. Add the wine now too, as well as a couple heavy pinches of salt.  Stir well and cover for 15 minutes or so to soften the tomatoes, then turn down the flame to a low simmer and uncover. Since the tomatoes are whole, you need to get a potato masher and start crushing the tomatoes.  I usually do this for a couple minutes every so often as the sauce cooks.  Eventually you’ll have the sauce to whatever level of chunkiness you prefer. (This sauce can take anywhere from a half hour to 2 or more hours to cook, its really up to you. The longer you cook it, the thicker its going to get because all that water is evaporating.) When the sauce is how you like it, add in a half cup of grated Locatelli, add more or less, depending how cheesy you like.  Check the seasoning, you may want to add a bit more salt or cheese, or even a splash or two of wine.

Stir it in well for a few minutes, then add in a tablespoon or 2 of fresh or dried basil and serve.

Download a printable copy of the tomato sauce recipe here!

Download a printable copy of the the chicken parm recipe here!
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Vegetarian Bolognese with Whole Wheat Penne

Lately I've been having a difficult time zipping up pants that fit just fine last winter. I have no idea what might have caused this unfortunate predicament, but it seemed like a good time to order a subscription to Cooking Light. I found this recipe in my first issue, under the heading "Savoring Umami." After cooking this dish, I still don't really know or care what umami is. The important thing is that I had delicious (and healthy!) leftovers for lunch this week.

I liked this recipe, and more importantly, John liked this recipe. While John might never voluntarily cook anything without meat in it (except maybe apple pie), he's been quite receptive to most of the vegetarian recipes I've thrown his way. This has lots of finely chopped mushrooms in it, which give the sauce a meaty texture. The sauce gains plenty of flavor from all of the vegetables and a splash of red wine. I didn't make too many adjustments to the recipe, but I did add some garlic... it just seemed like an obvious addition to the list of ingredients. I used a dried wild mushroom blend in place of the porcinis, and ground them up in a mini food processor since I don't own the spice grinder that they suggest using.

If you like this recipe, stay tuned... come January 1, I'll be blogging a whole week's worth of Cooking Light recipes in honor of America's favorite New Year's resolution.


Vegetarian Bolognese with Whole Wheat Penne
Adapted from Cooking Light

1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms (about 1/4 ounce)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 (8-ounce) package cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (28-ounce) can organic crushed tomatoes with basil, undrained
1 (2-inch) piece Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind
16 ounces uncooked whole-wheat penne (tube-shaped pasta)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Place dried mushrooms in a spice or coffee grinder; process until finely ground.

2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, carrot, celery, and mushrooms; sauté 10 minutes. Add wine; simmer 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Add 1/4 cup warm water and next 4 ingredients (through cheese rind) to onion mixture. Stir in ground porcini. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 40 minutes. Keep warm. Remove rind; discard.

3. Cook pasta according to package directions. Toss with sauce and serve, topping with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Download a printable version.
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Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

As mentioned in my previous post, I have a fridge full of cranberries right now. Being from Cape Cod,  I have a special love for the cranberry. When I was little, my parents sometimes took my sister and I to "Cranberry World." It was basically just a museum with dioramas of cranberry bogs and free juice samples. I know it sounds kind of lame, but it was clearly successful in its attempt to turn small children into ravenous consumers of the cranberry (it was owned by Ocean Spray, after all).

Anyways, I felt like making some muffins with my excess cranberries. I'd seen recipes for pumpkin cranberry muffins, but none were quite what I wanted, so I adapted this one to suit the muffin-vision dancing in my head. I swapped vanilla yogurt for half of the oil, and used my lovely fresh cranberries instead of the dried ones. I didn't have any of the ground ginger that it called for, so I left it out. I didn't feel like putting the pecans in either, but I might use them next time. And finally, for a sweet crunch, I sprinkled the tops of the muffins with some turbinado sugar before baking. These came out exactly like I wanted them to: soft and moist with tons of tangy cranberries.

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins
Adapted from Bettycrocker.com

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
2 eggs
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cranberries
turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Stir in pumpkin, oil, yogurt, and eggs until just moistened. Fold in cranberries. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, then sprinkle each with some turbinado sugar.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Remove muffins from pan to cooling rack. Serve warm.

Makes 12 muffins.

Download a printable recipe.

Sauteed Pork Loin Chops with Cranberry Orange Sauce

I got really excited when I saw fresh cranberries at Trader Joe's, so I bought three bags (you can freeze cranberries if you don't want to use them right away). I love making baked goods with cranberries, but thought I should try some savory dishes as well. This dish turned out really nicely... I loved the sweet-tart sauce with the mild pork.  I'm glad I bought so many cranberries... we'll make this one again! We served this with our delicious potato latkes and some roasted asparagus.

John brined the pork chops first. This is an optional step, but it's easy to do and will ensure juicy pork. To brine, dissolve 3 tablespoons of table salt and 3 tablespoons of sugar in 2 quarts of water. Submerge the meat completely in the brine, then cover and refrigerate for a half hour. Remove the meat from the brine, pat it dry with paper towels, and proceed with the recipe.


Sauteed Pork Loin Chops with Cranberry Orange Sauce
from Cook's Illustrated: The Best Light Recipe

Ingredients:

For the pork:
4 boneless loin chops, 3/4 inch thick, brined if desired
salt and ground black pepper
1 Tbs. vegetable oil

For the sauce:
1 medium shallot, minced
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 cup fresh or frozen thawed cranberries
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme
1 tsp. lemon juice

Directions:
Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Lay the chops in the skillet and cook until light brown, about 3 minutes. Flip the chops over, reduce the heat to medium, and continue to cook until the centers of the chops register 135 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 5 to 10 minutes.

Transfer the chops to a plate, cover with foil, and let them rest until the centers reach an internal temperature of 145 to 150 degrees (5 to 10 minutes).

While the pork chops rest, add the shallot and 1/4 tsp. salt to the oil left in the skillet, return to medium low heat, and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stire in the orange juice, scraping up the browned bits. Stir in the cranberries, broth, and sugar, bring to a simmer, and cook until the mixture measures 1 cup, about 8 minutes.

Pour any accumulated pork juices into the simmering sauce. Off the heat, stir in the thyme and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the sauce over the pork before serving.

Download a printable recipe.
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Potato Latkes

Happy Chanukkah! Or however you spell it... I don't really know since I'm only half Jewish. And it's my dad that's Jewish, so it doesn't really even count (the Jewish religion tends to be passed down by the mother). My family did celebrate Chanukkah, so the rituals aren't completely foreign to me. The food, however, was never a part of my childhood since I didn't have a living Jewish grandma to cook these sorts of things. But it's never too late to learn to be a good half-Jew, so when I spotted these latkes over at Smitten Kitchen, I thought I'd cook some up for dinner tonight (check out the Smitten Kitchen post; the photos are lovely).

If you have a food processor, these are a snap to throw together. If you don't, now you know what to ask for for Christmas. Or Chanukkah. You just grate your onion and potato, mix that with some egg and flour, and then fry 'em up. We thought they benefited from a sprinkling of salt just after frying. John, being Italian and all, thought he'd sprinkle a few with grated Parmesan cheese (delicious, by the way). We just ate ours plain, but you can serve them with sour cream or applesauce.


Potato Latkes
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 lb baking potatoes, peeled
1 small onion, peeled
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp. salt plus more for sprinkling
1/4 tsp. pepper
vegetable oil, for frying

Directions:
Grate potato and onion. Transfer to a colander or wrap in cheesecloth and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Let stand for two minutes, then squeeze it again.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, egg, salt, and pepper. Stir the potatoes and onions into the mixure until all pieces are evenly coated.

In a medium skillet (cast iron is great for this), heat 2 Tbs. of vegetable oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Drop spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the skillet (you can make them any size, mine were about 3 inches across), and flatten them with the back of the spoon. Cook until the edges are golden, about 1 1/2 minutes; flip and cook the other side until golden, about a minute longer. Set on plate covered with paper towels, and sprinkle with salt, if desired. Repeat with the remaining mixture, adding more oil to the skillet as needed. Keep warm in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.

Makes about 15 small latkes.

Download printable recipe.

Cookie Dough Truffles

Who even needs to bake cookies when you can just take chocolate chip cookie dough and dip it in chocolate?  And there are no eggs in the dough, so you can eat as much as you want without worry (I say this as if the presence of raw eggs has ever stopped me from stuffing my face with gobs of cookie dough). I made these for my friends' holiday cookie swap later today, so I think they'll be a nice variation from the peanut butter blossoms that I usually make.

These are easy to do, if a little time-consuming. I refrigerated my dough overnight, which made it much easier to work with the next day (it was too sticky right after making it). I used my fondue pot to melt the chocolate, which worked out nicely since I don't own the double-boiler that the recipe calls for. Trader Joe's was out of their mega-bars of milk chocolate, so I coated these in dark chocolate. I also toasted my pecans to give them a little bit of extra flavor.

Cookie Dough Truffles
Recipe adapted from foodnetwork.com 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 1/2 lbs. chocolate, melted

Directions:
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add vanilla. Gradually beat in flour and add milk. Add chocolate morsels and pecans, mixing well. Chill dough at least 2 hours.

Shape chilled dough into 1-inch balls, placing them on waxed paper or a silicone baking mat. If the dough is sticky, dip your fingers in a little bit of flour.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler (or fondue pot!). Using 2 forks, dip the cookie balls into the chocolate to cover. Place on waxed paper and chill to set, at least one hour.

This makes about 5 dozen truffles, so make sure you clear out some room in your fridge!

Download printable recipe.

Smoky Turkey Shepherd's Pie

Yes, I'm still on a comfort food kick. Don't expect it to stop anytime soon, especially since we got our first snow on Saturday!

When I was visiting my parents last weekend, we went to an Irish pub for dinner one night. I had a shepherd's pie, and wondered why I had never made one before (I mean, it has a mashed potato crust!). I remembered seeing a recipe for a turkey shepherd's pie in my Rachel Ray 365: No Repeats cookbook and decided I'd give it a try this weekend. I should say, I am not a huge fan of Rachel's (the cookbook was a gift!). It's not just because I find her personality kind of annoying, but also because the "30 minute meals" thing is a big fat lie. Her recipes have a ton of ingredients (that need to be chopped), and I usually end up using a lot of pots, pans, bowls, and utensils to get one of her meals together so it takes forever to clean up. Her recipes are not as simple and fast as something that claims to be a "30 minute meal" should be. That said, I've enjoyed the end result of each one of her recipes that I've tried. We do have a "30 minutes or less" tag on this blog, and I really don't think I can put that tag on this particular entry since it took me almost an hour to make this dish.

This is not a traditional shepherd's pie by any means. It has a lot more veggies than any other shepherd's pie I've eaten, and it gets its smokiness from bacon, paprika, and cumin. I mostly followed the recipe, except I ignored the part that told me to cook the bacon in 2 Tbs. of olive oil. I don't know what Rachel is smoking over there in the Food Network kitchens, but I'm pretty sure bacon does not require additional cooking fat, so I left it out.  If I make this again, I would use a little less chicken broth or else let the sauce thicken a little more on the stove top because it was more liquid-y than I would have liked. On the whole, we really enjoyed it, and it tasted great the next day too.

Smoky Turkey Shepherd's Pie
By Rachel Ray. View the original at FoodNetwork.com.

Ingredients:
3 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and cubed
Coarse salt
1/4 pound smoky bacon or turkey bacon, chopped
1 1/3 pound ground turkey breast
1 tablespoon smoked paprika, available in small cans on spice aisle of market
(You may substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons each sweet paprika and cumin combined)
Coarse black pepper
2 tablespoons, 5 or 6 sprigs, fresh thyme leaves
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
3 ribs celery from the heart, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cups frozen peas
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream, divided
3 tablespoons butter
1 large egg, beaten
10 to 12 blades fresh chives, chopped or snipped

Directions:
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, salt it, and cook the potatoes until tender, 12 to 15 minutes.

Heat a deep, large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon and brown it up, drain off most of the fat, then add ground turkey to the pan and break it up. Season the turkey with smoked paprika, salt and pepper and thyme. When turkey browns up, add: onions, carrots, celery. Generously season the veggies with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, then add red pepper and peas cook another 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook flour 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and combine. Add 1/2 cup of sour cream and combine. Simmer mixture over low heat.

Preheat your broiler to high.

When potatoes are tender, add a ladle of cooking water to the egg. Drain potatoes and return to the warm pot to dry them out a little. Add remaining 1/2 cup sour cream, butter, half of the chives, and salt and pepper. Smash and mash the potatoes, mashing in the beaten, tempered egg. If the potatoes are too tight, mix in a splash of milk.

Pour turkey mixture into a medium casserole dish. Top turkey with an even layer of smashed potatoes and place casserole 5 inches from hot broiler. Broil the potatoes until golden at edges and remove the casserole from the oven. Garnish the casserole with the remaining chives and a sprinkle of smoked paprika.

Download printable recipe.
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Turkey Meatloaf

It's December (sigh). Even if it's not officially winter yet, the cold mornings make me crave comfort food, so I decided to whip up this meatloaf for dinner. I have a lot of bad memories of meatloaf from my childhood (thanks, Dad!), but have grown to really love it as an adult. In college, my friends and I used to get together for "loaf night" (complete with biscuits and mashed potatoes) when we wanted some home-cooked food. This recipe isn't too different from what we used to make. The key is pouring tomato soup over the meatloaf before baking it, which keeps it really moist and flavorful. It might look a little weird, but just go with it.

Meatloaf is one of those things that you generally throw together with a pinch of this and a handful of that. I've never measured out my meatloaf ingredients before (until today, of course), so feel free to play with the recipe. I've made this with beef many times with similarly good results. One technique I do recommend following is grating, rather than chopping, your onions. This way you get the onion-y flavor without ever biting into a big chunk.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I usually use mozzarella, but tonight's loaf had white cheddar)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbs. milk
1 Tbs. ketchup
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
salt and pepper
1 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1 can condensed tomato soup, mixed with 1 can water

Directions:
1.  Cut onion into 4 quarters. Grate 3 of them, and slice the remaining quarter into thin strips.

2. In a large bowl, add turkey, grated onion, garlic, cheese, egg, milk, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, basil, oregano, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add a handful of breadcrumbs and then dig in and mix it together (yes, with your hands). Add handfuls of breadcrumbs as needed until your loaf holds together but is still quite moist. You may not use the full cup of breadcrumbs. Hint: measure the breadcrumbs out into a bowl first. You don't want to be grabbing the container with meaty hands.

3. In a 13x9 inch pan, form the mixture into a loaf (it will be roughly 6 inches long, 4 inches wide, and 2 inches high). Pour the tomato soup over the top and then sprinkle your loafy creation with the sliced onions.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Let rest for about 5 minutes after removing from the oven, then slice and serve, spooning some tomato sauce over each slice.

Makes about 4 servings

Download printable recipe
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Christmas Cookie Madness

You can't even fathom the amount of cookies my mom and I baked yesterday. I was visiting my parents for the weekend, and mom enlisted my help in making cookies to give away as Christmas gifts. I think my mom just wanted to practice being an amazing cookie-baking grandma for my niece, Laura, who was born the morning after our baking fiesta. :)

Just how many cookies did we make? Well, mom has a double oven, which really increased our cookie-producing power. After about 7 hours and 15 sticks of butter (top that, Paula Deen!), we'd created eight different kinds of cookies.

For your Christmas cookie-making enjoyment, six of those recipes are included in this post:

    * Peanut Butter Blossoms
    * Cream Cheese Cookies
    * Chocolate Mint Cookies
    * Bethal Bars
    * Holiday Thumbprint Cookies
    * Caramel-Filled Chocolate Cookies

First up, Peanut Butter Blossoms (from hersheys.com). These are my favorite cookies of all time. It's very simple: they are peanut butter cookies. With a Hershey's kiss in them. No holiday cookie plate is complete without them. What else do you need to know?

Ingredients:
48 Hershey's Kisses
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Download printable recipe.

My mom had a great recipe for these Cream Cheese Cookies. They're basically a sugar cookie, but the cream cheese gives them a hint of tanginess. They are light, flaky little cookies that make a great canvas for decorating any way you see fit... our batch was topped with a buttercream frosting and sprinkles.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


Directions:
1.Cream butter and gradually add sugar and cream cheese. Beat in the egg yolk, vanilla. Gradually beat in the flour.

2. Make cookies with cookie press, or chill dough and roll out to use with cookie cutters.

3. Bake for 8-9 minutes at 375°F.

Makes 3-4 dozen cookies

Download printable recipe.

I tend to prefer cookies that have chocolate in them in some shape or form. I already made cookies with my favorite chocolate companion: peanut butter. So, I thought I'd go for my second favorite flavor combination with these Chocolate Mint Cookies (from Allrecipes.com). These rich, fudgy cookies are topped with an Andes mint immediately after coming out of the oven. Once the candy melts, you spread it around to make a minty frosting. Festive sprinkles encouraged.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
36 chocolate mint wafer candies (Andes)

Directions:
1. In a large pan over low heat, cook butter, sugar and water until butter is melted. Add chocolate chips and stir until partially melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted. Pour into a large bowl and let stand 10 minutes to cool off slightly. 

2. At high speed, beat in eggs, one at a time into chocolate mixture. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients, beating until blended. Chill dough about 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

4. Roll dough into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake 8-10 minutes. While cookies are baking unwrap mints and divide each in half. When cookies are brought out of the oven, put 1/2 mint on top of each cookie. Let the mint sit for up to 5 minutes until melted, then spread the mint on top of the cookie. Eat and enjoy!

Makes a lot of frickin' cookies. At least 5 dozen... I stopped after 4 dozen and froze the rest of the dough.

Download printable recipe.

Bethal Bars are the next creation. I have no idea where the name comes from, but I can tell you that they are pretty much just like a Magic Cookie Bar, but with the addition of butterscotch chips. Yum. The coolest thing about these is that you don't even need a mixing bowl.... you assemble the whole thing in a baking pan (which is handy when you're making seven other kinds of cookies and have already used up every bowl in your kitchen).

Ingredients:
1/4 lb. of butter
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup shredded coconut
6 oz. chocolate chips
6 oz. butterscotch chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup chopped nuts (we used walnuts)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a 13x9 inch pan (you can do this in the oven, since it's on anyways). Add the graham cracker crumbs and distribute evenly across bottom of pan. Sprinkle on the coconut, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips. Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the top, then sprinkle on the nuts. Bake for 30 minutes; cool before cutting.

Makes about 25 bars.

Download printable recipe.

These Holiday Thumbprints were an elegant addition to the cookie spread.  The dough is coated in crushed pecans, and then the thumbprint hollows are filled with jam. We used raspberry jam for the filling, but use your favorite flavor (ok, maybe not grape..).

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs, separated
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. water
1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans
3 Tbs. jam of your choosing

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Combine butter, sugar, and egg yolks until light and fluffy. Add flour and beat at low speed until a soft dough forms.

3. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites and water until foamy.

4. Form dough into 1-inch balls and dip into egg whites, then roll in pecans. Place each ball 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Indent the top of each with your thumb.

5. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool for a minute, then indent again (with the back of a spoon this time-they're hot!). Spoon 1/4 tsp. of jam into each cookie, and cool on wire racks. Do not stack these cookies!


Makes about 3 dozen.

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The masterpieces of our cookie adventure were these Caramel-filled Chocolate Cookies (from Allrecipes.com). That name seemed much too simple and plain for these little treasures, and I now refer to them as "Million Dollar Cookies." There is just layer after layer of amazing-ness here. You have a decadent chocolate cookie with caramel filling. Topped with crushed pecans! Drizzled with white chocolate! Bliss.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
17 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans, divided
1 (13 ounce) package Rolo candies
4 (1 ounce) squares white chocolate, melted


Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, 1 cup sugar and brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa and baking soda; gradually add to the creamed mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in 1/2 cup pecans.

2. Shape a tablespoonful of dough around each candy, forming a ball. In a small bowl, combine the remaining sugar and pecans; dip each cookie halfway. Place nut side up 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets.

3. Bake at 375 degrees F for 7-10 minutes or until tops are slightly cracked. Cool for 3 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle with melted white chocolate.

Makes about 3 dozen.

Download printable recipe. 
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