You make it!
Today, I was to finish a school assignment and review the business books. But, procrastination and a quick check of Twitter got the best of me. Bring on the craving for caramels! 30 minutes later, a batch of Fleur de Sel caramels is ready.
MMMMM.
Now off to make dinner and perhaps a cheesecake!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Dreaming of Summer
The long, cold winter has left me dreaming of those warm summer days and cool (but much warmer than now) fall nights. Most of all, I recall our Thanksgiving turkey spit.
I recently shared my herbed turkey brine recipe with a gentleman promoting East coast sage products at the CGTA.
Here are a few pics of the finished turkeys.
My mouth is watering! Unfortunately, spit turkeys will have to wait for warmer days.
I recently shared my herbed turkey brine recipe with a gentleman promoting East coast sage products at the CGTA.
Here are a few pics of the finished turkeys.
My mouth is watering! Unfortunately, spit turkeys will have to wait for warmer days.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Brie with Caramelized onion, Cranberry & Pecan
Costco had Brie on sale before Christmas. I, of course, picked one up and asked hubby to pick up another when he was in. Hubby came home with 2. So what does one do with 3 huge rounds of Brie?
Tonight, I decided to make a baked Brie. To snazzy it up, I covered the base dough with cranberry scotch bonnet jelly then added caramelized onions, pecans and cranberries.
Topped this mixture with thick wedges of Brie and then a layer of puff pastry. As I used a wider sheet for the base layer, I cut slashes in the dough and then layered it across for a criss-cross effect (use an egg wash to get the dough to stick).
Bake this at 350-375 degrees for about 25 minutes or until top starts to turn golden. If it look done, it is.
Make sure to let it set for a few minutes or your cheese will all flow out when cut. (I was hungry so I rushed!)
Off to enjoy leftovers and a quiet evening with the family.
Tonight, I decided to make a baked Brie. To snazzy it up, I covered the base dough with cranberry scotch bonnet jelly then added caramelized onions, pecans and cranberries.
Bake this at 350-375 degrees for about 25 minutes or until top starts to turn golden. If it look done, it is.
Off to enjoy leftovers and a quiet evening with the family.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
The Leftover Experiment
What does one do with leftover stuffing, turkey, veggies and more?
The first post-Christmas dinner meals consisted of pressed turkey sandwiches: multigrain bread, a thin layer of stuffing, turkey and Hot Mamas Cranberry jelly (made with scotch bonnet peppers) then grilled to perfection on the panini press. The press itself is a classic! Waffle on one side, flat iron on the other. No newfangled machine here as it just wouldn't be the same.
But, one tires of turkey sandwiches. So tonight, we decided on something different. Tonight's menu consists of Turkey Pot Pie with a twist.
Start by checking out the leftovers. Plain boiled or steamed veggies such as broccoli and carrots work best. Add in some potatoe chunks if you haven't already used them for hashbrowns. (multi-coloured red, yellow, blue fingerling potatoes with shallots shown below ready for cooking into hash browns.)
Since I had used all my cooked potatoes, I quickly diced a few and boiled them in some chicken broth.
While that was cooking, I chopped up 2 large onions and 3 stalks of celery then sauteed same with just under a 1/2 cup of butter until soft. Then, add about 1/2 cup flour or enough to turn everything into a thick paste. Pour in the chicken broth used to cook the potatoes. (You may need to add more water or broth - I used about 6 cups). Then add a tsp of pepper, thyme, savory, sage and a tblsp of parsley. You can add more or less to your taste or change up the seasonings. You can also add about a 1/4 cup of whipping cream at this point (or leave it out if milk is an issue). Once the sauce had thickened, I added a medium ziploc bag full or carrots and broccoli, the potatoe cubes and a handful of peas plus lots of chopped up turkey (about 2 cups). Note that my measurements are estimates as I cook by touch and seldom measure unless required.
Now, as a twist, I lined my 9 x 13 glass casserole dish with a thin layer of leftover potato stuffing (bread, onions & potatoe, sage, salt, pepper, butter and turkey drippings). I have never tried this before but I had a lot of stuffing and didn't feel like making extra pie crust from scratch today.
Pour the sauce/veggie/turkey mix into the dish. Then, cover the dish with pastry. Tonight I used a Robin Hood pie crust. The Pillsbury crust is also ok for a ready made crust.
Bake at 350 until the crust is cooked.
The pot pie with stuffing base was delicious!
The first post-Christmas dinner meals consisted of pressed turkey sandwiches: multigrain bread, a thin layer of stuffing, turkey and Hot Mamas Cranberry jelly (made with scotch bonnet peppers) then grilled to perfection on the panini press. The press itself is a classic! Waffle on one side, flat iron on the other. No newfangled machine here as it just wouldn't be the same.
But, one tires of turkey sandwiches. So tonight, we decided on something different. Tonight's menu consists of Turkey Pot Pie with a twist.
Start by checking out the leftovers. Plain boiled or steamed veggies such as broccoli and carrots work best. Add in some potatoe chunks if you haven't already used them for hashbrowns. (multi-coloured red, yellow, blue fingerling potatoes with shallots shown below ready for cooking into hash browns.)
Since I had used all my cooked potatoes, I quickly diced a few and boiled them in some chicken broth.
While that was cooking, I chopped up 2 large onions and 3 stalks of celery then sauteed same with just under a 1/2 cup of butter until soft. Then, add about 1/2 cup flour or enough to turn everything into a thick paste. Pour in the chicken broth used to cook the potatoes. (You may need to add more water or broth - I used about 6 cups). Then add a tsp of pepper, thyme, savory, sage and a tblsp of parsley. You can add more or less to your taste or change up the seasonings. You can also add about a 1/4 cup of whipping cream at this point (or leave it out if milk is an issue). Once the sauce had thickened, I added a medium ziploc bag full or carrots and broccoli, the potatoe cubes and a handful of peas plus lots of chopped up turkey (about 2 cups). Note that my measurements are estimates as I cook by touch and seldom measure unless required.
Now, as a twist, I lined my 9 x 13 glass casserole dish with a thin layer of leftover potato stuffing (bread, onions & potatoe, sage, salt, pepper, butter and turkey drippings). I have never tried this before but I had a lot of stuffing and didn't feel like making extra pie crust from scratch today.
Pour the sauce/veggie/turkey mix into the dish. Then, cover the dish with pastry. Tonight I used a Robin Hood pie crust. The Pillsbury crust is also ok for a ready made crust.
Bake at 350 until the crust is cooked.
The pot pie with stuffing base was delicious!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Ooey gooey or hard and sticky?
This week is all about caramels!
First off, many people insist you must use a candy thermometer. After attempting this using the thermometer, I found it was actually easy to prepare by sight. When the caramel is nearing the right temperature, the bubbles slow down and become more infrequent. It`s almost as if the bubbles are talking to you. I liken the bubbles to those found in flowing movie lava, almost as if the concoction is yawning. Let this cook a little longer and you are almost there! Use the ice water trick to then test for doneness by dropping a bit of the mix into water and seeing if it forms a soft ball. When I say ball, it is usually more of a raised blob instead of instantly turning stringy. Caramel is done at this point! If you cook it any longer, it will turn hard when you remove it.
I also found a new recipe that makes a delicious caramel. Cooked the first batch a touch too long and ended up with hard caramels that are reminiscent of skor toffee. Really yummy but hard on the teeth! The next batch, failure to cook sugars a touch longer resulted in a lighter, sweeter caramel. I also cooked the caramel to a lower temperature (to ensure I avoided the hard caramel) resulting in a slightly soft caramel that will be made into pecan clusters. Thus far, I have failed to get the optimal result I desire - caramels that are firm enough to hold shape but still soft and chewy. On next attempt, I will cook the caramel a touch longer to achieve those perfect caramel squares!
First off, many people insist you must use a candy thermometer. After attempting this using the thermometer, I found it was actually easy to prepare by sight. When the caramel is nearing the right temperature, the bubbles slow down and become more infrequent. It`s almost as if the bubbles are talking to you. I liken the bubbles to those found in flowing movie lava, almost as if the concoction is yawning. Let this cook a little longer and you are almost there! Use the ice water trick to then test for doneness by dropping a bit of the mix into water and seeing if it forms a soft ball. When I say ball, it is usually more of a raised blob instead of instantly turning stringy. Caramel is done at this point! If you cook it any longer, it will turn hard when you remove it.
I also found a new recipe that makes a delicious caramel. Cooked the first batch a touch too long and ended up with hard caramels that are reminiscent of skor toffee. Really yummy but hard on the teeth! The next batch, failure to cook sugars a touch longer resulted in a lighter, sweeter caramel. I also cooked the caramel to a lower temperature (to ensure I avoided the hard caramel) resulting in a slightly soft caramel that will be made into pecan clusters. Thus far, I have failed to get the optimal result I desire - caramels that are firm enough to hold shape but still soft and chewy. On next attempt, I will cook the caramel a touch longer to achieve those perfect caramel squares!
Friday, November 19, 2010
The third box of holiday clementines...and winged things
Ever find that the first box of clementines is always devoured in a day? the second box, almost as fast? Then, the third box sits. Clementine consumption is down. It is inevitable that one of the bottom clementines will decide to go bad. The result? Fruit flies!
So how does one combat fruit flies?
First, remove any spoiled fruit. If your bananas are becoming overripe, throw them in the freezer for banana bread at a later date.
Next, prepare the following mixture in a shot glass or small dish: 2 tsp water, 2 tsp red wine vinegar, 2 drops dish soap. Most people also add a tsp or two of oil however, it is not necessary. Stick your finger in mixture to break surface tension (mandatory is using oil!)
Cover dish tightly with plastic wrap then, using the point of a knife or a skewer, poke holes in the wrap to let the flies in. The flies are unable to get back out.
Tonight, I had caught over 9 flies within 2 hours and they seem to all be gone (flies only noticed this evening from very rotten clementine at the very bottom of the fruit bowl). I did not use oil in tonight's mix.
So how does one combat fruit flies?
First, remove any spoiled fruit. If your bananas are becoming overripe, throw them in the freezer for banana bread at a later date.
Next, prepare the following mixture in a shot glass or small dish: 2 tsp water, 2 tsp red wine vinegar, 2 drops dish soap. Most people also add a tsp or two of oil however, it is not necessary. Stick your finger in mixture to break surface tension (mandatory is using oil!)
Cover dish tightly with plastic wrap then, using the point of a knife or a skewer, poke holes in the wrap to let the flies in. The flies are unable to get back out.
Tonight, I had caught over 9 flies within 2 hours and they seem to all be gone (flies only noticed this evening from very rotten clementine at the very bottom of the fruit bowl). I did not use oil in tonight's mix.
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