Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving Feast: Happy-Not-So-Happy-for-Turkeys-Turkey-Day

Planned Menu:

Appetizers:
Apple Fennel Salad with Pecans
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Whipped Cream and Pecans

Sides:
Candied Sweet Potato Balls wrapped Around Marshmallows, Topped with Pecans
Silky Smooth Mashed Potatoes with Chef's Special Seasoning
Cheddar and Gruyere Orechiette (De Cecco) Mac and Cheese

Main Course:
Roast Turkey with Cornbread Stuffing and Cranberry Orange Relish and Gravy

Dessert:
Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream and Pecans

- ~@~ -

recipes:


Fennel, Arugula and Green Apple Salad


Especially for raw fennel, thin slices are a must; otherwise it's too tough and woody. It can certainly be done with a good sharp knife—it's just going to take longer. This recipe comes from Dave Lieberman's Dave's Dinners, and pairs the fennel with crisp apple and peppery arugula, covering the lot with a citrusy dressing and toasted walnuts. It's extremely light and refreshing, if a little insubstantial. Some crumbled ricotta salata cheese, or even feta, would bulk it up and upgrade it to full-meal status.

Fennel:
lavor description
Native to the Mediterranean region, this licorice-flavored member of the parsley family is one of Italy's most popular vegetables.

Most fennel available in American markets is grown in California. The type you'll find--Florence, or bulb, fennel (sometimes labeled "fresh anise")--has a bulbous base, stalks like celery, and feathery leaves that resemble Queen Anne's lace.

Fennel seeds don't come from bulb fennel but from common, or wild, fennel. The seeds are slightly nutty, with the expected licorice flavor, and are widely used in sausages, stews, soups, and curries.

How to use
Like celery, the entire plant is edible. The crisp and slightly sweet bulb is especially delicious served raw in salads. Whether braised, sautéed, roasted, or grilled, the bulb mellows and softens with cooking.

Chopped fennel works especially well in Italian tomato sauces, but add it late in the cooking process so the flavor isn't diluted.

Trim the stalks about an inch above the bulb.

If you want pieces to stay together for grilling, keep the root end intact. Otherwise, trim about a half inch off the root end before cooking.

To slice fennel, stand the bulb on the root end and cut vertically.

How to find
Look for small, heavy, white bulbs that are firm and free of cracks, browning, or moist areas. The stalks should be crisp, with feathery, bright-green fronds. Wrapped in plastic, fennel keeps for just a few days in the refrigerator; the flavor fades as it dries out.

- serves 4 -
Adapted from Dave's Dinners
Ingredients

For the salad
1 cup walnut halves or pieces
small bulb fennel with top
1 Granny Smith apple
5 oz. baby arugula (or regular arugula, sliced into wide ribbons)

For the dressing
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1 orange
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sugar (omit if the orange is especially sweet—add last if it needs it)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup olive oil
Procedure

1. In a 350ºF oven or small skillet, toast the walnuts until fragrant and warmed through, 5-7 minutes.

2. Combine the dressing ingredients except the sugar in a small jar and shake vigorously until emulsified. Taste, and add the sugar if necessary (it depends on how sweet the orange is).

3. Slice off the fennel stem tops and root, then halve. Halve and core the apple. Using a mandoline or sharp knife, slice both as thinly as possible. If not using immediately, keep the slices in a bowl of water to avoid browning.

4. Toss the fennel and apple slices with the arugula in a large bowl with the dressing. Top with the walnuts and some chopped fennel fronds.

--
Paula Dean Sweet Potato Balls with Coconut recipe: 4 large sweet potatoes 2/3 cup packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons orange juice 1 teaspoon orange zest 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 2 cups shredded coconut, sweetened 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 large marshmallow per potato ball Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the potatoes until tender, then peel and mash them. Stir in the brown sugar, orange juice, zest and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, toss the coconut with the sugar and cinnamon. Press mashed potatoes around each marshmallow, creating a 2 to 3-inch diameter ball. Roll the balls in the coconut mixture. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Watch carefully for the last few minutes of cooking; the expanding marshmallows can cause the potato balls to burst open

---
Apple White Cheddar and Gruyere Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:
6 slices French bread
6 tbsp. Tillamook® Unsalted Butter
2 cups milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
3/4 cups apple cider
6 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. plus 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 1/2 cups Tillamook® Vintage White Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Gruyere cheese
4 cups medium shell pasta
3-4 quarts water for pasta

Description:

2006 Tillamook Macaroni and Cheese Contest, Tim Hutchinson - Seattle, WA Regional Winner


Instructions:

Heat oven to 375°. Butter a 13 by 9 inch or 3 quart casserole dish. Remove crust from bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, and place in bowl. Melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Pour melted butter over bread and toss to coat. Put bread cubes into a food processor and process until fine crumbs form. Set bread crumbs aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat milk, cream and apple cider until hot.

While milk mixture is heating, melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a large high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter is melted and bubbling, add flour. Cook stirring for 1 minute.

Pour hot milk mixture slowly into skillet with flour-butter mixture whisking constantly. Continue cooking and whisking over medium heat until sauce bubbles and becomes thick.

Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, mustard, 2 1/2 cups cheddar and 1/2 cup gruyere. Combine and set aside.

Fill a large saucepan with 3 to 4 quarts of water add remaining 2 tablespoons salt and bring to boil. Add pasta and cook slightly less than what the package calls for. Pasta should be slightly underdone. Pour pasta into colander and rinse under cold water draining well.

Stir pasta into cheese sauce and transfer to prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese over pasta and spread bread crumbs on top to cover. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Healthy Tasty Blueberry Breakfast Muffin

Oat Bran, 2.25 cup 
Baking Powder, 3 tsp 
Maple Syrup or sugar, .25 cup 
Milk, nonfat, 1.25 cup 
*Egg white, 2 serving 
Banana, fresh, .75 cup, mashed 
Almonds, .5 cup, chopped
(optional: handful of rasins or blueberries and .25 cup of shreded coconut) 



Directions
Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl, blend wet ingreedinets together and mix gently with dry ingredients. Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes for muffins or 10 minutes for muffin tops

Number of Servings: 12