My Cooking Adventures

From: Better Homes & Garden special issue - Holiday Cooking

Time: start to finish, 20 minutes
Makes: about 2 1/4 cups

Pan drippings from roasted turkey, goose, or chicken
Chicken broth
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp apple brandy, brandy, or chicken broth
1 tbsp snipped fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1 tbsp snipped fresh sage or 1 tsp dried sage, crushed
Salt
Ground black pepper
Sprig of fresh thyme (optional)

**These are the directions from the magazine; but just an fyi, I basically just took these things and started throwing them together, and it turned out great. I am no expert at thanksgiving cooking, so the whole fat-separating-pan-drippings-idea was hard for me to figure out!

Pour pan drippings from roasted bird pan into a fat separator or a large glass measuring cup. If using a fat separator, pour off fat into a glass measuring cup. (If using a large measuring cup, use a spoon to skim and reserve fat from the drippings.) Pour 1/4 cup of the fat* into a medium saucepan; discard remaining fat.

Add enough chicken broth to the drippings to equal 2 cups liquid. Stir flour into fat in the saucepan. Stir drippings mixture all at once into flour mixture in the saucepan. Stir in brandy, thyme and sage. Cook and stir over medium heat until slightly thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Season gravy to taste with salt and pepper. Pour gravy into a gravy boat or bowl. If desired, garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme.
*Note: If there is no fat, use 1/4 cup melted butter.

From: Cooking Light Nov 2008 issue

3 lbs baking potatoes, cut into pieces
1 1/4 tsp salt, divided
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Pamigiano-Reggiano cheese
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Place potatoes in a saucepan, and cover with cold water to 2 inches above. Add 1/4 tsp salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 mins or until tender; drain. Return the potatoes to pan over low heat; add remaining 1 tsp salt and butter to pan. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher to desired consistency.

Add cheese and pepper to potato mixture; stir until cheese melts. Stir in milk; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in parsley.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the turkey breast, skin side up, on a rack in a roasting pan.

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, mustard, herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice to make a paste. Loosen the skin from the meat gently with your fingers and smear half of the paste directly on the meat. Spread the remaining paste evenly on the skin. Pour the wine into the bottom of the roasting pan.

Roast the turkey for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest and meatiest areas of the breast. (I test in several places.) If the skin is over-browning, cover the breast loosely with aluminum foil. When the turkey is done, cover with foil and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. Slice and serve with the pan juices spooned over the turkey.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 cup Sour Cream
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup water
2 tsp. instant beef bouillon
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1-1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (optional: I did not use)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups hot cooked noodles

Directions:
Mix sour cream and flour in small bowl. Stir in water, bouillon and pepper; set aside.

Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Drain. Place beef back in skillet, add butter. Add vegetables to skillet; cook and stir until butter has melted and onion is tender. Reduce heat to medium.

Add sour cream mixture; cook until bubbly, stirring constantly. Cook an additional minute. Spoon over hot noodles.

**Tip: double the sour cream mixture for a much creamier recipe. Mine turned out a little too dry.

Adapted from: Kraft Foods.com

Adapted from: Kraft Foods.com


1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin and sliced
1 package frozen pepper stir-fry vegetables
1/2 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
2 Tbsp. honey
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
2 cups hot cooked long-grain rice

COOK chicken in large skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 5 min., stirring occasionally.

ADD vegetables, dressing, honey, garlic and ginger.

COOK and stir an additional 5 min. or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are heated through. Serve with rice.

Source: Kraft Foods.com

Chocolate Truffles

When I first saw this recipe, it looked easy enough, but at the same time I figured I would find a way to mess it up somehow. It's in my nature to mess up at least one recipe when I'm baking multiple things at a time. However, this truffles turned out fabulous! And I even went so far as to venture out and make a second batch with my own flavoring idea - mint!

Ingredients
1/2 pound semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 to 2 tablespoons dark rum, Grand Marnier, Bourbon, or other liquor
1/4 to 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa, confectioners' sugar, sweetened ground chocolate, or finely chopped nuts

Preparation
Put the chocolate in a bowl. In a small saucepan or microwave, heat the cream to a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and shake the bowl gently to settle the cream. Cover with a plate or lid and set aside until the chocolate melts, about 5 minutes. Whisk the mixture until smooth and shiny. Stir in the rum or other flavoring (this is where I used mint extract in my second batch - 2 teaspoons). Cover the surface of the chocolate with plastic wrap. Set aside in a cool place until the chocolate firms up, about 2 hours. (To speed this up set the bowl of chocolate over another bowl of ice and stir until the desired consistency.)

Line a baking sheet with waxed or parchment paper. Use 2 spoons to drop small mounds/balls of chocolate, about 1/2 to 1-inch high on the paper (depending on the size you want). Then chill your hands under a faucet of running cold water or by using an ice bath. Roll each chocolate mound between your open palms to make smooth round balls. *This was tough; I ended up leaving the balls in the fridge for 2 1/2 hours, and they were still a tad too soft when I was rolling them. I suggest leaving them overnight if possible, or at least 3 hours. It didn't hurt, they still came out fine, but I would have preferred them to be firmer.

Pour the cocoa or coating of choice into a cake pan or on a plate. Roll the truffles in the coating or use a clean spoon to pour the coating on the truffles. Repeat with all the truffles. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve, scoop the truffles out of the cocoa with a fork or a slotted spoon. Put the truffles in small candy cups and serve now or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipe by: Food Network Kitchens

Rachael Ray's Strawberry Ricotta Flowers

I made these for my SIL's baby shower last summer, so when asked to do the desserts for a friend's baby shower, these were an easy choice. They are simple to make, and everyone loves them - kids and adults alike!

Ingredients
10 strawberries
1 cup ricotta cheese
4 tablespoons honey
Zest of 1 orange
10 mint leaves

Preparation
Hold a strawberry with the stem side in your hand. With a knife, make an X in the bottom of the berry, cutting almost 3/4 of the way into it. Make one more cut right through the middle of the X so it looks like a star.

In a medium-size mixing bowl, mix up the cheese, honey and orange zest. Scoop the mixture into a re-sealable plastic bag and snip off one corner to resemble a pastry bag. Gently squeeze the cheese mixture in the middle of the star shape slice you have made in each berry so it looks as if it has little petals. Garnish each berry with a mint leaf.

Recipe By: Rachael Ray