Candied Pecans

For as long as I can remember I've been making Candied Pecans.  I make them to have around the house when company is coming, add them to salads, as toppings for desserts or just to eat them plain - they're so good! I especially love giving the Candied Pecans as a holiday gift, packaged in cellophane bags tied with colorful ribbons.

If you've never made Candied Pecans this simple recipe takes no time at all.  Once made look out - your family will gobble them up in minutes, literally!

Here's the recipe.....make a batch for Thanksgiving, everyone will be thrilled you did.

Candied Pecans

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Dash of ground cloves

2 cups pecan halves 

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan. 

Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly (about 8-10 minutes).

Add pecans and vanilla, cook until all syrup is absorbed and pecans are coated, stirring constantly (about 12 minutes - will look powdery).

Spread pecan mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment. (Pecans will have a sugar coating)

Cool completely then store in airtight container or serve.

Yields approx. 3 1/2 cups

Enjoy!!!

How to make Popovers?

For years I've been making popovers to go with our Thanksgiving dinner.  In my opinion they're the perfect bread to go with a heavy meal.  They're light, airy and delicious.

My first encounter with popovers was while dining at The Zodiac Room in Neiman Marcus.  I thought they were incredible and when I would take my children (now 22 & 25) with me, they loved them as well, especially slathered with their heavenly strawberry butter.

Over the years I've perfected making these airy little puffs, getting rave reviews from all who try them.  I get so many requests for this recipe I posted a video last year on my blog for the Thanksgiving holidays and decided I would post it again.

I hope you enjoy my video.  I've posted the full recipe below.  I know you'll love them, just as my family does.

Here's the written recipe for you to follow:

Perfect Popovers

Makes 12 small or 6 large

Ingredients:

3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup milk, room temperature (I use skim)
3 Tbsp. Canola Oil
1 cup, all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Popover Pan

Instructions for cooking in Convection mode and Bake mode:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees in either convection/bake mode or just bake.

While preparing the batter spray your popover pan with a non-stick cooking spray and place in the oven to heat up.

If eggs and milk are not at room temperature heat eggs (removed from their shell) for approximately 12 -15 seconds and milk for about 20-30 seconds in the microwave.

Whisk eggs, milk and oil together. Sift flour and add to the egg mixture. Add the salt and beat mixture together until it's smooth and free of any clumps.

Take popover pan out of the oven and place a small bit of butter into each popover cup (as shown in the video).

Pour batter 3/4 way full into each popover cup. If you run short and one of the cups is empty add water filling up about 1/2 way.

Place filled pan into the 400 degree oven and bake for:

Convection/Bake 20 minutes

Bake: 30 minutes

           (After 20-30 minutes of cooking)

Then, leaving the oven door closed, reduce heat to 325 degrees.

At this time if you were cooking in the convection mode switch to BAKE. Cook for an additional 5-15 minutes keeping a close eye on the popovers.

You'll know that they are done when they turn a nice golden brown, as seen in my video and at the top of this page.

Note: You can use a muffin pan if you like, but the popover pan produces a much prettier popover.

Popovers are best when baked just before serving. Serve hot with butter, strawberry butter, pumpkin butter, plain or with whatever you desire.

As always, if you have any questions while preparing these, don't hesitate to contact me. I'm always happy to help.

Enjoy!

Spinach & Roasted Red Pepper Stuffed Turkey Roulade

It's that time of year again.  I've been so busy with culinary classes and events that I'll be lucky if I can post more than once a week from  now until the end of the year.  However, I'll do my best to visit all my blogger friends and post comments on your blogs.

In the meantime, I am still cooking!  With Thanksgiving just 16 days away I thought I'd post a variation on the Thanksgiving Day turkey. 

Many of you will have a large gathering of family and friends while others an intimate gathering of just a few. So if you're looking for an alternative to roasting a large turkey or doing something more creative than just a turkey breast - consider a Turkey Roulade.

I make these all the time stuffing with whatever I'm in the mood for.  The breast above is stuffed with spinach, shallots and roasted red peppers, while others I've stuffed with mushrooms; bread stuffing; wild rice, etc.  Whatever sounds appetizing to you, works!

The procedure for making a turkey roulade is quite simple.  In fact, I thought I had taken numerous photos but apparently I must have been dreaming.  At any rate here's what you need to do:

Ask your butcher to bone and butterfly a turkey breast for you.  You can request to take the skin off or leave it on.  I have found leaving the skin on definitely makes for a juicier turkey.  Opt to have the butcher separate the breasts making it easier to handle or leave the 2 halves connected, making one large roll.  Have them flatten the breast 1/4 inch thick or do it yourself when you get home between to sheets of plastic wrap. 

Which ever way you decide to debone your turkey the stuffing and rolling are the same.

Ingredients:

1 whole turkey breast, boned, butterflied and skinned if desired

1 shallot, diced

fresh spinach, washed, stemmed, enough to cover one side of the turkey

1 roasted red pepper, sliced and chopped

2 tbsp. butter

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup Marsala Wine if desired

salt and pepper

kitchen twine

Directions:

Heat butter in a skillet and add shallots.  Cook until softened.  Add spinach briefly to heat up then turn off stove and mix in roasted red peppers.

With the turkey opened up and laying flat, skin side down on a cutting board drizzle with salt and pepper.  Then spread the spinach mixture over one side of the turkey being sure to leave about a 1-inch border all the way around.

Now at this point you want to make sure you have a roll of twine to tie up the bird once you roll it.

Then simply roll your turkey from one end of the breast to the other, tucking the sides in. Then cut your twine in about four 24" pieces (if using the entire turkey - one whole breast - or cut into 12" pieces if using 2 separate butterflied breasts), placing the center of each piece of twine under the seam of the turkey and tying it on top. Repeat with the other 3 pieces of twine spacing them evenly apart. Then cut a 5th piece longer than the other four to be tied the entire length of the turkey. This will insure that it will remain closed while cooking.

turkey breast, boned, butterflied and cut into 2 separate breasts

Place in a roasting pan. If you like add about 1/2 cup of Marsala wine and 1 cup low sodium chicken broth to the bottom of the pan. Cover and bake at 350F until the internal temperature reaches 160F degrees.

The whole rolled turkey breast it will take approximately 1 1/2 hours, while for two separate butterflied turkey breasts it will take approximately 45 minutes.

At this point you can remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest for about 20 minutes. This will allow the juices to evenly get distributed. While resting the internal temperature of the turkey should rise to 165F-170F which is where you want it to be for eating. (Baste at least once during cooking with juices).

While the turkey is resting (if desired) take 1 1/2 tbsp. of butter and melt in a saucepan. Once melted add the same amount of flour and cook with the butter until the flour reaches a golden brown. Then add the remaining liquid (Marsala Wine and chicken broth) from the turkey to the saucepan and cook over low heat until it thickens.

Slice your turkey roulade and drizzle with the marsala wine sauce or other sauce. This is so delicious and moist you won't believe you made it.

Note: The Marsala Wine Sauce is nice and light and I've used this when I make the Turkey Roulade stuffed with mushrooms.  However, a nice Roasted Red Pepper Sauce is also fantastic with this dish,  which I prefer.  I did not show this with a sauce since my husband and son requested it plain.

Serve with all your favorite sides for a wonderful Thanksgiving meal.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

This Thanksgiving I decided to make something different for dessert that I thought most everyone would enjoy, and they did! It was a Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle. I will say that the next time I make this, and there will be a next time, I will layer them in Individual Trifle Bowls
I think that the presentation is beautiful in one large bowl however, unless you have an army of people that you're serving you won't make a dent in the trifle. Thus, leaving a half eaten bowl of a luscious dessert that's difficult to store.

I think arranging the ingredients in individual trifle bowls or deep small glasses with or without a stem would suffice and quite frankly wouldn't take much more time to prep for. If you're not looking for the WOW factor of presenting this dish you could even layer it in a 9x13 glass bowl.

This dessert turned out so delicious! The colors layered together look like fall and although brown isn't the most appetizing color of food, this dish was scrumptuous.

I combined several recipes that I've used before plus a recipe for the Guinness Gingerbread Cake in Nigella Lawsons new book, Nigella Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home A great book with lots of wonderful recipes.

This Gingerbread Cake is so good and moist. Although finding Lyle's Golden Syrup wasn't easy, I did find it at Global Foods here in St Louis, and it can be ordered online as well. You could substitute it with a light molasses but after tasting Lyle's Golden Syrup I would definitely try to locate it in your area or order it. It had a smooth rich buttery taste, nothing that I had ever tasted before. It's well worth it to find it.

In addition, I had planned to make a homemade pumpkin pudding and was certain I had all the ingredients on hand. However, when I went to put them together I noticed I didn't have enough of one ingredient. So I used 2 packages of instant vanilla pudding that I had on hand, then added the pumpkin pie filling and doctored it up a bit as you can see below in my recipe. It turned out as good as homemade.

The whipped cream filling and topping I make this way, so that it holds up and doesn't collapse. It's perfect for fillings and quite tasty.

I hope that if you try this recipe, you will love it just as much as my family and friends did. In fact, it improves with flavor as the days go by without the gingerbread getting soggy.

Here's my recipe:

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle
serves 15-20


Guiness Gingerbread Cake

Ingredients:

•1 1/4 sticks 10 (tablespoons) butter, plus some for greasing
•1 cup golden syrup (such as Lyle's)
•1 cup (packed) plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
•1 cup stout (such as Guinness), which I used
•2 teaspoons ground ginger
•2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
•1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
•2 cups all-purpose flour
•2 teaspoons baking soda
•1 1/4 cups sour cream
•2 eggs
•1 rectangular aluminium foil pan or cake pan, approximately 13 by 9 by 2-inches

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Line your cake pan with aluminium foil and grease it, or grease your foil tray.

Put the butter, syrup, dark brown sugar, stout, ginger, cinnamon and ground cloves into a pan and melt gently over a low heat.

Take off the heat and whisk in the flour and baking soda. You will need to be patient and whisk thoroughly to get rid of any lumps.

Whisk the sour cream and eggs together in a measuring jug and then beat into the gingerbread mixture, whisking again to get a smooth batter.

Pour this into your cake/foil pan, and bake for about 45 minutes; when it's ready it will be gleamingly risen at the centre, and coming away from the pan at the sides.

Let the gingerbread cool before cutting into slices or squares.

Pumpkin Pudding:

2 boxes vanilla instant pudding (3 1/8 oz size)
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin pie filling
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla

Prepare vanilla pudding according to package instructions.

Combine pudding with the pumpkin pie filling. Fold in brown sugar and spices. Cover and chill.

Whipped Cream Filling and Topping:

4 cups chilled heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla

Beat cream with sugar and vanilla using mixer until it holds soft peaks.


Assemble trifle:

Put half of gingerbread cubes in 2 quart trifle bowl. Top with half of pumpkin pudding, then half of the whipped cream. Repeat layering once more with all of remaining gingerbread, pudding, and cream. Chill at least 2 hours before serving. Best if assembled the same day.


Note:

Gingerbread (uncut) can be made up to week ahead. Wrap in parchment paper followed by a layer of plastic wrap and stored in an airtight container in a cool place. Gingerbread will keep for a total of two weeks.

Trifle, can be made a day ahead but will look best if prepped the day you serve it.

Garnish:

With Crumbled Gingersnap cookies, Crystallized ginger or candied pecans

Trifle can be made in a large trifle dish, Individual Trifle Bowls or deep glasses.

Enjoy!

Turkey Day Tips!

Thanksgiving is just 15 days away. It's traditionally the start of the winter holidays and where many of us spend hours on end cooking for family and friends. I love this time of year but many dread it and worry about how their meals are going to turn out and if they'll have enough food for everyone.

Are you always stumped when it comes to how much turkey to order for Thanksgiving? Well, a good rule of thumb is one pound per person. However, if your family is like mine we like to have plenty of leftovers. If you want leftovers as well, figure 1 1/2 pounds of turkey per person. That way you'll have enough to cover you through the weekend, depending on how you eat and even some to share with your guests if you like.










If you've never made a turkey before and are already stressing about the big day - DON'T!!! Making a turkey is the easiest thing in the world to prepare. You basically pop it in the oven and take it out hours later when the inner part of the thigh reaches 180(F)degrees, the breast reaches 165(F)degrees and the juices run clear when pierced.

I always stuff my turkey but many prefer to keep the stuffing on the side, which is perfectly fine. If you also stuff your turkey, make sure to put the stuffing in just before you place the turkey in the oven to avoid any bacteria to grow. You can even heat the stuffing up a bit which some say helps avoid bacteria growth. I've never had a problem stuffing mine though and I've been stuffing my turkey for years. Just be sure your oven has had plenty of time to preheat before setting the bird in the oven.

In addition, if you want to insure you have a moist turkey when it's done, add at least an inch of chicken broth or water in the bottom of the pan.

If you don't have a rack to place your turkey on, then cut up some carrots, celery and potatoes and place them in the bottom of your roasting pan. Then place the turkey on top. The vegetables will act as a rack and while the turkey is cooking it will flavor the veggies and cook them making for a nice platter of turkey and vegetables. In addition, the potatoes will help to thicken the gravy from the liquid that you originally added to the pan. Serve as is, or doctor the drippings for an even more flavorful gravy.

Don't forget to check out my perfect gravy everytime tip!










If you have any turkey questions feel free to email me at vkb2@hotmail.com, post a question on this blog, or go to the Butterball homepage where they offer a host of answers and videos for any question you may have regarding your turkey.

Butterball has a great site and even a 1-800 hotline for you to call on Thanksgiving Day. Whether you're roasting, grilling, frying or smoking your turkey, Butterball.com has the answers 24/7.

Stay tuned for my upcoming video on how to make Popovers. One of the dishes my family insists I make every Thanksgiving. These light and airy popovers are a cinch to make, beautiful to look at and delicious to eat. My video will be up sometime within the week.

Until then feel free to email me with any of your Thanksgiving Day questions.

Thanksgiving Traditions

I read an article today in the November 2010 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine that made me stop and think for a minute. It was about passing down traditions for the Thanksgiving meal.

The person writing the article was a male and talked about how moms pass down their recipes to their daughters not their sons, and that her holiday masterpiece would die out with her, a family heirloom gone missing..

So he asked his mom if she would teach him to make her Thanksgiving meal and although somewhat bewildered, she did happily. That next Thanksgiving he prepared her dinner for their family that she had made for years but had since passed the turkey baster on to her daugther-in-laws.

He recalls the looks on his parents faces when the meal was served and how delighted they were. Then while cleaning the old roasting pan that had been in the family for generations he asked his mom if she would leave it to him someday. Very pleased and proud that he would want to continue this tradition she said "All right, if you'd like."

So it made me think. I already have the identical roasting pan that my mom uses. Afterall her turkeys were always delicious so why make any changes now. My mom to this day, at 88 years old, makes a challah stuffing for the turkey. We have all loved her stuffing for as long as I remember and now my kids love it too. In fact, my son looks forward to the upcoming Thanksgiving meal right after we have one because of my moms stuffing. He loves what I make too but there's just something about her stuffing.

So years ago I asked my mom for the recipe which I have filed away safely. I desperately want to make it to insure I have it just right but, I don't dare take that glory away from her on Thanksgiving. I'm superstitiuous and if I made it while she was still here on earth I'm afraid I would jinx her. I'd never forgive myself.

So I'll just keep it tucked away and know that someday it will be my turn to prepare it along with all the other fixins. I hope that my kids will also want the recipe to pass down to their children along with ones that they've grown to cherish that were mine.

What recipe or recipes do you have each and every year that you'd like to be sure you get, so that you can pass down to your family for generations to come? Please share it with me and don't forget to ask for it this year. Unfortunately you never know when it will be too late.