AwesomeBites

Category: Thanksgiving

  • Veggie Wellington – Mushrooms, Spinach, Roasted Butternut Squash

    This has great eye appeal and it tastes great.
    Basically, you cook each of the ingredients independently and cool, then assemble and bake.
    Serves 8-10

    1 sheet of Puff Pastry – Keep frozen until all your ingredients are cooked.
    1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water for egg wash.

    1 cup of chopped butternut squash.
    Rosemary Sprig
    Olive oil – 3 Tablespoons
    1 tsp of nutmeg sprinkled on squash
    Salt & Pepper

    Mushrooms – 4 Cups Cremini Mushrooms
    3 T butter
    1 tsp Italian Seasoning

    Spinach
    1 small diced onion
    4 cloves of minced garlic
    1/4 cup cream
    1 Tsp Nutmeg
    6 oz of mixed grated cheeses – parmesan and romano
    Salt & Pepper to taste.
    1/2 pound of frozen chopped spinach

    Chicken or Duck Pate 3 ounces – Bottom layer.

    Oven 400 degrees, on a baking sheet, season the butternut squash with sprigs of rosemary and drizzle olive oil. 40 minutes in the oven or until the edges start to turn brown.
    While that is cooking, prepare your mushrooms by slicing and saute in butter and italian seasoning. You want the juice to release from the mushrooms. Continue sauteing until and pour off the juices.
    Save for the spinach. Once they are cooked through, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
    Spinach. Thaw and squeeze as much water from the spinach as possible.
    Dice 1 small onion and saute. Add minced garlic cloves to onions and saute. Add 1/4 cup of cream. Once the cream is hot, add salt and pepper, and the cheese so it melts.
    Add chopped spinach and saute. You want this to be a dry creamed spinach. Moisture will make your puff pastry soggy.
    Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

    Take your puff pastry sheet out of the freezer and allow to come to room temperature.
    When it is thawed enough to rollout, take a rolling pin and roll out to remove any creases. It will be a couple of inches longer that when it was frozen.

    Pre-Heat oven to 375
    Assemble on parchment paper.
    Bottom layer – spread the pate on the middle of the puff pastry leaving 3 inches on each side and 2 inches on top and bottom.
    2nd Layer – sliced mushrooms on top of the pate.
    3rd Layer – place spinach on top of the mushrooms
    4th Layer – place the chopped squash on top of the mushrooms.

    Using egg wash, brush the area not filled with filling.
    Cut the sides 9 or 10 1/2 inch strips.
    Fold the top and bottom edges up over the filling. The middles section that is cut, take each strip and pull over to the other side. Fill in all the gaps.
    Brush the outside with egg wash and
    Place into oven on parchment paper. Bake for 45 minutes until very golden brown.

    I served this a two holiday parties and they loved it!

  • Corn Casserole

    Had this corn casserole at an office pot luck and it is so very good and easy to make. I know that Paula Dean has a version and there are many versions made with Jiffy corn mix. You can also alter the recipe and use fresh corn, but the process will take a bit longer. If you have decided on fresh corn and have left over corn husks, don’t throw them away because you can follow there First American tips on how to use them afterwards.

    Ingredients
    1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

    1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn

    1 (8-ounce) package corn muffin mix

    1 cup sour cream

    1/2 stick butter, melted

    1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar

    Optional:
    1/4 cup of Chopped Chives sprinkled on top before you serve or
    1/4 cup Crispy Bacon Bits!

    Directions
    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
    In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. Pour into a greased 9 by 13-inch casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with Cheddar. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

  • Puff Pastry filled with Sweet Potato

    puffpastrysweetpotato

    Simple, but great tasting recipes.

    Puff Pastry – thaw for an hour before using
    1 baked sweet potato
    1 cup Crushed Ameretti Cookies

    While the sweet potato is still warm mix in the crushed cookies.
    That is the filling.
    Cut the puff pastry into 3 inch squares
    Using your finger, put a little water along all the edges.
    Add a tsp of filling to center of pastry, close it so it looks like a triangle.
    With a fork, seal the edges.
    Place on a sheet of parchment paper on your baking sheet.
    Make as many as you need for you dinner, I suggest 2 per person.
    Brush the pastries with egg wash and
    Bake for 45 to 60 minutes until golden brown.

  • Pumpkin Pie

    Pumpkin Pie

    Pumpkin Pie.  All my childhood memories of Pumpkin Pie are from Thanksgiving. My Mom loved to bake.  Today, that is easy to say, I mean I have the help of my Kitchenaid mixer, my Breadmaker which I use mostly to mix the doughs.  Back to my Mom, she made bread and baked and it was an all day affair.  First off, she only had one oven.  It was a big oven and two pies would fit on one rack.  Our table consisted of a sheet of 3/4 inch plywood.  For you non-construction types, that would be 4 feet by 8 feet.  All eleven of us would sit down daily to dinner.  One that same table, a few days before a holiday my Mom would start baking bread and pies and such.     I remember my eyes were just above table height and looking over all the goodies.  It felt like they would go out past my horizon!   Mom made things by two’s; she must have liked the story of the ark.  We had two apple, two cherry, two lemon meringue.  And yes, back to Pumpkin.  That is what you want to know about.  Mom was a better than average baker, and she could  combine the right amount of flavors to make the tastes pop.  I always hoped I would inherit her taste buds.

    But, if you know me, I like to adjust things to my liking and keep them easy as well.

    While you can look at the back of a can of pumpkin and make the pie, I do believe you can do better.  Within the last couple of years I have been playing with Indian spices and one of my favorite spices is Garam Masala.  Many pies are over loaded with cloves and nutmeg – stop already.  Pumpkin pie has to have balance.  This pie has a perfect blend of spice, just right!

    1 1/2 c white sugar

    1 tsp salt

    2 tsp ground cinnamon

    1 tsp ground ginger

    1 tsp garam masala

    4 large eggs

    1 can (29 oz) Libby’s Pure Pumpkin

    2 cans (12 oz) Carnation Evaporated Milk

    2 unbaked 9 inch pie shells.  I used two tart dishes and filled them to their rims with pumpkin. But you can also use deep dish pie pans.  I also took the left over pie crust and made leaves to decorate the top -this is my Mother in me.  Make it taste good, and make it pretty.  Use egg wash and brush the leaves before baking in the oven for about 15 minutes.  You can also sprinkle with white sugar to make them sparkle. Like adding a diamond to a ring!

    Mix all together and pour into the unbaked pie shells.

    Preheat oven at 425, then reduce heat to 350 , bake for 40-50 minutes until knife inserted near center comes out clean.

    Cool on rack and serve. 

  • Pumpkin, Butternut Squash, Carrot Soup

    Pumpkin, Butternut Squash, Carrot Soup

    PumpkinButternutCarrotSoup

    It is nearing Halloween and with all the great pumpkins and squash and carrots, it has to be the beginning of soup!

    I love soup and give me bread and I am happy. I blame it all on my mother and at the same time thank my mother for being a wonderfully awesome soup chef! When she worked as a Chef/Cook for the San Joaquin County Hospital, all the doctors and nurses would seek her out to find out what kind of soup was going to be available that day.

    It tickled her to have her very own fan club and an equivalent of a facebook thumbs up would be their return in the line the next day!

    While I am making this soup for my office to feed 25-30 people, my mother would make soup for 300 people!

    Olive oil 1/4 cup
    Carrot 1 Quart
    Pumpkin 1 Quart
    Butternut squash 1Quart
    1 head of Roasted Garlic
    Cayenne 1 tsp
    Ginger 2 tsp
    Coriander 2 tsp
    Ham bone with ham bits
    Salt and pepper to taste
    Chicken stock 3 Quarts
    add water as needed

    Roast garlic(wrap in foil), pumpkin, carrots and squash for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. Chop onions into a rough dice and saute in the bottom of a large soup pot with a little oil. Add Roasted vegetables, and 3 Quarts of Chicken Stock and ham bone to pot. Bring to boil and add spices. Let simmer slowly for 1 hour.

    Shut off and allow to cool so you can remove the ham bone. Shred the meat and set aside. Using a handblender to the soup until you get a creamy consistency, add water as needed to maintain consistency you like. Add salt and pepper to taste and adjust your spices to your liking. Careful with the Cayenne Pepper. Add the ham back into the creamy mixture.

    Serve with a drizzle of Pure Maple Syrup, or a spoon of sour cream, or cinnamon croutons for some fun!
    Serve with freshly made bread!

    Another awesome bite.

  • Holiday Ham with Apple Bourbon Glaze

    Holiday Ham with Apple Bourbon Glaze

    BBQ Ham

    This recipe is for “ready to eat” or “fully cooked” hams—not fresh hams. Try to buy hams that have been minimally processed, preferably, bone-in and unsliced with a nice cap of fat.

    INGREDIENTS
    •1 fully cooked ham or half-ham
    •1 to 2 cups apple juice or cider
    •1 cup apple jelly
    •2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
    •1 to 2 tablespoons bourbon
    •2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
    •1/2 teaspoon ground clove
    PREPARATION
    When ready to cook, start the Traeger grill on Smoke with the lid open until the fire is established (4 to 5 minutes). Set the temperature to 350 degrees F and preheat, lid closed, for 10 to 15 minutes.

    Arrange the ham on a rack in a roasting pan. Pour the apple juice or in the bottom of the pan. Place on the BBQ and close the lid. Timewise, allow 15 to 18 minutes per pound for a half-ham, and 10 to 15 minutes per pound for a whole ham.

    Oven Roasted

    Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the apple jelly. Whisk in the mustard, bourbon, lemon juice, and ground clove and remove from the heat. Brush over the outside of the ham 40 to 50 minutes before you expect the ham to be done. Let the ham rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Reheat the remaining sauce and pass it separately at the table.

  • Mashed Potatoes with Black Walnut Oil

    Mashed Potatoes with Black Walnut Oil

    Basil Mashed Potatoes

    Ingredients
    6 baking potatoes, peeled, cut crosswise
    7 tbs Black Walnut Oil
    Choose a fresh herb and highlight it in your potatoes:
    (basil, chives, thyme, garlic confit – all are wonderful)

    Directions
    Place potatoes in large pot. Cover with cold water. Boil over medium-high heat about 40 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups potato cooking liquid. Stir over medium heat until any excess liquid evaporates. Add 6 tablespoons black walnut oil and mash. Add your fresh chopped herbs. Drizzle with remaining tablespoon black walnut oil and serve.

  • Cornbread Stuffing with Sausage and Cranberries

    Cornbread Stuffing with Sausage and Cranberries

    Cook this stuffing in a casserole dish covered for the first 30 minutes and uncovered for the last 15 so it browns a bit on the outside.

    1 box of cornbread stuffing

    1 box of bread stuffing mix

    2 cups diced onions

    1 cup diced celery

    1 cup diced carrots

    6 Cups Chicken Broth

    1 Jimmy Dean’s Sage Sausage (fried and drained)

    6 Hot Italian Sausage (fried and drained)

    1 Cup Dried Cranraisins

    Saute onions, celery and carrots in a tablespoon of olive oil.  Add chicken broth, then add cornbread stuffing mix.  Add the cooked and drained sausage (Jimmy Dean’s sage sausage and 6 hot Italian Sausages) and cranraisins.  Depending upon the moisture level, add the regular bread stuffing until the dressing is damp and moist but not runny. 

    Place in a buffet pan, or casserole dish.  Cook for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

  • Green Bean Casserole a la Matthew

    Green Bean Casserole a la Matthew

    1 pound of bacons fried crisp and crumbled or cut into 1/4 inch pieces.

    4 cans regular green beans or steam fresh green beans until tender. 

    2 cups mushrooms sauted in butter

    3/4 cup parmesan grated cheese

    1/4 cup cheddar grated cheese

    1 large can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup

    1/4 cup heavy cream

    Cheddar Cheese Fried Onions (1 large can)

    Nephew Matt's Green Bean Casserole

    In a casserole dish, place the green beans and bacon, add the cheeses and sauted mushrooms including the butter sauce. Add the cream to the cream of mushroom soup and pour over the top of the green bean mixture.

    Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees with foil over the casserole.  Top with Cheddar Onions, remove foil, and heat for another 10 minutes. Serve hot.

  • Maple Pecan Pie

    Maple Pecan Pie

    Pecan Pie –

    4 eggs lightly beaten

    1  cup light corn syrup

    1/4 cup granulated white sugar

    1/4 cup brown sugar

    1/4 cup maple syrup

    2 Tablespoons melted butter

    2 Tablespoons Bourbon

    1 tsp vanilla

    1/2 tsp salt

    1 cup of chopped Pecans

    1 – 9 inch pastry shell

    Honey Pecan Topping 

    Mix all the ingredients and then add the chopped pecans.  Pour into the unbaked pie shell and bake with foil covering for 25 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for 15 minutes. Add the Honey Pecan Topping carefully to the top.  Return to oven about 10 minutes and then remove and cool the pie. 

    Honey Pecan Topping.  In saucepan, combine  1/3 cup brown sugar, 3 T butter, 3 T honey.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 2 Cups Pecan halves.Â