Turkey Sweet Potato Soup

This time between Christmas and New Years is a funny time. The holidays aren't quite over yet, but I'm ready to start that resolution about eating better and drinking less! Salads come to mind- but without any lettuce on hand I turn my attention to a veggies.

A sweet potato, a parsnip and a zucchini- toss those with some left over turkey and you've got a nice turkey veggie soup that's slightly different than the norm. Nothing spectacular, just a simple soup that allows the flavors of the veggies to come through.

I was avoiding the carbs, but some nice options in this soup would be the Ditalini pasta (tiny tube-shaped pasta) or rice (wild rice would be super flavorful!) If you have some extra tortillas in the house, that would top this soup well too (cut them into strips, salt and bake them until crispy).

If you can find a few nights to relax at home (a night away from the party), treat your body to a relaxing meal too!

Turkey Sweet Potato Soup

In a slow cooker or pot on the stove, add:

left over turkey, shredded (around 2 cups is what I used)- if you're using fresh turkey, slow cook by itself until nearly complete- then add the rest of the ingredients below.
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of black beans, drained
Chicken broth- enough to cover the ingredients, may need to add more once you add the rest of the veggies below.

In the meantime, sautee in olive oil-until onions begin to soften (like 5 minutes):
1/2 cup diced onions (white or yellow)
1 diced parsnip
1 large sweet potato, diced

add and continue to sautee to soften garlic
2 garlic cloves, mashed and chopped
1 zucchini, diced
1 Tbls lime pepper
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to the pot. Let simmer for at least an hour for the flavors to meld and potatoes are softened- go longer if you have time.

Port Soaked Cherry Shooters (aka chocolate covered cherries)

We were invited to the Lorch's for a Holiday dinner (perfectly cooked beef tenderloins topped with Gorgonzola, in a cranberry, port and rosemary sauce - amazing!) It was a great evening with fabulous food; Dave and I especially loved the 30 year old port.

Our contribution was dessert. I wasn't really sure what I was making yet but there was a port theme to the night- so I started with sauteeing some frozen cherries, first with a few tablespoons of water and sugar and then with a Zinfandel port. This past summer I froze a bag of fresh cherries for just such an occasion. The port I used was a fabulous little bottle that our friend Heather introduced us to; she had found this special item in Napa at Elyse Winery and it appears that was our last opportunity to enjoy this. The deep berry flavors with the black pepper undertone was amazing!

After finding chocolate cups in the closet, a little port custard came together after that and next thing I know I had port cherry shooters on my hands. Voila!

Dave said it best -it's pretty much a chocolate covered cherry, my version of one anyway! They are fun little shooters- meant to be eaten in one bite- it's a big mouthful! Go ahead and take it down in two if you need to (it will just be slightly messy and you may not get a cherry in that second bite). I've crushed open one of the shooters so you can see the custard on the inside; it takes on a purple hue from the deeply colored port I was using. Of course, use what ever port you have on hand.

It was a wonderful evening with a beautiful family and superb food- just the way the holidays are meant to be!


Chocolate Covered Cherry Shooters

Port-soaked Cherries
(if your cherries are fresh, go ahead and just soak them in port. If they are frozen, sautee as directed below. You will only need 1 cherry, 2 halves, per chocolate cup)

1 cherry per chocolate cup
Sautee in a few tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon of sugar until the cherries are defrosted and soak up the liquid. Add about 1/4 cup of port and sautee until the port reduces to a syrup. Remove from heat and cool.

Port Custard

Whisk together:
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbls flour
pinch of salt

Whisk in and bring to a soft boil:
1 cup milk

Temper one egg (beat one egg in a bowl, slowly whisk in one cup of the hot milk mixture, then add back to the pot)
1 egg
Add
1/4 cup of port

Stir constantly over medium heat until the custard thickens (just a few minutes).
Remove from heat and stir in:
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbls butter

Cool. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.

Assembly:
Use pre-made mini chocolate cups. Spoon a scoop of the custard into the chocolate cups. Top with 2 cherry halves. Spoon a little drizzle of the port cherry sauce over the top. The flavors come through the best at room temperature.

Mock (no - sauce) Mac n Cheese

Slumdog Millionaire - it's only the second movie we've seen in the past two years (the other was The Dark Night!) We needed dinner to soak up all the popcorn we ate- did you know you get free refills on popcorn now? It was too late to get into anything involved, and we didn't have a lot to choose from. I had toyed with the idea of a mac n cheese but wanted to do something super quick.

With the help of a little cheese and pasta water, it mimics a sauce but only takes about 15 minutes total time. And it's slightly healthier than a typical cheese/flour sauce. Try using hot marinated artichokes for a little zing!

Oh- and the movie? Two thumbs up! Fabulously done, great story, beautifully shot and a heart wrenching yet fascinating insight into a completely different world.

Mock (No Sauce) Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups of pasta (cook according to package)

While pasta is cooking, chop:
1/4-1/2 cup rough chopped olives (when chopping these, leave them on the large side)
1/4 -1/2 cup rough chopped artichoke heats (when chopping these, leave them on the large side)

Lightly drain, reserving one cup of the pasta water
Immediately return pasta to the same pot, adding a simple drizzle of olive oil to the bottom of the pot. Leave the flame off.

Quickly add and toss:

the olives and artichoke hearts

1/2 cup goat cheese (just eyeball this- goat cheese is to messy to measure, so just scoop some out of the package and crumble it as you are adding it in

1/2 - 1 cup of the pasta water (you may not need all of this- start with half and add more if the pasta is a bit dry.)

Lots of black pepper

Serve immediately in a large bowl- add grated Pecorino cheese and fresh ground black pepper on top.

Sweet Granola

Granola... it sounds healthy. In fact, it sounds earthy and bland- it almost sounds like something I wouldn't like or want to waste my time making.

Words can be deceiving! Granola (when done right) is a great breakfast, a super snack, a good topping on ice cream and also makes amazing crusts.

Let's start by deconstructing this delectable treat. In most cases- it's not really healthy. I know- how can that be, you ask, when its main ingredient is oats! It's not the oats, but what you top them with. Especially store bought granola- lots of sugar! Like the potato, the potato itself is a healthy vegetable, but it's also a vessel. A vessel to carry butter and sour cream.

As I usually do, I have created a few different granola recipes. This particular one is a sweet granola- super yummy, but it's not the healthiest. (I have another really wonderful healthy granola recipe that I created utilizing applesauce if you're searching for healthy.) But this one is just like it sounds- sweet and tasty. And there is blueberries in there- so how bad can it really be? Try it, and granola just may have a new meaning for you!

Sweet, Brown Sugar Granola

Mix in a big bowl
2 cups old fashion oats
1/4 cup craisins
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/2 cups sliced almonds

melt together:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbls vanilla
Pour over the dry ingredients and mix really well. Spread on a lightly greased sheet pan, bake at 250 degrees, stir every half hour, until lightly crispy. (this usually takes about 2 hours)

Apple Ice Cream Pie with Granola Cust

There was another 'bake off' at work, this time it was apples. What ever you want to make with apples. I was convinced a pie had to be made.

Since I was sure somebody would make a classic apple pie, and I was still heavy into making ice cream at the time- I thought I would wow them with an ice cream apple pie!

Wow them I did! This is really super- but there's two thing you need to know about this recipe: there are a lot of steps to it and this is one dish that you don't want to leave in the freezer for very long because the granola will become soft and mushy.

This is another good fall recipe, which is when I created it...just getting around to posting it now. Yup, I'm on top of things. Oh- and I did win first place that day...just barely beating out a bowl of cut up apples! Oh to be fat and happy.


Apple Pie Ice Cream
Combine all the ingredients, bring to just below a boil; remove from heat and let steep for 1 minutes.
1 1/2 cups cream
1/2 cup half & half
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp vanilla
slice of lemon rind

While that is steeping, whisk until light and doubled in size:
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar

Temper the eggs with the cream mixture. Simmer until the custard holds to the back of a wooden spoon. Cool. Freeze according to your ice cream makers directions. Add the apple mixture (recipe below) at the end of the cycle.

apple mixture:

Peel and slice 2 apples (use a little variety, like a red delicious and a granny smith), peeled, sliced in 16 and then in half

Sautee until the apples are softened:

2 Tbls butter
3 Tbls brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 tbls lemon juice

Cool; then add to the ice cream at the end of the freezing cycle.


Granola Crust
Melt:
1/4 stick butter

Add and mix in a mini cuisinart:
2 cups oats (I always use Quaker old fashion oats)
1/3 cup of walnuts
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup almonds
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Push this into the base of your pan, (I divided it between individual pans, but you could make one large pie).
Bake (at 350) for about 10-15 minutes- just till they begin to brown. Cool.

The Finale
Add the completed ice cream on top of the baked granola. Place in the freezer to freeze. Unmold (if necessary) and let warm slightly. Add a layer of very thinly sliced apples on top, and drizzle with warm caramel.

Chili Soup

Today is the day I decided to try out a grocery delivery service. The fridge was bare and the cupboard only housed a few cans of beans. I fully planned to drive to the store- but a blizzard hit. Nobody needs me on the road driving in bad conditions- I haven't had to drive in snow in over 6 years. I would be one of those people I used to curse...like when Californians or Texans drive on ice for the first time. It's a learned ability.

I was able to piece together this very humble soup- it's good and simple, but it would be nice to have more options than 2 can of beans and some nearly unidentifiable frozen meat. I made this soup in the crock pot, but on the stove would be just fine too.

I'll let you know how the grocery delivery goes... so far it's not the same a perusing the aisles with a cart looking for something that interests me. And you don't get to feel the veggies or smell your fruits.  And do you tip the driver?  Oh, but they do deliver liquor... hmm,  maybe there is something fat and happy about grocery shopping on line.

Tips and Techniques: You can choose cheap cuts as long as they stew for hours; the longer you keep them stewing, the more tender they will be. Dried beans will be better than canned, if you have them.

Chili Soup

pork shoulder (1/4 -1/2 lb)
beef shoulder (1/4 - 1/2 lb)
Seasoning salt
1 can of black beans
1 can of red beans
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 Tbls garlic powder
2 Tbls onion powder
2 Tbls cumin
2 Tbls paprika
Fresh black pepper

Season the meat, then braise in the crockpot for about an hour.

Add in the remaining ingredients, cover and allow it to simmer for a few hours (or however long you have.) Use your tongs and pull out the hunks of meat. Tear it apart with a couple of forks and return to the pot.

Serve with a simple bread.

Sauteed Radishes

My friend Hope was coming over for lunch, and I really didn't have much in the house. I managed to put together a quite lovely chili soup (another reason to always have beans in the cupboard). A quick bread came together as well, I used my English muffin bread recipe, but did not have any milk - so substituted 1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup butter for the milk. It worked out well- not as airy, but a nice little loaf!

In the fridge I found half a bag of radishes and some lemons and some beer and wine of course; I felt like I needed to have some sort of little side dish or an appetizer- but I was real limited here. Not sure how this was going to work out, but I decided to sautee the radishes. So I sliced them up, sauteed them with a couple tablespoons of butter, and a little left over cheese dip. Really quite nice, a recipe I'll play with again- adding parsley, maybe some sugar snaps.

Sauteed Radishes

Sautee in 2 tablespoons of butter:
scant 1/4 cup of red onion, sliced thin

Add and sautee until the radishes are still slightly crunchy:
about 2 cups of radishes, sliced
2 cloves of chopped garlic
(salt and pepper to taste)

Add and toss to coat
2 Tbls cheese dip (or cream cheese)
1/4 cup peas (defrosted)

Serve warm, top with parsley.

Slice about 2 cups of radishes.

Pear Sage Ice Cream

During this past fall, when I was still making a new ice cream every week, pears were all the rage. I wanted to do something with pear ice cream, but needed to add a twist to it. At this point in the season, there wasn't much to choose from in my herb garden except the sage. But this sounded like a great mix- pear and sage.

I'm super happy with this recipe and the flavors. Sauteeing the pears and sage with wine first really enhanced everything. And with these flavors, you could serve this all winter long!

Enjoy!


Pear Sage Ice Cream

Sautee until the pears are well steeped and softened
5 large sage leaves
1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and sliced in 16's and then chopped in half
black pepper
1 tsp butter
1/4 cup of white wine

Set aside to cool. Remove the sage leaves before adding to the ice cream mixture.

In the meantime, bring to just below a boil:
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar

Remove from heat
Add 10 sage leaves, cover and steep for 15 minutes

Whisk together until light and doubled in size
3 yolks
1/4 cup sugar

Temper the eggs with the steeped cream and return to heat. Simmer over medium heat, stir often, until the custard coats the back of a wooden spoon and leaves a definitive line when you run your finger on the spoon. Cool. If you have time, let that sit overnight in the fridge.
Make according to your ice cream manufacturers directions, adding the pear mixture at the end.
Eat or freeze.