Tag Archives: christmas

November 26, 2010 · 8:03 am

Twelve (More) Days of Christmas Cookies: Raspberry Crumb Bars

DAY 1: Welcome to the Second Annual Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies! This year, I have twelve new cookie recipes to share, starting with this recipe for Raspberry Crumb Bars. They are a shortbread based cookie, which makes them pretty crumbly to eat, but I love the combination of raspberries and nuts. For the raspberry filling, I used a combination of homemade Red Raspberry and Black Raspberry Jams that I canned last summer.

The original recipe, from Family Fun magazine (printed below with a few adjustments), is baked in a 9” square pan, but I doubled the recipe and baked them in a rimmed 17×12” baking pan.

Visit: First Annual Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies for a recap of the cookies from last year.

RECIPE:

Raspberry Crumb Bars

Servings: 32
Print

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9-inch square pan with butter or cooking spray. (**See Note below for using larger baking pan)

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until well blended. Beat in vanilla. Add the flour and salt and beat just until the flour is incorporated. The dough will be crumbly. Press about two-thirds of the dough into the greased pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.

While the shortbread cools slightly, mix the oats and nuts into the remaining one-third of the dough. The mixture will be very crumbly; it is easier to use your hands to mix the topping.

Spread the raspberry jam on the shortbread, then evenly cover the jam with the crumb topping. (TIP: for easy jam spreading, heat the jam slightly in the microwave; stir and pour over crust.)

Bake the bars for 20-25 mins, or until the topping is golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack for about 15-20 minutes. While the shortbread is still slightly warm, cut it into 16 squares, then cut each square in half diagonally. Once the triangles cool completely (they are very fragile while warm), lift them from the pan with a metal spatula.

Makes 32 triangles.

**NOTE: I doubled the recipe and baked them in a 17×12” rimmed baking sheet for 7-8 minutes for the crust, and then the whole bars for about 18 minutes. Using this sized pan makes for slightly thinner bars than the original recipe, which I liked. Yield: about 70 triangles.

Recipe adapted from Family Fun magazine

NoEmptyChairs.me

4 Comments

Filed under Cookies, Desserts

Tagged as baking, bar cookies, christmas, Christmas cookies, Cookies, cooking, dessert, food, jam, raspberry, recipe, shortbread crust, streusel, triangles

November 17, 2010 · 2:23 pm

Thanksgiving: Herb Brined Roast Turkey

DSC04553-1

A brined turkey is one that sits in salted water (with the addition of some herbs and sweeteners in this case) for 12-24 hours before cooking. Brining will not make your turkey taste salty, but will help keep all of those wonderful juices inside the meat, where they belong. Brining does require some advance planning, however. Here is how I approach brining for Thanksgiving:

—

Thanksgiving Turkey Timetable:

Tuesday evening: Prepare brine. Cover and let it sit overnight.
Wednesday morning: Add turkey to brine; Let it sit in a cool place (below 40°F) for 12-24 hours (I usually go with close to 24 hours)
Thursday (Thanksgiving!):
- 4 hours before you plan to serve the meal: Remove turkey from brine. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes
- 3 ½ hours before eating: Prep turkey and put in the oven. Roast until cooked through (about 2 ½ to 3 hours total)
- 30 minutes before eating: Remove turkey from oven and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Serving time: Carve and serve turkey.

To Make an Herb-Brined Roast Turkey:

First you need to decide on and prepare your equipment:

large stockpot
large Ziploc bag (Ziploc Big Bags-Large Size) or 5 gallon food-grade bucket
cooler or large bin/bucket
ice

**Before beginning the brining process, gather together the needed equipment: a large stockpot (2+ gallons. If you don’t have one this large, you can prepare the first step of the brine, then add the remaining liquid to your brining bag or bucket); large Ziploc bag (Ziploc Big Bags- Large Size) or 5 gallon food-grade bucket; a cooler or very large bin/bucket that will fit the large Ziploc bag or 5-gallon bucket (filled with turkey and brine) plus room to add ice around the outside; ice. You need to maintain a temperature below 40°F.

—

For the Brine: In a large stock pot, combine salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, pepper corns, garlic, fresh herbs and ONE gallon of water. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let the mixture steep for 25 minutes. Add remaining 2 quarts water and 2 quarts apple cider (or additional water). Cool brine to room temperature (place pot in a sink full of ice water if you need the brine immediately, or let it sit at room temperature until cool-I leave it overnight).

Place the turkey in the Ziploc bag or bucket breast-side down. Put the bagged turkey in a clean cooler or the bucket in a larger bin/bucket. Pour the brine into the bag or bucket with the turkey. Zip the bag closed, or put the lid on the bucket. Add ice around the outside of the bag or bucket to keep the turkey cold (below 40F). Place the cooler in a cool place (garage or outside). Let the turkey soak in the cold brine for 12-24 hours. (NOTE: If it is cold enough outside, you may not need the ice. If it is too cold, use the garage as your turkey will freeze)

At least 30 minutes before cooking, remove the turkey from the brine. Pat dry (do not rinse).

Place a rack (v-shaped rack, preferably) in a large roasting pan. For easier cleanup, I like to cover my rack with foil and poke holes in it. Place the turkey on the rack. Let turkey rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Rub turkey generously all over (inside and out) with olive oil. Stuff cavity loosely with a peeled onion, whole garlic cloves, fresh herbs, tops of celery stalks (leftover from celery used for stuffing). Arrange turkey, breast side down, on the greased rack, folding back the wings and securing the legs.

Cook for 60 minutes at 400°F, until the back of the turkey is well browned; turn the turkey breast side up and baste with juices from the bottom of the pan. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and return turkey to the oven.

Roast for about another 90 minutes (exact time will depend on size of turkey: take out when the breast registers 155°F or the thigh registers 165°F; temperature will continue to rise about another 5 degrees out of the oven).

Transfer the turkey to a platter or baking dish with a small rim (don’t place directly onto a flat cutting board as juices will continue to leach for a little while). Let turkey rest for 30 minutes, uncovered, before carving. This ensures maximum juiciness. And gives you a chance make gravy and to pop those rolls in the oven just before serving dinner.

—
RECIPE:

Herb Brined Roast Turkey

Brine Ingredients:

2 cups kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup pure maple syrup
2 Tbs whole black peppercorns
10-12 whole garlic cloves, crushed
4 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary
3-4 sprigs fresh sage
4-6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 gallons water (or 1 ½ gallons water + 2 qts apple cider)
1 large turkey (15-20 lb), thawed

Equipment **SEE NOTE:
large stockpot
large Ziploc bag (Ziploc Big Bags-Large Size) or 5 gallon food-grade bucket
cooler or large bin/bucket
ice

**EQUIPMENT NOTE: Before beginning the brining process, gather together the needed equipment: a large stockpot (2+ gallons. If you don’t have one this large, you can prepare the first step of the brine, then add the remaining liquid to your brining bag or bucket); large Ziploc bag (Ziploc Big Bags- Large Size) or 5 gallon food-grade bucket; a cooler or very large bin/bucket that will fit the large Ziploc bag or 5-gallon bucket (filled with turkey and brine) plus room to add ice around the outside; ice. You need to maintain a temperature below 40°F.

For the Brine: In a large stock pot, combine the salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, pepper corns, garlic, fresh herbs and ONE gallon of water. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let the mixture steep for 25 minutes. Add remaining 2 quarts water and 2 quarts apple cider (or additional water). Cool brine to room temperature (place pot in a sink full of ice water if you need the brine immediately, or let it sit at room temperature until cool-I leave it overnight).

Place the turkey in the Ziploc bag or bucket breast-side down. Put the bagged turkey in a clean cooler or the bucket in a larger bin/bucket. Pour the brine into the bag or bucket with the turkey. Zip the bag closed, or put the lid on the bucket. Add ice around the outside of the bag or bucket to keep the turkey cold (below 40°F). Place the cooler in a cool place (garage or outside). Let the turkey soak in the cold brine for 12-24 hours. (NOTE: If it is cold enough outside, you may not need the ice. If it is too cold, use the garage as your turkey will freeze)

At least 30 minutes before cooking, remove the turkey from the brine. Pat dry (do not rinse). Place on a rack in a large roasting pan. Let turkey rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Roast as directed below.

Roasting Ingredients:

Brined Turkey from above
Olive oil
1 onion, quartered
1 stalk celery (or unused celery tops from celery used for stuffing), cut into 2-3 pieces
4-6 cloves garlic (whole)
Fresh herbs: any combination of thyme, sage, rosemary, oregano

Preheat oven to 400°F for at least 15-20 minutes. Adjust the oven rack to the lowest position. Place a V-shaped rack in the bottom of your roasting pan (I like to cover this with foil, and poke holes in the foil).

Place the turkey, breast side down, on the rack.

Rub the turkey all over (inside and out, top and bottom) with olive oil. Put the quartered onion, celery, whole garlic cloves and herbs (no need to chop herbs) inside the turkey cavity (I do not ever put stuffing inside my turkey). Pour 2 cups of water in the bottom of the roasting pan.

If the legs of your turkey are not secured with a plastic or metal clip, tie them together with kitchen twine. Fold the wing tips back under the turkey. Roast, breast side down for 60 minutes.

Remove the turkey from the oven and turn it breast side up (you can use clean pot holders that you then throw into the laundry, or a bunch of paper towels). Baste turkey with drippings from the bottom of the pan. If the water level has dropped significantly, add another cup of water.

Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and roast for about another 90 minutes (exact time will depend on size of turkey: take out when the breast registers 155°F or the thigh registers 165°F; temperature will continue to rise about another 5 degrees out of the oven). Remove turkey from oven.

Turkey Gravy:

¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
4 cups turkey drippings or turkey broth***
salt and white pepper

Melt butter in pan (you can reuse your turkey roasting pan). Stir in flour. Cook, stirring with a whisk, until roux is golden brown. Slowly stir in turkey drippings, whisking constantly (***see note below). Taste; season gravy with salt and white pepper (if you are using the juices from a brined turkey or a canned turkey broth that contains salt, you may not need to add any additional salt).

***Note: Pour juices from the bottom of the turkey roasting pan into a Ziploc bag (you can strain the broth if it has a lot of solids in it). Seal bag and place upright. Let sit for about 10 minutes, until the fat separates and rises to the top of the bag. Over a large bowl or the pan you are using to make gravy, poke a hole in the bottom corner of the Ziploc bag and let the broth pour out. When most of the broth is gone and you are almost at the fat portion, tip bag upwards to stop the flow. Discard unwanted fat.

—

Thanksgiving Turkey Timetable:

Tuesday evening: Prepare brine. Cover and let it sit overnight.
Wednesday morning: Add turkey to brine; Let it sit in a cool place (below 40°F) for 12-24 hours (I usually go with close to 24 hours)
Thursday (Thanksgiving!):
- 4 hours before you plan to serve the meal: Remove turkey from brine. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes
- 3 ½ hours before eating: Prep turkey and put in the oven. Roast until cooked through (about 2 ½ to 3 hours total)
- 30 minutes before eating: Remove turkey from oven and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Serving time: Carve and serve turkey.
—

NoEmptyChairs.me

Dessert Fondues

_______

Chocolate and Vanilla Dessert Fondues: what other way could you possibly end an All-Dipping-All-Day Christmas? (Actually, next year I’m thinking butterscotch might be fun to try)

The best part (other than the actual eating) is how simple they are to put together at the last minute. The dipping items: fruit and other not so healthy items, can be prepared ahead of time. And it look less than 10 minutes to make both of the fondue mixtures.

It would be hard to do a day of fondue without ending it with a chocolate fondue. This was definitely everyone’s favorite dish (except Little A, but he was perfectly happy with his vanilla version).

I made a Dark Chocolate Fondue, but you could easily adjust that based on what kind of chocolate you use. The recipe is embarrassingly simple: heat some heavy cream in the microwave, pour it over some chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli Bittersweet), add some vanilla and a dash of salt and stir.

The Vanilla Custard Fondue was only slightly more complicated, as it did require a pan on the stove. For this fondue, I adapted a simple stirred custard recipe. Normally it would be cooked, chilled and eaten as a pudding, but it was great warm as a fondue. The custard is made by combining beaten eggs, cream, milk, sugar, and a vanilla bean and cooking until the mixture thickens.

I used two mini crock pots to serve these fondues.

What to dip in dessert fondues? What can’t you dip!

Fresh fruit is an obvious great choice (strawberries, kiwi, bananas, melon, pineapple, mangos), but don’t stop there. We also used some dried fruit (apricots are fabulous!). And then there are the not-so-healthy dipping items: cakes (pound cake or angel food cake), unfrosted sugar cookies or shortbread cookies, graham crackers, marshmallows, pretzels, and everyone’s favorite: mini cream puffs!

RECIPES:

Dark Chocolate Fondue

Servings: 6-8
Print

¾ cup heavy cream
6 oz (about 1 cup chips) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 tsp vanilla
Dash salt

Heat cream in the microwave for one minute (or on the stove for about 5 minutes). Pour over chocolate. Let stand one minute. Add salt and vanilla and stir until melted. Pour into a mini crock pot or fondue pot. Serve with Dipping Items.

Dipping Items:
Fresh or dried fruit: strawberries, kiwi, bananas, melon, pineapple, mangos, apricots
Pound cake or angel food cake, unfrosted sugar cookies or shortbread cookies, graham crackers, marshmallows, pretzels, mini cream puffs

NoEmptyChairs.me

Vanilla Custard Fondue

Servings: 8-10
Print

3 beaten eggs
1 ½ cups cream
½ cup milk
¼ cup sugar
½ of a vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract

Split vanilla bean and scrape seeds. Add bean and seeds with remaining ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens. Remove vanilla bean. (Add vanilla extract at the end of cooking if not using vanilla bean) Pour custard into a fondue pot or mini crock pot. Serve with Dipping Items.

NoEmptyChairs.me

1 Comment

Filed under Desserts

Tagged as chocolate, chocolate fondue, christmas, dessert fondue, fondue, new years, vanilla custard, vanilla fondue

December 29, 2009 · 9:53 am

A Day of Dipping

With five children I quickly discovered that all food tastes better when it is dipped! So for Christmas day, after a post-present-opening brunch, the rest of the day was spent dipping food. The day was roughly divided into an early afternoon snack of: Hot Artichoke dip, Veges and Dip, Hummus and pita, Tortilla chips and salsa, and a cheese, sausage and crackers plate (I know, the cheese&crackers kind of ruins the whole all-dipping-all-day concept, but we ate them anyway), and then for dinner: Four Fun Fondues! It makes for a nice grazing atmosphere, and if you choose to do so, you can eat constantly all-day-long.

As this would also be fun for New Year’s, I thought I would share a few of the recipes.

Hot Artichoke Dip
with Crispy Bread Rounds

Artichoke dip is definitely one of the favorites around here. But only if it is accompanied by Crispy Bread. They will consent to eat it with crackers once they have inhaled all of the bread, but only when I assure them that I really don’t have any more bread in the house to make more crispy bread. And don’t let this get out, but I have also seen my children dip carrots and raw broccoli in the artichoke dip, so be sure to also have a vege tray on hand, as well.

The bread is easy to make- so buy much more than you think you will need. Start with a long, thin baguette (or 2 or 3).

Cut the baguette into thin slices. Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet.

Place bread slices on the oiled baking sheet. Turn each slice over to get a small amount of oil on each side. Bake at 350°F for about 10-15 minutes, turning once. These can be made several days ahead of time-just be sure to hide them or your children (yes, you can blame them) will eat them all before you get a chance to set them out with your dips.

Our favorite artichoke dip is a simple mixture of artichokes, green onions, garlic, mayo, and cheeses.

A food processor makes it quick and easy to whip up a batch at the last minute.

Or prepare it the day before, keep it in the fridge and bake it just before serving.

Tomorrow (hopefully-I am finding it very hard to get time on the one family computer with everyone home from school!), I will share our fondue recipes.

RECIPE:

Hot Artichoke Dip with Crispy Bread Rounds

Servings: 8-10
Print

Artichoke Dip:
1 can artichoke hearts, drained
2 cloves garlic
½ bunch green onions
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup shredded Mozzarella
¼ cup grated Parmesan
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
Crispy Bread Rounds, Crackers, Fresh Vegetables

Combine artichokes, garlic, and green onions in a food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Stir in mayonnaise, cheeses, salt and pepper. Spread in a baking dish. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.

Serve with bread, crackers and/or fresh vegetables.

Note: Dip can be prepared ahead (unbaked), refrigerated and then baked just before serving.

Crispy Bread Rounds:
long, thin baguette(s)
olive oil

Cut baguette into thin slices. Pour about 2 Tbs olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Place bread slices, in a single layer, on baking sheet. Turn bread slices over to get a small amount of oil on both sides of bread.

Bake at 350°F for 10-15 minutes, turning once, until bread is crispy.

Store at room temperature.

NOTE: This is also a good way to make croutons: Add some seasonings to the olive oil (garlic powder, dry salad dressing mix, dried herbs, etc), spread it out on the baking pan and stir in some cubed bread. Bake until crispy.

NoEmptyChairs.me