Cranberry Fool Pictures

Unfortunately, this one sat for a bit before I got to take a picture. It's prettier when the whipped cream is still cold and stiff. Super good though. I was very very pleased with this recipe.

Cranberry Rolls Update

So these rolls were supposed to be fluffy and light. I got thick and dense. What happened?!

I rushed around too much and forgot to put in the applesauce. Completely forgot! And not only that, I forgot to put in the cranberries too. Clearly I think I needed more sleep.

Not to mention that I used a 1/4 cup measuring scoop to measure out the sugar. (except it was actually a 1/3 cup scoop) So they turned out a bunch sweeter than they should have been.

You would think that for all that, they would have turned out terrible. You would be wrong.

Somehow I managed to turn a messed up recipe and turn bad rolls into scones!

So, the new recipe is here.

Sweet Rosemary Scones with Cranberry Butter

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine salt
3 tbsp fresh minced rosemary
10 tbsp COLD Rosemary Olive Oil
3/4 cup favorite non-dairy milk, unsweetened

Combine the vinegar and the milk together in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients together. Using a fork, cut in the cold olive oil until the dough is a crumbly texture.

Make a well in the center and pour in the milk. Stir until just combined. Flour a surface and turn out the dough. Lightly flour the top and fold the dough over itself 4-5 times. Pat it down to about 1/2 inch thick and cut it into any shape you like. I used a biscuit cutter, but scones can be any shape you want them to be.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Grease a baking sheet and bake for 16-18 minutes.

Cranberry Butter

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup cranberry sauce
   

Mix the butter together with the cranberry sauce and refrigerate until it hardens.

I used some extra cranberry sauce from my Cranberry Fool. It was delicious.

Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Hanukkah!

I didn't want to give you just a normal, traditional Thanksgiving picture. But thank you to Norman Rockwell for proving that even traditional can still be funny and awesome.

So Happy Thanksgiving!

And Happy Hanukkah too! 

Cranberry Fool

Cranberry Fool
(serves 6ish)

1 bag cranberries
3/4 cup sugar
a pinch allspice
1/4 - 1/2 cup water
3 tbsp Blood Orange Olive Oil
Splash of orange liquor
1 tub frozen cool whip

In a sauce pan, combine everything but the cool whip. Simmer over medium heat until the cranberries start to pop, stirring often. Start with 1/4 cup water, if it seems too dry, add the other 1/4 cup.

Reduce the heat to a very low simmer and cook about 5 minutes. The water should evaporate and leave you with a loose cranberry sauce.

Remove from the heat and cool to at least room temperature. You make this up to 24 hours ahead and put it in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to serve, thaw the cool whip slightly and turn it out into a large bowl. Fold in the cooled cranberry sauce. You want swirls, not pink cream. (although that will taste just as good!)


You could serve the cranberries without the cream as is as cranberry sauce with no problem. I did something similar last Thanksgiving. Though I think leaving the shallots out is better for a dessert!

And if you are really rushed, you can dress up a can of whole berry cranberry sauce with a little olive oil and liquor. If you want to be fancy, feel free to make your own whipped cream.

Slow Cooker Pork Sandwiches

Oh yum. I forgot to put the cheese on my sandwich, but never missed it. Go for it if you want!

Slow Cooked Pork

1 pork shoulder 3-4 lbs

1-2 onions

1 tbsp Rosemary Olive Oil per pound

1 tsp flaky salt (like our Greek)

1/2 cup white wine, optional

Slice the onions medium thick in rings. Rub the salt and olive oil all over the roast. Place it in the slow cooker and top with the onions. Add the wine, if you are using it. Cook on high for 4 1/2 hours. Any longer and it will be pulled pork. You want to be able to slice this. It will still fall apart, but not quite that much. More like pot roast.

If you do not have a slow cooker, preheat the oven to 325 degrees and put it in a large dutch oven for 3 hours.

Sandwiches

Ciabatta bread, sliced in half

1 tbsp stone ground mustard

2-3 roasted red pepper slices

a bit of the onions

2 slices of the pork

2 slices provolone (optional)

Assemble and devour.

Cranberry Rolls with Rosemary

This is a vegan request for Thanksgiving. Vegans need rolls too! And you could also make these just regular rosemary rolls. Just leave out the berries!

Cranberry Rolls with Rosemary

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine salt
1-2 tbsp fresh minced rosemary, optional
10 tbsp COLD Rosemary Olive Oil
1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened is better
1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
3/4 cup favorite non-dairy milk, unsweetened

Combine the vinegar and the milk together in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients together. Using a fork, cut in the cold olive oil until the dough is a crumbly texture.

Make a well in the center and pour in the applesauce and milk mix. Add the cranberries. Stir until just combined. Fold the dough over itself a few times. This helps create a layered texture. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the dough until it is about 3/4" thick. Cut into any shape you like.

Grease a baking sheet and bake for 16-18 minutes. DO NOT open the oven for at least 10 minutes. Chilling the dough and starting with cold oil helps these biscuits to rise. Opening the oven before then will undo all that good work and you will have flat muffins.

Red Apple Waldorf Salad

This is a great way to start off any meal. Or add some leftover turkey and call it lunch!

Red Apple Waldorf Salad

makes 4

2 tbsp Red Apple Balsamic

1 medium red apple

2-3 ounces hard white cheddar

1/4 cup slivered almonds or walnuts

6-7 large brussels sprouts

8 cups lettuce, any mix
1 avocado, diced
1 lemon, in 4 wedges
2-3 tbsp Tuscan Olive Oil
1/3 cup mayo or greek yogurt

Whisk the mayo or yogurt in a small bowl with the Balsamic. Add the olive oil 1 tbsp at a time until you reach a consistency that you like. I like it more on the thin side and add a little more olive oil to mine.

Cut the bottoms off the brussels sprouts and flake all the leaves off. I save the hearts to saute later, or you can dice them up and add them in too. Divide all the salad ingredients evenly in 4 bowls. Drizzle the top of each plate with the dressing and serve with a wedge of lemon.

Thanksgiving Lite 2013 Meal Plan

This Thanksgiving I am spending at my sister in law's house. But that's no excuse not to make some things anyway.

The things on my Thanksgiving Lite menu can be used as sides or meals after, used with leftovers or made anytime. I just love to cook.

Pictures will come when I have made everything!

Thanksgiving Lite Menu 2013

Pomegranate Turkey Legs

Slow Cooked Pork Sandwiches

Cranberry Rolls with Rosemary

Wheatberry Risotto

Red Apple Waldorf Salad

Cranberry Fool (dessert)

Asparagus and Tomato with Mushroom Sauce

I promise, I am working on the Thanksgiving recipes! Promise!

It is a light Thanksgiving for my kitchen this year. My sister in law just redid her whole dining room and kitchen, so we are going to take advantage of that this year and go to her place. But my husband has a few days off while I work, so I'm prepping some things so he doesn't feel left out of the left-over-palooza that is coming.

You could serve this with rice or pasta. Or you can just eat it. Just eat it. It's good for you. All veggies. You could even make a double batch and use it as a side for Thanksgiving. Ha! I might just do that. I need something to bring to work with me.

Asparagus and Tomato with Mushroom Sauce

1 lb asparagus

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup Cream of Porcini 

Himalayan Pink Salt

2 Tbsp Garlic Olive Oil

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan to medium. Trim the asparagus of it's woody ends and slice on the diagonal into bite-sized pieces. Halve the cherry tomatoes.

Add the asparagus to the pan and saute, stirring often for 3-5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and a sprinkle of the salt. Cook for about 2-3 minutes more. The tomato juices should be running around the pan and everything should start smelling amazing.

Now it is time for the Cream of Porcini. Add it in a tablespoon at a time stirring until you have it all incorporated. 

Spicy Pumpkin Pockets

I bought some pie crust on sale this week and thought that it would be great to make a pumpkin pie. A pocket pie!

Pocket pies, or hand pies are probably my favorite species of pie. You can fill them with anything and they are portable. And there is a great ratio of filling to crust.

I think that the Rosemary Olive Oil would be great with this as well.

Spicy Pumpkin Pockets

1/2 pkg refrigerated pie crust
2-4 turkey slices, optional
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper
1 tbsp Chipotle Olive Oil + 1 tbsp for brushing
1 tsp minced garlic
2 slices provolone cheese
pinch ground sage
pinch nutmeg

Bring the sleeve of pie crust to room temperature and unroll it. If there are any breaks, dip your finger in warm water and gently smooth it over the break to join the broken places back together. Slice in half and set aside.

Combine the spices in a large bowl with the pumpkin puree. Stir until combined and taste for salt. Add the olive oil and stir.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper or spray it with non-stick spray. Place the dough onto the dish. Layer 1/4 cup of the mixture and some turkey slices on one side of each of the dough half-rounds. Gently wet the very edge of the pastry and fold it in half, pinching or pressing to close. Brush the tops with the remaining olive oil.

Bake for 15-25 minutes. The filling doesn't need to be cooked, just the crust. Keep a watch on it so it doesn't get too brown.

Shrimp Avocado Sandwich

I made a few more shrimp than I needed when I made the lemon pasta earlier this week. I suppose they aren't really extra. There are never extra shrimp. There are just reserved shrimp. 

So these reserved shrimp needed something creamy, and crunchy to pair with. At the grocery store, a nice display of avocados decided the day.

Shrimp Avocado Sandwich

for 1 sandwich

6-8 shrimp, cooked

1/4 avocado, sliced

1 long roll

2 slices provolone

a couple ribs romaine lettuce

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tbsp Pineapple Balsamic

2 tbsp Spanish Olive Oil

Slice your roll in half and brush with the olive oil. Toss under a boiler for a couple minutes until it gets nice and brown. I used my toaster oven and that worked just fine. 

Whisk the mayonnaise with the Pineapple Balsamic and spread over the toasted bread. If you want melted cheese, assemble everything but arrange the cheese on top and stick back under the broiler. I just wanted to eat it, so I folded it up and did just that.

Perfect crispy bread. Nice creamy avocado. Mmmm, shrimp.

Lemon Shrimp Tagliatelle

I really love lemons. Lemon-filled donuts are my favorites, lemon meringue, lemonade, limoncello.... Our Lemon Pasta is like the icing on the lemon poppy seed cake of my food life. So making lemon shrimp with Lemon Pasta is just the best thing I can think of. Unless it's lemon chicken with Lemon Pasta.

Lemon Pasta with Shrimp

6-7 capers
10-12 large cooked shrimp, thaw if frozen
4 tbsp Spanish Olive Oil
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
pinch of smoked paprika
Lemon Pasta for 2-4 people
Lemon wedges for serving

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Rinse well and toss with a little olive oil. Set aside somewhere, but keep it warm.

In a medium saute pan, heat the olive oil up to medium-high. Add the capers and shrimp. I remove the tails, but you don't have to. Sprinkle a little salt and paprika on them. If you want them to have a crispier edge, don't stir them at all and cook for 3-4 minutes per side. If you like them more tender, stir them occasionally and only let them go for 2-3 minutes each side.

In the last minute, add the parsley so it crisps and a little dusting of pepper.

Add the shrimp to the cooked pasta. Make sure you drain all the olive oil from the pan, it is now your sauce!

Serve with lemon wedges if needed.

Turkey Cutlets with Cranberry Cream Sauce and Chocolate Pasta

I wanted to do something savory with the chocolate pasta. And, of course, it's cranberry time. And turkey...The rest just put itself together. I think it's a pretty good job!

This recipe is going out with the Newsletter. Go get this month's coupon!

Turkey Cutlets with Cranberry Cream Sauce
      and Chocolate Pasta

2 turkey cutlets
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4 tbsp Persian Lime Olive Oil, divided
2 tsp Toasted Onion Sea Salt, divided
2 tbsp Cranberry Balsamic
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp cream cheese (optional)
3/4 cup heavy cream or milk
1 cup (6-10) shaved brussels sprouts
1/2 cup sundried cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tbsp minced garlic
4 slices thick cut bacon
Chocolate Pasta

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spread 1 tbsp of the oil over each cutlet and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the nutmeg and the Toasted Onion Salt. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. If you are measuring with a thermometer, the internal temperature should be 165.

Take them out of the oven and let them cool. Slice thinly on a diagonal and set aside.

Prepare the pasta according to the directions, enough for 4 servings. Rinse well. Cook the bacon until is it nice and crispy and crumble it. Set those aside.

Heat the other 2 tbsp of olive oil in a sauce pan and add the garlic and the cherry tomatoes. Saute for 1-3 minutes. Add the cream or milk and the Cranberry Balsamic and bring to a light simmer. Put in the sour cream and stir to combine. Then add the cream cheese if you are using it. Simmer for another minute or two, the sauce should be nice and thick.

Sprinkle in the salt and the brussels sprouts, saving a little bit for garnish. Stir in some of the bacon, saving some of that for garnish too. Remove from the heat.

Arrange some pasta and turkey slices on each plate. Top with the sauce, a bit of brussles sprouts and bacon and a couple whole cherry tomatoes.

Enjoy!

Harvest Cake

You can't ever really have too many apples in the house right? It's not that I have too many, it's that they are so pretty, and smell so good that they jump in my shopping cart. I can stop buying them any time I want! I just have a bit more than I can eat right now. That's why there is cake. You can give someone a cake. Or just share one.

Baked apples are awesome. Raw apples are awesome. But apples in cake is sticky sweet SUPER-awesome! Get some ice cream to serve with this and the whole thing will be gone in ten minutes!

Harvest Cake

3 med apples, finely diced
1/4 cup diced dates
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup flaked coconut
2 tbsp Persian Lime Olive Oil
2 cups hot water

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to just under boiling and simmer for 10-15 minutes stirring often. Apples should be very soft and the water should be almost gone.

1 box Spice Cake Mix
2 tbsp Persian Lime Olive Oil
1/4 cup apple cider or milk

Bake at 350 degrees. 25-30 minutes.

This is a very sticky cake. If you wanted to make it more fluffy, you could add the eggs that the box mix calls for. But I like this to be dense. The only thing I forgot was the ice cream.

Warm this up to serve with vanilla ice cream and you will never look back!

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Chili

A little while ago, I made Pumpkin Hummus. It was very good. But I did have some leftovers, and while my grandfather visited last week, he thought that it was soup and heated it up and ate it. He said it was very good soup.

So pumpkin and beans and a little bit of sweetness in a soup... I can do that. This reminds me very much of African Groundnut Stew. Except with no chicken and a lot of beans! 

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Chili

2 cans black beans

1 can red kidney beans

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup prepared TVP*

12 oz pureed pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling

1 cup peanut butter or other nut butter

1/4 cup agave syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp paprika, smoked

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 tsp cumin

2 cups vegetable broth

1 6oz can tomato paste

1 12oz can of crushed or pureed tomatoes

4 tbsp Chipotle Olive Oil

1 tsp minced garlic

Rinse and drain the beans and put them aside in a large bowl.

Put the TVP, garlic, onion and the olive oil in a large stock pot and heat to medium high. Saute around for 5-7 minutes. The garlic should be nice and fragrant, but the TVP should not be burning.

Add the vegetable stock and the ground spices. Bring it to a low simmer and stir until all the spices dissolve, or at least distribute well. Taste test for flavor and spiciness. Add a bit more cayenne if you want, and a bit more black pepper than you think you need.

Stir in the tomato paste slowly. When it has dissolved around, do the same with the pumpkin and the peanut butter. You want it to be pretty smooth at this point except for the TVP and onions floating around.

Now add the beans and tomatoes. Cover and bring to a high simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Stir in the agave syrup in the last minute or two of cooking. Serve with pumpkin seeds, fried onion bits or really anything you want.

*TVP, or Textured Vegetable Protein is generally a soy based filler food. You find it in so many commercial products, including a lot of store brand chili's! But it is a good substitute for ground meat in recipes. It has lots of protein and takes on the flavor of whatever you are cooking it with. You can usually find it in the organic or natural aisles of your supermarket. Or you can just add another can of beans.

This is a vegan meal, but you could always play with that a bit. Instead of TVP, next time I am going to add some blended garbanzo beans. It worked for the hummus/soup, it will work for this. You can use ground meat if you want and meat broth instead of veggie broth. And if you don't have agave, honey is fine.

White Pizza with Broccoli and Tomatoes

Happy Birthday to my mom and to my husband! Both of them have birthday's this week and they both like white pizza... So this one is for you guys!

This started with a big ball of store bought dough. Feel free to make your own, but right now I don't have a go-to dough recipe of my own. Well, I have one I really like, but I never plan my meals ahead and waiting for dough to rise is just torture! I even think the pizza dough in the pop-can is pretty good. Don't tell anyone though. I just love a fast meal.

White Pizza with Broccoli and Tomatoes

1 ball pizza dough, enough for one pizza
2 cups chopped broccoli
3/4 - 1 cup ricotta cheese
2-3 plum tomatoes
4 tbsp Sun-dried Tomato Parmesan Garlic Olive Oil
     plus a little more for serving
1 large ball fresh mozzarella, 3-4 inches diameter

Heat your oven to 450 degrees.

Bring the dough to room temperature. Stretch out the dough gently on a baking stone or a greased baking sheet. Make sure not to over work it, or it will get clumpy and stringy. If you get any tears, continue working the dough until you get the right size and then go back and pinch the tears together. Drizzle, spoon or brush the olive oil over the entire surface of the dough, going all the way to the edges.

Spread the ricotta cheese and broccoli in an even layer across the dough. Slice the tomatoes in a medium slice and sprinkle around. Slice the mozzarella into thin slices and distribute around. Make sure not to get the cheeses too close to the edges, stay back about 1/4 inch on all sides.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Until the cheese and crust start to brown and everything is all bubbly.

Sprinkle with a little more olive oil and serve.

Sesame Salmon

I had some salmon in the fridge, a raging hunger and not much else going on. There is only so much raw parsley you can eat before you feel much too fresh.

I popped open a can of sliced potatoes and tossed this together in about 2 minutes. I thought it was fantastic! I hope you do too!

Sesame Salmon

1 salmon fillet
1 can sliced new potatoes
     or 8-10 quartered red potatoes
salt & pepper
1 tbsp fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
sesame seeds
2-3 tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
2 tbsp Zesty Lemon Balsamic

Preheat your oven to 400degrees.

Spread half the Sesame Oil in the bottom of a casserole pan large enough to hold everything semi spread out. Add the potatoes and toss them to coat them in the oil.

If you are using canned potatoes, proceed to the next paragraph. If you are using regular potatoes, sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper and pop them in the oven for 10 minutes.

Add the salmon to the pan. drizzle the rest of the oil and the balsamic over everything. Sprinkle the fish with the salt and pepper and toss the sesame seeds over everything. Mix in about a tbsp of chopped parsley to the potatoes.

Bake for about 20 minutes. The salmon should flake easily when you poke it with a fork. (If you have a very thin piece of fish, try it after 15 minutes, try a really thick one after 25.)

Garnish with parsley and devour.