Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Impressive Cocktail Fare: Thanksgiving and Christmas Recipes 2013

The holidays are here and I want to share with you all some of my favorite and scrumptious recipes you can use throughout the year~!

via purewow
This year was the first year I ever made a full Thanksgiving dinner, and I incorporated a lot of fun and healthy recipes from Purewow. Purewow = "PureWow is a digital publication dedicated to finding ways to make your life more interesting, beautiful and manageable. Our motto, "Elevate the Everyday," drives us to deliver irresistible discoveries to our readers every single day."

1. This is one of my favorite recipes I snagged from Purewow.
The pig becomes the blanket
HOT POCKETS
Crispy prosciutto-wrapped cauliflower
Healthy & Delicious!





CRISPY PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED CAULIFLOWER
PureWow Original Recipe
MAKES 8 TO 10 APPETIZER SERVINGS
START TO FINISH: 45 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS
1 small head cauliflower
½ cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons white wine
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
20 slices prosciutto
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare the cauliflower: Trim away the base of the cauliflower, including any green leaves. Cut the cauliflower in half, then cut the halves into 1-inch-thick slices. Cut the slices into 2 or 3 bite-size pieces, depending on the size of the slice.2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the cauliflower in the water until nearly tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain the cauliflower well and pat dry with paper towels.
3. In a small bowl, mix the tomato paste with the white wine and black pepper to combine. Spread 1 teaspoon onto the sides of each piece of cauliflower, then sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of Parmesan. Gently wrap a prosciutto slice around each piece of cauliflower, pressing lightly at the end to secure (it should stick well to the tomato-paste mixture).
4. Working in batches, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the cauliflower and cook until the prosciutto is crisp and golden, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Repeat with additional oil and cauliflower until all the pieces are cooked. Let cool slightly, then serve immediately.


2. Mushroom & Sausage Sourdough Stuffing! My favorite stuffing recipe yet!
I used whole wheat sourdough bread to make it a bit healthier and yet still so sinfully delicious ;)
BREAD WINNER

    Mushroom and Sausage Sourdough Stuffing
Erin McDowell
Hold on to your hat: This is not your mother’s stuffing. Think shallots and mushrooms instead of onions and celery, sourdough bread instead of that boring, stale white stuff, and Italian sausage...just because it’s delicious. The result is stuffing that’s fancy enough for your snazziest Thanksgiving spread, but easy enough to warrant a spot in your winter recipe arsenal. Most important, it’s so good that your guests will beg for the recipe--which is really the ultimate Turkey Day victory.
MUSHROOM AND SAUSAGE SOURDOUGH STUFFING
PureWow Original Recipe
MAKES 8 TO 10 SIDE-DISH SERVINGS
START TO FINISH: 1 HOUR (INCLUDES BAKING TIME)
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 shallots, minced
2 pints cremini mushrooms, quartered
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 pound Italian sausage, cooked and diced
1 loaf sourdough bread, cubed (about 8 cups)
4 cups turkey, chicken or vegetable broth
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly grease a large baking dish with nonstick spray.2. Cook the vegetables: Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook until they are lightly golden, 5 to 6 minutes more.
3. Add the garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more. Stir in the rosemary, sage and sausage; cook, tossing occasionally, until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
4. Prepare the stuffing: Add the bread to the bowl and toss with the mushroom mixture to combine. Gradually pour in the broth, tossing well as you pour to ensure it coats the bread mixture evenly. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour the stuffing into the prepared baking dish and bake until the stuffing is heated through and the top is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool slightly; serve warm.
3. I wanted to do something other than mashed potatoes so here is a delightful garlic potato treat!

Allan Loves this dish and it's actually a Russian Classic!
TUBULAR SENSATION
Amazing smashed potatoes


Amazing Smashed Potatoes
Photo courtesy of Erin McDowell
Remember the deli scene in When Harry Met Sally? Well, these potatoes are seriously that good. Just a few ingredients and a couple extra steps are the key to amazing spuds that are crazy-crispy on the outside and wonderfully creamy on the inside. They pair well with nearly any entrée, from Hanukkah brisket to Christmas ham. To top it all off, the garlic will have your kitchen smelling so incredible that your guests will say, “I’ll have what she’s cooking.”
AMAZING SMASHED POTATOES
PureWow Original Recipe
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
START TO FINISH: 40 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS
2 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes, halved
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 head garlic
Kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with 1 inch of water. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat and parboil the potatoes for 3 to 4 minutes, until they just start to become tender. Drain the potatoes well in a colander.2. While the potatoes are parboiling, pour the olive oil onto a half sheet pan and place it into the preheated oven. Once the potatoes have been drained, pour them onto the hot oiled pan and roast them for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the potatoes have a golden crust on the bottom. While the potatoes cook, separate the garlic cloves from one another, leaving their skins intact.
3. Using a spatula, flip the potatoes so that the crusty sides face upward. Add the garlic cloves to the pan, then continue to roast for 7 to 9 minutes more, or until the potatoes have a crispy golden crust on the bottom again.
4. Remove the pan from the oven and smash each potato gently with a large fork. Season the potatoes with the salt, to taste, and serve immediately.
4. This little recipe is my own. It's sooo easy and I love it because I don't use any salt! awesome for anyone that needs to be on a low sodium diet.

Lemon Garlic Green Beans :)
All you need is:
1 lb of green beans
1 lemon
2 tsp of minced garlic
extra virgin olive oil.

Throw them all in a pan and sautee to your taste!


Finally, I want to brag a little about the first time I ever cooked turkey. I was soooo scared and intimidated but it ended up working out just fine! It helps if you get a pre-brined turkey to make things easier.


I used an awesome recipe for a juicy turkey and it was terrific! I found it via Allrecipes.com


Look at how juicy that looks!


Original recipe makes 1 - 15 pound turkey

2 tablespoons dried parsley

2 tablespoons ground dried rosemary

2 tablespoons rubbed dried sage

2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves

1 tablespoon lemon pepper

1 tablespoon salt

1 (15 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 orange, cut into wedges

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth

1 (750 milliliter) bottlechampagne

Instructions:
  1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a turkey roaster with long sheets of aluminum foil that will be long enough to wrap over the turkey.
  2. Stir together the parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme, lemon pepper, and salt in a small bowl. Rub the herb mixture into the cavity of the turkey, then stuff with the celery, orange, onion, and carrot. Truss if desired, and place the turkey into the roasting pan. Pour the chicken broth and champagne over the turkey, making sure to get some champagne in the cavity. Bring the aluminum foil over the top of the turkey, and seal. Try to keep the foil from touching the skin of the turkey breast or legs.
  3. Bake the turkey in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear. Uncover the turkey, and continue baking until the skin turns golden brown, 30 minutes to 1 hour longer. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove the turkey from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.
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After a full day of slaving in the kitchen, I treated myself to an exquisite bottle of Silver Oak I brought from Napa to pair with our lovely meal. It was quite a treat~!





I hope you all find this post useful and please feel free to send me ideas of recipes you love! I'll try them out and post the reviews :)

XOXO

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