Main Dish
Hello, and I know … two posts in one day? What is up with that? Well, this is a guest post by my friend Ann who I met on a food site that we both belong to. I love everything Ann posts and hey she is from Massachusetts and loves the patriots as much as I do! As you know I am not a baker, but when I saw Ann post her pictures of these soufflés I knew I needed the recipe and a napkin to wipe my drool…seriously how good do these look?! Ann may have just turned me in to a baker!
Thank you Ann! You rock and I hope you will share many more recipes!
1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter 3 Each Egg Yolks
10 1/2 Ounces Bittersweet Chocolate 6 Each Egg Whites
1 1/3 Cups cold milk 1/3 Cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter & sugar (12) soufflé ramekins. Place on a baking sheet and set aside.
2) Dissolve the cornstarch with the cold milk and place it in a small sauce pan. Bring this mixture to a simmer stirring continuously until thickened.
3) Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and then stir it into the thickened milk mixture. Remove it from the heat and add the lightly beaten egg yolks. Stir well to incorporate.
4) Whip the egg whites in a mixer on medium speed until foamy. Slowly add the sugar and increase to high speed. Whip until stiff peaks are achieved.
5) Lighten the chocolate mixture by folding about one third of the whipped egg whites into the melted chocolate, then fold the balance of the chocolate mixture into the egg whites.
6) Spoon evenly into the ramekins and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and serve at once.
Enjoy,
I came across this citrus dry brine recipe a couple years ago from Bonappetit and have been very happy with it! My turkey always comes out moist and well seasoned. I have tried other various types of brines and this one is by far my favorite! This can also be made up to three days in advance and with a ll the craziness of the holidays, that is a huge bonus!
INGREDIENTS
2 Tablespoons of black peppercorns
1 Tablespoon of Pink peppercorns
2 teaspoons of white peppercorns
2 teaspoon coriander seeds
6 bay leaves
1/2 cup Kosher salt
2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
1/4 cup lemon zest
2 Tablespoons orange zest
DIRECTIONS
Toss all of your peppercorns, coriander seeds and bay leaves in a skillet and heat over medium heat until fragrant. Let cool.
Remove the bay leaves and discard. Place the cooled peppercorns and coriander in a heavy duty Ziploc bag, While using a rolling pin or heavy skillet, crush the mixture. Take out of the bag and mix with the remaining ingredients. Store in an airtight container until ready to use. I apply this to my turkey the night before I am going to roast it. Cover completely and refrigerate.
In the morning remove the turkey that you have covered in the dry brine and rinse all of the brine off of your turkey. Pat dry and continue to prepare your turkey to roast.
Enjoy!
I am sure you are all wondering who Great Grandma Cotten is? She is my good friend Leanne’s (who I work with) great grandmother. Leanne and I were talking at work one day and wondering what to make for dinner. I was at loss this particular day and Leanne suggested meatloaf and her great grandmother’s spaghetti and cheese. Needless to say that’s what was for dinner! Everyone was VERY happy at dinner time! My favorite part is that I made both the meatloaf and the spaghetti and cheese ahead of time and when I was ready to make dinner, I put them both in the oven at the same time and 45 minutes later dinner was done,… and so delicious! I used my meatloaf recipe from this site and here is great grandma Cotten’s spaghetti* and cheese.
INGREDIENTS
1 16 ounce package of spaghetti, cooked
1 16 ounce package of sharp cheese, sliced
1 stick of butter, sliced
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers
Milk -enough to cover the bottom of the casserole dish
*NOTE – I used elbow pasta because that is what I had on hand. I suggest using the spaghetti as the elbow pasta was a little dry. I have made it using the spaghetti and it really makes a difference.
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta until al dante. Drain pasta. Using a large round casserole dish pour enough milk in the bottom of the dish to just over the surface. Put the drained pasta in the dish and add the slices of butter and cheese throughout the spaghetti. Crush the Ritz crackers and top the spaghetti with all of the cracker crumbs.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Thank you Leanne!
Enjoy,
I love manicotti or ANY Italian pasta dish really. I mean who doesn’t… right? Comforting and filling and can also be made ahead! Nothing better… add a side salad and dinner is done! I made these for dinner over the weekend and they were delicious and even better the next day for lunch! I found this recipe in Southern Living Magazine and really liked the ease of this dish. I did have extra filling left over so next time I will make a few more shells! I used sweet italian sausage, but use whatever you like.
INGREDIENTS
1 (8 ounce) package of manicotti shells (I recommend a few more than
that as I had left over filling)
1 – 16 ounce package sweet Italian sausage (ground)
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 26 ounce jar of your favorite pasta sauce
1 8 ounce container of chive and onion cream cheese
6 cups of mozzarella
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 15 ounce container of ricotta cheese
Fresh ground pepper
DIRECTIONS
Follow package directions for the manicotti shells and drain. Cook sausage, onion and garlic in a large pot over medium high heat, stirring often and crumbling the sausage until no longer pink. Stir in pasta sauce and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cream cheese, 4 cups of mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese and add a large pinch of ground pepper. Mix until blended. Cut a slit lengthwise in each manicotti shell. Spoon about 1 cup of the sauce mixture on the bottom of a lightly greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Spoon cheese mixture into each of the manicotti shells, gently pressing the sides together and placing them seam size down in the prepared dish. Spoon remaining sauce over shells and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake covered for 50 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese is melted.
Enjoy,
This salad is so good! I ate a lot of salad over the summer and when school started back up, I went right into comfort food. Not really the best thing to do. But I wanted to make something for Craig who is a good friend who took some time out of his day to custom make something for me. (You will be seeing and hearing about that a little later) . Craig asked me to make him a dessert so I did that, but also wanted to make him something a little more so this was it! He and his shift at the fire station were able to enjoy this delicious fall salad.
INGREDIENTS
Pomegranate infused craisins
Granny Smith apple
pear
Romaine lettuce
Goat cheese
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 clove garlic
1 lime, juiced
salt
pepper
Pumpkin Pie Spiced Pecans (recipe below)
2 cups pecan halves
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with non stick foil and spray with non stick spray. Put the pecans on the prepared baking sheet, sprinkle with pie spice,chili powder and sea salt. Drizzle with olive oil and maple syrup. Mix well coating all of the pecans. Bake for 15 minutes stirring every five minutes. Remove from oven, stir and let cool. Store in air tight container.
Poppy Seed Dressing (recipe below)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk (I used 1 percent)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
pinch of salt
Combine all dressing ingredients and whisk until well blended. Store in the refrigerator.
DIRECTIONS
The chicken will need to marinade for 2-4 hours. Add the vegetable oil, rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, lime salt, and pepper to a heavy duty resealable plastic bag, mix well and add the chicken. Keep in fridge for 2-4 hours, remove from bag, then bake (keep covered with foil while baking) in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until cooked completely through. When the chicken is done and cooled, chop the chicken into bite size pieces.
To assemble the salad start with the romaine lettuce and add the craisins, apple, pear, prepared pecans, goat cheese and the chicken. Top with the dressing and serve. I like the chicken to be slightly warm when I serve this!
Enjoy,
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