Cassie’s Ruminations

Veal Piccata

This is very similar to my chicken piccata – I just use veal scaloppine instead of the thinly cut chicken breast. The pan sauce becomes darker and richer from the veal, but it has a very similar flavor. I actually prefer the chicken version, but my store didn’t have any appropriate chicken, while it had veal in the bargain bin.

Veal Piccata
Serves 4

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb chicken tenderloins or thinly sliced skinless boneless chicken breast
Salt and pepper
4 tbsp flour
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp drained capers
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)
1-2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley (optional)
1 pound spaghetti or other long pasta

Put water on to boil for the pasta.

Pat veal with paper towels to thoroughly dry. Mix together the flour with salt and pepper to taste. Lightly coat the veal with flour, shaking off any excess.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Cook the veal for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove to a plate.

Reduce heat to medium low. If the skillet is dry, add up to 2 tbsp more olive oil. Add garlic and capers to skillet. Cook for 30 seconds, or until the garlic is fragrant. Add two tablespoons of the flour mixture and stir to coat completely with oil, making a roux. Add broth and lemon juice, increase heat to medium high, and cook for another minute or two, stirring constantly, until the flour is completely incorporated and the sauce is starting to thicken. Stir in parsley if using. Return the veal to the skillet and turn to coat completely in the sauce. Serve immediately over pasta.

Posted in Beef, Food, Italian, Pasta | 1 Comment »

Turkey Burritos

Wow, this is my 100th post. I’m enjoying this blog, and I hope all three of you that read it enjoy it too 🙂

This is another use for leftover turkey. I just use my standard burrito spices and heat up about a pound of cubed turkey in a skillet to go in tortillas with beans. Quick, easy, and tasty.

Turkey Burritos
Serves 4

Non-stick spray
1 pound leftover turkey meat, cubed
½ tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
¼ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp black pepper
½ tsp oregano
Dash cayenne pepper

1 can chili beans
4 burrito sized tortillas

Spray a skillet with non-stick spray. Heat the turkey meat with the spices over medium heat until sizzling. Serve with chili beans, tortillas, and whatever accouterments that you desire (e.g. cheese, sour cream, lettuce, etc.)

Posted in Food, Leftovers, Mexican, Poultry | 2 Comments »

Turkey Noodle Soup

This is a quick comforting meal that uses up some of that leftover turkey and stock made from the turkey carcass. I ended up with about 3 quarts of stock from my 13 pound turkey, and it was just the right amount for this soup.

Turkey Noodle Soup
Serves 6

2 tbsp butter
1 large carrot, cut into rounds
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 inch fresh ginger, grated (about 1 tbsp of puree)
3 quarts turkey stock
6 oz turkey meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp onion powder
½ tsp thyme
6 oz egg noodles

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. When it starts to foam, add the carrots and cook for 3-5 minutes or until just starting to get tender. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until becoming fragrant. Add the stock and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the turkey and seasonings and turn the heat to medium high. Bring the soup to a boil and add the egg noodles. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the egg noodles are tender. Taste the broth and adjust seasonings if necessary. I sometimes add a bouillon cube or a teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon (they make a turkey base that is very good here) if the stock was weak. Simmer for 2-3 minutes and taste again after any additions. Serve hot.

Posted in Food, Leftovers, Poultry, Soup | 1 Comment »

Marbled Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

This was an experiment – I took the standard Libby pumpkin pie recipe, stirred melted chocolate into half the filling, and made a marbled chocolate pumpkin pie. The chocolate was a bit intense with the first bite, but this was a nice change from regular pumpkin pie.

Marbled Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
Serves 8

¾ cup sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 15 oz can 100% pure pumpkin
1 12 fl oz can evaporated milk
2 oz semisweet baking chocolate
1 tbsp butter
1 unbaked 9 inch deep dish pie shell (my recipe below)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Mix the sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in a small bowl. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the pumpkin and sugar mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

In a small microwaveable bowl, melt the chocolate and butter. Pour half of the pumpkin filling into the chocolate mixture and stir to combine.

Pour the plain pumpkin mixture into the pie shell.  Spoon the chocolate mixture over the top in stripes and circles to create the marbling effect.

Bake in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Reduce temperature to 350 degrees; bake for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours. Serve at room temperature or if making ahead of time refrigerate and serve chilled.

Pie Crust
Makes 1 9 inch pie crust. Can be doubled to make two for a covered pie.

Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups flour
½ tsp white sugar
½ tsp salt
10 tbsp cold butter, divided
3 tablespoons ice water

Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. With a pastry cutter, quickly cut in 8 tablespoons of the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is approximately pea-sized. Add the final two tablespoons of butter and cut in until most of the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs with some pea-sized chunks left. Drizzle two tablespoons of ice water over the mixture and cut it in with a rubber spatula. If the dough starts to form balls that stick together when pressed, the dough is moist enough, otherwise add up to another 2 tablespoons of ice water. Press the dough with your hands into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic, and chill for at least half an hour and up to 2 days. After chilling, pull out the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll from the center out until the dough is approximately 3 inches wider all the way around than the pan. Gently roll the dough around the rolling pin (making sure there is enough flour to prevent sticking) and transfer the dough to the pie pan. Press it in place and crimp or flute the edges.

Posted in Baking, Desserts, Food, Holiday Cooking, Pies | 1 Comment »

Homemade Fresh Cranberry Sauce

This is a traditional Thanksgiving side dish that I just love. The Cointreau adds a nice little zing to the standard recipe.

Homemade Fresh Cranberry Sauce
Makes 4 cups

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
3 cups (1 12-oz bag) fresh cranberries
1 tbsp Cointreau

In a medium saucepan combine the sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil rapidly for 5 minutes. Add cranberries. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until skins pop, stirring occasionally. Add the Cointreau and stir to combine. Remove from heat. Serve warm or chilled as desired.

Posted in Food, Fruit, Holiday Cooking, Sides | 2 Comments »

Roasted Potatoes with Garlic

This is another Thanksgiving side dish gracing our table this year. Roasted potatoes are much more flavorful than your standard mashed potatoes, and the roasted garlic goes well on rolls as well as just being eaten plain. I just cooked these alongside the turkey.

Roasted Potatoes with Garlic
Serves 6

1½ lb baby yukon gold potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 head garlic – cloves separated and peeled

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Wash the potatoes and cut larger ones in half. Toss in the olive oil, pressed garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the whole garlic cloves and toss to combine. Turn out onto a baking sheet and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, or until potatoes are fork tender.

Posted in Food, Holiday Cooking, Sides, Vegetables | No Comments »

Sourdough Dressing

This is a wet dressing that goes well with any poultry. It’s savory and easy to make. If you chose to use a vegetable stock instead of chicken or turkey stock, it’s even vegetarian, if that floats your boat. This is another must-have Thanksgiving side at our house. It’s dressing rather than stuffing as I bake it separately from the bird. If you want to use it as stuffing, feel free, but do microwave the mixture for about 10 minutes first to bring the heat up so it will cook at the same rate as the bird and not end up as a bacteria haven.

Sourdough Dressing
Makes 6 generous servings

2 tbsp butter
3 or 4 stocks celery washed and cubed
8 oz mushrooms
1 tsp each sage, thyme, salt, and pepper
One small loaf (1 lb) of sourdough bread cubed and dried in the oven on low heat or left out overnight
2 cups chicken broth

Sauté the celery and mushrooms in the butter with the sage, thyme, salt, and pepper until soft. Add the chicken broth and let simmer for a few minutes. Spread the cubed and dried bread in a buttered 9”x13” pan and pour the sautéed mixture over it. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. It can be baked with the poultry for the last 45 minutes if necessary for timing.

Posted in Bread, Food, Holiday Cooking, Sides | No Comments »

Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes

This is an Alton Brown recipe. It’s new to our Thanksgiving table this year.

Here’s the link to the original recipe. Since it doesn’t require any oven space, it’s a great Thanksgiving side dish. It was very easy to make and very tasty. I used salted butter and still added a bit of salt to the mash.

Posted in Food, Holiday Cooking, Sides, Vegetables | No Comments »

Buttermilk Yeast Rolls

These were made with a recipe from Gourmet magazine, December 2004, via Epicurious. I ended up adding quite a bit more flour to make the dough workable, but they turned out very light and nice. Next time I will add a bit of salt as many reviewers recommended.

Posted in Baking, Bread, Food, Holiday Cooking | No Comments »

Brined Turkey with Pan Gravy

Brining is the key to a wonderfully juicy turkey. There are many recipes for brines out there, and you can even buy pre-made brining mixes these days. I tried adding ½ cup maple syrup to my brine recipe this year, but neither Shaun nor I were a fan of the addition, so I’ve posted my original brine recipe below. It gives a lovely complex but subtle flavor to the bird. If your turkey is significantly bigger than 12 pounds, increase the brine ingredients accordingly.

Brined Turkey with Pan Gravy
Serves 8-12

1 8-12 lb fresh turkey
Canola oil

For the brine:
2 quarts turkey, chicken, or vegetable stock
½ cup kosher salt
½ cup light brown sugar
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
½ tsp allspice powder
½ tsp ginger powder
½ tsp dried ground sage
1 gallon ice water

For the aromatics:
1 granny smith apple, quartered
1 small onion, quartered
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water

For the gravy:
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter or 2 tbsp of turkey fat from the roasting pan
Pan drippings from the roasting pan, fat skimmed off
Turkey stock to make a quart of liquid when added to the pan drippings
Ground black pepper
Salt
Dried thyme

The day before you want to roast the turkey:

In a large pot combine all the brine ingredients except for the ice water and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the solids, then remove the pot from the heat and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

At least 8 ½ hours before you want to eat:

Rinse the turkey and remove the neck and giblets. Put the neck in a medium pot and cover completely with water. Refrigerate for now. Later, simmer over low heat while the turkey roasts to make turkey broth for the gravy.

Put the turkey into a large clean container, such as a brining bag, a stock pot, a clean 5 gallon bucket, or a drink cooler, breast side down.

Pour the brine and the ice water over the turkey and refrigerate or place in a cool place like a basement for 6 hours, turning the turkey over half way through the brining.

3 hours before you want to eat:

About ½ an hour before the brining is done, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple and onion and water in a microwave safe dish and microwave for 5 minutes on high.

Remove the bird from the brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the turkey on a roasting rack inside a wide, low sided pan and pat it dry with paper towels. Add the steeped aromatics to the cavity. Tuck the wings under the turkey and coat the whole bird with canola oil.

Roast on the lowest rack of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and cover the breast with a double layer of aluminum foil. Insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and return the bird to the oven, reducing the temperature to 350 degrees. Set the thermometer alarm to 161 degrees. An 8 to 12 pound bird will take about 2 hours to roast. Start simmering the neck and/or giblets for broth now.

When the alarm goes off, remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.

15 minutes before eating:

While the turkey rests, melt the butter and stir it together with the flour. Add the pan drippings and turkey broth, whisking together. Bring to a boil. Season the gravy to taste with pepper, salt, and thyme to taste. Serve with the turkey.

Posted in Food, Holiday Cooking, Poultry | No Comments »