Popovers

What could be more fun than popovers for Turkey Day? I love these rolls, especially how easy they are to prep. I have a recipe for Mini Parmesan Popovers that I was toying with, but I went with the plain popovers for Thanksgiving. Look for the parmesan popovers sometime soon...maybe for X-Mas dinner?

These "pop" up so beautifully and take me back to my childhood. You cannot ask for anything more than that.






Popovers

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
2 cups milk
melted unsalted butter for brushing the popover pan

Into a bowl sift together the flour and the salt. In a small bowl whisk together the eggs and the milk. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, stirring, and stir the batter until it is smooth. In a preheated 450°F. oven heat a twelve-cup popover pan or twelve 2/3-cup custard cups for 5 minutes, or until it is hot, brush the cups with the melted butter, and fill them half full with the batter. Bake the popovers in the middle of the 450°F. oven for 20 minutes, reduce the heat to 375°F., and bake the popovers for 20 minutes more, or until they are golden brown and crisp

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Pie of the month: Pumpkin Pie

C has been pestering me all day to eat a piece of this pie! To his credit, it is a gift to him, but he needs to be patient and wait for Thanksgiving dinner. This recipe is really easy to make, as long as you are able to find pumpkin where you live. Luckily, pumpkin is readily available here...which is especially fgood since I love making the pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin waffles so much.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!





Pumpkin Pie

1 can (15 ounces) solid pack pumpkin
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon coarse salt
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 350. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough disk 1/8 inch thick, then cut in to 16 inch circle. Fit into a 9 inch deep dish pie dish, leaving in inch overhang. Fold edges under.

Shape large, loose, half circles at edge of dough, then fold into a wave like pattern to create a fluted edge. Prick bottom of dough all over with a fork. Freeze for 15 minutes.

Whisk pumpkin, sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon ginger, nutmeg, vanilla, eggs, and milk in a large bowl.

Transfer pie dish to a rimmed baking sheet and pout pumpkin mixture into the crust. Bake until center is set but still a bit wobbly, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool on a wire wrack. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

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Chicken and Dumplings

I confess, I have never had chicken and dumplings before. It seems as if C hadn't either. I have had dumplings with stew before, which I have to say I like better, but these were quicker and easier than stew. This meal will go into the winter rotation for sure. I sort of took a mish mash of recipes from the internet and compiled this one. I didn't have buttermilk on hand, so I added one tablespoon of white vinegar in whole milk and let rest for five minutes. Works great in a pinch!






Chicken and Dumplings

3 large chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup flour
6 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup heavy cream

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk

In a large, heavy pot, melt butter and heat oil over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaves. Sauté until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for at least 2 minutes. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Bring the sauce to a boil, add the chicken pieces and reduce the heat back to medium.

Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream.

Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and milk together; pour the liquid in the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together, the batter should be thick.

Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching or crowded. Let the dumplings poach for 10 to 15 minutes until they are firm and puffy. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

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Chicken Pot Pie in Under an Hour

My normal chicken pot pie can take up to two hours to prep, which is quite a daunting task when I get home from work. It is C's birthday tonight, so he decided he wanted his favorite meal: Chicken Pot Pie. Instead of using the puff pastry sheets, I got the puff pastry shells. That way, the shells can bake while I make the chicken filling. The whole process took about 40 minutes from start to finsh, not bad at all for a weeknight meal. The best part is that there are leftovers for all, though you need another package of puff pastry shells for them.

The Pepperidge Farm website reminds me of my childhood. We would get the apple turnovers as a special treat!

Chicken Pot Pie in Under an Hour

½ cup butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small shallot, minced
1 cup flour
1 pint of cream (or half and half)
1 ½ cans of chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
¾ lb chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1 russet potato, cut into bite sized pieces
10 oz package of mixed frozen vegetables of your choice
1 package of puff pastry shells

Preheat the oven to 400. Place the shells on a ungreased baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Boil potatoes in a small saucepan for 10 minutes. While the potatoes are boiling, melt ½ cup butter in a Dutch oven with the garlic and shallot. After the shallot has softened, whisk in the flour a ¼ cup at a time (you may not need all of the flour). When completely mixed in, add the cream, whisking more to incorporate into the roux. Add 1 ½ cans of chicken broth. Continue whisking; add the bay leaf, the parsley, the tarragon, salt and pepper. Add the potatoes and chicken, let cook for 10-15 minutes on the stovetop to cook the chicken and thicken the sauce, stirring the whole time. Add the package of frozen mixed veggies (I use the peas, carrots, corn, green beans and lima beans mixture) and stir to incorporate. Cook for 5 more minutes to warm the vegetables through.

Remove the shell tops and fill each with the chicken pot pie filling. Serve.

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Caramelized Onion Dip

I first made this dip for a Super Bowl party a few years back, it is always a hit and so easy to make. The worst part is slicing all the onions, it is worthwhile to break out your mandoline if you have one, the tears won't be as plentiful that way. This is an Ina Garten recipe and it can be made ahead, just pull the dip out of the refrigerator a couple hours before you want to serve it to soften it up. I serve this with a real potato thick chip, like the Kettle ones.






Caramelized Onion Dip

2 large yellow onions
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces cream cheese , at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup good mayonnaise

Cut the onions in half and then slice them into 1/8-inch thick half-rounds. (You will have about 3 cups of onions.) Heat the butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions, cayenne, salt, and pepper and saute for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 more minutes until the onions are browned and caramelized. Allow the onions to cool.

Place the cream cheese , sour cream and mayonnaise in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until smooth. Add the onions and mix well. Taste for seasonings. Serve at room temperature.

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Apple Pork Chops

These were a hit. Next time, I will add more mustard, but overall the flavor was great. C even ate all the apples, which is quite the shock because he is not normally a fan of fruit with meat. He cleaned his plate and I didn't question it...

Miss F on the other hand didn't seem to be a fan. She didn't eat any of her pork, but she didn't eat any thing else either. To her credit, she did eat a ton of Cheerios while I was prepping the pork. It only took about 5 minutes, but she can eat her weight in Cheerios in that amount of time.



Apple Pork Chops

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped shallot
2 (1/2-inch thick) pork chops
1/4 teaspoon salt
ground black pepper to taste
1 apple - cored and sliced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup hot water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat oil in an oven proof skillet with a well fitting lid. Saute shallots in oil for 1 minute, or until tender. Remove shallots and set aside. Salt and pepper the pork chops and brown on both sides in oil.

Cover the chops with the apples and cooked shallots. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, mustard, cloves and water. Pour over chops. Cover and bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes.

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Chocolate Cheesecake

This is probably in my top five as far as desserts go. It is my mom's recipe and I absolutely love it. The sour cream topping is what sets it apart from the rest. The chocolate flavor isn't overwhelmingly rich, which is what makes it okay that the cheesecake is so rich on its own. I haven't made this in a couple of years and the 4 pound brick of cream cheese was calling my name at Costco. I needed some anyhow for the caramelized onion dip for Miss F's party, so why not have a treat this week?





Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust
1½ Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
⅓ Cup Sugar
⅓ Cup Melted Butter

Filling
2 - 8 oz pkgs Cream Cheese
1 Cup Sugar
½ Cup Cocoa
1 Tsp Vanilla
2 Eggs

Topping
1 Cup Sour Cream
2 tbls Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla

Combine crackers, sugar, butter—press in bottom and ½ way up sides of 9-inch spring form pan (reserve 2 tbls crumbs).

Cream cheese with sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Blend in eggs. Fill crust and bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Cool 15 minutes.

Combine topping ingredients. Spread over cooked filling. Sprinkle crumbs on top. Return to oven at 425° for 10 minutes.

Chill overnight (this is the hardest part!)

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