Mike's Christmas Pecan Pie

Merry Christmas! One of my dear husband's favorite desserts is pecan pie. I think that he has had pecan pie as dessert for each of our married Christmas, either I made it, or one of my relatives made it.

Our first married Christmas was the year of the infamous ruining of dessert. That was the first year that I made pie for him. I was so nervous about making pie that I made a trial pie a week or two before Christmas and it passed his test. Then it was time for the "real" pie. It travelled well from our home in Hoboken to his parents' house in Massachusetts. After dinner, Mike said he was going to get the pie ready. The next thing I knew, my pecan pie was all melted. Mike put it in the oven to heat it up not realizing it would ruin the pie. At the time, I was furious. However, as the years passed it has become our little joke.

Over the years, I have played with the recipe for the pie. First, I use finely chopped pecans in the pie crust. Second, I don't use corn syrup in the pie. I like to use maple syrup instead. Other than that, the recipe is pretty standard and it enjoyed by it's primary recipient, Mike.

Pastry for a Single Crust Pie this can be used for the pie crust. If you want to use pecans in the crust, use 1/4 cup of finely chopped pecans and put stir them in with the flour mixture before the water is added.

Pecan Pie
3 eggs
1 cup maple syrup (or corn syrup)
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup pecan halves

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
   
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs lightly until combined. Stir in syrup, sugar, butter, and vanilla, combine well. Stir in pecan halves.
3. Pour the filling into a pie dish lined with the pie crust. Cover the edge of the pie with foil and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
4. Remove foil; bake for 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center of the pie comes out clean. Cool pie on a wire rack. Cover and chill to store.
   

Cookies for the Neighbors

I have been meaning to make cookies for our neighbors and give them out for Christmas. Last weekend I got caught up in other projects. Our neighbors, Sue and Beth, both beat me to the bunch and left cookies for everyone at the doorstop yesterday and today before I got mine out. The cookies from both neighbors were quite delicious and motivated me to start baking for everyone. It is also a great day to bake since it is snowing out and I have no plans to go out in this weather.

I chose to make two of my favorites for sharing, Snickerdoodles and Sugar Cookie Cutouts. The Snickerdoodles are from Cooking Light's September 2007 issue. The sugar cookies are from The All New Good Housekeeping Cookbook.

Snickerdoodles
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1.5 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and egg.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt in a medium mixing bowl, stirring well. Add flour mixtures to butter mixture; beat until just combined. Shape dough into small balls.
4. Combine remaining 1/3 cup sugar and 1.5 teaspoons cinnamon in a small shallow bowl. Roll balls into sugar mixture and place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet, coat with cooking spray if not using a Silpat. Bake at 400F for 8 minutes or until tops begin to crack. Remove from cookie sheet and place on cooling racks.

Sugar Cookie Cutouts
2.5 cups of flour
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup of softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until well combined. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour mixture until just blended. Shape dough into disk; wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours up to overnight.
   
2. Preheat oven to 350F. Once again, if you don't use a Silpat, grease and flour two large cookie sheets. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of dough 1/8 inch thick; keep remaining dough refrigerated. Use which ever cookie cutter strikes your fancy and place the cookies about 1 inch apart. I used green and red sugar to sprinkle over the cookies.
   
3. Bake until golder, about 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire cooling racks to cool completely.

I always struggle with maintaining the shapes of the cookies after I cut them out. On next year's Christmas list, I will ask for a cookie press. It will make this so much easier.

Broccoli Soup with Cheddar Toasts

Since I am snowed in, it seemed like the perfect day to make a soup. I came across this recipe in Martha Stewart Annual Recipes 2004. It was pretty easy to make. What I liked best about this recipe is that it is fairly light, it did not require heavy cream. The original recipe calls for skim milk which makes it a great soup that you can have either on its own or before a meal. I opted to have this for a late lunch. I did modify the soup and added a bit of shredded cheddar cheese into the soup.

1.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 coarsely chopped onion
2 coarsely chopped garlic cloves
2 bunches of broccoli (keep the chopped stems and florets separate)
7 cups of chicken broth
1 teaspoon of coarse salt
1 cup skim milk
2 shredded ounces of extra sharp cheddar cheese
8 thin slices of French bread

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat until hot, but not smoking. Add onion, garlic, and broccoli stems; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes. Add broth and salt; cover, raise heat to medium-high, and bring to boil. Add florets; reduce heat, and simmer uncovered, until florets are tender, about 10 minutes.
   
2. Remove soup from heat, and let cool. Working in batches fill a blender halfway with the broccoli mixture and puree until smooth. Place pureed soup in a large bowl until the whole batch has been pureed. Return to pot. Add milk and cook until heated through.
   
3. While soup is heating, divide cheese on bread slices and place in broiler until golden brown.
   

Pumpkin Soup

I found this recipe in my Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2006 Cookbook. I wanted to make it last week, but kept putting if off. Looking back, that is a shame. This is a great soup. I made it for lunch on Sunday and it pleased the masses. By the masses, I mean Mike. But, I will take the compliments where I can get them. Normally lunches on the weekend consist of making a quick salad. This was a good change for us.

The original recipe called for 1/3 cup bourbon. Bourbon is not something we keep in the house nor drink. Therefore, I omitted it from the recipe. Also, vegetarians can use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth.

1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon of ginger
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 minced garlic cloves
1 1/2 cups of apple cider
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 (29 oz) can pumpkin
14 oz chicken broth or vegetable if you prefer a vegetarian option
2 cups 2% milk
1 teaspoon flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
sour cream

1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray if it is not non-stick. Add onion, ginger, cumin, and garlic; saute 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in cider and next three ingredients (if you are using bourbon, stir that in as well). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
2. Place half of pumpkin mixture in a blender; process until smooth. Pour pureed mixture into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining pumpkin mixture. Return pureed mixture to pan. Stir in milk, flour, salt, and pepper; cook until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently.
   
3. Serve with a dollop of sour cream in each bowl.
   

I think that the sour cream adds to the soup. It adds that certain something that the soup craves.

Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms and Mascarpone

This is another one from Cooking Light. I didn't play around with this recipe. I guess the way I could play around with it would be by changing the add-ins. Maybe one day I will try my own risotto. I just became a fan of Top Chef on Bravo and may be inspired to just whip up my own creations one day.

Unlike last night's dinner, this one took a long time. But then again, risotto is worth the wait. At least I knew going into dinner prep that it takes a while to make risotto. The worst part about trying a new recipe is not really reading it the whole way through and finding out that it takes a long time to be finished. I have done that countless times.

This was the first time that I made this type of risotto. I think the ones that I have made in the past have had meat. Mike gave this one rave reviews. As soon as he put the fork into his mouth, he gave me his approval. Whenever Mike is enthusiastic about the food that I make, I feel satisfied.

1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
14 ounces beef broth
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
3/4 cup chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Mascarpone cheese
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to your liking

1. Combine boiling water and mushrooms; let stand 10 minutes or until soft. Drain in colander over a bowl. Reserve 1 1/4 cups soaking liquid; chop mushrooms.
2. Bring liquid and broth to a simmer in a small saucepan (do not boil). Keep broth mixture warm over low heat.
3. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. If not using a non-stick pan, coat with cooking spray. Add rice, shallots, and garlic; saute 5 minutes. Add wine; cook until liquid evaporates (about 2 minutes).
4. Add 1 cup broth mixture to rice mixture; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed; stirring occasionally. Add remaining broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time; stirring occasionally until each portion of broth mixture is absorbed before adding next. The process takes about 30 minutes. Add mushrooms, cheeses, thyme, salt, and pepper; stir until cheese melts.
   

Yield 4 servings

Maple and Balsamic Pork

This recipe is quite similar to the Maple Balsamic Pork tenderloin that I posted before. The major difference is that this one is an indoor recipe, you don't need to grill. It was perfect for yesterday. It was so cold out! I am not prepared for winter. During my walk to work yesterday, I was freezing. However, I digress. Back to the food. This was a quick dinner to prepare. It took somewhere between 20-30 minutes for preparation and cooking. Mike likes the recipes that don't take long. He gets grumpy when he has to wait to eat.

The maple syrup and balsamic vinegar mix well together in this recipe. I would caution people to be light on the syrup. I would use the amount in the recipe or a a tad less. Any more syrup and the pork would be too sweet (and this is coming from someone with a major sweet tooth). I chose to serve this with sauteed spinach on the side. I am trying to be better about eating enough fruit and vegetables each day. I guess I am getting a head start on New Year's resolutions.

1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 pound pork tenderloin
olive oil (about 2 teaspoons)
salt and pepper to your liking

1. Combine the syrup and vinegar in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/3 cup (about 3 minutes). Stir occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in mustard.
2. Cut pork crosswise into 8 pieces. Place in between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet until 1/4 thickness.
   
3. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Add to pan, cook three minutes on each side. Add vinegar mixture; cook 1 minute or until pork is done.
   

Slow Cooker Three Bean Turkey Chili

The slow cooker is my new favorite kitchen appliance. It's great coming home from work and having dinner already made. It was especially nice to have a low preparation dinner after last night's time intensive soup making. I do wish that I prepped for the chili the night before, as it requires cooked ground turkey and onions.

1 pound ground turkey
1 small chopped onion
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, un-drained
1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz.) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1-2 tablespoons chili powder

NOTE: The original recipe calls for 1 can (4 ounces) of diced mild green chilies. Because Mike hate spicy foods, I omitted the peppers. Sometimes, I do include the peppers to his dismay. But, this is the holiday season and it was the least I could do.

1. Cook and stir turkey and onion in a medium skillet over medium high heat until turkey is no longer pink. Drain and discard the fat. Add to slow cooker.
2. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Cover; cook on HIGH 6 to 8 hours.

I think that I should have cooked the chili for 6 hours instead of 8. The chili was a little dry.

Roasted Garlic and Shallot Potato Soup with Paremsan Croutons

I soup and am really liking making different kinds of soup. Soup on a cold day just seems to make everything better. Making your own soup is much more satisfying than heating up a can that was sitting in your pantry. This is also coming from someone who once had a soup client in the advertising days.

This soup was not my favorite, but Mike seemed to really like it. It is quite a time intense recipe. I should not have tried to make this one on a night after work. It would have been better on a weekend when there is more time. I do love the croutons for the soup.

Soup
5 whole garlic heads, unpeeled
olive oil
salt
pepper
10 shallots, unpeeled
2 cups of chopped onion
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups of chicken broth (to make this a vegetarian dish, use vegetable broth)
2 cups cubed, peeled potato
thyme (I used dried thyme)
1 cup 2% milk

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Remove white papery skins from garlic heads (do not peel or separate cloves). Place garlic in a shallow roasting pan. Drizzle olive oil (about 1 tbspn) over garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with foil. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes.
3. Add shallots to pan. Drizzle oil (about 1 tbspn) over shallots; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and bake at 400F for 25 minutes or until garlic and shallots are tender and browned. Cool. Squeeze garlic to extract pulp; peel shallots. Set pulp and shallots aside. Do take the time to let the shallots and garlic cool, they are hot!
4. Heat oil (about 1.5 tbspn) in a Dutch oven over medium heat; add onion to pan. Cover and cook 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Add garlic pulp, shallots and wine. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered, 5 minutes.
   
5. Stir in broth, potato, and thyme (about a teaspoon); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, ad simmer 10 minutes or until potato is tender. Cool slightly. Place half of mixture into a blender (leave and opening in the lid and cover with a paper towel). Blend until smooth, pour into a large bowl and blend the rest of the mixture.
   
6. Add soup back to pan; stir in milk, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes or until heating through.

Croutons
1/2 inch thick slices of French bread
Cooking spray
Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oven to 400F.
2. Place slices on baking sheet. Coat tops of bread with cooking spray.
   
3. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake for 3 minutes or until cheese melts.
   

Baked Ziti with Sausage

I haven't posted many recipes recently as a result of a ridiculously filled calendar. I was out of town for three weekends in November and have had something planned every weekend since the end of October. My calendar will not be empty again until mid-January. The upside to the insanely packed calendar is that it has been filled with fun plans. As of now, there are no travel plans on the horizon so cooking and blogging will resume again.

Over the weekend, I had a craving for more comfort foods. I was perusing back issues of Cooking Light and came across the recipe for Baked Ziti. This is a very basic dish, but it is a wonderful dinner to eat on a cold day. It does not require a lot of preparation nor many ingredients. The payoff for this easy dinner, is that it is a yummy comfort food.

1 pound ziti

1 pound of hot Italian turkey sausage

1 chopped onion

2 minced garlic cloves

2 (14.5) ounce cans of petite diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste (The original recipe called for 1 tbspn)

salt and pepper to your tasting

1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese

1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese (You could buy the store packaged cheese or go with the fresh and shred that. I went for the fresh, to make the shredding easier for me with the soft cheese, I froze it first)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.


2. Bake the past according the package directions. Drain and set aside.


3. While water is boiling and pasta is cooking, chop the onion, remove the sausage from the casings, and mince the garlic. Heat these ingredients over medium heat until sausage browns.


4. Add the tomatoes and tomato past, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.


5. While the tomato mixture is cooking, prepare the cheeses.


6. After tomato mixture is cooked, add in the pasta and stir.


7. Coat a 4 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Add in half the pasta mixture and top with half the cheese. Add in the remaining pasta and top with remaining cheese.


8. Bake in oven for 30 minutes.