No Fail Sugar Cookies

I haven't gotten any good pictures this year, but I have my amazing spread from last year captured. I hope I'll have time with two little ones to get them iced (I use homemade royal icing), I'm baking up a batch tomorrow, I think. I've been piping a lot over the last year, so I'm hoping they turn out even nicer this year.



No Fail Sugar Cookies
from Lovin' From The Oven

I found this recipe last year and I have to say, she's nailed it as "no fail". I remember, no offense to my own mom, the sugar cookies we made every year for Christmas and well, the memory isn't good. Always fun to decorate, never the first cookie I wanted to eat. I'd scoff down the chocolate chip cookies or the spritz. But these, guys these are delicious. Kind of a shortbread/butter cookie taste. Let's just say I've already made one batch and they didn't last long enough to get iced.

Ingredients

6 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt

Directions
Simple.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla.
Sift dry ingredients.
Add slowly to butter mixture.

Chill for at least 1-2 hours.

Roll to 1/4-1/2 inch thick, and cut your shapes.

Bake at 180C/350F for 8 to 10 minutes. You'll get 4-5 dozen cookies, depending on how big you cut them.

Thanksgiving Feast

Well, the Thanksgiving feast has come and gone. A whole day of cooking over in 30 minutes of shoving food down our hungry gobs! I was lucky enough to have a few friends over (5 friends, so 7 adult mouths and one tiny mouth to feed total) to enjoy our American tradition. It's not so hard to talk the Irish into showing up for some free delicious food! I feel strongly there is no point in spending the time and energy to cook up a feast with no one to share it with. Plus, they always show up with the booze ;)

Now, not only did I not grab pictures of all my dishes but I didn't even snap a shot of my bunch devouring it all. I'll share the recipes anyways, as nothing failed me. My cornbread stuffing could have used a little less bread or a little more stock, but besides that, I was content.

Our menu consisted of fresh no-knead rolls, a cider-roasted 18lbs turkey (stuffed with apple and onions, the apples I mashed for applesauce), sage and pecan sweet potato casserole, cornbread stuffing, garlic buttered carrots, mashed potatoes and turkey gravy, finished with pumpkin tart with cream cheese. I'll list the important recipes

No-Knead Dinner Rolls

from The Pioneer Woman
These came out okay. I felt they had a weird consistency and were a bit too sweet for me. Next time I'll probably adapt for a different recipe. They are great for thanksgiving, though, when you have limited time for cooking food and all you have to do is mix the dough and leave it rise. I halved the recipe because I had no need for 24 rolls. This is halved:

Ingredients
2 cups Milk
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
4.5 cups Flour
1 packages (4 1/2 Tsp.) Active Dry Yeast
1/2 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
1 Tablespoons Salt

Directions

Pour 2 cups of milk into large saucepan or crock on the stove (you will let the dough rise in here so allow lots of room)

Add 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil. Stir to combine.

Scald the mix on medium hear(between 90 and 110 degrees, I used a candy thermometer to be sure).

Add in 2 1/4 cups of flour and 1 packages of (2-1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast.

Next, add another 2 cups of flour.

Cover with a towel and leave someplace warm for an hour, it should double in size.

After it rises,
When it had risen sufficiently add 1/4 more cup of flour, 1/2 heaping teaspoon of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and about 1 tablespoons of salt. Stir or knead (eh?) just a little to combine.

Oil or butter a muffin pan. Form the rolls by pinching off a walnut sized piece of dough and rolling it into a little ball.
Repeat and tuck three balls of dough into each buttered muffin cup. Continue until pan is full. Cover and allow to rise for about 1 to 2 hours.

Bake at 400F/200C until golden brown, about 20 minutes.


Cider Roasted Turkey with Roasted Applesauce

Ingredients
2 liter of cider
2-3 apples
2 onions
1/2 cup room temperature butter
2 chopped cloves garlic
handful of fresh thyme and sage.

Directions
Prepare your turkey as usual, wash and pat dry.

Place in a deep cooking try.

Take your butter and smash down in the center. Add chopped garlic, thyme and sage. Knead butter together and separate into two small chunks and two large chunks.

Shove two chunks under the skin of the thighs and smooth across the meat with your hand through the outside of the skin. Shove the other large chunks under each breast and smooth across.

Quarter your onions and put inside the turkey cavity. Quarter your apples and place them skin side down in the cavity.

Pour enough cider to fill the pan 1-2 inches full.

I cover the turkey then for 3/4 of the cooking time with tin foil, and remove for the remaining time to brown.

When turkey has been removed and has rested, take out your apples and remove the skin, and mash the apples for a quickie applesauce side :) You might want to roasted a few apples separately to add to this if you are feeding a lot of people.


Sage and Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole
from A Cozy Kitchen
This was ridiculously delicious. I spread my sweet potatoes a bit more thinly in the pan and didn't pack the pecans on as tightly as she has (I wish I had taken a picture!) but this is recipe gold. This is going to remain a permanent Thanksgiving feature in our house! I think I'll make this again for Christmas, or at least, I'm pretty sure Cormac will want me making this again before next turkey day rolls around.

Ingredients
3 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 ½ cups milk
1/8 cup maple syrup

For the Topping:
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Directions
Boil sweet potatoes (or steam) until tender, 10 minutes or so.

Preheat oven to 375F/190C.
Melt 1 stick of butter with the chopped sage in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer for 1 minute and remove from heat.
Add butter mixture, milk, and maple syrup to the potatoes. From here decide what you want-- I didn't want two smooth mashes, so I used a hand masher and just slightly chunked the sweet potatoes together with the mixture. You can, alternatively, beat with a blender until smooth.

Lightly toss pecans, butter and maple syrup on low heat in a saucepan, for a few minutes.
Sprinkle the pecans over the top of the potatoes.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until pecans start to brown and edges bubble.

Cornbread Stuffing
This is my favorite stuffing. I made this two years ago as a test, and I'm so pleased. I really like my mother's stuffing, and she's made stuffing the same way since I was a child. However, I'm happy to say I've found my own way and this stuffing is MY stuffing. It's mouthwatering delicious and every day after you make it, it tastes better and better.

Ingredients
1 full cornbread recipe (listed below this recipe, you can use your own recipe if you want)
1 large loaf of wheat or white bread, or 12 slices
3-4 cups of stock (optional 1-2 tbsp white wine or 1 tbsp white wine vinegar)- I say 3-4 cups because sometimes I'll add more if I think I've got too much bread and not even wetness.
1 can cream of chicken
3 large eggs
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 cup chopped celery (I omitted it this year and added a bit of celery seed instead, I just, didn't have celery and didn't see it at Lidl during my shopping)
Fresh thyme
Fresh sage, both to taste. I usually grab a handful of each to chop up
1/2 lbs of sausage
few strips of bacon, optional

Directions
Cube your corn bread and bread the night before and leave out to go a bit stale. This isn't totally necessary but makes the stuffing a bit more chunky.

Preheat oven to 350F/180C

Saute celery and butter in pan, add in sausage and bacon if you choose.

Mix all other ingredients, I whisk it all together. Add in your meat, celery and butter mix. Pour over your cubes in a large pan. Wider the pan, more yummy crispy bits on top, the deeper the pan, the more delicious soft fluffy stuffing.

Bake for 30-40 minutes.


Buttermilk Cornbread
from The Hungry Mouse

I like using this recipe because it doesn't have butter, and well, I'm adding a load of fat to my stuffing already. This cornbread doesn't need it! It's delicious on its own, and if you're buttermilk is low fat its a healthy cornbread recipe to accompany your southwest dishes, too.

ingredients
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup olive oil
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 eggs

Directions
Preheat oven to 400F/200C and grease your 9x9 pan.

Whisk eggs, buttermilk, sugar, and oil together.
Mix in cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt.

Pour in a 9x9 inch pan and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until the center comes clean with a toothpick


Pumpkin Cream Cheese Tart

adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Old-Fashioned Home Baking

This came about as a pleasant surprise after a bit slip up on the original recipe I found on a random food blog. The pie was my first bake of the day, and in typical Candi fashion, I made a silly mistake. As I was adding my spices, I picked up the jar of garlic powder instead of ginger (which look incredibly similar, ahem) and as I was dumping it into the mix I realized my mistake. So, halfway through the recipe I flubbed. Thankfully I hadn't wasted any pumpkin puree-- but I did wasted 8oz of cream cheese (the only 8oz I had), so I flipped open my BHG Old-Fashioned Home Baking for a basic pumpkin pie and combined the ideas. I will make this again and try to eliminate the can of condensed milk (probably through using yogurt or cream cheese as that was sort of the way my original recipe did it)... because it was only by strange chance I even had a can of condensed milk at home.
Cormac actually said to me it was the best pie he'd ever tasted. We had vanilla ice cream and whipped cream to go on top. Real whipped cream. Although, the American in me bets this would be topped off perfectly with that fake-o Cool Whip.
And yes, I pureed a real sugar pumpkin for this recipe, not a butternut squash (although...)

Ingredients
For Filling:
2 cups fresh pumpkin puree or 1 16-ounce can of pumpkin
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 can evaporated milk

For Crust:
24 graham crackers or 30 digestive biscuits
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 - 1 cup melted butter

For Dollops:
2oz of cream cheese
1 tbsp sour cream or yogurt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F/180C

Crust:
Using a food processor, turn your graham crackers or digestives (I used half and half because you can't buy graham crackers in Ireland, but I DID have half a box left over from my generous friend E) into crumbs. I usually add the sugar in at this stage to get it mixed well. You can go old school and put the crackers in a bag and hit it with a rolling pin, too.
Slowly add your butter. I added a full cup, but I didn't measure my crumbs exactly so you may need less (you should need roughly 1 1/2 cup crumbs, but I like a thick crust so I probably used 2 cups). You want it to be wet enough that the crumbs are clumping together as you mix it.

Grease 9 or 10 inch round pan (you can use a tart pan for the cool crinkle edges, or use a springform pan like I did for ease of removing it).

Pour the crumbs in the pan evenly and pat it down until covered. I just sprinkle it in higher around the edge so I can create/pat the crumbs into a crust.

Stick this in the oven for 8 - 10 minutes to prebake, just keep an eye at it towards the end that it doesn't overbrown or burn. When you take out the pie crust, pop the temp up to 375F/190C.
------------------------
Filling:
In a bowl or mixer, combine your pumpkin, sugar and spices, mix well.

Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla.

Slowly pour in your can of condensed milk. Mix well.

Pour mixture into your pre-baked shell (you can obviously use a regular pie crust or one of those store bought crusts if you want).

Mix roughly 2 ounces cream cheese with 1 tbsp sour cream or yogurt (or if you have neither, thin it out a bit with just plain milk). With a tsp, plop dollops along the top of the pie. Mine sunk down a bit because I used real pumpkin puree which is a bit more watery (and I couldn't be bother to strain or cook it down too much) than canned. You can then take a knife or other sharp implement and swirl it around. I'm sure yours will look prettier than mine, but it all tastes equally delicious.

Bake for 1 hour or until the center is set and not wobbly at 375F/190C (and if you didn't skim my direction you'll have already popped the oven up to this temperature after pre-baking your crust ;) )

Homemade Spinach Pasta with Garlic Parmesan Sauce and Battered Chicken

Homemade Spinach Pasta and Battered Chicken Breast

Okay. I have a confession. With as much as I've baked and cooked I've never made my own pasta. I was intimidated as I have no pasta roller or press. I have made plans to buy the attachment for Big Red (the kitchenaid), and I may well ordered from amazon now to have delivered to the states during our visit (have I mentioned we are about to head off to Florida for a month to visit my family? Sun tan, here we come).

I don't even need to write up a recipe, this was so easy.

For each person you are cooking for, mix
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
pinch of salt

In my case, I added in 1/2 cup of spinach (not per person) and a heavy handed sprinkle of garlic powder.

Mix the egg and spinach first, then add your flour. Either use your dough hook or knead by hand into a ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cut the ball in half or thirds, and rolling out the dough (or use your pasta roller, lucky you!). Let it rest for another 30 minutes or so. Then cut into slices. I was impatient and busy baking cookies at the same time, so I just cut it after I rolled it.

Then, lay it out to dry for an hour. When you are ready, boil it like you would your dry pasta! It cooks much quicker.

Now. Sauce!

Garlic Parmesan Sauce

Another quickie. I cooked for three people, so I cut one head of garlic in half, chopped off the top end to expose the bulbs, smother in olive oil and wrap tin foil around the bottom. Sick it into a hot oven (200C/400F), and cook until the garlic starts to brown/caramelize.
I than squeezed out the cloves into a garlic press and it oozes straight out. I added about 1/2 cup of Parmesan and 1/4 cup milk. Simple and much healthier than whipping up an Alfredo sauce. I would have loved to have Alfredo, but I thought in combo with the battered chicken I was about to make, I'd take it easy.

Battered Chicken

Now, I use Sunflower Oil. I convince myself this is healthy. I put on about 1/2 cup to heat up in a pan on medium-high heat.

I pounded out two chicken breasts and cut them into large pieces. Salt, Pepper, White Pepper the pieces.

For the batter:
1 cup flour
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp Adobo seasoning (you can just use a smashed up chicken bullion or well, omit, but it gives a nice taste)
1 tsp ground black pepper.

Add milk until you get a batter consistency.

-Dip the pieces into the batter, and carefully place into the oil once the oil is hot. Cook a few minutes on each side. MAKE SURE the oil is hot BEFORE you put the chicken in. If its not hot, your chicken will be very soggy, nasty and oily.

I like to dry freshly fried items on newspaper. This drains the oil out of the chicken like nothing else, and it just tastes crisp.



Enjoy!

Pecan and Brandied Fig Pie

Bites:


Just absolutely delicious. Holiday pie? Done. Make this pie!

Pie Filling
3/4 cup finely chopped dried figs (about 5 ounces)
2 tablespoons brandy
2 tablespoons water
1 cup (packed) brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
3 large eggs
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups pecan halves, toasted
Pie crust


Cream
1 cup chilled whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon brandy

Preparation
For filling:
Stir figs, brandy, and water in heavy small saucepan over low heat until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes; cool. Mix brown sugar, corn syrup, and next 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Stir in pecans, then fig mixture.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter deep-dish glass pie dish. Fold edge of dough over, forming double edge, and crimp decoratively, pressing to top edge of dish. Pierce all over with fork. Freeze crust 15 minutes.

Line crust with foil; fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until sides are set, about 12 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake until crust is pale golden, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

Spoon filling into warm crust. Bake until filling is puffed at edges and set in center, about 40 minutes. Let stand until cool, at least 1 hour. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

For cream:
Beat cream, sugar, and brandy in medium bowl. Whisk until peaks form. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover; chill.) Serve pie with cream.