Thanksgiving in a nutshell!

Do you smell that? The holidays are in the air! My favorite months of the year of course are the last three. I spent an amazing Thanksgiving day with friends, family and delicious FOOD! I had three different turkey's from oven roasted to fried and an abundance of sweet treats and desserts as well! 

Here are a few pictures of what was going on yesterday!     

Only SOME of the many sides from the feast including a sweet potato casserole,  mashed potatoes and my old fashioned Mac and Cheese. 

 

The Turkey Scene

The Deep Fryer! 

And last, but certainly not least, DESSERT! 

A Yummy Ricotta Tart and Pumpkin Pie! 

As for my Thanksgiving Cooking, I made an old fashioned Mac and Cheese Baked with Parmesan and gooey Cheddar cheese! 

Ingredients: 

                                       

I pound of cooked macaroni

4 tablespoons butter

3 cups milk

5 tablespoons flour

salt and pepper

2 1/2 Cups cheddar cheese

1/2 Cup of Parmesan Cheese

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven at 375 degrees. On the stove top, cook about 1 pound of elbow macaroni and drain once it is done. 

2. In a different Pan, melt the butter over medium low heat and add the flour little by little. Whisk the butter and flour together so that clumps do not form. 

3. Once the flour and butter reach a golden brown color, slowly stir in the milk. Make sure the milk is warm before doing so by popping it into the microwave or heating it on the stove.

4. Once the mixture has warmed up and mixed together turn off the stove. Make sure to continually mix the sauce so that the bottom does not burn. BELIEVE ME IT CAN HAPPEN ! But we won't get into those details. :-)

5. In a large 9x13 pan, mix the macaroni, the cream sauce and the cheese together. Top with breadcrumbs and some more Parmesan cheese. 

6. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees until the top is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling.   

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 30-40 Minutes

Servings: 15-20 Sides 

Creamy Shrimp and Mushroom Risotto

Let me begin by saying that This delicious Meal comes with a little bit of a work out!

 But I will guarantee you that it is worth the while. 

I found a great recipe online for a basic Risotto on About.com. I went ahead and added some sauteed mushrooms and shrimp with garlic to give it more flavor. 

This meal is great as a side dish or even as the main star of the menu. 

You may add chicken as well to give it more of a hearty feel or just keep it simple and yummy so vegetarians can eat up as well! 

The original recipe says to use 1/2 cup of wine but since I didn't have any on hand I added 1/2 cup more of stock to replace the liquid. 

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups arborio rice
• 1 qt chicken stock
• ½ cup white wine
• 1 medium shallot or ½ small onion, chopped (about ½ cup)
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp chopped Italian parsley
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 2-3 Tbl of finely diced red bell pepper
• 1 Tbl minced garlic 

Makes 6-8 servings

Preparation:

1. Heat the stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan, then lower the heat so that the stock just stays hot.


2. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil and 1 Tbsp of the butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the chopped shallot or onion. Sauté for 2-3 minutes or until it is slightly translucent. Add the garlic and Red bell peppers as well. 

3. Add the rice to the pot and stir it so that the grains are coated with the oil and melted butter. Sauté for another minute or so, until there is a slightly nutty aroma. But don't let the rice turn brown! 

4.Add the wine and cook while stirring, until the liquid is fully absorbed. 

5.Add a ladle of hot chicken stock to the rice and stir until the liquid is fully absorbed. When the rice appears almost dry, add another ladle of stock and repeat the process

Note: It's important to stir constantly, especially while the hot stock gets absorbed, to prevent scorching, and add the next ladle as soon as the rice is almost dry. 

6.Continue adding ladles of hot stock and stirring the rice while the liquid is absorbed. As it cooks, you'll see that the rice will take on a creamy consistency as it begins to release its natural starches.

7.Continue adding stock, a ladle at a time, for 20-30 minutes or until the grains are tender but still firm to the bite, without being crunchy. If you run out of stock and the risotto still isn't done, you can finish the cooking using hot water. Just add the water as you did with the stock, a ladle at a time, stirring while it's absorbed. 

8.Stir in the remaining 2 Tbsp butter, the Parmesan cheese and the parsley, and season to taste with Kosher salt. At this point I added the sauteed mushrooms and shrimp as well. 

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Original Recipe: 

http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/ricegrains/r/risotto.htm

Sweet Turkey!

WithTurkey Day around the corner, I have decided to prepare some yummy cookie-candy Turkey's! In my opinion, dessert is the best part of any meal, Especially around the holidays. These treats are very simple yet very eye catching. I found this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis on the Food network and couldnt resist making them. The only thing I switched up were the candy corns for gummy candy since I couldn't find any at the supermarket.  

Enjoy!

 

 Ingredients

 

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

30 candy corn candies, plus 6 white tips of candy corn (or gummy candy)

6 chocolate sandwich cookies (Like oreos)

6 mini peanut butter cups

6 malt balls

1 cup Red Frosting (Pre made frosting and red food coloring) 

6 chocolate sandwich cookies with top cookies removed

 

 

Directions

 

1. Place the chocolate chips in a medium stainless steel or glass bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has melted, about 4 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

 

 

 

 

 

2. For each turkey, push 5 triangle shaped gummy candies, tip-side down, into the cream filling of a chocolate sandwich cookie to make the feathers for the turkey. Lay the cookie on a work surface.

 

 

 

 

 

3. Dip the flat, larger end of a peanut butter cup in the melted chocolate allowing any excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl. Place the peanut butter cup, chocolate-dipped end down, onto the sandwich cookie.

 

 

 

 

4.Dip a malt ball into the melted chocolate allowing any excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl. Place the malt ball above the peanut butter cup to make the head of the turkey.

 

5.Dip the flat end of a white candy gummy in the chocolate. Place on the malt ball, to make the turkey beak. Refrigerate until the chocolate has set, about 10 minutes.

 

6.Place the Red Frosting in a piping bag. Using scissors, cut a small opening in the end of the piping bag. Pipe a small piece of frosting under the malt ball to make the turkey's beard. (I used a toothpick to drizzle some of the red Frosting. I mixed some pre-made frosting with red food coloring to save time instead of making it.

 

 

7. Place a cookie (with top half removed) on a platter. Stand the turkey upright into the cream filling. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

 

 

Original Recipe:

 http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/thanksgiving-turkeys-recipe/index.html

Honey Mustard Chicken Wrap!

So, lately I have been craving a crunchy chicken wrap! I found a great recipe online for baked chicken nuggets and used them to make my crunchy chicken wraps. The nuggets are baked in the oven so they are a much healthier version opposed to the fried nuggets you find at any fast food chain. And you wont believe it, but the honey mustard recipe is very simple and really awesome too! I haven't found a good store bought honey mustard yet but this recipe really is the best I have had so far!

Ingredients: 
-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
-1 cup of panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
-1/3 cup grated Parmesan
-salt
-1 tablespoon canola oil
-1/2 cup all purpose flour
-3 large eggs, beaten
-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
-Shredded lettuce
-Flour tortillas

Honey Mustard Dip: (I doubled the recipe for more)
-3 tbl Dijon Mustard (Hellmans Dijonaise makes the dip creamier)
-2 tbl Mayo
-2 tbl Honey

Just mix together and your ready!

 

Directions: 

1. To begin, Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the panko breadcrumbs on a sheet pan and place in the oven for about 6-8 minutes until the crumbs are golden brown. With my experience do not place the crumbs to close to the heat or they will burn. Once the crumbs are toasted, remove them from the pan and place into a shallow bowl and mix with the Parmesan cheese, salt and oil.

  

Important: Once the breadcrumbs are complete, Increase the temperature of the oven to 450 degrees

 
2. In another bowl, place the 1/2 cup of flour.

3. Have the beaten eggs also placed in a separate bowl.

4. Cut the The chicken breasts into 2-inch pieces or however form you would like. You can also use already cut up chicken tenders to make it easier as well.

 

5. Coat the chicken pieces in the flour until completely covered and shake off excess flour.

6. After coating the chicken with flour, dip the pieces into egg until completely wet as well. Shake off any excess egg from the chicken.

7. The final coating step is to place the wet chicken pieces into the panko mixture until completely covered.
-Complete this coating process in batches to speed up the process!

 

8. Place the coated chicken into a lightly oiled pan and bake in the oven for about 6 minutes.

9. Once 6 minutes are up, flip each chicken piece to the other side and bake for another 6 minutes.

10. After the 12 minutes of baking are over, remove the chicken.

11. Begin by layering a nice amount of honey mustard on the wrap. Add some shredded lettuce and slices of chicken nuggets and a bit of shredded cheese! You can add any other topping to the wrap if you want but my version is a copy cat of the chicken wraps from McDonald with similar ingredients!

PS: The chicken nuggets are great on their own if you don't want to eat a wrap! 

Get the original recipe and even watch a video on this site! :

http://www.marthastewart.com/897986/baked-chicken-nuggets