Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Christmas Dinner: Cornish Game Hen and Vegetables


While the foot is still healing, I knew the long-standing tradition of a big Christmas night meal would be impossible. So, I incorporated the helpfulness of the slow cooker! With about 15 minutes of prep time and four hours on the high setting, this lovely meal was ready to devour.

You can use whichever root vegetables you'd like. I chose fennel, onions, garlic, multi-colored potatoes, and baby carrots.

2 T. olive oil
2 T. unsalted butter
2 (20 oz.) Cornish game hens, thawed, rinsed and patted dry
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Herbes de Provence
1 cup dry white wine
2 T. lemon juice
1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb, reserve some fronds for garnish
1 cup thinly sliced yellow onions
8 cloves garlic, peeled
8 - 10 small multi-colored potatoes
2 cups baby carrots
2 T. butter

Heat olive oil and butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When butter bubbles, add hens on at a time and brown until both sides are golden. Repeat with the other hen. Set aside when both are browned.

Add white wine to the skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Add lemon juice and let boil another minute or so.

Set slow cooker to high setting. Add fennel, onions, garlic, potatoes, and carrots. Lightly season with salt, pepper, and Herbes de Provence.


Place Cornish hens on top of vegetables. Add 1 T. of butter each to the interior of the hens.


Pour wine/lemon juice mixture over hens and vegetables. Cover and let cook 4 hours or high or 6 hours or low. The internal temperature of the Cornish game hens should be 180 degrees F.

Place vegetables on the plate and add game hen on top or side of vegetables. Spoon sauce over everything and enjoy!



Sunday, December 24, 2017

Christmas Eve Seafood Chowder


If you love seafood, this is an elegant and impressive chowder to serve on special occasions. The chowder is very easy to prepare with an incredibly rich-tasting broth which begins with smoky bacon, fresh fennel, and thyme. Add the seafood at the end of the cooking time for just a few minutes of simmering to prevent it from becoming overcooked and tough.


I used cod, shrimp, oysters, and mussels.



5 strips thick sliced bacon, diced
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced fennel bulb, fronds reserved
1 T. unsalted butter

2 T. all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine

3 bottles clam juice (8 oz. each)
1 1/2 cup diced peeled potatoes
12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 8 oz.)
16 oz. mussels, debearded
8 oz. firm white fish such as cod, cut into 1-inch chunks
8 oz. oysters

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 t. minced fresh thyme
salt
Tabasco sauce to taste

Saute bacon in a pot until crisp; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 1 T. drippings. Add onion, fennel, and butter to pot, cover, and sweat over medium heat until vegetables are translucent about 5 minutes.

Stir in flour and cook 1 minute, then add wine and boil 1 minute.

Add clam juice and potatoes, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring liquid to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce to medium-low, and simmer until potatoes are fork tender, 8 - 10 minutes.

Stir in shrimp, mussels, and fish. Cover pot; simmer chowder until fish and shrimp are cooked through and mussels open, about 5 minutes. Discard any unopened mussels.

Stir in oysters, cream, and thyme and simmer chowder to heat through 2-3 minutes more. Season chowder with salt and Tabasco. Top servings with diced bacon and fennel fronds. Serve with toasted bread.

Recipe courtesy of Cuisine: Celebrate the Seasons

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Christmas Table 2017 - Twelve Days of Christmas



This year's Christmas table featured the Twelve Days of Christmas as place settings! I got a really great deal on these Better Homes and Gardens plates, salad plates, bowls, mugs, and serving pieces!

The table runner was purchased from a very nice Amish lady in Lancaster, PA several years ago while we were on vacation.  The glassware was won on an online auction site.  

The dinner plates and bowls have the rim showing the Twelve Days of Christmas along with the wording.





The salad plates and mugs are divided into groups of the Twelve Days.






I loved how the place settings contrasted with the deep red chargers.




Santa Table - Christmas 2017


We were expecting two more grandchildren here this weekend, but the eldest grandson is sick, so hopefully, they will be able to visit next weekend.  I love to decorate with Santas and this is a great mix and match of all sorts of St. Nick.





Monday, December 18, 2017

Old Bay Salmon Patty


If you've been keeping up with the saga of my broken foot, we're almost to the end of the story. I am once again vertical (after11 weeks!) and tonight was the first night I've been able to stand and cook supper from start to finish!

To reward Sweet Harold for all his hard work in taking care of me and the house and the cooking, cleaning, laundry......I made one of his favorites:  Salmon Patties. For this meal, I seasoned with Old Bay seasoning. These were delicious!

2 large cans boneless/skinless salmon (drained and flaked)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 T. chopped parsley
2 t. Old Bay Seasoning
1 t. minced garlic
3 T. self-rising flour
Vegetable oil

In a medium bowl, lightly mix first six ingredients with a fork until well blended.  

In a large skillet, add enough vegetable oil to have a depth of about 1/4 inch. Heat over high heat until oil shimmers. 

Shape salmon mixture into equal sized patties. With this amount, I usually have 7 or 8 patties. Lower heat to medium-high and fry salmon patties in batches, turning when one side is golden brown, about 3 - 4 minutes each side. Drain on paper towels. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

Monday, December 11, 2017

Easy Broccoli Casserole


You can easily whip this recipe up on a weeknight. Don't think you have to wait for the holidays or special events to have a broccoli casserole. This recipe should be baked in a 9 x 9 or 11 x 9 casserole dish. If you want to use a round casserole dish, a 2-quart size should be fine.

4 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz. sour cream
freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray the casserole dish with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and pour into the baking dish.  Bake for 45 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

Let rest a few minutes before serving.



White Cheddar Potatoes


Our comfort food recipes continue with this one.  The use of a food processor will give you the uniformly thin slices of potatoes that make this dish so beautiful and allows all the creamy cheesy goodness to fill in between the layers.

4 medium potatoes, washed and sliced very thin
8 oz. sour cream
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 t. salt
1/2 t. white pepper
1 t. dried parsley
8 oz. block of white cheddar cheese, shredded, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. F.  Spray a 2-quart baking dish with nonstick spray.

Layer one-half of the potatoes into the dish.

In a medium bowl, combine the next six ingredients along with one half of the shredded cheese.

Slowly pour one half of the sour cream mixture over the potatoes. Layer remaining potatoes, pour remaining sour cream mixture over the potatoes, and top with remaining shredded cheese.

Cover with foil and bake 45-50 minutes. Remove foil and let potatoes cook another 15 minutes or so. Potatoes are done when a knife can be easily inserted into potatoes. 

If needed, place potatoes under the broiler for a few minutes to brown the cheese.  


Ground Pork Meat Loaf with Black Mission Fig and Garlic Glaze


I'm still on non-weight bearing with the broken foot. But I was craving meatloaf and cooked us a great comfort food meal. A flavorful meatloaf that's made even better with a unique glaze. No ketchup and/or brown sugar here!  I also use whole grain oats as my filler instead of bread or breadcrumbs. It's a delicious way to add whole grains to your diet!

Figs pair well with pork, so Black Mission Fig Balsamic Vinegar immediately came to mind as an ingredient IN the meatloaf, as well as for the glaze to add during the last 10 minutes or so of cooking.

Let's make the meatloaf!

2 lbs. ground pork
1/3 cup diced onions
1/3 cup diced green bell pepper
2 t. minced garlic
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 - 2 t. salt
few grinds of black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Spray two loaf pans or a parchment lined baking sheet with non-stick spray.

Lightly spoon the meatloaf mixture into the loaf pans or shape into a loaf on the baking sheet.  

Place in oven for an hour or until an instant-read thermometer shows the internal temperature of the meatloaf at 160 degrees F.

While the meatloaf is baking, make the glaze. In a small saucepan, add 3 - 4 T. of Black Mission Fig Balsamic Vinegar and whisk in 2 - 3 T. of Garlic Olive Oil.  Bring to a gentle simmer and let cook until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat. During the last 10 minutes or so of cooking time, spoon or brush the glaze over the top of the meatloaf and return to oven.