More is Better

To go along with the brined turkey I wanted to cover it with cheesecloth that so many chefs on the cooking shows were talking about --this Martha Stewart one came with a gravy recipe as well --the taste was fabulous. I did not follow or put in the part about the stuffing the turkey as we cook our stuffing/dressing on the side. Also my turkey was done sooner as it was empty not stuffed so the skin was not as golden as it should have been. Turkey 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks), melted, plus 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature 1 bottle dry white wine 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper Rinse turkey with cool water and dry with paper towels. Let stand for 2 hours at room temperature. Warm the butter and white wine together and soak a large piece of cheesecloth in it. Peppercorns and coarse salt season the bird. Place rack on lowest level in oven and heat to 425 degrees. Tuck the wing tips under the body of the bird, and place turkey breast-sid...

Bay and Lemon Brined Turkey by Dave Lieberman food network Why did I select this recipe you ask --because at the point I decided to do this it was the only brining recipe  that I had all the ingredients on hand for!! It was delicious and the cheesecloth part worked wonderful I alos used Martha Stewart Cheesecloth covered turkey recipe for the basting part and the gravy was over the top --see other blog recipe 1 (12 to 15-pound) turkey For the brine: 2 gallons water 1 cup sugar 1 cup kosher salt 2 lemons, sliced in 1/2 4 bay leaves 3 cinnamon sticks Small handful cloves Combine all brine ingredients in a container or pot large enough to hold the turkey. Make sure all the sugar and salt have been fully dissolved. Add the turkey and refrigerate about 6 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove turkey from brine and transfer to a roasting pan with a rack. Stuff turkey with the lemon halves, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks used in the brine. C...

Dan was home an favorite request was for Paella whe I asked for dinner ideas--oops or make that Katie requested this -Dan did not ask for anything! But he got PAELLA!! 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan 3 cloves garlic, crushed 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 2 cups enriched white rice 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads 1 bay leaf 1 quart chicken broth or stock 4 sprigs fresh thyme 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders, cut into thirds Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped 1 medium onion, chopped 3/4 pound chorizo, casing removed and sliced on an angle 1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp, 24 shrimp 18 green lipped mussels, cleaned 1 cup frozen peas 2 lemons zested Garnish: 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley 4 scallions, chopped Lemon wedges Crusty, bread for passing In a separate nonstick skillet, over medium high heat brown chicken on both sides in 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of th...

So one of my lovely patients woke up raving about this recipe that she makes every year about her family requested favorite. It was easy to make and quite addicting to eat! Enjoy!! 4c pecan halves 3 T kahlua 1 T vegetable oil Toss Together. 1/4 t cayenne 1/4 c chili powder 3 T sugar 1/2 t salt Mix together and toss with nuts.  Spread around on cookie sheet. Bake 25 mins at 300 stir around a few times during cooking.

MMMM Yummy and leaves that little bit of crushed red pepper feeling on your lips!   6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced 2 1/2 pounds jumbo shrimp (about 30) peeled and deveined Salt One 35-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano), cored and coarsely crushed 8 fresh basil leaves, torn into quarters 2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper   Heat 4 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and cook, shaking the pan, until golden. This takes about one minute.  WATCH very carefully as garlic will burn and then you have to redo -- I ended up removing the garlic while I cooked the shrimp --but it was nice and crispy. See above :)   Add as many shrimp as fit in a single layer with some space between each. If you crowd the shrimp, they will steam in their own juices rather than get crunchy with a lightly browned exterior. Cook, tuning once, ...

OK so this is one of those meals you wake up thinking about the next morning! I watched this prepared on The Chew - it was a 5 in 5 meal -meaning 5 ingredients and prepared in 5 minutes -- Michael Symon used turkey cutlets but I used 1 package of Costco tenderloins (about 9 pieces ) makes 4 servings. You could serve this over grits as I did or angel hair pasta or even rice. It was fabulous!! 5 turkey cutlets pounded thin (or a package of chicken tenderloins) 1 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes (Trader Joes sells these already sliced!) 2 cups sliced shitake mushrooms (that is a 6-8 oz package) 1 sliced shallot 1 cup Madeira wine 1/2 cup chopped parsley 6 tablespoons olive oil (divided)  2 tablespoons butter flour (for dredging) 1/2 cup chicken broth or water salt and freshly cracked pepper  He had you preheat 2 saute pans since I used my family skillet I had enough room to use one. Preheat over med-high heat and add 3 T EVOO. Season cutlets/ tenderloins with s/p...

Saw this yummy recipe on Rachael Ray show and thought for sure I would never find the  specialty  pasta but low and behold at Wegman's they have PICI a fat pasta like bucatini minus the hole! This was a really yummy recipe and a definite one to repeat!  This is what the PICI package looks like from Wegman's :)   Salt and pepper 1 pound bucatini, pici  or  spaghetti 3 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1/4 to 1/3 pound chunk guanciale, pancetta  or  center-cut bacon, chopped 1 small onion, chopped 3 to 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 1/2 cup dry white wine 1 cup chicken stock 2 cups frozen artichoke hearts, thawed  or  1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped 1/2 cup freshly grated Caciocavallo  or  Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving 1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (a generous handful) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt it, add the pasta and cook until  al de...

I got this recipe originally from Wegman's in FALL 2007 and served it several times that year -- I had forgotten about it until recently and made it this past chilly weekend. It was fabulous as good and comforting as we remembered. The sauce totally makes it along with the meat that just falls apart. We only used half the meat amount less than 2#. Also Wegman's didn't have any of their precut stew vegetables so used 4 celery stalks, 4 carrots, 2 big onions and about 10 mini potatoes all cut into 1' chunks --left all the sauce ingredients the same --this yielded 4 portions. The hardest part was the incredible smell for the 2 1/2 hours of cooking time in the oven --really wanted to cheat and just eat it early! Can you say fall comfort foods and a great one pot meal!  ***PLEASE NOTE THIS MEAL TAKES ABOUT 3 1/2 hours from start to finish of which 2 1/2 hours is the cooking time.***  1 boneless beef chuck roast (about 2 3/4 - 3 lbs) Wegm...