Archive for December, 2008

It was certainly a delicious year around Casa Foodie! We wanted to share (again) our favorite recipes of the year. We hope you all have a safe, happy, and delicious 2009!

January
Blackberry-Pinot Noir Glazed Meatballs
Mollie’s Perfect Pasta Dough

February
Peanut Butter Dulce de Leche Brownies
Wedge Salad with Chianti Vinaigrette

March
Orange Layer Charlotte with Buttercream Frosting and Fresh Berries
Snickery Squares

April
Savory Bleu Cheese and Bacon Cake
Margarita-Glazed Madeleines

May
Chocolate Overdose Cake
Carnitas

June
Kerbey-style Queso
Carrot Ginger Layer Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

July
Slow Chocolate Chip Cookies
Three-day Weekend Berry Trifle

August
Roasted Jalapeno Hummus
Pink Lemonade-Glazed Madeleines

September
Raspberry Muffins
Foodie Groom’s Buttermilk Pancakes

October
Butternut Squash Soup with Ravioli and Sage-Roasted Walnuts
Prosciutto-wrapped Grissini with Homemade Pesto Aioli

November
Pumpkin Tart
Cranberry-Walnut Muffins

December
5-Layer Lasagna
Swirly White and Bittersweet Chocolate Peppermint Bark

They say you’re not supposed to try new recipes out at the holidays because it’s stressful and you don’t want to be faced with a houseful of disappointed guests. Because cooking a familiar meal for 13 isn’t stressful enough already? Whatev. “They” are crazy – the holidays are the perfect time to try out new things because you have a houseful of guinea pigs!

My dad usually hosts and handles most holiday dinners and for those dinners that he doesn’t handle, he still always makes the dressing and baked beans (we’re dressing people, not stuffing people). I ran across this gem of a recipe by Tyler Florence by accident – I mistakenly DVRed a rerun of the Dear Food Network Thanksgiving special rather than what was supposed to be a really good Jess/Tess/Bess episode of One Life to Live. Multiple personalities… it wouldn’t be the holidays without ‘em

Everyone seemed to really like the dressing – I know I sure did! The ruling on the chestnuts was somewhere around 60-70% in favor of omitting the nuts next time. They have a strange texture that I wasn’t thrilled about – I think chestnuts were new to most of us around the table but my sister Angie really liked them in. Maybe I’ll do half of the baking dish without them next year.

I also used a hardier crust-on bread than the original recipe called for so I think there would be enough texture without the chestnuts. Either way, this dressing has secured its place at our future holiday tables… or at least those future holidays that I can guilt my dad into letting me host.

Updated

Roasted Chestnut and Sausage Dressing
1 lb Italian chestnuts
1 medium carrot, peeled and rough chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 green onions, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch fresh sage
1 handful flat-leaf parsley
1 clove garlic
4 slices of thick-cut bacon
1 lb loose sweet Italian sausage
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1.5 lb loaf of fresh bread, cut into 1-inch cubes*
1 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs

* You want enough fresh bread cubes to fill a 9×13 pan. I’ve used ciabatta before and a mix of sourdough and a whole grain baguette.

Preheat oven to 400. Score an X onto the bottom of each chestnut with a paring knife (the knife must go all the way through the shell) and roast 20-25 minutes on a baking sheet. Shell nuts after cooling and rough chop.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Place the bread cubes into a large bowl.

In a food processor puree the carrot, onions, celery, sage, parsley, and garlic until you have a fine pulp. Set a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook bacon until crispy. Remove bacon from pan with tongs and reserve for another use. Add the sausage to the bacon grease and cook until browned – about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the sausage and place in a large mixing bowl.

Add the vegetable pulp to the pan and saute until most of the moisture has evaporated. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Add the vegetables, sausage, and chopped chestnuts to the bread bowl. Mix well.

Whisk together chicken stock, cream, and eggs. Pour over the dressing and toss to mix and coat well. Transfer stuffing into the prepared dish and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown on the top (if it gets too brown before the 30 minutes is up, tent with foil).

Adapted from Food Network

If something looks good on a blog, in a magazine, or on TV, I’ll drop everything (and I mean everything) to make a grocery store run for any missing ingredients and then rearrange the week’s menu to squeeze it in. Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don’t.

I found these crostini in an old DVR’ed episode of Everyday Italian. They. Are. Fantastic. I’ll admit to being a goat cheese addict, but throw in sun-dried tomatoes and fresh thyme? I’m in – and adjusting my NYE menu to make room for a gigantic plate of these crostini.

If you have any leftover sun-dried tomato jam, get creative – this stuff tastes great on everything: burgers, turkey sandwiches, crackers, and omelets. I’m thinking of only making a half batch of Blackberry-Pinot Noir Meatballs for New Year’s so I can make a half batch of meatballs with the Sun-Dried Tomato Jam. Just typing that made me hungry!

Goat Cheese Crostini with Sun-Dried Tomato Jam
Sun-Dried Tomato Jam
8oz jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped, oil reserved (I used a package of ‘sun-ripened tomatoes’ – they aren’t totally dried)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Crostini:
1 baguette, cut into 3/4-inch slices (I used ciabatta)
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

For the Sun-dried Tomato Jam: Place a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of the reserved sun-dried tomato oil (I just used additional olive oil), olive oil, onion, and garlic. Stir and cook until the onions are soft and beginning to brown at the edges, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the sugar, vinegar, water, chicken broth, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and continue simmering until most of the liquid is reduced and the mixture is the consistency of jam, about 5 to 10 more minutes I cranked up the heat because this was taking far longer than just 5-10 minutes). Remove from the heat and set aside.

For the Crostini: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the baguette slices on the baking sheet. Drizzle the bread slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until lightly toasted, about 12 minutes. Place the soft goat cheese in a small bowl. Stir in the thyme.

To assemble: Spread the crostini with Sun-Dried Tomato Jam and top with the goat cheese mixture. Transfer to a serving plate and serve.

Source: Everyday Italian
Yields: ~ 24 servings