Turkey Canape with Cranberry Cream Cheese

I did Thanksgiving on Sunday. One brother is heading to Ireland, the other brother will not be with his children for the 1st time. I decided to be the sweet little sister who was willing to take on Thanksgiving for a dozen people 5 days early. My back still hurts from two days of chopping, mixing and standing. Was it worth it? Absolutely. To begin the meal, I stole an idea from Parade magazine. Guests are handed a bowl of corn kernels, they are asked to take 1 kernel for each thing they are grateful for. Some family members choose 1, others choose 7. Everyone shared, everyone cried. Bottom line, we were all so grateful just to be together. I intended on posting pictures with the menu, didn't happen. We ate like pigs. We all agreed it was the most delicious Thanksgiving meal we had ever eaten. (We say that every year!!) Guests left complaining of full bellies. Soooo, go get a bowl of kernels and share what you are thankful for. Then forget about weight watchers and enjoy every single bite! The following evening try these Turkey Canapes with Cranberry Cream Cheese. While using up leftovers, you will have a tasty little appetizer. Wishing all of you a peaceful and happy turkey day.

• Sliced turkey breast
• 1 8 ounce bar of cream cheese at room temperture
• leftover (homemade of course) cranberry relish. I always make the recipe on the bag of the Ocean Spray cranberries,I just add a teaspoon of orange zest.
• Sliced pumpernickel bread
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Place 3 Tablespoons of cranberry relish(or sauce) in a small bowl. Add cream cheese, blend till well combined. The cream cheese will become a delightful pink color. I had extra, so I spread it on a fresh bagle on following morning.

Spread about 8 slices of bread with cream cheese mixture. Place a few slice of turkey on top. Cut the crust off the sides and slice into triangles.

Top each triangle with a small dollop of cream cheeese and a cranberry. Garnish with fresh rosemary.

Pear and Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese

I just made this salad as a trial run for Thanksgiving. It got many thumbs up, soooo I thought I would share. The recipe comes from a supper club out of Athens, Georgia. The supper club has this rule that they never make the same thing twice. They may want to make an exception as I plan on serving this salad on a frequent basis.

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon honey
• salt and ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped thyme
• 3 large handfuls of baby arugula
• 2 pears sliced thinly on a mandoline
• 1/2 cup salted roasted pumpkin seeds
• 3 ounces fresh goat cheese crumbled

Whisk oilve oil with lemon juice honey and chopped thyme. Season with salt and pepper. In separate large bowl mix arugula with pear slices and pumpkin seeds. Add dressing, I did not use all of it. Top with crumbled goat cheese and serve.

Grape Salsa, Brie and Walnut Tarts

On turkey day this is what my guests will be biting into first. I did a trial run yesterday with my older brother. After tasting just one, he looked at me and said "ten." I live for tens, I rarely get them, lots of eights and nines, just not many tens.How could you go wrong? A crispy filo cup filled with toasted walnuts, warm brie and grape salsa. Now you ask, 'what the hell is grape salsa?' I can't really explain, you are just going to have to read on. I just know its the perfect topping to this delectable appetizer.

• 1 cup of seedless red grapes cut in half
• Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion
• 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• ground pepper
• 2 packages of mini filo shells (I purchased Athens brand, 15 baked shells in each box)
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
• 8 ounces of brie, rind removed (I prefer French Brie)

Pre heat oven to 325. Place the grapes and kosher salt in a food processor, mix till coarsely chopped. Put chopped grapes in a strainer, let sit for 10 minutes. I pressed down on chopped grapes to remove excess liquid. Separately mix the green onion, vinegar, oil, rosemary, garlic and pepper. Mix in the strained grapes. Now you may say to yourself, "let me just take a swig of this fresh grape juice that I just going to toss.." Don't, the salt kills it. I did this because I hate waste, I totally gagged. Just pour it right down the drain.

Now you are ready to assemble these lil tartlets. Place the shells on a baking sheet and fill each one with about 1/2 teaspoon of toasted walnuts. Now top the walnuts with a small amount of brie (a little less than 1 teaspoon). Finally add the grape salsa on top, again about 1/2 a teaspoon. Bake for about 7 minutes and serve immediately. Just wait for the "tens."

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I made this soup for Thanksgiving last year. Family members are already asking if I'm making it again. The answer is no. I refuse to repeat the same exact Thanksgiving dinner year after year. The core menu stays the same, I just like to tweak the appetizers a bit. I realize that its gonna be tough to find a soup to top this one. I'm thinking something along the lines of a chopped salad loaded with toasted pecans and cranberries. Either way they will whine about the disappearance of last years soup. This recipe comes from Susanna Foo, winner of two James Beard Awards. I have been dining in her restaurants in Philadelphia for many years. Many credit Susanna Foo for having brought Chinese food onto the modern realm. I credit her for a really delicious butternut squash soup.

• A 2 1/2 pound butternut squash
• 2 medium parsnips
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 shallots sliced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 7 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Peel the butternut squash. Remove the seeds, cut into 1 inch pieces. Cut off tops pf parsnips, peel and cut into 1 inch pieces. Place squash and parsnips on large baking sheet. Spoon 2 tablespoons of olive oil over vegetables, coat well. Bake for 1 hour until soft. Set aside.

In a stockpot combine remaining oil, shallots, and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes till soft and lightly golden. Add ginger and wine, simmer 5 minutes. Stir in cinnamon, cream and butter. Cook until reduced by half. Add squash, parsnips, honey and stock, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Let soup cool down for about 20 minutes. Puree soup in a blender in batches. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with basil oil, or top with a crouton.

Turnip and Leek soup with Orange Gremolata

So as I'm checking out of the grocery store the other day, the cashier shoves a monthly coupon book into one of my bags. Typically its filled with coupons for items I don't use, as well as a seasonal recipe that's completely lame. Something like ghost brownies. This would mean brownies cut into squares, a scoop of marshmallow fluff on top, with 2 black jelly beans stuck in the fluff so the lil fellow can see. Well something or someone changed their approach this month. This months coupon book featured Turnip and Leek Soup with Orange Gremolata. After rolling my eyes for so long, I decided to give this soup a try. I'm so happy I did. It was beautiful to look at, and quite tasty. Even my non turnip loving guests seemed to enjoy it. The orange gremolata adds a delicious freshness, something I never would have thought of adding.

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound turnips(try to find small young ones) peeled and diced to 1 inch cubes
• 1 medium leek diced
• 1 large potato peeled and diced to 1 inch cubes
• 5 to 6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• Kosher salt ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup of milk

Gremolata

About 1/3 of an orange zested, 4 stems Italian parsley 1 diced garlic clove

Heat oil in large sauce pan. Add turnips, diced leek and potatoes. Cook for about 20 minutes, till vegetables appear tender and begin to brown. Add broth, tomato paste and S and P. Bring to a simmer , cook 15 to 20 minutes longer. Remove 1 cup of vegetables. Using an immersion blender puree remaining soup,add milk to pureed soup.

For gremolata finely chop orange zest parsley and garlic.

To serve, ladle soup into wide shallow bowls. Place large spoonful of reserved vegetables in middle, sprinkle gremolata on top. Enjoy.

Pizza Dough Scallion Pancakes with Soy Dipping Sauce

I recently read about Chef Joanna Chang's approach to using supermarket staples for making Chinese and Vietnamese dishes. I was looking for an appetizer that was tasty, yet not too labor intensive. I decided to try Chef Chang's scallion pancakes with soy dipping sauce. All I can say is WOW. The toughest part was driving to my local pizza shop for the dough. I had to deal with Vinnie saying.."my pizza no good for you???" I didn't feel like explaining the scallion pancake deal, I bought a slice with the dough just to shut him up.

I'm sure Chef Chang's pancakes came out flatter and more attractive than mine. Even though they were somewhat puffy, everyone loved them, especially the warm center that reminded my friends of a fresh soft pretzel. I promise you these won't disappoint.

• 5 scallions 4 minced 1 sliced
• 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 pound pizza dough room temperature
• 2 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup canola oil

In a small bowl mix the minced scallions with 1 Tablespoon of sesame oil. Add salt. Slice dough in half. Roll out each piece of dough to a large rectangle. Mine turned out to be about 4' x 8' inches. I had to really stretch the dough as it kept wanting to snap back into a ball. Spread the scallion mixture over dough, leaving a 1 inch border. Beginning at wide end, roll up dough as if you were making a jelly roll. Pinch ends to seal. Coil each roll of dough into a round, tucking end under the coil.Cover for about 20 minutes.

For dipping sauce, combine sliced scallions, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, soy sauce, water and vinegar in a bowl.

After 20 minutes uncover dough. Using a large rolling pin roll out dough coil into a flat circle.(some of the scallion mixture will come out, don't worry about it) I had to stretch the dough with my hands, it was somewhat difficult getting it flat.

In a large skillet, heat canola oil. When the oil is hot, place 1 pancake in pan. It took about 1 to 2 minutes per side.(watch as they brown quickly) If I burnt them I really didn't want to go back to get more dough and deal with Vinnie again. Flip over pancake when golden. I used a spatula to flatten dough as it cooked, this seemed to work well. Drain on paper towels. Cut into quarters and serve with soy dipping sauce. Thank you chef Chang your a genius. Vinnie your a genius too. :)

Sweet Potato Ravioli

As the weather gets cooler Ive been really craving pasta. I'm not much of a pasta person, so I pay attention when these cravings hit. The other day while out to lunch I ordered sweet potato, arugula and walnut pasta salad. The combination of the sweet potato with the pasta was incredible. The following day I made these sweet potato raviolis for din din. They were a big hit, using won ton wrappers instead of rolling out fresh pasta made life much easier.

• 1 large sweet potato, (1 lb 2 oz) peeled and chopped
• 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice
• 6 to 8 oz butter
• 1/2 ts sugar (optional)
• 1/2 cup grated parm cheese
• 1 Tablespoon of chopped chives
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1 9oz packet won ton wrappers (look for the thin ones)
• 2 Tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons chopped walnuts

Cook the chopped sweet potato and lemon juice in a sauce pan of boiling water. This took about 20 minutes till the potato was tender. Drain and cool. Blend sweet potato and 1 oz of butter in food processor till smooth. Add parm, chopped chives and 1/2 of mixed egg. Season with salt and pepper. Brush egg mixture around edges of several won ton wrappers. Put 2 teaspoons of sweet potato mixture in the center of the won ton. Top with another won ton, pressing edges firmly together.

Cook the ravioli in salted boiling water. This just takes about 2 minutes, as you want them al dente.

Melt the remaining butter in sauce pan, cook till lightly golden. Add sage leaves, allow them to crisp up a bit. Drain raviolis, add them to browned butter and sage for a quick toss. Serve immediately grated parm and chopped walnuts.