BEST TURKEY GRAVY EVER !!

There are 3 reasons we LOVE this turkey gravy. First of all, it is rich, savory and has a delicious, concentrated turkey flavor (the kind that you CAN NOT get from a package or a jar). Secondly, you can make this gravy a day ahead of time and escape those "last minute" holiday scheduling conflicts or the dreaded "I need just one more stove burner" issue. Thirdly, the recipe makes enough gravy for a big turkey dinner AND enough for those scrumptious "day two" hot turkey sandwiches!!

 

It may sound like this recipe makes a ton of gravy, but don't forget that the liquid "cooks down" for a couple hours, so actually you'll end up with about 5 cups of good rich gravy, which is just perfect.

8 turkey wings (or 6 turkey drumsticks)
2 small onions (or 1 large) peeled and quartered
2 quarts water 
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup (large chopped) celery
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 to 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (*see note below)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
*(note don't add salt until the end)

Put the turkey wings (or drumsticks), quartered onions and 1 cup of water in a large baking pan. Make sure the pan is big enough so that the wings are not on top of each other.

Bake in preheated 400°F oven for 1 1/2 hours or until wings are nice and golden.

 

Put the baked wings and onion into a large soup pot. Add 1 cup of water to the original baking pan and stir/scrape up all of the crusty bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Pour it all over the meat in the soup pot.

Add 6 cups of water to the soup pot, along with the carrot, celery and dried thyme leaves. Make sure the "browned" side of the wings are down in the water. Bring it all to a boil, then reduce the heat to a VERY SLOW SIMMER and cook for 2 hours (with the lid very slightly open).

After the broth has simmered for 2 hours, remove the meat

(you won't need it for the gravy).

Strain the broth (throwing away the veggies) and return broth to soup pot. Bring the broth to a boil.

Whisk the flour into the remaining 2 cups of water until smooth and gradually whisk it into the simmering turkey broth. Cook and stir until thick.  Stir in butter and pepper.

IMPORTANT: Taste the final gravy for salt. I usually end up adding about 3/4 teaspoon of salt (to the whole pot).

NOTE: *How much flour you use to thicken your gravy depends on how much liquid broth you have after it's boiled down. I usually end up using 1/2 cup of flour.

 

 

 

NOTHING says HOLIDAY

like a GREAT gravy!!

 

ENJOY!!

BRUSSELS SPROUTS AU GRATIN

This is a wonderful recipe for a special occasion. Roasted Brussels sprouts, cheese and bacon, what could be better?  Even people who aren't sprout lovers, enjoy this easy dish!!

2 pounds small, tender Brussels sprouts (washed and cut in half)
4 ounces of thick cut bacon chopped
1 cup chopped sweet onion (like a Vidalia)
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 ounces Gruyere cheese shredded (about 1 cup packed)

Coat the sprouts with vegetable (or olive) oil and place, face side down on baking sheet. Bake in preheated 425° oven for 20 minutes (turning over about half way through). Remove from oven and set aside.

In frying pan, brown the bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels.

In bacon grease, sautee onions until tender and sweet smelling (about 3-4 minutes).

Drain all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan. Sprinkle in the flour and pepper and stir around. Let this gently cook for a minute or so, to cook out any raw flour taste.

Whisk in the chicken broth and milk. Stir/whisk until it's nice and thick, then stir in 1/2 of the grated cheese and stir till melted.

Add the cooked Brussels sprouts and gently toss to coat. Place in greased baking dish and top with the rest of the cheese.

Bake 25 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.



 

DYE EASTER EGGS WITH KOOL-AID !!!

I found this fantastic idea on Pinterest and it works extremely well. Not only does it produce a pretty colored Easter egg, but  it doesn't smell up the whole kitchen like a vinegar based dye does, PLUS it is very economical!!

 

This could not be simpler: 

Mix one small packet of UNSWEETENED Kool-Aid powder into 2/3 cup warm water and mix.

A coffee mug works well for this; a different color Kool-Aid in each mug. Place a hard boiled egg in the liquid for about a minute then set the colored egg on paper towels.  That's it!! I TOLD you it was easy!!

The lemonade (yellow)isn't very bright, but if you add a little orange to it, it will give you a great color. Pink lemonade is a beautiful color; try them all and have fun!!

Happy Easter !!

Note: Use the small packets of Kool-Aid. Most of them are about .15 ounce, (it isn't critical).

CROCK-POT MASHED POTATOES

This is a great method for making mashed potatoes for a crowd (and keeping them HOT). It seems like I'm always short on time (or a burner) when it comes to last minute side dishes during the holidays, so this method is a big help.

 

TO FEED A CROWD

5 pounds peeled potatoes cut into 1" cubes
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter cut into small cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 to 1 1/2 cups HOT half and half (divided)

A large (7-quart) Crock-pot will
hold the above ingredients

If you are only feeding a family of 6, 

cut the above ingredients in HALF and

put it in a 4-quart Crock-pot:

 

 

In either case, spray the Crock-pot with cooking spray and put the raw cubed potatoes and butter pieces into the Crock-pot.

Mix the water with the salt and pepper and pour it over the potatoes and butter pieces:

 

Cover with the lid and cook on high for 4 hours (or till tender). TIP: If you put a couple of potholders on the top of the Crock-pot lid (as shown in the above photos),the potatoes will be cooked in 3 hours instead of 4.

 

After the potatoes are tender, DO NOT DRAIN. Next, give them a rough mash with a hand-held potato masher, then add 1 cup of the HOT half and half and finish whipping the potatoes with an electric mixer (do this step right in the Crock-pot). Taste the mashed potatoes; then stir in the final half-cup of HOT half and half (if you think it needs it).

 

These mashed potatoes will stay hot (on the warm setting of the Crock-pot) for at least a couple hours. You can also ensure they will stay hot by covering the crockpot with a heavy towel.  

 

 Click on Photo 

 

 

ENJOY !!



NO ROLL JELLY ROLL

Last year, I posted a recipe for an old fashioned jelly roll cake.  I heard from several people who said they had fond memories of their mom or grandma making jelly rolls, but they were afraid to make one themselves because they were nervous about rolling the cake.

Rolling the cake isn't hard, as long as you follow a few strict rules, but it IS messy with all of the "sprinkle towel with powdered sugar" stuff. That is why I came up with this "NO ROLL JELLY ROLL".  I think it is every bit as pretty as the classic jelly roll Grandma used to make but it is MUCH EASIER !!

 

 

This is definitely going on my holiday table this year

Basically, I baked the same 10 x 15 sponge cake that I use in the jelly roll, but I cut it into thirds and stacked them with jam in between each layer and on the top, then drizzled vanilla glaze over. I'm very happy with how it turned out. It is so simple, I know I will be making it a lot more often.

3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon butter extract (see note)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup water (see note)
1 cup CAKE FLOUR
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup jelly or jam  (see note)

Preheat oven to 375 then line a 10" x 15" pan with parchment paper and spray the paper with cooking spray, set aside.

Beat the eggs, on high, until very thick and lemon colored (takes about 5 minutes).  After five minutes, and while the mixer is still running on high, slowly add the sugar.

Put the butter extract into a 1/3 measuring cup and then fill the cup with water (extract + water should = 1/3 cup). Add the extract-water and vanilla extract to the egg mixture and mix well.

Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt into the egg mixture and beat just until the batter is smooth (I do this step with a whisk).

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated 375 oven for 12-15 minutes (my electric oven takes 15 minutes) or until toothpick in center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and slide a sharp knife around the edges of the cake to loosen them.  Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing.

 

Place waxed paper or saran wrap on a cookie sheet (spray the paper/plastic wrap with cooking spray) and turn the cake out onto the cookie sheet.  This will help you transport the cake while its still hot.  The cake is much easier to cut and handle if its chilled, so I put the cake in the freezer for about half an hour before I tried to cut it.

When you are ready to assemble the cake, slice a VERY THIN edge off of each side of the cake (not necessary, but looks prettier).  Cut the cake in thirds.

Place the bottom layer on a serving plate and spread with jam (stir the jam to loosen it up before spreading). Repeat with next two layers.

Spread jam on the top of the cake and then drizzle with vanilla glaze. 

 

VANILLA GLAZE

1/3 cup melted butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond extract

2 tablespoons milk

Mix all together with a whisk.

NOTE: This recipe works best with a jam that doesn't have big pieces of fruit in it. Personally, I like Smuckers Simply Fruit; it not only tastes great but its PERFECT for this cake. Just make sure you stir or whisk the jam before spreading it, it will soften up and get smooth.

NOTE: If you do not have butter extract, just double the vanilla extract.

NOTE: This cake gets more moist after it sits for a few hours because the jam sinks into the cake a little.

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE with MUSHROOMS, CHEESE AND BACON

The traditional "green bean casserole" has always intrigued me. I see it mostly during the holidays and I want to enjoy it, although I'm not too fond of the mushroom soup sauce it usually has. This year, I set out to re-invent this holiday casserole and I absolutely love the final results.
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I used fresh green beans, sauteed sweet onions, portabello mushrooms, crisp bacon, a little cheddar cheese and my own white sauce. The resulting "green bean casserole" was delicious and we ate a ton of it.

1 pound of fresh green beans cut into 2" pieces
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1/2 pound of baby portobello mushrooms sliced
5 slices of bacon fried crisp (drained well & crumbled)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (loosely packed)
1 clove garlic minced finely
3 tablespoons white flour
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
scant 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 1/2 cups milk


In a large frying pan, saute the chopped onions until they smell sweet; add the garlic and saute until it barely turns golden. 

Add the green beans and mushrooms (mixing well) and saute for a few minutes until they start to wilt just a little (don't cook them all the way through). Remove pan from heat and set aside.
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In a sauce pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter; add the flour, salt and pepper, stirring quickly. Cook on medium for about a minute (to remove any flour taste). 

Slowly add the milk while you are whisking like a mad woman while (this will eliminate lumps in the sauce). Once the milk and butter-flour mixture are mixed well, cook on medium heat (stirring every once in a while) until it gets nice and thick.

Remove from heat and stir in the cheese and crisp (crumbled) bacon. Add this mixture to the vegetables and stir well (but gently). Place in an lightly greased casserole dish and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until very hot.
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It was really tasty and the leftovers made a mouth watering lunch the next day.