Broccoli, Cheddar and Cremini Mushroom Crumble

To me, this is the ideal, quintessential Thankgiving dish.  As has been previously established, I have a potentially out-of-control obsession with cheese, and the rich creaminess of the Old English Cheddar laced through-out this veggie-filled, crumb-topped delight just about takes me over the edge.  Not to mention, despite growing up in more than 14 homes and on multiple continents, no matter where my family celebrated Thanksgiving, my mummy would make me this dish (in the recipe-book my mum gave me as a wedding present, this recipe is decorated with a hand drawn heart that says "I love you always darling!" - Mum).
This is not a "meat and potatoes" style side, nor is it likely to be served at the latest trendy tapas type of restaurant.  No, it lies somewhere contentedly in between - unpretentious, yet independently capable of exciting and satisfying the taste buds. A year or so ago, this dish may have even carried that southern staple term "casserole" in it's description, but 2011 has been good for this ol' standby.  I've improved a few ingredients, now "dress it up" in a rustic yet lovely stoneware dish and have knighted my childhood favorite with the far more socially acceptable title of "crumble" to help draw the potentially leery general public close.  One bite of this buttery, crumbly, creamy and crunchy dish and it won't matter what I call it...you'll be hooked!

Ingredients:

2 Bundles Fresh Broccolli
3-3 1/2 cups Crushed Whole Wheat RITZ Crackers (whole wheat is optional, as is the brand of cracker, but personally I think the above is the best option with this dish)
10oz Old English Cheddar Cheese (This is a soft cheese that comes in a glass or plastic container.  I find my favorite at Whole Foods, but Kraft makes one as well that many main-stream grocery stores carry. If you buy the Kraft brand like my mum does, then you need two glass containers for this recipe).
3/4 cup Melted Butter
1/2lb sliced cremini or "baby bella" mushrooms
1 small pkg sliver Almonds (2.25oz)

White Sauce Ingredients:
6tbsp Butter
6tbsp Flour
3cups Milk (2% or whole)

Directions:
1.) Make white sauce - melt butter in a sauce pan, add flour.  Stir and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, making a thick paste slightly browning in color.  Add milk, turn heat to low and stir until thickened and creamy.
2.) Stir in Cheddar and leave on lowest heat. Stir often. 
3.) Pre-heat oven at 350
4.) Par-boil or partially steam Broccoli (should be cooked but still firm)
5.) Crush crackers and mix with melted butter. 
6.) Grease 9x12 pan
7.) Layer half the cracker mix on bottom of the pan.  Add the broccoli, then almonds and then mushrooms. Pour sauce over the top. Crumble the other half of the crackers on top.
8.) Bake for 30 min
9.) Please enjoy!!

Polenta Bites topped with Goat Cheese and Roasted Peppers

These days it seems more and more of my friends and family are finding out they have gluten or lactose allergies, and it never fails that right after I've invited someone over for dinner they announce they are on a diet. So, serving pigs in a blanket or bread and brie as an appetizer isn't always an option anymore. However, I refuse to start serving only baked chicken and kale. Therefore, my creative cooking capabilities fired-up and I am happy to announce that this Thanksgiving I've come up with at least one gluten-free, vegetarian and dairy free appetizer I am thrilled to serve and eat myself!

Did you know polenta is gluten-free and fat-free naturally, and that people with dairy allergies can eat goat cheese with no issues?  Did you know both of those items are also delicious, and even more so when topped with smokey, sweet roasted peppers?  Well, they are and here is a recipe that takes full advantage of all of the above (not to mention being easy and beautiful when fully prepped on a festive holiday tray). Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 18oz Polenta Chubs (Chubs are pre-cooked polenta shaped in round tubes, similar to a breakfast sausage and can be found in the pasta section at Trader Joes and other grocery stores)
12oz Goat Cheese
3 Sweet Peppers (I like using one red, one orange and one yellow, but it's totally up to you)

Directions:
Brush the peppers in vegatable oil and roast under your broiler until all the skins are blackened and bubblly.  Immediately place peppers in a pot with a sealed tight lid and leave for about 15 min.  Remove peppers and skins should easily peel off.  Remove skins and scrape out seeds and slice peppers into squares, diamonds or triangles about 1/2in by 1/2in in size. Set aside.
Slice each chub into 12 round pieces and sautee in butter until they are crisy and browning around the edges. Spread a generous portion of goat cheese and top with a roasted pepper piece.  If you are unable to serve immediately, place slices side by side on a cookie sheet, cover with foil and reheat in the oven, until warm.  Serve and enjoy!!

Sweet (Potato) Excitement

I know it may be wrong. I know Thanksgiving is mostly about Turkey. And Pie. And Cranberries. Maybe not always in that order. But for me, the first thing I think of when I think of Thanksgiving is Sweet Potatoes. They are incredibly delicious, incredibly good for you, and incredibly, one of the few orange foods I eat without raising my eyebrows in protest. There are so many fantastic ways to eat sweet potatoes, in fact, that I find it difficult to believe that there are people out there who don't like them. Sweet potato fries for the junkies, sweet potato pies for the sweet-toothers, baked or mashed sweet potatoes for the simple souls, and sweet potato bake casserole for the betty crockers.

My first recipe comes from almost three decades of Thanksgiving tradition, and may be the most popular way to serve sweet potato on this very thankful day.

Marshmallowed Sweet Potatoes

1 sweet potato per person
1 bag of mini marshmallows
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tbs. butter
a splash of water

Remove peel and cut potato into slices - I leave them round and about 1-1.5 inches thick. Put into baking pan or casserole dish. Put pats of butter around the dish for flavor. Sprinkle brown sugar over potatoes, a bit of water in the pan to keep the potatoes plump, and top it off with as much marshmallows as you can stomach. Bake in the oven at 350 covered for 40 minutes or until your fork goes cleanly through a potato, uncover to golden the marshmallows. Yum...


My newest secret recipe is less sweet, a bit plainer, and maybe my favorite addition to ANY dish I've ever made.

Sweet Potato & Apples

1/2 apple per person
1/2 sweet potato per person
1 tbs. butter
Any spice you like, salt for flavor

You can cut them up how you like- skin or none, slices to arrange them prettily, or like me, cube them up for a homey-type pile on the plate. If you are a hard core Thanksgiving foodie, really think about the best way this food will get consolidated on your plate. Use the butter to grease the bottom of a baking dish or casserole dish, add the potatoes and apples, and season as you like. This is a great dish because it starts of with a blank palette - both are fairly unobtrusive flavors that can be used to compliment any meat and side dish(es). Use the same herbs as your turkey, use brown sugar to sweeten, or just add a bit of butter and a TINY shake of salt to let the flavors shine on their own. Top with the pat of butter and let it bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes at 350.

Cranberry Grand Marnier Relish

Along with (I would assume) most Americans, when I envision a delicious slice or three of steaming, succulent turkey breast, it is smothered in a savory, creamy gravy.  And while I think it's a perfectly wonderful way to serve your Thanksgiving bird, last year my mother and I were longing for something more...and something less.  Something more unique, more flavorful, more complex...and something less heavy and creamy.  So we hunted on-line for ideas and found a few recipes for cranberry sauces and relishes.  Making a few key adjustment of our own, we concocted our Cranberry Grand Marnier Relish.  It's a tart, fresh and "grown-up" alternative to gravy...but it honestly makes a great side on it's own (and that way you can have delicious gravy as well!). 

This is a very simple dish, so if you are looking for something oh so easy, but oh so pretty to impress the in-laws with, I'd highly recommend it!

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups fresh cranberries
1 small Valencia orange (seeded and quartered - but leave the peel on)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
4 tbsp walnuts
2 tbsp Grand Marnier


Directions:
Combine cranberries and orange segments in food processor.  Pulse about 4 times.  Add sugar and nuts, and pulse 1-2 more times.  The relish should be roughly the same texture as a regular pickle relish.  Add the Grand Marnier and taste.  Sometimes more sugar or more orange liquor may be desirable.  Chill and enjoy!

Butterscotch and Chocolate Spiders

Noticing Halloween creeping up around the corner, I have found myself inspired to compete with the generic candy brands by concocting my own creepy confections.  Now of course, the tragedy is that these days you can't hand out home-made treats to the kids, because everyone has heard the stories about razor blades and poison (it's never happened - read "Free-Range Kids" if your curious), but at the very least you can spoil your friends or hubby with this sweet spidery treat!

This is a recipe my Nanna used to make for my sister and I every so often, but particularly every Halloween.  Sweet, salty, crunchy and simple - they satisfy some deep childhood desire within me, and I hope they bring a smile to your spooky day as well!

Ingredients:

1 pkg butterscotch bits (substitute dark chocolate if you want the chocolate version)
1 Tbsp peanut butter (substitute shortening if there is a nut allergy concern)
1 can (5 1/2oz) Chinese noodles
1 cup dry roasted peanuts (these can be left out if there is a nut allergy concern)

Directions:
Melt bits and peanut butter in a saucepan. Stir in noodles and nuts and mix until thoroughly coated.  Drop heaping tablespoon fulls onto waxed paper and let harden in the fridge - approx 1/2 hour (or for rapid results, the freezer).  Once they are chilled, they look like chunky, many legged arachnids and can be stored at room temp, but do best in the fridge or freezer. Enjoy!

From Our Kitchen to Yours: French Berry Crumble

There is something both extremely elegant and comforting about a berry dessert. How can you fail to get excited about the unexpected tangy zest that cuts into anticipated sweetness, the textural complexity that your fruit of choice adds to the pastry and sauce it's nestled in - and the added bonus of having a little nutritional value to assuage your guilty conscious who always pipes up when you contemplate that second slice. Now I'm aware that the majority of women out there don't think it's worth the calories if it's not smothered in chocolate, but I'm confident this decedent little crumble can hold it's own, even when competing with dessert giants such as brownies or chocolate cheese cake. And if it doesn't satisfy your needs, nothing says you can't top the whole thing with a dollop of hot fudge!

Ingredients:
24oz Morello/Dark Cherries*
1 cup frozen fruit (consider raspberries, blueberries, strawberries)
1 cup flour
1 cup instant oatmeal (T.J.'s whole grain cranberry is my go-to)
3/4 cup firm butter (many crumble recipes advocate for more butter, I don't think it's missed at all here, but feel free to add more if desired)
1 cup brown sugar
3 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

(*this is the amount needed, already drained. If you live near a Trader Joe's, you can find these in 24.5oz jars, buy two and drain the juice and you have the right amount.  You can also substitute cherry pie filling - to cut down on some of the fake sweetness that comes with the filling, rinse the majority of the sweet syrup off of them. With the syrup cut down, you will probably need 3 cans to equal the correct proportion)



Directions:
Pre-heat oven at 350. Drain the cherries and pour them into a 2 1/2 quart baking dish (a 9x9 casserole dish will work as well). Add frozen fruit and one tsp of cinnamon and stir until mixed. In a medium bowl stir together flour, oatmeal, sugar and cinnamon. Chop firm butter up into small pieces and add to the bowl along with the vanilla. With a fork or fingers (fingers really is the easiest) blend the butter into the dry ingredients until you have formed a stiff and sticky crumble. Crumble your mixture on top of the fruit and place in the oven until the top is a golden brown (approx. 30 min). Serve warm with vanilla ice-cream and enjoy!