Ricotta Toast With Fresh Berries & Honey

Ricotta Toast With Fresh Berries & Honey
Kick Start Breakfast With This Little Gem!
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes

 

Ingredients
4 slices of Tuscan or Ciabatta bread
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup cottage cheese
1 1/2 cups fresh assorted berries
pinch of nutmeg
butter
honey

Cooking Tools
Grill pan

Directions
Butter and grill toast on both sides.  In a small mixing bowl;  mix ricotta, mascarpone, cottage cheese and nutmeg.  Spread ricotta mixture on the grilled toast, top with fresh berries on each toast and drizzle with honey.

Serves 2

Roast Turkey Stack With Savory Stuffing Waffle

Roast Turkey Stack With Savory Stuffing Waffle
Or Maybe It's Just Thanksgiving In February!
Difficulty: Moderate
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 hours

 

Roast Turkey
Ingredients
5-6 lb. Turkey Breast, bone-in
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp crushed rosemary
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp olive oil or melted butter

Cooking Tools
Deep roaster with rack


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Rub turkey breast with olive oil or melted butter.  sprinkle seasoning evenly over turkey breast and place on a roasting rack.  Bake turkey for about 2 hours or until when the juices run clear.  Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing.

 

Savory Stuffing Waffle
Ingredients
4 cups rustic bread, cubed
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup celery, sliced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried crushed rosemary
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp butter
2 cups turkey broth
1 egg
salt
pepper
cooking spray


Cooking Tools
Electric Waffle Press
Cooling rack
Large mixing bowl
Frying pan

Directions
In a skillet add; butter and melt over medium heat.  Add onions, celery, thyme, rosemary and cook until tender.  Add turkey broth to the skillet until heated.  In a large mixing bowl add; cubed bread, and parsley.  Pour the turkey broth with the onions and celery over the cubed bread and allow to soak through.  Mix the bread until it start to falls apart and well blended, as the stuffing cools down, add 1 egg and mix well.  Using an electric waffle press ( follow manufactures direction) spray waffle grill with cooking spray, fill compartments with stuffing mixture and lower lid and cook until nice and golden, with crispy edges.  Remove each waffle and place on cooling rack; repeat. Will yield about 8 waffles.  To assemble this dish, place 1 waffle on serving dish, add slices of roasted turkey breast, then 1 scoop of our Smashed Potato ( recipe in our December post) or mashed potatoes, ladle of our Creamy Turkey Gravy (recipe below), then top with another Savory Stuffing Waffle.
Servings 4

 

Creamy Turkey Gravy
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups turkey broth
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cup half & half
pinch of salt

Directions
In a small pot on medium heat melt butter and whisk in flour and cook for about a minute or two.  Whisk in turkey broth and half & half and continue to whisk until the gravy thickens.  If it gets too thick, add more turkey broth until desired consistency.

Wonton Soup

Wonton Soup
With A Little Effort, Brings So Much Pleasure!
Difficulty: Moderate
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes

Wonton Soup
Ingredients
1 package Wonton wrappers, thawed
2 cups Napa cabbage, chopped
6-8 cups chicken stock
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/4 cup Shitake mushroom, small dice
1/4 cup water chestnuts, small dice
1/4 cup bamboo shoots, small dice
1/4 cup green onion, minced
1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
1 tsp sweet miso
1 tbsp Mirin
2 tbsp sake
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ginger, grated + 2 slices
1/2 tsp garlic, pressed + 2 garlic cloves
1 egg white- for seal

Cooking Tools
Parchment lined sheet tray
(2) Stock pots
Mixing bowl
Skimmer

Wonton Soup
Directions
In a large stock pot; add chicken broth, 2 garlic cloves and the 2 slices of ginger.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Add Napa cabbage.

Wontons
Directions
In a mixing bowl; add ground pork, shitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, green onions, parsley, sweet miso, Mirin, sake, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, grated ginger and the pressed garlic.  Knead the mixture very well with your hands for at least 5 minutes.  Place egg white in a separate bowl (this is you adhesive for your wontons)
1. Place 1 heaping tsp. of pork mixture in the center of wonton.
2. Using your finger, dip into egg white and wet all the edges of the wontons.
3. Fold over one half to the other, creating a triangle.  Press down edges to seal.
4. Bring the bottom sides of the triangle together and seal with egg white.
5. Fold the tip to one side and seal with egg white.
6. Repeat, will yield approx. 20 Wontons.
Place on parchment lines sheet and place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.  In a separate stock pot, fill with water and bring to a boil, the reduce to a simmer. Add wontons to the simmering water and cook for at least 10 minutes.  Using a skimmer, transfer wontons to the simmering soup and cook for additional 5 minutes.  Place Wonton soup in a serving bowl.
Serves 4

Cook's Note: By cooking wontons separately in simmering water, allows the flour that coats the wontons to come off during the cooking process.  This prevents your soup from becoming cloudy.

 

 

Cronuts

Cronuts
How Simple Is This Recipe!
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: Approx. 15-20 minutes

 

Ingredients
1 box frozen puff pastry, thawed
flour for dusting
oil for frying
2 cups powdered sugar
several tbsp of milk or water

 Cooking Tools
Parchment lined sheet pan
Cooling rack
Round cookie or doughnut cutter
Rolling pin
Deep frying pan

Directions
Thaw puff pastry in refrigerator. Flour the surface that you will roll out your dough.  Unwrap both sheets of puff pastry dough and place one directly on top of the other. Using a rolling pin, roll to stretch out dough a few inches larger than the original size. Using the seams on the dough as reference, fold 1/3 of dough into the center, then the other 1/3 over back over the first fold.  Roll out the dough again until the dough is stretched out in all directions. If the dough starts to stick, just dust with a little flour. Using the doughnut cutter, cut out Cronuts and place on parchment paper. Place oil in deep frying pan, just enough for a few inches so its enough oil for the Cronuts to swim around. Heat oil to medium-high, place a few Cronuts at a time, not to overcrowd. Cook for a minute or two on each side until golden brown and it puffs up. Remove Cronuts to a sheet lined cooling rack, repeat with the rest of the Cronuts. As the Cronuts are cooling, In a mixing bowl; add powdered sugar and milk or water and whisk until smooth.  Dip warm Cronuts into the glaze and place back on cooling rack to let the glaze drip off.  Serve warm or at room temperature.
Cook's Note:  When you place dough into the heated oil, the dough will sink to the bottom as it starts to bubble and puff, then it will rise to the surface, turn once it starts to get golden brown.
Yields 8-10

Blackstrap Baked Beans

Blackstrap Baked Beans
The Dark Molasses Brings A Rich Flavor!
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 14 hours
Cooking Time: 8 hours

Serve With Some Southern Fried Chicken & Slaw

 

Ingredients
1 bag of Great Northern Beans or Navy beans
3/4 cup Blackstrap Molasses- unsulfered
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp dried mustard
3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
8 oz salt pork, scored
1/2 onion, peeled
1  28 oz. can tomato sauce
1  15 oz. can chopped tomatoes
3 cups water

 Cooking Tools
Cast iron dutch oven with lid or
Terra cotta bean pot with lid

Directions
Soak beans overnight in water; drain.  Preheat oven to 320 Degrees F.  In a mixing bowl, whisk together Blackstrap molasses, brown sugar, maple syrup, dried mustard, ground cloves, pepper, salt, tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes and water.  Place onion (left intact) to the bottom of pot, add salt pork  and bay leaves next to the onion.  Add drained beans beans and then pour in the mixture on top of beans, make sure beans are completely covered with mixture; add water as needed.  Place lid on pot and place in oven for 8 hours.  Check beans every 2 hours to make sure there is enough liquid over beans, add water as needed.  For the last hour, take off lid to evaporate liquid. Remove salt pork when beans are done.
Serves 6

Place Cooked Beans In Individual Serving Bowls!

Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs

Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs
"Caviar Of The South"
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes for boiling eggs

 

Ingredients
6 eggs, hard boiled
1 cup sharp shredded cheddar cheese, minced
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup jarred minced pimento, drained
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of garlic powder
pinch of onion powder
salt
pepper
green onion, slice thin for garnish

Cooking Tools
Hand mixer (optional)
Plastic wrap

Directions
Once the eggs are cooked, cooled and peeled, cut into halves and remove the yolks and place in a mixing bowl.  Take a fork and break up the yolks to a fine grain consistency.  Add the rest of the ingredients, except the green onions which will be used as a garnish. Blend well with a wooden spoon or you can use a hand mixer. Spoon mixture into the wells of the hard boiled egg halves and garnish each egg with sliced green onions. Place eggs covered loosely with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to chill before serving
Cook's Note:  If the mixture is thick during the mixing process; add a tbsp or two of water to thin out mixture.
Yields 1 dozen

Mongolian Pork

Mongolian Pork
Fast and Flavorful!
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes

 

Ingredients
Hot cooked rice for 4
1 lb. pork tenderloin, sliced thin
1 onion, sliced thick
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1/2 cup Mirin
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1 tbsp sugar
pepper
2 tsp cornstarch + 1/4 cup cold water (optional)


Cooking Tool
Wok

Directions
On high heat, add vegetable oil, garlic and ginger, toss very quickly  for 30 seconds to prevent burning the garlic and ginger.  Add pork tenderloin slices and toss until cooked: will cook fairly quickly, about 5-7 minutes.  Remove to a plate, then add onions to the wok with 1 tsp sesame oil and toss quickly on medium high heat, until onions are slightly tender and golden. Put back in the wok the cooked pork tenderloin, Mirin, soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, sugar and pepper.  Toss until well coated and the liquid reduces slightly.  If you like a thicker sauce, add cornstarch to water to create a slurry and add to pork mixture and toss until it thickens.  serve over hot rice.
Serves 4