Cranberry Almond Streusel Cake

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This recipe comes from the Holiday issue of Sweet Paul Magazine,  an online 90 page food, crafts and lifestyle magazine filled to the rim with great recipes, fun crafts, interesting people and much more.  It is based on Paul Howe's wildly successful blog Sweet Paul.

I am surprised to say I love this cyber magazine.  The recipes are fantastic, down to earth and very doable.  The photography is stunning.  If this is the future of online magazines, bring it on!

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 stick salted butter
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 Cups sour cream
2 cups french cranberries
3 TB sugar

Topping

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 sticks salted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Mix the flour and baking powder

Butter a 9 inch square or round pan

Cream butter and sugar until light.  Add eggs one at a time and mix well.

Add the two extracts and sour cream.

Add the flour and baking powder mix.

Coat the cranberries with sugar in a separate bowl and incorporate into mix by hand

Pour mix into cake pan

Make the streussel, work together sugar, flour and butter until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of the cake.

Bake for 50-60 minutes. until golden brown.  Remove from the oven and and dust with powder sugar

I have condensed the directions from the actual recipe on the magazine, but you get the point!

Sunday Family Dinner...Turkey A La King And Four Others!

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When I was growing up, I could always count on having Turkey A la King,  Turkey Croquettes or Turkey Tetrazzini within a couple of days of the big turkey dinner.  Nowadays, kids look forward to either Turkey Chili or Turkey Enchiladas with the same anticipation.   Well, guess what? I've got all bases covered between this blog and the country blog so enjoy an easy day tomorrow!

This is really my recipe for Chicken A La King with turkey substituted.  Those of you who, like me, are of a certain age will remember it well.  Enjoy!

Yield: Makes 6 servings


Ingredients


3/4 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 lb cooked turkey meat, both white and dark or skinless boneless chicken breast halves

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 green bell peppers, cut into small pieces

1 1/4 teaspoons salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1/4 lb white mushrooms, trimmed and quartered

3 large egg yolks

1 small can red pimientos dices

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste

2 tablespoons dry Sherry, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon paprika (not hot)

6 puff pastry shells

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley


Directions:

Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a 4- to 5-quart wide heavy pot over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then cook peppers, stirring, until softened (do not brown), 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer peppers to a bowl and stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Add onion and remaining 3 tablespoons butter to pot and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add flour and remaining teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and reduce heat to low, then cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Whisk in 3/4 cup broth, then all of cream and mushrooms, and simmer until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together yolks, lemon juice, Sherry, and paprika in a small bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup sauce, then stir yolk mixture back into sauce remaining in pot. Cook over low heat, stirring (do not simmer, or sauce will curdle), until sauce is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve.

Cut turkey crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices and add along with peppers to sauce, then cook over low heat (do not simmer, or sauce will curdle), stirring occasionally, until turkey and peppers are just heated through. Add more broth to thin if desired.

Spoon turkey à la king over shells or toast on 6 plates, then sprinkle with parsley.

You may also want to look at these four and substitute with leftover turkey:

Turkey Chili
Turkey Croquettes
Turkey Tetrazzini
Turkey Enchiladas


Photo: Google

Thanksgiving Leftovers...Stuffing Stuffed Mushrooms

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This is the best leftover stuffing idea idea I've seen yet.  You can make these the next day or freeze the stuffing and prepare the mushrooms at a later date.

Directions


Mix 1 cup leftover stuffing with 1/4 cup grated parmesan, 2 tablespoons each olive oil and chopped parsley and 1 minced garlic clove. Stuff into 24 button mushroom caps; top with more parmesan and olive oil. Bake 20 to 25 minutes at 375 degrees. *

I added more parmesan and a shake of red pepper flakes.  Very nice!


Recipe courtesy Food Networks
Photograph by Kang Kim



Check out these other leftover ideas from Lindaraxa's Garden

Turkey Tetrazzini
Turkey Chili

Turkey Day Etiquette...Y'All Behave!

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It's that time of the year again...The Family Dinner From Hell.

This is the time when family grudges are aired in anticipation of forgiveness and peace by the time the Christmas holidays come around.

Here are a few tips for hostesses, family members and guests to make the holiday a pleasant one for all involved:

Guests:

Dress appropriately, watch your language, arrive on time and keep your elbows off the table!

Try a little of everything and praise everything that is laid on your plate even if its burned or raw.  Thank your lucky stars you are having a warm meal that someone else cooked for you!

Don't get mesmerized by the football game.  Socialize, talk to others outside your group or family and help your hostess by offering to fix drinks or pass the appetizers.  She will be most grateful.

Talk to the old people. They appreciate every nice gesture we throw their way.

Turn your damn i-phone off and, by all means, don't even consider bringing it to the table!  Texting is NOT an alternative.  Make this sacrifice for world peace...

Stay out of the kitchen. Your hostess is hassled enough without you going in and bombarding her with stories of your last trip to Paris with your new boyfriend.

Don't surprise your hostess with unexpected  "guests of guests".  Call beforehand, make sure it's okay and bring something edible like an extra pie or casserole AND a couple of bottles of wine.

Family Members:

Avoid confrontations, unpleasant surprises and sarcastic comments.  That's all..

Wait!... and serve your little ones before you and everyone else sits down at the table.

Hostesses:

Don't try to cook everything at the last minute.  Be calm, cool and collected by the time your first guest arrives.

Your turkey should be out of the oven at least 1/2 hour before guests arrive and kept warm by tenting it.  Everything should be done by the time the doorbell rings... that includes the gravy.  1/2 hour before serving, stick your casseroles and dressing or stuffing in the oven for warming.

Spend time with your guests and family, that's what this holiday is all about.

Keep the booze light.  Alcohol has a way of un-inhibiting the inhibited and accentuating delusions...

Don't delay the meal waiting for "halftime".  Serve when you are ready!

At this point it's up to the gods of civility.  What will happen is going to happen... you have done your bit.   Don't sweat the small stuff and have a good time!

Have A Happy Stress-Free Thanksgiving!

Top image Google

Cartoons from cartoons.com

Cranberry Sauce With Port

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This year I am going to do a variation of my Cranberry Orange Sauce by reducing the orange juice by half and adding port.  That's it!

Makes 2 Cups

Ingredients

1/2 cup ruby port

Three 1-by-3-inch strips of orange zest, cut into thin matchsticks

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

12 ounces fresh cranberries

3/4 cup sugar

Directions

1.In a medium saucepan, combine the port with the orange zest and orange juice and bring to a boil. Add the cranberries and sugar and simmer over moderately low heat until the sauce is jamlike, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and serve warm or at room temperature.


Make Ahead

The cranberry sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

You might also like:

Cranberry Orange Sauce 
 
Photo: William Meppen

Thanksgiving On The Road...The Menu

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This will be the first year in a long time that I will not be hosting the Thanksgiving dinner at my home.  When my children were little and we all lived in Connecticut, my mother was the queen of this holiday.  Then Christmas Eve would be at my home with Christmas Day left for the respective in-laws.  I'm not fond of Christmas Day.  I would rather have the  family dinner on Christmas Eve, traditionally late as is the custom in Spain and most Latin countries, and sleep late, go to church and afterwards go to the movies with the kids.  It was a tradition for many years while they still lived at home.

Now that my "children" are older and one of them has children of his own, things get complicated.  My daughter in law has her family in Atlanta and my mother is too fragile these days to travel back and forth.  Last year my daughter and I spent Thanksgiving by ourselves because of last minute illnesses and cancellations in the family and did what we have always wanted to do...Thanksgiving in our pajamas!  Yes, and I cooked a full meal for us with all the trimmings, except I made Cornish Hens.

This year we are spending Thanksgiving at my brother's, something we have never done: but Lindaraxa will be cooking the dinner, something she is often called upon to do now that she has a cooking blog.

This is one holiday where usually, except for the stuffing , the menu stays the same;  but this year I will accomodate the hosts and their family and will cook what they want.  I have three favorite stuffing recipes that I rotate, one with pears, the other with apples and, of course, a corn stuffing.  This is the big predicament every year...which stuffing; but I settled it early on this time by deciding to make the easiest.  So, here are the candidates for this year's Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving 2010

Roast Turkey With Madeira Sauce

Sourdough Stuffing With Apples, Sausage And Prunes

Cranberry Sauce With Port

 

French Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato Puree with Marshmallows

in Orange Cups

Classic Pumpkin Pie

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

If you want a peak at last year's menu, click here.  The stars of the show are always the same, the chocolate bourbon pecan pie and the stuffings!  The pie was last year's most popular recipe on this blog by a mile.

Guest Post...The Corinthian Column Makes A Souffle!

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I was delighted to wake up one morning last week and see a post on what looked like a very professional souffle.  I had to do a double take to make sure where it was coming from.  Now, we are not talking about any of the food blogs I follow.  No, it was posted on one of my favorite art blogs, The Corinthian Column, better known to most of us as the Columnist.  I know very little about him, personally, but I like his style, his taste in art, his knowledge and the fact he is a true gentleman.  He lives in Bangkok, summers in Scotland, and was born in Singapore to British parents.  Sometimes when things get crazy in Thailand, as they have recently, we follow him to undisclosed locations until things get better and it is safe for him return back home.


His blog is a treasure trove of information on art, antiques, interior design, architecture and as of now, souffles!    I urge you to take a peak and if you are interested in learning about beautiful thing from a very knowledgeable source, follow him.


But now, back to his souffle...


I have asked him if we would be so kind as to share his recipe with my readers and he has graciously agreed.  I am also dying to ask him some questions as I am always interested in knowing what makes people tick in the kitchen.  Does he cook everyday? Where and when did he learn? What are his favorite dishes? Cuisine? Where does he get his recipes? Favorite cooks?  Cookbooks? Did he really beat those egg whites BY HAND? and finally what is it like living surrounded by all that wonderful Thai food!

My partner and I both enjoy cooking and sometimes work together, disproving the proverb "too many cooks spoil the broth". We seem to have perfected the art of ignoring each others' foibles, so it's usually a harmonious experience, as was the case with making these souffles. He made the white sauce, separated the eggs and beat the yolks and whites, (by hand). I prepared the broccoli and the ramekins. When we cook together it is not preordained who does what, but when tasks are agreed, we tend stick to them.

We cook or prepare one or all meals everyday, quite often taking turns. We are both fastidious about a tidy kitchen, so once pans and boards are used, they are washed straight away. As much as anything in a hot climate it is important to remove any food residue that might attract insects. In addition the kitchen counters, hob and oven are thoroughly cleaned by the maid everyday.

In particular response to your piece, we are both self-taught, although my mother showed me some basics when I was young. I have no particular favourite dish, although I enjoy "comfort food", but everything in moderation. Cuisines I favour include Japanese, (my partner is Japanese), Chinese, (I lived in Hong Kong for many years) and Thai, (I have lived in Bangkok since 2003), but the latter not all the time, as it can be very rich.

The recipe is as follows:


Broccoli Souffle

Serves 4


Ingredients

45g (1 1/2 oz) butter

3 tbsp plain flour

250 ml (8 fl oz) milk

pinch of grated nutmeg

salt and cayenne pepper

375g (12 oz) broccoli florets

3-4 shallots, finely chopped

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

4 egg yolks

175g (6 oz) blue cheese, crumbled

6 egg whites

4 x 250 ml (8 fl oz) souffle dishes/ramekins


Method

Melt the 30g (1 oz) butter in a large pan, add the flour, and cook, stirring for 1 minute.

Remove from the heat, gradually blend in the milk, then bring to a boil, stirring until thickened.

Add the nutmeg, and salt and cayenne pepper to taste.

Leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Steam the broccoli for 2-3 minutes until just tender.  Rinse in cold water, then chop coarsely.

Heat the remaining butter in the pan, add the shallots, and cook gently for 3 minutes, or until soft.

Prepare the souffle dishes; butter the bottoms and sides and sprinkle with a thin layer of the grated Parmesan, rolling it around until it adheres to the surface inside.

Beat the egg yolks, add to the cooled sauce with the broccoli, shallots and blue cheese.

Whisk the egg whites until they form a firm but not dry peaks. Fold 1-2 tbsp of the egg whites into the broccoli mixture, then fold in the remaining egg whites.

Pour the mixture into the souffle dishes. Bake the souffles in the top half of a preheated oven at 180C, (350F, Gas 4) for 30minutes. Serve at once.


This recipe is from Mary Berry's Complete Cook Book.



For more pictures and a post on the next day's lunch click here and here.