Author: laurielufkin
I have a cooking show called Inspired Cooking!
And this is the youth/family entry prize for the Cookie Contest tomorrow!……..
More pictures when I assemble the rest of the prizes! Will also post the names and bios of the judges later today. I hope you will come down, bring your best cookies (with the recipe) $5.00 and two non-perishable food items for The Open Door and enter your cookies to prove they are the best around!
This basket is chock full of baking supplies, three cookbooks, cookie cutters, and much much more.
In addition, there will be bowling and family dinner gift certificates added!
Hope to see you tomorrow night!
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HOLIDAY SHOPPING AND MERRIMENT THIS SATURDAY IN ESSEX!
COME TO ESSEX THIS SATURDAY FOR A GREAT DAY OF LOCAL SHOPPING ALL OVER TOWN!
Shop locally during Essex’s 1st Holiday Shopping Day. Dozens of participating businesses will be offering everything from free food and drink, discounts and sales to complimentary gift wrapping. There will be raffle prizes and silent auction items to bid on, storytelling and caroling.
Click here for more information:
http://www.visitessexma.com/essex_ma_pg/holiday2009.html
Please be sure to visit me selling my “I’d Rather Be Down River” Essex gear at the Silly Goose Toy Store at 166 Main Street all day on Saturday! We will have cookies……………….lots of cookies…………..
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One more time…I won’t ask again! The voting ends tomorrow at noon!
I entered the Pillsbury Monthly Recipe contest and the theme this month was appetizers. My recipe Tuscan Splendor Spinach Braid was chosen out of hundreds of recipes as one of the top ten finalists vying for $2500.00. Plus, you can copy the recipe–it is simple and delicious!
Would you please vote for my recipe tonight or tomorrow. You can vote once every 24 hours so either tonight or tomorrow before noon is your last opportunity to help me. I could win $2500.00 for me and Lily! You do have to register to vote on the Pillsbury site but you do not have to select to receive emails from them. It only takes about two minutes to sign up.
Please help me….$2500.00 will buy a lot of ingredients if I win!
Here is the link to vote: https://generalmills.promo.eprize.com/bakeoff/?WT.ac=HP_Left_Feature_Picture_MonthlyChallenge
*if for some reason the link does not work, go to http://www.pillsbury.com and click on the lower left corner of the page, the Monthly Challenge
Here is the recipe and a (lousy scanned) photo:
And here’s how to make it-so simple and delicious with only a few ingredients:
INGREDIENTS
1      can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated
seamless dough sheet
1/3   cup refrigerated black olive tapénade (from 7 oz container)
1Â Â Â Â Â Â box (9 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
1/2   cup crumbled goat (chèvre) cheese
3/4Â Â Â cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes in oil, well drained
1Â Â Â Â Â Â egg
1Â Â Â Â Â Â teaspoon water
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Unroll dough. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press into 12×9-inch rectangle.
2. Spread tapénade in 3-inch wide strip lengthwise down the center of dough leaving 1-inch edge on both ends. Layer spinach evenly over the tapénade. Top with cheese then layer with tomatoes.
3. With scissors or sharp knife, make diagonal cuts 1 inch apart on long sides of dough rectangle to within 1/2 inch of filling. Alternately cross strips diagonally over filling. Turn ends of braid up and press to seal. In small bowl, beat egg with water. Brush over top of braid.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. To serve, cut into slices.
Thank you all for your support and votes!
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Just a peek at the prizes…………
Just a little sneak peek at the prizes for the 1st Annual Good Morning Gloucester Holiday Cookie Contest.
This is NOT a complete list and the items will be gathered into baskets for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners, and then a basket for the child/family entry:
a fabulous goodmorninggloucester beer stein
a bottle of vodka & rum from Ryan & Wood ( you must be 21 or older to accept this part of the prize)
6 cookbooks personally selected by me
baking/candy making items
adorable little note cards and mini journals
3 Books about the building of the Schooner Lannon, one for each basket
1 music CD from Captain Stan and Daisy Nell
a cruise for two gift certificate from Essex River Cruises,
tee shirts from Essex Marina and Click Marketing Tools (me)
cookbooks from Chronicle (from Michelle Curreri)Â & Rockport publishing
lots of baking supplies and festive holiday decorating stuff
AND MORE IS STILL COMING IN!
family/youth basket that contains the following so far. Most of this basket was assembled by one of the judges, Jannine Fisk because she is a nice person!:
Cookie press
1 book about the building of the Schooner Lannon
2 Cookie cutters: Christmas tree, candy cane, gingerbread boy (Wilton comfort grip)
Brown sugar
Flour
Unsweetened cocoa powder
Baking powder
Mint baking chips
Milk chocolate chips
Toffee chips
Two small hardbound cookie cookbooks
Foil baking cups, sweetened condensed milk
Small deck of Kids Magic Trick cards
Gift certificates for a family meal/activity on Cape Ann-from Sharon Lowe
Please come on down on Thursday to Brown’s Mall and enter! Remember, your entry fee of $5.00 and two non perishable food items goes directly to The Open Door!
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My turn to ask for help–$2500.00 will by a lot of ingredients!
I entered the Pillsbury Monthly Recipe contest and the theme this month was appetizers. My recipe Tuscan Splendor Spinach Braid was chosen out of hundreds of recipes as one of the top ten finalists vying for $2500.00.
Would you please vote for my recipe every day until December 1st—yes, three days from now–and I could win $2500.00 for me and Lily! You do have to register to vote on the Pillsbury site but you do not have to select to receive emails from them. It only takes about two minutes to sign up to vote and then you can vote daily for the three days.
Please help me….$2500.00 will buy a lot of ingredients if I win!
Here is the link to vote: https://generalmills.promo.eprize.com/bakeoff/?WT.ac=HP_Left_Feature_Picture_MonthlyChallenge
Here is the recipe and a (lousy scanned) photo:
And here’s how to make it-so simple and delicious with only a few ingredients:
INGREDIENTS
1      can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated
seamless dough sheet
1/3   cup refrigerated black olive tapénade (from 7 oz container)
1Â Â Â Â Â Â box (9 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
1/2   cup crumbled goat (chèvre) cheese
3/4Â Â Â cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes in oil, well drained
1Â Â Â Â Â Â egg
1Â Â Â Â Â Â teaspoon water
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Unroll dough. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press into 12×9-inch rectangle.
2. Spread tapénade in 3-inch wide strip lengthwise down the center of dough leaving 1-inch edge on both ends. Layer spinach evenly over the tapénade. Top with cheese then layer with tomatoes.
3. With scissors or sharp knife, make diagonal cuts 1 inch apart on long sides of dough rectangle to within 1/2 inch of filling. Alternately cross strips diagonally over filling. Turn ends of braid up and press to seal. In small bowl, beat egg with water. Brush over top of braid.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. To serve, cut into slices.
Thank you all for your support and votes!
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Another use for leftover Turkey…..Savory Turkey & Apple Pot Pie
Here’s another way to use up your leftover turkey–white or dark meat–does not matter. Serve this delicious savory pie with a salad and a little leftover cranberry sauce and you have a great meal that is easy to prepare.
I have no picture of this particular pie but trust me, it looks just like the rest of my pies! The crust would be adorable if I could find a tiny chicken cookie cutter to make the vents………hummmmmm…….going to have to go on hunt for that………
After Thanksgiving Savory Turkey and Apple Pie
1-15 oz package refrigerator pie crust
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped sweet onion
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons dried sage
1 teaspoon thyme
4 cups canned or homemade chicken or turkey stock
5 cups cubed cooked turkey
1-21 oz can apple pie filling or 2 cups fresh tart apples, peeled, cored and cubed
Salt & pepper to taste
2 tablespoons milk
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil together. Add onions and cook until they beginning to turn golden, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle in the flour, sage and thyme and stir to coat the onions. Lower the temperature to medium low and cook until the mixture is a light caramel color, about 10 minutes. Slowly whisk in the stock and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking continuously. After gravy boils, remove pan from heat and stir in turkey and apple pie filling. Season the filling to taste with salt & pepper.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place or unroll pie crust and put into 9 1/2″ pie plate—I recommend glass so that you can see the bottom crust browning. Fill crust with turkey and apple mixture and top with remaining crust. Crimp edges to seal and brush top crust with milk. Cut small vents in top crust before baking. Cook pie in preheated oven 45-55 minutes or until bottom crust is browned. Cover pie lightly with foil if browning too fast on top. Allow pie to sit for 10-15 minutes before slicing.  Enjoy!
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Please help me….$2500.00 will buy a lot of ingredients if I win!
I entered the Pillsbury Monthly Recipe contest and the theme this month was appetizers. My recipe Tuscan Splendor Spinach Braid was chosen out of hundreds of recipes as one of the top ten finalists vying for $2500.00.
Would you please vote for my recipe every day until December 1st—yes, five days from now–and I could win $2500.00 for me and Lily! You do have to register to vote on the Pillsbury site but you do not have to select to receive emails from them. It only takes about two minutes to sign up to vote and then you can vote daily for the next five days.
Please help me….$2500.00 will buy a lot of ingredients if I win!
Here is the link to vote: https://generalmills.promo.eprize.com/bakeoff/?WT.ac=HP_Left_Feature_Picture_MonthlyChallenge
Here is the recipe and a (lousy scanned) photo:
And here’s how to make it-so simple and delicious with only a few ingredients:
INGREDIENTS
1      can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated
seamless dough sheet
1/3   cup refrigerated black olive tapénade (from 7 oz container)
1Â Â Â Â Â Â box (9 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
1/2   cup crumbled goat (chèvre) cheese
3/4Â Â Â cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes in oil, well drained
1Â Â Â Â Â Â egg
1Â Â Â Â Â Â teaspoon water
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Unroll dough. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press into 12×9-inch rectangle.
2. Spread tapénade in 3-inch wide strip lengthwise down the center of dough leaving 1-inch edge on both ends. Layer spinach evenly over the tapénade. Top with cheese then layer with tomatoes.
3. With scissors or sharp knife, make diagonal cuts 1 inch apart on long sides of dough rectangle to within 1/2 inch of filling. Alternately cross strips diagonally over filling. Turn ends of braid up and press to seal. In small bowl, beat egg with water. Brush over top of braid.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. To serve, cut into slices.
Thank you all for your support and votes!
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Stuffed Crust Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie
I am often asked to make a donation to a worthy cause and if I can possibly do it, I do. I don’t have money to give but what I do have is dessert! At last years Essex PTO auction, I donated desserts/baked goods once a month for a year. Well, a wonderful Essex family paid $250.00 for this service and are collecting three months worth today, Thanksgiving morning!
PS–the Essex PTO auction is in full swing right now. I am offering the same desserts for a year deal again! Here is the link:  http://essex.schoolauction.net/2009/. Check out some of the great items we have up for auction and get some holiday shopping done while supporting a great cause at the same time!
And here is the direct link to my donation–it is only at $95.00 right now–a BARGAIN so bid now!
https://essex.schoolauction.net/2009/online_auction/show/241
By the way, this pie won 2nd place in the Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust baking contest at Topsfield Fair in ’08.
Here is item #1 for today. Two and three are coming next–we got three months behind over the summer so they are catching up today!
And here is the recipe!
Stuffed Crust Chocolate Almond Coconut Cream Pie
For the brickle filling and crust:
½ cup sugar
5 tablespoons butter
½ cup toasted finely chopped slivered almonds
1-15 oz package refrigerated pie crust
Line baking sheet with aluminum foil.
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, butter and almonds. Place over medium high heat and cook, stirring constantly until the bubbling mixture turns golden brown, about 5 minutes. Pour onto prepared sheet and spread out thinly. Allow to cool completely. When cool, break into large pieces and chop coarsely in food processor. Purchased almond brittle (brickle) may be substituted for convenience.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place one Pillsbury Refrigerate Pie Crust into a 9” pie plate. Pour 1 1/3 cup processed brickle crumbs into the prepared crust. Press a layer of crumbs into sides of crust, leaving about ½ inch from the edge of the pie plate crumb free. Spread out remaining brickle to cover the bottom of the pie crust.
Unroll second crust; place on top of filled crust and pat together gently. Seal edges of crusts together and flute. Fit a second empty pie plate or pie weights on top of the filled crust and put in oven.
Bake filled crust for 15 minutes. Carefully remove top pie plate or pie weights and prick crust sides and bottom every inch with fork, piercing only the top crust. Bake again uncovered about 15-18 minutes longer or until entire crust is light golden brown. If edge is browning too quickly, cover edge of pie crust with aluminum foil if necessary while baking. Cool completely on a wire rack before filling.
For the filling:
2 ½ cups heavy cream, divided
½ cup half and half
1 ½ cup coconut milk
ÂĽ teaspoon coconut extract (optional)
ÂĽ cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup cornstarch
Âľ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs plus one egg yolk, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
ÂĽ teaspoon salt
ÂĽ semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
Âľ cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted, divided
3 tablespoons slivered almonds
2-3 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar, to taste
In a large microwave safe bowl, whisk together 1 cup heavy cream, half and half, coconut milk, coconut extract, cocoa powder and cornstarch. Stir in sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and salt.
In the microwave on 100% power, cook custard mixture for 11-13 minutes, depending on the strength of your microwave, pausing the cooking process to stir the custard at the end of each minute. Continue cooking custard until thickened. When thickened, stir in chopped semisweet chocolate and stir to combine. Pausing to stir and check custards progress each minute is crucial as microwave power varies widely.
Remove one cup hot custard and spread it on the bottom of the cooled pie shell. Sprinkle the custard with ¼ cup coconut. Spread one more cup of custard on op of the layer of coconut. Repeat chocolate layer but reserve the remaining ¼ cup of coconut for the topping.
Cover pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until ready to use.
Before serving, whip the remaining heavy cream with desired amount of confectioner’s sugar and spread over pie, using a pastry bag for decorative accents if desired. Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup of toasted coconut over whipped cream and almonds over the coconut and serve. Pipe a decorative edge on the top of the pie with some of the whipped cream if desired. Purchased whipped cream may be substituted for convenience. Serves 8. Enjoy!
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My Turn To Ask…………Would you please vote for my recipe?
I entered the Pillsbury Monthly Recipe contest and the theme this month was appetizers. My recipe Tuscan Splendor Spinach Braid was chosen out of hundreds of recipes as one of the top ten finalists vying for $2500.00.
Would you please vote for my recipe every day until December 1st—yes, seven days from now–and I could win $2500.00 for me and Lily! You do have to register to vote on the Pillsbury site but you do not have to select to receive emails from them.
Here is the link to vote: https://generalmills.promo.eprize.com/bakeoff/?WT.ac=HP_Left_Feature_Picture_MonthlyChallenge
Here is the recipe and a (lousy scanned) photo:
INGREDIENTS
1      can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated
seamless dough sheet
1/3   cup refrigerated black olive tapénade (from 7 oz container)
1Â Â Â Â Â Â box (9 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
1/2   cup crumbled goat (chèvre) cheese
3/4Â Â Â cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes in oil, well drained
1Â Â Â Â Â Â egg
1Â Â Â Â Â Â teaspoon water
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Unroll dough. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press into 12×9-inch rectangle.
2. Spread tapénade in 3-inch wide strip lengthwise down the center of dough leaving 1-inch edge on both ends. Layer spinach evenly over the tapénade. Top with cheese then layer with tomatoes.
3. With scissors or sharp knife, make diagonal cuts 1 inch apart on long sides of dough rectangle to within 1/2 inch of filling. Alternately cross strips diagonally over filling. Turn ends of braid up and press to seal. In small bowl, beat egg with water. Brush over top of braid.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. To serve, cut into slices.
Thank you all for your support and votes!
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1st Annual Good Morning Gloucester Holiday Cookie Contest!
Do You Make The Best Holiday Cookies Around and Want To Prove It?
Here’s your chance!
1ST ANNUAL GOOD MORNING GLOUCESTER HOLIDAY COOKIE CONTEST
When: Thursday, December 3rd (Ladies Shopping Night in Gloucester). Entry turn in 4-5:30 pm, judging begins at 6:00. No prior registration necessary
Where:Â Brown’s Mall, 186 Main Street, Gloucester
Why:Â Because we want to find the best cookies around, support the Open Door Food Pantry this holiday season and have fun with food at the same time in a contest that does not involve giant burgers or fiery foods for a change.
Entry fee: $5.00 and two non perishable food items to be donated to the Open Door.
Your entries will be judged on the following criteria by qualified food professionals and local notables, all with excellent taste buds:
Taste 40%
Appearance (of cookies and overall presentation) 20%
Texture 20%
Overall Appeal of cookies 20%
Prizes will be awarded as follows:
1st place, individual entry
2nd place, individual entry
3rd place, individual entry
One 1st place prize for a youth/family entry.
The prizes will be fabulous and available for viewing when you drop off your entry the night of the event–trust us on this one–and the bragging rights are just an extra!
And now, the particulars:
You may decorate and garnish your entries with holiday flair as desired, 12 cookies per plate please.
You may enter as many different cookie submissions as you wish but you must pay an additional $5.00 and two more non perishable food items for The Open Door per entry.
No professional bakers/chefs allowed to enter please.
No mixes allowed. All entries must be from scratch.
Three legible copies of recipe must accompany all entries. Please include name, address and telephone number on the back of each sheet. Recipes become the property of www.goodmorningloucester.com and may be reproduced. If your recipe is not original (your personal creation), please attribute its origin.
Judging will begin promptly at 6:00 and will conclude when all entries have been judged
You do not have to be present for announcement of the winners, but it will be more fun if you are.
The decisions of the judges are final.
All cookie entries will be packaged and donated to The Open Door the night of the event.
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Remember this nice soup recipe? It’s a Winner Winner Chicken Soup Dinner!
Remember this nice soup recipe from a few weeks ago? Well, I know it’s not a giant Christmas tree made from lobster pots, but this is pretty exciting to me! I have posted the recipe again for you but scroll down past the recipe to see what I won!
Pesto Kissed Tuscan Chicken and Olive Stew
3 bone in chicken breasts with skin, trimmed
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup fennel, diced
1 cup sweet onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
1 ½ teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1-15.5 oz can diced tomatoes in sauce
2 bay leaves
5 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup pitted olives of your choice (not brined) drained and cut in half
1-1lb 13 oz can navy or small white beans, rinsed and drained
8 tablespoons prepared basil pesto
Shredded parmesan cheese (optional)
Heat the oil in a heavy 7 quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper and place them skin side down in hot oil to brown, turning frequently to prevent scorching. Brown the skin and remove breast to a plate.
To the pot, add the fennel, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary and saute until vegetables are translucent, about 5-minutes. Sprinkle in flour and stir until flour turns slightly brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, stock, tomato paste and bay leaves and the browned chicken to the pot.
Bring the mixture to a low boil and then reduce the heat to low. Allow the chicken to cook, uncovered but submerged, until cooked through, about 25 minutes. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and allow to cool to a workable temperature. Remove skin and bones from breast and cut or pull chicken into bite sized pieces.
Remove bay leaves from pot, add beans and olives and allow broth to thicken and reduce slightly.  When broth is thickened, return chicken to the pot, stir and re-season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring soup back to a simmer. Ladle soup into serving bowls and drizzle with one tablespoon prepared basil pesto and top with shredded cheese. Serve immediately.
It won me this!
This is an Emile Henry 7 quart Dutch Oven!
Here is the link to my winning recipe and those of my equally as talented cooking pals Sally and Deborah who came in 2nd and 3rd–check them out!
It has been along “dry spell” since I have won anything in any of the many recipecooking contests that I enter so hopefully, this will start another winning streak! If you make the soup, please let me know what you think and thank you all for your nice comments when I see you out and about.
More recipes to come!
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Bonus Recipe! Holiday Fresh Fig and Spiced Apple Pie
Yummm…..pie….
I wanted to share this one with you to offer a bit of an alternative to traditional Thanksgiving pies. Fresh figs are in the grocery stores right now and this combo of apples, figs and dried cranberries is terrific!
There will be a new episode of Inspired Cooking airing on Cape Ann TV tonight at 8:30–thought it was airing last week but it didn’t so I hope you will tune in. The recipes for tonight’s show were posted last week and can be found here. Make sure to check out my adorable prep cook!:
https://goodmorninggloucester.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/what-to-do-with-your-thanksgiving-leftovers/
Holiday Fresh Fig & Spiced Apple Pie
CRUST:
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup butter flavored shortening
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 to 8 tablespoons ice water
FILLING
1 tablespoon quick cooking tapioca
16-18 fresh figs, stems removed and sliced horizontally into 1/8″ circles
5 tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh orange zest, finely chopped
3 tablespoons heavy cream, divided
½ cup sweetened dried cranberries
2 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into small pieces
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 egg yolk (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make crust using your favorite method and place one crust into a glass pie pan. Trim any overhanging crust to re-roll later, if desired, to decorate the top of the pie. Sprinkle tapioca on to bottom of crust and spread some of the sliced figs in a single layer covering the bottom of the crust.
In a large bowl, combine apples, flour, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, salt, vanilla extract, orange zest and 2 tablespoons heavy cream and stir gently until apples are coated.
Over the figs, layer ½ of the apples into the pan. Cover apple layer with the dried cranberries. Layer the remaining apples over the figs and top apples with remaining figs. Scatter butter on top of fig layer and top with remaining pie crust. Trim, seal and flute edge. Cut slits or shapes in several places in top crust. If desired roll out reserved crust and cut decorative shapes to enhance the pies appearance. Use egg yolk as “glue” to adhere decorations to top crust. Brush top crust with remaining heavy cream, sprinkle with granulated sugar and place pie in preheated oven.
Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. After 40 minutes of baking time, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Remove from oven and allow to rest for at least ½ hour before slicing. Enjoy with ice cream, whipped cream or just by itself. Enjoy!
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What to do with your Thanksgiving Leftovers
The holidays are upon us and who has money to throw away? Not me! So here are a few ideas how to save money by recycling some of your leftover holiday foods into fun meals for your family. This episode was conceived after speaking with Julie LaFontaine the Executive Director of the Open Door Food Pantry (pictured above, with Lily). We were talking about what I could do to help spread the message of the Open Door and we came up with this show.
I went to the grocery store and bought the items that will be included in the Thanksgiving meals that are being donated to the Open Door. I went home, cooked a traditional turkey dinner including turkey, potatoes, squash, carrots, stuffing, gravy, onions and cranberry sauce. Also in the basket is a 5 pound bag of apples so I had all of that to work with.  And this is what I came up with.
These are the recipes for Inspired Cooking that is airing on Cape Ann TV tonight at 8:30 and again Friday at 4:30 and Sunday morning at 11:30.
Because you will be using your leftovers (and I don’t know how much you have) and I used mine, the quantities are not exact. Taste what you are putting together, add dash of something here and a little more of something there and you will come up with a fun cost effective meal for your family.
Use these recipes as guidelines to making something terrific!
Squash Custard Pie
1 refrigerated pie crust.
5-6 cups leftover squash and carrots–whatever you do not have, make up the difference with a can of pumpkin puree–if veggies are a little chunky, that’s ok as long you are ok with texture in your pie.
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoon melted butter
½-¾ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Fit crust into deep dish pie plate and crimp edges.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream butter, sugar and extract. Stir in vegetables and season with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Pour filling in to pie crust and bake pie for 45-55 minutes until filling is set and the blade of a knife, inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean.
Allow to cool before slicing.
Oatmeal topped Apple Crisp–serve with ice cream if you have it!
ÂĽ cup flour
Âľ cup brown sugar, divided
2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided
½ teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch salt
5-7 cups peeled apples (whatever you have), peeled, cored and sliced
4 tablespoon melted butter, divided
2 cups old fashioned oats (if you have quick oats, use them!)
Spray an 8” x 8” dish with nonstick spray or coat with butter. Set aside.
Whisk together flour, ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg and salt and toss mixture with apples. Pour apples in to prepared pan.
Whisk together oats, melted butter, remaining brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over apples. Bake in preheated oven for 45-55 minutes until oatmeal is crisp and apples are soft. Enjoy
Turkey Dinner in a Stuffing Muffin
Cooked Turkey, cut into small cubes
Leftover gravy
Leftover stuffing
Leftover cranberry sauce
Leftover mashed potatoes
Spray 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
Mix turkey and stuffing in a small bowl. Press stuffing into bottom and up sides of cups to make a crust. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the turkey and gravy mixture into the stuffing crust. Place a small slice or tablespoon of cranberry sauce on top of the turkey mixture.
Place about ¼ cup mashed potatoes in the palm of your hand and form into a patty. Place the patty on top of the filled stuffing cup.
Repeat using up the remaining leftovers.
Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until edges are lightly browned. Remove pan from oven and allow cups to cool for about 5 minutes before serving. Remove from pans and serve with additional gravy if desired.
Pulled Turkey Sliders with CranApple Slaw and Crispy Oven Fries
For the sandwiches you will need:
Leftover or fresh small rolls
Turkey, pulled into small pieces
Barbecue sauce
Mix turkey with bbq sauce. Heat either slowly on the stovetop or covered in the oven at 350 degrees until hot. Toast the rolls and slather with additional barbeque sauce if desired. Place warm turkey on the bun and top with the slaw
For the slaw:
Mayonnaise
Leftover cranberry sauce
1 bag cole slaw mix
Apple chunks
Celery seeds, poppy seeds or other spices, if desired
Salt and pepper to taste
In a medium bowl, mix equal amounts cranberry sauce and mayonnaise. Add seasonings if desired and pour over apple chunks and slaw mix in a large bowl. Stir to combine and add salt and pepper to taste.
For the oven fries:
Uncooked potatoes, cut into steak fry size
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, toss cup potatoes with a few tablespoons olive oil to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Also great with a little garlic powder sprinkled on.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until crisp on one side. Flip fries over and cook for an additional 10 minutes until cooked through. Enjoy!
And last but not least, Lily in her fabulous hat and chef’s coat. Let me tell you, this kid can cook! She came in 4th in an apple pie contest at Brooksby Farm on Sunday–there was no youth category–she competed against the adults! I am so proud of her!
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AND THE WINNER IS……………
CONGRATULATIONS TO:
This is it – the vegan safehouse!
By: Island Annie on November 8, 2009
at 9:35 pm
Mom and I had a big time reading all of the captions and had a hard time choosing the winner! Congratulations Island Annie. You can respond to this post or send me an email at laurielufkin@yahoo.com to arrange to get your cookies!
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Open Door Food Pantry–It’s A Good Thing!
So yesterday, Lily and I went to the Open Door Food Pantry to shoot an episode of Inspired Cooking which will air next week and probably for a couple of weeks. The show was about fun and easy ideas to use your holiday leftovers in a cost effective manner because I feel that throwing away food is like flushing money down the drain–and I don’t want to do it!
Anyway, Julie LaFontaine, the Executive Director of the Open Door, Lily and I had a great time doing the show, the food came out delicious and a good time was had by all. The point of this is that there are lots of families on Cape Ann that need our help. Families have been hit hard in this economy and donating a holiday dinner to a needy family is the right thing to do if you can afford to help out.
This is what your $30.00 will buy for a family in need:
Holiday Meal Basket Donation Form
Each basket contains all the fixings a family of four will need to prepare a festive holiday meal. Just click on the link and everything you need to know is right there.
Baskets include:
- Turkey (14-16 pounds)
- Stuffing Mix
- Potatoes
- Carrots*
- Butternut squash
- Apples
- Cranberry Sauce
- Dinner Rolls*
- Gravy
Please help out our neighbors who might be struggling right now. According to Julie, those who are using the pantry are mostly working families who just can’t make ends meet. People are suffering everywhere and if you can help, please do. Here is the information below.
And if I can nominate a good egg, that would be Julie LaFontaine!
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Hearty Chicken and Olive Stew with Bacon Fennel Cornbread
So here are the recipes to go with this weeks “Inspired Cooking.” My show airs tonight on Cape Ann TV, channel 12 at 8:30. The same episode aires again Friday afternoon at 4:30 and again Sunday morning at 11:30. Hope you will tune in!
This week, with Fall upon us, I decided to make something good and hearty to keep us warm. I wanted to use similar ingredients in two of the dishes, onions and fennel, and come up with totally different results. I thought it might be fun if I took some pictures of what my kitchen looks like when I am getting ready to shoot the show–you will see how tiny it is but strangely enough, works great for TV!
This is a pic of the corner of my kitchen, next to the stove. The bacon is frying up for the cornbread.  I measure out the ingredients twice, once to make right away for the test batch and then one set in matching bowls on trays so that I have everything ready for the show.
I always make everything at least once beforehand so that if it doesn’t work or needs some adjustments, I can do that before we start taping. The only exception to this rule is if I have made something hundreds of times, like my lemon squares, for instance.
This is what the kitchen looks like from where Rob, my fantastic camera man stands (he is great–takes care of everything but the shopping, cooking and cleaning and I “pay” him in food from the show!) Sometimes he stands on a milk crate to get overhead shots of whats in the pan. The only thing that would make this set up better is if the stove where on the other side of the kitchen. Luckily, I have my nice little induction burner and it all works out pretty well.
And this is what it looks like after we are done taping–food all plated, kitchen clean (wonder if those Food Network celebs have to do their own shopping/prep/dishes/cleanup–NOT) and then we take the still shots of the final dishes.
I have to tell you, it is a ton of work but I LOVE every second of it!
And finally, here are the recipes from the show:
Fontina Cornbread with Fennel and Bacon
4 strips bacon, chopped
2 cups diced fennel
1 cup diced onion
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
12 oz shredded fontina cheese
1-15 oz can creamed corn
In a large saucepan, render bacon over medium low heat until meat is browned and crispy. Remove meat from pan with a slotted spoon to a paper towel covered dish, and fennel, onion, butter and thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium low heat until vegetables are soft and caramelized. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, re-seasoning with salt and pepper if desired.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the sour cream, vegetable oil, creamed corn and all but ½ cup of the fontina and stir until well blended. Add the dry ingredients and stir again until just blended. Fold in vegetable mixture and reserved bacon and pour in to prepared pan. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
Enjoy!
Hearty Chicken, White Bean and Olive Stew
3 bone in chicken breasts with skin, trimmed
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup fennel, diced
1 cup sweet onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
1 ½ teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1-15.5 oz can diced tomatoes in sauce
2 bay leaves
5 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup pitted olives of your choice (not brined) drained and cut in half
1-1lb 13 oz can navy or small white beans, rinsed and drained
8 tablespoons prepared basil pesto
Heat the oil in a heavy 7 quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper and place them skin side down in hot oil to brown, turning frequently to prevent scorching. Brown the skin and remove breast to a plate.
To the pot, add the fennel, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary and saute until vegetables are translucent, about 5-minutes. Sprinkle in flour and stir until flour turns slightly brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, stock, tomato paste and bay leaves and the browned chicken to the pot.
Bring the mixture to a low boil and then reduce the heat to low. Allow the chicken to cook, uncovered but submerged, until cooked through, about 25 minutes. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and allow to cool to a workable temperature. Remove skin and bones from breast and cut or pull chicken into bite sized pieces.
Remove bay leaves from pot, add beans and olives and allow broth to thicken and reduce slightly.  When broth is thickened, return chicken to the pot, stir and re-season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring soup back to a simmer. Ladle soup into serving bowls and drizzle with one tablespoon prepared basil pesto. Serve immediately.
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Another helpful piece of information about baking cookies
I just came across this and though it might be helpful now that we are running in to the holiday baking season. This is from http://www.cooksillustrated.com:
We think most cookies are best when they are chewy. This means taking them out of the oven when they are slightly underdone—in fact, the cookies are often so soft they will droop over the end of a spatula. Bake cookies on parchment and cool on baking sheet for a few minutes; after they have set up slightly, slide the parchment onto a cooling rack. if the cookies have crevices, the crevices should appear moist. When baking smooth cookies, look at the edges, which should be lightly browned; the center should be set but not fully dry.
IÂ also find that when you can smell them, time to check the oven as they are done or just about done.
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Chocolate Chip Cookies The Way I Like Them
I wanted to share with you my chocolate chip cookie recipe. This recipe makes these traditional cookies just the way I like them, soft in the middle, crispy on the edge and not terribly sweet. You can use this recipe, minus the chips, as a great base cookie recipe and add in your own favorites–nuts, dried fruit, chips or whatever you like –and perhaps the best idea for the day after Halloween–chopped up leftover Halloween Candy! Make these today-they are simple, delicious and if you take them to work with you tomorrow your coworkers who might NOT eat more candy will probably eat some cookies!
Chocolate Chip Cookies The Way I Like Them
4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoon kosher salt*
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup shortening (butter flavored or traditional)
½ cup salted butter
2 ½ cups light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)**
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover 4 large baking sheets with parchment paper, silicone baking mats or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, kosher salt* and baking soda and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together shortening, butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  This is what “light and fluffy” looks like:
On high speed, add eggs, one at a time and vanilla until well incorporated. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture. When incorporated, add chocolate chips and beat until combined.
Using a small ice cream scoop, dish out cookie dough on to prepared pan, 12 to a sheet.
Place sheets in oven, two at a time, and bake for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, turn cookie sheets around, front to back and move top sheet to bottom and vice versa. Bake for another 5 minutes until brown around the edges and puffed in the center. Allow to cool on sheet for 5 minutes and remove to a rack to cool.
*I use kosher for baking because I like that hit of salt in my cookies. Use table salt if desired.
**I used semisweet in this recipe but try out different mix ins. You could use 1 cup white chocolate chips, one cup dried cranberries and one cup chopped pecans. This is a great base recipe so use your imagination to make it your own.
This recipe makes 9 dozen cookies. It can easily be halved.
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Cinnamon Orange Cranberry Swirl Coffee Cake
This recipe is a take off on my Mom’s Cranberry Swirl Coffee Cake–a Sue Lufkin classic recipe!
You can add nuts if you want to the filling and sprinkle some on top but I have too many nut allergy people in my life to do this.   If you don’t feel like making the candied orange zest, then don’t. Replace the orange zest with toasted walnuts, change the name and presto–new cake!
I baked the cake in the photo in a Nordic Ware Fleur De Lis bundt cake pan but any 8″ tube pan will work. I also only did one layer of the cranberry/orange mixture as you will see in the photo at the end of the recipe.  Enjoy!
Yummy—Cinnamon Orange Cranberry Swirl Coffee Cake
For the cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 ÂĽ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
Âľ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoons fresh orange zest
1 cup sour cream
1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce, stirred
1/3 cup candied orange peel (directions to follow)
ÂĽ cup sweetened dried cranberries
For the glaze:
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
1-2 tablespoons orange juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, Grease and flour an 8” tube pan or a 9-12 cup bundt pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in dry ingredients a little at a time, alternating with the sour cream.
Stir together all but 1 tablespoon orange zest with the cranberry sauce and set aside.
Place 1/3 of the batter in the prepared pan. Spread half of the cranberry and orange mixture over the batter and swirl with knife. Reepeat with remaining batter and cranberry mixture, ending with the batter. Smooth top of the cake and bake in preheated oven for 45-55 minutes until cake tester comes out clean.
Cool cake in pan 10 minutes and turn out on to serving plate t cool completely. When cake is cool, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and orange juice. Drizzle over cake and sprinkle cake with remaining chopped candied orange zest and dried cranberries.
For the zest:
*you can make less of this if you want to but you might as well make a bunch of it all at once. Keeps for months in the sugar and is great on and in baked goods . Also fun on the edge of a martini glass.
4 cups granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
2 ½ cups water
3 oranges, peeled, and as much pith removed from the peel as possible, cut into ¼” strips
In a small sauce pan, bring the sugar and water to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat.
In another pan, place zest and cover with additional water. Bring to a boil, strain and repeat two more times. Dry the pan, pour the sugar syrup over the blanched zest and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook until the zest is tender and translucent. Allow to cool slightly and remove to a cooling rack. When cool, toss in additional sugar. Put some of the sugar in an airtight container and store in a cool dry place till ready to use.
*Keep the drained syrup and store in the refrigerator–it is orange spiked at this point and excellent to sweeten cocktails or brush on layers of cake to keep them moist before frosting.
As always, feel free to ask my any questions you might have about this or any of my recipes.
Good Morning Gloucester 