Red, White and Blueberry

More Memorial Day, Fourth of July (or any Sunday morning) fare ... fresh blueberry muffins.  They are quick and easy and really moist and delicious.  The secrets are sour cream, nutmeg and cinammon.  From start to finish, less than an hour. Here's the recipe:

  Preheat oven to 400ª. Bake at 350ª.

·           1 stick butter, melted

·           ¾ c. sugar plus additional for sprinkling muffins

·           2 large eggs

·           1 ½  tsp. vanilla

·           1 cup sour cream

·           2 cups flour

·           ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

·           ½ tsp baking powder

·           ½ tsp baking soda

·           Ground cinnamon for sprinkling muffins

·            2 cups fresh blueberries

 Mix wet ingredients

·          Cream butter and sugar with hand mixer

·          Beat in eggs, one at a time

·          Beat in vanilla and sour cream

  Mix dry ingredients

·           Sift flour

·           Stir in ground nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt

  Combine

·            Stir wet into dry ingredients

·            Fold in blueberries

  Spoon into 12 muffin cups, sprinkle tops with mixture of cinnamon and granulated sugar.

  Reduce heat in oven to 350. Bake @ 350 degrees for 25 minutes, until golden brown, or until
  toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean.

  Options:

·           Add 1 ½ cups grated apples instead of blueberries

·           Add chopped pecans to topping

·           Fold in 1 ½ cups mashed bananas and ½ cup walnuts to batter

·           Use raspberries instead of blueberries

Zucchini Tomato Galette

 Delicious and savory, perfect for a hot summer night!

The Perfect Summertime Dessert

If you've eaten at Joe's Stone Crab in Miami, you'll know about their famous Key Lime Pie, just the best there is. They've generously shared their recipe online, and we are big fans ... making it frequently. It's a hit with young and old.

Here's the recipe. Thank you, Joe's!

Ingredients

Graham cracker crust

1 cup plus 2-1/2 T graham cracker crumbs
5 T unsalted melted butter
1/3 c sugar

Filling

3 egg yolks
Zest of one lime (1-1/2 t)
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
Juice of 3'1/2 to 4 limes (2/3 cup) freshly squeezed

Topping

1 c heavy whipping cream, chilled
3 T confectioners sugar


Process

Crust
1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Butter a 9" pie plate
3. Break up graham crackers, place in processor and process to crumbs.
4. Add melted butter and sugar and pulse until combined.
5. Press mixture into bottom and up the sides of the pie plate, forming a neat border around the edges.
6. Bake until crust is set, approx. 8 mins.
7. Set aside on a wire rack; leave oven on.

Filling
1. In an electric mixer with the wire whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks and lime zest at high speed until very fluffy, about 5 mins.
2. Gradually add the condensed milk and continue to beat until thick, 3-4 mins longer.
3. Lower the mixer speed and slowly add the lime juice, mixing until just combined.
4. Pour mixture into crust and back for 10-15 mins., or until filling has just set.
5. Cool on wire rack, then refrigerate.
6. Freeze for 15-20 mins before serving.

Topping
1. Whip the cream and confectioners sugar until nearly stiff.
2. Pipe or spread onto pie.
3. Serve in wedges, with slice of key lime if desired.

Note: This recipe was originally published by food.com, © 2017 Scripps Network.

Christmas Eve Paella (Also: New Year's Eve Paella)

Paella is one of our family's favorite dishes, and even though I've heard it's "easy," there are many ingredients and the assembly is tricky. Ron's dad had a great recipe that goes back three decades (which uses the oven), and I found a fantastic version by Janet Mandel, a Spanish cooking authority (which uses the stove top).  I put the two of them together, and also added my own touches.  I decided to use a large earthenware casserole dish and the oven method.  (Note: Assembly time: about an hour; cooking time, approximately another hour. Give yourself ample time, don't rush and enjoy the experience!)

Ingredients:
4 small chicken thighs, bone-in
4 small chicken breasts (or two breasts cut in half), bone-in
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
10 strands of saffron, steeped in boiling water
2 cups long grain white rice
8 cups chicken broth
1 green pepper, cut in 1/2" x 1/4" strips
1 ripe plum tomato, chopped
1 lb. Spanish chorizo (sausage)
18 raw, peeled and deveined shrimp
18 mussels
18 littleneck clams
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large Spanish onion, chopped (approximately 1 cup)
1/2 box frozen peas
4 oz. roasted red peppers

Note: Prepare your mis en table in advance; chop all tomatoes, onion, pepper, garlic, clean all seafood, etc. so the cooking and assembly process goes smoothly.

Preparation

Cook the chicken: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Salt and pepper both sides of all pieces of chicken in oven-proof frying pan. Sauté in olive oil on both sides until deep golden brown.  Pop into oven for 20 minutes.

Cook the chorizo: Fry chorizo in non-stick pan. When cooked through, cut into small pieces. Drain pan of excess fat. Return chorizo to pan. Add onion, garlic, chopped tomato and green pepper, adding olive oil if necessary. When onion and garlic are translucent, remove from heat and set aside.

Steep the saffron: Bring one cup water to a boil. Remove from heat, add saffron. Set aside.

Assembly
When chicken is cooked, arrange around edges of large open casserole or paella pan.  Sprinkle with rice and add chicken stock, chopped tomato, chorizo/onion/pepper mixture, saffron with water, stir and cover tightly. Cook for 40 minutes, stirring half way through.

Remove from oven, uncover, stir. Add peas, roasted red peppers and shrimp. Cover, put back in oven for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, add mussels and clams. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, or until clams, shrimp and mussels are cooked. Shrimp should be firm and pink. Discard any mussels or clams that are not open.

Serve with salad and crisp white wine, such as Pinot Grigio (or Sangria, for you purists).

Paella also makes a fantastic party dish, as perfect for a crowd on New Year's Eve as on Christmas Eve.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving - Easy Turkey Gravy

It's almost Thanksgiving. Time to think about your turkey and the trimmings. One of the best parts of the meal is rich, creamy, roast turkey gravy ... on top of buttery mashed potatoes, savory stuffing and roast turkey.

This gravy recipe is a combination of the best Italian, French and American cooks in our family, plus my own contemporary additions.  Its complex flavor comes from deglazing the pan filled with the rich drippings of the turkey (which is stuffed with an Italian sausage stuffing), plus a layering of seasonings and liquids (including white wine and chicken broth) ... and a hint of herbs.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients
Drippings from 18 lb. (more or less) turkey
2 cups chicken broth
3 tbsp. flour
1/4 c. white wine (good dry one)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 tsp. Gravy Master
Hot water

Process
• Drain fat from bottom of turkey roasting pan.
• Over medium heat on range top, deglaze pan with 1/4 cup white wine and 2 cups chicken broth, making sure to scrape up brown bits.
• In small bowl, mix 3 tbsp. flour with hot water. Stir to dissolve flour. Add to pan drippings and broth.
• Let simmer 10 minutes over low heat, stirring continuously.
• Add Gravy Master. Stir in well.
• Add salt and pepper to taste, and if desired, herbs such as bay leaf, fresh sage, fresh rosemary and fresh thyme.
• Pour through sieve into a medium-sized saucepan, making sure not to leave any brown bits at bottom of roasting pan, but removing herb leaves.
• Allow to simmer over low heat for another 5-10 minutes until thick and creamy, adjusting salt and pepper seasonings as needed.  Serve hot with roast turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes.

Step-by-Step Guide to The Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey

Roasting a turkey always looms as a daunting job. But it needn't be, if you plan ahead. Below we outline our fail-safe method for roasting a moist and flavorful turkey. Note: We always buy a fresh turkey. Never frozen.

Size Guidelines. 

For 4-6 servings, buy a 10-12 lb turkey.
For 8-10 servings, buy a 12-16 lb turkey.
For 12-16 servings, buy a 16-22 lb turkey.

Always get a turkey large enough for leftovers!


Stuffed or Unstuffed?

Note: NEVER stuff your turkey the night before. You will risk infecting the turkey (and your guests) with dangerous bacteria. ALWAYS stuff the day you are roasting the bird, even if that means getting up a tad early.

In general, turkeys take about 20 mins per pound. Stuffed turkeys always take longer to roast. Add 1/2 hour to roasting time for a stuffed bird. (I.e., if an unstuffed 12 lb bird takes 3-1/2 hours, a stuffed one will take 4 hours.)

The best way to know if your turkey is done: The turkey should register 165F on a good meat thermometer. Test all over the bird -- the thickest part of the breasts, the innermost section of the thighs, and the wings, between the breast and the wing bone.

After the bird is taken out of the oven, let it rest at least 1/2 hour to let the juices come back into the bird. Otherwise, the juices will flow out of the bird as you cut it and render a very dry bird. If you stuffed the turkey, remove the stuffing from the cavity, put it into a heated casserole, cover and set aside.

(Note: For a fabulous stuffing recipe, see our "Grandma's Turkey Stuffing" post.)

Making the Most Flavor!
Use a roasting pan large enough to hold the turkey with room on the sides. Instead of using a plain roasting rack, make a bed of veggies to cradle your bird.

We use:
4-5 stalks of celery with leaves
4-5 large carrots, peeled and left whole
3 onions, sliced in 1/3 pieces
3 cloves garlic, whole
Fresh parsley sprigs
Fresh thyme sprigs

Place the veggies on the bottom of your roasting pan. Season well with salt and pepper, and a few pats of butter. Make a bed approximately 1" thick.

Now carefully place the turkey on top of the veggies. Season the outside of the bird well with salt and pepper (we use garlic salt for an extra kick), and top with several pats of butter.

Roast for 1/2 hour at 450F, basting halfway through and again after 1/2 hour.  Lower the heat to 350F, and roast, basting often with the juices that are dripping off the bird.  If needed, add more butter. If the skin is getting burned, cover with foil, especially the legs.


Carving Your Turkey

This is not difficult, but it takes a little patience. And sharp knives! If you're able, have your knives professionally sharpened in advance of roasting your turkey.

First, remove the legs by inserting a your carving knife between the breast and the leg and twisting gently. The legs should come loose and detach from the bird easily. Place on your serving platter.

Next, carving from the top of the bird downward, cut off the breast on each side of the turkey. Set aside. Then go to the wings and thighs.

Here's the best video we've found on carving a turkey, and this is exactly how we do it:

https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/cooking-tips-techniques/carve-turkey


Making the Creamiest Gravy!
When you are finished carving, set the turkey aside on a warm platter and make your gravy.

1. Remove the veggies from the bottom of the roasting pan.
2. Separate the fat from the drippings using a fat separator. (OXO Good Grips makes an excellent separator.) Return the drippings to the roasting pan.
3. Over low heat, deglaze the roasting pan using 2 cups chicken stock and 1/2 cup dry white wine. Scrape all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. (That's where all the flavor is!)
4. Make a slurry using approximately 1/2 cup of the pan juices and 1/4 c flour.  Add back into the roasting pan and mix.
5. Stir all thoroughly, add approx. 2-3 tbsp Gravy Master to the pan. Mix well, and transfer all to a saucepan.
6. Put saucepan on low and let the gravy thicken to your desired consistency.

(Also see our "Easy Turkey Gravy" post.)

You're Ready to Serve!

Place your platter of turkey, casserole of stuffing and any other sides you've prepared (suggestions: our Southern Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole, sautéed green beans with garlic and butter, and creamy mashed potatoes), and the piping hot turkey gravy in a gravy boat.

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!!

If you bake with chocolate, here's a great article that gives insights from top chefs:

 https://www.foodandwine.com/cooking-techniques/baking/mistakes-to-avoid-when-baking-with-chocolate-according-to-chefs