Green Bean Casserole

This is such a late Thanksgiving post! I totally fail. But since M and I have moved in together ... we were celebrating our first Thanksgiving. So I decided to make a little meal for the two of us, since we weren't going to be in town during Turkey Day (hello, Vegas!).

We went to Sprouts and I bought a turkey breast - it was $3.99/lb which is a little steep compared to the entire turkey selling for $0.79/lb but an entire turkey is SO MUCH TURKEY for two people. Even the smallest whole turkey was 12 lbs. So even though the turkey breast was the same cost as an entire turkey, it made more sense for the two of us. Though I did miss the dark meat.

The turkey was brined overnight with cider, brown sugar and salt ... then roasted to juicy turkey perfection in about 90 minutes. I made some stuffing from the box, roasted some tri-colored potatoes with garlic and rosemary, roasted some carrots with thyme, cranberry sauce and sauteed some pea shoots.

The green bean casserole (top right corner) was leftover from our Friendsgiving the night before and I was lucky to snag that little bit because people went CRAZY over it. So much better than the old school version which involves opening multiple cans.

Green Bean Casserole
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Serves 8 as a side

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp fall-purpose flour
1 Tbsp panko or breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp table salt (more even distribution for frying)
Fresh ground pepper
High-heat oil for crying (canola, saffron, vegetable, peanut)

3 Tbsp butter
1 package cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced
Pinch of nutmeg (optional)
Fresh ground pepper
3/4 tsp table salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tbs green beans, stem end trimmed

To make the onions, toss all the ingredients (minus the oil) together thoroughly. Heat about 1/2 an inch of oil in a cast iron pan over medium heat. Test the heat of the oil by dropping in one drop of water. Once it hisses, it will be hot enough for frying!

Fry onions in handful batches (it'll probably take you 2-3 batches) until they're golden brown. It'll take a bit longer than you think. Remove with a spider or slotted spoon and spread them on a paper towel to drain excess oil.

Preheat oven to 400degreesF. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook green beans on a full boil for 5 minutes. Drain and then put in an ice bath immediately to keep the green color. Once cooled, cut green beans into 2 inch pieces.

Over medium-high heat, melt butter in a large saucepan. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and sautee until they release their liquid and are nicely browned. It'll take anywhere from 7-10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute, then add flour and stir to evenly coat all the mushrooms.

Add the broth slowly, 1/4 cup at a time while stirring the whole time. Try to mash through any lumps with the back of your spoon/spatula so the pieces break up and melt into the sauce. Simmer for a minute to cook off the raw flour taste. Pour in cream, stir thoroughly and then bring back to a simmer, cooking until the sauce thickens up, about 5 minutes. Stir frequently.

Mix in cooked, drained green beans and stir until coated. Pour into casserole dish and top with the crispy onions. Bake for 15 minutes, until sauce is bubbly and the onions are a bit darker. Eat hot!

Roasted Chicken with Cranberries and Potatoes

I love buying cranberries during the fall, especially since it used to be hard to find fresh cranberries. Sometimes I get overzealous and find myself with a few extra packets of cranberries when the season is over! So what to do but continue to cook with them? I usually throw the packages in the freezer and pull them out as needed.

I love using the baby tri-colored potatoes shown above, simply because they're pretty. The medley of colors in this dish is insane and would make a great presentation for an dinner party, or just a cozy dinner with your family/friends. The fact that it's one pan is also helpful!

Roasted Chicken with Cranberries and Potatoes
adapted from Half Baked Harvest
Serves 4

4 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 1/2 Tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp butter
1 lb tri-colored baby potatoes, halved
4 carrots, chopped into 1" pieces
1 cup white wine or chicken broth
3/4 cup fresh cranberries
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Trim extra fat/skin from the chicken. Rub with 1 Tbps olive oil, thyme, rosemary, garlic and lemon zest. Really get in there with your hands and make sure everything is evenly and thoroughly coated. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large oven-safe skillet, heat remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sear chicken skin-side down until golden, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook 5 minutes more. Remove from skillet.

Add butter, potatoes, carrots and a pinch of salt/pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Pour in wine and deglaze. Scrape around for all the pan bits and flavors. Simmer for 5 more minutes, until reduced slightly.

Remove from heat and nestle in chicken. Squeeze lemon juice all over.

In a small brown, toss together cranberries, sugar and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle cranberries over the chicken and transfer pan to oven. Roast for about 20-25 minutes, until chicken is cooked and potatoes/carrots are tender. Serve hot.

* if you are me and love flavors AND your chicken is a bit on the oily side, you can make ANOTHER dish for the next day. We ate the chicken and veggies but didn't use any of the "sauce" at the bottom of the pan because the chicken fat, butter and oil combination made it a bit greasy. I scooped out the chicken and veggies, leaving as much of the sauce behind as I could.

I bought another pound of tri-colored potatoes (halved), 10-15 brussel sprouts (halved), 3 carrots (cut into 1" pieces), and 1/2 onion (sliced) ... and tossed all those together with the flavor bits and chicken fat at the bottom of the skillet. There should be plenty to go around but if you need to, add a couple more tsp of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, then roast in oven for about 30 min or until tender, stirring once halfway through.

Two dishes for the price of one, and just as pretty. I loved it! Feel free to use whatever veggie combinations you would like, including cauliflower, turnips, butternut squash, etc. OR my other new favorite thing to do is roast leftover crudite platters from parties! Most of the time, there is so much food that the crudite platter is barely touched. Everything is already basically cut up so you can just throw and roast. But feel free to cut into more manageable pieces for stuff like baby carrots, celery and radishes (which I've also discovered is great when roasted).

Sticky Cranberry Gingerbread

I love the spices in gingerbread, but don't like gingerbread men/women/children/people due to the crispiness of the cookie. I've never had one that I've found to be satisfying, and generally am disappointed at the first bite when it crumbles in my mouth.

However, gingerbread in bread/cake form is an entirely different story. I found this recipe online after discovering two bags of cranberries still languishing in the fridge. There were huge sales for Thanksgiving and I couldn't resist buying them, though I had only used one bag for cranberry sauce. Now with one bag used and one still left in the freezer, I can make this sticky-pudding-like gingerbread in the summer and imagine it is the holidays again.

Sticky Cranberry Bread
adapted from Melissa Clark's "Cook This Now"

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (8 oz)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbps water
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup golden syrup or honey
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 F and spray a 9-inch-square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a small saucepan, stir together the cranberries, granulated sugar, and water. Stir the cranberries over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and the cranberries form a sauce, about 10 minutes. Make sure you stir and don't just leave it there to do something else, as you don't want the sugar to burn into the pan (see below). You want about half of the cranberries broken down; essentially you are making cranberry sauce.

In another saucepan, stir together the butter, brown sugar, milk, molasses, and golden syrup over medium heat. Bring it to just barely a simmer and remove. Do not let it boil.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and pepper. Beat in the butter-molasses mixture with a rubber spatula. Beat in the eggs and then the ginger.

Pour batter into the pan. Drop dollops of cranberry sauce onto the surface of the cake batter, like in the picture above. Drag a knife through and around the batter in swirls, to help spread the cranberries. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

This cake tasted like Christmas! I was definitely pleased with how gingery and spicy it turned out. Perfect on the couch with a cup of coffee or tea. I think Boyfriend ate 1/4 of it right off, but it's almost a week later and the leftovers are still nice and moist. The sugar syrup from the cranberry sauce settle into the bottom of the cake and becomes sticky, almost like a caramel sauce. I cut slabs for my datacenter manager, brother, Vanessa and Hanna; I wonder how they liked their pieces.

I tweaked the recipe a bit too since I decided to make it so last minute; there weren't all the ingredients called for. I substitued golden brown sugar for the dark bown sugar, defnitely honey for the golden syrup and used half heavy cream and half skim milk instead of whole milk. Since I was tired, I basically eyeballed the spices and grated ginger - everything still came out fantastic. Also, no need to use and dirty the KitchenAid mixer, which is especially helpful when I'm baking on a whim.

And yes, I burned sugar into the bottom of my saucepan. As in, hard and browned around the edges, and stuck like crazy. I finally Googled "how to remove burned sugar from a pot" and got rid of it. I'll tell you here just so you don't have to Google it yourself. Put enough water in the pot to cover the burned sugar area. Add a couple drops dishwashing liquid and boil over high heat. While it is boiling, use a steel/metal spoon to scrape the sugar until it dissolves and comes free. It will steam like crazy due to the boiling, so make sure not to burn your hand while scraping. If you can find a long spoon, like the kind you use at Korean tofu restaurants, it would be best (as opposed to the shorter regular soup spoons).

The Walking Dead S2E7 - Turkey Pot Pie

This post is long overdue, as The Walking Dead went on its mid-season hiatus on November 27th. What a ride it's been. The barn!!! I hope everyone has had a chance to catch up, as the show just keeps getting better and better. I'm impressed with what they've come up with so far, but know that there are plenty of plot points in the comics that will probably not make it to cable television (kids killing kids, zombie pedophilia, etc - I know, totally messed up, right?).

Since this episode was after Thanksgiving and I had copious amounts of turkey left over in the refrigerator, I made a turkey pot pie. This was the first time I tried making a pie and was pleased at the results actually! Umm except I didn't make the pie dough from scratch. I'm a bad cook.

Needless to say, I can't wait for the next season. Mark your calendars! February 12th hails the triumphant return. I can't wait to see what they have in store. If you haven't started watching, give it a go. The first season was only six episodes. The people I've gotten turned onto the show were at first hesitant because they didn't like blood/gore but there's really not all that much of it - the show is based more on the characters and their flaws and the way they handle the situations presented to them.

Turkey Pot Pie
serves 4

1 refrigerated Philsbury double crust pie
4 Tbps butter
1 cup onion, minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, sliced into coins
2 Tbps dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups turkey stock (or canned/homemade chicken stock)
3 medium white potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups cooked turkey, cubed
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425F. Gently unroll one pie crust and smooth into the bottom of pie pan, pushing out all air bubbles. Trim any excess crust around the edges.

Place 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook about five minutes, or until softened. Stir in the broth. Bring mixture to a boil. Add potatoes, and cook until tender but still firm, about 15-20 minutes.

In a medium saucepan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in the turkey and flour - it will be pasty. Add the milk, and heat through. Combine the turkey mixture into the vegetable mixture, and cook until thickened. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour mixture into the unbaked pie shell. Gently unroll the top crust, and place on top of filling. Crimp edges underneath and press around the edges of the pie pan to seal. Cut off any excess crust. Make 4 slits (or cut out a couple shapes with cookie cutters) in the top crust to let out steam.

Place pie on top of a baking sheet to catch any filling drippings, in case of bubbling or overflow. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350F and continue baking for another 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

Turkey Stock

Thanksgiving is over but the leftovers are still in full force. It gets a bit tiring eating the same things over and over again, but I'm Asian and things can't be thrown away in my house. When I was young, my mom even told me that for every grain of rice left in my bowl, there would be one acne/pock mark on my future husband's face. Did I want to have a hideous husband? No? Then eat every bit of that rice. I can't wait to pass this on to my kids. And for once, it's not just my mom being crazy! Pam of Daily Gluttony or Rants & Craves and Amy Tan of The Joy Luck Club has also mentioned it.

Seeing the carcass of a turkey being thrown away is wasteful as well. There are still little bits of meat left on it. All those bits have to be picked off, otherwise you are being wasteful and will go to hell. For real. And then you make turkey stock.

turkey and veggies to be simmered

stock after simmering for 2.5 hours

a hearty pot of jelly stock

After simmering and making the house smell delicious for 5 hours, I got about 10 cups of stock. And look how it turns into jelly! That's because the bones simmered so long that the cartilage breaks down and the marrow seeps out. Broth jelly is as flavorful as you can get. Also, I was wasteful in throwing the vegetables and simmered turkey meat away. But my parents had me eat them before and they're horribly bland, rubbery and tasteless after being simmered for 5 hours. I did save the carrots to feed my puppy.

Turkey Stock
makes 2-3 quarts

1 turkey carcass
2 stalks celery, quartered
1 large onion, quartered with skin on
2 carrots, quartered
6 sprigs thyme
1 tsp whole peppercorn
1 bay leaf

Combine all ingredients in a stock pot and cover with waterabout two inches of water (2-3 quarts depending on how big the stock pot is). Bring to a boil over high heat and skim the foam that rises to the surface. Lower heat to a med-low simmer and simmer 4-6 hours with the lid off, stirring once an hour.

Turn off the heat and let everything come to room temperature. Skim off any fat that comes to the surface (there should be about 1/2-1 cups worth, maybe a bit less). Strain stock well into another pot. Use within a few days, or freeze in individual containers.

Thanksgiving Part 3

Doesn't cranberry sauce cooking look so holiday-y? The sugar looks just like snow.

There is no Thanksgiving Part 2. We had a work potluck but the savages at my office totally tore into everything before I could even whip out a camera. It was utter chaos and destruction. So now we roll to Thanksgiving Part 3. I totally need to crash diet when this is all over. I discovered today on an only weight website that if I want extreme fat loss, I can only consume 920 calroies in a day. What?! That's only about 4.5 macarons!

Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving day was prepared by yours truly. Me. By myself, watching a marathon of Disney movies on TV. For some reason, I really like watching Disney movies while I cook. Not the lame ones, like Air Bud, but the "animated masterpiece collection." I have a ton of them on VHS at my parent's house and I'm amassing quite a few on DVD as well. Luckily, they were playing on TV so while I cooked, I watched Aladdin, Beauty & the Beast, and Snow White. Good times. Around 6pm everyone gathered to eat - and I realized that my high-top table from Crate & Barrel only has two bar stools to go with it. Thanksgiving dinner in front of the TV it is! We watched "30 Seconds or Less" while we ate. So cozy.

turkey brining 2 days ahead in the cooler - had to McGyver the fridge a bit to make everything fit inside

upskirt beauty shot of a brined and stuffed turkey - sexy

cider and sage brined turkey

carved turkey

homemade cranberry sauce - orange peel, apple cider, cinnamon

canned cranberry sauce - Oceanspray, jellied

mashed potatoes

creamed corn

Ms Cubbinsons stuffing with mushrooms, cooked separately

Ms Cubbinsons stuffing with mushrooms, from the turkey

curry roasted broccoli and cauliflower

smashed sweet potatoes, candied pecans, marshmallows (note to self: don't leave this in broiler unattended, as it results in the blown up marshmallow spillage on the bottom left corner)

sage gravy

papas rellenas, courtesy of Kavita

fried plantain chips, courtesy of Kavita

more sweet potatoes, courtesy of Brother

Japanese tamago, courtesy of Brother

fruit tart, courtesy of Kavita

pumpkin cream pie

bad picture of the table, but it was loaded

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! And no one got trampled or pepper sprayed at the Porter Ranch Walmart (or anywhere else) during the Black Friday sales. I had two friends at that Walmart and they reported that not only was a crazy woman (with her kids) pepper spraying people, there were also fist fights over the TV sales. USA! USA! USA!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to the who blogging world, food or personal or otherwise! This year I'm thankful for my continued relationship with my family and especially my friends, who have been there for me in more situations than I can name. I'm thankful my 16 1/2 year old Maltese puppy is still alive, though she almost passed away in May. And I'm thankful that Boyfriend has gotten a new car so I could stop riding around in his old one.

Even though my parents are in Taiwan to see my dad's parents, I'm still making Thanksgiving dinner for Boyfriend and Brother. And a few other friends are joining us, who are not able to spend today with their families. Tis the start of the holiday season, and the only holiday I'm getting with Boyfriend this year - he is going to be in Boston to see his family from December 18 through Janurary 5th. Ask me out while he's out!

Thanksgiving Dinner for the Lonely:
Cider-Brined Turkey with Sage (13.5 lbs!)
Ms Cubbinsons Cornbread Stuffing with Mushrooms
Sweet Potatoes with Candied Pecans and Marshmallows
Curry Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower
Creamed Corn
Mashed Potatoes
Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce (canned)
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Pumpkin Cream Pie

Oh did I mention I'm making all of the above myself? Boyfriend is working and Brother is at home playing either (1) Uncharted or (2) Starcraft 2. What are you doing/eating for Thanksgiving? Or what did you do/eat for Thanksgiving, depending on when this post is read.

Thanksgiving Part 1 (Pacsqiving)

I have three Thanksgiving celebrations to attend this year cause that's how I roll. Actually, my friends generally have a potluck gathering, work does another potluck gathering, and my family will do something on the special day if we are not in Vegas. The past few years have been kind of strange because my dad has been going back to Taiwan to spend some more time with my grandfather, who is ... 95+ years old. This year is even more different - BOTH my parents are going back, leaving tonight and not returning until the Sunday after turkey day. Though people have been urging me to just buy a couple turkey breasts, I'm leaning towards buying a turkey anyways. Anyone want to come over and join our sad three-people celebration?

Justin and Kristin were gracious enough to host Thanksgiving at their apartment this year, and we had an extra excuse to get together on account of the Pacquiao vs Marquez fight. Hence, Pacsgiving. Everyone brought a dish, a 22-lb turkey was made, and we enjoyed spending time with friends and food.

brined/roasted 22-lb turkey

rotisserie chicken

beef stew

mac and cheese

potatoes au gratin

stuffing with sausage

seven-layer dip

pasta salad

spinach artichoke dip

paella

spinach stuffed mushrooms

cheesy potatoes

stuffing with chestnuts

creamed corn

sweet potatoes

jalapeno cheddar cornbread

shrimp toast

spinach artichoke dip

green bean casserole

potato wedges

some kind of Filipino/Vietnamese dessert

salted brown butter crispy treats

pumpkin cream pie

We had a total of 35 people in the apartment to stuff themselves with food and watch Pacquiao's third fight with Marquez. A super controversial fight too! I've watched the last three fights with this general group of friends and Pacquiao has won every time - I'd hate to see the atmosphere if he lost a fight one day. And to show everyone how thankful we are, we continued to follow the tradition of everyone filling their plates, but not being able to eat until we had gone around the room and each person said what they were thankful for that year. I hate public speaking and always have something witty in my head to say, but then stutter and sound totally stupid when I have to start talking. Yay for Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Cream Pie
adapted from The Pioneer Woman

1 graham cracker crust
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 box (3 oz) vanilla pudding (cook & serve)
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 Tbsp whiskey (optional)
1/2 cup + 3 Tbsp pumpkin puree
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Brush the inside of the graham cracker crust with the egg and bake for 5 minutes. This prevents the filling from soaking into the crust too much and making it soggy. You can make the crust with graham crackers, but I'm too lazy for that.

In a medium saucepan, combiine dry pudding mix, half-and-half and cream. Add spices. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is bubbly and thick. Remove from heat and stir in whiskey, if using. Add pumpkin and stir to combine thoroughly. Taste the mixture and add more spices as necessary - I like it heavily flavored, and remember that once the mixture is cold, the flavors will be a bit dulled. I added maybe a bit more cinnamon. Place lid on pot and place in the fridge to cool completely.

When mixture is cool, remove from the fridge. In a mixing bowl, add 1/2 cup heavy cream and brown sugar. Beat until very light and fluffy. Fold in pumpkin cream mixture with a rubber spatula until combined. Avoid stirring too vigorously and defalting the mixture. Pour into cooled crust. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.