Merry Christmas Caramel Corn!!

Ever since I was little, we always made the following recipe for caramel corn during the holidays. Teachers, neighbors, family friends and co-workers raved about this addicting caramel corn, made to perfection year after year by my mom.

I have so enjoyed continuing this tradition and making caramel corn for loved ones after I moved away from home. I love sharing recipes from my kitchen during the holidays, a special treat for people to enjoy with their family and friends!

INGREDIENTS:
3 quarts of plain popcorn
2 sticks butter
1/2 C honey
1 1/3 C sugar
1t vanilla
1 C roasted almonds
DIRECTIONS:
Pop all of the corn and use two large bowls to lift the popped corn from one bowl to the next (all of the unpopped kernels will remain in the bottom of the original bowl).
On medium high, melt the butter, honey and sugar together, creating a smooth caramel. Simmer on a steady boil until the mixture no longer has a granular sugar texture. An easy way to test this is place cold water in a small bowl and drip a bit of the boiling caramel in the bowl. This will cool off the caramel and allow you to test by tasting (I know, terrible that you actually have to continue sampling caramel).
Once the caramel is ready, remove from the heat and add the 1 t vanilla (mixture will spatter a bit, stand back). Whisk together until fully combined.
Sprinkle the roasted almonds over the popped popcorn and evenly drizzle the caramel over the top. Quickly toss the caramel corn to coat and then pour out on a greased tabletop (simply spray PAM on a clean surface). Allow caramel corn to cool before packaging.
ENJOY!

I have to point out the adorable embossing labels given to me by my mom for Christmas. "Recipe from Jackie's Joy"...just too cute for words!

Try at home...

This time of year I notice that I eat out A LOT more than usual - and although SF is famous for insanely good dining, sometimes the food that comes out of your kitchen is surprisingly more satisfying. For example, I was at a work event a few weeks ago which was catered by a reputable (and very expensive) catering company. Overall the food was delicious, but the crab cakes left me feeling a bit...blah. So when a friend of mine recently recommended the America's Test Kitchen recipe for classic crab cakes I knew I had to give it a try.

I truly believe that the secret to a perfect crab cake comes down to two key factors: really good crab and finding the perfect ratio of crab to breadcrumbs. ATK does a fantastic job of walking you through this process in their recipe. I slightly altered this by adding a bit of fresh squeezed lemon and seasoned breadcrumbs vs. plain. Served with a wedge of lemon and a quick rémoulade this became an instant favorite in our home!
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb fresh crab (I used half king crab half dungeness - be sure to rinse well)
6 T breadcrumbs (I used herb seasoned)
4 scallions, green parts only, minced
1 T fresh chopped parsley
1 1/2 t Old Bay seasoning
1/4 C mayonnaise
1T lemon juice (fresh)
S&P
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 C flour
1/4 C vegetable oil
Lemon Wedges / rémoulade for serving
DIRECTIONS:
Gently toss the crab, 4 T breadcrumbs, scallions, parsley and Old Bay in a large bowl. Add the mayo and lemon juice, gently combine. Season with s&p to taste. Gently fold in the beaten egg, and if necessary add the remaining 2 T of breadcrumbs as needed until the mixture just clings together. Divide the crab mixture in to four equal portions and shape each into a 3-inch wide patty (you could also do mini-crab cakes for an appetizer)! Transfer the patties to a plastic wrapped plate, cover and chill until firm - about 30 minutes.

Spread the flour in a shallow dish and coat the crab cakes lightly with the flour. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat (you want the oil to be HOT when the cakes go in). Gently lay the chilled crab cakes in the skillet and cook until crisp and brown on both sides, about 10 minutes. For the rémoulade I combined 1 C sour cream, 2 T ketchup, 1 T fresh parsley, a few dashes of tabasco, cayenne pepper, dried dill, fresh lemon juice, garlic powder and s&p. This is all to taste - trust your palate!
While our crab cakes were chilling we snacked on a quick and easy shrimp cocktail - served with my Dad's insanely delicious cocktail sauce. Although no one can make it quite like he does, our attempt turned out pretty dang good. Again this is all to taste, go with more horseradish and tabasco if you like it HOT.
PETE's FAMOUS COCKTAIL SAUCE
1/4 C Heinz Chili Sauce
4 T ketchup
1 t worcestershire
2 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 T horseradish (or more)!
A few dashes of tabasco
Serve with fresh, chilled shrimp, lemon wedges and saltine crackers - YUM!! Thanks Dad ;)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

This morning I jumped out of bed, turned on my Christmas iTunes mix and set forth on my mission to create chai sugar cookies topped with cream cheese frosting. I have been completely inspired for a while now to *attempt* these beautiful cookies from an old Cooking Light magazine. When I first started working at Cooking Light a few years ago I remember adoring this festive cover - I couldn't wait to get in the holiday spirit and try out at home!

Well, it didn't take long to realize that professionals are clearly behind the decorating of magazine quality cookies -thank goodness the photo of our attempt is far enough away to hide the rookie imperfections. My favorites include Jake's Christmas tree (far left), the monogrammed "R" (it is my first Christmas as a Reiss after all) and the middle snowflake (winner of the cookie decorating competition).

I giggled throughout the process while tossing practice cookie after practice cookie aside, and couldn't help but think of a classic birthday card given to me by my wonderful friend Brookie: "Helen's cakes always looked like they belonged on the cover of a gourmet cooking magazine. Everyone hated Helen. Hope your birthday is picture perfect."

So my cookies don't look like they belong on the cover of Cooking Light (I doubt the cream cheese frosting would help that cause). HOWEVER, the good news is that ugly snowflake cookies taste just as good as perfect ones! Enjoy...and be sure to try the fabulous cream cheese frosting with your favorite holiday sugar cookie.
INGREDIENTS
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use. Note: this frosting will not firm up like a typical icing, but is the perfect consistency for piping through a pasty tip for detailed decorating.

Welcome Home!

Jake has been in Minneapolis for the past week, and I was really looking forward to making a hearty meal for him to come home to. Jake is a meat and potatoes kind of guy and I am always looking for fun variations on this classic combination.

Tonight I went with a goat cheese crusted veal chop, served with olive oil and sea salt crusted fingerling potatoes, along with a mache salad topped with eggplant caponata. I recently had eggplant caponata served with veal a few weeks ago at a restaurant with friends, and was looking to create something similar. Simply saute equal parts (1/2C) diced eggplant, chopped onion, and diced tomatoes with 2 cloves minced garlic, chopped olives (8-10 green and kalamata), 2 T capers, 1 T balsamic and s&p to taste. Simmer until the eggplant and onion has softened. This traditional Sicilian dish is perfect as a side dish with salad, but would also be a nice appetizer served with crusty bread.

While the caponata was simmering I quickly coated the fingerling potatoes with a good quality olive oil (Stonehouse is a favorite of mine: http://www.stonehouseoliveoil.com/oliosanto/oliosanto.html), coarse sea salt and cracked pepper. Place in a baking dish and allow to roast in a hot oven (425) for 30-40 minutes. SUCH a delicious result with the easiest prep ever...

Now on to the veal - another MUST try recipe. If veal isn't popular in your household, a filet of beef tenderloin or pork chops would work nicely.
INGREDIENTS:
4 tablespoons bread crumbs
1 tablespoon butter
4 veal chops (2 per person)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil for sauteing
4 tablespoons dijon mustard
8 ounces goat cheese at room temperature
TO PREPARE VEAL: Place bread crumbs and butter in a bowl and mix well (set aside).
Season chops with salt and pepper. Pour oil into a very hot skillet and sear each portion on either side. Brush mustard onto veal chop, using a spatula, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover with a layer of goat cheese and top with the bread crumbs. I found the coating a bit difficult with a spatula, it was much easier to press the goat cheese and bread crumbs on to the chops with my *clean* fingers. Once coated, roast the crusted chops in a preheated 400-degree oven 10 to 15 minutes.
The combination of dijon with goat cheese and the crisp breadcrumbs was HEAVENLY. I think Jake was happy to be home :)...
Enjoy!

The rumors are true...

WOW. I have been hearing a lot about these "turkey roll-ups" lately. I won't lie - a bit of pressure to blog about them really motivated testing out this much-loved Hall family recipe ;). I couldn't wait to find out if turkey roll-ups really were as amazing as they sounded. I am happy to report that it has been confirmed people...they are delicious. This was again reiterated by Jake who left a muffled voice message on my work line this afternoon - it sounded something like "Ohfmm mahyy ghah these are good."

Jake was off watching the Cougs take down Gonzaga last night when I tested out the mighty turkey roll-up recipe. Things started fairly simple - I sauteed 3/4 C of diced carrots, 3/4 C diced celery and 1/4 C of minced onion in 2 T butter. Once softened I seasoned with 1/4 t each of salt, pepper, garlic powder and poultry seasoning. I removed the skillet from the stove top and allowed to cool down, then added 1 1/2 C diced turkey and one 8oz package of cream cheese. The combined mixture made more than enough for two packages of Pillsbury croissant rolls (16).

Speaking of those dang rolls...I CANNOT, for the life of me figure out how to roll these croissants! Ren told me all I had to do was place a dollop of the mixture in the triangle, roll together, tuck the sides and voila! SO that didn't happen at all, my roll-ups turned out looking like awkward logs. I seriously almost gave up after 20 minutes of mangling each and every slice (I really didn't want to post ugly turkey logs on my blog). Perseverance payed off though- I kept going, buttering each "roll-up" and then coating with breadcrumbs - off to the oven (375 for 15 min).

LOOK at those golden lovelies!

The smell from the oven while these were baking was amazing - it made me so happy I didn't give up! I am sure these are even more incredible when made by the original turkey roll-up queen (she even tops them with GRAVY - yes please)! As a meal you could serve with mashed potatoes or roasted vegetables. I happen to think these would be a fabulous appetizer for the holidays as well (just make a mini version)! Enjoy...

On to Turkey Leftovers...

Right after Thanksgiving I threw all of our leftover turkey in the freezer - I had a busy week of travel with work and knew I wouldn't get to those creative post-Thanksgiving turkey recipes. This week I thought it would be worth trying out two new turkey recipes - both very different - that would help with the abundance of leftovers without getting bored.

The first came from a craving for pulled-pork sandwiches - why not try with turkey? I know, it sounds a bit strange, but it turned out really tasty. I tossed half of the frozen turkey in a crock pot and covered half way with water. This helped add more moisture to the turkey, allowing it to shred apart like pulled pork would. After a few hours in the slow cooker, I drained the
excess water and added a quick homemade BBQ sauce that had been simmering on the stove.
INGREDIENTS
1 C ketchup
1 C water
1/4 C apple cider vinegar
1 T worcestershire
hot sauce (as much as you like)!
1 T brown sugar
1 t salt
1 t celery salt
1 t pepper
1 T minced onion
1 minced garlic clove
liquid smoke (4-5 drops)
INSTRUCTIONS: Combine all of the ingredients in a saute pan and simmer. I wasn't buying this recipe until the liquid smoke was added - amazing how it instantly turns a strange sweet/spicy tomato mixture in to BBQ sauce (a MUST for this recipe)! I served the shredded BBQ turkey on mini rolls topped with coleslaw.
For a side dish I went with a great brussels sprout recipe we had tried out over Thanksgiving.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound brussels sprouts
4 slices turkey bacon
2 tablespoons butter
1 generous tablespoon capers, drained
s+p to taste
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
INSTRUCTIONS: Trim off the stems of the brussels sprouts and cut an "x" into the trimmed end. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the brussels sprouts, cover and simmer until tender, about 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the sprouts. Drain well and quarter the sprouts.
While the sprouts are simmering, dice the sliced bacon and render until crisp in a skillet. Remove and drain off any excess fat. Melt the butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Cook until deep mahogany in color, about 5-10 minutes, shaking the pan constantly so the solids do not rest on the bottom of the pan and burn.
Add the Brussels sprouts and increase the heat to high. Add the capers, bacon and s+p to taste. Stir until the sprouts are coated and browned, about 5 minutes. Add the cheese and continue to stir until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning, if needed. During Thanksgiving I didn't add the parmesan as it didn't seem to jive with all the traditional flavors, however this was a really nice touch to this dish - enjoy!

"Cheese Toasties"

The perfect grilled cheese...there is nothing like it. It's totally comforting and satisfying, and always reminds me of various stages in my life.
* The first, growing up - my mom truly knows how to make the perfect grilled cheese, known lovingly to her children as "cheese toasties." In fact, my sister had no idea the rest of the world called this delightful sandwich a "grilled cheese" until college - the poor cafeteria line cook had a tough time deciphering what a cheese toastie really was.
* The second, my time at WSU - where my sorority constantly served grilled cheese with tomato soup for lunch. It definitely wasn't a "perfect" grilled cheese, but comforting nonetheless and all the more enjoyable when surrounded by wonderful friends.
* The third, life with Jake - he LOVES cheese toasties as much as I do. This is such a treat after a long day when energy to make dinner is limited. The picture above was from a few nights ago - our cheese toasties served with a roasted tomato and basil soup (thank you Safeway Select). Although nothing beats a simple Velveeta slice, this particular evening my toasty was jazzed up with sliced brie and prosciutto. Jake went with swiss cheese, ham and a bit of dijon. For preparation, I recently discovered that a George Foreman grill serves as a nice back-up to a panini grill...just butter each slice of bread and press between the plates (if you don't have either grill, toasting in a saute pan works just as well). ENJOY!!!

The Little Kitchen That Could...

We did it! One 21-lb turkey, 11 side-dishes, 2 pies and just a few bottles of wine, Thanksgiving 2007 was one I will never forget. What a day to be thankful for all the blessings in my life...
A huge blessing was my husband's brilliant idea to grill the turkey outside with his team of rotating helpers - thank you all! What a beautiful and perfectly grilled turkey it was!

Thankful...

Thanksgiving is one of my absolute favorite days of the year. There is nothing like being all snuggled up with your family for an entire day of cooking, eating and relaxing. Whether celebrated at home, a cabin, or a tiny San Francisco apartment I am always counting down the days for this holiday. This year marked a special one as it was the first time I would be hosting Thanksgiving for my entire family. My husband and I typically travel to be with family in Idaho, Michigan or Nashville, however this year the Zimmerman's were coming to us (Mom, Dad, Josh, Morgan and Ren)! I had attempted Thanksgiving dinner for just Jake and I a few years back, and I was amazed by all the food we cranked out of our tiny kitchen. Despite apparent concerns from everyone around me, I wasn’t going to budge – we would MAKE EVERYTHING this Thanksgiving despite the restraints of my mini kitchen.

I am such a traditionalist when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner – call it boring, but I just can’t stray from the classics. The game plan was well in place for our big turkey day when everyone arrived on Tuesday, which involved quite a bit of prep work on Wednesday. That morning my parents and I jumped up early to beat the crowds at the grocery store – I can't deal with bumper carts. (Side note: I have to say that the toughest part of putting together a Thanksgiving shopping list is trying to calculate how much butter and cream you will need – wow). Anywhooo, fat and calories aside we loaded up our carts with the essentials and rushed home to get a start on our day.

Phase 1 Prep Day:
BAKING. Ok, this has been addressed before – I totally suck at baking. My grandmother, mom and sister could all whip up the most insanely delicious pie with a blindfold on. Having two of them in my house for Thanksgiving was the perfect excuse for a lesson from the pros. We were keeping things simple with classic pecan and pumpkin. While my mom prepared the fillings Ren and I began measuring out the ingredients for dough. Not a tough recipe people…it is all about technique here.
(Recipe coming soon)
For our finishing touch (as I am a sucker for all things Williams-Sonoma) we used the most adorable fall-inspired crust cutters…leaves, pumpkins and acorns. So precious it hurts…and worth every penny of that $16.95 (I need help).

This photo also highlights the size of my stove before the pies went in the oven. As my sister-in-law put it best "You've got to include a photo of your kitchen...no one will believe all this food came out of here." ;)

Phase 2 Prep Day:
Sweet Potatoes and Mashed Potatoes
Another challenge for the new potato ricer (see earlier posts). I will admit, I made the mistake of going against my gut regarding the peeling of potatoes. My new ricer told me that there was no reason to peel the potatoes before boiling and pressing. Too good to be true right? Well, it wasn’t disastrous (we still had deliciously smooth mashed taters), however Ren is just now getting the feeling back in her arms after pressing out 4+ pounds of russet and sweet potatoes. I still love the ricer, but next time I will peel my potatoes. As far as recipes, there really isn't a secret to mashed potatoes. My rule of thumb is just keep tasting and adding until it is perfect. I do recommend that you warm through the butter, whipping cream and sour cream before mixing in the potatoes - adding cold ingredients will create a stickier vs. smooth mash. Also, don't be afraid to season - a lot. I know, I know - copious amounts of butter AND salt? It's OK - it totally doesn't count on Thanksgiving. For the sweet potatoes I have a very specific set of rules from my husband: "no lumps and sweet as hell." Pretty easy here...melt down a stick of butter, add a 1/2C (or more) of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream and a dash of cinnamon. Blend with the riced sweet potatoes until smooth. It was such a nice time saver to only have the responsibility of warming through the potatoes (and topping the sweets with marshmallows) before serving on Thanksgiving...a very helpful day ahead approach!

Phase 3 Prep Day:
Game Day Breakfast

This Thanksgiving was also a special one as the Packers were playing the Lions early that morning (yes, the obsession has now extended beyond my husband). I knew none of us would want to be in the kitchen cooking during the game, so what better than whipping up a breakfast casserole and sweet rolls the night before? Since our morning would definitely include Bloody Mary's and a few breakfast beers we needed something hearty - and spicy! This mexican breakfast casserole was inspired by a mexican lasagna a friend of mine recently shared. The layering of tortillas created this fantastic outer crust - a must try!

1 teaspoon unsalted butter
8 Flour Tortillas
1 1/2 pounds Mexican chorizo, or other hot sausage, removed from casings and crumbled
1 cup chopped yellow onions
6 Anaheim chilies, roasted and diced (canned chillies = easy substitute)
1 bag shredded hash browns
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups fat free half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups grated pepper jack
1 1/2 cups grated medium cheddar
Sour Cream, salsa, avocado, garnish
Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat, stirring to break up the meat, until browned. Add the onions and cook until soft. Remove. In the same pan, saute hash browns for 10 minutes until they begin to crisp - season as needed with s&p and garlic powder. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and half-and-half with the hot sauce, salt and black pepper. Lay flour tortillas in the bottom of the dish (two whole, two cut in half to help cover all edges). Spoon 1/2 of the hash browns over the tortillas, follow with 1/2 of the sausage mixture, 1/2 the chopped chilies and half the shredded cheeses. Repeat layering, starting with tortillas and ending with the cheese. Pour the egg mixture over the ingredients. Let rest (covered), in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or overnight. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake until bubbly and golden brown, and a knife inserted into the custard comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving. Serve with sour cream, salsa and avocado. ENJOY!