Taking a Break

Hi readers, if I have any!

Just wanted to let you know I'll be taking a break from my cooking blog to concentrate on an art history blog I'm starting as part of my 2011 New Years' Resolution. I just wanted to share my intentions so no one was checking here and wondering when I am going to update! I'll still be in the kitchen and if I try something extraordinary I'll post it but until then... best dishes! :)

Turkey Meatloaf

Sorry for my (very) long absence. I do want to keep this blog going, but I haven't been trying many new recipes lately. I need to get back into that. I was reading another blog where she talked about making meatloaf. One of those dishes I really love but forget about! Since my hubby has asked to start eating healthier, I thought I would do a turkey meatloaf instead of beef. Plus I love the taste of turkey, as long as it's seasoned enough!

This recipe is courtesy Ina Garten, my all time fav celebrity chef. I've never made anything of hers that isn't delicious! This is a very basic recipe, but it is delicious. I changed the ingredient portions as she had a recipe with 5 pounds of turkey and I used the package that has 1.25 pounds. It's not exactly perfect but I estimated how much I used and I think it's pretty close... not a recipe that needs to be an exact science for sure. Instead of feeding 8-10 as the original recipe, this fed my husband and I for supper and provided some leftovers for lunch. :)



Ingredients

1 chopped onion (medium size)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
black pepper to taste
couple dashes dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup chicken stock
1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 package ground turkey breast
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup ketchup

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Over medium heat, saute onions in olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme until translucent, but not browned. Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and mix well. Allow to cool a bit.

Combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, and onion mixture in a large bowl. Mix well and shape into a rectangular loaf on an ungreased sheet pan. Spread the ketchup evenly on top. Bake for 1 hour until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F. and the meatloaf is cooked through. (A pan of hot water in the oven under the meatloaf will keep the top from cracking.) Broil the top to brown it at the end if it has not already.

Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold in a sandwich.

Tres Leches Cake

Here is another recipe from my Food Network magazine! This cake looked so fancy I wanted to try it! Plus you can make it ahead which is awesome! I had a piece for breakfast - it was great! Even though there is a very small amount of rum, since it's uncooked in the recipe and I'm pregnant, I substituted vanilla extract. I also read that rum extract would work to keep the flavor without the alcohol content, but I didn't want to buy that for one recipe. It was delicious with the vanilla, but I can tell you rum would really be something special in this one! Mixed with the milk that bit of flavor just really popped, and the moisture in the cake was great! It was kind of fun making a cake from scratch (I NEVER bake from scratch!) and even though I may have overcooked it a tad (The Rachel Zoe project was on TV - can you blame me?) the milk still make for a perfectly moist cake! I hope you enjoy!!

Ingredients
vegetable oil, for greasing
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups whole milk, divided
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 ounce can evaporated milk
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon dark rum
whipped cream
ground cinnamon
mangos or strawberries

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan with vegetable oil and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer until pale and slightly thick, about 6 minutes. Slowly beat in the melted butter, then beat in the vanilla and 1/4 cup whole milk.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Sift the flour mixture over the egg mixture, then gently fold together with a rubber spatula to make a thick batter. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Run a knife along the edges to release the cake from the pan and flip onto a dish with sides.

Whisk the remaining 2 cups whole milk, evaporated milk, condensed milk and rum in a bowl. Pierce the warm cake all over with a fork, then pour the milk mixture evenly over the cake. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

To serve, cut a piece and top with whipped cream. Cover the cake and plate with sprinkled ground cinnamon. Add fruit on the side.

Orange Julius

Don't you just love copy cat recipes that actually taste like the thing they're copying? Well I've got a good one for you friends, from my Food Network magazine. This tasted just like the Orange Julius at the mall, and boy was it a refreshing treat on a hot summers day! I hope you like it!!



Ingredients
1 6 oz can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup ice

Directions
Mix the orange juice concentrate with 1 cup water in a large measuring cup or bowl (or use 2 cups orange juice instead).

Transfer the orange juice to a blender. Add the milk, vanilla, both sugars, and ice and blend until smooth and frothy. Divide among 4 chilled glasses.

French Toast Casserole

I really loved when my mom made this casserole (or is it a hot dish?) so of course I got the recipe! It's nice because you make the majority of it ahead. It's also very simple and delicious! I had some bread from Ali and Jon that was perfect to make this - an all the other ingredients were on hand! Don't you just LOVE that?



Ingredients
1 loaf french bread cut in 1 inch cubes
8 eggs
3 cups milk
4 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. salt

Topping
2 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions
Grease a 9x13 pan, place bread on bottom.

In mixing bowl combine eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour over bread, cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before baking.

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter and drizzle over top.

Mix cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over casserole.

Bake 45 to 50 min. or until done. Serve with syrup.

Honey Chicken Wings

I got this recipe out of a cookbook from Sam's Aunt Pearl... I think I'm going to be sharing a lot of recipes out of that one! This was such a yummy marinade for the chicken! We used drumsticks since they were cheaper than the wings, and we definitely didn't use three pounds! However I did still make the full recipe, and next time I would cut it in half for sure. Oh well, lesson learned.

You can tell from the picture the sauce carmelizes until it is thick and delicious. It is sweet and savory at the same time; a perfect combo. We both really enjoyed this and I will be making it again. It couldn't be easier!!



Ingredients
3 pounds chicken wings
1 cup honey
1/2 cup catsup
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced garlic
pepper

Directions
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place wings in a 9X13 pan. Mix together remaining ingredients. Pour mixture over wings. Bake 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Turn occasionally.

Rhubarb Crisp

Here's a delicious rhubarb crisp recipe courtesy of my mom. I was CRAVING rhubarb crisp and got some rhubarb at the farmers market and mom supplied this recipe! I was taking it to a friends' house at night and ran out of time for cooking, and mom had said that even 45 minutes is sometimes not sufficient to thicken the rhubarb mixture. So after mixing the rhubarb mixture I simmered it over medium heat until it was the thickness I wanted, then I put it in the pan, topped with the crumble mixture and baked it until it was bubbling and browned on top. Either way - YUM!!!

Ingredients
Topping
1 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter melted
Filling
4 cups rhubarb cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup water

Combine flour, oats and sugar. Mix well. Stir in melted butter to make crumbs. Set aside. Combine rhubarb, sugar, flour, cinnamon and water, mix well. Pour rhubarb mixture into greased 9 x 9 pan. Sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake in a 325 oven for 45 min. until it is bubbly in the center. (You can substitute strawberries for 1/2 rhubarb.)