Ingredients
Pork Tenderloin
Mango, chopped
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
juice from one lime
1/2 cup cilantro

Jerk Seasoning
4 tablespoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tsp ground red pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1 finely chopped habañero pepper - seeds & membranes removed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 Tbl vegetable oil

Instructions
Combine jerk seasonings and rub into tenderloin to coat. Use rubber gloves! Allow to marinate 30 minutes to 3 hours. Smoke over medium heat for 45 minutes using 2 tablespoons of cherry wood chips. Check for internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Allow to rest for ten minutes and carve. Combine mango, red onion, lime juice, and cilantro, and spoon over pork.

Ingredients
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/2 t dry mustard
1 t caraway seeds
1 small head cabbage, shredded
1 T kosher salt
1 T sugar

Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the mustard and caraway seeds and stir over medium heat until the butter browns and smells nutty. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside

Add the salt and sugar to the boiling water and cook until dissolved. Place the cabbage in the boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.

Drain the cabbage thoroughly. Stir the cabbage and butter mixture together and serve.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 cups cooked basmati rice
1/2 pound smoked chorizo cut into cubes
1 can black beans, drained
Salt and pepper
Cilantro
Green Onions

Instructions
Heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned. Add the beans and cook until hot. Season to taste with pepper. Stir sausage and beans into rice, garnish with green onions and cilantro and serve.

This was good - really good. Of course, the main idea of this recipe was to use a bit of the leftover turkey. It seems like a cheat to call it "Habañero" Turkey Chili when there's only one half of one habañero in it. Although that pepper only cost eighteen cents it had ten dollars worth of hot in it. If I'd have used the whole pepper it would have been inedible by people with normal digestive systems. As it was, it had a nice bearable heat.

Ingredients
1 chopped green bell pepper
1 chopped red bell pepper
1/2 habañero pepper chopped very fine - be careful
1 cup chopped onion, plus chopped onion for garnish
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons butter
2 cans (15 ounces each) kidney beans, drained
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) stewed tomatoes, crushed
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 cups cooked turkey, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
shredded cheese, cilantro, sour cream and chopped onion

Instructions
In large saucepan over medium high heat, sauté peppers, onion and garlic in butter are tender-crisp. Add beans, tomatoes, wine, broth, turkey, chili powder, cilantro, red pepper and salt.

Bring to a simmer for 30 minutes and serve with cheese, onions, sour cream, and cilantro.

We had Christmas dinner at my house. So, I got to cook the turkey. This was a damn good turkey. I realized that I didn't offer any of the leftovers to anyone. I didn't mean to be greedy - it just happened. Using the maple syrup for the basting was amazing. It left pan dripping that made the best gravy I've ever had. The cornbread stuffing was better than I expected - no need for the Stovetop. I also made the red cabbage recipe I made a few weeks ago and plain ole' mashed potatoes. Both were good too.

I was able to take the two pictures below before anyone arrived. After people showed up, I was so busy I didn't get pictures of anything else. People brought tons of other stuff but I'm so stuffed and sleepy now I can't remember who brought what. I know my mom brought a pomegranate cranberry sauce that was great and I loved Judy's sweet potatoes.

While we opened gifts, (a long and drawn out operation in my family - the way it should be) I had a slide show of old photos running on the T.V. We ended up spending more time laughing at the photos than anything else. All things considered, it was a very pleasant Christmas.

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 bunch fresh sage, leaves finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 loaf cornbread, cubed (about 6 cups)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 cups chicken stock
1 (12 to 14 pound) fresh turkey
1 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup hot water
8 strips smoked bacon
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 T lemon juice

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and remove the top rack.

Combine the butter and sage in a mixing bowl, mash with a fork or spoon until the sage is well incorporated and the butter has flecks of green in it; season with salt and pepper.

In a saute pan, melt 4 tablespoons of the sage butter, add the onions, cook and stir for 15 minutes until soft and golden. Remove from heat. Put the cornbread in a large mixing bowl and scrape the sauteed onion mixture on top. Add the egg, heavy cream, and just enough chicken stock to moisten the stuffing without making it soggy (about 1/2 cup.) Toss well to combine, season with salt and pepper.

Rinse the turkey inside and out and pat dry. Rub salt and pepper inside and out. Press pieces of the sage butter between the skin and breasts massaging it in. Truss the turkey and place it in a large roasting pan, and put into the oven.

Cook the stuffing separately in a buttered baking dish.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the maple syrup and hot water. Use this to baste the turkey every 30 minutes. Cook the turkey according to its weight (15 to 20 minutes per pound.) About 2 hours into cooking, shingle the strips of bacon oven the turkey breast to cover; continue to roast and baste for another hour or so. The turkey is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meatiest part of the thigh registers 170 degrees F. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.

Pour the juices into a gravy separator to skim off the excess fat. Pour the drippings minus the excess fat into a large sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk the flour into the drippings, stirring as it thickens to prevent lumps. Add the remaining chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper and add the lemon juice. Cook until thickened and serve.

Ingredients
2 filet mignon
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 T butter
2 T minced shallots
1 pound fresh blue oyster mushrooms, coarsley chopped
1 T minced garlic
2 cups red wine
1 cup beef broth
1 T thyme
2 T butter
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 slices foie gras & truffle pate

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400° F. Brush a large ovenproof iron skillet with a little oil and over high heat, heat until hot. Season the steaks with a little salt and pepper. Add the filet mignons and sear for about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the skillet with the filet mignons to the oven and cook for 10 to 12 minutes for medium rare. Remove the skillet from the oven and transfer the beef to a carving board.

Mushroom Sauce: In a saucepan on a hot part of the grill cook the shallots in 2 tablespoons of butter until lightly browned. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms start to release some of their liquid. Add the wine and cook until the wine is about 75 percent reduced. Add the broth and thyme and boil until broth is 50 percent reduced. Stir in the butter and season.

Arrange the steak on a plate with 1/4" slices of the pate on top. Ladle sauce over all.

Ingredients
3/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1 small onion, chopped
1 T finely grated peeled fresh ginger
2 T butter
1 T curry powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced thinly
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups canned unsweetened coconut milk
1 T fresh lime juice
Thinly chopped green onions for garnish

Instructions
In a large heavy saucepan, cook chopped green onions, onion, and ginger in butter with curry powder and salt and pepper, to taste, over moderately low heat until softened. Add carrots and broth and simmer, covered, until carrots are soft. Puree the mixture with coconut milk until very smooth. Stir in 1 tablespoon lime juice and chill. Before serving, balance seasonings and garnish sliced green onions.

Ingredients
1/4 cup granny smith apple, finely chopped
1 T lime juice
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, minced
2 T capers
2 T extra virgin olive oil

4 large baking potatoes (2 pounds)
2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
6 T flour
2 1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
6 T peanut oil
1 T butter
1/2 cup sour cream

Instructions
Make the relish by mixing the apple with the lime juice and stirring in the tomatoes, capers and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Peel and grate the potatoes. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Combine the potatoes with the egg, flour, salt, and pepper.

Heat oil in a skillet and add the butter. Drop a heaping tablespoon of the potato mixture into the sizzling oil. Flatten with a spatula and cook for 2 minutes. Turn, flatten again, and cook for another 2 minutes, until browned. Serve the pancakes with sour cream and caper tomato relish.

Ingredients
1/2 pound haricots verts
2 carrots
2 T butter
2 tablespoons minced shallot
sesame seeds

Instructions
Trim green beans and peel carrot. Trim carrots to the same size as the beans. Steam the beans and carrot to crisp-tender. Saute the shallot for 1 minute in the melted butter. Add carrots and beans, saute 1 to 2 minutes more. Coat with sesame seeds and serve.

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups whipping cream
12 ounces quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 ounces espresso or strong coffee
1 T bourbon
4 T butter
1 t flavorless, granulated gelatin

Instructions
In a double boiler, combine chocolate chips, coffee, bourbon and butter. Melt over barely simmering water, stirring constantly. Remove from heat while a couple of chunks are still visible. Cool slightly.

Pour 1/4 cup whipping cream into a metal measuring cup and sprinkle in the gelatin. Allow gelatin to "bloom" for 10 minutes. Stir mixture into the cooled chocolate and
set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat the remaining cream to medium peaks. Stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the remaining whipped cream. Do not over work the mousse.

Spoon into serving dishes and chill for at least 1 hour. Garnish with fruit and whipped cream with bourbon.

This one is so easy and so basic I wasn't planning on posting a picture, but it looked so pretty I had to. All I did was spoon about a half cup of sauce in the baking pan and added about three-quarters cup ricotta on that. Then I stirred about a cup of sauce into a pan of cooked and drained ziti. I poured the ziti over the ricotta and added some mozzarella. Bake for 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven. That's it.


My dishwasher died. My house is twelve years old and I've been dreading when the appliances start failing. The dishwasher was the first to go. My mom gave me a new one for Christmas. How nice is that? About twenty times in the instructions for the dishwasher it stresses that dishes don't need to be rinsed. So, I didn't.



Awesome.

I'm hosting Christmas dinner. I'm planning a cornbread stuffing with my turkey. I love cornbread but I'm skeptical of cornbread stuffing. I've never had it and I'm having a hard time imagining it. The recipe I have calls for 6 cups cubed corn bread. I made this tonight to help me get my mind around corn bread stuffing. It was the most basic recipe I've found and it turned out well - even without the pooled butter of the school cafeteria corn bread of my childhood. I think I'll try the cornbread stuffing but I'll have Stovetop on hand just in case I'm not pleased with the way it turns out.

For dinner tonight, I just warmed a can of beans on the stove, glopped it on the corn bread, added a little mozzarella cheese, and some Tabasco. Delicious and simple.

If you make cornbread in cast iron, make sure you remove it from the pan when you take it from the oven. It will continue to brown in the rocket-hot iron pan.

Ingredients
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
4 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 milk
1/4 canola oil

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400. Mix all dry ingredients in mixer. Add the liquids and mix until smooth. Pour batter in seasoned cast iron pan and bake for about 30 minutes.

I've been wanting to make my own sausage. You know, stuff fresh ground pork into sausage casings. I used actual "hog casings" and made a test batch of three pounds trying three different spice mixtures. The end of one spice blend doesn't totally extrude through the grinder so I had a couple sausages that were half and half of two different kinds. I grilled these for dinner tonight. My mom came over and we were able to try all three kinds. I crumbled a little sharp cheddar cheese over them. They were fantastic. I'll post some recipes when I make a big batch in the next month.

The carrot salad was delicious. I used my new spiral cutter and the carrots were in long strands. The Japanese furikake seasoning is a rice seasoning with seaweed, sesame seeds and other stuff and it gave the carrots a nice sweet complex flavor. Good.

The orzo salad from Monday was even better tonight. This was a delicious meal

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon Stadium mustard
2 tablespoons Furikake rice seasoning
1 bag (10 ounces) shredded carrots
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Combine olive oil, juice, Furikake, mustard, and salt in a small bowl.

Combine carrots, cranberries, and almonds in large bowl. Add dressing.

Lemon Dill Butter:
2 cups lemon juice
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
2 sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened
Salt

Place lemon juice in a small non-reactive saucepan and reduce to 3 tablespoons. Place the butter in a medium bowl, add the lemon syrup and dill, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and scrape into a ramekin. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Orzo Salad:
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound orzo pasta, cooked al dente, drained
6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1 large yellow pepper, finely diced
1 large red pepper, finely diced
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and quartered
2 scallions, finely sliced
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano

Whisk together the zest, juice, oil, dill, and garlic, then season with salt and pepper, to taste. Mix the pasta, cheese, peppers, olives, and scallions together in a bowl. Pour the vinaigrette over and mix to combine. Add the oregano and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Shrimp:
40 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 medium wooden skewers, soaked in water
Lemon-Dill Butter
Fresh dill

Preheat grill to high. Toss the shrimp in some olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Thread 5 shrimp on a skewer, bending the shrimp so that the skewer passes through it twice. Grill, turning once for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the grill to a large platter and brush generously with Lemon-Dill Butter. Garnish with fresh dill.

Ingredients
1 head cauliflower, cored, cut into florets
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra as needed
3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
2 salted anchovies, (canned), rinsed
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon raisins
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
3 strands saffron
1 pound dried ziti
Chopped fresh parsley leaves
Freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring 6-quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of salt. Blanch the cauliflower in the boiling water until slightly softened. Drain the cauliflower reserving the water. Cook the ziti in the same water.

Chop and mince anchovies.

Dissolve the saffron strands in a few tablespoons of warm water and add the raisins to soak.

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pine nuts, saffron tea with raisins, tomatoes, and anchovies. Saute until well blended and liquid has reduced somewhat. Add the cauliflower and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Drain ziti and toss with sauce. Serve with shredded cheese and chopped parsley.

Ingredients
6 ounces peanut butter
6 ounces hot water
1 teaspoon chili flakes
2 teaspoons sesame oil
8 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
rice noodles
1 clove chopped garlic
2 chicken breasts cut into pieces
1 head broccoli cut into pieces
2-3 carrots chopped
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon peanut oil
cilantro
lime wedges

Instructions
In a bowl combine the peanut butter, water, chili flakes, sesame oil and 4 tablespoons of soy sauce. Mix well. Boil the rice noodles and drain. Toss the noodles with the peanut sauce and keep warm. Marinate the chicken with the garlic and the remaining soy sauce and let stand 1/2 hour. Steam broccoli and carrots in wok with 1/2 cup water until slightly softened. Drain and set aside. Stir-fry chicken in peanut oil until browned. Stir together tamarind paste and 1 tablespoon of water and add to wok. Stir in vegetables and cook until chicken is done. Serve over noodles with cilantro and lime wedges.