Place the corned beef in a large slow cooker and scatter the pickling spices on top. Layer the rutabaga, carrots, potatoes and leek in the cooker (in this order for even cooking). Add enough hot water (4 to 5 cups) to cover the meat by at least 1 inch, put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high, 7 to 8 hours.
Remove the meat and vegetables from the slow cooker and keep warm. Put the cabbage in a microwave-safe dish with 2 cups cooking liquid from the slow cooker, cover and microwave until tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, boil another cup of cooking liquid in a small skillet until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Mix with the horseradish and creme fraeche in a small bowl.
Slice the corned beef and serve with the slow-cooked vegetables, cabbage and sauce; reserve about a quarter each of the meat and vegetables and 1 1/2 cups cooking liquid for Corned Beef Hash.
Christmas Dinner (no pictures): Roast Leg of Lamb Scalloped Potatoes Honey-glazed Carrots See last year's post
New Year's Eve Dinner: Chinese Orange-Barbecue Cashew Chicken from Rachael Ray's Look + Cook
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-size pieces salt and pepper 1 red bell pepper, chopped into 1/2-inch dice 1 onion, chopped into 1/2-inch dice 2 to 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 inch of fresh gingerroot, finely chopped 1/4 cup hoisin sauce 1/4 cup orange marmalade 1 tablespoon hot sauce 2 tablespoons tamari (aged soy sauce) 1/2 cup chicken stock 1/2 cup honey-roasted cashews 4 scallions, thinly sliced
Directions: Place a large skillet over high heat with about 2 tablespoons of the oil. When the pan is very hot, add the meat, season with salt and pepper, and stir-fry until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the meat from the pan and reserve on a plate. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, then add the bell pepper, onion, garlic, and ginger to the skillet and stir fry for 3 minutes, or until crisp-tender. In a small bowl, stir together the hoisin sauce, orange marmalade, hot sauce, tamari, and stock. Return the chicken to the skillet and pour in the sauce. Add the cashews, toss to coat, and continue cooking until the sauce thickens up, about 1 minute more. Serve the stir fry with brown rice and garnish with the scallions.
My whole family came to visit my apartment on Mother's day, and I made a nice spring dinner. For dessert, I made this recipe for Strawberry Tiramisu, but didn't realize till I had made it that it needed to cool overnight. So I made chocolate mousse from a package for that day instead, and my roommate and I enjoyed the tiramisu during the week. Mother's day dinner still turned out great. :-)
Menu: Sauteed Chicken with Tomato Vinaigrette on Frisee Parmesan Garlic Noodles Strawberry Tiramisu
Sauteed Chicken with Tomato-Saffron Vinaigrette on Frisse From Bon Appetit
Ingredients 3 tablespoons white basalmic vinegar or rice vinegar 1 1/2 tablespoons hot paprika, divided 1/8 teaspoon crumbled saffron 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided 1/2 cup minced shallots 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, divided 1 1-pint basket cherry tomatoes, havled 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves 1 head of frisee, torn apart
Directions Mix vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and saffron in medium bowl. Mix in 3 tablespoons oil, shallots, and 1 tablespoon thyme. Stir in tomatoes, Season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken breast halves with remaining 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 tablespoon thyme, and salt and pepper. Add to skillet; saute until cooked through, turning often, about 12 minutes. Transfer chicken to work surface. Divide frisee among 4 plates. Slice chicken; fan atop frisse. Spoon vinaigrette over.
**Note: I did not include the saffron when making this recipe and use regular basalmic vinegar. It still turned out delicious. Great recipe for impressing people with not too much work since it's not too hard but has great presentation!
Strawberry Tiramisu From Bon Appetit
Ingredients 1 1/4 cups strawberry preserves 1/3 cup plus 4 tablespoons Cointreau or orange liqueur, divided 1/3 cup orange juice 1 lb mascarpone cheese, room temperature 1 1/3 cups chilled whipping cream 1/3 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 lb fresh strawberries, divided 52 (about) crisp ladyfingers
Directions Whisk preserves, 1/3 cup Cointreau, and orange juice in 2-cup measuring cup. Place mascarpone cheese and 2 tablespoons Cointreau in large bowl; fold just to blend. Using electric mixer, beat cream, sugar, vanilla, and remaining 2 tablespoons Cointreau in another large bowl to soft peaks. Sitr 1/4 of whipped cream into mascarpone mixture to lighten. Fold in remaining whipped cream.
Hull and slice half of strawberries. Spread 1/2 cup preserve mixture over bottom of 3-quart oblong serving dish or 12x9x2-in baking dish. Arrange enough ladyfingers over preserve mixture t ocover bottom of dish. Spoon 3/4 cup preserve mixture over lady fingers, then spread 2 1/2 cups mascarpone mixture over. Arrange sliced strawberries over mascarpone mixture. Repeat layering with remaining ladyfingers, preserve mixture, and mascarpone mixture. Cover with plastic and chill at least 8 hours or overnight.
Slice remaining strawberries. Arrange over tiramisu and serve.
**Note: I didn't use any of the liqueur since it is expensive and it is not a cooked dish (the alcohol wouldn't cook off). It was delicious anyway! I took some home for my mom since she couldn't have any on mother's day, and she LOVED it.
I was so excited to be in charge for the Easter menu that I went a little overboard: I made brunch, dinner, and cake for dessert. Luckily, everything turned out great!
Menu: Brunch: Paula Deen's Baked French Toast Casserole Dinner: Dearborn Ham, Grandma's Hot German Potato Salad, & Steamed Asparagus Dessert: Todd's Orange and Raspberry Cake
Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.
Praline Topping:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.
**NOTE: We found that the maple syrup wasn't necessary at all, this french toast is sweet enough!
For the cake: Arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of 2 nonstick, 8-inch round, baking pans. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, combine the cake mix and orange zest. Mix for 20 seconds at low speed until the zest is incorporated. Add the orange juice, egg whites, and vegetable oil. Blend at low speed for 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula, as needed. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake until golden and a cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 to 32 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool the pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely, about 1 hour.
For the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and creme fraiche at high speed until smooth, about 10 seconds. With the machine running at medium-low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar until incorporated. Add the raspberry jam and increase the speed to high. Beat until the frosting is smooth and spreadable, adding water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed.
To assemble the cake: Arrange 1 cake layer, flat side up, on a cake stand. Using a spatula, spread a thin layer of frosting on top leaving a 1/2-inch border. Spread 1/4 cup of raspberry jam on top of the frosting. Arrange the other cake layer on top. Using a spatula, frost the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with fresh raspberries. Cut the cake into wedges with a slightly wet knife and serve.
Store the cake in a plastic container in the refrigerator. Allow the refrigerated cake to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
**If you like citrus-flavored cake and homemade frosting, this cake is to die for!
I was in charge of Christmas dinner this year, and I threw in Christmas Eve dinner as a bonus. ;-)
Christmas Eve's Recipe(s) came from the December 2009 issue of Food Network Magazine. Unfortunately, I don't have my own picture for this meal. The one used here is from www.foodnetwork.com
Christmas Eve Dinner: A Crepe Buffet with whole wheat crepes, citrus shrimp, sauteed spinach, sweet onion, and creamy mushroom.
Whole Wheat Crepes (originally buckwheat, but I used whole wheat flour instead) Total Prep Time: 1 hour 25 minutes Serves: 6 (about 12 crepes total)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the skillet 2/3 cup wheat flour 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1 1/4 cup whole milk 3 large eggs 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup chopped parsley (this is optional, I opted not)
1. Melt 5 tablespoons butter in an 8-in non stick skillet. Combine the melted butter, both flours, milk, egges, and salt in a blender and process until smooth. Let the batter rest at room temperature at least 1 hour or overnight. Stir in the parsley (if desired). 2. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Heat the skillet over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles in it. Lightly butter the skillet , then add a scant 1/3 cup batter and quickly swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Cook until the crepe sets and browns around the edges, about 2 minutes. Carefully lift with a rubber spatula, flip over, and cook about 30 more seconds. Transfer to a plate. 3. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter as needed and stacking the finished crepes. Wrap the crepes in a damp dish towel and place in the oven to reheat, about ten minutes. (You can make the crepes a day ahead. Just wrap in plastic and refrigerate, then reheat before assembling.) Serve with assorted fillings.
Filling: Citrus Shrimp Saute 1 1/4 lbs shrimp (peeled and halved lengthwise) in 2 tablespoons butter with 1 strip lemmon zest, 2 tarragon sprigs, and salt and pepper, until the shrimp turn pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and 1/2 cup white wine (I usually use Chardonnay) and simmer 1 minute. Remove from the heat; add 4 tablespoons chopped cold butter and some parsley.
Sauteed Spinach Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 12 ounces spinach and cook until just wilted about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Sweet Onion Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add 2 sliced onions and 2 thyme sprigs. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the onions are lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
Creamy Mushroom Heat 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 pound chopped wild mushrooms and 2 thyme sprigs; saute until the mushrooms are golden, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add 2/3 cup heavy cream; toss to warm through. Remove from the heat and add a handful of parsley.
(13 to 16 ounces)
