Thanksgiving Leftovers Pt III

Next up was a dessert c/o my favorite food blog, Smitten Kitchen.

First up...



Pumpkin Swirl Brownies (As adapted by Smitten Kitchen from Martha Stewart Living)

It doesn't seem like chocolate and pumpkin would be a good mix...but it turned out oddly well.

8 tablespoons (Half cup) unsalted butter
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups solid-pack pumpkin
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 8-inch square baking pan or dish. Insert a length of parchment that will cover the bottom and two sides and butter the lining as well.

2. Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.

3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, cayenne, and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a bowl; beat until fluffy and well combined. Beat in flour mixture.

4. Pour half of batter (about two cups) into a separate bowl and stir chocolate mixture into it.

5. In other bowl, stir in the pumpkin, oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Transfer half of chocolate batter to prepared pan smoothing top with a spatula. Top with half of pumpkin batter. Repeat to make one more chocolate layer and one more pumpkin layer. Work quickly!

6. With a table knife, gently swirl the two batters to create a marbled effect. Be sure to get your knife all the way to the bottom of the pan so it fully marbles.

7. Bake until set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 16 squares.

We really loved how moist the pumpkin made these, and how SK adapted it so there wasn't as much sugar. Love love loved this!

I also made a pumpkin-cream cheese loaf; it turned out so well, I made it a couple more times after that!

Thanksgiving Leftovers Pt II

This post comes a bit late; I made it last Sunday from the last of the leftovers and some frozen turkey bones from my fam. I made a large amount of turkey stock and decided to use all of it in one soup. We froze about half of it since I can't seem to get enough of freezing things right now.

Turkey Soup

1 tbsp canola oil
2 cloves garlic
1 sm onion
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup mushrooms
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp tarragon
1 tsp t hyme
Salt to taste
8-10 cups homemade turkey stock
1 can evaporated milk
2 cups chopped cooked turkey
1.5 cups rice

* Most of these are only approximates, so add more or less depending on what you like!

1. Cook rice and set aside.
2. Heat oil in large pot.
3. Saute garlic & onion
4. Add vegetables, cook for about 5 mins
5. Add spices and flour, cook about 1 min
6. Add liquids and bring to a boil
7. Reduce heat and simmer until ready to serve.
8. Add chopped turkey, rice and serve!

I don't have pictures of this one, but I assure you it was yummy! I do have pictures of turkey pot pie I made...

Thanksgiving Leftovers Pt 1

We were lucky enough to have 2 lovely Thanksgiving dinners this year at our respective parents homes. The result? More leftovers then we know what to do with. Seriously. Good thing our freezer is in good working order!

Mashed potatoes = Potato cakes


4 cups of mashed potatoes
1/4 cup of goat cheese
3 tbsp chives
Oil
Flour
Salt & pepper

1. Combine mashed potatoes with cheese and chives
2. Form patties with the potato mixture and coat with flour
3. In a large pan heat oil; put patties on the heated pan and fry for 5-8 minutes on each side
4. Eat!

This was a very easy first post, but it was delicious. We also took a couple of over-ripe tomatoes and made them a-la-Chuck but with no sour cream or prosciutto.



Part II coming up....

Inaugural post

I like to cook. And bake. And eat. So I thought, in interest of remembering recipes I've tried/made/modified, I would find a place to keep them all so I could remember!

I try to cook healthy things but since that doesn't always happen the recipes on here will be pretty varied. I just like to make food for my rotating army of faithful eaters, mostly friends and family, and the cat whenever he can sneak a piece off the floor.

More to come...enjoy!