Category: Do-ahead

Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Vegan · Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related

Roasted cauliflower and pear puree (CleanCuisine)

Belinda

Absolutely divine, different and dairy-free! Another great food blogger’s recipe.

Serves 2 but can easily be doubled

1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup of thinly sliced leek
1 medium cauliflower, chopped into small florets (about 1lb chopped cauliflower)
2 small pears, peeled, cored and diced
1/4 tsp salt
a few sprigs fresh thyme
2 tbsp vanilla unsweetened almond milk, warmed
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 375 F
Heat olive oil in a large, oven-safe skillet over medium heat.
When the oil is shimmering, add the sliced leeks and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are softened.
Add the cauliflower and pears and sprinkle with salt. Increase the heat to medium high and cook for another 6-8 minutes, until the cauliflower is lightly browned in spots.
Turn off the heat. Place the sprigs of thyme on top of the vegetables and tuck in.
transfer the skillet to the oven. Roast for 25- 30 minutes, turning once or twice until the cauliflower is very tender.
Remove the sprigs of thyme and set aside a few pieces of vegetables for garnish, if desired.
Place remaining vegetables in a food processor and add the almond milk and nutmeg.
Process until smooth and serve hot

Do-ahead · Grains · Nuts · Vegetable-related

Spiced Wheat Berry Pilaff

Belinda

This is another great one from a fellow food blogger. The spices in it are very ‘Thanksgiving-like”

Serves 8 -10

2 cups wheat berries
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup (about 3 oz) finely chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup pistachios, roughly chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cumin (I roast and grind mine as it has a better flavor)
1/2 tsp ground cardamon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh mint
zest and juice of 1 lemon

Bring the wheat berries and 6 cups of water to a boil in a 2 qt saucepan over high heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 45 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Heat the oil in a 12″ skillet over medium heat; add garlic and cook, stirring until soft, about  minute
Add wheat berries along with apricots, pistachios, cinnamon, cumin, cardamon, salt and pepper and cook stirring until warmed through and fragrant, abut 5 minutes or so.
Remove from the heat and stir in the mint, lemon zest and juice.

Asian flavors · Beverage · Do-ahead

Masala Chai (Hot spiced Indian tea)

Belinda

Another great recipe from “One Perfect Bite” fellow food blogger.

1 cup water
4 tsp Darjeeling or other loose black tea
2-3 crushed green cardamon pods
1-inch piece peeled fresh ginger, smashed
2 cups milk
3-6 tsp sugar

Place water in a 2 qt saucepan and bring to the boil
Add loose tea leaves to water. Stir in the crushed cardamon pods and smashed ginger.
Add the milk and bring the mixture to a rolling boil. Simmer, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes.
Add sugar to taste. Simmer for 1 minute longer or until the sugar is fullydissolved.
Strain the mixture through a strainer into cups or tempered glasses.
Yield is about 3 servings

Asian flavors · Dessert · Do-ahead · Grains · Nuts

Kheer (Spiced Indian rice pudding)

Belinda

This recipe comes from fellow blogger “One Perfect Bite”. Well worth subscribing to!

4 -6 servings

1/2 cup basmati rice
1 tbsp clarified butter or ghee
6 cups whole milk
10 tbsp sugar
a few strands of saffron
1 tsp golden raisins (I put a 1 tbsp in)
1 tsp ground cardamon
1/2 cup thinly sliced cashews, slivered almonds or pistachios

Soak rice in water for 30 minutes before cooking. Drain.
Melt ghee in a large pan, add rice and saute until translucent.
Add milk to the rice, stir and simmer until liquid has been reduced by half.
Stir in sugar and saffron and cook until sugar is dissolved. Add the raisins, nuts and cardamon and simmer for a few more minutes.
Remove from heat and serve warm or cold.

Do-ahead · Holiday Food · Pasta · Vegetarian pasta

Paula Deen’s Creamy Mac and Cheese in the Slow cooker

Belinda

This is a real hit with the kids, and even the adults keep picking at it. Very moreish. The Campbell’s cheddar cheese soup sounds weird, but really makes it! We have this every year as an extra and it’s

always gone!

Serves 10

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8 oz box isn’t quite 2 cups)
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, cut into pieces
2 1/2 cups (about 10 oz) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cans  (10 3/4 oz) condensed Cheddar cheese soup (I used Campbells)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp dry mustard (I use Colmans)
1/2 tsp black pepper, ground

Boil the macaroni in a 2 qt saucepan in plenty of salted water until not quite tender, about 5 minutes.
Drain. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. Okay, so here, having used the pre-packaged grated American cheddar cheese, it didn’t seem to melt and stayed all lumpy. Next time I will grate my own “real” mature cheddar cheese, but the lumps do go away once it goes into the slow cooker.
In the slow cooker, combine cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well.
It might still be weird and lumpy at this stage but don’t worry as it all changes when it’s cooking so slowly.
The add the drained macaroni and stir well again. Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Do-ahead · Holiday Food · Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related

Ina Garten’s Spinach Gratin

Belinda1 Comment

This is a must in our home at Thanksgiving. It’s rich but oh so good!

Serves 8

4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
4 cups chopped yellow onions (2 large)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
3 lbs frozen chopped spinach (5x 10oz packages)
1 cup (at least) freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup (at least) grated Gruyere cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the flour and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes.
Add the cream and milk and cook until thickened.
Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the spinach and add the spinach to the sauce. Add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Transfer the spinach to a baking dish and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and the Gruyere cheese on top.
Bake for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Serve hot

Accompaniments · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Holiday Food · Vegan · Vegetable-related

Ginger cranberry sauce

Belinda

This is vibrant and tangy and the ginger gives it a somewhat exotic flavor.

1 large red onion cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1lb fresh cranberries
zest and juice of 3 large oranges
2 tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

In a non-reactive saucepan coated lightly with oil on a medium heat, saute the onions, ginger and orange zest until soft, about 4 minutes.
Add the cranberries, orange juice, sugar and season.
Simmer for 30 minutes until very soft.
Check for seasoning and put aside until needed, or freeze until Thanksgiving/Christmas

Do-ahead · Holiday Food · Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related

Corn Casserole

Belinda

I am almost embarrassed to put this on the blog, as it’s so incredibly simple, but everyone loves it. My friend Helen asked me if I had a simple cornbread recipe so this is for her! This is a Paula Deene recipe, so don’t jump on the scales after you eat it!

Serves 6 – 12

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (15 oz) can creamed corn
1 (15 oz) can sweet corn, drained
1 cup sour cream
1 (8 1/2 oz) box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1& 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream and melted butter
Pour into a greased casserole dish.
Bake for 45 mins, or until golden brown
Remove from the oven and top with the cheddar cheese
Return to the oven for 5 to 10 mins until the cheese has melted
Let stand for 5 mins then serve warm

That’s it!!

Dessert · Do-ahead · Egg based · Holiday Food

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Bourbon Vanilla Sauce

Belinda
I’m afraid I can’t do without my bread pudding recipes, whether they’re sweet or savory. This one is ideal for this time of year with Thanksgiving around the corner.

Ingredients
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs, preferably organic
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground allspice
pinch of ground cloves
2 tbsp Bourbon (or a bit more for luck!)
5 cups day-old baguette or Challah, cubed about 1 inch
6 tbsp (3 oz) melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in the middle. Toss the bread together with the melted butter in a large bowl. Set aside.
Whisk the pumpkin, milk, cream, sugar, egg yolk, eggs, salt , spices and Bourbon in another large bowl.
Pour the pumpkin custard over the bread cubes and toss to coat. Pour into an 8 inch square baking dish and bake 25 to 30 mins until the custard sets.
Serve the pumpkin bread pudding with bourbon vanilla custard sauce.
Serves 6 – 8

Bourbon vanilla custard sauce

1 cup whole milk
1 cup cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 tbsp sugar
6 egg yolks
2 tbsp Bourbon (or more)

heat the milk and cream in a medium saucepan until boiling. Remove from the heat. Scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the hot cream. Add the vanilla pod. Cover and steep for an hour.
Remove the vanilla pod and reheat the cream until just boiling. Remove from the heat. Whisk the sugar and egg yolks together in a medium bowl.
Temper the yolks by whisking in a few tablespoons of the hot cream at a time until you’ve incorporated about half of the cream.
Pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan with the remaining hot cream/milk and stir over medium heat until the custard thickens. remove from the heat. Let cool.  Stir in the Bourbon
Makes about 2 cups.


 
Do-ahead · Fruit · Gluten Free · Grains · Nuts · Salad

Quinoa, beet, feta and caper salad

Belinda1 Comment

I had a version of this at Hugos restaurant in Hollywood and absolutely adored the combination of flavors. I rushed home, via the supermarket and immediately made a version of it that is actually better!
I don’t want to dictate measurements too much as you can pretty much improvise.

Screen Shot 2019-04-13 at 9.15.24 AM

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water or chicken broth. (I like to use chicken broth as it gives more flavor)
4 large beets, roasted, peeled and chopped small (1/2″ size cubes)
finely chopped red onion and scallions
small cubes of peeled raw carrots
1/2 cup golden raisins
finely chopped fresh Italian parsley and fresh mint
1 tbsp capers, drained, but keep the liquid to use in the dressing.
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola or blue cheese
1/2 cup lightly toasted walnut pieces
cayenne pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
good balsamic vinegar
freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Roast the beets individually wrapped in aluminum foil and a few drops of water per beet so as not to dry out while they’re cooking. They will take about 1 hour or even more. Pierce each foil parcel with a fork or skewer to test they’re cooked, then remove and peel when a bit cooler.
Chop the beets into small cubes.
Cook the quinoa in boiling water or broth for 15 minutes until all the liquid has gone, then put into a large bowl and allow to cool.
Add the chopped beets, chopped onions, chopped herbs, raisins, capers, crumbled blue cheese, walnut pieces and mix well.
Pour in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and season well. Add some caper juice, a little cayenne pepper and mix well.
Leave the salad in the fridge for 1 hour for the flavors to mingle.