Category: Holiday Food

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

Butternut squash, Brussels sprout and apple stuffing

Belinda

A lovely stuffing filled with vegetables. This can go Gluten Free if you use a GF bread like millet.

Serves 6

1lb butternut squash, cut into 1/2 “cubes
1lb Brussel sprouts, halved
1 Gala apple, cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 shallots, thinly sliced
4 tbsp olive oil, divided into 2 tbsp and 2 tbsp
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
10 thick slices of a bread of your choice: crusty sourdough dry cornbread, whole grain, GF….
*Prior to preparing the recipe, leave the bread out for a day to become slightly dry, then cut into cubes
1 1/2 cups vegetable,chicken or turkey broth (plus extra as needed)
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp fresh sage, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup pecan or walnut halves, halved again
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 F

Toss the squash, Brussel sprouts, apples and shallots in 2 tbsp oil and season well with salt and pepper.
Roast till the vegetables are very tender, even until the Brussel sprouts are a little burnt at the edges and remove from the oven.

Reduce the heat to 350 F

Heat the other 2 tbsp oil in a large deep pan. Saute the onion and celery till translucent, abut 5 to 8 minutes.
Add the bread cubes and allow them to get golden brown with the veggies in the oil. Add a dash of salt and pepper.
Add the roasted vegetables, broth, cranberries, pecan or walnut halves and seasonings.
Stir the mix till the broth has almost entirely absorbed into the toasted bread.
Transfer to a baking dish or sheet and bake at 350 F for about 30 minutes.
Serve hot.

Baking · Dessert · Do-ahead · Holiday Food

Easy Breton apple cake with salted caramel sauce

Belinda

This is very easy to make, mostly in one bowl.  Very moist and the caramel sauce is divine!

For the cake:

10 tbsp butter, melted and cooled, plus 2 tbsp for the apples
1 1/4 cups of flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp Kosher salt (not regular table salt)
1 cup sugar plus 2 tbsp sugar, divided
Zest of a lemon
3 large eggs
4 firm apples (you can mix varieties too) peeled, cored and thickly sliced

Preheat the oven to 350 F
Butter and flour an 8” cake pan (It’s easier to use a spring form tin)

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, 10 tbsp of melted butter and the lemon zest.
Add in the dry ingredients and mix well to form a batter.
In a heavy medium skillet, heat the 2 tbsp of butter and add in the apple slices.
Sprinkle with 2 tbsp of sugar and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes on medium heat until the apples are juicy and caramelized.
Keep stirring, so the apples don’t stick.
Lay half the apples on the bottom of the prepared cake pan and spoon half the batter over them.
Don’t worry if the batter doesn’t completely cover the apples.
Layer with the rest of the apples, then the rest of the batter.
It’s easiest if you have a rubber spatula to spread the batter.

* It’s nice to sprinkle the cake with some cinnamon sugar before putting into the oven.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for 35 to 45 minutes, testing with a toothpick for doneness.

Salted caramel sauce

1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cream
3 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp Kosher salt (not regular salt)

In a small, heavy saucepan, heat the water and sugar on medium boil until turning golden, about 8 to 10 minutes.
You can scrape the brown bits on the sides of the pan down with a wet pastry brush. Take the golden liquid off the heat and carefully add in the cream. It will bubble fiercely, so be very careful not to splatter yourself.
Place back on the stove and stir for 2 minutes.
Add in 3 tbsp butter and salt and cook for another minute or two until the butter and mixture is nice and smooth.

Transfer to a heat resistant vessel, and place in the fridge to cool. You can make the caramel sauce 5 days in advance

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

Ginger, curry, candied almonds

Belinda

Delicious and festive!

Yields 4 cups

1lb raw unpeeled almonds
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2” piece ginger, peeled and grated
1/4 cayenne
Kosher salt to taste

Heat oven to 350 F
Spread the almonds on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet; cook until heated through, about 5 minutes; set aside.
Heat the butter, brown sugar, curry powder, ginger and cayenne pepper in a 2 qt saucepan over medium heat; cook, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes.
Pour the glaze over the nuts, stirring to coat evenly, return to the oven and cook until slightly dry, about 15 minutes more.
Sprinkle with salt and let cool before serving

Baking · Dessert · Do-ahead · Holiday Food

Easy pumpkin pie fudge

Belinda

This recipe is from the food blogger “tasteandtellblog.com” and I want to share it as is, no tweaking.
Such a great idea to get that  concentrated pumpkin pie blast of flavor in a small bite.

Yields 48 pieces

1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie mix)
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
12 oz white chocolate chips
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 tsp really good vanilla essence

Line an 8” by 8” baking dish with non stick aluminum foil.
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, evaporated milk, pumpkin, butter, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
Heat over medium heat.
Bring to the boil and allow to boil for 12 minutes, stirring often.
Remove from the heat and stir in the white chocolate chips and marshmallows.
Stir in the vanilla.
Pour into the prepared pan and chill until set.
Cut into squares.

 
 

Do-ahead · Holiday Food · Meat · Poultry

Thanksgiving/Christmas meat loaf

Belinda

The whole array of Thanksgiving flavors in one dish! It’s a lot of fun to eat.

2 lbs ground dark turkey (preferably organic)
2 boxes of your favorite stuffing mix
1 can jellied cranberry sauce
1 tbsp poultry seasoning
2 large cloves garlic, finely minced or grated
2 large eggs
1 tbsp grain mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp red chile flakes
2 cups hot chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 400 F

In a heatproof bowl, add the two boxes of stuffing mix, poultry seasoning, mustard, garlic and chile flakes.
Pour the two cups of hot broth over the stuffing and mix well to soften.
Then mix together the 2 lbs ground turkey, salt and pepper and 2 eggs. Mix both the stuffing and meat mixture together.

Take more than half the meat loaf mixture and start to construct your meatloaf in the middle of a lined shallow baking dish. Flatten it out a bit then lay slices of the cranberry sauce down the middle of the meat mixture. Top with the remaining meat mixture making sure the cranberry sauce in completely surrounded all round with the meatloaf mixture.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until fully cooked.

Slice and serve with gravy.




Appetizers · Gluten Free · Holiday Food · Salad

Puy lentils with dried sour cherries, bacon and Gorgonzola

Belinda

Sweet, sour and musky-salty. Such a harmonious mixture in a really heady starter

Serves 2 – 4 as a starter salad

1/2 cup Puy lentils (You can use the vacuum packed precooked ones, but miss out the first stage and just reheat in microwave. Also,use about 3/4 to 1 cup lentils as they are already cooked.)
2 bay leaves
2 – 3 shallots, finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp water
1 tsp caster sugar (superfine)
2 oz dried sour cherries (You can use dried cranberries, but the slight sourness of these dried cherries works better against the other flavors)
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
8 rashers of bacon (streaky, preferably)
3 oz baby spinach
4 oz creamy Gorgonzola cheese
salt and black pepper

1/  Wash the lentils under cold running water and then drain. Transfer to a saucepan and add enough water to cover them by 3 times their height. Add the bay leaves, bring to the boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes, until the lentils are al dente.

2/ Meanwhile  make the sauce. Place the shallots in a pan with 2 tbsp of the olive oil and saute over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, until golden.
Add the water, sugar, cherries and vinegar and continue simmering over a low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until you get a thick sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

3/ Drain the lentils (if you have cooked them yourself) and immediately add them to the sauce so they can soak up all the flavors. Stir together, taste and adjust the salt again.
It will need quite a lot, but remember you are adding bacon and Gorgonzola later, which are salty. Set aside to cool down.

4/ Heat the remaining olive oil in a saucepan and fry the bacon in it for 3 minutes on each side, until it turns quite crisp.
Transfer to a piece of kitchen paper to cool. Tear the bacon into large pieces and add to the lentils, then add the spinach and stir well.
Taste and see if the salad needs any more oil, salt or pepper.

5/ Transfer to serving plates and dot with broken chinks of Gorgonzola

Appetizers · Do-ahead · Holiday Food · Meat · Pasta · Vegetable-related

Pumpkin stuffed with Fontina, Italian sausage and macaroni cheese

Belinda

This is a recipe from a book I purchased recently called ‘Melt” based around different macaroni and cheese recipes. It’s terrific and this is a real winner.

Serves 4

1 sugar pumpkin or other sweet variety (not a carving pumpkin), about 5 lbs
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 lb mild Italian pork sausage, skins removed
4 oz elbow macaroni
5 oz fontina cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
2 oz gruyere cheese, cut into 1/4 inch  cubes
4 scallions, diced
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tsp fresh sage, chopped
1 cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350F

Cut out a circle from the top of the pumpkin – the way you would to make a jack-o’-lantern  and set aside.
Scoop out the seeds and strings as best as you can. Generously salt and pepper the inside of the pumpkin, pop the top back on it, place it on a rimmed baking dish (since the pumpkin may leak or weep) and bake for 45 minutes.
 
Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat.
Crumble the sausage into small chunks and cook until lightly browned.
Remove the sausage from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool.
Discard the drippings or save for the gravy.
 
Also while the pumpkin bakes, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted, boiling water until al dente.
Drain through a colander and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process.
 
In a bowl, toss together the fontina, gruyere, sausage, pasta, scallions and herbs.
When the pumpkin is done baking, take it out of the oven and fill it with the macaroni and cheese mixture.
Pour the cream over the filling.
Place the top back on the pumpkin and bake for 1 hour, taking the top off for the last 15 minutes of cooking so the cheese on top of the filling can get properly brown.
If the top cream still seems a bit too wobbly, give it another 10 mins in the oven.
The cream may bubble over a bit, which is fine. If the pumpkin splits while baking, as occasionally happens, be thankful you set it in a rimmed baking dish and continue to bake!
Allow the pumpkin to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Be careful moving the dish, as the pumpkin may be fragile. 
You can serve this dish two ways;
Cut it into individual servings or just scoop out the insides, including some of the
pumpkin flesh for each serving. 
Season to taste and enjoy!

Accompaniments · Do-ahead · Holiday Food · Sauces · Vegan

Cranberry and apricot sauce

Belinda

Something a little different that goes so well with turkey, pork or ham

Makes 2 1/4 cups

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 lb fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 cup dried apricots, finely chopped
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil.
Add the shallot and garlic and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, 2 minutes.
Add the cranberries, apricots, sugar, vinegar and 1/4 cup of water and cook, stirring, until the cranberries start to burst; 5 minutes.
Mash some of the cranberries and cook, stirring, until the chutney thickens, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the lemon juice: season with salt and pepper.
Let cool before serving

 

Do-ahead · Holiday Food · Meat

Cornbread dressing with sausage and fennel

Belinda

A lovely recipe adapted from Bon Appetite magazine.

Make this weeks ahead, freeze and bring out the day before you need it, to thaw slowly.

8 cups cornbread cubes (dried out)
1lb bulk Italian sweet sausage meat or chorizo
10 tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) butter
1 large fennel bulb, chopped, plus some fronds for serving
4 celery stalks, peeled and chopped
10 scallions, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 Bosc or Comice pears, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup Sauvignon Blanc or other dry white wine
3 tbsp finely chopped Italian parsley
1 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh marjoram or oregano
1 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp dried sage leaves
2 cups chicken broth
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 extra large eggs, beaten to blend

Preheat oven to 300F
If you don’t buy the pre-bagged cornbread cubes, then divide your cornbread cubes between two baking sheets. Bake, tossing occasionally, until beginning to brown in spots, 40 to 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the sausage meat in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking up with a spoon, until dark brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage meat to a small bowl. Let cool

Reduce the heat to medium and heat 8 tbsp butter in the same skillet. Add the fennel, celery, scallions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
Add the pears and wine, increase the heat to medium high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the wine is almost completely evaporated, about 5 minutes.

Increase the oven temperature to 400 F.
Butter a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish.
Combine sausage, fennel mixture, parsley, marjoram, thyme, sage and 1 1/2 cups broth in a large bowl.
Add the cornbread and toss to combine: season with salt and pepper and let sit for about 10 minutes, then add the remaining 1/2 cup of broth and toss, adding more broth if necessary. (The bread should be moist not soggy)
Add the eggs and mix gently just to combine.
Transfer the dressing to the prepared baking dish and dot with the remaining 2 tbsp butter.

Cover the dressing with foil and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake until the dressing is golden and crisp on top, 20 to 30 minutes longer.
Serve topped with the fennel fronds.

 

Appetizers · Holiday Food · Vegetable-related

Roasted butternut squash, spinach and feta tartlets topped with pine nuts.

Belinda

Once the cooler weather arrives, I just love cooking with pumpkins and squashes.  This is a twist on the Greek dish, Spanakopita but has the addition of roasted butternut squash and pine nuts to add sweetness, along with the spinach and feta cheese. So good!!
You can also add sweet potato instead of the squash and replace the dill with other chopped herbs, like parsley or basil or use sun dried tomatoes, or some diced bacon with the onion. If you don’t like feta cheese, try parmesan or mozzarella or even a blue cheese.

6 sheets filo (phyllo) pastry, thawed
2 cups peeled, diced small butternut squash
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 bunch fresh spinach (around 8 oz) stems removed, chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp raw pine nuts

Preheat the oven to 350 F
Toss the diced squash with 1 tbsp of olive oil, place in a single layer on a baking tray and cook for 15 minutes.
While the squash bakes, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.
Cook the onion for 6 minutes, then add the spinach and cook for 4 minutes, stirring regularly.
Stir in the dill, salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
Stir in the crumbled feta and baked squash (keep the oven heated to 350 F) and set aside.
Combine the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil with the melted butter in a small bowl.
Place 2 filo sheets side by side on a work surface and brush each sheet evenly with the butter-oil mixture.
Place 2 more sheets on top and brush with butter-oil, then repeat once more.
Cut each stack into six 5 inch squares, for a total of 12 stacks with 3 sheets each.
Lightly grease a standard 12 cup muffin pan with butter-oil mixture.
Place each square filo stack into a muffin cup, pressing gently to mould the pastry into the bottom.
Spoon 1/4 cup of the spinach-pumpkin filling into each and fold the extra pastry back over the filling, roughly crumpling around the edges so that the filling is still exposed.
Brush the edges with the remaining butter-oil mix.
Sprinkle pine nuts in the middle of each tart.
Bake for 18 minutes, then remove from the oven and transfer the tarts from the muffin pan to a cooling rack.
Let cool slightly then serve.

Variation ; Instead of making 12 muffin-size tarts, you can make four individual pie-sized tarts or one larger pie