Amy the Mom

Easy Peppermint Bark

I'm going to wrap up NaBloPoMo, and start December with cookie recipes for Christmas baking!  We'll see how daring and bold I feel about daily posting once this month ends.

While technically not a cookie, Peppermint Bark is a very seasonal treat, and perfect for homemade gift baskets.  This tastes every bit as good as Ghiradelli's Peppermint Bark.  Aesthetically, it's not as perfect in form, but I like the rustic appearance. 

I don't recommend doubling this recipe, instead just make it one batch at a time.  It's quick going, about thirty minutes start to finish. 

Perfectly Easy Peppermint Bark

• 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 18 oz. white chocolate chips (you can make this with an even amount of white and semi-sweet chips, but I like the thicker white chocolate layer.)
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 4 candy canes, crushed

Line a 13x9 glass baking pan with a sheet of foil.  Spread the semi-sweet chips over the bottom and put in the oven at 250° for five minutes.  Do not leave it in beyond that.  When chocolate burns and seizes up, there's no going back.  Start a shallow pot of water on the stove to create a double boiler for the white chocolate.

 

Next, spread the chocolate chips evenly across the foil.

 

Now refrigerate the chocolate for 20 minutes.  This is the perfect amount of time.  You don't want to leave it in for less time, because the white chocolate mixture will melt it too easily resulting in a swirl of chocolates.  More time causes condensation on the surface of the semi-sweet chocolate and prevents adhesion of the next layer.  The darker chocolate layer should not be glossy when removed.  If it still has a bit of gloss, put the pan in the freezer  for one minute, that should do the trick.

While you're cooling the pan, crush four candy canes in a plastic bag.  As a candy cane connoisseur, I admit to a preference for Bob's candy canes.  The peppermint flavor is pure and true, not cinnamon tinged.  The crushed candy canes should have a few chunky pieces, but don't crush them into dust either. 

 
Now melt the while chocolate over a double boiler if you have one, or use a bowl that will not touch the boiling water when held over a pot.  White chocolate is dainty, and it seizes up faster than it's darker counterparts.

 

Pour in the white chocolate chips and start stirring immediately. 

 

Continue to stir them, until no lumps remain.  Remove from heat as soon as the mixture is smooth.  Add the peppermint extract.

 
Let the mixture cool ever so slightly after removing from heat.  The process takes a little less than the 20 minute cooling time for the darker chocolate, which works out perfectly.  You want the white chocolate to be spreadable, but not so warm that it will melt the semi-sweet layer on contact.

Work quickly to spread the white chocolate layer.  Don't fuss with it too much.  Just pour it on top of the semi-sweet layer.  This is a great project for two people to do in tandem, but it's not terribly complicated for one cook either.

 
Start sprinkling the crushed candy canes evenly over the surface of the white chocolate.  I press the candy into the white chocolate so that it won't come "unglued" later. 

 
Let the finished bark cool off for at least an hour before breaking it into large chunks. Store in a covered container in the fridge.

 
Hide it from yourself.  It's addictive. 

The Final Verdict on Roasting a 30 Pound Turkey

Last week, I walked into Cub Foods with a coupon for a Jennie-o Turkey for thirty-nine cents a pound.  With visions of Thanksgiving dancing in my head, I was determined to find a big bird.  Amazingly, there were several thirty pound turkeys in the freezer.  Lifting with my knees, I hefted one into my cart.  I then called my sister and asked her if she had ever roasted one that big.  Her answer was negative.  Like me, she had never even seen one that size before. 

To the Internet!

My Google searches yielded dire warnings about cooking a bird that size.  It would be dry as sawdust, it won't fit in the oven, you can't find a roaster big enough, don't even think about stuffing a bird that big, and on and on and on.  I brined and stuffed my turkey last year, and planned on doing the same this year, but once again, the Internet advised against it.

People.  The Internet is wrong! 

I am here to tell you that brining a frozen turkey will yield a moist, delicious bird and a marvelous gravy...even if it's 30 pounds.  You can cook stuffing inside the bird, and you won't bring a plague of salmonella on your family. 

Even though this recipe is too late for Thanksgiving 2010, you can still go to Cub foods until Saturday and snag one of those Jennie-o Turkeys for 39¢ per pound.  Make one for Christmas!  My thirty pounder didn't even set me back twelve bucks, and the family will have glorious leftovers all weekend!  Which also means I don't have to cook all weekend on the heels of an all night marathon last evening. 

There are two secrets to a perfectly moist turkey. 

The first is Lunds & Byerly's Turkey Brining Blend. 

 
Last year, I called every Williams-Sonoma store in the Twin Cities in an attempt to secure their brine solution.  Store staff told me they had been sold out for weeks.  Lunds & Byerly's is an upscale grocery chain here in the Twin Cities, and they carry gourmet items not usually found in run of the mill grocery chains.  I snagged the very last bottle of this stuff two days before Thanksgiving 2009.  It was a revelation. 

The other trick to my perfect turkey is Kitchen Basics Turkey Stock.

 
I use the entire quart box of this in the bottom of the turkey roasting pan. 

Here's the specifics.

Amy's Perfect 30 Pound Roast Turkey

Ingredients:

• One turkey, thawed if frozen.  Any size, but  my philosphy is bigger is better.
• Lunds & Byerly's Turkey Brining Solution and brine bag
• 32 oz. Kitchen Basics Turkey Stock
• Fresh Thyme sprigs

Prepare the brining solution in a large stockpot according to package directions. 

 

 

Rinse the turkey thoroughly inside and out and place in the brining bag.  The bag and turkey should be placed inside a roaster big enough to support them.  Allow the turkey to brine for 16 hours if it is a frozen turkey that has been pre-injected with a sodium solution, or up to 24 hours for a fresh turkey.  Do not brine for longer than 24 hours, and turn the turkey at least once during the brining period if it's not completely submerged in the solution.

 

Once complete, remove the turkey from the brine and rinse it inside and out under cold water for several minutes.  Some of the brine spices will be embedded in the skin, that's okay. 

Place the turkey in a deep roaster.  I prefer one with a lid, but use foil to create a tight tent if you don't have a lid.  Allow the turkey to dry out for about a half hour after removing from the brine.  This insures a crisp, brown skin during roasting. 

Preheat oven to 325°.  Pour the quart of turkey stock in the bottom of the roaster, then throw in several sprigs of fresh thyme.  Insert a thermometer deep into the bird, being careful not to touch bone.  Leave the bird alone for several hours.  For my thirty pound bird, I kept it covered at 325° for five hours, until the internal temperature was about 150°.  At that point, I took the roaster cover off, and basted the bird every 15 minutes for the next hour.  The internal temperature registered just below 165°-the ideal temperature.  I took the bird out of the oven and let it sit for another 45 minutes under a tight foil tent(the bird will continue to cook once removed from the oven), until it was time to make the gravy with the drippings.  The skin was a lovely golden brown hue, and initial tastes of the meat had Steve loudly declaring this the best turkey ever. 

When we pulled the bird out of the roaster, it came out it actually fell apart in neat sections because it was so moist.  The pan juices were sublime.  I didn't need to add anything else to the gravy to enhance the flavor.  The breast meat wasn't dry at all.  The giblet stuffing was lovely, I put it in a bowl and returned it to the oven to crisp the exterior up a bit.  Everything was delicious. 

I recommend you have someone to help you if you're cooking a bird larger than 23 pounds.  Getting the bird in and out of the brining bag is awkward and messy, and a roaster with a 30 pound bird inside is also a challenge.  Overall though, this is a foolproof method with glorious results.  Don't wait until next Thanksgiving to try it! 

 

 

My house smells amazing...

 

 
 
 
Coming after Thanksgiving...cookie recipes!

 

Jack Daniels Sweet Potatoes 2.0

I'm not big on reposting, but I'm exhausted.  I'm also excited for the big day, and today I made my brine, cranberry relish, pie crusts and cornbread.  Also, this recipe is how most people find the blog these days, so it's worth repeating for that alone.

This is the week where I flex my culinary muscles and am in my prime.  I love Thanksgiving, maybe a little bit more than Christmas, because it comes without the pressure of gift giving. Today's recipe is brought to you by the lovely Cindi Cotes,  who sadly, works for my competitor. 

 

So Cindi is sharing with us her recipe for Jack Daniels Sweet Potatoes.  Take it away, Cindi!

Okay, so, you don't necessarily need to be a lover of Kentucky Bourbon, however you must not have a huge dislike of the taste or these will all wind up in the garbage.  My kids eat them, and my parents eat them, and up until about four years ago, all they were used to were the brown sugar and marshmallow version of sweet potatoes that I grew up with.  I don't necessarily like to mess with a good thing, but when I found this recipe and knew how much Rick likes his Jack, I figured I couldn't miss.  And I was right...these are on the table every Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Jack's Sweet Potatoes

 

1 C light brown Sugar

2 TBSP Corn starch

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp salt

1/2 C water

1 TBSP lemon juice

1/3 C Jack Daniels

6 large sweet potatoes, cooked and cubed

 

Combine sugar, nutmeg, salt and cornstarch in a sauce pan.  Stir in water.  Cook until clear and sugar is dissolved.  Stir in lemon juice and Jack. Mixture will be syrupy.

Place potatoes in a buttered casserole.  Pour the Jack Daniels syrup over the top and cover.  Bake for 30 minutes at 375.

 

Remove from oven, uncover, top with marshmallows and place under broiler until marshmallows are browned.

 

Join the Finken Circle

I like to think of this blog as the perfect medium for sharing recipes and stories, and for updating my friends and family who live far away.  I realize at it's core, it's a vanity project, but I hope that I never come across as an "It's all about me" type of person.   Tonight, I need to use my little audience to get the word out about a family in need. 

Recently, I learned that one of the women in my office-one of my closest friend's assistants-is facing an unthinkable family crisis.   Brenda Finken's husband, Mike,  has recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that has metastasized to his liver.  You can visit the Finken Family Website to learn more about Mike's battle and how you can help the family-even if it's just a prayer or a positive thought.  Brenda and Mike have four wonderful sons, which makes this illness that much more devastating. 

 
 
If you have the ability, please send a donation via Paypal.  Mike's paid time off went fast, as you can imagine, and Brenda is staying home to care for him and the family.  Anything you can do to help the Finkens will be much appreciated. 

I'm so grateful for the wonderful feedback I get from friends near and far, in real life and on the Internet, for this little blog.  Thank you all for reading, and please keep the Finkens in your thoughts and prayers during the holidays and as Mike continues to fight his illness. 

Love,

Amy

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

I wanted to bring you a photo tutorial of chicken curry today, but we had an impromptu home improvement project in the kitchen over the weekend. 

Six years ago, we built our house.  I went to the appliance dealer and picked out (what I considered) top of the line appliances-KitchenAid and Jenn-Air.   Both brands are part of the Whirlpool company.  In those six years, every.single.appliance in my kitchen has needed multiple major repairs.  I am beyond disgusted. 

The first year, they were all under warranty, so there was no skin off my nose, and no money leaving my wallet.  Unfortunately, year after year, these appliances continue to let me down.  My cooktop was the worst offender.  Within a month of moving in to our home, it sounded like a pair of crickets had taken up residence in my kitchen island.  That was a fan malfunction.  Then, the dials began to fall apart.  The first batch was replaced under the warranty.  By the end of the first year, I needed a new set.  Whirlpool wanted $25 apiece for replacements.  I voiced my disappointment loudly, and was able to get three at half price.  By the time I needed the third set, Whirlpool had discontinued the little pieces of crap and I managed to get all five dials for half off.  That was a year ago.   In the last twelve months, three of the dials have fallen apart.  Then one of the burners crapped out-a week before Thanksgiving.  The cost to repair it would have been half of the replacement cost-oh, and the cricket chirping sound returned.  Steve had enough.  Decision made. 

Steve and I went over to Appliance Smart and found a model with touch controls-no more of those cheap plastic dials.  

 

The cooktop was half off.  I wasn't keen on the idea of yet another Jenn-Air going into that space, but I relented after purchasing an extended warranty.  The cooktop was six inches wider than its predecessor, but I married the right guy.  Steve cut the granite top to accommodate the bigger appliance and I was back in business.  Unfortunately, there was an inch of dust coating everything in the kitchen, so that needed attention before any cooking was done.

Also in the last few weeks, the door to my dishwasher broke-for the second time in six months.  One of my wall ovens is out, the second time that has happened in three years.  Aaaand the icemaker is shot.  I can work around these failures and space out the repairs so that they don't break me financially, but I can't believe all four appliances have been such colossal letdowns. 

Okay, so this was supposed to be a post about hummus.  Sorry about the rant! 

This makes a great appetizer for your pre-Thanksgiving pigout, and is reasonably healthy.  Hummus is about the easiest thing in the world to make-all you need is a good food processor.  My thirty-year old La Machine is up to the task!  (The Whirlpool Corporation should take note of the durability and longevity of that countertop appliance!)  Plain old hummus is fine, but there's not many dishes that can't be improved with the addition of roasted red peppers. 

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

• 16 oz. can garbanzo beans (chickpeas) drained and rinsed
• 1/3 C roasted red sweet peppers (I use them from a jar)
• 3 TBSP fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 C cilantro leaves (if you don't like cilantro, and a lot of you don't-use flat leaf parsley instead)
• 2 TBSP olive oil (I prefer a light, delicate flavor olive oil)
• 1/4C tahini (usually found in the ethnic food section, or near jars of olives)
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 3 cloves roasted garlic
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp red pepper (preferably Indian)

Process all ingredients in a food processor until completely smooth.  Spoon into a serving bowl and let the flavors intensify for at least an hour.  If you don't have time to roast the garlic, you can use raw garlic, but reduce the number of cloves to one.  If you use more than one, your breath will reek for at least two days after eating this stuff. 

I serve this with Trader Joe's Pita Crackers. 

 

Sam's Club has an identical product, but the cost is less at TJ's.  They're addictive on their own, but a great vehicle for delivering goat cheese, hummus or any other spread into your mouth. 

 

Thanksgiving Roasted Vegetables

(I'll photo document all of the food prep next week leading up to Thanksgiving, and then amend each of these posts.)

Confession time:  I despise canned and frozed vegetables, with the lone exception of edamame.  I hate the texture, I loathe the diminished flavor.  The washed out coloring seals it for me.  I love vibrant and flavorful vegetables roasted, lightly steamed or raw and crunchy.    

At Thanksgiving, I usually keep the vegetables simple.  The big meal is filled with so many heavy dishes, creams and gravies, that I think the vegetables should be minimally adorned.  I know the ubiquitous green bean casserole with french fried onions is considered a staple on many a November dinner table, but I find it inedible.  (Admittedly, the last time I ate it I was pregnant with the twins, and every food that betrayed me during pregnancy is still exiled today.  I'm looking at you, bananas.)  So for your Thanksgiving dining pleasure, I bring you roasted vegetables!

Autumn Roasted Vegetables

• Two red or orange bell peppers, cubed
• 16 oz baby bella mushrooms, stems removed
• One bunch of asparagus, chopped into 1 1/2 inch pieces, tough ends removed
• Four carrots, cut into diagonal pieces or one bag of  crinkle cut carrots (let the bagged carrots dry out a little before using)
• 3 medium zucchini, cut into quartered chunks
• One small sweet onion, cut into one inch pieces

Heat oven to 400°.  Place all vegetables in a large bowl and toss with a light flavored, extra virgin olive oil.  Sprinkle with sea salt, fresh ground pepper and dried rosemary and thyme to your taste.  Alternatively, if you can find Weber's Veggie Grill Seasoning, use that alone.  Spread veggies on a rimmed baking sheet, maintaining an even layer.  Place sheet in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, tossing two or three times during cooking.  If you like softer vegetables, bake for a few minutes longer.  I like them to maintain a little crunch. 

Get creative!  You can add chunks of sweet potatoes, halved new potatoes, eggplant, cherry tomatoes, etc.  When using potatoes, I usually microwave them for a couple minutes before putting in the oven since they take longer to cook.  Serve the veggies right out of the oven.  On summer nights, I grill these and I'm content to eat them with nothing more than a piece of naan or buttered flatbread. 

TGIF

In the interest of keeping my NaBloPoMo streak unbroken, here you go.  It's Friday night, I have a business meeting tomorrow morning, and a checklist full of prep work to complete before Thursday. 

Side note...does anyone have any experience cooking a 30 POUND TURKEY?  I didn't even know they could grow that large.  I'm worried we'll all be chock full of steroids by the end of Thanksgiving weekend. 

Back tomorrow.  This weekend, I'll bring you a photo tutorial of chicken curry. 

#3

This is the best picture we can get of Remy...he never stops moving.  In fact, I believe he may have wings. 

 
What have we done?

I'll tell you what we've done.  Infected poor Nori with another case of kennel cough, disrupted Clark's sedentary lifestyle and increased our annual budget for vet care by thirty-three percent. 

The Final Word on Apple Pie

For years, I missed out on the delicacy that is apple pie.  In my picky eating phase from ages 1-11, I refused to eat any pie other than my grandmother's chocolate pie, which was really no more than pudding in crust.  (That's a recipe I will share before Thanksgiving though, because it is sooo good with fresh whipped cream.)  My resolve was tested though after picking a fresh quart of blackberries that grew in a field behind our home one fine summer mornig.  I decided I needed to taste the...ahem...fruit of my labors after my mom took the berries and made a small pie.  Cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, warm berries...I was hooked.  Why had I forsaken pie for so many years?!  Why?!

Apple pie didn't sink in until a few years later...my former mother-in-law made one that was (is) extraordinary.  After trying it, I set out to make a pie as good as hers, and years later when I made one for her, she declared mine was superior (she even seemed a little defeated at this pronouncement).  Perhaps she was just being gracious, but I have had plenty of compliments since then, from tough critics.  Still, she served hers with homemade fried chicken...mmm...that meal still stands out in my mind as one of the best I've ever eaten.

I take apple pie very seriously.  As stated here before, I wouldn't use a prepackaged crust under any circumstances, and ready made pie filling?  You can't be serious.  Of all the pastries I make, this one is the most time consuming and physically taxing.  But you top a warm piece of pie with fresh ice cream, and I'll bet a lot of your troubles slip away in that moment.  There are always squabbles in the house when I make apple pie, there's never enough to go around and resentment is thick toward anyone who is perceived to have indulged in more than their fair share. 

I've adapted Rose Levy Beranbaum's technique from her technically and aesthetically flawless The Pie and Pastry Bible. 

This woman's repertoire is my favorite section in my vast cookbook collection.  The photography is gorgeous and drool inducing-just look at that tart-it makes you want to nibble on the dustcover.  The text, far from being dry, is precise and helpful.  Beranbaum includes essays with some of the recipes enhancing the entertainment value of the tome.  

Click here for Rose's recipe for The Best All-American Apple Pie.

The only changes I make to Rose's Apple Pie are increasing the quantity of apples and spices (I double her spice quantities), and I use brown sugar exclusively, rather than a combination of brown and granulated.  Oh...all apologies to Rose, but Martha is still my go-to girl when it comes to pie crust.