Corn and Sweet Potato Soup

1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cups water
2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 ½ tbsp olive oil
4 cups vegetable stock
3 cups corn, tinned
1 red bell pepper, minced
1 fresh jalapeno, minced
1 cup milk
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt
2 -3 tbsp heavy cream
garnish with parsley (optional)

Place diced sweet potatoes, water and vegetable stock in a pot and simmer for about 20 minutes or until tender.

In the meantime, heat olive oil in a skillet, add onion and a pinch of salt, and fry until nice and brown.

Add the onions to the potatoes. Mix well. Purée the soup with a blender. Once smooth, add corn, peppers and milk and simmer until tender. Then mix in lemon juice and salt. Stir in cream and serve immediately.

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Nutty Roasted Pears

4 tbsp pure butter
4 pears, halved and cored
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped and toasted
1 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with oven rack in center position..

Place the butter on a baking pan and put into the heated oven. Once butter has melted, sprinkle with brown sugar. Add the pear halves with the cut side down on top of the butter/sugar (caramel) mixture and bake for about 30 minutes.

Once the pear halves are tender, turn them over and baste with the caramel sauce. Bake for a further 10 minutes until nice and golden. Serve the pear halves in bowls and top with sour cream, caramel and the nuts.

This dessert should be served hot and fresh.

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Roasted Turkey with Chestnut Stuffing Homemade Gravy

Stuffing:

1/2 cup whole chestnuts or dried
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and minced
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cooking apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 egg, lightly beaten
5 cups stale bread, cubed
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup butter, melted
Olive oil
Sea Salt
Pepper
1-10 lb. turkey

Gravy:

2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
Corn flour
Chicken stock
Butter

The Night Before: If possible, the previous night, or at least one hour before cooking, prepare your turkey. Remove any giblets and rise well (inside and out) with cold water, then pat dry with paper towels. Generously rub turkey with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and place back in refrigerator until time to cook.

The Next Morning:

Preparing the Stuffing: To roast the chestnuts, cut an X on the flat side of each chestnut and bake 15 to 20 minutes at 375F oven. Let cool for 10 minutes and then peel and chop.

Do not turn oven off as it will need to be preheated for cooking the turkey.

In a large pot over low heat, heat the olive oil then add onions and celery. Saute for about 3 minutes or until soft. Stir in crushed garlic, sage, rosemary, thyme and apple and sauté for a further 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in egg, then add chestnuts and bread. Toss mixture well. Stir in warm broth and season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.

Preparing the Turkey: Remove turkey from fridge and loosely stuff the neck cavity with chestnut stuffing, fold the skin under and secure in place with a toothpick. Then loosely stuff the main cavity, making sure to leave room for expansion and the air to flow through.

Then prepare your roasting pan. Use a large roasting pan and at the bottom add two roughly chopped carrots, onion and celery. Place the rack over the vegetables. Now place your turkey, breast side up, on the rack. Drizzle with melted butter.

Bake, uncovered, at 375F for the first 30 minutes, then baste and reduce oven temperature to 325F. Continue basting turkey every 25 to 30 minutes. The cooking time should be approximately 20 minutes per pound of turkey, which would be about 3.5 hours for a 10b turkey. To check if the turkey is cooked pierce the thigh bone, juices should run clear without any pink. Also use a meat thermometer on the thickest part of the thigh. The temperature should show 180F. Turkey should be golden and crispy on the outside too.

Remove the turkey from roasting tray and reserve juices for gravy.

Tip: For extra added safety, I like to remove the stuffing from turkey once turkey is cooked and bake on a separate dish for approximately 10 extra minutes.

For the Gravy: Mash the vegetables in the roasting tray, then push all ingredients through a sieve. Discard any remaining vegetables or fat. Place the sieved liquid in a saucepan and simmer over low heat. If you don’t have enough liquid then add 1 cup or more (depending on how much gravy you need) of chicken stock; You can also add a couple of tablespoons of butter.

In a small bowl add two tablespoons of corn flour and mix with cold water (about ½ cup) until all lumps dissolve. Slowly add a little of this mixture (tablespoon by tablespoon) to the saucepan, stirring well after each addition and allowing time for gravy to thicken. Keep adding corn flour/water mixture until gravy thickens.

Tip: You can also add a couple of tablespoons of red wine to the gravy or Madeira for a richer taste. The alcohol will dissolve during the cooking process and children will be able to have the gravy.

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Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure bourbon vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Mix well. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin puree, eggs and vanilla. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture until just combined. Do not over mix. Fold in chopped pecans. Spoon batter into lightly greased or lined muffin tin and fill to 2/3 full. Bake in preheated oven at 350F for approximately 20 minutes or until golden and baked through. Cool in muffin tins for 5 minutes until removing to wire racks to cool completely.

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Fantastic Pumpkin Pie

2 cups canned pumpkin
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 – 12 ounce can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon clove
1/4 cup butter (melted)
1 prepared pie crust

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour batter into pie crust. Bake in preheated oven at 350F for approximately 60 minutes or until set through.

Topping:

1 pkg cream cheese
1 cup heavy whipped cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Blend all ingredients together and use to top pie.

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Cranberry Pumpkin Bread

2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
1 cups brown sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup dried cranberries

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Mix well. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs and oil. Mix well. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture and stir well. Fold in the cranberries. Transfer mixture to two lightly greased loaf pans. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for approximately 45 to 55 minutes or until golden and baked through. Cool for 5 minutes in pan before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

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Classic Green Bean Casserole

4 cups canned green beans
1 can (10 oz) cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/3 cups French fried onions

Place the mushroom soup, milk and pepper in a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish. Stir in beans and 2/3 cup of the fried onions. Reserve the rest for later. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes at 350F. Then top with the remaining 2/3 cup fried onions and bake about 5 more minutes, until onions are lightly browned.

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Candied Yams

4 fresh yams
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup orange juice
Zest of one orange
Orange slices (optional)
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 bag miniature marshmallows

Boil the yams with their peel on until tender. Let cool and remove peel. Cut each yam into about four to five pieces and arrange in large baking dish. Pour orange juice over yams and the orange zest. Sprinkle with brown sugar and dot with butter. Top with marshmallows and place orange slices on top if desired. Bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes at 350F until marshmallows melt.

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Pumpkin Cheesecake

2 C. gingersnap cookie crumbs
1/3 C. melted butter
24 oz. cream cheese
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. light brown sugar
3 eggs beaten
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
1/4 C. heavy whipping cream
1 T. pure bourbon vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 t. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 C. sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch spring form pan. Toss the gingersnap crumbs with the melted butter until evenly moistened. Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1 inch up the side of the prepared pan. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the crust begins to color. Let the crust cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth.

Beat in 3/4 cup of the granulated sugar and the brown sugar, then beat in the eggs 1 at a time until the mixture is thoroughly combined. In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin puree and heavy cream with 1 teaspoon of the vanilla and the cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Add to the cream cheese mixture and beat until combined, scraping the bowl a few times. Wrap foil loosely around the bottom and up the side of the spring-form pan. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared pan and set it in a large baking dish or roasting pan. Place in the middle of the oven and pour 3 inches of hot water into the baking dish. Bake the cheesecake for about 70 minutes, or until the edges are firm and the center of the cheesecake is still slightly shaky.

In a small bowl, combine the sour cream with the remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and pour on the sour cream topping. Gently top the pan to spread the topping, and continue baking the cheesecake for 10 more minutes.

Transfer the cheesecake to a rack and let cool for 1 hour. Remove the foil and the side of the pan and refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 4 hours or overnight.

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Easy Giblet Gravy

Giblets and neck of chicken or turkey
2 tablespoons chicken or turkey fat
2 tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper

To prepare this Giblet Gravy Recipe, first place the giblets (liver, heart and gizzard) and the neck in a saucepan, and cover them with cold water. Simmer slowly and when tender remove meat from the neck, and chop fine with the giblets, saving the water in which they were cooked. Heat the fat on top of the stove and when it is hot, stir in the flour. Cook two minutes, then add one cup of the stock left from cooking the giblets, pouring it in gradually so as not to thin the gravy too much. If the gravy seems too thick, add a little hot water. Lastly, put in the chopped giblets, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

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