Full & Tired

I hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you were able to share it with your loved ones. We did and it was wonderful!

However, Thursday evening after dinner I was so exhausted from being on my feet all day, cooking and setting up the table, etc. that I couldn't wait to collapse in my bed. So my children who are 20 and 23 agreed to clean up the dishes, kitchen and dining room. When I woke up this morning and walked into the kitchen it was such a nice surprise. Just as they had said everything was spic and span. The perfect ending to a long day and evening spent in the kitchen. I couldn't have asked for anything nicer.

Then after having to run a couple of errands this morning I came home and took a two hour nap. Forget about going to the stores, I definitely couldn't handle that. The rest of the day was spent in the house with my family and we ordered dinner out.

Now to get ready for the rest of the holidays.

I hope if any of you used the recipes that I posted on my blog over the past month that they were a huge success. If you tried them please let me know how they turned out and how they were received by your family and friends.

The photo above is what my entire family felt like after our high carb Thanksgiving meal. Makes us realize why we only overdose on food once a year.

Stay tuned for more great recipes, tips and everything food related for the month of December. If you have any food or recipe questions please post them here.

Don't forget, if you live in the St Louis area and would like to schedule an in-home culinary class please contact me.

Warm Regards,

Vicki

Sweet Potato Casserole

For years it's been tradition in my home to have a Sweet Potato Casserole. Whenever I try to change it and make something else or even mashed potatoes they get upset with me.

If you are a sweet potato casserole lover I know you will adore my version. The secret is the sweetened condensed milk. It makes all the difference. In fact, I could make a meal on it as well as the rest of my family.

If you try it this year for Thanksgiving I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Sweet Potato Casserole
Serves 6
By: Vicki Bensinger

4 large sweet potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup sugar
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
Juice of 1 orange
½ cup pecans (optional)
Marshmallows for garnish

Place potatoes and salt in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and cook until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Drain. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

When cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes and cut them into large chunks. In a large mixing bowl, mash the potatoes. Add sugar, condensed milk, cinnamon, butter, and orange juice. Whisk until smooth. Stir in the chopped pecans, if using. Empty the mixture into a buttered 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Top with marshmallows and bake until heated through and marshmallows are slightly browned, 20-30 minutes.

This recipe can easily be doubled.

Wishing you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving. May all your loved ones be gathered around the table with you this coming Thursday.

Warm Regards,

Vicki Bensinger
"At Home with Vicki Bensinger"

Gravy Impaired?

For years I would spend so much time preparing Thanksgiving dinner and all the fixins myself. Then making sure the entire meal came out at the same time I found myself scrambling to get the gravy made to perfection and exhausted by the time I sat down to eat.

That is until I discovered "More Than Gourmet". At MTG, they produce authentic French stocks and sauces that taste like we've been preparing them all day. They've done all the work but you'll get the rave reviews.

They only use pure ingredients produced using time-tested cooking techniques and processes.

More Than Gourmet has a large list of stocks and sauces to choose from. With Thanksgiving only a week away I love to use their Glace de Volaille Gold® which can be purchased at all fine grocery stores and specialty markets. I've recently seen them at the local supermarket as well.

I have used the Simple Turkey Gravy recipe without the tarragon since my family isn't a fan of that herb and they love it.

So if making the gravy on Thanksgiving Day or any other day terrifies you, then check out the More Than Gourmet products. I guarantee that your family and friends will be asking you for your gravy recipe and hopefully recipes for your other dishes as well.

So start making your Thanksgiving grocery list now and remember the More Than Gourmet products. If you can't find them locally, you probably still have time to order them online.

Good luck and I hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

PAMA Liqueur Contest

PAMA liqueur contacted me to enter a recipe contest using their PAMA Liqueur, a Pomegranate flavored Liqueur, which if you haven't tasted before is delicious!

The voting starts today. If I win I get to go to The Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado this summer. I would LOVE to go. There are lots of wonderful recipes that have been submitted. However, if you would vote for me I would greatly appreciate it.

I submitted a Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette Dressing (as shown above). It has Arugula, Roasted Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese, Pomegranate Seeds and a Pomegranate Vinaigrette drizzled over the top. The recipe is easy to prepare and tastes great!

Voting starts today and you can cast your vote once each day if you like. Please feel free to share this with your friends as well.

To cast your vote click here.

I appreciate your vote.

Warm Regards,

Vicki Bensinger

Cranberry Tea

With Thanksgiving just 11 days away cranberries are in abundance. Plus if you're living in Missouri you know the weather has been unseasonably warm. Yet tonight a storm is apparently moving in and will bring buckets of rain over the next 5 days and a drop in the temperature. So if you're looking for something to warm your inners on those chilly rainy days or looking for that special beverage for Thanksgiving Day try this Cranberry Tea.

I think it tastes great. If it's still warm in your neck of the woods just put it on the rocks and have an Iced Cranberry Tea.
















Cranberry Tea

Simple Syrup:
2 cups water
2 cups sugar

Combine and boil 7 minutes until the sugar dissolves.

1 (one pound) bag cranberries
2 quarts water
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 cinnamon sticks
1 cup orange juice

Wash berries. Boil until all berries pop. When the berries pop, boil 5 minutes longer. Drain off cranberry juice. Mix juice, simple syrup, orange juice, lemon juice and cinnamon sticks. Serve hot. May be garnished with a cinnamon stick and slice of an orange.

May be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks.

Enjoy!

Turkey Roulade

For those of you that don't have the time to roast an entire turkey on Thanksgiving or if your family prefers the breast meat rather than the dark meat you may want to consider roasting a turkey roulade.

What's that? It's a boneless turkey breast that's been rolled. The photo above is a boneless turkey breast with the skin left on. When you go to the store just ask the butcher if he would de-bone the turkey breast. If you like you can even ask if they will pound it so it will lay flat. However, that's simple to do yourself by just opening the breast up when you get home and laying it skin side down on a cutting board. Then cover with plastic wrap and pound with a mallet until it flattens out evenly. At this point you can put it back in the refrigerator until you are ready to stuff it.

The stuffing that I used in the photo above was a mix of about 16 ounces of mushrooms, a minced clove of garlic and a minced shallot. I sauteed these in olive oil in a skillet until the mushrooms released all their juices, then seasoned with salt and pepper.

With the turkey opened up and laying flat, skin side down on a cutting board I spread the mushroom mixture all over the meat of the turkey.

Now at this point you want to make sure you have a roll of twine to tie up the bird once you roll it.

Then simply roll your turkey from one side of the breast to the other tucking the ends in. Then cut your twine in about four 24" pieces, placing the center of each piece of twine under the seam of the turkey and tying it on top. Repeat with the other 3 pieces of twine spacing them evenly apart. Then cut a 5th piece longer than the other four to be tied the entire length of the turkey. This will insure that it will remain closed while cooking.

Place in a roasting pan. If you like add about 1/2 cup of Marsala wine and 1 cup low sodium chicken broth to the bottom of the pan. Cover and bake at 350F until the internal temperature reaches 155-160F degrees. At this point you can remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest for about 20 minutes. This will allow the juices to evenly get distributed. While resting the internal temperature of the turkey should rise to 165F-170F which is where you want it to be for eating. (Baste at least once during cooking with juices)

While the turkey is resting take 1 1/2 tbsp. of butter and melt in a saucepan. Once melted add the same amount of flour and cook with the butter until the flour reaches a golden brown. Then add the remaining liquid (Marsala Wine and chicken broth) from the turkey to the saucepan and cook over low heat until it thickens.

Slice your turkey roulade and drizzle with the marsala wine sauce. This is so delicious and moist you won't believe you made it.

Feel free to use your favorite bread stuffing or some other stuffing to roll up into the breast if you don't like mushrooms. Whatever you select it won't be wrong. That's the beauty of cooking it yourself.

If you decide to try this please let me know what you think and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask me.

Of course don't forget all the wonderful sides that can go with this.

The photo above shows what the turkey looks like sliced. I didn't cover it with the sauce because then you wouldn't be able to view the inside.

Basic Ingredients needed:

1 turkey breast de-boned with skin left on (usually around 5-7 pounds)
16 oz. mushrooms-use a variety of different types
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large shallot, minced
salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup Marsala wine
1 cup chicken broth

kitchen twine

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just 17 days away. It's hard to believe it's almost here. I took my dogs for a walk yesterday at Tillis Park and they already have the lights up and ready to go for the holidays. How time flies.

Every year we always seem to have the same thing for dinner, mainly because each time I say I'm going to take something out and try something new they all say, "Oh no, don't do that, I love that dish." So low and behold we have the same thing. However, this year my husband wanted us to try a Turducken. I said oh great I'll make one. He said why bother, just buy one since I make everything anyway. So I checked out some places online and found one that was even on the Food Network called The Cajun Grocer. So it looks like in addition to the usual turkey we'll also have a Turducken. If any of you out there have had one what do you think of them? They sound extremely moist and look great. I guess we'll see. I have to order it this week so it arrives in plenty of time so that we can defrost it. It serves 30 people. Oh my goodness we are going to have enough food to feed our entire neighborhood. So come on by!

Anyway, in addition to our 2 turkeys now we'll have:

Salad with candied pecans, goat cheese and champagne vinaigrette
Popovers with Strawberry Butter because that's what my kids like with it
Macaroni and Cheese because my kids love it
My famous Sweet Potato Casserole
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Grilled Veggies
Stuffing (tons of carbs on this day)

I think that does it for the food portion. Last year I also had a Potato Casserole but everyone ate mostly the Sweet Potatoes so I'm not going to bother this year with that.


For Dessert:

Caramel Apple Cheesecake
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie with cinnamon and vanilla ice cream

Then of course some sort of appetizers which right now might just be some veggies although my husband the past couple of years has decided he wanted to pick up White Castle burgers for appetizers. We'll be popping those Tums by the time dinner is over at the rate we're going. At least I'll have the veggies to offset the rest of the calories. LOL!

I'm not sure what they rest of you serve on Thanksgiving but a typical year in my home consists of low fat, low carb food. So when the holidays come we pull out all the stops and go for it. So I try to fix whatever I can that's on my families list of all time favorites, which obviously consists of lots of high fat foods and carbs. Let's face it, it tastes great!

What's on your menu? If you'd like to share your favorite Thanksgiving recipe please do. I'm always looking to try something new.

Butternut Squash Ravioli

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I love Butternut Squash. Not only is it great for you but it tastes wonderful. Whenever I can I roast a batch of it with our dinner. I like it better than potatoes.

However, tonight I decided to try making Butternut Squash Ravioli with Goat Cheese. They were heavenly. I know it's hard to tell by my photo since I definitely don't claim to be the best photographer but take my word, they were scrumptious! The recipe although had several steps is really quite easy. Here it is:

Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Ravioli
(Makes 30 ravioli, serves 6)

For filling

2 pounds butternut squash (1 large), halved lengthwise and seeded
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp. fresh sage, minced
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, minced
3 ounces, goat cheese

1 pkg wonton wrappers (60)

unsalted butter
Hazelnut oil
Fresh Sage, minced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. and lightly grease a baking sheet

Make filling:

Put squash halves, flesh sides down, on baking sheet and roast in middle of oven for 30 minutes, or until flesh is very tender. When squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh into a bowl and discard skin. Mash squash with a fork until smooth.

While squash is roasting, in a skillet cook onion and sage in butter with S&P to taste over medium heat, stirring, 5 minutes, or until onion is golden brown. Stir in garlic and cook, stirring, additional 1 minute.

Cool onion mixture slightly and add to squash. Add goat cheese and stir to combine well.

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a gentle boil for ravioli.

Put 1 wonton wrapper on a lightly floured surface, keeping remaining wrappers in plastic wrap, and mound 1 Tbsp of the filling in the center. Lightly brush edges of wrapper with water and put a second wrapper over the first, pressing down around filling to force out air and seal edges well. (I actually turned up the sides and re-wet to make sure the filling didn't ooze out). Transfer formed ravioli to a towel to dry slightly.

Cook ravioli in batches in gently boiling water for approx. 4-6 minutes or until they rise to the surface and are tender. (Do not let the water boil vigorously once the ravioli have been added).

While ravioli are cooking heat butter (to your liking) with small amount of hazelnut oil and fresh chopped sage.

When ravioli are done take out with a slotted spoon to drain and set on individual plates. Do not dump out into a colander or they will tear. Pour butter topping over ravioli and serve.

Enjoy!