Salad with Fennel, Apple, Mandarin Oranges, and Pomegranate

This salad was a great counterpoint to the rich cassoulet. It's sweet and refreshing and would be an excellent choice for Thanksgiving or even Christmas. Pomegranates are out of season, so I substituted Craisins. They were good, but the juicy crunch of pomegranate seeds would be even better. You can use whatever kind of lettuce you like; I used a mix of Romaine and escarole. Just stay away from tender baby lettuces - you want the crunch of something heartier.

Salad with Fennel, Apple, Mandarin Orange, and Pomegranate

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 shallot, minced (can sub grated onion)
1/2 teaspoon (packed) grated lemon peel
1 large fresh fennel bulb, trimmed, halved, very thinly sliced
1 8-ounce Fuji apple, halved, cored, cut into matchstick-size strips

6 cups trimmed arugula, Romaine, or escarole leaves
2 mandarin oranges or tangerines, peeled, each cut crosswise into 3 slices
Pomegranate seeds

Whisk first 4 ingredients in small bowl. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Combine fennel and apple in medium bowl; mix in 3 tablespoons dressing.

Place arugula in large bowl. Add fennel-apple mixture. Toss, adding more dressing to taste. Divide salad among 6 plates. Garnish each with 1 mandarin orange slice and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

Mint Oreo Truffles

Here's another quick St. Patrick's Day dessert - if you have time to run to the store, you can make them today!

Oreo Truffles have become very popular since Kraft published the recipe a few years ago. I have not made them until now, but they have a lot of potential! I made these with the Cool Mint flavor Oreos that are out right now, and I'm thinking the peppermint oreos with crushed candy canes on top would be great at Christmas. Or . . . what about the white chocolate ones decorated as snowman heads? I could even use a mini Oreo for his top hat!

The original recipe calls for you to reserve some crushed Oreos to roll the dipped truffles in, but I skipped that step and just added some green sprinkles.

Mint Oreo Truffles

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 package (1.1 lbs.) Cool Mint Oreos

1 package (16 oz.) white chocolate or chocolate almond bark or white CandiQuik, etc.

Green sprinkles (optional)

Remove seven Oreos. Save them for the kids or for a late-night snack. Finely crush the rest of the Oreos in the food processor or in a plastic bag with a rolling pin. Mix them into the cream cheese - I used my stand mixer, but you can use a hand mixer or even a spoon if the cream cheese is soft enough.

Roll the truffles into one-inch balls and place on a waxed paper-covered cookie sheet. Freeze for one hour (or overnight). The colder they are, the easier they are to dip.

Melt chocolate in the microwave according to package instructions. Dip truffles using a fork or a toothpick, and tap the excess of on the side of the bowl. Place the truffle on the waxed paper-covered sheet. Tip: if the chocolate puddles at the bottom of the truffle, score around it with a toothpick - you'll be able to remove the excess easily.

Quickly add sprinkles, if using. The truffles will set up very quickly and should be stored in the refrigerator.

Makes about 30 truffles.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake

Stop eating those Girl Scout Thin Mints! Here's a great use for them and an excellent dessert for St. Patrick's Day. It's delicious and incredibly easy.

If you don't have Thin Mints, you can use Keebler Grasshopper cookies. And I should have used green mint chocolate chip ice cream to be festive, but Breyers was on sale this week.
Note: if you don't have a springform pan, you can use a pie pan. In that case you would need fewer cookies and less ice cream.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake
1 1/2 boxes Thin Mints
4 T. melted butter
2 1.75 qt containers of mint chocolate ice cream
6 oz. heavy cream
3/4 c. chocolate chips
Crush Thin Mints in a food processor or in a plastic bag with a rolling pin. Pour them into a bowl, and mix in the melted butter. Press the crumbs into the sides and bottom of a 9- or 1o-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Take out ice cream to soften.
When crust is cooled, add softened ice cream and spread to smooth the top. Return to freezer.
Take cake out about 30 minutes before serving. Remove sides from springform pan (and bottom if you wish). Combine heavy cream and chocolate chips over low heat and stir until smooth and glossy. You can pour it over the entire ice cream cake or drizzle it over each slice.

Make an Independence Day Cake - and a Memory, Too

This cake is from Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa). Not only is it delicious, it makes a great activity for the kids at a 4th of July barbecue. You bake and frost the cake, then let the kids decorate it with blueberries, raspberries, and more frosting. So what if it doesn't look as good as Ina's? It is sooo good - white cake with cream cheese frosting and berries, and it serves 24 people. If you try it, you might just start a new tradition!

Flag Cake

Ingredients

18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
3 cups sugar
7 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup sour cream at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

For the icing:

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature
1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

To assemble:

2 half-pints blueberries
3 half-pints raspberries

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour an 18 by 13 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan. (You can use an 11x15 jelly roll/rimmed cookie sheet, but don't overfill with batter - put the extra in an 8-inch square pan).

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.

For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth.

Spread three-fourths of the icing on the top of the cooled sheet cake. Outline the flag on the top of the cake with a toothpick. Fill the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternate rows of raspberries and icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.

Serve in pan.

Father's Day Cupcakes

The cupcake craze continues! I have three cupcake cookbooks, and the boys love to look at them, begging me to make the puppy ones and the werewolf ones and the basketball ones and on and on. I've seen a lot of cute ideas for Father's Day, so I thought I'd collect some of them here.

"Want Some Mower" is from Family Fun. I give it a B+ for cuteness and a B for easiness. You're going to make chocolate cupcakes and frost them with chocolate frosting; tint coconut green; and construct a lawnmower out of readily-available candy. It wouldn't be hard, but it would take a little while.









Can't you tell these "Tee-Time" cupcakes are from Martha? Spare, cute without being cutesy, colors from a Martha Stewart paint palette? I give these an A- for cuteness and a D+ for easiness. Ask yourself if you are the type of person who isn't frightened by a cupcake recipe that calls for grosgrain ribbon and a glue gun.














Wilton created this "Snack with Sizzle" grill/mini cake for two reasons: 1. maximum cuteness and 2. maximum need for Wilton products. I love it, though it's so far removed from food . . . or cupcakes . . . I just don't know. I give it an A for cuteness and an F for easiness.

Hoppy Easter!

I made these cupcakes for Jack's school Easter party. They are supposed to be bunnies disappearing into their garden rabbit holes. The only thing that took a lot of time was covering the circus peanut feet with marshmallow, because I couldn't find white circus peanuts.

Easter is one of those holidays that I try not to go overboard with my cooking plans. We are always at church in the morning, and everyone comes home famished! My parents came over for dinner, and they put the ham in the oven for me. They also brought a salad and dessert. We had a great time with our springtime menu!



Easter 2009 Menu
Ham with Blackberry Mustard Glaze (recipe here) I subbed a spiral sliced ham twice the size called for in the recipe, and I used pineapple juice instead of apple juice. If you use a five-pound ham as the recipe calls for, you can make 1/2 the glaze.
Crash Hot Potatoes
Broccoli Salad (made by parents)
Multigrain and Sourdough Bread with Butter (store-bought! the shame!)
Fruit Salad (kid-friendly banana, pineapple, apple, and grapes)
Barefoot Contessa's Roasted Vegetable Orzo Salad
Carrot Cake (made by parents)

Roast Turkey

Almost ten years ago I started brining turkeys for Thanksgiving after I read about the process in Cook's Illustrated magazine. Brining has revolutionized turkey for our extended family. No longer is turkey the dry, chalky vehicle for gravy! We actually like it: it's juicy, flavorful, and seasoned enough to be interesting. There are dozens of turkey brine recipes, and you can even buy a premade mix. However, I haven't deviated much from the orginal recipe, which is just salt and water. Sometimes I do add a bit of sugar to enhance the browning. Here's how we make our turkey.

Roast Turkey (note: you'll need to start the day before Thanksgiving)

4 c. kosher salt or 2 cups table salt (note: Morton is much saltier than Diamond, but I use it)
1 turkey (12-14 pounds), rinsed thoroughly: innards removed
3 medium onions, chopped
2 small carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
6 sprigs fresh thyme
6 T. butter, melted

1. Dissolve salt in 2 gallons cold water in large stockpot or clean bucket. You can also use an XL storage-type ziploc bag. Add turkey and refrigerate or set in very cool spot (about 40 degrees) for 4 to 6 hours.

2. Remove turkey from salt water and rinse well under cool running water. Pat dry inside and out with paper towels. Place turkey breast-side up on flat wire rack set over rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan and refrigerate, uncovered, 8 to 24 hours. This will dry out the turkey and allow the skin to crisp.

3. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss 1/3 of vegetables and thyme with one tablespoon melted butter in a medium bowl. Fill cavity with mixture. Tuck wings behind back.

4. Scatter remaining vegetables and thyme in shallow roasting pan, pour one cup water over vegetables. Spray V-rack (or any other rack) with cooking spray. Brush breast with butter, then set turkey breast-side down on foil-lined V-rack; brush back with butter. Roast 45 minutes.

5. Remove roasting pan with turkey from oven; using thick wads of paper towels or potholders, rotate turkey leg/wing side up and brush with butter. If liquid in bottom of pan has evaporated, add 1/2 cup. Roast 15 minutes.

6. Remove roasting pan with turkey from oven, brush exposed surfaces with butter, and, using thick wads of paper towels or potholders rotate other turkey leg/wing side up and brush with butter. Roast for 15 minutes longer.

7. Remove roasting pan with turkey from oven; using thick wads of paper towels or potholders, rotate turkey breast-side up and brush with remaining butter. Roast until breast registers 165 degrees and the thickest part of the thigh registers 170-175 degrees (30-45 minutes longer). Move turkey from rack to cutting board and let rest about 20-30 minutes.

8. Carve turkey.