Friendsgiving 2012

So it appears that I’m now increasing the gap between posts from 1 month to 2 months, my bad peeps! I could say that I’m going to be better, but that would be a lie so we’ll just roll into all the things that I’ve done in the past few months. Since my last post was from before Thanksgiving, I’ll give you a little looksee at our Friendsgiving celebration first. My friends Randi and Joe were kind enough to allow all of us Thanksgiving orphans over to their house for some turkey, football, and booze. Perfect day. I made the same turkey I’ve been making for the past few years and everyone brought tons of sides and goodies. It was excellent and I ate way too much, as it should be. Here are a few pics in between (and during) noshing and boozing:

 

Apple Cider Cookies Stuffed with Caramel

My coworkers were begging for a treat before Thanksgiving break so I decided to go with this festive recipe. The cookies taste like you are literally eating apple cider, then the caramel oozes out and you're in heaven! I will say that these are best straight from the oven or with a 10 sec shot from the microwave since the caramel tends to stiffen up after cooling. Check them out:

Recipe:
Apple Cider Cookies Stuffed with Caramel (from Gimme Some Oven)

3c flour
1t baking soda
1/2t baking powder
1t cinnamon
2 sticks butter, softened
1c sugar
1/2t salt
1 (7.4oz, 10pkgs) box Apple Cider Instant Drink Mix
2 eggs
1t vanilla
1 (14oz) bag Kraft caramels, unwrapped

Preheat to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and salt. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and mix well. gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture. Mix until just combined.

Make about 2T balls of dough and press a caramel into each one. Smoosh the dough around the caramel so that it is no longer showing. Place on cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool on baking rack.

*I also think that the Kraft caramel bits would be good instead of a whole caramel. Just stir a bag of them in at the very end and scoop the dough directly onto the cookie sheet.

Enjoy!

Duchess Potatoes Revisited

By the way, here are my second attempt at the duchess potatoes:




I added Old Bay to a few of them for extra deliciousness. They look way better and taste just as good as my first attempt :) The original post with the recipe can be found here: DUCHESS. Thanks!

Thanksgiving Thanks

I just wanted to give a huge thanks to Kristine and Loi for having myself and 13 other guests (plus 2 doggie guests) over for Thanksgiving dinner! I had a great time and somehow managed to roll myself home after the massive feast. Here are some pics of the spread:



Thanks again!

OMG Amazing Cupcakes!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the company of family and friends, entertainment of thanksgiving football, and culinary delights of a traditional thanksgiving feast! Now, Thanksgiving isn't a traditional cupcake occasion, but I think the following bakers definitely captured the spirit of the holiday in their confections:

Turkey Cupcakes from Tallgirl197528 on Cake Central:


Cherry Pie Cupcake (and maybe a blueberry pie hiding in the back) by Nellie Cakes:


Visit Flickr to see these cupcakes that look like thanksgiving food staples by Christine Campanelli: DINNER!

And finally, this cupcake looking like the entire thanksgiving table by Baierman:


Thanks to everyone who has been reading my blog, have a great holiday!

My Personal Thanksgiving Dinner

My first two years living in Houston, I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for a few friends at our apartment/house. The next year, I went over someone else's house for dinner as I am this year, and decided to have a mini turkey dinner for myself so that I could have leftover turkey for sandwiches, yum! So, this year I picked a new recipe for my little turkey and gave it a whirl. It has been the best recipe I've made yet! Completely moist and very flavorful! The recipe is called Poblano and Cilantro Citrus Roast Turkey from Rachel of A Southern Fairytale. Such a great recipe, and hardly any work. Here's how my turkey looked fresh out of the oven:



Recipe
Poblano and Cilantro Citrus Roast Turkey (adapted from Rachel of A Southern Fairytale):

~12lb turkey

Brine (to soak turkey the day before you cook it-so make sure it is completely thawed a day before you want to serve the turkey):
1/2 gal water
1 gal apple cider
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2C brown sugar
1/2 C Kosher salt
1/4C fresh ground pepper

Rub (applied right before cooking):
2T brown sugar
1t oregano
1 1/2t Kosher salt
1t cumin
1 t cayenne pepper
1t fresh ground black pepper
8 cloves garlic, minced

Flavor Stuffing (placed in the turkey cavity before cooking):
2 poblano peppers, cut in large pieces
1 gala apple, cut in large pieces
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1 orange, cut in large pieces

Combine brine ingredients. Remove neck and giblets from turkey cavity. Pour brine into a container (I used an turkey oven bag) and submerge the turkey in the brine. Soak in refrigerator for 12-24 hours.

Remove turkey from brine, pat dry. Combine rub ingredients. Carefully separate skin from the flesh and massage the rub into the turkey beneath the skin. Rub some olive oil on the skin and massage any leftover rub into the skin.

Prepare inside ingredients and stuff the cavity. Cook turkey according to instructions on wrapper, usually about a half hour per pound. I cooked mine at 350F for 4 hours (basting every 30 minutes) before the thick of the thigh reached 180F. I also tented the turkey with aluminium foil after the skin began to brown. Once turkey is finished cooking, remove from oven and allow to sit for 15 minutes to reabsorb some juices.

*Go to the link from A Southern Fairytale to see how to make gravy to go with this turkey (I hate gravy so I passed).


To complement my turkey I also made peppered green beans and duchess potatoes. The potatoes tasted amazing, but I overcooked them and the end result was not as pretty as I would have liked. Here is a picture of my first attempt (I will be making a second attempt very soon):


Recipe:
Duchess Potatoes (from Nicole of Baking Bites)

2lbs russet potatoes
1/2c butter (less is ok for lower fat)
s&p
1 lg egg

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Peel and quarter potatoes in a large pot of boiling water. Cook until tender. Drain and transfer to large bowl. Add butter and seasonings and mash potatoes well. Allow mixture to cool for 10-15 minutes. Mash in the egg until smooth. Transfer potatoes to piping bag and pipe potatoes onto the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

What are you having for thanksgiving?!