Happy Holidays!

And specifically for me it was a Happy Hanukkah! This year, for the first time ever, my Hanukkah gifts were all cooking related and these were things I wanted! It just shows how successful this past New Year's resolution has truly been. A year ago I had no interest in any utensils or appliances that involved cooking/baking because well I didn't do either. But now look who I've become:If you can't tell the gifts include (from bottom to top): a crock pot, magic bullet, square and rectangular Pyrex bake ware, and a cast iron skillet with cook book!

Now I have to start using them!

Thanksgiving Cooking - SWEET POTATO!

My second contribution to the Thanksgiving feast was a sweet potato dish. But different from the traditional casseroles this was closer to a salad - Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Black Bean Dressing, to be exact.

Ingredients:

- 3 large sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs.), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

- 1 large red onion, chopped

- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

- 2 tbsp minced fresh hot pepper (I used jalapeno)

- 1 clove garlic, peeled

- juice from 2 limes

- 2 cups canned black beans, drained

- 1 red pepper, seeded and finely diced

- 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

- salt and pepper

Directions:

- Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Put sweet potatoes and onion a large baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tbsp oil, toss to coat, and spread out in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 30-40 minutes, turning halfway through, and until potatoes begin to brown and are just tender inside. Remove from oven; keep on pan until ready to mix with dressing.

- Put jalapeno in a mini food chopper with garlic, lime juice, 1/4 cup oil, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Process until blended.

- Put warm vegetables in a large bowl with beans and bell pepper; toss with dressing and cilantro.

- Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve warm or room temperature, or refrigerate for up to a day.

I made this earlier in the day, refrigerated it, and served it cold. It was a success! Definitely something different than traditional sweet potato recipes, but also something appropriate for any day of the year - not just Thanksgiving! We also warmed it up for leftovers the next day and it was just as good warm!

Again, I didn't point this out, but we probably got close to 20 servings and I used less oil than the original recipe called for. That's the only thing that brings this up in points value - the oil. But I think it's worth it. With black beans and sweet potatoes there's not much to mess up!

So cooking for my first Thanksgiving holiday was indeed a success!

Thanksgiving Cooking - STUFFING!

As a sort of vegetarian I'm not usually a fan of stuffing since it's often made inside the turkey, so when I found this recipe for Dried-Fruit Stuffing it not only sounded great, but also like a super alternative!

Ingredients:

- One 1-pound loaf unsliced white sandwich bread, cut into 3/4 in cubes (I actually cheated and used store bought prepared stuffing bread mix)

- 1 1/2 (6 ounces) unsalted butter

- 3 large granny smith apples, cored and finely chopped

- 1 large onion, chopped

- 3 ribs celery with leafy tops, chopped

- 2 cups chicken/vegetable broth

- 1 cup golden raisins

- 1/2 cup dried sour cherries

- 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Chop/dice/prepare all the ingredients and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat and add the apples, onion, and celery. Stirring frequently, cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the bread, broth, raisins, dried cherries, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a 3 to 5-quart baking dish and cover. Bake for 20 minutes covered, remove cover and bake for 15 min more or until golden.

The final product was perfect! The combination of dried fruit and veggies made it a great blend of sweet and savory. I kept going back for more as did mostly everyone at the table. The ultimate compliment came from my Bubbie who kept saying how much she liked it! She was genuinely shocked I made it. That to me is a huge compliment because I know I've become a much better cook over the past year. Plus she has probably never eaten anything I've made (not because it was bad, but because it didn't exist)!

As far as WW... I never pointed it out, but I don't think it's that bad! We probably got about 20 servings. I would definitely make this for future Thanksgivings!

Another first - Thanksgiving cooking!

Well, seeing how my venture into cooking begun just about a year ago it's no surprise that I never helped cook the Thanksgiving meal. Part of that was because I usually arrive at my parents house on Thanksgiving day and the other part being that I was not at all interested in helping. But alas, a year later I have all these recipes under my belt and dozens more waiting to be made. Plus this year I arrived the day before the holiday, ready to help!

I discussed what to make with my mom ahead of time and chose options from my long list of bookmarked recipes. In the end we decided I would be responsible for the stuffing and sweet potato dish. Two perfect vegetarian friendly dishes!

The full recipe posts coming next, but the end result looked like so:

Without even trying there was no lack of food! All the staples were covered and it was exciting to have been a part of this!

Now on to the recipes...

Quinoa for the first time

Friday night a friend had a potluck Shabbat dinner so it was another great opportunity to make a new recipe. I decided to bring a side dish and opted for something in the rice or potato family. After looking through alllllll my bookmarked recipes I decided to try my hand at quinoa (pronounced keenwah) and boy am I glad I did! It was super easy and super healthy. This recipe is from Weight Watchers, but I altered it a little. The original recipe said it served 8 and our dinner was going to have 14 people so I made it bigger and also added in mushrooms.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, minced
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 1/4 cup quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
4 cups spinach, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
salt and pepper

Directions:
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is tender, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add quinoa to skillet; cook, stirring frequently, until quinoa starts to turn golden brown, about 2 minutes.
- Add broth, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to pot; bring to a boil.
- Cover skillet and reduce heat to low, simmer for about 15-17 minutes.
- Stir in spinach and mushrooms, cover skillet and cook until spinach and quinoa are tender and liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
- Season with salt.

The final product was great! The red pepper flakes gave it a little kick, which I enjoyed though I may have gone a little overboard on them. Everyone at dinner seemed to enjoy the dish too! And it is super healthy! The original recipe yields about 1/2 cup a serving and is about 1 pt/serving. This tasted great hot, warm, and cold and I think quinoa may be one of my new go-to meals.

Pumpkin Mania!

You know it's Fall when Starbucks starts rolling out it's Pumpkin Spice Latte and every food blog out there starts posting pumpkin inspired recipes. I must admit, that's okay with me. I love pumpkin flavor and the other spices that go along with it - nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, etc. Over the past couple weeks I've probably bookmarked at least a dozen pumpkin recipes, everything from soups to pastas, cookies, breads, etc. Then I came across this recipe for Pumpkin Muffins from one of my favorite blogs ever (BitchBuzz.com) and immediately had to make it! It didn't hurt that I happened to have all the ingredients already in my cabinets (now that is the TRUE sign of someone who has become more of a cook). The only thing I needed was a muffin pan... so I bought one on the cheap and now own my very first muffin pan :)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used Canola oil, my baker roommate told me it was okay to sub)

1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin

2 large eggs

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger

1 1/4 cups PLUS 1 tbsp of sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and put liners in muffin cups.

- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1 1/4 cups sugar, nutmeg, ginger, baking powder and soda, and salt until smooth. Then stir in the flour until well blended.

- In another bowl mix together the cinnamon and extra tbsp of sugar.

- Divide batter among muffin cups, no more than half full, and sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top.

- Bake approx 25-30 minutes until puffed and slightly golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean.

- Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing. Let cool completely until room temperature.

These were omg-good! I probably could've gotten more than 12 muffins out of the recipe, maybe 15, but alas I only had a 12 cup pan. I brought them to work too and everybody loved them! They are perfectly moist and sweet and delicious and even dairy free! Plus so easy! About 5 pts/muffin and worth every bit!

Bon Appetit!

A More Gourmet Mac n Cheese

Working my way through my long catalog of Mac 'n Cheese recipes, this weekend I decided to check another off the list, one that is actually quite different from all the others. This was probably one of the first recipes (not just for Mac n Cheese, but ever) that I bookmarked. It's from Picky Palate and the blogger titles her post Famous Gourmet Mac and Cheese, Artisanal Style and the specific recipe is "Chef Terrance Brennan's Gourmet Mac and Cheese," quite the mouthful indeed.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni (I used whole wheat)

7 1/2 tbsp butter, divided

1/4 cup PLUS 2 tbsp flour

3 cups milk (I used fat-free)

2 1/4 cups Gruyere cheese, shredded

1/2 cup Mascarpone cheese

3/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup Parmesan, grated

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

- Bring 2 quarts of salted water to a boil and add the macaroni. Cook until it's al dente, approximately 6-8 minutes.

- While the macaroni is boiling, slowly melt 5 1/2 tbsp butter over medium high heat in a medium sauce pan.

- Add the flour, stirring, cook together for a minute or so. Do not brown the mixture. Add the milk, whisking to avoid lumps. Bring mixture to a boil and continue whisking. Lower heat and simmer for about 5 minutes until it thickens.

- While the milk is simmering, in a separate pan combine 2 tbsp butter and the bread crumbs.

- Add the Parmesan and cook just until the butter is melted. Remove from heat.

- When the milk is ready, add the Mascarpone cheese. Then add the Gruyere and whisk it all together. As soon as it's melted, remove from heat.

- Season with salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Add the macaroni to the mixture, mix well, and when it's nicely incorporated spoon it out into a cooking dish. I used 8x8, but would recommend 9x13.

-Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top, using your hands to pat it down and to evenly distribute all over the surface. Cook for about 35-40 minutes at 350 degree until golden brown and bubbly.

A couple things about the final product before the verdict. The 8x8 baking dish was not big enough, it started overflowing and I had to put another dish underneath it. As a newbie cook I had no clue what size dish to use and the recipe didn't specify. Also, the recipe said the breadcrumbs would become burnt and crunchy, mine never really did.


So the final verdict? It was good, but not my favorite. The flavors were good and definitely more gourmet than traditional macaroni and cheese, but my final product was ehh. It came out more soupy than casseroley (maybe I needed to cook it longer). Plus it is extremely high in WW world. If you get 10 servings out of this, which would be a lot, that would be 10 pts/serving. Definitely not worth it in my book. But that's what this whole resolution is for... trial and error. Plus I have enough AMAZING Mac n Cheese recipes in my repertoire that it's really okay this one wasn't that amazing. I mean don't get me wrong, it still tasted delicious, but again not worth it to me.