Serving Seconds

This past Saturday, I joined a few of my fellow blogging gals for some totally necessary holiday crafting, hosted by the lovely Miss Lauren. There was lots of glitter, glue, and sparkles…and homemade eggnog, courtesy of me!
 
I took a stab at crafting up a couple ornaments, but I had a bit of an inferiority complex compared to the likes of Rachel, Mere, Camille, and Emily…seriously, some people are just born to DIY. I’ll just stick with what I know best, and that means keeping the drinks a-flowing.

 

 

Homemade Eggnog 

For the eggnog:

• 1 dozen egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 cups of milk*
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 to 1½ cups bourbon
• 1 whole nutmeg

For the whipped cream:

• 2 cups of whipping cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

To prepare:

1. In a large saucepan over low heat, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and 4 cups of milk. Continue warming the mixture, stirring continually, until it begins to thicken. Once it reaches 160 degrees (F) or coats the back of a spoon, remove from heat.
2. Pour in the remaining 4 cups of milk, vanilla, and bourbon. Refrigerate the mixture until cold, at least 4 hours (or overnight).
3. To prepare the whipped cream, combine the whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl, and beat until stiff peak forms.
4. To prepare the drink, pour a serving of eggnog in a glass, top with a dollop of whipped cream, and grate the fresh nutmeg on top (using a zester).

Serves 8-10

*I prefer to use 2% milk so that the eggnog is not too thick.

 

 

PS…how I really want to drink my eggnog.

Hey friends! How have you been? It’s been a few weeks since I’ve done one of these Friday round-ups, and, gosh, I missed them! I thought it was due time to get back on track, since there are just a few of them left to be written in 2013. How did that happen?!

 

Ok, so two major updates to share today. First off, happy birthday to my sweet hubby, Kevin! Hard to believe it’s already time to add another item to this list! I have to say, I love him for always being my biggest supporter…and also for being the best syrup, gravy, and chocolate sauce pourer of all time (you guys didn’t think I did that on my own, didja?).

 

Also, eek, I get chills every time I think of it…my sister got engaged!! And, the best part, her boyfriend did it in front of the family at our Thanksgiving dinner. I’ve never seen anyone get proposed to before, and it was maybe one of the coolest things ever. Congrats Ginger & Steve!

 

Ok folks, here are my favorite links for the week…and the winner of Hamilton Beach blender giveaway announced below!

\\ Enjoying some beach time with my niece last weekend…ahhhh So Cal //

 

Sad to hear of Judy Rodgers’ passing…she will forever be remembered for her iconic Zuni Chicken.

 

Top Chef is so heating up! Was not sorry to see Miss Attitude depart this week.

 

You guys, the srirachapocolypse…it’s here. Stock up while you can.

 

Tosca getting some much-deserved love from Bauer.

 

Dear Santa, this amazingness has been added to my Christmas list.

 

This festive dessert is definitely making an appearance at my book club Christmas party on Sunday.

 

New addition to the Chef Wall, Mr. Rene Redzepi…an honor to meet him at a recent SF event.

 

Just getting into this read…haven’t gotten to the part where he becomes a total jerk, but I know it’s coming.

 

Confession…totally obsessed with this song (thanks to my niece, of course).

 

Last, congrats to the Hamilton Beach blender giveaway winners! Lovely J. will receive the Smoothie Smart Blender, and Julie A. will receive the Single Serve Blender. I’ll be reaching out by email for your address details. Congrats!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have a great weekend!

Before all of your turkey leftovers run out, I wanted to share this scrumptious recipe for turkey pot pie that is one of my all-time favorites. What I love about this recipe is the addition of thyme in the crust, which adds such a lovely herbaceous flavor. And that crunch fleur de sel on top! Just gets me every time.

 

This is a great recipe to feed a group, and the pie filling freezes great, if you’ve had your fill of turkey for now.

Turkey Pot Pie

For the crust:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 heaping tablespoon minced thyme
• 2 sticks cold butter, cut into large cubes
• 1/2 cup ice water
• 1 egg, plus 1 tablespoon water
• fleur de sel

For the filling:

• 1/2 stick of butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup carrot, finely diced
• 1/2 cup celery, finely diced
• 1/3 cup flour
• 3 cups stock (chicken or turkey)
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup frozen corn
• 1 tablespoon minced parsley
• salt & pepper

To prepare:

1. Start by preparing the crust. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and thyme. Add in the cubes of butter; using your hands to smash the butter into the flour, leaving large pea size chunks of butter. Then add enough ice water to the mixture so the dough just starts to hold together. Gather into a disk, wrap in plastic, and allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the over to 375 degrees.
3. To prepare the pie filling, heat the butter and olive oil in a large pan. Add the onion, carrot, and celery, and saute until the onion is translucent (about 5 minutes). Then sprinkle the flour over the veggies, allowing to toast in the oil for 4-5 minutes. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil so that the mixture stars to thicken. Add the corn, peas, and parsley, and season with salt & pepper. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
4. To assemble the pies, divide the pie filling among your cooking vessels. Then roll the dough out to abut 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Using a knife or biscuit cutter, cut out pie tops so that the edge will extend about 1/4 inch over the rim of the individual pie cooking vessels.
5. Prepare the egg wash by whisking together the egg and water in a small dish. Using a pastry brush, brush the outside edge of each pie topper, and place it on top of the cooking vessel, so that the egg wash is touching the rim, and press the pie topping around the edge.
6. Brush the top of the pie pastries with the egg wash, and lightly sprinkle the fleur de sel. Using a paring knife, cut a small slit into the top center of the pie crust.
7. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.

Make 6 small or 4 large pot pies.

PS…any leftover cranberry sauce? Then you may want to take a peek at this recipe for Cranberry Cheese Danishes I shared over at My Cooking Spot yesterday!

 

My favorite part of Thanksgiving, hands down, has to be the gravy. More so, the fact that it’s completely ok to pour gravy all over your entire plate of food, and you’re allowed to do so guilt free. In fact, it’s encouraged.
 
You always hear horror stories of lumpy gravy and such, but I’ve really never encountered that issue…not that I’m some pro, but if you follow some pretty basic steps for how to make gravy, I think you’ll find it’s actually pretty easy.

To make a quality gravy, you must take a step back and start with the roasting of the turkey. In the bottom of your roasting pan, you want to add aromatic veggies and herbs to start building the flavor foundation for what will later become your gravy. You can get a little bit creative here if you like, but I like to stick with the basics…1 onion, 2 carrot, 3 celery stalks, a few sprigs thyme, a bit of salt, and chicken stock (here I used 3 cups). As your turkey roasts, all of its juices will start to drip down into this pool of yumminess, and the veggies and herbs will work their magic infusing flavor.

Once your turkey is done roasting, it will need about 30 minutes to rest so this is when you get to gravy making. You’ll want to lift your turkey out of the pan with the rack, and set it aside under a tent of foil.  Left behind in the pan will be a pool of veggie chunks mixed with the stock and drippings. This gets strained and poured into a gravy separator, like so…

The gravy separator is  an odd, but genius, contraption. As a kid, I would always see my mom using one of these things, and I wondered “what in the heck is that thing?” But after making gravy it all becomes clear. You see, all of the fat rises to the top, leaving behind the stock at the bottom. With the positioning of the spout, you are able to pour out just the stock, leaving the fat behind…and there, my friends, you have separation. But don’t throw anything out! You’ll be reuniting the fat and and stock in gravy glory shortly.

Now comes the fun part. Add the fat back to your roasting pan, and place it on the stove over medium-high heat. Sprinkle in about half a cup of flour.  Next comes a very important step…browning the flour. I can’t stress this enough. You want to cook the flour in the fat, stirring constantly, until it gets nice and toasty. This should take about 4-5 minutes. You’ll know it’s working when you smell the most amazing toasty aroma wafting up to your nose. It’s one of my favorite smells ever.

Once your flour is toasted, you can add in the stock you set aside earlier, whisking as you pour. Feel free to add additional stock here to create more gravy (store-bought is perfectly fine; homemade is even better). Everything will be very soupy at first, but once you bring it to a boil, you will see it immediately start to thicken. This is all thanks to the flour.  There is no exact timing here as far as doneness. The gravy is basically done when it gets to a thicker consistency, but not gummy.  If things get too thick, not to worry! Just add in more stock. Also, here’s when you want to taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
 
When serving gravy, it’s important to keep it as warm as possible. My mom always kept her gravy warm in a small crockpot, which is a great idea. I tend to use a gravy boat, but I warm it up in the oven first and I don’t pour the gravy in until right as dinner is being served.

 
Looking for more Thanksgiving inspiration? You can find it here:

Cranberry Sauce
Grandma Blacker’s Stuffing
Blanched Green Beans
Brussels Sprouts
Herb Dinner Rolls
How to Brine a Turkey
How to Roast a Turkey
Mulled Cider

 

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Please don’t hesitate to let me know if I can help with any of your cooking questions. And don’t forget to check back on Friday for a yummy recipe using your turkey leftovers!