Overnight Fruit and Cream Cheese Danishes

 I have a raging sweet tooth - that should be no secret based on the recipes I've been posting lately - and a particularly soft spot for a well made breakfast pastry.  Bored of my usual fare, I grabbed a stack of old issues of Taste of Home magazine, and was pleased to spot a recipe for Overnight Cherry Danishes in the December/January 2010 issue (page 22).  I had a little birthday breakfast party scheduled for Friday morning and I just knew these would be perfect.

In evaluating the recipe, I saw immediately that it had a lot more yeast than I'd like, so I cut the amount in a little more than half and allowed for a bit more rise time at the end.  I find that I've become sensitive to large amounts of yeast and I prefer the texture and flavor of doughs that rise more slowly.  The dough is enriched with cream, butter and egg yolks, so the crumb is very soft.  It was an interesting dough to work with in that it does not require kneading, and in fact the kneading would encourage the formation of gluten strands and make the dough chewier, which is obviously not the desired result.  I was a little skeptical when I stirred it all together and had a shaggy sticky glob in my bowl, but by the morning, it had risen nicely.  Because of how moist it is, you have to work with it straight out of the refrigerator.  I took the big chunk of now firm and chilled dough, cut it into four equal pieces, and rolled each piece lightly in flour to make it easier to handle.  It was a nice texture to work with, and I could tell as I got to the last piece that as it starts to warm up it gets a bit sticky again.  Definitely don't let it sit around!

I added the cream cheese layer to the filling.  Definitely a must.  I also used homemade cherry preserves and a hastily thrown together homemade fresh blueberry filling rather than canned stuff.  If you haven't been around here very long, you may not know my hatred of high fructose corn syrup.  Nasty stuff.

Last of all, I had some leftover almond struesel topping from a batch of these delicious muffins, and I sprinkled it on about half of the pastries.  I loved it and thought it was a great addition.

The one thing I will do differently next time is to add a bit more fruit filling.  I put these together, then headed out on a nice 8 mile run, so by the time they went into the oven, they'd risen quite a bit more and the filling to pastry ratio shifted to a point of the filling looking skimpy.  We can't have that!  They tasted lovely, still, but I'd be even happier with a bit more fruit.

Plan on about 15 minutes of prep time the night before, and 30 minutes of prep + 60 minutes of rise time + 15ish minutes for baking the day of.  These remained very soft throughout the whole day.  I would even recommend this as a beginner recipe because the dough is so easy to handle.  Don't be put off by the length of the recipe, because it really was simple to put together and the results were so worth it.

Overnight Fruit and Cream Cheese Danishes
(adapted from Taste of Home magazine)

Dough:
2 t. active dry yeast
1/2 cup cream
1 1/2 cups milk
6 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 t. kosher salt
1 cup cold butter
6 egg yolks, beaten

Heat the cream and milk until warm, about 110 degrees.  Stir the yeast in and let it dissolve while you prepare the other dough ingredients.  In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt, then cut the butter in with a pastry blender until crumbly.  Stir in the egg yolks and cream/milk/yeast mixture until it forms a soft sticky ball.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, prepare two baking sheets by misting lightly with cooking spray.  Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide into four equal sections.  Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll each dough chunk around until evenly lightly coated with flour.  Roll each chunk into a 12" x 4" rectangle, then cut into 1"x4" strips.  Pinch two strips together at one end, twist in opposite directions and pinch the other ends together.  Then bend the strip around to form a wreath and pinch to close.  Pinch together the center and press down to make a divot for filling.  Space 12 pastries evenly on each baking sheet for a total yield of 24.

Allow to rise for 45 - 60 minutes while you prepare the fillings below.

Cream Cheese Filling:

8 ounce package cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 t. vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then beat in the remaining ingredients until well combined.   Make a little well in the middle of each pastry, pinching the middle of it together if necessary to close any gaps, and spoon a dollop of cream cheese filling into each.

Fruit Filling:


1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries or raspberries
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 T. cornstarch

In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar and cornstarch until well combined.  Stir in the water and berries, then bring to a low boil over medium low heat, stirring frequently.  Smash a few of the berries with the back of your spoon to release the juices, and simmer for a few minutes until thickened.  Remove from heat and allow to cool before using as pastry topping.  (I find that frozen berries actually work better for this than fresh berries.)

Alternatively, you may use prepared fruit preserves or any fruity pie filling of your choice.

Press the divot in the center of each pastry down again now that they have risen, and spoon a generous spoon full of fruit topping on to each pastry, on top of the cream cheese filling.

Optional Almond Struesel


1/3 cup flour
2 T. sugar
2 T. cold butter
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/2 t. cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a small food processor and pulse until coarse crumbs form.  Sprinkle on top of the fruit filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Allow to cool slightly, then drizzle with one of the glazes below.

Basic Glaze


2 T. melted butter
1 T. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-3 T. milk, added in small amounts to reach drizzling consistency

OR

Lemon Cream Glaze (excellent on top of blueberry filling)

2 T. melted butter
2 T. cream
2 T. lemon juice
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.

Triple Layer Brownies

I'm a big fan of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.  We were given a copy as newlyweds and it is a solid go-to book for all of your basic cooking needs, plus I'm discovering a lot of more adventurous stuff in it lately.  Because you can never have too many cookbooks, my sister gave me the BH&G 75th anniversary edition a couple of years ago when I spied a recipe in her copy that I was dying to have.  It has a fun section in the back that highlights favorite recipes from each decade.  This one caught my eye a few days ago, and we happily devoured most of the pan aside from the few I managed to tuck into the cute box in the picture to give to a friend.  I made a few modifications from the original recipe, mostly just in the amount and quantity of chocolate.  I used milk chocolate chips because that's what I had on hand.  It calls for unsweetened chocolate.  I thought they came out delicious with the milk version.  I also added some short flake unsweetened coconut to the crust base, which I often do to cookies because it lends a lovely chewiness and also seems to help them stay moist and soft for longer.

Triple Layer Brownies


1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 T. baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup short flake unsweetened coconut (optional)

1 egg
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup milk or semisweet chocolate chips (original recipe calls for 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate)
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. baking powder

1/2 cup milk or semisweet chocolate chips (original recipe calls for 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate)
2 T. butter
1 1/2 c. sifted powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
1-2 T. hot water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, 1/2 cup flour, brown sugar, and baking soda.  Stir in the 1/2 cup melted butter.  Pat mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 11x7" pan and bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the middle layer, stir together the egg, granulated sugar, 2/3 cup flour, milk, 1/4 melted butter. Melt the chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring well in between, until smooth.  Stir into the batter and add the vanilla and baking powder and stir until smooth.  Spread in an even layer over the crust.  Bake 25 minutes more, then cool on a wire rack while preparing the next layer.

In a medium saucepan, heat and stir the chocolate and 2 T. butter until melted.  Stir in the powdered sugar and 1/2 t. vanilla.  Stir in enough hot water to make a mixture that is almost pourable.  Spread over the brownies and allow to set up before cutting into squares to serve.

These are very rich, so I suggest cutting them into 1" squares to serve.  I think they'd be marvelous with other flavors thrown in, particularly peanut butter in the crust.

Chinese New Year Chicken Potstickers

Warning:  this food is ugly.  But very tasty.  Honestly, I haven't ever seen much Chinese food that is terribly visually appealing, so I suppose this fits right in.  My oldest daughter is in a Chinese Immersion program at school, meaning that half of her school day is taught entirely in Chinese.  She is loving it, and has picked up on stuff amazingly fast.  Tomorrow is Chinese New Year, so we celebrated a day early and I gave potstickers a try for the first time.  They came out quite well, though I will have to tinker with my gas stove and how fast it heats the oil up.

 First, I sauteed diced chicken and mushrooms in a little olive oil (to be more authentic, I should have used sesame oil but I didn't have any on hand).  Then I added in some freshly grated ginger root, minced garlic, and seasoned it with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, a bit of brown sugar and salt and pepper to taste.  Then I transferred the mixture to my new zippy little food processor (Christmas gift - hooray!).

 A few quick pulses and it was finely chopped, perfect for filling the potstickers.  I like chunks and discernable veggies in my egg rolls, but not potstickers.  They need to be smooth.

Use small round wrappers, found with the egg roll wrappers, usually in the produce section.  Lay out 8-10 on a work surface.  Meanwhile, in a large lidded skillet, heat up a thin layer of vegetable oil.

 Plop a scant tablespoon full of filling in the center of each one.  Dip your fingers into a little bowl of water and moisten the wrapper half way around the rim.

 Pinch each closed, squeezing excess air out.  Now you're ready to cook!

 I took a picture of my first batch, which turned out to brown a bit too quickly.  I still haven't gotten used to the remarkable power of a gas range.  I had it at medium for these, and it was too hot - they browned within seconds of being put into the oil.  I cooked the rest of them much closer to low.  Anyway, fry for 1-2 minutes on each side, until lightly browned, then add 1/4 cup of water to the pan.  I learned the hard way that it spatters like CRAZY.  I suggest having the lid nearly in place, and just sneak the water in and immediately close the lid the rest of the way.  Allow them to steam until all of the water evaporates, about 5-6 minutes, and remove to a serving plate.

 Yep, ugly.  But delicious.  I like the soft-but-chewy-in-places exterior, and the savory, flavorful filling.  I dipped some of mine in orange sauce, but mostly just enjoyed them plain.  These got universal thumbs up from the peanut gallery except for my 3 1/2 year old who was suspicious of the filling.

Chinese New Year Chicken Potstickers


1 raw chicken breast, diced into 1/2" chunks
6 large mushrooms, quartered
1 T. olive oil (or sesame oil)
1 t. freshly grated ginger root
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. low sodium soy sauce
1 T. rice wine vinegar
1 T. brown sugar
freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

Potsticker wrappers
canola oil

In a medium skillet, saute the chicken and mushrooms over medium heat until the juices run clear from the chicken.  Stir in the remaining ingredients down to the salt and pepper and saute for another 2-3 minutes until the flavors are well mixed.  Scoop the mixture into a food processor and pulse a few times until everything is finely chopped.

Lay out 8-10 potsticker wrappers on a work surface.  Meanwhile, pour a thin layer of oil in a large lidded skillet and let it heat up over medium low heat.  Scoop a scant tablespoon of filling onto each wrapper, moisten half way around with your finger dipped in water, and pinch to close, squeezing out the excess air.  Lay the potstickers down in an even layer in the hot oil and let them cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, until lightly golden.

Then, position the pan lid so that it's almost closed and pour 1/4 cup water in.  Immediately close the lid the rest of the way and let the potstickers steam for 5-6 minutes, until all of the water has evaporated.  Remove with tongs.  You may allow them to drain some of the oil off on a paper towel, then serve immediately either plain or with your favorite dipping sauce.  This will yield about 24.

Rachel's Rosemary Chicken Pot Pie

Alas, I have no photo for this post.  You'll have to imagine a piping hot pie with golden crust, lovely green peas and succulent chunks of chicken peeping out of the vent holes.  My 7 year old has a passion for all things gravy, and chicken pot pie happens to combine all of her favorite elements into one tidy dish.  In the past, I usually made the filling, then topped it with a thick biscuit layer.  Then last year, a very sweet friend of mine showed up on my doorstep when I was having a bad day with a chicken pot pie encased in an actual crust.  Rachel was thrilled, and begs me to make it that way on a regular basis.

It's not rocket science, and really, you can shift the vegetables around to different types and different ratios to whatever pleases your palate, but this is how I made it last night and got rave reviews from the peanut gallery.

Rachel's Rosemary Chicken Pot Pie


Double crust for a 10" pie plate*

1 medium sweet vidalia onion, diced
2 cups diced carrots
4 T. butter, divided
2 raw chicken breasts, diced into 1/2" chunks
2 t. garlic powder
1 t. minced dried or fresh rosemary
1/2 t. dried thyme
few grinds each of salt and pepper
1/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 can low sodium chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a medium size nonstick frying pan, melt 2 T. of butter over medium heat.  Stir in the carrots and onion and saute, stirring occasionally, for about 5-6 minutes until the onions are soft.  Remove to a bowl and set aside.  Melt the other 2 T. of butter and add the chicken to the same pan.  Saute for about 7-8 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.  Season with the garlic powder, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper, stir in the carrot and onion mixture, then stir in the flour until the chicken chunks are evenly coated.  Pour the broth into the pan and stir until the flour is dissolved and it begins to thicken.  Add in the peas last, then remove from heat.

Place the bottom crust into a 10" pie pan.  Pour the filling mixture in and spread in an even layer, taking care to not let it slurp over the edges.  Keep the flat top edge clean so that it'll seal well.  Dip your fingertips with a little water and moisten the top edge all the way around.  Cut vent slits into the top crust, then center it on top of the filling.  Press the edges together to seal, trim the excess crust, and flute the edges.

If you want to get all fancy, beat an egg and brush it on top of the crust, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Otherwise, pop it into the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the crust is golden.

This is a very hearty and filling pie, and will serve 6.

*This is where I confess that I haven't found a homemade pie crust recipe that comes out consistently well for me, and I resorted to being a slacker and used a Pillsbury crust.  I figured out their secret when I read the label - they use lard!  Appetizing, eh?  Shortening already gives me the squiggies, but I use it because some recipes really need it, but I can assure you that a tub o' lard will never grace my pantry shelves.

Decadent Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bliss Cupcakes

My oldest snuck bunny ears in just as I was snapping this photo.  After making these cupcakes a few weeks ago, I've been pondering all of the cupcake possibilities since then.  There's been a huge trend in my area of cupcake shops popping up all over the place.  I've visited a few.  Some have been delicious and worth the two bucks.  Some have been utterly disappointing - revoltingly thickly sweet and tasting heavily of cake mix chemicals.  In my opinion, the ones that are best are the ones with surprises in the middle.  Hence my enthusiasm over the peppermint and chocolate ones. 

The center for these little guys is a mixture of chocolate and peanut butter.  Today I also added in some butterscotch chips, but I think they detracted from the nutty flavor I was really looking for.  I'm going to post it without the butterscotch.  Since the frosting is made of cream cheese, they need to be stored in the fridge, but even at that, the center core remained soft.  It's a delicious bit of heaven.  To counteract the sweetness of the cupcake base and frosting, I sprinkled chopped dry roasted salted peanuts on top.  That still wasn't quite enough saltiness for me, so I added a pinch of an amazing greek sea salt on top.  The balance of textures and flavors is fantastic - reminiscent of a snicker's bar but with tasty cream cheese frosting in place of mysterious nougat.

I made some regular size and some minis.  Have to say that the minis are my favorites.  The proportion of cake to yummy filling is much better.  Plus, the whole bite size thing helps me not feel so guilty for eating quite possibly more than I should and they're fun to give away.  Tiny cakes make people smile.

Decadent Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bliss Cupcakes

Cupcakes:


1/2 cup shortening
1 3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 1/3 cups water
2 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

In a medium mixing bowl, cream the shortening and sugar together.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla, cocoa powder, soda and salt.  Add half the water and beat well, then half the flour and beat again.  Add the remaining water and beat and the remaining flour and beat.  Scrape the batter into a gallon ziplock bag and snip the corner off.  Squeeze the batter into cupcake pans prepared with paper liners, either 48 mini cupcakes or 24 regular cupcakes, filling each paper 2/3 full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes for minis and 14-18 minutes for regulars, until the cake springs back lightly when touched.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate peanut butter filling by melting 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips in the microwave in a small bowl.  Microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is smooth.  Stir in 1 cup smooth peanut butter until well combined.

Poke a hole in each cupcake with the handle of a wooden spoon, pushing all the way down.  Pour the filling into a quart ziplock bag and snip the corner off.  Squirt filling into each hole, then drizzle a bit extra around the top of each cupcake.

Frosting

1 8 ounce brick cream cheese
1/2 cup real butter
1/4 t. salt
2 t. vanilla
3 T. caramel syrup (optional)
2 T. milk
4 cups powdered sugar

Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth.  Beat in the salt, vanilla, optional caramel syrup, and half the powdered sugar.  Beat in the milk, then remaining powdered sugar and whip until fluffy.  Scrape into a frosting bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe a swirl on top of each cupcake.

Garnish each cupcake with chopped salted peanuts and an additional sprinkling of sea salt if desired.  Store uneaten cupcakes in the fridge.

Super Simple Sugar Glazed Pork Ribs

I have a 9 year old son that dearly loves ribs.  He has begged for them repeatedly in the last few weeks, ignoring my protestations that it's too darn cold to grill them outside.  Not to mention that it's dark at 4:30 p.m.  He went grocery shopping with me on Saturday night, a really exciting kid date to be sure, and steered me toward the ribs when we got to the meat section.  OK, OK, I can take a hint.  He likes bone in, but I don't, so I exercised my mom-veto powers and went for the boneless country style pork ribs. 

One of my chief complaints about meat in general is that it can easily wind up tough and chewy.  I put my trusty crock pot to use for this recipe, and finished it off with the broiler and wound up with perfect ribs.  They didn't fall apart like I was afraid, but were tender, moist, and had a nicely caramelized glaze on the outside.  I neglected to take a picture before my ravenous kids dug in, and after very enthusiastic reviews, I hurried and snapped this one of the lone ranger still left on the pan.  It wasn't even the best looking one of the bunch, but it's better than no picture at all.  My 3 year old ate two whole ribs herself, and every person at the table enthusiastically cleaned their plates.  I served it with a side of gouda and garlic infused mashed potatoes and buttery sweet corn.  It's definitely staying on the favorites list.

Super Simple Sugar Glazed Pork Ribs

2 pounds boneless country style pork ribs
1 cup barbecue sauce of your choice (we like Jack Daniel's Honey Smokehouse)
1/4 cup brown sugar

Place your ribs in an appropriately sized crock pot (I used my standard round that I'm guessing is 2-3 quarts).  Pour the sauce over them and toss to coat evenly.  Cook on high for 4 hours.  Line a baking pan with foil and use tongs to pull the ribs out of the crock pot and space them evenly on the baking sheet.  Sprinkle brown sugar generously over each rib and heat under the broiler for 3-4 minutes, until the sugar is bubbly and golden.  Use tongs to flip the ribs over and sprinkle the newly exposed bottom with more brown sugar.  Broil again for 3-4 minutes.  Serve promptly with additional barbecue sauce.  (This will serve 4-6 people, depending on how big appetites are.)

Garlic n' Gouda Spuds
6 large redskin potatoes, peeled if desired, and diced into 1/2" chunks
water
1 T. salt
~~~
4 T. butter
1/2 cup shredded gouda cheese, preferably aged gouda for more flavor
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper
1 t. garlic powder (not garlic salt!)

Boil the potatoes in enough water to cover them completely with the salt added to the cook water until they are fork tender.  Drain the water, add the butter, and mash until fluffy.  Mash in the cheese, pepper and garlic powder last, and serve immediately.

Finger Food

Tonight I was in the mood for kid food, except that I can't really bring myself to stomach chicken nuggets from the freezer.  So I dug around a bit in the pantry and came up with a  more grown up version, and paired them with oven roasted sweet potato fries.  My big kids cleaned their plates happily.  I didn't particularly go out of my way to make the nugget coating nutritious because I just grabbed what surfaced first, but I am quite certain you could add some ground flax seed and whole grain cracker crumbs to the mix to nudge the fiber and vitamin content up.

Oven Roasted Sweet Potato Fries

2-3 large yams or sweet potatoes
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper

Peel the yams and slice into fries, roughly 1/2"x1/2"x4".  Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.  Spread out in a single layer on a 10"x15" baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast at 450 degrees for 35-45 minutes to desired doneness, stirring once in the middle.

Grown Up Chicken Strips

3 chicken breasts, sliced across the grain into 1/2" thick strips

2 eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 t. smoked paprika
2 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper

1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup smashed Ritz crackers
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Olive oil

Whisk the egg, yogurt and seasonings together until well combined.  Stir the crumbs and cheese together until well combined.  Pour each mixture into a pie plate.  Heat up a large skillet over medium heat and add 3 T. olive oil.  Dip each piece of chicken into the yogurt mixture, turning to coat evenly, then roll it in the crumb mixture.  Fry on each side for 4-5 minutes, or until the crumb coating is golden brown and juices run clear.  Remove to a paper towel on a wire rack to drain, then serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Peanut Butter Christmas Mice

 I fully intended to get this posted before Christmas, but life got busy.  So, you can either stick this in your archives for next year, or use different colored M&M noses and make them valentine mice or whatever other holiday you choose.  This recipe was originally posted in Taste of Home a few years ago.  The last time I made it was at least 3 years ago, but Ethan has a good memory.  His cub scout pack held a cookie derby last week, and this was the first cookie that popped in to his head.

 These are fun to make, and definitely a kid friendly project.  I find that the dough is just a touch crumbly, so my 3 year old wasn't so much help, but the two bigger kids managed just fine.

 They took great delight in making the eyes and ears point different directions to give the mice a little more individuality.

 I felt a little barbaric sticking the poor suckers in the oven. 

 As soon as they come out, you insert the tasty licorice tail (another fun task for kids).

Bonus points for making a Christmas tree out of gingerbread cookies to complete the whole Night Before Christmas scene.  These are exceptionally cute cookies, fun to make and tasty too.  I highly recommend them for a snowy day activity.

Peanut Butter Mice Cookies

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1/2 cup peanut halves
1/4 cup mini M&Ms (green and red for Christmas, or whatever color you choose)
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
60 2" lengths of shoestring licorice (we used Twizzler pull n' peel)

In a medium bowl, cream the peanut butter, butter and sugars.  Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, baking soda, and then the flour until a dough forms.  Cover with saran wrap and chill for an hour or until easy to handle.

Roll into 1" balls, lightly pinching one end of it to form a nose.  Insert two peanut halves for ears, two chocolate chips for eyes, and a mini M&M for a nose as shown above.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until set.  Immediately insert tail pieces, allow to cool for a few minutes on the sheet, then carefully remove to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.

Santa Sugar Cookies

Soft sugar cookies at this time of the year...perfect.  I can't take credit for the Santa decorating idea - I saw that at my local Kneader's bakery and totally copied it.  We don't even do Santa in our family, but they were so cute I had to make them.  Then I started pondering about how Santa would feel if faced with a plateful of his own face to consume on Christmas Eve.  I'll leave you to make your own decision about that one!

Everyone has their own super secret favorite sugar cookie recipe.  I don't know that this one is more fantastic than any other, but it's serviceable, and works well even without chilling the dough.  I like to add the pinch of nutmeg to the dough or a bit of grated lemon zest to make the flavor more interesting.

Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup real sour cream (read the label - I use Daisy because it doesn't have anything funny in it)
1 cup sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 egg
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
3 cups all purpose unbleached flour

Beat the butter, sour cream, sugar, vanilla and egg together until creamy, then beat in the salt, soda and the flour, one cup at a time until it forms a nice dough ball.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out to a 1/4" thickness and cut into desired shapes.  For Santa heads, a 2 1/2"-3" circle works best.  Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8 minutes at 375 degrees.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter
1/2 t. vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
milk

Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla, adding milk a tablespoon at a time until the frosting reaches a nice fluffy spreadable consistency.

To make Santas, sprinkle red sugar across the top 1/4" of the frosted circle. Place a mini marshmallow on one side for the hat pom pom.  Place two chocolate chips for eyes, a red hot for the nose, and sprinkle coconut on for the beard.

Fudge Puddles

My kids have inherited my love of browsing through cook books.  Ethan spied this recipe in a 2004 Taste of Home cookbook and insisted on making them.  The results were delicious.  I did change the filling recipe because I was out of the called for sweetened condensed milk and didn't have time to run to the store.  I instead made a chocolate ganache base and it was wonderful.  Soft, but not drippy.  Perfect counterbalance to the peanut buttery crust.  These are simple to put together and my kids enjoyed rolling the balls of dough.

You can see by the variation in height that I had lots of help making these.  We also managed to make 5 dozen rather than the 4 dozen listed in the recipe, not a bad thing at all!  After baking the balls of dough in a mini muffin tin, I simply pushed the centers down with the end of a wooden spoon right after they came out of the oven and then let them cool for about 10 minutes before removing them from the pan.

Fudge Puddles

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Filling:
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1 T. vanilla extract

Chopped salted peanuts

In a mixing bowl, cream butter, peanut butter and sugars.  Beat in the egg and vanilla, then beat in the remaining dry ingredients until a dough forms.  Roll into 1" balls and place each ball into the well of a mini muffin tin that has been misted with cooking spray.  Bake at 325 for 14-16 minutes, until just set and the centers begin to sink. 

Immediately upon removal from the oven push the centers down with a wooden spoon handle.  Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling, heat the cream up to a simmer over medium low heat in a heavy skillet.  Remove from heat and add the chocolate chips and vanilla.  Let it sit for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth.  Pour the filling into a quart freezer bag, snip a small hole in the tip, and fill each cookie cup.  Sprinkle with chopped peanuts if desired.  The filling may not set up very firmly if your kitchen is warm.  This is easily remedied by putting them in the fridge for a few minutes. 

Makes 48-60, depending on the size of your dough balls.

Cheddar Bacon Cornbread Muffins

These are a fantastic accompaniment for a hearty bowl of soup.  I took the basic cornbread muffin recipe out of my trusty Better Homes & Gardens cookbook and simply added some whole kernel corn, shredded bacon and cheddar cheese with very pleasing results.  I think they'd be awesome with pepper jack cheese, but in deference to the wimpy taste buds in my house I stuck with cheddar.  I ate the last one the next day and it was nice and moist.  I'll definitely make these again.

Cheddar Bacon Cornbread Muffins

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal (I used yellow)
2-3 T. sugar
2 1/2 t. baking powder
3/4 t. salt
2 beaten eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup whole kernel corn, fresh or canned, drained
1/4 cup shredded real bacon bits
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and generously mist a regular sized muffin pan with cooking spray.  In a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.  In a small bowl, combine the eggs, milk and oil.  Add the liquid to the flour mixture all at once and stir until just moistened.  Fold in the corn, bacon and cheddar cheese and spoon equal amounts into the muffin cups.  Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are lightly golden brown and the tops spring back when you depress lightly with your finger.  Serve immediately or remove to a wire rack to cool.

Seared Pink Peppercorn and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

I went to Colorado last week with my kids for a quick trip to see my family.  I made time for a trip to the Savory Spice Shop, and just like the first time I went there, it was very very worth it (pssst...they do flat rate shipping).  I came away with a sack full of culinary inspiration.  The flavors of freshly ground spices will absolutely knock your socks off and flood you with desire to whip up something delicious in the kitchen.  I am particularly partial to their True Ceylon Cinnamon, which is sweet and so cinnamony it almost seems fake.  This time, I also purchased a bottle of their Vietnamese cinnamon, which they told me is their absolute top seller.  It's also very cinnamony but the sweetness is tempered with a firey kick.  Cardamom, achiote paste, California bay leaves, a microplane grater with some whole spices included, a moroccan blend called Ras El Hanout, crystallized ginger and some pink peppercorns rounded out my purchase.  I've already used almost all of them.  The achiote goes into my Puerco Pibil.  I tossed a bay leaf into my pot of "cream of whatever's in the fridge" soup.  I made a chicken and apricot recipe with the Ras El Hanout, and I added cardamom and crystalized ginger along with hunks of dark chocolate to my gingersnap recipe with awesome results.  I'm all about tweaking old recipes to make them better.

So let's talk about the pink peppercorns.  I wouldn't have even tried them if the guy at the store hadn't made me.  They're not hot peppery like you'd expect.  More like a blast of pine flavor with a little zip at the end.  I knew immediately that they'd be most excellent paired with pork and rosemary with a fruity finish, and I was right.  You could absolutely substitute coarsely ground fresh pepper in this recipe, but if you can ever get your hands on the pink ones, give them a try for sure!  It turns out that they're not actually peppercorns at all, but are related to cashews.  Who'da thunk it?  Here's my creation:

Seared Pink Peppercorn and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

1 pork tenderloin (generally around 2 pounds)

2-3 T. olive oil

kosher salt

1 T. pink peppercorns (or 1/2 T. freshly ground pepper)

2 large sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped

High quality cherry or apricot preserves (Bonne Maman is my personal favorite)

In a large, oven proof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat for a few minutes.  Sprinkle the tenderloin with salt, peppercorns and rosemary, and sear on all four sides  for 2-3 minutes each, rotating with tongs.  Pop the skillet into an oven heated to 400 degrees and cook for an additional 30-40 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads 155-160 degrees.  (I have found that with a lower rimmed skillet, the cooking time will be shorter than this, and with a high rimmed pot that's more like a dutch oven, the cook time can be as high as 50 minutes, so definitely go off the meat temperature).  Remove from the oven and roll the meat around just a bit in the drippings to soak up all the flavor.  Allow it to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.  Fruit preserves are an excellent accompaniment, and if you are so inclined, the pan drippings would make an excellent gravy.  I recommend serving this with a side of roasted root vegetables.

Cherry Almond Streusel Muffins

These luscious beauties are really so much a treat that it seems sinful to eat them for breakfast.  But that didn't stop me.  Nosiree!  I've had my eye on this recipe for a long time, one of the many gems that I found in my Jackson Hole Cooks cookbook.  That book alone made our trip to Yellowstone worth it!  The original recipe calls for raspberry jam, but I have such a fondness for the Bonne Maman cherry preserves that I had to try it that way.  I was not disappointed.  The list of ingredients looks long and daunting, but it really only took a few minutes to put together and they were very worth the effort.  These earned universal thumbs up from everyone but my 2 1/2 year old, but her opinion doesn't count ;).

I found that the quantity of cream cheese filling in the original recipe was roughly double what I needed.  I used the excess in a pan of cream cheese brownies - a real tragedy to be sure - but I'd rather not have to deal with extra so I am posting it with half the amount.  The batter is very thick and reminiscent of biscuit dough.  I recommend dividing it in half before you begin filling the muffin cups to make sure you don't run out of it for the tops.  I lightly pressed it into the cups, leaving a little depression in the middle to cradle the filling.

Even so, I didn't have as much batter for the tops and I was concerned that the filling would make a mess.  I was generous with the streusel topping, which proved to help seal things together nicely.

The finished product.  Soft, slightly nutty topping, creamy filling in the middle and 100% decadent.  Enjoy!

Cherry Almond Streusel Muffins

Muffin: 

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 t. each baking powder and baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/2 cup cold, firm butter (no substitutes!)

1 egg

3/4 cup sour cream

1 t. almond extract

Muffin filling:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 egg yolk

2 T. sugar

1/2 t. vanilla extract

2/3 cup cherry preserves (or other fruit preserves of your choice)

Streusel topping:

1/3 cup flour

2 T. sugar

2 T. cold, firm butter

1/3 cup sliced almonds

1/2 t. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 12 cup regular sized muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, egg, sugar and vanilla, and beat until smooth and creamy.  Set aside.  In a small food processor, combine all of the streusel ingredients and pulse a few times until combined and roughly chopped.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the dry muffin ingredients.  Cut in the butter using a pastry blender until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, sour cream and almond extract until smooth, then add to the flour mixture, stirring until the mixture is just moistened.

Divide the batter in half and place equal amounts of the first half in each muffin cup, leaving a slight depression in the middle.  Divide the cream cheese filling equally between the cups, and top off with a dab of jam.  Divide the remaining batter between the muffin cups and spread it as close to the edges as you can to cover the filling.  Sprinkle a generous amount of streusel topping over each muffin.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Cool muffins for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and serve immediately.

Saturday Night BBQ Chicken Calzones

These were a product of my husband's imagination.  You have to understand, first of all, that he is a die hard red sauce + meat + cheese and none of this funny business on his pizza kind of a guy.  So I was pleasantly surprised when he specifically asked me to make calzones with barbecue sauce and chicken in them, and I took off from there.  They were really, really tasty, I must say.  The kids ate seconds.  We enjoyed the leftovers the next day.  Definitely a must make again recipe.

See all that melty cheesy saucy goodness?  YUM!

Calzones

Double batch of pizza crust dough**
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed
kosher salt, fresh ground pepper
Barbecue sauce of your choice (we prefer Jack Daniel's Original No. 7 recipe or Honey Smokehouse)
1 large bell pepper, preferably orange, yellow or red
1 small purple onion
olive oil
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup real bacon bits

Make your pizza crust according to the directions.  While it is rising, fire up the grill and let it preheat at medium for a few minutes.  Sprinkle kosher salt and pepper over the chicken breasts, and put them on the grill.  Cook for 7-8 minutes on the first side.  Meanwhile, slice the purple onion into 1/4 thick rounds, not separating the rings, and quarter the bell pepper so that you have relatively flat slabs.  Drizzle a little olive oil over the veggies and carefully toss to coat, leaving the onion rings intact.  Sprinkle a little more salt and pepper on top.  Add them to the grill when you flip the chicken breasts over, taking care to place the peppers farther away from the flames because they'll burn quickly if you're not careful.

Baste the newly exposed cooked side of the chicken breast with sauce, and shut the lid for another 7-8 minutes.  Flip the chicken over one last time and baste  again with sauce, and and flip over the veggies at the same time.  If you're feeling really snappy, drizzle a little sauce on them too.  Once the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is nicely caramelized but not burned, remove the chicken and veggies to a plate and let the chicken rest for a few minutes before slicing into thin strips.  At this point, you will slice the pepper slabs into 1/4" wide strips and separate the onion rings.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Spray a couple of baking sheets lightly with cooking spray.  Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a circle about 8" in diameter.  Place a helping of peppers, onions, chicken, cheese and bacon on each one and finish it off with a generous tablespoon (or so) of sauce.  Pull the sides up and pinch to close.  If you want to be all fancy and scientific about it, mix the filling around a little bit, but I found that it worked just fine this way.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the calzones are uniformly golden brown, and devour immediately.  I have a sneaking suspicion that these would be awesome with a little bit of well drained pineapple, but a certain someone in my house doesn't think you should add fruit to pizza or pizza-like concoctions.

**This particular batch of dough I used both white wheat and semolina flour as my whole grain mix along with all purpose flour as directed in the recipe.  I find that I really really love semolina in pizza doughs.  It adds a brightness of flavor and I love the sunshiney yellow color.

Moist and Chewy Granola Bars

When the weather is gray and murky, I turn to food blog surfing for comfort and inspiration.  Bring on the carbs, I say!  Smitten Kitchen posted a recipe for granola bars that caught my eye.  Just like everything else I cook, I used that recipe as a basic guideline and really just did my own thing.  I'm pleased to say that the pan of gooey nuts, craisins and oats turned into some really wonderfully tasty bars.  I'm not sure I can go quite as far as calling them truly healthy, because they do have butter and brown sugar in them, but I used a nice blend of whole wheat flour, oats, flax, pure almond butter, cashews, almonds and sunflower seeds to counteract them, and skipped the corn syrup in favor of honey and  maple syrup.  This is the sort of recipe that you can unleash your imagination for combination possibilities and be hard pressed to go wrong.  I'm thinking they're a great grab-n-go breakfast choice.

Moist and Chewy (and even mostly healthy) Granola Bars

Dry ingredient mix:

1 2/3 cup quick rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 cup ground flax seed

2-3 cups your choice of nuts and dried fruits (I used sunflower seeds, cashews, almonds, coconut and craisins), chopped coarsely if desired

Wet ingredient mix:

6 T. melted butter

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/3 cup peanut or almond butter

1 t. vanilla (optional)

Prepare an 8x8 square pan or an 11x7 rectangular pan by lining it in one direction with parchment paper, allowing some overhang for easy removal after baking.  Lightly mist the ends of the pan that are not covered with parchment.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together until well combined.  In a small bowl, mix all of the wet ingredients together, then stir into the dry ingredient mixture until everything is uniformly coated.  Press into an even layer in the pan.

Bake the bars for 30 minutes, or until the edges and top are golden.  It will still yield to touch in the center, but will set up as it cools.  Allow it to cool in the pan for 20 minutes or so before gently lifting it out by the parchment paper overhang onto a wire rack.  Once it is entirely cool, cut into bars with a serrated knife.  Store in a tightly closed container.  SK says you can freeze these - I doubt they'll last long enough here for that to be an issue ;).

Sun Dried Tomato Penne Bake

This is one of those random creations that I put together that turned out well enough that it warrants duplicating.  I have a problem with creativity in the kitchen.  Stuff turns out tasty, and then I can't remember what I put in it when I want to make it again.  That's half the reason I started food blogging!  Anyway, back to this recipe.  This is a concept that is very adaptable and I think would be totally amazing with some grilled zucchini, fresh basil or roasted tomatoes in the height of summer.  I meant to put asparagus in it but totally spaced it...I'll have to make it that way next time.  You can also easily prepare it in advance and pop it into the oven right before dinner.  I made two pans full of it, one so that I could feed my family at the usual time, and a second for a batch of visitors that were later in coming, and it worked out just fine.

Sun Dried Tomato Penne Bake

1/2 pound penne pasta, cooked al dente and drained (I prefer Barilla Plus pasta)

2 chicken breasts

kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

3 T. each lemon juice and honey

1 cup sun dried tomato strips packed in oil

10 mushrooms

2 T. butter

1/2 cup shredded real bacon

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

3/4 cup cream

1/4 cup pine nuts

Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and grill over medium high heat for about 7 minutes on each side.  Before you turn them over for the first time, baste them with a mixture of lemon juice and honey, then baste again right after turning and one last time a minute or so before you take them off the heat.  Set aside on a plate covered with foil to rest for a few minutes before slicing.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mist a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and pour the drained penne into the pan.  Meanwhile, heat up a large skillet over medium heat, add the butter and let it melt, then add the mushrooms and saute until just starting to turn golden.  Season with salt and pepper, toss in the bacon bits just to heat them up, then pull the pan off the heat. 

Pulse the sun dried tomatoes in a food processor until loosely pureed.  Slice the chicken breasts into thin strips.  Stir the chicken breast strips, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms and bacon gently into the pasta until everything is well combined.  Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top of it all, then drizzle the cream evenly over the top of the cheese.  Sprinkle the pine nuts on top and cover with foil.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until heated through and the cheese is melted, then turn the broiler on high and broil for 3-5 minutes until the cheese and pine nuts are nicely golden and toasted.  Serve immediately.  (If you put it in the fridge for a while before cooking, you may need to add an extra 5-10 minutes of cook time.)

Semolina Sweetheart Rolls

These lovelies are simply a variation of the Semolina Bread I posted last. I added a splash of molasses for an extra flavor boost and formed them in muffin tins. My kids were delighted to discover that they look like hearts.

I have a new absolute favorite jam - Bonne Maman Cherry Preserves. My local grocery store carries it, and it is a slice of heaven! No nasty corn syrup to sully the flavor of the marvelous concoction of ripe cherries and sugar. It's totally amazing on these rolls and we've also found it to be delicious inside crepes with a dollop of whip cream and a few slivered almonds.

~~~

Semolina Sweetheart Rolls

~~~

1 1/3 cups warm water

2 t. active dry yeast

3 T. butter

3 T. molasses

4 T. honey

3/4 t. kosher salt

1 1/2 cups semolina flour

1 1/2-2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

~~~

In a medium bowl dissolve the yeast in the water until softened. Stir in the butter, molasses, honey, salt and semolina flour and let this mixture rest for 10-15 minutes until it begins to rise and bubble.

~~~

Stir in enough all purpose flour until it forms a nice glob, then sprinkle a generous amount over the top and knead it in, adding more flour as needed until it forms a smooth and elastic ball, about 5-6 minutes.

~~~

Drizzle a small amount of oil over the dough and turn to coat until the bowl and the dough ball are evenly and lightly oiled. Cover bowl with a towel and set aside to rise until it is doubled, about 70 minutes.

~~~

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide into 24 equal chunks. Form each into a ball and place two balls into each well of a regular sized muffin pan that has been misted with cooking spray. Let rise until nearly doubled, about 20-30 minutes, then bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes or until golden.

~~~

Immediately after removing them from the oven, rub a pat of butter over the tops, then remove to a wire rack. Serve immediately or store in a ziplock bag once completely cooled and reheat before serving.

~~~

Makes 12 rolls

Golden Semolina Bread

My mill is still not back from the repair shop, and I am beginning to get twitchy from a lack of whole grains. I used the last few scraps of wheat flour up a week ago. I was hankering for some homemade bread, though, and decided to experiment with using a higher proportion of semolina than I have before. Semolina is coarsely ground durum wheat, so it is a whole grain. It has a fine sandy texture to it, so it'd be difficult to make something with that as the sole flour, but it adds such a nice sunshiney flavor and color that I often add a 1/4 or 1/2 cup to pizza and roll doughs. I buy mine in bulk from Kitchen Kneads in West Jordan where it is far more economical than purchasing a one pound bag at the grocery store. If you don't live in Utah, you may be able to find it at places like Whole Foods or any store that carries bulk grains.

Anyway, I completely made this recipe up from scratch. I went easy on the yeast because I like the texture of breads that rise a little more slowly. The dough was very easy to handle during kneading (I do all my doughs by hand by choice and necessity - I don't have a mixer, but I also love to feel it come together) and much less sticky than other doughs I usually work with. The kids totally raved about this bread. The crumb is soft, the texture wonderful. I have to confess that it took longer to rise than I was prepared for, so I actually formed it into three mini loaves so I could knock 10 minutes off the cook time. It worked out nicely. For the quantities listed here, you can either make one regular sized loaf or three minis, and it should be able to be doubled without any problems.

Golden Semolina Bread

1 1/3 c. warm water
2 t. active dry yeast
3 T. butter, melted
4 T. honey
3/4 t. kosher salt
1 1/2 c. semolina flour
1 1/2 - 2 c. unbleached all purpose flour

In a medium mixing bowl combine the water and yeast and let sit for a few minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Stir together the butter, honey and kosher salt and add to the water and yeast. Stir in the semolina flour, then let this mixture sit for about 10-15 minutes or until it begins to rise and bubble.

Stir in enough all purpose flour until the dough begins to form a glob, then sprinkle a generous amount on top and knead it in, adding more flour as necessary until the dough turns into a smooth and elastic ball, about 5-6 minutes.

Drizzle a small amount of oil over the dough, then turn to coat the dough ball and the bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, 70-90 minutes. Dump out onto a very lightly oiled work surface and gently stretch out into a square. Fold it into fourths, then press it into a rectangle as wide as your loaf pan and three times as long. Roll up jelly roll style and pinch to seal. Place in the pan and let rise until nearly doubled again, about 20 minutes.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until nicely golden brown. If doing mini loaves, bake for 20-22 minutes. Immediately remove to a wire rack to cool. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Perfect Turkey

I mean it. This is a 100% fool proof recipe. I have posted this before, a long time ago, lumped in with several other recipes in one post, but this is one that I get asked for frequently enough that it warrants it's own real post with pictures. Plus, I've learned a thing or two over the years after making it several dozen times. One of my versions of this was published in Taste of Home a few months ago, which resulted in a mildly unnerving phone call from a guy on the East Coast that had some questions about how to prepare it, and just wanted to let me know that he was making my recipe. TOH publishes first and last name as well as home town with each recipe, which I never saw as problematic before that phone call. Now it has honestly made me think twice about submitting more recipes. I'm sure he was just a nice old fella, but that was just a bit over the line. Anyway, on with the recipe.

First, select a nice bone in turkey breast. Boneless turkey breasts are just plain weird. They take all the meat hunks and press them into a lump and wrap mesh around it. Not terribly appetizing - take my word for it. I can fit up to an 8 pound breast in my 6 quart oval crock pot, though that is definitely pushing the limit. You'll definitely be safe with one around 7 pounds. Thaw it, either by putting it in the fridge a couple days in advance, or if you're like me and you decide that you've got a hankering for turkey dinner that morning, pull it out of the freezer and let it sit in a sink full of hot water for a couple hours. That size of a bird actually thaws relatively quickly. Remove the nasty gravy packet from the chest cavity and throw it away, then rinse the bird off and stick it in the crock pot, breast side down.

I used to remove the skin before cooking. It's a horrid job, and I've lately found that it slips off quite easily after cooking, plus lends better flavor to the broth if you leave it on. Since I hate to handle raw meat, I now leave it on.

Next, tuck 5-6 cloves of garlic in and around the breast, grind some freshly ground pepper over it all and sprinkle a generous pinch of kosher salt. Tuck 4-5 sprigs of fresh rosemary in and around (you can use dried as well, but the flavor of fresh is really worth it), and last of all a tablespoon of brown sugar. For more savory flavor, you can toss a peeled whole shallot into the cavity.

Put the lid on. If you're like me and tend to choose bustier turkey bosoms than your crock pot can handle, you might wind up with a gap between the lid and the pot. Like this one. There was a centimeter gap. So I simply placed a towel over the lid, followed by a layer of tin foil, and then pulled out some old sacks of beans that have been pressed into service for this very thing a number of times, and weighted the lid down. Works like a charm, but I wouldn't push it any farther than I did.

Set it to cook on low for 8 hours or high for 6. Walk away and let the pot do it's magic. When the cook time is up, pull the breast out and flip it upside down on a plate. Tent it loosely with foil and let the juices settle for at least 10 minutes before pulling the meat off. Usually, the meat literally just falls off the bones in two neat breasty hunks, which are super easy to slice for serving.

Now it's time to make gravy. Easy stuff, I promise. I slurp all of the juices out of the pot with a turkey baster and pour them into a pyrex cup. I usually get around 2 cups. (Notice that I did not have to add any water to the pot to achieve this - it's pure turkey magic.) Melt 2 T. of butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, then whisk in 2 T. flour until it forms a thick paste. Slowly whisk in the turkey juices, bit by bit, making sure that you incorporate the flour well and smoothly. Once all the juices have been added, correct the seasoning as needed with a little more pepper (I have never needed to add more salt) and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. Done!

~~~

This is such moist and tender turkey that you may never cook a full bird again. I have hosted Thanksgiving before with only this kind of turkey. I lined up three pots in the garage, and voila! Not only did I have perfect turkey that everyone swooned over, but I also didn't have it competing for oven space.