BBQ Chicken Salad with Creamy BBQ Cilantro Lime Dressing

Memorial Day weekend kicks off the start to Summer. Summer. Summer.
It's been a long Spring here in Utah. One of those keep 4 blankets,boots,hat,gloves,scarf and portable heater at all times in your car for the baseball game seasons. So glad it is finally warming up.
Summer means salads. I've been looking for an excuse to try out this recipe I Pinned a while back.
Verdict? Loved it. My new favorite.
I think there is a similar salad at CPK? This salad comes from the blog Erin's Food Files. She adapted the recipe from Mel at Mel's Kitchen Cafe, but added her own twist, by throwing in some roasted sweet potatoes and succotash (a dish consisting of corn and any type of beans cooked together).
Hello Summer. So glad you're almost here.

BBQ Chicken Salad with Creamy BBQ Cilantro Lime Dressing
Adapted from Erins Food Files and Mel's Kitchen

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Chicken* early in the day, or day before prepare chicken in marinade:
4 chicken breast halves, any fat trimmed off
3/4 cup of barbecue sauce to marinate chicken

Salad:
1 large head romaine

12 cups lettuce Spring Mix or Spinach (about 1/2 of a Costco box of Spring Mix)
2 sweet potatoes, baked or grilled on bbq  just until soft

olive oil for brushing on sweet potatoes

Succotash:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
juice of 2 limes
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
2-15 oz cans black beans, drained & rinsed ( I like S&W brand regular or organic)
3 cups corn, frozen
1 teaspoon each sea salt & pepper

Dressing:
1 1/3 cup mayonnaise, light or regular, I used light Best Foods
2/3 cup buttermilk, sour cream, or nonfat greek yogurt, I used light sour cream
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
4 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
few generous dashes fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup BBQ sauce (you may use either home made or bottled) and additional for drizzling on salad
2-3 tablespoons milk, if needed for thinning dressing

The day before serving salad or early in the day:

Chicken:
Marinate chicken in BBQ sauce at least 6 hours. I like to use a large Ziplock bag. After marinating, preheat grill, and cook chicken until done.  Barbecue the chicken on low heat for about 8-9 minutes per side, depending on thickness of meat. Remove from heat, check for doneness. If cooked through, let rest for about 5-10 minutes. Slice after cooled.

Succotash:
Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add beans & corn, season with salt & pepper. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Dressing:
Combine all the ingredients together and whisk (or shake, if using a jar) vigorously to combine. I used a blender and pulsed the ingredients.

Assembly:

Place lettuce on platter or large bowl. Layer on top of lettuce with black bean & corn succotash, sweet potatoes, and chicken. Drizzle with additional BBQ sauce, followed by the Creamy BBQ Cilantro Lime Dressing.

Tips:
-Great dish for make-ahead. I made the entire salad the night before and bagged all of the ingredients separately. Then in the afternoon, took to a luncheon and assembled it in just a few minutes.
-You may use any combo of ingredients for the succotash. It would be delicious with red or yellow peppers, chopped onion (red, yellow or white) or tomatoes. I added  small grape tomatoes and loved the color and flavor.
-This serves about 20 as a side dish, and is easily halved.
-I like to make my own bbq sauce (recipe found here), but didn't have any on hand, so I used 'Sweet Baby Rays" bottled sauce in this dressing, and for the marinade.
-For the sweet potatoes, I wrapped the potatoes in foil and grilled them on my bbq (350 degrees) for about an hour. After they were softened, I cut them into about 3/4 inch slices, brushed both sides with olive oil and grilled them just until they were cooked a bit more and had grill marks on the outside of the potatoes.
You can eliminate the step of wrapping in foil and baking the potatoes. Simply place the peeled, sliced potato onto a greased baking sheet and bake or broil until softened. Or grill pieces on the bbq grill.
After the potatoes are cooked, gently chop.
-If you are a cheese lover, grate some cheese on top - Monterrey Jack would work well. I don't think this salad needs cheese, there are lots of flavors in the salad, and with the creamy dressing, I think cheese is a little overkill. Just my two cents :)

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Chocolate Raspberry Tarts

Looking for a decadent treat for your Valentine? Nothing says "I love you"  like a home made chocolate dessert.
Well, maybe diamonds.
Yeah, diamonds or chocolate.
In that order.
Love you.



Step by step instructions. Just for you :)

Make the crust, press into individual tart pans. Got mine at HomeGoods 6 for $4.99 .

Bake and remove from oven to cool completely.

After crust is cooled, spread with about a tablespoon of raspberry or strawberry jam.

Break up the chocolate...

Heat up heavy cream just until barely boiling, reduce heat and add chocolate.

Turn off heat and whisk until thick and creamy. 

Try not to eat all of the chocolate while testing. 

Spoon thickened chocolate mixture into the prepared crusts. Almost done.

Wash the fresh raspberries, drain on paper towels. 

Arrange raspberries on top of the filling, dust with a little powdered sugar just before serving. 

Chocolate Raspberry Tarts

adapted from David Lebovitz

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1 stick (4 oz) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
about 3/4 cup seedless raspberry or strawberry jam
8 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
6 ounces fresh raspberries
1/2 tsp water
powdered sugar for dusting

Beat butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the egg yolk, beat well, and scrape down sides of bowl.
Add the flour and cocoa powder, beat on the lowest speed until dough has just come together (but still has small to medium clumps) and looks moist with a dark uniform color. Scrape down the bowl and use the spatula to incorporate anything that isn’t mixed in.
Lightly grease the pans, then wipe out the excess grease. Divide dough and place into 6- 4 inch tart pans. Use your fingers to evenly press dough and spread along bottom of the pans and up the sides.  ( if the dough is too soft, refrigerate the dough 15 minutes before pressing). This dough may be made in advance*see tips below.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with  rack in the lower third of oven. Place dough filled pans on a cookie sheet and bake in lower third for 15 minutes. Remove and change to middle rack for 8 more minutes, for a total of 20-23 minutes baking time.
Remove tart pans to a cooling rack and use the rounded side of a spoon to press the center down and make more room for filling. Let cool completely (you can do this in refrigerator for faster results).
Set a tablespoon of the jam aside in a small bowl or glass. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of jam into each tart crust and spread to cover the bottom.
Heat the heavy cream over medium heat in a saucepan, taking care to not scorch. Put chopped chocolate in with the heavy cream in the saucepan. Remove from heat. Begin whisking gently to blend completely and melt all the chocolate.  Chocolate will blend into the cream and form a smooth, thick filling. Spoon ganache evenly into each crust.
Refrigerate the tarts for at least 1 hour, until the filling is firm. Remove from fridge and arrange raspberries on top of each tart.
Mix reserved tablespoon of jam with the 1/2 teaspoon of water and heat in microwave for about 15 seconds. Brush the jam mixture onto the tops of the arranged raspberries if desired**. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving. Use a mesh strainer to sift a dusting of sugar onto the tarts just before serving.

Tips:

-* The dough keeps 3 days in refrigerator and 6 weeks in freezer.

-**I did not take the time to glaze the berries after placing on the tarts. This step is important if you are keeping the tarts for more than a day, it will help the berries to stay looking fresh. Also, it gives the berries a nice shiny glazed look. 

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Spinach and Artichoke Bread Pudding

Winter.

We're in the dead of it. You know it's cold when people are getting excited about a 35 degree day! Today we had an ice storm. That brought back memories of the good old days when we lived in Oregon.
Cold weather=cooking.
This is a dish I make almost every year at holiday time. Mostly at Christmas, sometimes at Thanksgiving. My friend Tinker brought this to a Recipe Club dinner we had years ago. I fell in love with it then and have been making it since.  I love it with Brie, but it's less rich without and just as good. If you love artichokes but someone in your family is a hater, leave them out and add another sautéed fresh vegetable. It's one of those recipes. Make it your own. Perfect side dish for almost anything: fish, chicken, pork, beef or a veggie meal.
Oh, PS. I'm moving in a week. Down the street.
Wish me luck.

Spinach Artichoke Bread Pudding

Adapted from Emeril Lagasse, Food Network
this recipe yields 2-9x13 pans of bread pudding, easily halved

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1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 pounds spinach, washed (3 cups cooked and roughly chopped) or 2 boxes of frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and all water pressed out
2 cups chopped yellow onions (I like sweet onions like Vidalia, Walla Wallas, etc)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning or fresh basil, thyme, oregano and sage chopped 1-2 tablespoon each
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 (8 1/2-ounce) cans quartered artichoke hearts, drained, roughly chopped
6 large eggs
1 cup cream

2 cups half and half
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
12 to 14 cups cubed (1-inch) day-old French Bread (about 1 loaf)
1 pound Brie, rind removed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes, optional
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, divided
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2- 9 by 13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Place spinach in a large pan with about 1 cup water, boil until wilted. Rinse with cold water, squeeze water out of spinach. Chop. Set aside. Or use frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained thoroughly.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until golden and tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the drained artichokes and cook another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Combine the eggs, cream, half and half, milk and lemon juice in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the bread, spinach, artichoke mixture, brie (if using), 1/4 cup Parmesan, and parsley and stir gently to combine.

Pour the bread pudding mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan over the top and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until firm in the center and golden brown, about 30 more minutes.  Serve warm.

Tips:
-This dish may be prepared up to 24 hours in advance. Remove from oven about 2 hours before serving. Let sit on counter for one hour to bring to room temperature, then bake as directed.

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Challah Bread

Christmas and the start of 2013 came and went in a flurry of activity.

A few highlights from the holidays...

Bakebakebake

Cookie Exchange with friends

(Great) Grandma meets the newest addition to our fam for the first time.

Bowling on Christmas Eve. My mom's favorite sport :)

Talking to our missionary Stephen for the last time on Skype. He will be home in March :)
Family photo (thanks to Neil for taking this )

Our (almost) two month old grandbaby grew pigtails! 

One of my favorite scenes, the fam watching Christmas movies.

 A little music during the Christmas morning festivities 

Lots of cuddle time.

The lights at Temple Square. Always a favorite.

Jack enjoying chest deep snow on the (day after) Christmas storm.

The day after Christmas it snowed and snowed and snowed. Snowy winter days are the perfect time to stay at home and (what else?) bake.  

This recipe came from an old friend in Spokane who baked loaves of Challah for neighbors on Christmas eve. I've made this several times over the years, and attached few tips to help make your Challah making experience a little more user friendly. Challah is a delightfully chewy egg bread that is wonderful eaten alone or smothered with butter and honey. We love it for French toast. It takes a bit of time to prepare, but is worth every minute. 

Hope your holidays were merry and bright. 

Challah

A Bountiful Kitchen

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2 tablespoons dry yeast

3/4 cup honey

1 3/4 cups warm water

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons sea salt

1 cup vegetable or canola oil

3 eggs

8-10 cups flour

for coating bread:

1 egg

poppy seeds or sesame seeds

You may use a stand mixer for this recipe, if you do not have one, use a large bowl and mix with a large spoon. 

Place warm water, honey and yeast in a bowl and stir. Let sit until yeast starts to foam and rise up. 

Mix in 2 cups of flour. Stir well. Add 4 teaspoons sea salt and stir again. 

Pour in 1 cup vegetable or canola oil and 3 eggs. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated. 

Add the flour one cup at a time, until the dough loses its stickiness. This may take about 10 minutes. Read note about flour and how much to add.

Remove the dough and place in a large oiled bowl and cover. Let rise for about 2 hours, punching down if needed. 

After the dough has doubled in size, punch down and knead. If the dough is sticky, knead in a little more flour to make handling easier. 

Divide the dough into two even pieces. Divide each portion of dough into three even pieces. Roll the dough into log rope-like strands and braid the pieces of dough to form a loaf about 15 inches long. Tuck the ends of the loaf under. 

Place the dough onto a greased pan, one loaf per pan.  Brush with additional beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds if desired. Cover loosely and let rise for about 30-45 minutes in a warm place. 

Turn oven to 325 degrees. Place rack on bottom third of oven. 

When the dough has risen for the second time, place the bread in the preheated oven. Lower the temperature to 300 and bake for 50-60 minutes. The bread should be golden on the top and bottom of the loaf and be cooked through and not doughy in the middle. If the bread is not completely cooked, continue cooking for 5-10 minutes. 

Tips:

-I usually make this bread around Christmas time. One mistake I've made time and time again is not allowing enough time for the bread to mix, raise and bake. It can be made and eaten in one day, but you need to allow about 6 hours before eating to make sure the bread making process is not rushed. 

-The original recipe calls for 8 cups of flour. I have not one time made this recipe and only added 8 cups of flour. Last week when I made Challah, I used a total of 12 cups of flour (2 in the initial mixing and about 10 in the second mix in). I use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment first (for about the first 5 cups of flour), then I remove the paddle and attach the dough hook to mix in the remaining flour. 

This will differ depending on your altitude, the weather, and the method in which you use to mix (food processor, stand mixer, or by hand). Add only a cup at a time and make sure the flour his mixed in thoroughly before adding more flour. 

-This is not a quick rise dough because of the large amount of flour, so be patient and let the dough have plenty of time to rise in a warm kitchen.

-Be patient with the baking as well. Baking in a 300 degree oven allows the bread to bake more evenly and cook all of the way through. It may take a little more or less time in your oven. 

-Traditional Challah is woven into 6 strands, you may do this if you desire, I would still make 2 total loaves, just divide the dough in to six strand each instead of three. 

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Sheri's Pomegranate Avocado Salsa

We love this salsa. Made with pomegranates and avocados, it not only has great flavor combinations, but looks really festive for the holidays. It takes about 5 minutes to put together (if you buy the pomegranates seeded, thank you Costco).  I made this twice last week and it was a hit both times.
Christmas is coming.
Is your goose getting fat?


Sheri's Pomegranate Salsa
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1-2 pomegranates seeded* or about 1 1/2 cups (see note about purchasing pre-seeded pomegranates)
2 tomatoes diced (or about  1 1/2 cups)
2 avocados diced
1 bunch green onions chopped (mostly the tops and a few stems),

or red onion chopped 1/2 cup
1 teaspoon coriander
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

juice of 1 lime, optional

chopped cilantro, optional

Place all ingredients in medium sized bowl. 

Mix together gently.  Let sit at room temperature before serving.
Best served with large Fritos.

Tips:

-*Pomegranates may be purchased pre-seeded at Costco in a two pack.  Each container holds about 1 1/2 cups of pomegranate seeds. I used one package, or one half of the Costco container (227g  for this recipe). 

-I halved the original recipe, this recipe serves about 4-6 hungry people or 12 polite people. 

-The recipe calls for letting the salsa sit for several hours at room temperature, I made this both times and we ate it up immediately after. 

-If you want the salsa to look like the photo attached, make sure to GENTLY mix the salsa. 

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Chewy Chocolate Coconut Cookies

Question of the day. What could possibly make a simple Coconut Cookie recipe better?
One word. Chocolate.
I fiddled with Martha's basic cookie recipe (which I found on this site) and came up with this chewy, chocolaty nugget of goodness yesterday afternoon. If you love chocolate and coconut together...
Merry Christmas to you.



























Chewy Chocolate Coconut Cookies
A Bountiful Kitchen
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1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon coconut emulsion
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (add an additional 1/4 cup if you are high altitude)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
11/2 cup sweetened coconut, divided (1/2 for batter, 1 cup for rolling and topping)
1-2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack on center of oven.
Cream butter and sugar together in large bowl or mixing bowl fitted with paddle. Add egg and mix until smooth. Add coconut emulsion and vanilla, mix. Add flour, salt, soda and cocoa powder. Mix just until flour disappears and all ingredients are incorporated. Do not over mix.
Fold in 1/2 cup coconut. Mixture may be dry and not form together well. If this is the case, add one to two tablespoons of milk and gently mix, just until dough comes together. I used one tablespoon.
Scoop the dough out using a 1 1/2 inch cookie scoop or a spoon, form into balls.
Roll balls of dough into coconut on one side. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet or parchment paper.
Slightly flatten the dough. Bake at 350 degrees, for about 10 minutes.
When set, remove from oven and top with additional coconut while cookies are still hot. Lightly press the coconut into the top of the cookie.
Makes about 18 cookies.

Tips:

-Check out Cake Central for questions about emulsion vs extract.

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ABK's Butterscotch Hello Dolly! Bars

These bars have been around forever. We  baked a variation of these and served them at our wedding reception back in 1982. I know, 1982? Yes, we had ovens back then. 

I believe these were one of Grant's Grandmother's favorites, so we added it to our dessert menu for the reception. We had all kinds of other yummy treats including hundreds of little finger sandwiches that Grandmother Lauder and Great Aunt Mille made the day before the wedding. What a wonderful memory and legacy they left their families of love and service! I still remember those little rolled and layered sandwiches, and the buffet of miniature desserts: Chiffon Nut Bars, Peanut Butter Balls, Shortbread cookies and Hello Dolly Bars.

Most people know this dessert by the name "7 Layer Bars" or Hello Dolly Bars.   I tweaked this recipe over the years to include a thicker layer of the filling, and baked it less to make the treats a little less dry, and a little more chewy.
Every Christmas cookie tray needs a bar cookie.
This is it. Crushed cookies and butter. Two types of chocolate. A little butterscotch. A layer of caramel. Coconut and pecans.  What more could you ask for in a treat?
I've died and gone to heaven.
Not really. Ill be back tomorrow with another Christmas cookie recipe. 

ABK's Butterscotch Hello Dolly!  Bars

A Bountiful Kitchen
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Cooking Spray
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs and 1/2 cup Veritable Petit Beurre crackers*,
or crushed shortbread cookies (2 cups total crumbs)
1/2 cup butter, melted

1 tablespoon sugar

2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 (14 oz.) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cup (11 oz.) butterscotch-flavored chips
1 cup (6 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 small package (7-9 oz)  or about 1 1/2 cups, loosely packed coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
1 1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans are preferred)

Heat oven 350°F. Spray 13 x 9-inch baking pan lightly with non stick cooking spray.
Pulse crackers in a food processor or finely crush in a bag. Combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and 1 tablespoon sugar; mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly into bottom of prepared pan. 

Top with 2 cups milk chocolate chips.

Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture and milk chocolate chips.

Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly with fork.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Loosen from sides of pan while still warm; cool on wire rack. Cut into bars or diamonds. Yield: 2 dozen bars.

Tips:
-*Veritable Petit Buerre crackers are a plain slightly sweet biscuit-type cracker sold in Europe. I had some in my pantry and used them in this recipe. Don't feel like you need to use up your stash of imported crackers or cookies to make this recipe. Any type of dry, sweet cracker or cookie will work. Or you may use all graham crackers instead of combining two types of cookie.
-If you want to make a really thick bar, use a 9x9 pan and bake for an additional 8 minutes on the lower third of the oven.

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ABK's 3rd Annual Christmas Cookie Extravaganza - Soft Gingersnap Cookies

Back by popular demand, ABK's third annual Christmas Cookie Extravaganza!
I know, you're excited. For the next several days, I'll share some amazing new cookie recipes for you to try this holiday season.
First up: Every Christmas cookie tray needs a ginger cookie. You'll love this cookie. I made about 4 batches in November. They freeze well, so you can start baking today and store them in the freezer to take out later in the month.
Freezing is a good idea.
That or buying the next size up in pants.
You choose.



Soft Ginger Snaps
Pinch of Salt Lake cookbook
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3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses (light or dark)
4 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
granulated sugar for coating

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar. Add eggs and molasses, mix until smooth.
Add flour, soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon. Mix just until wet and dry ingredients are incorporated.
Refrigerate dough for about 1 hour or until chilled.
Form dough into balls ( I used a 1-inch cookie scoop) and roll each ball of dough in granulated sugar. Bake on ungreased baking sheet for 6-8 minutes or until set. Do not over bake. Cookies will be puffy when removed from oven, but will flatten as they cool. Tops will look cracked.
Makes about 4-5 dozen cookies.

Tips:
-You may make the dough and store in refrigerator up to one week until ready to bake.
-You may use powdered sugar if you like the cookie to have more of a white appearance on top.
-When freezing, lay flat on a jelly roll pan or large plastic container. Place cookies in single layers in pan, separate with wax or parchment paper.

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Day After Thanksgiving Sandwich

Back when Grant was a student and I was a working girl, I had a job at an office building in downtown Portland. On the ground floor of the building, there was a sandwich shop called Freddie Brown's. Their specialty was a roasted turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce.  As I walked past Freddie's every morning,  the aroma of roasting turkey filled the air and I plotted ways to get together enough money to go down for lunch and grab a sandwich. It was a simple sandwich: fresh white bread, mayo on one side, butter on the other, hot carved turkey, white or dark meat (I usually chose a combo), cranberry sauce, salt and pepper. This sandwich usually put me in a bit of a turkey coma, which would lead to a short nap in my cubicle after lunch.
I love the day after Thanksgiving. I'm not much of a Black Friday shopper. Just like to hang out and eat a great sandwich and plan how Christmas is going to happen. The sandwich is made just like Freddie Brown's- except I pile on a layer of dressing as well.
Cheers to the turkey coma.
And a little nap.


Day After Thanksgiving Sandwich
A Bountiful Kitchen 
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fresh sliced bread, any type
Best Foods or Hellmann's mayo
butter
Sausage and Apple stuffing, heated recipe here
fresh cranberry sauce recipe here
Turkey, white or dark meat, heated just a bit
s&p

Spread the bread with butter on one side and mayo on the other. Don't be stingy.
Layer: warm dressing, cranberry sauce and warmed turkey.
Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
Eat right away.

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Bountiful Blueberry Pie

Pie. Oh how I love pie.
Blueberry pie is one of our family favorites. I make one every year for Grant. Last year, I followed Alton Brown's instructions for making a lattice top for this pie. Loved the way it turned out.
I know you're going to love it too.
Happy Thanksgiving!



Bountiful Blueberry Pie
A Bountiful Kitchen
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6 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
dash of salt
1/3 cup dry tapioca, I used Minute Tapioca brand
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
double crust for pie, found here

egg yolk for top of pie

Place two cups of blueberries in a large heavy sauce pan with 1/4 cup of sugar.
Using a potato masher, crush the berries and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. 

Add the remaining 4 cups of berries, remaining 1 cup sugar, tapioca, lemon juice, cinnamon. and almond extract if using.
Set aside for 15 minutes. 

Prepare crust. 

Preheat oven to 325. 

Roll out half of dough and cover the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate. Fill with prepared blueberry filling.  Roll out top crust,  if making a lattice top crust, follow these directions (courtesy Alton Brown):

Cut into 11/8  inch wide strips that are at least 10-inches long. Using a ruler that is 1 1/8-inches wide, lay the ruler on the dough at 1 edge and roll across dough using the edge of the ruler as you go to cut through the dough. Lay 4 strips of dough across the top of the filling horizontally, leaving an even amount of space in between each strip. Fold back 2 alternating strips and lay down another strip in the middle of the pie, perpendicular to the other strips. Return the strips that are laid back to their original position. Next, fold back the other 2 strips and lay down a strip to the left of the center perpendicular strip. Return the strips that are laid back to their original position and repeat on the other side of the perpendicular strip, folding back the same 2 strips as you did on the other side. Once you have a lattice, brush all the strips of dough with the egg yolk, trim excess dough and pinch strips and edge of crust in order to seal.

Place the pie on the bottom rack of the oven on top of a cookie sheet or sheet of foil to catch drippings and bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes. The pie should be bubbling lightly around the edges. If the lattice is not browned enough in the center, place under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes. Watch carefully!
Place the pie on a rack and allow to cool to room temperature before serving, about 2 hours. 

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Artisan Cornbread Stuffing with Apples and Italian Sausage

Last year I attended a class where Laura Muir, blog author of Fresh Cooking Happy People, taught us how to incorporate more fresh veggies and fruits into our holiday cooking. Everyone in the class loved this recipe for Artisan Stuffing. If you are looking for a side dish this Thanksgiving that is geared more to the grown up crowd, this is your dish. It's loaded with fresh mushrooms, onions, Italian sausage, apple chunks, fresh herbs and my favorite, golden raisins. This dish is a bit spicy, savory, sweet, filled with three different types of bread and lots of fresh herbs.
Less than a  week to go, people.


Here's a little step by step for you, 'cause I know you love the visual guide...

Make the cornbread, cut into cubes a day or two before, let sit on counter or in oven till dried. 

Dry the other types of bread as well. Was that heavy sighing? This is the simple part. 

Your family is worth it. Your family is worth it. Your family is worth it. 

.

The mushrooms, wash, dry and cut them up. Not too small, you want to taste the big chunks. Remember, this is grown up stuffing :) 

After roasting. Don't leave this step out. You may want to roast a few extra. 

For, uh, testing purposes. 

The Italian Sausage. See the colorful bits in the sausage? This is what gives the stuffing a little kick.

Fresh apples and onions roasted together. Who needs turkey?

Ready to toss and place in the pan...

Your cousins on the Mayflower loved this dish. 

Serious. 

Artisan and Cornbread Stuffing with Apples and Italian Sausage
adapted from Fresh Cooking Happy People
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16 oz Cremini or any type of fresh mushroom, washed and cut in half or quartered if large
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups day old cornbread or one regular size Jiffy Cornbread mix, cooked according to package directions, cooled and cut into 1 " cubes
2 cups french bread or rolls cubed into 2 inch pieces
2 cups Artisan bread cubed in to 2 inch pieces
1/4 to 1/2 pound Italian Sausage
1 cup or one medium large diced onion
2 large golden delicious apples, skin on, cored, chopped into 1" cubes
2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar or 1/2 cup white (cooking or regular) wine
4 or 5  springs fresh thyme
4 teaspoons fresh rosemary
1/2 bunch fresh parsley, chopped coarse
1/2 teaspoon turmeric (dried ground)
1 cup golden raisins
16 oz chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste


Prepare one or two days ahead:
Cube all three breads and let sit in single layer on cookie sheets several hours or overnight. Baking in a 250 oven for 1 hour works well. Let sit on counter overnight.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees and place rack on top third of oven.
Place mushrooms on a lined or lightly greased cookie sheet and drizzle with oil and salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until deep golden brown. Set aside.
Cook sausage, remove from pan. Cook onions and apples in pan without wiping out grease. Apple and onion should cook for about 5 minutes or until slightly softened.  Add brown sugar and let cook for about 3-5 minutes on medium high until deep golden color.
Decrease heat to medium and add cider vinegar or wine. You may add remaining herbs at this time, or leave them out until final tossing of ingredients before baking. Cook for about 2-3 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Toss lightly add golden raisins and add chicken broth until liquid is absorbed.  Add salt and pepper to taste. You may not use all of the broth, just toss until dressing has absorbed enough of the liquid to make a moist, but not sticky, wet stuffing. Some of the liquid will cook out during baking.
Place ingredients in lightly greased casserole or 9x13 pan. Cover with foil.
Bake covered at 375 for 15 minutes, then remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. Garnish with fresh herb sprigs.
Serves about 12-15 as a side dish.

Tips:
-This is a great make ahead dish. You can prepare this dish ahead and refrigerate up to two days in advance. Let sit on counter for about one hour before baking. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. or until heated through and golden brown on top.
-You may use a cornbread mix or your own home made variety. Stay away from sweet brands and recipes, or the flavor of the dish will change.
-This dish is easily doubled to make 2-9x13 pans.

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