Cooking

[yolbolsun]

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Dressing with mashed potato/mashed potato & Beets/mashed potato & yam toppings, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and chives; Pesto Cheesecake with Italian bread toasts; Baked ham with Drift Creek Gourmet Smoky Glaze; Brussels sprouts with butter, curry, and Drift Creek Gourmet smoked paprika. We were so full we couldn't even think of blackberry pie & ice cream! Christmas dinner rocked!

 

[TPVT]

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Dressing with mashed potato/mashed potato & Beets/mashed potato & yam toppings, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and chives; Pesto Cheesecake with Italian bread toasts; Baked ham with Drift Creek Gourmet Smoky Glaze; Brussels sprouts with butter, curry, and Drift Creek Gourmet smoked paprika. We were so full we couldn't even think of blackberry pie & ice cream! Christmas dinner rocked!

Are you kidding me?!?! Wow. that looks awesome, Karen. Mack, you're a lucky man!

Merry Christmas.

 

[JK Knives]

Looks mighty tasty! Since it was just Connie and me on Christmas ( we all go to her sisters on Christmas Eve for the family get together) we just baked a ham and had sandwiches.

 

[Mack]

Are you kidding me?!?! Wow. that looks awesome, Karen. Mack, you're a lucky man!

Merry Christmas.

If you ever start wondering why I want to go home, just look to this thread.

 

[TPVT]

Looks mighty tasty! Since it was just Connie and me on Christmas ( we all go to her sisters on Christmas Eve for the family get together) we just baked a ham and had sandwiches.

John, i love me a ham sandwich...especially a "real" one. sounds good to me!

If you ever start wondering why I want to go home, just look to this thread.

aye. understood.

hope you both had a blessed and joyful Christmas.

 

[Mack]

John, i love me a ham sandwich...especially a "real" one. sounds good to me!



aye. understood.

hope you both had a blessed and joyful Christmas.

Thanks. You too.
By the way, if you ever want to know why I'm fat, just look at Karen's cooking skills. It's all her fault!

 

[mqqn]

Wow Karen! Really outstanding - I would love to stab a fork at that spread!!

Lucky man there, Mack!

All I "cooked" this year was bacon peanut brittle, and russian tea (my late grandmother's recipe...).

We went to my father's house for Christmas Eve and my daughter's house for Christmas - so I never had to cook!

best

mqqn

 

[doc trinidad]

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Dressing with mashed potato/mashed potato & Beets/mashed potato & yam toppings, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and chives; Pesto Cheesecake with Italian bread toasts; Baked ham with Drift Creek Gourmet Smoky Glaze; Brussels sprouts with butter, curry, and Drift Creek Gourmet smoked paprika. We were so full we couldn't even think of blackberry pie & ice cream! Christmas dinner rocked!

you dont have a recipe for that cheesecake you could share do you? looks wonderful

 

[TPVT]

Wow Karen! Really outstanding - I would love to stab a fork at that spread!!

Lucky man there, Mack!

All I "cooked" this year was bacon peanut brittle, and russian tea (my late grandmother's recipe...).

We went to my father's house for Christmas Eve and my daughter's house for Christmas - so I never had to cook!

best

mqqn

whoa. hold on a sec. "bacon peanut brittle"??!? do tell....

 

[Mack]

you dont have a recipe for that cheesecake you could share do you? looks wonderful

She should be around to answer your question soon but I can tell you that it's a favorite of Ethan Becker. His recipe is in the later versions of Joy of Cooking.

 

[yolbolsun]

Hello there! Hope everyone had a great holiday season!
The pesto cheesecake was wonderful. I got the recipe from the 1974 edition of "Joy of Cooking". Next time I make it, I will use Club Crackers instead of the bread toasts. The bread was tough we all thought, and the Pesto Cheesecake more delicate. I used the crackers on my leftovers and they were just right.
I cut the ham chunks off of a 10 pound smoked shank ham, then used half of a Smoky Ham Glaze Kit (from Drift Creek Gourmet, of course!) mixed with hot water, maybe 1/4 cup. Poured it over the ham, covered with foil and baked it for a couple of hours at 325 degrees. Then I sprinkled the remainder of the glaze kit over all and returned it to the oven for 15 minutes at 450 degrees. It had fantastic flavor!
The "cupcakes" were a demented little daydream I'd been having. They were a savory cupcake offering. The "frosting" was made with mashed potatoes; the pink was mixed with cooked beet, the orange was mixed with cooked yam. I filled the cupcake papers with the stuffing (made with celery, onions, mushrooms and cooked white rice), then topped with the mashed potato concoction, then sprinkled with chives and pomegranate seeds. This was a great combination of flavors, and easy to serve and eat.
The Brussels sprouts were my friend, Barry's, effort. He steamed the sprouts, then transferred to a skillet with melted butter, then doused them with curry powder and Drift Creek Gourmet smoked paprika. Very nice accompaniment.
We were so seriously stuffed we couldn't even think of eating the homemade blackberry pie & ice cream.
By the way, we started Christmas morning with a pecan kringle pastry and Carolans Irish creme!
All in all, I would deem these all "do again" dishes.

 

[yolbolsun]

Andy:
Please tell me more about the bacon brittle. I'm a baconholic and will make it for New Years if you can part with the recipe!

 

[TPVT]

Hello there! Hope everyone had a great holiday season!
The pesto cheesecake was wonderful. I got the recipe from the 1974 edition of "Joy of Cooking". Next time I make it, I will use Club Crackers instead of the bread toasts. The bread was tough we all thought, and the Pesto Cheesecake more delicate. I used the crackers on my leftovers and they were just right.
I cut the ham chunks off of a 10 pound smoked shank ham, then used half of a Smoky Ham Glaze Kit (from Drift Creek Gourmet, of course!) mixed with hot water, maybe 1/4 cup. Poured it over the ham, covered with foil and baked it for a couple of hours at 325 degrees. Then I sprinkled the remainder of the glaze kit over all and returned it to the oven for 15 minutes at 450 degrees. It had fantastic flavor!
The "cupcakes" were a demented little daydream I'd been having. They were a savory cupcake offering. The "frosting" was made with mashed potatoes; the pink was mixed with cooked beet, the orange was mixed with cooked yam. I filled the cupcake papers with the stuffing (made with celery, onions, mushrooms and cooked white rice), then topped with the mashed potato concoction, then sprinkled with chives and pomegranate seeds. This was a great combination of flavors, and easy to serve and eat.
The Brussels sprouts were my friend, Barry's, effort. He steamed the sprouts, then transferred to a skillet with melted butter, then doused them with curry powder and Drift Creek Gourmet smoked paprika. Very nice accompaniment.
We were so seriously stuffed we couldn't even think of eating the homemade blackberry pie & ice cream.
By the way, we started Christmas morning with a pecan kringle pastry and Carolans Irish creme!
All in all, I would deem these all "do again" dishes.

wow. i had no idea those cupcakes were stuffing and mashed potato. what a great idea. that's awesome. :thumbup:

 

[mqqn]

Andy:
Please tell me more about the bacon brittle. I'm a baconholic and will make it for New Years if you can part with the recipe!

My pleasure !

It's a basic nut brittle -

2 cups raw peanuts
1/2 to 3/4 cup minced fried bacon (I use thick cut applewood smoked bacon and fry it until just crisp, not too hard but enough to get most of the fat rendered out)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda sifted.
1 cup light corn syrup.
2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup sweet butter (half stick)
1/2 cup water


Butter two cookie sheets and set out for pouring your brittle.
Butter the sides of a 4 quart pot and add sugar, corn syrup, water and butter.

Add water/sugar/butter/corn syrup) to pot and bring to boil while stirring
Insert candy thermometer and cook to 275 degrees, stirring constantly
when mixture reaches 275 (soft crack stage)
add peanuts and bacon
Continue cooking to 295 degrees (hard crack stage).
Remove from heat, remove thermometer, stir in baking soda, stir to foam and immediately pour out on two buttered cookie sheets to cool

Makes about 2 1/4 lbs.

Pictures of the honey pot, two pounds of finely minced smoked bacon. Jim Gaffigan calls this the "fairy dust" of the food world. I have to agree.

best

mqqn

 

[Mack]

My pleasure !

It's a basic nut brittle -

2 cups raw peanuts
1/2 to 3/4 cup minced fried bacon (I use thick cut applewood smoked bacon and fry it until just crisp, not too hard but enough to get most of the fat rendered out)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda sifted.
1 cup light corn syrup.
2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup sweet butter (half stick)
1/2 cup water


Butter two cookie sheets and set out for pouring your brittle.
Butter the sides of a 4 quart pot and add sugar, corn syrup, water and butter.

Add water/sugar/butter/corn syrup) to pot and bring to boil while stirring
Insert candy thermometer and cook to 275 degrees, stirring constantly
when mixture reaches 275 (soft crack stage)
add peanuts and bacon
Continue cooking to 295 degrees (hard crack stage).
Remove from heat, remove thermometer, stir in baking soda, stir to foam and immediately pour out on two buttered cookie sheets to cool

Makes about 2 1/4 lbs.

Pictures of the honey pot, two pounds of finely minced smoked bacon. Jim Gaffigan calls this the "fairy dust" of the food world. I have to agree.

best

mqqn

Thanks Andy.I hope to try some of this soon.:thumbup:

 

[TPVT]

Thanks Andy.I hope to try some of this soon.:thumbup:

^what he said. thanks andy.

 

[yolbolsun]

Thanks, Andy, I am going to try it soon!!

 

[yolbolsun]

Bleu Cheese Bacon Chowder
Bacon, onions, red potatoes, bleu cheese, Drift Creek Gourmet Landlubber Mix, fresh parsley, cream. Fruit on the side compliments it very nicely.

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[TPVT]

Bleu Cheese Bacon Chowder
Bacon, onions, red potatoes, bleu cheese, Drift Creek Gourmet Landlubber Mix, fresh parsley, cream. Fruit on the side compliments it very nicely.

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this is becoming one of my favorite subforums. that looks great!! :thumbup:

 

[JK Knives]

Karen sure does show some tasty looking things!