December 2016 Archives

Celebrate 2016 by taking your tastes buds on a journey of epic proportions! (They don't need to know you didn't spend an epic amount!) 

Holiday Ramen

Yields 4 servings

Additional Cost:  $2.88

Ingredients

8 cups homemade turkey stock

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons ginger, ground

2 teaspoons black pepper, ground

1 pound dried rice noodles

4 button mushrooms, sliced thinly

1 cup leftover turkey, sliced

2 eggs, hardboiled, peeled and halved lengthwise

¼ cup green onion, sliced thinly

1 lime, quartered (for garnish)

Procedure

1.) Prepare the broth by combining stock, onion powder, garlic powder, ginger and pepper in a medium pot.

2.) Bring stock mixture to a boil and reduce until 6 cups of liquid are left. Remove from heat.

3.) Drop dried rice noodles into the stock liquid, cover pot for 5-10 minutes, or until the noodles are soft.

4.) Remove the noodles and distribute among bowls.

5.) Add mushrooms and turkey slices to the warm stock. Return to medium heat and cook until warmed throughout, about 5 minutes.

6.) Remove turkey and mushrooms from the stock.

7.) Compose the ramen. First, distribute stock between the bowls.

8.) Top the stock and noodles with turkey slices, mushrooms, half of a hardboiled egg, green onions and lime wedge. ENJOY!

This soup doesn't require a lot of attention nor additional cash. We bet you can find the change in your sofa cushions after your family leaves. 

Turkey & Vegetable Soup

Yields 4 servings

Additional Cost: $1.23

Ingredients

6 cups homemade turkey stock

2 cups leftover dark turkey meat

2 carrots, reserved from roasting the turkey

2 stalks celery, sliced thinly

8 ounces canned white beans

½ cup brown rice, cooked

¼ cup parsley leaves

Salt & pepper, to taste

Procedure

1.) Pour turkey stock in a large pot and heat over high heat. Cook until reduced to 4 cups.

2.) Add turkey meat, carrots, celery, beans and brown rice to the reduce turkey stock.

3.) Continue cooking until soup contents are warmed.

4.) Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary.

5.) Divide among bowls. ENJOY!

Keep the holiday cheer going with this rich rendition of a southern classic. It might look like a million bucks, but we're sure your pocket book will thank us!

Sweet Potato Biscuits & Gravy

Yields 4 servings

Additional Cost: $2.45

Ingredient

Biscuits

1 cup leftover sweet potato puree

2 eggs

1 lemon, juiced

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Gravy

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 button mushrooms, sliced thinly

1 cup homemade turkey stock

1 cup leftover gravy

Salt and pepper, to taste

Procedure

Biscuits

1.) Preheat the oven to 350F.

2.) Combine sweet potato puree, eggs and lemon juice in a large bowl. Using a wooden spoon, stir until smooth.

3.) In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and pepper.

4.) Add half of the dry ingredients to the sweet potato mixture and stir to combine.

5.) Add the remaining dry ingredients to the sweet potato mixture and stir until completely incorporated.

6.) Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll out to ½ inch thickness.

7.) Using a 2-inch punch, cut out 8 rounds and place on a parchment lined sheet tray.

8.) Bake biscuits for 25 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Set aside.

Gravy

1.) While the biscuits are baking in the oven, heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

2.) When oil begins to shimmer, add the mushrooms in an even layer. Let them sit for a minute so that they get a nice brown color. Stir and continue to cook for 4-5 minutes.

3.) Add stock to the skillet and scrap off anything that stuck to the bottom of the skillet.

4.) Add the left over gravy to the skillet and bring to a boil. Continue to cook for 10 minutes.

5.) Once the gravy thickens, remove from heat and season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Assemble

1.) Place two biscuits on each plate. 

2.) Pour or spoon gravy over biscuits. ENJOY!

While your turkey is resting and your gravy is simmering, it is the perfect time to crank up the oven and quickly roast some Brussels sprouts. We like to prepare all our vegetable the night before, so when it's show time, all we have to do is pop them in the oven!

We've even taken it a step further - the cranberry sauce can be prepared the night before, as well as roasting the veg for the sweet potato puree. Blitzing the potatoes with piping hot stock brings them back to life!

Citrus Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Yields 4 servings plus leftovers (about 8 cups)

Cost: $7.66

Ingredients

2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

4 slices uncured bacon, sliced thinly

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

1 orange, zested

Procedure

1.) Preheat the oven to 450F.

2.) Combine Brussels sprouts, bacon, olive oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

3.) Toss until evenly coated and transfer to a lined sheet tray.

4.) Roast for 25 minutes, shaking the tray every 10 minutes to make sure the sprouts don't stick. 

5.) When the sprouts are finished, remove them from the oven and zest the orange over them. The heat will extract the orange oil from the zest. ENJOY!

Spicy Cranberry Sauce

Yields 4 servings plus leftovers (about 4 cups)

Cost $2.68

Ingredients

12 ounces cranberries

2 oranges, zested

1 jalapeno, minced

¼ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup water

Procedure

1) Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan.

2.) Over high heat, bring contents to a boil, stirring occasionally.

3.) Reduce heat to simmer and continue cooking for 1 hour, until sauce is bright read and consistency of jam.

4.) Cool completely.  ENJOY!

*Cranberry sauce can be made 3 days in advance

Sweet Potato Puree

Yields 4 servings with leftovers (about 8 cups)

Cost: $1.79

Ingredients

4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" cubes

1 green apple, peeled and cut into 1" cubes

1 onion, peeled and cut into 1" cubes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup chicken stock

Procedure

1.) Preheat oven to 450F.

2.) Combine potatoes, apple, onion, olive, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

3.) Toss until evenly coated.

4.) Transfer to a lined sheet tray and roast for 30 minutes. (I recommend roasted these at the same time you put your turkey in the oven.)

5.) Meanwhile bring stock to simmer in a small pot over medium low heat.

6.) Once the roasted potato mixture comes out of the oven and cools for 10 minutes, transfer to a food processor or blender. Puree with warm stock until smooth.

7.) Adjust seasoning if necessary. ENJOY!

Oh SNAP! It's the holidays! 

You've already spent a small fortune on gifts for friends, family, coworkers and everyone else. Now you need to spend even more to feed everyone?!

Don't worry. We have tons of recipes for a feast and leftovers, making sure you don't break the bank this holiday. Follow our posts, cook along with us and let us know what you think!

We're going to get started with the heavy hitters. Here's our recipe for a Roasted Turkey. Happy Holidays!!! 

Simple Roasted Turkey & Gravy

Yields 4 servings, plus leftovers

Cost: $16.31

We know it looks like a lot of ingredients and it is - we're making a feast! The stuffing and roast are playing several roles: they're keeping the bird moist, creating the base for our gravy and providing us with perfectly roasted vegetables to use with our leftovers.

Ingredients

Brine

2 cups brown sugar

¼ cup black peppercorns

¾ cup kosher salt

2 oranges, peeled (reserve actual fruit)

1 lemon, peeled (reserve actual fruit)

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 gallons cold water

12 pound turkey

Stuffing

2 oranges, reserved from brine, quartered

1 lemon, reserved from brine, quartered

6 cloves garlic, smashed

½ bunch thyme, fresh

Roast

4 carrots, peeled

2 parsnips, peeled

1 onion, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

4 button mushrooms

6 cloves garlic

4 tablespoons butter, melted

Gravy

Dripping from turkey, all vegetables removed (reserve carrots, parsnips and mushrooms for later use)

¼ cup all-purpose flour

6 cups homemade chicken stock

salt and pepper, to taste

Procedure

Brine turkey

1.) Combine all ingredients except the turkey in a large stockpot. Stir to combine.

2.) Add turkey to the brine.

3.) Cover and place in refrigerator for 12-24 hours. 

Roast turkey

1.) Preheat oven to 450F.

2.) Remove turkey from brine and soak in cold water for 20 minutes. Discard the brine.

3.) Rinse turkey again to remove the additional salt and sugar. Pat dry.

4.) Stuff the turkey with oranges, lemon, garlic and thyme. Tie legs together.  

5.) Brush turkey with butter. Set aside.

5.) Place carrots, parsnips, onion, mushrooms, garlic and ½ cup of water on a sheet tray. Place a rack on top of the vegetables, and the turkey on top of that.

6.) Roast turkey for 30 minutes.

7.) Lower the temperature to 350F and cover the breasts with aluminum foil. Cook for another 1.5 - 2 hours, or until the internal temperature registers 165F.

8.) Remove from heat and rest for 30 minutes before carving. Enjoy!

Gravy

1.) Using oven mitts, transfer the turkey drippings to a medium saucepan. 

2.) Heat the drippings over medium heat.

3.) When the drippings begin to bubble, add flour and whisk until smooth.

4.) Continue whisking for 5 minutes. This process removes the raw flavor from the flour.

5.) Pour 1 cup of stock into the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.

6.) While whisking, add remaining stock to the pot and bring to a boil.

7.) Once the gravy boils, reduce to a simmer and continue cooking for 15-20 minutes, or until the gravy is thick.

8.) Season with salt and pepper. Serve with turkey. ENJOY! 

Congratulations to Vareck Herrera, our Volunteer of the Month for December.  Driven by his desire to offer his culinary and hospitality experience to help feed and educate our local community, Vareck joined the Recipe for Success volunteer team.  As a Bartender Extraordinaire at the Art of Food event, Vareck quickly integrated himself into the action, displaying a willingness to take on any task and engaging key guests throughout the evening.  "The entire night was a blast!" Vareck remembers.  A few days later, he brought his infectious enthusiasm and energy to volunteer at the Texas Contemporary Arts Fair.  

Vareck was intrigued by Recipe for Success because the Seed-to-Plate Nutrition EducationTM program emphasizes the importance of healthy sustainable foods.  He believes children can not only gain knowledge and skills in art, reading, math, and science while learning about plate presentation, recipes, weight and measures, and techniques, but they also learn that cooking is fun and rewarding.  An aspiring chef, Vareck loves that Recipe for Success allows him to "network with such amazing chefs" while also giving the opportunity to interact with both event guests and other volunteers.  Volunteering combines two of his loves: cooking and putting smiles on faces "one meal at a time".  Thank you, Vareck!