Kitchen Buzz

No other holiday captures the spirit of home cooking the way Thanksgiving does. From the perfect roast turkey with wild rice and chesnut stuffing to a rich, old-fashioned pumpkin pie, good food shared with family and friends is what makes this day so special.   Williams Sonoma Collection Thanksgiving offers easy-to-follow recipes you will want to include in your holiday menu year after year. In these pages, you’ll find inispiring first courses  and a tempting variety of side dishes and desserts as well as some new ideads for the main course. This vividly photographed, full-color recipe collection appeals to both novice and experienced cooks.

from William Sonoma

The rich, dense pound cake has a light, subtle peppermint flavor which is nicely enhanced by the Creamy Peppermint Glaze. If you like peppermint, you’ll enjoy this, and even if you are not a big peppermint fan, I think you’ll still like this because the peppermint flavor is definitely on the lighter side. Hope you get a chance to try this out! PEPPERMINT POUND CAKE 3 cups sugar 3 sticks butter (1 1/2 cups), softened 5 eggs 3 cups flour 1 cup milk 1-2 teaspoons peppermint extract (just use one teaspoon for a light peppermint flavor, or 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons for a stronger peppermint flavor) 1 teaspoon vanilla Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt or tube pan (I used a 12-cup bundt pan, but I think it would work fine in a 10-cup pan, too–the baking time would be slightly longer). In large bowl, blend sugar and softened butter. Add eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Alternate adding flour and milk to mixture, blending well. Add peppermint and vanilla extracts, and stir until blended. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 70-80 minutes (for a 12-cup pan, baking time will be about 70-75 minutes; for a 10-cup pan, it will be more like 80 minutes). Let cake cool in pan for 10-15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely. While cake is cooling, you can make the glaze… CREAMY PEPPERMINT GLAZE 1/4 cup butter, softened 3/4 cup marshmallow creme (half of a 7-oz. container) 1/2 to 1 teaspoon peppermint extract 2 cups powdered sugar 5 Tablespoons milk or half and half 3 crushed candy canes, for garnish Blend softened butter and marshmallow creme together until smooth, then add peppermint extract and mix well. Add in powdered sugar a cup at a time, blending well after each addition. Add milk or half and half and blend well. Shortly before you are ready to serve the cake, spoon the glaze over the top, letting it run down the sides (you’ll have some glaze left over). Then sprinkle top of cake with crushed candy canes, and serve. (Note: this glaze is a little gooey because of the marshmallow creme, so you may need to wipe your knife occasionally as you’re slicing the cake) Now if you’d like to glaze your cake well ahead of time and don’t want a gooey glaze (although it is really yummy), you can always make this powdered sugar glaze with peppermint extract… PEPPERMINT GLAZE 3 cups powdered sugar 4 Tablespoons milk or half and half 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract 3 crushed candy canes, for garnish Mix first three ingredients together, blending well. Drizzle over cooled pound cake. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes, and let glaze set.

Bacon & Cheddar Omelette This generously sized omelette is designed to feed a crowd. Keep in mind that a large omelette will take longer to cook than a standard-size one. To prevent the eggs from overbrowning, stir them continuously with a silicone spatula until they resemble a soft, loose scramble. Shake the pan so the eggs cover the bottom evenly, then place the filling on half of the eggs. Remove the pan from the heat and slide the filled side of the omelette onto a platter, using the pan to help fold the unfilled side onto the filled side. Kids can help with several steps of the cooking process. They can break the eggs, cracking each one into a small bowl and removing any shells before transferring the eggs to a larger bowl. Then they can whisk the eggs with the water. Children can grate the cheese and, after an adult fries the bacon, crumble it with their hands. Under adult supervision, kids can stir the eggs as they cook. Ingredients 12 eggs 1/3 cup water 3 Tbs. unsalted butter 4 green onions, thinly sliced diagonally 1 or 2 pinches of salt 1 cup grated cheddar cheese 8 oz. bacon, cooked until crispy and roughly chopped Directions In a bowl, lightly whisk the eggs and water until blended. Set aside. In a large nonstick fry pan over medium heat, melt 1 Tbs. of the butter. Add the green onions and sauté until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. In the same pan, melt the remaining 2 Tbs. butter and swirl in the pan until it foams. When the foam subsides, add the eggs and season with salt. Using a spatula, quickly and lightly stir the eggs in a small circular motion until most of the liquid has cooked off but the eggs are not completely solidified, 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle the cheese, bacon and green onions across half of the omelette. Holding the handle of the pan in one hand and a serving platter in the other hand, tip the pan forward, toward the platter. Slide the filled half of the omelette onto the platter, then invert the pan to fold the omelette in half. Cut into wedges and serve immediately. Serves 6.

November Newsletter

Pies don’t always turn out how you expect them to, but you can handle any last-minute Thanksgiving dessert surprises with our tips. From a crumbly crust to a runny filling, learn how to fix some of the most common pie issues — and how to avoid them next time around. Your pie dough cracks. 
 If the dough cracks while you’re rolling it out, it may be too cold or lacking moisture. Try leaving it at room temperature for a few minutes to see if it becomes more pliable; if not, add a couple of drops of cold water.

If the crust cracks while baking, don’t sweat it — at least everyone knows it’s homemade! Save your extra dough and use festive pie cutters to create embellishments over the top of the crack, or cover the top with a dusting of powdered sugar or a thin layer of sweetened whipped cream to conceal it.

Your crust is soggy. 
Blind baking is a great way to avoid a soggy crust, because the pie crust has a chance to become crisp before the wet filling is added. If your recipe won’t allow it, try refrigerating the crust for about 15 to 30 minutes before baking, or lightly brush the bottom with a beaten egg white to seal it before baking.

Your fruit filling is thin and runny. 
The best way to thicken a fruit filling mixture is to reduce it on the stove top until it reaches the desired consistency. Simply bring to a boil, then simmer until it thickens, stirring occasionally. If you’re pressed for time, try adding cornstarch mixed with an equal amount of water, a little at a time, until the mixture reaches the desired consistency.

 Your pie crust shrinks while baking. 
Pie crusts tend to shrink while baking if the dough has been overworked, activating the gluten. If you do overwork it by rolling and stretching, cover and refrigerate it for 30 minutes before coming back to it, allowing the gluten to relax again. Also, be sure to pierce the bottom of the crust with a fork if you’re blind baking the crust; this will allow the steam to escape and keep your crust in place.

You run out of pumpkin pie spice. 
 Create your own using the spices in your pantry! Use a ratio of — 2 parts cinnamon, 1 part ground ginger, and 1/2 part each ground cloves, allspice and nutmeg.

2 Tbs. unsalted butter 2 1/2 lbs. yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced 1 Tbs. all-purpose flour 1 cup dry white wine 8 cups beef stock 2 tsp. minced fresh thyme, or 1 tsp. dried 1 bay leaf Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 1 crusty baguette 2 2/3 cups shredded Gruyère cheese In a large, heavy sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, stir well, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir until combined. Gradually stir in the wine, then the stock, and finally the thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, until slightly reduced, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf. Meanwhile, preheat a broiler. Have ready eight 1 1/2-cup broilerproof soup crocks. Cut the baguette into 16 slices, sizing them so that 2 slices will fit inside each crock. Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet and broil, turning once, until lightly toasted on both sides, about 1 minute total. Set the slices aside. Position the oven rack about 12 inches from the heat source, and leave the broiler on. Ladle the hot soup into the crocks. Place 2 toasted bread slices, overlapping if necessary, on top of the soup and sprinkle each crock evenly with about 1/3 cup of the Gruyère. Broil until the cheese is bubbling, about 2 minutes. Serve at once. Serves 8.

Fun recipes from the upcoming Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 movie. Foodimal recipes!

Our Fall Cooking Classes begin in October this year, We have all new recipes so be sure your little chef does not miss out! Starting Monday, October 7th - 28th (4 weeks) Little Chefs classes begin 5:30 pm - 6:45 Teen Chef class begins 7:00 pm - 8:45 $99.00 per student, $25.00 registration fee -unless already already an ABC Chefs Member

New ABC Chefs Logos