Turkey Inspired Vegetable Platter

Yay!  One of my family's favorite holidays is finally right around the corner. It just so happens to be Cory's birthday too.  About every 7 years his birthday falls on Turkey Day.  

Last year we went to a friends home and I was invited to bring a vegetable tray. I googled a few different versions of turkey themed trays and came up with this version which is similar to what I saw online.  

I try to balance my colors so that there are an array of colors to work with to create the turkey's feathers and backside.  Getting the face just right was a bit harder than I thought because I had to figure out how to cut the red pepper to make the gobbler.  I used one black olive, cut in half,  and two round carrot slices for the eyes.  The beak is a cucumber cut into the shape of a triangle.  The face is the bottom of a green bell pepper.

The leaf lettuce is not necessary but I do think it adds a brilliant ruffle around the edge of the tray. It gives this turkey his "ruffled feathers" if you like.

I served the tray with our favorite dressing:  Parmesan Ranch.  The recipe can be found here.

I don't believe a recipe is needed to successfully make this tray.  Use your imagination, use your favorite veggies and make it as big or small as you like. This tray is HUGE.  I made it for 30 people.

The ingredients I used in the picture below are: carrots, celery, red pepper, cherry tomatoes, black olives, cucumbers, green leaf lettuce and romanesco.

You could also use:  red onions, green onions, broccoli, cauliflower, olives, mushrooms...I think you get the idea.  Go and have fun creating your next turkey platter.

Please share on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and StumbleUpon.  Thanks!

Written by Sherron Watson

Sliced Acorn Squash with Parmesan Cheese

I decided that I wanted to photograph my acorn squash with the seeds still inside the center.  I felt that the seeds are a part of the acorn squash that quickly get discarded and forgotten.

The detail of the webbed center with the slippery seeds shows that great effort has been put into the growth cycle.  Thankfully the seeds are easy to remove.  I use a large spoon and gently scrape the sides.  The seeds go down the drain and I am left with two halves. Have you ever saved your seeds?  Would you treat them similar to pumpkin seeds and eat them?  Let me know if you use them and how.

We are fans of squash.  On the blog you will find an array of squash recipes.  We eat one zucchini every day in either our breakfast or dinner.  I find that squash just fits nicely into most recipes that use eggs, vegetable dishes like soups and stir frys,  as well as, stand on their own in simple recipes.

Here are links to a few of our favorites:

Creamy Baked Acorn Squash
Kuri Squash with Sausage
Zucchini Cheese Souffle

I like to use simple ingredients when working with squash.  The tender squash meat is transformed when seasoned with a bit of extra virgin olive oil or grass fed butter.  Then if you decide to add salt, pepper and some seasonings the dish is expanding its flavor profile.  When the slices came out of the oven I decided to add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.  I found when the the squash was broiled and the edges were browned that this added a wonderful finishing touch to this simple recipe.

So the question that I run into is this.  Is this considered finger food or not? 

Well, for me it is not finger food because I eat the green peel too.  The cooking at a high temperature softens the green peel to a degree that it is edible.  I have several friends and family that also eat the whole slice.  It is also okay to eat the slices like you would a slice of watermelon.  I would consider the guest at your table to see if they are comfortable eating finger foods.  Who knows, they might like it.

If you are inclined to share recipes on Pinterest, Stumble Upon, Facebook and Twitter, I really do appreciate each and every share.  Thanks! Sherron

Sliced Acorn Squash with Parmesan Cheese

1 acorn squash, cleaned out and cut in half
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Flake Salt  (I use this brand)
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Have a metal cookie sheet ready.

2.  To slice the acorn squash into 1/4 inch slices you will need a large sharp knife and a stable cutting board.  I used my belly to support the squash and pushed down on the knife to make the slices.  Trying to saw or cut them like a tomato did not work for me.  Use a technique that will help you achieve the result.

3.  Toss the slices in a large bowl with all of the seasonings and oil.  I did not give measurements because this step is based on your family and what they like.  I used my reliable 4 pack: salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.  I also added some fresh mint.  You add what you like and use seasonings that best fit into your family's appetite.

4.  Bake slices for 20 minutes of until tender.  Sprinkle Parmesan Cheese over the top layer of slices and broil until golden brown.

5.  I removed the cookie sheet and transferred the slices to a serving plate.

Written by Sherron Watson

Note:  I have included one affiliate link to show you the brand and type that I use. There is no obligation to buy.  I do make a small fee but this all goes towards ingredients for recipes.  

Honey Cinnamon Sweet Potato Sticks

I know I posted a sweet potato recipe last week and looking at my future post I have one scheduled again for next week.  What can I say?  We love sweet potatoes and I am having fun in the kitchen experimenting with creative ways to prepare and season them.

In my opinion honey and cinnamon taste well when tossed together with some butter.  I experimented with pan frying the sticks of sweet potatoe.  In the past, I have used leftover sweet potato to fry up the next day.  I wondered , "Could I cook the raw sweet potatoes by pan frying them and would they taste okay?"  Personally I have never had great success cooking a raw potato without precooking it first by baking, boiling or steaming them first.  I thought maybe the sweet potato would fall into this category too.

My surprise success at pan frying the sticks of sweet potato is met with enthusiasm because I felt confident that my future cooking plans with this ingredient could be expanded to include them in more recipes.  I am specifically thinking of using them in stir fry.

I will continue to play with sweet potatoes so don't be surprised if a few more recipes emerge in the next few months. I don't believe that this is a Fall ingredient but one that we should be enjoying all year round.

What is your favorite way to prepare sweet potatoes? I am open to new ideas.

Honey Cinnamon Sweet Potato Sticks

2 cups of sweet potatoes cut into sticks  (try to keep them the same size)
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1-2 teaspoons honey

Season with: cinnamon, nutmeg and salt

1.  Melt coconut oil in a medium frying pan.  Add cut sweet potato sticks and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Drizzle honey over the sticks and toss.

2.  Remove from heat and sprinkle with seasonings.  Use as much or little as you desire.  If you wish to add some melted butter, go ahead at this time.

Written by Sherron Watson

Thyme Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite vegetables.  I know they are popular this time of year but we eat them all year round.  I made this recipe this last summer using some fresh herbs from my garden.
This dish is simple.  Food does not have to be complicated to be good.  I am finding great pleasure in making simple foods for my family.

My favorite part about these little cubes of tenderness is the crispy bottoms.  I cook them on high heat with extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil and let them roast.  I don't toss them.  Having the crispy slightly burnt bottoms is what gives them a unique flavor.  If you don't want yours to turn out so black then cook them for less time.  They become tender after about 30 minutes but the extra time allows for them to caramelize a bit on the bottom.

Thyme Roasted Sweet Potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh thyme or basil

salt and pepper, to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 425.

2.  Toss cubed sweet potato pieces in a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs.  Add to a large cookie sheet in a single layer.  Roast until desired tenderness has been met.  

NOTE:  Every oven is different so start checking the sweet potatoes after about 30 minutes. In my oven I roasted them for 45 minutes.

Written by Sherron Watson

Baked Tomatoes with Gruyere, Garlic and Onion

 

I just got back from a wonderful vacation spent with friends.  We ate our hearts out and chatted up a storm.  I feel amazing.  My time in New York City refuels my inner fountain.  Each time I go visit I leave a small part of my soul.  The draw to move there grows stronger and stronger with every visit.   Our time in Maryland is numbered.  I know this.  We have set a timeline of two years to make it possible for us to experience life living in a large city.

As our plans become more solid and time grows closer, I will share our journey here on the blog.  In the meantime I will continue to explore as much of the DelMarVa area as possible.  I have learned that when the call to move sets into our bones our time here becomes precious.  

I found this recipe in a cookbook by Elizabeth David.  I knew that my family would fall in love with these little morsels of cheesy goodness.  Elizabeth's recipe is simple.  I decided to add a few more ingredients to enhance the flavor profile to that of my families preferences.  The addition of garlic and onion was just the right touch.

Next time I will make a double batch.  I roasted some tiny potatoes and steamed carrots to make a beautiful platter of easy to eat foods.  

Enjoy!

Baked Tomatoes with Gruyere, Garlic and Onion 
Makes 6 small tomatoes

6 Campari Tomatoes
1 teaspoon melted butter
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons red onion, diced very small
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1 cup of Gruyere Cheese (I have used a combination of Jack and Gruyere with great success)
1-2 teaspoons of Dijon Mustard
a splash of White Wine, optional

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Core tomatoes and arrange in a small baking dish.

3.  In a small sauce pan add butter and heat on medium.  Add red onion and garlic.  Saute for a few minutes.  Add remaining ingredients and stir until cheese is melted and well combined.

4.  Spoon the cheese mixture into the hollow tomatoes.  I filled my cheese to the top.

5.  Bake for 15 or until cheese starts to turn golden brown (see photo).  Remove from oven and serve immediately.  If you have problems with the tomatoes tipping over in the baking dish, slice some carrots and use them to hold up the tomatoes while baking.

Written by Sherron Watson

Crispy Potatoes and Onions

Potatoes and Onions always reminds me of the time I spent living with my grandmother.  She loved this dish and we always baked extra potatoes so that we could eat this in the morning.  My grandma loved potatoes.  She always said it was in her English blood to eat a potato or two every week and she did.

I have kept the tradition alive.  When I bake potatoes I throw a few extra in the oven so that when the desire to have a warm breakfast hits my family, I can whip this up.  If you can't eat potatoes I have substituted baked sweet potatoes too.  The difference is that they work best if they are not too soft. They tend to get very mushy if over cooked.

I love the crispy skin of salmon or chicken that is cooked to perfection.  Well, it is no surprise then that I keep the skins on my potatoes and make sure the oil is very hot so that they come out crispy and perfect.  Almost like a potato chip.  YUM

My cast iron pan is the perfect cooking vessel for this dish. It radiates heat and provides the perfect heat source to guarantee that the potatoes come out just how we like them each and every time.

This dish is simple but it is so easy and family friendly that I knew I needed to share it with my readers.  Don't let the specs of burnt onion sway you away from making this dish. In our opinion they add flavor and texture to the dish.  If this is not how you prefer your onion, then remove them before you add the potatoes.  Reintroduce them to the dish after the potatoes are fried.  

Enjoy!

Crispy Potatoes and Onions

Serves 4

4 baked potatoes, cold and cubed (see above picture)

lard or your favorite frying oil, enough to cover the bottom of the pan with a thin layer

salt

pepper

garlic powder

1 medium onion, sliced thin

1.  Heat oil until it starts to just bubble at the edges of your cast iron pan.  Reduce heat to medium.

2.  Add sliced onions.  Let cook for 3-4 minutes.  Add potatoes and season..  Fry together.  Watch the heat.  Cast iron will keep the heat very hot and you may want to turn it down a touch.  I like to cook my potatoes for about 10-12 minutes.  I turn them every few minutes.  Add more oil if they get dry or start to stick.

3.  Remove and serve.  You can always add cheese, sour cream or bacon as optional garnishments.

Written by Sherron Watson

Spatchcock Chicken with Herbs

Well I finally got around to making a Spatchcock Chicken or a chicken that has been butterflied.  If you have teenagers--definitely use the word Spatchcock--LOL  Drake and Rye have forbidden me to use the name in their presence, especially around their friends.  It sounds so funny and then when you add an accent to it--it's freaking hilarious.   I must be a 15 year old girl trapped in my 46 year old body.  Some things just never change.

I have had this fun love affair with accents and impersonations for some time.  I am by far no Jimmy Fallon but I do enjoy mimicking sounds and phrases.  I love reading Isabella books out loud.  This forum allows me to try out new accents with new characters.  My favorite, and this is probably a given, is an Irish accent.  It rolls off my tongue so easily.  

Outside of its funny given name, Spatchcock Chicken, is very good.  I was a bit skeptical at first.  Every picture featuring this dish always looked so beautiful.  The skin (you know my love affair with skin) always looks crisp and golden brown.  It's true--give me the chicken skin over the white meat.  Now I may have to fight you for the dark meat.  That is my favorite.  I had to make the chicken and then eat the chicken to be completely convinced that this is the BEST way to cook a whole chicken.

I am a believer!  

The meat on the inside of the chicken is cooked perfectly. Having the chicken parted down the middle and fanned out allows the chicken to cook faster and more evenly. It is cooked at a high temperature which allows the skin to be roasted to perfection. My first cut into the breast meat releases a clear juice that allows the white meat to glisten with doneness.

I usually buy thighs but lately I am finding myself buying more and more whole chickens to make this chicken: Spatchcock Chicken. Go ahead add your favorite accent.

I wish I could say this is a fancy recipe with unique ingredients but it's not.  It is just a farm fresh organic chicken that has been seasoned with simple herbs, some juice, mayonnaise and spices.  The presentations of the chicken is the fun part and the show stopper.  I encourage you to give it a try for your family and see if they enjoy this version better than the whole chicken with the hollow center.

Learning to spatchcock a chicken is easy.  I used this tutorial for my first attempt from Food 52. Click on link to see the steps.

Spatchcock Chicken with Herbs

Makes one chicken, serves 4-6

1 whole chicken, thawed

1 medium grapefruit, juice only

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon salt, 

pepper to taste

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

2/3 cups mayonnaise.

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Below you can see that I used a cookie rack over my cookie sheet to bake the chicken.  Use this method or find something similar.  You want the heat to be able to get under the chicken too.

2.  In a medium bowl add the remaining ingredients.  Taste the mixture.  Grapefruits have a tendency to be bitter if not fully ripe.  Add more honey if this is the case to make it taste a bit sweeter.  If you don't have or want to use grapefruit, substitute orange juice.

3.  Cover the whole chicken with the marinade.  See picture below.

4.  Bake until chicken's internal temperature reaches 165.  Mine took about 40 minutes but ovens vary and this will need to be monitored based on how you know your oven to bake.

5.  Remove chicken and let rest for 10 minutes.  I use a pair of kitchen scissors and portion up the chicken.  Save any leftovers and store them in the refrigerator.

Written by Sherron Watson