Goodbye Thanksgiving. Hello Christmas!

I hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving and ate their fair share of stuffing and pumpkin pie! Thanksgiving will always hold special memories of cooking all day with my mom, as we listened to Christmas carols and watched the Macy's Day parade on TV.
This year was a bit different...as I was able to see the parade in person! We braved the cold and massive crowds to make our way towards 34th street. It was worth every moment to see the Pillsbury Dough Boy floating down the streets of Manhattan!
   

                      

   

       
Now that Thanksgiving is over, Christmas is rapidly floating towards us (pun intended). This means holiday parties around every corner...which also means you need a yummy h'orderve ready to make at a moments notice. I wanted to share one of my favorites that has proven to be a crowd pleaser every time-  it's spicy and cheesy, with hints of bacon! 

Spicy Bacon Deviled Eggs

(yields 12 eggs)

Ingredients:

6 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and halved

1/4 cup finely grated sharp cheese (I used parmigiano reggiano mixed with sharp cheddar)

1/3 cup loosely packed mayonnaise (Regina measurements- 3 large blobs)

2 slices of bacon, cooked and diced. Reserve bacon drippings

2 teaspoons of reserved bacon fat

1 teaspoon of hot sauce or Sriracha chili sauce (more or less according to desired spiciness)

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional- garnish with extra diced bacon

Directions: 

1. Hard boil eggs:

Every chef I know has a different way of hard boiling eggs. I learned this method in culinary school and find it works best for me...Lower room temperature eggs into boiling water (use a spider). Slightly decrease temperature and allow the eggs to simmer for 15 minutes. Immediately cool in cold water and peel under running cold water.

2. After peeling eggs, cut in half and scoop out yokes into a medium bowl. Gently mash yokes with a fork. 

3. Add remaining ingredients and mix with a hand blender. This creates a smooth creamy texture.  

4. Fill egg whites with egg yolk mixture using a either a spoon or pastry bag with decorative tip. 

I hope you and your fellow party guests enjoy!

Thanksgiving memories from the test kitchen

After completing culinary school, I was privileged enough to land an awesome internship inside of Family Circle Magazine’s test kitchens. I met many amazing chefs who inspired me to follow my dreams, as well as assisted me in learning new skills specific to magazine food editing and recipe development. I have special memories of spending hours in the kitchen testing and re-testing recipes until they were just perfect!

In the magazine world, deadlines for the holidays begin in the summer…hence in the test kitchen it really seems like Christmas in July! I was fortunate enough to be able to test the below Thanksgiving dessert last summer and it is now in print for everyone to try (see Family Circle's November issue, pg 176). It’s super easy for such a cute masterpiece.

Directions:

1. Generously grease 12 cup mini bunt pan (about 2” width). Don’t go too crazy searching for this exact pan…I used 4” mini bunt pan and the grooves were not as defined, but they still look like a cute little pumpkins.

     

2. Prepare Devil’s Food Cake box mix per box directions, but substitute milk or buttermilk for water.

3. Fill mini bunt pan half way with batter. Learn from my mistakes and don’t overfill the muffin tins....results include feeling really sick from overeating mass quantities of extra large muffin tops!

4. Cook in mini bunt pans for 15-20 minutes. Tooth pick inserted in center should come out clean. 

(Mine were larger tins and came out perfectly at 20 minutes)

5. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes and then overturn onto cooling wrack. Once completely cool, use a serrated knife to cut off muffin tops to create a level surface.

(save muffin tops for later snacking)

6. Frost one flat side of cake to act as glue and place the other cake on top. Press down gently.

7. Decorate as desired! Scope out the magazine for lots of great decorating ideas. 

I chose to warm up the icing (5 seconds) and then drizzled it on top,

then garnished with orange sprinkles,

Kit Kat candy bar for stem.

(Other stem ideas- pretzel sticks, Twix bars, or brown licorice)

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Homemade Pasta...any way you want it!

When I think of my favorite foods, my mind automatically goes to bread and pasta. Not only do I love to eat them, I love to make them! Hence I would like to share with you my favorite pasta recipe (bread recipe at a later date). My first time making pasta from scratch, I was a bit nervous, but I quickly realized just how easy and creative it can be. You don't need a pasta machine or fancy gadgets, just an adventurous spirit and willingness to become one with your food : ) Have fun!

Fresh Pasta

Yield: 2 servings

Fresh Pasta Recipe- 

100 grams of flour (One scant cup), plus more for dusting

1 tsp salt

1 egg

1 tsp olive oil

Whisk together flour and salt. Mound onto counter or into a large mixing bowl. Make a “well” in the center of the flour mixture and add the egg and oil.

Using a fork, gently beat the egg/oil, but be careful not to disturb the well. Slowly incorporate the flour into the egg mixture, stirring the flour in from the sides of the well and working outwards.

I like to use a bench scraper to continue to incorporate the flour mixture into the egg mixture. 

Once a dough begins to form, lightly dust work surface and begin to knead dough about 5-10 minutes. 

End result should be smooth and flexible, but not sticky.

Gather dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. 

Allow dough to rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temp.

If you don’t have a pasta machine, just use a rolling pin. Cut the dough in half with a bench scraper. 

Keep extra dough covered with plastic while working with the other piece. 

On a lightly floured surface, flatten the piece of dough into a rough square. 

With a rolling pin, begin to roll dough to desired thickness (about 1/16^th of an inch). 

Now the really fun part! Cut into desired shapes...

1. Ravioli:

*Sweet Potato Filling- 2 sweet potatoes (roast, remove skins, and mash), 

1 Tbsp olive oil, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 Tbsp butter (room temp.), 1 tsp salt

                    Square shape                                                                                  

or

Circle shape

2. Papparadelle (translated "to gobble up" in Italian). It is a great way to use up scraps: 

 

3. Farfalle (bow ties):

                  

Place finished product onto a floured baking sheet pan and toss with flour to prevent sticking.

Cook immediately (boil in salted water 5-7 minutes) or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 hour before cooking.

Toss pasta with a sauce of your choice and serve immediately!

I chose to simply toss in olive oil and garnish with Parmigiano Reggiano, as I wanted the flavor of my fresh pasta to shine through.  

Enjoy!

Sandy Survivors!

We survived Sandy!! Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers! Power and water were restored to our apartment in the lower east side of Manhattan last night!  We were so excited to come home to a well lit apartment and flush-able toilet. 

Despite the destruction that has taken place around us, I would like to take a sec to note the positive side of Sandy. During the last few days, Nathan and I have had an adventurous time scouring the city for electricity to recharge our phones and take showers. We were forced to find things to do that did not involve computers or tv. The only way to keep updated on current events was to hunt down the news vans and get as close as possible to hear the reporters. We often found ourselves at the local diner for a hot meal. It forced us to try new things and see new places that otherwise would have been missed.

I am so thankful for God’s protection from the mass destruction that has occurred in the city of New York. I am also thankful that I can now use my oven again! Most of the grocery store shelves are still bare, but I scavenged my favorite spots to find ingredients for a “Post Hurricane Sandy” party!! What better meal to choose than PIZZA!

Please continue to keep NYC in your prayers, as many people are morning losses.