Christmas morning Crepes

I like to brag about being French. Truth be told, Im only a wee little bit French, despite having the maiden name of Estle, which came from the French Huguenot name deEstelle. Anyway, I will say that I admire the French for their cooking techniques and their love of food, among other things. Rich, tasty, fresh ingredients reward the palette...and you only need a bit to be satisfied. We Americans should take note.

My Christmas morning tribute to French cuisine each year is making Crepes. They are oh so yummy and such a treat! Here is a link to a great recipe and I'll share my filling recipe too.

Vanilla Crepes

Crepe Filling

1 pkg. Neufetchel cheese (or cream cheese), softened
2 Tbs. granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
fresh fruit or fruit compote or spread

Blend cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
Spread filling inside crepe and top with fruit before rolling.

Fresh Guacamole

While Im posting south-of-the-border recipes, I thought I would share my favorite guacamole with you. I've been trying to come up with the perfect recipe for years, but its always a bit off. But last year, after dining at Adobo Grill , I think I've got the one I like. Of course, if you've been to Adobo, you know that I cheated, because they make the guac right in front of you...there are no secrets! AJ made fun of me because I watched the woman like a hawk, and then scratched down a few notes before devouring every bit of it within minutes! So good.

Before I share the recipe, I will add that perfectly ripe avocados are key. You want them soft but not squishy to the touch and the skin should be black rather than green. If you need to ripen them in a hurry (overnight), you can place them in a brown paper bag with an apple or two and close it up tight.

Fresh Guacamole

2 ripe avocados, sliced in half
1 lime, quartered
3 cloves garlic, minced
jalapeno, minced (to taste)
1/2 med. onion, minced
1-1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tomato, de-seeded, diced
fresh cilantro, chopped

Remove flesh from each avocado half and place in med bowl. Squeeze juice from each lime quarter into bowl and mash (I do it using a pastry knife actually). Add garlic, jalapeno, onion, and salt. Mash again to mix flavors. Stir in tomato and cilantro. Enjoy!
* use as much or as little jalapeno as you like, depending on how spicy you like it. Remember that including the seeds will make it MUCH spicier and that the spice factor will increase after it sits a few minutes!

Chicken Enchiladas

For the last few years we've had a Mexican themed dinner on Christmas Eve before the candle-light service at church. Its a refreshing break from the turkey and spiral ham meals that are so prevalent during the holidays. This year, I made chicken enchiladas and fresh guacamole. My friend Cary made yummy seasoned rice, and another friend (John) made a persimmon flan for dessert. As you can imagine, we sat through the church service a bit stuffed:)

My sister-in-law Allison has been bugging me to post this chicken enchilada recipe for some time, but Ive avoided doing it for lack of a formal recipe. I started making them in college after taking a cultural cooking class, although Im fairly certain they aren't really traditional. The recipe evolves too, depending on what I have around, and its fun to try seasonal veggies in them too. Anyway, here is the basic recipe...

Chicken Enchiladas

4 chicken breasts cooked in chicken broth, cooled and shredded
2 tbs butter
1 green pepper, diced
1 med onion, diced
1 green chili, diced (or 1 sm can)
1/2-1 jalapeno, minced and without seeds (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tb. cumin
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
3/4 C sour cream
2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese
8 lg flour tortillas (burrito size)
1 can green enchilada sauce

Over med. heat melt butter. Add pepper, onion, chili, jalapeno, and garlic and cook 3-5 min. or until veggies just start to soften. Add spices and cook another 2 min. Turn heat to low and add in the shredded chicken and sour cream, only until the sour cream heats through, about 1-2 min. Turn off heat.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray or oil, then a thin layer of the enchilada sauce. Set aside 1/2 C of the cheese. Evenly divide the chicken mixture and remaining cheese between the 8 tortillas. Roll them tightly and place them side by side in the coated pan. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the wrapped tortillas making sure there are no dry areas. Sprinkle cheese down the center of the top and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 min and then removed the foil. Bake another 5-10 min uncovered. (You can also make them the night before and leave them refrigerated.)

The Physics of Cooking

So my husband, a theoretical biophysicist, just read the article I posted on the brining process. He was thrilled to see the "How it works" section, the science of the process. Who knew that protein denaturing was so important to a moist bird?

When cooking and physics collide, its a beautiful thing. And a tasty one at that:)

A good bird

Hope your Thanksgiving holiday was wonderful in every way!
Thanks to those of you who left Thanksgiving traditions...so fun to read and think about as we add to our own! We had a full house and a full table on Thanksgiving day. After changing my mind several times, I finally decided to try the turkey recipe my friend Tegan suggested for two reasons:
1. Tegan is a fabulous cook and has never made anything I didnt like.
2. The recipe required a brining process...something I have never tried. I like to add to my cooking skills and knowledge when I can, and although I was a bit intimidated at first, I was really happy with the results...moist and yummy!

If you arent familiar with brining, check out this article at cooks illustrated:

TheBriningProcessExplained

Here is the recipe link for the Apple Cider Brined Turkey with Savory Herb gravy.

AppleCiderBrinedTurkey

Another new thing I tried this year....homemade cranberry sauce. Man, I had no idea how easy it is to make....and so delish! Most recipes call for boiling the sugar and water before putting in the berries, but I accidentally boiled them all together and it worked just fine! Who knew that you dont need gelatin to make it set up?! Here's what I did:
Boil:
1 8oz bag of cranberries
3/4 C water
3/4 C granulated sugar

Cook at low boil for about 10 min, stirring occasionally. Let cool for 15 min or so. Blend mixture in food processor or blender. Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Our final Thanksgiving menu for this year was: (just so that I remember)

Apple Cider Brined Turkey with Savory Herb Gravy
Sausage and Raisin Stuffing
Gruyere cheese broccoli gratin
Becky's corn casserole
Cranberry sauce
Mashed Rosted Sweet Potatos with crunchy pecan topping

Thanksgiving Traditions

Im wondering what yours are?
The Rader house is about to host Thanksgiving this year, and we want some traditions of our own...besides eating a LOT of good food and having everyone say what they are thankful for:)
How do you spend the time with your family? What are your favorite food traditions?
Does one person cook, or do you have a pitch-in (as they say here in Indy). We call it a pot-luck in Michigan.

I've got the menu almost planned, but Im still debating on how to prepare the Turkey. Im a novice Turkey-preparer. Ive got a few options, but the one rising to the top is an Orange Rosemary basted bird with carrots and leeks. Yum.

Today we (all five of us) stormed Trader Joes and Costco...this was after I sent AJ to the farmer's market for some key ingredients. Shopping the Sat before Thanksgiving is nuts. But it does make me excited for Thursday and wearing my apron all day and having my family fill every corner of the bungalow.

Happy Turkey day preparations! Dont forget to leave a tradition in the comments if you have a fun one to share!

Cherry Almond Granola

Since I've had a few requests for this recipe lately, I thought I would make it my first post. Making granola is so easy...you wont be able to buy it after you start making it! And, its so fun to try different things, depending on what's in your cupboard. This recipe is a variation of a recipe I clipped years ago from a newspaper. (Before the days of Googling recipes!) You can substitute all sorts of yummy things into it of course, but this is my favorite version. Enjoy!

Recipe makes 2 Quarts (about 8 cups)

Heat oven to 275 degrees. Mix the following in a very large bowl:

4 C rolled oats
1 C wheat germ
4 Tbs. sucunat (or brown sugar)
1/2 tsp salt
1 C sliced almonds

Bring the following to a low boil, stirring, and immediately turn down to simmer for 2 minutes,
then turn heat off:

1/2 C real maple syrup (or honey)
6 Tbs. coconut oil
1 1/2 tsps. almond extract
2 Tbs. water

1 C dried cherries

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and mix. Should be clumpy! Lightly grease two cookie sheets. Divide the granola between the pans and place into heated oven,
middle rack. Bake for 30 min. Remove and stir the granola a bit, adding the cherries. Bake another 20 min. After the 20 min, turn oven off, open the oven door part way and leave the granola in until cool. This will make it nice and crunchy! After it cools, put in airtight container. Stays yummy for about a week...if it lasts that long!

Substitutions:
For almonds: pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, other nuts...
For cherries: coconut, raisins, dried cranberries, blueberries
For almond extract: vanilla extract, ginger, allspice, etc...

*Update: My original recipe called for canola oil, but my reading over the last year has convinced me that coconut oil is a much better choice....read here if you are interested! I also revised the brown sugar with sucanat....again, to up the nutritional impact.