Greek Dressing

Ina Garten's Greek Salad Recipe is delicious, but for quick reference, below is the guide to the dressing itself.  

1/2 Cup Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 ground pepper
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Thanksgiving Turkey - Best Ever ...so they say

Our first year in the dorm coincided with our actual wedding. While we married the June before school started (living in sin was no way to start things off), we saved the real ceremony for November - November 15th to be exact. With all the family in town for the wedding, Thanksgiving was notably downplayed; it didn’t make sense for everyone to gather in town again. So, I was left to make Thanksgiving dinner for my new husband and his father.


Now, my husband tells me that the turkey I made that year was the best he’d ever had. He also tactlessly told his mother that it was the best turkey he had ever eaten. As we have mentioned in earlier submissions, my darling husband does not have the most discriminating palate, but I might have to agree that it was a damn good bird. The first tip to any great meal is to starve your guests so they are so hungry by the time dinner is served that Tofurkey was seem delicious Kidding… it was rather late when ate dinner that year.



Item #1 - Turkey Prep: After the Bird is Thawed
Ingredients:
Thawed Turkey
Dried Poultry Seasoning (get good stuff - splurge on Williams Sonoma or Fresh Market’s Brand)
Butter
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Plastic Wrap
Huge Ziploc Bag (optional)

Instructions:
Ok, once the turkey has thawed, it requires little preparation before cooking. Remove the neck and giblets from the body cavity. Wash the inside and outside of the turkey; rinse the giblets separately and in a bowl (set aside). To prevent the spread of bacteria, wash your hands, utensils and sink after they have come in contact with the raw turkey.  409 is your best friend!

Dry the bird with a clean, fresh bar towel… pat it softly (like you really care about its safety, after all, it was a $40 dollar investment – give it some love).  In a bowl, make a goopy mess of cold (but soft) butter and a bit of olive oil.  Kneed it with your fingers and then apply to the turkey gently massaging the bird.  Again, I cannot reiterate this enough: adding a little love comes through in the taste - I swear! After you massage the butter and oil, apply salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning to the outside of the bird. Essentially, we want a buttery oily outside with great seasoning coating. Wrap your turkey in saran wrap – TIGHT!

Item #2 - Turkey Prep: Just Before it Enters the Oven


Dry Rubbed Bird

Butter

Olive Oil

Fresh Rosemary

Fresh Marjoram

Fresh Sage

Fresh Thyme

Fresh Oregano

**For all these herbs, just buy a couple packages, depending on the bird size, of the Fresh Poultry Blend at your local market**

Celery

Onions

Lemons - washed

Breadcrumbs



In a large bowl, combine fresh herbs (chopped and cut), vegetables (cut in large pieces), Breadcrumbs, and Lemons (washed and cut). Add butter

Arroz Con Pollo

This is Cai's delicious Arroz Con Pollo.  It proves that if you ask someone to make a dish so many time, eventually, they will give you the recipe:
Chicken Thighs (8-10)
1 Cup Pearl Rice
3 Chicken Broth
1 8oz Tomato Sauce
4 Cloves Garlic
1 Green Pepper
1 Yellow Onion
Manzanilla Olives
1 8oz Can LeSeur Petit Peas
8oz Beer
Pimentos
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1 Tbsp Oregano
3 Bay Leaves
Saute Chicken with minced garlic and onion in EVOO.
Add tomato sauce, stir and simmer a couple of minutes.
Add rice and 3 cups of chicken broth, salt, pepper, oregano, and bay leaves.  Add the green pepper (quartered).  Bring to a boil.
Add beer and reduce heat to a low simmer and cover.  When liquids start to get low, add olives, pimentos, and peas. Taste and adjust if the mixture looks too dry.  

Christmas Sugar Cookies

Grandmother Dorothy's Sugar Cookie Recipe is delicious.  Who knows what will happen to the tattered, dirty note card, so here's to preservation!

2 Cups Sifted Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Cup Butter or Shortening
1 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Tbsp Milk
1/4 tsp salt

Sift 1 1/2 cups of flour with baking powder and salt.  Cream the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and milk.
Mix well.  Add enough of the remaining flour to make a dough just thick enough to roll.  Chill.  Roll to about 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured board.  Cut, decorate.

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes

**Cookies may be decorated with green strips of gum drops to resemble a candle.  Use red gum drop cut into a triangle for the flame.  (Before Baking).

Pasta Primavera with Italian Sausage

This is my husband's new favorite dish that I make.  Super easy to make and it is delicious.  It is a spin off of Giada Di Laurentiis's recipe on the food network.

INGREDIENTS


2 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips
1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips
1 large squash, cut into thin strips
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 Cup of Broccoli Trees
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Cloves of Garlic, sliced in quarters
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbsp dried Italian herbs: Basil, Oregano, Thyme
1 pound Pasta
15 cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup grated Parmesan

INSTRUCTIONS


Cook Italian (Chicken or Pork) Sausage in a frying pan with a bit of olive oil. Slice and set aside when finished cooking.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat. Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.

Kraft Garlic Cheese Roll Ball Controversy

Aunt Dot explained that she can no longer make her cheese grits because Kraft has discontinued the Garlic Cheese Ball (or tube, or roll - whatever).  I made it my mission today to figure out the mystery behind the beloved ingredient.  Below is an interesting message board of many other enraged cooks who relied on the Kraft Garlic Cheese ball for important family holiday dishes:
http://www.topix.com/forum/com/kft/THF4JIDM066QAJD8N

So, the mystery may be as simple as this...

Option 1


Garlic Cheese Rolls
11/2 pounds sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 pound processed cheese product such as Velveeta
3 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
Garlic powder to taste
Soften cheeses and mix all together well. Shape into four rolls and wrap well in foil or plastic wrap.

OR
Apparenty the Kraft people told a grocery store owner that the "Easy Cheese Roasted Garlic Cheddar flavor is the same thing in a can.  I am not an advocate of spray cheese, in fact, it makes my skin crawl, but I won't be without my cheese grits this year. 

Arugula & Mustard Mayonaise for Holiday Ham

Might make this one too:

3 Cups of mayonasise
3 Cups chopped arugula
1/4 Cup of Dijon Mustard
1/4 Cup of Lemon Juice (fresh)
1 1/2 tsp of freshly ground pepper