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Snacking in the Kitchen

~ Culinary Adventures In & Out of the Kitchen. Recipes, Reviews, Culinary Musings.

Monthly Archives: November 2013

Thanksgiving Timeline ~ Get Organized & Eat Deliciously, On Time!

26 Tuesday Nov 2013

Posted by snackingkitchen in Allrecipes.com, Cooking, Holidays

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

cooking, organized, thanksgiving

Confession time.  While Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, I will actually be spending it away this year, in Canada.  I am truly sad to be missing the shared meal with family and friends, the leftovers the following day, and delicious aromas of the meal prepared at home. But don’t feel too bad for me.  I have already enjoyed several Thanksgiving meals this year.  Why?

At allrecipes.com we have filmed countless videos for recipes and Thanksgiving menus just this year.  Stuffing, pies, gravy, mashed potatoes, turkeys, and even Pumpkin Fluff Dip, we have prepared it all, tasted it, and I even was able to make a mashed potatoes-turkey-cheese melt sandwich.

My favorite Thanksgiving project was working on this video for Thanksgiving Guide Minute-by-Minute where we show you how to prepare the entire meal on the day of Thanksgiving.  The order in which to prepare the dishes, the prep-ahead steps, and even fit in a few breaks for wine.  Pay close attention and you might just find me in a cameo.  Hint – I am sipping a bubbly cocktail.

And here is a beautiful infographic put together by our Design Team.  Print it out and have it handy on the T-Day, and it’s almost like all of us at Allrecipes.com are there with you, helping you mash the potatoes, season the gravy, and carve the turkey.

Thanksgiving Timed Right

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

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Apple Cranberry Walnut Tart

25 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by snackingkitchen in Dessert, Holidays, Recipe

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

apples, baking, cranberries, tart, thanksgiving

Apple Walnut Cranberry TartWith the Thanksgiving on my mind and a friend’s visit, I wanted to bake a seasonal dessert.  Surrounded by fresh local apples and cranberries, I decided on a simple and elegant Apple Cranberry Walnut Tart.  This one could easily be adapted for pecans, if you are in the mood for a more traditional Thanksgiving combination.

I used a store- purchased pie crust, but please go ahead and use a homemade if you have time and desire.  With apples, I’d recommend using a crisp variety.  I chose a combination of Granny Smith and Honey Crisp.  If time is an issue, you can cook the filling slightly before baking the tart ~ this will significantly reduce the time it needs in the oven.  While a scoop of vanilla ice cream is always a welcome accompaniment, we enjoyed the tart on its own.

Apple Cranberry Walnut Tart

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter, divided

1 9-inch pie crust

1/4 cup apricot jam

1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, chopped

1 large Honey Crisp apple, peeled, cored, chopped

1/2 cup fresh cranberries

1/3 cup walnuts, chopped

2 tablespoons flour

2-4 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

zest of 1 orange

egg yolk

Directions

1.  Preheat  oven to 400 degrees F and grease a baking pan with 1 tablespoon of butter.

2.  Roll out the crust on the bottom of the baking dish and brush with tablespoons of apricot jam.

3.  Toss together apples, cranberries, walnuts, flour, sugar, cinnamon and zest and pile in the center of the crust.

Image

4.  Dice the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and dot over the filling.

5.  Crimp the edges of the crust over the filling lightly and brush with 1 beaten egg yolk.

Image

6.  Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 375 degrees F and bake for another 30 minutes.

7.  Heat the remaining apricot jam in the microwave for 30 seconds and brush over the tart.  Return to the oven and bake for another 15-20 minutes.

Image

And the tart is ready!  Do give it about 30 minutes to cool and set up before slicing.

Image

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Thanksgiving Turducken – Turkey, Duck and Chicken in one Video Recipe

21 Thursday Nov 2013

Posted by snackingkitchen in Allrecipes.com, Chicken, Holidays, Thanksgiving

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

chihcken, thanksgiving, turducken, turkey

Turducken Recipe Video ~ Happy Thanksgiving!
As a Food Stylist and Editor at allrecipes.com I get many unique opportunities to work on projects I would not tackle in my own kitchen.  Sure, there are a share of casseroles, slow cooker mashed potatoes, and dips.  But then, there’s is also TURDUCKEN!!! The infamous Thanksgiving delicacy that combines turkey, duck, and chicken!  Have you had a chance to prepare or taste this?

With the help of Bill the Butcher, we received all three birds, artfully prepared (boned and properly fabricated) and ready to be layered.  That’s right, rather than stuffing the birds one inside the other, they are layered on top of one another with delicious stuffing in between.  We, of course, used the allrecipes.com recipe for Sausage and Oyster Stuffing (feel free to use your favorite recipe).

Turducken Recipe Video ~ Happy Thanksgiving!

When it comes to preparing the turducken, I would recommend having more than one set of hands and lots of patience.  No squeemish folk here!  The birds don’t look the most attractive, but trust me when I say – the effort is well worth it!

Turducken Recipe Video ~ Happy Thanksgiving!

Another suggestion – remove the skin from the duck and the chicken – you can easily do it yourself or ask your friendly butcher for help.  You ready for your own turducken?  Check out this video we made with allrecipes.com!

Video time!

Happy Thanksgiving from Snacking in the Kitchen!

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Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

18 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by snackingkitchen in Cupcakes, Dessert, Holidays, Recipe

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

baking, cupcakes, dessert, recipe

carrot cake cupcake recipe

It’s hard to believe that my young brother just turned 25 years old!  Time flies, people grow up, mature, and become adults that you are proud to call your friend.

For his birthday, my brother requested Carrot Cake Cupcakes with raisins and walnuts.  I took this opportunity to use my wonderful orange KitchenAid and bake something delicious for the whole family to enjoy.  For the recipe, I adapted Ina Garten’s carrot cake cupcakes.  Modifications: 12 cupcake yield, reduction of sugar and oil, addition of baking powder, change in baking directions, toasted walnuts.  The frosting was cut in half and dressed with clementine zest.

I must admit, I was rather nervous waiting for the cupcakes to finish baking and once I removed them from the oven, my fears did not diminish.  But!  These were truly fantastic – moist, just sweet enough, with a wonderful texture variance of raisins and crunchy nuts.  The frosting with the addition of clementine zest played nicely along, lending just enough sweetness and decadence.

Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/5 cups grated carrots (I used organic, with skin on, grated in a food processor)
1/2 cups raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted
1 tablespoons flour

For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
zest of 1 clementine or orange

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 12-cup cupcake pan with liners and lightly grease with cooking spray.

2.  Beat together sugar, oil and vanilla until evenly incorporated.  Beat in one egg at a time.

3.  Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Image

4.  Mix carrots, raisins and walnuts with 1 tablespoon of flour.  This will keep the mix-ins evenly incorporated with the cupcake batter.

 Image

5.  Add half of the dry ingredients to the sugar-oil-egg mixture and mix just until blended.  Blend in carrots, raisins and walnuts and then add the rest of the dry ingredients.

6.  Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cups.

7.  Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until the tops of the cupcakes are medium-brown and the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool completely on the wire rack.  I removed the paper from cupcakes right before frosting.

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8,  For the frosting, beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla.  Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar (you might want to sift if first so it incorporates easier).  Once the frosting is of your desired consistency and sweetness (you can add more sugar), fold in clementine zest.  Frost cupcakes as desired.  I fit a piping bag with a star tip and filled it with frosting, trying a few different designs when it came to decorating.

carrot cake cupcake recipe

If the frosting gets too soft, you can refrigerate it briefly.  I chilled the cupcakes for an hour before serving to allow the frosting to set up slightly.  These would be beautiful garnished with candied carrots or toasted walnuts.  Mine came garnished with candles and a “happy birthday!” song.

By the time the cupcakes were baked, cooled and frosted, it was too dark to take any decent photos.  Sadly, I took a few with my phone on the bathroom floor.  The good news, there are a few cupcakes safely tucked in inside the refrigerator – I will attempt to take photos tomorrow!  Sweet wishes.

carrot cake cupcake recipe

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Cornucopia – the Thanksgiving Centerpiece for Your Table

08 Friday Nov 2013

Posted by snackingkitchen in Holidays, Thanksgiving

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

centerpiece, cornucopia, decorations, diy, thanksgiving

cornucopia_recipe_decorating_thanksgiving2

Have you checked your calendar?  Thanksgiving is just a few short weeks away, and I bet for most of us, the time is going to fly faster than we wish.

This year, I wanted to share with you a fun and quite-impressive-looking project I worked on with Allrecipes.com – Thanksgiving Cornucopia!

You make the cornucopia using refrigerated bread stick dough, bake it to a glistening golden brown color and fill it with your favorite ingredients.  Best part?  This is an edible centerpiece that you and your family can enjoy the following meal if you have any room left in your stomach after the Thanksgiving meal.

cornucopia_recipe_decorating_thanksgiving

Video: How to Make Thanksgiving Cornucopia

Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving!

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