Foodie Friends Friday

I am pleased to be hosting the Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party!

Honey Locust Hills
Apple Raspberry Jelly

This week's sponsor is Honey Locust Hills. Beth Wing makes delicious jelly with her family's version of a very old recipe made entirely with honey--No sugar.

The apple and raspberry flavors create the perfect balance of sweet-tart and turn this jelly a beautiful amber color.

Visit their Facebook Fan page HERE and their shop HERE.

There will be 3 lucky winners. Each will receive a jar of Honey Locust Hills jelly.

Enter Below to WIN

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now, lets get this party started!

Here are this week's hosts.  When you link up to one blog it will show on ALL of the hosts blogs!!  That's a ton of exposure!

Please do stop by each of the host's blogs to say "hi" and let them know you joined the party!

Foodie Friends Friday www.foodiefriendsfriday.com

Tracy at Busy Vegetarian Mom www.busyvegetarianmom.com

Robyn's View www.robynsview.com

Marlys at This and That www.marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com

Lois at Walking on Sunshine www.walkingonsunshinerecipes.com

Michelle at From Calculus to Cupcakes www.fromcalculustocupcakes.com

Cynthia at Feeding Big www.feedingbig.com

Jodie at Binomial Baker www.binomialbaker.blogspot.com

R Dawn at Spatulas on Parade www.spatulasonparade.blogspot.com

Angie at A lil Country Sugar www.alilcountrysugar.blogspot.com

Jutta at HungryLittleGirl www.hungrylittlegirl.com

Kelly at www.adornedwell.blogspot.com

Cindy at Cindy's Recipes and Writings www.cindysrecipesandwritings.com

Joanne at Winelady Cooks: www.wineladycooks.com

Marlene at Nosh My Way: www.noshmyway.com

Ericka at www.chefpickykid.com

A Side of Meatballs

This is not news to most of us moms out there, but spaghetti and meatballs is a quick and easy weeknight dinner when schedules are hectic.

For an economical and easy meal prep for the busy weeks ahead make meatballs with tomato sauce. You can have leftovers for 2 more meals -- meatball parmigiano with a side of pasta one night, and meatball heros another night -- or sandwiches for the lunchbox. Now that is both economical and easy.

Make baked macaroni, Italian style, to go with the side of meatballs. I used the curly rotini macaroni - that's what I had - you can use whatever macaroni your family likes best.

This is a layered casserole style dish -- 1) add sauce, 2) a single layer macaroni, 3) a little sauce, 4) dollops of ricotta, continue from 2 through 4 until you use all the macaroni. Top with additional tomato sauce and bake it for about 20-30 minutes.

Here is an easy red sauce recipe from a Crazy Cooking Challenge a few months ago.

The meatball recipe I make is also easy. You can substitute some of the ingredients with your preferences and make the recipe your own.

FYI: This recipe, with leftovers, will serve 2 adults and 2 young children. If the children are 7 or older and there are more members in your family you should increase the amount of meat to ensure you have leftovers.

Easy Meatball Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. chopped meat (any kind you prefer)
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 1/4 cup bread crumbs (or 3 slices of slightly stale bread softened with 1 TBLS. milk)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tsp. dried oregano (optional)
• 1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
• 1 small clove garlic chopped
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2-4 TBLS. grapeseed oil (or vegetable oil) for frying
  Or you can bake the meatballs on parchment covered sheet pan at 350 degrees, turning once to brown on both sides. Bake about 10-15 min. per side. Don't over-bake since they will continue to cook in the tomato sauce.

Cooking Directions

1. Place the meat and all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Mix all the ingredients together with your hands. You can use a wooden spoon to begin the mixing process but using your hands is the best way to blend everything together. Mix the ingredients just until everything is well blended.
3. Scoop up a small handfull of meat and roll in the palm of your hand to your desired size meatball.
4. Heat the oil in a large non-stick fry pan and place the rolled meat balls into the hot oil.
5. Cook them until lightly browned on one side and then turn over to brown the other side.
6. Place them in the tomato sauce and heat them through for about 20 minutes.
7. Serve with your favorite pasta.

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Miz Helen's Country Cottage

What Goes With Take Out Pizza

'Tis the Season! for take out. Any kind of take out works for me but today we're ordering a few different types of pizza and wines to go with them.

We all enjoy the traditional cheese pizza, but there is always one in the crowd who wants something different. I'm okay with that since I'm willing to try new flavors.

Here are a few different types of pizza and wine suggestions:

• Pepperoni is probably the most popular pizza topping. It's usually crispy and the pepperoni makes it salty and fatty. The kids might like a Dr. Pepper or Cherry Coke.
  Adults: Chianti or Zinfandel.

• Meat pizza that is topped with sausage, meatballs, tomato and cheese. Soda pop for the kids.
  Adults: Primitivo from Puglia, or Zinfandel if the sausage is spicy.

• Vegetarian pizza is becoming increasingly popular. There is a wide variety of vegetarian toppings for pizza -- from arugula to spinach, peppers, onions, artichoke hearts, eggplant, olives, spinach, mushrooms, corn and whatever your vegetarian heart desires. We could go all out and give the kids a v-8 fusion drink, but that might be going too far. A soda pop will do.
  Adults: Pairing wine will depend on the vegetables. The more arugula or spinach and asparagus on the pizza a white Sauvignon Blanc might fare well. If there is an abundance of mushrooms consider a Pinot Noir.

• Dessert pizza:  Fig, Prosciutto and Blue Cheese pizza. Now this is an indulgence, but well worth it if you enjoy this combination of foods. For the adventurous kids maybe a sprite or 7-Up.
  Adults: the classic pairing would be Sherry. You can decide if you prefer Amontillado Sherry or a sweeter Oloroso sherry.

Happy Thanksgiving Wordless Wednesday

See more great photos:
Wordless Wednesday

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream, Dairy Free

Thanksgiving dinner, or any dinner for that matter, is not complete without dessert. We always have the traditional pumpkin pie and I sometimes make cream puffs.

This year I'm saving the cream puffs for a birthday celebration we'll have the week after Thanksgiving.

We always have cookies and cupcakes, something different would be nice. I'm thinking maybe pumpkin ice cream, yeah, that's different. I may have made too many pumpkin infused recipes this holiday, but when I realized pumpkin is loaded with vitamins I figured it might be worth trying to disguise and hope that the boys will like it and get a few extra vitamins in their diet.

I saw a recipe on foodnetwork.com.uk for pumpkin pie ice cream which I adapted to make a dairy free version.

Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
Ingredients

• 2 cups light coconut milk
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 3 tsps. pumpkin pie spice
• 2 TBLS. pure maple syrup
• 2 TBLS. agave nectar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Add all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until they are well mixed (approx. 20-45 seconds). It's a good idea to taste the mixture to be sure it has the right amount of spices and sweetness to your likeness. Now is the time to add whatever you like.
2. Chill in refrigerator for several hours.
3. Pour into ice cream machine and process according to manufacturer's directions.

Remove the ice cream from the freezer at least 45 minutes to an hour before serving. Because this is not a custard base ice cream it freezes solid and is not creamy as we know ice cream to be. Once it softens it is easy to scoop out and serve and you will be delighted with the flavor.

On top of the ice cream I drizzled a little salted caramel sauce which I've been making since the crazy cooking challenge, it's so easy, and I added vanilla wafers on the side. The crunchy cookies take on the role of the pie crust.

This ice cream tasted just like a slice of pumpkin pie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Love Bakes Good Cakes

Thanksgiving Wine

To choose a wine for Thanksgiving dinner can be a challenge. But it's not worth getting all worked up since we are not trying to impress the wine geek. We only want to be sure we give Tom Turkey the respect he deserves.

The variety of foods we serve for Thanksgiving dinner range from the proteins to the vegetables and the sweet/tart cranberry sauce. These flavors need a wine that is fruit forward and with bright acidity. This balance of flavors will compliment both the food and wine.

A good pairing with the light or dark meat of the turkey is a sparking shiraz from Australia which has bright berry flavors and balanced tannins.

The release on Thursday of the Beaujolais Nouveau is sometimes marketed as a Thanksgiving wine. This is reviewed as an easy drinking red wine that is light and fruity. It's an inexpensive wine and if you are new to wine this might be the wine to choose.

Here are a few more pairing suggestions to enjoy with family and friends:

Brunch and the Parade: a sparkling wine is a refreshing and light celebratory drink that is perfect to start the day.

Dessert: a sweet wine such as Moscato d'Asti, an off-dry Riesling, or demi-sec sparkling wine -- the wine should be as sweet or sweeter than the dessert.

Aperitif: Pour an ounce of Campari on the rocks with a splash of seltzer. Now you can sit back, relax and enjoy the football game.

Stuffing Muffins Are Vegetarian

I like making dishes that I can serve in individual portions. For Thanksgiving dinner I will be making a vegetarian stuffing in a muffin pan. This makes it easy for us to portion control especially when there is a variety of dishes.

You can do this with your own recipe. Just prepare the muffin pans with paper liners and use a large ice cream/cookie scoop to fill each muffin liner.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until they are lightly browned.

I made a vegetarian recipe so that we can add a little more veggies since Thanksgiving dinner is a meal that is usually heavier on carbs.

Vegetarian Stuffing Muffins
Ingredients

1. 1 cup chopped celery
2. 1 small chopped onion
3. 2 carrots peeled & chopped
4. 2-3 cups fresh baby spinach chopped
5. 2 apples peeled & chopped
6. 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional or use whatever nuts you prefer)
7. 1 TBLS. grapeseed oil
8. 1 TBLS. butter substitute (your favorite brand)
9. 1 bag of your favorite bread cubes for stuffing
10. vegetable broth - amount based on the package directions
11. salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In large saucepan, heat the butter and oil and saute the chopped vegetables starting with the carrots and celery. When they start to soften add the celery and onions.

2. Next add the apples and nuts to the vegetables and saute about 3-5 minutes just until they soften.
3. Follow the directions on the stuffing package to add the bread cubes to the vegetable mixture.
4. When the stuffing is cooked, scoop the mixture into the muffin pan.
5. Bake in a 350 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Biscuits

I like to make biscuits whenever we have a roast for dinner and our Thanksgiving Tom Turkey is calling for pumpkin biscuits to go with the turkey gravy.

I saw a recipe for healthier biscuits from Alton Brown. I adapted the recipe to include pumpkin since I wanted the biscuits to have the flavors of fall.

Pumpkin Biscuits
(Adapted from Alton Brown's Healthier Biscuits)
Yield: 16-18 2 1/2" biscuits
Ingredients:

• 5 oz. all purpose flour
• 6 oz. whole wheat flour
• 3 TBLS. corn starch
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 TBLS. sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 TBLS. greek yogurt
• 2-3 oz. butter or lard (I use Smart Balance)
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup milk (you can use low fat milk or low fat buttermilk)

Directions

1. Heat Oven to 450 degrees. Line pan with parchment paper or if you don't have parchment paper you can spray the pan with Pam.
2. Sift the flours, cornstarch, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, sugar and salt into a large bowl.

3. Add in the cold butter (or lard) into the flour mixture and mix it with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
4. Add in the pumpkin puree, yogurt and 1/2 cup milk and using a spatula or wooden spoon stir quickly to blend. If the dough is too dry add more milk and stir to blend.
5. Knead the dough 4 or 5 times with your hands while still in the bowl.
6. Add flour to a flat surface and place the dough onto the flour and gently knead and fold over the dough a few more times. Using a rolling pin roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick and cut out biscuits. Use a 2" biscuit cutter or you can use a glass if you don't have a biscuit cutter.
7. Use the leftover dough to roll out more biscuits until there is no more dough.

8. Place the biscuits on the parchment paper and press down lightly in the center of each biscuit with your fingertip. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

You probably have some pumpkin puree left over. Don't fret, make a compound butter for the biscuits. And last, but not least, make pumpkin pie ice cream. I'll post the recipe next.

Pumpkin Compound Butter
Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter (salted or unsalted)
• 2 1/2 TBLS. pumpkin puree
• 1 TBLS. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

Add caption

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor. Process until everything is well blended and smooth. -- If you do not have a food processor, let the butter sit about 10 minutes at room temperature.  Add butter to a bowl with all the  ingredients and mix with a whisk or hand mixer until well blended.
2. Place butter mixture in a small pyrex dish or ramekin and chill until ready to use.

Enjoy with the pumpkin biscuits.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Foodie Friends Friday
Foodtastic Friday

Today Is Beaujolais Day

As the clock struck midnight on this third Thursday of November, the French release their young Beaujolais wine to the masses.

This year is Georges Deboeuf's 30th vintage release of his Beaujolais Nouveau.

Beaujolais is made with the Gamay grape. It is a fruity, light bodied red wine with very low tannins which makes it an easy to drink wine. Serve it well chilled to bring out its fruitiness.

Beaujolais Nouveau is very food friendly and is usually under $11 which makes it very affordable. A light, and easy drinking wine to enjoy with family and friends this holiday week.

Cranberry Sauce & Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner

I never know what day it is, and just by accident today I realized Thanksgiving is next week. WOW, how fast time is flying lately. I hope it's not my age. No, it can't be, I don't think I'm that old yet!

It doesn't matter, the turkey is ready to be roasted and that's that.

Our family makes a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner. You know, the usual turkey, stuffing or dressing, cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes or yams.

In different states across the country those 'traditional' dishes are made in many variations. It is still what we call 'traditional' for this special day though it may, or may not be the same meal that was served at the actual Pilgrim dinner.

Last year I shared a cranberry relish/sauce recipe. It can be made in advance and it's very easy which, to me, is the most important thing in a recipe.

Homemade cranberry sauce is a very flexible recipe. You can use any fruits you like, make it a day or two in advance and you have a head start with your Thanksgiving dinner.

My next recipe to add on to your traditional Thanksgiving dinner will be a healthy alternative recipe for pumpkin biscuits. This is another easy recipe with flavors of the fall holiday that is just perfect with Thanksgiving dinner.

Be sure to subscribe to my feed so you don't miss the recipe.

Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles

October was a crazy month for my sisters and I and my sister the cook said she's been cooking to relieve her stress. I thought O.K., I can do that too, so I decided to look for seasonal recipes and decided to cook with pumpkin in honor of fall.

In all my years of cooking I've used pumpkin only to make pumpkin pie so it was time to expand my horizon. It definitely is taking my mind off the personal stress!

This truffle recipe is one I've made several times but I never used pumpkin. The spices give us the holiday flavors reminiscent of fall.

Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 TBLS. brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground gloves
• 1/4 cups cream
• 8 oz. dark chocolate chips
• 1 TBLS. butter, room temperature
• 1-2 TBLS. orange-flavored liqueur, optional
• cocoa powder or confectioners sugar for coating

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine pumpkin, brown sugar and spices. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, or until mixture reduces by half and pumpkin looks dry. Set aside. 
2. Add cream to a saucepan or measuring cup and heat on stove or microwave until cream starts to bubble. 
3. In a medium bowl add chocolate and the hot cream.  Let the hot cream heat the chocolate for 20 seconds then slowly stir with a silicone spatula until the chocolate is melted.
4. Add the pumpkin mixture to the chocolate and whisk to combine. 
5. Next add the butter and liqueur, if using. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.
6. Add parchment paper to large cookie sheet.  Use a melon baller or small cookie scoop to make the truffles and add them to the cookie sheet.  

7. Place the cookie sheet in the fridge for at least one hour, or until chilled.  Remove truffles from refrigerator and roll the truffles in unsweetened cocoa powder or sprinkle with confectioners sugar (that's what I did).  
8. Place on a tray and keep chilled until ready to serve.

P.S. I made this recipe and wrote the post at the end of October way before the Hurricane hit. Now today we are having a Nor'easter and the winds are howling again. Not to get cabin fever while stuck in the house I'm cooking up a few more recipes using pumpkin.

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Don't Drink and Vote!

Well election day is here and it's time to toast the end of the television campaigning.

We definitely should go out to vote wAAAAy before we pour the bubbly to make that toast.

Watching the election results on television calls for sitting back, relaxing, and may the best man win!?@#%X@?!&?...

I recommend you choose your favorite beverage. Pepsi, Sprite, Mountain Dew or if this bubbly is not cutting it of course you can pop open a bottle of Dom Perignon.

Just keep in mind that the vote is first and then the bubbly. We need a clear head to pull the lever for the right candidate.

All joking aside, we are proud to be American.

  Let Freedom Ring!

Powerless In More Ways Than One

Hurricane Sandy has devastated our communities and our lives. Loving thoughts and prayers are with all the families whose lives will be forever changed.

This is just one of the homes in the path of destruction in our area.

We were defenseless and no matter how much we were prepared we never could have imagined how powerless we actually would become.

The floods and uprooted trees have left us literally without power today and for many more days (maybe weeks) to come.

This loss of power leaves me to thinking about how we are so dependent on the power that keeps us running everyday. Yes, we must admit we run on power, real live juice, the kind that zaps you if you are not grounded.

How did we ever survive way back, oh, at least 5 years ago? Technology today is so embedded in our lives that without the use of the internet and 3 or 4-G networks we are not in touch with the world we live in.

We can't communicate with each other -- without a phone and/or texting there is no way to know if school is closed, businesses are open, or when power will be restored.

I noticed on a local news program there is a ticker running at the bottom of the screen that is directing everyone to that news station's websitedotcom for updated information about school closings, power outages, available shelters, and MTA/transit information.

HUH!!!!!, We don't have the power to turn on the T.V.. We don't have the power to read the little news ticker at the bottom of the screen. Without power we have no internet connections and the satellite towers are compromised as well.

Fear not! We become stronger when we are powerless. We find ways to pull ourselves together and reach out to help each other, our neighbors or strangers, it doesn't matter.

Yes, today we may be powerless! in more ways than one, but we will always have the power to join forces when it matters most.

Blessings to all!
Winelady Cooks