Braised Kale

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced onions
1 teaspoon salt
12 turns freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons minced garlic
8 cups (firmly packed) torn and stemmed kale pieces
2 cups Basic Chicken Stock
Splash cider vinegar

Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the onions, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, kale, and stock and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes; add a splash of cider vinegar in the last minute of cooking. Remove from the heat. Serve immediately.

From Emeril Lagasse

Blueberry Buttermilk Pie

1 cup blueberries, frozen and thawed
Pie shell
4 tbsp. butter, softened (Steele uses Plugra)
½ cup buttermilk
¾ tsp. vanilla
3 large eggs
½ cup flour
⅛ tsp. salt
2 cups sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Pour blueberries into the prepared pie shell. Then, combine butter, buttermilk, vanilla, and eggs in a stand mixer or by hand until the butter is broken into nickel-sized chunks. Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a separate bowl, and then add to the wet ingredients. Stir the mixture and pour it over the blueberries. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.

From Garden and Gun

Recipe is a little testy. Never seems to bake up the same. Hard to tell when it's done.

Parmesan Roased Broccoli

 

• 4 to 5 pounds broccoli
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted (I did this in the toaster on tin foil while watching closely)
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart. You should have about 8 cups of florets. Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.

Remove the broccoli rom the oven and immediately toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan, and basil. Serve hot.

No-Knead Bread

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450°F. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Turkey Brine

• 3 cups Apple Juice Or Apple Cider
• 2 gallons Cold Water
• 4 Tablespoons Fresh Rosemary Leaves
• 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1-1/2 cup Kosher Salt
• 2 cups Brown Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Peppercorns
• 5 whole Bay Leaves
• Peel Of Three Large Oranges

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat and cover.

Allow to cool completely, then pour into a large brining bag or pot. Place uncooked turkey in brine solution, then refrigerate for 16 to 24 hours.

When ready to roast turkey, remove turkey from brine. Submerge turkey in a pot or sink of fresh, cold water. Allow to sit in clean water for 15 minutes to remove excess salt from the outside.

Discard brine. Remove turkey from clean water, pat dry, and cook according to your normal roasting method.

Sticky Chicken

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” pieces)
• 1 cup cornstarch, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup low sodium soy sauce
• ½ cup unsweetened pineapple juice
• ⅓ cup vinegar (white distilled or apple cider)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon dried ginger
• Green onions, chopped, to top
• Rice and broccoli, to serve

1. Combine ¾ cups cornstarch, the salt, and the pepper in a shallow dish. Dip the chicken pieces in the cornstarch mixture to coat, shake off excess, and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken pieces. It should take less than 2 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and set aside.
3. In the slow cooker, combine the sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and cayenne. Stir to mix well.
4. Add the chicken to the crock pot and cook on low for 4 hours. Check 20 minutes before serving and make sure your sauce is thick enough. If not, take the remaining ¼ cup of cornstarch and mix it with ¼ cup cold water until a slurry forms. Then, gently mix it into the chicken and sauce, being careful not to scrape the cornstarch coating off of the chicken. Cook for another 20 minutes, and then serve over broccoli and rice. Top with chopped green onion.

Pecan Tassies

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus 1 tablespoon butter, melted
One 3-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup all-purpose flour
Nonstick cooking spray
1 large egg
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of fine salt
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

With an electric mixer, beat the 1/2 cup butter and the cream cheese until smooth. Add the flour and beat until fully combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 24-cup mini-muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg, brown sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth. Set aside.

Shape the chilled dough into 24 balls, about 1 inch in diameter. Press each ball into a cup of the muffin pan, spreading evenly and up the sides, then spoon 1 teaspoon of the pecans into each muffin cup. Fill each cup with the egg mixture until evenly distributed, about 1 teaspoon in each. Bake until the filling is set, about 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, and then remove from the muffin pan.