Custard Divine!

5 Tbsp corn starch

1/2 cup sugar (or agave substitute)

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup cream

3 egg yolks

2 Tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla

Start by beating the egg yolks in large glass measuring cup and set aside.

Mix corn starch, sugar and salt in large sauce pan. Add milk and cream into mixture and stir constantly over medium heat until smooth and thick and starts to bubble. Take sauce pan off of heat and pour about 1 cup of hot mixture into the egg yolk mixture.Blend thoroughly, then pour egg yolk mixture back into the sauce pan and cook for another two or three minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Set aside to cool.

Helpful hints: Make sure when you stir that you are getting the edges of the sauce pan so the custard does not burn along the edges. Also, the enzymes in saliva make your custard go flat, so do not double dip a taste with the same spoon. Do not put a lid on the sauce pan while cooling the custard because it will create condensation into the custard and make it go runny.

Mother Teresa's English Trifle

1 lb pound cake (or two depending on the size of your bowl)

*Raspberries ( both fresh and frozen)

One cup of whipping cream

*Fresh strawberries

Custard

Slivered almonds (toasted)

* There are not exact amounts on the berries. It just depends on how big you make your trifle.

Also Peaches are wonderful in season and other types of berries are delicious as well.

Directions:

Begin by making Custard ( I will add the custard recipe in a separate post). Upon completion set custard aside and allow it to cool completely.

Make your whipped cream and once the custard is completely cooled fold in the whipped cream to the custard.

Combine berries in a bowl and sweeten with agave or real maple syrup to taste.

Cut pound cake into one inch cubes

Put half of the pound cake into a trifle bowl. Next, pour about half of the berry mixture on top of the pound cake (add some juice from the berries being careful not to completely saturate the pound cake. Finally spread half of the custard mixture onto the berries and repeat the layers in the same order.

Optional: Sprinkle toasted almonds on top and fresh berries

Abigayle's Famous Transfer Treat Bruschetta

I made this all the time on the mish while my companions and I were anxiously awaiting the transfer phone call. It was a great way to distract yourself from the suspense.
I recently made this again for Matt and my roommates and for Jordan and Danielle & fam, to rave reviews.
I made it with soup, but no one ever remembers the soup, they just talk about the bruschetta, so apparently it's a show stealer. I also talked to dad about it before Thanksgiving and he said he wanted to try it but since I didn't get a chance to make it over Thanksgiving, I thought I'd just slap this on here for whomever would like to be permanently addicted to it for the rest of his or her blissfully tasty life.

2-3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1/2 a red onion, chopped finely
a bunch of fresh basil, finely chopped
1/2 a red bell pepper, chopped
half a can of mixed olives, minced
half a small bottle of capers
1/3 c butter
fresh minced garlic
italian seasoning
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
1-2 balls of fresh mozzarella
parmesan
salt and pepper
1-2 loaves high quality, artesian ciabatta bread

Slice the bread, sandwich style
chop all the chopped stuff and mix with capers in a bowl, add salt and pepper and italian seasoning
melt the butter and spread on the bread
take a generous spoonful of minced garlic and spread it on both halves of the bread
Slice the fresh mozzarella about half an inch thick and place it on the bread so that it is spread evenly on the loaf
Scoop the chopped mixture onto the bread. I like it to be heaped up pretty high. 2-4 inches
Drizzle olive oil and balsamic over the top, NOT TOO MUCH
sprinkle with parmesan
Broil on the top rack until the mozzarella is melted and the edges are golden brown
WATCH IT CLOSELY SO IT DOESNT BURN
devour. moan. cry. laud effusively. lick your fingers.

p.s. I've never tried this, but I thought it might be fun to add chopped artichoke hearts. If you try it and it's tasty, let me know.

Famous Turkey Meatballs

I swear I have put this recipe on the blog before but Danielle says it's not on here so without further ado, the famous meatballs!

Marinara Sauce

Chop 1 large onion and 3-4 cloves garlic.  Sautee in a sauce pan in 2 Tbsp olive oil.  Sautee until tender.  Add 3/4 cup red wine and deglaze.  Let simmer for about 3 minutes more.  Remove from pan and add to crockpot set to High.  Add to the onions one 32 oz can crushed tomatoes and one 6 oz can tomato paste.  Then add 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp Basil,  1 tsp organo, and 2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley.  Stir together and put the lid on while you make the meatballs.

Meatballs

1 1/2 pounds regular ground turkey (Not Lean!)
2 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
4 Tbsp ground or shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp Oregano

Place all in a large mixing bowl and mix lightlywith a fork .  Don't mix with a spoon or hands or it will get to dense and the meatballs won't be as light.  Shape into golf ball sized meatballs and sautee in 3 Tbsp hot olive oil.  Turn meatballs over until all sides are browned.  You will have to do this in batches so they all get browned on all sides and you might have to add more olive oil as you go.  Then transfer meatballs to the sauce in the crockpot.  Gently push the meatballs down so they are all mostly covered with sauce.  Pour extra oil out of pan but leave any browned bits.  Add 1/2 cup more red wine to the pan and simmer about 3 minutes.  Scrape the bottom of the pan to get the browned bits off.  Then pour wine over the top of all the meatballs and cover with the lid.  Turn the heat to low and cook 5-6 hours.  If you forget to plan enough time just keep it on high and cook 3-4 hours.

Honey-Mustard and Bacon Brussel Sprouts

By: Rachel Hall

First trim about 2 pounds brussel sprouts and then in a 9x13 pan toss them all with olive oil until they are completely coated.  Then sprinkle with 1 1/2 tsp sea salt and 1 tsp cracked pepper.  Then put about 1 1/2 Tbsps of chicken broth in the corner of the pan and then about 1 Tbsp seasoned rice wine vinegar over the top.  Toss again.  Then lay 4-6 pieces of bacon over the top of the sprouts.  Place in a preheated oven at 425 degrees.  

Roast for about 20 minutes or until the bacon is almost crisp.  Then take them out of the oven and remove the bacon.  Save it though!  Then in a cup or bowl add about 3-4 Tbsps Dijon mustard and honey.  Stir until smooth and pour over the sprouts.  This may be a little too much sauce so just pour it on until it looks like enough and then toss the sprouts until they are coated.  Lay the bacon back on top (on opposite side) and return to the oven for about 10-15 more minutes or until the very outside skins are browned and crispy looking and they are fork tender.  Remove bacon and let cool.  After it is cooled crumble the bacon over the top of the brussel sprouts and toss and serve.

Note: This recipe is for Thanksgiving and makes a ton so you should half the recipe for a normal dinner.

Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli

This is the broccoli I made at Thanksgiving!  The recipe is from Ina Garten.

Ingredients

• 4 to 5 pounds broccoli
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• Good 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
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)

Directions

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

Dinner in a Pumpkin

Family, I noticed this beloved recipe wasn't on the blog so here is my version of the original Marilynn creation:

Cut up 2 chicken breast into bite sized chunks.  In a large ziplock bag add 2 Tbsp flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 tsp Lawry's seasoned salt. Add chicken to bag and shake until all the pieces are coated.  Set aside.

In a large sauce pan, while you're cooking the veggies and chicken, cook 2 cups brown or wild rice in 4 cups of chicken broth and 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Simmer until fluffy.

Chop up 3 stalks of celery, a box of mushrooms, 1 large onion, 3 cloves garlic.  Sautee all the veggies in about 3 Tbsp olive oil until fork tender.  Add the chicken and cook until it is cooked through and golden.  (If you want it to cook faster, you can take the veggies out, then cook the chicken till it's almost done and then add the veggies back in to finish them both off together.  If you do that, just make sure you add more olive oil to the pan before adding the chicken.)

After chicken is all cooked through, add a little more olive oil and then sprinkle about 3 Tbsp flour over the veggies and make a paste.  Then add 1/2 cup white cooking wine, or if you don't want to use wine, just add 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (if you want to use the wine add 1/2 cup wine and 1 cup chicken broth).  Simmer until the liquid thickens about 5 minutes.  Then remove from heat and toss the veggies, chicken, and rice all together in a large bowl.  Stir in 3/4 cup of sour cream to the mixture.  Season with Lawry's seasoning salt, pepper, garlic salt, onion powder, and poultry seasoning to taste.  The mixture should be creamy and not watery.  If it isn't thick enough, add some more sour cream or some heavy cream.  Place mixture into a cleaned out salt and peppered pumpkin.  

Place pumpkin, with lid on, in the center of a large baking sheet with about 1/2-1 inch of water.  Bake for 2 hours at 350 degrees or until pumpkin is brown.