Local Subee’s Kitchen followers, save the date! You’re invited to a Holiday Open House to celebrate my first year of blogging. Come tour the kitchen, sample some holiday treats, and see what’s coming up in Year 2. (Or I should say, help me figure out what’s coming up in Year 2!)
Thanksgiving-inspired turkey loaf with traditional trimmings
With Thanksgiving only a week away, it’s time to talk turkey. Recipes, sure – but more importantly, a recounting of all we have to be thankful for. Where I live in New Jersey, The Storm is still at the forefront of all conversations. “Were you guys hit hard?” “Any tree damage?” And then the unifying, “How long were you without power?” So it’s no surprise that family safety, an intact home and the miracle of electricity top the “thankful for” list this year. We spent 10 days without power, and will never again (at least until next month) flick on a light switch or oven or dryer without a little bit of wonder and appreciation.
Has this ever happened to you?
You duck into the grocery store for one thing (something you need for a recipe and/or forgot from the last visit to the store). Once in the store you start thinking about other things you need, and soon you have a cart full of stuff. (And of course you didn’t bring your reusable bags in from the car because you were only supposed to be getting one thing.) All this, and by the time you get home you realize you forgot the one thing you went to the store for in the first place.
This just happened to me today, and not for the first time. I think I should coin it “Grocery Store ADD”, and shopping lists are the only way to cure it. Unfortunately, I didn’t bother making a list because I was only supposed to be getting one thing – gruyère cheese for my cauliflower gratin. The cheese never made it home. Before I could get to the cheese aisle, I had to pass some Halloween displays and the ice cream aisle end cap display. This is what got me derailed:
I’d never noticed this product before, and instantly I had an idea that got me all excited (and forgetful, apparently). The wheels were turning.
With a few store-bought products and the vanilla ice cream I had at home, I could quickly whip up some ice cream witches’ hats for after school snacks. By cutting down the cones, the portion of ice cream becomes just right for kids (or, ahem, moms).
OK – technically speaking, this soup has 96.5 calories per serving (still a bargain), but since you can burn 100 calories by cooking for 34 minutes, this soup nets you zero calories. That’s my kind of math! (Similar to “subscribe and save 80% off the newsstand price” or “buy 2 pairs of shoes, get the 3rd pair free”; how can you go wrong?)
(Calorie information is from sparkpeople.com. I was excited to learn that you can also burn 100 calories by rearranging furniture for 14 minutes – finally justification for one of my favorite pastimes!)
Besides having “zero” calories, this soup 1) tastes rich and complex, 2) is gluten and dairy-free, and 3) contains four types of vegetables but no one will ever know. (We have some vegetable-phobes in our house.) And – like any pureed soup, it can also be dressed up for Halloween with a sour cream spider web. This will up the calorie count a little, but will keep the attention away from the exact contents of the soup. (I called it Mystery Soup.)
This seems impossible, but my baby girl turns 10 today. A whole decade – whoosh! I know this time warp happens to all parents, but I still feel blindsided. Luckily there is a tiny bit of leftover birthday cake from this weekend’s festivities to console me.
Initially I had big plans for a Cake Boss-esque masterpiece – maybe a fondant-covered purse cake or something appropriately bling-y for a 10-year-old girl. But then I came to my senses! There was no way that was going to happen this weekend between soccer practices, soccer games and Grandma Jean’s 80th birthday celebration. So on to Plan B: this candy-embellished cake made a big impact and took less than 20 minutes to decorate, including the homemade frosting. Whether making a cake or savoring childhood, every minute counts.
10 years ago . . .
I promised my husband I wouldn’t get carried away with the Halloween blog posting, but the kids still need a healthy after-school snack, don’t they?
Orange bell peppers make festive (and edible) dip vessels, and are a lot easier to carve than pumpkins.
Cut off the tops like you would for a jack-o-lantern, then use a grapefruit knife (what do you mean you don’t have one?) or your hands to remove the inner membranes. Rinse out any seeds.
Carve a simple jack-o-lantern face. My nose and mouth were a little too low; try to keep the “face” on the flat part of the pepper, before it curves under. This will keep the filling from oozing out too much.
Fill with a dark-colored dip, such as black bean or a 50/50 mixture of hummus and olive tapenade. (The stuff Peyton Manning keeps talking about in his DirectTV commercials.) I used about 1/2 cup of store-bought hummus and 1/2 cup of store-bought kalamata tapenade.
For a better presentation (since I messed up the face), I elevated the pepper jack-o-lantern with an upside-down custard cup.
Serve after school (or at a Halloween party) with carrots and breadsticks. And don’t forget to eat the pepper afterwards, unless you’re wary of double-dippers. . .
There’s a whole spectrum of crazy when it comes to Halloween enthusiasm, ranging from “Appropriately Spirited” to “Get Out the Commitment Papers.” I like to think I fall somewhere in the middle – you know, having fun but keeping it real. Some of my nearest and dearest, however, think I’m a few slices short of a loaf. . .
In case you can’t tell, I’m a Ghoul Scout.
With 31 days to go until All Hallows’ Eve and the festive spirit building daily, I thought this year we’d try a Countdown Calendar Tree:
I’ve been saying this every year for the past 9 years, but This Is The Best Mother’s Day Ever! I was awoken nice and early – narrowly missing the Tooth Fairy’s departure but in time for sunrise – and presented with a custom-made Breakfast in Bed menu.
After making my selection, I fell back asleep while the Breakfast Fairies worked their magic (under Dad’s supervision). Soon the fairies were back, this time with a tray of goodies, fresh-picked flowers and my Mother’s Day favorite – homemade cards. Those get me every time!
The only thing that could make the day better would be to have my mother here to share in the festivities. A phone call later will have to do, since she’s 2,401 miles away in University Place, WA. Sorry, Mom – I didn’t even get a homemade card in the mail this year! This post will have to do.
Mom gave me this vintage print years ago, after I had flown the nest and settled far from home (in the Garden State of New Jersey, via DC and Paris). I’m not sure she even remembers giving it to me, but I’m a sentimental sap and borderline hoarder so naturally I saved it. With both of us gardeners (she Master, me apprentice), the Goethe quote seems written for us. (Even though I know the term “garden” is meant figuratively; I take similar liberties when interpreting fortune cookies.) To run with the figurative angle, albeit in a slightly different trajectory – is it a coincidence that Mother’s Day is the unofficial start of Gardening Season? After all, don’t mothers plant the seeds, nurture the seedlings, protect them from environmental dangers, beam with pride at harvest time and delight in the cycle’s repeat?
Happy Mother’s Day to my Master Gardener/Mother, Karen, and to all mothers out there. I’m off to plant some bean seeds and tomato seedlings. (More on that soon!)
Why is it that everything tastes better wrapped in dough? Take, for example, the lowly hotdog. Wrapped in puff pastry or even crescent rolls from a tube, it metamorphosizes into Pigs in a Blanket. (Also known as, “the first hors d’oeuvres to disappear from every party.”) My well-bred mother-in-law, who once called my second-hand dining set “disreputable” (and I guess I can see her point – it’s definitely more shabby than chic), established the ritual of serving Pigs in a Blanket on silver trays at every family event. But wait – I’m getting off track. Today’s post is about another pastry-wrapped treat – one perfect for Cinco de Mayo fiestas this weekend: Empanadas!
From the Spanish word for “wrapped in bread”, empanadas can be sweet or savory, baked or fried. My favorites are these baked Turkey Poblano creations, which I make in miniature size for appetizers or a larger size for a meal. The kids love them plain, but for me they’re not complete without Cilantro Lime Sauce for dipping. (Yes – yet another application for this versatile sauce, which one of these days I should figure out how to bottle and sell. That would be one way to get new dining room furniture.)
Cilantro Lime Sauce
The turkey filling is simple to make, and it can be made days ahead or even frozen until you’re ready to assemble the empanadas. If you can find frozen empanada wrappers, just let them thaw and get ready to stuff.
If you can’t find them, you can use frozen puff pastry, pie dough, or this recipe below – which is stretchy and forgiving. The assembly goes fairly quickly, once you get the hang of it. (Just don’t overstuff or you’ll get oozage.) I like to freeze unbaked mini empanadas for almost-instant appetizers – great for any time you have extra Cilantro Lime sauce to use up. (An almost weekly occurrence around here.)
Mini Turkey Poblano Empanadas
To a large pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add olive oil and onion. Sauté 2-3 minutes until softened.
Add turkey, salt and cumin and cook until no longer pink. (Breaking up turkey clumps with a wooden spoon, as if making tacos.)
Add garlic and sauté another minute. (Garlic can taste bitter if burned, so I add it towards the end of the cooking to be safe. Check out this cool garlic pressing trick: if you leave the clove “wrapped” in its papery skin, you can pull it out after pressing and no little bits get stuck in the holes.)
Back to the empanadas:
Stir in poblanos, salsa verde and sugar (which helps balance the heat and round out the flavors) and bring to a boil to reduce some of the liquid.
Remove from heat. Stir in cream cheese and taste for seasoning; add another pinch of kosher salt or sugar if you feel it needs more flavor. Allow mixture to cool before filling empanadas.
(This looks yellow because of the lighting.)
Empanada Dough (makes about 40 4-inch empanadas)
In a large bowl combine flour and salt. Add water and oil all at once and stir to combine.
The dough should come together but not feel sticky. Add a little extra flour if necessary. The dough may not look pretty, but this is OK.
Assembling Empanadas
Heat oven to 400ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat liners.
For appetizer-size using premade empanada wrappers or dough, cut out 3” circles with a biscuit cutter or empty can. Gather excess dough and roll flat with rolling pin. Cut out additional circles until all dough is used.
If using homemade dough, shape into walnut-sized balls. (You should get about 40.) With a rolling pin, roll dough flat into 3”- 4” circles.
Spoon cooled filling into the centers of the dough circles. As a rough guide, use a heaping teaspoonful (the ice cream eating kind of spoon, not measuring kind) of filling for 2 ½ -3” circles or a heaping tablespoon for 4” circles. I try to get in as much filling as I can, though I often pay the price with messy-looking empanadas that burst open while baking. Just be sure to leave a ½”+ margin around the entire edge of the circle.
If you’re using cut-out circles, you will seal them using beaten egg and a fork crimp. Beat one egg and brush along the edges/margins. Fold the circle in half and press edges together to seal. Set onto prepared baking sheet and crimp edges with a fork.
If you’re rolling out homemade dough balls, you can seal with a “twisted rope” closure instead of the egg and fork method. Fold the dough over the filling to make a ½-circle and press to seal edges. Starting at the top, fold dough up and over in a twisting motion, until all edges are sealed. Tuck the end of the twist under the empanada and place on baking sheet.
No one will care if the twisty rope edges aren’t perfect.
Freeze any unused filling or spoon it into taco shells.
Just before baking, beat 1 egg (or use what was left from sealing ) and brush onto tops of empanadas. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake at 400ºF for 12-20 minutes (depending on type of dough used, size of empanadas and whether they were frozen), until golden brown.
Serve with Cilantro Lime sauce (or any other salsa) for dipping. Good piping hot, warm, room temperature or even cold from the fridge!
Who doesn’t love a festive dessert? Better yet – who doesn’t love a festive dessert that requires no baking, comes together in minutes and keeps the kids from fighting for a blissful 10 minutes?
Enter Noodle Nests – salty-sweet little nests made from chow mein noodles and white chocolate chips. I didn’t invent this recipe, but maybe I’m the first one to fill the nests with pastel “M&M’s”® candies? (I swear I’m no longer on the Mars payroll, but – ahem – perhaps I should be?)
The great thing about no-bake treats like these is that you can get right to the fun part – decorating. You can use anything you like to fill the nests – we opted for Peanut “M&M’s”® (because I couldn’t find any Almond) and JellyBelly jellybeans. Speckled malted milk eggs work well, or for a Martha-chic natural look you could go with unwrapped solid chocolate eggs (i.e., Hershey’s or Dove®).
Noodle Nests
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium microwaveable bowl, add white chocolate chips and vegetable oil. Microwave on high in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until chips have melted and mixture is smooth. (These Trader Joe’s chips took about 1 minute total.) 
Add chow mein noodles and stir gently to coat.
Drop mixture by the spoonful onto parchment-lined baking sheets to form nests. If there is any white chocolate mixture left in the bowl, drop that onto the center of the nests to help the candies adhere.
Decorate the nests with candy eggs. Place baking sheets with completed nests in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes to solidify. Store in an airtight container.
Makes approximately 18 nests.
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