Quinn's Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 stick melted salted butter

Filling:

• 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
• 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For crust:

In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

For filling:

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.

Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place in oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Paula Deen Recipe from Food Network

Hope You Had a Wonderful Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving day Cooking and Eating at our own pace.- Just the four of us at home. We had a great time cooking together.  We each decided what we were going to make Thanksgiving Morning. The boys found some  great new recipes on the Food Network website

Quinn made a Pumpkin Cheesecake, Cade made Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Scot made a Balsamic Turkey with Apple Stuffing and an Apple Tart, I made a cheese ball, Cranberry Chutney, and a baked Ham.  

Cranberry-Orange Chutney
4 medium oranges
1/2 cup orange juice
1 pound fresh cranberries
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup crystallized Ginger - diced
1/2 tsp tabasco sauce
1 whole cinnamon stick
1 medium clove garlic- peeled
3/4 tsp curry powder
3/4 raisins

makes 6 cups
Remove outer rind from oranges to make 1/4 cup thin slivers.  Then cut oranges cross-wise into 1/4 inch thick slices.  Cut slices into quarters.  Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over moderate heat stirring until sugar dissolves and cranberries pop open. Remove from heat.  Discard Cinnamon stick and garlic clove.  Serve hot or cold.

Baked Virginia Ham

Balsamic Roasted Turkey with Apple Stuffing

• 1 turkey (10-15 pounds)
• ½ cup grapeseed oil or olive oil
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon celtic sea salt
• 10 apples, peeled, cored and sliced in half
• 4 sprigs rosemary

1. Remove the gizzards (save in refrigerator for gravy)
2. Rinse bird well and pat dry with paper towels; then truss (tie legs together with string)
3. Place turkey breast side up in a roasting pan, then put rosemary inside bird
4. Drizzle bird with oil and balsamic vinegar, then sprinkle with salt
5. Wedge apples around roasting pan to prop turkey up evenly –place 2 apple halves in cavity of bird
6. Place roasting pan with turkey, apples, etc. in oven on lowest rack
7. Roast at 325°, 15 minutes per pound; a 15 pound turkey requires 3 hours and 45 minutes
8. If skin begins to brown too soon, cover with foil
9. To check temperature stick a meat thermometer deep into thigh; at 175° it is safely done
10. Remove turkey from oven and allow to sit for 20 to 30 minutes before carving
11. Serve

Serves 12

Cinnamon Apple Tart with Pecan Crust

4-5 medium Jonagold apples, peeled, cored and sliced ⅛-inch thick

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 Pecan Tart Crust

1. In a large bowl, toss apple slices, lemon juice, arrowroot, honey and cinnamon
2. Fan apples out on top of uncooked crust, forming a circle
3. Layer more apples over circle and in its center
4. Cover tart with foil, and bake at 350° for 45 to 70 minutes, or until juices are bubbling
5. Remove foil and cook uncovered for 5-10 more minutes

Serves 6

Dried Beef Cheese Ball

2 (8 oz)  pkgs of cream cheese
4 pkgs of dried beef, chopped fine
1 T. Wasabi powder
1 tsp garlic salt
1/4 cup minced onion
Reserve 2 packages  of the dried beef.  Mix the rest of the ingredients really well and shape into a ball. Roll in the reserved chopped beef.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

Ingredients

• 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Boil potatoes until tender, drain and reserve. Return the pot to the stove top over medium heat. Add butter and bananas to the pot. Cook bananas 5 minutes and add the juice of 1 orange to the pot, reserve the zest. Allow the juice to cook out, 1 minute. Add potatoes to the pot and the stock and sugar. Mash potatoes, banana, stock and sugar together until well combined. Season with nutmeg, salt, pepper and orange zest, to your taste. Mash to combine spices and serve
.

A Great Turkey Left-Over Recipe: Spicy Turkey Soup with Yogurt, Chickpeas, and Mint

A Great recipe from Simply Recipes:

Spicy Turkey Soup with Yogurt, Chickpeas, and Mint Recipe




Ingredients

* 1 cup water
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup raw basmati rice (rinsed if package directs you to rinse)
* 4 cups turkey stock (or chicken stock)
* 2-3 cups cooked leftover turkey meat, dark or light, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 1 cup full-fat plain yogurt
* 1 large egg yolk
* 2 Tbsp flour
* 1 15-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
* Salt and freshly ground pepper
* 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
* 2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
* 2 teaspoons sweet paprika (can also use smoked paprika for a smokey added touch)
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
* 3 Tbsp finely chopped mint
* Lemon wedges, for serving



1 Bring water, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and rice to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.

2 In a medium saucepan, add the turkey stock and bring to a simmer, remove from heat. (If you are like us, and make your own homemade turkey stock and store it in glass jars, you can remove the lid from the jar and heat the stock in the microwave. You are just trying to warm up the stock in this step.)

3 Whisk together the yogurt, egg yolk, and flour in a large pot. Slowly add the heated stock, whisking after each small addition to incorporate. Heat to a simmer. Add the chickpeas, cooked turkey, and cooked rice. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4 Melt the butter on medium heat in a small skillet. Stir in the garlic, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Cook for a couple minutes, until fragrant, then remove from heat.

Serve soup with a small amount of paprika butter sauce swirled on the surface. Sprinkle with chopped mint. Serve with lemon wedges. Squeeze lemon juice from the wedges onto the soup before eating.

Serves 4-6.

Turkey Spice Rubs

Cocoa-spice Rub
Combine 2 T cocoa, 2 T cumin, 1 1/2 T paprika, 1 T coriander, 2 tsp salt and fresh ground black pepper, 1 1/2 tsp chipotle powder, and 1/2 tsp ground allspice in a bowl. Rub a 12 pound turkey with 4 T of olive oil, then apply 7 T of rub. We used this rub and then infused the turkey with extra rub mixed with olive oil and pale ale beer.

A few other Rubs to Try:

Provencal Rub
Pulse 1/2 cup Lavender, 1 T each of salt, fennel seeds, and dried thyme and 2 tsp of white peppercorns in to a grinder until mixture is fine but not powdery about 6 pulses. Rub 4 T of olive oil over and under the skin of a 12 pound turkey, then repeat with 6 T of herb rub.


Lemon-Sage Rub
Pulse 1/3 cup dried sage., 11/2 tsp salt, and 2 tsp fresh ground black pepper in a spice grinder until coursely ground about 4 pulses. Whisk together 3 T lemon juice, 2 T grated lemon juice, 2 T grated lemon zest, 4 T olive oil, and 5 T ground spices for a 12 pound turkey.

Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie

Make a Smilebox recipe

Cade Made the Pumpkin Pie all by himself this year for Thanksgiving. (I helped get the pastry in the pan but thats all) We even had him make another one yesterday. It turned out great both times. The recipe comes from a 1968 copyright Betty Crocker's Pie and Pastry cookbook.



Makes 1 9 inch pie
Pastry for One-crust Pie
2 eggs
1 can pumpkin
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 2/3 cups evaporated milk or light cream.
Heat oven to 425. Prepare pastry. In mixing bowl, beat eggs slightly. Mix in the remaining ingredients and pour into a pastry-lined pie pan. Bake 15 minutes. reduce heat to 350 and bake 45 minutes longer.


One-Crust Pie Pastry
1 cup flout
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup plus 1 T shortening
2 to 3 T cold water