Category — Herbs & Spices

It’s the holiday season… you know what that means… Turkey Time!  My family is really small–there are just three of us, so it never makes sense to make a large turkey, but we do need something substantial to remind us that it is the holiday season!  These Turkey Meatloaf Muffins from blogger, For the Love of Cooking are perfection!

Find the recipe here.  Some items you may need before you get started:

1. Skillet like this Le Creuset Cast Iron 12-Inch Skillet.

2. Muffin tray like this Faberware Muffin Pan

3. Ice cream scoop like this Crate & Barrel Stainless Steel Ice Cream Scoop

Kitschy? Weird? Fabulous? I’ m not sure–but animals make me happy!

Cardinal Salt and Pepper Shaker Set

Frogs Salt and Pepper Shaker Set

Jay Strongwater Rabbit Salt & Pepper Shaker Set

These are at $600. Wow!

Animal Fox S/P Salt & Pepper Shakers Set

> shop more animal salt and pepper shakers

Dear Martha Steward Living,

How do you make everything so perfect? How easy and delicious does this Chicken Tetrazzini look?

Serves 8

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 pound white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced inch thick
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 3 cups grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 pound linguine, broken in half
• 1 rotisserie chicken, skin removed, meat shredded (about 4 cups)
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed and drained

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (Martha Stewart Collection Red Enameled Cast Iron Round Pot, 7 Qt.). In a large saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over high heat. Add mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing frequently (OXO® Stainless and Nylon Tongs), until tender and browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, and set aside.
2. Make sauce: In same saucepan, melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add flour; cook, whisking, about 1 minute. Whisking constantly, gradually add milk, broth, and wine. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and add 2 cups Parmesan and thyme. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Cook pasta 2 minutes less than package instructions for al dente; drain (MIU 4-qt. Colander) and return to pot. Add sauce, chicken, peas, and mushrooms. Toss well to combine. Divide between two shallow 2-quart baking dishes; sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Freeze (see below) or bake until browned, about 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
4. To freeze: After placing pasta mixture in baking dishes and sprinkling with Parmesan (step 3), cool to room temperature. Cover tightly with aluminum foil, and freeze up to 3 months.
   To bake from frozen: Bake, covered with foil, at 400 degrees, until center is warm, about 2 hours. Uncover, and bake until top is browned, about 20 minutes more. Serve.
   To bake from thawed: Thaw overnight in refrigerator. Bake, covered with foil, at 400 degrees, until center is warm, about 30 minutes. Uncover, and bake until top is browned, about 20 minutes.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Chicken Tetrazzini – Martha Stewart Recipes

When it gets to be the holiday season, there is only one thing on my mind–the massive, massive holiday feasts. Turkey, ham, stuffing, pies, casseroles, yams, pumpkin…the list goes on. More than anything though, the holidays call for tons of spices both sweet and savory! Here are some really great spice racks!  Perfect addition to any kitchen and makes a great gift.

Old Thompson Ferris-wheel Chrome 20-jar Filled Spice Rack

J.K. Adams Sugar Maple Carousel Spice Rack

Kamenstein 16jar Spice Rack Chrome

Palak Paneer is one of my favorite Indian dishes comprised of spinach and cheese. I love both, so there is no better dish for me than this one. It’s creamy, pungent and so comforting. Blogger Indian Simmer was lucky enough to have her significant other make this for her on her birthday! Here is here recipe:

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh green spinach
8 oz packet of paneer cut into cubes
1 cup red chopped onion
1 cup tomato pureed
3-4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 inch ginger
2-3 thai green chili
1 tsp fennel seeds
3-4 cloves
1/4 cup heavy cream or 2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp coriander powder
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
3 tbsp olive oil/cooking oil
Salt

Method:

Boil spinach in a big pot (Rachel Ray Cast Iron Casserole Dish) adding fennel seeds and cloves to it. Let it cool and then blend it in a blender (Cuisinart SmartPower Blender from Crate & Barrel). Save the water in which you boiled your spinach.
Grind onion, ginger, garlic and thai chili making a thick paste. Heat oil in a medium sized pot and add the ground paste of onion, garlic and the other ingredients. Cook everything until the paste starts changing color from light pink to darker pink and then slowly towards golden. Then add salt.
Stir for a minute and you’ll see onion loosing some oil that’s when you have to add coriander powder & curry powder.
Mix it all together and add pureed tomato.
Cook everything until the paste is thicker and all the liquid from the tomato is cooked. Then you have to add the pureed mixture of spinach, fennel seeds and cloves. Fennel seeds and cloves here are the secret ingredients that I add to my spinach. This gets rid of the spinachy (if there’s any word like that) smell of the greens.
Don’t forget to turn the heat to lowest because as soon as spinach hits the hot pot it would start bubbling and jumping. So continuously stir it on low heat for a minute or two and then cover it with a lid to let it cook. If you think the gravy is too thick for you add a ladle or two of the saved boiled water from the spinach and then cover it.
In a separate sauce pan boil salted water, turn off the heat and then add the paneer cubes. Let it stay in hot water for 2-3 mintes while your curry is being cooked. This helps drain all the excess fat from the cheese making it softer.
Then add cream or sour cream whatever you are using to the spinach curry. Mix well.
Drain our paneer cubes from the salt water and add it to the gravy.
Give it one quick boil and your Palak Paneer is ready. We ate it with some char grilled butter naan (grill with Sur La Table Stainless Steel Flexi Grill Basket).

I am currently obsessed with lime popcorn. I eat it while waiting for dinner to cook because, really, any excuse to eat it is just fine. I make the quickie Orville Redenbacher Lime and Salt, but imagine how great it would be to cook and make my own flavors! Glamour has this amazing recipe for Chili Lime Tequila Popcorn that I’m dying to try!

Chili Lime Tequila Popcorn
Adapted from Dolcetto Confections

Ingredients:

4 quarts freshly popped popcorn
1/4 cup butter, melted (Note: I use less–butter is absolutely optional)
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1 teaspoon tequila (optional)
1/2 small jalapeno, seeds and membrane removes, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or SilPat. Set aside. Put popcorn in a large, clean paper bag. In a medium-size bowl whisk together the butter, lime juice and zest, and tequila. Add the jalapeno. In a small bowl combine the black pepper, salt and red pepper.

Drizzle butter mixture over the popcorn, fold over the top of the bag, and shake until the popcorn is coated and moist. Sprinkle pepper mixture over the popcorn, fold over the top of the bag, and shake a few times to coat.

Spread the popcorn evenly over the baking sheet and bake until the popcorn is dry, five to seven minutes. Store in clean paper bag for up to 1 day.

Cuisinart Popcorn Maker

Theater Popcorn Popper

The Fig Test Kitchen takes the simple Honey Roasted Fig recipe to a whole new level. The Fig Test Kitchen offers up different ways to taste these yummy treats and have beautiful images to boot. I re-posted their recipe, but you MUST visit their site here.

Basic Honey-Roasted Figs

14 figs (about a pound), 1/3 cup honey, 2 teaspoons of finely chopped fresh rosemary or thyme (optional), Salt and pepper to taste

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2) Slice figs in half and place cut side up on cookie platter (Oneida Bakeware Professional Large Cookie Sheet)lined with foil and lightly greased with olive oil

3) Brush (Rachael Ray 2-pc. Nylon Tools Pastry Brush Set) figs with honey and sprinkle rosemary or thyme evenly over them (herbs optional)

4) Season with salt and freshly ground pepper

5) Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the honey begins to caramelize. Let figs cool to room temperature

This Butternut Squash Orzo recipe from The Little Red House looks, in a word, perfect.

Sheena Jibson’s wonderful recipe with suggestions by me!:

Butternut Squash Orzo
Serves 4

1 roasted chicken
1/2 butternut squash
1/2 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper and thyme
1/2c-3/4c chicken broth
1 cup orzo, fully cooked according to package directions
3 strips of bacon (I am not a bacon lover so this was just the right amount for me….if you love bacon, add a few more:)
1/3 c grated parmesan cheese

-Halve and clean squash
-Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with thyme and s&p (Le Creuset® Silicone Basting Brush – White)
place squash (cut side up), onion, and garlic cloves on a lined baking sheet and roast at 425 until veggies are fork tender, about 30 minutes (onion and garlic will need to be removed before squash) Squash will easily scoop right out of peel when it is done roasting.
-Add all veggies to a food processor, along with 1/2c chicken broth and puree. (Cuisinart 9-cup Food Processor)
-Add a bit more broth if necessary. Salt and pepper to taste.
-Combine cooked orzo, chicken, crumbled bacon, and butternut sauce.
Top with parmesan. (Microplane Rotary Parmesan Cheese Grater)

Autumn smells are the best! Autumn Spice, Pumpkin Chai and Black Ginger candles get me in the mood for the holidays.  What are your favorite holiday scented candles?

Seda France Autumn Spice Candle

Nest Pumpkin Chai Candle

Votivo Black Ginger Candle

My friend Bobby loves Lo Ro Fan. It’s a dish I never tried until very recently. In this fantastic post, Jessica from Food Mayhem lays out the recipe with step by step picture instructions for a Taiwanese food newbie like myself. It’s a perfect mix of textures (crispy chunks of pork belly, crunchy greens, all atop a bed of fluffy rice), temperatures and sweet and savory flavors.

Here are Jessica’s images and recipe:

Lo Ro Fan

Instructions -

1. Dice pork belly in 1/2″ cubes. Set aside.
2. Make a sachet with ginger, star anise, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok (like this T-Fal 14″ Wok) on medium heat. Add pork belly and stir until just turning color.
4. Stir in soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar. Add the sachet and 2 cups of water (I like to use OXO Steel Measuring Cups). Turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
5. Allow to boil for 2 minutes. Sprinkle with fried shallots and Chinese 5 spice powder. Reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 1 hour, or until meat is tender. Remove sachet. Serve on rice with pickled mustard green relish.

Diced Pork Belly

Ginger, Anise, Cinnamon

Bobby doesn’t use a sachet and instead just picks the ginger, anise and cinnamon out of the simmering pork belly mixture. It’s up to you!