Fallen Souffle

Well Turkey went off without a hitch. The turkey was great and was actually finished cooking a whole hour earlier then expected! So Evan and I made a mad dash to get all of the sides done and ready was ready before our guests even arrived…how that for timing! I think everything worked out perfectly and it made for a really nice day. Though I must say I was plain pooped when we finally cleaned everything up and plopped on the couch. Needless to say I was not up at 5am for the sales…I actually didn’t get into the shower until noon and I had already received two calls from my sister who was braving the malls in VA.

We don’t have a huge amount of leftovers left but I thought I would do myself a favor and get rid of some leftovers and make some dinners while I was at it. My Mother in Law told me about this great site 30DayGourmet which has a ton of make ahead and freeze meals…something that I cannot live without these days! So I thrilled to find this recipe that utilizes a lot of my leftovers and even better, it makes two batches! So they are ready for the freezers to later be reheated during a busy week. If you don’t want to deal with the pie crust, try topping it with puff pastry or even easier, a can of refrigerated biscuits…what could be easier!

Make Ahead Turkey Pot Pie
makes 2 pies

1 c. chopped onions
1 c. chopped carrots
1 c. chopped celery
1/3 c. butter
1/2 c. flour (I only used about 6 tablespoons)
2 c. broth
1 c. evaporated milk
(I also added about 1/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese)
4 c. diced cooked turkey
1 c. frozen peas or corn
1 1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
4 pie crusts

Assembly Directions:

Sauté onions, celery and carrots in butter in a large skillet over medium heat until tender. Add flour and stir until smooth. Cook one minute, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth and evaporated milk. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Stir in chicken, peas, salt and pepper.

Freezing and Cooking Directions:

Cool and divide filling in half. Freeze in one gallon freezer bags. Keep frozen pie crusts on hand.

To serve: Thaw filling. Bring pie crusts to room temperature. Shape bottom pie crust/s. Add filling. Cover with top crust. Pinch the edges of the two crusts together and then flute or crimp. Make a few slits in the top crust for the steam to escape.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350°. Then bake covered with foil for 30 more minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

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As of Monday, Evan and I will be hosting Thanksgiving for his side of the family. This was a last minute change in plans due to his brother and family moving from Georgia to Wilmington, NC and his parents doing some renovations to the house. So we are throwing a last minute meal at our place. I am excited and stressed at the same time…10 people over and a full Thanksgiving spread, and because I am such a perfectionist everything must be perfect. So the menu is:

Roasted Turkey
Ciabatta Stuffing with Pancetta
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Carmelized Apples
Roasted Broccoli
Fresh Cranberry Sauce
Yeast Rolls

Pumpkin Roll with Caramel Sauce

Because I don’t want to be running around all day Thursday I have made a plan to do a few tasks each night. Last night was the all important grocery shopping which Evan and I did at 9:30 last night. It was kinda strange going in that late to do our Thanksgiving shopping but then again it was great because there were only 4 other people in the whole place. I did feel bad for the guy behind us in the checkout line (you know they only keep one open) he has a gallon of milk and some lettuce and as were halfway through unloading our cart before I realized him, otherwise I would have totally let him go.

Tonight, after a meeting, I came home and baked the two largest sweet potatoes I have ever seen, they weigh almost 2 pounds each no joke. They will probably take 3 hours to bake. I am also roasting the garlic for the mashed potatoes and I made the caramel sauce for the desserts. I must say food is a cool thing, if you are ever bored, go make yourself some real caramel sauce..it is fun and easy!

Tomorrow I will make the dough for the rolls, bake the cranberry sauce, and set the table. If I am feeling ambitious I will prep the veggies.

My biggest concern right now is the bird. We wanted to smoke it because that would be different and would keep the oven free. But because it has been so windy and cold, and is expected to continue the smoker can’t keep the temperature up so we are afraid it will take too long to cook. So I am dusting off my portable roaster and will be roasting it in there. I have never cooked an entire turkry but I imagine with Evan on basting duty we should be ok.

So that’s what my week has been like. Be sure to stick around the day after to see the result…because I will NOT be out on Black Friday this year. My Christmas shopping is almost done

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Thanksgiving is next week…I know it totally crept up on me too. I am so looking forward not only to a short week of work but also the enormous amount of food that will be waiting to be eaten on Thursday.

So it got me thinking about a dinner party I had last year for 9 poeple…on a thursday night…yeah it was a bit stressful but totally worth it. Everything went off great until we got to dessert, after taking a sample slice of creamy pumpkin pie, I realized i totally left out the sugar. In my haste I totally looked over one of the most important ingredients. So to try and play is off, I insisted everyone add lots of sweet whipped cream to the top. No one said anythign btu I always wonder if anyone knew of my mistake.

So now it’s time for your confessional, let it out, let me know what you have done during the holidays that may not have been so domestic goddess-like…but more of a Fallen Souffle

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I am such a bad blogger…I have all of these pictures and recipes ready to go but just haven’t written about them. I have been meaning to try and make a pumpkin roll for quite some time especially after a girl I worked with brought in one her Grandmother made and swore it was the best family secret recipe. So ofcourse I took this as a challenge and tried to find recipe like it. Well it has been many years since I had that pumpkin roll so I am not sure how close they are in taste, but regardless, this is so easy to put together and tastes so good, you must try it! Another great thing about this is the fact that you can freeze them! So make a couple this weekend and freeze them for Thanksgiving…one less thing you have to worry about!

I made this for a Halloween party and decided to dress it up in a ghost costume…both were a hit

Pumpkin Roll
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 cup pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10×15 inch jelly roll pan or cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in pumpkin puree, eggs, and lemon juice. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Spread the mixture evenly.

3. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 minutes.

4. Lay a damp linen towel on the counter, sprinkle it with confectioner’s sugar, and turn the cake onto the towel. Carefully roll the towel up (lengthwise) with the cake in it. Place the cake-in-towel on a cooling rack and let it cool for 20 minutes.

5. Make the icing: In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and sugar with a wooden spoon or electric mixer.

6. When the cake has cooled 20 minutes, unroll it spread icing onto it. Immediately re-roll (not in the towel this time), and wrap it with plastic wrap. Keep the cake refrigerated or freeze it for up to 2 weeks in aluminum foil. Cut the cake in slices just before serving.

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Number 36- Vote in an election COMPLETED 11/7/06

Yes I have fulfilled my civic duty and have voted in my first election. I don’t know why I have never voted but I attribute it moving around a lot the last 7 years…ok that’s a pretty crappy excuse but I’m sticking to it. I guess another reason is that I never felt I have a vested interest in the elections, but now that I am a home owner and a citizen of a community I feel it is important that I make my “voice” heard. It was not really what I expected, the voting apparatus was simply a black pen and a bubble sheet- took me back to Kempsville High School. But I had read up on the candidates so I felt confidant in my decision and I will be interested to see the results tonight.

PS- I have a ton of new recipes to post but I have been super busy so I promise to get some up this week!

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