Thanksgiving Dinner - the works!

Herb Crusted Turkey Breast
Serves 6

1 turkey breast (bone in and skin on) from trader joe's
1/2 cup of butter
1/4 cup olive oil
(these following measurements are not precise... I just grabbed handfuls and chopped the herbs in)
Handful of Italian Flat Leaf parsley, chopped
9/10 Sprigs of Thyme, removed from stems
Handful of Sage, chopped
Handful of Tarragon, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Wash and pat dry the turkey breast
3. Soften the butter in the microwave for 10 seconds at high. Mix in the olive oil, herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper.
4. Salt and pepper the turkey breast
5. Pat on the fat and herb mixture in between the skin and meat, to cover the whole breast. You should not be able to see the meat, but a layer of herb butter.
6. In a baking pan which high sides (the butter will melt off), place the turkey breast into the over and after 5 minutes reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
7. After 30 minutes, baste the turkey breast with the juices and butter that have run off the side.
8. Cook for 15 more minutes, then turn off the heat and allow the turkey breast to sit in the oven for 10 more minutes. (A total of 45 minutes active cooking, and 10 minutes carryover cooking).
9. Slice the turkey breast and prepare presentation. The drippings from the pan can be used to make a gravy, or you can just douse the turkey in the drippings.


Acorn Squash and Pesto Bake
Serves 6

2 Acorn squashes, baked for 45 minutes and mashed.
1 cup Homemade pesto
Parmesan cheese
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2.


Mushroom Gravy (for the Mashed Potatoes and Turkey)

Candied Yams

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sorry I'm so behind on this guys - I'm sure you're all sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for something new (and also to fill in my previous recipes)

This one is quick so I'll fill you in:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (edit: I'm changing the name to Cakies, no longer called cookies)
- these cookies are supposed to be sort of cakey... but I haven't taken mine out of the oven yet so I'm not positive

1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 cup flax seed meal
1/2 cup applesauce
1 egg, beaten
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning (courtesy of Trader Joe's)

- Preheat oven t0 350 degrees F
- Mix all the wet ingredients (includes sugar) together first.
- Add the dry ingredients and fold in.
- Spoon onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until ready (mine are still in the oven.. should check on it now).

awesomeness (I hope)

They were pretty awesome, and I put them into a ziploc bag after they got to room temperature so they stayed moist for a couple days. These don't last very long though!

Baked Salmon with Avocado Dressing

Baked Salmon with Avocado Dressing
Makes 4 servings

One filet of salmon ~ 2.5 lbs
2 Avocados, cubed
2 tablespoons Soy sauce
2 tablespoons Rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Canola oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce (siracha?)
Salt
Pepper
2 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 inch Ginger, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon Sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon Toasted sesame seed oil


Preparing the salmon:
1. Wash and pat dry the salmon filets if previously frozen. If fresh leave alone.
2. Mix a little bit of oil and soy sauce vigorously, and then brush it on to the salmon to thinly coat it.
3. Salt and pepper the salmon.
4. Stick the salmon filets at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, and then turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 more minutes. The fish should be cooked but not well done.
5. Put aside on a serving platter and prepare the avocado topping.

Avocado topping:
1. In a mixing bowl, stir the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic, ginger, sugar, sesame oil, and siracaha until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Add the cubed avocado and fold it into the sauce with a spoon to prevent mashing it.
3. Let it sit for 5 minutes, divide it into two portions and scoop it onto the warm salmon.

You can serve this with brown rice and a side of stir fried snap peas.

Baked Chiles Rellenos (Baked Chiles stuffed with Potatoes and Goat cheese)

Mashed Potato Casserole and Artichoke, Squash, and Chard Cous-Cous

I get back from Orlando, and there's fresh vegetables and nothing in the pantry except artichoke hearts and cous-cous. I struggled for this dinner, but I created something new and edible!

Mashed Potato Casserole (8 Servings... it's pretty dense)

12 medium sized potatoes, peeled and diced into equal sizes (CSA box)
1 small head of cauliflower, cut the same size as the potatoes (CSA box)
2 carrots, chopped into the same size pieces as potatoes (CSA box)
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced (CSA box)
2 cloves garlic, diced (CSA box)
1 leek, white part only, sliced (CSA box)
4 chantarelle mushrooms, thinly sliced lengthwise (CSA box)
3 artichoke hearts, chopped up (Trader Joe's canned)
1/2 cup chedder cheese
Milk
Bread crumb to top it off
Salt
Pepper


- Boil the potatoes, cauliflower, and carrots for 30 minutes, or until they have reached mashing consistency.
- While those are boiling, sautee the onion, garlic, and leeks in the butter and olive oil until they have become translucent. Add the mushrooms and artichokes, and cook for 4-5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- After straining the potatoes, cauliflower, and carrots from the water, mash them up with some milk and half of the cheese until the potatoes have reached a mashed potato consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in the sauteed vegetables and mix well.
- Place the mixture into a casserole or bread dish, and top it off with the bread crumbs and left-over cheese.
- Bake it at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes, and place it under the broiler until the top has browned.


Artichoke, Squash, and Chard Cous-Cous
Makes 4 servings

1 can artichoke hearts from TJ's
1 delicata squash
4 leafs of chard
1 shallot, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup cous-cous, uncooked
1/2 teaspoon Chili spice (from Limbo, it's a combination of Ancho and Chipotle chilies, black pepper, a bit of cinnamon and salt)
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
salt
pepper

Maple-Cinnamon cookies

It was a Sunday night, and I was craving cookies. I couldn't fall back onto my usual oatmeal chocolate-chip because I didn't have any chocolate chips in the house!! Man, what a disaster. I really need to keep more of those in stock.

Anyway, I came up with this awesome recipe instead because I was desperate:

Maple-Cinnamon Cookies (makes 14)

1 3/4 cup real maple syrup
1/4 cup cane sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup butter (I'll find substitutes for this in the future... I just wanted to the cookies to be good)
1/3 cup flax-seed meal
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Mix all the ingredients together in this order: Beat the egg, add the syrup, sugars, butter, flax-seed, cinnamon, ginger, salt, flour.
- Place drops of cookies on a baking sheet at least 2 inches apart (these cookies spread out) and place them on the highest level in the oven to prevent the bottoms from burning.
- Cook for 10 minutes.

Leek, Fennel, and Potato Soup and Asian inspired salad

I get home from Seattle and there's a box of vegetables waiting to be eaten! Plus I got fennel this time and I have no idea what to do with I besides use it in salads, so I thought I'd reap its benefits by sticking it in a soup. Also, remember this recipes can easily be altered to anything you like. Also, feel free to request things and I'll try to make them if they ever show up in our CSA box.

Leek, Fennel, and Potato Soup

5 medium sized potatoes, peeled and diced
2 leeks, white parts with 1 inch or so where it transitions into the green, sliced
1 fennel bulb, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, chopped in half
1 medium onion, sliced same size as the fennel
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper
2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water
chives for garnish

- heat the oil and butter in a large pot until the butter is melted and bubbly
- add the chopped onion, garlic, leeks, and fennel, and sautee until tender. Do not let them caramelize (it can be slightly prevented by adding salt early to wet the onions).
- after cooking this mixture for about 5 minutes, add the potatoes and stir. cover the pot and leave it on low heat for 10 minutes, stirring every 3-4 minutes.
- Add the water and stock, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.
- Once the soup is at a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the potatoes are soft.
- Blend this mixture, and taste for salt and pepper - add according to taste.
- Garish the soup with thinly sliced chives.



Asian Salad
(note: I call this an asian salad because I used a soy-sesame dressing, but otherwise no real connections)

Salad materials:
1/2 head napa cabbage
2 handfuls of baby spinach
2 handfuls of baby greens
4-5 radishes, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
handful of sliced almonds
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced

Dressing materials:
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup rice wine
2 teaspoons cane sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup sesame oil
1 inch ginger, sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

- To make the dressing, dissolve the sugar into the rice wine and rice wine vinegar over low heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic and stir the mixture.
- Toss all the salad ingredients together with half or more of the dressing, according to taste.