Yummy Turkey Wraps

I was craving something different than a regular old turkey sandwich so I decided to spice things up a bit. And I loved the result! I based the recipe on a wrap sandwich I used to get in college at a restaurant called Roly-Poly. The combination of the sweet mango chutney and the spicy peppercorn ranch dressing perfectly spices up this sandwich! (I didn't include quantities here because it seems like everyone likes their sandwiches a little different.)

Yummy Turkey Wraps

whole wheat or spinach sandwich wrap or tortillas

peppercorn ranch dressing

shaved deli turkey

colby jack cheese slices

romaine lettuce, shredded

cucumber, peeled and very thinly sliced

salt and pepper

mango chutney

Spread the sandwich wrap out on a large plate. Spread a light smattering of ranch dressing over half the wrap. Top the ranch with turkey, cheese, lettuce and cucumber. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the cucumber slices. Spread a smattering (a little more than you did the ranch) of chutney on the other half of the wrap. Roll up, cut in half and enjoy your lunch!

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Roasted Shrimp with Feta

Here is another recipe from one of my Christmas cookbooks, Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That? and it was great. And fairly healthy, which is a bit of a rarity from Barefoot Contessa! I loved the fennel's pleasant crunch and the shrimp were perfectly cooked. Also you can assemble the dish beforehand and then bake when it's dinner time. This recipe will definitely be put into regular rotation!

Roasted Shrimp with Feta

adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That?

3 T olive oil, divided

1 1/2 c fennel, medium-diced

1 T (about 3 cloves) garlic, minced

1/4 c dry white wine

1 (14 1/2-oz) can diced tomatoes

2 t tomato paste

1 t dried oregano

1 t kosher salt

1/2 t pepper

1 1/4 lb peeled shrimp (use the 16 to 20/lb size of shrimp)

4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

1/2 c Panko breadcrumbs

3 T fresh parsley, minced

1 lemon, zested

juice of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, heat 2 T olive oil in an over-proof skillet over medium-low heat. Add fennel and saute until tender, about 10-12 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, until garlic is fragrant but not browned. Add wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until liquid is reduced by half. Add the tomatoes and their liquid, tomato paste, oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes.

Arrange shrimp in one layer over the contents of the skillet. Sprinkle feta evenly over shrimp. In a small bowl, combine panko breadcrumbs, parsley, 1 T olive oil and lemon zest. Sprinkle mixture over shrimp.

Bake for 15 minutes. Juice the lemon and sprinkle juice over shrimp.

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Baked Fontina

I was a happy girl this Christmas as I received five cookbooks from Santa! One of the cookbooks is Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That? and I was so excited to try a few recipes that I'd seen reviewed out in blog-land. One in particular piqued my curiosity because the main ingredient was cheese, which I love dearly, and the blogger (Pink Parsley's Josie) said it was one of her favorite appetizers of all time. I knew I had to try it!

Oh and it was fabulous! But how could you go wrong with oodles of melted cheese?!? I made 2/3 of a recipe to serve four people and not a drop was left. It was so easy to throw everything together in the skillet, pop it under the broiler and it's ready to eat in 6 minutes! The only con I have with this dish is that it can be a little pricy (the cheese was about $17/lb) so I altered the recipe a little bit to bring down the cost. And I still thought my cheaper version was delicious!

Baked Fontina

recipe altered by Erin from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That? Cookbook

1/2 pound Italian Fontina Val d'Aosta cheese, rind removed and 1-inch diced

1/2 pound cheaper Italian Fontina, rind removed and 1-inch diced

3 T good olive oil

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 1/2 t dried thyme leaves

1/2 t dried rosemary leaves

1/2 t kosher salt

1/4 t freshly ground black pepper

1 crusty French baguette

Preheat the broiler.

In a 12-inch cast iron skillet, evenly distribute the cubed cheese. Drizzle olive oil over the cheese. Sprinkle garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper over cheese as well. Place under the broiler for 6 minutes, until the cheese is melted, bubbly and starting to brown.

Serve with crusty chunks of bread.

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Ham & Gruyere Thumbprints

I've been assigned (okay, actually I sort of begged) appetizers for Christmas dinner. Since my darling daughter took another nap this afternoon, I started my work early. Yay for appetizers that can be made ahead of time, frozen and then baked from their frozen state (i.e. no defrosting)!

I found this recipe on Martha Stewart's website and it sounded intriguing to me - turning a sweet cookie on its head to become a savory appetizer. While I did manage to freeze most of these, a few of them found their way into my tummy. They were delicious - flavorful and flaky "cookie" and melted cheese! If you're looking for a unique finger food, I'd highly recommend these!

As always, I can't follow a recipe exactly; however, I only made two little changes. Instead of using the full 1 cup of shredded gruyere, I used 3/4 cup gruyere and 1/4 parmesan. I also added chopped chives to the batter and sprinkled a few on top for a garnish.

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Hunter's Christmas Cookies

My friend Hunter has made these delicious molasses cookies during the holidays for the last several years. And she made them again last night! And they were still absolutely delectable! And I even got to take some home!

This year, Hunter outdid herself by also making these adorable snowmen cookies. They looked so cute and they even tasted great! I think you could easily modify the decoration of the cookies to become ghost cookies for Halloween too.

Anyway, I just wanted to pass along these cookie recipes in case anyone is on the prowl for some new recipes for their holiday baking!

Hunter's Molasses Cookies

3/4 cup crisco

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup molasses

2 cup flour

1 egg

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Melt shorting over low heat. Remove, set aside for 5 minutes. Add sugar, molasses and egg and mix. Add soda, flour, spices, and salt. Beat well with mixer. Chill several hours or overnight. Form dough into 1 inch balls; roll in sugar. Bake on greased cookie sheet 8 - 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Yields 3 dozen.

Hunter's Snowmen Cookies

adapted from AllRecipes.com

1 roll of refrigerated sugar cookies dough, sliced and baked according to pkg directions

large marshmallows, cut in half on the diagonal

1 c confectioners sugar

2 t milk

2 t corn syrup (you may need to add a little more if the icing is too thin)

1/4 t almond extract

orange food coloring

black food coloring

mini chocolate chips

As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, place half of a marshmallow at the top of each cookie. The marshmallow will melt a little and adhere to the cookie better.

While the cookies cool, make the icing. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and extract until icing is smooth. If its too thick, add more corn syrup.

Divide the icing into three bowls. Add orange food coloring to one, add black food coloring to another and keep one white. Using the white icing, frost each cookie completely covering the cookie and marshmallow. Place two mini chocolate chips on the marshmallow to form eyes and three chips down the middle of the cookie to form buttons.

While the icing hardens, place the orange and black icings into separate ziplock bags. Cut a small corner off of each bag when you're ready to frost. Use the orange frosting to create the "carrot" nose and the black frosting to create the stick arms.

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Chicken a la King

On Friday, I spent much of the day shopping in the midst of Christmas chaos. Since we got take-out the night before, I knew I had to make dinner even though I didn't feel like it. I found this recipe online and decided to give it a try.

Chicken a la King is like the more sophisticated cousin of chicken pot pie. It has a delicious, creamy chicken sauce that is served over puff pastry shells (or you can substitute toast points, rice, noodles or biscuits). Because I had the oven preheated, this recipe just took about half an hour from start to finish. Gotta love that! And in my opinion, it's fancy enough to be served to guests, especially if you use the puff pastry shells.

FYI - Each box of puff pastry shells contains 6 shells and they aren't too big. Andrew ate 2 shells for dinner, so if you're serving lots of men, you may want to buy more than one box of puff pastry. The recipe makes plenty of sauce so you wouldn't need to double it. If you're serving mostly women, then one box should be enough.

Chicken a la King - serves 4-6

adapted from RealMomKitchen.com

1 box puff pastry shells

6 T butter

1 c fresh mushrooms, sliced

3 stalks celery plus their leaves, chopped

1/2 white onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 c white wine

1/8 - 1/4 t dried sage

1/8 - 1/4 t dried thyme

2 cooked chicken breasts, chopped (I used a rotisserie chicken to save time)

1 4-oz jar diced pimentos

5 T flour

1 1/2 c fat free half and half

1 c chicken broth

salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. As soon as oven is preheated, put puff pastry shells in to cook for 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add mushrooms, celery and onions. Cook about 3 minutes, or until the veggies are just starting to soften. Add the garlic and the wine and cook until the veggies are soft but not browned, about 4-5 more minutes, stirring often. Season with sage, thyme and a little salt and pepper.

Add chicken and pimentos. Stir in flour, one tablespoon at a time. Slowly add in half-and-half and chicken broth, stirring well to prevent lumps. Continue to cook over medium heat until mixture has thickened sufficiently. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon chicken mixture over puff pastry shells and serve immediately.

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Apple Pie by Grandma Ople

I've had this recipe bookmarked for years. Years! Last week I was really in the mood for some apple pie and I finally got around to trying out this recipe. It's from AllRecipes.com and it has over 3500 five-star reviews so I knew it had to be good! And it didn't disappoint me at all. Andrew had two huge slices and then sat on the couch moaning that he overate. He did the exact same thing the next night too. If that's not a ringing endorsement for a good recipe, then I don't know what is!

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