Chipotle Sweet Corn Meatloaf Chili or Chili Sloppy Joes

Chipotle Sweet Corn Meatloaf Chili or Chili Sloppy Joes

Here's another delicious budget stretching recipe that lets nothing go to waste. Our leftover Sweet Onion Glazed Meatloaf was put to tasty use in this quick and easy chili recipe that was particularly delicious when served on  toasted rolls with mozzarella cheese as some of the best Sloppy Joes we have ever tried. This recipe works so well that I'd suggest making a larger meatloaf than planned as part of your weekly meal plan, just so you cam enjoy this great chili a day or two later.

Chipotle Sweet Corn Meatloaf Chili or Chili Sloppy Joes

Soak in water overnight:

• 1 cup dry kidney beans

Simmer in lightly salted water for about 40 minutes. Drain. You may use canned beans if you prefer, about 1 1/2 cups.

In a large pot heat 

• 3 tbsp olive oil.

Add:

• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 medium red onion or two large shallots

Cook until the onions begin to soften.

Add

• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 4 cups crushed tomatoes
• 1 diced red bell pepper
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen sweet corn
• 1 minced jalapeño pepper( optional)
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 3 tablespoons molasses or 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground chipotle powder
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• cooked kidney beans from above

Simmer very gently over low heat for about 45 minutes stirring occasionally or if using an oven safe pot, for about an hour. Add:

• 1 1/2 pounds leftover meatloaf, diced 

Simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Serve alone or with tortilla chips and garnishes of grated cheddar cheese, sour cream and lime guacamole.

Chipotle Sweet Corn Meatloaf Chili or Chili Sloppy Joes

Here's another delicious budget stretching recipe that lets nothing go to waste. Our leftover Sweet Onion Glazed Meatloaf was put to tasty use in this quick and easy chili recipe that was particularly delicious when served on  toasted rolls with mozzarella cheese as some of the best Sloppy Joes we have ever tried. This recipe works so well that I'd suggest making a larger meatloaf than planned as part of your weekly meal plan, just so you cam enjoy this great chili a day or two later.

Chipotle Sweet Corn Meatloaf Chili or Chili Sloppy Joes

Soak in water overnight:

• 1 cup dry kidney beans

Simmer in lightly salted water for about 40 minutes. Drain. You may use canned beans if you prefer, about 1 1/2 cups.

In a large pot heat 

• 3 tbsp olive oil.

Add:

• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 medium red onion or two large shallots

Cook until the onions begin to soften.

Add

• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 4 cups crushed tomatoes
• 1 diced red bell pepper
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen sweet corn
• 1 minced jalapeño pepper( optional)
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 3 tablespoons molasses or 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground chipotle powder
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• cooked kidney beans from above

Simmer very gently over low heat for about 45 minutes stirring occasionally or if using an oven safe pot, for about an hour. Add:

• 1 1/2 pounds leftover meatloaf, diced 

Simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Serve alone or with tortilla chips and garnishes of grated cheddar cheese, sour cream and lime guacamole.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Quick and Easy Chicken Penne Timpano

Quick and Easy Chicken Penne Timpano

Originally published on September 15 2008.

I am not a big fan of leftovers as my friends and neighbours can happily attest. This recipe however, is one of my favorite ways to stretch a leftover pasta dinner into a second and quite delicious meal.

Timpano is a traditional Italian dish comprised of many components from boiled eggs to salami to meatballs to pasta to tomato sauce all baked in a drum shaped baking vessel. Some of you may remember it as the centerpiece dish of the 1996 film "Big Night" about 2 brothers and their failing Italian restaurant.

This much simpler version of a "pasta pie" still has some very good flavours incorporated into it and I have made it on occasion from simple leftover pasta and sauce. Using frozen, pre-made puff pastry adds to the easy preaparation while dressing up a dish that is fit to feed even the most discriminating dinner guests.

I do like to prepare this dish with all of the components cold so I prepare the pasta and sauce in advance and let them cool down before using them. This will greatly aid the crust baking well on the bottom. You can also blind bake the bottom crust for about 10-15 minutes before adding the filling, using parchment paper and some baking weights. This also greatly helps the bottom crust of the Timpano.

To begin you will need about 6 cups of cooked pasta with sauce. My favorite for this recipe is penne pasta with roasted fennel marinara sauce which was recently featured on my blog

http://rockrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/09/penne-with-cicken.html but use your favorite, especially if you have leftovers in the fridge.

2 sheets frozen puff pastry

Roll out one sheet of the puff pastry and place in the bottom and sides of a 9x9 inch glass baking dish. You can blind bake this bottom crust for about 15 minutes, if you prefer.

Add half the pasta and sauce evenly over the bottom crust and top with

1/2 roasted red pepper

1/2 sliced red onion

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)

2 cups shredded mozzarella

2 cups baby spinach leaves

Top with the remaining half of the cooked pasta and sauce and

3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Top with the remaining sheet of puff pastry. Brush the top with an egg wash of desired. Cut four small slits in the top crust and bake for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees F, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Quick and Easy Chicken Penne Timpano

Originally published on September 15 2008.

I am not a big fan of leftovers as my friends and neighbours can happily attest. This recipe however, is one of my favorite ways to stretch a leftover pasta dinner into a second and quite delicious meal.

Timpano is a traditional Italian dish comprised of many components from boiled eggs to salami to meatballs to pasta to tomato sauce all baked in a drum shaped baking vessel. Some of you may remember it as the centerpiece dish of the 1996 film "Big Night" about 2 brothers and their failing Italian restaurant.

This much simpler version of a "pasta pie" still has some very good flavours incorporated into it and I have made it on occasion from simple leftover pasta and sauce. Using frozen, pre-made puff pastry adds to the easy preaparation while dressing up a dish that is fit to feed even the most discriminating dinner guests.

I do like to prepare this dish with all of the components cold so I prepare the pasta and sauce in advance and let them cool down before using them. This will greatly aid the crust baking well on the bottom. You can also blind bake the bottom crust for about 10-15 minutes before adding the filling, using parchment paper and some baking weights. This also greatly helps the bottom crust of the Timpano.

To begin you will need about 6 cups of cooked pasta with sauce. My favorite for this recipe is penne pasta with roasted fennel marinara sauce which was recently featured on my blog

http://rockrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/09/penne-with-cicken.html but use your favorite, especially if you have leftovers in the fridge.

2 sheets frozen puff pastry

Roll out one sheet of the puff pastry and place in the bottom and sides of a 9x9 inch glass baking dish. You can blind bake this bottom crust for about 15 minutes, if you prefer.

Add half the pasta and sauce evenly over the bottom crust and top with

1/2 roasted red pepper

1/2 sliced red onion

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)

2 cups shredded mozzarella

2 cups baby spinach leaves

Top with the remaining half of the cooked pasta and sauce and

3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Top with the remaining sheet of puff pastry. Brush the top with an egg wash of desired. Cut four small slits in the top crust and bake for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees F, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Christmas 2012: Roundup

Christmas Roundup! I've had a lot of fun over Christmas this year. I'm not religious at all, but I do love all the secular aspects of the holiday season, all the ritual and tradition: the food, the gifts, the food, the decorations, the food, the time off work, the food, spending time with family and friends... and the food! (That was shamelessly quoted from the latest episode of Miranda!)

Of course, I'll still be doing my Unblogged Files for December (I'm pretty proud of myself for keeping that up the whole year, by the way!), as well as a "2012 in Review"-type post, summarising my blog this year... but to try and keep December's Unblogged Files to a reasonable length (and because I clearly love round-up posts!) I've decided to do a little Christmas round-up post too!

The Christmas season started with a party at a friends' house, to which I brought my mince pies. I loved the spread of baked goods - super cute!

Christmas Spread

I did get teased for requesting a cup of tea at 10pm on a Saturday night - how very Miranda of me! - but you just can't have mince pies and shortbread without tea!

That evening we were also treated to a fabulous Christmas pudding made by a friend's aunt. It was flambéed and served with a crème anglaise, made by another friend who is a professional trained chef. (Obviously this is where we got the idea to serve our own pudding with vanilla crème anglaise!)

Pretty flames!

Pudding with custard

As you know, my Christmas Cake this year was Nigel Slater's Christmas Cake. That's another thing I love about Christmas: dried fruit and spices galore!

Nigel Slater's Christmas Cake

We had a fab picnic in the Botanic Gardens - it was perfect weather too! (Yay for a Southern Hemisphere Christmas!)

Botanic Gardens

We had a great afternoon, drinking rosé, eating picnicky food (cheese, dips, salami etc.) and generally soaking up the atmosphere. Love!

Spread

I brought a tray of milk chocolate and salted peanut blondies to share - they were super fudge-tastic! (Blogpost and recipe to come!)

Milk chocolate and salted peanut blondies

Mmm... gooey...

One piece

And of course, there was our big Turkey dinner, held on Christmas Eve at my parents' place.

Christmas Dinner

I also wanted to show you some of the cool foodie gifts I got! These cute and pretty ceramic pieces from Kikki K's new home range (I love the little bowl so much - it really makes me smile!), these fab "Delicup Lunch" containers from my brother in Japan, and The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook!

Gifts

I bought this cute Hario Mini-Mill Slim Plastic Coffee Grinder from Sensory Lab for Sandra, as well as a bag of Chompy beans. The guys at Sensory Lab were so nice and helpful when I went to buy it - despite being busy, they gave me loads of time and advice, and even ground up a few samples of coffee for me to take home, so that I could see what the different grinds are supposed to look like for different brewing methods. How nice is that? Thanks guys!!

Coffee Grinder

Christmas also means Christmas leftovers. Breakfast on Christmas day was leftover Christmas pudding, fried in butter (eep!) and served with a little quenelle of creme fraiche.

Leftover Christmas Pudding

I also used the leftover Christmas pudding to make Christmas Puddini Bonbons again. I've been whipping them out whenever people pop in. (As well as some fancy German Christmas biscuits that my Dad bought us, and some coconut rough that I got at the newly opened Yarra Valley Chocolaterie).

Sweetmeats

I made a couple of fun things with the leftover turkey, including the Best Sandwich Ever! White bread, turkey, crispy bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato and cranberry.

T-BLAT Sandwich

And because sometimes even I can get tired of Christmas food: I made Fuchsia Dunlop's claybowl chicken, using leftover turkey. Essentially it's just cold cooked turkey, dressed in a mixture of sesame paste, soy sauce, black vinegar, sesame oil and loads of chilli oil, tossed with crunchy roasted peanuts and sesame seeds and topped with pungent coriander and spring onions. Spicy, low-carb and punchily flavourful - it's the antithesis of Christmas food, and totally delicious.

Claybowl Turkey

Last night, we had a lobster dinner at our place - I do hope this becomes a yearly tradition! Essentially it was a rehash of last year's lobster dinner, but I improved on the lobster salad recipe (blogpost and recipe to come), and I baked my own challah for the bun. (Yes, for realsies!)

Lobster Salad in Challah (And yes I do realise how wrong that sounds!) 

And finally, today we had a little latke party at my friend Jess' house.  I know we were a bit late for Hanukkah, but there's never a bad time for latkes!

Potato latkes with applesauce and creme fraiche

Jess made fab potato latkes, and we had a go making apple latkes too. I'll blog them in more detail soon - you all need fried potato pancakes in your life! Jess does her latkes very simply: just potatoes, flour and egg. So delicious! Just quietly, I like them better than Nigella's latkes from How to Eat!

Hope you all had a great festive season and enjoyed some good food and quality time with those nearest and dearest!! What are your favourite things to do over the break?

Christmas Roundup! I've had a lot of fun over Christmas this year. I'm not religious at all, but I do love all the secular aspects of the holiday season, all the ritual and tradition: the food, the gifts, the food, the decorations, the food, the time off work, the food, spending time with family and friends... and the food! (That was shamelessly quoted from the latest episode of Miranda!)

Of course, I'll still be doing my Unblogged Files for December (I'm pretty proud of myself for keeping that up the whole year, by the way!), as well as a "2012 in Review"-type post, summarising my blog this year... but to try and keep December's Unblogged Files to a reasonable length (and because I clearly love round-up posts!) I've decided to do a little Christmas round-up post too!

The Christmas season started with a party at a friends' house, to which I brought my mince pies. I loved the spread of baked goods - super cute!

Christmas Spread

I did get teased for requesting a cup of tea at 10pm on a Saturday night - how very Miranda of me! - but you just can't have mince pies and shortbread without tea!

That evening we were also treated to a fabulous Christmas pudding made by a friend's aunt. It was flambéed and served with a crème anglaise, made by another friend who is a professional trained chef. (Obviously this is where we got the idea to serve our own pudding with vanilla crème anglaise!)

Pretty flames!

Pudding with custard

As you know, my Christmas Cake this year was Nigel Slater's Christmas Cake. That's another thing I love about Christmas: dried fruit and spices galore!

Nigel Slater's Christmas Cake

We had a fab picnic in the Botanic Gardens - it was perfect weather too! (Yay for a Southern Hemisphere Christmas!)

Botanic Gardens

We had a great afternoon, drinking rosé, eating picnicky food (cheese, dips, salami etc.) and generally soaking up the atmosphere. Love!

Spread

I brought a tray of milk chocolate and salted peanut blondies to share - they were super fudge-tastic! (Blogpost and recipe to come!)

Milk chocolate and salted peanut blondies

Mmm... gooey...

One piece

And of course, there was our big Turkey dinner, held on Christmas Eve at my parents' place.

Christmas Dinner

I also wanted to show you some of the cool foodie gifts I got! These cute and pretty ceramic pieces from Kikki K's new home range (I love the little bowl so much - it really makes me smile!), these fab "Delicup Lunch" containers from my brother in Japan, and The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook!

Gifts

I bought this cute Hario Mini-Mill Slim Plastic Coffee Grinder from Sensory Lab for Sandra, as well as a bag of Chompy beans. The guys at Sensory Lab were so nice and helpful when I went to buy it - despite being busy, they gave me loads of time and advice, and even ground up a few samples of coffee for me to take home, so that I could see what the different grinds are supposed to look like for different brewing methods. How nice is that? Thanks guys!!

Coffee Grinder

Christmas also means Christmas leftovers. Breakfast on Christmas day was leftover Christmas pudding, fried in butter (eep!) and served with a little quenelle of creme fraiche.

Leftover Christmas Pudding

I also used the leftover Christmas pudding to make Christmas Puddini Bonbons again. I've been whipping them out whenever people pop in. (As well as some fancy German Christmas biscuits that my Dad bought us, and some coconut rough that I got at the newly opened Yarra Valley Chocolaterie).

Sweetmeats

I made a couple of fun things with the leftover turkey, including the Best Sandwich Ever! White bread, turkey, crispy bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato and cranberry.

T-BLAT Sandwich

And because sometimes even I can get tired of Christmas food: I made Fuchsia Dunlop's claybowl chicken, using leftover turkey. Essentially it's just cold cooked turkey, dressed in a mixture of sesame paste, soy sauce, black vinegar, sesame oil and loads of chilli oil, tossed with crunchy roasted peanuts and sesame seeds and topped with pungent coriander and spring onions. Spicy, low-carb and punchily flavourful - it's the antithesis of Christmas food, and totally delicious.

Claybowl Turkey

Last night, we had a lobster dinner at our place - I do hope this becomes a yearly tradition! Essentially it was a rehash of last year's lobster dinner, but I improved on the lobster salad recipe (blogpost and recipe to come), and I baked my own challah for the bun. (Yes, for realsies!)

Lobster Salad in Challah (And yes I do realise how wrong that sounds!) 

And finally, today we had a little latke party at my friend Jess' house.  I know we were a bit late for Hanukkah, but there's never a bad time for latkes!

Potato latkes with applesauce and creme fraiche

Jess made fab potato latkes, and we had a go making apple latkes too. I'll blog them in more detail soon - you all need fried potato pancakes in your life! Jess does her latkes very simply: just potatoes, flour and egg. So delicious! Just quietly, I like them better than Nigella's latkes from How to Eat!

Hope you all had a great festive season and enjoyed some good food and quality time with those nearest and dearest!! What are your favourite things to do over the break?

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Prime Rib Beer and Bacon Chili - a luxury leftover meal

Prime Rib Beer and Bacon Chilli

I've often used the term "leftover rescue recipe" on Rock Recipes but today, I think I've coined another term, "luxury leftovers"!

I have to confess I am not a fan of just plain reheated leftovers. I don't like eating the same thing two days in a row and it's never as good the second time around in the vast majority of cases, especially if it's reheated in that destroyer of texture, moisture and taste, the God-awful microwave; I'm not a fan of those either. My microwave's primary function is melting butter!

When I do use my leftovers, especially in my Leftover Turkey Recipes I like to be a little more creative with them and create a completely different and delicious meal. This exceptional chilli is another great example of that approach.


Let's face it , prime rib ain't cheap, but I am! We always buy standing prime rib when it's on sale, always buy a roast that's larger than we need, and always plan for leftovers. One other thing that I often do is turn a prime rib roast into a rib eye roast by cutting off the ribs and freezing them for later. This is very easy to do with a sharp knife by following the natural structure of the meat. The rib eye roast becomes dinner and leftovers and the ribs will be frozen to use later in some of the most fall-apart tender and delicious braised beef ribs you can ever eat. The ribs saved from two large roasts can easily feed 4-6 people.

My prime rib roast is generally cooked to medium rare and that works very well when reheating, as there is still plenty of moisture left in the meat so that it doesn't dry out. Thinly sliced leftover prime rib roast gently warmed in leftover gravy and served on toasted sub rolls makes a great lunch or dinner too. The cubed leftovers still stay pretty tender when added in the final few minutes of cooking time for this chilli too, which can be made in a slow cooker, on the stovetop or in the oven. Either way this "luxury leftover" meal is sure to please and can be an impressive contribution to any pot-luck dinner.


Serves 8

• 2 to 3 pounds of leftover prime rib roast, cut in cubes
• 1/2 pound of smoked bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 small red onion diced
• 1 bottle of beer (or substitute 12 ounces of low sodium beef stock)
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 14 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups canned red kidney beans
• 1 1/2 cups canned Romano beans
• 2 large tomatoes diced
• 1 large roasted red pepper, peeled and diced small
• ½ to 1 whole jalapeño pepper finely minced (optional)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 5 tbsp chilli powder (more or less to taste)
• 2 tbsp chipotle powder
• 3 tbsp ground cumin
• 6 tbsp molasses

Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottom pot. Toss in the garlic and onions and cook until softened.
Next add the beer (or beef stock) and simmer for 5 minutes before adding the beans and the remainder of the ingredients except for the red peppers and fresh tomatoes.

Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to minimum. Cover and very slowly simmer the chilli for 2 or more hours, stirring about every 15- 20 minutes. Alternatively you can cook this in the oven at 325 degrees F. I like to do it that way because you don't have to tend it as much and it is much less likely to stick or burn to the bottom of the pot if you forget to stir it. A slow cooker is also an excellent choice for this recipe.

Add the fresh diced tomatoes, bacon and roasted red pepper in the final 1/2 hour. In the last 5 or 10 minutes add the leftover prime rib roast. Adding it last preserves the tenderness and moisture of the roast beef. Serve with the rest of the bacon sprinkled on top.

Prime Rib Beer and Bacon Chilli

I've often used the term "leftover rescue recipe" on Rock Recipes but today, I think I've coined another term, "luxury leftovers"!

I have to confess I am not a fan of just plain reheated leftovers. I don't like eating the same thing two days in a row and it's never as good the second time around in the vast majority of cases, especially if it's reheated in that destroyer of texture, moisture and taste, the God-awful microwave; I'm not a fan of those either. My microwave's primary function is melting butter!

When I do use my leftovers, especially in my Leftover Turkey Recipes I like to be a little more creative with them and create a completely different and delicious meal. This exceptional chilli is another great example of that approach.


Let's face it , prime rib ain't cheap, but I am! We always buy standing prime rib when it's on sale, always buy a roast that's larger than we need, and always plan for leftovers. One other thing that I often do is turn a prime rib roast into a rib eye roast by cutting off the ribs and freezing them for later. This is very easy to do with a sharp knife by following the natural structure of the meat. The rib eye roast becomes dinner and leftovers and the ribs will be frozen to use later in some of the most fall-apart tender and delicious braised beef ribs you can ever eat. The ribs saved from two large roasts can easily feed 4-6 people.

My prime rib roast is generally cooked to medium rare and that works very well when reheating, as there is still plenty of moisture left in the meat so that it doesn't dry out. Thinly sliced leftover prime rib roast gently warmed in leftover gravy and served on toasted sub rolls makes a great lunch or dinner too. The cubed leftovers still stay pretty tender when added in the final few minutes of cooking time for this chilli too, which can be made in a slow cooker, on the stovetop or in the oven. Either way this "luxury leftover" meal is sure to please and can be an impressive contribution to any pot-luck dinner.


Serves 8

• 2 to 3 pounds of leftover prime rib roast, cut in cubes
• 1/2 pound of smoked bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 small red onion diced
• 1 bottle of beer (or substitute 12 ounces of low sodium beef stock)
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 14 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups canned red kidney beans
• 1 1/2 cups canned Romano beans
• 2 large tomatoes diced
• 1 large roasted red pepper, peeled and diced small
• ½ to 1 whole jalapeño pepper finely minced (optional)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 5 tbsp chilli powder (more or less to taste)
• 2 tbsp chipotle powder
• 3 tbsp ground cumin
• 6 tbsp molasses

Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottom pot. Toss in the garlic and onions and cook until softened.
Next add the beer (or beef stock) and simmer for 5 minutes before adding the beans and the remainder of the ingredients except for the red peppers and fresh tomatoes.

Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to minimum. Cover and very slowly simmer the chilli for 2 or more hours, stirring about every 15- 20 minutes. Alternatively you can cook this in the oven at 325 degrees F. I like to do it that way because you don't have to tend it as much and it is much less likely to stick or burn to the bottom of the pot if you forget to stir it. A slow cooker is also an excellent choice for this recipe.

Add the fresh diced tomatoes, bacon and roasted red pepper in the final 1/2 hour. In the last 5 or 10 minutes add the leftover prime rib roast. Adding it last preserves the tenderness and moisture of the roast beef. Serve with the rest of the bacon sprinkled on top.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Leftover Turkey Mushroom Turnovers

So I was left at home alone for dinner one evening this past week and had to pull together something for a meal for one. Leftovers in the fridge included some leftover turkey and gravy as well as the remnants of the excellent, rich gravy that we served with it. Just a few button mushrooms remained in the package in the fridge as well as a single sheet of thawed frozen puff pastry that remained from a dessert experiment. I pulled it all out and quickly threw together two of these turnovers in just a few minutes.

About a half hour later I had eaten the first one and couldn't resist scarfing down the other right after. They were so delicious. With Thanksgiving in Canada coming up in a couple of weeks and in about a month for our American friends, this is definitely an easy must-try meal idea for all that leftover turkey after the celebrations are over. I know I will be making this again for our family; I just have to be sure to make enough.

 2 twelve inch square sheets puff pastry cut in half

Make an egg wash by whisking together:

1 egg
2 tbsp water



Mix together:

1 1/2 pounds diced leftover turkey
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 1/3 cups cold leftover gravy

Divide the turkey filling evenly between the four pieces of puff pastry, spooning it onto one side of the pastry. Brush all of the edges of the pastry with the egg wash, then fold the other half of the dough over the filling. Fold the edges back over themselves and press down to seal. Place the turnovers on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and chill them for 15 minutes before brushing the tops with egg wash and popping them into a preheated 400 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes until evenly golden brown.

Great served with cranberry sauce and some roasted root vegetables.

So I was left at home alone for dinner one evening this past week and had to pull together something for a meal for one. Leftovers in the fridge included some leftover turkey and gravy as well as the remnants of the excellent, rich gravy that we served with it. Just a few button mushrooms remained in the package in the fridge as well as a single sheet of thawed frozen puff pastry that remained from a dessert experiment. I pulled it all out and quickly threw together two of these turnovers in just a few minutes.

About a half hour later I had eaten the first one and couldn't resist scarfing down the other right after. They were so delicious. With Thanksgiving in Canada coming up in a couple of weeks and in about a month for our American friends, this is definitely an easy must-try meal idea for all that leftover turkey after the celebrations are over. I know I will be making this again for our family; I just have to be sure to make enough.

 2 twelve inch square sheets puff pastry cut in half

Make an egg wash by whisking together:

1 egg
2 tbsp water



Mix together:

1 1/2 pounds diced leftover turkey
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 1/3 cups cold leftover gravy

Divide the turkey filling evenly between the four pieces of puff pastry, spooning it onto one side of the pastry. Brush all of the edges of the pastry with the egg wash, then fold the other half of the dough over the filling. Fold the edges back over themselves and press down to seal. Place the turnovers on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and chill them for 15 minutes before brushing the tops with egg wash and popping them into a preheated 400 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes until evenly golden brown.

Great served with cranberry sauce and some roasted root vegetables.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Christmas 2011: Leftovers

Hello hello!  When there is Christmas feasting, there are also leftovers!  We've finally finished all the leftovers, and I think we're all a bit sick of turkey and ham around here!  Having watched endless episodes of Nigella, Jamie and Gordon's Christmas programs over the break, I was tempted to try my hand at all sorts of big fancy pies to use up the leftover meat, but I thought that would defeat the purpose by creating even more leftovers.  (And don't forget you can't reheat leftover food more than once).

Whilst I did make one batch of pasties, and one sandwich, this year I found that the best way to use up the leftover ham and turkey was to serve it in thin slices to add protein and bulk to a fresh, healthy salad.  Much more suitable for our warm weather, don't you think?

Ham & Leek Welsh Pasties

I made Nigella's ham and leek Welsh pasties again (Kitchen), to use up leftover ham and petits pois.  These have ham, leeks and white sauce on the inside and are encased in a shortcrust pastry.  Lovely with a nice cold cider as an accompaniment.

Turkey and Ham Sandwich

This monster of a sandwich consisted of thick slices of white bread, lettuce, tomatoes, ham, turkey, and a thick smear of crème fraîche mixed with chives.  The crème fraîche mixture, apart from providing a tasty chive flavour, prevents the sandwich from getting dry (especially as turkey can dry out in the fridge).

Fried Ham and Eggs; Broad Bean and Radish Salad with Green Tahini

This lunch was inspired by a recipe from Jamie's Family Christmas.  Did anyone else watch it over Christmas?  (It's actually from 2009, but I hadn't seen it until this year).  I absolutely loved the program, especially the segment where he made fried gammon with his nan - she was so cute!  In the original recipe he uses raw slices of ham (i.e. gammon, which needs to be cooked before eating) but I made a quick version with leftover slices of smoked ham.  All you need to do is dredge slices of ham in mustard powder, and fry them in a pan.  The mustard powder lightly caramelizes on the ham and is just so fabulous!

Even though we can't get gammon here in Australia, the idea of the mustard-powder coating would work well with ham steaks (it sounds so 70's and I don't care who knows it) or Kassler, especially as an indulgent weekend breakfast.  I had it with a poached egg and the incredibly delicious broad bean and radish salad from the Ottolenghi cookbook, and it was a great light lunch, after all the heavy, carb-based meals of the preceding few days!

Marinated Mushrooms with Walnut and Tahini Yogurt

I received a copy of Yotam Ottolenghi's book Plenty for Christmas, and these marinated mushrooms were the first recipe I made.  I found some cheap shimeji mushrooms at an Asian grocer on Victoria street, and off I went! You marinate the shimeji mushrooms with sliced chestnut mushrooms (I used "baby bella" brown-capped mushrooms from my local supermarket) in lemon juice and olive oil, and toss them with broad beans and toasted walnuts.  It's served with a punchy garlic/yoghurt/tahini sauce, and I served it with thin slices of turkey and ham.  The full recipe is here, in Yotam's column in The Guardian. Enjoy!

Mini Christmas Puddini Bonbons

I love these intensely flavoured little truffles! I also got holly-shaped sprinkles this year, so I didn't need to bother chopping up gummi bears like I did last year.  I served them as a little sweatmeet with coffee to finish a post-Christmas dinner party.  They turned out very soft this year, so I'm keeping them in the freezer.  Theoretically, this means I won't be tempted to eat them all at once - hah!

THE SWANSON

I couldn't help it.  In the fridge we had a turkey leg, and we had slices of bacon.  How could I not make one? In honour of my favourite TV character, Ron Swanson from the hiii-larious Parks and Recreation, I made "The Swanson" - quite simply, a turkey leg wrapped in bacon.

"The Swanson"

Ron Swanson - what a legend.
Photo source: Eater.com

And on that note I conclude my Christmas posts for the year! Hope you all have enjoyed the festive season as much as I did this year!

Hello hello!  When there is Christmas feasting, there are also leftovers!  We've finally finished all the leftovers, and I think we're all a bit sick of turkey and ham around here!  Having watched endless episodes of Nigella, Jamie and Gordon's Christmas programs over the break, I was tempted to try my hand at all sorts of big fancy pies to use up the leftover meat, but I thought that would defeat the purpose by creating even more leftovers.  (And don't forget you can't reheat leftover food more than once).

Whilst I did make one batch of pasties, and one sandwich, this year I found that the best way to use up the leftover ham and turkey was to serve it in thin slices to add protein and bulk to a fresh, healthy salad.  Much more suitable for our warm weather, don't you think?

Ham & Leek Welsh Pasties

I made Nigella's ham and leek Welsh pasties again (Kitchen), to use up leftover ham and petits pois.  These have ham, leeks and white sauce on the inside and are encased in a shortcrust pastry.  Lovely with a nice cold cider as an accompaniment.

Turkey and Ham Sandwich

This monster of a sandwich consisted of thick slices of white bread, lettuce, tomatoes, ham, turkey, and a thick smear of crème fraîche mixed with chives.  The crème fraîche mixture, apart from providing a tasty chive flavour, prevents the sandwich from getting dry (especially as turkey can dry out in the fridge).

Fried Ham and Eggs; Broad Bean and Radish Salad with Green Tahini

This lunch was inspired by a recipe from Jamie's Family Christmas.  Did anyone else watch it over Christmas?  (It's actually from 2009, but I hadn't seen it until this year).  I absolutely loved the program, especially the segment where he made fried gammon with his nan - she was so cute!  In the original recipe he uses raw slices of ham (i.e. gammon, which needs to be cooked before eating) but I made a quick version with leftover slices of smoked ham.  All you need to do is dredge slices of ham in mustard powder, and fry them in a pan.  The mustard powder lightly caramelizes on the ham and is just so fabulous!

Even though we can't get gammon here in Australia, the idea of the mustard-powder coating would work well with ham steaks (it sounds so 70's and I don't care who knows it) or Kassler, especially as an indulgent weekend breakfast.  I had it with a poached egg and the incredibly delicious broad bean and radish salad from the Ottolenghi cookbook, and it was a great light lunch, after all the heavy, carb-based meals of the preceding few days!

Marinated Mushrooms with Walnut and Tahini Yogurt

I received a copy of Yotam Ottolenghi's book Plenty for Christmas, and these marinated mushrooms were the first recipe I made.  I found some cheap shimeji mushrooms at an Asian grocer on Victoria street, and off I went! You marinate the shimeji mushrooms with sliced chestnut mushrooms (I used "baby bella" brown-capped mushrooms from my local supermarket) in lemon juice and olive oil, and toss them with broad beans and toasted walnuts.  It's served with a punchy garlic/yoghurt/tahini sauce, and I served it with thin slices of turkey and ham.  The full recipe is here, in Yotam's column in The Guardian. Enjoy!

Mini Christmas Puddini Bonbons

I love these intensely flavoured little truffles! I also got holly-shaped sprinkles this year, so I didn't need to bother chopping up gummi bears like I did last year.  I served them as a little sweatmeet with coffee to finish a post-Christmas dinner party.  They turned out very soft this year, so I'm keeping them in the freezer.  Theoretically, this means I won't be tempted to eat them all at once - hah!

THE SWANSON

I couldn't help it.  In the fridge we had a turkey leg, and we had slices of bacon.  How could I not make one? In honour of my favourite TV character, Ron Swanson from the hiii-larious Parks and Recreation, I made "The Swanson" - quite simply, a turkey leg wrapped in bacon.

"The Swanson"

Ron Swanson - what a legend.
Photo source: Eater.com

And on that note I conclude my Christmas posts for the year! Hope you all have enjoyed the festive season as much as I did this year!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Christmas Leftovers

Hello everybody! Back to work today, sigh. The days after Christmas were a blur of sleep-ins, Boston Legal marathons and leftovers! Even though we only got a 3kg turkey (most friends I know were doing 5-8kg birds!!), we still had heaps of meat leftover, as well as other bits and pieces. Here is what I did with them...


The Ultimate Sandwich

The picture above is of what I think of as The Ultimate sandwich. Thickly sliced white bread, chilli jam, turkey, crisply fried bacon, crumbled Stilton, and cos lettuce.


Stilton Rarebit with Cos Lettuce and Walnut Salad

Ok, so this one's not quite leftovers, because I bought the Stilton specifically to make it. And I ate it whilst I was preparing our Christmas Eve meal. The recipe comes from Nigella's Feast, and is kinda like toast topped with a cheesy sauce, served with a salad made of little gem lettuce, walnuts, walnut oil and lemon juice.

The cheese in question was a gorgeously sharp Colston Bassett Stilton that I got from Leo's in Kew. Check out all the pretty blue lines!


Lentil and Chestnut Soup

As I mentioned, I only made a half-quantity of chestnut stuffing, leaving me with half a tin of chestnut puree and half a tin of chestnuts. They got turned into a velvety lentil and chestnut soup from Nigella's How to Eat (previously made here), which I served with leftover cream and some chives. The recipe actually made quite a bit of soup, so I've frozen some for future work lunches.


Turkey and Gravy Pasta


Inspired by How to Eat's pasta with butter and stock-cube juices, I cooked some spaghetti, and added some jellified turkey gravy and turkey meat.


Roast Potatoes and Gravy


And now we get to the things that are less like recipes and more like "ooh, look what I found in the fridge!". This was leftover roast potatoes, sliced and heated through in a pan, (i.e. fried!), eaten with leftover gravy. You know it makes sense.


Fried Dumplings with Scrambled Eggs

A good way to use up leftover dumplings (i.e. German doughy dumplings), is to slice them and fry them. I actually think I like them better this way! These were with scrambled eggs, although if I were making this for myself, I'd probably just eat the dumplings with gravy, haha.


Stilton Platter


Ok, so definitely not leftovers, but a post-Christmas treat for my brother and I (the only blue-cheese eaters in my house!) I had gone back to Leo's on the morning of Christmas Eve to get last minute supplies, and decided that I needed more Stilton. Unfortunately, they'd run out of Colston Bassett, so I got a good wedge of Quenby Hall, which I discovered is a bit creamier and milder than the Colston Bassett. We ate them with walnuts, muscatels, and these delicious English Bath Ovals (which are specially made to match the Quenby Hall Stilton!) And a glass of port. What a wonderful Christmas treat!


I am so keen to do what this enterprising blogger did, and soak a whole head of Stilton in port, but the smallest ones you can buy are 2 KILOS, which is too much cheese, even for me. (And at approx $75/kg, it's way too extravagant). Maybe one day.

Hello everybody! Back to work today, sigh. The days after Christmas were a blur of sleep-ins, Boston Legal marathons and leftovers! Even though we only got a 3kg turkey (most friends I know were doing 5-8kg birds!!), we still had heaps of meat leftover, as well as other bits and pieces. Here is what I did with them...


The Ultimate Sandwich

The picture above is of what I think of as The Ultimate sandwich. Thickly sliced white bread, chilli jam, turkey, crisply fried bacon, crumbled Stilton, and cos lettuce.


Stilton Rarebit with Cos Lettuce and Walnut Salad

Ok, so this one's not quite leftovers, because I bought the Stilton specifically to make it. And I ate it whilst I was preparing our Christmas Eve meal. The recipe comes from Nigella's Feast, and is kinda like toast topped with a cheesy sauce, served with a salad made of little gem lettuce, walnuts, walnut oil and lemon juice.

The cheese in question was a gorgeously sharp Colston Bassett Stilton that I got from Leo's in Kew. Check out all the pretty blue lines!


Lentil and Chestnut Soup

As I mentioned, I only made a half-quantity of chestnut stuffing, leaving me with half a tin of chestnut puree and half a tin of chestnuts. They got turned into a velvety lentil and chestnut soup from Nigella's How to Eat (previously made here), which I served with leftover cream and some chives. The recipe actually made quite a bit of soup, so I've frozen some for future work lunches.


Turkey and Gravy Pasta


Inspired by How to Eat's pasta with butter and stock-cube juices, I cooked some spaghetti, and added some jellified turkey gravy and turkey meat.


Roast Potatoes and Gravy


And now we get to the things that are less like recipes and more like "ooh, look what I found in the fridge!". This was leftover roast potatoes, sliced and heated through in a pan, (i.e. fried!), eaten with leftover gravy. You know it makes sense.


Fried Dumplings with Scrambled Eggs

A good way to use up leftover dumplings (i.e. German doughy dumplings), is to slice them and fry them. I actually think I like them better this way! These were with scrambled eggs, although if I were making this for myself, I'd probably just eat the dumplings with gravy, haha.


Stilton Platter


Ok, so definitely not leftovers, but a post-Christmas treat for my brother and I (the only blue-cheese eaters in my house!) I had gone back to Leo's on the morning of Christmas Eve to get last minute supplies, and decided that I needed more Stilton. Unfortunately, they'd run out of Colston Bassett, so I got a good wedge of Quenby Hall, which I discovered is a bit creamier and milder than the Colston Bassett. We ate them with walnuts, muscatels, and these delicious English Bath Ovals (which are specially made to match the Quenby Hall Stilton!) And a glass of port. What a wonderful Christmas treat!


I am so keen to do what this enterprising blogger did, and soak a whole head of Stilton in port, but the smallest ones you can buy are 2 KILOS, which is too much cheese, even for me. (And at approx $75/kg, it's way too extravagant). Maybe one day.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad