Sous Vide Turkey Breast

That's cranberry jam on that sandwich!

It's not too late to talk turkey. Yes, Thanksgiving is over, but turkeys aren't done being sold. You can buy a lovey turkey breast all on its own, or do what I did - buy a whole turkey and cut it into reasonable pieces.

Right now, I have one breast and two thighs in the freezer. One breast has been cooked. The carcass, legs, and wings were roasted. Some parts became stock that then became gravy or soup. Meaty parts had their meat removed and added to the soup.

In years past, I smoked turkey breasts, or I cooked them on the barbecue grill. This time, I decided to go the easy route - I cooked it via sous vide. Some turkey went into sandwiches, and some went into other recipes. But mostly, I wanted that breast for sandwiches. It's one of my favorite things to do with turkey, and by cooking it sous vide, I had a super-tender breast that wasn't the least bit dry.

I'm finding that cooking pretty much anything sous vide is insanely easy now that I have the Anova Sous Vide with bluetooth and wifi which has an app with a bunch of recipes. I basically just typed in "turkey breast" and picked one of the recipes to get the time and temperature. I didn't continue with crisping the skin since I just wanted the meat for sandwiches.

Sous Vide Turkey Breast

1 boneless turkey breast (can be skinless or not)
Seasonings (whatever you like - I tried a smoked salt)
Butter or olive oil (optional)

Put the turkey breast in the sous vide bag along with whatever flavorings you like. I had gotten some salts (about a tablespoon each) as a sample, so I used some of the smoked salt. I didn't add any fat, but I considered it momentarily. But any herbs or flavorings you like would be fine, I'm sure. Seal the bag.

Set the sous vide for 145 degrees and three hours. Place the bag in the water and cook.

When the ime is up, you can brown the skin in a hot pan with a little oil (pat the turkey dry first), if desired I just let it cool and used it for sandwiches.

The turkey breast meat was cooked through, but it was definitely pink. If that bothers you, then you might want to cook it at a higher temperature. I thought it was fine. And when I used it in dishes where I heated it further it wasn't overcooked, so that was a bonus,

Cranberry Jam

Cranberry sauce is fine as a side dish on Thanksgiving, but cranberry JAM is amazing on toast, English muffins, or stirred into yogurt.

Try it on that English muffin with a little smear of cream cheese. Spread it on the bread for a turkey sandwich.

Or how about on quesadilla? Yeah, that's good too! Or as a filling for jam thumbprint cookies.

Cranberry season is fleeting, but I'll bet you can find them on sale now, fresh, and maybe even a better deal frozen.

Speaking of frozen, you might want to toss some in the freezer so you can make this any time. It's so simple and soooo good. You don't even need pectin to make this!

I like mine more tart than sweet, but you can certainly add more sugar, if you like. And you can also experiment with flavors. Or add other fruits, like apples, pears, strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries. Have fun with it!

Cranberry Jam
Makes about 2  1/2 pints

Why yes, that IS a lot of cranberries!

3 pounds cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt.

Put everything in a saucepan. Heat, stirring as needed until the cranberries pop and the mixture boils and becomes thick. It doesn't take a long time, so don't wander away from it. Give it a taste and add more sugar if it's too tart for you. Stir to combine and taste again.

Use a stick blender to blend the mix smooth. Or, transfer to a blender.

Pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the seeds and any unblended skins.

Transfer the mixture to containers for storage, and refrigerate. Note that this is NOT a canning recipe - I have no idea if it would be safe. I'm also not sure how long it lasts, since I somehow manage to use it all before it goes bad.

Want more flavor? I like this as-is, but you can certainly add more flavor, like vanilla extract, almond extract, lemon, ginger, cinnamon, chipotle, basil, or pretty much any flavor you think will be compatible.

Thanksgiving Bread Pudding - now with cranberries!

I love stuffing. I've even made bread that tastes like stuffing - which is pretty amazing for a turkey sandwich.

But that's not the same as actual stuffing. I grew up eating stuffing that was cooked inside a turkey. Lately, though, I've been cutting the turkey up and cooking the pieces separately. A few times, I've smoked the breast while cooking the dark meat in the oven.

But ... that meant I had to find a different way of cooking the stuffing. I tried a lot of variations of cooking stuffing in a casserole dish - which I guess means it's dressing - and they were all fine. But then I had the brilliant idea of making a stuffing flavored bread pudding. And it was amazing.

This year, I decided I wanted an early Thanksgiving, so I bought and cooked a small turkey breast. I enjoyed my sandwiches, but then I started thinking about stuffing. Then, I went to an event sponsored by Sprouts Farmers Market and they tossed a can of cranberry sauce into the goodie bag.

And I had a great idea. A stuffing bread pudding studded with chunks of turkey, with a layer of cranberry sauce on the bottom. It was like Thanksgiving in one bite.

This would be a great lunch or brunch meal, or a perfect dinner item for folks who like the stuffing better than anything else. You could certainly use leftover cooked turkey for this.

Or, if you're not the one who hosted the holiday and you have no turkey, you could cook a small turkey breast, or you could get some turkey deli meat. Just ask for the turkey to be cut into 1/2-inch slices so you can cut it into cubes.

This would also be good with chicken instead of turkey.

Thanksgiving Bread Pudding with Cranberry Sauce

4 tablespoons butter
3 ribs of celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
Salt and pepper, to taste
4-6 cups cubed stale bread
2 cups cubed turkey
1 can cranberry sauce
8 eggs (more, if needed)
1 cup milk (more, if needed)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and have an 8- or 9-inch baking dish standing by.

Heat the butter in a saute pan. Add the celery and onions and cook until it begins to soften. Add the poultry seasoning, sage, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring as needed, until the vegetables are cooked through. Taste for seasoning. This should be well seasoned, since it will be combined with a lot of bread and eggs.

Put the bread in a large bowl. Add the cooked vegetables and turkey. Toss to combine. You don't want to mash or tear the bread any further - just mix it together.

Spread the cranberry sauce evenly on the bottom of the baking dish. Add the bread cube mixture to the baking dish.

Beat the milk and eggs until well combined. Pour this over the bread in the baking dish. The amount of liquid the bread will absorb depends on the bread, and how dry it is. You want to make sure all the bread is moist, and that there is liquid surrounding the bread. It's fine if there are bread cubes sticking up above the liquid a little but there should be visible liquid.

Here it is, before it went into the oven.

If the bread isn't thoroughly moist, and there's not enough liquid, beat some more eggs with milk and add it as needed. If you need just a small amount of liquid, you can just add extra milk.

Bake at 350 degrees until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. It's fine if it's wet, but it shouldn't be coated with egg.

Serve hot or at room temperature. This is also good cold, if you happen to like cold stuffing.

The Sprouts event was held at the National Cattleman’s Beef Association, and had absolutely nothing to do with turkey - we learned about cooking beef. But yeah, I used their cranberry sauce in this recipe and they provided a gift card to allow me to shop for anything I liked.

Holiday Cooking - or NOT

As a food blogger and somewhat maniacal cook, everyone expects that I'll cook all the big holiday meals. And most years I do. Most years I enjoy the cooking frenzy. Most years I enjoy the challenge. Most years I enjoy the planning and the shopping and the prepping.

But every once in a while I think that it would be nice to relax and enjoy the holiday. Put my feet up before dinner, then wait for my empty plate to be filled. If I was part of a big family, holidays might jump from house to house to house.

Or maybe I'd have a crowd of people in the kitchen helping me peel and stir and mash and whisk and grate and it would be a heck of a lot of fun.

But the only jumping that happens on most holidays is me jumping from oven to sink to stove to refrigerator while I'm prepping and serving and cooking.

And then when I sit down to eat, I feel like I've already eaten it all, after tasting and seasoning and stirring and living with all the sights and sounds and smells of that cooking food. At about that point, the thing I most want to eat is something that I didn't prepare with my own two hands.

But still, most years, I want to do all that work. I take pride that every single little thing was prepared from scratch, even if I had to start prepping six days earlier to accomplish it all.

Most. Not all.

A few years ago, I suffered great angst when I bought bagged salad instead of choosing lettuce and hand-tearing it for salad, but no one noticed. Or at least they didn't comment.

Afterwards, I felt a little dirty, but also a little relieved. The next year I bought a cake from a charity bake sake.

But some years, even that isn't quite enough help.

When my good friends at Whole Foods recently offered to give me a full holiday meal, I didn't hesitate for two seconds. Heck yeah. It was the best of all worlds. I got a whole meal that I knew was going to be good, and I got custody of leftovers. I still had to heat it up and plate it and do some cleanup afterwards, but someone else did all the heavy lifting for me.

It was an interesting process. When I arrived at Whole Foods, there was a kiosk right inside the door where I gave my name and they said they'd call me when it was ready.

They pointed to the pickup area and said that I could have some free hot cider, if I wanted to chill for a few minutes. Instead, I wanted to pick up a few non-Thanksgiving things, so I took care of that, and before I was done touring the store, my name was called and someone showed me the order, pointing to each item in the box and showing me the instruction sheet for reheating.

The meal included a smoked turkey, mashed sweet potatoes, collard greens, bourbon gravy, Southern-style cornbread dressing, cranberry sauce, and sweet potato biscuits.

Here it is on a plate, where it belongs.

And for dessert, there was a pretty spectacular flourless chocolate cake.

We were out of the store in about 20 minutes total, and everyone in the store was cheerful and helpful and friendly. It was incredibly simple. Non-stressful.

They even included a disposable aluminum roasting pan for the turkey, and the containers that held the dressing, potatoes and collard greens could be used in oven or microwave. I wouldn't say they were attractive enough for serving for a nice dinner, but if you moved into a new house and hadn't unpacked the serving pieces yet, they'd be fine.

The smoked turkey was pretty spectacular. My mother-in-law is a big fan of wings, so she claimed that right away.

For leftovers, we had hot turkey, turkey sandwiches, turkey chili, and then bones and odd bits ended up in the stockpot to make a nice smoky stock. I ended up with 2 quarts of a very flavorful stock.

Keep in mind that this was a meal that was described as sufficient to feed 4 people, and there were three of us for dinner. Three normal adults, not three starving teenagers, but  there's no doubt we could easily have fed a few more for dinner, since there were leftovers of every component. But I was giddy to have the leftovers because I love day-after turkey sandwiches.

And did I mention that the cake was good for leftovers, too?

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. That's a flourless chocolate cake that's really rich and amazing. Imagine a cross between cheesecake and fudge, and you've got an idea.

This a very welcome holiday treat for me, and I have to thank Whole Foods for their generous gift. I was able to put a great meal on the table without spending time that I didn't have, and I got to enjoy the meal like a guest in my own home.

I'll admit that I'm not going to order holiday meals from Whole Foods for every holiday from now on, because I do love cooking, and I love showing off my cooking to guests. But next time I'm too stressed and need a break, I wouldn't hesitate to order from them. I'm already eyeing some of their other meals.

The crazy thing is that what they charge for these meals is pretty affordable, considering what it usually costs me when I go shopping pre-holiday and considering the quality of what I got and how many extra meals I got from it.

The downside to ordering a holiday meal like this is that the menu is set, so if you have a family favorite side dish that you absolutely have to have, you might have to do a little bit of work. But making one side dish or opening a bag of salad greens isn't a big deal compared with the hoopla involved in making the whole meal.

Besides smoked turkey, they also have several types of roast turkey, but that's not all. Right now (at my local store) you can order ham, leg of lamb, roast beef, roast pork, or a complete vegan meal. One thing I think is really cool is the "classic holiday sides." It's just what it sounds like - all side dishes. So all you need to do is cook the main dish, open a bagged salad, and pick up dessert at the bakery.

That's not bad, right?

Everyone had a nice, relaxed meal and enjoyed the holiday, including Mom and Snickers..

Thanks again to Whole Foods for being such a great place to blog for, and for the fantastic meal. It gave me time to rest up and make plans for Christmas! But if you're pressed for time, too stressed to cook, or your kitchen's not capable, they're ready to cook your Christmas meal for you.

So, tell me, have you ever catered a holiday meal? What did you think?

The Turham - a ham stuffed into a turkey!

I've always wanted to create a new food-related portmanteau. And there are so many related to turkey. I mean, think about it - there's the Turducken, and Tofurky.

Wait, I see we've lost a few people running to Wikipedia to see what a portmanteau is. We'll give them a second to get back here before the fun starts.

For those of you who haven't fled, portmanteau translates to "suitcase" and it's two (or more) words that have been mashed together. So, a tofurkey is tofu and turkey, and a turducken is turkey, duck and chicken. And we also have this year's Thanksgivukkah and the lovely menurkey.

So, I came up with the ...

But wait. Let me tell you a story first.

When I was a kid, we always had turkey for Thanksgiving. Never failed. Always. Then, when Christmas rolled around, mom would ask if we wanted turkey again, or if we wanted something else.

Ah, the vague and nefarious "something else." Because the problem was that the list of possibilities was pretty short. Chicken was too common. Ham was a possibility, but that's what we usually had for Easter. We didn't really do fancy beef or pork roasts.

So, we were back to turkey again. Or sometimes ham.

And that got me thinking ... and thinking ... and portmanteau-ing. I mean, if you can stuff a duck inside a turkey, why not stuff a ham in there?

Yes, I'm serious. One problem with the turducken is that it has to cook for a long time for all the meats to cook. But I figured that a fully-cooked ham only had to get warm, so I could pull it out of the oven as soon as the turkey was done.

So, I bought a 10-pound turkey and a 10-pound bone-in ham. I de-boned a turkey, leaving just the leg bones (I removed the thigh bones) and all the wing bones. For easier access, I cut it at the backbone, so I could lay it flat.

Then, I took the bone-in ham and removed those bones. I also removed the tough skin and some of the excess fat. And then I put some seasoned bread crumbs inside the turkey put the ham on top of that, and then wrapped the turkey around the ham and skewered it shut.

In retrospect, I would have been better off using one of those rolled boneless hams, because getting the ham to fit neatly was a bit of a chore. I had way more ham than I needed, but the shape wasn't optimal for getting it to fit inside the bird.

But I got it done. It took about an hour for the prep, and then I popped it into the oven and roasted it just like I'd roast a turkey. It took a bit under 3 hours for the turkey to be fully cooked.

And that was that.

The neat thing about having the bones removed from the turkey was that after I removed the legs, I could slice straight through the bird and have slices of ham surrounded turkey. Like this:

Presenting the Turham!

Next time I might also use less ham and have a slightly thicker layer of stuffing instead of the thin layer of bread crumbs. but overall, I think it was a pretty successful attempt.

What do you think? Would you do it?

Potato Bread - a perfect use for leftover mashed potatoes

Ah, mashed potatoes! I love them. And I always make too much, particularly when I'm serving guests. My theory is that you always want leftovers, because that means that everyone had enough.

My mom's theory of potatoes was one per person and one extra for the pot. Which is probably a reasonable amount. I'm not always that reasonable, so maybe it's two for the pot. Or ... mumble mumble ... maybe too many potatoes.

Luckily, there are a whole lot of wonderful uses for left over mashed potatoes. I already made potato soup from some of them (did I mention that I tend to make too many mashed potatoes?) and of course you can use them as a topping for a pot pie.

This time, I decided to make potato bread. It's soft and fluffy and perfect for sandwiches. And we all know that after Thanksgiving there are plenty of sandwiches that need to be made, right?

The amount of flour you need for this might vary a bit, depending on how wet your mashed potatoes were. And the resulting bread will be slightly different, depending on what added ingredients you had in those potatoes, like butter, cheese, sour cream, buttermilk. It all works, but it's all going to be just a little bit different.

Sesame seeds aren't typical on potato bread, but I like them a lot, so I added them. It's my baking, and I'll seed if I want to. By the way, I prefer toasted sesame seeds, but untoasted white seeds or brown seeds are fine, too. Or go seedless. it's all good.

Potato Bread

1 cup cooked mashed potatoes
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 egg
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water)
Sesame seeds.

Combine the mashed potatoes, bread flour, egg, yeast, sugar, salt, milk, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (or you can combine in a bowl, then turn it out and knead by hand). The dough should be soft - not dense or dry. If it's dense or dry, add a bit of water, a tablespoon at a time, as needed.

Knead with the dough hook until the dough is smooth and elastic - because of the potatoes and any extra ingredients in the potatoes, the dough might not be completely silky, but it should be relatively smooth. If the dough is too soft to form a ball and hold its shape, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until you have a dough with some bounce and the ability to form a ball. It's fine if it sags a bit, but it shouldn't be flowy.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until the dough has doubled in size, about an hour (could be longer if you started with refrigerator-cold potatoes).

When the dough has doubled, spray a 9x5 loaf pan with baking spray, flour your work surface lightly, and heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Turn out the dough and knead briefly, then form the dough into a smooth log that will fit into the pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap or place the whole pan in a large bag and tie the open end of the bag closed. Set aside until the dough has doubled in size and if you poke it with a fingertip, the indent remains or fills in very slowly. It should be cresting an inch or so over the top of the pan.

Remove the plastic wrap, brush the top of the loaf with the eggwash, and sprinkle it with sesame seeds. Make a slash lengthwise across the top of the loaf with a sharp knife. Bake the loaf at 350 degrees until it is golden brown, about 40 minutes.

Turn the loaf out and let it cool completely on a rack before slicing.

Dilled Potato Soup

Got leftover mashed potatoes? What are you going to do with them?

How about a dilled potato soup?

Maybe it's the Polish in me, but I find it hard to resist anything pickled. When I was a kid, if I was going to sneak something out of the refrigerator as a little snack, there's a good chance it would be a dill pickle.

So, when I first "met" dill pickle soup, I was enthralled. It's not like drinking pickle juice, but the pickles add a nice tang to what might otherwise be a pretty ... um ... normal ... soup.

If you're freaked out by pickles in soup, you can skip 'em and you'd have a nice potato vegetable soup.

This soup is infinitely customizable. To begin with, you're using leftover mashed potatoes - with whatever you put in them. Garlic, butter, cheese, chives - it's all good. Then we have the leftover vegetables. I had broccoli and cauliflower, but peas, carrots, green beans, lima beans - just about anything would work.

And then there are the pickles. There are endless brands and varieties, but if you like to eat the pickle, you'll like it in the soup. Trust me. If you're squeamish but curious, start with less pickle and add more to taste.

Since everything is cooked, this soup can be ready to eat in about 5 minutes. It's better if it simmers for a while so the flavors mingle, but it's not necessary. And it's great the next day, too.

Dilled Potato Soup

2 cups left over mashed potatoes
2 cups liquid - water, stock, milk, cream - whatever you have on hand. A mix is fine.
1 cup left over cooked vegetables
1 teaspoon dill weed (more to taste)
1 dill pickle, diced (or about 3 baby dills, diced)

Combine the potatoes, liquid, vegetables (chop them roughly if the pieces are large), dill weed, and pickles in a medium saucepan.

Heat to a boil, stirring to break up the mashed potatoes. Lower to a simmer. Taste for seasoning.

Since you're starting with ingredients that should have already been seasoned and the pickles are salty, you might not need to add any extra salt or seasoning, but add more dill, salt, or ground pepper, to taste.

Do you like those pickle bits in the soup? You can add more, and a few bits of diced dill pickle make a nice garnish on the soup.

Serve hot.

Cranberry Bread

I had dough rising, and I was thinking about making some kind of cranberry bread ring or braid when someone posted a link to this Nutella bread in a Facebook group. I knew I had to try it with my
cranberry bread.

You can use whatever cranberry relish, jam, chutney, jelly, or whatever that you have on hand. Or, when cranberry season is over, use any other jam or similar product. Some might not work as well as others - it needs to be thick enough to stay in place in the bread and not ooze all over, but that's a trial-and-error sort of thing. The thinner the product is, the less you want to use, though.

If you're bound and determined to use a runny jam or jelly, you can mitigate the seepage by laying down a layer of cake or cookie crumbs that will absorb some of the liquid. It will change the texture of the filling, but at least you won't have a baking sheet full of oozy, burning, sugary goo.

I used a cran-raspberry jam that I made for Thanksgiving, and for this filling I added a little bit of instant pectin to thicken it even more.

Beware: if you make this once, you will make it again. Probably the next day. So make sure you've got plenty of extra jam on hand.

Cranberry Bread

For the dough:
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
3 cups (13 1/4 ounces) bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
For the filling:
3/4 cup cranberry sauce (I used homemade cran-raspberry)
For finishing:
Egg wash (one egg beaten with one tablespoon water)

Combine all the dough ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover the bowl and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled - about 1 1/2 hours.

Flour your work surface, heat the oven to 350 degrees, and have a baking pan and parchment sheet or silicone mat (preferred) on hand.

Divide the dough in half, form each half into a ball, and roll each ball into a circle about 9-10 inches in diameter. Place the first piece on the silicone mat and spread the cranberry sauce thinly and evenly over the surface of the dough, leaving about 1 inch covered all around the outside.

Top with the second piece of dough.

Cut four slits in the dough - cutting all the way through the dough (but being careful not to cut the baking mat) as though you are cutting the dough into quarters, but not cutting the center section - try to leave a 2-3 inch uncut section in the center.

Make another four slits in the same way, centering them between your original four. Now, make eight more slits, centering them between the eight you already have.

Now, grab two adjacent strips of dough and twist them - either inward or outward, whichever feels more natural to you, as long as you're not twisting both in the same direction. Count how many twists you're making, so that you twist all the pairs the same number of times. Then just continue around the circle twisting each pair of dough strips the same way.

There are a couple tricks to keep in mind. First, make sure you've cut all the way through both layers of dough. I had a couple pieces that weren't quite cut and when I tried to twist, it got a teeny bit messy. Second, try to make all the cuts to the center even, so you end up with a pretty star pattern in the middle. Third, don't worry about it. When it bakes, it will look amazing, even if it is a little messy.

I rushed through the twisting a bit because my timing was off. Dinner was ready to go on the table so I didn't take as much time as I could have, but I was still very happy with the result. And next time, I'll have a better idea what I'm doing.

When you're done, slide the mat onto the baking sheet. Straighten the dough so it's a nice even circle, then cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until it's doubled, about 45 minutes. If it doesn't seem like it's doubled, give it a poke it gently with your finger - if the indent remains, it's ready to bake.

Remove the plastic wrap, brush the dough with the egg wash, and bake until the bread is a deep golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Remove the dough from the pan and let it cool completely on a rack before slicing.

Potato Flowers for Thanksgiving #MakeItYours

I love mashed potatoes. You can't beat a bowl of perfectly-seasoned, unreasonably-buttered, glorious, fluffy mashed potatoes.

Heck, I even like them when they're a little lumpy.

But sometimes I want to dress them up a bit for a party.

There are soooo many options, like adding spices and cheese, like these jalapeno cheddar mashed potatoes from Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts or Colcannon (mashed potatoes with cabbage and onion) from An Edible Mosaic.

I actually used bits of both ideas, with the cheese on top of some of my spuds, and an unexpected ingredient - not cabbage, but you'll see - mixed into the potatoes.

And then for even more of a twist (perhaps even a twirl) I piped them onto a baking sheet for a pretty presentation.

The resulting potato "flowers" are easy to make if you've got piping tips, and they look like you spent way more time than you did. Even better, you can do most of the prep work a day or two ahead, pipe them the day you need them, and finish them in the oven while the roast is resting.

For extra flavor, my additional ingredient was celery root. If you're not familiar with it, it's that round, brown gnarly-looking thing at the grocery store that's probably near the fresh horseradish and rutabagas.

One problem with celery root is that some of them can be a little woody, and that's not what I want in my mashed potatoes. The solution is to run the puree through a sieve to remove the tough bits. It's an extra step, but if you're doing it a day or to in advance, it's not that bad.

The second problem with celery root is that once cooked, it can be sort of ... soggy. Lots of water in it that will turn your mashed potatoes into potato soup in the blink of an eye. The solution is to cook the puree to evaporate the extra liquid and intensify the flavor. It doesn't take long, and I think it's well worth it, because then you can add more cream.

But first, a word from our sponsor:

This post is sponsored by Anolon, and they've offered a giveaway to my readers. For this recipe, I used the Nouvelle Copper 3.5 quart saucepan with straining lid, which is becoming one of my favorite pieces of cookware, and that's the one I'm giving away.

It's got a nonstick interior that's metal-utensil safe, and it's got two pouring spouts and a straining lid, so you can pour the water out while keeping the contents safely enclosed in the pot. But that straining feature has an added benefit - you can vent the pot, or turn the lid and it's completely closed.

That venting feature is nice when you're cooking something with the potential to boil over if the lid isn't vented. It's also great for making popcorn on the stove. Keeping a standard lid tilted on a pot to release steam while shaking the pot for proper popcorn popping takes way more coordination than I have some days. A vented lid is so much more convenient.

Potato Flowers

1 medium celery root (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3 pounds russet, Idaho, or Yukon gold potatoes (or a mix)
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup heavy cream (more as needed)
2 eggs
Several generous grinds black pepper
Grated cheese, for garnish
Paprika, for garnish

Peel, cube and cook the celery root in boiling salted water until fork tender. Peel, cube, and cook the potatoes in a separate pot of boiling salted water. For both of these, you want to start in cold water in the pot, bring it to boiling, then simmer until fork-tender.

When the celery root is tender, run it though a food mill or ricer on the finest setting. Taste the puree - either there will be small, tough fibers, or there won't. If there are tough fibers, run the puree through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the fibers. At this point the puree will be the consistency of applesauce.

Return the celery root puree to the pot and add the butter. Cook, stirring as needed, until the extra water is evaporated and the texture resembles mashed potatoes.

Meanwhile, rice the potatoes.

When the celery root puree has reached the correct consistency, add the riced potatoes to the pot, along with the heavy cream. Stir to combine, then taste. Add salt, if needed, and add more cream if the potatoes seem dry. Add several generous grinds of black pepper, stir to combine, and take the mixture off the heat. Let it cool a bit before adding the egg, or refrigerate and continue the next day.

When you're ready to continue, heat the oven to 375 degrees. If you've just taken a roast out of the oven, you're already there, or at least close. If you need to cook other things at other temperatures, it's fine. The potatoes won't mind if they're cooked at a slightly higher or lower temperature - they'll just take a little more or less time to cook.

Since the vegetables are completely cooked, we're just looking for some browning, some melted cheese, and a hot interior to cook the egg.

Line 2 baking sheets with silicone mats.

Add the eggs to the potatoes and mix well. Working in batches, put the potato mixture in a piping bag fitted with a large decorative tip. Pipe mounded circles of potatoes onto the baking sheets. I made 24 mounds, 12 on each sheet. Be as decorative as you like. You can make them all the same (hah! as if!) or make each one different (more likely!)

I actually like to make them different sizes. I'm a big proponent of letting people have as much of whatever they want, so if folks have smaller appetites, they can choose a smaller flower. Those with larger appetites can choose a larger one (or two or three small ones. I don't judge.)

For an added garnish, grate cheese (I used a mild cheddar) on top of some or all, or put a small cube of cheese in the center. Sprinkle with paprika, if desired. An extra sprinkle of black pepper or even some scattered herbs would also be fine.

Bake at 375 degrees until the cheese (if used) has melted and there's some browning on the edges of the potatoes and on the ridges of the piping design. Timing will depend on how warm or cool the potatoes were when you started, as well as oven temp and the size of your potato mounds, but check at 15 minutes and figure it might take up to 25.

Carefully remove the mounds from the trays using a small spatula for serving.

To enter to win:

Anolon is giving away one 3.5-quart Nouvelle Copper straining saucepan with lid to one of my lucky readers.

• To enter, just leave a comment letting me know how you'd make this dish your own? What would you add, swap, or change? This is the only required entry.
• For an optional second entry, Like Anolon on Facebook or follow on Twitter, and leave a comment here telling me which you've done.

Contest begins NOW and ends on Saturday, November 30 at midnight, Mountain time. US residents only, 18 years and older. Comments must be made on THIS blog post and not left elsewhere or sent by email. Prize will be shipped to the winner from Anolon. All usual Cookistry rules apply.

This post was sponsored by Anolon. Opinions and commentary are my own.

Stuffing Buns

No, these buns aren't made from stuffing - they're made to taste like stuffing.

Of course, every family's stuffing recipe is different, and some are very, very different. But this one hits all the typical flavor notes.

If you have any leftover buns, they make great croutons. Just cut them into cubes and drizzle with just  a little olive oil and toast them in the oven until they're completely dry. Your salads will thank you.

At this size these are perfect dinner rolls, or for slider-sized sandwiches. Make them a little larger for more hefty leftover sandwiches, if you like.

If you want to guild the lily a little bit, you could add some dried cranberries to the dough. Mix them in during the last step. About 1/4 cup will be just enough.

Stuffing Buns
Makes 24 buns

1 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
2 1/2 cups (11 1/4 ounces) bread flour
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 tablespoon dry celery flakes
1 tablespoon dry parsley
1 teaspoon dried chives
1 teaspoon dried toasted onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon dry lemon thyme
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the water, sugar, yeast, flour, poultry seasoning, celery flakes, parsley, chives, onion flakes, and thyme. Knead with the dough hook until the dough is smooth - except, of course, for the herbs, which will make the dough a little bumpy.

Add the salt and butter and continue kneading until the butter is completely incorporated.

Cover the bowl and set aside until the dough has doubled in size, about 50 minutes.

When the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal, and dust your work surface with flour.

Turn the dough out and divide into 24 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and place the finished balls onto the prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until the buns have doubled in size and an indent remains if you press the dough lightly with a fingertip.

Remove the plastic wrap and bake at 350 degrees until the buns are nicely browned, about 30 minutes. Remove the buns from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack.

Pumpkin Cream Pie (with a no-cook filling!)

There's a recipe for chilled, no-cook pumpkin pie that uses Cool Whip and pumpkin puree. I've been thinking about that recipe for a while. I like the idea, since it's a lot lighter than traditional pumpkin pie - which I think can be way too dense and filling, particularly after a big meal.

I love pumpkin cheesecake, but that's pretty darned rich. It can be a little fluffier and lighter on the tastebuds than traditional pumpkin pie, but it's still really really rich.

Then we have this cream pie.

Whipped cream is still cream - but it's got a lot of air. It adds a frothiness and fluffiness when it's mixed with pumpkin. But it also deflates pretty easily, which is probably why there's that Cool Whip recipe. Cool Whip doesn't deflate.

But ... although I'm fine with quite a number of prepared foods and snacky things, I just don't see the point in Cool Whip when it's so simple to whip cream - and it tastes so much better.

So, I was thinking about that recipe and thinking about how to stabilize whipped cream. Gelatin is one option, which is why I found some recipes for stabilized whipped cream that used marshmallows - it was the gelatin in the marshmallows that did the trick.

But I wanted something even easier. No cooking. Just mixing. Almost as easy as Cool Whip. So, how about instant pectin? I used it before to stabilize whipped cream that I used for a topping, but I wasn't sure what the result would be once I added pumpkin.

Turns out, it was just fine.

And then I decided to make a gingersnap and graham cracker crust for the no-bake filling. It's almost no-bake - just 10(ish) minutes in the oven to "set" the crust so it doesn't turn into crumbs when you cut it.

And then of course I made whipped cream for a garnish. Because that's how I roll.

This was the first run at this concept and I might tweak it a bit, but so far I'm pretty darned happy with the results. Feel free to taste and tweak the seasoning. This wasn't super-sweet, but that's how I like it.

This pie is best made a day ahead of serving, if you've got the patience to do that. The crust is a little bit crunchy at first, but after a day in the refrigerator, it loses the crunch but doesn't crumble when you cut it.

Pumpkin Cream Pie

For the crust:
24 gingersnaps

2 graham crackers
Pinch of salt
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar

For the filling:
2 cups heavy cream or whipping cream
1 tablespoon instant pectin
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

For the whipped cream topping:
2 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of sugar

To make the crust:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Put all the crust ingredients in a food processor and process until you have wet crumbs - there shouldn't be any bits of butter, and the crumbs should be a consistent size. You can, in theory, over-process this until you have cookie butter, so don't walk away from it for too long. Just process to crumbs.

Dump the crumbs into a 9-inch pie pan and press the crumb mixture into the bottom and sides of the pan. At first, it will seem like a lot of crumbs, but it will compact a lot.

Bake the crust until it's just barely browned - about 10 minutes. Put the pan on a rack and let it cool completely.

To make the pie filling:

Put the whipped cream in a bowl and sprinkle the pectin on top. Add the vanilla extract and begin whipping. When the mixture starts to thicken, add the sugar and keep whipping until you have peaks. I did this by hand - it didn't take long - but you can use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer if you prefer.

Combine the pumpkin puree, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves in a small bowl. Mix well, then add this in several additions to the whipped cream mixture until it's well blended.

Use this to fill your prepared pie shell - this will fill a regular 9-inch shell with leftovers, if you fill it evenly - or you can mound it, if you prefer. But the leftovers make a nice mousse. I haven't measured it in a deep-dish pan, put it should be enough to fill that.

To make the whipped cream for garnish:

Remember how I said that I don't mind whipping cream? Well, in this case, I used my nitrous cream whipper, because I wanted to be able to keep the whipped cream on hand and use it for several different things I had planned during the week. So I used the whipper.

If you don't happen to have a nitrous cream whipper, just whip by hand or with an electric mixer. This makes a lot of whipped cream - more than you'll need for the pie. But it's the holidays - I'm sure you'll find something to do with the extra.

Just combine all the ingredients, whisk to make sure it's all blended, and pour it into the cream whipper. Charge with nitrous according to manufacturer's directions, and dispense as needed.

Turkey Crepes for World Diabetes Day #WDD

In my house, necessity often the mother of "why did I think THAT was a good idea?" But it always amazes me how often the crazy things I try actually work.

In this case, I wanted to make crepes. I had a lovely crepe pan from Anolon, and I wanted to use it. I had the book Crepes by Martha Holmberg, so I figured I could use one of the recipes for the crepe batter. And then it all went sideways, because I didn't have nearly enough milk. Feh.

But I still wanted to make crepes. Without going to the store. So I started to think about what I could use instead of milk - juice? water?

Aha! Heavy cream! I had that in the refrigerator!

But I knew that would be way too heavy, so I figure that if I mixed the cream with water and didn't use any other butter or fat, I might have something I could work with. So I cobbled together a recipe.

I used the instructions from the book for technique and the basic ratio of liquid to flour, but the rest is my own strange invention. And it worked. Perfectly. I was sooooo happy!

Well, sort of. Because, you see, this post is for World Diabetes Day and it's sponsored by Anolon and Microplane. I don't know that much about cooking for diabetics. but Shelby from Diabetic Foodie passed along some tips. My filling follows her rules, with lowfat turkey and vegetables, (although it also has a roux base) ... but those crepes ... well, they've got the heavy cream and the white flour. But on the other hand, they've got white wheat flour which is a whole grain and ther's a lot of eggs, and those are a good protein.

So, I tried. I think overall, this is a decent dish. I used homemade stock with the fat removed, and even though the crepes might have been less than perfect, one crepe with a nice salad isn't too awful, right?

And then I also made a salad. Mmmmmm.... salad.

Wow, I felt like I was trying to get a good grade there. But I don't have a lot of practice cooking for diabetics. It's a bit of a challenge.

Obviously I'm not your go-to source for all things diabetic, but it's not about me, it's about spreading the word. More on that in a bit.

And a GIVEAWAY courtesy of Anolon and Microplane. Isn't that awesome?

But first, the recipe.

Crepes
Makes 16

1 cup water
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup white wheat flour

Blitz the water, cream, eggs, and salt in a blender. You're just looking to mix it up, not make a smoothie. Add the flours (I'm thinking this could have been all white whole wheat, but I didn't want to push my luck on the first try) and blend until there are no bits or lumps of flour. Scrape down the sides of the blender if you need to, and blend again.

Let the mixture sit at least 5 minutes for the flour to hydrate, or up to 30 minutes at room temperature. You can make this well in advance - just refrigerate it. But really, it takes no time at all to blend, so it's not like you need to have a vat of it stored somewhere for emergencies.

Heat a crepe pan on medium heat. You can make crepes in different sort of pan, but let's assume you own a crepe pan, hmmmm? The pan should be warm enough so a bit of butter sizzles but it doesn't immediately brown or burn. Use a teeny bit of butter and wipe it with a paper towel. Olive oil would also work, I guess, but butter is traditional. I used probably a teaspoon of butter for all 16 crepes.

The batter should be the consistency of heavy cream - not as thick as pancake batter. If it's too thick, add water to thin it. After you've sizzled the butter on (or just wipe with an oiled/buttered paper towel, take the pan off the heat and pour the batter - eyeball about a quarter cup - into the center of the pan while you start swirling the pan to coat the whole bottom of the pan. If you have too much batter, pour it out. If you have holes, you can add a bit more batter or just deal with the fact that you've got some lacy edges. No big deal.

Put the pan back on the heat and let the crepe cook until the bottom is nicely browned. At that point, the top view will show you that the edges are looking dry and sort of lifting from the pan. If you shake the pan, the crepe will release and slide around. If it's not releasing, it needs more cooking.

Check for brownness underneath, then flip the crepe over. I found that the most foolproof way was to slide the crepe until it was peeking over the edge of the pan, then I grabbed that edge with my fingertips and flipped the crepe over. Easy peasy. The crepe cooked on the second side for maybe 30 seconds.

The first side had prettier browning and the second side was spotty looking. See, the one on the left is a little spotty. That's what the second side looks like after it's cooked.

Then, as the crepes are cooked, just pile them up on a pan or a wire rack. They can be refrigerated if you're making them in advance, or fill them right away.

Crepes can also be frozen.

Turkey Filling
Makes about a quart

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups turkey stock
2 cups mixed frozen vegetables
1 small onion, diced
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 cup julienned zucchini
2 cups cooked turkey breast, medium dice
Salt, to taste

Yes, I have left over turkey already. And it's wonderful. The turkey stock I used was from the turkey carcass, but you could certainly use chicken stock and chicken breasts for this recipe.

Normally, I have a lot of vegetables left over from Thanksgiving dinner that I use for soup and other dishes, but I didn't have much on hand, so I used frozen mixed vegetables along with fresh zucchini and onion.

I julienned the zucchini because I was having fun with the Microplane Slicer that I got. I reviewed it here. It's a handy little devil since it slices and it's got a julienne blade. Even better, the blade stores attached to the slicer in a safe place, so you don't have to keep track of it (I'm prone to mis-placing small parts of things) and the hand guard also attaches to the slicer for storage.

I also used the slicer when I made salad - but more on that later.

So, melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the flour and stir it around and let it cook a minute or two. Add the stock, stirring to get rid of any lumps. Bring to a boil and let it cook for a minute. Add the frozen vegetables, onions, and poultry seasoning. This time when it comes back to a boil, reduce it to a simmer and let it cook until the onions and vegetables are cooked to your liking. Add the zucchini and turkey and cook just long enough to warm them.

Taste for seasoning, and add salt, if desired. If your turkey stock was seasoned, you might not need any at all.

To make the crepes:

Put 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the turkey mixture and roll up - you can tuck in the ends like a burrito, or leave them open - whatever you like. I garnished mine with a dollop of Greek yogurt. If you fill with 1/2 cup, you'll have fatter crepes, but you'll only be able to fill 8 of the 16. If you use 1/4 cup of filling, you'll use up all the crepes. It's up to you.

And ... lets talk about pots and pans a second, shall we?

When I was a kid, my mother wasn't really into this whole "presentation" thing. She was more likely to put a cooking pot on the table than she was to put food in a pretty bowl and serve it. That's just how it was. So that's something that I purposely don't do.

But as part of this Virtual Potluck event, I got this sweet Nouvelle Copper Stainless Steel 9.5 inch covered skillet with two side handles. It's pretty. It's really pretty. It's so pretty that I almost don't want to cook in it. Which is also something I don't do. I use my cooking equipment, I don't display it.

But this pot is really pretty. Oooooh shiny.

And I have one that I'm going to GIVE AWAY. Yuppers, I'm gonna give you one. AND something else.

So, let's talk about salad a second, hmmmm...?

So, to make this little meal just a teeny bit healthier, I made a salad. When it comes to salad, I don't eat them because they're good for me or because I feel like I have to. I actually like salad.
Yeah, I'm weird.

So this one is a mix of butter lettuce, topped with sliced cucumbers, zucchini, and red bell pepper, all sliced on the Microplane slicer.

I didn't use a mixed dressing. Instead, I sprinkled the salad with some Greek spice mix, then squeezed on lemon juice, drizzled with a bit of sherry vinegar, then finished with a chive olive oil. It was really good.

OH! And I'm giving away a Microplane slicer, too! Wheeee!

It's like an early Christmas!

More About Diabetes and why we're posting

* November is National Diabetes Month

* Walgreens and the American Diabetes Association have teamed up to do a pin pad donation campaign. From now until Nov. 30, participate at your local Walgreens by donating $1, $2, $5 or $10 when you use a debit or credit card, and help raise critical funds for resources and educational programs in local communities.

* More than 371 million people have diabetes

* Half of people with diabetes don't know they have it

* Half of the people who die from diabetes are under the age of 60

* In 2012, 4.8 million people died from and 471 billion USD was spent on diabetes

* More facts & figures here.

Now, for a GIVEAWAY!!!

I've got one Microplane Slicer and one Anolon Nouvelle Copper Stainless Steel 9.5 inch covered skillet with two side handles to give away to one lucky winner.

To enter - comments must be left here on the blog, on this post.

1. Leave a comment telling me what your favorite leftover Thanksgiving meal is - this is your mandatory entry. For additional entries:
2. Follow Cookistry on Facebook, then leave a comment telling me you've followed.
3. Follow Microplane on Facebook, them leave a comment telling me you've followed.
4. Follow Anolon on Facebook, then leave a comment telling me you've followed.

Contest is open to US residents only, 18 and older. Winners will be chosen randomly and prizes will be shipped directly by the manufacturer to the winner. Contest ends at midnight, mountain time on Friday, November 22. All usual contest rules apply.

Disclaimer: I received products from both Anolon and Microplane for the purpose of this post.

Other members of Virtual potluck also have giveaways. Go visit Shelby at Diabetic Foodie for a  Advanced 3.5 qt Covered Straining Saucepan and a Microplane Slicer; Milisa at Miss in the Kitchen has an Advanced Bronze 5.25 qt Covered Sauteuse and a Microplane slider; Matt at Thyme in Our Kitchen is giving away a Nouvelle Copper Stainless Steel 12 inch skillet and a Microplane slicer; Theresa from Foodhunter's Guide has a Nouvelle Copper Stainless Steel 3 quart covered saute with helper handle and a Microplane slicer; and Susan from 30AEats is giving away an Advanced 5 qt covered saute with helper handle and a Microplane slicer.

Thanksgiving made easy(er) (Sponsored video)

That darned turkey! Are you afraid of ruining it with your poor carving skilz? Hey, everything's online. Like this video on HOW TO CARVE A TURKEY. It's only one minute of video. It will take you a little longer than that to carve yours, but that's because you're going to be sneaking bits of crackly crispy skin and snagging a few bites as you go.

What? You don't do that. Um, well, neither do I, I guess.

And what goes with turkey? POTATOES.

Here's a quick video on how to make mashed potatoes. I thought everyone grew up knowing how to make mashed potatoes, but given some of the un-good potatoes I've eaten, perhaps there are a few people who could benefit from this one.

And really, there are good tips here.

Last, but not least, let's have some vegetables. Or at least PRETEND we're having vegetables, as we stuff ourselves with stuffing and gravy.

But really, if you're going to make vegetables, you might as well blanch them ahead of time. It keeps the color bright and makes the final cooking a little more civilized. I like blanching those little teeny fancy green beans - you know, the hairy corvairs? Or haricot verts, if you prefer. I like to blanch them, then give them a quick reheat on the stove in some butter before serving.

This method works for a lot of different vegetables, actually.

So there ya go. Three simple videos to help make your Thanksgiving just a teeny bit less stressful. Now pass the gravy, please.

This post is sponsored by Campbell's Kitchen