Mandarin Orange Salad

Ingredients:

3 to 4 c. salad greens broken (leaf, Bibb lettuce, spinach)

1/4 c. sliced onions

1 (11 oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained

1/4 c. slivered almonds, toasted in butter

1/4 c. vegetable oil

2 tbsp. vinegar

2 tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Combine the greens, onions, mandarin oranges and almonds.
Make the dressing with the vegetable oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours before tossing with the salad ingredients.

Apple Pie

This is a very basic but good recipe. You can make the crust or you can use a premade one. Here in Spain, you will need to get in in the frozen section.

CRUST (recipe makes one double crust):
2 1/2 cups white flour

2 tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup cold butter, broken into small pieces

5 tbsp. cold vegetable shortening

8 tbsp. ice water
Measure the flour, sugar and salt togetherl. Stir to combine. Add the chilled butter pieces and shortening to the bowl. Cut them in with a pastry cutter or knife. Don't over mix them. Add the ice water. Mix until the dough holds together (add a bit more water, if necessary).
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead it together, then divide in half. Flatten each half into a disk, wrap in saran wrap and chill for at least half an hour. Roll out one of the disks on a lightly floured surface until you have a circle that's about 12 inches in diameter.
Put the circle in a 9" pie plate, trimming any extra dough from the edges with a sharp knife. Return it to the refrigerator until you are ready to make the pie.
Add filling (see below)
Roll out the second ball of dough and cover top. Use a fork or your fingers to pinch the edges together. cut a couple slits in the top.

FILLING
1/3 to 2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt 8 medium sized apples (a medium apple = about 1 cup)

2 tablespoons margarine
Heat oven to 425 F or 220 C degrees.
Peel, core and slice the apples. Try to keep the size of the slices even.
Mix sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt in large bowl.
Stir in apples.
Pour into pastry-lined pie plate.
Dot with margarine.
Cover with top crust and seal the edges. Cut slits in the top.

OPTIONAL: Cover edge with 3-inch strip of aluminum foil to prevent too much browning.
Remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking.
Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust.

Easy Pie Crust

This recipe is from Carrie B., who used to live in Barcelona, and is now in Austria.

Mix in slightly warmed pie plate:

1 1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 T. milk

1/2 c. cooking oil

Fill and bake

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar - or 1 cup Splenda, or 3/4 cup honey (honey may make a heavier pie, though)
1.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
one half teaspoon ground ginger
one half teaspoon salt (optional, I don't use any)
4 large eggs
3 cups pumpkin puree

1.5 cans (12oz each) of evaporated milk (I use the nonfat version)

Mix well using a hand blender or mixer.

Pour into the pie crust. Fit right up to about one quarter to one half inch from the very top.
Don't be surprised if the mixture is very runny, especially using the homemade puree. It may start as a soupy liquid, but it will firm up nicely in the oven!

Bake at 425 F (210 C ) for the first 15 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350 F ( 175 C ) and bake another 45 to 60 minutes, until a clean knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Done! Ready to eat?

Pumpkin for Making Pies

I found this information on a webpage and thought some of us would appreciate this. It is a step by step to prepare to puree for pumpkin pie! So, if you do not have a Libby´s can, you can still enjoy your pie during the holidays!

Step 1 - Get your pie pumpkin
"Pie pumpkins" are smaller, sweeter, less grainy textured pumpkins than the usual jack-o-lantern types. Grocery stores usually carry them in late September through December in the U.S. Note: the Libby's can of cooked pumpkin is just there for reference - it is the small can, so that gives you an idea of the size of a typical pie pumpkin. They're only about 6 to 8 inches in diameter (about 20 to 24 inches in circumference). If you're in a pinch and can't find a pie pumpkin, here's a tip: butternut squash taste almost the same! Commercial canned pumpkin is from a variety of butternut, not true pumpkins! If you DO use a regular Jack O' Lantern type pumpkin, you may need to add about 25% more sugar and run the cooked pumpkin through a blender or food processor to help smooth it out.
Just like selecting any squash, look for one that is firm, no bruises or soft spots, and a good orange color. One 6" pie pumpkin usually makes one 10 inch deep dish pie and a bit extra; or 2 9 inch shallow pies!

Step 2 - Prepare the pumpkin for cooking
Wash the exterior of the pumpkin in cool or warm water, no soap.
Cut the pumpkin in half. A serrated knife and a sawing motion works best - a smooth knife is more likely to slip and hurt you! A visitor suggests using a hand saw.

Step 3 - Scoop out the seeds...
And scrape the insides. You want to get out that stringy, dangly stuff that coats the inside surface. I find a heavy ice cream scoop works great for this.

Step 4 - Cooking the pumpkin

Cook the pumpkin in plenty of water at the stove top. Normally it takes 20 or 30 minutes in total. It should be tender.

Step 5 - Scoop out the cooked pumpkin
Whether you cook the pumpkin on the stove, microwave, or even the oven, once it is cooked until it is soft, it is easy to scoop out the guts with a broad, smooth spoon, (such as a tablespoon). Use the spoon to gently lift and scoop the cooked pumpkin out of the skin. It should separate easily an in fairly large chucks, if the pumpkin is cooked enough.
Many times the skin or rind will simply lift off with your fingers (see the photo at left) . I'll bet you didn't realize making your own pumpkin glop... err, "puree" was this easy!
If your pumpkin puree has standing, free water, you may want to let it sit for 30 minutes and then pour off any free water. That will help prevent you pie from being too watery! Beyond, that, I have not found that the water makes a difference - I wouldn't be TOO concerned about it! Tip: To eliminate watery pumpkin I strain my pureed pumpkin through a cloth overnight.

Step 6 - Puree the pumpkin
To get a nice, smooth consistency, I use a Pillsbury hand blender. By blending it, you give the pie a smooth, satiny texture; rather than the rough graininess that is typical of cooked squashes.
A regular blender works, too. Or a food processor or even just a hand mixer with time and patience. With the hand blender, it just takes 2 or 3 minutes!

Step 7 - Done with the pumpkin!
You may freeze the pie filling (but NOT "can" it!)

Then follow your own recipe for Pumpkin Pie. I will place one in this blog totally from scratch!

Turkey Roasting

I am not the person to talk about this. I am still learning after 15 years of trying to do it well. Each year I keep the good things of last year and add a new idea to the whole process. I found this website below to be very good for me. I hope it helps you!

http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Turkey-Roasting-101/Detail.aspx

Happy Roasting!!

Jiffy´s Corn Casserole

This has become my favorite corn casserole. The only reason not to make it is that sometimes I cannot get my hands on a Jiffy cornbread mix here in Spain!

Ingredients:
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can creamed corn
2 eggs, beaten
1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 stick butter, melted (or 1/2 c. oil)
1 c. sour cream
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. garlic powder (opt.)
Shredded cheese (opt.)

Mix all ingredients except cheese. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top, if desired. Bake in casserole dish or 9"x13" baking dish for 30 to 45 minutes or until fully cooked in center.

Corn Casserole

Ingredients:
1 c. cream sweet corn (I open a can of corn, add a little sugar and cream it with the food processor keeping the water, if needed I add a little milk to help)
1 can kernel corn
1 1/2 c. crushed saltine crackers
1 c. grated Cheddar cheese
3 eggs
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. sweet milk (I just use regular whole milk)
Mix all ingredients and bake in a greased casserole dish for 45 minutes at 450 degrees or around 200º C.

Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients
· 1 cup (200 g) sugar
· 1 cup (255 mL) water
· 4 cups (1 12-oz package) fresh or frozen cranberries (I found both versions in Hipercor and the fresh kind in Carrefour)
· Optional Pecans, orange peel, raisins, currants, blueberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice.
Method
1 Wash and pick over cranberries. In a saucepan bring to a boil water and sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cranberries, return to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes or until cranberries burst.
2 At this point you can add all number of optional ingredients. We typically mix in a half a cup of roughly chopped pecans with or without a few strips of orange peel. You can add a cup of raisins or currants. You can add up to a pint of fresh or frozen blueberries for added sweetness. Spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice can be added too.
3 Remove from heat. Cool completely at room temperature and then chill in refrigerator. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.
Cranberry sauce base makes 2 1/4 cups.

Sweet Potato Casserole

INGREDIENTS
4 cups sweet potato, cubed
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (You find packed brown sugar on Productos Latinos at Carrefour)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans (here in Spain it is not easy to find "pecanas", I use walnuts and it works well. Hipercor usually have it but be ready to pay for it!)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Put sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan with water to cover. Cook over medium high heat until tender; drain and mash.
In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish.
In medium bowl, mix the sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until the topping is lightly brown.

Green Bean Casserole from Scratch

I am collecting some Thanksgiving recipes from scratch. This is the first of a few I found, I will share all of them with you!

Green Bean Casserole From Scratch
2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and cut in half
4 cups whole milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound button mushrooms,
sliced Fried onion rings: 2 large yellow onions, sliced into thin rings
Whole milk to cover onions
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Vegetable oil, for frying rings
Heat a pot with plenty of generously salted water. When the water comes to a full rolling boil, add the beans and cook until just tender. Do not crowd the beans or they will turn gray (cook in batches if necessary).
Fill a large bowl with ice water and when beans are done, drain and place in the ice water. Once beans have chilled, remove from the ice water and set aside.
In a medium pot, bring the milk to a boil. While the milk is heating, melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan, then add the flour, mixing with a wooden spoon. Cook flour mixture over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly and making sure the flour doesn't brown.
Very gradually pour the boiling milk into the flour mixture, whisking constantly to ensure there are no lumps. Continue to cook the milk mixture, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Heat a large saute pan over high heat. When hot, add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and immediately follow with the sliced mushrooms, even before the butter has completely melted. (This will keep the butter from burning while allowing the pan to stay hot enough so the mushrooms saute.) Saute the mushrooms until lightly browned, and season with salt and pepper. Pour milk mixture into pan with the mushrooms and cook together for a few minutes to meld the flavors.
To make onion rings: Place onion rings in a bowl and cover with milk. Place in refrigerator for at least 10 minutes or up to an hour. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Place enough oil in pot to cover the onion rings (you can fry in batches, if necessary). Heat to 375° F. Strain milk from onions. Coat onion rings with flour mixture, then fry in the hot oil. Once lightly browned, remove from oil and drain on paper towels
To assemble the casserole: Preheat oven to 350° F. In a large mixing bowl, mix the green beans, mushroom mixture and 1 cup of the onion rings. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper, if necessary. Spray nonstick cooking spray into an 8-inch square baking pan or any suitable size that will accommodate the beans. Pour mixture into pan and top with the remaining fried onion rings. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until hot, and serve.
Note: Any component of this casserole can be done a day or two ahead, and the whole casserole can be assembled a day in advance.