An Irish Feast for the non-Irish Joie

I do not have a lick of Irish in me, but I love the food and festivities associated with the day.
Even if you are like me and lack the Irish gene, St. Patrick's day is a day where we can all be Irish.  So lift your glass of Guinness high and get cooking!

On the menu:

Guinness braised corned beef
Whole wheat Irish soda bread with butter
Colcannon
Steamed carrots with butter
Guinness


Guinness braised corned beef by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

1 corned beef roast
the spice packet that comes with your corned beef
1 bottle of Guinness

Directions:

1.  Place your corned beef in the insert of your crock pot.
2.  Open the spice packet that came with the corned beef and sprinkle on top of the beef.
3.  Pour the bottle of Guinness over the corned beef.
4.  Cover the crock pot and set on LOW for 8-10 hours.
5.  Remove the corned beef from the crock pot.  Trim off all of the external fat and slice the roast into pieces going against the grain of the meat.

Colcannon by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

2 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-2 inch chunks.
1 bunch of scallions (about 8), white part only, sliced thinly
1 small head of green cabbage, cored and sliced thinly
2 Tbls. butter
1/2 cup 2% milk
1 scant tsp. salt
black pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  In a tall soup pot, place the potatoes and add cool water until the potatoes are just covered.
2.  Sprinkle the scallions on top of the potatoes
3.  Layer the shredded cabbage on top of the scallions
4.  Cover the pot and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
5.  Drain the contents in a colander and return them to the pot.
6.  Add butter, milk, salt and pepper and mash with a potato masher until potato chunks are thoroughly mashed.

Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bread is one excuse I have to pretend to be Irish on St. Patrick's day.  This dense bread with currants speaks to my soul.  I wanted to "healthy" up the recipe I usually use and came up with this recipe.  It gives me an excuse now to make Irish Soda bread more often!

I'm sending this recipe over to The Daily Spud for the:

If you're looking for some St. Paddy's Day inspiration, or perhaps just some food gawking, head on over there March 17 for what will, I'm sure, be an awesome round-up of Irish favorites.


Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbls. unsalted butter
1 egg
1 c. buttermilk
1 c. currents

Directions:

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Prepare a nine inch pie pan by spraying it with vegetable oil spray.
2.  Place flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda and butter in your food processor.  Pulse until mixture is thoroughly combined.
3.  In a medium sized bowl, mix together the egg, buttermilk and currents.
4.  Dump flour mixture into the egg mixture and mix until completely combined.  It will be very wet.
5.  Spread the dough in the pie pan so that it fills the pan.
6.  Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown on top.
7.  Let cool and cut into wedges to serve.

Artichoke Bread

The inspiration for this artichoke bread came from Katherine at Smoky Mountain Cafe and I have to say, it is one fabulous recipe.  I modified it from Katherine's recipe because of lack of all the ingredients in the right amount, but this bread came out fantastic.  It is decadent and gooey, and would suffice as a main course in its own right.  Because this recipe makes two halves of a good sized loaf of bread, and it is so filling, we had 1/2 of the loaf of bread left-over.  I wrapped up the leftover half in foil, put it in the refrigerator, and the next day threw it in a 400 degree F oven for 20 minutes.  It was still as crunchy and gooey as it was the day prior.  Mmmm,  mmm.

Artichoke bread by Joie de vivre adapted from Katherine at Smoky Mountain Cafe

Ingredients:

One large loaf of crusty Italian or Tuscan type bread

1/4 c. unsalted butter

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and pressed through garlic press

1 14 oz. can chopped artichoke hearts, drained

6 oz. shredded Mozzarella cheese

4 oz. grated parmesan cheese

1/2 c. sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1.  Cut the loaf of bread in half, lengthwise.  Scoop some bread out to form a well in each of the bread halves.  You may save the scooped out bread for bread crumbs or discard.  Set aside loaf halves.

2.  Place your oven racks no higher than the middle position in the oven.  Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

3.  In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

4.  Remove from the heat and stir in the artichoke hearts, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and sour cream.  Stir to blend together.  Scoop 1/2 of the mixture into each of the bread loaf halves.

5.  Place bread halves on a baking sheet, sprinkle each half with half of the cheddar cheese, cover lightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, remove foil and turn on the broiler.  Broil from the distance of the middle rack until cheese is bubbling and starting to brown and the edges of the bread are browning, about 5 minutes.  Watch the bread carefully as it is easy to burn it under the broiler.

6.  Let the bread cool for 5 minutes and cut into slices.

Sourdough White Sandwich Bread

I recently found a little and inexpensive sourdough pamphlet for sale on Amazon called Baking with Sourdough by Sara Pitzer.  Now that I have two pots of sourdough, a rye levain and a potato flour starter, I must keep them fed regularly and that means finding things to make with them.  This pamphlet has some great ideas for using sourdough.  Ever since the new year, I have been making my own bread and I think I finally found one that hubby will like to make sandwiches with, rather than just eating hunks of with soup.  It wasn't the quickest recipe, sourdough breads never seem to be, but it made two huge, beautiful loaves with good crust and nice crumb.  My potato flour starter is VERY WET, so I had to use more flour than the recipe called for.  Use your judgement when kneading, add more flour until the dough comes together in a nice smooth dough.

Sourdough White Sandwich Bread adapted extensively from Baking with Sourdough by Sara Pitzer

Ingredients:

1 c. very wet sourdough starter

1 1/4 c. high gluten unbleached white flour

1 c. warm water

1 1/2 c. whole milk

2 Tbls. honey

2 tsp. salt

2 Tbls. butter

6-7 1/2 c. high gluten unbleached white flour (depending on how wet your starter is)

Directions:

1.  The morning before you want to bake, combine the first three ingredients in a large bowl.  Cover with Saran Wrap and leave on the counter for 24 hours.

2.  The next day, combine the milk, honey, salt and butter in a small saucepan and heat the milk until the butter melts.  Allow the milk mixture to cool slightly and add it to the mixture that had been sitting overnight.  

3.  Begin incorporating the flour with a wooden spoon.  When you can no longer stir it, turn the mixture out onto a heavily floured counter and begin kneading, adding flour as necessary, until dough is smooth and elastic.

4.  Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover and allow to double in bulk, about 3 hours.  Punch dough down, cover again, and again allow to double in bulk, about 1-2 hours.

5.  Separate the dough into two or three loaves depending on the size of your loaf pans.  Dough should fill about half of the pan.  Brush the top of the dough with butter, cover and let rise until the dough is rising out of the pan, 1-2 hours.

6.  Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees, F.  Bake the loaves for 45-50 minutes until nicely browned.  Cool for 5 minutes in the pans on a wire rack, then remove the bread from the pans and let the loaves cool completely on a rack before serving.

Sourdough Savarin

Gorgeous isn't it?  I've been having so much fun with my sourdough starter, that I decided to try my hand at a savarin, which is a yeasted cake, soaked in rum and baked in a ring mold, and adapt it to use my starter.  I'm not sure I could reproduce it if I wanted to, but I'm going to try.  Since I used the sourdough starter, this recipe was all about patience.  I started it the night before I baked it to give the yeast a chance to do their thing, and then it had an additional 4-5 hours of rising time the next day.  I'm sending this beauty over to Susan at Wild Yeast for her YeastSpotting event.

Ingredients:

3/4 c. very wet potato flour sourdough starter

1/2 c. very warm water

1 1/3 c. high gluten unbleached white flour

1 Tbls. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1.  The night before you want to bake the cake, combine the sourdough starter, water, flour, sugar and salt.  Mix until the flour is moistened, it should resemble cottage cheese.  Add more water if needed.  Cover bowl and leave over night.

2.  The next morning, mix in:

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/3 c. high gluten unbleached white flour

3.  Knead the dough lightly, and add in:

1/4 c. unsalted, melted butter

4.  Knead the dough until the butter is completely incorporated and the dough is smooth and pliable.  Put the dough into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise about 1 hour.

5.  Lightly oil a Bundt pan.  Gently place the dough into the Bundt pan, spreading it out with your fingers so that it is even and fills the pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place until dough has risen to about an inch below the rim of the pan.  For me, this took about 4 hours.

6.  Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Remove the plastic wrap and bake the savarin until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean (about 45 minutes)

7.  Immediately unmold the savarin and place it on a cooling rack (Below is a picture)

Unmolded savarin fresh from the oven

8.  Once cooled, make a simple sugar syrup by adding to a saucepan:

1 c. water

2 c. sugar

Grated zest of 1 lemon

9.  Put the saucepan over medium-high heat and bring the syrup to a boil.  After the mixture has boiled, remove from heat and add 1 tsp. vanilla extract

10.  Place the cooling rack on top of a cookie pan with sides.  Immediately soak the cake with the very hot sugar syrup by brushing it on thickly.  Pour the syrup that has drained into the pan back into the saucepan, re-boil it, and then pour that over the cake again.

11.  After soaking the cake with the sugar syrup twice, brush the cake with 1/3 c. rum

12.  Warm about 1/2 cup apricot or peach jelly in a small saucepan until melted.  Brush this over the cake after the rum.

13.  To serve, you can fill the center with whipped cream or serve as is with an accompaniment of sliced berries or serve plain.

Savarin after the first sugar syrup coating

Light Rye Bread

After two long weeks of daily feedings, my rye sourdough is finally strong enough to use!  It bubbled out of its jar (how could it not with the showoff potato flour sourdough showing it what it was supposed to do!) yesterday.  As I was cleaning it up and preparing to throw some out so it wouldn't bubble out of it's jar again, I stopped myself and scooped out a portion to use instead!  I wish I would have had time to let the bread cool thoroughly before cutting (that is always the best way), but it still made a mighty tasty accompaniment to lunch.  If you're new to sourdough, here is how you can make your own.

Light Rye Bread by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

For levain:

1 oz. rye sourdough starter

8 oz. rye flour

8 oz. warmish water

Directions:  

1.  This is a two day process.  Start this bread in the morning to eat it the evening of the next day.  I'll give a sample timeline with the directions.  At 7 am, mix together levain ingredients in a large bowl.  Cover with Saran Wrap and leave 10-12 hours.

Dough Ingredients:

All of levain

8 1/2 oz. bread flour

1 1/4 tsp. salt

4 oz. warmish water

1.  Around 6pm, mix together all of the dough ingredients in a large bowl.  Cover with Saran Wrap.  Leave to rise approximately 2-3 hours.  Around 9pm, fold gently, re-cover and leave to rise overnight.

2.  Around 7am the next morning, place a large square of parchment paper on your pizza peel.  Sprinkle the parchment heavily with flour, sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and turn the dough out onto the parchment paper.  Try your best to shape it into a circular loaf.  Cover the loaf with the large bowl and let rest.

3.  Around 11 am, pre-heat your oven with a pizza stone inside to 450 degrees F.  Slash the top of your dough to allow for better rising.  When the oven is preheated, slide the dough, parchment and all, onto the pizza stone.  Spray the dough and the inside walls of the oven with water, every 2 minutes, for the first 10 minutes of baking, to create steam.

4.  Bake for an additional 40 minutes.  Let the bread cool completely before cutting for dinner!

I am submitting my humble rye loaf to Susan over at WildYeast for her YeastSpotting event!

Sourdough Rye Bread

After all of my Sourdough recipes this week, some of you are probably wondering whether or not this is turning into a bread blog!  No, however, I love making good food, that includes bread, and I've been having so much fun with my new sourdough starter that I thought I'd share.  If you are interested in making your own sourdough starter to try this bread, here is one of my past posts where I give directions on how to make it.  This bread was VERY dense.  It made me wonder if I didn't give it enough time to rise.  However it was still very rustic, hearty and satisfying.  Again, I'm sending this one over to Susan at WildYeast for her weekly YeastSpotting event.

Sourdough Rye Bread adapted from Rich B's recipe by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

4 c. Rye Flour

2 c. Whole wheat flour

2 c. all purpose flour

6 Tbls. wheat gluten

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbls. vegetable oil

1 c. sourdough starter

3 c. warm water

In a very large bowl or a heavy duty mixer, mix together the flours, wheat gluten and salt.  Add to this the oil, sourdough starter and water.  If hand kneading, turn dough out onto the counter and knead for about 10 minutes.  Do the same if you are letting the mixer knead.  Place the dough ball in a large greased bowl, cover with Saran Wrap, and set in a warm place to rise for about 4 hours.

After 4 hours, gently deflate the dough, divide it in two and again set these two balls of dough in separate greased bowls, cover and let rise another 2-3 hours.  Gently shape loaves and place on a cornmeal covered pizza peel or the back of a cookie tray.  Slash the loaves on top with a sharp knife.  This will help them rise in the oven prettier.

Pre-heat your oven with a baking stone in it to as hot as it will get (mine was about 530 degrees F)

Slide your loaves onto the baking stone in your preheated oven.  Spritz the sides of your oven with water from a spray bottle to make steam and quickly shut the door.  After 1 minute, quickly spritz the inside of the oven again to make steam and again shut the door.  Repeat this procedure every minute for the first 10 minutes of baking.  This will help the crust to get crisp.  When your 10 minutes of spritzing is finished, set the oven timer to bake the bread for an additional 35-45 minutes.  The bread will sound a little hollow when you thunk it on the bottom.  Remove to cooling racks and let cool before cutting.

Sourdough Waffles

Oh how I have been having fun with my sourdough starter!  I decided to tinker with my Sourdough Pancake recipe and came up with these yummy waffles.  They were crispy on the outside, light on the inside, and had a slight sourdough aroma, perfect!  I'm sending this one over to Susan at WildYeast for her YeastSpotting event.

Sourdough Waffles by Joie de vivre

The night before you wish to make the waffles, mix together in a large bowl to make the "sponge":

2.5 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. sourdough starter (I used a thick potato flour starter for this recipe)

2 1/4 c. warm water

After mixing, cover the bowl with Saran Wrap and set aside overnight.

In the morning, add to the "sponge" the following:

2 eggs

1/4 c. milk

1/4 c. vegetable oil

2 Tbls. sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Mix well and set mixture aside to rest for at least 10 minutes.  While the batter is resting, heat your waffle iron.  When ready, spray waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray between each waffle.  Follow your waffle irons directions on baking the waffles and remove when ready.

These were fabulous plain, but if you really must, you can add your favorite toppings.

Making your own Sourdough Starter

Look past the picture of the lovely loaf in the foreground to that of the humble jar in the background.  That jar is filled with millions of tiny yeast, the workhorses of so many beautiful loaves of sourdough bread, pancakes and waffles.  After yesterday's post on Sourdough pancakes, I received many wistful comments from readers who aren't as lucky as me and don't know anyone from which to receive some starter, or who once had a starter that has since died.  Don't despair, gentle readers.  It is easy to make your own!

I have had luck with whole wheat sourdough starters and rye sourdough starters.  To get started, all you need is a jug of distilled water, some flour, a scale, and a quart sized mason jar.

How-to make a Rye (or Whole-Wheat) Sourdough starter

(I will give the directions for making a rye sourdough starter, if you would like to make whole wheat starter, merely use whole wheat flour instead of the rye flour, but don't interchange the whole wheat and the rye.  You must keep them separate and have two different starters if you want to do both.)

Day 1:  Place 4 oz. rye flour and 4 oz. distilled water in your quart sized mason jar.  Stir, place lid on and screw on.  Leave on the counter for 24 hours.

Day 2:  You may notice some activity, a little bubbling, a slightly ripe smell, or you may not.  Regardless, remove half of the starter from yesterday and throw out.  Add to the jar another 4 oz. rye flour and 4 oz. distilled water.  Stir, cap, and seal.  Leave on the counter 24 hours.

Day 3:  You will probably see activity and notice a slightly ripe smell to your starter by now.  If not, don't worry!  Again, throw out half of the starter from yesterday, add to the jar another 4 oz. rye flour and 4 oz. of distilled water.  Stir, cap and seal.  Leave on the counter.

Keep feeding it this way until you can see the bubbles and activity forming about 6-8 hours after feeding.  This may take a few weeks.  Be patient!  Once the yeast are busy and bubbling about 6-8 hours after feeding, the yeast are strong enough to use in recipes.  After using the starter in a recipe, feed it again the 4 oz. rye flour and 4 oz. distilled water.  Now however, you may keep it in the refrigerator if you are not using it every day.  You will need to feed it about once a week if you are refrigerating it (and after every time you use it).  If you haven't used it, throw out half the starter and feed it 4 oz. of rye flour and 4 oz. distilled water.  If you have used it, don't throw any extra out, just feed it the 4 oz. of rye flour and 4 oz. of distilled water.

See, it is not difficult to make your own starter, it just takes a little baby-sitting.  Think of your yeast as your "pets" as my friend Rich does, and it will be easier to remember to feed them!  Below you can see my bubbly rye starter, about 12 hours after feeding, behind the jar of the show-off potato flour yeast.  Have fun, and when you try it, be sure and leave a comment letting me know!

A Yeast Love Story: Sourdough Pancakes

Last Thursday evening, I was given a very precious, precious gift.  An Adam's peanut butter jar filled with a sourdough starter that Rich, one of my fellow choir members, has had going for the past 20 years.  Twenty years!  It felt so covert, he secretly passed me the jar after practice and I gasped in glee, knowing what it was.  He was trusting me with what he calls his "pets" (and sometimes he even calls them his "babies")  I knew that if he was giving me a sample of his pets, I must be a responsible baker in his esteem.

Along with the pets, came feeding instructions and a few recipes.  I decided to follow his recipe for sourdough pancakes (which turned out great by the way) which I needed to start Friday night.  I mixed up the required amount of starter and flour and liquid and set it aside, then I continued reading the directions, "Now is the time to feed the starter."  I had just bought potato flour (the preferred meal of the pets) that day from the health food store, so I was ready.  I put in 3 Tbls. of potato flour, 3/4 c. sugar and filled the rest of the jar up with water as the recipe stated.  Then I started shaking it up.  "Huh," says my faint mental alarm, "Why is it a different color?  And why is it so thick?" I was thinking, as before I fed the starter it was white and very thin.  I then re-read the ingredients, mashed potato flakes, sugar, water.  "Mashed potato flakes?  Uh-oh, did I kill the pets?  Will I never be considered a trusted baker again?"  I followed the rest of the recipe deciding to see what the pets would do before I confessed to the mistake.  The last instruction in the recipe said to crack the lid on the jar to let the pets breathe overnight.  Fortunately, I read that direction.

In the morning, I found that the pets had loved the new food so much, they were overflowing the jar and running down the counter.  (You can see the pets above, my wild yeast rye levain is watching with contempt from the jar in the background) I took the overflowing contents, put them in a quart sized Mason jar, added some more water and again let them sit a bit.  They flooded out of that container too.  After another 8 hours or so (and spooning bit by bit out) I felt they were finally settled down enough for me to put them in the refrigerator.

The next morning, I saw Rich at church.  He looked at me expectantly.  "I made sourdough pancakes on Saturday."  "Oh yeah, how were they?  Were they light and fluffy?"  "Yes, but I mis-read the recipe when I was feeding them (the concern and panic immediately showed on his face and I could tell he thought the news that I had killed his pets was coming) and fed them potato flour instead of mashed potato flakes.  They bubbled out of the container and all over my counter."  "REALLY?" he exclaimed, barely containing his glee, "They REALLY liked it!"  He was practically giggling! 

Rich is so excited.  His pets have found a home that they like, and my trustworthy baker title is saved.  I'm sending this one over to Susan at WildYeast for her Yeastspotting event.

Sourdough pancakes adapted by Joie de vivre from Rich B's recipe

The night before making the pancakes, prepare the following mixture for the "sponge" in a large bowl.  Cover with Saran Wrap and leave on counter overnight.

2.5 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. thick potato flour sourdough starter

2 1/2 c. warm water (95 degrees F)

In the morning, add to the "sponge":

1 Egg

1/4 c. dried milk powder

2 Tbls. vegetable oil.

Stir well.  In a small bowl, mix together:

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbls. baking powder

1 Tbls. sugar

Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients and gently fold into the batter.  Let the batter rest while you heat your griddle to Medium-high.  Scoop batter onto the griddle using a 1/3 c. measuring cup.  Cook on one side until bubbles burst and edges start to dry, flip over and cook until browned.  Makes about 24 6-inch pancakes.

Ebleskivers with Whole Wheat

I can already hear your question.  Unless you are from a Scandinavian family, or marry into one, you probably haven't heard of ebleskivers.  That's alright, all you need to know is that they are basically a cross between really fluffy, light pancakes and popovers that are in the shape of a ball.  Why?  Who knows why things like this start?  Again, all you need to know is that they are good and worth making.  Unfortunately, you need a special ebleskiver pan.  The pan is circular with seven hemispherical indentations in it where the batter is poured.  To see a picture of an ebleskiver pan, here is the wikipedia entry about them.

This recipe is adapted from my mother-in-law's recipe to use a little bit of whole wheat flour to fill them out a little and to help slow my three year old's voracious appetite down a little.  They ended up being a little heavier, but they were still good.  To make my mother-in-law's version, which is the more traditional way to make them, use all-purpose flour for the entire flour amount.

Ebleskivers adapted from a recipe by Joie de vivre's mother in law

Ingredients:

3 eggs, separated

2 Tbls. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. all purpose flour

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

2 c. buttermilk.

Directions:  

1.  In a medium sized bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, set aside.

2.  In a large bowl combine the egg yolks, sugar, salt, flours, baking soda, baking powder and buttermilk.

3.  Gently fold the egg whites into the other ingredients.

4.  Heat an ebleskiver pan and brush each indentation with vegetable oil.

5.  Pour batter in each indentation until 2/3 full.

6.  Cook each ebleskiver until batter starts to pull away slightly from the sides and dry out.

7.  Flip the ebleskivers gently with two toothpicks.  Cook on the other side.

8.  Remove ebleskivers.  Before re-filling the indentations for the next batch, again brush with oil.

9.  Serve your ebleskivers with powdered sugar, jam, and butter (or with maple syrup which is how my boys like them)!

Cheddar Rolls

Is there anything better than warm rolls to accompany whatever fabulous concoction you've created in the kitchen?  Rolls are so homey and making them yourself really shows your family and guests you're willing to go the extra mile for them.  Although this recipe does take quite a while (start them in the morning for dinner rolls) there is very little active time to it, mostly it is waiting while the rolls and dough rise.  I'm sending this recipe over to Susan at Wild Yeast for her weekly YeastSpotting event.  Have fun baking!

Cheddar Rolls adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking

Makes 16 rolls

Ingredients:

3/4 c. lukewarm water

2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast

1/4 c. orange juice

2 Tbls. honey

1 c. grated Cheddar cheese

2 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 c. nonfat dry milk powder

1 1/2 tsp. dried dill

Directions:

1.  Mix the yeast, water, orange juice and honey together in a small bowl.  Set aside.

2.  In a large bowl mix together the Cheddar cheese, flours, salt, milk powder and dill.  Add the wet ingredients and mix and knead them together until the dough is smooth (about 10 minutes)

3.  Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with Saran Wrap.  Set in a warmish place to rise for 1-2 hours.  It may not be doubled yet.

4.  Gently deflate the dough and divide it into 16 pieces.  Gently smooth the top of each roll, tucking under the ends and pinching them together.  Place them on a non-stick baking pan and cover with Saran wrap to rise again.  Let them rise in a warmish place for another 2 1/2 hours.

5.  Near the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

6.  Uncover the rolls and place them in the preheated oven.  After 20 minutes, tent them with aluminum foil and continue baking until they are deep golden brown on top, another 8-10 minutes.

7.  Remove the rolls from the oven and immediately brush the tops with melted butter to keep them soft.

Baguettes

That's right baby, I made these!  These are the baguettes I used for the Grilled Sardine Croutes in my Imagining Avignon post.  They were surprisingly easy and I plan on making these again this Sunday to go along with lunch.  This recipe comes from French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano.  I'm sending this recipe over to Susan at WildYeast for her YeastSpotting event.  Enjoy!

Baguettes adapted from French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano

Yield:  4 baguettes 

Ingredients:

1 tsp. active dry yeast

4 1/2 c. all purpose flour

2 c. warm water

2 tsp. salt

1 egg, plus 1 tsp. cold water, beaten.

Directions:

1.  In a large bowl, combine the water and the yeast and let rest for 5 minutes.

2.  Add the flour and the salt to the water/yeast mixture and mix until it holds together.

3.  Turn the dough out onto your clean counter and knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic.

4.  Put the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with Saran Wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 1 hour.

5.  Gently deflate dough and divide it into 4 equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a baguette shape and transfer loaves (two to each pan) to non-stick baking pans or use a baguette shaped baking pan.  Cover with Saran Wrap again and let rise until nearly doubled (another hour).

6.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  In the bottom of the oven, place a baking pan or a cast iron skillet to warm.  Boil some water on the stove in a kettle.

7.  Score loaves diagonally with a sharp knife.  Brush the baguettes with the egg/water mixture.

8.  Place the loaves in the oven.  Add the boiling water (about 2 cups) to the cast iron skillet in the bottom of the oven to add steam to the oven.  Quickly close the oven door to trap the steam.

9.  Bake the loaves for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 400 degrees F and bake for 5 to 10 minutes more until golden brown.

10.  Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack until thoroughly cool before slicing.

Dark and Soft Dinner Rolls

Cold winter weather seems to inspire me to tuck into a nice bowl of soup, and nothing goes better with soup than a nice, homemade bread.  My hubby and sons made these rolls to pair with my wonderfully chunky sweet potato soup.  My boys loved helping daddy shape these rolls, and all day long my three year old kept informing me, "We are making rolls and they have Chaaaaaaaaacolate in them."  I hated to break his heart and tell him I didn't think they were what he was thinking.  I was pleasantly surprised thought that there are faint chocolate notes.  This one was adapted from the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Book.  I am sending this post over to Susan at Wild Yeast for her YeastSpotting event.  Have fun baking!

Dark and Soft Dinner Rolls adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Book

Ingredients:

2 1/2 tsp. instant yeast

1 cup lukewarm water

1/3 c. orange juice

4 Tbls. unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

1/3 c. honey

9 oz. whole wheat flour

9 1/2 oz. all purpose flour

1 3/4 tsp. salt

3 Tbls. sugar

2 Tbls. Dutch-process cocoa

Directions:

1.  Combine the water and the yeast in a small bowl and set aside.

2.  In a heavy duty stand mixer with a dough hook, combine all remaining ingredients.  Mix together.  Add the water/yeast mixture.  Mix until very smooth.  You will have to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3.  Cover bowl and allow the dough to rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours until not quite doubled.

4.  Gently deflate the dough.  Divide into 10 equal pieces and shape the pieces into 5 inch x 2 inch oval rolls.  Place the rolls on a non-stick baking sheet.  Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for 2 hours.

5.  Towards the end of the rising time, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

6.  Uncover the rolls and bake them until the bottoms are slightly browned, 25-30 minutes.  Remove the rolls from the oven and cool on a rack.

Imagining Avignon

Joan over at Foodalogue has been hosting a wonderful food event titled, "A Culinary Tour Around the World".  Each week, she and participants travel virtually to other countries through the food.  They "meet" people along the way as they dine their way through the country.  Joan started this event not only to satisfy her traveling bug, but to bring awareness to organizations that help fight hunger such as BloggerAid and World Food Programme.  I am so honored that Joan asked me to join their group in France this week.  I had so much fun imagining myself bicycling through southern France and sitting at farmer's tables, that I plan on joining them again.

When Joan and the others caught up with me, I was in a little town in southern France called Avignon.  Avignon has a long history, however, it is probably most famous for the Palais des Papes.  In 1309, Pope Clement V declared Avignon to be the residence of the Papacy instead of Rome.  Seven popes eventually resided in Avignon, however when Gregory XI moved the papacy back to Rome in 1376, a schism occurred in the Catholic church and a small band of cardinals declared a second pope, an antipope, in Avignon.

The Palais des Papes

Today, Avignon is a beautiful town, perfect for wandering through, and a base for exploring Provence.  It was here that I "met" my wonderful guide, a gardener named Michel.  He was the caretaker of a small castle in a little town called Charmes sur l'Herbasse.  It was an hour or so drive to the north, so I settled into his little Peugeot and watched the countryside pass.  The fields of sunflowers and lavender were in bloom (in my imagination, it is always summer) so the time passed quickly and I used it to get to know Michel a little better.  Michel's castle was owned by a rich Parisian couple who spent two weeks in the summer and two weeks in the winter in Charmes sur l'Herbasse.  The rest of the year, Michel and his wife, Aurelie, cared for the castle and it's grounds.

When we arrived at Michel's home, Michel's brother, Benoit, and his family were also there for Sunday lunch.  Benoit gave me a two cheek kiss in greeting and invited me to join a game of petanque.  As he looked like he took it very seriously, and I am not really a sporty type, I politely declined to see what Aurelie was up to in the kitchen.  Aurelie was preparing a simple sandwich called Sardines Grillees Croutes on homemade baguettes.  I found an approximation of her recipe in Rick Stein's French Odyssey.

Grilled Sardine Croutes adapted from Rick Stein's French Odyssey

Serves 3

1 tin sardines, in olive oil

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 chunks of baguette

3 romaine lettuce leaves

1-2 nice tomatoes, cut into very thin slices

1 jar roasted red peppers

1 small red onion, very thinly sliced

3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and quartered

6 anchovy fillets, in olive oil

Directions:  

1.  Open the sardine tin.  There should be three small chunks of sardines inside.  Open each chunk up by cutting down the middle.  Put the sardines on a cookie tray and broil for 3 minutes.

2.  Begin assembling sandwiches.

3.  Open up each chunk of baguette.  On the bottom halves of the baguette chunks, lightly drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.  Lay romaine lettuce leaves, tomato slices, red onion slices and roasted red pepper pieces on in that order.  Top with sardines and anchovies.

4.  Serve top half of bread alongside.  Also serve with 4 hard boiled egg quarters.

5.  Eat with a fork and knife.

For dessert, Aurelie unwrapped a chunk of Saint Andre cheese, a triple creme cow's milk cheese, and placed it on a communal tray with some prunes.  We also had Aurelie's freshly made yogurt alongside.

After eating, we toured Aurelie's garden.  She had lots of raised vegetable beds, fruit trees, and even a bee hive from which Michel extracts honey in the fall.  It was a very pleasant day in the sun.  We eventually settled in watching Benoit and Michel play a couple of very serious rounds of petanque while sipping on a nice Burgundy.

All too soon, it was time to head to the big city of Grenoble for my flight out of France.  Joan and her travel buddies are off to Portugal next week.  I had been planning on meeting them in Ethiopia in three weeks, but I had so much fun on this adventure that they may see me before that.  If you are interested in joining Joan and crew yourself for their culinary tour, just click on the Foodalogue badge above.  Until then, A bientot!

Whole Wheat Pane di Como

I had so much fun making challah for last week's YeastSpotting event, that I decided to try my hand at a whole wheat version of Pane di Como.  This was a very hearty bread with a crispy exterior.  It wasn't as tangy as I would have hoped it would be having milk in the starter, but it was still a tasty accompaniment to the Tuscan Style Bean Soup I served Sunday night.  It did take about 24 hours start to finish, but only about 20 minutes or less of hands on time.

Whole Wheat Pane di Como by Joie de vivre

Starter:

1 tsp. active dry yeast

1 tsp molasses

1/3 c. warm water

2/3 c. milk, room temperature

1 c. all-purpose flour

Directions:  Stir the yeast, molasses and warm water together in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes or so until the yeast is bubbly.  Add the milk and stir.  Add the flour and mix until smooth.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter overnight.

Dough:

2 c. water, slightly warm to touch

5 - 5 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1 Tbls. salt

Cornmeal

Add water to the starter and use hands to squeeze the water and the starter together until no clumps remain.  Mix the flour and salt together and add 2 c. at a time into the starter mixture.  When it is too stiff to stir with a spoon, use your hands to knead the mixture together.  It should be ever so slightly sticky (stickier than if you use white flour).  Knead the dough very well, crashing it down on the counter while doing this to develop the gluten, for about 8-10 minutes.  Put the dough in a well greased bowl and turn over so that the top of the dough is also greased.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place to double, 2-3 hours.

Once dough has doubled, cut it in half and shape it into 2 round loaves.  Place each loaf in a bowl lined with generously floured kitchen towels.  Cover each loaf with a towel and leave to rise once again.  1-2 hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F with a baking stone in the oven.  When ready to bake the loaves, sprinkle the stone with cornmeal and invert the loaves onto the stone.  Bake until the dough sounds hollow when thunked on the bottom, about 1 hour.  Cool the loaves on racks before cutting.

Challah

I was inspired by the folks at King Arthur Flour again with their beautifully explained post titled Challah-lujah.  I varied their recipe, but mine still turned out beautifully.  I am submitting this post to the weekly Yeastspotting event which now has my mouth watering for some fresh bread!

Challah by Joie de vivre inspired by King Arthur Flour blog

Ingredients:

3/4 cup lukewarm water

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup honey

2 large eggs

4 cups bread flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbls. instant yeast

Glaze:

1 large egg, beaten

1 Tbls. cold water

Directions:

1.  Combine all the bread ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix well then turn out onto the counter and knead well until smooth.

2.  Place the dough ball in a greased bowl, turn it over so that the dough is lightly greased on all sides, then cover and leave to rise about 3 hours, until it is doubled.

3.  Gently deflate the dough and separate it into 4 equal parts.

4.  Take each part and roll into a 15 inch long rope.  Let each rest a few minutes then continue to roll until the ropes measure about 21 inches each.

5.  Lay the strands parallel to each other, pinch them together on one side, then follow these directions from King Arthur Flour on how to braid a 4 strand braid.

6.  Gently place the loaf on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

7.  Cover and let rise at least 45 minutes (or as long as it takes) to get nice and puffed.

8.  Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

9.  Whisk together the glaze ingredients and gently brush on top of the loaf.

10.  Optional:  Sprinkle heavily with sesame seeds.

11.  Place your baking sheet on top of another baking sheet to insulate the bottom of the loaf.

12.  Bake the challah for 20 minutes.  Tent the challah loosely with aluminum foil to prevent it from browning too much and bake for another 25 minutes.

13.  Remove the bread from the oven and cool on a rack.

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Cooking Thanksgiving dinner with Kids: A Recipe for Stress-Free Family Fun

My two little helpers ages 3 and 5.  I bought these special aprons for them in anticipation of the big cooking day and they thought they were sooooo cool.

For the past 8 years, ever since my husband and I have been married, I've made Thanksgiving dinner.  Usually it is an elaborate affair with various family members, neighbors and friends joining in.  I would start planning at least a month ahead or more, did my shopping two weeks ahead, and had my cooking timeline written out in twenty minute increments starting two days before Thanksgiving.  The day of Thanksgiving, the kids were usually shooed out of the kitchen and my husband was put in charge of entertaining them.  I would spend all day amidst roasting pans, pots, casserole dishes, and chopping boards creating a gorgeous feast that would get rave reviews.  Of course I was exhausted afterwards and thinking back, I really didn't get to spend that much time with my family outside of eating because I was always holed away in the kitchen.

 

This year, all of the various family members whom we normally would have had to our house for the big day were going to be out of town so it was just going to be the boys, my husband and me.  Since it would be a small Thanksgiving for us, when my normal Thanksgiving meal planning started at the beginning of November (spurred on by Foodbuzz.com's proposal for Thanksgiving dinners), I realized that this year I wanted to spend time with my family instead of holing myself in the kitchen for two days.  I wanted this year to be stress-free and FUN!  This year, I wanted us to prepare our meal as a family.

 

My boys absolutely LOVE to help me in the kitchen, but the traditional Thanksgiving fare doesn't allow them to do that with all of the chopping (they are not knife safe yet), and opportunities to get burned from heavy roasting pans and hot pots.  I knew that if I wanted the boys to help cook, I was going to have to plan the menu around their attention spans, their tastes, and their abilities.  I had to think outside the "traditional" Thanksgiving box.  Thus, this "Kid-Centered" Thanksgiving menu and day was born.  The boys were able to help cook every dish in a stress-free day of cooking that accommodated their attention spans and nap schedules.  They also helped make all of the decorations.  I'll take you through our fun, family day to help give you confidence to include your kids in your next big meal.

Our cozy dinner table set for the big meal

Our edible turkey gobbler centerpiece 

Directions below

Our Turkey Gobbler centerpiece, Turkey Table topper (doubling as a bread basket) and our Sweet T.O.M. turkey cupcakes

The Menu

Appetizers:

-Turkey Tracks

-Spiced Nuts made in the crockpot

Turkey Tracks idea by FamilyFun.com

My little helper with his finished turkey tracks

Ingredients:

Whole wheat crackers

Cream Cheese

Peanut Butter

1 can of LaChoy Rice Noodles

Directions:

1.  Spread cream cheese or peanut butter on crackers.

2.  Top each cracker with the Rice Noodles arranging noodles to resemble a 3-toed turkey footprint.  Here is an example if you don't know what they look like.  (I printed this picture out so my son could see what they looked like too)

Crock Pot Sugar-Roasted Nuts from Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes

Ingredients:

4 cups of whole mixed nuts (I used a combination of pecans and hazelnuts)

1 egg white

1 tsp. water

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1.  Place the nuts in a single layer in a shallow baking pan.  Toast by baking them in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.

2.  Place the toasted nuts in a 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg white and water with a wire whisk until frothy.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Pour over nuts and stir gently to coat.

3.  Cover and cook on LOW setting for 4 hours, stirring once halfway through cooking.  Spread on waxed paper, separating into small clusters to cool.  Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for 1 week.

My hubby taking the Sugared Pecans out of the crock pot

The Main Course

-Turkey Meatballs made in the Crock Pot

-Jellied Cranberry Sauce cooked in the microwave

-Whole wheat yeast rolls with flax meal

-Deviled eggs

-Sweet Potato Praline Marshmallow Casserole

-Olive Tray

-Green Salad

-Bamboo skewers of fresh fruit and cheese from Turkey Gobbler centerpiece

I know what you're thinking already, "Turkey Meatballs?  No roast turkey on Thanksgiving?"  Even though it wasn't traditional Thanksgiving food, we had so much fun making dinner that we didn't even miss it.  Below are the recipes.

Crock Pot Turkey Meatballs  recipe from About.com

The finished meatballs in steaming sauce

Ingredients:

3 cups barbecue sauce (your favorite)

2 cups apple jelly

3 Tbls. tapioca (for a thicker sauce)

2 Tbls. apple cider vinegar

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs, seasoned

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. onion powder

2 lbs. ground turkey

vegetable oil

Squishing the ingredients together (What a face!)

Directions:

1.  In the crock pot insert, stir together barbecue sauce, apple jelly, tapioca, and vinegar.  Cover and cook on HIGH while preparing meatballs.

2.  For meatballs, in a large bowl combine egg, bread crumbs, milk, garlic powder, salt and onion powder.  Add ground turkey and squish up with your hands.  Shape into 3/4 inch meatballs.  

3.  Add a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil to pre-heated skillet over medium heat.  Add meatballs and brown on all sides.  Drain meatballs and add to crock pot.  Stir very gently to coat with sauce.

4.  Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Yield:  5 dozen meatballs

Rolling the meatballs

Jellied Cranberry Sauce recipe adapted from Baking Delights

This is a super simple, and extremely tasty recipe from a blog called Baking Delights.  Marye, the author, made this with her little 4 year old helper.  I adapted her recipe slightly by using frozen cranberries thus having to cook it longer.

Ingredients:

1 pound frozen whole cranberries

grated zest from one orange

2 cups white sugar

1/4 cup orange juice

1 cup water

Directions:

1.  In a microwave safe bowl, mix together cranberries, zest, sugar, juice, and water.

2.  Cover the mixture with waxed paper and microwave on high power, stirring every 2 minutes, until cranberries pop and mixture starts to bubble up (about 12 minutes).  Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.  It will jell slightly.

My little helper with cranberries before cooking

Whole Wheat Yeast Rolls with Flax Meal by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water

1 egg

4 Tbls. sugar

1 tsp. salt

3 Tbls. dried milk

2 tsp. yeast

1/4 cup softened butter (plus more for brushing on afterwards)

2 cups bread flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup flax meal

Directions:

1.  Mix all ingredients except the flours and the flax meal together in a large mixing bowl.  Add the flours and flax meal and knead on counter for about 10 minutes until dough forms a smooth ball.

My little baker kneading the dough

Mama did most of the kneading

2.  Add dough to a generously greased (with shortening) bowl.  Roll your dough in the bowl to cover it with a thin layer of shortening.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough has doubled.  (Mine took about 2 hours)

3.  Punch the dough down gently and roll out on a cutting board to 12 x 18 inches.  (I did not need to flour my board but if you are worried about your dough sticking, flour it lightly)  Using a pizza cutter, cut dough short ways into 1/2 inch strips.

4.  Take your strips, make a knot, and then continue to thread the ends through the middle finally tucking them on the bottom.

5.  Place your rolls on non-stick baking pans or on greased baking pans.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise again for 45 minutes. 

6.  Bake rolls at 375 degrees for about 18 minutes.  When you remove them from the oven, brush the tops with melted butter.

My helper and I are cutting the dough into strips

The knotted rolls during the second rise

Deviled Eggs 

This is one of those recipes that I do by feel, but everyone does this one by feel, don't they?

Ingredients:

Eggs

Mayonnaise

Dijon mustard

Sweet Relish

Salt and Pepper to taste

Paprika, for garnish

1.  Place your eggs in a pot of cold water.  Bring to a boil then turn off the heat and cover for 17-18 minutes.  Drain the hot water gently and add cold water to pot.

2.  When eggs are cool enough to handle, peel off the shells.

3.  Cut eggs in half long ways and pop out the yolks.  Put aside the whites and place the yolks in a small bowl.  Add a little mayonnaise, mustard, relish and salt and pepper and squish up with a fork.  

4.  Add the yolk mixture to the holes of the egg whites

5.  Sprinkle a little paprika on top of your deviled eggs.

Peeling eggs (truthfully he liked the cracking part MUCH more than the peeling part)

Sweet Potato Praline Marshmallow Casserole adapted slightly from Emerils.com

*Aside from the yeast rolls, this was my favorite.  It was sweet and creamy with a crunchy praline topping.  Who needs pie when they can dive into this yumminess?

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes

4 Tbls. unsalted butter, softened and divided

2 Tbls. heavy cream

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, divided

2 Tbls. orange juice

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. allspice

1/8 tsp. salt

2/3 cup pecan pieces

2 cups mini marshmallows

Directions:

1.  Place the sweet potatoes in a large, heavy pot and add enough water to cover by 2 inches.  Bring to a boil.

2.  Cook the potatoes at a low boil until they are fork-tender, between 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes.  

3.  Drain the potatoes in a colander.  Set the potatoes aside and let cool for about and hour.

4.  Meanwhile, place the oven rack in the center position and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

5.  When potatoes are cool enough to handle, place the potatoes on a cutting board and cut in half lengthwise.   Gently but firmly squeeze each potato to remove the meat from the skin.  Discard the skins and place the potatoes in a large mixing bowl.

6.  Add 2 Tbls. of the butter, the heavy cream, 1/4 cup of the brown sugar, orange juice, cinnamon, allspice, and salt to the potatoes and mix well with a large wire whisk until smooth.

7.  In a separate bowl, combine the remaining 2 Tbls. butter, the remaining 1 cup brown sugar, and the pecan pieces.  Stir with a fork to blend well.

8.  Spoon the mashed sweet-potato mixture into a 12" x 8" casserole dish.  Dot the top evenly with the pecan mixture, then sprinkle the marshmallows over the nuts.

9.  Bake until the marshmallows are golden brown, about 30 minutes.

10.  Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

My helper adding the marshmallows.  This was also his favorite dish of the evening.

Dessert

-Sweet T.O.M. turkeys

Our table set for dessert with our turkey place mats and Turkey Table topper

Sweet T.O.M. turkeys adapted slightly from FamilyFun.com

A Sweet T.O.M. turkey

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

Chocolate Frosting

3 oval shortbread cookies (I used Keebler Sandies 100 calorie pack shortbread) per turkey

6 to 10 candy corn pieces per turkey

White icing

A chocolate sprinkle, for the eye.  One per turkey

Red icing

Directions:

1.  Frost the cupcakes, then press in a cookie head and two cookie wings.

2.  Press in a row or two of candy corn tail feathers

3.  To make an eye, add a small dot of white icing to the head, then add a chocolate sprinkle in the middle for the pupil.

4.  For the beak, cut the white end off one candy corn.  Put a little dab of white frosting in the correct spot and press the white end into it.  Add a line of red icing at the base of the beak for the wattle.

The men mixing up the chocolate cupcakes

The dog, hoping that a cupcake will fall, as the boys frost them

The Crafts:

-Edible Turkey Gobbler Centerpiece

-Turkey Bread Basket

-Thumb print turkey placemats

From Left to Right:  Edible Turkey Gobbler Centerpiece, Sweet T.O.M. turkeys, Turkey bread basket

Edible Turkey Gobbler Centerpiece adapted slightly from FamilyFun.com

Making the fruit and cheese skewers for the Edible Turkey Gobbler

Ingredients:

1 Spagetti Squash (body)

1 Bosc pear (head)

Cheese cubes (beak and tail feathers)

Red pepper (snood, feet, and side feathers)

Raisins (eyes)

Grapes (tail feathers)

Mandarin oranges (tail feathers)

Pineapple chunks (tail feathers)

Bamboo skewers

Toothpicks

Directions:

1.  Stabilize the squash body by cutting a slice off of one side so that the squash will have a flat base.  Using a section of bamboo skewer, attach a Bosc pear head to the melon as shown.  (Close up photo at the very top of this post)

2.  Cut a cheese triangle beak and a red pepper snood.  Attach both, along with the raisin eyes, to the head with sections of toothpick.

3.  Cut red pepper feet and set them in place.  For the tail feathers, skewer cheese cubes, mandarin oranges, pineapple chunks and grapes, then insert the skewers as shown.  

4.  Attach red pepper side wings to the sides with toothpicks.

Turkey Bread Basket adapted from FamilyFun.com

Painting the paper plates that make up the feathers, wings and head of the Turkey Bread Basket

Supplies needed:

Cheap white paper plates

Washable acrylic paints and paint brushes

Clothes pins

Hot glue gun

Two google eyes

Large brown paper bag

Piece of corrugated cardboard

Clothes pins

Directions:

1.  The day before assembly, paint a bunch of paper plates and let dry.  These you will cut into feather shapes.  Also, paint one paper plate red on both sides, and three others red on one side only.

2.  When the plates are dry, cut them into large feather shapes.  Save your red plates, as well as two other plates that will form the side wings.  Hot glue the feathers onto clothes pins.

3.  For the turkey's body, trim the brown paper bag so that it measures about 8 inches tall.  Then, fold down the sides so that they are half the height and double the thickness.  Hot glue these sides together.  Cut the cardboard to fit in the bottom of the bag and hot glue in place.

4.  Take one of your red paper plates and place on the inside back of the bag, glue in place.  Take another red plate and place on the outside of the bag to reinforce the first paper plate.  Glue together.  Another red paper plate will be folded in half and attached to the inside plate halfway down so that two rows of tail feathers can be attached.  Glue to the first plate.

5.  For the side wings, take two paper plates and fold in half, glue one to each side of the bag.

6.  For the head, using the red paper plate that was painted on both sides, fold in the sides to make a point.  Fold down the point to make the head.  Glue onto the front of the bag.  

7.  Attach google eyes with glue and attach feathers with clothes pins to the paper plates in the back in a fanned out position.

8.  Place a napkin in the middle of the bag and add your dinner rolls!

9.  If you are confused, just click on the FamilyFun.com link.  I adapted their directions slightly, but they have better diagrams.

Thumb Print Turkey Place Mats idea adapted from Thrifty Fun

The boys, holding their freshly laminated Thumb print turkey placemats

Supplies needed:

One place mat sized poster board per person

Washable acrylic paint in brown, red, orange and yellow

A white acrylic paint pen

A permanent black marker

Directions:

1.  Using a paper plate as your paint pallet, put a small amount of each color of paint onto the plate.

2.  Dip your thumb in brown paint and make one print for the turkey's body.  Wash your thumb and then dip in Red.  Stamp a ring of red around the brown for the turkey's tail feathers.  Repeat for orange and yellow. 

3.  Set aside to dry.

4.  When dry, use the white acrylic paint pen to make the whites of the turkey's eyes.  Let dry.

5.  When dry, use the black permanent marker to make the turkey's pupils, draw legs and three toes on turkey, and write "Happy Thanksgiving" around the turkey.

6.  Laminate your finished place mats (I took mine to Kinkos) to make wiping up Thanksgiving spills easy.

The little Picasso's working on their Thumb print turkeys

The End Result:

Thanksgiving was so much fun this year.  No one was stressed, we had a great dinner, and there were lots of fun memories and funny conversations.  This was definitely trial by fire in terms of initiation into letting the kids help in the kitchen, but the result and process was so positive, I will not hesitate to let them help in the kitchen again.  (Unless they have snotty and drippy noses, but that is for a different reason!)  Just look at the smiles!

How to cook with your children:

1.  Keep it simple.

2.  Keep them on their schedules.

3.  Take breaks.

4.  Have FUN!

Although the cooking was done in a day, the crafts were started 4 days beforehand.  This allowed us to enjoy each activity and not get overwhelmed with things that needed to be done.  The cooking started around 9:00 a.m. for a 5:00 p.m. supper, so the pace was slow.  Also, utilizing the crock pots helped immensely as it allowed us to put things on early and move onto other things.  When the boys needed a break, they took it, and spent the better part of an hour in the morning playing cops and robbers.  They were always excited to come back and help cook when they were done playing.  We also kept them on their schedules, ate lunch (the turkey tracks with some fruit and ham slices) when they normally did and put the little one down for his nap at the right time.

When doing this on your own, think of what your children can do and be successful at in the kitchen, adding ingredients, stirring, kneading, etc. and keep it simple.  But most importantly, have fun!  Enjoy your time together because they won't be little forever!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!