Burgers Today

If your like my family, you have a lot of Christmas dinner leftovers of ham, turkey, and roast. Kudos to those who have left over Prime Rib because that is my favorite. What can you do with the left overs if you were unable to give them away?

Actually there are a lot of things that you can do with Christmas dinner leftovers that will not have your family crying “No more turkey sandwiches” this year.

Breakfast skillet
I always love to have a Breakfast Skillet the morning after Christmas. Mix some egg whites with diced up leftovers and diced potatoes. Once everything is grilled up in a skillet, melt a serving of lowfat cheese over the top and garnish with green onions. Who says you have to go to Denny’s or some fancy place to get a Breakfast Skillet.

A side of fresh fruit works well with a breakfast skillet. I know that kiwis, grapes, and bananas are in season.

Soup
There is nothing wrong with dicing up your leftover Christmas dinner and adding it to a soup base. Add some carrots, celery, onions, and rice too. You will have no problem fighting off the January and February cold.

Spanish dinners
Our neighbor is a blessing with it comes to Christmas Dinner leftovers. We dice up our left over ham, turkey, and beef and bring it to our neighbor. She then adds seasonings to it and makes Tamales for new years.

You can also use the leftovers for burritos, tostadas, enchiladas, tacos, and taco salads.

Salads
Chef salads are a great way of getting away Christmas leftovers. I love to toss together cucumber, green onions, radishes, leftover meat, romaine lettuce, mushrooms, black olives, and a little shredded cheese.

Grilled Pizza
This is the easiest pizza that I know how to make. Take a bagette or french roll and cut it to the size serving that you want. Spread on tomato paste or pesto, diced leftover meat, favorite pizza toppings, and shredded cheese. Grill until the cheese is golden brown.

Well those are my favorite things to do with Christmas Leftovers. I hope that you enjoy them and share your own Christmas leftover recipes.

Hi everyone! I just wanted to tell you about a contest/giveaway that my wife is running. On Christmas Eve, she’ll be sending off a $25 Visa Gift Card to one lucky person.

You can find out how to win at Celebriosity!

different plates by cmaher
Do you know that a dinner plate isn’t just a plate? It’s a canvas for the food that is going to be served. Your serving dish is another element of dinner that can capture the eye and tempt the palette.

That’s why I want to suggest that you not be afraid to try different styles of plates, bowls and dishes. There is a  large selection to choose from. Today’s stores carry funky martini and margarita glasses. You can find square plates, rectangle plates, and deep-dish plates at almost any store.

I have a few suggestions to get you started. Try these out once in a while or you can branch out on your own.

Soup – Try serving in square bowls, mugs, or really deep coffee cups. Clam chowder and gumbo works really well with old fashion mugs. One of my favorite starters was a selection of different soups served in small coffee cups on a plate.

Egg rolls – Things like egg rolls and pot stickers always look better on rectangle plates compared to being bunched together.

Deserts – Deserts look really nice when served in long stem glasses or rectangle plates.

Get into the routine of glancing through online photographs and magazines to get additional plating ideas. Your imagination is basically the limit. So try to push your imagination to the limit.

2 Packages Pillsbury Crescent rolls.8ct

16oz tub of Mascarpone Cheese

Cinnamon Powder or Ground with Sugar mix

Confectioner’s Powdered Sugar

Plenty of spread able butter

2 cups flour

Flour your preparing surface vigorously and unroll your crescent roll dough.

(HAHAHA and you thought we were going to use it normally)

Butter the heck out of the dough that is face up.

Spread your Cinnamon sugar all over, as thick as you want.

Roll it back into the shape you started with as the dough came from the can.

Now use your AWESOME imagination and brain to measure thickness of your new cinnamon rolls. But careful, they will expand when they cook.

Now they are cut, place them on a cookie sheet of your choosing non-stick is my favorite

While cooking till a crisp golden brown at 325 degrees for 8-10 minutes (please keep an eye on them though.) Bring your Mascarpone and Powdered Sugar to your mixer.

No Mixer like ME? Use a good round bowl and a Wisk. Please put your Mascarpone in the bowl first and begin loosening with your Wisk slowly adding your Powered sugar.

As it comes together heat it up in a pot for two minutes and when it is done becoming gooey and yummy your new cinnamon roll are done.

DING hahahaahh

Now just pour your yummy gooiness of Mascarpone and sugar all over your rolls and let cool.

For Christmas you could sprinkler some red and green Santa’s or snowflakes on them, JUST A HINT

Good Saturday morning everyone. It’s time to head back into the kitchen and work on that Spice Rack. Today I’ll be giving you some information about Basil, Bay Leaves, and Caraway Seeds.

Basil

You would think that our travels on the spice trade would take us to Italy for Basil. Did you know that Basil actually originated in Asia in the 1600’s? It’s an important culinary herb because people use it in salads, casseroles, sauces and even some liqueurs.

Fresh Basil is always best but you can easily find Basil flakes at the dollar store or your local grocery store. Do your best to purchase herbs from a local farmer though. The Basil will be fresher and your supporting your local economy.

Sweet Basil will have the aromatics and taste of Licorice/Anise or cloves. Basil works really well with sliced tomatoes or tomato products. I’ve been known to add a little Basil in my salsa just for some extra kick.

Bay Leaves

Anything that is a leaf will take longer to release its aromatics and flavor. You can help it along my rubbing the leaves in your hands to release the oils from the Bay Leaves.

Bay Leaves come from the Bay tree. This tree is native to the Mediterranean. Bay Leaves will give off a woodsy aromatic and astringent/clean taste to your cooking. French, Mediterranean, and Indian recipes call for Bay Leaves a lot.

Caraway Seeds

I personally do not like caraway seeds because they get stuck in my teeth. Anyways, Caraway Seeds come from the parsley family and give off a peppery taste to them. Often people will use them in all types of dips for parties.

If you remember the tip that I gave you yesterday, brown the Caraway Seeds just like you would Anise.

That’s it for the spice rack today. Everyone enjoy his or her weekend. I’m going to try to post something tomorrow but since it’s my only day off. I’m not promising anything. The next set of spices I should be covering is Celery Flakes, Chili Powder, and Chives.

 Until then have fun cooking!

Ah, the spice trade is a wonderful world of smells and tastes. This is a beginning list of spices that you should add to your kitchen. Trust me, spices will turn an ordinary plate of chicken breast, rice, and vegetables into a feast.

Sorry about dropping the spice rack yesterday. My wife and I had an emergency to take care of at home and I didn’t get to post when I wanted. It’s not easy researching information when you have the landlord banging around in your bathroom.

Spices can also be used for holiday arts and crafts in your home. Who doesn’t love the smell of cinnamon during the holidays or the sight of gingerbread cookies and a gingerbread house?

Salt and Pepper are the mainstay in the kitchen. A cast member was kicked off of Top Chef because she didn’t know how to season a dish recipe with salt and pepper.

Allspice
You can find Allspice either ground or whole in my recipes. Allspice comes from unripe berry from an evergreen tree. When using Allspice in a recipe you will obtain the aromatics of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Many people use Allspice in their ground beef for Swedish meatballs. I like to use it in tomato and chicken soup. Since Allspice reminds me of the holidays, I use it in dressing and on baked squash.

Whole Allspice needs a longer time to release their flavor. They work well in longer cooking recipes like soups and stews.

Anise Seed
Anise seeds are actually in the parsley family. The seed gives of the flavor and scent of licorice. It’s often used to make Anise Cookies.

Stir 1 ½ tsp Anise Seed into 1 package (17 oz) sugar cookie mix. Prepare and bake cookies as directed on the package.

Many people roast Anise Seed for a recipe. To do this all you have to do is add the seeds to a dry frying pan and brown them till they start to release their aroma.

That’s it from the spice trade today. I’ll be back tomorrow to cover Basil, Bay Leaves, and Caraway Seeds. After that I’ll talk about Celery Flakes, Chili Powder, Chives, Cilantro, and Cinnamon from the spice trade.

I bet you wouldn’t trade bland flavor for a bit of spice. Yet, so many kitchens are not fully stocked with the seasonings that can make their meals come alive. So today we enter the spice trade.

For now I want to give you a list of spices from around the world that you should slowly add to your selection. Some are very costly in the spice trade and others you can buy at the dollar store.

 Did you know that there are over fifty different styles of spices in the spice trade. I personally think that spices are like vegetables in the kitchen. You’ll want to get your hands on fresh herbs first, then frozen, and then dried.

I’ll be back tomorrow to give you a full list of spices to try out. I’ll also give you information on what they are used for and how they will improve the taste of your food.

Until then,

MJ

What is the one thing that a restaurant always has? You see it on Top Chef and all the food tv shows. The one thing that restaurants always have to produce amazing food is a stocked kitchen.

The kitchen is where our energy comes from. Even in Asian cultures the kitchen is the source of chi that is used for nutrition and prosperity. So now you have two reasons to keep a well-stocked kitchen.

So what are the things that you should keep in your kitchen to be able to produce restaurant quality food at home? The kitchen should always be stocked with fresh herbs, dried herbs, fresh vegetables, stocks, and ingredients to make quick sauces.

A steak is just a steak but when you add a great sauce with grilled onions and mushrooms then it becomes a great meal.

I personally like to grow fresh herbs in my windowsill but if you can’t have fresh then you can always used dried herbs. Dried herbs are really not that expensive and they can liven up any recipe. I can usually find dried herbs for my kitchen on sale for 33 cents a bottle or under a dollar.

Stocks for soups and sauces are easy to make. Don’t get into the trap of buying high sodium stock from the grocery store when you can make it at home. Not only will you save yourself money but also your doctor will stop screaming about your blood pressure.

What makes eggs benedict a restaurant favorite? The hollandaise sauce with eggs is what drives people crazy. By having a collection of sauces, you can make all of your restaurant favorites at home.

 Tomorrow I’ll be back to give you my collection of stock and sauce recipes that are not only easy to make but will save you a pretty penny.

 I recently was invited to a Birthday party where the host asked our family to bring an item. If you’re trying to create restaurant quality food at home, don’t be afraid to fake it.

These days’ grocery stores offer plenty of items that can turn a simple homemade item into something from an American food restaurant.  

Sandra Lee is an amazing example of making the best eats out of 70% store bought. I’m just going to use the same idea and apply it to catered food.  

O.K. back to our dilemma of having to bring something to a pot luck Birthday party. Not having any time to cook, I decided to grab pre-made sandwiches that were on sell at the grocery store. I decided to add fancier mustard, extra Boar’s Head sliced meat, and baby greens.

Don’t forget about garnishes. You can make your platter look like it came out of an American food restaurant by adding garnishes. Things like radishes, grapes, and a selection of different olives work wonders on a sandwich display.

Remember if you want your guests and friends to be crying “Best Eats” then learn how to jazz up pre-made store items, jazz up store items, and just remember the jazz Chefs put on their restaurant items.

Photograph by Kris El