Crawfish and Sausage Cornbread Dressing

Thanksgiving is coming up and I am getting so excited! I have been planning my menu for weeks. This year, my family will be coming to Louisiana from Texas for Thanksgiving!

Since we'll be having Thanksgiving in Cajun country, I thought I'd add a little Cajun flair to our Thanksgiving menu! While there are some Thanksgiving dishes that you just can't part with and have to make year after year,  the fun thing about stuffing/dressing is that you can really play around with the ingredients and create something totally different each year.

For this year's dressing, I decided to go with crawfish, sausage in a cornbread base. Here is what I came up with! I hope you like it and decide to add it your Thanksgiving menu.

Ingredients:
1 lb. andouille sausage of your choice, casings removed
1 lb. crawfish tails
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced
3 boxes cornbread mix prepared, cubed and dried out or 1 14oz. bag of cornbread stuffing mix*
1 1/2-2 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

*If you decide to make your own cornbread, you'll want to do this ahead of time (at least a few hours) to give the cornbread time to dry out.

Make cornbread according to package directions. After cornbread has cooled, make cuts 1 inch apart vertically and horizontally across the pan. Begin to carefully break apart the cornbread. Allow to sit on the counter uncovered to dry out. Toss the cubes/crumbs every few hours to allow it to properly dry out. If you are short on time, pop the pan back in a low oven. Drying the cornbread out first will ensure that you have a light and airy stuffing.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove sausage from casings. In a medium size pan over medium high heat, add sausage and cook until done. Add crawfish and cook for 3-5 more minutes. Transfer sausage and crawfish to a large mixing bowl. Add peppers, onion, celery, garlic and jalapeno to the pan. Saute until onions are translucent and peppers are soft. Transfer vegetables to the mixing bowl. Add cornbread crumbles, broth and cajun seasoning stirring to combine. Add additional stock if you want a wetter stuffing. Spoon stuffing into a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Turkey and Dumpling Soup

True or False: It's the day after Thanksgiving and your fridge is loaded down with leftovers from the day before. I'm going to go with True.

While you definitely can't go wrong with just heating up a little turkey, mashed potatoes and drizzling on a little gravy, here is a great recipe if you want something a little different or have more turkey than you know what to do with! Plus this the perfect thing to make on a cold rainy day like today! )Well, at least here in Louisiana--even though it was 80 degrees yesterday!)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon oil or butter
3/4 cup chopped yellow onion (1 small onion-baseball size)
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped carrot
1 tablespoon flour
8 cups turkey stock, see below for recipe or purchase at the store
2 cups water
1 lb. leftover turkey (more or less, depending on your leftovers)
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

In a large stockpot, heat oil or butter over medium heat. Saute onion, celery and carrot 3-5 minutes. Sprinkly veggies with flour and cook for one to two minutes. Pour about one cup of stock into the pot, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom and stirring to incorporate. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Pour in remaining stock and water. Add turkey and stir in bay leaf and rosemary. Reduce heat and simmer for one hour. Taste soup and season with salt and pepper, as desired.

Dumplings
1 1/2 cup Bisquick
1/3 cup milk
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, chopped or crumbled in your hand

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients until you get a slightly sticky dough. Bring broth mixture to a boil and spoon about a teaspoon at a time of dumpling dough into the boiling liquid. Cook uncovered for about 10 minutes and then cover and cook for another 10 minutes.

Serve with leftover rolls and whatever else you have! And if you have leftover soup, save it for the next day--it'll be even better!

Turkey Stock
Turkey Carcass,  meat removed and broken down to fit into the pot
16 cups of water
2 celery ribs, cut into two inch pieces
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into two inch pieces
2 onion, quartered
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 clove of garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons black peppercorn

Add all ingredients to a large stock pot. Bring to a boil then reduce to low and simmer for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, skimming fat, occasionally. Strain the stock and use in your favorite recipes, like this one, or freeze for later use.

Thanksgiving Menu

Planning your Thanksgiving Day menu? Need some ideas? 

Here's what will be on my table this Thanksgiving:

Brie en Croute (with Cranberries and Pecans)

Brined and Roasted Turkey

 Turkey Gravy

Mashed  New Potatoes

Mushroom, Sausage and Sage Stuffing

Green Beans Amandine

Texas-Style Cranberry Sauce

Rolls

Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Baked Brie en Croute (with cranberries and pecans)

In need of an easy yet elegant appetizer? Look no further! This recipe can be prepared in less than ten minutes and will look great when it comes out of the oven--and will taste even better! I recently made this for a dinner party and it seemed to be a big hit because it was gone fairly quickly!

The creamy brie goes really nicely with the tang of the cranberries and the crunch of the pecans while the buttery, flaky pastry holds it all together and imparts a decadence in both taste and appearance.

Ingredients:
1 wheel of brie cheese
1/4 cup pecan halves, chopped
3 tablespoons cranberry preserves
2 tablespoons dried cranberries (Craisins), roughly chopped
1 tablespoons flour
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove brie from packaging and carefully cut the rind off using a serrated knife. Hold your knife parallel to the counter and carefully shave the brie off the top and bottom. Turn the brie up on its side to cut the rind off the sides. Don't worry if you don't get it all off, you just want to lightly remove the rind but not too much that the cheese will lose the shape.

In a small pan over low heat, toast pecans for several minutes, until warm. Toasting nuts releases the oil in the nuts and intensifies the flavor. Remove pecans from pan and roughly chop. Add the pecans, preserves and cranberries to a small bowl and mix until well combined.

Dust your countertop with the flour and carefully unfold the puff pastry. With a rolling pin, roll the puff pastry out to expand the size a bit. Spoon the pecan mixture onto the center of the puff pastry. Place the brie directly on top of the pecan mixture. Carefully fold up the sides of the pastry around the brie, crimping the sides together and tucking the folds under. If you can, trim off any excess pastry. Flip the brie and place on a pan seam side down. If you have any excess pastry, use it to decorate the top. I attempted to make some leaves for mine and they didn't turn out so hot, so I hope you have a bit more talent than I-which shouldn't be hard...I am not much of an artist! In a small bowl, beat the egg and add about a teaspoon of water. Brush the pastry with the egg wash.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is a nice golden brown color.

Allow to sit for about 10-15 minutes before cutting into the pastry to allow the cheese to set a bit. Serve with an assortment of crackers.

Enjoy!

Mashed New Potatoes

Who doesn't love mashed potatoes? Well, I don't really know anyone! I personally, love  potatoes--there are so many things that you can do with potatoes and mashing them up with different ingredients is both super easy and super delicious. In this version, I use red new potatoes with the skin on and mash them up with a bit of cream cheese. This is just one of the my favorite ways to do mashed potatoes. The creamy consistency of the potatoes goes really well with the cream cheese and the skin gives a the potatoes a nice texture.

Ingredients

2 lb. red new potatoes, scrubbed well and quartered

1/3 cup milk

4 oz. cream cheese, softened and cubed

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Fill a large stock pot with water, place potatoes in pot and bring water to a boil. Cook potatoes until they pierce easily with a fork. Drain potatoes and then transfer to a large mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, slightly mash the potatoes with the beaters (don't turn it on yet). Add cream cheese, salt, garlic powder and pepper and then beat potatoes on low until slightly smooth. Slowly add milk and continue to beat until you reach your desired consistency, but don't over beat as the potatoes can get gummy.

Enjoy!

Texas-Style Cranberry Orange Sauce (with Jalepenos)

Growing up, cranberry sauce was not the most popular item on the Thanksgiving table (and I know my sisters are laughing right now because they know what I mean...), but since it is a staple in most people's homes on Thanksgiving, I thought it would be appropriate to create an easy yet delicious recipe for all of you that are looking for something a little different this year.

This is a pretty typical cranberry orange sauce that is a snap to make, but as they say in Louisiana, I added a little Lagniappe (meaning "a little something extra" and pronounced Lan-yap) and spiced it up--Texas-style--by adding a jalepeno. I hope you like my version!

Ingredients
12 oz. fresh cranberries, rinsed
1 orange, zest and juice
1 cup water
1 cup Splenda (or sugar)
1 jalepeno, seeded and minced
Pinch of salt

In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat, pour in cranberries, water, sugar, orange juice and orange zest stirring to combine. Bring just to a boil and reduce heat to medium low and cook for five to seven minutes. Cranberries will begin to burst and the liquid will thicken. Remove from heat and stir in salt and jalepeno. Allow to cool, then transfer to a bowl and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Mushroom, Sausage and Sage Stuffing

Thanksgiving is approaching so it's about time to start planning your Thanksgiving menu! I am a major planner, so I have of course been thinking about mine and preparing accordingly. I have cooked my fair share of Thanksgiving dinners; however, I have to be honest...I am not a fan of stuffing and usually let someone else make it! I have a major aversion to anything soggy, so you can see why I don't really care too much for stuffing. But, I am having a Thanksgiving dinner party soon and Thanksgiving Day is fast approaching, so I wanted to come up with a stuffing recipe worthy of sharing with you!

I planned to test out my ideas for dinner knowing that my husband would be happy to eat my share of the stuffing, but I liked the stuffing so much I kept my share to myself! I have to admit, I was surprised at how much I liked it! The sausage gives the stuffing a great flavor and texture and since I cooked it uncovered, the top was crunchy and the inside was not soggy at all! Who would have thought--I like stuffing!

Ingredients
1 lb. breakfast sausage
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
12 oz. sliced mushrooms, roughly chopped
8 fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce
14 oz. dry stuffing
2 cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Crumble sausage into a large skillet over medium heat and cooked until browned. Remove sausage from pan and drain on paper towel. Add onion, celery and mushrooms to pan and saute until onions and celery are opaque and mushrooms are cooked through and browned. Add sage and worchestershire and stir to combine. Add sausage back to pan. Add stuffing mix and broth and stir to combine all ingredients.  Spoon stuffing mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish and bake uncovered for 35 minutes.

Enjoy! I hope this recipe graces your Thanksgiving table this year!

Festive Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

I normally consider myself more of a cook than a baker and I usually don't dabble too much in creative cutesy food, but for some reason, I really wanted to make something cute for fall and this is what I came up with! Perfect for Halloween parties, Thanksgiving or just for fun! Cute and delicious--can't beat that!

Cake
1 butter yellow cake mix
1 package sugar free instant butterscotch pudding mix
4 eggs
1/4 vegetable oil
1/4 water
1 15 oz. can of pumpkin
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Starting on a low (so you don't splatter yourself and your kitchen), mix ingredients until slightly incorporated before turning the mixer to medium high. Continue to beat the batter for three to five minutes. This will "activate" the instant pudding mix and also whip air into your batter leaving you with a moist and airy cake. Pour batter into a well greased fluted bundt pan. Bake for approximately 55 minutes. Remove cake from oven and test with a knife or tooth pick to ensure the cake is finished. Cool in the pan for approximately 20 minutes and then remove from pan and cool on a cooling rack.

Icing
4 oz. cream cheese, softened (1/2 block)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
2 cups of powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon milk
Yellow and Red gel food coloring

While cake is cooling, in a large bowl, combine cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Again, start on low and work your way up to medium on the speed! Stir in vanilla and cinnamon. Add milk a little at a time until you get a consistency that will allow you to drizzle the icing over the cake and let it drip down the sides.

Leaves
1/2 roll marzipan (almond paste found in the baking aisle)
Green gel food coloring
Toothpicks for assembly

Unwrap the marzipan and gauge the pliability. It should be soft and moldable, but if it is like mine, it will be hard as a rock! So, what you'll want to do is heat it for about 30 seconds to get it a little softer. After it is soft enought to mold, knead the marzipan to get it so a smoother consistency and then add the food coloring to get the desired color of green you are looking for. Break off about 3/4 of the marzipan and begin to mold the stem. Next, proceed with molding the remaining marzipan into leaves. At any point during the molding process, you might need to pop the marzipan back in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to soften it back up. Set Leaves aside until you are ready to assemble.

After the cake has cooled completely, invert the cake onto a serving platter and slowly spoon the icing over the top of the cake, allowing the icing to drip down the side. Attach the stem with a toothpick by heating the stem in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. Push a tooth pick through one side of the bottom of the stem and out the other side. Using another toothpick, create a cross with the toothpicks by pushing the second through the other side. Secure the stem into the cake using the toothpicks. Place the leaves on the cake, resting them against the stem and the toothpicks.

Refrigerate until serving.

Serve and enjoy! Happy Fall!

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes

Since I don't bake all that often and don't really experiment with desserts (there is science to baking that you don't really want to mess with...) I turned to an expert to find a a delicious and decadent dessert for Thanksgiving. Who better to go to than the wonderful Paula Deen?! This dessert by Paula Deen is soo delicious and it is sure to become a family favorite just as it has in our family.

Cake:
1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.

Enjoy!

Brined and Roasted Turkey (Thanksgiving)

Can you believe that it is almost Thanksgiving? This year has just flown by! (It is actually just a few days away from our first wedding anniversary and I can not believe the first year has gone by so quickly! Great memories already! Happy Anniversary Steven!)

Anyways, back to Thanksgiving!

I am such a holiday-loving girl and of course Thanksgiving is no exception! There is so much cooking to be done, time spent with family and of course, eating! What's not to love! For me, my favorite part of the holiday is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving which I aptly nicknamed "Cooking Day." This is the day when my mom and sisters and I get together and start cooking for Thanksgiving. Translation: My mom and I do a lot of cooking, Annie tries to cook and we all laugh at her and Katherine does a dessert or two and sits at the counter and reads gossip magazines out loud. It is truly one of my favorite days.

Because Thanksgiving is largely built around traditions (at least in our family) and there is a lot of pressure to please and impress, it is a time of the year that I don't really mess around with trying a whole lot of new things in the kitchen. I stick with the favorites.

Since the turkey is the star of the show, it has to be good, so my mom and I do the same turkey every year (and actually for the last couple of years, I did it all by myself!).

If you are looking for a new recipe, this is one to try! You will not be disappointed. The turkey comes out juicy and delicious!

Brine:
1 cup salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 oranges, quartered
2 lemons, quartered
6 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs rosemary
Dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons of cold water in a non-reactive container (such as a clean bucket or large stockpot, or a clean, heavy-duty, plastic garbage bag.) Squeeze the oranges and lemons and add them, along with the thyme and rosemary, to the brine.

Turkey:
1 (10 to 12-pound) turkey
Brine, recipe follows
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 large yellow onion, cut into 8ths
1 large orange, cut into 8ths
1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme
1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken or turkey stock, for basting

Remove the neck, giblets, and liver from the cavity of the turkey. Rinse the turkey inside and out under cold running water.

Soak the turkey in the brine, covered and refrigerated (or in a cooler), for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours. Turn the turkey at least once during the process.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels, inside and out. Place breast side down in a large, heavy roasting pan and rub on all sides with the butter. Season lightly inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the turkey with the onion, orange, celery, carrot, bay leaves and thyme. Truss the turkey with kitchen twine.

Roast the turkey, uncovered, breast side down for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, turn, and baste with 1/2 cup stock. Continue roasting with the breast side up until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the largest section of thigh (avoiding the bone), about 2 3/4 to 3 hours total cooking time. Baste the turkey once every hour with 1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken or turkey stock.

Remove from the oven and place on a platter. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.

I will post some more Thanksgiving favorites as it gets closer. If you have a family tradition or recipe that you would like to share, let me know! I'd love to post it for you!