Creamed Spinach.

This is the recipe from the legendary Chicago establishment, the Berghoff, which closed down in 2006 after more than a century of service.

Creamed Spinach

2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp chicken base, or 1 cube chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/8 tsp celery salt
4 tsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (2 1/2 cups)
Salt and ground white pepper, if desired
Ground nutmeg, for garnish
Crisp, cooked, crumbled bacon, for garnish

In a medium-size saucepan, heat the half-and-half, milk, chicken base, Tabasco, and seasonings to a simmer. Remove from the heat and keep warm.

In another medium-size saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk well to combine. Cook this mixture for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often. Slowly whisk the heated milk mixture into the butter mixture, a little at a time, whisking constantly until smooth. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until it thickens. The sauce will be very thick.

Stir in the spinach and simmer for 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Serve while hot.

To serve: Place the hot creamed spinach in a bowl, sprinkled with an extra touch of ground nutmeg on top. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon of crisp, cooked, crumbled bacon, if desired.

Alton's Turkey Brine.

From the master, Alton Brown. For the entire procedure for making the brined turkey, proceed here.

Turkey Brine

1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

To brine:

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat: combine the brine and 1 gallon of heavily iced water in a 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Perfect Potato Salad.

This is another recipe acquired through the generous sharing of chef Robert St. John.

Perfect Potato Salad

6 cups Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into a large dice

3 quarts Water

2 tsp. Salt

Place potatoes and salt in water and simmer on low heat until potatoes are tender. Drain and allow to cool.

2 cups Mayonnaise

1 /2 cup Yellow mustard

1 Tbl Dijon mustard

2 Tbl Cider vinegar

1 tsp White pepper

1 1 /2 tsp Black pepper, fresh ground

2 tsp Salt

1 cup Green onion, chopped

1 cup Red bell pepper, small dice

1 cup Celery, small dice

4 Eggs, hard-boiled and chopped

1 /4 cup Sweet pickle relish

Combine the first 7 ingredients to form a dressing. Add potatoes and all other ingredients to the dressing and mix well.

Chocolate Toffee Cheesecake.

Found this one in a Land-O-Lakes email......


Chocolate Toffee Cheesecake

Crust:

1 1/3 cups (22 cookies) shortbread cookie crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar

Filling:

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
8 (1 oz.) squares semi-sweet chocolate baking bars, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup milk chocolate toffee bits

Topping:
3/4 cup real semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup milk chocolate toffee bits

Heat oven to 325°F. Combine all crust ingredients in small bowl. Press onto bottom of ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Bake 4 minutes.

Beat cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar in large bowl until creamy. Add melted chocolate, eggs and vanilla; beat until well mixed. Stir in 3/4 cup toffee bits. Spread cream cheese mixture over crust. Continue baking for 50 to 55 minutes or until center is set. Cool in pan 1 hour. Remove from pan; place onto serving plate.

Meanwhile, place chocolate chips in small bowl. Place whipping cream in small saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat (2 to 3 minutes). Pour whipping cream over chocolate chips. Let stand 5 minutes; stir until smooth. Cool until mixture falls in ribbons off spoon (about 1 hour). Spread over top of cheesecake; sprinkle outer rim of cheesecake with 1/4 cup toffee bits. Cover; refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Robert's Cornbread Dressing.

I saw this today in Robert St. John's column, and believe it to be the fanciest version of the humble southern cornbread dressing that I have ever seen.

Robert’s Cornbread Dressing

1 Cornish (Game) hen

2 quarts Chicken broth

1 /2 Onion

1 /2 Carrot

1 Bay leaf

Place the hen, broth, onion, carrot and bay leaf in medium sized stockpot. Simmer one hour and 20 minutes over medium heat. Remove hen and strain the broth. Allow hen to cool and pull meat from the bones. Chop meat.

1 Tbl. Bacon grease (or canola oil)

1 /4 cup Bell pepper, diced

1 cup Celery, diced

1 cup Onion, diced

2 tsp Celery salt

2 tsp Poultry seasoning

1 recipe Basic Cornbread, crumbled (recipe below)

2 cups Mushroom Béchamel Sauce (recipe below)

2 cups Heavy cream

1 1 /2 cups Chicken broth, strained from cooking hen

4 Eggs

2 Eggs, hard-boiled

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium sized skillet, melt bacon grease over low heat. Add vegetables and seasoning and cook slowly for 10 minutes. Pour into a mixing bowl. Add Mushroom Béchamel Sauce, cream, broth and eggs mixing well. Add crumbled cornbread and hen meat. Mix until all is well incorporated. Pour into a three-quart baking dish. Bake one hour 15 minutes. Do not overcook dressing (it should be moist but not runny). Yield: 8-12 servings

Basic Cornbread

1 cup Cornmeal

1 cup Flour

1 /2 cup Corn flour

2 tsp Baking powder

1 /2 tsp Baking soda

2 tsp Salt

2 Eggs

1 Tbl Bacon grease (or canola oil)

1 cup Buttermilk

1 cup Milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Do not over mix. Pour batter into a greased cast-iron skillet or a buttered two-quart baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Mushroom Bechamel

2 tsp Olive oil, light

2 Tbl Onion, minced

1 Tbl Shallot, minced

1 Tbl Celery, minced

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Garlic, granulated

1 /8 tsp Thyme, dry

3 oz Mushrooms, cleaned, sliced (1 cups)

1 cup Chicken broth

3 Tbl cup Butter

1/4 cup Flour

1/3 cup Whipping cream

Heat oil in a three-quart saucepot over low heat. Add onions, shallots, celery, and salt. Cook vegetables until tender. Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium. Cook 10 minutes, stirring often. Add chicken broth, garlic and thyme. Bring back to a simmer and cook 10 more minutes.

In a separate skillet, make a light-blonde roux by melting butter and stirring in flour. Add to simmering broth mixture. Cook three to four minutes and add cream. Freezes well. Yield: three cups

Cornbread Casserole.

This recipe is supposed to simulate the wonderful side dish at Lee Roy Selmon's in Tampa. It would make an excellent addition to the Thanksgiving spread, and is very simple to make. Another version that I have used is also excellent.


Cornbread Casserole

2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
1 -17 oz can of cream style corn
1 -17 oz can of whole kernel corn, drained
4 oz ( ½ cup) melted butter (Plus a little for the casserole dish)
½ cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1 or 2 Tablespoons of your favorite hot sauce
1- 8.5 oz package Jiffy Corn Muffin mix

Butter a 2 qt casserole dish and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients. Sprinkle the Jiffy mix over the combined ingredients and fold in with a spatula. Do not beat the mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow casserole to rest 10 minutes before serving.

Pecan Pie.

This is the pecan pie that I have been making since I got the cookbook, Festival, as a wedding gift in 1992. It makes two, so add a sprinkling of chocolate chips to bottom of one crust as a decadent variation. I am considering making the Southern Plate recipe as a comparison.....

Pecan Pie

3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
5 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
5 level tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups broken pecans
2 cups white corn syrup
2 nine-inch pie crusts (I use deep-dish)

With electric mixer, beat eggs until light & fluffy. Add sugar, butter, and flour. Mix well. Add corn syrup gradually while beating. Remove mixer, and with a spoon, beat vanilla and pecans into mixture. Pour into pie crusts and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until set.

Horseradish Cream Sauce

Horseradish Cream Sauce


3 tbsp. prepared horseradish
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. dry mustard
3 tbsp. mayo
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper (or chili powder)
1/2 cup sour cream

Whisk together all ingredients and serve as a sauce for prime rid, pork tenderloin, etc.

Holiday Punch.

Holiday Punch

1 quart peppermint ice cream (I prefer Blue Bell)
1 quart egg nog
48 oz. ginger ail
1 cup good rum
24 mini peppermint candy canes for hanging on punch bowl as garnish

Stir ice cream until softened, then stir in egg not and rum. Add ginger ale slowly. Garnish bowl with peppermint sticks and a few extra scoops of still-frozen ice cream, if desired.

Shrimp & Corn Soup.

My dear friend, Jennifer, reports that this soup is excellent. I don't care for crawfish, so would substitute in shrimp.


Crawfish & Corn Soup

1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped green onion
4 cups milk
2 (15 oz.) cans cream-style corn
1 (15 oz.) can whole kernel corn
1 (10.75 oz.) can condensed cream of potato soup
1/4 teaspoon Creole seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 dash pepper sauce
salt to taste
1 pound crawfish, peeled

Melt butter in a large pot over low heat, and stir in flour. Cook, stirring constantly to make a light roux, about 5 minutes. Add onions, and cook until wilted. Pour in milk, creamed corn, whole kernel corn, and cream of potato soup. Season with Creole seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, pepper sauce, and salt. Stir to blend, and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Add the crawfish, and cook for 20 more minutes.

Shrimp Al'Arrabbiatta

Shrimp Al'Arrabbiatta


1 tsp olive oil
1 ed bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup bottled clam juice
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted & slivered
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt
1 pound medium shrimp, shelled & deveined
3/4 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tsp water

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot, but not smoking. Add the bell pepper and garlic. Cook, stirring until well coated, about 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup of the clam juice and cook until peppers are softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining clam juice, tomato, olives, oregano, ginger, rosemary, red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook for 3 minutes to reduce slightly. Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp are just opaque, about 2 minutes. Bring to a boil, stir in cornstarch mixture, and cook while stirring until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Serve.