Archive for the ‘Seasonal/Holiday Recipes’ Category

November 15th, 2023 Blog, Chicken & Turkey, How To & Tips, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes, Thanksgiving Dinner Comments Off on Stress-Free Thanksgiving Dinner Grocery List and Timing Guide

Stress-Free Thanksgiving Dinner Grocery List and Timing Guide

Thanksgiving’s by far my favorite holiday! All that’s expected, and that’s best part of it, is a good meal and getting together with family and friends. Not much more to be thankful about than that!

Of course, for the host(s), making that meal can feel daunting. That’s what this post and those that follow leading up to Thanksgiving Day are all about.

The two keys to putting together a successful and stress-free Thanksgiving dinner: making sure you have all the ingredients you need in advance (stores are usually – and thankfully – closed on Thanksgiving Day) and coordinating timing in the kitchen.

To help you get the ingredients you need as efficiently as possible, click this link or the picture below for a grocery shopping list to make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for 6-8 people that includes roast turkey, gravy, bread stuffing, fresh cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and pie dessert. Of course, just adjust those quantities as needed based on how many people you expect to join you for Thanksgiving dinner.

And, though though it’s a little early to start actually preparing any Thanksgiving dishes, click this link or the picture below for a timing guide that lays out clearly just about everything you’ll need to do to put together a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

More about specific Thanksgiving recipes to follow that we’ll have fun putting together!

November 9th, 2023 Blog, Breakfast, How To & Tips, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes, Special Recipes Comments Off on Fully Flavorful Whipped Cream Variations – Even If You’re Lactose Intolerant

Fully Flavorful Whipped Cream Variations – Even If You’re Lactose Intolerant

Flavor rules – always!

Last two posts showed how easy it is to make fully flavorful fresh whipped cream and then how to boost flavor to that same whipped cream by just adding ground cinnamon. This post shows a couple ways to vary whipped cream flavor very quickly and easily – even if you’re lactose intolerant. As always here, imagination is your only limit!

To kick that imagination in gear, here’s Pumpkin Pumped Whipped Cream.

Killer easy to make! As shown in the picture thumbnail sketch below,…

…just add pumpkin butter and pumpkin pie spice to the base fresh whipped cream recipe. And you don’t have to be limited by pumpkin butter. You can use apple butter, your favorite jam, butterscotch spread – anything you like to get the flavor you want.

Then if you or someone you know is lactose intolerant, here’s how you can easily switch out heavy cream with coconut cream and coconut milk to make both a basic coconut based whipped cream and then use the above ideas to vary the flavor any way you like.

The key here – as always – learn the base recipe and then use your imagination to have fully flavorful fun with it!

November 28th, 2022 Blog, Dessert, Nuts, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes, Snacks, Special Recipes Comments Off on How to Roast Chestnuts in a Conventional Oven or Toaster Oven

How to Roast Chestnuts in a Conventional Oven or Toaster Oven



Just seeing fresh chestnuts in the store at this time of year, which is a little tough where I now live in Hickory, NC, with one brilliant exception – more about that very soon – brings back vivid memories: from seeing and smelling them roast, or burn, on New York City sidewalks on bone cold winter nights to my dad roasting them in an electric pan and all of us cracking them open parked in front of a blazing fire in the living room when I was a much younger kid than I am now.

Roasting chestnuts is very easy, especially in a toaster oven, and well worth the flavor payoff. Here are some quick tips.

1. Select fresh chestnuts that are both heavier in weight and firm to the touch, not spongy. Also, give the chestnuts a quick look for small circular holes in their shell as any holes you find are a sure sign that pests have entered the nut.

Selecting Fresh Chestnuts2. Before roasting chestnuts, make sure to give them a good cross cut on both the top and bottom of the nut that penetrates the shell and thin membrane inside, as shown below. Making those cuts allows steam to escape as the chestnuts roast. Not making those cuts will allow trapped steam to build up inside the shell to the point of explosion – great, loud sound but annoying mess to clean up, which I DO know from experience.

Chestnut cross cut3. Here is all you need to roast chestnuts either in a toaster oven (more energy efficient) or conventional oven.

Needed to Roast Chestnuts

 

Click this link or any picture on this page for complete picture book directions – and enjoy!

December 1st, 2021 Blog, Breakfast, Fruit, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes Comments Off on Warm Apple Cranberry Fruit Topping Picture Book Recipe

Warm Apple Cranberry Fruit Topping Picture Book Recipe

This easy to make fruit topping tastes great and can be made with different fruit combinations to your taste.

Winter’s coming – or maybe for you, it’s already here.

Like I’ve mentioned before, there’s nothing much more comforting on a dark, cold morning than the smell of apples and cinnamon cooking fragrantly on the stove.

The easy-to-make fully flavorful warm apple cranberry fruit topping recipe you see here that goes great over pancakes, French toast, waffles, hot or cold cereal, with yogurt and jam, and much more is what I call a base or building block recipe. As a base recipe, you can use the prep and cooking techniques shown here and then use your choice of ingredients to make the topping just the way you want to suit your taste. Next couple posts will show examples that do exactly that.

Here’s what you need to make this recipe:

Here’s how I used it this morning to power a 25+ mile bike ride with good Hickory, NC, buds. I scooped a big spoon of the topping in a bowl and topped it off with yogurt, fig jam, some ground seeds (flaxseed and chia seeds), kefir and dried fruit – along with a pancake topped with nut butter, jam, yogurt and more dried fruit. That and a coffee/hot chocolate mix. Killer!

Click this link or any picture on this page for a complete warm apple cranberry fruit topping picture book recipe.

Next post: a couple easy variations on this apple cranberry fruit topping theme. All easy, all flavorful!

November 24th, 2021 Blog, Chicken & Turkey, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes, Side Dishes, Special Recipes, Thanksgiving Dinner, Video & Picture Ebooks, Videos Comments Off on Two Traditional Thanksgiving Sides: Bread Stuffing and Fresh Mashed Potatoes – Made Easy with Picture Book and Video Directions

Two Traditional Thanksgiving Sides: Bread Stuffing and Fresh Mashed Potatoes – Made Easy with Picture Book and Video Directions

Fresh mashed potatoes and bread stuffing are most flavorfully enjoyed when made just before serving dinner.

Last post showed how to make fresh cranberry sauce: killer flavor and as easy to make as boiled water.

This post shows how to make 2 traditional Thanksgiving side dishes: fresh mashed potatoes and bread stuffing, which you can learn how to make on the fly with the picture book and or video directions shown below.

First, here’s what you need to make fresh mashed potatoes, which are best made just before you serve dinner.

Fresh mashed potatoes and bread stuffing are most flavorfully enjoyed when made just before serving dinner.

Click this link or the picture above or below for picture book directions or…

…this link/picture below for quick video directions.

Here’s what you need to make quick & easy bread stuffing, which is also most fully flavorful and best made just before serving dinner.

Click this link or the picture above or below for picture book directions or…

…this link/picture below for quick video directions.

Of course, please click this link for complete Gotta’ Eat, Can’t Cook picture book Thanksgiving help.

November 22nd, 2021 Blog, Chicken & Turkey, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes, Side Dishes, Special Recipes, Thanksgiving Dinner Comments Off on Fresh Cranberry Sauce and More Thanksgiving Help

Fresh Cranberry Sauce and More Thanksgiving Help

Fresh homemade cranberry sauce blows the canned version out of the water and is as easy to make as boiled water

Only three days til Thanksgiving but no need to make yourself – or anyone else – crazy.

One of the best ways to make Thanksgiving Day as fun as possible is to get some easy dishes made in advance, like fresh cranberry sauce. Fresh, homemade cranberry sauce, with its rich sweet and sour flavor and mouth pleasing snap-pop, blows canned cranberry sauce out of the water, is no-kidding just as easy to make as boiled water and keeps fresh for weeks in the refrigerator.

Here’s all you need for ingredients. You’ll see a carton of orange juice in the picture below. Most cranberry sauce recipes call for cooking the berries in water. Instead of water, I like cooking fresh cranberries with fruit juice – orange juice as shown or apple or any other juice – for added flavor.

Click this link or any picture above or directly below for an easy to follow picture book recipe and/or…

…this link for a short step-by-step video.

You can also click this link or the picture below for the Gotta’ Eat Thanksgiving Help page that I’ve been updating with additional recipes to give you more freedom of choice.

November 18th, 2021 Blog, Dessert, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes, Thanksgiving Dinner Comments Off on Quick and Easy Pie Crust From Scratch Picture Book Directions

Quick and Easy Pie Crust From Scratch Picture Book Directions

 

Making your own pie crust from scratch is quick, easy and far more flavorful than store-bought pie shells

Pie is the most popular Thanksgiving dessert, and you know the deal here: flavor rules! I’ve never been a big baker, but years ago I made my first pie crust from scratch that was both incredibly easy to do and was nothing like the pre-made pie shells you get at the store that are really just flavorless containers for a much more flavorful filling. 

Here are the ingredients you need to make a quick and easy pie crust from scratch.

Quick and Easy Pie Crust IngredientsClick this link or any picture above for a complete step-by-step picture book recipe. you can also click this link or the picture below for a link to the Gotta’ Eat, Can’t Cook “Thanksgiving Help” page with easy to follow helpful step-by-step picture book Thanksgiving dinner planning and cooking tips.

 

Next post: 2 full-on flavorful pie crust variations.

January 21st, 2019 Blog, Cycling Food, Fitness Food, Poultry, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes Comments Off on Roast Turkey – Warm, Fully Flavorful Feast Any Day

Roast Turkey – Warm, Fully Flavorful Feast Any Day

With all that it has to offer: its signature warm smell while it roasts, terrific comforting flavor fresh out of the oven, incredible leftover versatility, and much more, especially when it’s cold out, why have roasted turkey just on Thanksgiving?

I’ve roasted two turkeys since Thanksgiving: one to have leftovers at home after Thanksgiving, which I’m still enjoying in portions out of the freezer, and another to prepare for a Bicycles Battling Cancer dinner at the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge in Boston last week.

If you’ve never roasted a turkey, you might think it’s a real chore.

It isn’t. In fact, it’s stress-free easy.

The keys to roasting a turkey beautifully successfully are roasting the turkey without stuffing (which otherwise will lead you to overcook the bird to cook the stuffing safely), using a meat thermometer, and doing most of the roasting with the turkey’s most delicate meat, the breast meat, cooked out of direct contact with the heat, which means roasting the bird mostly breast side down as shown in the top left picture below.

Click either this link or any picture on this page for complete, easy to follow fully flavorful stress-free roast turkey directions.

 

November 23rd, 2016 Blog, Chicken & Turkey, Cooking Technique, How To & Tips, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes, Thanksgiving Dinner Comments Off on Stress-Free Roast Turkey Picture Book Recipe

Stress-Free Roast Turkey Picture Book Recipe

stress-free-roast-turkey

Years ago I put together what I thought was the most stress-free roast turkey picture book recipe available. That recipe produced terrifically tender results because it required roasting the turkey at consistently high heat (450℉/230℃) mostly with the bird in a breast-side down position. Leaving the the turkey breast-side down for most of the roasting time protects the more delicate breast meat from direct heat and also allows the fat in turkey’s legs and thighs to baste the rest of the bird naturally by gravity. That technique, though, has two significant drawbacks: high heat roasting works well only for turkeys weighing up to 15 pounds and consistent high heat roasting temperature creates a lot of smoke in the kitchen. Read more »

November 16th, 2016 Blog, Dessert, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes, Thanksgiving Dinner Comments Off on Fresh and Easy Apple Pie Picture Book Recipe

Fresh and Easy Apple Pie Picture Book Recipe

fresh-and-easy-apple-pieAll right! My favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, is just around the corner. Friends, family, great flavors, terrific smells – and for some, a 4-day holiday!

The fresh and easy apple pie you see here goes great for dessert anytime, but particularly for Thanksgiving.

Here’s all you need to make this pie. I put the pie crust in a separate insert picture because the recipe itseslf doesn’t show how to make a pie crust, though there is a link to an easy recipe showing how to make the crust shown in that insert.

fresh-and-easy-apple-pie-ingredientspng

Read more »

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