Description:
Great holiday stuffing, italian-style. I just bake the entire batch rather than stuffing the bird with it, because I like crispier stuffing. I make it significantly differently from the recipe I was given, but I'll give you both versions.

Ingredients:
12 c. bread cubes (I bought a loaf of italian bread last time I made this and cut it up into 1/2" to 3/4" cubes, worked perfectly)
2 large onions, chopped (this is a LOT of onion, cuz Colorado onions are the size of cabbages. I minced two very small onions (3" or so) and it was perfect. Ended up with about 2 cups, which matches the amount of celery)
2 shallots (my own addition because my onions were small; not part of the original recipe)
2 cups chopped celery (I chop them very fine to keep whiny people who think they don't like celery from figuring it out)
1c. olive oil (Again, excessive. The first time I made this, it was far too greasy. I used 1/2c. this time, and it was much better.
3 tbsp. minced garlic (This recipe can't decide how to measure things - garlic doesn't translate to tablespoons easily. So, three tablespoons to me = as many cloves of garlic as I can peel before I get tired of it. This time it was about a full head of garlic.)
3 tbsp. italian seasoning
2 tsp. salt (I used less)
1 tsp. pepper
2-3 cups sliced black olives (Far, far too much. I used two small cans of sliced olives, and it was good.)



Directions:
Saute onion in olive oil. (The recipe doesn't say how long, I did it for a 3-4 minutes)Add the celery (and shallots), garlic, italian seasoning, salt and pepper; simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add olives.

Toss bread cubes with onion/celery mixture. Stuff turkey, place excess in pan and bake covered for 30 minutes. (I bake the whole batch as mentioned before.) Uncover the mixture for the last 5-10 minutes of baking to brown.

Description:
Another thing I refuse to prepare from a can: cranberry sauce. It's simple to boil up a pot of cranberries and it tastes incredible. Very high taste to time ratio.

Ingredients:
3c. fresh (or frozen) cranberries
1c. sugar
1/2c. orange juice concentrate
1/2c. orange juice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. cardamom
fresh sprig of rosemary, about 4" long

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except rosemary in saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Add rosemary when mixture begins to boil. Stir while it boils for 5 minutes, crushing berries against side of pan as you stir. Remove from heat, take out rosemary sprig, and refrigerate before serving.

Description:
Recipe from Libby (as in the people who make canned pumpkin) for a great pumpkin cheesecake. Casey's favorite. I refuse to make anything pumpkin with the canned stuff, however - it's so easy and so much better to bake a pie pumpkin and puree the flesh.

Ingredients:
Crust: (we usually substitute 2 prepared crusts)
1-1/2c. graham cracker crumbs
1/3 c. butter
1/4 c. granulated sugar

Filling:
3 packages cream cheese (8oz each)
1c. granulated sugar
1/4c. packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 can pumpkin puree (15oz, about 1-3/4c. baked pie pumpkin puree)
2/3c. evaporated milk
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1-1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
16oz sour cream
1/3c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, and granulated sugar in medium bowl. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of ungreased 9" springform pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes (do not allow to brown). Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs, pumpkin, and evaporated milk. Add cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg; beat well. Pour into crust.

Bake for 55-60 minutes or until edge is set but center still moves slightly.

Combine sour cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract in small bowl; mix well. Spread over surface of warm cheesecake. Bake for 5 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove side of springform pan.

Description:
My variation on a recipe from MasterCook. It was originally scaled to feed 8 people; I cut it down to 2, didn't give measurements for things that should be to taste, and changed the chicken preparation. Instructions were rearranged to make more sense as well.

The chicken breasts are cut more to be similar to the way I make Chicken Piccata because I like the way the little chicken medallions look and taste - they absorb so much more flavor when they're small and thin. Next time I make this I may pound the pieces a bit to make them more tender. It's a similar recipe to the chicken piccata, but different enough to be interesting.

Casey thought it was particularly good served over steamed brown rice. I would imagine it would be just as good over pasta.

Ingredients:
2 boneless chicken breasts
flour for dredging
oil for frying

butter for more frying (YES!!)
generous 1/4c. pine nuts

1 clove minced garlic (I used a bit more. I like garlic)
1/4 c. dry white wine (again, salted cooking wine)
juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1-1/2 tbsp lemon juice)
chopped parsley to taste (I didn't use this, parsley is seriously strong and I don't particularly like it)

salt to taste (I didn't add any salt anywhere because of the salted wine, it was still a bit salty)
pepper to taste

BROWN SAUCE (make this first)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1/2 chicken broth (heated)

Directions:
Brown Sauce:
******************
In a medium saucepan place the butter and heat it on medium until it has melted. Add the flour and stir it in for 1 minute. While stirring constantly, slowly add the heated broth. Continue to stir until the sauce begins to boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. "It is sauce." - so says the original, LOL. Keep it warm until ready to use.

***************
Preheat oven to 350.

Cut chicken into 3" or so pieces, split the thick ones down the middle so they're all pretty uniform. Dredge the pieces in flour and fry in the hot oil 3-4 minutes each side (or until lightly browned). Remove the chicken, place in a baking dish, keep warm.

Drain oil from skillet, add butter and heat until melted. Toss in the pine nuts and saute until lightly toasted (1-2 minutes).

Add garlic and white wine, cook until wine has evaporated (3-4 minutes)

Stir in lemon juice, parsley, prepared brown sauce, salt, pepper. When well blended, pour over chicken in baking dish. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until very hot.

Description:
Pork braised in a flavorful sauce - great for company. From OtherWhiteMeat.com with my adjustments in italics.

Ingredients:
4 pork blade steaks 3/4"-1" thick (I used 1/2" pork chops and it was fine)
black pepper
salt
olive oil

1/2c. chicken broth
1/2c. dry red wine (I used cooking wine, which has salt in it)
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar (Use a good one. Life is too short for bad balsalmic vinegar; life is so much better with a good one.)
1/2 tsp. salt (I omitted the salt because of the cooking wine, and it was fine)
2 tsp. brown sugar

Directions:
Season pork steaks with salt and pepper; brown in olive oil in a medium-hot skillet about 1-1/2 min. per side. Remove pork from skillet, stir in rest of ingredients, cook and stir to remove any brown bits from bottom of skillet. Bring to a boil, return pork to pan. Cover, simmer and cook for 20 minutes. (Next time I'll only cook it for 10 minutes or so because I used thinner meat).

Description:
Chicken with great sauce. Good recipe for company. From a Pillsbury Cookbook. My changes are in italics.

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper (Regular pepper works just fine. Recipes only call for white pepper when black flecks will "spoil" the final look of the dish. It looks fine. Don't pay extra for it.)
2 tbsp. oil
1/2 c. chicken broth
2 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. dried marjoram
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 c. chopped parsley (This is way too much parsley. A tablespoon or so would be plenty. And since you can't buy fresh parsley in anything other than giant bunches, it's really not worth it. I usually use pine nuts instead.)

Directions:
Pound chicken flat to 1/4" thick. I just slice the chicken breasts into large thin medallions to make them thinner rather than pound them. Pounding takes forever and results in chicken bits flung all over the kitchen. Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl; dredge chicken pieces in the mixture. Fry chicken in oil 3-5 minutes on each side. Remove from skillet, keep warm. Add broth, worcestershire sauce, and marjoram to skillet - cook and stir 1-2 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and parsley. Serve over chicken.

I just made this tonight but instead of adding the broth, etc. to the skillet, I sauteed a bunch of finely chopped (shredded would probably have been better) cabbage, then poured the broth mixture over the cabbage. This was followed by layering the cooked chicken over the top. It's a great way to get more vegetables into your diet and tastes great. But hey, I like cabbage. :)

Description:
The way to make it. Simple yet sophisticated, and very easy. The cooking method I stole from the internet recently, but the preparation is the way we've been doing it for a while.

Ingredients:
1 prime rib (we usually use a 2-3 rib roast)
several garlic cloves
rosemary
kosher salt
coarsely ground pepper

Directions:
Cut garlic cloves into slivers (quarters or slightly finer). Poke a hole in the roast with a knife and push a garlic sliver into the hole. Do this every couple of inches over the entire surface of the prime rib (except the rib portion, of course). Once that is finished, rub the meat down with a mixture of kosher salt, coarsely ground pepper, and rosemary sprigs.

Cook the roast for 30 minutes at 550 degrees, then turn the oven off. Do not open the door. Leave the roast for 2 hours.

Description:
Authentic, simple, and delicious. Wonderful plain, or smothered in sour cream, salsa, and guacamole, or wrapped in a tortilla with the above condiments. This is Casey's specialty, and a regular request of us at family potlucks.

Ingredients:

Roasted fresh or frozen mild chiles, peeled and seeded (If you must, you can use canned chiles. Around here, we go to a local farm, buy a bushel of fresh chiles, and they roast them for free. Then we freeze them in packs of 8. Once they thaw, the peel falls right off.)
Cheddar jack cheese, cut in wedges about 1/4" thick
Eggs, separated
cream of tartar


Directions:
Put a cheese wedge in each chile, and set aside.

Add about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp cream of tartar to the egg whites and whip them to stiff peaks. Whip the yolks separately, and fold them carefully into the eggs.

Heat up a saucepan or griddle (we use a cast iron griddle), oil it well. Dip a chile into the egg batter, coat it well, and fry until golden brown on one side; flip. Put cooked chiles on a platter in a warmed oven until all are ready.

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, and fresh warm tortillas.

Description:
Smooth, sweet squash soup. By Ellen Ecker Ogden, an organic farmer, in her book "From the Cook's Garden". My recipe adjustments are in italics.

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cups pared and seeded butternut squash, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 medium leek, white and pale green parts only, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry white wine, such as Chardonnay (I used a white cooking wine - cooking wines have salt in them, and you don't have to be carded to buy them)
2 cups half-and-half (I've used soymilk instead of the half-and-half with good results)
1/2 cup maple syrup
a few gratings of fresh nutmeg
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:
Heat butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the squash, carrots, and leek, and cook, stirring often, until the leek is wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and bay leaf and cook, stirring often, until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.

Stir the wine and bring to a boil over high heat. (I didn't add the bay leaf until I added the wine - I figured it would fall to pieces if there wasn't any liquid). Cook, uncovered, until the wine is almost completely evaporated, about 10 minutes.

Stir in 4 cups of water an return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the squash is very tender, about 30 minutes.

In batches, puree the soup in a food processor or blender. Return to the pot. Stir in the half-and-half, maple syrup, and nutmeg. (I went ahead and made it according to the recipe this time, but next time I won't add the maple syrup. It was too sweet - though the slight maple flavor is wonderful. Taste it at this point, and decide if you want to add it yourself.)

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, just until the soup is piping hot. Season with the salt and pepper. (I didn't need to add either salt or pepper) Serve hot.