Dress It Up

I said the theme for February would be soups and stews, so here is a recipe for ... biscuits. May seem out of place, but it actually makes perfect sense to me.

No bowl is complete without some crusty bread on the side. On the weekends, it's easy to run out real quick and grab a fresh loaf of bread. On weeknights, though, it's not so easy. And that's where canned biscuits come in handy.

Oh, sure, you could serve them plain. But where's the fun in that? So I like to dress up my biscuits, make them a little extra special. They're perfect for sopping up the last of the broth in your bowl -- especially if you're too proper to pick up the bowl and drink.

Italian-Style Biscuits
A Country Cooking Original

Ingredients:

• 1 can refrigerated biscuits, such as Pillsbury Grands
  
• olive oil
  
• jarred minced garlic
  
• dried Italian seasoning
  
• shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven according to package directions. Place biscuits on ungreased cookie sheet.
   
2. Brush the tops of biscuits with olive oil.
   
3. Sprinkle Italian seasoning, 1/8 teaspoon minced garlic, and shredded mozzarella cheese on each biscuit.
   
4. Bake according to package directions.

Not Just for Thanksgiving

I have to say, my mother and father prepare quite the spread for Thanksgiving each year. The turkey, stuffing, potatoes, carrots. You name it, we have it. And it's all prepared from scratch. Except from the cranberry sauce. That comes out of a can.

And that just seems ... wrong.

So last year I decided to make some cranberry sauce from scratch. I searched through all my recipes books and this recipe appealed to me. It made the whole house smell wonderful, warm, and welcoming. Oh, and it's delicious, too.

But the best part is, it's not just for Thanksgiving. I made this sauce all winter long. It's great mixed in yogurt, on top of pancakes, waffles or french toast, or stirred into your oatmeal. The possibilities are endless. You're only limited by your imagination, really.

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

Recipe from Taste of Home Thanksgiving
Yield: 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 package (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries
  
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
  
• 1/2 cup water
  
• 1/2 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and ground allspice
  
• 1/8 teaspoon each salt, ground ginger and ground cloves

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered until the berries pop and mixture is thickened, about 30 minutes. Cool. Transfer to a serving bowl; cover and refrigerate until chilled.

Tip:

• Stock up on cranberries when they're in season. To freeze cranberries, rinse them and pat them dry. Discard any that are not firm and plump. Place them in a single layer on a 13-inch x9-inch baking pan. When frozen, transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 1 year. Freezing berries individually allows you to measure only as many as needed. There's no need to defrost frozen cranberries first.

Note from the 2012 Kitchen: Take your leftover turkey sandwich to the next level. On a Portugese roll with a light spread of mayo, layer cold turkey breast, a couple of spoonfuls of warm stuffing, and top with this cranberry sauce. You'll taste Thanksgiving in every bite.

Pass the Carrots

I was never one for cooked carrots growing up. Every year at Thanksgiving my mom would make glazed carrots. Every year someone in the family would try to convince me to eat them, claiming they tasted like candy. Now, as a kid, who knows candy better? So no, I don't think they taste like candy, and I'll have my carrots raw, thank you very much!

But a few years ago this recipe was shared with me on a message board. I don't recall where it originated: either Better Homes & Garden or a Betty Crocker cookbook. Either way, I can happily say I now eat cooked carrots. And the use of fresh dill, well, it just tastes like summer. (And making this recipe in colder weather is a nice treat when you're longing for the warmer days of the summer months.)

Carrots with Dill Butter
Makes 4 servings>

Ingredients:

• 1 16-oz. package baby carrots
  
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill, or 1/2 teaspoon dried dillweed
  
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan cook carrots, covered, in a small amount of boiling water for about 10 minutes or until tender; drain.
   
2. Stir in butter, dill, lemon juce, salt and pepper into carrots. Toss to lightly coat.

Recreating Meals ... and Memories

Seven years ago, when my husband and I married, we traveled to Aruba for our honeymoon. One night we ate dinner on the beach. It was a beautiful, five-course meal, and two elements in particular stood out in my mind: the red snapper, grilled to perfection, and the stuffed tomato.

That stuffed tomato was too wonderful never to have again. I simply had to find a recipe and make them again! Only, it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. There were many recipes out there, and I tried a few of them, but none of them were quite right. That is, until I found this recipe by Giada De Laurentiis. It has exactly the flavors I was looking for! They key ingredient? Provolone cheese! The sharp, tanginess of the cheese is the perfect contrast to those sweet tomatoes Jersey has to offer. They make a wonderful side dish, perfect alongside steak or london broil.

Herb Stuffed Tomatoes
Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:

• 5 beefsteak tomatoes
  
• 1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
  
• 3/4 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
  
• 1 cup grated provolone
  
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  
• 1 teaspoon butter, softened
  
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
   
2. Cut tomatoes in half horizontally. Use a small spoon -- a melon baller works great, too -- to gently hollow out the inside of the tomatoes, discarding seeds and reserving the pulp.
   
3. Chop reserved pulp and put in a medium bowl. Add parsley, breadcrumbs, cheese, and pepper and gently mix to combine.
   
4. Fill tomato halves with breadcrumb mixture and place in buttered casserole dish. Drizzle tops with olive oil.
   
5. Bake until tips are browned, about 20 minutes.

And here is a picture of our table from that wonderful meal!

Say peas!

There are many vendors at my local farmer's market, but each week my first stop is to Gould's Farm's stand. Why, you ask? Before my son was born my husband and I would walk the market together, looking over all the wares. Gould's had shell peas one Saturday in late June. My husband is a big fan of peas and wanted to get some. I was skeptical, not being a fan of peas and having only seen either canned or frozen ones prepared, I wasn't really sure what to do with fresh ones. But Ann, the proprietor of Gould's, grabbed a shell, opened it up, and let me taste some fresh peas. That one taste was all it took. I was sold!

Now, you may be thinking, is it worth the effort to shell the peas myself when I can just buy canned or frozen ones at the supermarket? The answer is yes, it most definitely is! And if you don't like frozen or canned peas, I still urge you to give fresh ones a try. Other than in stews or pot pies, I am not a fan of peas either. Frozen ones always have a mushy texture to me, and canned ones taste like tin. But fresh? What a world of difference! They are worth the effort, so make the most of them during their short (4-week) season!

This is one of our favorite ways to make fresh peas:

Peas with Pancetta

Recipe from Cooking Light
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)

Ingredients:

• 3 sliced pancetta, chopped (about 1 ounce)
  
• 3/4 cup finely chopped white onion (We prefer vidalia onion.)
  
• 1 garlic clove, minced
  
• 3 cups shelled green peas
  
• 1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
  
• 2 teaspoons sugar
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pancetta, sauté 5 minutes or until crispy. Remove pancetta from pan, reserving drippings in pan.
   
2. Add onion and garlic to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until tender.
   
3. Add peas, broth, sugar, and salt to pan. Simmer 5 minutes or until peas are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in pancetta and chopped parsley.