Category Archives: Butter

Turkey Pot Pie


1 recipe pastry for a (10 inch) double crust pie

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1 small onion, minced

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 carrots, diced

3 tablespoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

2 cubes chicken bouillon

2 cups water

3 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 1/2 cups cubed cooked turkey

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll out bottom pie crust, press into a 10 inch pie pan, and set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add the onion, celery, carrots, parsley, oregano, and salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the vegetables are soft. Stir in the bouillon and water. Bring mixture to a boil. Stir in the potatoes, and cook until tender but still firm.

In a medium saucepan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in the turkey and flour. Add the milk, and heat through. Stir the turkey mixture into the vegetable mixture, and cook until thickened. Cool slightly, then pour mixture into the unbaked pie shell. Roll out the top crust, and place on top of filling. Flute edges, and make 4 slits in the top crust to let out steam.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking for 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown

Perfect Roast Turkey and Gravy


image

1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 turkey, 12-14 lbs, thawed if frozen
1 onion, quartered
1 head of garlic, halved crosswise
Several sprigs of fresh herbs, such as thyme, parsley, rosemary, and sage
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup cornstarch

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 F. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper inside turkey cavity. Place onion, garlic, herb sprigs, and bay leaves insides cavity. Place turkey breast-side up on rack in large roasting pan. brush with half of butter; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon pepper and remaining salt. Truss, if desired.

Tent turkey with foil, roast 2 hours, 30 minutes. Remove foil, brush with remaining butter. Increase oven temperature to 425 F. Roast turkey until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh away from bone registers 180 F about 45 minutes, tenting with foil during last 15 minutes of cooking time, if browning too quickly. Let stand 15 minutes before carving.

Meanwhile, skim and discard fat from pan juices. Place roasting pan with 1 1/2 cups juices over medium heat. Add broth, chopped thyme, and remaining pepper, stirring up browned bits from bottom of the pan. Simmer 3 minutes.

Stir together cornstarch and 1/3 cup water. Strain gravy into small pot over low heat, gradually whisk in cornstarch mixture. 

Cucumber-Dill Butter Finger Sandwiches


List of vegetables in Assam

List of vegetables in Assam (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

36 dime-thin slices of hothouse or small Kirby cucumbers, or as needed
Salt
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
8 Slices of bread, such as a good high-quality thin sliced bread, Pepperidge Farm makes both a wheat and a white version, these are very thin loaves and are perfect for finger sandwiches

Spread the cucumber slices out in a single layer on a sheet of paper towel.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and let stand.

Beat the butter and dill together in a small bowl.  Spread the butter onto one side of 8 slices of bread.  There will be enough butter to coat each one lightly.

Arrange the cucumber slices overlapping very slightly over 4 of the bread slices.  Top with the remaining bread, pressing each gently.  Cut off the crusts and cut each sandwich into 4 squares or triangles.

Corn Casserole


2 -12 Oz bags frozen sweet corn
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 – 8 Oz pkg onion and chive cream cheese spread, softened
1 can cream of celery
1/4 cup milk
Butter for sauteing onion and peppers

(if you want to add a bit of kick, add some finely chopped jalapenos and a sprinkle or two of cayenne)

Spray your casserole pan with nonstick spray.  Rinse frozen corn in colander to thaw slightly. Saute the onion and peppers in butter for about 5 minutes or until tender.

Mix remainder ingredients until smooth, add sauteed veggies and corn.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about  45 minutes. 

Baklava


My oldest daughter introduced me to a wonderful, little Greek restaurant. This recipe is a close match to their signature dessert! Do not be intimidated. Enjoy!

1 package of phylo dough
1 lb chopped walnuts or pistachios
2 tsp cinnamon
1 c butter melted
1 c water
1 c sugar
1/2 c honey
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9×13 inch pan.

Mix chopped nuts with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place one sheet of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 – 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 – 8 sheets deep. Don’t forget to butter the top layer!

Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.

Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and
water until sugar is melted. Add honey and lemon juice. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

Remove baklava from oven and pour syrup over as evenly as possible. Let cool.

**  In Middle Eastern bakeries they will serve each individual piece of baklava in a cupcake liner.

White Chocolate Blondie Bars


 

 

8 ounces good quality white chocolate
1 tbsp. vanilla essence or extract
1 stick butter
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup white chocolate chips

 
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, using enough foil so it overhangs on the sides of pan. This will help in lifting out the blondies when removing them from the pan when done. Grease foil with butter. (I have found that the Blondies maintain more humidity and turn out more fudgy by lining the pan with aluminum foil.)

Melt white chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together eggs and sugar, add vanilla, the melted white chocolate, flour and salt. Fold in white chocolate chips.

Spoon mixture into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Don’t over bake! The blondies must remain fudgy. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then with aluminum foil overhang, lift blondies out of pan and place on wire rack and cool completely. Remove foil and cut into 12 squares.

Makes 12 blondies.

Pierogi Lasagna


1 lb lasagna noodles
4 lbs red or white potatoes
1/4 c sour cream (optional)
1/2 c milk
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 c butter (1.5 sticks)
1 onion, sliced in rings

Cook the noodles. Chop potatoes into cubes, place in pot of cold water (enough to cover), and allow to come to a boil. Continue to boil until potatoes are soft enough to yield to a fork stab. Drain, mash, blend with a mixer. Toss in the optional sour cream and milk, mix some more. Add salt to taste. Stir in cheddar.

Close up of yummy!

Melt all the butter over medium-high heat, then sautee onion until the rings no longer hold their shape.

Preheat oven to 375. Grease the bottom of a 913 baking dish with some of the onion-butter.

Lay noodles on the bottom of the dish, then spread the potatoes, a dollop at a time, along the length of each noodle.

Once done, smooth the potatoes, then spread about a quarter of the onion on top, and drizzle a small amount of butter as well. Repeat this twice (or more if your dish can accommodate), then top with noodles and the remainder of the onions and butter.

Pop in the oven for 20 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

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Pyrohy (ped-a-hey)


Dough:

1/4 lb of butter
2 eggs
3 c. warm water to melt butter
2 tsp. salt
8 c. flour

For filling: 

 leftover mashed potatoes and 1 c shredded sharp cheddar

Roll out dough to about 1/8-inch thickness on floured board and cut out rounds with biscuit cutter.  Take a heaping teaspoonful of the cooled potatoe mixture and put in center of dough you have cut out.  Fold the dough with the filling in half (it will look like a half moon).  Pinch dough together tightly to seal.  Make sure they are sealed tightly or they will come apart and filling will fall out during cooking.  Add water or egg wash if necessary for a tight seal.

When you have finished filling the dough cut outs, take a large kettle (5 or 6 quarts) and fill 1/2 full of water, add a bit of salt to the water.  Bring this to a boil; then drop about 20 Pyrohy into boiling water.  Stir carefully with wooden spoon to loosen any Pyrohy that may have stuck to the bottom of the kettle.  The water will stop boiling when you drop all the Pyrohy into the water, that is when you have to loosen them from the bottom. 

When the Pyrohy start boiling, they will float to the top.  Turn heat down and boil gently for about 8 minutes or cover and steam for 10-12 minutes.  Remove Pyrohy from boiling water and strain in colander.  Rinse slightly with cold water to prevent sticking. 

Melt 1/4 to 1/2 pound butter and pour over Pyrohy, then serve.  (I usually sautee’ onions in this butter for on top!)

**If you prefer, you can pan fry them instead of boiling…

***This is the recipe I’ve used most often.  I’m about to work up the ambition to make them again with 3 young helpers!

Sour Cream Pierogie Recipe


From near to far: sweet cheese, potato, mushro...

Image via Wikipedia

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling dough
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup sour cream, plus extra to serve with the pierogi
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened and cut into small pieces
  • butter and onions for sauteing
  • ingredients for filling of your choice (potato & cheese filling recipe below)

Preparation:

Pierogi Dough
To prepare the pierogi dough, mix together the flour and salt. Beat the egg, then add all at once to the flour mixture. Add the 1/2 cup sour cream and the softened butter pieces and work until the dough loses most of its stickiness (about 5-7 minutes). You can use a food processor with a dough hook for this, but be careful not to overbeat. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or overnight; the dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Each batch of dough makes about 12-15 pierogies, depending on size.
Prepare the Pierogies:  Roll the pierogi dough on a floured board or countertop until 1/8″ thick. Cut circles of dough (2″ for small pierogies and 3-3 1/2″ for large pierogies) with a cookie cutter or drinking glass. Place a small ball of filling (about a tablespoon) on each dough round and fold the dough over, forming a semi-circle. Press the edges together with the tines of a fork.

Boil the perogies a few at a time in a large pot of water. They are done when they float to the top (about 8-10 minutes). Rinse in cool water and let dry.

Saute chopped onions in butter in a large pan until onions are soft. Then add pierogies and pan fry until lightly crispy. Serve with a side of sour cream for a true Pittsburgh pierogi meal.

Homemade Pierogi Tips:

  1. If you are having a hard time getting the edges to stick together, you may have too much flour in the dough. Add a little water to help get a good seal. 
  2. If you don’t want to cook all of the pierogies right away, you can refrigerate them (uncooked) for several days or freeze them for up to several months. 
  3. You can fill pierogies with pretty much anything you want, though potato and cheese is the most common (recipe below). Sweet pierogies are often filled with a prune mixture.

Potato, Cheese & Onion Filling: Peel and boil 5 large potatoes until soft. Red potatoes are especially good for this. While the potatoes are boiling, finely chop 1 large onion and saute in butter until soft and translucent. Mash the potatoes with the sauted onions and 4-8oz of grated cheddar cheese (depending on how cheesy you want your pierogies), adding salt and pepper to taste. You can also add some fresh parsley, bacon bits, chives, or other enhancements if you desire. Let the potato mixture cool and then form into 1″ balls.

Cheddar Cheese Puffs ….. with a surprise!


Makes 48 puffs

2 cups grated sharp cheddar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 cup sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
48 small green stuffed olives, well drained

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
1. Blend the grated cheese and butter. Stir in the flour, salt and paprika. (This can all be done in a food processor equipped with the metal blade.)
2. Mold 1 teaspoon of the mixture around each olive. Chill the puffs until firm, about 30 minutes. Arrange the puffs on ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 15 minutes or until browned. (You can also freeze the puffs, well wrapped, for about 10 days. Bake them, still frozen, until browned.)