This week is the first of two holiday specials to come. Join Adam, David and Nick for the fourth instalment of 3 Cocks and a Pot. In this episode the guys discuss planning, preparation, and execution of a holiday meal. Topics include creating a game plan, cooking a turkey, preparing that perfect stuffing, side dishes, and desserts.
Recipes:
Nick’s Homemade Cranberry Sauce
1/2 c dark sugar (more or less to taste)
2 large oranges, zested and juiced (1 cup of juice)
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 cup white wine
1 cinnamon stick
5 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed
Bring everything but cranberries to a boil.
Reduce to medium heat.
Add cranberries and cook until reduced and thickened.
Discard your cinnamon stick, or, transfer it to whatever dish you'll be transferring this to.
If you like the texture and the cranberry skins in the sauce, you're done! Just chill until it's time to serve. I hit this with an immersion blender and it basically turns into jellied cranberry sauce.
Adam’s Creamed Corn
5 cups of frozen corn
1/2 medium white onion (finely diced)
5 tbsp butter
6 tbsp maple syrup
Cut onions into small dice, add to a med-sized sauce pan with 5 tablespoons of butter and cook until translucent.
Add frozen corn and add maple syrup, and heavy cream not covering the corn
Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 mins
Blend until blended nicely add more maple syrup or salt if needed.
Hit it with an immersion blender until your desired consistency is achieved.
David’s Smothered Green Beans
½ cup bacon fat - THIS IS A MUST. DO NOT SUBSTITUTE!!!!!!!!!
2 cups thinly sliced shallots or sweet onions
3 lbs. fresh green beans, strings removed, snapped into 1½-inch pieces and well rinsed
1 qt. chicken stock - DO NOT SUBSTITUTE WATER!!!!!!!
Coarse salt and ground black pepper to taste
In a heavy-bottomed pot over moderate heat, heat bacon fat until shimmery. Add shallots or onions, stirring to coat. Sprinkle with salt. Cook until almost translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Add beans and stock, making sure that stock covers beans.
Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook the beans until the stock is almost gone, about two hours.
Add LOTS of fresh black pepper to serve
Nick’s Stuffing Recipe
3 cups turkey stock (3 cups water & 3 Tbsp turkey Better than Bouillon)
1½ cups celery (cooked)
1½ cups onion (sautéed in white wine)
½ cup garlic (chopped & sautéed)
1 loaf of fresh-baked bread
½ tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp rubbed sage
1 tsp oregano
½ tsp poultry seasoning
1 cup fresh cranberries
2 granny smith apples, chopped
1 cup diced tomatoes
Use a large skillet!
Sauté your onions in white wine until softened and caramelized over medium heat.
Add your garlic in the last couple of minutes and sauté it. Remove onions and garlic and set aside.
Add turkey stock and celery to the skillet and bring to a boil (increase to mid-high). Once at a rolling boil, add your cranberries. Cook until the cranberries have burst and your celery is soft and turn off the heat.
Cut your bread into small manageable pieces and toss into the skillet with the garlic and onion and the rest of the ingredients.
Mix well and set aside the stuffing to cool a little before stuffing your bird.
Adam’s Savoury Cornbread and Maple Sausage Stuffing
Cornbread Ingredients
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, cooled, plus more for baking dish
1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
1⅓ cups cornmeal
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs, beaten to blend
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup whole milk
Stuffing Ingredients
1 pound fresh maple breakfast sausage, casings removed, crumbled
1 large onion, (about 2 cups), finely chopped
3 celery, finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 pounds prepared cornbread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (12 cups)
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 to 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 Tbsp Maple syrup
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a 9-inch cast iron skillet, a heavy 2-quart baking dish or a heavy 9-inch square baking pan in the oven while you prepare the batter.
Place the cornmeal in a bowl, and sift in the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir the mixture with a spoon or whisk to amalgamate. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, milk and honey. Whisk the cornmeal mixture into the liquid mixture. Do not overwork the batter.
Remove the pan from the oven, and add the butter to the pan. Swirl the pan so that the butter melts quickly before it gets too brown, then quickly whisk the butter into the batter. Brush the sides of the pan with any butter remaining in the pan.
Quickly scrape all of the batter into the hot pan, and place in the oven. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It will be quite brown on the edges. Allow the bread to cool in the pan, or serve warm.
Heat the olive oil (or oil and butter) over medium heat in a large, heavy, nonstick skillet, and add the onion.
Cook, stirring often, until it begins to soften, about three minutes, and add 1/2 teaspoon salt and the celery. Cook together for another few minutes, until the onion is tender.
Add the garlic, and stir together for 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant. Transfer to a large bowl, and add the remaining ingredients.
Combine well. Taste and adjust salt. Moisten as desired with milk.
Stuff the cavity of the turkey, or transfer to a buttered or oiled 2-quart baking dish. Dot with butter. Cover with aluminum foil, and heat through in a 325-degree oven for 30 minutes.
Nick’s Homemade Apple Pie with a Cookie Crust
Cookie Crust
3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 t salt
1 cup shortening, cubed and chilled/frozen
1/2 cup ice cold water
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 t vanilla extract, chilled
1 T cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
1 egg
Combine your dry ingredients together.
Whisk your egg and add the vanilla to it.
Combine the dry mixture with the shortening. You want those shortening cubes to still be part of the texture of it, and the rest should be nice and gritty like cracker crumbs.
Add your egg and vanilla mixture and the ice cold water. Start with 3/4 of the water and, if the dough isn't coming together, add the rest.
Separate the mixture into two balls and wrap them up tightly in shrink wrap.
Refrigerate until you are ready to bake, or at least 30 minutes.
Pie Filling
8 cups granny smith apples, chopped (roughly 1-inch cubes)
1/2 c unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 c dark brown sugar
2 T cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t allspice
1/4 t ginger
1 T vanilla
1/4 c cornstarch
Preheat the oven to 425.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat (maybe slightly lower).
Add apples.
Sprinkle all other toppings over the apples.
Toss to coat.
Cook the apples until they are JUST starting to soften; you don't want to overcook them here and end up with mush in your pie!
Remove from heat and cool. You don't want them super hot touching your pie crust.
Remove your cookie dough crust from the fridge.
When rolling, because this is halfway to a cookie, you may get some breaks. That's OKAY! Get the bottom of the pie pan in there, and then build the sides with scraps if you have to. You're going for taste here.
Once your dough is in the pan and trimmed, chill it again for 15 minutes or so. I pop it in the freezer here. You want that fat to stay solid until baking.
Now...
Add your apples to the pie pan.
Cut your lattice strips and decorate the top of the pie, pressing it into the outer rim.
Whisk one egg and egg wash the top of the lattice if desired.
Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.
Reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for another 30-40 minutes.
Remove and cool.
Adam’s Carrot Cake for Adults
Carrot Cake (Sponge)
6 cups grated carrots
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup shaved (toasted) coconut
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped (toasted) walnuts
In a medium bowl, combine grated carrots and brown sugar. Set aside for 60 minutes, then stir in raisins.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 10 inch cake pans.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Gradually beat in the white sugar, oil and vanilla. Stir in the pineapple. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, stir into the wet mixture until absorbed. Finally stir in the carrot mixture, coconut and the walnuts. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven, until cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.
Buttermilk Bourbon Glaze
1 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup Bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil in a large pot (this glaze will rapidly expand before shrinking to it’s final volume, so make sure to have ) oven over medium-high heat. Boil, stirring often, 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla.
Orange Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, orange zest, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.
TIP: Generously brush the carrot cake sponge with the glaze while it is still warm, and conversely, ensure that the sponge has cooled completely before icing it.
Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil in a large pot (this glaze will rapidly expand before shrinking to it’s final volume) oven over medium-high heat. Boil, stirring often, 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla.
