Sylvia's Scenario

After eating leftover turkey all weekend, I'm feeling like some pasta! I have just enough leftover turkey to make this delicious pasta dish! Serves 6 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 onion, chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped 1 celery stalk, finely chopped 1 pound shredded cooked turkey (preferably dark meat) 3 cups marinara sauce 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 pound spaghetti Freshly grated Parmesan 1. Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the carrot and celery and saute until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. 2. Add the turkey and saute 1 minute. Add the marinara sauce. Stir in the basil. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend, stirring often. 3. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti i

Don't throw away all those good turkey bones from Thanksgiving or bones that you might have after a chicken dinner.  Make stock for your soups and stews for those cold days that lay ahead.  I always divide my stock into small containers and keep them at easy reach in the freezer.  A lot of my recipes call for only 1 or 2 cups of broth so it's handy to have these 8 ounce jars of broth available in the freezer.  I got mine on Amazon  here .  Cooking this recipe also makes the house smell really good!  1 roasted turkey carcass, broken into pieces, plus the reserved neck, glblets and any leftover skin. Or you can use about 2-3 pounds leftover chicken bones.  (You can still make this broth without leftover poultry bones simply by buying chicken backs or turkey parts at the grocery store which are usually cheaper.) 3 carrots, cut up 2 ribs celery, cut up 1 onion, unpeeled and cut into large pieces 3 cloves of garlic 1 tsp. whole peppercorns 1 tsp. salt 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar 1

  Lauren made these place settings for our Thanksgiving table and they are as yummy as they look! Makes 15-20, depending on how large you make them 1 box cake mix, flavor of your choice, we used gingerbread 1 -16 oz. can of frosting bag of candy corn 1/4 cup chocolate chips rainbow candy coated chips mini hearts from casino sprinkles pretzels 1. Mix cake according to cake directions on box.  After the cake is baked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl. 2.  Mix  thoroughly with 1 can frosting.  We used the back of a large spoon, but it may be easier to use fingers to mix together. But, be warned, it will get messy. Also, you may not need the entire can of frosting, so start out by using almost the entire can and add more if you need to. 3. Roll into teaspoon size balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. 4. Melt chocolate chips in microwave for about 2 minutes, stirring every 30 second intervals. 5. Place a candy corn for the feath

                                          Oops! A little mouse got into the pies last night. We had a pre-Thanksgiving gathering last night. We just can't wait to begin the eating! Nick, Sachiyo and Lauren arrived from Seattle safe and sound after an 8 hour drive, uneventful, thank goodness, just the way we like it considering traveling over two mountain passes! I raced home from work to eagerly await their arrival and they rolled in at about 6:00pm. Great timing. Dinner was waiting, of course… Dinner was barbec ued brisket, which we are still trying to figure out and perfect, (it still turned out too dry), my original "cheese  potatoes", broccoli and the pumpkin  rolls  (I went back to get more after our dog ate the first batch). It's actually the same recipe as the Old Fashioned White bread, so delicious, although it is sort of odd eating orange bread. The rolls are so big since you can use them as "bread bowls" for soup so I just sli

My turkey was on our local news! video by Ty Brennan Follow: @tybrennanktvb KTVB.COM Posted on November 22, 2011 at 5:24 PM Updated yesterday at 10:48 PM KUNA -- With Thanksgiving just two days away one local farm is cashing in on turkey sales. More and more people are thinking twice about where they buy their turkeys this holiday season. Vogel Farms, a long-time family-run farm in Kuna, says their customers want to know where their food is coming from and they're looking local for their Thanksgiving bird. "They're raised here, and everything's here -- all the way from the birds, to the butchering, we raise the feed, so it's all local, it's keeping those dollars in Idaho," said Debi Engelhardt-Vogel with Vogel Farms. She says this has translated into a busy Thanksgiving holiday for them and they sold out of 400 turkeys this year. These turkeys cost quite a bit more than what you might buy from your local grocery store. Vogel

My pumpkin pie recipe is a combination of a recipe from  America's Test Kitchen  and the back of the Libby's Pure Pumpkin can.  The Libby's recipe is the one I always made but then I got American's Test Kitchen cookbook so then added a few more steps like cooking the pumpkin puree to bring out more pumpkin flavor.  That is sort of like toasting nuts to make them taste more "nutty" in recipes. But I really like the evaporated milk in the Libby's recipe so I kept those same ingredients because that is how I remember my pumpkin pie tasting.  So, here is my tried and true pumpkin pie recipe I use every Thanksgiving.    Make crust for a single pie crust Filling 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree 1 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 tsp. ginger 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. cloves 1/2 tsp. salt 1-1/2 cups ( 1 can or 12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk 2 eggs 1. Adjust oven rack to the lower-middle position. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 2. In a small saucepan, whisk together pumpkin

This is another old family recipe from holiday times.  You can buy this pre-made batter in stores... but why?  The homemade version is so superior and easy!    Batter 1/2 pound butter (1 cup) 1/2 quart vanilla ice cream (2 cups) 1 cup + 2-1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar 1 cup sugar 1.  Met butter and ice cream.   2.  Stir in sugar until dissolves.   3.  Keep in the refrigerator in a jar, ready for whenever friends drop in for some cheer! Double recipe or make half of recipe for small batch. Hot Buttered Rum 1 jiggar rum 1 Tbsp. batter (heaping!) Put rum and batter in mugs.  Fill mugs with boiling water.  Stir well.  Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg.  

We always have pecan and pumpkin pie for dessert at Thanksgiving and if anybody wants something different, it's always in addition to pumpkin or pecan pie, but never in replacement. Again, must not start a family riot when it comes to the traditional desserts, Make crust for a single-crust pie 1-1/4 cups flour, plus extra for rolling out the dough 1 Tbsp. sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 4 Tbsp. shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled 4-6 Tbsp. ice water 1. Process the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Scatter the shortening over the top and continue to process until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand, about 10 seconds. Scatter the butter pieces over the top and, using short pulses, process the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses. Transfer to a bowl. 2. Sprinkle 4 Tbsp. of the ice water over the mixture. Stir and press the dough together, using a stif

It's a turkey cake!  I bought this turkey-shaped cake pan a few years ago and never used it, so I thought I'd try it this year and yep, it turned out looking like a turkey!  The recipe is delicious, however.  If you want it to turn out looking lovely, use a bundt pan, which I've used in the past, and it will turn out looking like this! Serve this cake as a coffee cake or with whipped cream for a luscious dessert. We have always used it as a coffee cake for breakfast. This year, we will wake up to a turkey coffee cake for breakfast! Inside, it looks just like the one above but on the outside, it looks like, well, a turkey! Gobble, gobble! Serves 10-12 1/2 cup butter 4 eggs 2-1/2 cups flour 1 Tbsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1-1/4 cups sugar 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla 1/4 cup buttermilk 3 cups peeled and coarsely chopped pears and/or apples 1 cup cranberries, coarsely chopped powdered sugar 1.  Let butter and eggs stand at room temperature for 30 minut

My daughter always made the cranberry sauce for our Thanksgiving.  Just add fresh cranberries to a pan with sugar- water, heat up, stir to boiling and listen for all the cranberries to pop and then smash them with the spoon.  It's fun to make!  It solidifies by itself when cooled to make a nice, homemade sauce.  I splurged a few years ago and bought a cranberry mold and it included a recipe for a fancy cranberry sauce with orange added to the sauce.  But really, the plain old cranberry sauce is what we all like the best I like using the extra cranberries from the bag to garnish other dishes, too. Makes 2-1/4 cups 3/4 cup water 1 cup granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon table salt 1(12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries  Bring water, sugar, and salt to boil in medium saucepan over high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Stir in cranberries; return to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until saucy, slightly thickened, and about two-thirds of berries have popped

This is our holiday drink of choice.  We made these last year for Thanksgiving and they were a big hit and we plan on making them again this year!  Cheers everybody! White cranberry juice is made with young cranberries before they develop their tart flavor and red color - it's milder and sweeter than regular cranberry juice.   Prepare the rosemary-infused juice mixture up to one day ahead, and chill. Makes 6 servings 2-3/4 cups white cranberry juice drink (such as Ocean Spray) 2 Tbsp. sugar 1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary 12 mint leaves 1/4 cup fresh lime juice club soda 1.  Combine cranberry juice, sugar, rosemary, and 12 mint leaves in a small saucepan. 2.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat. 3.  Cool to room temperature.   4.  Strain juice mixture through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids.   5.  Stir in lime juice.  Cover and refrigerate. When ready to mix a drink, add ice to an 8 ounce glass, add 1/4 cup club soda, one shot of rum and fill glas

Here is a great shopping find for those of you who live near a Great Harvest Bakery!  Great Harvest   I did not make these  but they were a must to buy!  They are almost too cute to eat!  You can use them as soup bread bowls which I was going to do for dinner tonight until I got home and found our dog had reached up on the counter and got them!  Not a crumb in sight!  I nearly cried!! (It's not the first time she's done this and obviously they were not too cute for her to eat!)  But I did get this photo of them after I brought them home last night.   (So, it was leftovers again tonight…)  Hopefully, your Great Harvest Bakery near you will have these, too, and that you can enjoy them more than I was able to!

The stuffing for the turke y is another "traditional" recipe for Thanksgiving that I never change. I know there are all kinds of interesting stuffing recipes using things like dried fruit, nuts, corn meal, etc. Martha Stewart always has interesting combinations. But I can't ever change mine. It's too much of our tradition and I certainly don't want to cause that fearful family riot! This stuffing recipe is my mom's recipe. I still have it scribbled on an old scratch paper that I wrote it down on as she told me over the phone while my two preschoolers were running around the background (most likely getting into trouble which they would always do the minute they saw me on the phone!) I started doing Thanksgiving at our house when my kids were in preschool which was a big deal for me! My older sister always did it before but I was eager to take on the tradition, for some crazy reason….! Learning to multi-task is an under-statement! I now have 20 years wor