Month: November 2014

Turkey, AGAIN? (Holiday Series Finale)

Most people haven’t thought beyond turkey sandwiches on the day after let alone what’s gonna happen to the leftover leftovers. And by day 3 believe you me your family doesn’t want anything more to do with turkey either. Here’s a way to move beyond that bump in the road.

My one suggestion is to get rid of the turkey. No I don’t mean throw it away. I mean get it out of your family’s eye sight. Then you can re-introduce it at a later time…in a different form. First things first you have to…

Freeze your leftover turkey. Remove you turkey meat from the carcass. Portion them out into plastic freezer bags and date. Try to remove as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn.The USDA says that turkey can last in the freezer for up to 4-6 months. If you want to keep it moist when you thaw, freeze with gravy or some stock.

Now that you know how to freeze turkey you need to know what to do with it once you decide to thaw it. Actually this is one for the day after the big meal or the day before the big freeze. This one may get rid of quite a bit of your leftovers and still keep the family interested. Got turkey? Mashed potatoes? Gravy? Vegetables? Then you’ve got the makings of Turkey Shepherd’s Pie.

2 cups cubed leftover turkey meat

1 1/2 cups gravy

2 cups of leftover vegetables (broccoli, peas, carrots string beans whatever you like or rather whatever you have on hand)

3 cups leftover mashed potatoes

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 400°. Lightly grease a 9″x 9″ pan. Heat gravy and turkey together in a sauce pan. Transfer heated mixture to 9″x 9″pan. Top meat with vegetables and then top vegetables with mashed potatoes (Have potatoes at room temperature or warm some. It makes the next step easier to do). Spreading potatoes out to within a 1/2″ of edge of pan. Sprinkle shredded cheese across top of potatoes. Place pan on top of sheet pan and bake in oven for 30 minutes.

Ok so suppose you still have turkey to freeze after this dish. Consider yourself lucky and proceed to freezing it. What do you do with the turkey when it comes time to thaw. It’s really up to you. Take your favorite recipe and substitute the meat it calls for with your thawed turkey meat. Like Chili or maybe a Brunswick Stew. Or try adding it to a dish that doesn’t traditionally have meat in it like maybe your favorite Mac & Cheese recipe. Use your imagination. .you never know you create a favorite for your family.

I hope this series has helped with the madness of holiday meals. Let me know how this series may or may not have helped you. Leave a comment.

Happy Holidays from Cassandra as The Chef In Pearls and owner of Gems and Baubles. Now go make some memories!

November 26, 2014
Cranberries Uncanned (Holiday Series Pt 3)

Are you still eating cranberry sauce from a can? I know I say I won’t judge you but I will give you the side-eye for not going fresh. I mean, once you learn how easy it is to make cranberry sauce from scratch you’ll never go canned again.

I want you to walk away from this post with not only the know-how on how to make cranberry sauce but that cranberry sauce ain’t just for turkey. That’s right i said it. You can do so much more with cranberry sauce like appetizers, drinks, entrees and desserts. The sky’s the limit or at least your imagination.

Basic Cranberry Sauce

1 12oz. bag of cranberries (fresh or frozen)

1 cup of water

1-2 cups of granulated sugar

Wash and sort cranberries. Place cranberries in a sauce pan with water and 1 cup of sugar. Allow to simmer. You can add more sugar depending on how sweet you like your sauce. After about 10 minutes of cooking and you can no longer hear the berries popping you can turn off stove. Pour sauce into a bowl and allow to cool. Sauce thickens as it cools.

Cranberry Sauce

Here are some other dishes I used cranberry sauce in.

Baked Brie topped with warm Cranberry Sauce

Pork Tenderloin Medallions and Whipped Sweet Potatoes with a Cranberry- Pomegranate Sauce

Wine Spritzer made with Cranberry Sauce, your favorite white wine and topped with seltzer.

Cranberry Shortcake made with a cranberry, apple & pear compote

I hope the post has you ditching the can and being inspired by fresh cranberries. CIPapproved

November 24, 2014
2+2+1= Gravy (Holiday Meal Series Pt 2)

So your gravy is…well…not the best. Lumpy is just the start of what makes your gravy unappealing. So what do we do to make it better? Well we turn to a little math, If you have this little equation you are well on your way to better gravy. 2 + 2 +1= Perfect Gravy. That is 2 Tablespoons of fat plus 2 Tablespoons of flour plus 1 cup of liquid and you’ve got gravy kinda. The only special equipment I suggest for this gravy making task is a whisk,it helps to eliminate lumps.

2 Tablespoons Fat ( butter, olive oil or fat drippings from meat)

2 Tablespoons all Purpose Flour

1 cup Liquid (stock,broth or meat drippings)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Melt fat in a sauce pan. Once melted add flour and allow to cook for about 1-2 minutes. Then add liquid while whisking to prevent lumps. Allow to simmer until thickened 3-5 minutes. Taste so that you can adjust seasonings as needed.

Once you have this basic gravy down then you can get a little fancy with it. You can make a mushroom beef gravy by sauteing freshly sliced mushrooms before melting fat and adding flour and using either a beef broth, stock or dripping from cooked beef. Or maybe you want something a little spicy add cracked peppercorn to the melted fat before adding flour. The varieties are limitless and left only up to your imagination and taste-buds.

Now you’ll be the champion of gravy at your next holiday meal

November 18, 2014
WE Rock!

Have you ever gone to a conference and after just an hour wondered why you were there? I have. You were sold on the wealth of knowledge you would gain by attending and it just never happened. That was not the case at the WE (Women Entrepreneurs) Rock Conference. They set out for females to be able to look at themselves and their businesses differently. And they achieved that.

They provided a place were women in business could come together, learn from each other, network, aspire one another and gain the knowledge they need to take themselves & their businesses to the next level.

Their guest speakers included keynote speakers Jai Stone, of Jai Stone ULTD & Ronnie Tyler, of Tyler New Media LLC and a special inspirational message from Judge Lauren Lakes, of Paternity Court. Their panelists shared information about social media, finances, writing books, answering your calling, making profit on purpose and being able to live a limitless life. There was no way to leave their not motivated and charged up about yourself and your business.

This was the 4th year for WE Rock and they already have plans for a bigger & better event for 2015. They’re taking it on tour so look for them in your city. Visit their website www.WeRockNational.com to find out cities and dates and how you can be apart of the WERock Nation.

Special thanks to the co-founders Melisa Alaba and Edeline Dryden for having the foresight to create such and awesome event.

November 16, 2014
A Quickie….Teavana

I grew up in a Jamaican household which means tea was a part of my everyday life. You were not allowed to leave the house without something warm in your tummy. Every ailment was met with a cup of tea…stomach ache… ginger tea…start of a cold… garlic tea. Let’s just say I grew to have a love for tea.

Enter Teavana. ..I had the pleasure of joining The Brains & Beauty Academy meet-up for a tea tasting. We got a chance to taste many blends including Oprah’s chai tea. I enjoyed the subtleness of it in comparison to their Maharaja Oolong Chai blend, which had a strong spiciness to it. But the tea of the day was their Iced Raspberry Limeade. ..addictive. When you get a chance head over to Teavana at Phipps Plaza for a great cup of tea. This is definitely Chef In Pearls approved.

Photographs courtesy of Nia Mason Design

November 12, 2014
Let’s Make a Plan ( Holiday Series Pt 1)

So they passed the baton to you this year. You now have the honor of hosting the holiday meal. Yeah!? Wait a minute you just realized that you’ve never done this before. Time to panic. I mean you know how to cook but a holiday meal? Get those Martha Stewart ideas out of your head… I mean it’s your first holiday meal. Don’t get me wrong she’s phenomenal but kinda makes you crazy trying to get that picture perfect Holiday dinner.

So how do you go about having an unforgettable Holiday meal? Easy….all it takes is planning. “If you don’t have a plan, plan to fail”. It’s true. So here are some steps to get you going in the right direction.

         1. Create a menu. Yes, actually know what it is you want to feed people. My rule of thumb is don’t try new dishes unless you have time to try them out beforehand. Stick to the dishes that are your strong points. This is also your opportunity to delegate. Yes it’s okay to ask your aunt who makes the best macaroni & cheese if she would do the honor of gracing your table with a dish. Or if you like you can cater a portion of your meal. I’m not judging and if the people at your table are then maybe you shouldn’t invite them to next year’s holiday meal.

          2. Have a head count. Nothing worst than having a table full of people and not enough food for everyone. Talk about embarrassing. Knowing your head count helps you with the next step.

         3. Create a shopping list. Now that you know what and how much of it you’ll need to cook. You can make a list of all the things you’ll need to actually cook dinner. Re-check recipes to make sure you have everything listed to complete dishes.

          4. Shop. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE NIGHT BEFORE TO GROCERY SHOP! Waiting until the last minute causes so many problems. It’s unnecessary stress

a)overcrowded stores

b) unable to get all the items you need cause you’re not the only one wanting them

c). You miss out on taking advantage of sales.

         5. Prep. Check recipes to see what you can make in advance. Make a timeline going from things that take the longest to the least amount of time. This way you’ll know what dishes need to be started first, do things that will help ease your cooking … like chopping onions and freezing them until you are ready to use.

These are some suggestion to help make your turn at holiday meal hosting easier to handle. If I’ve missed something or you know of anything that can make this easier please leave a comment. I’d love to hear what’s on your mind.

November 10, 2014
Bring on the Holidays (Holiday Series)

So Halloween is over and now it’s time to prepare for the big guns….Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s a time of family and friends and lots of food. So many make it a very nerve racking time of year and it doesn’t have to be. It’s all about planning and being prepared for anything. For the next couple of posts I will help get you ready for the holiday meals before you. I’ll take you from shopping lists, how to make the perfect gravy, un-canned cranberry sauce and even dessert. Hope it helps to ease your mind for this holiday season.

November 1, 2014