November, 2015 | Not Just Sunday Dinner

Tenderloin

Greg and I recently celebrated 28 years of marriage, and for 28 years he has had the mindset that grilling a steak is the only way to go. That is until I prepared filets in my cast iron skillet using this recipe. Now he’s addicted! In fact, he brought home filets last weekend and asked me to cook them this way.

These steaks are perfection! I’m talking WON-DER-FUL!!! They will impress even the biggest steak critic, and this recipe is super easy!

One additional note, the 12-inch skillet recommended in the recipe is essential. I do not own a 12-inch cast iron skillet, so I used my 10-inch. It was perfect the first time I cooked them because I only prepared two. However, I cooked four the second time I fixed them. They tasted fine but in my 10-inch skillet they did not brown and crust over in the oven as they should have. I think I’ll add 12-inch cast iron skillet to my Christmas list!

Tenderloin

Author:

Amye Melton

Ingredients

4 (8 to 10 oz. each) beef tenderloin filets, cut 2½-inches thick
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
kosher salt
freshly cracked peppercorns

Instructions

Remove filets from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before cooking.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a 12-inch cast iron skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until very hot and almost smoking. Pat the filets dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle both sides of the steaks liberally with kosher salt and pepper. Add steaks to the skillet. Cook, without disturbing, for 3 to 3½ minutes. Turn steaks and place skillet in the preheated oven. Bake until meat thermometer read 125°F for medium rare (12 - 15 minutes), or until desired doneness.
Remove steaks from skillet; cover loosely with foil and let stand about 5 minutes.

Notes

Turn steaks only once during cooking.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Today is mine and Greg’s wedding anniversary. Yep, 28 years with the man I love. 😍 Because social media has made me skeptical about sharing “too much”, I will not go on and on about what an incredible husband Greg is and how we have this whole marriage thing figured out. He is a great man, but I still get mad at him sometimes. We have made it 28 years, but that doesn’t mean we have all the answers. I love Greg more today than I did 28 years ago. I’m proud of the life we’ve built, the home we have, the kids we’ve almost raised. I would do it again a million times.

Thanksgiving day can be stressful. Spending time with family and friends is nice, but preparing for the feast is a job. The list of things to do can be daunting. Make a menu, clean the house, do the shopping, and then there’s the cooking. As I prepare for Thanksgiving, or any big meal, I like to make a schedule and check it off as I go. I learned from Greg’s grandmother, years ago, to do as much in advance as possible. Many groceries can be purchased weeks in advance. I make my cornbread dressing a few weeks ahead of time and freeze it. Vegetables can be chopped, and cheese can be grated the day before, and this delicious cranberry sauce can be made several days in advance.

I’m a whole berry cranberry sauce kind of gal but if you aren’t you can add the cooked cranberry sauce to a food processor and pulse a few times. This cranberry sauce is so tasty and much better than anything you’ll find in a can. It’s fast and easy to prepare. Then, all that’s left to do is refrigerate and forget it until Thanksgiving day, if you can. I tend to do a “taste test” once or twice a day…you know, just to make sure it’s not spoiling.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Author:

Amye Melton

Ingredients

1 (12-oz.) bag fresh cranberries
1 c. granulated sugar
½ c. water
½ c. freshly squeezed orange juice
½ c. peach schnapps
juice of ½ lemon
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon

Instructions

Rinse the cranberries, picking through them to remove any stems or bruised cranberries.
Add cranberries to a large saucepan. Add sugar, water, orange juice, peach schnapps, lemon juice, and the orange and lemon zest. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil, stirring occasionally until cranberries start to pop and sauce starts to thicken, about 10 minutes.
Remove from heat, cool, then refrigerate.

Dark Chocolate Toffee Brownie Shooters

Dessert is always tempting but after a big Thanksgiving meal who needs or even wants a big slice or cake or pie? These little shooters are not only the perfect size but they are adorable!

Dark Chocolate Toffee Brownie Shooters are so decadent that you’ll never believe just how easy they are to prepare. They start with a brownie mix, and the chocolate mousse could not be simpler to make. Top with whipped topping just before serving and garnish with a mint leaf if desired.

Dark Chocolate Toffee Brownie Shooters

Author:

Amye Melton

Ingredients

1 (18-oz.) pkg. triple chocolate brownie mix
3 tbsp. Kahlua, optional
3 (3.5-oz.) Ghirardelli dark chocolate with toffee bits and caramelized almonds candy bars, chopped 1½ c. whipping cream, divided
caramel topping
can of nondairy whipped topping

Instructions

Bake brownies according to package directions. If desired, poke holes in the baked brownies with a straw and pour Kahula over brownies, allowing it to seep into holes. Cool completely in pan.
Microwave chocolate and ¼ cup whipping cream in a large microwave-safe bowl at high for 1 to 1½ minutes or until chocolate melts, stirring after 1 minute. Let stand 45 minutes or until almost cool.
Beat remaining 1¼ cups whipping cream at high-speed of an electric mixer until soft peaks form; gently fold into the chocolate mixture.
Crumble brownies into bit size pieces. Layer brownies, caramel topping, and chocolate mousse into shot glasses. Top with whipped topping.
Garnish with mint leaves if desired.

Cornbread Dressing

Many of us south of the Mason-Dixon line serve dressing rather than stuffing on Thanksgiving. There are different kinds of dressing, and your preference probably depends on the style your mother or grandmother made. I prefer to make my dressing as Greg’s grandmother did. She made a spoonable dressing, with a thinner consistency. (Some dressings are the consistency of cornbread.) She always recommended making cornbread dressing ahead of time and storing it in the freezer so that the flavors would have a chance to meld.

This recipe is Greg’s grandmother’s, only with a few changes. Years ago I began adding Pepperidge Farm stuffing like my mother-in-law does. Then I started making my homemade chicken broth and changed up the cornbread to Mexican cornbread. The combination has my family begging for more! You can always substitute homemade country style cornbread (not sweet) if you prefer.

I like to keep this homemade chicken broth in the freezer for any recipe that calls for broth. The homemade taste is much better than any you will find in the store and in my opinion well worth the time it takes to make it. If you do not already have the broth prepared, I would suggest that in making this cornbread dressing you split the tasks up into two days. Making the broth on day one and the cornbread and dressing on day two.

Cornbread Dressing

Author:

Amye Melton

Serves: 18 cups

Ingredients

Mexican Cornbread (recipe below)
1 (14-oz.) bag Herb Seasoned Stuffing
2 to 3 quarts Homemade Chicken Stock (recipe below)
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. poultry seasoning
2 lg. minced onions
1 c. finely chopped celery
1 c. melted butter
4 eggs, beaten

Instructions

Crumble cornbread in a very large bowl. Add Herb Seasoned Stuffing to bowl. Pour stock over crumbs to soften and let stand while you prepare onions and celery.
While bread crumbs are soaking, cook onions and celery in melted butter over low heat until softened, stirring occasionally. When soft pour onto bread crumbs and stir together.
Add poultry seasoning and black pepper, stir and taste for seasoning. Add beaten eggs, stirring well. Pour into a large greased casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned.
If desired you can spoon into freezer container and freeze up to 6 months. Thaw dressing in the refrigerator and follow baking directions above.
Makes about 18 cups.

Notes

Can be stored in the freezer for about 6 months.

Mexican Cornbread

Author:

Amye Melton

Ingredients

2¼ c. yellow cornbread mix
3 tbsp. sugar
½ c. oil
3 eggs, beaten
1 (8.5-oz.) can cream style corn
1½ c. shredded Cheddar cheese
1 lg. onion, grated
chopped jalapeno peppers, to taste

Instructions

Combine all ingredients. Heat a large, well greased iron skillet at 400 degrees for 3 minutes or until very hot. Raise temperature of oven to 450 degrees.
Pour batter into hot pan, bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Homemade Chicken Broth

Author:

Amye Melton

Ingredients

3 (5-lb.) roasting chickens
3 lg. yellow onions, unpeeled and quartered
6 carrots, unpeeled and halved
4 celery stalks with leaves, cut in thirds
4 parsnips, unpeeled and cut in half (optional)
20 fresh parsley sprigs
15 fresh thyme sprigs
20 fresh dill sprigs
1 head garlic, unpeeled and cut in half crosswise
2 tbsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. whole black peppercorns

Instructions

Place the chickens, onions, carrots, celery, parsnips, parsley, thyme, dill, garlic, salt and pepper in a 16- to 20-quart stockpot. Add 7 quarts of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim any foam that comes to the surface. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 4 hours.
Strain the entire contents of the pot through a colander. You can discard solids if desired. (I save the chicken, cool, pick the meat from the bones and use immediately, or freeze.) Pour stock into containers and refrigerate. When the stock is cold, remove the surface fat and refrigerate or freeze.

Debbie’s Caramelized Onion and Cornbread Stuffing

This was my first attempt at making stuffing. Honestly, this was my first time eating stuffing. I was raised in a family that prepared cornbread dressing for the big meal on Thanksgiving day. Dressing is my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal, of course with delicious cranberry sauce on the side. Special meals like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter have a lot to do with tradition. In all honestly, cornbread dressing will most likely be on my menu again this year. However, I would be perfectly happy to sit down to a Thanksgiving meal with this delicious stuffing.

This recipe was given to me by Debbie, a wonderful friend and a fabulous cook! It is super simple, using prepared corn muffins. The caramelized onions and fresh sage are delicious in this stuffing. So if you are looking for a fabulous stuffing, give this recipe a try.

Debbie's Caramelized Onion and Cornbread Stuffing

Author:

Amye Melton

Ingredients

2 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 onions, chopped
6 lg. cornmeal muffins, cubed
Handful of fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 egg
¼ c. heavy cream
¼ c. chicken broth
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Melt butter in a large shallow skillet, add onions and toss with the butter. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes to sweat the onions. Remove the lid and continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for 25 to 30 minutes, until the onions are caramelized and golden brown. This could take longer than 30 minutes. If the onions are cooking too fast, lower the heat. Don't rush the process.
After the onions have caramelized, add the sage and scrape into a large mixing bowl. Add the cornbread pieces, season well with salt and pepper and give it a good toss until it's well combined.
In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, cream, and broth, and pour over the cornbread mixture. Stir the stuffing together. Spoon into a buttered dish and put it in the oven. Bake until hot and crusty on top, about 30 minutes. (This can be baked in the oven with your turkey, if desired.)