Holiday Sides

Here are six recipes to help with your holiday meal. Enjoy!

Note: For my readers who celebrate Hanukkah, Happy Hanukkah! And for those who celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas!

Also, I'm considering posting one more set of holiday recipes later this afternoon or tomorrow. Check back to see what shows up!

LENTIL VEGETABLE SOUP

This comes from Ina Garten of The Food Network's Barefoot Contessa. Total Time: 2 hr 5 min; Prep: 20 min; Inactive: 15 min; Cook: 1 hr 30 min; Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Level: Easy

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lentil-vegetable-soup-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

1 pound French green lentils

4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large onions)

4 cups chopped leeks, white part only (2 leeks)

1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)

1/4 cup good olive oil, plus additional for drizzling on top

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3 cups medium-diced celery (8 stalks)

3 cups medium-diced carrots (4 to 6 carrots)

3 quarts chicken stock

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 tablespoons red wine or red wine vinegar

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain.

In a large stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions, leeks, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are translucent and very tender. Add the celery and carrots and saute for 10 more minutes. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, until the lentils are cooked through. Check the seasonings. Add the red wine and serve hot, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with grated Parmesan.

CRANBERRY ORANGE QUICK BREAD

This comes from Elizabeth Yetter, About.com's Bread Baking expert. Elizabeth wrote, “Enjoy the sweet taste of dried cranberries and the aroma of oranges with this delicious recipe for cranberry orange quick bread. The quick bread batter is made into 3 mini loaves that are perfect for family gatherings and gift giving. Individual loaves can be wrapped in foil, bagged, and frozen if they are not glazed.” Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 1 hour; Total Time: 75 minutes

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

2/3 cup butter, chilled

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup dried cranberries

rind and juice from medium orange

milk (see instructions)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar

water

Preparation:

Grease 3 mini loaf pans.

Preheat oven 350 degrees F.

In large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

Cut butter into thin slices and add to bowl. Break butter into mixture with fingers until mixture is crumbly.

Stir in brown sugar.

Stir in cranberries.

Grate the rind off of one medium orange. Add rind to the mixture.

Cut orange in half and squeeze juice out into bowl. Remove any seeds from juice.

Pour orange juice (it should be about 1/4 cup) into liquid measuring cup. Add enough milk to the orange juice to make 3/4 cup.

Pour orange juice and milk into mixture. Add eggs and stir. Batter should be thick but not dry. If necessary, add more milk, a tablespoon at a time.

Scrape batter into three greased mini loaf pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until done.

Turn loaves out and let cool on rack.

In small bowl, add enough water to confectioner’s sugar to make a thin icing. Drizzle icing over loaves.

HOT CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

This comes from The Food Network Kitchen, and starts off, “These one-bowl brownies couldn't be easier to make, and adding leftover hot chocolate mix is the perfect way to make them extra special. Interested in a Mexican hot chocolate version? Just add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the dry ingredients and sprinkle the top of each brownie with a pinch of chili powder.” Total Time: 1 hr 45 min; Prep: 25 min; Inactive: 45 min; Cook: 35 min; Yield: 24 brownies; Level: Easy

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/hot-chocolate-brownies.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

Cooking spray

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup hot chocolate or cocoa mix

1 teaspoon fine salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

One 12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips

72 mini marshmallows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, and spray with the cooking spray.

Stir together the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl. Add the flour, hot chocolate mix, salt and baking powder and stir until just combined. Stir in half the chocolate chips. Spread the mixture in the prepared baking pan.

Bake until the brownies begin to pull away from the edges of the pan and are set in the center, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven, immediately sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips, and let stand until they are very soft, about 5 minutes. Spread the melted chips evenly with a spatula, and let cool for about 10 minutes. Use the foil to lift the brownies out of the pan, and let cool completely on a rack. Cut into 24 squares, and top each with 3 mini marshmallows.

CACIO E PEPE

This comes from Mark Bittman of The New York Times Cooking email. Mark wrote, “It is among the most basic, simplest pastas there is, and suddenly trendy to boot. Why? Because when made right, it is incredible.” Time: 20 minutes; makes 4 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Salt

1 1/2 cups finely grated pecorino Romano, plus more for dusting completed dish

1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 tablespoon ground black pepper, plus more for finishing the dish

3/4 pound tonnarelli or other long pasta like linguine or spaghetti

Good olive oil

Preparation

Put a pot of salted water on to boil. In a large bowl, combine the cheeses and black pepper; mash with just enough cold water to make a thick paste. Spread the paste evenly in the bowl.

Once the water is boiling, add the pasta. The second before it is perfectly cooked (taste it frequently once it begins to soften), use tongs to quickly transfer it to the bowl, reserving a cup or so of the cooking water. Stir vigorously to coat the pasta, adding a teaspoon or two of olive oil and a bit of the pasta cooking water to thin the sauce if necessary. The sauce should cling to the pasta and be creamy but not watery.

Plate and dust each dish with additional pecorino and pepper. Serve immediately.

QUICK FRESH TOMATO SAUCE

This comes from David Tanis of The New York Times' Cooking email. David wrote, “In August and September, when tomatoes are at their ripest, make a batch of fresh tomato sauce. At the market, look for the cracked, slightly bruised tomatoes sold at a discount. The flesh of the tomato should be dense, sweet and blood red. This makes a very fresh- and bright-tasting sauce in a manageable small batch. Take advantage of good tasty tomatoes and fill a few zip-top bags for the freezer.” Time: 30 minutes; Makes about 2 1/ 2 cups

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

5 pounds tomatoes

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 garlic clove, halved

1 basil sprig

1 bay leaf

Preparation

Cut tomatoes in half horizontally. Squeeze out the seeds and discard, if you wish. Press the cut side of tomato against the large holes of a box grater and grate tomato flesh into a bowl. Discard skins. You should have about 4 cups.

Put tomato pulp in a low wide saucepan over high heat. Add salt, olive oil, tomato paste, garlic, basil and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a brisk simmer.

Reduce the sauce by almost half, stirring occasionally, to produce about 2 1/2 cups medium-thick sauce, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust salt. It will keep up to 5 days in the refrigerator or may be frozen.

BAKED BUTTER CARROTS

This comes from my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking.

These are from my Grandma Hallock, who was a fantastic cook. She wrote, “Good with Veal Birds (Beef Rolls).” Eat & enjoy!

2 1/2 lbs. carrots

1 T salt

2 T oleo or butter

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

dash of pepper

2 tsp. lemon juice

Peel carrots. Cut into lengthwise slices. Put them & rest of ingredients into casserole. Cover & bake at 275 degrees for 3 hours. Uncover & brown on top for 15 minutes. Serves 6.