So, for Christmas I decided to hosted a small gathering for my close friends and family by cooking some of my and their favorite food.
As my guests arrived a greeted them with a glass of red fruity sangria with a stick of holiday candy cane for a little minty kick. And strawberry covered chocolate.
The candy cane sangria is a mix of red sangria, and black berry seltzer water. The different between my sangria and everyone else is that, I put my fruits in the freezer and pour it in the guests glass as they arrive, that keep my sangria extra chill and tasty .The fruits I used consist of raspberry, and orange but, you can use and fruits you want.
CORNISH HENS:
I started of with a bacon cornish hen stuffed with sweet savory natural vegetables. I washed the petit chicks by letting them sit in lemon juice for about 5 to 10 minutes. Then I seasoned them with ground black pepper, crushed red peppers, rosemary, oregano, olive oil(under the skin for crispy affect) and all purpose adobo seasoning.
STUFFED VEGETABLES:
For the stuff veggies you can use and vegetables to your liking. I choose to use mushrooms, carrots and, onions. start about by peeling off the carrots and onions and cutting to a size the you like. wash out the mushrooms and slice them in half. Put everything into a bowl and season with ground black pepper, salt and a little pit of olive oil. Take a good portion of the mix seasoned veggies and put it them inside the hens. Us your good judgement to how much to put it; if you have left overs place them around the hens on the baking pan when ready to bake.
After stuffing the birds and place it in a baking pan take 4 strips of baking and put them in a criss cross over the chicken. Pre-heat the oven on 420 degrees and cook for about 40-55 minutes.
SMOKE TURKEY COLLARD GREENS:
For the smoke turkey greens the major ingredients you need are of course your collard greens, garlics, smoke turkey, chicken stock, and onions.
Saute 6 gloves of garlics and, 1 1/2 of onion of your choice(purple,white,yellow) in oil until soften, add smoke turkey of your choice(neck, wings,legs,breath,thigh) then, pour in 2 cups of chicken stocks. leave under medium hear for 3 minutes then add 2 stacks of chopped collard greens(clean and, stems) removed. After you all your major ingredients in the pot add water and, salt(a pinch) as need, crush red peppers and let it slow cook on low heat for 45 minutes to and hour. I don't really like to tell people the measurement of seasoning to put on their food because feel that to be a good cook you have be able to have a natural sense of whats best. What I mean by that is, you have to taste your food as you go along. For example if your add too much salt in greens add more water to balance it out.
PERSONALIZED BAKE MAC & CHEESE W/BACON & ONIONS:
My mini bake mac and cheese was my personal favorite dish of the evening. I surprised my guests with this yummy macaroni and cheese by adding onions, crispy low sodium bacon, lactaid milk, and four cheeses.
Start out by adding a good amount of water into a put on hight heat until the water boiled up. While the water is boiling add some salt, and oil then, pour the pasta. Let it boil for 5 to 8 minutes. Then pour in a colander let it drain.
Bring the macaroni into a bowl add four cheeses of your choice(lactaid, or vegan cheese), 1/2 diced onions, 4 chopped crispy bacon, and milk of your choice. Mix all ingredients well and place a scoop into each muffin cup. Once done pre-heat the oven to 350 and let bake of about 10 to 15 minutes.
Some people like myself are lactose intolerance so I use Lactaid milk and, if you are vegan you can use soy milk just to give the dish that rich creamy taste.
PECAN SWEET POTATO PIE W/ ICE CREAM:
I sent my guess out with a bang with my pecan sweet potato pie. It was the star for the night. I got a couple of "can I have another one? and, "I'm gonna try that at home". The easiest and most simplest dish are alway the best.
For a 10" pre-made pie crust I purchased at the supermarket I use 4 medium size sweet potatoes, and a small bag of pecan nuts. You can use the pre-crushed pecans or whole pecans it all depends on what you like.
Place the sweet potatoes in a pot filled with water and leave it to a boil until a fork can go through it but, its better to leave it until it get really soft the softer the better. Once the potatoes are ready place them under cold water so it can be easier to peel of the the skins and be careful not to burn yourself. Put the sweet potatoes in a bowl add one egg, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon 1/4 cup of light corn syrup. Mix everything very well; you can use whatever you have to mix(blender, wooden spoon, ect..) pour the filling int the pre made crust then, spread the pecan pieces on top, drizzle some corn syrup over the pecans and, you're ready to bake. Pre- heat for about 345 degrees and bake for 20 minutes. I personally like prep my desserts and leave it last minute to bake because, I like to keep it fresh for the guests. During the serving of my warm sweet potato pecan pie I paired it with a delicious cappuccino gelato ice cream.
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Ismyrne Geffrard,
www.sculptfashion.com
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