Catalan Braised Turkey Legs

Ingredients
- 2 turkey legs, 2 turkey wings
- 2/3 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup prunes
- 1 cup dry sherry
- 3 red onions thinly sliced
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- 3 cups stock
- 2 tbsp pinenuts

Directions
1. Soak raisins and prunes in sherry for at least 12 hours, then drain off sherry and reserve
2. Season turkey with salt and pepper overnight
3. Brown turkey in pan, remove pieces and saute onions until caramelized. Deglaze pan with sherry
4. When alcohol has evaporated, add tomatoes, stock and turkey. Simmer for 30 minutes lid off, then add raisins and prunes and cook covered for 1 hour
5. Remove turkey meat from bone, reduce sauce on high heat if it has not thickened enough, and add meat back in. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Toast pinenuts and add to finish

Pressure cooker variation: At step 4, add in all ingredients and pressure cook high for 25 minutes. Quick release, and remove turkey to pull meat off bone. Saute function to reduce sauce.

Japanese Sesame Salad Dressing

Ingredients
- 3 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp mirin
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil

Directions
1. Toast sesame seeds until fragrant, then grind in spice grinder until powder
2. Combine all ingredients

Grilled Shwarma Chicken Thighs

Ingredients
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1/2 tbsp cardamon
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp tumeric powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 8-9 chicken thighs

Directions
1. Makes slices in the thigh along the bone and meat. Salt thighs overnight
2. Grind whole spices together in spice grinder
3. Mix all ingredients together to form a paste, spread over thighs and marinate at least 1 hour
4. Grill skin side down, 5 minutes direct heat (or until skins nicely browned), then 8 minutes over medium indirect heat until juices run clear

Mrs. Ho's Chinese Preserved Meat and Taro Pot

Ingredients
- 2 salted duck legs, deboned, defated and cut into small pieces
- 2 chinese sausages, sliced
- coconut milk (or cream of mushroom soup)
- mushrooms, sliced
- taro, peeled and sliced into pieces

Directions
1. Panfry taro root on both sides in oil, remove from pan
2. Add duck leg pieces and chinese sausages to the pain and add 1 cup of water, boil to soften the duck legs for 15 minutes mins
3. Add a cup of cream mushroom soup or coconut milk, then add the mushrooms and taro, cook until sauce thickened

Hainanese Chicken Rice Set

Chicken and Soup
- 1 (or 2) whole chicken, legs removed, leave breast attached
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 3 litres water
- 4 tsp salt
- 1 pandan leaf
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 inch ginger, sliced
- 4 green onions
- sesame oil
- white pepper
- 1 daikon, cut into half moons

1. Add all ingredients into large pot, with liquid covering the chicken
2. Heat until liquid reaches low simmer (barest bubbles) or between 150-170F, using a temperature probe, cook breasts until meat reaches 150F and legs 165F
3. When the meat is at temperature, remove and put into cold water/ice bath for at least 10 minutes
4. When cool enough to handle, remove breasts, spread sesame oil over skin and let rest
5. Add carcass back into the stock, increase heat to high, let soup reduce.
6. Strain out the solids, add daikon to cook, salt to taste

Rice
- 3 chinese cups rice
-  1/4 cup neutral oil
- 2 shallots sliced
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 inch ginger chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 pandan leaves
- chicken stock

1. Add shallots, garlic and ginger into oil, fry until all are brown then strain out oil and discard solids
2. Wash rice, put in rice cooker with salt, oil, and sufficient chicken stock (with as much of the fat from the stock as possible). Add knotted pandan leaf. Cook rice.

Chili Sauce
- 6 birds eye chilli, seeds removed, minced
- 6 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 inch ginger
- juice from 1/2 lime
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp shallot/garlic oil for rice
- 4-8 tbsp stock

1. Put chilli, garlic, ginger, salt and sugar in mortar and pestle, mash until turns into smooth orange paste
2. Add oil, then stock to thin sauce to desired consistency
3. Season to taste (lime, salt, sugar)

Ginger Scallion Oil
- 8 green onions, chopped
- 2 inches ginger, minced
- 1/3 cup neutral oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp soy sauce

1. Heat oil until smoking, pour over scallions and ginger
2. Add salt and soy sauce, season to taste

Instant Pot - Melissa Clark Red Lentil Soup modified

Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves minced (i just smash and then throw in)
1 Tbsp tomato paste (we didn't have this so I put in a can of chopped tomatoes ~15 oz, the big one)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
pinch of chilli or cayenne pepper (or omit for the babies)
4 cups chicken or veggie broth
2 cups of water
1 cup of red lentils
1 large carrot peeled and diced
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Instructions

1. Chop the onion, turn on the instant pot and add in the olive oil, then add in the onions, then gather everything else except the liquid and cilantro and throw it in.  Add the liquid then put the lid on the instant pot and change to pressure cook and cook for 7 minutes.

2. Use the immersion blender to blend up the soup.  Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.  Serve and top with cilantro and chili for heat for those that want it.

Notes:
- when we made this we doubled the recipe and didn't add all the liquid so our soup was a little thicker and also we threw in a 2 turkey wings.

Eggnog cake

For my own future reference, before I forget more of what I did

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|| *Eggnog Cake* || (Kristal BDay 2018)
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A. Eggnog Chiffon
B. Eggnog jello
C. Eggnog Diplomat Cream

A *Eggnog Chiffon*
(Makes two 9x3 inch rounds)

DRY INGREDIENTS
14.5 oz cake flour
8.75 oz icing sugar
0.5 oz baking powder

WET INGREDIENTS
6.75 oz mix of homogenized milk and eggnog (ratio to your preference, I did half/half, I think)
6 oz canola oil
2 eggs
1tsp EACH of
- freshly ground nutmeg
- cinnamon
- ground cloves

MERINGUE INGREDIENTS
13 oz egg whites
9.5 oz granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 F; butter two 9x3 inch round pans, then place parchment on the bottom and sides. Butter the parchment.

2. Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl

3. Mix wet ingredients into the large bowl to combine into a batter

4. Whip the meringue ingredients to medium peaks

5. Fold the meringue into the batter, pour into pans and bake at 375 F until set (i.e., until a toothpick comes out with no goopy stuff) - 20-35 minutes

6. Remove from oven and pan; let it cool on a rack

7. Slice off the bottom and top of the cakes. You can slice off the sides if they are uneven as well.

The chiffon can be made ahead of time and frozen wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Take it out to defrost a few hours before assembling the cake.

B. *Eggnog Jello*

0.25 C homogenized milk
1 packet gelatin
1.75 C eggnog

1. Sprinkle the gelatin onto the milk
2. Heat the eggnog in a saucepan until it is steaming
3. Dissolve the milk/gelatin into the hot eggnog
4. Pour the jello mixture into a 9x3 inch cake pan
5. Place the jello into the fridge to set, approximately 4 hours
6. Place a plate on top of the jello, to invert onto. Place the bottom of the cake pan in warm water for 3-5 seconds. Invert jello onto the plate.
7. Place plated jello back in fridge to set (in case it fell apart like mine did)

Slide jello onto a cake layer, then place the second cake layer on top. Place in fridge until you are ready to apply the diplomat cream.

C. *Eggnog Diplomat Cream*

3 large egg yolks
2.5 oz (1/3 C) granulated sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
8 oz (1 C) mixture of eggnog and homogenized milk (I used 3/4 C eggnog)
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1tsp EACH of
- freshly ground nutmeg
- cinnamon
- ground cloves

1 C heavy cream

1. Whisk the first three ingredients in a medium bowl until the sugar is dissolved
2. Heat milk/eggnog mixture in a saucepan with the spices until steaming (medium-high)
3. Remove front heat and gradually whisk the egg mixture into the milk mixture in a steady stream
4. Return saucepan to low heat and cook, whisking constantly until the pastry cream thickens
5. Remove from heat and stir in butter; set aside until completely cool (I stuck it in the fridge). When completely cool, whisk it until it is of a uniform texture again
6. Whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks; gently fold into the pastry cream

Use the diplomat cream to cover the top and edges of the cake; pipe the remaining cream to decorate the top and edges of the cake.