This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. Views expressed are my own. Thank you for your support! On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 4 calling birds...which inspired me to make this Cajun Shepherd's Pie. When we were thinking of what to do about 4 calling birds we looked up what calling birds were. Turns out that's what black birds used to be called. This reminded me of the nursery rhyme "4 and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie." So immediately I thought of blackened chicken pot pie. But after doing much research and being inspired by Tiffany-Anne Parkes recipe for Jerk Chicken Shepherd's pie, I decided a Cajun Shepherd's Pie would be the best approach. The recipe I came up with is so delicious. And although it's not true shepherd's pie because it uses chicken instead of lamb, it's still shepherd's pie-esque. The spice level from the Cajun Spice mix had the perfect amount of heat for me. The sweetness of the sweet potato mash pairs so well with the spicy flavor of the chicken. But my favorite part of the dish is the andouille cream sauce. It is amazing and was largely inspired by chef Antony Field, though my recipe does differ a bit. Tips For Making Cajun Shepherd's PieI hope you guys enjoy this! It was so fun to come up with and even a better thing to eat. Here's some tips for making it:
0 Comments
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support.
You may have been seeing a lot of references to the 12 Days of Christmas this time of year. I know that I have. These references generally are a 12 day countdown without reference to the actual lyrics of the classic Christmas Carol.
You may or may not know that the 12 days of Christmas actually begins on Christmas Day and runs through Jan 6, or Three Kings Day. The Shakespeare play, 12th Night, is based on the revelry associated with the celebration of the last day of the 12 days of Christmas. While traditionally Christians have thought that the Wise Men came 12 days after the birth of Christ, it probably took them much longer than that to get there. The lyrics to the song are actually very symbolic! The reference to "My True Love" actually refers to Jesus Christ. The symbol of the partridge comes from the idea that the partridge is a bird that will sacrifice itself to save its children. For more information about all of the symbols, you can read this article, which I found fascinating!
Anywho, here at 3 Winks, we decided that it would be really fun to come up with a recipe for each verse of the song, The 12 Days of Christmas! We looked at the actual lyrics and decided what we could bake or cook or whip up to match the lyrics of that day! We are writing this before Christmas, so that if you want to celebrate the actual 12 Days, you will have the recipes in advance!
I took the assignment of The First Day of Christmas, obviously! When we discussed A Partridge in a Pear Tree, Lindsey suggested Poire Belle Helene because "poire" is the French word for "pear", and I am Helen. (The French version of my name should have accents aigue and grave over the first 2 "e"s but I don't know how to put them there on a English speaking keyboard.) Anyway, we decided that this was a beautiful and simple dessert that would be perfect for the first day of Christmas!
This poached pear dish was created in 1864 by Auguste Escoffier in honor of the opera La Belle Helene. There are various methods with different flavors added to the liquid in which the pears are poached. This recipe uses cinnamon and cloves in a sugar syrup. Then, the pears are topped with a rich chocolate sauce and served with ice cream on the side. Very fancy! I used my delicious Hot Fudge Sauce that I have given you the recipe for on this post. When I went to serve this beautiful dessert, I found that I was out of vanilla ice cream! So, what you are seeing in the photo is Spumoni! Very holiday-ish! It was so good!
I hope that you give this simple yet elegant recipe a try! Be sure to come back tomorrow for The 2nd Day of Christmas! If you don't want to poach pears, canned might make a simple alternative.
Links to Days 2-12:
Happy Day Before Thanksgiving Baking Day Everyone!
I love the day before Thanksgiving! It is a day dedicated to making all of the wonderful baked goods that we will enjoy stuffing ourselves with on Thanksgiving Day! The rolls, the pies, putting together the stuffing...whatever our family loves to eat on the day that we give thanks for all that we have. #givethanks
BUT, let's face it. Sometimes, time gets away from you and maybe you need something quick for an appetizer or the rolls burned or you just need something quick to tide your family over until they can eat all of the great stuff that will be on the menu on Thursday. There are a myriad of reasons that refrigerated crescent rolls might come into play during this busy season. The great thing is that these crescent rolls are easy to get into the oven and they taste pretty good! And the BONUS is that you get to pop that cardboard tube open! Who doesn't get a kick out of that? Instead of plain crescent rolls right out of the tube, it's easy to make them just a little more special. Here are a couple of ways that we have found to take the normal refrigerated crescent roll over the top!
Pumpkin Butter Crescent Rolls
A few weeks ago, Lindsey shared her recipe for Crock Pot Pumpkin Butter. It is really delicious stuff! Maddy figured out that Pillsbury Original Crescent Rolls are vegan, so she told me that a great way to eat them is to spread the Pumpkin Butter on them and bake them like that. I gave it a try! They were eaten up in no time! (Not just by me!)
If you haven't made your own pumpkin butter, you can alwayspurchase some! When I filled these rolls, I didn't always roll them in the traditional way. Sometimes I rolled them backwards and made a bundle, trying to keep the filling from leaking out. They seemed to work either way. Here are some other spreads that I think would be delicious spread inside a crescent:
Apple-Brie-Rosemary Crescent Rolls
If you have a little more time to whip out these rolls, you will love them! They make a great appetizer or addition to a simple meal like soup.
Have a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving everyone! We will see you back next week! We have a lot of wonderful holiday projects and recipes in store.
Also, don't forget our Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale on the Etsy Shop! Don't miss the bargains!
This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. All views expressed are my own. Thank you for your support! Here is another recipe that adds merit to the old saying, " Necessity is the mother of invention!" I had purchased a produce box from my local produce guys. There was a small package of quinoa inside. I had never cooked quinoa except in packaged rice and quinoa mixes and the jury was out on how I liked it. I know that it is a super food, very good for you. So, I decided to see what I could do with it. Of course, I searched the web to find out how to cook the quinoa in the best possible way. I found the answer on Cookie and Kate! I was so pleased with the results when I followed their advice! Before that, I had no idea that: #1 Quinoa has to be rinsed or it will be bitter. #2 Quinoa should pop open into little tiny spirals! Look at my bamboo stirrer! The results were spectacular, so if you want to try quinoa the way it is supposed to be cooked, go to their site! To go with the quinoa, I decided to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs that I had. I've read recently that chicken thighs are more healthy than the breasts! I don't know if that is true, but I do like the serving size of the thigh and my husband like dark meat best. I didn't want to do an oven baked chicken because of the summer heat, so I decided to try something on top of the stove. I was so pleased that it came together so quickly! I used the Crog Salt that I made and told you about on this post. If you haven't made our own yet, I listed the ingredients separately in the recipe. I also added thyme. The tomato-chicken bullion is widely available in grocery stores. My friend Neomi turned me on to it and now I use it in recipes frequently. Here are a few tips to easily make this recipe:
It is as easy as that! Spoon some of the sauce over the chicken and quinoa to serve! My husband loved it and so did I! I could hardly wait to tell you about it. Here is the recipe, enjoy!
|
Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
June 2024
|