Happy 16th Birthday Lauren: Apples, Apple Butters, Apple Pies and... Sushi?

First off, my little sister is SIXTEEN!!!! 

Crazy, I am 10 years older than her so that means I am almost 26... does that mean I am soon to be in my late 20s... OH NO! 

Anyways I can't believe she is now old enough to drive! I am so impressed with the young lady she has grown to be, but she will always be little Lo Lo to me. 

When asked what she wanted to do for her birthday she said, go midnight black friday shopping, then join us up to apple hill, and then sushi for dinner! And we did exactly that. 

No pictures from shopping, thank God. 

But after we "napped" we headed up to Apple Hill for some delicious treats, great scenery, and a brief visit with some Santa Barbara friends. 

  

THIS IS THE WINNER OF THE DAY: WALKING PIE! 

(below)

Who wouldn't want a pie that is completely surrounded by crispy, flaky, buttery crust? And free ice cream, we scored!

After we ate dessert for lunch we headed home for a bit to relax before we went to Mikuni for dinner. 

This has been my favorite sushi restaurant since I was about 16! And I couldn't pass up getting a picture with my little brother and my favorite dishes, Citrus Blossom and the Incredible Roll.  

So long for now Sacramento, watch out Lauren Craig is on the road! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for my life, my family, my friends, my boyfriend, my job, the food in front of us and the Craig sweet tooth still going strong and creative this Thanksgiving... I present to you Pum-ple Cake by Lauren and Kayla!

Leftover Remix: Pumpkin Pie

By the time dessert was served we were sooooo full at Friendsgiving, that barely any of the pumpkin pie was ate.  This was great because it gave me a lot of pie to work with.  I thought the combination of the pumpkin pie filling, whip cream and crust blended with eggs would be a great baked french toast mixture.  So I gave it a try and I would say it was quite the success.   

Pumpkin Pie Baked French Toast

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  

2. Take the leftover Pumpkin Pie and blend it in the bender until smooth. 

3. Chop up bread. 

4. Crack eggs to add to the blender (I do it in a separate bowl, just incase you loose a shell)

5. Add eggs to blender and keep on low speed just to evenly blend with the pumpkin pie puree. 

6. Pour the egg and pumpkin pie mixture over the bread.  Bake at 350 for 40 min. 

7. Serve and eat.  I wish I had extra whip cream to top it off with but I blended it with the pumpkin pie, but you can also top with syrup.  

Please note I did not include measurements because leftovers vary.  For this recipe I used 2/3 of the pumpkin pie. 

Leftover Remix: Garlic Mashed Potatoes

For some reason I thought it was necessary to cook an entire bag of potatoes for Garlic Mashed Potatoes at our Friendsgiving, but as you can see only about a third was actually ate! And you can only eat so much mashed potatoes, but the 2nd day of leftovers you get pretty tired of the same thing.  

One of my favorite soups is Potato Cheese soup from Silvergreens, but recently we ordered soup and it was watery and no longer the creamy cheesy soup I loved.  I was very dissapointed.  Last night, I thought I can recreate that Potato Cheese soup with my leftover mashed potatoes. 

This was probably the easiest dinner ever and I was sooo happy with the results! 

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potato Cheese Soup

1. Put 1 cans of veggie broth and the left over mashed potatoes in a stove top pan.  

2. As the mixture heats up use a hand blender and mix everything together. Add more veggie broth to get to the consistency you prefer.  

3. Add cheese and stir. 

4. Serve with pepper and top with more cheese. 

Please note I did not include measurements because leftovers vary.  For this recipe I used 4 cups of Garlic Mashed Potatoes. 

Leftover Remix: Green Bean Casserole

Wondering what to do with all those leftovers from Thanksgiving? Tired of thanksgiving dinner over and over... Well to get rid of my leftovers I decided to mix it up.  

Tonight was not your standard leftovers just heated up... tonight was Green Bean Pasta!

It was actually very easy and tasty!

1. Boil water and cook Pasta

2. Saute Garlic and Red Pepper in Olive Oil

3. Add white wine and left over green bean casserole. 

4. Add rosemary sprigs, but don't off the leaves.  You will want to take them out after it is done cooking.  

5. Add turkey slices and the cooked pasta. 

6. EAT! 

Please note I did not include measurements because leftovers vary.  For this recipe I used 1/3 of the green bean casserole in a 1.5 Qt pan. 

Friendsgiving Potluck! (My First Turkey!)

 Well Holiday Season has begun! 

What better way to start it out other than a Friendsgiving! I mean, I am really thankful for my friends and all and it is another excuse to make a huge feast and celebrate.   

Friendsgiving 2012

Last year I was only daring enough to buy the Costco Turkey Breast with Veggies already chopped and ready to put in the oven, but this year dark meat was in high demand.  So with a little convincing and encouragement from Andrew, we went for the whole 15lb turkey! 

After defrosting and drying, I caressed the breast and gave a very sensual butter rub down.  I must say I have never been that intimate with a dead animal, but it was all for a crisp and juicy bird!  Next, I stuffed it with chopped veggies, orange slices, herbs, and garlic.  Then poured vegetable broth and a splash of orange juice around the turkey to roast.  Covered it and cooked it for 3 1/2 hours at 325.  Every 30 min I pulled it out and gave it a nice broth bath.  This turkey sure received the royal treatment.  

After it 3 1/2 hours I removed the foil cover, rubbed it down with the other half of the butter and put it back in the oven uncovered until the built in thermometer popped.  

 While the turkey cooked we ate my festive winter squash dip (inspired by Martha Stewart's Recipe here) and sipped Manhattans and wine. 

Note: I did not add the sour cream or pepitas, and I added 4 additional chipotle peppers.  I thought it tasted great, but needed some additional texture.  

The spread was quite a feast!  I was thankful everyone brought a dish! I don't know how people create a Thanksgiving dinner with one oven and one day! 

 

Andrew & Jack's Giblet/Neck Gravy!

Pillsbury's Crescent Rolls

Jessica & Scott's Apple Rosemary Stuffing

David's Scalloped Potatoes (Don't mind the color, they were delicious)

Cranberry, Cranberry, and Gravy

Jack's Corn and Bacon Salad

My Yukon Gold Garlic Mashed Potatoes 

Scott our turkey carver and Andrew and I!

The Grand Finale: My beautiful TURKEY! 

Our Friendsgiving Potluck Feast & cheers to a successful first turkey.