Challah Stuffing

 Link: https://smittenkitchen.com/2019/11/challah-stuffing/

• 1.5 pounds challah bread (storebought or 3/4 of one of these), cut into generous 1-inch cubes

• 1/2 cup turkey drippings or melted unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan

• 2 cups small-diced celery (from about 3 large ribs)

• 2 cups small-diced leeks or yellow onions (from about 2 large leeks or 1 large onion)

• 1 tablespoon each minced fresh rosemary, sage, thyme

• 1/2 cup packed, chopped flat-leaf parsley

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

• 3 cups vegetable, chicken, or turkey broth

One day, two days, or even the night before: You can either spread your challah cubes on a large pan or even loosely pile them in the baking dish you’ll use for the final stuffing and leave them to dry anywhere you can find a surface. Oh you didn’t do this and you need to make the stuffing right now? Spread them on a baking sheet and dry them in the oven at 300°F until firm but not brown.

The day of, at any point, or an hour before you want to serve the stuffing: Heat oven to 350°F. Generously butter a 9×13-inch baking dish. I always forget to do this. Don’t forget. It will absolutely stick if you don’t. Add challah cubes to the dish.

In a large frying pan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add celery, leeks, half the salt and pepper, and cook, stirring here at there, until the celery is mostly tender and onions are translucent and sweet, about 10 minutes. Add sage, rosemary, and thyme and cook for one minute more. Sprinkle over challah cubes along with parsley. Use your hands — it’s so much easier this way — to gently disperse the vegetables through the challah, being careful not to let all the vegetables fall through to the bottom.

Add remaining salt and pepper to broth (although if your broth is very salty, maybe you will want less) and pour it over the challah. Challah is very tender, even when stale, so it doesn’t need soaking time. Cover pan tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then increase the oven heat to 425°F. Remove the foil and drizzle challah with remaining 6 tablespoons of melted butter, you don’t want to skimp on this. Return the pan to the oven and bake the stuffing for another 15 minutes, until the top edges are crisped and it’s nicely browned on top.

Serve right away or reheat when needed at 350°F (foil-on because it’s already well-browned. Other ways to make this ahead: You can just bake it for the foil-on portion the day before and blast it at the higher heat before you serve it, although if it’s coming from the cold fridge, it may need 20 minutes, not 15.

Carrot Cake

 Grossy Pellossi dream carrot cake.

Cake:

1 ½ cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 cups flour*

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup walnuts

1 20 oz can crushed pineapple, strained

2 4oz jars carrot baby food

Frosting:

16 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

Preheat oven to 350º.

In a large bowl, stir all cake ingredients with a wooden spoon.

Grease a Bundt pan with cooking spray and pour in the batter. 2 round pans make a lovely layer cake, and a 13x9" sheet pan makes a lovely sheet cake. 

Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. 

Cool completely on a rack.

Frosting - Beat the cream cheese, butter and sugar together in a stand mixer.

Add 2 teaspoons vanilla and beat 4-6 minutes, until fluffy and white.

Use a bit of frosting to hold cake in place, then flip it out onto a stand or plate. Frost casually. Decorate with whole walnuts on top for extra nostalgia. 

Place cake in the fridge and let it get cold. I find it’s best after as much time in the fridge as possible, and It's shelf-life is amazing! Like eat it on day 4 for breakfast kind of shelf-life.

Any Fruit Crisp

from Grossy Pelosi. Link:https://www.danpelosi.com/post/any-fruit-crisp 

Topping:1 cup flour*½ cup regular sugar ¾ cup dark brown sugar1 cup oatmeal1 stick of salted butter (unsalted also works, just throw in a pinch of salt)
Filling: Zest of 1 lemon (or orange or lime)Juice of 1 lemon (or orange or lime)¼ to ½ cup sugar, depending on how naturally sweet your fruit is2 tablespoons flour*Fruit: You need enough fruit to fill your baking dish, so just eyeball it. This recipe is very laid back in terms of how much fruit and what kind of baking dish you use. Frozen fruit works perfectly here, just defrost fruit before starting the recipe.
Some ideas for fruit combos! Mixed berries, Peach and raspberry, Stone fruit with thyme, Straight up blueberry, Strawberry rhubarb, Apple cinnamon, Cranberry apple cinnamon
Combine the fruit with the lemon zest, lemon juice, ¼-½ cup sugars, and 2 tablespoons of flour. Once coated, place fruit into your buttered baking dish.
Combine 1 cup flour, both sugars (½ cup regular, ¾ cup brown), and 1 cup oatmeal with your hands. Cut the stick of butter into small squares, and use your hands to incorporate butter into the dry mixture. Make clumps of topping mixture with your hands, and place clumps on top of fruit mixture until your fruit is mostly covered.
Bake your crisp at 350º for about an hour (or longer for crispier).Once it's done, I like to let mine cool a bit which allows the juices to settle. Serve it up with greek yogurt and honey on top or go all in with a scoop of ice cream fresh out of the oven! Crisp can be made ahead, same day, and reheated in the oven. Just be sure to pull your crisp out a few minutes before the timer’s done as it will get a little more browned when reheated.

Citrusy Glazed Carrots

Link: https://www.danpelosi.com/post/aunt-janet-s-citrusy-glazed-carrots

From The Amazing Grossy Pelosi

4 lbs carrots olive oil¾ cup dark brown sugar ⅓ cup orange juice 1 tablespoon orange zest 6 tablespoons salted butter
Preheat your oven to 400º. Peel and cut your carrots into 4 pieces, once in each direction. Coat your carrots in olive oil and place them on a baking sheet. Roast at 400º for an hour or so, tossing them halfway until they are as dark and crispy as you deserve. Set your carrots aside. A note: This is great step to do in advance. You can roast carrots and keep them in the refrigerator until you are ready for them. Just be sure to put them on the counter so they come to room temperature before the next steps!
In a large pan, add ¾ cup dark brown sugar, ⅓ cup orange juice, 1 tablespoon orange zest, and 6 tablespoons salted butter. If you only have unsalted butter, just add a pinch of salt. Over medium heat, whisk the HECK out of your ingredients until they reduce into the goopiest glaze you have ever seen that begins to bubble. Add your carrots to the pan, tossing them in the glaze to coat and reheating them as needed. After a few minutes in the glaze over medium heat, your carrots will be glossy and glowing and delicious!
Place your carrots in your serving dish, pouring all extra glaze over the top of carrots ensuring they are just the most decadent thing you have ever seen in your life!!!