The Happy Woman Store

That’s the only explanation I can come up with for the reason that the cookies (pictured above) looked incredible when they came out of the oven…and kind of like an 8 year old finished them up (pictured below). What can I say..I guess I didn’t pay attention during frosting class.

The cookies themselves were really delicious - very gingery. I got the recipe from recipezaar.com (gingerkitten)

The Most Wonderful Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional) (I put this in!)
Directions
1 In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well blended.
2 In a large bowl (KitchenAid’s great for this) beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well blended.
3 Add molasses, vanilla, and lemon zest and continue to mix until well blended.
4 Gradually stir in dry ingredients until blended and smooth.
5 Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.
6 (Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but in this case it should be refrigerated. Return to room temp before using.) Preheat oven to 375°.
7 Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
8 Place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface.
9 Sprinkle flour over dough and rolling pin.
10 Roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thick.
11 Use additional flour to avoid sticking.
12 Cut out cookies with desired cutter– the ginger bread man is our favorite of course.
13 Space cookies 1 1/2-inches apart.
14 Bake 1 sheet at a time for 7-10 minutes (the lower time will give you softer cookies– very good!).
15 Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to stand until the cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack.
16 After cookies are cool you may decorate them any way you like.
17 I usually brush them with a powdered sugar glaze when I am in a hurry, but they look wonderful decorated with Royal icing. (Or you can glob the frosting on and sprinkle with sugar, like I did!)

My family has been making our Thanksgiving turkey this way for years and it turns out moist and delicious every single time. There’s a pretty major maneuver about an hour and a half before the turkey is done, which involves flipping the bird. Be sure you have a glass of wine or two before the flip — it makes the process much more interesting! (You can find this and other great recipes in Spike’s Eats)

UPSIDE DOWN TURKEY

2 cloves garlic, minced
Fresh chopped or dried herbs such as basil, oregano, parsley
6 Tbsp softened butter
1/2 tsp salt & pepper
One fresh turkey
Oven roasting bag
Stuffing

In a small bowl with a fork, combine garlic, herbs, salt and pepper with softened butter.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Starting around the main body cavity, carefully slip your hand under the turkey skin and break the membranes that hold it to the body. With your fingers, smear the herb butter under the skin. If you’re stuffing the bird, place stuffing in the neck and main cavity. Close skin flaps with skewers. Rub the rest of the herb butter over the skin of the turkey.

Set bird breast side down in turkey roasting bag on rack in a roasting pan. Roast turkey for the time suggested. An hour and a half before turkey is done, remove turkey from oven and turn breast side up. Continue roasting until bird is done. If juices run clear when leg joint is pierced and leg wiggles easily in the joint, it is done (USDA recommends internal temp of 165).

Don’t let this somewhat amateurish photo (Dear Santa: All I want for Christmas is my own personal food stylist!) keep you from discovering the sweet, sour, and savory flavors of these two dishes. I love, love, love the flavors of pork and cabbage together and I know cabbage is really good for me, so I decided to look for a couple of new recipes. Here’s what I found:

I started out with a recipe for Braised Red Cabbage from Low-Fat Living Cookbook by Leslie L. Cooper:

1 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 red onion, chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup dry red wine
1.4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt and ground black pepper
Balsamic Vinegar

Cook the cabbage in a large pot of boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain.

Warm the oil in a large no-stic skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the cabbage, vinegar, wine, brwn sugar, and thyme. Cover and cook, stirring often, for 30 minutes, or until the cabbage is soft. Season with the salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar.

Next, I was on the look out for a pork tenderloin recipe that would add a little bite to compliment the sweetness of the cabbage. I found the perfect thing on recipezaar.com. It serves 8, but I modified it to serve 4.

Pork Tenderloin - Ginger Crusted with Maple Mustard Sauce (Recipe #77940)

Maple Mustard Sauce

1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
salt and pepper

Ginger Crusted Pork

1/2 cup panko or coarse dry breadcrumbs
1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1.5 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
2 pork tenderloins

1. To make sauce: melt butter over medium heat in small saucepan.
2. Cook onion, stirring for about 5 minutes or until soft and starting to brown.
3. Sprinkle with flour and cook, stirring for 1 minute.
4. Whisk in stock, then mustard, syrup and soy sauce.
5. Increase heat to medium high and bring to boil.
6. Boil gently, whisking, for about 5 minutes or until slightly thickend.

1. For Pork: preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine bread crumbs, ginger, salt and pepper in shallow dish.
3. Separately, combine mustard and syrup and break all over pork tenderloins.
4. Roll reach tenderloin in crumb mixture, pressing to make crumbs stick.
5. Space tenderloins apart on foil-lined baking sheet.
6. Roast for 20-25 mnutes or until internal temp is 160 degrees.
7. Let pork rest for 5 minutes.
8. Slice diagonaly into 1/2 inch thick slices.
9. Serve with sauce.