Tag Archives: Passanante’s Home Food Service

Recipes: Cauliflower-Goat Cheese Gratin & Cranberry Sauce

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Still looking for a couple new Thanksgiving recipes to try out tomorrow? These next recipes are some of our favorites and are the perfect simple recipes to start teaching the next generation with… they can tackle the harder recipes next year! Nana’s Cranberry Sauce with walnuts is a homey-twist on a classic Thanksgiving dinner staple, and for most of us Cauliflower-Goat Cheese Gratin is a brand new addition to the menu. From everyone at Passanante’s Home Food Service, we hope you have an incredible Thanksgiving holiday with your family and friends. Enjoy!

 

Cauliflower-Goat Cheese Gratin

Photo Credit: The Red Spoon

Cauliflower-Goat Cheese Gratin:
  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely ground
  • 2 cups Parmesan cheese
  • 6 ounces goat cheese, cut into small pieces
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
  2. Layer the cauliflower, heavy cream, and the 3 cheeses in a medium casserole dish. Season with salt and pepper
  3. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft and the sauce has thickened slightly
  4. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving
Nana’s Classic Cranberry Sauce:
  • 4 cups fresh cranberries
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 12 ounces orange marmalade
  • juice of one lemon
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F
  2. Combine cranberries, lemon juice and sugar
  3. Cook for 1 hour covered
  4. Take out of the oven and stir in the marmalade until mixed well
  5. Add walnuts last

Other Thanksgiving Recipes:
Herb Roasted Turkey
Dressing/Stuffing
Thanksgiving Turkey Gravy

Recipe: Thanksgiving Turkey Gravy

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No Thanksgiving feast is complete with out an oversized gravy boat full of rich and flavorful homemade turkey gravy. This next recipe for our favorite turkey gravy is not for the faint of heart. Many cooks are quick to discard the bag of giblets found in the cavity of the turkey, but this tasty topping requires every last bit of them. Enjoy turkey gravy on mashed potatoes, dressing (stuffing), sopped up in homemade rolls, over thick slices of freshly cut herb roasted turkey… now that I think about it… just spoon it over your entire plate and enjoy!

Thanksgiving Dinner

Ingredients for Turkey Gravy:

  • Turkey giblets (found in turkey cavity )
  • 8 Hard boiled eggs
  • 3 Cups of milk
  • 1 Cup of turkey broth
  • 3 Tablespoons flour (may add more to thicken)
  • Salt and pepper

How to prepare Thanksgiving Day Turkey Gravy:

  1. Peel and chop boiled eggs. Set aside
  2. Simmer all of the giblets that come inside the turkey in just enough water to cover them. It will cook down quickly. Continue to add water and cook it down until very done. The giblets will make their own soupy gravy.
  3. Remove giblets with slotted spoon and chop all of them finely. Take the meat off of the neck and chop it. (Be brave!)
  4. Add the giblets back to the soupy gravy
  5. Add the milk and broth from the baking turkey
  6. Add the eggs
  7. Thicken the gravy with a rue of flour mixed with milk. It may take more than 3 tablespoons of flour. Your rue should be smooth and pourable so you don’t end up with little flour balls in the gravy.
  8. When done the gravy should be thin.

Recipe: Thanksgiving Dressing

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Happy Turkey Month! To celebrate every foodie’s favorite time of year, Passanante’s Home Food Service will be posting 4 all new Thanksgiving recipes on our blog this month and tons of other great tips and tricks on our Facebook page!

First up; no Thanksgiving is complete without a delicious homemade dressing … also known as “stuffing.” Our recipe has been a family favorite for generations and all of the cooks over the years swear the most important things to remember are 1. get a juicy turkey and 2. this recipe takes practice, but the key is to not skimp on the broth!

Thanksgiving Meal Recipes

What you’ll need for our favorite Thanksgiving Dressing:

  • 4 organic eggs
  • 2 pans of cooked cornbread (crumbled)
  • 6 stalks of celery (chopped)
  • 1 onion (chopped)
  • 3 or more cups of turkey broth (we take it right out of the turkey pan)
  • sage to taste
  • poultry seasoning to taste
  • pimento
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup milk

How to:

1. Boil the celery and onion together in just enough water to cover.

2. In a very large bowl combine all ingredients including the celery and onion along with the water they cooked in and 3 or more cups of turkey broth from your cooking turkey.

3. Add sage and poultry seasoning (we always add at least 2 tablespoons of each).

Note: At this stage your dressing should be somewhat soupy, but not too thin.

4. Pour mixture into a baking dish or two. Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes — don’t let it get dry!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Recipe: Chicken Cordon Bleu

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Fall is in full swing, and with this nice cool weather comes that hankering for good old comfort food. This next recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu is easy, but tastes like it took hours to prepare. The best part? If you’re a Passanante’s Home Food Service customer you probably already have most of the necessary ingredients in your home/freezer! So, without further adieu, start heating up your oil and get ready for another delicious home-cooked meal.Chicken Cordon Bleu RecipeWhat you’ll need:

  • 4 Grade-A boneless skinless chicken breast halves
  • 4 Thin slices of fully cooked hormone and antibiotic-free smoked ham
  • 4 Thin slices of Swiss or Gruyere cheese
  • 1 Cup dry bread crumbs
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 Tablespoon water
  • 1/2 Cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 Cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 Teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 Teaspoon ground pepper
  • Lemon wedges (optional)
  • Parsley (optional)

How to prepare Chicken Cordon Bleu:

  1. Lay the chicken flat between 2 sheets of wax paper. With a mallet, flatten each breast half to about 1/4″ thickness.
  2. Place 1 slice of ham and 1 slice of cheese on each breast half.
  3. Beginning at the narrow end, roll up and press the meat firmly together.
  4. In a pie plate combine flour, salt and pepper. In a second plate, spread the bread crumbs. And in a shallow bowl, beat eggs and water.
  5. Roll a chicken piece in flour, shake off the excess; dip in the egg mixture and roll in bread crumbs, pressing crumbs evenly onto the chicken.
  6. Place the coated chicken on a wire rack and let stand for 20-30 minutes at room temperature to firm the coating. You can also prepare in advance and refrigerate until 30 minutes before frying.
  7. When ready to cook, heat the oil to 375 degrees in a deep skillet.
  8. Fry the prepared chicken pieces over medium heat, turning occasionally with tongs for 8 minutes or until golden brown.
  9. Drain on paper towels, garnish with lemon wedge and parsley if desired, and serve hot!

What The Government Shutdown Means For Food

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It’s no secret that the government shutdown has shaken things up quite a bit over the last week or more, and many might be surprised to hear that the implications of this shutdown stretch all the way into your kitchen. You guessed it – we’re talking about trouble for the food industry.

A recent Salmonella outbreak in chicken has sickened more than 300 people across at least 18 states and, unfortunately, a “skeletal staff”at the CDC is making it slow and arduous to identify the cause and severity of the outbreak. Without the staff necessary to run appropriate tests, our ability to prepare for and warn consumers about major health threats is reduced drastically.

Imported Seafood

With 45% of the FDA’s workers furloughed, the majority of inspections on imported foods including seafood, produce and packaged foods have been suspended. While the FDA normally inspects only about 1-2% of our country’s current import shipments, which is estimated at 12 million per year, with the government shutdown this goes down to nearly 0% and imports won’t be turned away because they won’t be looked at. If you’re interested in what some of those rejected imports are all about click here to see one described as “FILTHY.”

So what can you do to protect your family from unsafe foods?

One great way to protect yourself is to avoid “The Ten Riskiest Foods” regulated by the FDA which includes favorites like cheese, tomatoes and some seafood items. Roughly 90% of all shrimp consumed in America is imported from other countries, most of which being Southeast Asian countries that rely heavily on antibiotics and have a less than perfect track record with the FDA. Opt for domestic seafood like those delivered by Passanante’s Home Food Services which are wild caught from the Atlantic or Pacific and exclusive to the U.S. or Canada.

At Passanante’s we are more committed than ever to the quality and safety of our foods. If we wouldn’t put it on our own dinner table, we wouldn’t consider delivering it to your door. If you would like to schedule a time to talk with one of our sales reps about our home food delivery service feel free to give us a call at 1-800-772-7786.