Professional Recipes Blog

Thanksgiving is upon us once again and Americans will be stuffing themselves on turkey, stuffing and their favorite side dishes they’ve enjoyed for years (including stuffing!). So, to honor the holiday, I thought I’d throw out some recipes for those looking to try something new and hopefully create some new traditions.

To start, we have the classic Thanksgiving Roast Turkey for the main course. There are some who enjoy ham instead of turkey and some who do both or try something else entirely.

For something entirely different, check out the Cornish Game Hen with Garlic or Rosemary.

Or for the adventurous types, there is the increasingly popular Turducken, which is a chicken stuffed inside of a duck stuffed inside of a turkey. John Madden of NFL and Monday Night Football fame made this one popular. I have to admit, I’ve never attempted to make one, but if I do I’ll be sure to post the results here and the recipe as well.

For a different kind of stuffing, try this Cornbread Stuffing instead of your usual “classic” bread stuffing.

There are thousands of side dishes made in all sorts of ways. Often different family members are responsible for bringing this or that. If you’re one of those family members and you’re looking for something different or special to make, try some of these side dishes, sure to be a hit:

• Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
• Carrots Vichy
• Bacon Cheddar Whipped Potatoes
• Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
• Candied Yams

Here’s an interesting one I found, Mashed Potatoes with Lavender and Honey. Not sure how this one is, but if someone gives it a try, please comment here and let everyone know how it is.

For dessert, we’ve got a couple of suggestions here:

• Chocolate Mousse
• Cherries Jubilee with Cote Rote Wine
• Coconut Cake
• Poached Pears
• Classic Pecan Pie

Hopefully now you’ve got some different things to try for your Thanksgiving feast. If you decide to try one of our recipes, please post a comment and let us know how it came out. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Labor Day weekend is upon us and that means we’ll be grilling in the backyard, having a drink with friends and family, and getting that last swim in the pool. This is a time of year where we celebrate the end of summer.

For most people, Labor Day barbecues are a big deal with all kinds of different food to throw on the grill. For the backyard gourmet this provides the perfect opportunity to show off their best marinades, elaborate shish kabobs and many different varieties on the classic BBQ fare. The grill usually gets a good workout and often times it’s the last time it gets used before being put away for the winter.

While many of us are experienced in the art of grilling when it comes to food, there are some basics to proper grilling that are either forgotten or never learned. While the food still comes out tasting good, there are some subtle things you can do to really make your food stand out from the crowd to impress your friends and family.

Always clean your grill with a wire brush before cooking on it. There are some who believe that leaving some of the residue from previous cookouts adds flavor to the food, it simply is not true. More often that not, it adds a burnt taste to the food and causes it to stick to the grill. Even if you take a break between grilling for lunch and dinner, clean your grill before starting again. You’ll be glad you did.

Use oil on the grill to prevent sticking. Lightly brushing the grill with oil before grilling will prevent food from sticking to it.

Flare-ups. Yeah, it looks cool to see some high rising flames and for certain foods, this may be preferable (searing the outside of a steak for example, but leaving it rare in the middle), but for most food on the grill, this just leaves it overcooked on the outside and generally undercooked on the inside.

Basting your food while grilling can add some wonderful flavor, particularly if you’ve marinated it ahead of time. Try not to baste the food until the last 5-10 minutes of cooking however, else you run the risk of flare-ups and burning your food. This is particularly true if you used sweeteners such as brown sugar or honey in your marinade. Sugar tends to caramelize quickly and stick to the food and the grill.

Marinades are a wonderful way to introduce a variety of flavors to food. It’s best to marinade for at least 6 hours, but if you’re planning a big barbecue, it’d be a good idea to marinade your food the day before to really get the fullest flavor.

Safety First! Grills can get very, very hot and often there are children running around, whether it be to jump in the pool or playing a game in the backyard. Accidents happen of course, but there is the potential for serious injury. Make sure your grilling area is well away from the pool, deck, or any area where others will be sitting or playing. Be sure you know how to properly operate your grill, no matter what kind it is.

So, by following some simple rules, you can really make a big difference in the flavor and presentation of your food and everyone can enjoy a safe and happy Labor Day BBQ.

Check out some of these recipes to try for your own Labor Day BBQ:

Firewalker T-Bone Steak

Steak and Shrimp Kabobs

Cajun Chicken Kabobs

Grilled Salmon with Lemon Butter

Grilled Swordfish With Chipotle Cilantro Butter

Apricot Marinade

Chef Newman’s BBQ Sauce

Easy Guacamole Dip

Enjoy!!!

It’s Memorial Day Weekend, the official start of summer some say, but always a good reason to clean up the grill. Yes, it’s officially grilling season! For this weekend we’re cooking up some delights on our grill. I’ve even made my signature BBQ sauce for the occasion, to go with a few racks of beautiful beef and and pork ribs as well as nice healthy legs of chicken! Nothing better to start off the Memorial Day Weekend.

We’ve got our Steak and Shrimp Kabobs in the works with some grilled corn! Salsa and Grilled Sweet and Hot Italian Sausage!

My mom’s semi-famous Ambrosia recipe and fresh fruit salad and let’s not forget the greens – a giant tossed salad to boot. We’re doing it up here this Memorial Day Weekend.

What are you cooking for Memorial Day? Post a comment below and let us know and in the meantime, check out some of our recipes below:

Cola Nut Grilled Salmon – added 6/15/2008

Steak and Shrimp Kabobs

Chef Newman’s Burgers

Chicken Salad

Grilled Chicken with Walnut Sauce

Mandarin Orange Gorgonzola and Almond Salad

Seven Layer Dip

Enjoy the holiday weekend!!!

Although I knew it was a common and popular recipe in some parts, I was surprised to hear how many people didn’t know how to make Pineapple Stuffing and were looking for the recipe. It is easy to make and tastes amazing, especially with ham glazed with some kind of pineapple glaze or sauce.

We cooked (my wife and I together) an Easter ham dinner for 15 people on Sunday and of course, we made my wife’s pineapple stuffing. The recipe is her recipe but it is the same as a few popular ones I’ve seen, so it’s been passed around quite a bit.

We make it using potato bread but the original calls for white bread, but really it is a personal preference. Potato Bread soaks up the pineapple very nicely and gives it a little extra texture, though it is filling!

The recipe calls for a 9-inch pan to be used and I recommend sticking to it if possible. If you do decide to use a bigger pan, take care not to fill the pan too high as it will not only take longer, but you risk the outside browning nicely while the inside is still very wet and undercooked. If this does happen to you, simply remove the top quarter or more and transfer it to another pan.

Due to the number of requests for it, I’ve put it up on Professional Recipes and you can grab this recipe by going here:

Pineapple Stuffing Recipe

Of course, to go with the Pineapple Stuffing and the ham, I made a Caramel Pineapple Glaze (my own title of course) to glaze the ham and make a sauce for the guests to drizzle over their plates, garnished with, of course, pineapple slices in the sauce bowl (for anyone who loves to munch on pineapple with ham – like me!).

Take care when trying the Caramel Pineapple Glaze recipe though as making the caramel can be tricky if you don’t get the timing quite right. You can grab this recipe by going here:

Caramel Pineapple Glaze

Enjoy!

Hi everyone,

With the Easter holiday coming so early this year, we had to get out some Easter Recipes, especially Easter Ham Glaze and a few others coming in the next few days. Stay tuned to our latest recipes by going to the Latest Recipes menu in the Recipes section of our site. There you can view the 10 newest additions to the site (RSS Feed coming soon – updated).

I’d also like to discuss glazing hams before the holiday officially arrives, which is a popular tradition in many households who celebrate Easter. Usually the ham is cooked to whatever family tradition passed down to the chef du jour, and is one that has been used for a long time.

While I don’t propose breaking family tradition of course, it’d be very easy to change up your style instead and throw some pizazz into that family tradition. How do you ask? Simple, we’ll show you some tried and true methods for your old favorites and some new ideas for those of you bold enough to change it up!

Searching for the Perfect Easter Ham Glaze

List of Easter Recipes: (more to come)

Orange and Honey Ham Glaze
Orange Marmalade with Bourbon Glazed Ham
Coca Cola® Ham Glaze
Pineapple Ham Glaze

Saint Patrick’s Day is fast approaching and to help celebrate the holiday, we’re revamped and updated some of Professional Recipes to help celebrate the holiday!

The Featured Recipe this month is a wonderful St Pattys Day Corned Beef! Traditional, delicious and easy to make, this one is sure to be a hit!

Be sure check out the Irish Potatoes recipe. This one’s a family recipe, but I’m sure it’s the same as a few others, or very similar. They’re very easy to make and just about everybody loves em!

Normally, I’ll go out and taste some local Irish fare and have a few rounds with some family and friends as there is a good bit of Irish in my family. Ham and Cabbage, Irish Potatoes, and of course this year I am making the Corned Beef and Cabbage! More on that to come.

So come check out all of our Gourmet Recipes and be sure to stop by for more site updates and more recipes!

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!