Clay Pot Cooking for the Holidays
With Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, everyone is actively searching for new recipe ideas that guests and family will love-along with dishes that won't take forever to make, and that are easy to do, whether you have a lot of help in the kitchen this holiday season or not. And, if your cooking for a large group of people, you'll definitely want to make sure that you have enough food for everyone to come back for seconds. Here are some clay pot recipes that will feed even your unexpected guests, and will leave everyone giving compliments to the chef!
For starters, you may want to give your children a small dish to make that will compliment an entree, such as gravy for the turkey and mashed potatoes, or a whipped topping to go with dessert. Here are some easy smaller recipes that children (especially adolescents and preteens) can make themselves, along with a few side dishes your kids may want to try their hand at making.
Baked Ziti with Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
1 pound ground turkey
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely diced onion
3 tablespoons chopped, toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup grated Romano cheese
6 cups tomato sauce
1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese
Directions
In a bowl, stir together turkey, garlic, bread crumbs, onion, pine nuts, parsley, egg, salt and pepper. Form into meatballs about 1 inch in diameter.
In a large heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Cook half of meatballs, shaking skillet, until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer meatballs to paper towels to drain. Brown remaining meatballs in remaining 2 tablespoons oil in same manner.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Oil a 3 to 4 quart gratin dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook until just al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain.
In a small bowl, toss together mozzarella and Romano cheese.
Spoon about 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce and half the meatballs into prepared dish, and spoon half the pasta on top. Spread half remaining sauce and half cheese mixture over pasta. Top with remaining meatballs, and drop dollops of ricotta over meatballs. Spread remaining pasta over ricotta, and top with remaining sauce and cheese mixture. Bake in middle of oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Pumpkin Stew
Ingredients
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 cup water
3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 carrots, sliced
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules
1 sugar pumpkin
Directions
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Place beef in the saucepan and cook until evenly brown. Mix in the water, potatoes, carrots, green bell pepper, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer approximately 2 hours.
Dissolve the bouillon into the beef mixture. Stir in the tomatoes. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Cut top off the pumpkin and remove seeds and pulp. Place the pumpkin in a heavy baking pan. Fill the pumpkin with the beef mixture. Brush outside of the pumpkin with remaining oil. Bake in the preheated oven 2 hours, or until tender. Serve the stew from the pumpkin, scraping out some of the pumpkin meat with each serving.
You can prepare this dish in the pumpkin shell and place it in the clay pot while cooking to stabilize the pumpkin and keep the contents of the dish evenly flavored, or you can make the stew in your clay pot, using both the meat and shell from the pumpkin to add just the right amount of sweet or spicy flavor.
Jazzy Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
2 (14.5 ounce) cans green beans, drained
1 (15.25 ounce) can white corn, drained
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup dried onion flakes
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
1 (6 ounce) can French-fried onions
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl combine green beans, corn, mushroom soup, onion flakes, cheese, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Transfer to a 2 quart casserole dish. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Sprinkle fried onions on top and bake for a few minutes more, until onions brown.
This is a great dish to prepare as a side dish for the turkey, or a great vegetable casserole if you're serving vegetarians at Thanksgiving dinner this year. For more information on how to find clay pots that are just the right size for your get-together, visit The Gourmet Kitchen.
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