Testing Thanksgiving Recipes - Bacon and Compound Butter Marinaded Baked Chicken

Okay Bacon again - there's a theme here and guess who was kind of bossy about the recipe selection - ooops!  Me - bad!  Fudging the ingredients a little bit - this was the attempt to test this on Turkey Day.  So I apoligize for the randomness of the below recipe.  However, it was really lip-smacking good.

Stick of Butter
Bacon  (Enough to create a latticed or braided cover for Turkey or Chicken Size)
Olive Oil
Rosemary
Thyme
Garlic

Combine butter, oil and herbs into a compound butter mix.  Rub inside the skin and allover the outside of the skin.

Lattice/Braid complete bacon to cover the entire exterior of the chicken or turkey.  The lattice is to keep all the bacon together and not have it fall off while cooking.

Bake the chicken for an hour ( will have to be modified timing for Turkey) and then cover with foil until bacon gets crisp.

Testing Thanksgiving Recipes - Bacon Glazed Carrots

Two bacon recipes in one night - yum!  Great thinking Tim!  I can eat bacon 24/7.  Also a VERY GOOD side dish for Thanksgiving.

BACON GLAZED CARROTS

1 pound of baby carrots
3 bacon slices
1 small onion, chopped
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cook carrots in boiling water for 15 minutes or until carrots are tender.  Drain and set aside.  In a large skillet cook bacon until crisp.  Remove bacon and drain on paper towels.  Crumble and set aside.  Reserve 1 tablespoon of bacon drippings in skillet.  Saute onion in bacon drippings over medium-high heat for 3 minutes or until tender.  Stir in brown sugar, pepper and cooked carrots.  Cook for 5 minutes or until carrots are glazed and heated through.  Serve with crumbled bacon on top.

The Best Cream Corn Recipe Ever - Slow Cooker Creamed Corn

I love creamed corn, corn pudding, corn anything!  Tim was starting to test new recipes and this was one of them this weekend.  This HAS to be the best side dish.  I could have made a complete meal of this alone!

Slow Cooker Creamed Corn

Cook Time 3 Hours 15 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

3 (15.25 ounces) cans whole kernal corn, drained
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces cream cheese, cubed
1/2 cup ( 1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into thin slices

Place corn into a slow cooker. Stir in milk, sugar and pepper until well combined.  Without stirring, tap with butter and cream cheese.  Cover and cook on high heat for 2-3 hours.

Uncover and stir until butter and cream cheese are well combined.  Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 15 minutes.

Serve Immediately.

• 
  

Keep Out Deer!

You know it's truly Fall when the deer fencing has to go up.  Last year was our first time putting up all the stakes and netting around most of the property but it was well worth it and managed to save most of our new trees and shrubs form the massive herds of deer waiting to eat up everything in sight.  We neatly saved all our netting fencing properly.  We got a head start putting all the stakes back in the ground before the first freeze and the netting went up so fast this weekend.  We will still have to burlap wrap a lot of the shrubs - azaleas, rhododendrons and some evergreens and Japanese maples on the perimeter but it will get done and without the frenzy of last year.

Halloween Prep!

I have had the most exhausting month and a half with September Textiles market, a quick trip to North Carolina to visit my Uncle and Aunt who are selling their home and moving into a condo and work travel.  Lots to catch up on . However, this weekend was about priorities.  Winterizing the yard and house and more importantly - baking for Halloween!  I love this time of year cause it allows me to break out all my William Sonoma baking obsession molds for cookies, cakes and breads and start putting them to use.  I bought a couple new items - a new pumpkin bread mold and a skull cake mold.  Still looking for the ultimate pumpkin bread recipe but making old fashioned molasses and sugar cookies and a red velvet skull cake for an office party coming soon.  Bought lots of decorations for the office dessert party and cannot wait!