Thanksgiving is hectic, true, but you can create a gracious gathering with minimal fuss with help from Sandra Lee, star of Semi-Homemade Cooking on the Food Network. Sandra’s Semi-Homemade shortcuts cut the kitchen time in half, leaving you lots of time to join in on the festivities. Below are Sandra’s quick-fix Thanksgiving recipes from her new book: Semi-Homemade Fast-Fix Family Favorites. This delicious holiday menu couldn’t be easier to prepare and her streamlined classic tastes so good that everyone – especially the cook – will give thanks. A kick-off cocktail spreads the warmth to all senses, so start things off with a Hot Apple Toddy. The combination of apple cider, rum and cinnamon schnapps add an amazing aroma to the kitchen. For a fancy little side dish, create Prosciutto-Tied Asparagus drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice. Turkey with Cornbread Stuffing, served with Pink Peppercorn Gravy or Lemon Chive Gravy, is a flavorful, classic main dish that your guests will love. For dessert, stir syrup, sugar, eggs, flour and vanilla together and you have a rich Maple Pecan Pie in under ten minutes. Finally, add family and friends and you’ve got the recipe for a thankful day.

Recipe excerpted from Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Fast-Fix Family Favorites

* Prosciutto-Tied Asparagus

* Hot Apple Toddies

* Turkey with Cornbread Stuffing

* Pink Peppercorn Gravy

* Lemon Chive Gravy

* Maple Pecan Pie

 

Pink Peppercorn Gravy

Start to Finish 10 minutes Makes 2 1⁄2 cups

2 1⁄4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth, Swanson®

1⁄4 cup cognac

1 packet (1.6-ounce) garlic and herb sauce mix, Knorr®

1 packet (0.87-ounce) turkey or brown gravy mix, McCormick®

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons pink peppercorns, crushed, The Spice Hunter®

Crushed pink peppercorns and fresh thyme sprigs (optional)

In a medium saucepan, whisk together chicken broth, cognac, dry sauce mix, and dry gravy mix; stir in butter and peppercorns. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 3 minutes or until thickened. Garnish with pink peppercorns and fresh thyme sprigs (optional).

Lemon-Chive Gravy

Start to Finish 10 minutes Makes 2 cups

1 jar (12-ounce) turkey, chicken, brown, or mushroom gravy, Heinz®

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons lemon juice, Minute Maid®

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

1 tablespoon dry sherry, Christian Brothers®

Salt and black pepper

Fresh chives (optional)

In a medium saucepan, combine gravy, butter, lemon juice, chives, and sherry. Cook over medium heat just until simmering. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh chives (optional).

Prosciutto-Tied Asparagus

Start to Finish 20 minutes Makes 18 bundles

1 package (3-ounce) prosciutto, Columbus®

1 pound thin asparagus, ends trimmed

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon juice, ReaLemon®

Salt and ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut prosciutto slices lengthwise into two thin strips. Gather two to three asparagus spears and carefully tie prosciutto into a knot around asparagus bundle. Continue until all ingredients are used and place asparagus bundles on prepared baking sheet.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice. Drizzle over asparagus. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Roast for 8 to 10 minutes.

Hot Apple Toddies

Prep 5 minutes Cook 45 minutes Makes 4 drinks

3 cups apple cider, Martinelli’s®

1⁄2 cup spiced rum, Captain Morgan®

1⁄2 cup cinnamon schnapps, Goldschlager®

4 cinnamon sticks, McCormick®

Cinnamon sticks, McCormick®

1. In a medium saucepan, combine apple cider, rum, schnapps, and the 4 cinnamon sticks. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 45 to 60 minutes. (Or, use a 4-quart slow cooker.)

2. Serve warm in footed glasses. Garnish each with cinnamon stick swizzles. Note: If using bittersweet to garnish the cinnamon stick swizzles, make sure it is faux.

Turkey with Cornbread Stuffing

Prep 45 minutes Bake 4 hours Stand 15 minutes Makes 8 to 10 servings

1 12-pound frozen turkey, thawed

1 box (8.5-ounce) cornbread mix, Jiffy®

1 cup chopped celery

1⁄2 cup chopped green onions,/p>

1 can (10.5-ounce) chicken with rice soup, Campbell’s®

2 tablespoons poultry seasoning, McCormick®

1 stick (1⁄2 cup) butter, softened

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Salt and ground black pepper

1. Rinse the turkey in clean water and pat dry with paper towels. Remove the gizzards and neck. Place gizzards and neck in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a simmer to create broth for gravy. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from heat, strain, and reserve.

2. Meanwhile, prepare cornbread according to package directions. Crumble cornbread into small pieces; place on a baking sheet to air dry. In a bowl, combine prepared cornbread, celery, and green onions. Add soup and poultry seasoning. Mix well; stuff inside turkey cavities.

3. Generously cover turkey with softened butter. Tent with aluminum foil and bake according to package instructions for bird’s weight. One hour before bird is done, remove foil and baste. The turkey is done when the internal temperature registers 170 degrees F deep in the thigh. The temperature of the stuffing should be 160 degrees F in the center.

4. Remove turkey from oven. Place on a serving platter; tent with foil. Let turkey stand for about 15 minutes until the temperature of the stuffing reaches 165 degrees F in the center and the temperature in the thigh rises to 180 degrees F.

5. While turkey stands, prepare gravy. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add flour; cook and stir until deep brown. Add turkey drippings and whisk until thickened. Add reserved gizzard broth and simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

6. Remove stuffing from bird and place in a serving bowl. Carve turkey and arrange on a platter. Serve with stuffing and gravy.

Maple Pecan Pie

Prep 10 minutes Bake 50 minutes Cool 15 minutes Makes 8 servings

11⁄4 cups maple-flavored pancake syrup, Log Cabin Original Syrup®

1⁄3 cup packed golden brown sugar

3 eggs

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

11⁄2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, McCormick®

2 tablespoons butter, melted

11⁄2 cups pecan halves

1 9-inch frozen unbaked deep-dish pie shell, Marie Callender’s®

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, stir together syrup, sugar, eggs, egg yolk, flour, and vanilla. Whisk in melted butter. Stir in 1 cup of pecans. Place frozen pie shell on a baking sheet. Pour maple syrup mixture into shell. Arrange remaining 1⁄2 cup of pecans on syrup mixture, pressing into syrup mixture to coat.

2. Place baking sheet in center of oven. Bake pie for 50 minutes or until edges are golden and filling is just set in center. Cool pie on cooling rack for 15 minutes. Cut pie into wedges and serve warm.

Food Network’s Sandra Lee Fabulous Fall Recipes

This fall season, eating well and staying on budget is easy with help from Sandra Lee, star of Semi-Homemade Cooking on the Food Network.  The oft proclaimed “Queen of Quick” offers practical tips in her new cookbook Semi-Homemade Money Savings Meals that heighten the flavor of food while reducing the prep and cost.  It all adds up to more choice and more meals for less time and money, which you can now use to buy shoes. Too good to be true!

So turn over a “new leaf” this month and follow Sandra’s 70/30 philosophy; Mix 70% quality prepackaged foods with 30% fresh ingredients, add a dash of your own creativity and cook up a meal that’s 100% fast and fabulous! Check out a mini-menu from Sandra that transforms supermarket staples into a simple, flavor packed meal for the well-heeled girl on the go.

First up, inventive Early Peas and Haricots Verts in Garlic Herb Sauce, seasoned to taste and coated with a savory garlic herb sauce.  Then there’s Herb Butter Roasted Turkey, which is not only healthy but can be transformed into a lavish leftover with peppercorns and sage. Next, sweeten up with Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie drizzled with caramel sauce.  Then it’s cocktail time with a Cherries Jubilee Cocktail served over ice with a splash of color.

Sandra Lee’s Quick-Fix Fall Menu

This week has been yet another interesting week in terms of what posted and what you can expect to look forward to for the rest of next week. But first the recap! As always we have our eye on another band which I believe will be a group we will follow for quite awhile here on Kitten Lounge! PaperDoll is a fun band that will play this Sat and they will also be in the city playing a Halloween show as well. The lead singer Teresa definitely has a sense of style which is very important to us! Another highlight was the Modern Romance event which allowed brides to get a feel for the different kinds of looks, tastes and more that they could have at their wedding. There are also two giveaways going on at the moment as well! Model Co cosmetics has amazing tanners (in addition to other ares of their product line that I enjoy) and you could win your own self tanner so read this post and then comment! Another giveaway reminds me of my mom. I always remembered that no matter what she looked great and Lucky Me Tees believes the same thing. Read the post and make your comments so that you could be a winner. The Rachel Sage gift pack winners will be conacted this week so that those packs can be sent out to you. Finally, Lipstick Jungle premiered this week and there was some behind the scenes footage of the show! You never know what we will share about the show but we definitely have some intel and will pass the goodies along when we get them! That was quite a week and while that was going on, a lot was happening behind the scenes.


On the 22nd, Food Editor, Paul and I went to il Buco and tomorrow you will read and see images/video of the post. In addition we have monthly posts from Sandra Lee of Food Network's Semi Homemade who will contribute to Kitten Lounge! Speaking of books, novelist A W Gryphon, released Blood Moon in May 2008 which is an intriguing book that I would not be able to put down if it wasn't for all the work that I have going on at this point! Expect to see coverage of her during the month of October which is a great tie in with Halloween. As you know, Kitten Lounge will cover Islands of the World Fashion Week. In addition, we are traveling! We will be at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, covering their Halloween festivities and then making our way to a few days in Philly to capture food, designers and a little history as well. We will also make a trip to the Poconos at the Skytop Resort to share with you one of their food oriented weekends! We do love to travel and can't wait to share this with all of you. With the holidays coming up, not only will we have the Holiday Guide showing you what's perfect gifting for those on your list, but we will also have the 25 Days of Holiday Glam which allows each day to be a giveaway - and I know you love those. I do believe that that's it for now and as you know, there is always something in the works.

 

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So today is the last day of Fashion Week and hello, it's my birthday as well! So today I have a fab show that I can't wait to see Tadashi (footage later) and I can't wait to go to dinner later on tonight (Vietnamese) and a few more drinks later (Mocca Lounge)! I woke up this morning and did some prep time with a nice shower with Mistral Soaps (today I tried Lait and loved it) and of course saved my favorite Lauren Conrad dress for today).

 

So today I turn 29 and this morning I surfed around this morning to see one of my favorite cupcakes - Red Velvet! I love making cupcakes but at the same time, I love to read up on others who do them amazingly well! Of course I stopped in on Paula Dean on Food Network but there are some amazing bloggers with great recipes about this! I am definitely going to reach out to them but My Baking Addiction, Cupcakes Take the Cake and Scrumptious Photography. Congrats and I can't wait to grab a red velvet cupcake later on today - yum!