Slow Cooker Turkey Breast

I had baking and other things to do yesterday, so I decided that something in the slow cooker was in order.  In looking at slow cooker recipes online, I happened upon one that was for a turkey breast.  I thought it would be far enough away from Thanksgiving to have turkey.  I decided to make it more-or-less how I would make a turkey for Thanksgiving, herbs and all, and was impressed by the results.  The turkey was moist and had a good flavor, just without the oven being tied up for hours.

Serves 4

1/2 onion, cut into pieces
2 sprigs fresh thyme
9-10 fresh sage leaves
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
3 cups water
2-3 lbs turkey breast with bone and skin
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Scatter onion pieces over bottom of slow cooker.  Add thyme, sage, garlic salt, and water.  Place turkey on top of this and season with salt and pepper.
2. Cook turkey on low for 7-8 hours.  Remove from slow cooker carefully, as turkey will likely fall apart.  Cut into pieces to serve. 
3. If desired, reserve broth for another use.  Use a slotted spoon to remove onion pieces and herbs, then pour broth into a container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

German Chocolate Cheesecake

We had a family birthday this weekend and I had a football game to go to, which meant that the traditional cake that I am usually in charge of making was not going to happen unless I wanted to making said cake at midnight.  I realize that normal people would probably just buy a cake, but I am not really normal.  So I got the idea that cheesecake would be a lot easier and take less time.  For just being the easiest thing that I could think to make, this was absolutely delicious.  Notice that the dairy is all room temperature, which is to help the room-temperature melted chocolate mix in without clumping.

Serves 8

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
4 teaspoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons water
2 8-oz pkg cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 9-inch chocolate crumb pie crust
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter
2/3 cup sweetened flake coconut
1/2 cup pecan pieces

1. In measuring cup or small heatproof bowl, heat chocolate chips for 1 minute.  Stir until smooth.  Set aside.
2. In small bowl, combine cocoa powder and water.  Mix until paste forms.  Set aside.
3. In bowl of electric mixer, beat cream cheese until it loses the shape of blocks.  Add sugar and mix until combined.  Beat in sour cream, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.  Scrap sides of the bowl.  Stir in the now-cooled chocolate and the cocoa paste.  Mix just until combined.  Pour mixture into chocolate crumb pie crust.  Place filled pie crust on a cookie sheet.
4. Bake cheesecake in 325 degree oven for 40 minutes or until center does not look liquid when pan is shaken.  Transfer cheesecake to a cooling rack.
5. As soon as cheesecake is out of the oven, start the topping.  In a small saucepan or skillet, whisk yolk and cream together until smooth.  Add sugar and butter, mixing until combined.  Place saucepan or skillet on medium heat and, stirring frequently, cook until mixture is thick and smooth.  Remove from heat and stir in coconut and pecans.  Drop small amounts of coconut mixture over hot cheesecake, smoothing as best you can to cover the top of the cheesecake.
6. Allow cheesecake to cool completely, then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Cheesecake can be stored in refrigerator for up to three days.

Pumpking Pasties

I have always been intrigued by the idea of these pumpkin pasties, which I always have to include the note next to that the word "pasty" that it rhymes with "nasty".  Having had a few pasties when I was in the UK--mostly in Scotland--I was curious how it would be that a pumpkin filling wouldn't just run everywhere.  I am sure that this could be accomplished with magic, but what about in the non-wizarding world?  So I decided to just jump in and try it.  Cornstarch seemed like my best bet, since it would probably take too much flour and then the filling would be peach, not orange.  From there, I basically just added bits and pieces of pumpkin pie filling that made sense.  I was amazed at how nice these looked and how great they tasted.  Now whether they are like the ones Harry Potter ate on the Hogwarts Express, well, that I think is debatable.  But I enjoyed them. Note about how I shaped these: I have a cut and seal tool, which really saved me time and gave me a very polished finished product.  You can buy a cut and seal tool like I have here: The Pampered Chef Cut N Seal #1195

Makes 12 pasties

1 cup pumpkin puree (homemade or canned)
1 tablespoon cornstarch (if using homemade puree, use 1 1/2 tablespoon)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Generous dash ground nutmeg
Dash ground cloves
Dash ground ginger
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3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
Dash cinnamon
3/4 cup oil
6 tablespoons water
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1-2 teaspoons sugar, for sprinkling

1. In mixing bowl, stir pumpkin and cornstarch together until cornstarch is absorbed and no lumps remain.  Stir in 1/3 cup sugar--you will notice it get a little watery with this and that is fine--cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.  Set aside.
2. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. In medium mixing bowl, toss flour with salt and cinnamon.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.  In measuring cup, measure oil and water together.  Whisk oil and water together until the mixture looks milky.  Pour liquid, all at once, into well in the center of the flour.  Stir liquid into flour until all flour is absorbed.  Divide dough into thirds and shape each third into a ball.
4. Cut two squares of waxed paper.  Place dough ball between the two sheets of waxed paper and roll out until dough is the same size as the waxed paper.  Cut large circles with a cookie cutter or your cut-and-seal instrument, turning the cutter to make a clean cut.  With one third of the dough, you should have 8 dough circles.  Any scraps between circles can be lifted and incorporated into remaining 2 thirds of dough.   Using a small cookie cutter, press a shape into 4 dough circles but do not wiggle the small cutter to cut through the dough.  Place 2 tablespoons of pumpkin mixture on the 4 dough circles without the shape cut-out, then spread the pumpkin into a disc of equal thickness to within about 1/4 inch of dough circle edge.  Use a spatula to lift a dough circle with the shape cut-out, then use your hands to place the cut-out over the pumpkin.  The edges of the bottom (no cut-out) dough circle and the top (cut-out) dough circle should be about even.  Seal edges of dough with fork or with cut-and-seal.  Lift sealed pasty onto prepared cookie sheet.  Fill, layer, seal, and transfer remaining 3 pasties from this dough.  In the process or making the pasty, the cut-out in the dough will likely free itself from the dough circle.  As long as it is in place, leave it. The cutouts allow steam to escape, but exposed filling will get leathery so leave the cut-out in as cover against that.
5. Roll out the other thirds of dough as described in step 4.  Make 4 more pasties out of each remaining dough ball as described in step 4. 
6. Sprinkle 1-2 teaspoons sugar over tops of pasties on cookie sheet.  Bake pasties in 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until edges are dark gold and tops are lightly browned.  Allow pasties to cool on the cookie sheet, then store in an air-tight container.  They can be frozen for 1-2 weeks or kept at room temperature for up to 3 days.