Holiday Party Eats All Wrapped Up!

Heat oven to 425°F. In large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add mushrooms, then cook and stir until tender. Add wine, cook for 2–3 minutes or until the liquid is evaporated. Stir in the green onions, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Remove from the skillet and cool thoroughly.

Heat the same skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Place the steaks in the skillet, cook for 3 minutes, turning once. (Steaks will be partially cooked. Do not overcook.) Season with salt and pepper, as desired.

On a flat surface, layer half the phyllo dough, spraying each sheet thoroughly with cooking spray. Cut the stacked layers in half lengthwise to make 2 equal portions. Place about 2 tablespoons of the mushroom mixture in the center of each portion, spreading it to the diameter of each steak. Place the steaks on top of the mushroom mixture. Bring together all 4 corners of phyllo dough and twist tightly to close. Lightly spray each with cooking spray, then place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat this process for the remaining half of the dough.

Immediately bake in a 425°F oven for 9–11 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a saucepan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and cook the mushrooms, shallots and sage leaves until softened. Allow the mixture to cool, and drain off any excess liquid the mushrooms released during cooking.

Toast the walnuts in a frying pan without any oil, stirring regularly to avoid burning, until fragrant. Chop and add to the mushroom mix.

Add salt, pepper, allspice and breadcrumbs. Stir to combine. Add the melted butter and stir once more until everything is well mixed.

Butterfly the backstrap so it’s flat and even, and spread the stuffing mixture in a log across the middle. Pull the backstrap back together, forming a cylinder around the stuffing, and secure with twine. Season the outside well with salt.

In a cast-iron skillet (or heavy based pan), heat the remaining oil until nearly smoking, then sear the stuffed loin about 2 minutes per side until completely browned all over. Place the skillet in the oven, and cook a further 4 to 6 minutes. It’s important to not overcook the backstrap, as it will become tough.

Remove from the skillet, and rest under foil for 8 to 10 minutes before slicing 1-inch thick portions and serving.

Lay out the pastry in the pie dish and set aside.

Crumble the sausage in a medium skillet. Add the onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat till sausage is browned, stirring occasionally. Drain well.

Thaw the spinach, drain well. Remove remaining moisture by pressing the spinach between layers of paper toweling. Add the spinach to the sausage mixture. Mix well.

Sprinkle the cheese evenly in the pastry shell. Top with the sausage mixture. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, cream, and salt. Mix well. Pour the egg mixture over the sausage mixture.

Bake in a 375°F oven for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted halfway between center and outer edge comes out clean. Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with cherry tomatoes and watercress, if desired.

To make the sausage: Combine all the ground-beef sausage ingredients in a large bowl, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the sausage mixture and cook 8–10 minutes, breaking into 1/2-inch crumbles, and stirring occasionally.

To make the meatballs: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Combine the sausage mixture, 1 egg, and breadcrumbs in a large bowl, mixing thoroughly. Shape into 12, 2-inch meatballs. Place a mozzarella ball in the middle of each meatball, making sure the cheese is completely covered with the beef mixture. Place meatballs on an aluminum-foil lined broiler rack coated with cooking spray. Bake in 400°F oven for 24–27 minutes.

To make the rolls: Cut the dough into 12 pieces, about 1 ounce each. Stretch each piece to cover 1 meatball, pinching the edges to seal. Place each one seam-side down on a parchment-lined, shallow-rimmed baking sheet. Place the remaining egg in a small bowl, beat with a fork. Brush the rolls with egg, then top with Parmesan cheese. Bake the rolls in a 400°F oven for 10–12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with marinara sauce and basil, as desired.

For the dipping sauce, mix 1/2 cup soy sauce with 1 tablespoon scallions, 1 tablespoon ginger, and 1 minced garlic clove in a small bowl. Set it aside.

For the filling, mix ground pork with the remaining scallions, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon ginger, and the rest of the minced garlic in a medium bowl.

Line a large baking sheet with waxed or parchment paper. For each dumpling, place a teaspoon of filling on the bottom half of a dumpling wrapper. Moisten the bottom edge of the wrapper with water, fold in half, and press the open edges closed. Stand the pot stickers with the closed edges up on a baking sheet.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. In batches, place the pot stickers in the skillet, flat “bottoms” down. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown, about 1 minute. Carefully pour in about 1 cup water (it will boil up) and tightly cover. Boil for 3 minutes. Uncover and cook until water has evaporated, and the pot stickers are sizzling, about 3 minutes more.

Transfer to a heatproof serving platter and keep the pot stickers warm in a preheated 200°F oven, loosely covered with aluminum foil, while cooking remaining pot stickers. Wipe out the skillet between batches.

Pour dipping sauce into ramekins. Serve with pot stickers.

To make the pecan-flecked pie dough: Stir the flour, ground pecans, salt, and sugar together in a bowl. Add the butter pieces and stir to coat with the flour mixture using a bench scraper or spatula. With a pastry blender and firm strokes, cut the butter into the flour mixture, working quickly until mostly pea-sized pieces of butter remain.

Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of the ice water over the flour mixture. Mix and cut water into the flour with a bench scraper or spatula until it is fully incorporated. Add more of the ice water mixture, 1–2 tablespoons at a time, and mix until the dough comes together in a ball, with some dry bits remaining, 10–12 tablespoons total. Squeeze and pinch with your fingertips to bring all the dough together, sprinkling dry bits with more small drops of the ice water mixture, if necessary, to combine.

Shape the dough into 2 flat discs, one slightly larger than the other, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling.

To make the pecan crust: Butter a 9.5-inch pie pan. On a floured surface, roll the smaller dough disc into a circle approximately 12 inches in diameter. Fit it into the pie pan and refrigerate. Roll the larger dough disc into a circle approximately 15 inches in diameter. Using a small turkey-shaped cookie cutter, cut 8 turkeys, side-by-side from the very perimeter of the dough circle. Trim off rough edges to leave a dough circle large enough to top the 9-inch pie. Place the dough and cutouts on a baking sheet and refrigerate.

To make the pie filling: In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. Add red onions, and sauté 15 minutes or until caramel colored. Place in a bowl and set aside.

In the same skillet, fry the bacon until crispy. Drain on a paper towel and chop when cooled. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon grease. Preheat oven to 375°F and position the oven rack to the middle position.

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Dredge turkey tenderloin pieces in the flour mixture. In another bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, milk and mustard.

In the skillet used for the bacon, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter with the reserved bacon grease over medium-high heat. Add the turkey tenderloins, and brown on all sides until golden. Sprinkle the remaining flour mixture on top of the turkey pieces, then gradually stir in the chicken broth mixture. Bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add red onion and torn escarole, stir to incorporate and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and allow filling to cool for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, before spooning into prepared pie shell.

Top with the crust circle and crimp as desired. Cut steam vents and brush the top of the pastry with milk, then arrange the turkey cutouts on top. Bake for 1 hour. Cool before slicing.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Begin with cooled, baked sweetpotatoes (oven-baked or microwaved).

Peel baked sweetpotatoes, add milk, maple syrup, butter and cinnamon. Beat with a hand mixer into a smooth puree.

In a separate bowl, mix cubed turkey, cream cheese, onion and cranberries.

Unroll pie crust. Using a biscuit cutter, cut rounds of dough slightly larger than the cups of your muffin pan.

Spray muffin pan with cooking spray. Line muffin cups with dough rounds. Spoon in turkey and cranberry mixture evenly. Top each cup with a generous spoonful of sweetpotato puree.

Bake for 12–15 minutes until crust is golden brown and filling is heated through. Add 3 mini marshmallows to the top of each sweetpotato layer and bake an additional 2–3 minutes to brown the marshmallows. Serve warm.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Beat in the cream. Whisk in the vanilla, brown sugar, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Add the flour and combine until smooth.

Cut the top third or so off each pumpkin. Angle the knife while cutting, so the slanted cut tapers toward the middle to allow the tops to securely center on the pumpkin. Hollow out the pumpkins, removing all the seeds and pulp.

Layer the apples and pecans inside the pumpkins, and then drizzle the egg mixture equally into each pie. The apples can extend above the rim, but the egg mixture should not fill the shell more than 2/3 high.

Place the tops on the pies and transfer them to the indirect cooking zone. Roast with the hood closed for 20 minutes. Remove the tops and set them directly on the grill grate in the coolest part of the indirect zone. Close the lid.

In 10 minutes, rotate the pies for even cooking. In another 10 minutes, remove the pumpkin lids from the grill and set aside. After 10 more minutes, the pumpkin shells should be tender and the apple pie filling cooked through. Remove from the grill and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Note: 6 pumpkins require a sizable indirect cooking zone. A K900 can handle them, but some grills are not large enough.