Thanksgiving Dinner

Appetizers:

• Endive with Cranberry Cinnamon Goat Cheese
• Shrimp with Seafood Sauce
• Baked Brie with Onion Marmalade

Starter:

• Butternut Squash Soup

Dinner:

• Roasted Turkey
• Stuffing
• Glazed Carrots and Parsnips
• Buttery Green Beans
• Gratin of Potatoes, Shallots and Sage

Dessert:

• Apple Crumble Pie from Andrew Scenic Acres Farm

I had a couple of disasters this thanksgiving that made me laugh but also reminded me that I am an amateur foodie. On the other hand, if you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?

So my lovely boyfriend picked up a turkey for me. I fully appreciate his effort, however he picked up a pre-stuffed Butterball turkey. “Cook from Frozen”. OK, I’ll roll with it. It just meant that I didn’t have to make stuffing, but I had to watch to make sure that the stuffing (which I never put in turkey), didn’t dry out the turkey. A frozen turkey also means I can’t add much flavor to it. On Sunday morning, I read the package carefully to make sure I cooked it within the time. The package said it would take 6 hours. It only took 4 1/2. All my best laid plans out the window! My turkey got to rest for 1 hour.

Luckily it was still warm when we carved it and it turned out really moist. Phew! 

Then, my Gratin of Potatoes didn’t thicken. They were runny as hell. They tasted ok, but I still can’t figure out what I did wrong. I think I used the wrong potatoes. And if that wasn’t enough, while I was sautéing the carrots and parsnips, my 30 year old electric stovetop burner caught on fire. 

I blew the fire out, opened the windows and laughed. I served said glazed carrots and parsnips, however I didn’t cook them enough (probably because I was smoked out of my kitchen), so they were crunchier than they should have been. Thankfully the wine was perfect!

Well I can’t say that dinner was a complete success, but it was still fun to put it together.  I have lots of leftovers and am completely fooded out now.  

Individual recipe posts to follow!

Cranberry Sauce

Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s here already! The Thanksgiving long weekend! Tomorrow I’m hosting a small intimate family dinner. But of course I am going all out. This is my time to show off a bit. I have to prove that I am actually making all these foods I put on the blog. 

Today has been a busy day of cleaning and prep work. The house is immaculate, the table is set, I’m organized and ready for tomorrow. I just finished making my Cranberry Sauce. I like to make it a day ahead just to get it out of the way and I like my cranberry sauce chilled. If you have never made Cranberry Sauce, then you are crazy. It is so easy to make. It literally takes 10 minutes. Once you make your own you will never buy another can of sauce again, I promise! 

Here’s my super easy recipe:

Cranberry Sauce

1 pkg. of fresh cranberries (12oz)

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Zest from 1/2 an orange

1 whole star anise

Rinse the berries under cold water. In a saucepan mix together water, sugar, zest and star anise. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove the star anise and add the cranberries. Boil for approx. 5 minutes, until the skins pop. 

Serve either hot or chill in the fridge.

Makes approx. 2 cups of sauce.

New York Cocktail

It has been a hellish week thus far and it's only Wednesday. I need a cocktail in a fancy martini glass ASAP. After flipping through "The Complete Bartender" book looking for whiskey drinks, I came across this one. (Why whiskey? Why not??) I put this together as per the recipe below and surprise, surprise, it was very yummy. This book of mine was published in 1990. I must have picked up this book in a garage sale or something, because in 1990 I was 14. This book has really weird recipes and it's not always easy to find something good. (For example: I will not put raw egg in my glass and mix it with alcohol- EVER.)


So, right now, I'm very warm and sleepy and decided to share this recipe on my blog. [Insert happy sigh here].


1 1/2oz. Whiskey
1/2 tsp. powdered sugar (Splenda worked great)
1/2oz. lime juice
dash grenadine


Fill a cocktail shaker with ice; add all ingredients; shake (don't stir); pour into a fancy crystal martini glass that you got from your first marriage [First marriage and martini glass optional]; garnish with orange peel and maraschino cherries.


Serves 1 Stressed-Out Person
Enjoy fellow stressed-out people! :)

Cranberry Ginger Cocktail

This recipe comes from an Ocean Spray coupon book from 2003 that I’ve had in my collection since then. I like this cocktail. It’s refreshing and slightly spicy with the ginger. It works as a good Holiday drink, but I like it in the summer too. Remember: It’s 5pm somewhere!!

Cranberry Ginger Cocktail

1 bottle Ocean Spray Cranberry Cocktail (1.89L)

1 inch fresh ginger, sliced very thinly

3 oranges

3 limes

8oz gin

1. Microwave on high, 1 cup of cranberry cocktail with the ginger until steaming, about 2 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Strain out ginger and combine liquid with remaining cranberry cocktail. Stir well and transfer to an 8-cup glass pitcher. Chill.
2. If desired, cut a long narrow strip of peel from one of the oranges to make a garnish. Juice two oranges and two limes. Thinly slice remaining fruit and stir into the cranberry mixture along with the citrus juices and gin.
3. Serve cocktail over ice in glasses garnished with orange peel spirals and frozen cranberries. Makes 8 servings. Also looks beautiful in a martini glass (if you are a perfectionist you may want to strain the pulp out before you pour into a martini glass)

Chicken Lasagna

Everyone has their own way to make lasagna. Personally, I am not a fan of ground beef so any recipe that would normally have ground beef, has either ground chicken or turkey. I will sometimes use ground pork as well. My reason for not eating ground beef is not a health thing, it’s simply a taste thing. I don’t like the greasy, fattiness of ground beef (even lean ground beef). Don’t get me wrong here, I love a good steak and beef stew and roasts, I just don’t like ground beef. So this recipe uses ground chicken. It is a basic, normal, tasty lasagna that’s homemade and delicious. Serve with a romaine salad and garlic bread. Good comfort food for a cold rainy fall day.

Chicken Lasagna

Meat Layer:

2 lbs ground chicken

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tsp Italian seasoning

Salt & Pepper

Brown the meat, add the onion and garlic and seasonings, set aside.

Cheese Layer:

2 containers of light ricotta cheese

2 eggs, lightly whisked together

Handful of fresh parsley

1/4 to 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

Salt & Pepper

Combine the the above ingredients, set aside.

Mushrooms:

2 packages of pre-sliced mushrooms

Fry mushrooms until soft, set aside.

Tomato Sauce:

• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 large cans of whole tomatoes
• Italian Seasoning, salt & pepper

Fry the onion until soft, add in garlic, tomatoes and seasonings, bring to a boil, turn down heat and let simmer for at least 30 minutes. (It’s even better if you allow it to simmer for an hour)

Ingredients that are also required:

- No-Cook Lasagna Noodles

- Mozzarella cheese

Ready to put this beast together? Pre-heat oven to 350deg. 

Put 2 good soup ladles of sauce on the bottom of your pre-greased large casserole dish. Add in 3 or 4 no-cook lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. Add half your cheese mixture. Add half your mushrooms, and half your chicken. I then add a few large pieces of mozzarella and then ladle 3 or spoonfuls of sauce on. Repeat noodles, cheese mixture, mushrooms, chicken, mozzarella, sauce.

Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven for 45-55 minutes. Remove foil; top with grated mozzarella cheese and continue baking uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit while you make a romaine salad and garlic bread.

Enjoy!

(Note: I pre-made my lasagna and placed in the fridge for a few hours before I was ready to bake. If you do this, (which is a great idea if you’re having a party) baking time increases by 15 - 20 minutes before you remove the cover and top with cheese. It still tastes awesome)

Caramelized Onion Crostini

This is one of my original recipes. It’s sweet, it’s tangy, it’s crunchy and delicious. It’s also easy and will be a crowd pleaser. Just double or triple the recipe for more people. Enjoy!

2 med. yellow onions, cut in half and thinly sliced

1 tbsp butter

Drizzle of olive oil

Half of a Baguette (French, ciabatta, home made onion bread)

1/4 cup finely grated Goat-Gouda Cheese (Mozzarella with work too)

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup peach preserves (or apricot jam)

1. Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan over med heat. Break up the onions and add to the pan. Stir the onions until they are covered in the butter. Turn heat to low-med and put a lid on the pan and leave alone for 8 to 10 minutes. Stir, and leave another 10 minutes. Add the thyme and vinegar, stir and cook another minute. Remove from heat.
2. Prepare the bread; slice to 1/4 inch thick, brush with olive oil both sides, and toast under the broiler until both sides are nice a toasty.
3. Evenly distribute the preserves onto each crostini, add the onions and cheese. 
4. Broil until the cheese melts and everything is hot again.

Serves 2 hungry people.

Scalloped Potatoes with Porcini and Bacon

I friggin love Porcini mushrooms. Porcini to me, is like Truffles to others. I rarely use them because I revere them. They are unique and earthy and simply luxurious. I adore them. I could marry them and become Mrs. Porcini, but I prefer the indulgence of a rare love affair that makes me come back for more. If I ate them all the time, the love I feel them for them may dwindle. Oh.. but do I pine for them after I indulge! Sigh. 

Eat, drink and be merry!

This recipe comes from the LCBO’s Food & Drink Magazine Autumn Edition.

Scalloped Potatoes with Porcini and Bacon

1 pkg (14g) dried porcini mushrooms

6 strips bacon, thinly sliced

1 small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 lbs potatoes (or in english about 5 or 6 med-large potatoes)

2 cups milk, 2% or homogenized (I used skim milk - gotta stay healthy!)

1 cup whipping cream

Pinch of nutmeg

Salt & Pepper

1 cup coarsely grated Gruyere cheese

1. Preheat over to 350deg F.
2. Butter a casserole that measures about 9inches square (I used an 8x11 casserole - it worked fine). Place mushrooms in a small bowl. Cover mushrooms with about 1/2 cup boiling water. Let stand whole preparing ingredients.
3. In a large frying pan, cook bacon over medium heat until it starts to crisp, about 5 minutes. Add onion and continue to cook until bacon is crisp and onion is tender, about 5 more minutes. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Strain mushrooms over a bowl but don’t discard liquid. Squeeze out any liquid from mushrooms into bowl. Chop mushrooms and stir into bacon mixture.
4. Peel potatoes and slice as thinly as possible, no thicker than 1/4 inch. Place milk, cream and nutmeg in a large wide pan. Gradually add mushroom liquid, so that any grit at bottom of bowl doesn’t get added. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer. Add potatoes to simmering milk mixture. Stir. Cook just until almost fork tender, about 10 minutes.
5. Using a slotted spoon, remove and spread about half the potatoes into prepared casserole. Top with half the bacon mixture. Lightly season with S&P. Spoon remaining potatoes over the top. Repeat with bacon mixture and season. Carefully pour milk mixture over top, to evenly distribute. Bake, covered about 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and continue to bake until golden and bubbling, about 20 to 30 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 8