Thanksgiving Food Photos

My 7-Year-Old Helper, chopping green onions.

The "Cranberries"

The Turkey, Gravy, and Gluten-Free Stuffing
(GF stuffing was disappointing, but OK with lots of gravy).

 

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Crispy Shallots (that were not
crispy). The "Cranberries" again. And the Salad - the Best!

Roasted Vegetables

For years and years I ate boring steamed vegetables. I can't believe now that I ever even enjoyed them that way. These days, I grill them, stir-fry them, or  – my favorite  – roast them. It started with asparagus. It's been many years now, but the first time I roasted the asparagus, I knew I could never go back to boiled or steamed. Then it was broccoli. I don't think I've ever shared my roasted broccoli recipe here (I just want to keep that one for myself), but it's good stuff. People who think they don't like green vegetables love this broccoli. Someone once told me it tasted like steak (in a good way, of course)!

My new favorite recipe for roasted vegetables is super simple. I'm not even sure why it's so good as there's not much to it. Maybe because the vegetables can just roast and caramelize a bit with very little fuss, and that allows their wonderful flavors to come out all on their own. I found the original recipe from Gourmet magazine via Epicurious on my iPhone. It was for Brussels sprouts. Now, if you don't like Brussels sprouts, it's probably because you've never had them roasted. Am I right? Believe me, you've got to try them. Anyway, the Brussels sprouts were great, but I've used the same recipe for carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and I bet it makes great beets and other vegetables too.

Roasted Vegetables with Caraway Seeds  PRINTABLE RECIPE

About 1-1/2 lbs of firm vegetables (any one or any combination): Brussels sprouts - trimmed & halved, Carrots - peeled & sliced to 1/4" thick, Broccoli - small flowerettes, Cauliflower - small flowerettes, Beets - peeled & sliced to 1/4" thick
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp caraway seeds
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450°

2. In a large bowl, toss vegetables with olive oil, about 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Transfer to a large rimmed baking sheet and arrange in a single layer.

3. Roast on center rack of oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with caraway seeds, and toss. Arrange again in a single layer and roast for about 10 minutes more, until vegetables are crisp-tender and browned in spots. 

That's it. Simple, right? Enjoy! 

By the way, I have to say thank you to Mike Caldwell  – wherever you are these days  – for helping me to learn to spell vegetable way back in 5th or 6th grade:  VE - GE - TABLE.  I still sound it out in my head that way every time I write (or type) the word. Thanks!

I Am Thankful For a Day to Cook

Marinated Feta Made This Afternoon

I so look forward to the day of cooking, chopping, and whisking ahead! I don't look forward to the dishes, but I'll have some helpers, I hope.

We'll need a little something for snacking before the meal, so I started some marinated feta just now. I'll do everything else tomorrow. It'll  be a small group for Thanksgiving dinner at my house, but there are certain required dishes, so there will be plenty to do:

Turkey, of course. I do the same thing every year - turkey stuffed with orange & lemon wedges, chunks of onion, and fresh herbs. Every year I think, I'll try something new and different next year, but I never do. It's a good turkey recipe, so I stick with it.

Gravy. I pretty much wing it with the gravy while the turkey is resting, and it always turns out great. Every year I feel lucky (and thankful) that somehow the gravy turned out.

Stuffing. Not in the bird because that's already stuffed with the aromatics mentioned above, but on the side. Stuffing is my favorite Thanksgiving dish. This will be the first time to make or eat gluten-free stuffing. Fingers crossed.

Mashed sweet potatoes with crispy shallots. Pretty basic, but very good.

Baby greens with pomegranate seeds, pear slices, and some sort of last-minute, made-up dressing.

Cranberries. I am not a fan. I've made cranberry sauce once or twice, but everyone at my house (except me) prefers the jellied, canned stuff, so this one will be easy. Can opener please!

Finally, pumpkin pie. The filling will be homemade with canned pumpkin puree, and I will use a frozen, gluten-free crust. The crust is my favorite part of any pie, so again, fingers crossed as I haven't tried one of these gluten-free crusts before. We'll make our own whipped cream - fun to do with the kids, and way better than the store-bought stuff.

That's it. No green beans, Brussels sprouts, or dinner rolls - not enough people for all that food this year.

The frozen turkey has been thawing in the fridge since early Monday afternoon. Will it be ready in time? Fingers crossed.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Enjoy the day, the feast, your family & friends, the rain, the sunshine, or the snow - whatever you've got. And be thankful for it all.

My First Time: Risotto

I made risotto for the first time the other night. Of course, I've eaten it before.... Risotto with wild mushrooms seems to be a popular offering, and I do enjoy it that way. I've also liked it with asparagus and lemon zest. And of course, there's always a bit of grated Italian cheese like Parmigiano Reggiano.

The recipe I prepared included mushrooms, baby spinach, and bacon, with Asiago. The dish was supposedly light, but it was so rich, creamy, and bacon-y that it's just hard to believe it could be light. I guess that means it was risotto done right, as creamy is the goal and the reason one stands at the stove stirring, stirring, and stirring forever - well, for a long time anyway. I guess this constant stirring is necessary so that a) it doesn't burn, and b) it doesn't turn into one solid glob - not appetizing.

I served the risotto with roasted Brussels sprouts and carrots with a sprinkling of caraway seeds, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. The Brussels sprouts, especially, were really good with the risotto because, light or not, it's a rich dish and it was nice to have something green and slightly bitter to contrast with the creamy rice. Asparagus would have made a nice side too. And I kept thinking, bitter arugula instead spinach in the risotto itself might have been good. Maybe I'll try that sometime.

Below is a link to the recipe from Cooking Light magazine. I followed it to the letter, except that I did not use homemade chicken stock. (I hope you'll forgive me.)

Bacon & Wild Mushroom Risotto with Baby Spinach

Chicken Three Times

Food & Wine Magazine recently published a series of Blank-Canvas Cooking recipes, including three recipes for chicken breasts. I cooked all three and found all, especially the first two, to be delicious!

Chicken Breasts with Artichoke-Olive sauce came first. It's not at all exotic, but was easy, fast and delicious, with easy-to-find ingredients. Yucatan-Spiced Chicken was next - a little more involved, but the chayote was surprisingly easy to find at my local Safeway, and the sauce was yum! The first bite threw me just a little, but then I couldn't stop - so good! Finally, I made the Indian Barbecue Chicken. It was last because I had a bit of a challenge locating a couple of the ingredients. It turned out good, but was not my favorite. It's the only one of the three I probably won't make again.

Sadly, I captured no photos, but you can find some on the Food & Wine site. Below is the link to the article and recipes. Try one or two or all three and let me know what you think.

Food & Wine Blank Canvas Chicken

Love in a Bowl: Tortilla Soup

I made this tortilla soup for dinner last night and wow, yum, delicious – I loved it! The broth is beautiful and rich, but really, it’s all about the condiments: crisp tortilla chips, mellow avocado, smoky dried peppers, sharp cheese, sour cream, lime juice, and cilantro. You must include tortilla chips in your soup to make it "tortilla" soup, I suppose, and I can’t imagine going without the avocado or the cheese. But the other toppings are optional and may be used in any combination you like. I like to add, lime juice and crushed pasilla chile in addition to the tortilla chips, avocado, and cheese.

I so enjoyed the process of making this soup. In the blender, the raw ingredients transform into a gorgeous, deep brown purée. And the aroma that fills the house while the soup is simmering and the flavors are concentrating is simply intoxicating – warm and smoky. Even the kids said it smelled "really good!" Of course, they didn't even try the soup as they were afraid of the chile pepper, which indeed, probably would have been too much for them. They had cheese quesadillas for dinner instead.

If you're up for it, you can make your own fried tortilla strips. Personally, I have an aversion to deep-frying things (though not to eating deep-fried things). I hate dealing with all that oil. It’s a mess, and I never know what to do with the used oil when I’m done. For this soup, I just bought some really good, crispy, salty, slightly greasy tortilla chips and broke them up into smallish pieces.

I like to use a medium to sharp cheddar cheese, but a Mexican cheese such as cotija would be more authentic. The dried chiles are easy to find in the Mexican/Hispanic section of most grocery stores, and all the other ingredients are every-day items. One note of caution: Be careful not to over-salt the broth. It’s tempting, but your toppings, especially the cheese and tortilla chips, will add a lot of saltiness and flavor, so you don’t need that extra salt in the broth.

Tortilla Soup  PRINTABLE RECIPE

4 dried pasilla chiles - stemmed, and seeded
2 dried chiles de árbol - stemmed
1/2 Lb. tomatoes – cut into wedges
1 large white onion - coarsely chopped
2 large garlic cloves - chopped
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 cups water
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 teaspoon dried, crushed oregano
kosher salt

Toppings:
2 cups crisp tortilla strips
1 large avocado - cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1 lime – cut into 6 wedges
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1 pasilla chile – toasted & crumbled (see below)

1. Toast chiles in a dry heavy skillet (not nonstick) over medium to high heat, turning until slightly smoky. Coarsely crumble 1 pasilla chile and set aside to use as a topping.

2. Purée tomatoes, onion, garlic, chiles de árbol, and 3 pasilla chiles with 1/2 cup broth in a blender. You'll probably need to poke it a couple times with a wooden spoon to get it going, but don't leave the top off the blender or you could end up with a big mess.

3. Heat vegetable oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add purée and bring just to boil. Turn heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes.

4. Stir in oregano, 1 tsp salt, remaining 4-1/2 cups broth, and 3 cups water. Bring just to boil, then turn heat to low and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. While it simmers, you can prepare your toppings. After 45 minutes, add approximately 2 to 3 tsp salt to taste.

5. Place avocado pieces in six soup bowls and ladle in soup. Add additional toppings at the table as desired.

About the Roast Chicken

Here it is. It looks beautiful, doesn't it? And although it was indeed good, it wasn't quite what I was going for. It kind of reminded me of one of those rotisserie chickens you can buy pre-cooked at all the markets these days. I mean, it was definitely better than that - more moist for sure and more flavorful too, but it wasn't good enough for publication. So, I'll be taking another stab at it with a few alterations before I share my recipe. Thanks for your patience.