Thanksgiving 2010

My Mom and Step-Dad-Equivalent came to visit for Thanksgiving, but airline prices being what they are, flew out ON Thanksgiving instead of Friday since it was more than $100 cheaper to do so. They live a vegan lifestyle most of the time so our menu was catered to them to a small extent.

Menu:
Quadruple Bypass Mashed Potatoes
Mushroom Wine Gravy
Tofu Croquettes
Sweet Potatoes with Onions and Peppers
Fresh Spinach and Cherry Tomatoes
Mixed Greek Olives
Jellied Cranberry Sauce & Whole Cranberry Sauce (Ocean Spray)
Green Bean Casserole
California Seedless Grapes

There is also a home-made pumpkin cheesecake, and key lime pie from the Boll Weevil restaurant, in addition to left over "Perfect Chocolate Cake" from Boll Weevil as well.

I modified a Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe I found online as I couldn't find the one I usually use, I used pre-made crusts and didn't make the topping. We'll be serving it with Whipped cream instead. (Although I may make the topping later if I make another one on Friday).

Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

We started with a recipe from Martha Stewart and changed it up a bit...

Olive oil, for baking sheet

2 slices white sandwich bread

1 slice wheat sandwich bread

2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

1/2 a shallot, coarsely chopped

6oz soft goat cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves

1/4 cup Sparkplug

Coarse salt

A large package large white button mushrooms (15-20), stems removed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet.

In a food processor, pulse bread, garlic and shallots until fine crumbs form; set 1/2 cup aside.

To food processor, add goat cheese, parsley, and Sparkplug. Season with salt, and pulse filling until combined.

Spoon filling into each mushroom, and roll filled side in reserved breadcrumbs.

Place on prepared baking sheet; bake until mushrooms are tender and lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

Very quick and easy recipe and SO tasty!

Eggs of the Devil?!

I'm planning what I hope will be a yearly Tea Party. My menu includes a recipe for Deviled Eggs that I found on Martha Stewart's website.

Since today is the day after The Big Snow, I don't have several ingredients so I made some substitutions and it turned out pretty well.

6 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and halved lengthwise.
1/4 cup light mayonaise
1 shallow tbsp McMenamins Terminator Stout Stone-Ground Mustard
1 1/2 tbsp finely minced white onion
1 twist of ground black pepper
1 shake of paprika
1 tbsp Homeward Bound Sparkplug Hot Sauce
a sprinkling of kosher salt

Combine yolks with remainder of ingredients and spoon or pipe into the egg-white.



Nom.

Pineapple-Cheese Casserole

A very southern thing...

Layer in order:

Large can chunk pineapple, drained (save the juice)
3/4 cup sugar and 5 Tbsp. flour--mix well and sprinkle over pineapple
dash about 5 Tbsp. juice over sugar/flour mixture
add 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
1 tube crushed Ritz crackers
melt about 1/2 stick of butter and pour over crackers

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes

Thanksgiving 2009

This year's menu:
Turkey
Turkey gravy
Quadruple-Bypass Mashed Potatoes
Walt's Mushroom-Wine Gravy
Jalapeno-Cheese Cornbread
Dressing
Corn Casserole
Pineapple-Cheese Casserole
Sweet Potato Casserole
Buttermilk Pie
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Katie's Jalapeno Dip

Scott and I made the turkey, mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, cornbread, jalapeno dip and cheesecake - the other offerings were made by friends that attended our dinner celebration.

Our turkey was 16 lbs. and Scott baked it with rosemary under the skin.

The Mushroom-Wine Gravy is a repeat from last year, an adaptation of my Uncle Walt's recipe. I didn't quite do things in the right order this year, but it was still quite tasty and we have lots of leftovers!

Quadruple-Bypass Mashed Potatoes
(so named because there are four heart-stopping additions to the potatoes - butter, goat cheese, cream cheese and sour cream)

I based my quantities on enough for 8 people - calculated at one and a half potatoes per person.

12 Idaho baking potatoes
11oz log of goat cheese
6oz sour cream
8oz butter
1 pkg cream cheese (I used neufchatel)
Salt to taste

Set butter, cream cheese and goat cheese out to soften.

Rinse and peel potatoes, dice into 1.5 inch cubes and place in large cook-pot. Add just enough water to cover and boil on med-high until potatoes are soft when poked with a fork.

Drain potatoes in a strainer and transfer to VERY large mixing bowl. Add softened butter, goat cheese and neufchatel or cream cheese. Mix with hand mixer just until blended. Add sour cream and mix again just until combined. Salt to taste.

This made a HUGE bowl of mashed potatoes, but they were GONE by the end of the day.

Death Valley Couscous and Chicken

These are the foods we invent when obvious recipes with traditional ingredients evade us. This is SUPER easy to make, and will provide you with tasty leftovers for days. Now, you can make this dish as spicy as you'd like... and you KNOW I did. Here's what you'll need:

2 cups of Couscous (uncooked)
1 onion (thinly diced)
1 can of Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (diced 1/2 inch cubes)
1/4 cup dry parsley flakes (use fresh if you can)
1/4 teaspoon of Cumin, Onion Salt, Cajun Seasoning, Table Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup of SparkPlug

Easiest step first... make the Couscous by boiling 2 cups of water in a large saucepan. Once at a boil, pour couscous in water and stir, stir, stir. Cover and remove from heat. You're done with this part until the end.

Next, saute one diced onion in a tablespoon of olive oil. After about 5 minutes throw the chicken in with the onions. Stir fry for a while. Don't worry if the chicken sweats a bunch and the sauteed mix seems to be drowning. That extra moisture will be necessary later. Feel free to add all our spices in with the saute.

While you're sauteing, make sure to stir often to get the chicken evenly cooked. You can also open that can of diced tomatoes and chilies, drain and dump into the couscous. Don't worry if a little water from the can gets in there. The couscous is pretty dry and will need a little moisture.

Lastly, throw the saute mixture in with the couscous and tomatoes. Stir it up well. The extra moisture from the saute helps loosen up the couscous and maxes everything mix much more evenly. Now, add your hot sauce and, again, stir thoroughly. I call for a lot of hot sauce. I enjoy the heat as well as the added moisture. Feel free to use less if you like.

I liked this dish because it satisfied my "pasta" craving without committing me to making a strainer full of spaghetti. Also, tons of poultry-based proteins. Don't forget there's about 4 servings of vegetables in there. Works well as a side or an entree! Feel free to let me know how your version turned out!

A Little Bit Healthy Pizza

1 "Mama Mary's" Whole Wheat thin pizza crust (pkg comes with two)
1 tbsp rosemary infused olive oil
2 tbsp grated parmesan & romano cheese, divided
1/2 cup shredded cheese (whatever you like, fat-full or fat-free)
15-20 leaves of basil, chiffonade
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
5 or 6 marinated artichoke hearts
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 Roma tomato, sliced
salt
freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450F

Spread olive oil on crust evenly, all the way to the edges. Sprinkle garlic evenly over crust, then add basil strips.

Sprinkle on half of the parmesan/romano cheese. Sprinkle on salt (I use about 1/4 tsp of kosher salt, but I like things salty) and a couple of twists of pepper.

Add mushrooms, artichoke hearts and shredded cheese, then the other half of the parmesan/romano.

Bake for 10 minutes and remove from oven. Slice tomato over top and NOM. :)