EllenFork

A Feast Fit for a Bunch of Twenty-Somethings in New York City

 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I am finally back in DC, cozied up and ready to remember this past weekend. I arrived Wednesday night to an apartment filled with tantalizing food smells, as my sister Alice had already begun preparations for the next day's feast for 14 people. Since it took the bf and I about 6.5  hours to drive in hideous traffic up the NJ Turnpike (it usually takes 4.5), we quickly soothed our pain with some fancy drinks and breakfast sandwiches. This did not bode well for prep work, which was realized in the next day's frenzied cook-a-thon. This is ALSO why there are not as many fabulous food pictures as I may have promised...however, all the dishes were very, very delicious and I am prepared to share all available recipes!

Everyone who came brought something so tasty, fun and heartfelt. AND they were all willing to put in some time chopping pears, peeling lemons or otherwise assisting some crazed Twins in the kitchen.

So I'll cut to the chase...here is what we dined upon!

The Menu de la Casa (what we made):
Salted Roast Turkey with Herbs and Shallot-Dijon Gravy
Sweet Potato and Apple Puree
Lemon Roasted Green Beans with Marcona Almonds
Goat Cheese, Walnut and Pear Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Quick Cranberry Relish
Quick Pickles
Brie slathered with Fig Jam
Algonquin Bar Punch


From Los Amigos (what friends brought- if you read this, please post your recipe in a comment!):
Herb-Rubbed Roasted Leg of Lamb from Kevin
Mashed Potatoes from Kevin
Corn, Cream Cheese and Green Chile Casserole from Sarah
Delicious Cookies from Robert
Various Tarts from Leslie
Banana-Pumpkin Mousse Tart from Becca
Turkey Treats from Renée
Lots of Wine and Prosecco


I think the two stars of the meal were the Lamb and the Turkey.

I am impressed with both Alice and Kevin's ability to just hack apart these various proteins.
Here is Alice in action:

My predictable but delicious salad:

What it was like to finally sit down:

Ah, I can't believe we ate the whole thing....

The fabulous desserts. Please note the Turkey Treats, which involved Oreo cookies with fudge icing, red hots, cherry cordials (I think) and candy corn. I like how these Turkeys look like they are about to escape from the confines of that tray...only to be gobbled up by guests on a rampage.

Again, apologies for photography- as the day progressed, the level of punch in the punch bowl dropped...not all my photographers maintained their photographic standards (and that mostly applies to me).

And finally, Alice's beautiful rendering of her turkey, before she met him. Brown paper tablecloths + colored sharpies + feast = artistic skillz...

All in all it was a wonderful day that included a ferocious dance party, some kind of game that resembled charades, watching Wall-E and a football game (GO TITANS!) and meeting some new friends. And in my humble opinion, that is what being thankful is all about.

Jumbalaya, y'all!

I spent my college years fattening up in the beautiful city of New Orleans. The ultimate triumvirate of food, booze and good times make this one of the best places on earth seriously. So this past weekend I brought that triumvirate together again, in my teeny tiny apartment in Washington, DC!

The recipe I am going to share with you is not your traditional jumbalaya necessarily, but it tasted damn good so lay off, ok?! The reason I used this recipe in the first place is due to a series of events that began the fall of 2007, when my roommate moved away. I was very sad, but excited to find out that she left me one very decrepit, but working crock pot! There is nothing easier or more homey than a meal ladled steamily out of a crock pot. I used to visit my grandparent's house for Sunday Lunch, a meal that never wavered from pot roast with potatoes, onions, celery and carrots that had been simmering since before church in the morning.

Thus, I found myself scouring the interwebs for delicious slow cooker recipes. I finally found one, from Robin Miller on the Food Network. With recipe in hand, I invited a bunch of friends over for a feast of jumbalaya, corn bread and copious amounts of wine! A friend contributed some choco chip pumpkin pancakes for dessert and we had a fantastic time! That was Jumbalaya Feast #1.

So due to popular demand and the falling leaves outside, Jumbalaya Feast #2 came to fruition last weekend. This time I used some chicken stock I made and froze the week before (another potential post that is waiting in the wings), which made an incredible difference in the flavor. Homeade stock takes jumbalaya to the max(imum flavor capacity!). I whipped up some cornbread,  ladled the Jumbalaya over rice, and splashed with tobasco. It was devoured at lightning fast speed, leaving only a little room for the many bottles of wine to fill any remaining stomach space.

Here are a few of the people who consumed it, who all happen to be men (my lady compatriot Kelsey had already moved on to another location). Sorry the pic is so blurry, but I didn't have time to adjust the exposure for fear that this perfect tableau might be disturbed.

Because I know you all want your dinner guests reduced to slavering, ravenous beasts (no offense to those guests who might read this) I recommend you follow this recipe:

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 pound andouille sausage, diced
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pound frozen peeled and cooked shrimp, thawed
2 cups cooked rice

In a slow cooker, combine chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, celery, and chicken broth. Stir in oregano, Cajun seasoning (I use Tony Cachere's), hot sauce (I used Tobasco), bay leaves, and thyme. Naturally (because I DO WHAT I WANT), I did not measure any of these ingredients but guesstimated. (I also doubled it to feed the masses. If you do this, one 28 oz can of diced tomatoes will suffice, as will 1 lb of shrimp...otherwise you might overflow your crockpot! Mine was pushing the limit...)

Cover, and cook on LOW for 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours. Stir in the thawed shrimp, cover and cook until the shrimp is heated through, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves and spoon mixture over cooked rice.

So that's that. All in all, a lovely fall night!