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(my fancy flower arrangement from last year's holiday)
Thanksgiving is in T-minus 2 days! OMG!!! This year I am braving the apparently horrid traffic from DC to NYC, to visit my twin monster and bro-in-law and friends. We are starting all sorts of Thanksgiving traditions, above and beyond the lovely Turkey Days of my childhood. Think Champagne Punch and a Salted Turkey... I'll be updating with an epic, Twin-ified Feast Blog very soon.
In the meantime, I would love to know what YOUR favorite Thanksgiving Tradition is! Please leave a comment about how you celebrate. It could be watching football in a food coma, playing shuffleboard with Uncle Ernie, working in a soup kitchen or simply enjoying a meal with your weirdo but beloved family. What is it about tomorrow that is so very special and so very YOU?
Happy Thanksigiving Y'all!
Doesn't that sound like a band name from some weirdo 70's funk band?
Well, it's not. But I did spend part of my Sunday afternoon rocking out in an apron (because I'm incredibly messy) making Cranberry Jam and Quick Pickles! Now before you go getting all impressed, this is not real canning/pickling with all that hard work and sanitizing of Mason jar and hot water baths. These are two cute little recipes that will impress your guests, or serve as great gift ideas during the holidays (how Martha Stewart of me).
Let's begin with the Cran Jam. I found this recipe in a November 2004 Bon Apetit and it sounded just right for the upcoming holidays.
Cranberry Jam November 2004 Bon Apetit
This jam ends up a sweet addition to biscuits, toast or even with some cheddar cheese and crackers.
Ingredients:
1 (12 oz) bag fresh or frozen (unthawed) cranberries
1/2 c fresh orange juice
1 c granulated sugar
1 c water
Alternative Ellen Ingredients:
Juice of 1 lemon
3-4 dashes Angostura Bitters
Now throw all these guys into a little saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally. I squeezed a whole lemon into the pot because I thought it was way too sweet. I also added a few dashes of Angostura Bitters, which gave it a nice, faintly herby flavor (not for everyone).
Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes (jam will continue to thicken as it cools).
Force jam through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding skins and seeds. Cool, stirring occasionally.
Quick Pickles Recipe from Rachel Ray
These pickles really are so ridiculously quick and delicious to make. My new favorite (espcially I added some extra heat!) Note: I had to double the spice portion of the recipe to actually cover the cucumbers.
Ingredients:
1/2 c white vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp salt
1 clove cracked garlic (I put 4 other cloves through a garlic press for more flavor)
1 teaspoon dried dill or 2 tablespoons fresh dill leaves, chopped or snipped
1 bay leaf
4 kirby cucumbers, cut into 1-inch slices on an angle
Alternative Ellen Ingredients:
Crushed red pepper to taste
Combine vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, salt, garlic and crushed red pepper (if you like it hot) in a small saucepan. Heat and stir until sugar and salt are completely dissolved and the liquid is slightly steaming. In the meantime, toss the cukes with bay leaves and dill. Pour hot liquid over the cucumbers and stir. Allow to chill, and serve up these tangy treats!
The end result. Ta da! Now, although I have poured these items into jars, this does not mean they non-perishable, or truly canned. They will both be good until Turkey Day, when I will transport them to Brooklyn for a feast with my sister, brother-in-law and other friends.
See how easy and fun jams and pickles can be?
Happy Friday!
(I'm pooped.)
Which is why, before I can consider making plans for any extracurricular activities, I'm going to make myself an Old Fashioned...and I think you should, too. Treat yourself, it was a long week!
I've only been enjoying Old Fashioneds for about a year now, so I'm quite the newcomer to this antique drink. Because this is the first time I am actually concocting this cocktail, I wanted to know a bit more about it...this is what Wikipedia said:
"The first known definition of the word "cocktail" was in response to a reader's letter asking to define the word in the May 6, 1806 issue of The Balance and Columbia Repository in Hudson, New York. In the May 13, 1806 issue, the paper's editor wrote that it was a potent concoction of spirits, bitters, water, and sugar.
Some claim the first use of the specific name "Old Fashioned" was for a Bourbon whiskey cocktail in the 1880s, at the Pendennis Club, a gentlemen’s club in Louisville, Kentucky. The recipe is said to have been invented by a bartender at that club, and popularized by a club member and bourbon distiller, Colonel James E. Pepper, who brought it to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel bar in New York City."
Thanks, Colonel Pepper! (Colonel Mustard's cousin??) Thank God for over the privileged white men who invented these fantastic drinks. Anyway, let's get down to business. Here is how one makes a proper old fashioned. (Disclaimer: this is actually what I personally decided was proper after perusing various recipes...that may be up for discussion in sophisticated bourbon drinking circles)
Old Fashioned
Ingredients:
1 sugar cube
2 dashes Angostura Bitters, plus more to taste
1 slice orange
1 twist of lemon
2 ounces good-quality rye or bourbon (I used Bulleit)
2 maraschino cherry
In old-fashioned glass, plop down a sugar cube. Saturate it with bitters. Now add a splash of soda, and crush the sugar cube with the back of a spoon, or a muddler if you're fancy enough to have one. (Needless to say I went the spoon route). Then add 2 maraschino cherries and muddle THOSE. Add 2 square ice cubes and bourbon. Give it a stir and garnish with orange slice, another cherry if you'd like, and lemon twist.
How fancy do you feel?!!? Hopefully fancy, because that's how I currently feel. Swirl your drink, twirl your mustache if you've got one and imagine yourself in a more civilized time...at least until the bourbon kicks in.
My Saturday evening activities revolved around my little round friend, the fig. I love these juicy little morsels for both their sweet taste and the texture of their flesh. They are also quite beautiful. Well, actually these particular figs weren't that gorgeous but they tasted awesome...especially once i stuffed them with goat cheese, wrapped them in prosciutto and drizzled them with balsamic vinegar!
Here is the "recipe":
Ingredients:
figs
goat cheese
prosciutto
balsamic vinegar
First cut a slit in the tip of the fig, about halfway down but not slicing it entirely in half. Then stuff as much goat cheese as humanely possible into this opening, and wrap (and by wrap, I mean totally encase) the entire thing with prosciutto. Set it on a baking sheet, drizzle balsamic on it. Shove into the ov' for about 15 min at 350 degrees, just enough to warm up that fig, evaporate the balsamic a bit and get the prosciutto crispy.
Pop the whole thing into your mouth, chew. Be happy.
Last week was our Thanksgiving Potluck in the office. Naturally this made for lots of homemade feasting items, as well as a lot of Whole Food dips, etc (we're too busy to make food, duh!). I made some extremely delicious mashed potatoes using this recipe:
Caramelized Shallot and Sage Mashed Potatoes
The beautiful thing about a recipe like this is how one easy addition can make something so simple so much more delicious. And sage is such a delicious, holiday festive herb. It always reminds me of Fall, and Thanksgiving.
My 'taters were good and all, but I think the best thing at this potluck were a batch of Thanksgiving cupcakes made by Becky, an account manager. She is somewhat of a cupcake queen, and this confirms her status as royalty. (sorry for the crappy photos, I just had my point and shoot at work)
Hey Guys! Sorry for the barren, bleak desert of no posts. I've been super busy and super drained from work and travel the past few weeks. However, that doesn't mean I haven't been making and consuming large amounts of delicious food all over the country!
Speaking of the country... last weekend I went home to Nashville, TN for little fall break. Naturally much of my visit was devoted to eating and socializing with friends in the beautiful fall weather. On Friday my family and I took a drive down part of the Natchez Trace, to Leiper's Fork, TN.
Puckett's is a little old fashioned grocery serving hot food, sandwiches, cold beers and real cokes in bottles. They even have a little stage where singers and songwriters can play on weekend nights. It's also a hangout for motorcycle enthusiasts on beautiful afternoons.
Mmmmmmmm...BBQ! Tennessee 'Q is my favorite, duh.
Mashed potatoes, collard greens, cornbread and pulled pork BBQ!
Ribs...these stick to other body parts I'm pretty sure.
Happy Belated Halloween!
I hope everyone had a great one...I know I did, which is why Saturday was a lot less fun. As a result, I was on a hunt for some comfort food.
First stop: lunch. I decided to try someplace I've been meaning to go for some time now, Cheesetique. This place RULES. I had the grilled cheese and cup o' soup combo, which was "Prima Donna and Belletoile cheeses grilled to gooey perfection with a homemade pumpkin sage pesto between slices of multigrain. Served with tomato soup and mixed greens" and a glass of Riesling. I felt extremely comforted after consuming this. Wouldn't you be comforted in the presence of all this cheese??
Next stop: Dinner! Since the most productive thing I did all day was sniff out a cheese/wine bar, I felt compelled to prepare something delicious of my own:
Boneless Ribeye with Gorgonzola Mushroom Sauce, Cauliflower Mash and Arugula Salad
I snagged the recipe from Giade de Laurentis of the Food Network. Hers was a little different, but I followed the basics of the sauce recipe and used boneless ribeye instead of petite filet.
Gorgonzola and Porcini Mushroom Sauce:
So first sauté the mushrooms and shallots til brown. Add white wine, thyme, salt and pepper and continue to sauté until evaporated. In the meantime blend gorgonzola, mustard and mayo in a food processor til smooth. Then mix the cheese mixture into the skillet with the mushies. The result was a thick, cheesy sauce. I read some of the comments other people left on the recipe page, complaining of separation of the cheese and mushrooms...I think the reason mine turned out so well was not using too much oil in the mushrooms, and completely evaporating the wine so that the mushrooms weren't in any liquid when I added the cheese.
We grilled the ribeyes with salt and pepper, sliced them and applied generous dollops of sauce.
Now, the cauliflower mash. I love this stuff! And much easier than mashed potatoes. Here's how I made it:
Cauliflower Mash
Ingredients
Fill medium sized pot with cauliflower florets, cover with chicken stock. Bring them to a boil for 10 min. Cover, lower to a simmer and continue cooking for 10 more min. Uncover and let stock reduce by half. Basically, no matter the order you do this, the point is to get the c'flower all nice and soft, ready for mashin'.
When it's soft, drain most of the chicken stock, leaving maybe a tablespoon. Add about a tablespoon of butter, salt, pepper and grate the cheddar into the cauliflower. Mash it up!! Consume. The End.
Then I threw together some arugula with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pep and some french bread. The bread's main purpose was to slather it with the gorg' sauce.
I drank some Cline Zinfandel with this, which was VERY delicious. Nice and spicy to go with the smooth flavors of the sauce and califlower. Also, Cline holds a special place in my heart since we visited it last year during a trip to Sonoma, CA.
SOOOooooo that was my Saturday Steak Night! Sorry there are no pictures, things just got chomped up too fast to record it.
