Thanksgiving...an interactive photo essay

My, that sounds pretentious. I promise you, it's not. It's my way of saying "I'm too lazy to write about what we made, so I'll show you pictures, and link you to the recipes."

Our Thanksgiving this year was an intimate gathering. Just the three of us, with three goals:

1. Eat well.
2. Watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
3. Stay in our PJ's.

We ate a simple breakfast while trying to attain Goal #2, then quickly discovered that CBS would rather interview Henry Winkler, Ed Asner, the blond of the month and discuss balloons-a-plenty than show any marching bands...so we abandoned in favor of James Bond.

But, the other goals...preparing for them began the night before...



At midnight last night (after donning my PJ's), the turkey was plunged into its icy, brine bath. The recipe is Alton Brown's Award-Winning Turkey, and this is the beginning step. When it's done, it looks like this...




I'm telling you, brining will change your life. This bird was seasoned using osmosis - the seasoning and moisture is locked inside the bird! No need for salt or gravy at the table - it melts in your mouth...none of that dry, chewy, cover-it-in-gravy-so-it-goes-down turkey.

Other dishes:




Cheese plate, including smoked gruyere, smoked cheddar and salsa jack cheeses.




On the left, green bean casserole, made by our daughter; and on the right, Apple Pecan Dressing.




Deviled Eggs, again, made by our daughter, Hawaiian Rolls, and the wine...




From Homestead Vineyards, "Summer Solstice" - a semi-sweet white, from a local winery run by a colleague of mine at OCC, Jason Hortin. It complimented the dinner quite nicely.

Of course, there was mashed potatoes and gravy too...and then...dessert.




Pumpkin Pie. Now - the recipe calls for making this from scratch, meaning roasting a pie pumpkin, and making a purée of it, in place of the canned pumpkin most of us have used. It was my every intention to follow this recipe...until I was told by the produce guy at Wal-mart that his manager insisted that all pie pumpkins be disposed of after Halloween.





So, I bought the can, and followed the recipe linked above, pretending the canned pumpkin was the fresh. I prefer this recipe to the one on the can - more earthy, less processed-tasting-just-like-the-pre-made-Wal-mart-pies. However - I have made them from scratch before, and all family reviews indicate that is the preferred pie. It's heavy on the ginger and nutmeg...it tastes like Thanksgiving should taste.

And...




Oatmeal Pie It tastes like if an oatmeal cookie and pecan pie had a love child.

I was tempted to make other dishes...roasted zucchini and squash, Chocolate Lava Cake, and all sorts of other goodies that Pinterest, and displays in the grocery tempted me with. But, I made a conscious decision to do a few dishes, and with the kiddo's help, do them well.

I believe Goal #1 was met.

And, the entire family had the treat of lounging around in our PJ's all day.

From our family, to yours, I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving, and a blessed holiday season to come!

Stew on this.

We're beginning to settle into a schedule in our household. However, just because we have a schedule to follow doesn't mean it's a simple one.

The long story short is that we only have one night during the work/school week that is available for a family meal. And this past week we ended up being booked then too.

So my challenge is to plan meals that can be eaten at different times, and quickly.

Enter Crockpot Stews & Soups, stage right:

Slow-Cooker Beef Stew





Yes, this is the stock photo, because while rushing around to serve and eat it, I forgot to take a picture. Now, my husband, being the good German he is, expressed concern that the recipe had no potatoes. Honestly, I'm trying to avoid potatoes - too much starch! So, I compromised and served it over rice, which seemed to work. I also left out the mushrooms (hubby is fungi-phobic), and the peas...mostly because they go in at the end, and I forgot them.

As beef stews go, it was OK. I'm not much of a beef stew fan actually, and it just seemed like it was missing something. So, if you make it, and figure out what completes the dish, let me know!

Zumba Chili!

I have been wanting to try Zumba for quite some time. I even signed up for a course at the college this summer, but for some reason it was cancelled before the first meeting. So, when I saw that a new teacher was starting a class at the Olney Skateland on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 5:30, I thought, "What the heck?"

But - this required some planning. Our busy family wouldn't all be home until 6:30 - and we'd be pretty hungry! So, the trusty crock-pot came in handy again, and what better to eat after some hot Zumba?




Zumba Chili!

It's so simple - mix a 14 oz can of tomato sauce, 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, a can of corn, a can of black beans and a can of kidney beans with a packet of chicken taco seasoning and a teaspoon of chili powder in a crock-pot. Then, add 3 chicken breasts, and cook on low for 10 hours. Shred the chicken by pulling it apart with tongs. Serve it in a bowl with cheese, sour cream, or whatever else you like!

I'll admit, I left out the corn (hubby is not a fan of corn), and chili powder (daughter is not a fan of hot stuff, after an incident with jalapeño corn bread at the age of 2. No - we didn't know it was jalapeño corn bread - and didn't understand why she was making such a fuss over the nice piece of cornbread served with her hot dog...).

It was good! After it cooked all day, I tasted it and also added some garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, and a wee bit of lemon juice. The prep took me all of 10 minutes in the morning, and the post-cook seasoning took 5 minutes tops. It was light, yet filling after a kick-butt Zumba class!

And you're wondering how the Zumba class went? I came home drenched in sweat, tired, and with a lower back that paid the price for using my "Latin hips" for an hour. It was great! I think Zumba will be a good "change-up" to my cycling-running cardio routines.

As for the dance element...well, I went in figuring, "I may look like a fool, but dang it, I'm going for it!" I think this meme perhaps sums it up...





...except I'm not giving it up for yoga. And, if anyone in O-Town is free on Wednesday nights at 5:30...come join me in making a fool of myself...and having a dang fun time doing it!

She drives me crazy...

Or, more specifically, she's driving. My baby - behind the wheel - all by herself!

We visited the local DMV, and found that one of the blessings of a small town is not having to dedicate a day to any interaction with that governmental agency - we hit at a good time, got in and out in 20 minutes.

But, even so, I needed to whip up a celebration meal in short order - so this was my choice.

Tonight's yumminess:




Angel Hair Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

The "busy girl" shortcut - instead of roasting and removing the skin of the peppers myself, I used a jar of roasted red peppers, found at your local megamart, near the pickles. Also, I didn't add any additional olive oil, because the roasted red peppers came marinated in olive oil, and when I food processed them, they had the desired consistency as-is.

Another shortcut - the cheese on top is shredded Italian cheese blend, found in a tub in the dairy department of (you guessed it) your local megamart.

Oh yeah - I served garlic toast too! My garlic toast is just that, Italian bread, toasted under the broiler, and after one side is browned, I rub a raw clove of garlic on the toast. It's surprising how much flavor the garlic gives the bread, with no additional oil or butter.

This was a very simple, 15 minute meal that tastes as fancy as a foo-foo specialty dish at an Italian restaurant. The pesto would be great on grilled chicken as well - so I'm looking forward to trying that tweak very soon!

Keeping it simple.

Dinner tonight:
A plate of Basil Infused Oil with grated Italian cheeses and freshly ground black pepper, smoked Gouda, smoked Swiss and creamy Havarti cheeses, Italian bread, grapes, peanuts, and a glass of Berryville 319.

Yum.

Happy Birthday!!!

As promised....(drum roll, please)....





Indeed, this is Candied Bacon Cheesecake. And yes, if I do say so myself, it tastes as just as decadent and delicious as it looks.

If you look closely, at the bottom of the crust is a layer of candied bacon beneath the custard - and the cheesecake is topped with chopped candied bacon, and drizzled with Ghirardelli Chocolate Sauce.

The story behind this creation is that my wonderful daughter requested it to celebrate her 16th birthday. When I posted this fact on Facebook (because I thought it was even more evidence that she is the coolest daughter EVER), my friends and colleagues there responded with great enthusiasm, in viral fashion. I became a woman on a mission.

I Googled "Candied Bacon Cheesecake", and there were several results, but no one recipe seemed to meet my vision. So - the following recipe is an amalgamation of many ideas, and I encourage you to explore and experiment yourself!

Ingredients:
For the candied bacon-
One package of applewood smoked bacon (not thick cut)
Brown sugar
Cinnamon

Heat oven to 350. Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil, then place a wire cooling rack on the lined cookie sheet. Make sure the cooling rack is oven safe - made of metal, not plastic or coated in plastic that could melt in the oven. Spray the cooling rack with non-stick spray.

Put about 2 cups of brown sugar and 1-2 teaspoons (amount is up to personal preference) of cinnamon in a small metal bowl. Whisk to combine.

Coat each slice of bacon with the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture, and place on the cooling rack, fitting as many as you can fit on your rack - the pieces may touch each other, but it is best they don't overlap.

Bake for 20 minutes, and allow to cool for 5 minutes before handling (the coating is like sweet, delicious napalm - so be careful).

Yes, in this recipe we will be using the candied bacon in a cheesecake, but once you make it, I'm sure you will find many, many wonderful applications - like sitting in your comfy chair on a cold day with a plate of candied bacon, hot cinnamon rolls and coffee with Bailey's. Not that I've fantasized about that...at all...

For the Cheesecake:
16 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup white sugar
1/8 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
9 inch graham cracker crust
A package worth of candied bacon
Ghirardelli Chocolate Sauce

Beat together the eggs, sugar and maple syrup, then add the cream cheese and mix with a hand mixer until smooth.

Line the bottom of the graham cracker crust with slices of candied bacon. Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the bacon. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes - until the outer edge is slightly browned, and the center is a bit "jiggly". Allow to cool, then chill in the refrigerator overnight. Also, put the leftover bacon in a freezer bag and refrigerate. Don't eat it all now!

Yes, I said you have to wait until the next day. To quote a hero of mine, "Your patience will be rewarded".

The next morning (because who can wait for dinner, and since it has eggs and bacon, it certainly could be considered breakfast food), chop up the remaining candied bacon. It seems to me a good serving size is 1/12 of a 9 inch cheesecake...but use your best judgement. Put a heap of the chopped, candied bacon on top of a slice, then drizzle the chocolate sauce over the bacon and cheesecake.

Or, stick a couple big ol' candles in a slice, sing "Happy Birthday" to the most wonderful blessing anyone could ever ask to come into your life, and celebrate!

Well, that's what we did. :-)

Of wine and the wisdom of rats.

I didn't always enjoy wine. I believe my first exposure was in college - but all we could afford was Boone's Farm. Then, my hubby and I felt refined when we bought Beringer White Zinfandel for holiday meals.

I'd say what hooked me on wine was a wine and cheese tasting that was part of my hubby's and my 10th anniversary. Our gift to each other was a weekend in Nashville (Tennessee, not Indiana) in which we stayed in the Opryland Hotel, and saw a live show with Alton Brown - one of my heroes (I am a huge AB fan, and would love to share all of the reasons why...but, that's "another blog entry").

See, I have proof:



Anywhoo - basically what served as a "time killer" between his show and the meet and greet afterwards was a wine and cheese tasting. If my memory serves correctly, my experience was kinda like this (click here, and do the "Wayne's World" dream fade music as it loads).

A new world presented itself, guided by a very knowledgable sommelier and cheese expert. My hubby and I slowly entered the admittedly intimidating world of wine, and now, are hooked.

However, it's interesting the response you often get from people who aren't "into" wine. If you say, "My hubby and I went to a few wineries and did a wine tasting at each," the response is split between, "Oh, and you're still standing?" or a smug shrug that seems to indicate "You must think you're SO refined...wine snob."

Being a musician, classically trained to boot, I note a similarity between the latter response in regards to enjoying art music, as well. People who aren't "into" classical music - when I gush about what it means to me, how it has touched my soul and moved me beyond what words can express - will sometimes respond with a blank stare, followed by the same smug shrug.

Everyone eats and drinks. Everyone listens to music. Everyone has different tastes. However, I often wonder how many people miss the opportunity to truly savor a significant culinary/artistic experience because they simply don't take the time to pause, perceive, reflect and experience the sensations that wine/food/music offers.

On our vacation, we had the opportunity to taste wine with a novice wine taster. This person said, "Wine tastes like wine - I just don't like it, except blush - I like blush, it's sweet."

Now, I don't think that everyone "has" to like wine. However, this person had never really tasted many wines, so therefore, didn't have an informed perception. So, we ordered a tasting tray, and encouraged that person to try a small sip of each.

Reactions ranged from "that smells like a tire shop" (it actually did, interestingly enough), to "oh no, no, no, no I can't even get that past my nose" (this was a very strong, sweet ice wine that was definitely not for drinking as much as it was for sipping slowly as a digestive). This person tried the blush - and indeed liked it - but, now the person knew why, and also that it was very different from the Riesling and the ice wine. The person also knew that they didn't like a blush wine because it was sweet - but because it was light, and not too sweet.

While I don't think this person left a wine fan - the person did have an experience that broadened their perspective and allowed them to be more knowledgeable about wine, as well as their own taste.

I have often been accused of "thinking too much." And sometimes, that is an accurate assessment. But, there are wonders all around us everywhere, and the truly significant moments, in my estimation, happen when more than just the surface is scratched, and we habitually pause, perceive, reflect and experience what life has to offer. Whether this be music, or food, or wine, or bird watching, or soaking in a sunset, or falling in love - it's worth the effort when the sublime awaits.

Which it often does.

The film "Ratatouille" is one of my favorites, because in many ways, it sums up many of my educational perspectives, replacing "food" as art, with "music". I think we often spend much of our lives as Anton Ego - criticizing the world around us as a means of insulating us from our own insecurities (oh, how I have fallen into this trap many times myself). If you haven't seen the film - don't watch this clip, go see the movie! But if you have, please enjoy, and join me in re-dedicating myself to embracing that which is new, and while "not everyone (or every life experience) can become a great artist, a great artist can come from anywhere (or any life experience)".

Cheers!