Everyone have a good Thanksgiving? Mine was terrifical. But more on that later. Right now it's time for...
WILWFa sho
My early Christmas present of...
A BREADMAKERis so wonderful. There are no words. Although wonderful was pretty descriptive.
Seriously, you drop in the ingredients. Turn it on. Go do something for a couple hours. Come back. And you have bread. Wonderful bread! (Not to confused with Wonder bread.)
Attempt #1: Raisin BreadYum
Attempt #2: Honey WheatA lil dense... But still Yum
I'm taking this as a sign that I need to eat more carbs. Nothing like some homemade bread on a brisk November day. Speaking of...
Snow! In November! I love it!I hate it when the temperature doesn't match the month. Especially in the colder months. It seems like I used to really layer up for football games in high school. Lately, people are trick-or-treating in shorts. It's annoying. It should be cool in October and the children should shiver!
– Not that I like to see little kids cold... Ok, totally lying. Shivering children is funny. But only when they're eating ice cream. Not if, like, they don't have homes or something sad like that.
Christmasy SoapsI love the seasonal smells of Bath & Body Works soaps. What's not to love about pumpkins at Thanksgiving and peppermint at Christmas? 'Nuff said.
And finally this fine Wednesday, I loooooved...
Great book cover. Heh.
For a minute, I thought that I'd jump at the chance to go to culinary school. I like to cook. I like to eat. And I very much enjoy Top Chef.
But then you get to thinking, would I want to stand on my feet all day? (One of the things I HATED about working retail.) Have people yell at me that things need more salt or - heaven forbid - less pepper? What if I mess something up? As I tend to do? (I burn several batches of breadcrumbs every time I attempt to toast them.) Would I want to work the night and weekend hours that everyone else has off?
The answer is obviously NO. I talked myself out of it with the "stand up all day". So the ideal situation would obviously be to go to culinary school, but just use the knowledge for home meal preparation. Or, more likely, I could just continue to enjoy a Viking class here and there.
Anyhoo, Beaten, Seared, and Sauced: On Becoming a Chef at the Culinary Institute of America is written by Jonathan Dixon. He was 38 when he decided his greatest joy was cooking and it was time to do something about it. He chronicles his training from start to finish. It's interesting. It's self-deprecating. And it's just so GOOD for anyone that would love a peek into that world. It's like a prequel to Kitchen Confidential. Thumbs up! I only wish it had lasted longer. I gorged myself on it.
Before I gorged myself with words, I gorged myself on food. (How's that for a transition? Eh, whatever. You're not the judge of me.)
We had our Annual Work Thanksgiving Potluck recently. I can't remember what I took last year but I do remember it was just sorta picked over. Oh, the shame! I blamed my dish's placement in the potluck order. But if I were to be honest with myself, people just didn't want it. *Sniff*
It's hard picking something to take to a potluck sometimes. You want to take the church-casserole crowd-pleasing type of food. But at the same time, those dishes are easy. And sometimes bland. Let's reach a little higher. I surfed some recipes but almost immediately knew.
It had to be a tart. And a potato tart at that.
Now I knew it was a tad risky because there would be plenty of potato dishes. But they're more along the hash brown/scalloped variety. I knew if nothing else differentiated them, mine would be round and those would be square.
But then you get to thinking, would I want to stand on my feet all day? (One of the things I HATED about working retail.) Have people yell at me that things need more salt or - heaven forbid - less pepper? What if I mess something up? As I tend to do? (I burn several batches of breadcrumbs every time I attempt to toast them.) Would I want to work the night and weekend hours that everyone else has off?
The answer is obviously NO. I talked myself out of it with the "stand up all day". So the ideal situation would obviously be to go to culinary school, but just use the knowledge for home meal preparation. Or, more likely, I could just continue to enjoy a Viking class here and there.
Anyhoo, Beaten, Seared, and Sauced: On Becoming a Chef at the Culinary Institute of America is written by Jonathan Dixon. He was 38 when he decided his greatest joy was cooking and it was time to do something about it. He chronicles his training from start to finish. It's interesting. It's self-deprecating. And it's just so GOOD for anyone that would love a peek into that world. It's like a prequel to Kitchen Confidential. Thumbs up! I only wish it had lasted longer. I gorged myself on it.
Before I gorged myself with words, I gorged myself on food. (How's that for a transition? Eh, whatever. You're not the judge of me.)
We had our Annual Work Thanksgiving Potluck recently. I can't remember what I took last year but I do remember it was just sorta picked over. Oh, the shame! I blamed my dish's placement in the potluck order. But if I were to be honest with myself, people just didn't want it. *Sniff*
It's hard picking something to take to a potluck sometimes. You want to take the church-casserole crowd-pleasing type of food. But at the same time, those dishes are easy. And sometimes bland. Let's reach a little higher. I surfed some recipes but almost immediately knew.
It had to be a tart. And a potato tart at that.
Now I knew it was a tad risky because there would be plenty of potato dishes. But they're more along the hash brown/scalloped variety. I knew if nothing else differentiated them, mine would be round and those would be square.
Say hello to my little friend
It was absolutely wonderful and, with a mandolin slicer, took no time at all. If you make it though, I would recommend filling it with cream as you stack the potatoes. I waited until the end, poured it too fast, and cream went EVERYWHERE. Much to the dog's delight.
As if that wasn't enough good eating, I had a potluck that weekend with my GDGs. (Graphic Design Girls. Yeah, we're cool.) My friend moved into a new place so we showed up at her place for a GDG Potluck: Cajun Style Part II. Since the first time we did it was so successful, I knew this was going to be good and spent a little extra time on the treadmill with that in mind.
Crawfish DipCajun Corn
Dirty Rice
Jalapeno Cornbread
Cajun Chicken Pasta
I did the pasta and I thought it really turned out well. Like a pasta you might get in a restaurant. That you might even get in a restaurant better than Applebee's! If I do say so myself.
I modified the recipe from here. I changed it to half cream and half Half & Half. (But it still ain't for the dieters out there.) No mushrooms. And I added cornstarch to thicken it up. Then I put it into a crock pot to keep it warm. I highly recommend letting it either sit in a crock pot or sit just in general. The Husband had a bowl while it was still fresh and it was much soupier than later.
With both potlucks behind me and many calories still with me, I turned an eye towards Thanksgiving...
I took 2 appetizers to my first Memphis Thanksgiving at The Hubs' Parents' house.
Mushrooms stuffed with crab spinach dip, parm & chives on top
Crispy Sausage Bites
I modified the recipe from here. I changed it to half cream and half Half & Half. (But it still ain't for the dieters out there.) No mushrooms. And I added cornstarch to thicken it up. Then I put it into a crock pot to keep it warm. I highly recommend letting it either sit in a crock pot or sit just in general. The Husband had a bowl while it was still fresh and it was much soupier than later.
With both potlucks behind me and many calories still with me, I turned an eye towards Thanksgiving...
I took 2 appetizers to my first Memphis Thanksgiving at The Hubs' Parents' house.
Mushrooms stuffed with crab spinach dip, parm & chives on top
and
Crispy Sausage BitesI figured the sausage bites would travel well so I made more of those and froze them for the ride to the Roberts' Thanksgiving.
The mushroom bites, errr, were not a big hit. In retrospect, it was not a mushroom crowd. I thought they tasted lovely. But the mushroom eaters were absent.
The sausage, on the other hand, was eaten up by both families and I will definitely be making them again. I altered the recipe (the original used won ton wrappers) and if you're looking for a tasty, freeze-ahead app, I highly recommend these.
Crispy Sausage Bites
Ingredients
- Phyllo Sheets
- 1 lb ground sausage
- 1 C Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- 1 C cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 C Ranch
Prep
- Preheat oven to 350ยบ.
- Crumble and cook sausage.
- Drain sausage.
- Mix with both cheeses and ranch.
- Allow mix to cool.
- When mix is ready, cut phyllo sheets. (Use sheets per directions on the box.) I used 3 sheets and cut them into 4s.
- Fill each sheet with meat/cheese/ranch mix.
- Wrap up each little bite per your artistical preference.
- Cook for 20-30 min.
I found it neither super complicated nor time consuming. And it's a great base recipe. Towards the end, I started running low on cheddar so I substituted parm and also used some hot sausage. They were tasty as well and I could see a lot of possible variations. Such as The Hub's suggestion of filling them with sausage, egg, and cheese for a delicious breakfast treat!
To quote the Kool-Aid Man, "Oh, yeahhhhh"Both Thanksgivings were absolutely lovely. The Hubs entire immediate family was in town so the house was full of laughter and kids. I especially enjoyed watching Something Borrowed with my niece while everyone was out, running around. Food and company was great. An excellent Memphis Thanksgiving #1 and I'm incredibly thankful to have married into such a loving family.
The morning came early and before we knew it, it was time for Thanksgiving #2! This time, featuring the Bear.
Riding prettySugarbear really got a nose full this trip. We stopped in Centerville for gas and I'm glad we were allowed to enter. We were the only ones not wearing camo with a deer or two in the back of the truck.
Seriously.
It was a LOT of camo. A LOT of trucks. And a LOT of deer. My city-boy husband was a little tickled. I said the camo-ians were probably tickled at him... Big man walking widdle girl-dog. Heh.
Anyhoo, much to my excitement, we made it to my parents' house in Columbia in time for a decent slice of the Macy's Parade. Relaxed. Had some of the aforementioned Crispy Sausage Bites. And then... A delicious Mom-made feast.
Turkey, carved by yours trulyDressing, moist as always
Gravy
Starting with 12 o'clock:Mashed potatoes
Squash casserole
Broccoli Casserole
Sweet potato casseroleMac & cheese casserole
And... Is that the broccoli again?
Green beansCranberry sauce
Black & green olives
Ambrosia
And rolls
But wait. There's more!
Deep dish. Mom's Famous. CHOCOLATE PIE!(Crispy Sausage Bites peeking out in the back)
It was so good. Many, MANY thanks to Mom for cooking such a wonderful meal. And to both the parents for supplying all the good food. And to Dad for the Good Cookies. (Which I sadly did not get a picture of.)
I wish I had a plate of it all right now... Thanksgiving 2011. A great time that came and went too fast. As it always does. *Sigh*
Good times.
Alright, I'm running a little long here. I'll wrap it all up. With a big sappy bow.
I'm thankful for so many things this holiday season. The Husband, who I love more & more every day. (Don't gag. I've got more.) My parents who I appreciate more & more every year. Family of new and old. My sweet pet friends, Claudette and Sugarbear. My job and co-workers that make it more than a job. Friends that I so enjoy spending time with. Books. Recipes. My home. My kitchen. And you, Bubbleland. The blog-ysphere is so fun. I love a peek at other's daily ins and outs. And I hope you enjoy mine.
Happy belated Thanksgiving! See you soon. Probably on a Wednesday... Or more likely a Thursday...
I wish I had a plate of it all right now... Thanksgiving 2011. A great time that came and went too fast. As it always does. *Sigh*
Good times.
Alright, I'm running a little long here. I'll wrap it all up. With a big sappy bow.
I'm thankful for so many things this holiday season. The Husband, who I love more & more every day. (Don't gag. I've got more.) My parents who I appreciate more & more every year. Family of new and old. My sweet pet friends, Claudette and Sugarbear. My job and co-workers that make it more than a job. Friends that I so enjoy spending time with. Books. Recipes. My home. My kitchen. And you, Bubbleland. The blog-ysphere is so fun. I love a peek at other's daily ins and outs. And I hope you enjoy mine.
Happy belated Thanksgiving! See you soon. Probably on a Wednesday... Or more likely a Thursday...
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