It is of course possible to dance a prayer.
~Terri Guillemets
CDs or MP3: VocalEssence, Garrison Keillor, and the Hopeful Gospel Quartet
Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action.
~W.J. Cameron
It’s spring in name only in Saint Paul. Whereas many food writers and bloggers are already complaining about too many fresh pea or asparagus recipes, people here are still sniffling and shuffling around town in their by now worn-out snow boots. (Uh, there are not even pea tendrils in St. Paul because snow covers the vegetable gardens; see below.) In fact, if you move here, you’ll save a lot of money on shoes; you only need them May – September. Not only that, you can write about fresh peas, rhubarb, and asparagus when folks further south are eating their first tiny tomatoes and are getting tired of grilling already.
This picture is out my front door this morning.
While people keep emailing or texting me, “Aren’t you tired of snow?” I’m not. I’m happy to make one more bubbling cauldron and a big pan of biscuits. I might be sick of my sweaters, though.
If it’s not too warm where you are, maybe you’re still in the mood for a big pot of soup with bread. (It’s also a perfect way to use that leftover Thanksgiving turkey if it’s that time a year. ) Try this:
turkey-wild rice + vegetable soup
makes about 10 quarts of soup
Using up leftover turkey from a holiday meal? Skip that 1 1/2 hours cooking the turkey thighs and just add your 2-3 cups shredded or chopped cooked turkey after the rice (#3).
*Please buy Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Michigan hand-harvested wild rice.
Click here for wild rice nutritional information.
**Turkey thighs give off a lot of fat. You might have 1/4 cup of fat skimmed off (or more) by the end of the cooking.
biscuits
makes 12 2-inch biscuits
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, cream of tartar and baking powder. Add butter and cut in well using a pastry blender, two forks, your fingers, or even a food processor until some of the mixture is the size of peas and some are larger, some smaller.
Stir in the milk all at once and keep stirring until a ball of dough is formed. Place dough on a floured board and knead 10-12 times. Pat out (or roll) into a rough circle until dough is about 1/2-inch thick. Cut out using a 2-inch floured biscuit or round, fluted cookie cutter. * Place biscuits on a baking sheet or in a glass pie pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot, warm, at room temperature, or cold. (I like to bake biscuits in a Pyrex pie plate or casserole pan because they stay warm at the table.)
*You can use the mouth of a small, floured glass to cut biscuits if you have no cutter. Another option is to cut them with a knife into squares or rectangles. They’ll bake.
( Biscuit recipe courtesy FANNIE FARMER BAKING BOOK by Marion Cunningham.)
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| My south window today. |
If you like turkey thighs, you might want to try this if the weather is warmer where you are:
Dave’s Ribs and Barbequed Turkey Thighs
By the way, I still have a few soups left to test for my soup cookbook. Interested? Leave contact information in a comment or email me afmorgan53@yahoo.com. No pay, but hopefully a good meal and fun!
Sing a new song,
Alyce
Each Friday, a wonderful group of women reaches across cyberspace and joins culinary hands to salute one very healthy food, one single beautiful ingredient from Power Foods : 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients. (Scroll down for the list of blogs.)
I won’t say it’s not a challenge to come up to that gorgeous plate each week. If I’m busy learning music for church or have my daughter home, or am busy with the soup book, I sometimes can’t give the opportunity the intelligent focus and attention it deserves. I used one great recipe for more than one blog recently….life can get ahead of me sometimes. Hopefully I’m forgiven!
This week, the week of pecans, I had the time I needed to give this a good stab. To give it my undivided creative space. I’m grateful for the opportunity and the chance to move one sweet iota further in my cooking and writing. I hope you’ll enjoy the idea of this light vegetable gratin…which is maybe a bit more like a terrine in character, though not in the size and shape of a terrine. There’s no cream and no butter here unlike most gratins. There is a crusty, crispy topping; it’s a savory oatmeal granola without butter (yes, it has olive oil) to which I’ve added the traditional gratin component of cheese, but also finely chopped pecans.
While pecans are an American nut staple grown in the southern states, they’re not terribly common in other parts of the world, with the exception of South America. High in protein (though lower than almonds and walnuts), they are also high in healthy unsaturated fat, a good source of fiber and vitamin E, calorically dense, and weigh in at nearly two-hundred calories per one ounce serving. Store them in the freezer and use as needed. They are excellent for baking, cooking, and for general snacking.
LIVESTRONG NUTRITIONAL INFO FOR PECANS
Gluten-free and easily vegan (leave out the Parmesan), this winter vegetable gratin with healthful pecans in its topping is not only a gorgeous side if you need or your partner really needs a chop… but is a lovely lunch or entree for those in love with vegetables. (You might add more pecans for protein for the vegan version.) A sharp knife, a shallow dish (I used a heavy quiche pan in lieu of a gratin dish as I liked the shape, but even a 2 quart Pyrex would do), and a boatload of winter vegetables are the central components of your beautiful, filling meal. Try this:
winter vegetable gratin with savory granola
granola: (in a medium bowl, mix together well:)
*You may not need all of the granola; you can eat the rest as is for a good snack.
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If you liked this, you might like my Derby Pie–a Pecan-Chocolate-Bourbon specialty made only for the Kentucky Derby–May 3-4, 2013.
Or you might like my Go Nuts! which can be made with all pecans or a mixture of nuts:
Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink
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P.S. If you linked my cinnamon rolls to your blog, I’d love to know who you are! It’s now my top post in nearly five years. I’d like to thank you….
Sing a new song,
Alyce
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| “Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? Can she bake a cherry pie, charming Billy?” |
She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother…. is poor Billy’s lament. She can, however, bake a cherry pie quick as a cat can blink an eye! (Click on above link to hear the song; guitar chords included.)
I was just minding my own business. I had stuck the hot cherry pie on a rack on an empty shelf in a kitchen cupboard. A good place to cool pie if you have two golden retrievers. (I made four different pies for Thanksgiving; everyone deserves their favorite once a year. I’m convinced. Cherry is my sister Helen’s favorite. Hence “Helen’s Cherry Pie.” Also my loved “niece,” Kathy’s.)
Cook’s Note: The Turkey Soup police are not out today. You can make this with lots of changes and substitutions, but you have my idea to start. Blessings on your soup pot! Be brave!
**You might have some leftover turkey stock from cooking the giblets, etc to make gravy and stuffing; throw this in if you have it. If you don’t, you’ll use more boxed broth or water, if necessary.
***If your’e out of turkey meat, you can still make this soup; it’ll be tasty, filling, and nutritious anyway!
Sing a new song,
Alyce
This “recipe” originally published elsewhere by me! The underlining won’t disappear; I’ll try later to reformat it. Until then, you have the soup and the underlining.
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| “Get Mother to help.” |
edited with some new photos added November, 2020
As my family well knows, there comes a day in November (December is just too late) when I do nothing but bake cranberry bread. We have it for Thanksgiving morning breakfast, take a loaf or two to friends, and then have one squirreled away in the freezer for Christmas morning as well. I make a fun production out of the day (no other activities, favorite music on, microwaved lunch) and have nearly an assembly line in the kitchen so that loaf after loaf is mixed individually and baked on the center rack. It does require a number of pans, but I’m good at finding extras at Good Will or splurging on a great pan with a Williams-Sonoma gift card. I also bake this bread in coffee cups for large size muffins or in tiny pans as little gifts for special folks.
“It’s not what’s on the table that’s important. It’s who’s in the chairs.”
This post includes:
Enjoy!
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I can’t preach about giving thanks. I’ll just say I think it’s healthy. It’s lovely in that it’s a discipline folks of any religion or country can take part. But of course, our fair “Rabbie” had it best:
Some Hae Meat
Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it,
But we hae meat and we can eat,
And sae the Lord be thankit.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. You could have guessed.
My worlds all come together on that day.
Giving thanks– being grateful–is a practice or discipline of many religions and cultures, including mine.
I need it. I need that discipline. And:
Creating a meal to honor that…is my idea of a great day!
I wish you a day of totally beautiful, grateful life.
A grace could be very simply giving thanks for the hands that made the meal, for the workers in the stores, on the trucks, in the gardens and the vineyards. Even a toast to all who made it possible would work. Mark the moment.
Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action.
~W.J. Cameron
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Awareness. Awakeness. Appreciation. Peaceful breath.
A table that includes something you love.
Someone you love.
Some of the best new scripture these days is found on paper napkins.
I have some that say, “It’s not what’s on the table that’s important. It’s who’s in the chairs.”
Ah, that we have to print that somewhere.
Deep breaths and a sense of warm wonder to you as you prepare to give thanks this year.
If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice.
~Meister Eckhart
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Before the fun begins, thanks for reading and responding:
Bloggers Without Borders Post on Helping Victims of Sandy
In case you need help with the meal….
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| Two Mushroom-Red Onion Soup from my upcoming book. |
Thanksgiving HOTLINES:
*Splendid Table (Radio) from 11am-1pm CT on Thanksgiving Day: 800-537-5252
*Reynolds’ Turkey Tips: 800-745-4000 Open through December 31, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
*Butterball Hotline: 1-800-BUTTERBALL Weekdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central Time
*Crisco Pie Hotline:
(877) 367-7438 toll-free. Provides answers the most common questions about baking pies for novice bakers as well as offering tips that will benefit the most seasoned baker. The hotline also offers the option for callers to connect to a live pie expert for pie baking guidance. Hours: 9 – 7 EST except for: Nov. 12 – 21 (8am – 8pm EST) and Dec. 12 – 22 (8am – 8pm EST)
*USDA Meat and Poultry Line:
(888) 674-6854 from 10a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. Closed weekends and holidays, except Thanksgiving. Special hours of operation on Thanksgiving are 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Eastern Time.
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It is of course possible to dance a prayer.
~Terri Guillemets
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Thanksgiving Listening and Watching + Kids’ Stuff:
Garrison Keillor’s “Over the River and Through the Woods”
Download Mary Chapin Carpenter’s Thanksgiving Song here.
Watch Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on youtube.
Thanksgiving Day Football Games–Networks, Kickoff, etc.
Thanksgiving Day Kids’ Activities
Martha’s Thanksgiving for Kids
Thou hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, – a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.
~George Herbert
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Minneapolis Turkey Day 5K Run 8am Nov 22, 2012
Walk to End Hunger Mall of America Nov 22, 2012: 7am Registration; 7:30-10:30
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Really Good Websites with Thanksgiving Tips, Recipes, and Ideas
I could reinvent the wheel here and give you step-by-step, day by day, but here’s a list of places that have already done all that work. Have at it. Below that, I’ve listed some of my own favorite recipes or menus from this blog or Dinner Place, Cooking for One. I include an Intimate Thanksgiving, which is a Thankgiving for two (with leftovers) or for four (not too many leftovers.) It was created for those who really don’t have much time to spend on Thanksgiving, but want a special meal nevertheless.
America’s Test Kitchen: Turkey and Gravy
James Peterson’s Gravy Guide
Martha Stewart’s Thanksgiving Planner
Non-Turkey Thanksgiving
Vegetarian Thanksgiving
Vegan Thanksgiving: 12 Recipes
LA Times: Great Thanksgiving Photos
Glazed Turkey from the Chicago Trib
Free: Martha Stewart Thanksgiving (2011) Ebook with 40 Recipes
Smitten Kitten’s Thanksgiving
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
Perfect Pantry Sugar-Free Slow-Cooker Cranberry Sauce
Serious Eats: 16 Salads for Thanksgiving
Kalyn’s Kitchen: 11 Green Bean Recipes
Mark Bittman: 101 Starts on the Day
Giada’s Butternut Squash Lasagne
Melissa Clark: What Can I Actually Prepare Before Thanksgiving?
Gourmet Live: Thanksgiving 2012
Chowhound’s 10 Thanksgiving Cooking Essentials
The Bitten Word’s 2012 Thanksgiving Recipe Index:
Thanksgiving Videos: Mark Bittman
King Arthur Flour Cranberry-Pumpkin Rolls
Perfect Pantry’s Squash Muffins
Download Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Baking App
Pie Perfected by Carole Bloom
David Lebovitz’ Pumpkin Ice Cream
Thanksgiving Wine: NYTimeswine:
HGTV’s Stylish Thanksgiving Table Settings
Thanksgiving Decoration from Epicurious
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| Maybe it’s a good time to pull out the bread machine? |
More Time at the Table/Dinner Place Thanksgiving Posts:
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| Kathy’s Apple Pie (More Time at the Table) |
Alyce’s Thanksgiving: An Intimate View : Very Simple and Quick Thanksgiving for 2-4 people who don’t want to cook much:
- Starters: Olives and Nuts–set out in small bowls served with sparkler/wine
- First course: Pumpkin or Butternut Squash Soup (purchased)
- Main course: Turkey Roulade, stuffed W/ Proscuitto/Sage/Onions/Garlic
- Sides: Oven-Roasted Root Vegetables with Fresh Rosemary
- Brussel Sprouts (pan-roasted) w/ Parmesan & Pumpkin Seeds
- Home-made Spicy Cranberry Sauce w/ Apples and Lemon
- Bread: Corn Muffins or Rolls from the bakery
- Dessert: Pumpkin Ice Cream, purchased from grocery OR Pumpkin Custards baked the day before and refrigerated (Use any pumpkin pie filling recipe and bake custards in pammed ramekins about 30 min. at 350—No crust)
- Drinks: Wine: A to Z Riesling and Sineann Pinot Noir- Have both! Coffee: French Roast, laced with Cognac and Whipped Cream
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| Pears Poached in Port |
Other recipes of mine you might enjoy at Thanksgiving:
Alyce’s Bacon Roasted Chicken or I Don’t Want Turkey
Alyce’s Roasted Chicken and Butternut Squash
Alyce’s Roasted Pork Loin, Hot and Spicy Cranberry Sauce
Potato Gratin with Rosemary Crust
Alyce’s Butternut and Other Squash Soup
Alyce’s Pan-Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Parmesan New Potatoes
Alyce’s Green Beans Sauteed with Onions and Garlic
Alyce’s Turkey Pot Pie from Thanksgiving Leftovers
Alyce’s Pumpkin Soup or Making Up for Thanksgiving
Alyce’s Spicy Cream of Pumpkin Soup+Wendy’s Sage and Thyme
Alyce’s Pear-Grilled Fig Salad with Goat Cheese
Alyce’s Israeli Couscous-Butternut Squash Salad with Fall Fruit and Cheese
Alyce’s Pumpkin Bread
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| Wendy’s Sage |
Alyce’s Quick Prune Bread
Alyce’s No-Knead Bread Post on Dinner Place
Alyce’s Whole Wheat Yeast Rolls (from Bill Kalbus)
Poached Pears in Port
Alyce Morgan’s Pie 101
Alyce’s Derby Pie (Pecan-Chocolate with Bourbon)
Alyce’s Kathy’s Apple Pie
Alyce’s Almond-Scented Pear Crostata
Alyce’s Ask Me About Dessert Post
Alyce’s Pumpkin Custard with Cinnamon Creme Fraiche (One Minute Pumpkin “Pie”–no crust)
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| Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Bread. Thanksgiving morning breakfast. |
Anne Lamott’s Parade Magazine Article on Counting our Blessings
my quick take on the (american) wine and other drinks
Need extra wine glasses? Borrow them! If you’d like a large inexpensive set to keep from year to year, and can’t spend much: go to the dollar store or a discount place like Marshall’s. You can store a couple of boxes in the closet or basement and have them available for loan or a February Sangria party.
Drink what you like:
Wine is for your enjoyment and the enhancement of food. So, do not fret and fuss about the wine (or anything.) First and foremost, you should drink exactly what you like with Thanksgiving dinner. If you have no idea what you like, go to the wine shop or liquor store, and find a salesperson who’s willing to talk to you. Do not do this on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving unless you’re a glutton for punishment. Everyone else in the city will be there and the clerks will be infinitely hassled while wondering what they’re having for Thanksgiving and who’s going to cook it all. Tell the salesperson what kinds of wine you (and your guests if you know) like, what your price is (don’t be shy), how many people you’ve having, and what your menu is. Believe it or not, everyone is not having turkey, dressing, and pumpkin pie. This person has paired vegetarian lasagne, pumpkin ravioli, goose, steak, and an all-raw menu before you arrived.
Don’t know what you like:
If you’re a do-it-yourself kind of shopper and want to go to the liquor superstore or simply have NO idea of what to buy, then I go with my tried and true recommendations, which are:
A. One bottle of wine per person (total) is the rule. Yes. You’ll be there for hours. I like American wine for Thanksgiving, so my recommendations are based on no wine from outside the United States.
B. Overall: Provide a sparkler for before dinner or apertif, then one white and one red to make everyone at least closer to happy. Some sort of after-dinner drink or digestif is needed as well, though a walk will help, too.
I don’t like a cocktail before this kind of a meal…too many calories and too much alcohol, but then again, I’m a wine person.
Have beer on hand. Get your brother-in-law’s favorite so he’ll be quiet or choose a saison, which would pair admirably with the meal if he won’t drink wine even with food.
Have lots of non-alcoholic choices. Sparkling water is pretty in a wine glass and is good for digestion for everyone, actually. Non-alcoholic beer (Kaliber is about the best), iced Ceylon tea, and plenty of plain water are good choices. Coffee is necessary; have the pot ready and start it when you sit down to dinner so people can help themselves. Some will want it immediately after the meal even if they’re happy to wait hours for dessert. If you don’t drink coffee, borrow a pot. You can’t skip it.
C. For the sparkler, buy a New Mexican sparkling wine like Gruet.
I suggest Riesling for the white (Washington state, Oregon, or New York). The lower the alcohol content, the sweeter the wine. The alcohol content is printed on the label. So if you like sweet, get an 8 or 9% alcohol Riesling. 11? Much drier. Don’t know? I’d go with the sweeter for a group; you’re bound to have people in who want sweeter wine and your red will definitely be dry.
The red: Oregon Pinot Noir. It’s a splurge and it’s worth it. If you need a lower-price Pinot Noir, choose A-Z or Angeline. If you simply don’t like Pinot Noir (why?), buy a good California Merlot. By the way, if you decide you like the Oregon Pinot Noir (and I’m a Pinot girl), buy a couple of extra bottles and squirrel them away in a cool, dry place for next year. This wine doesn’t have to age terribly long to be scrumptious, but it’s usually better with a few years under its belt. The older vintages are sometimes available, but not always. If they are, they’re a lot more expensive. Buy them young.
D. If you’d like a dessert wine, American sherry–or port– is lovely with pumpkin pie.
A little nip of Jack in the coffee would do no one from below (or even above) the Mason-Dixon line any harm. Save the Irish coffee for St. Patrick’s Day.
some pics of blog favorites for the holiday:
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| Almond-Scented Pear Crostata from More Time at the Table. |
On Thanksgiving Day, all over America, families sit down to dinner at the same moment – halftime.
~Author Unknown
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| Hot and spicy Cranberry Sauce cooking in the pot. It’s done quickly and can be done a day or two ahead. |
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| My pumpkin soup topped with Parmesan and chopped peanuts. A nutritious soup for a first course is elegant and will help keep folks from overeating. |
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| Pecan or Derby Pie is a great Thanksgiving choice. When else would you make it? |
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| Spicy Cream of Pumpkin with Wendy’s Sage and Thyme |
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| Pear-Grilled Fig Salad with Goat Cheese (dried figs are fine, too) |
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| Don’t bake? One-Minute Pumpkin Custard with Creme Fraiche. |
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| Butternut and Other Squash Soup |
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| Oven-Roasted Root Vegetables (Leftovers make great soup.) |
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| Potato Gratin with Rosemary Crust. No mashed potatoes or gravy needed. Or anything else really.
Whatever menu you choose, have fun with it. Make things you like. Let people bring their favorites so everyone is happy. Don’t worry if the gravy has lumps or the turkey is cold. No one cares if your plates match, but they do care that they’re invited. If your heart is warm in welcome, everyone will have a great time.  Heap high the board with plenteous cheer and gather to the feast, Sing a new song…be grateful all day long and enjoy every minute,
Alyce |
There are moments when I’m aware enough of the blessed goodness in my life. Maybe. I know not everyone has a counter full of butternut squash, apples, onions, shallots, garlic, hundreds (literally) of tiny green and red tomatoes, and Bosc pears. I know not everyone has a warm snug lying next to them come the cold, dark morning. Or a reason to get up and do something with the bounty in the kitchen downstairs. I probably don’t truly understand it, but I get it. My life hasn’t been all rose teacups and long walks along the river with the dogs.
This morning I read a post on a blog I follow (there’s a link in my blogroll at right, too).
Margaret writes daily there. It’s a prayer journal of sorts. She’s an Episcopal priest on an Indian reservation in South Dakota and life’s hard there. The loss and the poorness and the hurt are hardscabble painful and it’s her job to keep showing up for the difficult moments and beyond. Today she writes about people nearby whose babies have just died… And (having had babies who died) I understand where this is and where it goes. What I am drawn to these many years later is twofold:
1. why…if we need each other so very badly through the crazy, hilarious, dipping, winding, bottoming-out life trek, and if church is meant to provide that for us…why are so many of us no longer part of that community? Or, if we are a part, are those communities truly sustaining us? and 2. a bursting grateful noise for all I have and all those who have loved me through the nearly killing losses. I come back to the idea that to begin with thanksgiving is a perfect way to pray/live and I have to learn it all over again, all over again, all over again. Even if God isn’t a welcomed presence in your life, I think the settling of near-constant thanksgiving in our bodies is a positive way to breathe on earth.
and……truly:
I’m grateful to share a beautiful fall salad with you…speaking of that. I often cook on the “Meatless Monday” protocol because it’s healthy and it makes sense to me. It’s also a way to make me concentrate on most of the food on earth and, well, most of it isn’t meat.
I spent yesterday late afternoon re-testing a soup for my book (Roasted Vegetable Soup with Sage) and as I got the soup nearly finished thought to make a little salad out of what I had.
Which was beautiful Bosc pears, goat cheese leftover from a dinner for friends last Friday night (I grilled figs and filled them with goat cheese, a drizzle of honey, fresh thyme and black pepper), and some arugula. Sigh. Here’s how:
pear – grilled fig salad with goat cheese, walnuts, and arugula
serves 2 -3
In a medium shallow bowl, place arugula and top with pears and goat cheese. Scatter walnuts around the edges of the salad and add the figs at even intervals. Drizzle all with the juice, vinegar, and oil. Sprinkle evenly with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Place bowl on table to admire your handiwork before tossing. Serve at room temperature. (If you need to make this ahead and refrigerate, you’ll want to add the pears–which would brown otherwise– and the dressing at the last minute. It’ll taste fine cold.)
*To grill fresh figs: Lightly brush a grill, grill pan, or small skillet with a bit of olive oil. Trim stems from figs and slice in half. Place figs cut side down in pan and grill over medium heat just a couple of minutes. Turn and grill on the other side. Note: How long you grill these will depend on how ripe they are. The riper, the less grilling– If terribly ripe, don’t grill at all.
I ponder here at the idea of saying “grace.” I think grace is a difficult word to define and how it is we come to SAY it, I don’t know. We also “say a blessing.” Or “give thanks.” Or “bless the food.” Someone, somewhere I was, said a blessing I can’t forget the gist of, but can’t recall the exact words. The idea was to be grateful for the food and for the nourishment to enable us to feed those without.
I’ll think about it. (If you know that blessing, leave it in a comment.)
A thought: the blessing is also a moment to breathe in an otherwise complicated, swiftly flowing existence. To pray and– to eat– in the moment. To be truly awake and aware of what’s before us and what will sustain us. To be grateful for loving, preparing hands, the instinct to love, the time to eat, and for the abundance.
Phew. My blog is different today. Beautiful fall winds and smiles to you,
Alyce
P.S. COMING TO A CHURCH NEAR YOU! (MAYBE) I think I forgot to share that our daughter Emily is officially ready to receive a call from the Presbyterian Church, USA. After over three years in seminary, she preached to the Committee on Preparation for Ministry (maybe I got that right) last Monday and they pronounced her READY.
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| Speaking of being grateful |
As a kid, I didn’t like brussels sprouts. Did anyone? As a young bride, I occasionally bought a package of frozen ones (just for something different) as there weren’t fresh ones available at the places I shopped. As time went on, they just disappeared from my repertoire until a few years ago when I began to see them fresh in tiny bags or right on their very own totem poles at Whole Foods. (illustration courtesy Merriam-Webster)
A few special recipes began to be part of our regular meals as I developed not one, but several ideas for these special tiny lovelies. (I share a couple of them below- one with potatoes and one without.) Cooked slowly in a sauté pan, the inherent bitterness dissipates into the air, and the gentle beauty of brussel sprouts begins to shine in their sweet, tender nuttiness. Carmelization might be the word. Makes them wine-friendly, too.
PAN-ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS with New Potatoes and Parmesan
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| I’ve served these brussels sprouts for many occasions, but particularly like them for my fast Thanksgiving dinner. |
Brussels sprouts, or Brassica oleracea gemmifera, are related to other better-known vegetables in the Brassica genus like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. They are part of the cruciferaeor mustard family, so known because of a four-part flower in the shape of a cross.
HISTORY: Sprouts were believed to have been cultivated in Italy in Roman times, and possibly as early as the 1200s in Belgium. The modern Brussels sprout that we are familiar with was first cultivated in large quantities in Belgium (hence the name “Brussels”sprouts) as early as 1587, with their introduction into the U.S. in the 1800s.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Brussels sprouts are a very good source of many essential vitamins, fiber, and folate. They are especially high in Vitamin C. (Click here to see the nutritional label) They, along with their other cruciferous cousins, have been shown to have some very beneficial effects against certain types of cancer, as they contain many different ingredients that are believed to help prevent the disease
These recipes originally available on More Time and Dinner Place in separate blogs.
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38 Power Foods is a group effort! Stop by these other blogs and see what they’re cooking each week as we team up to bring you some of the healthiest cooking available.
Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink
Anabanana – adobodownunder.blogspot.com
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As we go along, I’m guessing we’ll get some other writers involved. If you’re interested in joining the gang writing each week, get in touch with Mireya from My Healthy Eating Habits: Mireya@MyHealthyEatingHabits.com
two-dog kitchen and around the ‘hood
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| Miss Gab watching Ina with me. |
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| Lovey-Dovey |
I’m busy developing and testing recipes for the soup cookbook. This week, I’m working on
Pozole (Mexican stew–mine’s made with pork tenderloin, corn, and hominy) and Tom Kha Kai (coconut/chicken from Thailand). I’m finding the most difficult part is figuring out how this whole thing goes from a Word doc (actually becomes a pdf first) to the 6×9, 100 printed page.
How can I be sure that the pagination makes sense or that recipes are on one page? Or that the margins are accurate? Did I consistently use “t” or “tsp” for teaspoon? You get the picture! Slowly, I’m starting to see how it works. I have a bunch of home-testers cooking away. If you have a testing recipe and I haven’t heard from you, I’m looking forward to a response pretty soon. Test on!
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| It’s NW blueberry time; I’m eating all I can get and freezing the rest. |
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| You can see how easy it is to move around my kitchen. |
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| In Colorado, we have time for movies with the grandkid. Thanks, God. |
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| Just for grin and giggles, I made homemade mayonnaise for a dressing for a steak and fresh potato chip salad. Dear. |
That’s all she wrote.
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| “Derby” Pie or Pecan-Chocolate-Bourbon Pie. Can you say decadent? |
When someone needs something baked, I do it if I can. If I have the time. Not everyone bakes. I love to bake and need an excuse now that there are only two of us in the house. If I bake for an event, I somehow always manage to make enough so that we can share a sample or even have a tiny sweetness for ourselves. (If it’s pie, it’s usually for Dave; I eat a bite, that’s it. He loves pie too much for me to eat much.)
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| Dave’s baby pie in a 4″ ramekin. He was so relieved. |
My friend Roberta likes to give Kentucky Derby parties and her pie baker was a no-show. I was happy to have an afternoon in the kitchen, though I had never before baked Derby Pie. I had baked many a pecan pie (the easiest pie to make except for custard and, by the way, pecan pie is a kind of custard pie as it contains eggs and melted butter) and this didn’t look much different–once I figured out what it was. And while it wasn’t terribly different, it sure tasted differently. Think of pecans. Then think of what they taste like sweetened up a little. Add chocolate. Bourbon. You have the picture. And oh, how lovely this would be for Thanksgiving.
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| I don’t know from bourbon, but this is what I bought. |
But to begin with, I couldn’t locate a recipe in any one of my many cookbooks. A bit embarrassing. But not much.
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| This is my cookbook corner. That’s not all of them, of course. | And no Derby Pie. Hmph. |
I thought it was odd that there was no “Derby Pie” even in any of my baking books; I have a few baking books! Back to the computer to discover that “Derby Pie” –or the term itself– is patented and can only be baked by the Kern family in Louisville, Kentucky. In other words, they have a monopoly on it. Once I knew exactly what Derby Pie was, I began to look on other sites for a recipe. I found dozens –some too simple and some too complicated– and settled on one (below) from examiner.com, a site I wrote for for a few years. It looked like a recipe I could easily triple or quadruple, which was my day’s goal.
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| Warming the eggs in warm water since I forgot to take them out the night before. Room temperature eggs are needed for baking. I left them about 10 minutes. Warm eggs crack easier and are less likely to leave bits of shell in your bowl. |
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| Collecting the pie plates. I keep a couple in my kitchen and the rest downstairs. I use pie plates for a lot of cooking. They’re perfect for anything in the microwave (vegetables, leftovers) and I bake biscuits in them because you can take the Pyrex plate to the table and the biscuits stay warm. I almost always use glass pie plates for even baking and for seeing the crust when checking to see if the pie is done. Do not ever use disposable aluminum pie plates; they’re just too shallow and lightweight. |
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| Toasting all the pecans at once on a half sheet pan. I like to buy pecans in the fall from Georgia growers. Often churches sell pecans for fundraisers. Buy enough for the year then and freeze them. I make a lot of spicy pecans for Christmas and also at other times of the year for nibbles with wine. (below) |
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| Here I’ve mixed them with other nuts for gift giving or cookie trays. Recipe here. |
For photos of the making dough portion, turn back to my Pie 101 (Step-by-Step) or use your own favorite. My own dough recipe–scroll down. Do not use a sweetened dough here.
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| Dough in all four pie plates, including the baby pie for Dave. |
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| Mixing each pie’s ingredients separately to make sure each pie has enough of everything. |
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| Carefully filling the shells so that I don’t spill the filling onto the pie dough. Some people do this on the oven rack. |
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| This one is baked in a deep dish stoneware plate from Pampered Chef. Emile Henry also makes a good deep dish plate. |
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| Glass Pyrex plate |
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| Side view of deep dish pie. |
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| The baby. You can bake pie in about anything that’s oven proof. Apilco (French porcelain–excellent dishes for everyday and any day) makes large coffee cups that are oven-proof–as does Corning Ware. |
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| The whole gang all done. Enough for a Kentucky Derby Party. How about Thanksgiving? |
derby pie
How To Make Kentucky Derby Chocolate Pecan Pie
*You can also choose an excellent semi or bittersweet baking chocolate like Valrhona or Callebaut and chop your own chocolate if you like. BTW, I sometimes order Valrhona chocolate from amazon.com though it is sometimes available at Whole Foods or better grocery stores.)
Alyce’s Pie Dough Recipe:
Pâte Brisée-— Made in a Cuisinart — This is the dough I use most often.
for each 10″ pie shell
1 1/3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup or 1/4# unsalted butter, very cold, cut into 8 pieces (1 stick)
1/4 cup ice water (measure 1/4 cup water into a 1 cup measuring cup half full of ice)
Place flour and salt in the work bowl of the food processor fitted with steel blade. Pulse a couple of times to distribute salt. Add cold butter and pulse briefly several times until butter is worked into flour in several different sizes (1/4″ – 1/2″). With machine running, slowly pour water through feed tube until dough begins to come together. Stop machine and carefully remove dough from work bowl. Working quickly to avoid melting the butter within the dough, form into a ball and then flatten into a disc. Roll out and fill immediately (see above) or chill, well-wrapped, 1 hour or up to two days ahead.
Sing a new song; bake a new pie,
Alyce
