Cheers!

There are many blood Mary variations. My favorite is Clamato seasoned with salt, fresh ground pepper, Worcestershire, Tobasco and lime juice. Oh, and alcohol, if you want that :)

Thanksgiving Food Deconstructed: Part 3

The centerpiece of our simple dinner this year: a roasted turkey breast. Salt and peppered and brushed with butter. This was about an 8-lb breast.

Mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy rounded out the meal with the turkey and green bean casserole featured previously. Table decor provided by my daughter. A non-traditional pumpkin pie. This was one of those vanilla pudding-pumpkin-Cool Whip versions with caramel sauce on a graham cracker crust.

Thanksgiving Food Deconstructed: Part 2

I really didn't need THIS many dinner rolls for our dinner :) But once cooked, they freeze well.

My daughter wanted to help with these this year. Punching down the dough is the best part.

She helped shape the rolls before their final rise.

Here they are ready to go into the oven. The recipe:

2 1/2 cups of warm milk

4 teaspoons of active dry yeast

1/2 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup of butter melted and slightly cooled

2 teaspoons of salt

7 cups of all-purpose flour

Pour milk into the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle with yeast. Let it rest and foam for 5 minutes. Beat in sugar, eggs, 1/2 cup of melted butter. Use dough hook and gradually add flour and salt. This is a soft and slightly sticky dough. More or less flour may be needed.

Put dough in a large bowl sprayed with cooking spray. Let rise about an hour. Dough should double in size. Punch down and turn. Repeat two more times.

Break off 2-3 inch size pieces of dough to roll and tuck into rounds. Place in a baking dish prepared with cooking spray. (2 9-inch rounds work well for this amount of dough)

Cover and let rise until doubled in size.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes - until tops and nice and brown. Brush with melted butter (optional).

Thanksgiving Food Deconstructed: Part 1

I thought I'd start this series with the dish I made just for myself, because no one else in my immediate family would touch something like this: green bean casserole.

After steaming the beans to a par-cooked state and rinsing in cold water, I made the sauce. Saute a little chopped onion, 1 clove of minced garlic in butter until browned. Add heaving cream and summer until it thickens. Sprinkl with fresh ground pepper. Put beans in a casserole dish and pour sauce over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly. Top with fried onions. Yep, those kind out of a can. Bake until top is extra browned. This was really good and my family politely asked what was in it...but still wouldn't taste it.

Chicken Fried Steak - Take Two

I did chicken fried cubed beef steaks a few days ago. Kinda bleh. This cubed pork version was much better! Season both sides of cubed pork cutlets with seasoned salt. Dredge in flour, dip in beaten egg, dredge in flour again. Fry in peanut oil over medium heat and sprinkle with fresh ground pepper. Golden brown on each side and the pork is done. (take a peek to make sure)

Husband Cookery: Tortellini, Spinach and Ham

A super-yum dish! Cook fresh tortellini, drain. Saute diced red pepper, then add diced Black Forest ham. Season to taste and stir in baby spinach. Top with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Baked Salmon

These marinated salmon fillets came from Schwan's. They were a bit heavy on the marinade, but baked up nicely in about 25 minutes. Grilling is still better!

Chicken Fried Steak

Heat about a 1/2 inch of oil (I used peanut) until it shimmers. While it warms, sprinkle cubed beef steak with seasoned salt, and dredge in flour. Then dip in beaten eggs, and then dredge in flour again. Sprinkle with cracked pepper. Fry for 5-6 minutes on each side, and I checked to make sure these were done because they were a little thicker than I've dealt with previously. Cubed pork actually works better, I think.

Cinnamon Rolls

The recipe I found online said this was going to be just like a Cinnabon cinnamon roll. I've never actually had a Cinnabon roll, but they always smell so good when I see them offered in airports. Anyway, this wasn't the recipe for me. The dough went through just one rise, and I think two makes a fluffier roll. I'll try another recipe later this week to compare.

Husband Cookery: Southwest Chicken and Rice

This was a very tasty dish my husband put together. Here are the basics: chicken breast diced and sauteed in a little oil and southwest seasoning. Add salsa verde and quick cook rice and sImmer until done. Top with cheese and cilantro.

Square is Good!

A very tasty pizza my husband made last weekend. It featured pepperoni, Canadian bacon, mozzarella, pepper-jack cheese and sliced green onions. A pizza stone helps make magical pies - a gift idea maybe for someone on your list?

Thai Lettuce Wraps

Look at this explosion of colors. My husband ordered this recently at the Cheesecake Factory, and although it was messy to put the wraps together, he said the mixture of flavors was really good.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds - Pepitas!

The wonderful fringe benefit of carving pumpkins: pumpkin seeds! Rinse and de-string them and then boil in salted water for about 10 minutes. Toss in a little melted butter and roast in a single layer on a baking sheet until browned. I love these little pepitas.

Mud Pies

Chicken sliced ultra-thin, dipped in beaten egg, and then dredged in a mixture of flour, salt and panko crumbs. Fried in a little peanut oil. These are called "mud pies." I don't know the reason why they're called that. It's the name my mother-in-law gave them.

Puff Pastry Chicken "Pot Pie"

A "pot pie" puff pastry version from the Brick Oven Bistro. Happy food!