Thanksgiving Eve

Well, it's a little after 8:00 in the evening, and the big day is tomorrow. The pies are baked, the corn custard is ready, stock is made for the gravy, special cranberry sauce waits in the freezer, and all sorts of goodies are ready for final preparation. I made two pumpkin pies, one apple streusel, one HUGE mince pie, a walnut-chocolate chip pie, and an apple cranberry tart. I will pull the pumkin bread out of the frrezer in the morning, and break out a rum cake I purchased on a whim. It feels good to know that my family is able to come together and share a meal, as well as memories. My guests will include my husbands 94 year old mother, as well as two of our three chidren and two grand daughters, one of whom is bringing her beloved. Every year I say "I wish someone would invite us to THEIR house for Thanksgiving", and of course it never happens because I seem to be the designated cook in the family. And I don't mind, really---especially since I don't have to help with the clean-up.
If indeed someone is reading this, I wish you a peaceful Thanksgiving with your family and friends. Remember the good things in your life and be thankful. Auntie Lorraine

Diversity

Since my family is quite diverse, it is no surprise that I find myself cooking for a vegetarian or two. This time of year seems to be dominated by "THE TURKEY", so it takes some creative thinking to pull off a meal that is successful for all tastes. With a few minor changes I am able to prepare a feast that can be enjoyed by everyone. First of all I substitute vegetable broth for turkey or chicken stock when preparing the stuffing, and this does not affect the taste in the end, because my stuffing is highly seasoned.

In the kosher section of your supermarket, you will find a gravy mix that has no meat in it, and the turkey gravy mix is a good base for a vegetarian gravy. I am hesitant to give a brand name so I will give you a few clues. It comes in a black box with white lines, and the name of the product is in white on red. "Serv a -----" gravy mix for turkey. To make a more spectacular gravy, I sautee portabello mushroom slices in a little butter until tender, and then add the mushrooms as well as the cooking juices to the prepared gravy mix. A little red wine is also a nice addition. Next I grill some extra firm tofu, seasoned to taste, and serve this in place of the turkey. Then as we all give thanks for all of our blessings, we pass the mashed potatoes, corn custard, green beans with almonds, stuffing, creamed onions, candied yams, biscuits, gravy, turkey, or tofu, and special cranberry sauce. WOW!

Of course there are lots of desserts, but we usually wait a while before we feel we can eat anything more! That gives the cleanup crew {consisting of thosewhot did NOT cook!} time to tackle the dishes, etcetera. Then the choices are many. We always have pumpkin pie {made with molasses}, apple pie, and mince pie served with the lemon sauce I have been making for at least forty five years. We also have apple cake, and homemade cookies. Don't forget the whipped cream! Whew!

Now, I mentioned that we have a "special cranberry sauce" and I will find the recipe and get it to you in time for Thanksgiving, I promise. {If I were more organized this would be easy!} {Notice that I said "IF"} Check back later for the recipe. I'm back!!

Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish Recipe
2 cups raw cranberries
1 small onion
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 tbsp. horseradish

Grind the cranberries & onion together...Add remaining ingredients and mix. Put in a plastic container and freeze. An hour before serving, move the container from the freezer to the refrigerator compartment to thaw. The relish will be thick, creamy, and shocking pink. Makes 1 1/2 pints!

The Lowly Squash

Once again, Phil insists that I tell you about cooking squash. Until fairly recently he was not a squash lover and would eat it because it's good for him. However, one day I had prepared some butternut squash for myself, and was sitting at the kitchen table enjoying my lunch when he passed through and said that what ever I was eating smelled DELICIOUS! I told him that it was butternut squash, and that he could have some if he wanted it. So, that was my mistake. Now I have to share with him every time I cook squash. He is a convert.
The method I use is not rocket science, in fact it is very straightforward. I wash the squash {butternut is my favorite} and cut off the stem. Then I cut it so that I have separated the top or neck of the squash from the bottom, which contains the seeds and is quite a bit thinner than the top. I then cut the top of the squash in half, top down, so that I have two pieces that are mirror images of each other. I coat a glass dish with a little oil, and place the squash cut side down in the dish. I cover it with some microwave safe wrap, and cook it on high for ten minutes and test to see if it is tender. If it requires a bit more time I continue to cook it until it is soft. Now, here is where I stray from the norm. I place the cooked squash on a dinnerplate, and cut through the flesh so that it is somewhat mashed, and drizzle it with a little extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle it with garlic powder, salt and pepper----and serve. {or eat!} It is absolutely delicious. Phil now requests squash several times a week, and that makes me a happy cook. So, be brave---try this method and see what you think. I suppose you could always go the butter, salt and pepper route, or the butter, brown sugar twist. But perhaps because I love garlic as well as squash, my favorite squash recipe is the unorthodox pairing of flavors that I have described for you. Mangia!

Pear Butter

While poking around in my cupboard for raisins to add to my mince pie filling I discovered a bag of dried pears that were beginning to look a bit over-dry. Of course, being a frugal person, I could not discard them, and decided to make Pear Butter instead. It is amazing what can be done with a little ingenuity and a microwave! I chopped the dried pears up into fairly small pieces, and placed them in a microwave safe cooker with just enough water to cover. After cooking them on high for fifteen minutes, I tested them and concluded that another few minutes was required. It took a total of about twenty minutes to produce
the soft texture that I wanted. Then I used a hand blender to puree the fruit in the container. The result was a thick, tasty, not to sweet butter that was calling out for something to spark the flavor, so I used ground ginger, to taste. That was the perfect way to enhance the flavor of the butter, and I now had quite a batch to put aside for gifts as well as for use in my own kitchen. I brought the mixture to a boil, and scooped it into sterilized 8 ounce jelly jars, sealed them up tightly, and turned them upside down on a kitchen towel to cool. They sealed up quite nicely, and will keep well in my refrigerator until I give them away or use them myself. If I had intended to keep them on the shelf i would have gone through the more time consuming method of canning them on the stove.

So the mince pie filling is in the freezer, and the Queen Anne's Lace Jelly and Pear butter are put by. Oops----- forgot: in the freezer I have banana bread and pumpkin bread ready for the onslaught at Thanksgiving. Now, if I can locate the recipe I will tell you how to make the most unusual cranberry relish that you have ever tasted. I call it Jans Cranberry Stuff, because the recipe was read ro me over the phone by my son-in -law Jan. It is delicious, and goes well with turkey, as well as just about everything else you might be tempted to try it with. {including tofu} Talk to you soon. {have you ordered your turkey?}

Auntie Lorraine

Sunday evening, and chicken

Yes, chicken. Which really should become something more interesting! So, a quick look around my cupboard and in the fridge reveals diced tomatos with green chilies, chicken stock, celery, carrots, onions, garlic, plus asiago cheese and spinach sausage.
This looks like the beginning of something good. The chicken is already cooked. {leftover roast chicken} So, I began by chopping two or three carrots into small dice as well as four stalks celery, including some of the leaves. Then I added some finely chopped onion and put these vegetables in a microwave container, added chicken stock to cover and zapped it on HIGH until tender. Do not drain. In a deep skillet type pan, that is well heated, I drizzled a little extra virgin olive oil and added the sausage that has been cut into chunks. Since this type of sausage is already cooked , I am interested in tossing it around so that it browns nicely. Did I mention that it is chicken sausage?? Silly me. I removed the cooked chicken from the bone and added the pieces to the pan and turned the heat down to a simmer, adding the cooked vegetables, liquid and all, and the diced tomatos with chilies, stirring to combine. Taste the broth for seasoning, and if you wish you may add more chicken stock, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. This is really nice served over pasta, or rice, or as a soup with crusty bread and cheese. Yum.

By the way, while reading over my shoulder, Phil noticed that I did not give any recipes for pie crust when I was discussing the preparations for Thanksgiving. I could do that, but in the end, the best way to learn about pie baking is to befriend a GREAT pie baker and then BEG for lessons, because it is my belief that it is HOW YOU HANDLE THE DOUGH that makes the difference between great crust and passable crust; with the recipe being incidental. {in other words--you can have a great recipe, and ruin the dough through improper handling} So!! Enough for right now.

Sunday morning breakfast

What a beautiful day!

The weather here {upstate New york} is absolutely unbelievable for November. Still warm and a bit of a breeze, with yellow and orange leaves showering down , against a bright blue sky! Enough about the weather. Last night Phil asked if we could have French Toast for breakfast, and of course I agreed. So, this morning I set about making a nice meal for the two of us.

Actually, French toast is a very easy dish to prepare for a crowd, as well. When I am making it for four or more, I break out the electric griddle. This not only allows me to cook a mountain of slices at once, the temperature is constant, so the slices are all cooking at the same rate. But I digress. Most French toast recipes are pretty straightforward, so you can go with what ever method you prefer. Over the years I have developed a few twists on the usual format and I must say that everyone who eats my French toast comments on the flavor.

I add a little vanilla, a shake of cinnamon, and if the bread I am using is of the non sweet variety--I add a little sugar. {to five eggs I add 2 tsp. sugar} Then I add milk to this mixture until it is the consistency that I want and start cooking. I use a bit of butter on the griddle, as well as no stick cooking spray.

This morning, I decided to use some of the lovely little seckel pears that I bought yesterday, so I cut them in half, scooped the seeds out {using the tiniest spoon of my measuring spoon set}, and popped them into a skillet with some melted butter. Turning the heat down to low allows the pears to cook slowly, becoming golden and tender and ready to eat when the last of the French toast is coming off the griddle. Put a cover on the pan and remove it when the fruit has begun to get tender.

What a nice breakfast - with hot coffee, maple syrup {from a friends farm}, and the company of the man I love. Let's hear about your favorite "lazy morning" breakfasts.

Talk to you soon - Auntie Lorraine

I'm back!! Thanksgiving is on the way!!

November 4, 2005

Well, it certainly has been a while since I wrote anything! As you may remember, my relationship with computers is a bit dicey, at best. My old iMac was not behaving very well, and finally I succumbed to the lure of a more up to date computer. Now, it is still a guess as to whether I know what I'm doing on this new one, but I am going to take a chance and type away!

Most recently I have been starting preparation for Thanksgiving. That means gathering together all the recipes I intend to use. I usually put together a small notebook for this purpose. That way I only need to look in one place for all the information I need. While shopping a few days ago I bought canned pumpkin, fresh cranberries {into the freezer!}, dried sage for the stuffing, raisins, dates, and nuts.The best pumpkin bread in the world is already in the freezer, as well as banana bread. I will put together a batch of my mince pie fillig and store it in the freezer also.

Here is what I do:

For one hefty 9" pie, I use two pkgs. of dried mince pie filling, that I reconstitute as the package instructs. Once the filling is bubbling away on the stove I add 1/2 cup raisins, 2 apples--peeled and finely chopped, generous shakes of nutmeg and cinnamon, a small shake of cloves. Then I stir in about 1/4 cup molasses and stir it well, before I remove it from the stove. Now I add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. When it's cool I pack it in a freezer container and freeze it. It takes a while to thaw so remove it from the freezer two days before pie baking day and let it thaw in the fridge.

My husband was just reading over my shoulder and said "Don't forget to mention the JELLY!" So I guess I will mention the JELLY. I love to make jelly, and in particular I love to make the more unusual kinds of jelly. "Queen Anne's Lace Jelly" for instance. Yes, You read it right! Queen Anne's Lace! Of course this a jelly that you must make in the summer, when the fields are full of the lacy weed. And you need to pick a LOT of Queen Anne's Lace to make the jelly. I will give the recipe next summer so that you can head right out to pick a basket full! Once the jelly is in jars you can see the lovely pale pink color and when you open a jar during the winter, the scent is heavenly. Close your eyes and you could swear that you are out in a field of wild flowers.

Now, back to preparing for Thanksgiving.

I usually make a large batch of rich turkey stock for gravy making. Several years ago I read a recipe that uses turkey wings as a base, and it works really well. My recipe has evolved over the years, and has become more simplified. I buy 5 or 6 pounds of turkey wings and place them in a shallow roasting pan to which I add several carrots, cut in chunks, celery stalks -- chopped, and onions -- sliced. I salt it well, and place the pan in a 375 degree oven and bake for an hour or so---until everything is golden and juicy. All of this gets dumped into a large stock pot and boiling water {to cover} is added. Simmer this for at least an hour adding water if needed. Allow this to cool so that you can handle it without burning yourself. Remove the solids and refrigerate the remaining liquid. The fat will rise to the top and solidify, making it easy to remove. This liquid can be made ahead and frozen until you are ready to make the gravy. {an after thought--if you have a large pot with an insert that you would use for pasta--the kind that can be lifted out once the cooking is done, this simplifies the removal of the solids}

I also prepare my own pie crusts ahead. After the dough has been made I shape it into discs--one for each pie crust that I will need, and wrap them well in plastic wrap. Slide them into plastic zip-locs, and transfer them to the refrierator the day before you are going to make your pies. {Of course if pie crust is your "waterloo", don't hesitate to use prepared crusts--I find that they actually taste better if you roll them a bit thinner than they come, because the crusts seem to be more delicate}

A few days before the big day I chop lots of onions and saute them in butter for my stuffing. These can be refrigerated until you make the stuffing. I'm too much of a New Englander to BUY bread cubes for the stuffing, so about a week before the day, I start drying bread and tossing it into a large brown paper bag. This can be stored safely at room temperature, until needed. NEVER STUFF THE TURKEY THE DAY BEFORE YOU INTEND TO COOK IT!!!. Since I have a few vegetarian guests I prepare the stuffing without animal products and bake some in a casserole. Along with the mashed potatos, squash, peas, and corn custard that are all vegetarian friendly I prepare a batch of Portabello mushroom gravy and pan seared tofu. Never let it be said that anyone leaves my table hungry!

Now that I have rambled on about Thanksgiving, I will sign off--with hopes that you will share some of your ideas for a happy, stress free holiday.

Thanks for visiting - Auntie Lorraine