New Camera!

I can't wait to use it... but this just came today!  Now I just need a memory card.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you have a wonderful holiday, filled with lots and lots of good food, family, and friends. 

Although it may be a little late for this year, my Thanksgiving recipes can be found here. 

Tuna melt

This is one of my favorite lunches when it's cold out.  Nearly too simple for a recipe.

 
Ingredients:
1 can tuna
a couple of tablespoons mayo, to taste
1 T pickle relish, to taste
2 slices cheese, any sort (pictured above is cheddar and swiss)
2 thick slices of bread

Directions:  
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix tuna, mayonnaise, and pickle relish, to taste.  Spoon tuna salad onto bread; put cheese on top.  Bake in 400 degree oven until cheese is bubbly and just starting to brown, about 10-15 minutes; bread will be toasted by this point.  

Fast Sausage Ragu, now with less weird coloring!

The fast sausage ragu from Bitten looks much prettier if you use white wine instead of red.

It gets rid of the green eggs and ham problem-- the food is now the appropriate color.  You should, however, rinse out the measuring cup you use for your wine before you put milk in it, otherwise the milk curdles ever so slightly, which you will not notice until you stir it into the rest of the sauce.  It's still delicious, though. 

The wine used here was Woot Cellar's Triacipedis.  They have consistently delicious, reasonably priced wines.  Plus amusing descriptions.

Turkey sandwich

I'm a firm believer that turkey only reaches its full potential after the main Thanksgiving meal is over.  My very favorite turkey dish by far is not the glorious whole roast turkey, but the humble turkey sandwich. 

No recipe, really; just cold turkey on thick slices of homemade bread, with a generous spread of mayo and cranberry sauce.

Roast Turkey

Only a week to go until Thanksgiving!  Do you have your turkey lined up?  It is, after all, the centerpiece of Thanksgiving dinner:

This is a fairly simple, straightforward way to roast a turkey, taken from the always excellent How to Cook Everything.  It uses very high heat to start, which means nice, crispy skin; plus, it only takes 3 hours to roast a 12-lb. turkey, which means you get to sleep in a little the morning of Thanksgiving.  My only complaint is that it was a little bland; next time, I'll try brining.  However, the skin was crisp and the meat was moist. 

Vegetable Pot Pie

This is an amazing side dish for Thanksgiving; there's no reason pie has to be restricted to dessert!  Also works as a vegetarian centerpiece dish.

I was extremely pleased with myself for coming up with this; it's very, very loosely based on a chicken pot pie recipe.  Also only goes to prove, once again, that while vegetables are delicious, add about a pound of butter and they're AMAZING.

Double Pie Crust

This is a good, all-purpose double pie crust, adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.  I believe it's easier with a good food processor, but here's how to do it by hand.

Sage Bread Stuffing

I'm actually not a huge fan of stuffing that was actually, you know, stuffed inside a turkey, but I do like this baked in a casserole.

Apologies for the terrible picture (it looked even worse blown up to full size) -- in the rush of cooking all the Thanksgiving foods, I didn't take the time to get good pictures of everything.  This is the only photo I have of the finished product, and was cropped down from a photo of the whole spread. 

Which was amazing.

This stuffing is pretty basic-- very simple, just a few ingredients, but also very tasty.

Hint:  The secret to really good stuffing, like so many other things is to use a lot of butter.  In this case, an entire stick.  

Cranberry Sauce, part 2: Cranberry-Orange Relish

Mmm... zingier than the regular sauce-- tart and tangy.  I haven't yet decided which is better on turkey sandwiches, despite extensive lunchtime field research.  They're both really good, so I've been combining them. 


It's also very easy to assemble, and can be done ahead of time, but a food processor is a must.

Cranberry Sauce, part 1: Whole Berry

This was a bit of a revelation... I'd only had the kind straight out of a can before.  Which is fine.  This, however, is almost as easy as opening a can and is much brighter tasting-- fresher, more tart.  Just tastier.

This recipe is straight off the side of a bag of Ocean Spray cranberries. 

Beurre Blanc over Brussels Sprouts

This post brought to you by the letter B.  Obviously.  Beurre Blanc is a butter-based sauce with some white wine, lemon, and shallots for flavor.  It is good on absolutely anything, but particularly veggies and fish. 

Actual pictures of the sauce after the jump... it's so fattening that even looking at it could go straight to your thighs.  Above, however, are some very healthy brussels sprouts, about to be steamed.

The sauce is also so delicious that rather than just convincing my husband that brussels sprouts are OK, it made him tear up a little bit.  

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

A wonderful Sunday morning treat.  Pretty quick, too, unless the only non-stick skillet you own is a 6" one.  Then, not so much.  If you have a griddle, use it, or or just use a lot of butter on a regular large frying pan.

Butter and maple syrup is always good, of course, but my favorite thing on these is peanut butter.  It adds a little saltiness to the sweet, and is just amazing.