December Meal - Menu is Set

The date is set ... Dec. 28th, the Saturday after Christmas. I've got a pretty good idea of who I am going to invite as well.

I am going to make a very traditional New Mexico holiday meal: red chile posole, green chile stew, and (purchased) tamales, with the associated condiments and tortillas. I might even try to make sopapillas if I get adventurous.

Now, don't get your panties in a bunch because I'm not making homemade tamales. George has done that several times before and it always left my kitchen looking like the aftermath of a hurricane. Also, since I am in the heart of New Mexico, I can get wonderful purchased tamales that are still hand made and delicious. 

Now, what else ... got to have Margaritas. Haven't decided on a dessert yet ... any ideas???

Thanksgiving Feeding - The Aftermath

And a wonderful time was had by all. The brined turkey was juicy and tender, with great flavor. I may have found a new way to cook turkey!

The Cranberry Chutney had been way to runny in the past, so I boiled the cranberries a little longer this time and I think it turned out perfectly. George says it was a little too stiff and jelly-like, but I love it.

We didn't get around to the sweet potato casserole, because I greatly overestimated the amount of food five people could consume! Rose-Ann had brought a brie appetizer and Prosecco/pomegranite cocktails, so we snacked prior to eating ... can you imagine being so stuffed that you just sit around and groan?? That was us!

The pies are almost gone. A small piece of apple that I have threatened George so he won't eat it, most of the pumpkin .. and the pecan evaporated before I had a chance to taste it. Luckily, I have pecans and ingredients left. Perhaps I will make one just for me!

All in all, a wonderful day, with folks all very thankful for the blessed lives we lead, our family, and our fabulous friends ... hope your day was a fulfilling.

On to the December Feeding ... it will be some time the week between Christmas and New Years and I will establish the guest list and send out the invitations this week.

Thanksgiving Feeding - The Ingredients

Today was grocery shopping day. Bought everything I will need for Thursday. Here it is:

All that raw material will be combined, stirred, blended, roasted, and baked into a wonderful feast!

Thanksgiving Feeding ... The Menu is Set

Some traditional ... some new ... here's what I've decided on:

Grapefruit and prosecco cocktails - Recipe found in BHG ... sounds bright and invigorating ... just what I want to set the mood.

Roasted, brined Turkey 
Cornbread Dressing
Turkey Gravy

Spicy Roasted Brocolli - Found this recipe in Real Simple - have tried roasted brocolli before, but the addition of spice intrigues me
Green Bean Casserole - tried and true traditional kind made with cream of mushroom soup and canned onion rings - my mother loved this so much that she kept a case of soup on hand!
Mashed Sweet Potato Casserole with Praline and Marshmellow Topping - a friend brought this to the table last Thanksgiving and it was a great hit! I haven't decided whether to try to replicate it myself or ask her to bring it again

Cranberry Chutney - a family recipe that stands in for traditional cranberry sauce - made with nuts, celery, apple, raisins, and orange juice - George's favorite dish of the season
Ambrosia - this one is iffy. It was my mother-in-law's specialty and the girls love it. Don't know if I will be making it or not

Rolls and Butter - of course, but has to be REAL butter!

Pecan Pie - mother's recipe - the best!
Pumpkin Pie - store bought, but not my fave anyway
Apple Pie - can't have too much pie!
Cool Whip topping - Meredith insists on this rather than real whipped cream - YUM!

Thanksgiving Feed - The Gravy

And here we are ... almost done with the "main" dish ... turkey/dressing/gravy. I will confess I've never been very good making gravy. My Mother wasn't and my Italian grandmother didn't make it that I can remember. Sooooo ... what am I to do? I suppose I will do what cooks have done forever ... use the pan drippings, some flour, some milk and viola! GRAVY! Isn't that the way it's supposed to work? 

If you actually make gravy from a recipe, let me know. PLEASE!

Cornbread Dressing

The Thanksgiving table is full. Meredith is attending as are three close friends. Probably could seat two more, but I think this will be enough for my first trial run of "Feeding People". December will be here before I know it, with another round of folks to feed.

Back to Thanksgiving ... can't have turkey without dressing, right? For this, I have no recipe, however. Even my Mother, who was all about the recipes, didn't have one for this. I remember my Papaw (her father) sitting at the kitchen table, chopping everything to go into the dressing. She used to boil the turkey "innards" ... heart, liver, neck ... all the stuff you have to take out of the turkey before you start ... and then Papaw would chop up everything but the neck to go into the dressing. Daddy used to get the neck because he loved to gnaw on it. And the water from the cooking went to moisten the dressing.

Oh well, I very much dislike innards. So I don't really follow Mother's traditions in this area. I do, however, used all the other things she put into her dressing. Here's how it goes:

Use a package (or two, depending on how many you are feeding) of cornbread dressing mix. Chop a large apple, some mushrooms, a large onion, and a couple of stalks of celery. Saute them in BUTTER. Melt another entire stick of butter (or two). Combine the butter, dressing mix, and sauteed vegetables. Mix and add chicken stock until thoroughly moistened. I always think I have added too much and that's when I stop, because it all seems to cook out.

I don't stuff the turkey. I put this in Corningware or Pyrex ... HAS to be Corningware or Pyrex to maintain the tradition ... this is one time I don't use my oven-safe Tupperware. Bake until the top is crispy. Yum!!

Brined Roast Turkey

  I've never brined a turkey before, but I'm going to try it this Thanksgiving for "Feeding People". I trust Alton Brown (why, I don't know). But this HAS to be safer than deep frying, right?!?!?

I hear people rave about brined turkeys every year, so this is the year I try it. Now all I have to worry about is finding something big enough to hold the brine and the turkey for 16 hours ... perhaps a cooler???

Anybody out there ever done this? Suggestions?

Here's the link to Alton's recipe. Would you do this?

A Year of Feeding People -- The Project

As I mentioned on Facebook (if that's how you got to here), I am starting something new. Let's call it "A Year of Feeding People".

This current year, 2013, was awful in many ways, not to be listed here. But we have made it through and for that I am supremely thankful. I have decided to celebrate my thanks in the traditional Italian way ... feeding people. 

My Daddy used to tell us that no one, no matter how high or low their social status, ever refused to put their feet under his table and eat his food. I think he meant that feeding people was the great equalizer. When we sit around a table together and share food, it becomes more difficult to hate them. One can disagree, even dislike, someone with whom you have shared a meal, but hating is not likely. 

Combine my Daddy's philosophy with one I read about Mamma Leone (of New York restaurant fame). Her son, Gene, whose cookbook I have, said that his mother was happiest when she was in the kitchen preparing a meal for guests. I believe there is a great sense of appreciation for people that arises when you prepare food for them. 

In addition to all the wonderful philosophy expressed above, I love to cook! George and I are blessed with such wonderful, interesting family and friends that gathering some of them together each month to eat something I have prepared especially for them seems to be the perfect way to celebrate our thanks for the blessings that have come our way during our lives. A way to concentrate on the good, rather than the bad. 

I will use this blog to announce when the invitations have gone out each month, share the menus, perhaps discuss the cooking, describe the meal and the conversation that occurred, and, of course, thank my friends and family for being who they are. More info tomorrow.

Mangia!!