A side of thanks

Thanksgiving isn't all about turkey. Side dishes are just as important. I went a little overboard this year by taking on 4 dishes, but I survived and it only took me 3 days to finish the dishes. (Dear Santa, please bring me a dishwasher, I promise to be good... next year) I stuck to the staples this year and might try incorporating something a bit more exotic in the future. I was a little too busy to take step by step photos and too excited to eat to take finished product pics so you'll have to just accept what's here. Oh, and no measurements, since I was cooking for 20, it's all ridiculous amounts of everything.

Acorn Squash

Cut squash in half, remove guts, bake @400 for 40 minutes to an hour, or until squash is soft and when pierced with a fork, meets no resistance. Since I had a lot going on, I let them cool before scooping out. Wow, no burned fingers, who knew?! After removing all skins/scooping out squash, top with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg,  pumpkin pie spice, s&p, mix well. bake @ 350 for 20 minutes or until hot.

Green Bean Casserole:

Does this even need instructions? Well, if you've never read the back of a Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup can...  I used french style cut green beans, cream of chicken and mushroom AND cream of mushroom and garlic Campbell's condensed soup, and French's cheddar fried onions. Combine beans (drain first) and soup and half of onions. Bake @375 for 20 minutes or until hot, top with remaining onions, at last 5 minutes. Thanksgiving isn't complete without this dish.

Sweet Potato Casserole:

I'm not a big fan of this dish because once you eat the scrumptious toasted marshmallows off the top, the rest is just kinda boring. So after consulting my 4 year old nephew we came up with a solution... put marshmallows IN it! Brilliant I tell you.

 Peel and cut up sweet potatoes, place in baking dish with some pads of butter and s&p. Bake @400 for 45minutes to an hour or until potatoes are soft. Mash potatoes add a few marshmallows, some cinnamon, nutmeg and a little bit of brown sugar, stir until the marshmallows melt. Top with pecans, brown sugar and marshmallows to cover. Return to oven, bake until marshmallows are nice and toasted, about 5 minutes, but don't burn them please!

The pecans and brown sugar under the marshmallows add a fabulous crunchy chewy caramelized layer that is too die for!

Bacon Mac N Cheese

I can't believe we have never had mac-n-cheese at our Thanksgiving before. Seriously, how did we survive? I used this recipe from Panera because they definitely do it right, and doubled it. (Holy macaroni that was a lot of macaroni!) I topped it off with pepper bacon bits which I found at my local grocer (1lb of pepper bacon, chopped into tiny pieces, fried until crunchy). Yum. I heard my Grandma was raving about it, which is the greatest compliment since she is the greatest cook :)

I am thankful that everything turned out and everyone loved everything. There's no better feeling than making people happy by feeding them massive amounts of food.

Butternut Bisque

Fall is in full swing and winter is just around the corner. I live for soup when it's chilly out and this is my absolute favorite. I first started making this when I worked in a restaurant a billion years ago. There is no "official" recipe or exact process to follow, so feel free to take some liberties. I tweak this each time but the core ingredients stay the same, which are below. It's great topped with creme fresh or mascarpone cheese, maybe some bacon bits or fresh chives. It goes great with turkey, chicken or by itself. 

The most challenging/frustrating/tedious part of this soup is the skin of the squash. I typically bake the squash first and remove the flesh with a spoon. If you like burned fingertips, this would be the method for you (or if you have the patience to let it cool, but who are we kidding, that will never be me). So, this time, I skinned it like the wild animal it isn't, cubed it, and baked. SO much better, but was still time consuming.

2-3 med/small butternut squash

chicken broth (32oz)

1 stick butter

garlic

(2-3 cloves finely chopped/2 tbsp)

2 med shallots, finely chopped

1/2 &1/2 or heavy cream (pint size)

2 tsp cinnamon

4tsp nutmeg

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

s&p

1-2 c brown sugar

Preheat @400.

Peel, gut, and cube squash

 Bake squash with 2c. chicken broth 45mins - 1 hour or until tender

meanwhile...

melt butter over medium heat, cook shallots and garlic for about 5 minutes.

 add remaining 2c chicken broth, bring to boil, reduce to simmer, add cooked squash.

Remove from heat, using an immersion blender, puree soup until smooth and resembling baby food (no other way to describe it :) Add pint o' cream, 1/2 & 1/2 (I used fat free 1/2&1/2 to cut back on calories)

Add remaining ingredients.

Simmer for 30 minutes, serve to anticipating family/friends.

 

Cranberry Brie Chicken and Punkin Penne

I already had this in mind to make for Friday Night Family Dinner, and found out last minute we were having an additional 4 people join. Including 2 small children with extremely picky taste. Lovely. Not to mention this isn't something I've made before and it's a bit ambitious for a large group. But, whatever, I'm a professional, right? (professional something, but definately not a professional chef) So I had a glass of wine (or two) and dove in. I apologize for the lack of pictures but there was a lot going on... 

Cranberry brie chicken is a spin off a dish I've made before. Last time I topped baked chicken breast with cranberries, gouda cheese and candied walnuts. This time I decided to stuff the chicken, because who doesn't love  a perfectly wrapped up piece of chicken with ooey gooey delicousness inside? It turned out great but I forgot the most important part...

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can cranberry sauce with real cranberries

brie cheese

herbs de provence

CINNAMON

(this is what I forgot, totally makes the dish, but still good without)

Pound out the chicken to about 1/2 inch thick, cut chicken breasts in half. Spoon in about a tablespoon of cranberry sauce in the middle of each piece of chicken. Top cranberry sauce with a slice or 2 of brie cheese. Roll up each piece of chicken and place on a baking sheet with the seam side of the chicken down. Sprinkle chicken with Olive Oil, herbs and cinnamon. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked through.

I accompanied this dish with a recipe I found online from none other than Miss Rachael Ray. I mean, we practically have the same name, so it's required that I share her recipes. Get the recipe here > Penny-Wise Pumpkin Penne. I used the larger can of pumpkin because I was feeding so many people but, I ended up with a ton of leftover, which was great because everyone LOVED it! Thanks Rach!

We found a STEAL on a 95 point wine for $10! This sultry red blend went really well with my fall flavored family feast. I highly recommend you pick up a bottle, before I snag it all up!

Check it out here

So everything turned out absolutey fabulous and even the kids ate it up! (well, some of them did, but I'm pretending they all did cuz this is my blog)  I love cooking for other people and trying new things. Sometimes when the pressures on it can be a good thing! It was a great evening of family, friends, and food, 3 of my favorite things.

Cauliflower Cod

This is one of those totally made up, I don't know what to make tonight, what am I in the mood for, threw some stuff together in my head, and it turned out better than I could have expected. This is a mixture of a recipe for mashed cauliflower, I found @ siriously delicious, a fabulous food blog I love to stalk, I mean follow, and a previous dish I had.

Cod can be kinda bland unless you deep fry it in beer batter and smother it with tartar sauce (I am from Wisconsin, and Friday night fish frys are a requirement for residency.) But trying to save my arteries from complete blockage, I whipped up this healthier baked dish. I apologize for no measurements, but that's how I do.

Oh, and one more comment about this dish, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, and after serving this for my family a couple weeks ago, I was over at my brother's the other night and saw a fridge full of cauliflower...

me: "what's up with all the cauliflower?"

my sister-in-law with a guilty look on her face... "I was going to try and make that fish thing you made..."

me: BIG smile. I love it!

What it takes:

Cod, frozen or fresh

I used frozen, that's all they had at my grocery store, worked just fine

lemon

thyme, fresh or dried

salt and pepper

1 head of cauliflower, leaves discarded, florets broken up

cream cheese

wasabi paste

parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375

place cod on a cookie sheet or in a 9x9 baking dish. slice lemon, squeeze juice over fish and place pieces around fish, sprinkle with chopped thyme. add a lil salt and pepper. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until fish is thoroughly cooked and flakes easily.

Meanwhile...

Steam cauliflower florets in a double boiler or (here's a trick I learned) in a bowl with about an inch of water in the microwave for about 5 minutes, or until you can easily stab florets with a fork with no resistance.

In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the cauliflower, cream cheese (I used half a brick of Philly), a bit of S&P, and about 2tbsps of wasabi paste. Mix well until it resembles the consistency of mashed potatoes. If you have an immersion blender, it works great for this.

Once cod is baked, remove from oven and top with mashed cauliflower and parmesan cheese. Return to oven under the broiler (I put my on medium, because I otherwise I WOULD burn it). Broil until cheese is nice and golden brown, about 2-5 minutes.

OMG I want this right now!

*You might have some mashed cauliflower left over, I did, and that's fine because it's amazing all on its own.

Chicken Caprese Paninis

I heart caprese salad more than almost anything. But when it gets cold out, I crave something hot. So here's a way to have both! I marinated the chicken in a balsamic vinegarette and added the classic caprese salad ingredients with a pesto mayo, then melted it all into a gooey, crunchy, delicious panini. And yes, I cook with wine but rarely put it in the food.

What you will need:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

balsamic vinegar

olive oil

garlic

herbs de provence or italian seasoning

1 large sourdough sandwich loaf from bakery

fresh mozzarella

tomatoes

fresh basil

mayonaisse

dry basil

salt

Marinade: 1/2 c balsamic vinegar, 1/4 c olive oil, 1-2 garlic cloves - finely chopped (or 1 tbsp outta the jar), 1 tsp herbs/Italian seasoning, whisk together, add chicken, marinate 1/2 hour - 1 hour.

Bake chicken @ 375 for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through. Let chicken cool. Shred chicken into teensy tiny pieces, or leave breasts whole, your preference. I like shredding it, it makes it easier to work with and eat.

Slice tomatoes and mozzarella. Divide loaf into 4 sections and slice through the middle.

Pesto mayo: combine 1/2 c mayo with 1 tbsp dry basil, 1 garlic clove, finely chopped (or 1 tbsp outta the jar), a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt

Assemble sandwiches: pesto mayo on both sides, add chicken tomatoes and fresh basil (rip large leaves into smaller pieces), drizzle with more balsamic, top with fresh mozzarella and other half of bread.

.

If you don't have a panini grill, which I don't, sandwich sandwiches between 2 cookie sheets and top with somehting heavy. You can wrap a brick in tin foil, or use a heavy pan. I used a cast iron griddle. Worked just fine.

Bake @ 375 for about ten minutes. Flip sandwiches so both sides get nice and crispy, cook for another 2 minutes.

Cut sandwiches in half and enjoy!

Even 4 year olds will eat this up!

Tomato Dill Soup

I owe props for this amazing soup to my amazing Grandma. I grew up with this recipe and it never gets old. There's nothing quite like homemade tomato soup with grilled cheese on a cool fall day, and nothing beats this soup.

Here's what you'll need...

1 stick of butter, divided in half

1/2 cup flour

1 medium white onion, finely diced

diced garlic, fresh or out of a jar

(I like the jar stuff because the peel on garlic annoys me like no other)

4 cups chicken broth

1 large can (28oz) tomato puree

1 large can whole peeled tomatoes, roughly chop tomatoes, reserve juice

3 tbsp honey

1 tbsp (or more) dill weed

1 tsp basil

(I used dry but fresh is always better)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp ground red pepper

(didn't have this, so I used red pepper flakes, same thing-ish)

3 dashes (or more) hot pepper sauce

(Frank's Red Hot, my personal fave)

salt & pepper to taste

Start here:

Roux-

If you've never made roux before, it can be a little tricky. The first couple times I made it, I ended up with a ball of what looked like beige play-doh. But don't worry, it will still work, you'll just get a great wrist work out when whisking it in. The secret I've learned is to keep the heat low and even, which can be difficlut on an electic stove.

Melt 4 tbsp butter in a small saucepan

add the flour, a little bit at a time, constantly stirring until a thick paste forms

remove from heat, and set aside.

Next:

Melt the remaing butter in a large heavy pot. Add onion, cook gently 5 minutes. 

Add garlic, cook 2 minutes.

Add chicken broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer.

Whisk in roux until thick and smooth.

Stir in tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, and reserved juices.

Add remaining ingredients.

That looks like a lot of dill/basil but it's really not. Blame it on the camera or it could be because I didn't use the measures for spices... just a dash of this and that and taste, add a dash of this, taste again, rinse and repeat. I included the exact measurements in the above ingredient list but since I've made this SO many times before, I kinda know, and nothing beats the taste test!

Can you smell that? Ah-ma-zing!

Simmer 30-45 minutes, stirring often (don't let the bottom burn!)

Enjoy!

*pair with the perfect full bodied grilled cheese sandwich.