Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I consider myself to be richly blessed and thank God for my blessings regularly. Having a nationally recognized holiday to do so is wonderful. In my family, I have taken over Thanksgiving responsibilities in the last few years and relish the opportunity to cook up a feast. And a feast it truly is.
This year our menu was as follows:
Appetizers:
Baked Salmon
Roasted Shrimp Cocktail
Pickled tomatoes (store-bought)
Hummus (store-bought)
Smoked fish (store-bought)
Goat cheese bruschetta
Seafood Salad
Roasted Red Pepper Salad
Roasted Asparagus

Main course:
Vegetable Soup
Mashed potatoes
Turkey

Dessert:
Spice cake
Puff Pastry “strips”
Meringue cake (store-bought)

The turkey I’ve made in the last 5-7 years has always been moist as a result of both brining and baking it in a bag. However, this year it was absolutely superb. Please don’t think that I’m boasting. I did absolutely nothing differently from years past. The difference is in the turkey itself. I ordered a turkey at a farmers market earlier this year through Rueggseger Farms. The turkey was never frozen, it was “harvested” on Tuesday morning and we took delivery in the evening. It was astonishingly fresh and well-cleaned and absolutely lip-smacking when cooked.

Additional Recipes will be coming soon.

Ella’s Borsch

Finally! A recipe!

My family has been blessed with phenomenal cooks.  My grandma and her sister make absolutely different but fabulously sumptuous borscht.  That’s right, borscht.  The funny thing is, as ubiquitous as borscht is and as fundamental to “Russian” cuisine, I’ve never made it before today.  Usually, this is how the conversation about borscht goes:

Me:  Grandma, how do I make borscht?
Grandma: When would you like it?  I’ll make some for you.
Me:  No, thanks Grandma, I’d like to learn how to make it.
Grandma:  Well, you’ll need beets and other things.
Me:  Ok, I’ll call you this evening for a complete list of ingredients and quantities.
… Later that evening…
Grandma:  Come by when you can, I have borscht for you.

But today, I decided to pick grandma up so we’d cook it at my place, under her supervision/guidance. Between bouts of laughter, spilled grated carrots, spilled bag of dust from the vacuum, and life advice, we ended up cooking her sister’s recipe (my great-aunt Ella’s recipe).

Though this soup is completely vegetarian, even vegan if you avoid the dollop of sour cream, it doesn’t taste “weak” or like it’s just water and a cabbage.

Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes, diced in medium-sized chunks (I like Yukon Gold)
1 red bell pepper, diced in smallish-sized chunks (if you’d like to use 2, it would be great)
1 medium onion, diced
2 small beets, grated
1 large carrot, grated
1/2 head of cabbage
3 bay leaves
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced (if you like more, you can add more)
2 TBSP of tomato paste (I used catchup instead)
Salt and pepper to taste
2-2.25 cups of water
dill

Steps:
1. Cook the potatoes and cabbage in a pot of boiling water till just tender. About 10 minutes or so.
2. Saute all the veggies (onion, grated carrot, grated beets, and diced bell pepper) till just soft. About 5-10 minutes or so.
3. Combine the ingredients to one pot (whichever pot is larger). I had a cast-iron pot where I sauteed the veggies that had enough room to add the potatoes, cabbage, and the cooking liquid of those, so that’s what I did. I transferred the cabbage, potatoes, and water to the pot with the veggies.
4. Once combined, check the salt level, add the bay leaves, check the water. This is where we added 2 cups of water.
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer about 15-20 minutes. Check water again. If it’s too thick, add more water. We added about a quarter cup at this point.
6. Add the minced garlic and minced dill (dill, salt, pepper are all to taste).
7. Turn off the heat and let the pot stand there for about 10 minutes.

Enjoy the rich deliciousness. This is typically served with a dollop of sour cream and everyone I know eats it that way. My preferred way is to eat it instead with a slice if somewhat crusty bread and a few cloves of raw garlic. No fear of vampires here.

Yikes! It’s been a while

I can’t believe I haven’t posted a recipe in so long!  Trust me when I say I’ve been cooking, but most of the time I’be been cooking things I already wrote about.  For example, last week I made a roasted chicken, and today, I’m planning on making roasted chicken chili with the leftovers.

Though, I have made a few new dishes and I’ll have to blog about them.  I’ll have to make them again since I have no pictures from the first time I made it.  See, I’ve been testing some recipes from a book I just bought and I’m pretty excited to try these new and healthier recipes.  So far, they’ve been very tasty and very easy.  Watch, now I jinxed it.

Jeff-Leen Farm

Ok, I know I have neglected this blog for a loooong time.  My apologies.  But you know how it goes; work, work, more work, family, friends, hobbies, school, etc.  Actually, I have quite a backlog of material for blogging, but let me start with this.

Jeff-Leen Farm

For the past several years I have been purchasing meet during the summer at farmers markets.  I have settled on ground beef and chickens from Jeff-Leen.  You see, Jeff has a different breed of cattle, it’s not Holsteins, it’s Piedmontese.  The breed originated in the Piedmont region of France and is naturally very lean.  Actually, Jeff has a brochure that compares various meets with this partucular type of cow.  Since I am not willing to give up beef for a healthier lifestyle, I figured I should try this since it’s so low in all the “bad” stuff.

I also purchase their summer sausage with garlic almost weekly.  It’s a great snack and doesn’t spoil eaisily.  I’m sure I’ve tried their eggs too.  Delicious.

But about the chickens.  So worth every penny.  They’re fresh, tender, and succulent.  It’s orders of magnitude better than a fresh Sendik’s chicken, and I know I’ve made my best roast chicken with a fresh Jeff-Leen chicken.  But, they go quickly, so if you want one, it’s a good idea to get to the market early or even call ahead.

So Cute!

Chicken Coup

Knowing that farmer market season is nearly over, I asked Jeff what’s the best way to get his products during winter.  He said that they can drive it down and meet at a park-n-ride or other such location so you wouldn’t have to drive all the way to Random Lake. But I would recommend the drive. It’s not that far and it’s an absolutely gorgeous area.

Band for Customer Appreciation Day

Jeff-Leen also has an annual Customer Appreciation day at his farm.  This year it was in early September (I told you I have a backlog) and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect.  There was a band, great food (duh!), a hay ride (I’m lucky I’m not allergic to hay); got to see the chickens and the cows.  It turns out that the real Piedmontese cows have black circles around their eyes.  And the chickens get moved around at least once a day to a new piece of pasture so they get fresh grass and bugs to pick through.  But they are confined in their coups and there are about 100 chickens or so per each coup.  It was great to visit the farm, try out some other foods (I didn’t even know that they have hot dogs until I tried them at this event and they were really great), and just generally spend the day relaxing in a beautiful setting.  There were also lots and lots of prizes, but unfortuntaly, I didn’t win anything.    Oh well.

The cows roam around and looked very calm and peaceful.  I was surprised at how it didn’t smell of the typical “Wisconsin Dairy Air”.  Walking round the farm I noticed how clean it is.  As a customer, it makes me feel better knowing that the products I buy are from animals that are well taken care of and that they’re in a clean environment.  Jeff and his family are really friendly and are ready to answer any question.

Cows in the field

Piedmontese Cows

See the black around the eye?

Dirty Rice

Dirty Rice

I was looking online for a rice, sausage, and beans dish and stumbled upon a Dirty Rice recipe by the Neelys on Food Network. It looked easy, quick, and I had all the ingredients. But I’m sure you noticed that I have to add my own touch to recipes. The Neelys’ recipe didn’t have beans and I switched out a few of the ingredients. Instead of the pork sausage they used, I used buffalo hot dogs from Lakevew Buffalo Farm. I tried the hot dogs earlier in the summer and really liked them; they’re more like brats or sausages than hot dogs and a lot healthier too, probably. Here is what I had.

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked rice
2.5 cups of stock (2 cups for the rice and .5 cups or so for the “sauce”)
1/2 large onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (large, finely diced)
1 red bell pepper (diced)
2 buffalo hot dogs
1 can of black beans
greens, scallions (optional, for garnish; I used a bunch of cilantro)
Olive oil, salt, pepper, ground chipotle, ground cumin to taste

Steps:
1. Cook the rice according to directions, substituting the chicken stock for water
2. Slice the sausage on the diagonal and brown in a bit of olive oil. Regulate the amount of oil based on how much fat is in the sausage.
3. Once the sausage is browned, add the onion and brown it. Then add garlic.
4. Add the bell pepper. If there is no liquid in the pan, add a little bit of the stock. Cover with a lid and let cook for about 5 minutes or till the pepper is crisp-tender.
5. Add the beans and spices.
6. Add the rice to the sausage mixture.
7. Add greens (optional).

Sausage, beans, bell pepper

Dirty Rice is Done!

Pickles

Pickles in a jar

I’ve been meaning to write about pickles for quite some time now but have been completely swamped with a few other projects.  But these are a staple in my kitchen in the summer and I’d recommend you try these.  This is the easiest recipe for pickles.  I also recently found out that people can be allergic to commercially produced pickles and those advised to steer clear of vinegar also can’t consume store-bought pickles.  My version is vinegar-free.  That’s right.  No vinegar.  The pickles are still crunchy and spicy.

In the picture, you see about 2 pounds of pickles in a 1-liter jar.

Ingredients:
2 LB pickles
1 Liter of water
1 TB salt
Garlic (cut in half, to taste, and I like a lot, so I used about 1/2 of a garlic head)
Dill (a bunch, as much as will fit into the jar)
1 red bell pepper (optional)
black peppercorns (a handful; and I forgot to add these and the pickles still turned out OK).

Steps:
1. Arrange the dry ingredients in the jar. I like to place the pickles standing up and then sprinkle the garlic and the dill around, placing the peppers into available spaces between the pickles. But you do what you like. For this jar, I just kept staking them and adding more dill between the layers.
2. Mix the salt with water. I like to boil the water first and then add the salt. I use this hot/warm water to pour over the pickles. I think it helps the process start quicker, but I didn’t experiment with the cold water. You can certainly try this with cold water.
After a few days, place in the fridge and the pickles are ready to eat in about 5 days. At this time, they’ll be “half-pickled”, so I just keep them in the fridge or on the counter for another week. They’re perfect for my taste then, if they’re not all gone after “sampling”.
Enjoy!

Lemonade

Lemonade - YUM

I’ve never made lemonade from scratch before but the lemons at the store looked particularly good the other day, and I picked up a big bag of them. So today was the day I thought I’d give it a try. It was really easy, especially since I have an electric citrus juicer. The kitchen smelled particularly good after making this drink.    This turned out the be the simplest and most refreshing indulgence of the day.

Ingredients:
Lemons (I used about 9 or so)
Simple syrup (1 cup water + 1 cup sugar; boil.)
2 cups of water

Steps:
1. Make simple syrup and cool it.
2. Juice the lemons.
3. Add the cooled simple syrup and water to the lemon juice.
4. Mix. Chill. Serve.

Roasted Salad

Roasted Salad

I am so thrilled that it’s finally summer, but it seems I can’t give up my oven. Though I do have a grill, it’s an electric one. My local fire department does not allow grilling on balconies. But I still love summer veggies and have a tendency to buy too much. So, today, I decided to put some of those veggies to good use and make a salad. Since roasting is so easy and brings out the flavor so much, I decided to sacrifice personal comfort in my caricature-worthy tiny kitchen for the benefit of the salad.

Ingredients:
3 bell peppers (I used red, orange, and yellow)
1 bunch of asparagus
1/2 red onion diced
1 tb basil
Salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar to taste

Steps:
1. Cut up the peppers in large chunks and clean the asparagus
2. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
3. Roast to your desired doneness at 425 degrees; I roasted the asparagus for about 5-6 minutes and peppers for about 15-20.
4. When the veggies cool, dress with a little bit of balsamic vinegar.
5. Add the diced onion.
6. Sprinkle with a little bit of basil

Roasted Salad Detail

Voila! Ready to serve.

Oven Roasted Shrimp

Oven Roasted Shrimp

I have tried all sorts of ways of making shrimp in the few years that I’ve been making shrimp.  But after watching Ina Garten, I decided to give her recipe a try.  It’s absolutely the easiest and most delicious one I’ve tried.  No fussing, just shrimp, olive oil, salt, pepper, oven.  Of course, shrimp has to be fresh too.

This is where Fabian Seafood of Galveston Texas comes in. You see, a friend of mine has been telling me about shrimp from the back of a truck for nearly a decade. It always sounds like someone is selling stolen goods or spoiled goods so I never tried it. But then I noticed the buzz about it in the local blogosphere with the Julia of Yulinka Cooks and Peef & Lo so I figured they were safe. I actually bought shrimp from Fabian a couple times now, and tried different things, but this is the dish that turned out.

Ingredients:
Shrimp (I used about 1 lb large, but you can use as much as you want)
Salt, pepper, olive oil

Steps:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Clean your shrimp (Fabian’s shrimp isn’t cleaned, but it’s ok, it’s delicious).
3. Place the shrimp on a baking sheet, drizzle olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix well so all the shrimp is coated evenly with the mixture.
4. Bake for about 5-7 minutes, dpending on your oven and size of shrimp.

Orzo with Roasted Shrimp

Shrimp and Orzo salad

This dinner is completely inspired by Ina Garten of Barefoot Contessa.  I love her style of cooking and many of her recipes and have tried quite a few.  But I had a couple pounds of shrimp sitting around and I wanted to use up some of it.  I also had a ton of veggies sitting around and I didn’t want to waste those either.  So, I thought that orzo would be a perfect canvas to combine all these great ingredients. I tried to stick to her recipe for the most part, but of course, I had to make things “mine” by switching a few things.

Ingredients:
Shrimp
1/2 cup (dry) orzo
2 bell peppers (I used yellow and orange)
1/4 large hothouse cucumber
1/4 cup feta (I used French feta, but use your favorite/whatever you have on hand)
basil, lots (I used about a 1/4 cup)
2 TB olives, finely minced
2 scalions finely minced.
Olive oil, salt, pepper to taste

Steps:
1. Dice the bell peppers and cucumber.
2. Cook the orzo according to package directions.
3. Combine all the ingredients.

Orzo with Shrimp

Oven Roasted Shrimp