The Christmas Cookbooks are Collecting Dust

O.K., so not really because I read them all year long but for the first time in I can't remember how long I am not making a Christmas Day or Eve dinner for a large crowd. My husband's family gets together on Christmas Eve and it's one big meal and celebration. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. You name it they will be there. Last year we hosted for the first time and I was in heaven. I loved opening my home, my heart, and my table to the family that I am now fortunate enough to call my own.

Before that I always had the immediate family over on Christmas Day for dinner. Last year I decided it was getting to be too much. I was focusing too much on the meal and stressing myself out. They were in no way contributing to the stress. It's all me for as much as I love to cook, I put too much pressure on myself and it was time for a break. And I was starting to lose sight of the season's greatest gift...time with my son. So I'm on hiatus for a while with Christmas dinner. But, as I said, we hosted Christmas Eve last year so I still got to scratch that entertaining itch. And William is already asking when we will have another "Christmas party" so he's ready as well.

I just booked my dad's flight tonight so he will join us over Christmas and I will cook a Christmas dinner. It just won't be to the scale that I'm used to. Matt will probably rejoice when he sees my December grocery bill. That doesn't mean the meal won't be special though. Since my dressing disaster on Thanksgiving I vow there will be dressing on Christmas day. And probably turkey. That's just the thing in my family and I do love turkey. We'll see what else I conjure up.

In the meantime I am going to work on a shopping list and cook enough to get me by until then. It is called the Christmas season after all so my cooking isn't limited to one day. Though it's not knock your socks off exciting, I'm thinking chili is on the menu for Saturday as we may get our first snowfall. Even if the snow doesn't come it will be cold and chili is never a bad thing. Then I hope to get my family interested in a family Christmas movie night and prepare some snacks that will calm any snack attacks. I also have some eggnog in the fridge that needs a purpose. Eggnog French toast or waffles one morning perhaps? Hmmmm And if we do end up with this early in the season snowfall William and I must bake cookies. I'm feeling a monster cookie with holiday M&M's perhaps.

I am typing this by the light of Christmas lights and already feeling that sense of sadness and dread that comes at the end of the season. But, by golly, I've barely started to live it up so it's time to put a smile on my face and fatten up the family.

My Thanksgiving Disaster

I pride myself on cooking under pressure. The simple fact is I love to entertain and my main focus is for my family and guests to enjoy my food while feeling relaxed and de-stressed. There have been moments when my dear, "I'll try anything once" husband has suggested I consider catering since I love to put together delicious delights...who has the time. BUT...this Thanksgiving went as wrong as wrong could be. I bought a 21 pound turkey which, according to every source I consulted, should cook in about 4 1/2 hours. Since I got up at 6:30 and had the turkey in by 7:00 I was expecting it to be out of the oven around 11:30 to 12:00 just in time to put the sides in the oven. So here was the disaster...

I noticed my turkey thermometer was rising more rapidly than I had hoped. By 10:00 it was signally the minimum done temp. I gave it another boost on the temp. At 10:30 another signal. Crud! I pulled the turkey out and by all signs it was done! How did that happen??? So I had to figure out how to keep a turkey hot and bacteria free for another 2 1/2 hours as we were eating at 1:00. I put the roasting pan on the back burner of my oven which stays hot and kept checking on it...salmonella be damned!

So next, I mixed my dressing and what a beautiful dressing it looked to be. I placed the baking dish on the counter next to the oven for the right time to put it in. And did I mention dressing is my favorite Thanksgiving dish? Yes, sir. I love dressing! Minutes before it was time to put the dressing in the oven I decided to go ahead and carve the turkey. I carefully lifted the heavy beast and started to move it to a sizable counter top when I felt a slight tug and heard *CRASH SPLAT* I had forgotten the thermometer was still in the bird and the cable was behind the pan of dressing. There was my precious, perfect uncooked dressing on the floor in a sloppy heap of bread and shattered glass. I won't mention my favorite, hard to find sized baking dish that is now is Pyrex heaven. At this point I wanted to crumple in a heap and cry. It was too late to even call anyone to bring Stove Top IF they could find an open store.

And, oh yes, there is more. The gravy. By golly if I was going to have a dry, bacteria laden turkey I was going to have excellent gravy to ladle on top. So I took tip from Food Network and put my roasting pan full of delightful drippings across two burners and added some flour and, perhaps, a hail Mary. I stirred and seasoned and took delight in the thickness that ensued. I tasted and holy mother of all that is good and pure...YUCK! Really? Fortunately I had some boxed turkey broth on hand and whipped up a reasonable substitute.

Have I said finally yet? Because if I haven't this is it because I can't take much more. My mother-in-law is diabetic. I wanted to wow her for dessert and whip up a fabulous sugar-free pecan pie. She loves pecan pie. Oh how I mixed and baked and delighted at the sight of it. I even artistically arranged pecans in a delightful pattern on top. She ate it without complaint. Then I tasted it. I still don't know how she finished it. Let's just say the remainder of the pie went into the trash after everyone left and I owe her a pie she can indulge in.

Despite all of this my family gave me a multitude of compliments. One of our nieces even ate pumpkin pie to the surprise of her dad. But, to me, I failed. I hate when anything in the kitchen goes wrong. If I have an off night and Matt and William are not pleased with dinner I either make a mental note never to serve that again or figure out how to fix it. So to blow a holiday dinner was a major defeat.

My blog is about my love of food and the fun I have but, let me tell you my followers, I'm still licking my wounds after this shame of a meal.

I'm sorry, Food Network, I just don't agree

The great debate...red or russet potatoes for mashing??? Food Network stars consistently extol the virtues of russet but every time I use russet for mashing I get a grainy, mealy texture. I am a red potato fan all the way. My mashed potatoes are always creamy and delicious. I pride myself on putting enough seasoning in that you don't need gravy but, if you do use it, you'll be in heaven. :) Plus, reds have a nice thin skin so peeling is optional. I would love to hear other opinions on this great potato debate. But, for me on Thanksgiving I am serving my family mashed red potatoes.

Thanksgiving won't be pretty...literally

I may have mentioned this in the past but my skill set is not plating and presentation. My friend, Linda, can take a recipe and produce something that looks and tastes like it came out of a magazine. I simply can't and, for the most part, that's O.K. I look at plates on Food Network (or from Linda LOL) that I envy, but I know mine should taste just as good. I say should because I always have to put my spin on food. Unless I am baking, I never follow a recipe. Baking requires me to follow a recipe because of the chemistry involved but cooking doesn't. If I don't like an herb or spice or even a cut of meat I change it up. Normally with good results. I am not a fan of fennel seed so I usually leave it out or replace it. If I'm out of a liquor that a recipe calls for I'll substitute. Veal or venison...beef works for me. You get the idea.

So my Thanksgiving menu looks like this:
turkey
drippings for gravy
mashed potatoes
dressing
sweet potatoes (my pride and joy since my marital family swore they didn't like them until the met me)
brussel sprouts with shallots and pancetta
creamy green beans with bacon
Parker House rolls
honey wheat rolls
deviled eggs
celery stuffed with herbed cream cheese and smoked salmon
pumpkin pie
sugar-free pecan pie for my diabetic mother-in-law

And I won't lie...those pies will have a frozen crust because I'm hopeless at making pie crust. My serving dishes will match, drink will flow, flavor will be there but I can guarantee no one will take a picture of my presentation. Hopefully everyone will be too busy filling their plates and eating to care.

Wow! It's been a while

It seems like late-summer and early-fall activities completely consumed us for a while. They still are really. But, alas, food fans I'm going to do my best to get back in the swing of things. My dilemma at the moment is fall cooking. I love it. I love the flavors and the comfort and the cozy feel of a hot and rich meal. The problem...it's been hot. Not sweltering hot but near 80 hot which does not make for very good chili or beef stew weather. My other problem are veggies. The summer veggies are no more. I made the mistake of buying a tomato the other night and it was a sad sad tomato. Yet, the male counterparts in my household are not big fans of squash which I could go crazy with if they let me. So this weekend I'm defying the weather and cooking what I want. What's on the menu?

Friday is usually a fun meal and often involves pizza delivery. Fortunately on this particular Friday I am off work and will have more energy for cooking. And since it is nearing Halloween, tonight we will dine on monster eyes and finger bread sticks. Our monster eyes will involve cheese filled pasta shells with a meatball and sliced olive for the "eyes". The fingers are breadsticks with an olive "nail". I'm sure this will be a popular meal for the 5 year old in the house.

Saturday I'm ignoring the forecast of 82 degrees and throwing beef stew in the crockpot in the morning. Normally I would simply make some refrigerator biscuits to go along with that but now that I'm blessed with a bread machine I'm going to try homemade rolls. I found a recipe for Housewarming Rolls that involves dough dipped in butter seasoned with parsley, marjoram, sage, and rosemary. They sound like the quintessential fall roll to me. I'll let you know how they turn out.

My other quest into the experimental world this weekend will come Sunday. I got inspired by latkes and decided to try a fall version so the plan is to combined shredded potato, carrots, parsnips, and beets. Yes, beets. Just don't tell anyone. Again, I will let you know if they are a success. Mental note: pick up some rubber gloves before shredding the beets.

If I get really energized this weekend I have a layered pumpkin cheesecake I'm dying to try but that will be a wait and see recipe.

I hope everyone is enjoying fall so far. We have been but I'm very grateful that, as of this moment, we really have no plans for the weekend. It's been a while and I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend with my boys and cats.

Kids belong in the kitchen

I learned to cook at an early age though it was mostly from necessity. My mom started working full-time and had odd hours so my sister and I had to learn to cook for the family. Our meals mostly involved the meat and potatoes type but even then I tried to make them unique if I could. But it rarely seemed fun. I decided when I had a child that I wanted time in the kitchen to be fun as well as functional. Even before William could walk I bought him his own set of measuring spoons, cups, and wooden utensils. While I made dinner, he would sit in his highchair and play with his kitchen tools.

When he got a little more coordinated he started to help me pour ingredients into a bowl. I found that just a little bit of participation really gave him an investment in what we were eating and he tended to eat more. Fortunately, William has always been a good eater but watching his enthusiasm for eating what he "prepared" has always been cool to watch. One of my favorite memories was a night when William got to choose and help prepare our dinner. He chose boxed mac 'n cheese and hot dogs. He was still pretty small so we went along with it. The only problem was he got a little too possessive and would barely let us eat anything.

But we pressed on. William's favorite meal to prepare is pizza. And I love the Chef Boyardee pizza kits to help with this venture. It allows us to mix the dough and for him to press out his own dough. At first we had to be a little more ready made though.

This is the first time William made pizza. He wasn't even 2 1/2 yet in this pic but he was already a pizza fiend.

He's a little more adept these days and pats out his own crust though, these days, he will only eat cheese pizza but it's more about the process than the product.

Good thing too because things aren't always pretty but do him it's delicious and he's so proud.

And baking, my goodness baking. What kid doesn't like a nice baked good. I rarely have to twist William's arm to get him to help bake something.

On his 2nd birthday he helped bake his birthday cake.

When he was almost 2 1/2 we surprised his Daddy at work on Good Friday with Easter cookies.

Now that he's a little older and more discerning I'm working on teaching him about healthy choices. It's so satisfying to see him at the grocery store smelling and choosing fresh fruit and vegetables. To this mom it seem like we're on the right track.

Welcome to the island mon

First of all, I have some awesome cooking experiences to share from the 4th of July but haven't had a chance to post about them yet. But stay tuned because our holiday was too delicious to ignore. For now I'll share what's cookin' on the stove right now.

One of my interests is cooking from other countries and even regions in our own U.S.A. On tonight's menu is my own take on Caribbean cooking. This is clearly a region I need to explore more but sometimes it's nice to wing it. I wanted to grill but we were drenched in rain storms this p.m. so into the kitchen I go. On tonight's menu is mustard and citrus marinated pork loin, black bean salad, and rice.

The rice is a no brainer. It's a boxed mix. William loves rice and it happened to be on sale so boxed it is. Though I do have a fabulous Mexican rice I'll share another time. ;)

My black bean salad is also easy:
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
a handful (0r so) of frozen corn
1 medium tomato, diced
1 T. finely diced red onion or 1 green onion finely chopped
lime juice or red wine vinegar to taste
Southwest Seasoning to taste

I am SO lucky to live close to Penzeys. If you don't, I highly recommend checking out their website. Anywho...

Combine all of the ingredients while you start your food prep to give the flavors time to meld and to give the corn time to thaw.

For my family a 1-1 1/2 pound pork loin is plenty. Pork loin is the most under appreciated meat. Properly cooked it's a juicy and lean protein. For mine I used:

1 pork loin
mustard
lime juice
horseradish
jerk seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Sorry, I don't measure but it looked something like this:

Combine a good squeeze of mustard, a couple of table spoons of lime juice, and about a tablespoon of horseradish in a resealable plastic bag. Smoosh to combine. Add the pork loin and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes.

When you remove the loin from the bag, either put it on a plate (if you grill it) or in a baking dish (if you roast it in the oven). I can't lecture on grills. Or at least I won't in this post. ;) I'm a tried and true charcoal girl but I know there are many gas users out there. I do try to make my grill moderate and cook the pork for about 30 minutes flipping one time. In the oven, I preheat to 400 degrees and, again cook for about 30 minutes. But check after 25. I like my pork medium. Yes it's safe that way! If you have a meat thermometer it should read 160 degrees.

Yum yum yum. Dinner should be ready in about 20 minutes and I can't wait.