Thanksgiving Newbies

Despite how much of a traditional Southerner I tend to be, there are times that changes and new things have their place.  For instance, this year is the first that Neil, Vivi and I had Thanksgiving all to ourselves.  Yep...Neil's dad and significant other were in Charleston and my parents went to Florida with my sister and her husband to visit his family.  So, the three of us were left here in Columbia...left to our own devices.

Several years ago, Neil was proclaimed the official turkey king of the family.  He brines it overnight then roasts it slowly.  The result is a ridiculously tender & juicy turkey that tastes fantastic. Frankly, until I tasted a turkey by Neil, I didn't like it.  I'd eat it because that's what you do at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it was never a favorite and certainly not something I would have requested.  But all that changed when I tried his. So, as traditions go, Neil's brined turkey is simply what we do around here.  

But, since it was just the three of us this year, I decided to change things up a bit. You see, it's not always easy to sneak a new dish in on a holiday because the rest of the family looks at you incredulously and asks something like "What is this?" even though it's freakin' obvious that it is still, in fact, a sweet potato.  In 1988, I was living with a French family for a semester.  My family called me and they all passed the phone around to say hello to me.  Well, as two members of the family informed me, my mom made the sweet potatoes that year, instead of Aunt Jennie.  They were not pleased.  Not one damn bit. My Uncle Tommy actually sounded pissed off about it.

So, as you can see, this was my golden opportunity to try out some new twists on our Thanksgiving meal.  First, you simply must have dressing.  I cheated a bit by buying the ol' Pepperidge Farm dressing in the blue bag.  After all, this is what my mom has always used.  (Tradition) But, I took a few recipes as inspiration and jazzed it up by using sweet potatoes, onion, thyme, bacon and a touch of O.J.  

Bacon cookin' up!

Gotta have sweet potatoes

Finished product!

Next, you have to have green vegetables.  Viv loves green beans, so I just steamed those.  Then, I added my piece de resistance...Brussels sprouts slaw.  I got this from www.BonAppetit.com.  I will say again to those of you who turn your noses up at the sprout, open the mind and try this one out.  I am waiting to be hungry again so I can have a plate of this stuff!  

Shredded Brussels tossed with a lemon/Dijon dressing and maple glazed pecans. To round out our meal, we made mashed potatoes (I've said it before & will again...if you don't own a ricer, go out tomorrow and get a Black Friday deal on one) to go with Neil's gravy and rockstar turkey. 

Traditions are important to me and pretty much everyone else in this Southern corner of the world.  Long live the traditions!  But, don't be afraid to introduce some new characters to the show once in awhile.  There's nothing like my Aunt Jennie's sweet potatoes, Neil's turkey and a nice, gooey green bean casserole, to be sure.  However, Brussels sprout slaw and weird dressing can shake things up (in a good way) from time to time. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!   

Unbelievable!

Are you familiar with AllRecipes.com? I have loved this website for quite some time.  If you don't know, here's what they are all about.  Recipes are submitted by REAL people, then other REAL people rate/review them.  The cool thing is that I've never made a recipe from this site that hasn't worked and worked well.  The coolest thing though is that you can plug in how many servings you want and the site will adjust all of the quantities for you.  Awesome.

I have a client who is preparing to move as soon as we get a buyer for her house.  One day, I stopped by and saw stacks of books in her dining room.  Curious, I inquired.  They were all cookbooks that she was going to donate.  I guess she saw my expression change, prompting her to say something like, "Should I donate them to you?"  Touchdown, goal, SCORE!  Even though I knew I don't even have enough bookcase space, and that Neil and my entire family would give me hell about adding more cookbooks to my bursting-at-the-seams collection, I happily loaded them all into the backseat.  

One of them has become my new favorite:  all recipes dinner tonight.  Basically, it's a "greatest hits" of the website.  The editors compiled a "Hall of Fame" of 20 recipes who all received 150+ ratings and reviews.  So far, I've made 5 of these 20 and haven't been disappointed at all.  The latest one is a recipe that I've read, re-read, re-read, contemplated, re-read.  I finally decided to jump off the cliff and try it and man, am I glad I took the leap.  So glad, that I wanted to share with you all.  Now, be prepared...when you see this title, you're going to be intrigued yet a bit quizzical.  Maybe even a bit cynical.  You might experience disbelief.  But, trust me.  Take the leap like I did and you will make yourself and your family/friends very happy.

Photo from www.AllRecipes.com

Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos

• 1 Tbs vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups canned kidney beans, drained
• 2 cups water
• 3 Tbs chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 4 tsp prepared mustard
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 3 Tbs soy sauce
• 12 (10") flour tortillas, warmed
• 4 cups cooked & mashed sweet potatoes
• 8 oz shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat oil in a medium skillet and saute onion & garlic until soft.  Stir in the beans and mash.  Gradually stir in the water and heat until warm.  Remove from heat and stir in chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne and soy sauce. Spread sweet potatoes evenly over the bean layer and top with cheese.  Roll up burrito style and place in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake for about 12 minutes. Serve with sour cream, salsa, green onion, whatever on the side, if you wish.  

To me, this was like the best bean burrito ever, but with that little touch of "je ne sais quoi." Amazingly, the sweet potato married so well with the spiced bean mixture.  I NEVER would have come up with this on my own.  It works and it works so well!  I also was just plain feeling good watching the Vivver eat this meal packed to the gills with protein and beta-carotene!  Please trust me and put your hesitation aside and make this recipe.  And, I'd really love to hear your feedback about it.  Sorry I didn't take any pictures.  We were all starving and dug right in.  Photography be damned!  But, the good people at AllRecipes made this great video:

 

Celebration Dinner

Today I decided to make some ice cream for my sweet baby.  As I rounded a corner in Publix, I heard a kid say, "hey Mrs. Brown" and it was in fact one of Viv's kindergarten teachers, Mrs. Brown. We chatted and she clued me in that Viv had been chosen as today's "Student of the Day."  She swore me to secrecy and I headed to the dairy aisle.

Armed with the necessary ingredients, I headed home to complete this ice cream mission.  My child is one of those who actually loves and chooses vanilla over crazy, wacky, chocolaty, gooey flavors.  But, to jazz it up a little, I used my expensive vanilla and mini chocolate chips.  I was so excited about this little surprise I could hardly contain myself!  Oh yeah, that mom of the year trophy is gonna look good on my bookshelf.

After an excited recount of the Student of the Day activities, she had a kick-ass karate class (no pun intended.  Well, ok, maybe I intended that.)  Then we came home and made coconut chicken, mashed sweet potatoes and steamed green beans.  I gotta tell you...I am a sucker for coconut food.  Shrimp, curries, pina coladas, you name it.  This is so easy to make so I decided I'd share it with you.  It can be done very quickly which makes weeknights a little less hectic.  

Coconut chicken (or shrimp)

• 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut, toasted
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 Tbs sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 egg whites, slightly beaten

Cut chicken breast meat into chunks or peel and devein your shrimp (about 24 jumbos).  Mix coconut, cornstarch, salt and sugar together in a shallow dish.  (If you're not cooking for kids, adding a little cayenne here provides a nice little kick.)  Dip meat into egg white and then into the coconut mixture, pressing to adhere. 

Add 2 Tbs veg. oil to a baking dish.  Place prepared chicken in a single layer.  Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and the coconut browns up.  Yum, yum, eat 'em up.

My mom cooks better than your mom

 As you can see from the Vivver, she was diggin' her meal and I'm pleased to report that she ate it all.  Afterwards, we had our homemade chocolate chip ice cream which then sent her off into a sweet dreamland.  Try this recipe when you want to shake up dinner with something new and easy.  I hope you like it as much as we do!  Bon Appetit!

The Flop

Looked pretty online, but real life was another story

I am the first to admit it when a dish goes South.  I told you a few days ago that I was making Balsamic Root Vegetables for Thanksgiving.  My reasons were:  I liked the picture, I've NEVER cooked or eaten a parsnip before, and since it was a crockpot dish, that would be one less project going on in the kitchen, one less body.  Well, unfortunately, it sucked.  

My mother-in-law liked it and I think maybe one other person was positive about it, but I was not.  The vegetables weren't overly mushy, but I probably could've stopped the cooking a little earlier.  The flavors were good.  But, for me, the failure was in the look of the dish and the smell.  The vegetables didn't retain their color and all kind of looked alike.  However, it was the smell that really did me in.  I can't quite put my finger on it.  Balsamic sauces usually smell very good, so I'm thinking perhaps it was the balsamic aroma mixed with the red onion?  It wasn't the kind of smell where someone would walk in and exclaim something like "What the hell is that smell?" but it was just "off-putting."  

• I can't even believe I just used that phrase.  Donatella Arpaia uses it ad nauseum on the Next Iron Chef and it drives me up the wall.  I get her meaning, but I'm pretty sure "off-putting" isn't really a word.  But, in this case, it's the best I've got.

Chalk this one up as a "tried and failed."  No big deal; can't win 'em all!