Thanksgiving Dinner 2010 : Menu




Thanksgiving Dinner  2010



STARTERS:

Crackers with Huntsman and Talleggio Cheeses

Strawberries

Cranberry Cocktails

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Citrus Shrimp Salad

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Roast Breast of Turkey

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 The Sides:

Mashed  Potatoes and Gravy

Smokey Yams with Bacon and Maple Syrup

Oyster, Andouille  Dressing

Cornucopia (puff pastry) with Seven Roasted Vegetables

Fresh Orange Cranberry Sauce

Pickle Plate

Pinot Grigio

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Dessert

3 Pear and Cranberry Pie

Clear Lemon Syrup

Vanilla Ice Cream

Coffee

If you would like any of the recipes just email me.

Kathryn Hepburn Brownies

Miss Hepburn had 3 rules to live by:

1) Never Quit

2) Be Yourself

3) Don't Put to much flour in your brownies.

This is a favorite recipe of mine.  Super easy.....and oh so rich and chewy.

Miss Hepburn's Brownies
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter

2 squares unsweetened chocolate

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Melt together 1 stick butter and 2 squares unsweetened chocolate and take the saucepan off the heat.

2. Stir in 1 cup sugar, add 2 eggs and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and beat the mixture well.

3. Stir in 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. (In the original recipe, 1 cup chopped walnuts is added here as well.)

4. Bake the brownies in a buttered and floured 8-inch-square pan at 325°F for about 40 minutes.

You can cut these brownies into squares, once they have cooled, and eat them out of the pan, but it is so much nicer to pile them on a fancy plate.Try a square of brownie on a plate with a little blob of créme fraîche  or homemade vanilla ice-cream and a scattering of shaved chocolate.  Don't forget to add a stemmed cherry.  

Enjoy!  Carol

Anniversary Party for 85 People

TONY AND AGGIE'S BIG 50

The Main Dishes:

Grown up Mac and Cheese

Hawaiian Baked Beans

My Best Pulled Pork

condiments

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The Sides:

Mixed Fresh Fruit

Kraut Salad

Polish Delights Sausages

Creamy Cole Slaw

Pasta Salad with 10 Veggies

Mixed Green with Tomato Wedges, Onion Rings,

Oil marinated Olives. whole pickled  Italian Peppers

your choice of 3 salad dressing

Croutons and Parmesan Cheese

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The Sweets:

Anniversary Cake

Chocolate Brownie Towers

Triple Berry Trifle Towers

Potica

Apple Strudel

Jam Jam Cookies

Wine *  Beer 

Pops * Lemonade

 1 Happy Couple

Lots of Friends and Family!

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FINIS!!!!!

Seafood Bruschetta

This is one of my go to recipes. If you like seafood this versatile recipe will be sure to please. Perfect for small get togethers. Double the recipe and have enough for a quick sandwich the next day.....Try it you'll like it! Don't forget a bottle of white wine!

SEAFOOD BRUSCHETTA
A big handful of raw shrimp, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 can of good quality canned crab meat
1/2 avocado, diced
1 tomato, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 lime
handful of cilantro, chopped (optional)
French Baguette
Olive oil

In a small sauce pan, melt a pat of butter. Cook shrimp and crab together until shrimp is cooked through. Set aside.

Combine avocado,tomato and red onion in a bowl. Squeeze lime over mixture. Add cooked shrimp and crab to bowl. Toss. Mix cilantro at this time. Season to your liking with salt and pepper.

Cut baguettes into slices, slightly at an angle. Place on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season baguettes slices with salt and pepper. Bake 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.

Place scoop of seafood mix on each slice.

De Ja Food!

I think your going to like this one. I was surffing a while back hoping to find a break through in genelogy...no luck. However, I was lucky enough to have found http://culinarygenealogy.blogspot.com. It turns out Jennifer Farley (not sure if she is related) created her blog around her family recipes. It is a treasure trove.
This blog is well done, including her old and not so old family pictures, brief family memories....but the recipe collections is superb. You must visit. I found and made this one for supper tonight. At first bite I was taken back to when I was a kid. With my eyes closed I remembered the smell and Oh! the taste of the limas.
This is perfect when served with baked ham...cold or hot.

Baked Limas
1 1/2 cups dried limas
5 cups cold water
4 slices bacon, cut in 1 inch pieces
1/3 cup minced celery
1/2 cup minced onion
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1 minced glove garlic
1 tblsp. flour
1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes
2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. granulated sugar

Soak limas overnight in 3 cups of cold water. In the morning add 2 cups of water; cover; bring to a boil and cook until tender. Drain. Place in a 1 1/2 quart casserole. Cook bacon until it begins to brown; then add celery, onion, green pepper, and garlic; continue to cook until vegetables are tender and bacon is crisp. Stir in flour, add next 4 ingredients then cook, stirring, until sauce thickens. Pour sauce over limas; cover and bake in a slow oven of 300 degrees for 1 hour. Serves 4.

A Kitchen Crime

Last Thursday was Tim's birthday. He requested a Chocolate Trifle Tower instead of a cake! This just happens to be one of the desserts I will be making for my in-laws 50th Wedding Fest. You can multi task while making this dessert. Brownies baking, whip cream thawing, all while whipping up the evil chocolate pudding...no cooking required. And that's a good thing.
I turned away from the table for a split second. I was puzzled..."where is the wooden spoon I was just using?" It was no where to be found... maybe I was having a pre-senior moment..HUMMM! All is well..... I got another spoon and whiz bang Chocolate Triffle Tower done! This case was easy to solve a picture is worth a thousand words! Lily the Spoon Eater.

Chocolate Trifle Tower
Ingredients:
1 packaged Brownie mix (19.8oz)
1 large box of instant chocolate pudding
1/2 cup water
1 can SWEETENED CONDENSED milk
1(8oz) frozen whipped topping thawed
1(12oz frozen whipped topping thawed
some of your morning strong coffee to lightly soak brownies
candy bar like Heath Bar is great crushed
carmel topping
chocolate topping

Prepare brownie mix and cool. Cut into 1 inch squares.
In large bowl combine pudding mix, water, and sweetened condensed milk until smooth.
Then fold in 8 oz. whipped topping...all streaks should be gone.
In trifle bowl place half the brownies. Add a little coffee over the brownies. Add half the pudding mix. Add chocolate topping. Cover with 6 oz of whipped topping.
Repeat starting with an other layer of brownies. Add the carmel topping instead of chocolate. Garnish with crushed Heath Bar.
***This is really rich**** Make a few days in advance it's even better!

Kitchen Screw Ups Any One?

Do you like to futz around in the kitchen?  So do I!    But sometime  things just go  really wrong...best of intentions right?  I would really  like to know how things are turning out in your kitchen...What happened when you feed your family beans.. to many beans!  Tell me about your latest  kitchen screw-up?