Falling Back into Blogging: Thanksgiving Recipes, Rants & Raves

It's been almost a year since I have carved out time to blog. Why? Raising two children is exponentially more time consuming than one, especially in the early years. Work has kept me very busy. Like "what is this elusive do-nothing government employee I keep hearing about?" busy. I come across wonderful recipes, tips, restaurants and ideas, yet time to send them back out has eluded me. Also, many of the cool internet finds go on my Facebook "Smelling and Tasting Life" page. It also occurred to me that our home office/guest bedroom now hosts a child by night, so my evening inspirations were leading me straight to the kitchen. Or I fell asleep when possible!

So, what's new? My wheat allergy continues. That has changed how our family eats. My recipes that used wheat flour are now with premade store-bought mixes, usually from Aldi. Or, sometimes I can use oats, corn flakes or a small amount of corn starch. The other day I used kosher gelatin to thicken my gravy. I mention this because I will often make and take roundabout recipe decisions and food choices that people who can and want to eat wheat would not do. These don't usually translate by weight or measurement to wheat flour or bread crumbs, so make adjustments on your own or use the ideas or recipes and look for tested recipes using wheat flour as guides. This also means that almost any sweet or baked good I consume is coming from home, not the mean wheat-filled streets.

And if all that isn't enough, a disclaimer: I have fully adopted a "cook like a grandma; don't look like a grandma" philosophy. That means I don't measure anything unless it's for some huge, major event or a couple times during the holidays. So, treat my recipes as guideposts and inspirations and consult sources that tend to test well like America's Test Kitchen/Cooks' Illustrated/Cooks' Country, Gourmet (found at epicurious.com), bettycrocker.com (often not my first choice, but they do test recipes).

Still here? Great! So much is going on in our kitchen.

Before I launch into cooking, I need to say this one more time: Aldi is your friend. Anyone out here on the grind knows wages are flat. Adjusted for inflation, they are down. Down, I say! Why do I mention this? Saving money feels best when one doesn't feel it. Aside from my pride being bruised when I realized I was losing cash money by not giving Aldi a chance, I am pain-free. Here is a smattering of my favorite Aldi things:

Pesto-Red AKA sun-dried tomato, and Green AKA basil pesto. These sell for $1.29-$1.69 and are now my base for tomato pasta sauce. I use 1/3 of each pesto along with a large can of crushed tomatoes, a small can of diced tomatoes, and a small can of...

Secret Agent Ingredient: canned carrots
I put canned carrots in smoothies, soups, marinara sauce and stews. They are a great thickener and sneak in veggies when my kids (or I) am picky and peckish. The carrots are 65 cents at Aldi all day every day and also get puréed into carrot ginger soup and even baked goods.

*Fried apples are a seasonal gift from the heavens. Use them. Most importantly stock up! Make a Dutch Baby!!

A pint of heavy cream is $1.69. Just wrap your head around that. It's cheaper than butter. WOW.

Related recipe that sets you back like $1 per person when shopping at Aldi:
"French" Tomato Soup
NOM! We had an inspiration at work. Why should French onion soup have all the fun? What if we started making tomato soup like French onion soup, with the equivalent of an open grilled cheese sandwich on top?? Why haven't we done this before?!?!?! Make some homemade tomato soup (Stewed tomatoes, large 26-ounce can, small handful of washed fresh basil (or a spoonful each of red pesto and green pesto), 1/2 of a 15-ounce can of carrots, a dash of butter or olive oil (if not using pesto). Add 1/2 cup cream and a cup of chicken or vegetable stock. Purée with an immersion blender or in a traditional blender. Top with croutons or potato bread. Then top with sharp Cheddar cheese and broil in the oven until melted and bubbly.
me favorite recipes, musings, and food combinations:

Dutch Baby with *Fried Apples
What is a Dutch Baby? As far as I can tell, it's a lazy-ass crêpe. Instead of painstakingly using this recipe to make wonderful semi-transparent crêpes, dump this mixture over some bubbling hot fried apples from a can, courtesy of Aldi, that you have transferred to your skillet. If your conscience doesn't allow for this "one and done" approach, make sure everyone sees and hears you chopping an apple or two, which will also give everyone more apples and cut down on the overall sugar per serving. Turn down the heat to low and cover about 3-4 minutes, checking until the mixture no longer jiggles. Sprinkle with cinnamon or cinnamon sugar if you did not use the sweet fried apples.

Another Dutch Baby option is to fry some ham or turkey ham, add a generous teaspoon of Dijon mustard to the sizzling ham and dump the batter over that. Turn down the heat to low and cover about 3-4 minutes, checking until the mixture no longer jiggles. Top with Swiss cheese and some cracked black pepper and serve with a salad.

Native American Fry Bread as inspiration
So, it can be rather depressing to be wheat free when you want bread dripping with oil or butter. Funny, when I could eat bread, I didn't often want this. One night I made Aldi's gluten-free pizza dough mix crossed with equal amounts of Aldi's baking mix (about 3 cups total), plus one egg and just under a cup of milk. I fried it in a sauté pan with a healthy dose of coconut oil, flipping it to brown both sides. It was some kind of good!!

To try: Feta-Stuffed Hush Puppies from Cava Mezze
I had (although I wasn't supposed to) some Feta hush puppies at Cava Mezze over a month ago. They were savory, crunchy and had a sweet orange marmalade butter served alongside. I will try this with gluten-free cornbread mix at Aldi and see how it turns out.
(Inspired by Emeril's Cheddar Hush Puppies)

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup bleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 ounces crumbled Feta cheese (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup minced yellow onions
1 1/2 teaspoons minced jalapeños
1 1/2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
Vegetable oil for deep-frying

DIRECTIONS
-Mix the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
-Add the cheese, onions, jalapeños, and hot sauce and mix well.
-Add the eggs, buttermilk, and 1/2 cup water. Mix well. If using gluten-free flours, rest batter 10-20 minutes.
-Pour enough oil to come halfway up the sides of a large heavy pot or electric deep fryer and heat over high heat to 360°F. In batches, without crowding, drop tablespoons of the batter into the hot oil.
-Deep-fry on all sides until the hush puppies rise to the surface and are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
-Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.
--For the butter, mix equal parts orange marmalade and soft butter. Swoon!

Backyard Barbecue Beans From Cook's Country | June/July 2016
My kids and I eat this often on Saturdays after lessons, hopefully before our nap. I use turkey hot dogs instead of bratwurst and usually add--you guessed it--a can of carrots.

SERVES 12 TO 16
Be sure to use a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan or a roasting pan; the volume of the beans is too great for a 13 by 9-inch ceramic baking dish, and it will overflow. We found that Bush’s Original Recipe Baked Beans are the most consistent product

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/4 pounds bratwurst, casings removed (we use 4 to 6 turkey hot dogs, sliced)
2 onions, chopped
2 (28-ounce) cans baked beans
2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, drained
2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained
1 (10-ounce) can Ro-tel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, drained
6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

INSTRUCTIONS
-Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk barbecue sauce, ketchup, water, mustard, vinegar, liquid smoke, granulated garlic, and cayenne together in large bowl; set aside.
-Cook bratwurst in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up into small pieces with spoon, until fat begins to render, about 5 minutes.
-Transfer bratwurst mixture/hot dogs to bowl with sauce. Stir in baked beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans, and tomatoes. Transfer bean mixture to 13 by 9-inch baking pan and place pan on rimmed baking sheet.
-Arrange bacon pieces in single layer over top of beans. Bake until beans are bubbling and bacon is rendered, about 1½ hours. Let cool for 15 minutes. Serve.

TO MAKE AHEAD: At end of step 3, beans can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Proceed with recipe from step 4, increasing baking time to 1¾ hours.


 Brownie Fudge Don't Know What This Good Thing Is
Half box (used Aldi gluten-free) brownie mix--1/2 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk--Dash cream--2 handfuls of chopped nuts of your choice--6 ounces (1/2 bag) semisweet chocolate chips. Mix in a glass 8-inch square pan or 9-inch round pie pan. Bake 350 for 30 minutes. OMG!! So good.

Thanksgiving Click on "Thanksgiving" to see all prior Smelling and Tasting blog recipes that reference Thanksgiving!

Creamy No-Boil Mac 'n' Cheese
This recipe works PERFECTLY with gluten-free pasta. It solves the mushy "this is not really pasta but shaped glue" problem. Plus, it's lazy and tastes great. I plan to coach my oldest to make her mac 'n' cheese this way so she can have another recipe under her belt. This one is great for kids since they won't need to touch a hot stove or hot water to make this.

Teff Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Haven't tried this gluten-free carrot cake yet, but it's on my list to make!! Many mistakes can be masked by delicious frosting, so willing to try.

Sweet Potato Goodness
This sweet potato goodness is so delicious. Add an egg white or a heaping teaspoon ground flaxseed or corn starch instead of flour. I make this in the food processor. Lazy step 1: Bake sweet potatoes for 30 minutes when something else is cooking. Lazy step 2: I blend the peeled sweet potato, spices, salt, candied ginger and cream along with 1/4 cup oats. I then put a little streusel topping on the bottom, add the sweet potato mixture, then add the rest of the oat-coconut topping. Delish!! Even better, it's easy to "veganize" and hard to mess up.

What to do with leftover Turkey? Turkey Nachos
Combine chopped turkey, cranberry sauce, bbq sauce and slow cook on low heat in a pan on the stove for 15 minutes. On a ceramic or glass plate or metal pan, layer tortilla chips, brie or Cheddar cheese, white beans, sour cream. Bake 7 minutes at 375°F. Top with mango or pineapple salsa. You could also make open-face sandwiches with the turkey mixture, cheese and leftover rolls or cornbread.

All for Fall: Autumnal Deliciousness

Fall in love with some new autumnal equinox recipes

Here is Ina Garten's Curried Butternut Squash-Apple Soup recipe, which tastes really good with my bacon fat enhancements
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used bacon fat)
2 tablespoons good olive oil
4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large)
2 tablespoons mild curry powder
5 pounds butternut squash (2 large)
1 1/2 pounds sweet apples, such as McIntosh (4 apples) or about 1 1/2 cups unsweetened chunky applesauce

2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups water
2 cups good apple cider or juice

Directions
Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.

Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks.

Add the squash, apples*, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apple*s are very soft. Puree the mixture coarsely in the bowl of a food processor. (*I used chunky unsweetened applesauce. You're welcome.)

Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper and serve hot.

My twist!
I added what I call "bacon-fat caramel"-2 teaspoons bacon grease, 1/4 cup maple syrup (or 1/4 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons water) and a pinch of salt (I used smoked salt). I cooked on high heat for about 4 minutes until big, thick bubbles appeared and the mixture just started turning a darker brown. It smoked just a little because bacon grease does that. I then drizzled the caramel on top of some pumpkin seeds sprinkled atop the soup. It made a pretty good soup pretty amazing! To veganize the recipe, substitute butter and/or bacon fat for coconut oil.

This caramel treatment is also fantastic on roasted Brussels sprouts!

Another Barefoot Contessa Recipe--pasta made with fall flavors. It has Fontina, mushrooms, sage, Gorgonzola, and radicchio. I would serve with arugula and hazelnuts or walnuts I made a similar recipe last night and had to use brown rice pasta for glutinous reasons, which tasted only mildly depressing. Make sure if you cook gluten-free pasta, you stop cooking about one minute before it's fully cooked. It continues to absorb a lot of water after cooking stops. Once I forgot to drain right away and I had a pot full of porridge. Or you could use cooked spaghetti squash, sweet potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes, which is what I usually end up doing.

Cranberry-Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

Ingredients
14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 cup rinsed and finely chopped fresh cranberries

1/4 cup corn starch

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate or white chips, optional
Dash salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed using an electric mixer until you achieve medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. In a separate bowl, combine cranberries and corn starch. Add into coconut mixture. Add chocolate chips, if desired.

Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper or silicone liners using either a 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop, or 2 teaspoons to shape coconut mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve.

Here are some tips for flavoring pumpkin seeds. I like the shelled raw pumpkin seeds, which are an olive green. You can find them at Trader Joe's and at many health food supermarkets. Here are some delicious pepita aka pumpkin seed concoctions, like versatile pumpkin seed pesto. Pesto works on proteins, as a salad dressing block--just add some orange juice--or mixed into grains and cooked vegetables.

Autumn Glory Salad

Fall is a great time to combine sweet and sharp flavors. Apples aren't quite ready but butternut and other orange-fleshed squash are plentiful. I made this salad out of various fridge finds:
Serves 3-4 lunch main dish portions

About 4 oz spring mix, arugula or baby spinach

20 cubes butternut squash salted buttered and roasted for 40 minutes

20 cubes cooked chicken breast (rotisserie chicken in this case)

1/2 large Hass (dark green with bumpy skin) avocado cut in 16 pieces

10 seedless grapes, halved

2/3 cup shredded carrots should be big crunchy pieces

2 ounces shaved goat milk Gouda or parmigiana reggiano or pecorino cheese

Poppy seed dressing (made dressing with milk-free chai, white miso, black pepper, red wine vinegar, lecithin and olive oil)

Layer a platter or individual bowls/plates with leaves, squash, chicken, carrots, grapes, avocados and shaved cheese. Drizzle a little dressing with each layer.

Food for thought--All for fall-harvest recipes

I love fall! Vivid leaves falling, hiking, visiting orchards, hayrides, bonfires and Hallowe'en. Autumn celebrates the harvest and changes. I especially love autumnal food and celebrating the bounty. Enjoy these recipes! Also, click on the "Food for thought" title or here for a yummy seasonal salmon recipe.
Menu
Farfalle with Roasted Butternut Cream Sauce
Roasted Beet Salad, Sauteed Beet Tops and Bleu cheese with Orange Dressing
Brown Butter Chicken with Parsley and Garlic
Jewish Apple Cake

Wine: 2005 Riesling (next time, Pinot Grigio or Sancerre to cut the richness)

Farfalle with Roasted Butternut Cream Sauce
Serves 6

1 1/2 pounds farfalle, or bow-tie pasta. Cook according to package directions.

2 small or one large winter squash (used butternut), seeded and halved
1/2 stick butter
10 leaves fresh sage, chopped
5 stems parsley, minced
Dash nutmeg, optional
1/2 small onion or 1 shallot, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tbsp flour
1 bouillon cube or 1/2 tsp. salt
1 pint half-and-half
1/3 cup pecans
1/4 C grated parmesan

Roast seeded and halved squash, face down on cookie sheet or glass pans, in 400 oven for 40 minutes, until tender and "scoopable" from their skins. Allow to cool, then scoop into bowl. Mash if necessary until smooth. You will need at least 1 1/2 cups. Set aside.

In a skillet over med-high heat, melt butter. When bubbly, add fresh sage and parsley. When the leaves have darkened, add onion and optional nutmeg. Cook and stir until onion starts becoming translucent and glossy. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add flour, and stir often until flour turns a very light brown. Reduce heat to medium. Add salt or bouillon.

Over medium heat, add milk slowly, stirring often, until you have used about half. Add squash and stir and smush to even out texture. Add the rest of cream while stirring. Add pecans. Turn off heat. Then add cheese, stirring until combined. The sauce will be quite thick and will sit on top of pasta. I prefer to toss the sauce and pasta together, with a little extra sauce on top.


Roasted Beet Salad, Sauteed Beet Tops and Bleu cheese with Orange Dressing
Serves 8-10
Roast 5 or 6 peeled beets wrapped in foil, with squash or by themselves--400 for 40 minutes in the oven should be enough.
Slice in disks or in small wedges.

Reserve beet tops. Rinse well 2 times under running water. Discard red stems; save the leaves. Sautee with a dash butter or olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper until wilted. Remove from pan and put in serving bowl. If you don't have the beet tops, use kale, spinach or mustard greens.

Throw in a few apple pieces and pecans from the other recipes into the bowl. Thinly slice some leftover onion from the squash into the bowl-about 20 small pieces.

Dressing- Mix 1/2 C orange juice, 1/4 c olive oil, dash vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, parsley and remaining onion in food processor. Mix until smooth. Pour over salad. Top or toss in crumbled bleu cheese, maybe 3 oz total.

Poulet a la grenouille-Chicken, frog-leg style
Don't get freaked out--it's just chicken sauteed in butter with parsley and garlic. I saw this on Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way a few years back. I think I made it that same day!

Really simple!
Chop skinless chicken breasts into cubes. Or, leave them whole or in large strips for a more formal presentation.

Coat them with flour and pepper, but do not add salt yet.

Sauté in melted butter. Or, you can mix butter and olive oil about 50/50. After they’ve lightly browned, add salt, garlic and chopped parsley to taste. Cook about 2 minutes longer.

If you are using rather large pieces, finish them off in the oven, so as not to have a burnt crust and an undercooked inside.


Jewish apple cake

named for its place on the table during Rosh Hashanah.I just made this on Sat. and have included my modifications. This is not a very sweet cake, as written. It tastes like the Apple Cake at Whole Foods, albeit with a better butter flavor! Feel free to use sweeter apples and/or increase the sugar by 1/4 to 1/3 cup for a more pronounced sugary taste, and to mirror the original recipe.

5 apples, peeled and diced (used Granny Smith)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon, plus another 1/4 tsp. reserved
1/3 c sugar
----------

3 C unbleached flour
2 C sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

2 sticks butter, melted and cooled--the original recipe calls for 1 C. vegetable oil
1/2 C chunky applesauce (I added this)
4 eggs
1/4 C orange juice concentrate--(original recipe calls for 7 Tbsp OJ)
2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Prepare apples. Add cinnamon and sugar. Toss & set aside.

Set oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans or one bundt pan-- will take a longer baking time.

Add dry ingredients. Remember to add the extra 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Mix to combine.

In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry. When well combined, gently fold in the apples.

Pour into pans or pan. Using shallow pans will take about 50 minutes while the bundt pan will take 1 hr. 45 minutes. I used 2 cake pans. You may have to switch cake between racks for even baking if cake is not in center of oven. Cake will be done when top is a deep golden brown and the buttery smell drives you near the point of insanity.

Allow to cool--warm to the touch is fine--before cutting.

It's great by itself. It also goes well with fruit compote, ice cream and creme fraiche.

Try it with Riesling, dessert wine or sparkling apple cider...or even some apple brandy.


THANKSGIVING PREVIEW~
Here's a recipe for the best turkey I ever made: Turkey with Sage Butter. It was just a few of us at a get-together, so I just used a 2- or 3-pound breast. I cut and rolled them into individual cutlets, like Chicken Kiev, but I didn't bread it. Turkey and butter may sound like they'd make strange bedfellows, yet it turned out very well and was not too hard. Brine the turkey. This means soaking it in a salt-seasoning-water solution for a few hours or, even better, overnight. Then let the meat dry a little on the surface. Prepare as usual. The original recipe calls for bacon. I didn't use any bacon, and it was still great.