You guys are killing me!!! Your menus and your pictures are soooo fantastic!! I agree with AnnT, I would so love a turkey dinner right now. But If I can't have that, I would really love it if you guys would post some of your awesome recipes...pretty please. It all sounds so wonderful I can almost taste it.

Thanks Sol for the pork and fennel onion recipe!

Shelley (thanks if you do post recipes)

I tried several new recipes for TG but the breads and desserts won the best of show for keeper recipes.

Also, the Cranberry Jezebel was very good and I wondered how I could have missed this recipe. But then I remember we were in full tilt demolition of our home Fall '06 and I did not even have a temporary kitchen until after TG. So there were many recipes I missed.

Dipping Biscuits a recipe I found on Epicurious. OUTSTANDING!! I passed the recipe on to Lucy as her DH loves bread and the Dipping Biscuits were a big hit at her house as well.

Linda's (OhioMom) Sourcream Bread!!! OMG...OMG...delicious!!!

My Mom's Pumpkin Pie! Fabulous as always!!!

Sweet Potato Flan!!!!! I love any kind of Flan but this one was very good. Joe even liked it. And it is nice light dessert after a large meal. Sorry do not remember where this recipe came from or where I found it.

Carols (readinglady) Nut shortbread is fabulous!! I did not get an individual picture of it...sorry.

And Carolcbs flour/corn starch mix for gravy deserves a mention too. Its been working out beautifully!!

And last but not least my candied yams. My all time favorite and nothing will ever taste as good to me as these do time after time!

Michelle

Shoot...sorry Sharon. Can I blame this on the turkey?

It should read:

"And SHARONcbs flour/corn starch mix for gravy deserves a mention too. Its been working out beautifully!!"

Thanks for the tip Sharon!

Michelle

Nancy that's exactly what would be on my plate but mine would be a little more full, I see space in the front LOL !!!! What a gorgeous bird.

Michelle Yams are my favourite too, well maybe the stuffing or the mashed potatoes and gravy or maybe it's the turkey!

Let's face it, I love it all and am so wanting turkey right about now!

Carol would you mind posting the Krugel recipe? they look fabulous! Thanks

Hi Gang!

I haven't posted to this thread in a long time (without a digital camera, I usually can't contribute much), but I have to tell you about the highlights of last night's dinner (with many thanks to the CF): I roasted a 6-pound whole-breast turkey using Sharon Canarybird's apricot, honey, and herb glaze with oranges and onions, and it was just phenomenal! Not only was the flavor excellent, but it also was the most succulent turkey I've ever made. Thanks, Sharon! I had already prepared Woodie's make-ahead gravy (which was wonderful), but the pan drippings tasted so delicious that I made an impromptu last-minute gravy from them and served dinner with TWO gravies!

Another success was the cranberry sauce I made with freshly squeezed orange juice and zest, cloves, and cinnamon. DH just scarfed that up. DS liked the cornbread stuffing with apple and dried cranberries and the sweet potato casserole with crushed pineapple, topped by the obligatory marshmallows. And the pumpkin pie (standard Libby's recipe) turned out well. The green beans (non-casseroled) added color to the table, LOL--nobody paid much attention to them!

DS took home a big goodie bag of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pie, but there's still plenty left for tonight and beyond. I'm still stuffed; I'd better get out for a walk today!

Sue

We had a slow food Thanksgiving. Roasted root vegetables, green beans and corn on the cob from the summer's harvest, Amish-raised turkey and cornbread dressing. Like me, the dinner was Ohio grown and raised :)

Michele, that is what I call a feast! Can you please post recipes for the flan the candied sweet potatoes?

Here is the kugel recipe, very easy and make ahead, too! I used more noodles than the recipe called for, probably about 3/4 pound of noodles. I also used large curd cottage cheese because that was what I had.

BROWNED ONION KUGELS
Serves 6-8
A kugel is traditionally baked in a single large pan, but using a muffin tin is a bit more elegant - and produces an abundance of tasty browned edges. Serve the kugels as a main brunch dish or an accompaniment to pot roast or baked chicken.

6-oz medium egg noodles
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
3 cups chopped onions (2 large)
1-1/2 cups sour cream
1-1/4 cups small-curd cottage cheese (10-oz)
1 T poppy seeds (can be omitted if you cannot eat seeds)
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2-1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika (optional)

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425F

Cook noodles in a 6-8 quart pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 4 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water and drain well.

Melt butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat and brush muffin cups with some of butter. Add onions to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally until well browned, about 20 minutes. Transfer onions to a large bowl and stir in noodles, sour cream cottage cheese and poppy seeds. Lightly beat eggs with salt and pepper, then stir into noodle mixture until combined well.

Divide mixture among muffin cups and bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Loosen edges of kugels with a thin knife and cool kugels in pan 5 minutes before serving.
*I like to double this recipe for lots of left-overs and use a 9 x 13 ceramic baking dish for family dinners. posted SusanQ

Carol, thanks for sharing the Krugel recipe. This is definitely something I am going to have to make sooner rather than later. I know that Moe will love it.

Michelle, everything looks delicious. I could drink your gravy.

Ohiomom, your dinner looks perfect. But where is the mashed potatoes?

I was hoping that my craving for turkey would be gone this morning but unfortunately it is still strong. What I wouldn't give now for a hot turkey sandwich.

Ann

Holy! Carol the Kugels look so good to me. I'll have to try that next. Thanks for passing it along.

Sue, your dinner sounds like a winner to me.
Nancy, delicious looking spread, as always.

Our TG dinner was pretty darned good, but pretty typical, as we've been making the same thing over and over again for the last 20 years (except for Linda's Jezebel which became a new tradition last TG).
But the family wouldn't have it any other way.
Glazed Ham, our Maple Pecan Sweet Potatoes and regular Buttermilk Mashers, Linda's Cranberry Jezebel; my Honey Rolls (wouldn't be TG without'em), Fried Corn and some green vegetable, which escapes me at the moment. I'm tired.

Desserts were Profiteroles with Pumpkin Cream and Mini, Cranberry Galettes. No pictures of the dinner, but desserts were made earlier in the day, so I do have pictures of those. I'll post pictures of the mélange as soon as I recharge my batteries.

I've got some Christmas shopping to do, then I'll come home, rest a bit, and go back out again. My wallet is whimpering already.

Sol

Carol, what I showed above is about half of what I made. I was pooped afterwards. This morning when I downloaded my pictures, Joe had taken 2 pictures of me after dinner completely passed out on the couch. Don't ask, I sent one pic to my Mom and then deleted them. HA! And when I woke up Joe had cleaned up the entire kitchen! WOW...what a good husband!!!

But it was so nice to have a large enough kitchen to be able to really cook up a storm, I just had to do it just once to see what it was like. And yes I had all 4 ovens on at the same time....it was great and very HOT!

Carol, the Candied Yams are so easy and I think Yams taste better candied then Sweet Potatoes.

For the Candied Yams: I buy 4 yams which fill my huge frying pan. Bake the Yams until you can pierce them with a fork with some resistance but they can not be mushy...so better if they are bit under cooked then over cooked. Cool. I usually bake them the night before. And then about an hour before dinner is to be served peel the Yams and slice into about 3/4" slices. Over Medium heat melt a stick of butter in a large frying pan and add about a 1/2 c. of brown sugar. When the sugar is melted add the sliced Yams one at a time so that they do not overlap. Just let them simmer away but do keep an eye on them as they will burn but we like them burned a bit. When the side is done, just flip but be careful as the yam is now very tender and may break apart. It takes about an hour or so for the yams to candy the way we like them.

You can candy the Yams the day before. The Candied Yams reheat in the microwave very well albeit they get a bit more mushy but taste wonderful.

Sweet Potato Flan

For the caramel:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
For the flan:
1 large sweet potato, about 1 pound, baked until tender then peeled
2 cups half-and-half
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup water (not sure what the water is needed for and I would eliminate it next time)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used 1 tsp)
2 tablespoons maple syrup (I used 1 T.)
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Prepare the caramel: In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Cook over low heat, without stirring, until the syrup turns a medium amber, painting the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush as needed, about 5 minutes. Pour into one large (10-cup) souffle dish or round casserole, and tilt to evenly coat the bottom and slightly up the sides. Set aside.

Prepare the custard: In the bowl of a food processor, process the potatoes. With the machine running, add 1 cup of the half-and-half, and process until smooth.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, the remaining 1-cup of half-and-half, the condensed milk, 2/3 cup of water, the vanilla extract, and maple syrup, and mix well.

In another large bowl, beat the eggs and egg yolks until frothy. Strain the eggs into the wet ingredients and mix well. Add the sweet potato mixture, whisk well, then transfer to the prepared pan. Place the dish in a large baking pan and add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake for 2 hours, or until the custard is mostly set but the center is still slightly wobbly. Remove from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool.

Refrigerate until very cold, at least 6 hours, or overnight. To unmold, run a thin knife around the sides of the custard and invert onto a serving dish. Cut into wedges and serve as desired.

Michelle

AnnT

You must have spoken with my eldest DD :) That was the first thing out of her mouth yesterday, but I had the perfect solution to her dilemma .....................................

.............................................................

.............................................................

....a potato peeler :)

Hello - I have searched but can't find the recipe for OhioMom's Sourcream Bread. Can I ask for the recipe or a pointer to where I might find it?

Thanks!
MaryT

Mary

I posted it on my cooking blog, just scroll down the page (past the lasagna :)

Ohiomom - Thanks so much!!! It looks so delicious ....

MaryT

Ohiomom, thanks for posting the link to your blog. I've enjoyed looking at many of your pictures and the recipes. Your Squash and Sweet Potato Lasagna looks sooooo good.

Dinner tonight was halibut with a shrimp and Beurre Blanc sauce, spinach and dilled rice.

Oh Ann...scrape off the shrimp, and I'm there. LOL
Everything looks good put those little "strippy" things..ugh...
Tee hee

Sue, I'm glad to hear your meal was fantastic! That always feels good!

Sol, I can't wait for dessert pictures..

Sharon..Yeah Kitty Weather! I love Kitty Weather!

I'm going to copy the Kugel too..Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for posting the Cheese Thumbprints again Ladies..I've got them now..

Our thanksgiving dinner for 12.
Roasted young turkey
Giblets gravy
Mashed potato
Bacon wrap scallop with mozzarella cheese
Roast pork tenderloin with orange herb source,
Pesto penne with galic shrimp
Shrimp cocktail
Chinese broccoli with oyster source
Roasted purple sweet potato

Shark....WOW, look at the size of those shrimp!! I've not seen shrimp that big since we moved from FL!!! Your roast pork looks so good!!

Could you share your recipe for the Shrimp Penne? I love a pasta dish after TG and this one sounds perfect.

Michelle

WOW, great photos. The turkey, the breads, the halibut, the vegetables, the scallops. WOW.

I baked four loaves of the best bread I ever made. It was slow fermented for a long time using my own sourdough starter and came out with the perfect flavor and texture. I hope I can repeat it.

Unfortunately on Thursday morning I wasn't feeling so well. I thought I had the flu. Fever, chills, shivering, etc. I had to cancel my thanksgiving dinner and tell all my guests not to come. It turns out I have a bacterial infection (cellulitis on my leg). It has laid me flat for the last two days. The antibiotics are now kicking in and this morning I woke up HUNGRY! I made French Toast with my bread. This is flavored with a bit of cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Topped with some frozen strawberries heated in the microwave. Simple, not too sweet, and very satisfying.

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Greg...get well soon tho I suspect that French toast is as good as any pill!

Michelle, I meant to ask you..what 'are' dipping biscuits? I never heard that term. I presume you dunk em in gravy etc but any info on the name? (I have been thinking of you flan and that put the biscuits out of my mind...)

Ann, when Terri takes that halibut, I'll snatch the shrimp!and omigod shark...those scallops! I'd have run off with the plate. Pooh on turkey. Give me the scallops!

Ann, how did you cook the halibut please? Dick usually does ours, but I need to have a plan before he gets home tomorrow. It's halibut and stuffed shells for the family dinner. I may just do a pesto-y sauce on top, but need instructions on cooking the fish. Ours looks about the same size as your piece. Thanks! Maureen

OH wow - Carol - those kugels - copied and pasted - unless you want to make them for me? LOL

Shark - nice spread!

Ohiomom - I finally had time to check your blog - a quickie - great blog and great philosophy! I'll be checking back!

Sol - glazed ham...no turkey? your such a little rebel.

Michelle - I was going to ask about the candied yams, too. Yours look so much better than ones I ever made - copied - thanks and your pie is just gorgeous.

MTnester - oooh - that turkey breast sounds so good!

Ann - it's Halibut time? My favorite fish.

Wizard - the glaze made the skin a beautiful color. I had thought about glazing this year but never got past the thought! lol

gredind - great idea to use Cardamom with French Toast - I'll try that next time - take care of yourself!

So - here is my guy...say hello to my little friend...

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and here is soup and salad from tonight. The salad was boston red leaf, apple, beets, walnuts, red onion, evoo and balsamic which made everything an appealing brown - LOL. Next time I will use the obligatory raspberry vinegrette. Sad little attempt at presentation I know!

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Sharkm, what a feast. It all looks delicious.

Greg great photo. I'm glad you are feeling better.

Maureen, one of the easiest ways to cook halibut is to just put it in a small buttered shallow casserole, season, dot with butter, cover and bake in a 500°F oven. Doesn't take very long. 10 to 15 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets. That is what I did last night. But if that doesn't appeal to you let me know and I'll give you a few more options.

Maggie, I'm not a big fan of fish, but halibut is the exception. I love halibut.

Wouldn't mind a bowl of your soup, as long as I can pick out the carrots.

Before going to work this morning I boxed up the freezer so that Moe could take the contents over to the new place. The previous owner left a large freezer. Way bigger than I need. I kept out a small beef tenderloin roast for dinner. Dinner was quick and easy. I grilled the beef and made Parisienne potatoes , and fresh asparagus.

Ann, wow! Nice looking beef here!

msafirstein, the recipe for the penne is nothing special. Just penne tossed over medium heat with store bought pesto, some saute mushroom and some garlic. Sometimes I would toss in some cheese but none here. The shrimps were sauted with olive old and LOTS of garlic and put on top of the pasta.

There were actually too many other dishes in our thanksgiving dinner. Made the turkey dull. Actually, the turkey was small at 9lbs but it was very juicy and tender. But everyone just go for the scallops and the shrimps.........
Firday dinner was dungeness crabs, 6 BIG ones, boiled in beer + broth and steam rice. Finished 5 and no one ate the rice. :-(
Tonight, finally no guests, was leftover night - turkey pasta bake, black papper roast whole crab and fry rice.
Still have some pasta left over for tomorrow's lunch.

Great looking food everyone....table settings, gravy, desserts...just perfect!
And I sure could go for a turkey dinner right now but we'll have to wait until next month.
We also love halibut...and I bet it's good with shrimp too. Yours looks delicious, Ann.
A shame we don't get halibut here though, so we make do with other fish. But B.C. halibut is the best, I know.

I've been too busy to cook much lately. Just finishing the Christmas shopping for two big boxes going to Canada with my family gifts.
It's so late now that they'll have to go airmail.....Yikes! Dreading the cost.

So our midday dinners were out somewhere. I did cook beef tenderloin medallions at home one day as they're so fast to prepare.
We had them with salad and mixed veg. Otherwise it's been:

Friday: Schnitzels with roast banana in cream sauce, gravy and coleslaw. Wolf's with boiled potatoes and mine with chips.
On the house was an aperitif of cold dry sherry and a little plate of chorizo, Manchego cheese, olives and maize pickles.
That was nice of them!
Saturday: Roast pork with sauerkraut, bratkartoffeln & gravy and my grilled chicken breast, salad & chips.

Today I'll do a chili con carne as I have to spend the rest of the day looking for good mailing boxes, and wrapping them for the post tomorrow. Chili is always a quick and easy meal and is even better next day with some crusty baguette.

We had rain....lots of it...the whole island is grateful as everything has been so dry. Sun is out now as I write this on Sunday midday, but it has rained heavily the past two days. Cat weather....Blackie waits for the sunshine, Thevetia and rose in the rain.
A little canary sits in the Jerusalem thorn tree just as the sky was clearing after the rain.

Thank you Ann. Good technique.

I went down into the freezer yesterday, and cannot!! believe that we have almost no halibut. Dick put the fish in himself, and he did say there was more salmon than halibut, but darn..I think there are only 3 or 4 packets of halibut. He will be seriously bummed out to learn that and I don't think I will be cooking halibut today. Let them eat salmon I say...

(When the guys go fishing, all the fish is shared, but this certainly was a poor balance of halibut to salmon. No one sees the boxes till they are back home, but I suspect Dick will be a little more diligent in dealing with the packers next trip. The packers seem to think fish is fish...no way.)

I guess I'm 'turkeyed' out, everything looks so good that isn't turkey today. Ann, you tenderloin especially has me drooling, might have to go pull some out of the freezer.

Nancy

Mary, Linda's blog is always good read and her breads are the best. I do think I should have brushed the top of my sourcream bread with buttermilk as it would have baked to a golden brown instead of so light. It still was delicious but the buttermilk always is such a nice touch to any bread.

Sharon, sorry I forgot to post Jain's Lavender Chicken recipe for you. I usually only marinate my chicken about 4-5 hours and it comes out wonderful. Also I don't use all the lemon in the recipe but I only marinate 2 chicken breasts as opposed to an entire chicken as Jain did.

Lavender Chicken (Jain)

marinate for 4-24 hours in the following marinade. grill to perfection, garnish with lavender and lemon.

3/4 olive oil
1/4 dried lavender
zest and lemon juice from 2 lemons
5 cloves of garlic
1 T fresh thyme
s&p
fresh lavender

i am sure i went extra heavy with the lemon and lavender, i am never one to hold back...

Maggie, your turkey looks PERFECT! Ours was so skinny but it had a very good taste.

I'm with you Nancy and am turkeyed out. Today is the final day for leftovers with Marigene's Antler's Soup.

Sharon, the KAISERSCHMARRN looks so good! I watched the video and bookmarked the page. Hmmmm....maybe for Christmas Morning breakfast. The Schnitzels with roast banana in cream sauce sounds like something Joe would love. We always have bananas in the house.

Ann, the Halibut w/shimp and the beef sound delicious. I plan my after TG menu almost as well as the Turkey Dinner. Beef, shimp and pasta are waiting for post turkey week.

OH Greg so sorry you had to cancel your TG plans!!! But your french toast looks so good!! I love french toast with fresh berries, any berry!!

Maureen, the Dipping Biscuits is a recipe I found on Epicurious and thought they would be good with leftovers.

I did not have any onion powder to added several tsp of the water from my pre-minced garlic I keep in the frig for hurry-up meals but garlic powder would have worked better. I don't like Thyme, so subbed Marjoram and Basil. And they were delicious but next time I will use white flour, onion powder and maybe some tarragon and I can even see lavender being in the mix too.

Dipping Biscuits

Flavored with traditional stuffing herbs, these are great for mopping up gravy. They also make a tasty snack sandwich with leftover turkey.

Servings: Makes about 16

2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour*
1/2 cup unbleached bread flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon dried ground thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup buttermilk plus additional for brushing biscuit tops
1 large egg

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk whole wheat flour, bread flour, baking powder, salt, onion powder, baking soda, thyme, and sage in large bowl to blend. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk 1 cup buttermilk and egg in small bowl to blend. Add to flour mixture and mix with fork until evenly moistened (dough will be slightly sticky).

Turn biscuit dough out onto floured work surface. Knead briefly just until dough comes together, about 4 turns. Gather dough into ball. Using hands, flatten dough to 3/4-inch-thick round. Using 2-inch-diameter biscuit cutter or cookie cutter dipped in flour, cut out rounds. Transfer rounds to prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 to 1 1/2 inches apart. Gather dough scraps; flatten to 3/4-inch thickness and cut out additional rounds. Brush tops of biscuits with additional buttermilk.

Bake biscuits until tops are light golden and tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 22 minutes. Transfer biscuits to rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

A LITTLE AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cool biscuits completely, then wrap in foil and store at room temperature. Rewarm foil-wrapped biscuits in 350°F oven about 10 minutes, if desired, or serve at room temperature.
FURTHER AHEAD: Dry ingredients (the first 8) can be blended up to 2 days ahead. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature.

*White whole wheat flour is milled from 100 percent hard white wheat. It contains all of the germ and bran (and nutritional value) of regular whole wheat, but has a naturally lighter color and milder flavor. It's available at some supermarkets and specialty foods stores and from kingarthurflour.com.

Construction Update:

We are finally completely moved out the basement and my office is now on the first floor with the living. It is so nice to look out my windows and see a beautiful view of our property and my neighbors horses grazing and playing in the cold, crisp air. The horses have really been giddy this week with the snow!!

I'm almost ready to start sewing again and I need new potholders so badly too and they are first on my list of projects.

My carpenter will be here until Christmas to work on our fireplace mantels, built-ins and various other finish work. All the oak is stained and awaiting his expertise and he is so very talented and I could not ask for anyone better!!! And he loves this house which helps so much.

Yes, we had snow TG Eve and it snowed again on TG day! We've not had snow this early since Winter 2000 and we had blizzards in November that year!

Michelle

Thanks for posting Jain's recipe for the Lavender Chicken Michelle.
I just wanted to confirm those quantities of olive oil and lavender were CUP measures? I imagine they must be.
Yes the Kaiserschmarrn is a really good dish....it would be great as a special breakfast or after a light meal, as it is rather filling. It would be perfect for Christmas morning! I especially love the rum-soaked raisins! The German cook on the video mentions that there is no sugar in the mixture as it would cause the pancake to burn easily and for that reason powdered sugar is sprinkled over afterwards, once it's cut and plated for serving.

I've been still busy with Christmas parcels for Canada so made a quick run to the supermarket for the makings of a large chili con carne. I use a Maggi Chili con Carne spice & herb mixture for the flavouring as it's always spot on with just the right amount of heat that we like and the sachets are much fresher than if I were to buy the individual spices and mix them. That supermarket also sells a beautiful crusty, seedy brown baguette, still warm from their oven so I picked up one of those to go with the chili. There's enough chili for today and tomorrow but as much as I love chili I hope we can finish it so we can have something else the next day.

Weather here is still sun and then showers and the temperatures are what we consider "cold".
I think it has been going down to about 59°F / 15°C at night, which we find almost frosty! lol.
Blackie found a warm wall to sit on until the next shower. Our garden after the rain.

I love looking at everyone's delicious looking meals each morning!

After turkey and ham all weekend, we had to have something different....steak, with herb vinaigrette potatoes, broccoli, tossed salad!

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A few of the goodies I baked for Thanksgiving....
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sooo many gorgeous photos. Sharon, the yellow flower in the rain is breathtaking.

Ann, so is that beef...:-)

and the danish, marigene!!!!!!!!

Well, Saturday, we had turkey soup - I enjoy it more than the turkey dinner, actually. Man how I wish I had better luck with homemade bread. I would have attempted it.

Will made the noodles. Sammy helped clean up.

We also got our tree - we always get it early, always is fine til the new year. Scott was leaving Sunday AM, so we wanted to get it up, so I could decorate this week while he's gone.

We somehow managed to KEEP it up as Will placed the star on top...

Our fave movie is Scrooged. We had to dress Will up like a Christmas tree.

Sorry for the long post, I seem to get around here so infrequently anymore, I feel obligated to catch up!

I was so bummed. We have had some cool touch lights for the past couple of years that look like the old fashioned C7 lights - but this year a couple strands blew out and I can't get them working again. And when I put other bulbs in, they feel too hot to touch. Back to the little ones. I hate that they think every one wants NEW kinds of Christmas stuff, instead of thinking that people like stuff that reminds them of when they were a kid.....I'll pass on the holograms and LED faceted lights, thanks.

Stacy

Marigene you have been busy and your baking looks wonderful!
Stacy I would love some of that soup right about now. Nice pictures of your son.
Dinners the last couple of days have consisted of, Roasted Tomato soup (with a bit of a kick), sumac roasted chicken, with roasted potatoes, and broccoli and cheese sauce, Pork medallions in a sherry/paprika sauce, whole wheat pasta (tried that new smart stuff, looks like white with the goodness of whole wheat) with a slow roasted cherry tomato sauce with spinach and basil, and a toasted bulger wheat salad with roasted hazelnuts. All new recipes and all keepers!

Shelley

Great pictures Stacy.
I agree about the lights!
I bought new lights last year for outside..one strand of 6 only works 2/3 of the way..no matter what I do, I can't get it to work!!!!!!!!!
So I have to scrap the plan and start all over AGAIN!

But speakin of old lights..Walmarts got the bubble lights in..remember those? They were selling out quick yesterday when we were looking for a replacemant..which I DIDN'T find for mine!

Dinner lastnight was a mish mash.
I grilled hubby a rib eye and Giant shrimp.
The boys had grilled burgers.
I made a potato Au Gratin...so I had that over some left over turkey with a giant salad.

I don't post here often since I rarely cook, but it was wonderful checking out all the great photos and delicious meals you all are cooking! Stacy, great pics of your home boys! :)

I have some things to report, as I spent Thanksgiving in DC with a friend who had to stay home and work while his family went away for the week. So I came to visit and the jewish mama in me came out and I cooked up a storm so he would have food for the rest of the weekend while he was working. (He knew that's what would happen if he managed to get me down there!) We didn't have duck like I had planned, so I'll have to save Ann T's recipe for Christmas with the family. We had salmon fresh from the west coast, which was delish. I made an easy yet very delicous dinner for Thanksgiving--broiled salmon with olive oil and lemon and s&p, roasted vegetables--sweet potatoes, red potatoes, yellow potatoes, carrots and red onions, plus roasted asparagus. Then a salad of greens, radichio, celery, homegrown pears, gorgonzola and walnuts, with a lemon/orange juice olive oil dressing, that's one of my favorite salads. For dessert, cranberry/cherry crisp, a new recipe and a keeper. The whole meal cooked up in just the oven other than the salad, easy peasy and not too much cleanup either. It was the perfect kind of Thanksgiving meal, no fuss and just good food and good friends.

I made pasta salad with my home canned basil jardinaire which turned out great. Also some banana bread. Then when I got home, I had to do some fridge cleaning, and I improvised a sweet potato stew with beans and all these various chilis I needed to use up. It was awesome last nite with cheddar cheese, served over corn chips with a dollop of sour cream on top. The stew was just made with stuff I had languishing in the fridge--green, poblano, yellow hungarian, italian cherry and jalapeno peppers, sweet potatoes, dark red kidney beans, black beans, scallions and corn. Liquid was canned tomatoes and tomato sauce and V8 juice which I always use in my tomato-based soups. I didn't have cilantro, so I seasoned it with garlic, cumin and corriander.

Hi everybody - what a good time I had reading this thread and catching up with so many great meals. Great pictures, Stacy, and hi Lpink!

We've been busy with T-day and some company and then going to DS for an overnight and visiting with 2 adorable granddaughters.

Lots of food to talk about - but I just can't go through the entire last week's worth of food I'm just fooded out, sure you know what I mean - we're having pizza tonight. However, I do need to mention just one dish that was truly a BIG winner - Eileen's Fantastic Pasta (at least that's the name I have for it)! OMG - its great, goes together in a snap and received oohs and ahhhs and request for the recipe - even 11 m/o Barbara happily enjoyed it. Thanks Eileen Launonen, this isn't the first time I've made it and each time it gets raves!

Sorry Sharon the Lavender Chicken should read:

3/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. dried lavender

Woodie, please post Eileen's Pasta recipe, I must have missed it. We love our pasta in this house!

Marigene....OH MY, you've been so busy! What's the bread with the pecans on top? Everything looks so good!

Stacy, your turkey soup with homemade noodles looks fabulous!!! Are noodles made with semolina? Will did a great job on the noodles, they are perfect. Cute photos of decorating the tree...thanks for sharing them with us.

We finished up all the turkey with Hot Turkey Sandwiches w/fried mashed potatoes and Marigene's Antlers Soup. Both were delicious but I am glad all the turkey is gone.

Also bought a new cast aluminum pot. I love Guardian cookware and picked this 2 1/2 qt up for $8. I really need a 4 qt pot though so am still looking.

Tonight is Shrimp and Sausage Pasta...YUM!!

Michelle

Great pics everyone, Marigene, your breads and danish and rolls and steak look great. Busy girl!
Michelle, that soup looks delicious. That is some interesting pot you found!
Stacy, your tree looks great, wish I could smell the evergreen thorugh the screen, love that smell!
Ann, the people who are turkeyed out are drooling over that beef! Perfect...
We had no turkey here, so we've had chicken, steak and tonight pork. Need some inspiration...after lugging Christmas decs from the basement all day, I am lucky to get supper cooked!

Stacy, every home should have an almost-man-boy to decorate for the holidays! I love that boy energy.;-) Dad seems to have some left in him too!

I get sick of the turkey too (esp as I don't like it to begin with) and when I make one, the half or so that doesn't get eaten goes right into the freezer till Jan or so when it becomes a nice poof kind of supply to have. Turkey tettrazini was the one dish I've always liked right after TG. I got that one back in the 60s from the Blueberry Hill Menu cookbook.

What did we eat tonight? Dick had the last faux TG meal...chicken, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and the green bean , roast cauli/red pepper melange. I had the leftover stuffed shells from last night's salmon and shells belated family dinner. My dil was sick so we had no 'new' dessert but everyone was full so it all worked out well.

Tomorrow will be a kedgeree with the salmon remains, and the fridge should be close to cleaned up. yeah! (still have some pecan pie to finish...oh well!) Maureen

Michelle

I made the Antler Soup too ... yummy, and like you I am glad the turkey is gone :)

We had chili for dinner.
I made the base with ground chicken, then split some off for me and put a pound of exlean ground beef for the men folk. They also had biscuits.

Stacy, cute "live" tree!

Shelley, sumac roasted chicken sounds like something I would like to try...do you have a recipe to share?

Terri, I love those hot bubble tree lights. I wish I had the ones my family had when we were kids; but then I am sure they wouldn't be up to code any longer.

Lpink, bet your friend appreciated you cooking a feast for Thanksgiving.

Woodie, would you please post Eileen's Fantastic Pasta recipe?

Michelle and Ohiomom, glad that you liked the Antler's soup. It is one of Howard's favorites. I really should make it more often. The hot turkey sandwiches looks delicious and I don't even like turkey!

Michelle, the bread with the pecans is a cream cheese banana. It took longer than an hour to bake; closer to 90 minutes.

Kathleen, we didn't have turkey here either!

CREAM CHEESE-BANANA-NUT BREAD
MAKES 2 LOAVES

¾ cup butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups mashed bananas (1 ¼ pounds unpeeled bananas, about 4 medium)
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

BEAT butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

COMBINE flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in bananas, pecans, and vanilla. Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured 8- x 4-inch loafpans.

BAKE at 350° for 1 hour or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and sides pull away from pan, shielding with aluminum foil last 15 minutes to prevent browning, if necessary. Cool bread in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool 30 minutes before slicing.
***********************************************************

I did more baking today....had to get my dessert of the month done seeing it is almost the end of the month and my usual 2 loaves of bread that I make every Monday. The desserts were Ann's Individual Blueberry Pound Cake Muffins and a coconut cream tart.

Dinner for me was a breaded veal cutlet and Howard had chicken with noodles, mashed potatoes with peas on the top.

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Noodles WITH mashed potatoes on top?!??!!? Oh my, somebody loves his carbs. LOL

Marigene, what 'is' your dessert of the month??

Despite the potroast in the pot, tonight was meatloaf. I sure fooled the man of the house. However, the potroast needs to cool to be degreased and I'd rather let it mellow a day.

He was just as happy with this poofed meatloaf...I knew I'd have it just before we go on vacation, so he can take his own sandwich on the plane. Happy man...

Marigene, your dinner and dessert look wonderful. You must cook for hours!!

Everything looks so good, but this time it's Maureen's roasted potatoes and Ann T's perfectly rare beef that has me hungry.

Stacy, I love that "tree" you have there. He's sure getting big and looking more like his Dad all the time.

Sharon, thanks for the weather report. I missed those.

OK, let's see if I can catch up. We had Thanksgiving dinner, of course. On Friday Elery came up and we had leftovers, he had to work Thanksgiving so that was his Thanksgiving dinner. I made this dessert, a version of coconut cream pie. His grandmother always made coconut cream pie for Thanksgiving but he doesn't eat much sugar. So, the sugarfree coconut cream dessert, with gingersnap crumbs instead of pie crust:

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Saturday we made turkey sausage with dried cherries, it was good but not worth the skinning and deboning of all those turkey legs. For supper we had a "pizza" made of phyllo dough topped with some fresh sausage, artichokes and portobello mushrooms:

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I poached some pears in white wine with vanilla beans, whole cloves and cinnamon sticks:

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Those pears became part of this salad, romaine topped with pears, walnuts and fresh pancetta. Yes, Elery and I made pancetta too, I'll make a different thread on that, maybe tomorrow. Anyway, the salad was dressed with a light honey mustard dressing:

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On Sunday Elery made tortilla soup and turkey tacos out of leftover turkey, served that with a glass of commercially made Sangria:

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Last night it was turkey pot pie. Here it is before and after baking:

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I still have turkey left, but no more for another day or two, please!

Annie

Everyone on this site are such good cooks...

Last night we had slow cooker beef ribs with carrots, onions, broccolli and brown rice. I made a gravy out of the dippings from the beef ribs.

Linda

Maureen, my dessert of the month is a Christmas gift to a couple of friends (that have everything, so are hard to shop for)....they get a dessert of THEIR choice each month for the year Now everyone wants that for Christmas!
Your meatloaf dinner sure looks like comfort food to me.

Annie, looks like you have been busy cooking and baking!

Woodie, I made the pasta salad last night and served it with broiled shrimp...wow, it is wonderful. Howard loved it. It is certainly going to be made again. Thanks for posting it. I couldn't find the recipe in the Cucina Amore cookbook. Maybe their is another one that I don't have.

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well, lyndaluu, that sure as heck includes you! Your meal looks wonderful. Especially the carrots - I don't know why. :-)

Annie, your pot pie too. That looks amazing. ANd I love your idea with the pears. I looked here briefly earlier and must have remembered your potpie. I decorated my apple pie quite similarly, without even realizing it.

We're having sol's caramel chicken, rice, snowpeas w/ mushrooms, and apple pie with ice cream for dessert. Company you know.

Oh, and the ohter night, I made some baked wings that were out of this world!!!!!!!!! We'll probably make those again tomorrow when Scott returns as he's mad that he missed them. :-)

Stacy

sorry, Michelle - no semolina - just flour eggs water and salt. My great aunt taught me how and we like them really thick and rustic (obviously) kind of like how Sharon describes sliders.

Okay, Marigene and Annie, stop showing off! Your making me feel like such a little slacker - LOL! Everything looks great! Marigene - how do I get in on this dessert of the month? That is excellent idea and a wonderful gift of your time and love.

Annie, so - you like wine now? Your pears are pretty.

Stacy, that could be your christmas card! Great photo! He has the best smile. How do you do the wings? I have a huge package in the freezer.

We are having a trim the tree party tonight (just us! lol). But I make everything a "party" and my son gets so excited! He just loves deocrating - lol! Going to make Cindy mac's bbq shrimp and sugar cookies with the boy.

Linda - your gravy looks awesome!

Last night was penne ala vodka with chicken and peas.

No, maggie, I still don't like wine. Sigh. I keep trying....

Annie

The gravy was just the juice from cooking the meat, onions and carrots in the slow cooker and adding a rue.

Linda