Contemporary Thanksgiving!

This year, we're celebrating Thanksgiving several times.  On the actual day, we'll head south to Ironton, OH to see Sean's family and we'll feast upon tradition.  You know, the traditional Thanksgiving where the turkey cooks all day long, the house is full of people and rambunctious kids, there are as many pies as people and everyone takes a loooong nap after eating.  I can't wait!

But this year, we've decided to celebrate another way as well.  We're in a new city and home, so we figured it's only fitting to do things differently.  My brother flew in from college over the weekend, so we celebrated yesterday with a "Contemporary Thanksgiving."  We cooked all day and took the traditional meal to a whole new level.  This is my idea of a Thanksgiving for friends and here is what we ate:

Apricot BBQ Meatballs

Pumpkin Sweet Potato Soup

with chipotle honey glaze, crema & almonds

Roasted Turkey Breast

with lemon, parsley & thyme

Spinach Dressing

Green Bean Casserole

with onion & ham

Bacon and Cranberry Brussel Sprouts

Praline Sweet Potatoes

French Silk Pie

Blondies 

with Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting

Thanksgiving just isn't right without a few hiccups, and ours was no exception.  Although our meal was delicious, we misjudged the amount of time it would take to prepare everything, we ran out of eggs halfway through, the dressing burned to a crisp and our turkey took twice as long to cook as we expected.  Needless to say, we created some great memories last night that will go down in Thanksgiving history!  

But isn't that truly was days like this are for?  To give thanks for the great people in your life (near and far away), laugh over new and old stories and to relax in each others' good company.  I can't think of anything better.  

So, Happy Thanksgiving to my family (who seems quite far away today) and my friends across the globe.  I hope you all have an impressive and delicious Thanksgiving dinner!  

Pumpkin Sweet Potato Soup

This soup is a welcome introduction to your Thanksgiving or fall meal.  It is velvety and smooth with subtle hints of spice and crunch.  It is garnished with a chipotle honey drizzle, a swirl of cream and toasted slivered almonds. 

1 container of sweet potato soup (about 24 oz.)

1 C. pureed pumpkin (from a can)

½ t. cinnamon

¼ t. nutmeg

¼ t. salt

¼ t. pepper

¼ C. heavy cream

½ C. toasted slivered almonds

In a large pot, combine all ingredients save the cream, whisking until smooth.  Heat the soup over medium low until it warms. 

Chipotle Honey Drizzle

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce

1 T. extra adobo sauce

2 T. honey

1 T. water

1 T. olive oil

Salt and pepper

In a small food processor, combine all ingredients and process until you have a smooth liquid.  There will still be chipotle seeds and that’s fine.  Season to taste.  If it’s too spicy, just add some more honey and water.  

To garnish, ladle some of the soup into a bowl.  Drizzle some of the chipotle honey over the top in a circle.  Next, drizzle some of the heavy cream.  Sprinkle a few toasted almonds right in the middle.  

Try these recipes too!


Grape Jelly Meatballs - I substituted apricot preserves for the grape jelly
Spinach Balls - I made this into a loaf instead of balls
French Silk Pie - Perfect just the way it is!

Happy Fourth of July!

I think we sometimes overlook the little things in life and take for granted what is so normal to us.  Things that other places in the world can only dream about.  I’m proud and happy to live in the U.S. and sometimes I forget to stop and remember just how important it is to be grateful.  Thank you to all the men and women who put their lives on the line each day to make sure we are safe and can enjoy our American lifestyle. 

The fourth of July was just about perfect this year!  I woke up on Wednesday morning to beautiful, cloudy skies – a welcome treat in Phoenix, AZ.  The desert had been cooled to a reasonable and pleasant temperature.  So, I made biscuits and my family and I ate them outside on the patio, enjoying the garden and reading some new books.  The overcast lighting seemed too perfect to pass by, so Sean selflessly let me take pictures of him for a new painting – they turned out great!  We took some adorable family shots too. 

Almost a moment after I snapped the last handsome picture, it began to rain.  Normally, we would have been upset by this on the Fourth of July, but today it was just fine.  We took a drive together and laughed over assembling new windshield wipers, which don’t get much use here in Arizona – all the while getting soaked in the rain. 

When we returned home, we had some margaritas by the pool, as the rain had begun to let up.  By dinnertime, the clouds had completely subsided and bright blue skies made barbequing possible.  With classic American songs in the background, we munched on hamburgers, deviled eggs, coleslaw, potato salad, chips and dip, guacamole, baked beans and even tomato aspic. Dessert was truly patriotic – shortcake with white whipped cream, red strawberries and blue blueberries.  It was a real feast and I hardly cooked a thing!  It was an easy and mostly store-bought summer BBQ. 

Once we were securely in our food comas, we watched the fireworks, broadcast from D.C. and N.Y.  I couldn’t have asked for a more relaxing and happy mid-week respite and Fourth of July.

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Today’s recipe is hardly a recipe.  But, even a cook sometimes needs a break from laboring in the kitchen – especially when the holiday is in the middle of the week! 

Shortcake with Whipped Cream and Fresh Berries

Shortcake

Whipping cream + 2 T. Sugar

Strawberries

Blueberries

Whip the cream until soft peaks form and slowly sprinkle in the sugar, whipping until it is completely combined and stiff peaks have formed.  Arrange each shortcake on your plate and top with whipped cream.  Garnish with fresh berries.  It’s that simple.  

Happy Thanksgiving! Sweet Potatoes

Every Thanksgiving, my dad is our chef.  I never interfere with the staples because they’re so good and if we didn’t have them, it wouldn’t really feel like Thanksgiving. This year, I’ll be contributing two dishes:  Sweet Potatoes and French Silk Pie.  What dish do you make every year that you can’t live without?  Please share them down below!

A long time ago, a friend’s friend delivered Thanksgiving leftovers to my apartment.  My friend Kateryna and I raved over his sweet potatoes.  He never surrendered the recipe, so I’ve recreated it here.  These potatoes are soft and creamy with a crunchy walnut strudel topping. 

10 sweet potatoes, cleaned but not peeled

¾ C. flour

½ C. oats

1 ½ C. packed brown sugar

1 t. baking powder

¾ t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 C. cold butter, divided

1 egg

2 C. walnuts (or pecans), chopped

Preheat oven to 400.  With a fork, prick each cleaned sweet potato and place on large baking sheet.  Bake for 50 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.  (You could also microwave them for about 12 minutes on high).  Remove them from the oven and allow to cool.  Lower oven’s temperature to 350.  Slice each potato in half, lengthwise and place in an oven-safe dish.  Make crosshatch cuts in each potato. 

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  Add the butter and work it into the mixture with your fingers until it is the size of peas.  Add the egg and cut it into the mixture with a knife and fork, until thoroughly combined.  Add the walnuts and toss to combine. 

Spread the leftover butter over the potatoes, allowing butter to melt into the crosshatches.  Spoon some of the strudel mixture on each potato and bake for 30 minutes until the topping is crunchy and golden brown.  These potatoes are great warm or at room temperature.