Good Morning.
People get into ruts. They buy the same kind of car every time they get a new vehicle, they put the same kind of
annuals in their planters every May, they never change their hair style, and they give the same amount every year
to the same charity. When I was growing up, the wash was done on Monday and the ironing on Tuesday. I never
slipped into those horrid routines because routines annoy me. Some people stayed in their nice little ruts yesterday when they voted. Nothing new, nobody different, very boring, extremely irritating.
In an attempt to do at least something outside of the box, I will throw out the remote possibility of preparing something different for Thanksgiving, not served early afternoon but sometime after five o'clock. That means you can start with a cocktail, a real one, not a Mimosa.
Good Dog
1 1/2 oz. Southern Comfort
1 1/2 oz. cranberry juice
1 oz. pineapple juice
1/2 oz. vodka
Splash of Grenadine
Combine the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake, and pour into a stemmed glass. Sit. Stay.
Serve your drinks with Mexican Grilled Shrimp.
2 dozen big raw shrimp
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp. tequila
2/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp. freshly grated lime zest
Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving their tails on. Mix the olive oil and lime juice in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp, cover, and marinate for an hour. To cook the shrimp, heat a large skillet until very hot, throw in the shrimp with the marinade and saute the shrimp for maybe two minutes on each side until pink. Don't overcook or the shrimp will get tough. Combine the tequila with the mayonnaise and place in a dipping bowl. Garnish with lime zest. Serve the shrimp warm with the sauce.
For those who don't like seafood, have a bowl of popcorn on hand.
I'd begin the meal at the table with Potato-Bacon Chowder. It can be made ahead and heated up for serving.
8 slices bacon, cut up
1 cup chopped white onion
2 cups cubed potatoes
1 cup water
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 3/4 cup whole milk
A dash of salt and pepper
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, optional
Fry the bacon pieces until crisp in a soup kettle. Add the onion and saute for two or three minutes. Drain the fat. Add the potatoes and water. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer maybe fifteen minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the soup and gradually add the milk. Taste and season. Add the sour cream. Put all of this, in batches, in a blender and process until smooth. Garnish with parsley. This amount will serve four people. Multiply as necessary.
No turkey at this table. Cornish Game Hen Provence.
6 Cornish Hens
1 1/2 cups olive oil, divided
6 tbsp. lemon juice, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
12 sprigs of fresh basil
6 tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. Herbes de Provence
Rinse the hens and pat them dry. Mix half the olive oil and half the lemon juice and pour over the hens in a large baking dish. Marinate for three hours, turning the hens occasionally. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Remove the hens from the marinade and discard the marinade. Sprinkle each hen inside and out with salt and pepper. Place 2 sprigs of basil inside each cavity. Rub the outside of each bird with a tablespoon of mustard and place in a roasting pan. Roast for fifteen minutes at 450. Reduce heat to 350 and continue roasting until the juices run clear when a thigh is pierced, probably another fifty minutes. Combine the rest of the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, and Herbes de Provence. Baste frequently with this mixture. Six people can have their own hen or you can cut them down the middle and serve twelve.
Serve your hens with a Zucchini Casserole.
2 pounds zucchini
1/3 cup coarsely chopped white onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded carrot
A dash of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 8 oz. package Pepperidge Farm herb stuffing mix
1/4 cup melted butter
Parmesan from a plastic jar thing
Cut the zucchini into pieces and cook them with the chopped onion and carrot for five minutes in a pot of lightly salted water. Remove from heat and drain. In a large bowl, combine the soup and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper, just
a titch. Fold in the vegetables. In another bowl, mix the melted butter and stuffing mix. Spread half of this mixture onto the bottom of an 8x12 glass baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Spoon the zucchini mixture over the stuffing but don't mix
with the stuffing. Add the remaining stuffing on top and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for half an hour. Serves eight.
This is my husband's famous holiday casserole. Substitute cream of celery or cream of mushroom soup if desired, but anyway you put it together, the dish is absolutely scrumptious. Better than those old green beans any day of the week.
This hearty dish is probably enough to go with the hens, but you can always add a nice, big starch. You had potatoes in the
soup, so I'd go with Yankee Doodle's Mac and Cheese.
1 pound elbow macaroni
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
6 tbsp. flour
2 cups whole milk
2 cups Half and Half
8 oz. sharp cheddar, grated
8 oz. Monterey Jack
1 cup ricotta
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Panko for the top
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook macaroni until barely al dente. Drain and set aside. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the onion for five minutes. Reduce the heat to low, stir in the flour and make yourself a roux. Cook for two minutes. Whisk in the milk and cook until the sauce is smooth. Add the Half and Half and combine well. Stir in the cheeses, taste, and add salt and pepper. Add the pasta and mix well. Pour into a buttered 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle the top with Panko. Bake for twenty minutes in a 350 degree oven or until the top is slightly browned. This will serve
six people. Make it ahead.
Add a cranberry relish or the tray with celery and olives and stuff like that. Add the crescent rolls if you must.
For dessert we have Pumpkin Chocolate Cake.
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup applesauce
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 inch Bundt pan. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, pie spice, baking powder, and baking soda. In a large bowl, beat together 3/4 cup butter, 2 cups granulated sugar, applesauce, and eggs. Mix in 1/2 cup whipping cream and pumpkin. Stir in the flour mixture until just blended. Spread evenly in the pan and bake for forty minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan before inverting onto a serving plate. Put the brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter, and 1/3 cup whipping cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until smooth. Whisk in the confectioners' sugar and pour over the cake immediately. Make the cake ahead and the sauce at the end.
Have a cup of de-caf, put the first load in the dishwasher, and go to bed.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
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