Jen I have several packages of stuffing mix in my pantry…the result of a sale or clearance at some point…and I wanted to get creative with them! I found a recipe for “Leftover Stuffing Breakfast Casserole” that I modified and made for breakfast today. Really good. Pairs well with some fresh fruit AmyI have a friend who refers to stuffing as dressing. She can't fool me. I've had the displeasure of meeting the ass hat with whom she is currently shacked up. Call it whatever you want it's all the same. With three of us being from south of the Mason-Dixon line I sensed that there's going to be at least one stuffing made with cornbread. So I grabbed a few of my cookbooks to look for inspiration. Whilst thumbing through Nigella Christmas by Nigella Lawson I found a recipe for Bread Sauce. My first thought was that this shouldn't be a thing. But I read on and I was intrigued. I had to give it a shot. No it isn't stuffing but I guarantee that it is worth the effort. It is a traditional dish served at Christmas in England but I think it's perfect in Winter period. If you do a big Sunday dinner that might be the time to add this aromatic sauce. Nigella seems keen to serve it with a roasted bird but I made a meal of it served with ham and an orange salad. But to you I say do your own thing! My Mother's Bread Sauce Nigella Christmas by Nigella Lawson I have to plug this marvelous cookbook though. It's hands down one of the best Winter cookbooks that I own. That was a fun food challenge. Though I bent the rules slightly. NikitaAfter much thought about our eating patterns and behaviors, I figured out that my family does not eat stuffing outside of Thanksgiving dinner; now I'm wondering, "Why not?" I came across a yummy recipe for Thanksgiving Day sandwiches in which you use the leftovers to create a masterpiece of turkey, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce. I do not have Thanksgiving Day leftovers anymore, so I resorted to making a small version of our turkey day meal just for this sandwich. First mistake, I did not stock up on fresh cranberries when they were in season at the grocery store as suggested by Amy. I meant to buy a few bags and freeze them to eat all year round, but life happened; I forgot. So I resorted to buying the jellied cranberry sauce in a can which I actually do enjoy and get a strange satisfaction plopping it out of the can onto a plate and watching it jiggle. I also found an easy, convenient seasoned turkey breast to roast in the oven for fresh meat. This time, I made the stuffing in a bundt pan to try and configure a gorgeous circle of stuffing, but I also figured it would be easier to slice it and layer on the sandwiches. Even though I sprayed the bundt pan well with Pam, it still stuck in places and I had to rebuild it for my picture. Pay no mind to the backside of my bundt. ;-) HAHA! GeorgiaWith the hubs looking for work at this time he's the one doing most of the cooking. Which I'm grateful for because my job has me busy. We kinda cheated.. Well I did on a couple of levels. Randy made dinner and we decided to go with a stuffed chicken, but not stuffed with bread. With a green onion cream cheese mixture.. AND then wrapped in bacon.t He added herbs de province to it as well.. This was SO tasty and according to him very easy to make. Sounds like a winning combo to me To me.. The best part of what we do is the coming together and how each of us always make the same but not quite the same.
Until next week, Jen, Amy, Nikita and Georgia
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Georgia As per my norm I consult with the hubs when it's my week. This week he whipped out Beef Wellington. I'm always up for a new challenge when it comes to food. The funny about this week is I've been so busy that he ended up making it. We ended up choosing Tyler Florence's Beef Wellington because he uses a mushroom pate and Prosciutto over a liver pate. My opinion on how it turned out.. Oh my gosh!! It was freaking amazing. Will he make it again.. probably not. it was pretty complex compared to his favorite bean burritos. He served this with veggies and roasted herbs de province potatoes.. But.. He did a terrific job on this meal.. Jen I’ve seen Beef Wellington made on the show “Hell’s Kitchen”, and the fails that went along with it!! I decided to go an easier route and made Beef Wellington Tartlets. They were pretty good actually, considering they were inspired only by a picture with no recipe. And my husband has no idea that I put mushrooms in it <evil laugh>. :) AmySooooo.....I'm not consuming meat lately. I do this from time to time. No reason, I just don't fancy meat at times. My challenge was to find a Beefless Wellington. The interenet didn't fail me. Turns out the Beefless Wellington is the traditional entree for Christmas with a vegan/ vegetarian. I found dozens of recipes for this. I'm not trying to push a meatless diet on anyone but I will say a vegetarian Wellington is hearty, flavorful and filling. Rather than using a puff pastry I used a box of Artisan bread. It worked out perfect. Once you allow the bread to rise just roll it out thin and use cut it in half. Line a bread pan with parchment paper and mold 1/2 the dough into the pan, fill it with the veggies then cover with the other 1/2 of the dough and brush with melted butter. You want about a cup of cooked lentils. And 1/2 sunflower seeds that have soaked in water for and hour. Saute some chopped celery, onions and carrots, minced garlic. The recipe I found used poultry seasoning I used Penzeys Quebec Beef Spice. Chopped up mushrooms are used but I used about 1/3 cup of T.V.P. and a few shots of Bragg's Liquid Amino's . Tomato paste and maybe wine was involved? Salt and white pepper, to taste. Mix it all together and sling it in the loaf pan. 350° for around 45 minutes. Here's the recipe upon which I based my own: I was most pleased. NikitaNikita and family spent the week in Bulgaria.. And.. She sent me pics along the way.. That's love. Here are a few from Bulgaria and Greece I love how we are always trying new things.. Beef Wellington was a first. And I love how Amy put a vegetarian spin on it. Dinner for everyone
Looking forward to new things Georgia, Jen, Amy and Nikita Nikita I chose salad this week because good golly Miss Molly! We ate some cookies for Christmas! I found a wonderfully simple salad that was packed with flavor and nutrients. Emerald Salad has broccolini (baby broccoli), spinach, flat leaf parsley, almonds & feta! The dressing is simple with olive oil and lemon juice. Yum! Georgia Nikita's timing for a healthy winter salad was perfect. FYI.. So many tasty winter salad options. I ended up choosing this one because the husband is not a fan of most winterish foods. Sweet potatoes, pomegranate, squash of any kind. But great news. he tells me he isn'y picky.. yeah.. right So I found this recipe because it seemed innocent enough. I was wrong. It had too much fruit on it. So if you are the kind of person like my husband or married to the kind of person like my husband this may not be for you. But if you are like me you will LOVE it!! I loved the flavors, the textures, the crunch.. Delish Side note. I added roasted chickpeas for the protein. I could eat like this every night Jen This week I made a “Spinach Pear Pomegranate Salad”, and I’m the only one in the house that would eat it! Sigh. My girls decided they don’t like pomegranate seeds. 😊 The salad was actually really good with ranch dressing instead of the vinaigrette. And I used croutons instead of walnuts because of an allergy. Amy Once again it's time for that whole "New Year, New me" bullshit. But we love you just the way you are. My contribution to this week's challenge will go down as the stuff of controversy for two reasons(well three): 1) But that is a SPRING salad! 2) This isn't how it's made! 3) People are too emotionally constipated to move outside of their comfort zone. This controversial object is, of course, Ambrosia. For years I couldn't stand Ambrosia. Mini marshmallows, raisins, maraschino cherries...it was a hot mess. But then someone changed my mind. A true Southern Belle, a mover, a shaker, major influencer and the worst speller in the history of Match Game. I'm talking about, of course, Fannie Flagg. Terrible speller who also happens to be a cracking good writer and an authority on Southern cuisine. How do I know this? I've read her books. Food is always mentioned throughout. Several books offer recipes in the back (Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe being Fannie's best known). In 2004 Fannie published A Red Bird Christmas. A charming novel that gave me all the warm feels. This book, too, contains recipes. When I perused the back of the book I saw Ambrosia and thought," Not this crap!". But I read the ingredients and realized that Ambrosia wasn't always crap and not always served at Easter. That year I added Ambrosia to our Christmas menu and it was a hit. Sadly, I no longer possess a copy of A Red Bird Christmas and I've done a lot of drinking since 2004. I don't remember Fannie's recipe. I've yelled "OKAY GOOGS" to find it and I've scoured my current cookbook collection to no avail. If anyone has A Red Bird Christmas or remains sober and does a better job with the internet please share the recipe. Maybe we can hashtag Fannie Flagg and someone somewhere will share the Ambrosia recipe. For now I shall offer my own version: I LOVED Amy's comment about new year, new you. The reality is we should treat every day as a new opportunity to make our lives better
And this challenge was another way of doing just that. Until next week when I ruin everything by challenging everyone to make Beef Wellington AmyUgh...well I went to bed early and didn't ring in the New Year. It was going to happen with or without me and I like sleep. I did have a virgin mimosa on the morning of January 1 though. Orange juice with Champagne and Berries Green Tea. It was most pleasant. I commenced to cooking straight away. Okay I started the day before by soaking the black-eyed peas then tossing them into the slow cooker before I went to bed. I prepare them different every year so I don't have a recipe to share. Just do your own thing. I forgot to get collards. No matter. I made cornbread in a cast iron skillet because that's the only way to do it. I found several recipes in my oldest cookbook (It turns the big 8-0 this year). I also prepared applesauce using a method from the same cookbook. Pineapple casserole via a so-so cookbook on Southern cooking. The casserole was delicious though. I have a Moosewood cookbook of holiday menus and I improvised a sweet potato recipe from a Kwanzaa menu (any holiday in which food is integral is worth celebrating) and I made a pie! The recipe will be available tomorrow. The first day of the year my home was warm and cozy and the aromatic scents wafting throughout were a constant cheerful reminder of my Southern roots. Another thing to mention is that our (Georgia and I) grandmother's birthday was on January 2 and I wanted to celebrate her life not only by preparing food she herself would have made but also by wearing one of her favorite perfumes. She would have been 97 and probably would have managed to midnight to celebrate because Grandma rolled harder than the rest of us combined. Happy New Year to everyone! JenI’ve had a memorable and busy last couple weeks, spending time with family from near and far. I wish I would have taken more than the handful of pictures I took on Christmas morning, but I was enjoying my time so much that I never remembered to pull out my camera! And oh my goodness…the food…so good. For Christmas dinner I made an amazing cheesy potato casserole, and two apple pies from scratch with fun crust designs. I guess you’ll have to use your imagination. My brother hosted, and they served a perfectly cooked ham, along with a bunch of other sides. Yum yum. It’s hard to believe we’re already almost a week into January now. 2018 was a rewarding year – the fruit of much effort and sacrifice in 2017. For 2019, I just hope things continue on their merry way. Maybe with less medical issues though…I think there were 20+ appointments in the last 4 weeks between myself and my two daughters. Makes it hard to get any work done!! 😊 Our family’s new year celebration was pretty low-key. My husband and I were both under the weather, so we got take-out from Flame Broiler, rented “A House with a Clock in Its Walls”, and did a sparkling cider toast nice and early thanks to Netflix on-demand New Year’s Eve countdowns. The whole evening was cozy and really great. Happy New Year from my family to yours! Nikita HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I'm sure we all ate the same food - black-eyed peas, greens, & ham! This year I wanted to share a picture of our year-long venture of sharing appreciation and memories. In January 2018, I set up a mason jar in the kitchen. Throughout the year, each of us would leave a note of recognized appreciation or write down a good memory as they occurred. On New Year's Eve, we opened up the jar and shared our memories. The nicest part of this venture was hearing those moments of appreciation when you may have thought your kindness went unnoticed. I can't wait to see the new adventures that 2019 will bring. Georgia Our new years was covered in snow. Which was pretty nice. Quiet evening, quiet day curled up with my little cat models. Plenty of time to think about what I want to accomplish in the new year. NikitaLooking forward to all that 2019 has in store for us.
Cheers to 2019!! Amy, Jen, Georgia and Nikita |
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