Holidays

October 6, 2016, posted by Gina – For our October Cookbook Club luncheon our hostess went all out with a Halloween theme. Her decorations were so fun and her place setting certainly set the mood.

We began outside where we were greeted with this cute candy corn floral arrangement filled with mums, roses dianthus and seeded eucalyptus. 

Next to this was this wonderful drink table complete with Spanish moss, glasses with spiders on them and fun decorations. The large punch bowl held several nice bottles of wine after I snapped this shot. Close to this great setup was a table filled with individual bottles of “Witches Brew”.  As you can see from the label there is a warning on it as well it should have been.  It looked innocent but packed a punch!

This large pumpkin with beautiful flowers coming out of the mouth was on the kitchen table. I think we all know what that symbolized but we won’t mention that in this post! The place settings on the kitchen table were complete with a colorful leaf charger topped with black and white skeleton plates and a pumpkin bowl on top.

Moving into the dining room, we found the table complete with a lighted centerpiece and place settings that began with beautiful linen placemats, Annie Glass chargers and dessert bowls and black and white cob web plates.  The centerpiece was filled with not only flowers but also skeleton hands, an orange boa and skull head.

Along with all of these fabulous decorations that really put us in the Halloween spirit, we enjoyed a delicious lunch. Our hostess even asked us to dress up as you can see from this photo of a few of the members of our group.

We are currently cooking out of the cookbooks Southern Sideboards and Come on In both from the Junior League of Jackson, Mississippi.  Here was our menu:

Appetizers

Zucchini Cheese Spread from Come On In
Hot Chipped Beef Dip from Southern Sideboards

Soup
Cream of Carrot Soup from Come On In

Salad
Marinated Vegetable Salad from Southern Sideboards

Main Course

Chicken with Mushroom Madeira Sauce from Come On In
Brussels Sprouts with Hot Bacon Dressing from Southern Sideboards
Dessert

Hot Milk Cake with Caramel Icing from Come On In
Devil’s Food Cake from Southern Sideboards

I would like to share my favorite recipe of the day with you which was the cream of carrot soup.

First, I do not like cooked carrots. I love them raw but something changes for me once they are cooked. So it was very surprising to me that I loved the carrot soup as much as I did. It has a wonderful creamy texture and a savory taste. Many times you find sugar added with carrots and that is not the case with this recipe which is why I think I liked it so much. I am sorry I don’t have a photo to share of this but, as you know, I get to talking and don’t photograph everything. This soup is a beautiful bright orange color and would be fabulous for any fall meal you are preparing.

Cream of Carrot Soup – Come on In

Ingredients:

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley (2 tbs. dried)
1 pound carrots, finely chopped
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 tbs. unsalted butter
1 tbs. all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken stock
3 large egg yolks
½ cup heavy cream
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Chopped fresh cilantro or parsley for garnish

Directions:

Sauté the chopped cilantro and vegetables in butter until tender, 10 to 15 minutes.  Stir in flour and cook 2 to 3 minutes.  Stir in chicken stock, cover, cook over medium heat until carrots are soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Strain cooked vegetables and return stock pan. Process vegetable mixture, 2 cups at a time, until smooth. Add puree to stock, stirring until smooth. Process egg yolks and cream until blended. With processor running, gradually add 1 cup hot soup. Stir in egg yolk mixture gradually into remaining hot soup.  Stir in pepper and simmer until slightly thickened and hot – do not boil. Just before serving, sprinkle with chopped cilantro or parsley.

November 24, 2015, posted by Gina – Sunday morning after church I got right on my grocery list and headed for Kroger. I needed frozen strawberries for my Strawberry Banana Salad. Take a look at this section in the grocery store. I could not help think that locusts or some other phenomenon came to this freezer and carried off everything:

What this tells me is that “Maw Maw” salads are still alive and well on our Thanksgiving tables. You know how everyone rolls their eyes at the sound of a jello salad mixed with fruit and other goodies? If I tried not offering it on Thanksgiving Day, my boys would start a revolution. They eat it with their meal, for dessert and sometimes even breakfast! This was my mother-in-law’s recipe and is in her handwriting but I take credit for the food spills on the paper. She made this in a Pyrex dish and cut it into squares but I like making it in a trifle bowl since it is very pretty when complete.

Strawberry and Banana Salad:

Crockpot Green Beans

So, you probably fall into one category or another on green beans; fresh and crunchy or canned and soft. I like them both ways, but my family likes them soft.

6 cans whole green beans

2 cups chicken broth

½ stick of butter

½ cup of vinegar

1 onion, chopped and sautéed until soft and translucent

Put green beans in a crockpot and gently stir in all other ingredients Cook the green beans on high for about 4 hours. The flavor is so delicious.

Sweet Potatoes
I will confess that sweet potatoes are not my favorite thing. I like the color and want to love them, but I just don’t. That does not stop my family from loving these and so I prepare them. It is a labor of love. I have never had a set recipe or even one that was handed down to me from any side of the family. A friend and frequent reader of petals and plates, shared a wonderful sweet potato recipe for me that her family prepares every year. They feed about 30 people so I changed this a bit for my 6.

Preheat oven to 400°
Scrub sweet potatoes and dry
Cover a baking pan with foil and place potatoes on top
Bake for 1 ½ hours
Take out of oven and let cool for about an hour.
Slice potatoes in half and scoop flesh out of skins and place in a large Dutch oven
Add 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup heavy cream, 1 cup milk, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1 stick of butter and mash until well combined.
Pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish and top with marshmallows. Bake until marshmallows are melted and slightly brown.

Classic Mashed Potatoes
When I first started preparing Thanksgiving dinner over 30 years ago, I was surprised that with all the starchy vegetables, my husband still wanted mashed potatoes. Another labor of love, I prepare them for him. I like mashed potatoes but it just seems that one more starch is not necessary but my husband told me that what Thanksgiving is all about.

4 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, cleaned, peeled, cubed and cooked on low heat in just enough water to cover them for about 8 minutes or until tender
1 stick butter (yes I said the whole stick but this makes a lot of potatoes…sorry…we will eat healthy in January)
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste.

Deviled Eggs

If I made a million of these, my boys would eat every one of them. These are really easy unless you can’t get the shell off the egg. As you can see from my photo, this happened on one of them that I prepared. I boil my eggs with a bit of salt and about a tablespoon of white vinegar for 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let them sit for another 5 and then immerse in ice water for about 30 minutes. I am not sure about the science of all that but over the years different people have given me tips and now I incorporate all of them. It helps if your eggs are at least 1 – 2 weeks old.

18 eggs, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and yolks placed in another bowl

To yolks add:

½ cup mayo

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

4 small sweet pickles (I chop my own as they have a different texture than the pre-made relish)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.

Mix all ingredients until creamy. You may need to add more or less of the ingredients depending upon your preferences.

We’d love to hear about your Thanksgiving recipes and traditions. Please leave us your thoughts and comments Click on the title of this post and comment form will open up at the bottom of the page.

November 19, 2015, posted by Gina – Today I started my week long process of cooking our Thanksgiving meal. We will be going to my parents house and I will be preparing all of the food except the turkey. My family enjoys all of the very traditional side items so without further ado, here is my menu:

Cornbread Dressing
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Macaroni & Cheese
Strawberry & Banana Salad
Deviled Eggs
Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Pie

GINA’S CORNBREAD DRESSING RECIPE

I use a cornmeal mix and follow the directions listed on the package except that I substitute buttermilk for milk because I love the flavor it provides. Now, don’t judge me on this recipe as there is a lot of butter in it. I have confessed and now can proceed.

1 recipe cornbread (this is for a 10 inch skillet or and 8 inch square baking dish)
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups Pepperidge Farm Herbed Stuffing Mix
1 stick butter, melted
2 -32 ounce boxes chicken stock
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 eggs

Once the cornbread is baked and cooled, break it into small pieces. Sauté the onion, bell pepper and celery in the olive oil and then stir them to the cornbread. Add the herbed stuffing mix to the cornbread mixture and stir. Pour the melted butter, chicken stock, and soup over the cornbread mixture and combine all ingredients. Stir two eggs into mixture. Place in a 9 X 13 baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes on 350° or until warmed though.

Here’s the 411: if you want to prepare this in advance, as I have done today, omit 1 can of the soup, the second 32 oz. box of chicken stock and the eggs. Cover it very tightly and place in the freezer. A day or two before serving, place it in the refrigerator for thawing. Once thawed and when you are ready to bake it, add the soup and eggs and additional chicken stock if needed for moisture. I usually have mine swimming in chicken stock before baking and afterwards it is very moist and delicious. So there you have it! That’s how I make the dressing for our family.

There was a question/answer report on Thanksgiving dinner on the news this morning and one of the questions was how do to make dressing without it being gummy. Well, I think the key is lots of moisture and the extra chicken stock seems to do the trick.

Cornmeal Mix – I like the Aunt Jemima brand cornmeal mix. I prefer the yellow cornmeal but as luck would have it Kroger did not have a yellow cornmeal mix. What is up with that? They do know it is Thanksgiving right? Oh, I’ll reserve getting on my soapbox about Kroger for another post! You may not have a Kroger where you live, but I am sure your local grocery has some of the same issues. Later.

Cooked Cornbread and Veggies – Look at that beautiful cornbread! You must cook this in a cast iron skillet. If you don’t have one….stop what you are doing and get one. Make sure you get a pretreated one that is ready to go. When I got mine you had to “cure” it yourself…it’s like giving it a patina in a day but nothing creates a good patina like time and use. The onions, celery and bell pepper were sauteed until soft and they really the dressing tasty.

I hope to be able to share some of my other recipes with you. Besides the Strawberry Banana Salad, all of these recipes are mine. I have tried to transmit this dressing recipe the best I can, but if something does not make sense leave a question in the comment box.

We would love to know what everyone else is cooking for Thanksgiving, so let us know in the comment section. Maybe you are getting my subtle hint about leaving comments? Click on the title of the post and the comment form will appear at the bottom of the page.