Some pre-turkey feastings

It's finally a bit chilly over here in Raleigh. I have been waiting for some consistent colder weather, and it just might be here. Here's the true test: I finally turned my heat on. As the temps fall, I have found myself more inclined to listen to some instrumental Christmas music. One of my faves is Windham Hill's first "Winter Solstice" album. People, if you are looking for the perfect music to dine with this Thanksgiving, this album's for you. It has beauty I can't accurately describe, and I am especially fond of it because I grew up listening to it each year. Like pulling out a certain ornament and remembering its accompanying story, this CD fills me with warmth of soul. One problem exists, though. It's not on iTunes. A tragedy, I know. You can find other Windham Hill albums on iTunes, but none compare to this one. One suggestion I would make is "The Essential Winter Solstice Collection" where you'll find a couple of the tracks from this album I keep promoting. Kind of cruel to tell you the musical wonders of that CD only to leave you with no avenue to buy it, huh? Well, you can find it on Amazon, but you'll have to settle for a gently used copy via Amazon's Marketplace. Ok, well none of that was food-related, so I extend my apologies for that digression.

So my month with Giada has continued to go well, though, as usual, I have struggled to keep you posted in a timely manner. Forgive, forgive. I am a bit behind on my weekly goal, too, so I plan on cooking either two of her dishes this week or two next week to catch up.

My second dish of this month was Chicken Marsala. Wow, people. I will never look for a recipe for Chicken Marsala. I've found the one I will always cook, and I am confident that you will feel the same once you try it. A couple of reflections: 1) cremini mushrooms = baby bellas, 2) using $2.99 marsala cooking wine will do just fine, and 3) invite someone over...this dish is so wonderful that its yumminess must be shared.


Even though this next recipe is not Giada's, I do want to share it with you. My sweet friend Adrienne hosted a girls' brunch yesterday, and I happily volunteered to contribute a strata. Ever since watching The Family Stone, a wonderfully well-written film that conveys the beauty and heartache of family and tempers its tragedy with some clever humor, I have wanted to challenge myself with this dish. Though Sarah Jessica Parker's character did not fare well with her traditional Morton Family Strata, mine was a veritable success! This Vegetable Cheese Strata was demanding on the cutting board and a slew of knives during prep work, but after layering the dish and placing it in the fridge overnight, the only thing left to do in the morning was bake. I did not have the instructed 4 1/2 qt baking dish, so I split it between my 3 and 2 qt pyrex dishes. My friends Jed and Mike moved Saturday morning. so that extra pan went to them - good reviews from the boys. The larger pan went to the brunch and, yes, good reviews from the girls. If you're looking for a tasty breakfast dish to serve either on Thanksgiving or Christmas, this one is great, and it will free you up in the morning to simply enjoy your loved ones.

Pre-bake:

Final product:Expect a full culinary report on Turkey Day next week.

May all of you have safe travel this week as you spend time with family and friends. From me to you: Happy Thanksgiving!

Bring on the soup mug (or sassy square bowl)

Last week was my first with Giada, and together we produced a tasty bowl of Beef and Lentil Soup. As always, I feel intimidated by protein, especially red meat because I have so little experience with it. The recipe calls for chuck, and I'm like, "Isn't chuck what you make hamburgers out of? Do they make chuck in a non-ground form?" Welcome to my meat ignorance. So what do I do? I head over to the butcher at trusty Harris Teeter, ask for 1 1/2 pounds of chuck, and allow him to take care of the whole situation. He was super helpful, even giving me some extra meat for free (buying one package was not enough, and two packages was over the requirement, so he relabeled one of the packages and left me with his earnest wish of "Eat hearty!"). Good times at HT.

Now the cooking of this soup is no small task. While all of the steps are easy, it is time consuming, so block out approximately 2 hours for prepping and cooking. The recipe yields quite the quantity, so I gladly took some over to share with my friend Kara, and then brought some for co-workers the next day at school. I even gave the dish my own stamp by sprinkling some grated parmesan, topping with homemade croutons (take one rosemary foccacia from Trader Joe's and toss with olive oil...bake and poof! the best croutons EVER), and drizzling a bit of evoo. Kara and my school gang all enjoyed it, so if you're looking for a warm-your-belly-and-soul kind of soup, try this one out. Oh, and how beautiful are Kara's dishes? It was nice to have a change of culinary backdrop.

October Leftovers

Hello, faithful followers and foodies. October is over...can you believe it? We're only three 1/2 weeks away from the culinary smorgasbord that is Thanksgiving. While Raleigh's weather has literally been on the temperature roller coaster, I have much enjoyed this month. Yes, school has been busy, the calendar full, and energy sparse. Still, I found the Lord offering His precious gifts left and right, from sweet time with both of my small groups, leaves and their color evolution outside my living room window, a trip to the beach with some lovely girlfriends, and restful time in my kitchen. "Restful" and "kitchen" may not sit side by side in your mind, but for me, those terms are like peas and carrots (yes, a corny food pun of sorts...haha). There's just something so satisfying about creating food. I share with you now what's been cooking the past two weeks. Let me start with Ms. Ray's "Cashew God Bless You Chicken."

I made this recipe on October 22 (forgive my tardiness), and it was a hit with me and others, as I brought the leftovers to work the next day and shared with Christy and Mary. The dish required my first purchase of hoisin sauce. Thanks to Mary's help, locating this jar of Chinese goodness was no trouble at all; simply poke around the Asian aisle of your supermarket. Trader Joe's supplied the jasmine rice, and woo, that rice is tasty. The finished product looked like something from a restaurant, but I think it tasted even better. It was "clean" Chinese food, if you know what I mean. I definitely will think twice before going out for Chinese because with a jar of hoisin sauce, you're only "30 minutes away from a great meal" (props, Rachael Ray).

Onto Cooking Club: Halloween Edition.

With Amber, Grace Anne, Annie, and Alison, my kitchen turned into a well-oiled, food-creating machine on all Hallow's Eve. This meal was superb from start to finish. Amber brought some lovely pumpkin dip that pairs oh-so-nicely with gingersnaps, and we also munched on The Great White Pumpkin Cheese Ball which could easily morph into whatever holiday/non-holiday shape you desire.

It was incredibly cute and yummy to boot (my hat is off to Amber for her pumpkin molding skills). Our appetizers were followed with Witches' Brew Chicken Soup, Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce, and Roasted Asparagus.

Yes, I've made that pasta before, and yes, it's good enough to deserve an encore within the same month. The soup was clearly titled with Halloween in mind, but you can easily rename it for any time of year. It is reminiscent of White Chili, a soup I simply love to eat but not so much make due to its time consumption. This recipe was not nearly as demanding, plus we used rotisserie chicken which always serves as an effective shortcut. What was a nice twist is that you can top this soup with crumbled bacon, and let's just face it, what isn't good with bacon? The asparagus is super easy and I'm sure many of you know how to do it, but just in case, here's the short and sweet of it: heat the oven to 375. Trim the asparagus (bend till it naturally breaks) and place a single layer on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Lightly drizzle the spears with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place in the oven (top shelf). I keep a good eye on these, and I think I left them in the oven for approximately 7-8 minutes. Our meal's finale was Anne's Quick Apple Dumpling Bundles.

My goodness, what a simple dessert with such impressive presentation. I think you can put just about any fruit concoction in the pie crust as long as it has a decent amount of texture. Serve the finished product with some vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, and toasted pecans, and you have before you a dessert that will please most anyone. Isn't it pretty?

After loading the dishwasher and wiping down the table, we sat down to watch Halloween cartoon classics: Garfield's Halloween Special and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. On the whole, a wonderful evening with great friends.

And because I know you want to see the cooking club in action, here are some pics from our evening:

Annie chopping up the onions (she definitely shed some tears over those!) Alison shredding chicken with great skill
Alison and I caught in food-prep action by Annie Grace Anne and Amber cooking up our brew of a soup
Annie's candid shot of me prepping the pumpkin cream sauce

As a final note, allow me to make the official announcement of November's cookbook: Giada de Laurentis' Giada's Family Dinners. I plan on practicing my Italian pronunciation.