Giving Thanks

Wishing all of you a Thanksgiving filled with friends and family, love, bounty and gratitude.

Here is a recipe for a wonderful roasted winter vegetable spread.  It is great on crostini as an appetizer, as a sandwich spread, and even on whole wheat toast for breakfast. Enjoy!

Winter Vegetable Spread

1 small sweet potato, 6-8 ounces
1 small butternut squash, 1 1/2 pounds, halved and seeded
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
1/2 teaspoon leaf thyme, crumbled, or fresh thyme to taste


Heat oven to 400 degrees. Roast the butternut squash, cut side down, and sweet potato until very tender, about 45 minutes. Add unpeeled garlic sprinkled with a little extra virgin olive oil for the last 20 minutes of roasting time.

Scoop cooked flesh into food processor and whirl until almost smooth. Squeeze roasted garlic into mixture to incorporate along with 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.  Serve at room temperature.

This keeps well covered in the refrigerator for several days.

Speechless

I have lost my voice.  I have lost my words.  I have lost  my passion.  Nothing I do seems to bring them back.

I hope that this is not the end of this blog.  I hope that something brings me back to normal--whatever that is.

In the meantime, I'd like to share a couple of fun recipes.

Lemon-Cornmeal Sheet Cookies
Adapted from a recipe by Martha Stewart, these cookies are delicious and made with an unusual method.

3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon demerara sugar
1 large egg and
1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons slice almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in  a medium bowl.

Beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Beat in 1 egg and lemon zest.  Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour mixture.

Press dough into and even 1/4" thickness on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Brush with egg wash; sprinkle with almonds and 1 tablespoon demerara sugar.  Bake until golden, 22-25 minutes.  Let cool on a wire rack, then break into uneven pieces.

The other is a nice little treat to have before dinner with a glass of wine.

Roast some sweet red grapes tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper in a hot oven until they begin to soften, about 20 minutes.  Top toasted bread slices with fresh ricotta, the roasted grapes, a sprinkling of thyme and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.  Enjoy!

Kale and Hearty

Although we found ourselves at home for the 4th of July weekend, we had time to meet friends for dinner, sit on the beach for a few hours, and even go to a fabulous fireworks display. Monday morning we were still in relaxation mode.

So while John was outside feeding the plants, I was puttering around the kitchen taking care of odds and ends when I came across five leaves of kale in the crisper. These five leaves were the last evidence of our now unsubscribed-to CSA. I tried, but it just was not for me. Right after I cashed my refund check I heard that this week's box includes a half, yes half, head of lettuce as well as one baby leek. Lord knows, I can't make this stuff up!

Anyway, what to do with the kale? Although I love just about all kinds of greens, kale has never been my favorite.  Somewhere in the back of my head was a recollection of someone somewhere making kale chips.  I started searching--and you wouldn't believe how many articles I found about kale chips. Who knew?

I rinsed and dried the leaves, then tore them into bite-sized pieces. I then tossed the pieces with some olive oil, apple cider vinegar and salt.

These are the kale leaves on the baking sheet ready for the oven.

Then I had to decide at what temperature to bake them. Some thought low and slow, others used a hot oven.  Since my oven was already heated to 375 after toasting a batch of walnuts and making a batch of crostini, that was the temperature I used.

This is what they looked like after seven minutes; turned them over and roasted for another 7 minutes.

This is what they looked like when done roasting.

Well, I can't say that either of us really liked them. I could have used a lot less olive and waaay less salt!

I actually liked our dinner of crostini and farro salad  much better.

Entertaining In An Instant

My husband was home this week recovering from back surgery. Believe me, this type of surgery has changed remarkably over the years, and recovery is somewhat easy. Last Saturday afternoon J and L called to see if they could visit the patient. John, of course, said yes and made plans for later in the day.

Earlier that day I had made a mushroom spread fragrant with lemon zest, thyme leaves and Pecorino cheese to have on hand during the weekend. When J and L arrived bearing gifts and good cheer, it was easy to slice up some dry Italian sausage and top some crostini with the mushroom spread as J opened a bottle of wine.

Soon we received a phone call from T and J asking if they could come to see John. Of course they could. When they arrived they joined us in another bottle of wine and some crostini.

As late afternoon turned into evening, it became apparent that we needed to think about dinner. Fortunately, I had made a large pot of chili that was sitting in the refrigerator. I pulled it out and began to heat it up. As I heated it, I searched the fridge to see what else could round out this meal. There were tortillas to heat up and cheddar cheese to grate. There were even some cinnamon biscotti in the freezer for dessert.

There is a lot to be said for having a well-stocked pantry--but there is more to be said about having good friends that feel comfortable enough to show up and go with the flow.

This recipe for Pumpkin Turkey Chili was posted on seriouseats.com by Kristen Swensson. This is my variation. Perfect for a chilly fall day.

Pumpkin Turkey Chili
Serves 4-6

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 red or yellow pepper, chopped
1 4-oz. can chopped green chiles
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey
2 cups (1 14.5 oz can) diced tomatoes, roughly pureed
1 19 oz. can cannellini beans
2 cups (1 14.5 oz can) pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
Ground black pepper
Cayenne pepper to taste (do not skip this)
Pinch cinnamon

Saute the onion, bell pepper, green chiles and garlic in oil until tender--about 10 minutes. Add ground turkey and brown about 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, beans and pumpkin. Season with chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, cayenne and pinch of cinnamon.

Reduce heat and simmer at least 20 minutes. As with all chilis, this is even better after it sits for awhile.Thin with a little water if it becomes too thick. Top with cilantro, sour cream, or grated cheddar cheese, if desired.