Thanksgiving Extravaganza

Well, we made it back safe and sound from Washington, where we got to spend 3 days bundled up in gorgeous North Bend at our best friends' house. The husbands got to spend some quality time with the XBox, annihilating zombies, while Mrs. B and I were total girls, cooking and chatting and reading trash mags. Which was exactly what how we wanted to spend our Thanksgiving vacation.

But Thanksgiving, as we know, is about food and drink. And we definitely had that. One of the best reasons to fly is that you don't have to drive, obviously, which is helpful when you like to drink. Which in turn, is helpful when you have 2 hours to kill at LAX. Word to the wise, however, ask how much the mixed drinks cost before you get a second round. Ouch.

Luckily they're cheaper on the plane. And, as it turns out, Alaska offers Jone's sugar free cream soda, which mixes up quite nicely with vodka...yum.

After lunch at Taphouse, we got settled at their house, and I got to work taking over their kitchen. Cornbread stuffing kinda needs cornbread, and it has to dry out overnight, so...I had no choice but to jump right in. And while I was at it, I baked the potatoes for the twice stuffed. And made a pecan pie. I'm kind of amazing, it's true.

The next morning, after waking up to my favorite nephew covering us in Labrador kisses (mom was sweet and didn't let him in til 10am), we went to work. Here's how it went:

Had a Mimosa. First things first.
Crumbled and prepped the cornbread.
Cleaned the birds, which wasn't as easy as I thought, as I promptly discovered they had necks. Ummm, not ok. So I recruited the husband to chop them off for me (I literally and figuratively just.couldn't.do.it).
Rubbed and stuffed the birds and threw them in the oven.
Rubbed the Prime Rib.

Drank Mimosa.

Prepped the twice baked potatoes and green bean casserole.
Made the cranberry sauce.

Drank Mimosa.

Took out the bird, put in the ribs.

Drank Mimosa.


Added cornbread, potatoes, and green beans to the oven.
Steamed the broccoli, made the cheese sauce, set the table.
Took everything out, and baked the rolls (we brought basque sourdough dinner rolls from Pyrenees Bakery. I totally had one.)

Whew. Though I'm more tired writing all this than I was cooking it.


Thanksgiving dinner is totally doable...you just have to plan ahead. So here you go—Thanksgiving recipes for 2010. Better early than late...better late than never. I'm going with very, very early...fashionably late is so 2001. I'm going to post them separately to make things easier all around.

You'll notice I'm not giving the recipes for the twice-baked potatoes, cause it's just baked potatoes, cooled, halved, then the insides are removed, mixed together to make everything potatoes, refilled, and baked for 35 minutes. Same with Green Bean Casserole (You can find it on the back of the French's fried onions or the Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup cans), but since I'd never made it before, I'll point out that we used reduced fat soup and it was delicious.

Enjoy!

Helen Keller is my favorite musical.

I'm not the biggest holiday person. Ok, that's an understatement. I'm kind of known as the Grinch...and fairly, I have to say. I cringed last week when I heard Christmas music (um, it's not even Thanksgiving yet), and I don't like to decorate. It took the hubby and I three years of living together to finally cave and buy a tree.

But I do like to host. Or, cook, at least. It may have started when my parents went on an anniversary cruise and left my sister and I responsible for prepping Christmas dinner one year. I don't know if it's a sense of accomplishment, or bragging rights, or a bit of a challenge, but I love to be responsible for a big meal. So since my mom left a note on my facebook (heee, facebook. I love my mama) saying she wanted another meal, I've been gunning to be in charge of Christmas.

But in the meantime, it's Thanksgiving. And we have three families to please. And while we truly have fabulous families, we decided to bypass playing the normal holiday shuffle and skip it all to do Turkey Day with our best friends instead. In North Bend, WA, where it will be cold. Very cold. Which I'm hoping will freeze some of my grinchness.

Plus, my best friend likes cooking but likes being cooked for more, so she's letting me take the reins. Here's the menu:

Prime Rib (They aren't poultry fans)
Cornish Game Hen (but I am)
Green Bean Casserole (the old school kind)
Cranberry Sauce (homemade...it's the only thing my hubby has to have)
Twice-baked Potatoes
Cornbread apple-sausage stuffing (omg, my fave)
Broccoli with cheese sauce
Pecan Pie (homemade, thank you)
Either Apple Pie or Cheesecake (whichever looks better at their local Bakery)

Yeah, there are only four people eating. And? We'll be there 3 days. Leftovers work for all of us. Although we're planning on seeing the Bodies Exhibit on Friday, so who knows how much we'll want to eat after that...

Ridiculous. Photos and reviews to come. Gobble Gobble!

Tuesday night done right.

I have to admit, I do love a good easy-dinner night. Especially when you're trying to save money, so you skip the nail salon and give yourself a manicure. Twice, because you paint nails like a five year old. And then decide to peel zucchini before the paint has dried completely. And curse until you realize this is why you pay for them.

Frustrating. But I discovered a quick trick for cheering myself up...using fancy dinnerware. We got the most gorgeous set of wooden serving spoons as a wedding gift, and I always want to save them for guests or a special occasion. And then I had a revelation tonight while I was hissing at my nails...if I save them for special occasions, I never get to use them. Nothing ever becomes sponge-worthy.

So I used them to make my caesar. Immediate seratonin rush. Plus, I think it's what inspired the hubby to set our places with cloth napkins instead of paper towels. We're fancy.

All I made was a modified version of my zucchini ribbons (added reduced fat blue cheese crumbles, added a dash of balsalmic, and cut the parmesan in half), the husband grilled up some steaks, and I made a caesar. Out of a bag. And it all was good.


And now I'm gonna get back to the Laker game, eat a whole lot of sugar-free jello (10 cals a bowl!), and finish packing for Seattle. We're determined not to check anything. Wish us luck.

Flava-Flav!

It's difficult to prepare Indian curry when one is out of curry powder. And, it turns out, is also incredibly annoying...especially when it happens the day after you and the hubby leave it off the shopping list because you are both convinced there is plenty at home.

We did, however, have Thai red curry paste. Which, if you aren't a curry connoisseur, is not the same as regular curry. Indian curry is normally a more pungent flavor...darker, bitter-er, stronger. Thai curry is generally sweeter, mellower, and spicier. The hubby likes Indian. I prefer Thai...which suits us a bit, the more I think about it. Though we share far more of those traits than we don't.

And if the hubby and I can each have lots of the others' flavor (that sounds far naughtier than I mean it to), so can our curry. So I took the Thai base and added some Indian and Mid-Eastern flavors to it. And I can't complain (we'll see what hubby has to say when he gets home). I may have added too much Sriracha to mine, but a dollop of light sour cream...well, it does amazing things. Curry without a Country
Canola Oil
4 tbsp Thai red curry paste
1 can light coconut milk
Chicken Breast, about a pound, cubed or sliced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow or brown onion, chopped
8 baby/fingerling potatoes, cubed
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp cardamom
dash all spice
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced (1 -2 tsps if dried)
cilantro, sriracha and fresh lime to serve

Heat a splash of oil in large stock pot over medium high. Saute garlic about a minute, then add onion. Saute another 2 to 3 minutes. Add chicken and saute about 5 minutes or until chicken is mostly white. Stir in all the seasonings (I mix them together first). Add coconut milk. Bring to a simmer, stir in potatoes. Return to simmer, reduce to low, cover, and let cook about 12 minutes or until potatoes are done. (Don't overcook them like I usually manage to.)

Serve over white or basmati rice with a sprinkle of cilantro, a lime slice if you have it
Serves four. Without rice, about 315 calories, 13g fat, 2g fiber, 19g carbs, 31g protein

Opinions and other factual things.

With a lonely Sunday afternoon to kill, I like to imagine myself doing all sorts of productive things...reorganizing my spice cabinet, filing 6 months worth of Schwab statements, finally finding a place better than the china cabinet to hang my apron...but in reality, I generally end up on the couch, watching Wedding Central on WE. To be clear, I hate Wedding Central. And yet, like a car wreck, I have a sick draw towards these bitchy, whiny, princess-wannabes intent on planning horrendous ME-ME-ME parties.

But I'm Judge McJudgerson, and it gives me easy prey. Sooo...here I sit, per usual. Watching yet another clueless, horrible bride-to-be. Ladies...you are becoming a wife. Unless you are marrying Prince Harry, you are not becoming a princess. Stop using the word. And seriously, put the tiaras away. Also, it is a big, amazing, very important day, yes. But it is not, contrary to your own opinion, all about you. Perhaps considering your groom's/ bridesmaids'/ families'/ wallet's feelings wouldn't be the absolute worst thing ever. Please grow up and realize you will know/need these people/bank account after you treat them like your minions leading up to one single day.

Man, I love to talk crap. No wonder I watch this shit. And it's no wonder the hubby will watch me watch it; I get to hear myself say ridiculous things aloud to the tv, like, "Psssh, don't lie...you didn't want that, you just waited too long, bee-otch" and, "Niiice, you go crazy about shoes, and you're getting married under a giant glowing exit sign," and "You did not just put a burger king crown on your man's head."

Siigh. Anyway. At the usual lunch spot(Las Salsas), eating the usual(Posole), with the usual(hubby), I decided that if I was going to have another unproductive day, I'd spend it at least trying some new things.

First up? A Starbucks Creme Brulee Latte on the way to the grocery store. Not bad. But nothing special, really. I'd go either way on a repeat offense.

Once I got to the store to pick up some easy dinners for the next few days (then we're off to Seattle for Turkey Day!!), I was beyond thrilled to find King Crab legs for cheap. Like, $7.99/lb cheap. Score. The hubby had requested bacon-wrapped grilled shrimp, and the idea of a seafood extravaganza was too much potential deliciousness to turn down. I love eating with my hands. Love messy food. So cracking into King Crab, freshly steamed and hot, with or without lemon and/or melted butter...omg, the best thing ever. So fun to eat, and just. so. good.

I decided to experiment for a side dish...I had already grabbed pancetta to wrap the prawns in, so I decided to play with that, apple, blue cheese, maybe walnuts, and maybe asparagus. While trying a new drink...Raspberry off-brand vodka(as long as you're mixing, who cares) and light lemonade were both on sale. Yum. Definite repeat offender. At least until I run out of lemonade.

Dessert will also be new...we're sugar-free fudgesicle fans, so I grabbed a multi-pack of regular, dark, and white chocolate. 60 calories of yum. And only 180 cals to try all three. Not that we would do that...

King Crab Legs
King crab legs (however much you think you can eat/fit in the biggest pot you have.)
Butter, about a tsp.
A couple cloves garlic, minced

In the biggest stock pot you have, melt butter over medium heat, then saute garlic til fragrant, about a minute. Add about a cup of water, wait about 2 minutes, then throw all the crab legs in. Cover, lower heat to low, and let the legs steam about 12 minutes. Easy. Serve with lots of napkins and a big bowl for the exoskeleton (or whatever nicer word you want to use). Good with minced garlic mixed with melted butter or lots of lemon to squeeze over.
(220 calories per half pound, 3.5g fat, 42g protein)

Asparagus with Pancetta, Apple and Onion
A bunch of asparagus, trimmed and rinsed
1/2 tbsp butter
Pancetta, chopped (I used about a third of a package)
Half an apple, finely chopped (Pippen is good)
1/4 onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/8 tsp fresh pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch of salt
Balsamic Vinegar
About 3 tbsp reduced fat blue cheese

Boil water in a medium pot. Boil asparagus for 3 minutes, drain and rinse in cold water. Arrange in olive oil sprayed baking dish.

Heat butter over medium heat. Saute pancetta, onion, apple, and garlic about 5 minutes. Add a big splash of balsamic vinegar, walnuts, salt, and pepper. Toss well. Spread over asparagus. Sprinkle with blue cheese. Broil about 4 minutes before serving.

Staying strong...til I give up.

1:54pm
Ok, five days of 100% gluten free eating (my norm is roughly 95%), and so far, so pretty good. The only cheating I've done is one Coor's Light last night (we were celebrating the husband's new internship with the local hockey team, a glass of wine would have been far less effective).

Impressive. I'm kind of a quitter when I don't want to do something, so I'm proud of myself. And I'm less itchy today, so I take that as a sign my brain is proud of me, too. Yay.

6:32pm
Well...we've established that I'm weak...and a quitter, so...Surprise! I cheated.

I went to very lovely cocktail hour at our friends' (the new parents) house, where the new (hot) mama prepared not only this fabulous pork tenderloin with orange chutney sauce for appetizer/dinner, but a new dip which I am so totally stealing. It was gorgonzola with red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, red onion, and parsley. I think. So completely up my alley. Which she served with Wheat Thins.

Now...yeah...you'd think I'd see Wheat Thins and bypass them, you know, having wheat IN THE NAME...but as we know...I'm weak. And a quitter. Sooo...I may have had a few. Or twelve. Damnit!

8:12pm
Oh well. I'm in a good mood. It's part holding a 3 month old for the better part of an hour (who knew babies liked me??? Even if he did spit up down my new shirt...it's milk, I'll survive), hanging out with awesome people (who I really need to see more often), or coming home to an empty house (while I know the hubby is happy in hockey-land) where I have hours upon hours of tivo/netflix to entertain me while enjoying my personal cocktail of junk mags, champagne and cookies.

Life is good, my friends. Especially when I get to sleep in tomorrow and have nothing but trouble to get into over the weekend. Uh, oh. Let's hope it's the gluten-free variety...no promises.

An open letter to my brain.

Dear Brain,

I think you need to get your wires uncrossed and start learning to process gluten. I try and be patient, but you know as well as I do that patience is not a virtue you have blessed me with.

You must think it's really fun to tease me with the time-delay you have going on. Four whole days, without fail, that I'm allowed to think I have gotten away with something. And then BAM. Itch Central. Which is why four days ago, you should have been a little less excited about the prospect of a bagel. Really. It's just not nice.

Even if you could just adjust the feel-good meter attached to scratching, that would be great. Cause right now my shins, right elbow, neck, and forehead are all screaming for some nails to run vigorously across them.

I suppose I should thank you for making me a nail biter, which keeps my nails short enough to avoid doing serious damage to myself. But I'm not in the mood.

So screw you, brain. Why couldn't you be allergic to lamb? I don't really like lamb. Or veal? Or something else I refuse to eat. That would be perfect.

Seriously. With the amount of money I've wasted over the years on dermatologists and ointments and creams and medications to block the itch sensor in my brain...the time I've spent looking at labels to ensure I'm not buying anything containing wheat, oats, or barley...the deep longing I feel when I see the husband enjoying a delicious IPA...you'd think you could cut me some slack here.

One of these days I'm going to find someone nearby who specializes in allergy elimination, and then I'm going to make you go through some weird homeopathic new-agey crap. And it's going to work. And I'm going to celebrate with a loaf of sourdough. And a six pack of Sierra Nevada.

Take that.

Love,
Pammy

20 minute meals mean more time to drink.

You know those days where you don't quite feel like you've woken up on the wrong side of bed, but you're still annoyed by pretty much everything? When even the thought of talking to your best friends on ichat is a little more than you can bear? (Sorry, Parallel...I love you!)

Those are the days I want to go home and hide in my couch(yes, in. It's like a cloud). Or drink. Or both, preferably. But since I had a hair color appointment after work, I figured I'd let the impending pampering cheer me up. Especially when I remembered the wine bar next door to my salon lets you take wine to go. Score.

So a (very expensive) glass of Cakebread, new highlights, and a quick grocery trip later, I was finally home. In a much better mood. But since it was close to 7pm, I wasn't in much of a mindset to cook anything extravagant. Luckily, I had planned on something easy.

Thank you, Cooking Light, for your 20 minute recipes. Last night we tried their Spicy Sweet Pork.

We decided this tasted like it came from the same island as Jamaican Chicken with Mango salsa(ohh, I should make that soon)...just the other side of the island. The less popular one.

I tried this pretty much exactly as written (I used hot salsa and added green onion to the garnish), but next time I'd add some chopped red onion and maybe marinate the pork in the sauce before cooking it. But it was good. Fast little pantry meal, really. We already had everything but the pork, and you could totally substitute chicken breast if you have that. And you could use pretty much any jam or preserves you have. I'm a fan of easy on days like this.

We just ate it with spinach salad with Raspberry Pomegranate balsamic, but mashed potatoes or rice would make good sides. But by the time I realized that, I was starving and ready to eat already.

Oh well. Three chocolate chip cookies more than made up for the lack of carbs later last night. They're awesome/evil like that.

If it weren't for work, I'd be the best housewife ever.

I feel like maybe I'm shortchanging myself on the whole I Don't Bake attitude. Or maybe I've just gotten lucky lately. Since I committed myself to not cheating this week, I made us a little treat to help me through it. All thanks to Ms. Crocker, who now makes gluten-free brownie, cake and cookie mixes.

Of course, the whole time I was adding walnuts to the recipe, I had Alton Brown in my head warning me about throwing off the delicate balance of ingredients...and the dough was kinda...crumbly...so as usual, I wasn't expecting greatness. And didn't get it. But, to be fair, they're good. The flavor is there, they didn't burn...all in all impressive. For me. And I got to wear an apron while I made them. Adorable.


So by the time the husband found out one of his football buddies needed to drop by for something, I was wearing an apron over a Raiders t-shirt, a batch of cookies were in the oven, and I was chopping potatoes, garlic and onion for a crazy comfort-food inspired dinner.

All while drinking a dirty martini. Complete ridiculousness.

I took the apron off before he got there. I didn't want him to think I had totally reverted back to 1954.

Afterward, as I finished up the potatoes, the husband got to work on a salad. Nice work, babe. Quite a meal. Salad, everything potatoes, and Sherry Chicken? Well balanced and perfect for when it's chilly out. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm.

Sherry Chicken
1 lb chicken breasts, pounded thin
garlic powder
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp oregano
pepper
cooking spray
1 tbsp butter
half an onion, sliced thinly
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 package sliced mushrooms
3/4 cup sherry, divided
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt (I use nonfat but a lot of times it curdles a little when you add it to hot sauces)

Sprinkle chicken well with garlic powder, Parmesan, oregano, and pepper. Brown in cooking spray about 4 minutes a side over medium high. Remove from heat, keep warm.

Add 1tbsp butter to pan. Saute sliced onion and garlic about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, saute until they start getting soft. Add 1/2 cup Sherry. Cook til everything is soft, about 5 minutes. Add chicken back in. Add remaining sherry and oregano. Cover, simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add 1/2 cup nonfat yogurt. Mix well. Serve over potatoes, rice, or pasta. Serves 4.
About 220 cals, 6g fat, 1g fiber, 3g carbs, 33g protein

My poor dermatologist never stood a chance.

I'm itchy.

I'm not saying this for sympathy (Ok, I kind of am) because I know it's my own fault. I'm weak. And ate bread all weekend. Bad, bad girl.

But I enjoyed every second. I went to LA for the weekend to get in some QT with one of my favorite friends from college, who has, until recently, been living in Colorado working on becoming a Doctor of Psychology...which means now I get great free advice on top of all the normal fun. Yay!

But because she loves wine and cheese as much as I do, we hit up a wine bar down the street from her place (turns out I love Culver City). And, unfortunately, the cheese plate came with a side of bread...and like I said...I'm weak, especially after a bottle (or two) or wine. And that's when things got out of control.

After the bread for dinner came the beer for dessert and the bagel for breakfast (Lox and cream cheese...I'm such a sucker). I have a tendency to explain the cheating with all kinds of awesome excuses, too, like 'it's a special occasion' or 'well, I already screwed myself last night, so I may as well go for the gold', and lucky for me, both held true. And breakfast was super fun so I just enjoyed it, since the lively bunch included the doc and I, our buddy BigShot, who also gives fabulous, though non mental-health related, advice, my little sister (and my stylist), and her roommate the opera singer. It was a whole table of ridiculousness, let me tell you.

But because of all this, I'm eating gluten FREE this week. Completely. I'm not even gonna let myself cheat in my normal ways, so no soy sauce, no beer, no half a cracker in the breakroom. I'm being good.

And I'm starting by eating my leftovers from Friday night for lunch. Brown rice salad is really more a summery dish, but I'm fickle, and now that it's feeling like fall/winter, I want my warm weather back. So, as usual, I let my kitchen do the work and I pretend.

Brown Rice Salad
1 cup brown rice
Block extra firm tofu
half a cucumber, seeded and cut small
3 stalks green onion, sliced
1/4 cup chopped peanuts (save some for topping)
small handful cilantro, chopped (save some for topping)
small handful mint, chopped
juice from one lime
3 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 tsp peanut or sesame oil (sesame is best)
salt and pepper
opt: handful shredded carrot

Add brown rice to 2 cups boiling water. Reduce to simmer, cover, and cook 35 minutes. Remove from heat, remove lid, and let cool. Drain tofu. To remove excess water, wrap it in a kitchen towel, place in a colander, and put something heavy on top. Let sit at least 10 minutes.
In the meantime, do all your chopping.

In a small bowl, use a fork to mix the garlic, oil, lime, salt (1/2 tsp or so), and pinch of fresh pepper. Set aside.

Remove tofu from towel and cut into long slices. Heat a good dash of peanut oil and brown tofu slices for about 4 minutes a side. Cut into cubes. Let cool.
Mix rice, tofu, and remaining ingredients in large bowl. Toss gently with dressing. It's good at room temp or chilled. Four servings.
About 305 cals, 3g fiber, 36g carbs, 9g protein.