THANKS WITH THE BIRD

It is now Thanksgiving Day and my menu evolved yesterday after returning from a less than 24 hour trip to Florida.  I wasn't much of a soothsayer to get there and find a tropical storm that would get worse as the days went on.  All is well, and I am glad to be home for Canadian Thanksgiving and sharing it with my family.  My day began with a good laugh as I read the morning paper and had my coffee. The writer had scribed an essay on how horrible she was as a cook that cracked me up.  Albeit she hated holidays and cooking even more.  As I always say, it is difficult to do something well when you don't enjoy it but you have to, suck it up and do the best you can.  Obviously, the writer of the essay didn't feel the same way.  She didn't have a Plan B and I suppose there was nothing much in her fridge for the long weekend.

Her two adult daughters wanted to do Thanksgiving on Friday night as they had other things to do on the weekend. I can understand that especially in light of their mother's cooking.  She didn't start cooking until 5:30 at night thinking that a small turkey breast would take no time at all.  She forgot to baste it.  It was burnt on the outside, not cooked on the inside and it eventually ended up in the compost.  She bought cranberries thinking she was going to make cranberry sauce which is something that only a seasoned cook should do.  Of course, it was bitter and inedible.  The potatoes were left on too long and became powdery.  One daughter who generally likes broccoli had been turned off a week or so ago when she found a worm on her plate after she cooked it.  Didn't she know she had to wash it well first?  Oh well, perhaps it is like mother, like daughter.  It seems like they had dried out potatoes, broccoli, some dressing and bread.  Wow! what a great Thanksgiving dinner.  To follow, she purchased a pumpkin pie because everyone else in the store was buying one, forgetting her girls hated pumpkin pie. She had left the tea on too long too and it was strong enough to walk on.  I laughed my head off but the kicker was her next year's menu would be fish sticks and rice because everyone liked that and she never botches that.  That is, everyone but me.... fish sticks and rice...Yuck!

Next, I turned on the TV only to hear that catfish were swimming on the roads in parts of Florida.  That was a hint I should have left when I did.

Anyway, back to my Thanksgiving dinner.  Yesterday, I made an elaborate menu that I knew would change as the day progressed.  The turkey prep started the night before with sort of brining with sugar, salt and spices which I would wash off today.  It is like bathing a baby and then drying it.  The stuffing took over an hour to prepare and then I had to wait until it cooled before I stuffed it.  Mr. Turkey is resting comfortably now as we speak in a loose aluminum tent in the oven.  Until that bird is ready to serve, I reserve my judgment.  Although, my experience sounds a little more solid than the lady that had Thanksgiving without the bird.

What really changed in my menu were the side dishes.  I was already sick of complicated menus and thought I am always much better working with what was going on in my head.  Besides when I checked the fridge I had more carrots than I needed plus a half a bag of yellow potatoes I didn't realize I had.  You know the saying if you have lemons to make lemonade.  Well my thoughts are if you have carrots and potatoes you can made a delicious dish or even two.

ROASTED CARROTS WITH PINEAPPLE AND HONEY

I can give you my recipe because it is made and I don't want to forget what I did.
To start there is a master recipe for all basic roasted vegetables.  Roast vegetables in the centre of the oven at 475 degrees F.   Generally for 1 lb. of veggies, use one to three tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil and toss with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Fresh lemon juice is optional. 
What changes are the times.  For example, asparagus is fast.  It is 5 minutes on one side, flip, and roast 5 to 8 minutes on the other side.  Carrots are 12-15 minutes, flip and roast another 3-5 minutes.

It is after that when the seasoning begins.  While it was still on the cookie sheet I drizzled the carrots with honey and tossed it in the remaining oil. Then I put them in a dish and I added:  cinnamon, nutmeg, about 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of finely chopped pineapple and its juice.  It turned out well.  All I need to do now is reheat at dinner.

SAUTEED MUSHROOMS WITH ONION, GARLIC AND LEEK

Now this is another dish I did without a recipe that worked really well.  I used a stove top method.
I sauteed 2 chopped onions, 5 cloves of garlic and a leftover leek I sliced thinly in about 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat.  I let it go for about 5 minutes until the onions became translucent.  Then I added 2 and 1/2 trays of sliced cremini mushrooms.  The secret to mushrooms that are beautifully browned and not watery is taking a hands-off approach.  I did add a little nutmeg, unsalted butter and some Garlic Fiesta Seasoning but after the initial stir, I let it do its own thing getting nice and brown and mellow in the skillet for about 5 minutes.   I didn't add salt and pepper until then because I believe salt dries out mushrooms if you add it too early.  Then I finished it off cooking with a little more than half a cup of good red wine although a half a cup would suffice.  I just hated to leave a few dregs in the bottle.  It is delish.  I will reheat and garnish it with some fresh parsley just before serving. 

I didn't say this was going to be a Weight Watchers meal but everything in moderation.  There are plenty of vegetables to choose from.  I have the mushrooms, asparagus, green beans, carrots and mashed potatoes.  That is almost a meal in itself and there is a salad to begin the meal.  So it is primarily being judicious with the turkey and stuffing that will keep the calories or points in check.  After all, Thanksgiving is a tradition and all about giving thanks for the harvest.