Family Reunion Menu and Peanut - Red Chile BBQ Sauce

This past weekend I decided to get some family together for a reunion. It had been a decade or longer since I had the pleasure of their company. It was wonderful seeing all of them again but it felt a bit like a tornado of people. We hardly had a chance to say "Hello, how have things been? How did we let over 10 YEARS pass?!" before they were off.

I was pretty nervous about this party so I decide to keep the menu simple. Almost everything I made was from Bobby Flay's Messa Grill Cookbook (NOT my own recipes GASP!). I have made quite of few recipes from this book and so far they have all been very good to excellent.
For those of you who have been asking for cookbook recommendations put this one on the list.

I made roasted garlic and poblano pretzel sticks, deviled eggs, guacamole, wild mushroom quesadillas with red chile jack cheese, Yucatan chicken skewers with red cabbage slaw and peanut red chile BBQ sauce, and Sophie's salad which is a chopped salad with beans and cheese. (For those of you who read my last post - I debated on not making anything with meat but I knew they were almost all meat eaters...I told you, I'm not good at following implied rules)

Here is an adapted version of Bobby Flay's peanut red chile BBQ sauce. He uses chicken broth and Messa Grill BBQ sauce which is also in the Messa Grill Cookbook. I only had this off of a spoon but it was so good I contemplated eating the spoon itself. I imagine this would be good not only on chicken but on tofu, veggies, it's so good it would probably make anything delicious!


Peanut-Red Chile BBQ Sauce (adapted from Bobby Flay's Messa Grill Cookbook)

1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger*
1 1/3 cup Chipotle Honey BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add ginger and cook until soft, about 1-2 minutes. Raise the heat to high and add the BBQ sauce and the veggie broth. Cook stirring occasionally until reduced by half.
Reduce heat to medium. Whisk in the peanut butter and the soy sauce. Cook stirring occasionally until thickened about 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
You can make this a couple of days ahead of time and reheat it before serving.

*An easy way to peel ginger is to simply scrape the skin off with a spoon.

To Eat or Not to Eat... Meat

I feel like I need to come clean about something...I no longer eat meat. This isn't completely new. I was more or less a vegetarian for over 15 years, I started craving meat when I was pregnant which is when I started eating it again, that was 5 years ago. I can't do it anymore. There are a multitude of reasons for this. It's environmentally unsound. Absolutely disgusting things are done to the meat in order to add weight to it. The animals are kept in horrific, inhumane conditions... I can't ignore the facts any more which for me means I can no longer eat meat. It no longer seems like food to me.

I am not a fan of labels, they seem to imply rules which quite frankly I've never been good at following. However, I can't deny the fact that I'm a vegetarian. Since this is a food blog, I'll be documenting my semi new food adventures here.

I hope that even you meat eaters stick with me. Even though I am no longer eating meat, I still have a meat loving family to feed. My goal is to make meals that they will enjoy. Not meals of meat replacements but food so good the thought of meat not being part of it doesn't even cross your mind. How's that for setting the bar high?!

For those of you interested in learning more about our food supply I highly recommend reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer and Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan. They are fantastic thought provoking books that if nothing else will make you more aware of the food you eat.

Cranberry Sauce

I would like to apologize for the lack of pictures. I always like to see the end product of a recipe and I'm sure I'm not alone. I seem to have misplaced my camera. Hopefully it will turn up soon!
Anyway...on to cranberry sauce -
I'm pretty sure the only reason I ever ate turkey was so I could use it to put large quantities of cranberry sauce on. I love homemade cranberry sauce. It's easy enough for my kids to make which is great because they are very eager to contribute to our Thanksgiving dinner this year.
I've made so many different types of cranberry sauces over the years, my favorite additions probably being cardamom and ginger. But for Thanksgiving I try to keep it simple. There are already so many flavors at the meal. I've found that a traditional, simple cranberry sauce is best.
This way you're adding a nice bright flavor without being overwhelming.


Cranberry Sauce
1 bag fresh cranberries
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
pinch of salt

Combine water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add cranberries, reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, add orange zest and salt.
You can make the cranberry sauce up to a week ahead of time.

Creme Fraiche and Creme Fraiche Biscuits

I just remembered I need to make my creme fraiche now so it is ready in time for Thanksgiving. I am going to be using it to make these really good biscuits.
I love creme fraiche, it's something I try to have on hand. It's great with potatoes, with fish or chicken, in salad dressing, as a base for dip, with vegetables, as a finishing touch for soups, sweetened and served with fruit... you can almost always use it in place of sour cream. It adds a nice subtle tanginess. Oh and it is ridiculously easy to make.


Creme Fraiche
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons buttermilk

In a glass jar, add cream and butter cream. close jar and shake gently to combine. Let it sit in a warm spot for 12 - 24 hours. It should be thicker than cream, thinner than sour cream. Refrigerate until needed.

It will get thicker and more delicious as it sits. I try to make it 3 days before I'll be using it. I've heard it will keep for 2 weeks or more but I've never had any around that long.

Holiday Mashed Potatoes

I call these "holiday potatoes" because they are ridiculously rich and indulgent, the kind of food I eat only once in a great while, usually on the holidays. Unless of course my brother is in town. He inevitably requests that I make these for him. They are delicious, worth every gram of fat, calorie and carbohydrate!

5 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes (approximately)
2 tablespoons table salt
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sour cream
cream as needed

Place the potato chunks into a large pot, cover with enough water to come 2 inches above.
Add the salt and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender.
Drain the water from the pot. Add the cream cheese and butter, mash the potatoes until there are no lumps. Stir in the sour cream. Add cream until the desired consistency is reached. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Chiffonnade Brussles Sprouts

I'm one of those strange people who have always loved Brussels Sprouts. My grandmother would always serve them on Thanksgiving, and while it was a dish I'm sure many of my family would have been happy to see go, it wouldn't have felt like Thanksgiving without them. Take the turkey, but please don't touch the Brussels sprouts! Grandma would boil them, usually until they were overcooked which is a tradition I am happy to see go :)

I was determined to make everyone love them as much as I did which meant finding a new way to cook them. I came across shredded Brussels sprouts on a menu of a restaurant that sadly, is now long gone. They served their sprouts sauteed with shredded Parmesan. I've opted to leave the Parmesan out and roast them.

The Brussels sprouts are not really chiffonnade, but they give that appearance when they are thinly sliced across their width and, well, it sounds better than sliced Brussels sprouts.



Chiffonnade Brussels Sprouts
3 pounds Brussels sprouts, the tough outer leaves removed
1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil
coarse salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400.
Thinly slice across the width of the Brussels sprouts discarding the stump. (Alternatively you can use a food processor, make sure to remove the stump first.)
Toss the sprouts with the oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Place on a large baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes.



I like to let these roast until some of the sprouts get dark and crispy. It's a matter of preference, this is even good raw!
This is an excellent dish for people who think they don't like Brussels sprouts I've converted many people with this recipe. Confession, I'm also one of the annoying people that more or less forces you to try something even after you tell me you don't like it, convinced that you simply haven't had it prepared like this or if you have it wasn't done well or maybe your tastes have changed. (If I've done that to you, I'm sorry. I would like to say I won't do it again but that is probably not true.)

If you have any leftover which I never do (I've even made extra hoping for leftovers!) you can toss the roasted Brussels sprouts with pasta and a little Parmesan. So simple and so good!

Honey and Thyme Glazed Roasted Root Vegetables with Spinach

I love the sweetness of roasted vegetables. The fact that they are healthy is just an added bonus. This makes a wonderful side dish, but I've also had it over couscous and it was a delicious, healthy, satisfying meal.

1 pound Carrots
1 pound Celery Root
1 pound Turnips
1 pound Parsnips
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1/3 cup Honey
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 pounds Baby Spinach
fresh Lemon juice to taste

Heat oven to 400. Cut all of the vegetables except for the spinach into a thick julienne.
In a bowl combine olive oil, honey, salt and pepper. Add carrots, celery root, turnips and parsnips and toss to coat the veggies. Place the veggies on 2 large baking sheets and cover with foil. Roast about 25 minutes until the veggies are tender then remove foil and roast until they are glazed about 10 more minutes.

In a large pan, saute the spinach and a bit of salt until the spinach is just starting to wilt. Add fresh lemon juice to taste. Plate the spinach and top with the roasted veggies.