Thanksgiving!!!

GOBBLE, GOBBLE, GOBBLE!


Thankgsiving, quite possibly one of my favorite Holidays every year. This year I hosted my very first Thanksgiving and had 10 guests, and it wasn't as hard as you would think. To the left is our Thanksgiving Day menu. In case you don't have super laser vision, the menu reads:

Appetizers

Warm mixed olives

Smokehouse Almonds

Stuffed Mushrooms

Harvest Crackers with Irish Cheddar and Spicy Pepperoni

First Course

Butternut Squash Soup with dollop of nutmeg whipped cream

Main Course

Rosemary and Sage Turkey

Sausage Cranberry Stuffing

Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Ginger

Orange Infused Green Beans

Sweet Potatoe Casserole with Marshmallows and Pecans

Garlic and Chive Creamy Smashed Potatoes

Buttermilk Biscuits

Bourbon Gravy

Dessert

Apple Crumble

Pumpkin Pie

Drinks

Spiced Sangria

Malbec

Pinot Noir

Coffee

I know it looks like a pretty extensive menu, but it was actually really easy to pull together. So many things could be prepped in advance so the day of all I really had to do was heat things up and set the table.

I will post the recipes for each menu item in a second entry, Thanksgiving II shortly.

In the meantime I hope everyone has a Happy Holiday Season.

BBQ Short Ribs, White Truffle Roasted Purple Potatoes and Parmesan White and Green Asparagus

Trying to extend the summer, I invited my friend Jessie over for a good old fashioned comfort food dinner of BBQ Short Ribs. Although I don't have the luxury of a backyard with a grill I made due with my trusty crock pot and made finger licking, fall off the bone, juicy ribs. We stopped by whole foods and picked up some beautiful purple roasting potatoes, white and green asparagus and some Parmesan for the sides. I had it all pictured in my head, Jess's job was to drink some wine and make sure she didn't leave any leftovers. Jess licked her plate clean so I think you guys might like this recipe :-)

Number one, the best part about this recipe is how easy it is. This is almost zero prep and the prep that is there is so simple and takes less than 15 minutes. I seriously love my crock pot...you don't have to do anything and it makes life so much easier. This recipe is just as good as cooking your ribs on the grill, I dare to say even better because the ribs have no chance of becoming dry. For this entire dish you will need the following ingredients and kitchen tools/appliances:

RIBS:
*5lbs Short Ribs
*BBQ Dry Rub (store bought, or your own blend)
*(1) cup of flour (optional)
*(2) Bottles of BBQ Sauce (any flavor, your choice)

Roasted White Truffle Potatoes:
*(1) small bag of purple or red creamer/roasting potatoes
*(1) tblspn white truffle oil
*kosher salt

Parmesan Asparagus:
*(1) bunch of green asparagus
*(1) bunch of white asparagus
*(1) tspn of extra virgin olive oil
*(1) fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Kitchen Tools/Appliances:
Crock pot
stove top grill
*tongs

Prep really should start the night before you decide to cook the ribs because you want to put the dry rub on the ribs and let it soak in overnight in the fridge. It's perfectly fine if you can't do it the night before. Pat the ribs with a paper towel until they are dry and coat them with the BBQ dry rub. Really rub the spices into the meat. Place in your fridge for a minimum of 5 hours. They should look like this:

When you are ready to start cooking the ribs you want to remove them from the refrigerator to sit for at least 30 minutes at room temperature. After 30 minutes they are ready for the next step. You want to use a stove top grill or griddle to sear both sides of the ribs before placing them in the crock pot. This is great to create a crust with the seasoning and to help cook off fat before adding to the crock pot. You will notice that I mentioned flour as part of the ingredients, I want to stress that this step is totally optional. I lightly coat both sides of the ribs before adding to the stove top grill. You should cook the ribs for about 3-5 minutes on each side, just enough to brown them. It will look like this:



You should plug in your crock pot and put the setting on high to warm it up while the ribs are on the stove top grill, about 10 minutes before you plan to add the ribs to the crock pot. Add (1) bottle of BBQ sauce to the crock pot during this time allowing it to warm up before you add the ribs.

After both sides of the ribs are brown with a light crust remove them with the tongs and add to the crock pot. Use 3/4 of the second bottle of BBQ sauce to cover the ribs and place the crock pot setting on low. The ribs should take about (6) hours to cook on this setting. My theory is the slower the better because the flavors really get locked in, but if you are pressed for time you can keep the crock pot setting on high and cook for (4) hours. Every two hours you should remove the lid and skim the top of the sauce to remove all excess oils/fat.

The potatoes should be in the stove about (40) minutes before the ribs are done. This is really an easy recipe for something that tastes delicious. Take the creamer/roasting potatoes and coat them thoroughly with the white truffle oil. Sprinkle kosher salt over them and add to a stove on 350 for (40) minutes. The salt forms an amazing crust around the potatoes and the white truffle oil just adds a really decadent flavor to the potatoes.

The asparagus can be prepared about (20) minutes before the ribs are completed. You want to grate the Parmesan cheese finely beforehand.


Asparagus is really easy to make and I like to grill the asparagus on the stove top grill. Remove the weak part of the stem of each and then coat with the olive oil. Add to the grill and cook for about 15 minutes, or until visibly on the semi-soft side. I like my asparagus to have a little crunch to it. Remove and sprinkle generously with the grated Parmesan.

At this point the ribs should be done. Use the tongs to remove them from your crock pot, but be somewhat gentle because the meat really is falling off the bone at this point. The picture on the far right was the final product of this recipe. Unfortunately we forgot to take a picture of Jessie's empty dish, but let's just say not much was left. Enjoy!

Seared scallops with strawberry/avocado/mint salsa

I loooovvvvvveee seafood, but I didn't always like scallops. Actually it took a long time for me to get used to the texture of scallops. I've now grown to love their buttery sweet taste and have come up with a pretty fast recipe that is great for the summer months. I've linked to a website called Local Harvest (link on the sidebar) and it's an amazing site that lists all farmers market contributors across the U.S.. I highly recommend utilizing this site to find a local fisherman to buy your scallops the day that you plan to cook. On a side note, I recommend buying as many fresh ingredients from your local farmers market as possible. I know it can be somewhat expensive, but we have to start supporting our local farmers. Local Harvest actually offers the option of ordering almost anything online which is a huge convenience factor.

Ok, back to our scallops...let the YUM begin. I purchased approximately (12) large scallops for this particular recipe. This will feed 3-4 people. Before anything you want to place the scallops over some paper towels to let extra juice drain before cooking. I personally found that this is the best way to carmalize the scallops without overfoam in the pan. You will know what I'm talking about if you don't drain your scallops.

While your scallops are draining you can make the really easy strawberry/avocado/mint salsa. You will need about (6)strawberries (chopped), (1/2) avocado (diced), (1) bunch of mint )(chopped); (1) tblspn fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. Add together and refrigerate for at least two hours.

I add about a teaspon of olive oil to my skillet and cook the scallops for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Basically flip as soon as the scallops begin to brown on one side. Pics below:

While the scallops are cooking I've decided to start the sauteed garlic spinach which ultimately becomes the bed for our scallops. DO NOT USE FROZEN SPINACH! It just isn't the same as fresh spinach. You will need the following: (1) crushed garlic clove; (1) bunch of spinach and (1) teaspoon of olive oil for this, steps below:

Once the spinach is wilted down plate and top with your scallops and add the strawberry/avacado/mint salsa on top.

The finished product will look something like this:

A somewhat healthy alternative to eggs benedict...

I'm obsessed with breakfast. All breakfast! Growing up Sunday breakfast was a big to do. We would wake up at 8 and terrorize my Nana until she finally would get out of bed and turn us into her kitchen helpers for Sunday deliciousness. During this time my tastebuds began their love affair with food. I have always had an extreme weakness for the classic eggs benedict...who wouldn't, the crisp english muffins with melted butter followed by canadian bacon goodness with fresh fried eggs and hollandaise....ok, enough because seriously that is a heart attack on a fork and if I continue down that road every Sunday my booty might not fit in my jeans, no muffin top for me thanks.

I've come up with a somewhat alternative, a little healthier and just as delicioius. You are going to need the following: (1) 100 Calorie Thomas's English Muffin; (1) half of an avacado; (2) brown eggs; (1) tspn of unsalted butter and salt and pepper to taste. Just follow the picture steps below and voila, your somewhat healthier alternative, and equally delicious:

Now that all the steps are complete, dig in: