The time has come again. Thanksgiving is all over but the leftovers, and it is time to turn to holiday shopping. I love putting together this round up of some of my holiday fun finds, and as always, these are just some ideas about personal favorites – no one has asked me to promote any products. This year, I am all about homemade gifts from the kitchen. I went on a real … [Read more...] about Festive Favorites 2011
Holidays
Make – Ahead Gravy for Your Turkey
Gravy is essential to a Thanksgiving turkey, but only if it is good gravy. And what makes gravy good is delicious drippings from a beautifully roasted bird. Many gravy methods involve making it right in the pan the turkey was cooked in, to scrape up all the bits and juices. And that’s great. But I realized some years ago that trying to do this while my family stands around … [Read more...] about Make – Ahead Gravy for Your Turkey
Bacon-Blanketed, Herb Roasted Turkey
This is the turkey. I’ve been perfecting this for many years now. I must say, it is a showstopper, and delicious to boot, because I treat it well. I send my turkey to a bacon spa. It gets a salt scrub, a bacon butter deep tissue massage, a hand-woven bacon spa robe, some time in the sauna and a little tanning to finish it off. I’ve got a set of instructions … [Read more...] about Bacon-Blanketed, Herb Roasted Turkey
Green and Gold Collards
Greens on New Year’s Day are an important tradition here in the South. It’s a wish for prosperity in the new year, you see, greens representing the foldin’ money you hope to have in your pocket. Collards are a traditional green and here you can add a little wish for some jangly change in your pocket too with the golden coin-like dumplings. Serve them with some black-eyed peas, … [Read more...] about Green and Gold Collards
Tourtière – French Canadian Meat Pie
I am tempted to say that this is an old family recipe, but my family has no connection with French Canadians whatsoever. But it is a recipe my family has been making for years. The story goes like this: my grandparents had tourtière on a trip to Canada, and enjoyed it so much, that my aunt wrote to Gourmet magazine to ask for a recipe. Gourmet did not print her request in … [Read more...] about Tourtière – French Canadian Meat Pie