Category: Two Glasses In

Recipes by Christy Young Goza

Thanksgiving 101

You need two things: a menu and a plan. It doesn’t have to be stressful or perfect and your house doesn’t have to be big or spotless. And keep your expectations low. Thanksgiving is an event, and once an event starts, you lose all control and it takes on a life of its own. And that is okay. We have a crowd on Thanksgiving and I live in a regular ranch style home and on Thanksgiving day it will be filled with people I love and that makes me happy. This year they will be eating out of paper plates, the good ones of course, and finding a seat wherever they can. The important part is you are spending it with those you love and care about whether that be family or friends or both. I do have some fancy dinner parties with china and name places, but Thanksgiving isn’t one of those events.

Guests: Know who is coming. And know if anyone has any issues such as a shellfish allergy, gluten sensitivity or special dietary needs. You don’t have to make an entire gluten free meal but just make sure you have one or two things they can enjoy safely.  Also, guests may ask “What can I bring?”. Don’t be a martyr, you don’t get an award for making everything yourself. Tell them to bring something you know they do well. From experience- don’t ask them to bring something important, like the turkey or dressing. Because if they forget, or if they get sick at the last minute, that would be an issue.

Drinks: Being from the south, and in the heart of the Bible belt, I grew up on sweet tea and alcohol was not a part of any family dinner and especially Thanksgiving. And it is your decision to have alcohol or not at your dinners.  I always like to have a bottle of red wine and a bottle of white wine open on the bar for guests to help themselves. Some years the bottles are barely touched and some years we open lots of bottles. We just play it by ear and make sure we are well stocked. There are good expensive brands and there are good inexpensive brands, what you serve is up to you.

Appetizers: I always set something out, even if it is small. Just cheese and crackers (Brie with Fig Jam would be great) and/or raw veggies. I promise you, some of your people have not eaten all day. And if dinner is delayed, for whatever reason, you won’t have hungry, grumpy people on your hands.

Your oven:  It is important to know your oven. If you have a newer oven or a gas oven, it may have a cooling fan incorporated. This is important to know if you are doing a recipe that calls for “Bird at 500 degrees, then turn the oven off and let it continue to cook for 5 hours”. I tried this a few years ago, found out my oven had a cooling fan- on Thanksgiving Day, so that method did not work and by the time I figured out what had happened- thanks to Google- our dinner was delayed and I was in an absolute panic. You also need to plan your menu and cooking time based on the availability of space and time in your oven. Think of side dishes to prepare that do not require use of the oven.

Must haves: Meat thermometer, a turkey roaster is always handy, tea pitchers, wine chillers.

The turkey- fresh or frozen: Of course fresh is better and saves you thawing time, but fresh is not always available and there are some fabulous deals on frozen turkeys. If you are going the frozen route, incorporate your thawing time into your plan. And if you have a frozen turkey in the bottom of freezer from 2019, for goodness sakes, throw it away.

The turkey- brine, no brine, dry brine: I have done all these methods and there is no right answer, it is just about what you like. The dry brine creates an extra crispy skin. The brine creates an extra juicy turkey, no brine is just fine as long as you salt it really well. And no brine is the default method if you have no plan and are flying by the seat of your pants and short on time.

The turkey- whole or spatchcock: Whole is traditional and makes for a wonderful instagramable (is that a word?) picture. Usually, a 10-12lb whole bird will cook at 350 degrees for 2-2 ½ hours. Spatchcocking is removing the backbone from the bird, cracking the breast bone and cooking the turkey flat. This method is best done with a 12lb or less turkey. It is the quickest cooking method and works well if time is an issue. I do this method often with chicken. No matter which method you use, you have to let the bird rest after cooking. This lets all the juices redistribute and makes for the best turkey. Loosely cover the bird with foil and let it rest for 15 minutes and up to 2 hours. The longer it rests, the better it will be. No, it will not be cold. Yes, it will be juicy!

Stuffing or Dressing: Stuffing is “stuffed” and cooked in and around the bird. Dressing is in a pan, totally separate from the bird. I prefer dressing just because cook times can vary and I have a wonderful dressing recipe that works well. You can also make dressing in a crock pot, and Savannah Classics has a pretty darn good frozen dressing in a pinch. I also prefer cornbread dressing, just because that is what my grandmothers made and to me, cornbread dressing is more important than the turkey. You can also make your dressing days or weeks ahead and freeze in preparation for the big day. Just build it into your plan. Dressing needs sage. Too much sage can be overpowering. Careful with the sage. You can make your own chicken stock or purchase it at the store. Just make sure you have extra on hand for gravy and he dressing.

Make Ahead: There are so many things that can be made ahead of the big day- dressing, gravy (Ina Garten has a great make ahead gravy recipe), side dishes, bread, cakes, pies, etc. Make ahead dishes will make your day more enjoyable. And it is perfectly okay to purchase some items, not everything has to be homemade.

The MENU: The first three items are the must haves for our dinner. The rest is fluff and can be adjusted or changed.

MENU

Turkey and Dressing                                      

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes                                                                              

Bourbon Cranberry Sauce

Butternut Squash and Kale

Green Beans

Mac & Cheese (Logan)

Turnip Greens (Gladys)

Deviled Eggs (Dee)

Dessert (Jenny)

Rolls      

Tea, Sweet and Unsweet

Wine, Red and White

The Plan:  I have referred to THE PLAN many times in this blog and it is really is the one thing that will help you keep your sanity in check and make for a wonderful Thanksgiving Day for you and your family. I have a Thanksgiving Day plan and a weekly plan. Here is a look at my weekly plan:

SATURDAY: Grocery shopping, wine shopping

SUNDAY: Thaw the bird. Make chicken stock.

MONDAY: Make the cornbread for the dressing. Make the brine.

TUESDAY: Brine the bird. Make the cranberry sauce.

WEDNESDAY: Let the bird set uncovered in the fridge overnight to dry out the skin. Make the cheesy mashed potatoes. Make the desserts. Cut the butternut squash. Run and empty the dishwasher.

THURSDAY: I have an entire daily plan by the hour for this day. It is where the magic happens!

BEFORE GUESTS ARRIVE: I set all the serving dishes on the buffet/island and have a note in each one as to what goes where. This way when guests arrive, they can help place things where they go, if needed. I also make certain the dishwasher is empty.

There is one rule- have fun and enjoy yourself. No one likes an uptight, stressed out hostess. Have a glass or two of wine, you deserve it.

Bourbon Cranberry Sauce

For years I loved and served canned cranberry sauce. Someone would always bring a cranberry salad to my Nannie Logan’s house on Thanksgiving, and if I knew which of my six aunts had brought it, I would apologize to them now for what I am about to say: cranberry salad is not a substitute for cranberry sauce. Cranberry salad usually has crisp apples, maybe jello…heck, I have no idea what is in it, but it is not cranberry sauce, that I know for sure. I do know that Nannie always had a magical can of the good stuff hidden away and would pull it out, look at me like I didn’t know what was good, and she would shake it out of the can and plop it on a plate, cut it into slices and hand it over to me. And that was Thanksgiving. Nannie was thankful to have me out from under her feet and I was thankful for the canned stuff.

Nannie and Papaw Logan had seven daughters: Maggie, Hazel, Bobbi, Deanie, Tinnie, Gladys and Evelyn. They lived most their life in a small, two bedroom house on South Ocoee Street in Cleveland, Tennessee. Some of my best memories of the holidays were at their home. I still don’t know how we all fit into that house at Thanksgiving and Christmas. There was food everywhere and aunts, uncles and cousins were everywhere. We scattered out onto the porches and into the yard. Cars were parked in the back alley as far as you could see. Nannie did not allow any smoking or drinking at her house, so IF those sorts of things went on, it happened out behind the barn where she couldn’t see them. All the food was served buffet style, food was set out on the stove, the counters, tables, anywhere there was space, and the men got their plates first and sat in the dining room. Then the women and kids got their plates and we sat in the kitchen or where ever we could find a seat. I had a hard time understanding this particular part of our family Thanksgiving ritual and being the difficult child I was (I mean the strong, independent child), I did buck the system one particular Thanksgiving. I got my plate with the men, sat in the dining room and no one spoke to me. It wasn’t much fun, so the next year I stuck with tradition. I don’t think the separation of the men and women was a sexist thing, I just think they didn’t want to talk to each other. But whatever the reason, the women and kids table was much more fun- and closer to the food.

The Logan Family Thanksgiving traditions I remember the most: Aunt Hazel made the best pecan pies. Aunt Tinnie made amazing dressing. Nannie Logan had the best dumplings, Aunt Maggie was always at least an hour late and she usually brought a banana pudding that my Papaw Logan loved, Aunt Bobbi was queen of the casseroles and Uncle Claude always washed all the dishes. I have many more memories, but I need to circle back to the cranberry sauce!

So about eight years ago, I started looking at cranberry sauce recipes. Many had cinnamon, so that was out (I don’t like cinnamon), some had apples, so that was out….and then I ran across something that peaked my interest: Bourbon Cranberry Sauce. I have no idea where I got the recipe from, I wish I knew because I love to give credit where credit is due. I just know I have been making this for many years now and I try to dream up ways to use it, it is that good.

The recipe is so easy, 7 ingredients, throw in a pot on medium high heat for 15 minutes. If you like bourbon, put more. If you like more orange, add more zest. There are stages to the pot of cranberries, first is the wet shiny stage, then the foamy bubbles stage, then the “it might be done, but I am not sure” stage, then the thick, jammy, done stage.

Because it has a jammy consistency, it is wonderful on brie, spread on right-out-of-the-oven biscuits, over a good quality vanilla ice cream, topping for pound cake or incorporated into a charcuterie board. It is also pretty darn good on a turkey sandwich the day after Thanksgiving. Most recently, I reheated it, added a little more water and served it as a sauce to a great pork tenderloin.

If I make this ahead, I usually pull it out of the fridge and let it set on the counter to bring it to room temperature or throw it in a pot to warm. It can be served cold, room temp or warm. And it is just fine to make a day or two ahead.

My daughter, Logan, is also very fond of the canned stuff, so I always have both on the table for Thanksgiving Dinner. But I have noticed her dipping into the Bourbon Cranberry Sauce, too.

Cranberries are relatively cheap this time of year, consider making a batch or two and fill some jelly jars and share with your friends.

Bourbon Cranberry Sauce


Ingredients


(2) 12 ounce packages of fresh cranberries
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup water
3 tbsp bourbon
zest of an orange

Directions


Toss everything in a pot on medium high heat for 15-20 minutes. You do not need to cover the pot to cook, but you my want to cover to keep the splatter down towards the end of the cooking time.


Make this recipe your own. Add a finely chopped jalapeno for heat, pump up the orange flavor by adding additional zest, add more bourbon. For extra rich and thickness, omit the water. For a thinner consistency, add more water.
Christy Young Goza

Roast Turkey

This post contains everything I have learned over the years about turkey. I think it is important to note, I did not grow up in a “turkey” family. Yes, we had turkey at least one time a year, but no more than two times a year- Thanksgiving and maybe Christmas. I have definitely learned some lessons over the years:

Lesson #1: Big turkeys are hard to manage and cook. I find the turkeys between 9-16 lbs are the perfect size. Anything larger is too much in many ways. Turkeys over 16 lbs are hard to manage, don’t often fit in the oven and are more difficult to cook through without some spots being overcooked.

Lesson #2: You can usually count on 1lb a person when trying to decide what size, this takes into consideration the bone weight and will leave you with some leftovers. If you have 24 people coming for dinner then I would suggest purchasing two turkeys. That means double the drumbsticks and thighs and that normally makes everyone even happier. This round I made a 9lb turkey for 7 people. I had 30% of the bird not eaten to use for left overs.

Lesson #3: You can’t purchased a frozen turkey the day before Thanksgiving. Chances are it will not thaw in time, especially if you purchased a large bird.

Lesson #4: Bring your turkey up to room temp before you cook it. I like to set it on the counter in the pan and let the skin dry out for an hour or so. This holds true for any type of meat you cook.

Lesson #5: You need a meat thermometer. The last thing you want to do is give all your guests salmonella poisoning. Birds need to be cooked through, specifically, 165 degrees in the thickest part. Depending on your turkey, the thickest part will either be the thigh or the breast. If you are roasting a spatchcock turkey, I usually take the temp in the thickest part of the breast.

Lesson #6: Your turkey needs to rest after it is cooked. Tent it with foil, set is aside and forget about it- AT LEAST 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours. No, it will not get cold. The longer it rests, the juicier it will be.

SPATCHCOCK: I love to spatchcock a turkey, this is basically just butterflying the bird. Cut down each side of the backbone, cut into the breast bone just a bit and flatten the breast down onto the pan. A spatchcock turkey will cook in almost half the time of a full turkey and 100 percent of the skin gets crispy. I also do this method with roasting whole chickens. I would not try to spatchcock a turkey over 16lbs. Today, I did the spatchcock method on a 9lb turkey and it cooked at 450 degrees for 50 minutes.

FRESH vs. FROZEN: Of course, I would opt for fresh if possible, but I have not always been able to find a fresh bird. If you have a frozen bird in the back of your freezer that has been there for a year to two, do everyone a favor and throw it out! Recently frozen works just fine.

BRINING: If I have time, I do like to brine my bird. Brining is not absolutely necessary, but it does make for a much juicier bird. I have purchased some wonderful brine mixes over the years, but lately I have found I like to make my own, so I can incorporate and try different things. A quick method to brining: don’t heat up all two gallons of brine. Just heat up 1.5 cups of kosher salt into 2 cups of water until it is dissolved. Let it cool and then add it to the brine mixture. You can brine for 12-36 hours. I usually do 12-24. For this turkey, the brine mixture included: apple cider, oranges, lemons, head of garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, allspice cloves, rosemary, sage, thyme, kosher salt and water.

INJECTIONS: I find some of the injections to be have a strange after taste. I would not be opposed to pure butter injections.

THAWING: Please go by the instructions on the bird. There is a quick method which consists of a water bath in the sink and a regular method of thawing in the fridge. The quick method takes hours. The regular method takes days.

COOKING METHOD: I have smoked turkeys, deep fried turkeys and roasted turkeys. It all depends on what kind of mood you are in and in some cases, the weather. I prefer to roast, using the spatchcock method. We have a Big Green Egg, and I have to admit, it is nice to have the oven free for other things. However, not everyone likes smoked turkey. I think a good, roasted turkey can’t be beat. If we are having a crowd, we may spatchcock two turkeys and smoke one and roast the other.

STUFFING vs. DRESSING: Since I prefer the spatchcock method, stuffing isn’t really an option. However, I still prefer a great pan of dressing. It is easier to control the moisture and that’s just how I remember Thanksgiving- a huge pan of dressing on the table.

SLICING: I do like to slice the entire turkey and place on a platter. I cut each breast into several pieces. If the thighs are large, I will slice them in half.

GRAVY: You can make a gravy from a spatchcock turkey. Just make sure to add some chicken stock and aromatics under the turkey. This weekend I watched an old episode of The Kitchen on Food Network. Alex Guarnaschelli made a gravy thickened with onions and garlic that was roasted separately from the turkey that looked fabulous. I am definitely going to try her recipe this year. It required no flour or thickener which is wonderful for gluten sensitive folks like myself.

AROMATICS: You can add aromatics below the rack, or if you don’t have a rack just place the bird on top of the aromatics. Good aromatics to consider- celery, carrots, onions. If I add aromatics, I usually cook the bird a little lower at 425 degrees.

HERBS: Use fresh if you have them. You can replace the fresh herbs with dried herbs, just adjust the amount. Dried herbs are much more condensed than fresh, so opt for about 1 tbsp of dried instead of 3 tbsp of fresh.

PAIRING: A Thanksgiving favorite at our house is Rombauer Chardonnay. This one is very oaky with hints of fruit and vanilla. The balance is perfection and goes very well with a holiday menu. At around $38 a bottle, and is perfect for special dinners. The Vivinno App scores it a 4.4, which is an excellent score for any wine, especially a Chard. It is also a wonderful selection to bring as a hostess gift if you are invited to a special dinner at someone’s home.

Don’t let a turkey get the best of you. It really is just a large chicken. If you feel overwhelmed, do a trial run with a whole chicken. And once you get the hang of it, fix a few turkeys throughout the year. The price is easy on the pocketbook and a very healthy protein. Tonight, turkey was on the menu and it was just a normal Saturday night in October.

Roast Turkey


Ingredients


1 9-16 lb turkey
Brine
2 sticks room temp butter
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
salt and freshly ground pepper

BRINE MIXTURE:
4 cups apple cider
1 head garlic, cut in half
2 oranges, quartered
2 lemons, quartered
1.5 cups kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp black peppercorns
3 tbsp allspice cloves
water

Directions


Thaw the bird properly.

Prepare the brine: In a pan, heat up the kosher salt with 2 cups of water until the salt is dissolved. Let it cool and add it to all the other ingredients in a large pot or container. Add the spatchcock bird, add enough water to cover the bird and place in the fridge for 12-36 hours.

Prepare to roast: Place on a pan and let it sit so it comes to room temp before roasting. Preheat the oven. I like to cook at 450 degrees. You can cook it anywhere from 400-450. I like the higher temp because it produces a crispier skin. Remove the bird from the brine, rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Mix the butter, rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic powder with the butter and spread on both sides of the bird , then sprinkle with paprika, salt and pepper on both sides. I like to elevate the bird by placing it on a flat roasting rack or what some would call a cooling rack on a pan. Add a cup or two of chicken stock or water to the pan.

Cook until the thickest part of the turkey reaches 165 degrees. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 30 minutes – 2 hours.


Make this recipe your own. Add ground cayenne pepper for a little heat. Play with the brine ingredients and add what you love.

White Bean Soup

This soup is comfort in a bowl. I love to soak the beans on a Friday night and make this on Saturday afternoon. It is perfect for game day or any day. This is a huge batch, I believe it made 6+ quarts, so be sure to grab your biggest soup pot- or you could easily cut the recipe in half.

Dry beans are very economical. This 2lb bag was $2.49 and most of the ingredients are pantry staples. There is a lot of chicken stock in the soup and I had no homemade stock in my freezer, but I hit the jackpot at the grocery store today-it was BOGO! Don’t ask how many I bought….Thanksgiving is coming up. Total, I am sure I have less than $20 in this pot of soup that will feed a small army.

The trick to dried beans is the overnight soak. I use this method and not only does it result in a soft, buttery bean, it also takes some of the “bean after effects” out of the beans. I always keep several types of dried beans in my pantry- pintos, great northern, navy, etc.

There is one rule to dried beans- don’t salt them until they are softened. If you salt them too soon, you will have to cook them much longer to get the soft, buttery effect.

I like to serve this with my Memaw Young’s Cornbread. In my family, we have two cornbread recipes: Memaw Young’s Cornbread and Nannie Logan’s Cornbread. They are vastly different…and I already see the title of my next blog.

White Bean Soup


Ingredients


2 lbs dry white beans, I used Great Northern, Navy would work well too.
10 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups diced ham or smoked sausage
1-2 heads of garlic, chopped
3 celery stacks, diced
4-5 potatoes, diced
3 carrots, diced
1-2 onions, diced
1 tbsp rosemary
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions


Soak the dry beans in water overnight. Rinse and set aside. In a soup pot, add olive oil and diced ham. Cook on medium heat until the ham begins to brown. Toss in the onions, carrots, celery, rosemary, thyme, celery salt and garlic and saute for a couple of minutes. Add potatoes, beans, chicken stock and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer. Cover and cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add additional chicken stock if needed. When beans have softened, usually about an hour of cooking, add salt. Add freshly ground pepper right before serving.


Make this recipe your own. Add cayenne pepper or jalapenos for heat. Make a Mediterranean version by adding oregano and fresh lemon juice. Make a vegetarian version by removing the ham and substituting vegetable stock for chicken stock. Top with a hot sauce for a dash of spicy, vinegary goodness.

Pumpkin Soup

I didn’t grow up eating pumpkins. The only pumpkins I ever saw were the ones we carved at Halloween. Yes, we had a big garden growing up, but pumpkins never entered the mix. Almost a decade ago, my friends, Ben and Ken, had a fabulous fall dinner party in their backyard and each guest was assigned something to bring. I could write an entire book on the fabulous parties and get togethers at their house, but I am getting off topic. So, I was assigned the soup course. My friends that were coming that night were all fabulous cooks, so I really wanted to do something special and out of my comfort zone. After searching on Pinterest for “fall soups”, these recipes for pumpkin soup kept coming up. I didn’t even know how to roast a pumpkin. But the day of this party, I began roasting away and although I found what looked like several good recipes, I couldn’t find just one that had everything I thought I needed. So of course I took several recipes, melded them together and came up with my own.

Adding apples and carrots creates a sweetness and depth of flavor. Yes, you can leave them out. That is the glory of cooking, everything is optional. If you do leave them out, I might would add maple syrup. It needs a touch of sweetness. An important layer of flavor is the roasted garlic. When roasted, the garlic turns into a buttery, sweet paste that adds that unexplainable goodness.

You have to taste the soup. After you have blended it smooth, taste. Today, my pumpkins were not as sweet as I would have liked so I added some maple syrup. Honey would have worked well too. An immersion blender works well, but make sure to really blend it well. Lumpy pumpkin soup is not very good.

I totally suggest keeping the pumpkin seeds and roasting them. Toss them with olive oil and your favorite spices- I use garlic powder, celery salt, onion powder, paprika, cayenne and salt. Roast them on 350 for 15 minutes, shaking the baking sheet a few times during cooking.

There may be a fancy name for the small orange pumpkins I use, but I have always just called them pie pumpkins. Don’t get a carving pumpkin. The smaller pumpkins are sweeter and best for the soup.

You could pair this soup with a buttery Chardonnay or a Pinot Noir. I paired it with a Meiomi Pinot Noir. It’s one of the best Pinots for the money, around $20 a bottle. Vivino rates it a 4.1. It has great hints of vanilla that pairs very well with the pumpkin.

Pumpkin Soup


Ingredients


2 pie pumpkins
1 head of garlic
2 sweet apples
2 carrots
4-6 cups chicken stock
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
nutmeg

Directions


Slice the pumpkins in half (scoop out the seeds and pulp and set aside. Cut the apples in half and spoon out the seed core. Place pumpkins, apples, carrots and the head of garlic on a baking sheets. Drizzle olive oil, add salt and pepper. Roast in a 350 degree oven for an hour or until soft. Set aside to cool.

Remove the pumpkin pulp from the skin, same with the apple. Cut the garlic head top off and squeeze the roasted garlic out. Place the pumpkin pulp, apple pulp, garlic and carrots into a pot. Add a dash of nutmeg. Press with a potato masher. Add in the chicken stock. Cook on medium low. Taste the soup and add what is needed.

Use a blender or food processor to blend the soup into a smooth, velvety concoction. Pour into bowl and drizzle heavy cream on the top (optional).


Make this recipe your own. Add cayenne pepper for a little heat or add maple syrup for more sweetness. You could even drizzle the top with a balsamic glaze. Top with roasted pumpkin seeds. Lots of options!

Butternut Squash and Kale

I have never met a green I didn’t like, however I will admit, I was late to the kale train. But now, I love it so much, I try to find ways to incorporate it into dishes. You may find kale to be bitter and that is not unusual, but there is a secret to toning down the bitterness- massage the greens. Yes, that is not a misprint and I know you aren’t suppose to play with your food, but in this case it works magic. Throw your cleaned and cut kale greens into a bowl and squeeze them, you can be rough with them, they can take it.

And yes, kale in the bag, already cut, is perfectly fine. I use the bags when I can find them. Just be sure and wash them, as sometimes greens can be a bit sandy.

My mom lives across the street and recently she brought me a huge bag of dried cranberries (she did not like them). So I have been throwing them into salads and whatever else I can think of. They really work in this dish and when you saute them for a minute or so, they plump a little and add a burst of sweetness that goes well with the other vegetables.

Be careful when cutting the butternut squash. Some people like to microwave it a minute or two before slicing to make it easier. I just try to break it down into smaller sections before I remove the skin. You can now buy bags of butternut squash already cubed. Those will work just fine to roast.

This is one of the prettiest side dishes I have made. And I am certain it will make its way onto my Thanksgiving table this year.

I paired this dinner with a bottle of Vennstone, a dry pinot noir by Joe Wagner. It is smooth, low tannins with hints of cherry. It is an excellent wine if you love dry, which I do. At $20 a bottle, it is a great wine for the price. It drinks like a much more expensive bottle. I like the heavy cabs and my husband likes the grapey merlots. We meet in the middle often with a pinot noir. And I am beginning to prefer them!

It has a Vivino rating of 4.1. Anything 4 and over is excellent. I have used the Vivino wine rating app for years and it is a great way to find out what you like and find more bottles you like. I walk around the liquor store scanning bottles and reading details.

Butternut Squash and Kale


Ingredients


1 butternut squash, cut into small cubes
8 oz chopped kale (1/2 bag)
1 red onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup dried cranberries
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Directions


Toss the butternut squash with 2 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Set aside.

In a pan, heat olive oil. Saute the red onions for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic for 1 minute. Add the balsamic vinegar. Toss in the kale and cranberries and cook for 1-2 minutes, until just wilted. Add salt and pepper. Toss in roasted butternut squash.


Make this recipe your own. , add walnuts or pecans, swap out the dried cranberries for dried cherries. Add some spice with cayenne pepper. You could even swap out the balsamic vinegar for maple syrup. Lots of options!

Brie with Fig Jam

There is something about warm brie combined with just about any kind of jam that makes my mouth water, especially fig jam. I would love to tell you I worked hard in the kitchen all day making jam, but that is not the case. I happened to find a jar at TJ Max for $3.99 last week and grabbed it up. I knew immediately I would end up slathering it on brie sometime soon.

I happen to have a small Lodge Cast Iron skillet that fits a wheel of brie perfectly and keeps it nice and warm. Honestly, I have never used the tiny skillet for anything else, but I love it and it serves a purpose. I use iron skillets for just about everything. I have some handed down to me from my Memaw and I have some I have purchased over the years. I suggest using a silicone handle holder because there is nothing hotter than the handle of an iron skillet. I have four or five in the drawer I use on a regular basis.

Nuts…I am not a fan of nuts in cooked, savory food. I am sure that comes from my southern upbringing. Nuts belong in pies, pecans to be exact. But if you love nuts, I would imagine some walnuts or pecans on top might strike your fancy.

I like to serve granny smith apple slices with this dish for dipping. And while I am not big into kitchen gadgets, I do have a handy apple slicer– we eat a lot of apples at our house! Pour water in a bowl, squeezed a third of a lemon into it and throw the apple slices in to soak until the brie is ready. This will prevent the apples from browning too quickly.

Tonight, I happened to have a nice, chilled bottle of Buttercream Chardonnay that worked nicely with the brie. A red would have been just as good, too!

Brie with Fig Jam


Ingredients


1 wheel of brie
3 tbsp fig jam

Directions


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Score the top of the brie. Spread jam over the top. Cook uncovered for 15- 20 minutes.


Make this recipe your own. Add different types of jam or even apple butter. Top with walnuts or pecans.

Cowboy Caviar

It is football season and my husband, Jay, loves chips and dip. He has never met a dip he didn’t love. It is game day, so I decided to throw together some snacks and toss them on the kitchen island. I have a feeling the boys will come by- fingers crossed- and maybe even a few friends. In typical fashion, I made a little something (this cowboy caviar) and purchased some things as well.

Many recipes for cowyboy caviar call for avocados and cilantro, but here is my take on it. Avocados can turn to mush, they need to be perfectly ripe and they aren’t very good left over. As for cilantro- did you know 10% of people find it tastes like soap. Turns out, they share a common smell-receptor gene cluster called OR6A2. I am in this group. So if you love it, add it. Cilantro is a hard no for me.

Many of you have asked me to link to things in the pics. I am new at this and it is hard to link some of my things, especially my Memaw’s melmac bowls from the 50’s. But as for the cute table runner, I took a chance last year on this pvc table runner. Turns out, it is one of my favorite things. It was long, and it curls on the end, so don’t expect it to hang down. I cut a piece for our bar and a piece for the island. The edges curl around the top and it wipes off very easily. So I actually got two runners out of the one purchase. When I am done, they just roll right up and I throw them in the china cabinet.

There is a cute orange and white custom glass plate with a tiny square of red in the corner. It was a wedding present to Jay and I from our friends, Franklin and Jennifer. The plate was a custom piece from Kim Currin Creations- Glassworks. The red is for Jay- he is my Alabama guy.

I have a Nora Fleming cocktail napkin holder that I am a little obsessed with- the corner mini is interchangeable-and don’t ask me how many minis I have. Cocktail napkins are my thing and I even have them organized in zip lock bags. And if you ever see the Nora Fleming Frankenstein hand mini for a reasonable amount of money- text me immediately. Of course, today I have inserted the football mini. We have a great, local store called Southern Traditions and they carry many of the Nora Fleming pieces and also the minis. I always buy local when I can.

Cowboy Caviar


Ingredients


1 can black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, rinsed and drained
1 jalapeno, diced
1 red onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced

Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions


Mix dressing ingredients into a jar and shake. Mix dip ingredients in a bowl and stir in the dressing.


Make this recipe your own. Add cilantro, add the zest of the lime. Turn up the acid and add an additional lime. Toss in a cucumber. Add white beans. There are endless options to change up this recipe.

Steak Night Dinner

Today is the beginning of my birthday festivus- the two weeks surrounding my birthday. So in celebratory fashion, I have invited our friends, Michael and Clay, over for dinner, along with my mom and our son, Seth. And yes, we love all our kids, however Tyler and Logan live in Knoxville so we will celebrate with them soon. That is the fabulousness of birthday festivus.

I didn’t really plan to have a dinner party, but a trip to Publix Saturday changed the course. Thick, bone in ribeye steaks were on sale-like half price on sale. And that is a great reason to have friends and family over. It is a dreary, rainy day today, but I am hoping the sun will come out long enough to toss them on the grill.

I love to have friends over and one thing I have learned is not to make dinner too complicated. People like good, simple things. And it is okay to buy some premade things to add to the dinner as well.

First thing this morning, I placed the steaks into a pan and poured Allegro Marinade over the top. I will flip the steaks a few times during the day to make certain both sides soak up the marinade. I leave the steaks in the pan on the counter throughout the day. I want to make certain these thick steaks are room temperature all the way through before we place them on the grill. I know this will be controversial, however I have been doing this for years with great results.

Michael is bringing a potato dish and I am going to make some broccolini tossed in olive oil and garlic, with a splash of lemon at the end. I have Ree Drummond’s Flourless Chocolate Cake in the oven (I am gluten sensitive and this cake is wonderful). I will throw together a small cheese board and open a bottle of red about 30 minutes before everyone arrives. And I will also open a really sweet white for Clay. I don’t fuss about Clay’s sweet white wine preference because he is my only friend that will drink Port with me. And for that, I am grateful.

I am not a fancy girl. I will set the table with some chargers and my white plates I have had for ages. I just think food looks better on a white plate. And I will add some cloth napkins (I have several patterns, I absolutely love cloth napkins). My silverware may or may not match- some things are just not that important to me. The most important thing are those seated around the table.

AFTER DINNER UPDATE: The cheeseboard started out as a disaster. The Brie I was going to use was expired and yes, it tasted bad. I had a block of white sharp cheddar in the back of fridge. I sliced it up and then it hit me… my friend Traci had gifted me some homemade strawberry jam and so I plopped it on the board along with some thin slices of jalapeno. I was in such a hurry, I threw the jalapeno slices into the jar lid, which in the end was kind of cute. So what started as a cheeseboard fiasco ended up being the perfect board of sweet, savory, spicy. I could have made a meal out of just that. The steaks were wonderful…I wish I would have gotten a picture of the pink/reddish center that I love so much. How in the world can you write a food blog and not get a picture of the inside of the perfectly cooked steak?

I highly recommend using a meat thermometer. After years of cooking steaks to perfection, Jay can do it in his sleep and can tell the temp of the steaks just by touch. This is a learned practice that takes lots of experience, so purchase a digital meat thermometer if you are a beginner. Also- I have been using a meat thermometer for 20 years and I still don’t really know how to program one. I just check it often to see how things are coming along. So, you don’t have to be tech savvy to use one.

Michael and Clay arrived tonight with a 2017 bottle of Silver Oak Cabernet. Silver Oak is one of my first loves and Jay and I spent half a day in 2018, with Michael and Clay, taking a chef’s tour of their winery. I made a picture at their winery that even made their annual calendar. It is a magical place and they turn out some of the best new world wines I have ever had the pleasure of drinking. We opened another red, a bottle of Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico. The two wines were very different but both were special in their own rite and were a great pairing to the thick ribeyes.

And as for the dessert- I am not a baker, however this cake is one of the best desserts I have ever made. And the fact that is it gluten free is just…icing on the cake!

Steak Night Dinner


Ingredients


5 thick cut ribeye steaks
1 bottle of Allegro marinade
lots of freshly ground black pepper

Directions


Marinate the steaks overnight or at least 6-8 hours. Make certain the steaks are at room temperature before cooking. I pull my steaks out of the fridge in the morning and set them on a counter to marinate. Preheat the grill to at least 450 degrees and sear the steaks for 3 minutes on each side, lower the heat and close the lid until the steaks reach 125 degrees. I prefer my steaks medium rare, If you like them more done, continue cooking them accordingly. Pull the steaks from the grill and let them rest for at least 10-15 minutes before serving.

HINT: The resting of the meat is just as important as the cooking of the meat. Always rest at least 10-15 minutes prior to making a cut.

Greek Cucumber Salad

This is an easy, make ahead side dish. I have found this concoction satisfies my pasta salad cravings. When I cut out gluten from my diet, the first thing I missed was pasta. Yes, today they have some good substitutes however, many of them miss the mark when it comes to making a pasta salad.

Earlier this year, I was researching food related to inflammatory responses and came across many articles with info on the Mediterranean way of eating. I began to embrace the olive oil, lemon, garlic and oregano goodness that are so popular in Mediterranean cuisine.

I have made this dish 50 times and always end up substituting or adding something. I use whatever I happen to have on hand. I have substituted chickpeas for the white beans, I have used green onions instead of red, I have even been known to add pepperoncini. One time, at the last minute I learned a few more people were coming for dinner than I had originally planned. I added an extra can of white beans and shredded a head of romaine lettuce. You can stretch it as far as needed!

I know the world is divided about feta. I personally love it, but if you don’t love it, leave it out. If you want to make this a more italian vibe, substitute parmesan for the feta. I have served this dish to feta haters, and they cleaned their plates. It just adds a good saltiness, especially when combined with the olives. Also, crumble your own feta. It is more economical and it is just better.

I have added an easy dressing recipe, but please know- I don’t always make my dressings. I love to make them, but sometimes time just doesn’t permit. Ken’s Steakhouse Simply Vinaigrette Dressings are the closest thing to homemade I have found in the grocery stores. They come in many varieties: greek, italian, olive oil and vinegar, balsamic, etc. The olive oil and vinegar or greek works best with this salad.

I love to make this with salmon, chicken or pork. Tonight I am making pork tenderloin marinated in the leftover dressing. It is a wet and dreary day, so instead of grilling the tenderloin, I am going to sear it in a cast iron skillet and pop it into a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. I am also going to whip up come Greek Lemon Potatoes.

I browsed our wine rack and found a Decoy Pinot Noir that I think will go well with the pork. This dry red will hold up well to the red wine vinegar and feta that is bold in this dish. This pinot is smooth with an almost strawberry/cherry note with a hint of spice.

Helpful hint: If you are making this dish a day ahead, leave the cherry tomatoes whole. Sometimes cut tomatoes can make a dish “watery” the next day.

Greek Salad


Ingredients


1 english cucumber, large dice
1 bell pepper diced, any color
1/2 red onion
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup black olives, marinated or brined- not canned
1 can white beans, northern or cannellini, rinsed and drained
1 lemon, halved

Dressing
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 lemon, juice and zest
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions


Mix dressing ingredients into a jar and shake. Pour as much as you like over the salad ingredients and toss. Right before serving, squeeze the halved lemon over it for a fresh burst of flavor. Any extra dressing you have will last in the fridge for a few days-it is also good for a marinade.


Make this recipe your own. Use chickpeas instead of white beans, add pasta or shredded romaine. Dice a jalapeno for some heat. The salad ingredients can all be substituted for whatever you find in your crisper drawer.
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