Recipes that have nothing to do with turkey. Or green beans. Or sweet potatoes. Or...

[stoney321]

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving, for those who celebrate. And if you didn't, just remember that it's afterward, and you get to leave those people soon, if not already. :) I'm really wishing we made quarts of the pinot noir gravy we had with the turkey, because I would pretty much have eaten it by itself with my sister's rolls. GLAH, so grood. The combo of brining the turkey and adding herbed butter (I used shallots, pinot noir, thyme, parsley, and sage) under the skin proved to be the juiciest, most flavorful bird I've yet to cook. *kisses fingertips* Having my sister, her fiance, and our friend Blair (shout out!) over and no in-laws proved to be the way to go. No stress, all fun, good company = best Thanksgiving ever.

I'm going down the rabbit hole this coming week so I can get my NaNo goal - up until last night, I was convinced I wouldn't reach 50K as I was sitting at 28K. Uh... My life gets busy and there's no writing! So. Today, though, different story. Put in over 10,000 words to be hovering just under 40K, and I'm feeling confident now. Those of you working on similar goals, YOU CAN DO EET! [/Cajun]

Today is a day of putting up Santa-mas decorations (we're not Christian, we just like their holidays) and eating comfort food as the temp hasn't gotten above 39 (which is FREEZING for us in Texas.) On the menu, pumpkin spice bundt cake with nutmeg-infused creme fraiche, fudge (I make the worlds best fudge, I am not even going to act modest) and tomato-basil soup with provolone toasts. There might be something left over, if you hurry.



TOMATO BASIL SOUP (Like the La Madeline's recipe)

Because fresh tomato season is over, I used canned. If you have fresh tomatoes, you want to use 8 really big ones (like heirloom toms) and omit the tsp. of sugar. (That's to help the tinniness of the canned tomatoes.)

2 28oz. cans of diced tomatoes, with the juice
1 C. broth (I used chicken, veggie would be perfect. You could maybe use tomato juice, if you wanted)
1 TBSP double concentrated tomato paste (the kind in the tube. Double if you use the kind in a can.)

In a large pot, simmer these ingredients for a min. of 30 minutes. (An hour if you use fresh.) Pour 2/3 into a blender or food processor with 15 whole basil leaves. (Big ones. If they're small, double the number. Basil is KEY.) Blend it until it's nice and pureed, then put back into the large pot and add a tsp. of sugar. Add 1/2 stick of butter (dude, the original recipe called for a POUND. Waaaay too much and leaves a film - blech) and 3/4 of a pint of heavy cream. (You could use half and half to save some fat and calories.) Do not let boil, just simmer for a couple of minutes to meld the flavor, then stir in 5 more basil leaves that have been julienned, a few cranks of fresh black pepper, and the TEENIEST of squeezes of lemon. I used half of a wedge, and it was perfect. Too much and it over powers everything else.

SO EASY. SO DELICIOUS. SO... fattening. But hey, it's not like you eat this every day. Or um... Yeah. Delicious.



Tomorrow night is tortilla soup with the leftover turkey. I just make this from eyeballing ingredients. All measurements are approximate for a Texan's palate. You may want to cut back on some things. :)

TORTILLA SOUP

In a large stock pot, I simmer a crushed clove of garlic and half of a sweet onion (yellow) that's diced in a little chicken broth. Season with cumin and chili powder to taste (several TBSPs of each in my kitchen) Get them nice and tender, then add in some peeled, cored, and quartered tomatoes (I use 2 or 3) diced zucchini, diced yellow squash (we use more zucchini than yellow squash for my kids preference) and diced chicken or turkey. Mince a jalapeño that's been seeded (do not touch your eyes until you've washed twice, for serious) and toss that in. Cover all the ingredients with more broth until it's the thickness/thinness that you like broth-y soup. :)

I like to add a dash of tobasco with chipotles or ancho chiles towards the end for more kick and flavor, but you be the judge. To make it nice and restaurant style, scoop out two ladles of broth into a blender. Add two handfuls of tortilla chips, and pulse until thick and soupy. Add that back to the pot. Let the flavors meld for a few minutes, adjust with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve: ladle into bowls, on top add a few slices of avocado, tortilla chips, and queso fresco or jack cheese, if you can't easily get the Mexican queso fresco.

Ay yi yi, magnifico. ¡Muy sencillo de hacer y muy delicioso!


For those around, have a great night! *smooches you all on the neck meat* Come over and eat some of this fudge so I'm not compelled to! :D

Comments

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

oh, fudge.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Dude, if you need me to mail you some, I will. It's fabulous. I'm not even kidding about the sending you some. (Rich and moist and filled with pecans...)

Email me your mailing address, and I'll make you a fresh batch. :D

[lynnenne]

I am glad you had a fun, stress-free Thanksgiving. Your turkey and gravy both sound YUMMITY YUM.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I said to my husband this morning that I wanted to get another turkey (they're SO cheap right now) and cook one again next week. He eyed the fridge and asked if I was possibly serious. (Um... I was.)

There should always be a good wine reduction in gravy, I hereby decree!!

*sends you slice of pie through the fwoomp tube*

<3

[lynnenne]

*fwoomps up the pie*

<3<3<3

[femmenerd.livejournal.com]

I too brined my turkey and made herb-butter-rub-stuff. (Parsley/sage/rosemary/thyme/mustard/garlic). But I am curious about this pinot gravy.

You know, nothing warms my heart more than flist!recipes. I don't know why. I guess I just like the sense of a sort of secret society that trades in porn and food tips. <3

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

MmmmmmMMmmmmM! I bet yours was tasty. (And yes, I had to sing Scarborough Fair when I read your herb butter recipe. Heh.)

Here's the gravy:

5 TBSP of butter
1/2 C flour (to make a roux. Add flour to melted butter, whisking it in until it's faintly caramel, then take off heat immediately. This is the thickener)
4 C broth
1 1/2 C Pinot Noir (Grigio would be good, too or a Cab Sav)
Salt, Pepper

First, make the roux. Then, pour off the drippings from your roasting pan (if you have a fat separator, use it. Or do like I did and ladle off the fat.) Put the roaster on the stove top and heat up. Add the wine and simmer, scraping off the crusty deliciousness from the pan and incorporating it back into the wine, and reduce the wine by half. about 5 minutes in my pan. Add the broth and a cup of the drippings juice. Whisk in a little of the roux bit by bit until it's thick as you want it, salt and pepper to taste, and elbow people away from the gravy boat.

(Man, I looooooove recipe posts, too! I almost immediately tag them before even hitting the cut tag - I want all the goodies y'all know about! Mmmm.)

[femmenerd.livejournal.com]

Woo! I will be tagging this comment post-haste.

And then...I am off to make sweet potato-turkey curry with my leftovers (mostly to be frozen). And watch Bridget Jones's diary. Because I am a spinster. :P

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

HAHAHA. (Um, Bridget Jones' Diary is a FAR BETTER choice than my secret love for She's The Man. I'm just saying.)

And if you ever get the inkling to type up your sweet potato-turkey curry recipe, I'll be over here waiting and drooling. :)

[beadattitude.livejournal.com]

Okay, my stomach is growling outrageously. Grar.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

*puts soup and fudge in the fwoomp tube for quick delivery*

Be careful when you open your end - that soup's hot. :D

<3 <3

[beadattitude.livejournal.com]

The fwoomp tube is an awesome invention.

Yummers.

[fireflykiwi.livejournal.com]

That shiny purple winners bar will be yours yet! *cheers on*

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I HOPE I HOPE I HOPE!!!

*cheers you, as well!* 5 more days to write!!

[fireflykiwi.livejournal.com]

;) I'm waiting on the other side for you.

[fiveandfour.livejournal.com]

My husband and I had the best bowl of tomato soup of our lives while on vacation in Victoria, B.C. We had a big dinner planned at our favorite Victoria restaurant, so wanted something small yet satisfying for lunch when we stepped into a Spanish restaurant located on an alley. I ordered a salad and he ordered a soup thinking we'd share each half and half.

Then we tasted the soup. It became very hard to stay civilized and share 50/50 after that.

Anyway, that recipe used dill in a way that this recipe uses basil (though I suspect a lot less dill was involved since it's so strong). Dill is not something I'd ever have thought of with tomato soup, but I recommend it. Now that I've seen this idea with basil I'll have to try it, too, and see which we prefer more.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Dill? Whoa - I might have to make a small batch of that and try it out. I've never heard o such a dish! The tomato-basil is pretty standard here, and from what my husband told me, is Tuscan in nature. (I've not been to Tuscany; he has)

I'll put it like this: my kids licked their bowls clean. Even the picky boy that hates tomatoes. :)

...dill. I'm going to google that and see if I can't find a recipe!

[anelith.livejournal.com]

So glad you had a great Thanksgiving! Because I know it can be trying when you have the in-laws over. It sounds scrumptious... YUM.

You are colder than we are! How can this be? Did the weather service send you our weather by mistake? Mark it "Return to Sender" and send it back!

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

It's... colder here?!?! Oh my gosh! The rain moved off last night, so we're supposed to warm up to the mid 50s - a much easier temp for me to move around in. :)

HELLO SWEETHEART!! I owe you an email: I have questions to ask you about the boys, also, I hung up my ornaments last night and got all nostalgic for your visit when I put my little tea pot and origami swan on the tree... <3

[anelith.livejournal.com]

Hello my Laura! I thought of you muchly on Saturday when I fixed your recipe for Cornbread Dressing. YUMMY. I'll be thinking of you with gratitude again tonight when we eat the leftovers. :-)

I would love to hear from you in any way, whenever you choose. I know you're super busy with your Nano commitment this week. I hope the words flow easily, sweetie!

[southernbangel.livejournal.com]

HiHiHi Stoney love!! I'm glad you had a terrific (and yummy!) Thanksgiving! I've written down the Tomato Basil Soup because it's something that needs to be in my belly right now.

*asscones you like whoa*

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Oh my goodness, Emily LICKED her bowl clean, that's how good the soup was. (I cut croutons off a bagette and toasted them with a little Provolone for dipping. HEAVEN.)

HI HI HI LEE CAKES!!! <3 <3 and >3, because why choose less, when you're so much more?

Crevette sent me

[ifeedformula.livejournal.com]

Hi there! *waves*
I am beginning to seriously consider doing the 3-Day Breast Cancer walk and crevette sent me over here. She said you might be able to give me some training tips and since we both *roughly* live in the same area, might even be able to get together for training walks.

Re: Crevette sent me

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Hello!!

Oh, I hope you decide to do the 2008 walk! It's one of the best things I ever did. I basically trained myself for the '06 walk in 5 weeks, but I routinely walk 7 miles a day as it is.

The best thing to do now, is to start getting in the habit of walking a few miles 4 days a week. If you've not done any long walks before, just shoot for a mile or two for a few weeks.

Here's my tag for all of my 3-Day posts from last year. I've not officially signed up for 2008 yet, but I will!! *high fives you*

Re: Crevette sent me

[ifeedformula.livejournal.com]

Define "long walk" because I normally walk about 3 miles a day right now. I've been on this weightloss kick lately and I've dropped about 20 lbs so far. ^_^

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

here's a great resource for planning your own training guide from the beginner walker (haven't walked 6 miles at one go routinely) to the advanced walker.