1 cup cranberry juice cocktail, such as Ocean Spray
1/2 cup Pom Wonderful bottled pomegranate juice
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4 limes)
Thinly sliced limes, for garnish
Combine the vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice, pomegranate
juice, and lime juice in a large pitcher. Fill a cocktail shaker half
full with ice, pour the cocktail mixture in, and shake for a full
30 seconds. Pour into martini glasses, garnish with a slice of
lime, and serve immediately.
Remove the center ribs and stems from 1
bunch kale
Tear the leaves into 3-4inch pieces
Toss with 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp
smoked paprika and ¼ tsp salt (optional)
Spread on 2 baking sheets coated with
cooking spray.
Do not overlap pieces of kale.
Bake at 275 degrees for 15 mins., then
turn off oven and let sit in oven additional 10 mins. (varies greatly with
ovens)
Fried Sage Leaves
1/2 cup vegetable oil
flour, for dusting
30 sage leaves (or more)
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
1 tablespoon lemon juice, to taste (mince or press the garlic into the lemon juice first to take the bite off)
salt
Directions:
place the vegetable oil in a skillet and heat over medium heat.
combine the mayo, olive oil, garlic and lemon juice into a dipping sauce. season with salt as necessary.
lightly dust the sage leaves with flour, shaking off any excess. drop into the hot oil and cook until crispy and bright green, ~30 seconds. remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
serve with the dipping sauce. you can experiment with other savory sauces as well, though the sage leaves are rather fragile, so you will need to be careful.
Brussel Sprouts with Chestnuts and Bacon (*or not!)
12oz. canned or vacuum-packed shelled
chestnuts, large pieces cut in half (or about 1lb.fresh, if available)
1 and ½ lbs.brussel sprouts, ends
trimmed, halved
*6 slices (8oz) thick-cut bacon, cut
into ½” pieces
1 large shallot, sliced thinly
½ tsp each pepper and nutmeg
2 tsp lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Toss chestnuts in oil and put on
a trimmed baking sheet. Bake,
turning often, til slightly toasted but not dry, 10-15 mins.
Bring large pot of salted water to a boil.
Add brussel sprouts and cook til bright
green and just tender, about 6mins. Drain and rinse with cold water.
*Cook bacon in a large frying pan over medium heat, stirring
often, til almost crisp.
Drain
bacon in a strainer, reserving fat in a bowl.
Wipe out pan and add 3 Tbsp. reserved bacon fat.(*use olive
oil instead of fat)
Add shallot
and cook, stirring often, til softened and starting to brown, about 3
mins.
Add drained brussel sprouts
and cook, stirring often and adding more fat if needed,
til browned and
starting to crisp, about 6 minutes.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, nutmeg and lemon juice, stirring to combine.
Transfer to a serving bowl and top with reserved *bacon and
chestnuts.
Quinoa, White Bean and Kale Stew
1/2 t. of fennel seeds, crushed
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large carrot, peeled and cut medium dice
1 large parsnip, peeled and cut medium dice
8 C. vegetable or chicken broth
1 1/2 lbs. of Yukon potatoes, cut into medium dice
1 15 oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed
One bunch kale (about a pound), stems removed and torn into bite sized pieces
First, prepare the herb blend by stirring all its ingredients together in a. small bowl.
Preheat a 4-quart pot over medium-high heat. Saute the leeks and garlic in oil with the salt for about 3 minutes, or however long it takes you to prep your carrot and parsnip. Add the carrot and parsnip, along with the herb blend, turn up the heat to high, and saute for a few seconds.
Add the broth, potatoes, and quinoa. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes, until the potatoes and quinoa are tender. Add the kale and beans, and cook, stirring frequently, until the kale is wilted. Cover and simmer over low heat for 5 more minutes. Taste for salt.
When you serve this stew you may want to add a little lemon juice or a splash of balsamic vinegar or hot sauce—whatever your thing is. Or you may not!
Kale Salad
Kale - one bunch stemmed and torn into bit size pieces
organic broccoli slaw - whole foods - found in the packaged salad section
1/4 chopped purple cabbage
1/2 red onion - sliced
2 red bell peppers chopped
avocado
equal parts pumpkin and sunflower seeds
In large serving bowl, add a tiny bit of olive oil on your hands and massage kale until it starts to soften and wilt, 1-2 minutes. You will be amazed at the difference. That tough cellulose structure breaks down...wilts, actually and those leaves that once seemed so coarse and fibrous turn silky.
Dressing is made with equal parts olive oil and lemon juice apple cider vinegar. I also mixed an avocado up in the dressing and added a chopped one to the salad as well. Add salt, pepper and garlic power to taste. Toss salad and let sit for 30 minutes.
Cornish Game Hens
Brine the hens in 3 parts soy, 1 part honey for an hour.
Save mixture to baste if desired during cooking time.
Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Season to taste with poultry seasoning or other herbs to your liking: rosemary, thyme and sage. (Herbs de Provence)
Roast for 40 minutes at 375 degrees.
(Basically, just roast the poulettes like you would a whole chicken!)
For more ideas on how to cook these birds, Pinterest has tons of recipes here!
Butternut Squash Raviolis
Ingredients:
1 small to medium butternut squash (about 2 1/2 pounds)
2 tablespoons dark molasses
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Ravioli dough or 3/4 pound sheet pasta
Flour, for dusting board
4 tablespoons sweet butter and 1 teaspoon honey
8 fresh sage leaves
2 ounces Parmesan, for grating
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cut squash in 1/2 and scrape out seeds. Spread 1 tablespoon molasses in the cavity. Season with salt and pepper. Place cut side down on a roasting pan. Cook in the oven until very soft, about 1 hour.
Let cool to room temperature and scoop out flesh into the work bowl of a food processor.
Puree squash until smooth, then spread on a baking sheet and return to the 375 degree oven to dry, about 10 minutes. The consistency will be like mashed potatoes. Scrape into a large mixing bowl.
Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it begins to brown. Immediately remove from heat and add remaining 1 tablespoon molasses and all the vinegar. Add to squash with mascarpone, Parmesan, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper and mix well. The recipe can be made ahead to this point (makes 2 cups filling,) Cover well and refrigerate 4 hours or up to 2 days.
To Fill the Raviolis:
Lay out a sheet of pasta dough on a lightly floured board. Cut into circles with a 3 1/2 inch pastry cutter. Put 1 tablespoon squash filling in the center of 1/2 the rounds using either a pastry bag or a small spoon. Leave a 1/2-inch border all around the filling. Moisten borders with water and top with remaining rounds of dough. Press all the air out and seal firmly by pressing all around with fingertips. Lay raviolis out to dry on a lightly floured board or baking sheet and lightly flour the tops. Repeat until you run out of dough and/or filling. To cook, boil in lightly salted water until tender, about 3 minutes. Reserve 2 ounces of the cooking water.
For the Honey Sage Brown Butter:
While raviolis are cooking, in a large saute pan, melt the butter with the sage and a pinch of salt until it foams and becomes light brown. Add honey. Reserve.
On medium heat toss the cooked raviolis in the sage butter then transfer to a serving platter or dishes. Add 2 ounces of the cooking water to the pan and swirl with any residual butter. Spoon the butter sauce over the raviolis, then finish with a generous grating of Parmesan.
The Cheese and Fruit Platter
A selection of both hard and soft artisan cheeses to your preference.
Fig jam, figs and candied walnuts.
I featured Humboldt Fog goat cheese (California), Big Ed's raw cow's milk semi-hard cheese from Saxon Homestead Creamery (Wisconsin), a raw cow's milk, semi-soft Morbier (France) and a sheep Manchego (Spain).
The fig jam is actually a compote that our son-in-law made.
Basically, he boiled the figs and lemon juice until it became thick and sealed them in Mason jars. No recipe, sorry!
Pumpkin spice mix can be bought at the store,
however, you most likely have all you need to make it at home. For 2
tablespoons of pumpkin spice mix, combine 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ground
cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger and 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg.
2 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice mix (see headnotes)
1/2 cup strong hot coffee
Add milk, canned pumpkin and sugar to a medium
saucepan and cook over medium heat until hot, but do not boil.
Remove from heat and add vanilla extract, pumpkin
spice mix and coffee.
Pour into two large mugs then garnish, if desired,
with whipped cream and an extra pinch of pumpkin spice mix.
"Dining with one's friends and beloved family
is certainly one of life's primal and most innocent delights,
one that is both soul-satisfying and eternal."
~Julia Child
Wishing you all a lovely Thanksgiving with friends and beloved family!
I'm joining Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday!