Monthly Archives: November 2011

Because it’s fun…

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Inspired by my dear friend S, who blogs over at http://sarahlitchick.blogspot.com/, here’s our menu for the big bird day tomorrow:

 

Appetizers: tomato and cucumber bruschetta, along with (maybe) some nice dill havarti I forgot I had

Wines, red and white

Main course: lemon garlic herb butter roasted turkey

Sides: Giblet gravy, Stuffing (also with giblets, probably…), baked creamed spinach, chipotle mashed sweet potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce

Desserts: Mom-made pumpkin pie, currently in transit up from Northern California, and Pumpkin cheesecake.  Both with fresh whipped cream, if desired

 

Today’s tasks include: baking a cranberry swirled, well streuseled coffee cake for breakfasts.  I first baked it three years ago and my sister adores it so much I now cannot escape the task of making one every year (not that I mind… it is pretty delicious).  Making the cranberry sauce.  It needs to set up in the fridge, although the fact that one shelf is completely taken up by a 17 pound, still mostly frozen turkey makes that whole storage thing difficult… Making the pumpkin cheesecake.  Here, too, a night in the chiller is required, which makes me slightly anxious.  Where will it go?  Why did I buy such a big turkey?  Why, when I liberated it from the freezer section of the grocery store on SUNDAY, is it still rock hard to the touch?  What would happen if I stored it in the garage overnight?  It’s kind of like a walk-in fridge out there, isn’t it? 

These are my pre-Thanksgiving preoccupations.  But I suppose they are largely good ones, because they mean I get to be in the kitchen today AND tomorrow.  And I do like it there. 

What does your Thanksgiving menu look like? 

Roots!

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This is not a Bittman recipe.  But it is something I made.  It’s hearty, it’s autumnal, it’s colorful, and it’s easy.  Oh, and it allows you to turn your oven on for around an hour and thereby heat up your house a bit!

Roasted Root Vegetables

3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

3 parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks

2 purple topped turnips, peeled and cut into chunks

2 rutabegas, peeled and cut into chunks (see a pattern here?)

1 sweet potato (or 1/2 of a mammoth yam), peeled and cut into chunks

1 tsp dried rosemary, or to taste

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

olive oil to coat

Preheat your oven to 400F.  Peel and cut all vegetables into equal, bite-sized chunks.  Toss them with seasonings and olive oil in a 9×13 inch glass baking dish.  Use enough olive oil so that all chunks of root vegetable get an even coating and glisten slightly.  Depending on size of vegetables, this might range from between 1/2 – 1 cup of oil.

Roast until all vegetables are tender and begin to brown on the outside, 45 minutes to an hour, depending on size.

As you can see, this is almost ridiculously easy.  You can substitute for any of these vegetables you don’t like – easy additions or change-outs would be regular or fingerling potatoes, beets, even celery root.  Choose what you love, mix them well, and enjoy!