Turkey trot - the only running we did was to get more food.

Building up to Thanksgiving day is such a battle with anticipation. I dont know if I should starve myself or if I should gorge myself to increase the size of my belly. I want to make mini turkeys so that I can test the brine and then since I am making a scaled down version I start thinking how I can miniaturize everything. Miniature Thanksgiving is a ridiculous idea so I am back to planning and anticipation. When "the big day" finally does get here I want to slow down the clock so that I can savor every single moment.

We started with Cynthia's bacon wrapped plantains, the sweet caramel goodness of the baked plantain went so beautifully together with the salty crispy bacon.

Roasted butternut squash and lobster bisque, dont knock it till you've tried it. I roasted the squash whole and I also slow roasted some cubed pieces turning them into butternut squash "raisins" - chewy, squashy delights. The seeds were covered in a little olive oil and sea salt and roasted till crispy then put in a coffee grinder to make "pepita dust" to be used as a garnish with the "raisins" and a dollop of creme fraiche - repeat after me - MMMMMMMMMM.

Not everyone likes sweet potatoes covered in marshmallows - I know it seems like its the "traditional" thing to do but damn its sweet. My solution - individual sweet potatoes in their jackets with browned marshmallows - these were a HUGE hit!

Whats a Thanksgiving dinner without lobster mac & cheese? Yeah right! Well this exciting dish was worked into the fray with astonishing results. Mezzemaniche pasta are as big as your thumb and they are the perfect foil for large chunks of lobster and creamy white cheddar - try it you will definitely not be disappointed.

You know, I have been making Thanksgiving dinner for me and my friends since I was 25 years old - that is a lot of turkey under my belt but truth be told I have made cornish hen, duck, and goose for some of those meals. I think I say this every year - this turkey was by far the most succulent and juicy bird - I think I am getting good at this, 40 hours in a brine of dried mandarin, juniper berries, rosemary and a pound of salt resulted in THE most juicy and flavorful turkey ever - I should have recorded the oohs and ahhs.

Dessert - lets see there was coconut panna cotta that vanished before a photo opportunity and pumpkin pie - we all know what that looks like but the star of the show was the creamy coconut cheesecake with a chocolate brownie crust served with toasted coconut and shaved chocolate and for a little added sassiness - a drizzle of raspberry sauce. Take that to yo' mamas house!

What it all comes down to in the end - a turkey sandwich - the whole reason I love Thanksgiving is the leftovers. Nothing beats a reheated plate of all the goodness except a sandwich, sure there were truffled mashed potatoes and gravy and sweet and salty cornbread dressing with italian sausage and tart and tangy cranberry relish with ginger but I want a sandwich.

This an entry for Denny's and Foodbuzz Baconalia.

Thanksgiving Menu 2010

Thanksgiving is traditional enough as it is - I make all the same traditional things but I do them all a little different year after year. I pull out all the stops I purge the kitchen cabinets, the bathroom cabinets and I even go through the glove box of my car to make sure there isnt some secret little thing I was saving to include in the Thanksgiving meal. Take the Mezze maniche for example - pasta as big as your thumb - they are going into a lobster mac and cheese like you've never had before - forget regular lobster mac and cheese - this is gonna' blow that out of the water!

Here is the menu:

14 pound Roast turkey brined for 24 hours in powdered dried mandarin orange peel and juniper berries with rosemary (I prefer smaller birds - I think they are juicier)

Mezzemaniche con l'aragosta ed il formaggio (lobster mac and cheese)

prepped

Roasted butternut squash and lobster bisque

prepped

Bacon wrapped plantains courtesy of my friend Cynthia at tastes like home

prepped

Cornbread and italian sausage with giblets stuffing (dressing)

prepped

Giblet gravy

stock made, waiting on the fond

Truffled mashed potatoes

Individual baked sweet potatoes with marshmallows

Collard greens

Pumpkin pie

done

Coconut panna cotta or a coconut cheesecake (to be determined)

Edit: Made them both and they are chilling

....and anything else I think of at the last minute....

Last year I made a molten chocolate pumpkin pie - absolutely delicious! HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone - what especially different thing are you doing this year?

foodbuzz top nine and some stuffed shells

First off let me sprain my arm from patting myself on the back - this was in my inbox this morning: papas con caldo with grass fed beef made the Foodbuzz Top 9 today! The Foodbuzz Top 9 is a photo-driven collection of top-buzzed posts within the Foodbuzz community. Congratulations and thanks for being a part of Foodbuzz! Check it out here: http://www.foodbuzz.com/top9 and be sure to let your friends know. Exactly what I am doing - letting my friends know, check it out.

There are many dishes out there that most people make regularly, in fact they make them so often they have their own "secret" methods and ingredients that make these dishes even more special. Stuffed shells seem to be one of those dishes. I have never made stuffed shells before, I have made countless lasagnas but never stuffed shells so as a stuffed shell virgin I decided it was time to break out of this safety zone.

Being the rebel that I am I opted to come up with my own filling even though there is a very popular and easy to follow recipe right there on the back of the pasta box. I decided that I like spinach so spinach was added to my ricotta and since spinach likes nutmeg, nutmeg was added as well. I used mozzarella, brie, parmesan and white vermont cheddar since I like a big mix of cheese. Garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper rounded it all out. My sauce is san marzano tomatoes, garlic, fresh oregano and salt and pepper - simple. I liked stuffed shells they are delicious but way too precious for me since you have to fill each one- lasagana is so much easier. (see the steamy olive oil, pasta and cheesy goodness, mmmm)

nachos with blue and yellow corn chips

Some of you may see me on facebook and you might notice that I post pictures there before I write the post over here. Its a new bad habit I have developed since facebook does not require that I type whereas the blog taxes me creatively. I know what you are thinking "there isnt much creativity here on this blog just a lot of snarky crap" well I have news for you - creativity comes in many guises and so do nachos.

As a parent it is our job to create positive memories for our children and I do this through food. Seriously what better memories are there? My son has been eating "nacho cheese with nacho chips" since he first coined that term 7 years ago. I have always made the chips myself because the crunch and chew of a fresh tortilla chip has no equal.

Blue and yellow corn tortillas get cut into triangles and fried while I melt some cheese into a thick sauce to pour over the piled high mound. I add either some salsa or pico de gallo before drizzling the hot cheesy goodness and lately I have been making things "kamikaze" style where I hide some piece or pieces of really hot chile as a little "surprise" that he totally loves. What are your favorite food memories?

Grass fed New Zealand Angus ground beef con caldo

When I first tasted this beef I was instantly taken back to my childhood. I know what you are thinking, "you didnt know I grew up in New Zealand," well, I didnt. I grew up in Bosque Farms, New Mexico. We had a small farm with some goats and sheep and a milk cow and a steer or two,  sometimes a pig and usually chickens - all grass fed in our pasture with plenty of alfalfa and sometimes as a treat they got grain. We had a large garden with melons and cucumbers and tomatoes and chile, we had fruit and nut trees and most of all we had open space, unlike my life here in New York City. What am I getting at? This is my point - when I took one bite of this beef I was nostalgically returned to my childhood, I remembered how good meat was supposed to taste and I dont mean that meat is good I mean GOOD meat. This is by far the best tasting ground beef I have had in some time so to honor this beef I made a dish my grandmother used to make for me almost everyday for lunch (my grandparents had the farm and I grew up with them) - Papas con Caldo - otherwise known as Potato Soup.

Papas con Caldo is a simple dish packed with flavor and its so easy to make: brown some beef, in the browned beef saute some onions, tomatoes and garlic, add salt and pepper and then add broth, stock or water and let it simmer until the potatoes are tender.

Thats it, its done. Serve with corn or flour tortillas, red or green chile and you have a lunch fit for a king. This one is served with a little spoonful of green chile and a little sliver of fresh ghost chile (hottest stuff on the planet so be forewarned). Food of my culture and roots from my past - I will never let them go.