Friday Family Dinner, 2016
Better late than never…
This year, we’re down home and simple, taking our inspiration from the flavors of Louisiana.
French 75s
Cheap Beer
Creole Crab Cheesecake
Crackers and Relishes
Hush Puppies
Cheese Biscuits
Cajun Seafood Boil with Crab, Shrimp, Smoked Sausage, Corn and Potatoes
Tabasco and Honey Glazed Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
Creole Bread Pudding with Whipped Cream
Lemon Chess Pie
Family Dinner 2015
This year we’re doing something a little different. We won’t be doing Thanksgiving. After talking it over for a few years, we decided that the whitewashing of history and the awfulness of the Pilgrims to both Native Americans and other colonists is not worth celebrating.
We also aren’t fans of Black Friday and reckless consumerism (oh, we’re still buying presents and decorating like bananas for Christmas, but we’re drawing a line here).
Still, we want to share a good meal with the ones we love. So, we’ll be having Family Dinner Friday this year!
The Menu
Champagne Cocktail:
Autumn Bellini
Apertif Cocktails
Negroni
Americano
Starters:
Antipasto Misto
Artichoke Frittata
Crostini with Ricotta:
Butternut Squash
Roasted Grape
Sopressata
Salad:
Arugula, Pecorino, Pear and Pine Nut Salad
Main Course:
Citrus-Marinated Crown Roast of Pork
Italian Bread and Sausage Stuffing
Fig and Port Sauce
Sides:
Green Beans with Lemon and Capers
Fennel with Parmesan
Roasted Butternut Squash with Balsamic Vinegar
Pan-Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Pancetta
Desserts:
Struffoli
Pizzelle with Lemon Marcapone
Marsala and Dried Fig Crostata
Thanksgiving 2014
Thanksgiving 2014
Cheese
Martinis with Blue-Cheese Stuffed Olives
Cheese Board with Figs, Grapes, Nuts and Honeycomb
Honey-Drizzled, Bacon-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Blue Cheese
Pepper-Cheese Breadsticks
Crudité with Assorted Relishes
Apple Pecan and Feta Salad
Honey-Apple Vinaigrette
Parmesan Rolls
Brazilian Cheese Balls
Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Breast Roulade Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Pecans, Dried Cherries and Figs
Pear Glaze
Pear Cider Pan Gravy
Cranberry Sauce with Port and Dried Figs
Brie
Tuscan Bread Stuffing with Goat Cheese, Dried Cherries and Prosciutto
Garlic, Herb and Parmesan Stuffed Brussels Sprouts
Sweet Potato and White Cheddar Gratin
Gruyére Mashed Potato Puffs
Pumpkin Mini Cheesecakes With Whipped Cream and Salted Caramel Sauce
Salt and Straw’s Pear and Blue Cheese Ice Cream
Thanksgiving, 2013
Here it is: Pretty much the only reason I use this blog anymore:
Black Velvets
Sidewalkers
Beer-battered green beans and olives with Drop Top Aioli
Crudité and assorted relishes
Assorted Hard and Soft Cheeses
Crackers with Bacon Full Sail Amber Ale Jam
Black Pepper, Parmesan and Workhorse IPA Bread
Honey Maple Elysian Great Pumpkin Ale Bread
Urban Farmhouse Saison, Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Cheese Dip
Ninkasi Oatis Oatmeal Stout Candied Pecans
Pear and Walnut Salad with Blue Cheese and Widmer Hefeweizen Vinaigrette
Widmer Hefeweizen Honey Rolls
Rogue Hazelnut Ale-Brined Turkey under a Bacon Blanket
Onion and Rogue Hazelnut Ale Gravy
Quick Wit Cranberry Relish
Homemade Whole-Grain Ninkasi Total Domination Ale Mustard
Red War Ale and Apple Stuffing
Fat Tire-braised Rosemary Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes Roasted with Bacon and Black Butte Porter
Ace of Spades IPA Brussels Sprouts Hash
Guinness Hot Chocolate
1554 Pecan Pie
Rogue Chocolate Stout Stout Chocolate Pudding
Thanksgiving Menu 2012
Thanksgiving 2012 Menu
Appetizers and Snacks
Shrimp Chips
Crispy Wontons
Pot Stickers
Hundred Corner Shrimp Balls
Lantern Dumpling sauce
Sri Racha and Wasabi Deviled Eggs
Drinks
Drinking Vinegars: Ginger, Cranberry, Satsuma
Champagne
Asian Beer
Salad
Green Papaya Salad
Pork Salad with Lettuce Cups
Bread
Hawaiian Bread
Turkey
Thai Roasted Turkey
Nuac Chom
Cranberry Satsuma Relish
Sticky Rice Stuffing
Peanut Gravy
Sides
Corn with Fish Sauce Butter
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Pumpkin Curry
Scalloped Potatoes with Coconut Milk and Chiles
Desserts
Coconut Tart
Green Tea Fortune Cookies
Tea-Poached Pears with Tapioca Pearls and Satsumas
Lemon Lemony Lemonlicious Lemon Curd
I like lemon curd. I use Alton Brown’s recipe.
First, juice and zest all the lemons. (Or, like 5)
This is my zester.
Then, beat the egg yolks and the lemon juice and the other stuff together.
And cook it like it’s hollandaise. Then take it off the heat and put an absurd amount of butter in it.
mmm…..butter.
And then you got yourself some sunshine in a jar!
Strawberry Jalapeño Jam
Chop 4 cups of strawberries
Mince about a cup of jalapeños.
Then have jalapeño fingers all freakin’ day because you didn’t wear gloves.
Toss in 7 cups of sugar. (Mmmmm…sugar)
(Looking at this made me want to make candied jalapeños).
Cook it until the sugar melts, then run the submersible blender through it. If you don’t have a submersible blender – or if you (unlike me) are capable of planning ahead, you can mash the strawberries before cooking them.
Once the sugar melts, add a package of pectin and do the usual jam thing – boil the hell out of it for a couple of minutes, toss into sterile jars and process for 10 minutes.
It’s freaking DELICIOUS! I don’t know that I’ll go back to straight jalapeño jelly. The kids don’t like it, but they are wusses.
Obligatory End-of-Year Blog Post
Happy New Year!
I can’t say I’m completely sorry to ring 2009 out, but it has been a year of food revelations and yummy treats. This went from all-purpose blog to food blog to food blog I forget to update for enormous stretches of time. Our family went from eating out of bags and cans (figuratively – we use plates…most of the time) to filling bags and cans with food!
We made our own cheese, canned tomatoes, pickles (and more pickles). We made mixed berry, blackberry, cranberry, jalepeño and basil jams. Brandon became a master baker of many, many pies, and he made killer ketchup.
from wordle.net
Most surprising of all, Adventures In logged nearly 11,000 visitors this year! I’m shocked, befuddled and amazed. I’m humbled and more than a little confused.
I’m pleased as hell. So thank you. Even if, like almost half of my readers, you only dropped by to learn about some really big pizzas.
Thanksgiving 2009
2010 holds great promise, and among my resolutions is “better blogging” – so many of our adventures go unreported…and I know people are dying to know EVERYTHING! We’re looking forward to more baking, canning and cooking, but also to renew our DIY spirit…which for me drifted away a bit in the fall. More needlepoint! More sewing! More crochet! I’m hoping to get the older boy in on more of the activities, and am expecting great things from Mr. Adventures In in the coming year.
And I hope you, whoever you are and wherever you are, have a marvelous 2010 full of amazing adventures of your own.
~Tarehna
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