I Am Thankful...

Happy Belated Thanksgiving, everyone.

It has been a busy weekend/week for me.  I accomplished quite a lot with my extended weekend, albeit obviously not in terms of blogging.  And not in terms of work, either, which means I was completely burred when I got back.  Hence my not writing until a full week after Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for words like hence and albeit.  They are fun and make me happy.

I did have a food filled Thanksgiving.  I didn't get to cook, so it wasn't all local, but it was made by friends and family which makes it good.  I didn't make that much, and didn't stress myself out, and did all my cooking thanksgiving morning during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  And the start of the dog show afterwards.

I am thankful for the dog show, because I always try to pick out the kinds of dogs that my mutt is made up of.  I'm less thankful when my husband turns off the dog show to put on football, especially because neither of us really likes football.

I also did a little bit of black Friday shopping.  No, I am not a crazy person.  I firmly believe that Midnight is a time for getting ready for bed (or getting another round), not a time to start shopping.  I don't believe I actually ever left my house on Black Friday.  I may not have ever even put on real pants.  But I still got in just a smidg of shopping.  Only a present for me... but a really good present.

I bought a chest freezer!

I am thankful for my chest freezer, even if I don't have it yet.

I also spent the good part of Sunday cleaning my basement to make room for the chest freezer.  I am less thankful for that.

It doesn't get delivered until 12/10, but I am anxiously waiting.  I'm already making a list in my head of all the things I am going to buy/make to put in it.  My freezer has been so full that I haven't had room to make ice cream, and I LOVE making ice cream.  I'm thinking cranberry ice cream to start... 

For Thanksgiving, I made a cranberry apple chutney, and a sweet potato goat cheese dip.  Both were excellent, easy, and quick - which is important in a holiday food.  One of my biggest pet peeves is going to someone else's house for a food related gathering, and then having to beg for room in the oven or on the stove or whatever to finish up my food.  Worse is when people come to my house and do that, because I always have my oven space carefully planned out and I feel like I have to give it up to them or be a bad friend.

Remember that, people who come to my house for food.  If you need oven space, ask me for it ahead of time so I can plan!


Cranberry Apple Chutney

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 large onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 bay leafs
• 2 stick cinnamon
• 1 cup honey
• 4 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 cup dried apricots, diced
• 1 cup apricot nectar
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large apples, peeled, cored, and cut in 1/2-inch dice

Melt butter in a large sauce pan, and add onions, ginger, allspice, bay leaf, and cinnamon.  Cook over low heat, until onions are translucent and soft - about 10 to 15 minutes. 

Stir in honey, cranberries, apricots, nectar, lemon zest and juice, salt, and pepper. Stir mixture to combine well, then bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 25 minutes. Stir in apples. Continue to simmer 10 to 15 minutes longer, stirring once or twice, or until apples are tender yet still hold their shape.


Remove from heat and transfer to a serving bowl. Cover surface of chutney with plastic wrap. Cool at room temperature 30 minutes, then refrigerate several hours until well chilled and chutney has set up. (Chutney can be made up to 3 days before serving and stored in the refrigerator.)

 Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese Dip

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 whole head garlic
• 4 cups sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 (11 ounce) log goat cheese
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• honey to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the top off of the garlic head and place on a square of aluminum foil.  Drizzle the olive oil over the garlic, and season well with salt and pepper.  Wrap the aluminum foil around the garlic and seal tightly.  Bake the garlic for about 45 minutes, or until soft.  Allow to cool, and then pop each garlic clove out of it's little garlic pocket.

Steam sweet potatoes until soft.  Place in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, and beat until whipped.  Add goat cheese, lemon, and spices.  Beat again until well combined.  Taste, and season with salt, pepper, and honey as desired.

I served this both with pretzel chips, and homemade graham crackers (recipe to come!)

A Cornucopia of Spring Time Goodness! Grilled Buffalo, Daikon and Watercress Salad with Goat Cheese and Apple Cider Vinegarette, and Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Parsnips

This week was a local food roller-coaster!  On Saturday I had to teach Tamarind's Saturday class at 10, so I got up extra early to go to the winter farmer's market - only to find there was almost NOTHING there.  Meat, yes; but no vegetables!  In my mind, starting this project on the first of spring meant that things would be rough at first, but that each week would get easier.  That has not been the case so far.  I ended up leaving the market with two dozen eggs and a pound of mixed mushrooms.  

So I stopped at the Outpost on the way home.  Their local selection, while more than nothing, was also not promising:  Red and green cabbage, rutabagas, celery root, daikon radishes, parsnips, watercress, and salad greens.  Sounds like a vegetarian episode of chopped!  So, I got a few parsnips, a daikon radish, a rutabaga, and a package of watercress.  I have made parsnips before, but had no idea what to do with the rest of it.

Saturday I also had an all day performance at the Domes, which is one of my favorite shows that Tamarind does every year, but since it's all day in costume and in the heat of the tropical dome, there is no cooking (or real moving of any kind) afterward.  Dinner was the last of the spaghetti in my freezer, along with leftover homemade pasta from earlier in the week.  I had frozen some, and it cooked up nicely so I was quite pleased.

Sunday, though, it was gorgeous out.  I believe we hit a high of 84, which is almost unheard of in April in Wisconsin.  A perfect day to cook out on the grill, and then have a fire in the chimnea at night.

 The buffalo was awesome!  I've never had a buffalo steak before, and it was so much leaner than beef - but not chewy or tough.  I grilled them medium rare, which I would recomend.  I think overcooking them would quickly turn them into a shoe!  The parsnips and sweet potatoes were sweet and creamy - but not so much smooth.  I actually prefer a chunky mashed potato, but if you like yours whipped I think you'd have to do something more to these.

But my biggest surprise came from the salad.  The daikon/carrot/onion combination was tangy and spicy, the watercress was crunchy and peppery, the dressing was sweet, and the goat cheese was smooth and creamy.  I don't know that I've never had a daikon radish outside of garnishes at Japanese restaurants, I had no idea what I was going to do with it when I bought it, and I am so, so, SO pleased with how it turned out.  It was the perfect spring salad!


Daikon and Watercress Salad with Goat Cheese

• 1 daikon radish, julienned (local)
• 3-4 carrots, julienned (or enough to be about the same amount as the daikon) (local)
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced thinly (local)
• Salt and Pepper
• Olive Oil

•  1 cup washed watercress (local)
• 1 cup washed mixed spring greens (local)
• crumbled goat cheese (local)

Mix daikon, carrots, and onion in a small bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Toss to combine.

Combine watercress and mixed greens, and portion out.  Top each portion with a small handful of daikon, carrots, and onions, then top that with the goat cheese.  Dress with...

Apple Cider Vinaigrette
(modified from epicurious.com)

• 1 cup apple cider (local)
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar (not local, but already in my house)
• 2 tbsp honey (local)
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon salt

Combine all items in a tightly closing jar.  Shake jar to combine.  This tastes even better on day two!

Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Parsnips

• 2 medium parsnips (local)
• 2 medium sweet potatoes (not local, but in my pantry)
• Salt and pepper
• Butter (local)
• Milk (local)
• Honey (local) (optional)

Wash and peel parsnips and sweet potatoes, and cut into approximately 1/2 inch slices.  Add to a large pot and cover with cold water.  Add salt to the pot, and bring to a boil.  Cook until parsnips and potatoes are soft when pricked with a fork.  Drain water, and mash with butter and milk.  Taste, and add salt and pepper.  I thought that they needed to be just a little sweeter, so I added about a tbsp of honey.

Grilled Buffalo New York Strip Steaks

• 2 Buffalo New York Strip Steaks (local)
• Minced Garlic (local)
• Minced Chives (coming up in the garden!  Go Spring!!)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• A generous drizzle of olive oil

Season both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper.  Drizzle olive oil over the bottom of a glass baking pan large enough to hold both steaks.  Add garlic and chives to the olive oil, and whisk.  Add steaks to the oil and turn so they are well coated.  Allow steaks to rest in the oil at room temperature for at least 15 minutes, turning occasionally to coat.  Grill over medium high heat for approximately 5 minutes a side, or until medium rare.  Allow steaks to rest at least 5 minutes before cutting into.