You Requested: Pictures of Food

I have this brother--well, actually, I have three brothers--who loves to cook. More than that, though, its what he does. He's a chef. I called him on Thanksgiving. To say hello and 'Happy Thanksgiving' of course, to him and his beautiful family. One thing led to another and as usual, we started in on discussing food. "Food, glorious food!" I asked some technical questions about roasting turkeys, and he said, "Make sure you take some pictures. I want to see."

"Ummm... maybe." was my reply. But, I asked Dave to take some pictures and they turned out so lovely, that I am not at all ashamed to show my big brother, the chef, the food I made. I am not ashamed of you seeing them either.

Even though the smallest turkey I could find was 15 pounds and we probably only ate 8 to 16 ounces of it, it was so worth it. I called Caiden and Elliott to the table as I was still setting it and they clamored and climbed aboard the bench and were just in awe of everything. The table cloth: "Ooooh, wow!" The turkey: "Whooooa! mmmmmm...." The mashed potatoes, "Wow!" etc. etc. etc. for each following dish. We had roasted cauliflower, roasted butternut squash with sage, deviled eggs, baked corn (a family tradition and favorite growing up), mashed potatoes, gravy, and turkey.

They only ate a tiny bit, but it was so funny. They tasted everything as it came to the table. "Oooooo, I like your squash, Mom." It was awesome. But as soon as we sat down to eat, their stomachs were suddenly and mysteriously full. Oh well. Lots and lots and lots of leftovers. Lots. Did I say lots, already?

We had company for dessert. Apple pie, cheese cake, and pumpkin pie. I made the apple pie and cheesecake the night before and Elliott came to check things out. "Oooooo, I like your pie, Mom! What kind of pie is that?"

"Its apple pie."

"Oooh! I wanted pumpkin pie!"

Luckily, his grandma had bought him a pie pumpkin as a decoration, because it was like 9 o'clock the night before Thanksgiving (Thanksgiving eve?) and I was not prepared for pumpkin pie. So, I took his pumpkin and roasted it and made the pie in the morning, right before putting the turkey in to roast. Phew! But it turns out, that evening, a good friend brought over a pumpkin pie that his grandmother had as "an extra." Oh, well. It was a labor of love.

We have a few gluten intolerant friends who came over for dessert so I had buttered a few tartlette molds and poured some of each of the pie fillings into them and cooked them up, too. And for some reason, we had cherry Jello, as well. We whipped up a quick batch of whipped cream, pulled out the vanilla ice cream and dug in...

And that concludes Thanksgiving food talk around here. I'm sure you all have had enough of seeing Thanksgiving food... So, until next year, "Goodbye, Thanksgiving. I am thankful for you!"

Peanut Butter and Jelly

That's Jelly on the left--raspberry jelly; sweet, kind of funky, with a little kick--and little creamy Peanut Butter on the right; soft, smooth, and persistently sticky.  They pretty much stick together, too.  They're pals.  Although sometimes Jelly thinks she would taste alright on her own, Peanut Butter never lets go.

Peanut Butter has been missing this week, though.  He's old and big--four year old--and already flown the coop.  He's visiting Grandma and Grandpa and doing some beach camping.  He's stoked.

We miss him, though.  I wonder what he'll think of the Fire-Bellied Toad we temporarily adopted...

Dear PB: We love you.  Glad you're having a blast.  Looking forward to your return.  Love, J.

Roasted!

Image from Steve Keys on Flickr

Almost everything is better roasted... And fall is certainly the time for roasting, if ever there were one.  Last night, as Caiden and I were at home alone together, we roasted some carrots for supper (supper sounds appropriate for autumn, don't judge me).  First we cut our carrots into 1-2 inch lengths and then quartered them.  Next, they were coated with olive oil and seasoned with a little salt and sent to roast in the oven set for 450 degrees for about 15 minutes.  They were sweet and savory and a little bit toasty around the edges.  Delicious. 

Today, for lunch, we had baked sweet potatoes with butter and parmesan cheese... mmmm... 

I just love roasted vegetables and savory fall foods, so I had to share a few of my favorite roasted recipes with you:

Roasted Cauliflower: Even if you don't like cauliflower, you might like this.  It is roasted with garlic, olive oil, and salt, and sprinkled with parmesan cheese at the end.

Pasta with Butternut Squash, Sage, and Pine Nuts: Amazing!  You have to try this one.

And one I want to try soon is Three-P Soup (Peanut, Pumpkin, and Sweet Potato).

I would love more roasting recipes and ideas if you have any!

Soup, soup, soup, and stew, too.  I just loooove fall!  Happy fall-i-day.