Cooking... by the seat of my Pants! » Holiday

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A Dickens of a Christmas Dinner

Jerry — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:52:53 +0000

If there is one Christmas dinner that springs to mind before any other in the collective consciousness of the people of several continents, it has to be the dinner shared on Christmas Day by the Cratchit Family in the classic novel “A Christmas Carol” by none other than the great Charles Dickens. This meal embodies the spirit of Christmas more than any other in literary history, as does the tale itself. This year thanks to the kind folks at foodbuzz, I had the honor and privilege of recreating this meal and sharing it with all of you.

This post really should be entitled “The Cratchits’ Christmas Dinner”, as it is as faithful a reproduction of the meal shared by the Cratchit family as is possible given my local resources and interpretation of the original manuscript. Unfortunately, Mr. Dickens himself used that title when portions of “A Christmas Carol” was republished as short stories and so I chose not to steal his words for my own use. It could also have been titled “A comedy of errors and disappointments that really didn’t turn out disappointingly at all”, but that would have been rather long and drawn out, don’t you think?

Having said all that and given proper thanks to the folks that gifted me with the opportunity to try my hand at the single most iconic meal in the annals of Christmas itself, I’ll get into the meat of the thing, so to speak. Please follow along with me as I follow in the tradition of Mr. Dickens and the Cratchits themselves. The story is full of twists and turns, a bit of drama and sorrow, but in the end, It turns out that I really do find the Christmas spirit in my heart (and a bottle or two), so the story does in fact have a happy ending.

… [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2009. | Permalink | 20 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Charles Dickens, christmas, Desserts, Dickens, Geese, Goose, Holiday, Holiday-Recipes, pudding, Recipes, Tiny tim

Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie

Jerry — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:36:25 +0000

I know I made a big stink in my cottage pie post about the fact that a pie like this cannot be called a shepherd’s pie unless it is made from minced lamb. Honestly though, I figure if a bunch of shepherd’s could get their hands on a wild turkey or other foul while out in the pasture, they probably would, so I’ll just rationalize it that way. OK? If I’m horribly wrong on this point, be sure to let me know.

Regardless of whether you call this a shepherd’s pie or a cottage pie or a turkey pie, it’s still phenomenally good! If you can imagine all the flavors of a holiday table concentrated by 100 times, you would be getting close to the immense flavor of this dish. It’s so good in-fact, that I may just look forward to making this next year a little more than I look forward to the turkey itself.

If you still have any turkey and gravy left over, you’ve got to dive in and give this a try!

… [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: christmas, Holiday, Holiday-Recipes, Leftover Turkey Recipes, Recipes, Thanksgiving

Roast Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Jerry — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:36:09 +0000

Brussels sprouts. As a kid the mere mention of the things would have sent me running to my room in fear, yet here I am sharing a recipe for them at the request of my kids, who absolutely adore them. It’s a strange turn of events to be sure.

It’s strange the things I adore today that I never would have touched as a child. I’m not sure if it was the lack of fresh ingredients in our diet for most of the year, or if my tastes have just changed that much. I know that most of the vegetables we ate for may years were canned, that probably didn’t help.

In any event, these sprouts do not disappoint. They have my Son’s seal of approval and I have to admit that I’ve eaten two plates of them in the last two days. They truly are tasty. As a matter-of-fact, I think I’m going to add them to my permanent Thanksgiving lineup in one form or another. That way I know my kids will eat at least one green vegetable at the family table…

… [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bacon, brussels sprouts, christmas, Holiday, Holiday-Recipes, Recipes, side dish, Thansgiving, Vegetables

Sandwich Bread Recipe for Stand Mixers

Jerry — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:06:09 +0000

It’s simple. It’s easy. It’s wonderful. It’s… Homemade white bread, and it only took a few minutes of actual work to make perfectly the very first time. Trust me folks, if I can do this, so can you! if you’ve got a stand mixer with a dough hook this is as simple as it gets, it contains no preservatives and it stores well. (The loaf pictured above spent a week in the fridge… It’s still wonderful and will be finished off tonight.)

This is probably one of the tastiest bread recipes I’ve come across for everyday use. The recipe makes two full-sized loaves and my kids think it’s got the over the counter stuff beat by miles when it comes to a good PB&J. If you figure up the cost to make it, it’s about 1/4 the price of any loaf at your local market, but twice as good, so even the tiny bit of effort required makes this cost effective as well as delicious.

Another plus of this recipe over other is that it’s a very firm crumb and easily handles duty as a sandwich bread. I’ve tried several recipes that simply could not hold up to the role of sandwich bread. This loaf does not disappoint in that regard. It’s soft enough to be enjoyable, but firm enough to stand up to everything from peanut butter to hot roast beef without crumbling or turning to mush. In short, it’s the perfect alternative to store-bought sandwich bread. Give it a try, you’ll like it!

And if your wondering if this is the perfect bread to make your family his Thanksgiving or Christmas, the answer is YES! It’ll make wonderful Turkey Sandwiches!

… [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: bread, breads and pastries, christmas, Holiday, Holiday-Recipes, Sandwich, Thanksgiving, white bread

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Five Spice, Honey and Maple

Jerry — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:52:38 +0000

Fall produce abounds at my local markets, leaving my head reeling with recipe ideas and the urge for more wintry fare. These sweet potatoes were originally slated to be roasted with some other root vegetables, but I ended up trying this out to see if I could get my kids to eat something other than a regular potato with dinner.

I have an aversion to the standard candied yams served at most holiday tables, preferring something a bit more savory instead, but for this I thought that the combination of Five-Spice powder and coconut milk would give a nice flavor combination. It did. While there are things I will definitely change about this dish, it’s one that I will be visiting again while sweet potatoes are still on the shelves.

… [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Holiday, Recipes, Sides, Sweet Potato, sweet potatoes, Thanksgiving

Pheonix is getting into the Holiday Food Spirit!

Jerry — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:42:00 +0000

I’ll say it again. I Love the Holidays. It brings out the best in people and companies alike. Check out this press release:

12 News & KMLE Country Team Up With Bashas’ & Food City Stores to Hold Turkey Tuesday Drive for St. Vincent de Paul
Arizona Residents Invited to Donate Frozen Turkeys on Tuesday, Nov. 25

Last update: 11:00 a.m. EST Nov. 13, 2008
PHOENIX, Nov 13, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — The nation’s largest one-day turkey drive, 12 News’ Turkey … [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: christmas, Food News, Holiday, holidays, Thanksgiving

Twice Baked Sweet Potato Casserole with Crispy Bacon Recipe

Jerry — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 23:04:07 +0000

Sweet potato casserole is one of those dishes that sits on nearly every Southern Holiday table. It’s a given at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it’ll pop up at other times of the year as well, especially if the crowd is going to be a large one. The standard Southern version includes canned sweet potatoes in sweet syrup, a ton of brown sugar or molasses and to top off the show, a whole bag of mini marshmallows, all melted and browned in an oven. It’s more of a dessert than a side dish, and far too sweet for my tastes.

Not that I don’t love sweet potatoes, I do. So when Judy from No Fear Entertaining answered my request for Holiday recipe alternatives with a need for a version of this dish that wasn’t covered in marshmallows, I was all for it.

I thought that it might be difficult to come up with a recipe in this case, but a glance in the latest issue of the Pillsbury Thanksgiving circular gave me just the right direction. This is my take on a recipe posted there. I thought the addition of a few ingredients were called for, and I’m glad my need to wing-it kicked in.

This casserole is sweet, but just by virtue of the natural sugars in the sweet potatoes themselves. it isn’t cloying or overwhelming and it plays nicely with other items on your plate. We had it with roast chicken and green beans, and I would recommend that combination just as much as putting it on the buffet with the rest of your Thanksgiving or Christmas meal. Trust me, your family will eat this stuff up!

… [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2008. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: casserole, christmas, Holiday, Holiday-Recipes, Sweet Potato, Thanksgiving

Spooky Silhouette Chili Recipe

Jerry — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 02:05:54 +0000

Halloween is almost here, and in the spirit of the season, I bring you Spooky Silhouette Chili, also known as “Fun With Cookie Cutters”. If you’re hosting a party this Halloween or just looking for a way to keep the kids smling up until trick or treat time, you’ll definitely get a few smiles with this one.

The shapes … [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2008. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cheese, chili, Halloween, Holiday, Recipes, Scary