I've Got Plenty To Be Thankful For....

Bing Crosby once sang "I've got plenty to be thankful for," and this year I'd have to agree with him. My husband and I have been blessed with two good jobs, a roof over our heads, and the best families we could ask for. We had a wonderful November full of birthdays, anniversaries, and Thanksgiving, and we're looking forward to the rest of an exciting holiday season. We celebrated Thanksgiving on the farm here in Georgia. Our meal had some great classics like fried turkey, mashed potatoes, skillet seared Brussels sprouts, and pecan pie. I also got to try a couple of new dishes:

Souffled Pumpkin Pancake
adapted from a recipe on Foodnetwork.com

5 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup pecan halves
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
dash of cloves
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs, separated
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
maple syrup for serving

Melt 2 Tbsp of butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium low heat. Add brown sugar and stir until the sugar starts to melt. Add the pecans and stir to coat them with the mixture. Cook 2 minutes and remove from heat. Set pecans aside and save skillet for pancake.

In a small mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, sugar, salt). Melt the remaining butter. In a separate bowl combine the butter, egg yolks, buttermilk, and vanilla.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add pumpkin puree and combine well.

Beat the egg whites to soft peaks (add a dash of cream of tartar if desired). Fold the egg whites into the pumpkin mixture in two parts. Mix carefully. Pour into skillet. Sprinkle top with pecans. Bake at 350 F for 20-30 minutes.  Service in slices with warm maple syrup.

My family and I usually have cinnamon rolls on Thanksgiving morning while watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.  This recipe was a really tasty change of pace for our breakfast.

Green Bean and Artichoke Casserole
adapted from a recipe on MarthaStewart.com

1 lb green beans (fresh: washed and trimmed to 1-2 inch pieces or frozen: cut green beans)

2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups milk
1 can (12-14 oz) artichoke hearts in water, drained and quartered lengthwise
ground cayenne pepper
ground black pepper and kosher salt
1 small canister of French fried onions




Boil green beans in salted water until tender, drain and set aside.  In a dutch oven, melt butter, add garlic and cook until softened but not browned! Add flour and mix to make a blond roux. Add milk and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and allow to simmer (stirring often) until mixture has thickened. Add a dash of cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper to taste. Add green beans and artichoke hearts to the mixture and fold until well combined. Pour filling into a baking dish. Top with French fried onions, and bake at 425 F for 7-10 minutes or until filling bubbles and topping is lightly browned.

I've been working on tweaking this recipe for the last couple of weeks.  I think it's really top notch, and I'm excited to share it with the rest of my family on Christmas. I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving as much as we did. I would love to hear from my readers. Please post your favorite Thanksgiving day recipe or memory.

"You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." 2 Corinthians 9:11

 

Photos by Jenn Ballard

In The Mood For Fall

Fall is my favorite time of year, and it's been a super busy October for us. Deer season is in full swing, and the garden has finally frozen back.  Only the Brussels sprouts have been left behind at our house, but that doesn't mean all the produce in the area is finished.  To get ready for Halloween, my husband and I went to Washington Farms in Watkinsville, GA. This is the same you-pick farm that I wrote about previously.  It turns out that they are just as useful for pumpkins in the fall as they were for strawberries in the spring. We decorated the pumpkins in a new way, hoping they would last through Thanksgiving. Pecans are another important fall crop here in the south, and there's nothing like fresh pecans for a nice fall pie. My favorite recipe for pecan pie is my Grandmommy's. You can find it, along with her perfect pumpkin pie, in my Thanksgiving 2011 post.

 

My husband at Washington Farms; our pumpkins decorated for Halloween; and me dressed as Rosie the Riveter for a costume party. Happy Halloween everyone!

Photos by Jenn Ballard

 

In the spirit of a beautiful fall, I'm going to share another recipe that I really look forward to this time of year. It came from my Grandma Martin, and she calls it "One Dish Dinner." There are probably as many versions of a one dish dinner as there are casseroles, but the general idea is that a meat, a vegetable, and a starch are all prepared in a single dish for convenience sake.  Technically, chicken pot pie and shepherd's pie would also fall into this category, but my grandma's version is a hearty, southern take on the idea. I've tweaked it a bit, and the recipe below is my version. I think it still captures the spirit of the original dish, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do on cold fall evenings.

 

Grandma Martin's One Dish Dinner

1 lb ground beef

1 10 oz can Rotel(R) Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies

1 10 oz can tomato sauce

2 cups frozen English peas

1/4 yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt, pepper, Tabasco

12 uncooked biscuits (homemade or pre-made both work - refrigerated not frozen!)

 

Directions:

Break apart and brown the ground beef in a deep skillet or dutch oven over medium to medium high heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper as it cooks. When the beef is nearly finished, add the onion and garlic. Stir frequently to prevent the garlic from burning. When the onions and garlic are soft, reduce the heat to medium low and drain the excess fat. Add the Rotel(R), tomato sauce, Tabasco sauce(R), and peas. Bring to simmer. Add more salt and pepper if desired. When ingredients are warm and well combined, place raw biscuits on top of the mixture. Cover the dish and cook for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The meal is ready to serve when the biscuits are fluffy and the insides look done. The outside of the biscuits will not brown because of the moisture; this is normal. Serve a biscuit covered in hearty stew and enjoy!

 

"Grandma Martin's One Dish Dinner"

Photo by Jenn Ballard

 

Note: Some people don't like the texture of the biscuits cooked over the dish. This is my favorite part, but others prefer the liquid portion poured over an oven cooked biscuit. I have also used a large jar of homemade, restaurant style salsa instead of the two canned products. This works well if you have some on hand.

Late Season Crops

The tomatoes have died back, and the cool weather is arriving day by day. This has brought about a resurgence in a vegetable that I dearly love: the eggplant. This year I started two eggplants in pots. When the yellow squash died back in early summer, I moved them to the garden. They were pretty quiet most of the hot season, but now they are starting to really take off. As a result, I am forced to find new things to do with them. My traditional approach to eggplant is to make eggplant fries. These were always a great change of pace for my husband and I when we lived in Missouri  and a common request from my vegetarian friends for dinner parties.








Eggplant Fries:
1.  Slice 1-2 large eggplants (skin on) into strips (roughly 3/4 X 3/4 X 3 inch)
2.  Dip the strips into a whisked egg dredge (I did say vegetarian, not vegan)
3.  Take the strips directly from the dredge into a mixture of white corn meal, salt, ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper (proportions to taste)
4.  Drop the breaded strips into hot vegetable oil and cook until golden brown
5.  Drain on paper towels and serve
(Note: these do not reheat well so eat 'em while they're hot)

Obviously, you're not going to make eggplant fries to go with everything. So, I've had to expand my eggplant range to include a classic meal: eggplant Parmesan.  My inspiration for this recipe came from a similar recipe on http://smells-like-home.com.

Eggplant Parmesan:

2 large eggplants
4 eggs
4 cups of Panko breadcrumbs
1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
1/2 Tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 cup all-purpose flour
vegetable oil
Your favorite spaghetti sauce
fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced and pressed lightly to remove excess water

1. Wash and slice 2 large eggplants (skin on) into 1/2 inch medallions
2. Press each slice firmly between clean paper towels to release excess moisture
3. Prepare a three-step dredge with flour and 1/2 tablespoon of salt in the first bowl, whisked eggs in the second, and a mixture of bread crumbs, pepper, oregano, and remaining salt in the last bowl. Put the slices through each of the three bowls, coating well at each step
4. Using a brush or paper towel, lightly coat a baking rack with vegetable oil
5. Place breaded slices on the baking rack over a cookie sheet and bake at 425 F for 30-45 minutes, flipping over half way through
6. Allow the eggplant slices to cool slightly
7. Lightly coat the bottom of a square, glass baking dish with spaghetti sauce
8. Lay eggplant slices out in a single layer on top of the sauce
9. Spoon approximately 1 cup of sauce over the slices
10. Place a single layer of thinly sliced mozzarella over the sauce
11. Repeat the process with  eggplant, sauce, and cheese until the baking dish is full (ending with a layer of cheese on the top)
12. Bake together until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese has browned (approximately 15 minutes)

This a great option for vegetarian dinner parties but still not something to make all the time. A much easier, everyday use for eggplant is to grill it as a side dish. The way I learned to do this is to wash and slice the eggplant vertically. Using a sharp knife, make partial thickness cuts to score the flesh. The cuts should be an inch apart, going vertically down the eggplant and then crossing over at 45 degrees.  Brush the cut surfaces with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and dried thyme.  Cook on a hot charcoal grill, cut side down, over indirect heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour (moving to direct heat to finish if necessary). Serve with a vinaigrette dressing and a soft, herb goat cheese.

My last eggplant experiment was a pretty lofty one. I saw the picture on http://foodgawker.com and followed the link to http://dine-dash.com. The finished product was very attractive, but pretty bland. I have some ideas for spicing it up next time. For the basic recipe, you thinly slice an eggplant and three zucchini squash.  Arrange them in a flower shape inside a pie crust with a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and thyme. Bake at 350 F for 35 to 40 minutes. I used my homemade spaghetti sauce instead of the recommended tomato sauce. It worked really well, but next time I will use more. I will also slice the vegetable pieces thinner and toss them in the olive oil, salt, and thyme for a better coating before arranging them in the pie crust.  One thing I learned pretty quick about this recipe: don't overbake it. The crust will be very light brown when it's ready. Overcooking makes the eggplant skin tough. Lastly, serve this with fresh Parmesan. I think this recipe has a lot of potential if you can make the flavor match the wow factor of the appearance.

 

 

Photos by Jenn Ballard

The Land of Cheese and Beer....

It seems like no time at all since my trip to Nova Scotia, but I've headed out again, this time to America's Dairyland (better known as Wisconsin). I'm finishing up a five week stint in Madison, and I've made some excellent discoveries.  First and foremost has got to be the Dane County Farmers' Market (http://dcfm.org/). Being the veritable connoisseur of farmers' markets that I am, I feel confident saying that Dane County is the stuff of legends. It is reported to be the largest producer-only market in the country, and I think I would buy that. On Saturday and Wednesday mornings during the summer, vendors line the sidewalks surrounding the state capitol building. Being Wisconsin, a large number of the vendors sell dairy products (easily some of the best cheese I've ever eaten), but an equal or larger number peddle fruits and vegetables of every ilk. The rest are a smattering of fresh flowers, potted plants, baked goods, canned foods, honey, and at least one rather notable pasta vendor.  If you get your week's fill of produce but you're not quite ready to leave the atmosphere of the market, the opposite sidewalk is dotted with artists, musicians, and food carts.  The local stores, restaurants, and museums continue the vibe and offer air-conditioned retreats from the Midwest summer.  If there are any drawbacks to the DCFM, they would be a lack of free parking due to the downtown location and the crowd. To avoid the crowd, arrive early.

While walking around the market, I came across two local businesses that I feel obligated to share. The first is a funky little clothing store called City Shuz at 106 S Webster Street. It carries a beautiful selection of vintage-inspired shoes, Tom's shoes, and even some clothes I've seen at Modcloth.com. The second is a great restaurant called The Coopers Tavern at 20 West Mifflin Street (http://thecooperstavern.com). I had really high expectations for this establishment, but all of them were blown away when I took my mom there for brunch! She had the ham sandwich with stout grained mustard, red pepper mayonnaise, and Gouda on a pretzel roll.  I had the Scandinavian Benedict, a version of eggs Benedict with Bourbon-curred salmon instead of Canadian bacon. The most incredible thing about my selection was that you actually noticed the English muffin! What kind of English muffin grabs your attention away from perfectly poached eggs and a creamy dill Hollandaise? The perfectly fresh, soft, and made-in-house kind! Top to bottom, both dishes took relativity ordinary offerings and elevated them with subtle but complex twists and fresh ingredients.  Being a tavern in Wisconsin, there was also a very nice selection of beers to accompany any meal.  I would highly recommend this restaurant if you're in the area.

A third local business that I want to highlight looks out on the downtown area from across the breadth of one of Madison's several lakes. Lakeside Fibers at 402 West Lakeside Street has a beautiful selection of yarns and patterns for any knitting or crocheting enthusiast (http://www.lakesidefibers.com/). Not into that sort of thing? Go to Lakeside Fibers anyway. The coffee shop in the back looks out on the lake with a beautiful view and peaceful, arty vibe.  Their coffee, loose leaf tea, or cheese platter are sure to satisfy.

On one of my last weekends in Wisconsin, I drove up to Baraboo to visit the home site of Aldo Leopold and the famed Sand Counties of Wisconsin. Down the road from "the shack" is a beautiful education center and gift shop. You have to go there first to pay your admission.  Then, you can hike around the home site, remembering the places described in Leopold's work, and see the beautiful Wisconsin River. If you're not familiar with Leopold's writings, please see my April 2010 blog "Books that Change Your Life."

I guess that's about it for my time here in Wisconsin. It's been a good trip, but I'm glad to be heading back to the South.  The garden's been going crazy with tomatoes, and I think it will be time to tackle some canning when I get home.

Photos by Letitia King and Jenn Ballard

 

Squash, squash, and more squash

After my oh-so-exciting excursion to Nova Scotia, I returned home to Georgia to find our yellow squash growing in a state of overwhelming abundance. We tried just about every way we could imagine to cook squash, and found a couple of really great options, including sautéed, stuffed, and curried. Even still, it doesn’t take long before you just can’t eat any more squash, and after weeks of picking, washing, chopping, blanching, and freezing, we were pretty much done. But we are well stocked for the winter!

 

 Our stuffed squash was a variation on a recipe from http://farmflavor.com.

Stuffed Squash
3 medium-large yellow squash
1 small, green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 sweet yellow onion, chopped
1 small, fresh tomato, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
4 slices of bacon
kosher salt
ground black pepper
butter

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer whole squash for approximately 10 minutes or until soft. Remove squash and allow them to cool. Slice the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop the majority of the flesh from inside each half (leaving enough so the sides don't collapse). Chop the flesh that you removed and set aside.

 

In a skillet, fry the bacon until just crispy. Set aside to cool, then chop. Remove all but 2 Tbsp of the bacon renderings from the pan. Saute the onions and peppers for a few minutes in the renderings. Add the chopped squash and garlic and cook until all parts are just soft. 

 

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked vegetables, bacon, tomato, cheese, and bread crumbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place the squash shells on a baking sheet. Spoon the filling in the shells until slightly heaping and well packed. Sprinkle with additional panko crumbs and drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until squash is tender and crumbs are lightly browned.

 

Easy Squash on the Grill:

2-3 thinly sliced yellow squash

1 thinly sliced yellow onion

kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

olive oil

 

Combine the sliced squash and onions on one half of a large sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle with oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Toss lightly. Fold the remaining half of the foil over the top of the vegetables. Seal the edges by folding over 2-3 times. Place the foil packet on indirect heat from a hot charcoal grill. Allow to cook 15-20 minutes, turning several times and flipping at lease once. Open packet carefully. If all of the vegetables are tender, serve.

 

We also made a fantastic Indian-style squash curry. I won't reproduce that recipe here because (having less experience with Indian food), I followed the instructions as written on http://simpleindianrecipes.com. I encourage you to look it up!  I served this curry with fresh Naan bread from the international food market in Atlanta (http://www.dekalbfarmersmarket.com/). If you live in or visit the Atlanta area, you should definitely check out this foodie paradise.

Once the summer heat finally put an end to the squash frenzy, it was time for tomatoes!

Photos by Jenn Ballard