Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Recipes Everyone at the Table Will Want to Gobble Up | Real Simple.
More and more people today are having a gluten-free diet, so if you are having guests this year that eat gluten-free you want to make sure you have dishes that they can enjoy. Real Simple has put together some great Thanksgiving recipes that are gluten-free and taste great so that everyone will enjoy them. Check it out!
Super-Simple Thanksgiving Sides – Photo Gallery | SAVEUR.
Side dishes can be the stars of your Thanksgiving meal and you can make some great sides that are really easy to put together to make your Thanksgiving meal spectacular. Saveur has put together 33 Thanksgiving side recipes for you check out that are uncomplicated and delicious. Check it out!
Fall Soups and Stews – Photo Gallery | SAVEUR.
It is definitely that time of year when my attention (and perhaps yours) turns to warm, comforting meals like soups and stews. These make great tasting, nourishing meals that are perfect for you to make any time, like on the weekend to get ready to have for lunches or dinner during the week. Saveur Magazine has put together 60 soup and stew recipes so you can try just about anything that you like. Check it out!
I have been using the same basic recipe for guacamole that I make for years. Everyone seems to like it and I haven’t really deviated from that since I went with the old adage if it isn’t broken don’t fix it. National Guacamole Day was just recently (yes, there really is such a thing, and it seems pretty much everything and everyone has a day now, but that’s a topic for another time) I saw some other recipes for guacamole come up and I hit upon this one from Alton Brown, who is always one of my favorites and hasn’t steered me wrong yet with a recipe. His recipe for guacamole is very simple, as most of them are, but does seem to give you extra layers of flavor as well.
Alton Brown’s Guacamole
3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and the lime juice and toss the avocado pieces to coat them well. Drain the bowl, reserving the lime juice, after all of the avocado pieces have been coated. Using a potato masher, add the salt, ground cumin and cayenne pepper and mash the avocados. Fold in the onions, jalapeno pepper, Roma tomatoes, chopped cilantro and the minced garlic to gently blend the ingredients together. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice. Let the guacamole sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve.
A couple of things I noticed about this recipe. One, you get great flavors of everything and can get the freshness of the avocado, the lime, the cilantro and the onions and tomatoes with every bite. Two, using a potato masher does make a big difference as it allows you to get chunky guacamole so you get pieces of avocado with each bite instead of the results you get from a food processor or blender where you just get green liquid. I had always used a potato masher in the past when I made it anyway, so this made good sense to me. Coating he avocados with the lime juice before you mash them makes a difference in the flavor and seems to help with preventing the guacamole from turning brown quickly, just as adding the lime juice back in at the end does as well. Also, I had always refrigerated my guacamole right after I made it, but Alton Brown suggests that the cold refrigerator mutes the flavors of the guacamole, while when left at room temperature all you will need to do is give it a gentle mix and maybe add some salt and lime juice to adjust the seasoning. It is important to remember that even though you added lime juice, oxidation is still going to occur if you leave the guacamole uncovered while its resting. Make sure you cover it with plastic wrap, pressing it right down onto the top of the guacamole, and this will help it from turning brown. it’s a great and versatile dip that goes well with chips, crackers, tacos, quesadillas, hamburgers and countless other meals.
That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!
Today is the first day of Fall and the look and feel around our area of New York certainly indicates that much. The weather is cool and crisp, the leaves are starting to turn and thoughts turn to fall and autumn fruits, vegetables and meals around here. Sure, that means soups, stews and the like but it can also mean fall entertaining with some elegant but easy meals that you can put together when you have friends and family over. We had just such a dinner this past weekend and I decided to make a filet mignon roast. It’s not something we have very often because of the price but it is a nice treat when you are having a larger party over. This recipe from Food Network is the perfect answer for your meal with a tender filet mignon roast along with some of your favorite roasted winter vegetables.
Filet Mignon with Roasted Winter Vegetables
For the Vegetables:
2 large parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped
2 to 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 pound mini carrots, well cleaned
2 bunches beets, scrubbed, tops trimmed and halved
2 red onions, quartered
1 head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the Filet Mignon Roast:
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons stone ground mustard
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 (6-pound) whole beef tenderloin (filet mignon)
Kosher salt, to taste
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. For the vegetables, add all of the vegetables, the garlic, the olive oil, the rosemary, the salt and the pepper, to taste, in single layers on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Toss the vegetables until they are well coated with the olive oil. Roast the vegetables until they are golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cover and keep warm until you are serving.
For the roast, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Combine the olive oil, minced garlic, mustard, rosemary and pepper in a small bowl until they are blended. Coat the tenderloin all over with the mustard mixture. This can be done the day before and left in the refrigerator overnight if you like. Just before roasting, season the tenderloin generously with kosher salt, to taste. Set the tenderloin in a large roasting pan and place it in the center of the oven on the middle rack. Roast the tenderloin until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the tenderloin registers 135 degrees, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the roast from the oven to a cutting board and tent it with aluminum foil. Allow the tenderloin to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Arrange the slices on a platter and serve alongside the warmed roasted vegetables.
It is a simple dish that looks great, smells great and tastes awesome. The meat was done just perfectly so that it was medium-rare to medium throughout and the vegetables were nicely browned and tender and full of flavor. Of course, you can always add whatever vegetables you like best to the dish besides what is in the recipe, like mushrooms, fingerling potatoes, acorn squash, Brussels sprouts or whatever happens to look good at the grocery store when you are shopping. I used golden beets in mine because I liked the look and the flavor but any beets you like will work here. Everyone really enjoyed it and it was a great night with some good food.
That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!
Summer meals, whether you are cooking them out on the grill, in the kitchen or not cooking at all and trying to keep things cool and light, call for some easy side dishes that taste great. Sure coleslaw and potato salad are always great standbys, but I have found myself recently trying to make more use of different beans in my main dishes and side dishes. Beans are a great source of fiber and protein and can go really well with a lot of the summer vegetables and fruit that you find available right now. I came across this really easy recipe from the Cooking Channel for a black bean salad with mango, cilantro and lime and it sounded so easy and refreshing that I just knew I had to give it a try one night.
Black Bean Salad with Mango, Cilantro and Lime
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 small ripe mango, peeled and diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 yellow, orange or red bell pepper, cut into a small dice
1 (14.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, minced
1 small red onion, cut into a small dice
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
In a small mixing bowl, combine the apple cider vinegar, the lime juice, the honey and the ground cumin. Slowly whisk in the canola or vegetable oil until it is well incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Mix the diced mango, diced bell pepper, black beans, minced jalapeno pepper and the diced red onion together in a large bowl. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the ingredients and toss everything together until it is combined. Season the salad with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish the dish with the cilantro and serve.
I loved he freshness of this salad with the vinaigrette. The lime juice really made it all pop together, but to me the mixof the black beans, jalapeno, red onion and the mango are what really make this work. You get such a great medley of flavors with the freshness of the mango combined with the bite of the onion and the jalapeno that it all seems to go really well together. This salad works well as a side dish to just about any type of chicken, pork or beef dish and could even stand on its own as a vegetarian meal if you wanted it to. I served it as a side to some pulled pork tacos I made (which I ill be posting the recipe for tomorrow) and it was fantastic on the side or right on the tacos themselves. I think it would also work great with quesadillas or burritos.
That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!
There seems to be an endless supply of Thanksgiving side dish possibilities. There are so many great Fall vegetables that you can use in so many different ways that the combinations you can come up with can help you to tailor your meal to fit whatever likes you may have or whoever may be coming over for dinner on that day. In my trail run dinner that I made for Michelle’s birthday, I made a lot of side dishes this year so I could try different things. One of her absolute favorites is one that often gets overlooked on the dinner table – creamed pearl onions. I actually got this very simple recipe from chef Thomas Keller and with just a few ingredients, you can have this dish made easily.
Creamed Pearl Onions
2 cups peeled pearl onions
2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon minced chives
Combine the pearl onions, chicken stock, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Simmer the mixture until all the liquid has evaporated and the onions are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the heavy cream and cook until the cream has thickened. Stir in the chives and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste before serving.
It is very easy to make and you can do this while your turkey is resting so you can get it ready easily or you can even make it the day before and just lightly simmer it on the stove to heat it through. You get a nice, thick creamy sauce with the great flavor of the pearl onions. If you can get frozen pearl onions, you can save yourself the aggravation of having to peel the onions yourself. I couldn’t find any frozen onions, so I did buy the fresh ones, but there is an easy way to peel them. Simply place the onions in two cups of boiling water for 2 or three minutes. Remove the onions to an ice water bath or cold water bath to cool them off when you strain them off the stove. Once they are cool enough to the touch, simply cut off the root end of the onion and give the onion a gentle squeeze and it will pop right out of the skin. It still takes some time to do all of them, but it is a lot easier than trying to peel the paper off of all those tiny onions.
I also made a simple Brussels sprouts recipe. Even though sprouts may get a bad rap, we love them in our house and they make a great Fall or holiday side dish. And nothing seems to be better than some roasted Brussels sprouts with a little bit of bacon to add some flavor. This quick recipe is from chef Marcus Samuelsson.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Maple Bacon
1 pound Brussels sprouts, bottom trimmed and cut in half lengthwise
1 ounce maple syrup
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 ounce olive oil
4 ounces bacon, cut into quarters in strips
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the Brussels sprouts in the olive oil, salt, peppers and smoked paprika.Place the Brussels sprouts on a baking sheet and roast until they are browned and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
In a medium skillet over medium heat, fry the bacon until it is crispy, about 5 minutes. Drain the bacon of the fat and toss it with the maple syrup and the roasted Brussels sprouts. Finish the dish with a pat of butter over the top or just serve immediately.
Again, you can roast the Brussels sprouts a day ahead of time, like I did, and while the turkey rests before carving simply place them in the oven to warm them through with any other side dishes you are also warming to save yourself some time. The maple flavor along with the smokiness of the bacon and the paprika make this a fantastic side dish. If you want to try to keep it lighter and vegetarian, you can simply omit the bacon and roast the Brussels sprouts alone on a baking sheet or even in a cast iron pan and make them that way.
Unfortunately, I had so many side dishes when I made everything that there were a few things I forgot to take pictures of in all the rush to get things on the table. Sorry about that, but the pearl onions and Brussels sprouts got away from me. I do have pictures of the next 2 sides I will be posting tomorrow though.
That’s all I have for today. Keep checking back for some more holiday recipes and ideas. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!
Storing Your Fresh Fruit « Chef Marcus Samuelsson.
Since it is getting to the time of year where more of us invest time and money into fresh fruit and vegetables, this posting from Marcus Samuelsson seems to be a good one to pass on today. It gives you some great tips on the best way for you to treat and store your fresh fruit that you bring home this time of year so it lasts longer, stays fresher and tastes better. Check it out.
Yesterday I covered the side dishes I am making for Thanksgiving, and on Monday it was the soup for the day, and Sunday I wrote about the turkey, stuffing and gravy. There’s not much left to write about unless you want to make some appetizers for everyone before the meal. Here’s my advice on appetizers for the holidays. You have enough going on in the oven and on the stove, so try to do things that you don’t have to cook at all if you can avoid it. It’s just one less thing you have to cook for the day and you may not have the room or time to do it anyway. You can go simple, and just do a nice selections of cheeses and crackers, maybe some sliced apples and pears, some grapes and some pepperoni or sliced dry sausage. I am trying to keep it simple by doing some shrimp cocktail and some homemade horseradish cocktail sauce.
Shrimp Cocktail
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 pound extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup Horseradish Cocktail Sauce (recipe to follow)
Bring the lemon juice, bay leaves, salt, peppercorns, Old Bay and 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan for 2 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and add the shrimp. Cover and steep off the heat until the shrimp are firm and pink, about 7 minutes. Drain the shrimp and plunge them immediately into ice water. Drain and refrigerate the shrimp until thoroughly chilled, about 1 hour. Arrange a platter and serve with the cocktail sauce.
Horseradish Cocktail Sauce
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, plus extra for seasoning
2 teaspoons Tabasco or other hot sauce, plus extra for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Stir all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Season with additional horseradish and hot sauce as desired.
The cooked shrimp and the cocktail sauce can be refrigerated separately for up to 1 day, so you can make them ahead if you want to. If you get uncooked shrimp that is already peeled and deveined, you can save yourself some extra work and make things a little quicker for yourself.
You’re likely to have some people who don’t like shrimp cocktail, so you’ll need to have some other things available too. You can always put out an array of different chips and snacks or vegetables and have some dip for them. Instead of using the soup packet for your onion dip this year (I have nothing against it, I do it a lot, but it is often a little stale and always very salty), how about making a simple onion dip on your own. It’s not really any work and it tastes a lot fresher. You can just use straight sour cream or try this dip base and add the onions to it.
Simple Onion Dip
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup caramelized onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Stir all of the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate the dip for at least 1 hour so all of the flavors can blend together nicely. The prepared dip can keep covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days.
For the caramelized onions, if you have never done it before, simply melt 1 tablespoon of butter with a tablespoon of vegetable oil over high heat. Add about 4 onions, halved and sliced thin, 1 teaspoon of light brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are deep brown, about 40 minutes. Take them off the heat, stir in 1 tablespoon of water, season with salt and pepper, and you’re done.
Yes, it takes some planning ahead if you are going to use caramelized onions, but they are so tasty, not just for dips but as a condiment for nearly anything.
If you want to make something ahead of time and like nuts, you can try this recipe for spiced nuts. I tried this with some mixed nuts and a spice blend I got from PepperMary’s Spice Blends and boy was it good. I used the Cajun Blend for the nuts, but Mary was kind enough to send me samples of her other spices, which I plan to try after Thanksgiving on some fish that I got. Thanks Mary, they are awesome. I also used the Mesquite Blend on a London broil I marinated last night for dinner and it had a nice taste and kick to it. Give her stuff a try if you get the chance.
Spiced Nuts
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound of mixed nuts, unsalted
2 tablespoons sugar, maple syrup or honey
4 teaspoons PepperMary Cajun Spice blend (or other spice blend you like) or:
2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 1 teaspoon paprika
Adjust 2 oven racks to the upper and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 275 degrees. Whisk the egg white, water and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the nuts and toss to coat. Drain in a colander for 5 minutes.
Toss the sugar, maple syrup or honey with the spice blend or desired spices with the nuts. Spread the nuts evenly on two parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake until the nuts are dry and crisp, about 50 minutes, stirring occasionally and rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Remove from the oven and let the nuts cool completely on the baking sheet, about 30 minutes. Break the nuts apart and serve.
These can also be made ahead and stored at room temperature wrapped tightly in plastic wrap for up to 1 week.
If you still aren’t sure what to make, you can always try going for an antipasto platter. This lets you put out a variety of meats, cheeses, olives and vegetables that people like and you can pretty much choose what suits your crowd the best. I put together just a few ideas in this one.
Antipasto Platter
1/2 pound soppressata salami or other dry sausage, skin removed and sliced thin
2 cups mixed olives, black and green, marinated, such as Kalamata, Nicoise or others
1 jar marinated roasted red peppers
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced thin
Arrange all the items on a platter for people to choose as finger foods. You could always add other cheeses, like marinated mozzarella, or other meats like ham, or even some marinated and grilled vegetables like eggplant, asparagus or zucchini, and some sliced tomato. The options are endless with this. Have some good extra-virgin olive oil on hand if you want to do any marinating of anything.
Okay, I think that covers the appetizers. There are a lot of other choices out there, that I didn’t go into, but I could be here all day writing suggestions and I still have prep work myself to do. Later on today, I will post a couple of dessert options if you are still looking for ideas. Check back and see what I have. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day!
Fun, unusual and forgotten designations on our calendar.
Happily Ever After Lives Here
a little bit naughty a little bit nice
Letting Life Lead
Simple and delicious dinner inspiration
onedadskitchen 