Thanksgiving Feast

For the last few years, I've hosted a somewhat non-traditional Thanksgiving feast.  I love this holiday.  I look forward to inviting family and friends over for a casual, kid-friendly get together.  I call it a Thanksgiving open house since I try (key word - try) to keep the food as warm as possible so people can come by as they can and not worry about walking in on everyone sitting down to a formal Thanksgiving meal.  My main struggle with this event has always been the turkey.  Personally, I'm not a fan of the big bird and really only like the dark meat.  Also, with people coming throughout the afternoon/evening, I don't want the involved part of carving a turkey or worse yet, the turkey drying out, etc.  So this year, I've found the perfect replacement -  Butterball's turkey roast.  It's a combo of white and dark meat, which keeps it extra juicy.  I realize butterball doesn't sound that exciting, but I found a great marinade and it cooks on the bbq.  In this Marinated Turkey Breast recipe, you first rub the meat with a mixture of garlic, fresh basil, and pepper.  Then pierce each breast with 3 whole cloves and marinate them in soy, lemon juice, oil, and brown sugar.  The instructions are to marinate for at least 4 hours, but I let these roasts go for a full 24.  They were moist and had an excellent flavor.  I sliced them up and served them in an electric skillet with accompanying cranberry sauce.  No gravy this Thanksgiving. 

All in all, I think I cooked about 14 items; some were winners and some were just okay.  Hopefully those folks reading my blog that were at our house that day, will agree with me on my selection of dishes to highlight :)   One hands-down success was the Rosemary Roasted Cashews from Ina Garten.  These were slightly sweet and slightly spicy since they were tossed with fresh chopped rosemary, brown sugar, and cayenne pepper.  A definite keeper.

I also enjoyed the Citrus, Fennel, and Rosemary Olives (at the far left of the picture) as well as the Winter Fruit Compote (in the middle bowl). 

Another fun make-ahead dish was Olive and Sun-Dried Tomato Fougasse.  Extremely enjoyable for me since I hadn't made a yeast bread in years.  The smell of fresh bread baking was to die for.  This would probably go better at a cocktail party type of function, but I must say we are enjoying the leftovers! 


One very big success was the Awesome and Easy Creamy Corn Casserole.    This was probably the simplest dish I made, and was also a huge hit with the kids.  I did tweak the recipe a bit, but only by adding green onions and a few dashes of green jalapeno pepper sauce.  I also made this one day ahead and took it out of the refrigerator about 1 hour before putting it in the oven.  So easy and very comforting.  This next dish was actually better the second day - Caramelized Onion-Potato Gratin.  The topping of breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and lemon zest was definitely not crunchy the second time around, but when reheated, melded beautifully with the potato, onion, and cheese flavors. 

A strange, yet flavorful addition to the Thanksgiving menu, was a dish true to my Lebanese heritage - Kibbeh Meatballs.  Ground lamb mixed with bulgur, shallots, parsley, and spices.  Mix it all in a food processor, shape into balls, brown them in a pan, and serve with a cucumber yogurt dip.  These were excellent when eaten right away, but did tend to dry out as they sat in the electric skillet (note to self).  Those of you who read my post from New York may recall the raw kibbeh (kibbeh nayye) that was also made from minced lamb and bulgur.  I highly doubt I'll ever attempt serving kibbeh nayye to any guests (especially at Thanksgiving!), so kibbeh meatballs is about as close as I'll get.  


As for dessert, I only made a couple of items since I knew others were bringing some.  Pistachio Sour Cream Cookies and Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes.    The cookies were a great combination of a not-so-sweet cookie and a fairly sweet frosting (pictured at the top). If you do attempt to make the cookies, just know that it is basically impossible to find pistachio paste.  Your best bet is to make it yourself by grinding up pistachios, powdered sugar, and a little bit of water in a food processor until it is the consistency of marzipan. The Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes are a Paula Deen recipe.  That may say it all, but for those of you who don't know Paula, she could easily take the name "Butter Queen", then you add the word "butter" in the title of the recipe, and you've got to believe these pumpkin bars are loaded with it!  These were rich and decadent and completely satisfied my pumpkin pie craving. 


I sincerely hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and please feel free to share any of your wonderful recipes with me!  Now onto making Mexican won-tons for Christmas...to be explained in my next post. 

The City So Nice They Named It Twice

New York is a city that enthralls me in several ways. From the sheer amount of people, to the amazing ethnic food you can find there, to the crazy nightlife. It's absolutely a thrill each and every time I go. Luckily, with my job I do get to partake in this mecca-for-the-senses fairly routinely.

This trip was definitely all about the ethnic foods. Living in San Diego, we actually do have a lot of top notch Vietnamese restaurants with a wide selection of various types of Banh Mi sandwiches and yummy Pho soup. However, upon watching "The Best Thing I Ever Ate Between Bread", my boyfriend and I took the pilgrimage to Brooklyn and sought out Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches.


We've had the basic BBQ pork banh mi sandwich in our hometown, so we wanted to expand our palate and try their classic, which includes a pate - wouldn't have been my first choice, but it was quite good! The main flavor for me in all of these Vietnamese sandwiches is the pickled vegetables, namely the daikon. It reminds me a bit of jicama, and when pickled, has an excellent flavor and crunch. We also split a bowl of Pho, which was very comforting and fresh. I love being able to add the bean sprouts, cilantro, and green onions, as you go along so they can retain their crunch and not get overcooked in the steamy broth.

Yes, there is another Nicky's right in Manhattan, much closer to where we were, but there was another reason for heading out on a subway adventure to Brooklyn - Barcade. It is exactly what you are thinking - a bar and an arcade. It is amazingly well done with tons of craft beers and classic arcade games in an old brick building. I'm sure many of my future posts will focus on beer since it is an integral part of our refreshment repertoire at home!

The piece de resistance for me was an evening meal at Naya, a true Lebanese restaurant. With my mom being 1/2 Lebanese and growing up with my Jiddo (grandpa) being just a street away, middle eastern food was a big part of our lives. I must have always been a foodie, since one of my favorite dishes when I was young was kibbeh naye, or raw lamb. We never had it that often since my family did not dare make it at home (for fear of freshness) and there was only 1 Lebanese restaurant in San Diego that made it. That restaurant has been closed for over 20 years now.



Kibbeh naye is ground raw lamb mixed with bulgur, spices, and mint. It usually comes with green onions on top and then you pour olive oil on it and scoop it up with pita bread. Like a steak tartar, but even better. The whole experience at Naya was wonderful. Never having had Lebanese wine, we ordered a bottle of Chateau Kefraya, which paired perfectly with our Lebanese fair. From our fried kibbeh balls to our spicy lamb sausage, everything was delicious. A definite tribute to old times and a must to take my mom there if I ever get her to New York!

Until next time...Bon Appetit, New York.