Thanksgiving Potluck—Some of the Many Treats

We celebrated the fourth annual Friends' Thanksgiving Potluck this year, incorporating some family and a few new friends. Here are some of the treats that were had—and enjoyed—by all:

A Starter from Candle...which I enjoyed throughout the night...
HOT ARTICHOKE DIP 2 lg. cans quartered artichokes (in water, not marinated) 15 oz jar Hellmann's mayonnaise 12 oz. whipped cream cheese5 oz Parmesan cheese3-4 handfuls Shredded Italian 6 cheese blend (some for in the dip and some for on top) Garlic powder or Granulated Garlic (to taste) Rinse quartered artichokes well and pat dry. Mix artichokes, mayo, whipped cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, 1-2 handfuls of shredded cheese, and garlic power or granulated garlic in a bowl. Pour into casserole dish (or pie plate) and top with shredded cheese. Bake 350 degrees 20-30 minutes. Dip will turn golden brown and bubble. If not golden brown and bubbly after 30 minutes, switch oven to broil (low if your oven has the setting) for a couple of minutes. Serve hot with crackers.

Desiree's Lovely Salad
Pomegranate, Orange, Papaya, and Kiwi Green Salad

1 ½ teaspoons white wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup oil
1 ½ quarts mixed greens
2 oranges, peeled and sliced
2 medium papaya, peeled and sliced
4 kiwis, peeled and sliced
1 medium pomegranate
To make dressing, combine first 4 ingredients. Whisk in oil. Toss greens with 2 ½ tablespoons dressing. Alternate oranges, papaya, kiwi. Drizzle with remaining dressing. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. Serves 6


Jen's Amazing Sweet Potatoes
SCALLOPED SWEET POTATOES WITH APPLES 3 large sweet potatoes3 Granny Smith Apples3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar1 tablespoon grated orange rind1 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/4 cup butter or margarine, cut up Cook sweet potatoes in boiling water to cover 45 minutes; drain and cool slightly.Peel sweet potatoes, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Core and slice apples.Combine brown sugar, orange rind, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl.Arrange half of potato slices and half of apple slices in a lightly greased 13x9 inch baking dish.Sprinkle with half of brown sugar mixture, and dot evenly with half of butter. Repeat procedure with remaining ingredients.Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve warm.

My mom's cranberries...recipe courtesy of my grandma
Fruity Cranberry Relish

1 # cranberries raw (pkg is 12 oz usually)
1cup of sugar (or more if too tart)
1-2 oranges, (peeled) plus some orange zest from rind.
2 apples (peeled)

In food processor grind the cranberries, (freeze first, then grind; less messy) and the oranges, and apples. Mix with sugar, and refrigerate. Will keep for a week or longer in refrigerator.

A bit more to come...

Desiree's Famous Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup

I was honored to eat this soup that Desiree made around the campfire by New Harmony, Indiana. And I was even more honored to eat the leftovers that Desiree kindly let me take home. I love this soup! It's warming and substantial, even though it's only made with veggies!

(I was trying for my best Martha Stewart description at the beginning of this paragraph, but failed miserably. Too bad I don't have pictures of our sophisticated---though slightly ragged---bunch eating soup, drinking beer, and granging on all kinds of goodies sprawled on the picnic table...until the massive skunk in the woods scared us into tucking some of our goodies away! Eat your heart out, Martha!)


Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup

1½ pound carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise
1 pound parsnips, peeled and quartered lengthwise
1 large onion, sliced
3 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
8 cups rich chicken broth (more if necessary)
Salt, to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper
¼ cup crème fresh, for garnish
Snipped fresh chives, for garnish


1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Combine carrots, parsnips, and ginger in shallow roasting pan. Dot with butter and sprinkle with brown sugar.
3) Pour 2 cups of broth into pan, cover well with foil and bake until vegetables are very tender, about 2 hours
4) Transfer the vegetables and broth to a large pot. Add remaining 6 cups of broth, the salt and the cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer partially covered for about 10 minutes.
5) Puree the soup in batches in blender or food processor, adding more broth if necessary. Return the soup to the pot. Adjust the seasonings and heat through. Serve each portion dolloped with a teaspoon of crème fresh and sprinkled with chives.
Serves 10. Per serving: 150 calories, 20 g carbohydrates, 2g protein, 8g fat, 20 mg cholesterol

Cranberry Barley Pilaf (Another recipe for Desiree)

I think that this would be the perfect dish for Thankgiving, possibly in lieu of stuffing (if you dare), whether or not you're serving traditional turkey or one of those delectable Tofurkys. Okay, I've never tried Tofurky, and it's probably quite good. I still find turkeys a beautifully delicious bird, but I've never made one myself and since I hate to touch meat, I'd probably make a Tofurky if left to my own devices. Okay, onward! Here it is!

Cranberry Barley Pilaf
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup unsweetened apple juice
2 Tbsp canola oil
½ medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
8 fresh mushrooms, quartered
¾ cup pearl barley
2 cups chicken stock (vegheads can substitute mushroom or veggie stock)
½ cup toasted whole almonds

Preparation:
In a small bowl, soak cranberries in apple juice for 30 minutes.
In a large skillet, heat oil and add onions, garlic and mushrooms. Cook until tender.
Stir in cranberries, apple juice, barley and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until barley is tender and liquid has been absorbed (about 30 minutes).
Remove from heat and stir in almonds. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I found this recipe on the Internet (credit given to the wonderful people at the Canadian Chicken Board). The link is http://www.chicken.ca/DefaultSite/index.aspx?ArticleID=1263&lang=en-CA.

We served this dish with Moroccan Turkey Burgers.

Gado Gado (Recipe promised Desiree)

Gado Gado (Indonesian salad with peanut sauce)

from The World Vegetarian Cookbook

Ingredients

2 tbsp peanut oil

2 carrots, cut into thin strips

2 potatoes, cut into thin strips

1 cup of green beans, trimmed

1 cup of Chinese leaves, shredded (I used cabbage, and I'm sure bok choy would work well, too)

1 cup bean sprouts

Half a cucumber, cut into (yes, for real) batons

Peanut sauce

Okay, I found this to be the hardest part of the dish, so I might recommend that you just buy the peanut sauce. Or if you're desperate to do this from scratch, look it up!

Garnish

Sliced or quartered hard-boiled eggs

Cucumber slices

1. Heat a wok or frying pan and add tbsps peanut oil. Add the carrot and potato and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add green beans and Chinese leaves. Cook for 3 minutes.


2. Add bean sprouts and cucumber and stir fry for 2 minutes. Remove veggies, place in serving dish and chill.


3. Make the peanut sauce or warm up store bought stuff. If you make it from scratch, my husband tells me that you can make it thicker by adding a little peanut butter...or simply using peanut butter instead of frying peanuts and pureeing. I believe him.


4. Garnish the veggies with slices of hard boiled egg and cucumber and serve with peanut sauce.

P.S. The picture in my cookbook is a lot prettier looking. This picture is just to give you a rough idea serving wise.

My new favorite sandwich (or sandwish), now named the Autumn Harvest Sandwich

1. Saute spinach (I'm sure that kale would be good, too) and slices of apple in a little olive oil.
2. Toast two pieces of whole wheat bread.
3. Add pieces of farmer's cheese to the toasted bread, and then add the hot veggies & fruit to make it get all melty.
4. Squirt ample honey mustard on the other piece of toast and there is a lovely sandwich.
5. Eat it while it's hot.