Now we're up to Chanukah!

Ok, so now we're up to the Chanukah celebration. When everyone was living in Connecticut it was the tradition for everyone to pull a name and buy a gift for that person. Since we haven't been together we no longer did the tradtional. Due to this celebration it was time to pull out old customs! Even more difficult than the gifts was the decision of which day to celebrate Saturday afternoon was the final decision since Tracey wasn't working and Uncle Mal agreed to not leave to start the drive home until 3:00! Believe it or not everyone was so full from eating we did not plan a menu! Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Indian food at M & M's

Well, after the 4th+ meal of turkey and the trimmings, it was a welcomed change to have some Indian food. Marlene and Mandeep made a mixture of cheese, peas and fresh skinned pureed tomatoes with a hint of cilantro, delicious! There was also dahl and wonderful rice. This was the most unusual Shabbat meal we had ever had!

Thanksgiving Visit

Well Thanksgiving was wonderful! We had the family from Virginia, DC, North Carolina, Georgia and Connecticut! And, if you count where Msrc goes to school, Massachusetts was represented as well! The dinner was at Matt and Rachel's with other meals at Marlene and Mandeep's. The turkeys were juicy and delicious and the sides were outstanding! I think David said there were 15 sides, I don't think there were quite that many. We had creamed corn, creamed onions, sweet potatoes with Indian spices and butter, another version for the vegans without the butter, sausage stuffing, vegan stuffing, applesauce, carrot ring with peas, squast with carrots, beets, roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, hmmh that's all I can remember. I think if there were more I'd know since we ate leftovers for days! Not complaining it was great!

Friday night dinner

As I may have mentioned we have a chicken ban at our house. I think this might come from too much of a good thing! We seem to be in a unique situation in Stamford, CT in the kosher meat arena! We do not have a kosher butcher. Considering that 50 years ago we had 3 kosher butchers and the kosher population is up, not sure why this is happening. I'm guessing that the cost of buying wholesale kosher meat must be too high for the margin you can make on sales. The reason I tell you this is because the easiest kind of kosher "meat" I can buy is chicken or turkey. Well, you can imagine after eating poultry every Friday night for months at a time, a person can become weary! Another hint is when you start to sprout feathers and cluck! (Only joking about this part!) So coming up with interesting ideas for Shabbat dinner can become a challenge. Last night I tried a recipe from Wednesday, November 14th NY Times.Corn Bread and Broccoli Rabe Strata; comment from David: "What did you think of dinner tonight?" Me: "I liked it, what about you?" David: "Well the Broccoli Rabe thing was ok". What does this translate to? Don't make that Broccoli Rabe thing again! A strata usually has some kind of bread soaked in an egg and milk mixture to make the whole thing puff up. This recipe called for corn bread so I think it just got too doughy! Oh well, I made a Pea (green peas) Soup that I liked. Didn't discuss it specifically with David, not sure what the review is! Here's the recipe if you want to try it:

Fresh Pea Soup St. Germain Serves 2-3

butter or olive oil
2-3 shallots, minced
3 cups shelled fresh peas (from about 3 pounds of garden peas) or frozen peas
2-1/4 cups water or vegetable broth
3-4 Tbs whipping cream (optional)
salt
pepper
curry powder to taste
croutons for garnish

Melt butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the shallots and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the peas and water and season with salt and little pepper and curry powder. Cover and simmer for about 12 minutes for young peas and up to 18 minutes for large or older peas, stirring occasionally. When the peas are tender allow them to cool and puree the soup in a food processor or use a submersible blender. Stir in the cream. Garnish with croutons.

The last part of the menu was supposed to be stuffing one of the pumpkins that Patty and Nolan bought for us when they were visiting. Frankly the thought of being up to my elbows in pumpkin gook just didn't turn me on so I used the recipe as a casserole instead and added diced butternut squash. Actually this one got rave reviews!
It is from a book called "Olive Trees and Honey". This is a treasury of vegetarian recipes from Jewish communities around the world. This recipe is from Uzbekistan.

Bukharan Stuffe Pumpkin

3 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1-1/4 cups long-grain white rice
2 cups vegetable stock or water
1 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste
pinch of saffron or 1/4 tsp turmeric
1 Tbs hot water
1/4 cup dried currants or raisins
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
1 tart apple peeled, cored and coarsely chopped (optional)
1 quince, peeled, cored, and diced (optional)
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas (optional)

1 small pumpkin 4 to 5 pounds

To make the stuffing: In a medium,heavy saucepan, heat the oil over med heat. Add the onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and saute until well coated, about 3 minutes. Add the stock, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the liquid is absorbed but the rice is still slightly underdone, about 15 minutes.

Dissolve the saffron in the hot water and stir into the rice. Add the currants, cilantro and any combination of chickpeas, apples and/or quince, if desired.

Cut out a disk from the stem end of the pumpkin about 4 inches in diameter. Scoop out and discard the seeds and loose fibers. Sprinkle the insides with sugar and salt.

Pack the stuffing into the pumpkin and put on the lid. Arrange a cabbage leaf, if using, in the bottom of a deep baking pan or large pot to prevent the bottom on the pumpkin from burning. Place the pumpkin in the pan and add enough water to reach about 1 inch up the sides. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, or bake in a preheated 375 oven until the pumpkin is tender, about 2 hours. Cut into wedges or scoop out the filling. Serve warm. I made the mixture in a casserole dish and baked it for 1 hour at 350. Also, for the rice I used the Trader Joe mixture of long rice. It was quite delicious!

Hats off to Andy Rooney

Just got this from a friend and had to share it! I think he has definitely figured out the male/female thing!


In case you missed it on 60 Minutes, this is what Andy Rooney thinks
about women over 40:

As I grow in age, I value women over 40 most of all. Here are
just a few reasons why

*A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night and
ask, "What are you thinking?" She doesn't care what you think.

*If a woman over 40 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit
around whining about it. She does something she wants to do, and it's usually
more interesting.
*Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming
match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of
course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you if they think they can get away with it.
* Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know
what it's like to be unappreciated.
* Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins
to a woman over 40.
* Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier
than her younger counterpart.
* Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you
right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one. You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.
* Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons.
Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart,
well-coiffed, hot woman over 40, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress. Ladies, I apologize. For all those men who say, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?",
here's an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage Why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage!

Andy Rooney is a really smart guy!
forward to five fine, fun, fabulous, fancy-free female friends over 40.


"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't
matter, and those who matter don't mind!"
---Dr. Seuss

Mah Jongg

Well, last night Mom helped 4 of my friends relive the world of Mah Jongg! What a great time we all had! Gini seemed to have all the luck, all she did was pick jokers all night! Judie and Joyce were a hoot, they kept teasing each other about their playing and winning (or the lack thereof) and how they had no idea what they were doing. The important thing as per Judie's mother was to play quickly! What was really amusing about them was their mothers used to play in a regular game together. The 4th was Marilyn... I must not have been clear when I asked her to come she thought she was the only novice playing in a regular game! Well, we're on to play together again next week! What fun. And to think I used to make fun of people who played the game, now I'm addicted!

Block Party

Well, the weather is finally getting cooler so our neighborhood had a block party today! All things considered it was a very lovely day! We decided to have it be late in the afternoon so no one would think we were serving lunch or dinner! People went all out with snacks! We had so many cakes, squares, veggies and fruit it was amazing! With all the food we had it was interesting, very few doubles! One family brought their outdoor fireplace and all the ingredients for s'mores! You're right, that was the highlight! The kids had a real good time playing football on the lawns! What fun! The plan is to have next year's party in the Spring! A much better choice!

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

I can't believe there are only 3 weeks until Thanksgiving! Well, that calls for buying all the new magazines (Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Fine Cooking) to learn about the newest way to cook turkey! Actually that isn't the draw for me, I love the new ideas for vegetables and side dishes! Here's one that caught my eye; it's called "Port-Roasted Chestnuts with Grapes". What could be bad about that? I'm thinking this is a special suggestion for our family "ac cross the pond"! I like to buy the chestnuts in a jar, might be cheating but certainly makes my life easier...and isn't that what it's all about???

"Port-Roasted Chestnuts with Grapes"
3/4 cup low-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup ruby Port
2 TBS butter, diced
2 1/4-inch strips orange peel (orange part only) (for those of you who may have just received a microplane, this would be a good time to use it!)
1 tsp sugar
2 7 to 8 ounce jars whole roasted chestnuts
2-1/2 cups seedless red grapes (about 14 ounces)
Coarse kosher salt
3 TBS chopped fresh Italian parsley

Combing broth, Port, butter, orange peel and sugar in large wide skillet. Bring to boil over med-high heat, stirring occasionally. Boil mixture until reduced and thickened enough to coat spoon, about 8 minutes. Add chestnuts and grapes; sprinkle with salt. Reduce heat to med and simmer until Port sauce is reduced to glaze and sauce coats chestnuts and grapes thickly, about 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl, sprinkle with parsley.

This recipe came from Bon Appetit, it can probably be found on their website www.bonappetit.com Last night I made two other recipes from the magazine: Smashed Rutabagas with Ginger-Roasted Pears (I added apples as well, my pears were not it great shape!) and Polenta Souffles with Mushroom Cream Sauce. In this recipe it calls for vegetable broth, I substituted Creamed Portebello Soup. The good thing about this souffle is that it doesn't rise that high so you don't have to worry about it falling!

More recipes for Thanksgiving to come as I continue to try them out!