Wish Upon A Chef

I can't help but feel a little resentment when it comes to preparing food for others for the holidays.   Boy Toy is King of the deep fryer, so for the last two Thanksgivings I've been in charge of preparing side dishes to compliment his beautiful birds.  We host his family members for the meal and I understand that my idea(s) of tradition may be somewhat foreign to others.

My family's Thanksgiving meal consisted of most things that I continue to prepare today and for two years now, most of my food has gone untouched because it is not what Boy Toy's family is used to.  As time has gone by and the more I've socialized with them around the table, I've come to realize that most of his family members are used to (and prefer) processed, packaged foods.  The mashed potatoes they know come from a box, green beans come from a can, and bread is from a plastic bag with directions to "brown and serve."  I know that people tend to stick with what they are familiar with and what they like, but it is very disheartening when my hard work and love go into food that is greeted by grimaced faces and rude comments (someone actually told me they "wouldn't cross the street" for my made-from-scratch chicken tetrazzine.  He ended up eating a sleeve of saltine crackers for dinner that day.)

Last year I made the declaration that I would no longer spend so much time, energy and money preparing what I thought was "good" food for the holiday.  But as I started giving thought to the menu for this holiday season, I had a revelation.  I decided that I would continue to make my "weird" food and they could take it or leave it.  I made reference in my last post about there being no time like the present to introduce real food to Boy Toy (who is a little more open-minded about my food) and his kids and I'm going to continue with that mindset.  I'm not going to compromise what I love about Thanksgiving - especially when I am tasked with preparing the food.  Hopefully as my food continues to appear on the table year after year, someone will give in, try it, and decide it's not so bad after all.

This year I'm arriving at the Boy Toy home loaded down with cornbread dressing, creamed corn, spinach casserole, made-from-scratch green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, cranberry tart.  and this port wine cranberry chutney.

I will be thankful for the opportunity to spend time in my kitchen preparing the things that I love and everyone else can be thankful that McDonald's is open!

Port Wine Cranberry Sauce 
servings = makes about 2 cups

½ cup ruby port
Zest of 1 orange
½ cup fresh orange juice
12 ounces fresh cranberries
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons candied ginger, chopped

In a medium saucepan, combine port wine with orange zest and orange juice and bring to a boil. Add the cranberries, honey and ginger and simmer over medium-low heat until the sauce is jam-like, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve warm or at room temperature.

Can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

Green bean casserole - the prerequisite for attending Thanksgiving dinner at the Boy Toy household. It’s like the “No shoes, no shirt, no service” sign posted on the door of restaurants and convenience stores. “No green bean casserole, no entry."

But the traditional version of his beloved casserole, which contains a processed can of cream of mushroom soup, goes against my real food policy and since I’m in charge of side dishes this year, I’ve decided to contribute a made-from-scratch version. Will the Boy Toy still love me after I’ve desecrated his favorite dish? Will the other dinner guest choose to go hungry instead of trying something new (as they are sometimes apt to do when my “odd” food is placed before them?)

I know what you’re thinking - it’s just one time per year and I should allow Boy Toy to have this indulgence, right? But here’s the thing – how am I ever going to get him turned on to the idea of “real” food if he isn’t exposed to it? How will he ever know that the homemade version of a favorite dish can be just as good – even better – than the original version? I’m personally striving for an unprocessed Thanksgiving this year, at least with the food items that I contribute and with the foods of others that I consume.

Unprocess your Thanksgiving with this made-from-scratch Green Bean Casserole and give thanks that it’s so delicious! You can prepare the cream of mushroom soup a few days in advance but it is best to prepare the onions just before topping the casserole.

Made-from-Scratch Green Bean Casserole
servings = 6

4 cups green beans, steamed
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon soy sauce
For the cream of mushroom soup:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, diced
1/2 cup mushrooms, diced
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup milk
3/4 cup chicken broth
For the onions:
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 cup milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
Oil or butter for frying

For the soup: Sauté garlic, onion and mushrooms and set aside. Melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add milk and broth. Add sautéed garlic, onion and mushrooms.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until it reaches desired consistency (about 10-15 minutes). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To assemble the casserole: Combine green beans, ½ cup milk, soy sauce and cream of mushroom soup in a 1-1/2 quart casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until mixture is hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with fried onions. Bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.

For the onions: While the casserole is baking, soak onions in milk for 5 minutes. Dredge onions through flour to coat. Heat oil or butter in large skillet and fry onions in batches, stirring as needed to brown evenly. Drain on paper towels and season to taste.

Take a look at the ingredients in Old El Paso taco seasoning:




Making your own seasonings is simple and easy, especially if your spice collection looks anything like mine - you probably already have most of the needed ingredients on hand.  You can mix them according to your taste and control the ingredients – maybe you like a little more spice and a lot less sodium in your life.  This single batch of taco seasoning took less than 5 minutes to put together but most of that time was spent rummaging through my spice drawer to find everything (maybe reorganization is due?)  You could easily mix this in batches and store in resealable bags to have on hand for those emergency dinner prep nights.

This isn't just for tacos either!  You can also use to season homemade chili.

Make-Your-Own Taco Seasoning 
makes enough to mix with 1 lb. ground meat

2 teaspoons chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 pinch red pepper flakes, to taste

Mix all items together in a bowl.

There's always some sort of soup coming out of my kitchen each week, whether it be freshly made or just thawed from having been squirreled away in my freezer from a previous batch.  I love that making soup requires such little effort and you can be so creative!  Use whatever you have on hand - most of my best batches come from having bits and pieces of leftover veggies and such in my frig that aren't enough to make something with on their own.  No two batches of my soup are ever the same.

I think most of the world's problems could be solved over a bowl of soup - there is something so satisfying and comforting about a collection of meat and veggies in rich warm broth. Chicken soup is definitely a cure-all, solve-all type of soup and it works for alot of my own problems.  Lord knows I lived on Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup when I was a kid but I've far outgrown any premade canned versions of soup now.  And besides, have you looked at the ingredients on the side of the can?


I don't know about you, but I don't often throw things like monosodium glutamate (MSG), ferrous sulfate, sodium phosphates (which is another name for salt, which explains why the sodium content for 1/2 cup of soup accounts for 35% of your RDA of sodium) or even soy protein isolate into my pot of soup. Who wants to eat that garbage?
Soup should be real and made with real ingredients. I love the perkiness that the lemon and fresh dill impart in this version of homemade chicken soup.  I use my own homemade broth and I've been slowly migrating to more whole wheat pasta during my real food lifestyle change, which I'll admit hasn't been easy.  There is just something about the taste and texture that hasn't quite won me over yet.  In the meantime, I've been doing a half/half combination of whole wheat and regular pastas.  It's better than nothing, I suppose, and who knows - maybe I'll eventually completely change pasta teams!

Lemony Chicken Soup
servings = 4

Inspired by bon appetit

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
12 ounces cooked organic free-range chicken
6 cups chicken broth (homemade or organic)
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup whole wheat orzo
1/4 cup fresh dill
lemon wedges, for serving

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring often until vegetables are crisp-tender.  Add broth, season with salt and pepper,  Bring to a boil.  Add orzo and cook until al dente, about 8-10 minutes.  Reduce heat to simmer, stir in chicken and dill and heat through.
Portion soup into bowls and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over soup.