November has been down right nasty here in Seattle. Its been windy. Its been rainy. It is the kind of weather that makes you want to crawl back in bed and not get out until June or maybe even July considering Seattle’s track record. But alas that is not a possibility. Instead, when the weather turns dismal, I turn to making beef stew. Beef stew with red wine to be exact. Its full of tender beef, veggies, beef broth and red wine. It is a combination that will warm your home as well as your bellies.
Fall and winter generally mean lots of hearty, comfort food. Much of this food is pretty heavy to say the least. Not that that is a bad thing, everyone knows how many mashed potatoes I can eat. But with Thanksgiving only a week away, eating lighter the week before always seems like such a good idea. But don’t mistake eating lighter for less flavor or less comfort. This pasta loaded with garlic, sausage and greens is a delicious light dish, perfect for those of us wanting to lighten things up a bit before the big feast next week.
I have always had a fondness for cream cheese spreads. They are super easy to make and you can add just about any flavor that you like. Take this recipe for instance. After making my Spinach, Arugula, Cranberry and Walnut Salad, I have discovered a new found love for dried cranberries and the sweetness that they add to dishes. In this recipe, their sweetness pairs nicely with the fresh rosemary and smooth cream cheese. Spread on some crisp crackers and you’ll have an addicting little snack perfect for all of your upcoming holiday festivities.
Whenever you roast chicken, beef or, to keep with the season, turkey, you probably notice the little brown flavor bits and lovely pan juices that accumulate in the bottom of the pan. It might seem a little crazy but did you know that some people actually throw this stuff away? Shocking, I know. Perhaps they do not know that those little brown bits and lovely juices are the perfect base for some of the best gravy ever. And it is actually a lot easier to make then some people think.
If I had to make a list of my top 5 sandwiches, a classic BLT would certainly be near the top. The toasted sour dough bread, mayo, juicy tomatoes, crunchy bacon and crisp lettuce nearly always yield a scrumptious sandwich. A sandwich that I thought could not get any better. That is until I tried a BLT with the addition of spicy, succulent Cajun shrimp. Now that my taste buds have experienced this delicious combination, this sandwich just might inch its way past the traditional BLT on my sandwich list.
I thought I would step away from comforting Thanksgiving food for today and turn to a different kind of comfort food: pasta. Spaghetti Puttanesca to be exact. Legend has it that this spicy, salty pasta was a favorite of, to use the family friendly term, “ladies of the night”. Apparently these “ladies” found the inexpensive ingredients and quick preparation an easy meal to make for their “friends”. And while I can’t vouch for their chosen line of work, if the story of how this pasta sauce originated is true, their taste in pasta sauces is pretty good. After all this sauce incorporates some pretty yummy things like tomatoes, capers, crushed red pepper, kalamata olives and anchovies. Yes, I said anchovies, but trust me, in this sauce you will love them.
After yesterday’s heavy but heavenly Cheesy Baked Mashed Potatoes, I thought I’d lighten things up a bit with this flavorful Thanksgiving salad. It has all kinds of goodies like spinach, peppery arugula, crunchy walnuts, sweet cranberries and tangy goat cheese. Then all of these goodies are tossed in a quick cranberry vinaigrette. It is the perfect way to get your Thanksgiving cranberries in “non-log” form.
