Thanksgiving - Eat, Sleep, Repeat

And so it begins - the season of eating. Not that EVERY season isn't appropriate to feast on deliciousness, but there is something extra special about the holiday season with the savory and sweet sensations that materialize from the kitchen. Grand traditions have emerged by preparing and serving dishes that your grandparents, parents and other culinary adept relatives (or not) have created over the years. You may prepare them the exact same way holding on to tradition or you may have taken Aunt Edna's "famous" green bean casserole made with canned cream of mushroom soup to another level by making your own version with haricot vert, shiitake mushrooms, fresh thyme, shallots and dare I say it -  actual cream! Here's the thing kids - you can take the basis of what you learned from your relatives and make time-honored foodie delights of your own - start your own traditions while carrying on the legacy of those who began them.

I have done this with almost all the recipes I watched my Grandfather and Father prepare. Oh, there are some recipes that are NOT to be messed with (my Dad's chili or Christmas chicken and my Grandfather's breaded veal for example) but the rest are up for debate.  Let's face it friends - not everyone's dishes at the holiday table are tasty. Oh, stop rolling your eyes at me - it's true and you know it. Think about it for a second. Is a particular casserole dish filled with something brown or gray with floating lumps of green or orange coming to mind? Maybe a green JELLO mold with shredded carrots and chopped pears wiggling at the end of the buffet line? Uh huh - I thought so.

Let's take Thanksgiving - a holiday where you are surrounded by friends and family with more food that any table should have and where everyone is trying to get their plates filled for round one while attempting to avoid breaking out the stretchy pants until round two. This is where it all begins - the dinner table food conversation: "Did you get some of this or that" or "Did you see what so-and-so brought" or the ever popular "Sorry, there was no room on my plate for that, I'll get it in round two". This is followed much later by the car food conversation on the ride home: "Turkey was a bit dry didn't you think" or "Your stuffing is SO much better honey". Folks, nothing is perfect but if you like it - roll with it. 

Now, one of my favorite Thanksgiving foods is stuffing (dressing if you don't stuff the turkey which I do not - salmonella freaks me out). When I was growing up, my Dad made all of our holiday meals and his stuffing recipe of choice called for giblets (ummmm, let me think . . . no) and boxed bread cubes with no seasoning (bleh).  It took me years - years - of tasting other family favorites and melding them together to create my own stuffing recipe which is now (wait for it) . . . perfect. Now I know stuffing (dressing) is a big debate for a lot of people. Store bought or home-made bread cubes, to stuff or not to stuff, sausage or no sausage, fruit or no fruit - the options are endless. In our household we are anti-store purchased bread cubes and anti-fruit but everything else was up for discussion - until I found our favorite combination. That is really what food is all about - making and eating what your palate likes. I would never - ever - say my stuffing is the best (well, I would but not to someone's face, that's just rude) as everyone has their own preferences. But I will say this - it is quite good (no, really - it's tasty). 

The best part about stuffing is that when you have leftovers (which you always do) you can do fantastic things with it (culinarily speaking). I made for the first time last year a version of chicken and dumplings but with leftover turkey and stuffing. I used the same basic recipe but substituted chicken stock with left-over turkey stock and gravy, already cooked shredded turkey for the chicken and instead of making traditional dumplings, I took stuffing and mixed in some flour, egg, salt and pepper and voila!  

Know what else? Cranberries are sad. They are. They are sad little tart berries that everyone asks for but hardly anyone eats.  My parents used the canned jelly when I was a kid - which I never ate. Now I use that version to make BBQ sauce when fresh ones aren't in season (that's a discussion for another time). I started making fresh cranberry sauce years ago with orange, brown sugar and cinnamon - still nobody eats it damn it. It isn't that it's not good, it is of course don't be ridiculous, but there's never any room on the plate once it is filled with falling off the bone roasted turkey, stuffing, cheesy corn with bacon, spinach and cheese soufflé and mashed potatoes piled high like Devils Tower. There simply just isn't room. And so, I have found a way to combat the cranberry sadness that has befallen me every year by taking those tangy little bog berries and turning them into the tastiest turkey sandwich accompaniment ever!  Cranberry chipotle mustard. Yep, that's right kids - your leftover turkey sandwiches will thank me.

As we roll through the holidays and nap on the couch in food coma's together, let us remember that traditions are wonderful and heartwarming but creating your own traditions can be equally as satisfying, knowing that you have created recipes tried and true, made with love that friends and family will enjoy. They will prepare them with the same love year after year and smile when they think of you and how you brought a new sense of tradition into their lives - that is how it all begins.  

Pull out the stretchy pants kids - it's time for round three!

Stuffing Recipe

Ingredients

1 loaf of white or sourdough bread (I used Rosemary and/or Roasted Garlic bread rounds from LaBrea Bakery but you can use whatever you prefer) cut into 1/2 inch cubes (including crusts)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 diced yellow onion
4 stalks diced celery

2 packages of mushrooms (I use a combination of Portobello and Button but you can use whatever you like)
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons of poultry seasoning
1 package sweet turkey Italian sausage, casings removed (you could use pork sausage or spicy sausage but I like the turkey sausage since I'm making it to go with turkey)
1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup white wine

2 eggs (beaten)

Directions

The day before you want to serve the stuffing, cut the bread into 1/2 inch cubes and place in a single layer on a sheet pan.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees and bake for 20 minutes watching them carefully so they dry out but don't brown or burn. Remove the bread cubes to a very large bowl and let sit out overnight to continue to harden.

The next day - in a large sauté pan, melt the butter and add the onions, celery, mushrooms, parsley, salt and pepper. Sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Add to the bread cubes. Note: you can also do this step the night before to save time on Thanksgiving day.

In the same sauté pan, cook the sausage over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until browned and cooked through, breaking up the sausage with a fork while cooking. Add to the bread cubes and vegetables. Note: you can also prepare the sausage the night before to save time on Thanksgiving day.

Add the chicken stock, poultry seasoning, eggs and wine to the mixture, mix well, and pour into a 9 by 12-inch baking dish (or whatever size will fit your stuffing mixture - I use a large Pyrex covered dish). Bake for 30 minutes covered, then uncover and bake 10 more minutes or until browned on top and hot in the middle. Serve warm (serves 10 - 12).

Note: I sometimes add a bit more stock or wine if it looks too dry - it is all a matter of preference here. I also dot the top with butter just before going into the oven - because I can and it tastes good.

Savanna's Four Food Groups - Fried, Pickled, Smothered and Sweet

Recently my husband and I took a weekend trip to Savannah. I know, your first thought is "Why". Because we could - and we had never been. Stumped you didn't I? Now you're thinking "Why not".

A few years ago, I began to ponder life (this is not going to be super existential but somewhat enlightening I assure you). In a nutshell, life is short. Short my friends, like me (5'1"). You work hard, you do your best to fulfill your obligations every day, you stress about everything you can't control (okay, maybe that last one is just me) and then what? You realize you have wasted SO much time doing things you "have" to do that you forget to do the things you "want" to do or worse yet, you aren't able to experience anything new. You forget to put the "live" in your life. In order to combat this never-ending circle of doom (insert dramatic music here), I thought it might be nice if we took a few small vacations each year (barring unforeseen circumstances with family or finances) which would allow us to visit places we had not yet had the opportunity to experience and would give us a few breaks during the year from - well, life. I thought it would be a super-spiffy idea to 1) visit a different city or town in our own state and 2) visit a different a city or town in another state or two (depending on timing and location) each year. And thus I declared it so - much to my husband's trepidation.

For example, one year we vacationed in San Francisco and New York. One year it was San Diego, Las Vegas, Vermont and Cape Cod. One year it was Chicago and Italy.  This year it was Seattle and Savannah. Next year probably a nice long road trip to Wyoming and South Dakota. It just seems that there are so many places out there to experience, why not take the time to enjoy it while we can? And thus my friends, Savannah came to pass.

Let me begin by saying that Savannah is lovely. It is just as you would believe it to be - a picturesque place with its trees dripping of Spanish moss, architecture that is beyond that of which you could even begin to imagine, quaint park-like squares designed for the passing of time and locals who are as sweet as their tea. Granted it is also the most haunted city in the United States. The city of Savannah was literally built upon on the unmarked graves of thousands of people who were laid to rest in some very traumatic ways (which is why they don't actually rest in peace here). 

When you visit Savannah, you will be encouraged to try the local fare, which you should always do, but keep in mind folks that when you do this, you must prepare yourself ahead of time for what you are about to encounter. There are four basic food groups according to the USDA: Proteins, Fruits & Vegetables, Dairy and Grains. In Savannah, the food groups are apparently Fried, Pickled, Smothered and Sweet. I can't even begin to get into portion size here because frankly, it just scares me more than the haunted walking tour we took one night so we will stick with the basic four.

Fried. Not everything is fried - but if they could get away with it, I'm sure they would. One of the biggest - fried green tomatoes. Oh yes honey, I did. I ate fried green tomatoes so many times over the course of three days that I lost count. And let me tell you, there are good versions and really bad versions so you just have to figure it out as you go along. The best version we had was from The Olde Pink House. It was by far, the best fried green tomato representation of the weekend. Served as a deconstructed BLT within a mixed green salad served with thick Applewood bacon and a thyme buttermilk dressing. It was a beautiful, whimsical version of the local favorite everyone expects and yes, it was indeed worth the fried calories.

Smothered. Let's talk about smothered shall we? Y'all need to understand that smothered doesn't really mean your typical biscuits and gravy which is what y'all are thinking - you are - admit it. It also means carefully glazed, lightly coated or even used as a delicate sauce to compliment a dish. Seriously. Again, let's take a local favorite and kick it up a notch. Shrimp and grits. Oh, stop it - you know this is a southern dish you would order - you HAVE to. However, if you happen to be dining at The Olde Pink House, you would order the Sautéed Shrimp with Country Ham Gravy & Cheddar Cheese Grits Cake (a signature dish). Yes. You. Would. And you would love it. In fact, I think you would love it so much, I've listed the recipe below for you because - as you know - I'm a giver.

The Olde Pink House Sauteed Shrimp With Country Ham and Grits Cake

4 ounces heavy cream

2 ounces cured ham
8 jumbo shrimp
1 ounce clarified butter
12 ounces The Olde Pink House Grits
6 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

For grits cakes: Prepare grits according to package directions. Stir in shredded Cheddar cheese until cheese is melted. Pour into a cookie sheet pan that allows for grits to spread to about 1-inch thickness. Refrigerate at least 15 minutes. Cut into 1-by-1-inch squares. Flour grits squares. Fry two squares in 1 inch of vegetable oil for 2 to 3 minutes, until each side is deep brown.

For shrimp sauce: In clean saute pan, add 1 ounce butter. Saute ham in butter for 2 minutes, until it begins to become crispy. Add shrimp to pan; saute until pink, about 3 minutes. Add cream. Reduce over high heat until thick and creamy, about 4 minutes. Pour half of each sauce over grits cake.


Another example of smothered and a hefty portion size is the Braised Pork Shank with Pineapple Glaze served with Macaroni & Cheese and Collards. Where do I start with this? The pork shank braised for 12 hours is falling off the bone delish! I mean really, how could you go wrong here?
The downside? Well, for most people (men) this would be a perfect size - the size of your head. However, for me, I was about six bites into it and thought I was going to explode. When you serve a beautifully cooked piece of meat like this with some tasty macaroni and cheese (another smothered southern fave) you are going to reach your point of no return sooner than you would like. Needless to say, my husband ate his dinner and mine because let's face it folks, nobody is going to let this go to waste.

 

Now, let's chat about pickles. Yes my friends, they were fried. Fried. Fried. Fried. But pickled. So, the clever locals have found a way to use two food groups in one - very industrious. However, when served alongside fried alligator (the OTHER "other white meat" of the south) they can be quite tasty. No. Not really. They were both pretty bad. Sorry, but they were. I have to say that this was not on the top of my foodie list during the weekend, but because I like to be fair, I want to give this food group it's due. There. Done. Now we can move on.

Sweet. The final food group. The one group everyone is fond of no matter where you visit. Now, sweet in the south has its place in not just one but two (TWO) ways. You can partake of the very popular sweet tea at every meal or while settin' a spell on your veranda (my favorite) or you can order one of your standard southern desserts which could be anything from pralines to banana pudding and peach cobbler to the famous Leopold's Ice Cream or Byrd's Cookies (we tried them all). Of all the options for "sweet" my favorite was the tea to be honest. I wasn't that thrilled with my dessert options. They were either far too sweet or just boring - as if I could get them anywhere. I would rather set on a comfy park bench with my sweetie sippin' tea than eat more than one bite of the syrupy nectar covering a poor peach. Sad. Just sad.

If you plan to visit Savannah, and I do recommend you visit at least once if you have the opportunity, here are some recommendations from others as well as from our own personal experiences.

Mrs. Wilke's Dining Room - a staple in Savannah. You will wait in line for at least an hour so be prepared, but you will meet the lovely locals and visitors gathered in line with you who will be seated at your table of 8 - 10 as you enjoy food set for 20. Fried chicken (fried), macaroni & cheese (smothered), beets (pickled), cucumbers (pickled), black beans, jambalaya, bbq pork, cream corn (smothered), biscuits and so much more with banana pudding or peach cobbler (sweet and smothered respectively) to end your well-rounded meal (and well-rounded stomach by the time you leave). For $18 per person - and the home-cooked, made with love food - you'll leave happy.

Alligator Soul - The Oysters A La Soul are super tasty filled with bacon, crawfish, scallions and a spicy roux served with a habanero hot sauce (if you dare). Also, their Parmesan crusted fried green tomatoes are pretty good served with a chipotle aioli and pickled veggies. Try the shrimp and grits, roasted suckling pig or ribeye with duck fat pommes for your main course and avoid the duck and dumplings (trust me). If you are so inclined, test your own soul by trying the moonshine flight. I, myself could only make it through one tasting but if you can make it through all three and still stand at the end of dinner, congratulations - you win a new liver!

Speaking of drinking - while sweet tea may be the popular daytime libation of choice, as it turns out moonshine and absinthe are quite popular as well.  Yep, you heard me. Moonshine created in small batches, stored in mason jars on glass shelves and served in a myriad of ways (cinnamon, mint, lemonade, berries, you name it) is quite popular at almost every bar in the south. And absinthe, the mysterious green stuff is served in the traditional way with hot water and a sugar cube set aflame to tame down the licorice flavor and hallucinations you might face after imbibing. Just kidding - I tried it and nothing - nothing. However, you are sure to have a fantastic time no matter what you drink, if you meet someone in Savannah who knows someone who knows someone that may suggest a place where a full bar, a lounge singer and burlesque performers are hidden behind a large door where a very well dressed gorilla stands guard. Good luck finding it because membership is required and as a member, I'm not tellin'.

I think I've made my point. Savannah is a great little place to visit with hidden gems if you are willing to look. It is filled with history, spooky stories, charming people, lovely bed and breakfast locations and food that may or may not make you question your cholesterol level upon returning home. But if asked would I visit again - would I go back to this quaint place for a weekend retreat - my answer would be yes. I would indeed. I might take Lipitor before going, but I would certainly go back.