Goat Cheese with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Rosemary

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

I am a guest at Lynn’s Thanksgiving table again this year, and frankly, I’m happy and relieved.  I’m sure I will be hosting again sometime, but tomorrow we will be heading up to Lynn’s.  I am bringing these Mashed Potatoes, green beans and this Cranberry Salsa.  I am also thinking of bringing this Goat Cheese with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Rosemary appetizer.

My friend Janet, of Surfer Soup claim to fame, serves this up a regularly at camping trips and events are her house.  And, if you know Janet, you would know she would never serve it up as fussily as I have, but it is just as delicious.  She layers the tomato rosemary mixture on top of the goat cheese and serves it just like that.   She says the secret is in the crackers, and she is right.  Serve Trader Joe’s Raisin Rosemary Crisps or something similar.

Goat Cheese with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Rosemary

Printable Recipe

1 5-ounce log of fresh goat cheese

½ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (use tomatoes in olive oil)

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

pinch of salt

Mix together sun-dried tomatoes, rosemary and salt.  Lightly press the tomato mixture onto the outside of the goat cheese, and wrap with plastic wrap.  Chill for at least an hour.  Serve with Raisin Rosemary Crisps.

Southwestern Butternut Squash Sauté

 I think I’ve mentioned before I’m somewhat of a Thanksgiving traditionalist. I don’t waiver much from the normal Thanksgiving fare, but I appreciate those who can and do. My friend Sandy made cioppino last year for Thanksgiving, and I give her high marks for bucking tradition.

For me, bucking tradition might be to serve this butternut squash dish for Thanksgiving. If you have a more non-traditional Thanksgiving, or if you have room for another dish on your table, Southwestern Butternut Squash Sauté would be a great addition to the Thanksgiving menu.

The southwestern flavors blend nicely with the butternut squash to make a spicy sweet side dish that would be delicious with turkey, ham or anything else you are serving. By all means, don’t relegate this delicious side dish to Thanksgiving only, it goes nicely anytime of the year, and it tasted great with the grilled chicken I served it with recently.  

Southwestern Butternut Squash Sauté
Adapted from Fast, Fresh & Green by Susie Middleton  
Printable Recipe
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound peeled and seeded butternut squash, cut into ½ inch dice
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons toasted pepitas

Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add the squash, onions and ¾ teaspoon of salt. Toss the squash mixture to thoroughly coat. Cook, stirring gently with a silicone spatula occasionally at first and them more frequently as the vegetables brown. Cook until the squash is tender and lightly browned and the onion is well browned, about 20 to 22 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile in a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat, and add the coriander, cumin, chile powder and the remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt. Cook stirring for one minute or two to bloom the spices. Add the maple syrup and simmer for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, and stir in the lime juice.

Drizzle the butter mixture over the squash and stir thoroughly but gently with the silicone spatula. Stir in the cilantro. Transfer the squash to a serving dish and top with the pepitas.

Serves 4

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know I’m a day late wishing you a happy Thanksgiving, but I was a little busy yesterday, and I didn’t even host dinner!  I’m sure I’ve told you that my dad’s wife Lynn loves to host Thanksgiving, and I’m am happy to let her.  I do have my tasks though.  This year I made a spiced cranberry sauce from epicurious.com, these mashed potatoes, green beans with shallots and lemon and Artichoke-Fontina dip.

I usually have a dinner party in the fall, so I like to set a fall table.  This year, I used my burlap table runner (who knew how versatile a burlap runner would be?) and topped it with a square of brown floral fabric I found in the clearance bin at the fabric store.  I just squared it up and turned under the edges.   I added the straw pumpkin and flower arrangement in a copper container Lynn gave me a couple of years ago, and I added a couple of ceramic pumpkins I bought at Marshalls.  I also added some pumpkins I bought at a blown glass pumpkin patch I attended this year.
 

I had never attended a glass pumpkin patch before, and I was amazed at all the beautiful pumpkins available.  The pumpkins are so beautiful, especially with the sun glinting off of them!  If you are near Palo Alto the first weekend in October, be sure to check out the blown glass pumpkin sale.
 


Last week, I was having a discussion with a friend at work, and she said that Thanksgiving wasn’t a time to try new recipes.  She thinks that Thanksgiving is a time to embrace traditional recipes, and she was going to make dishes her mother had made.  Thanksgiving is obviously a time for tradition, otherwise why would so many people be eating the same meal on the same day?  But, I think there are ways of changing up the Thanksgiving meal without changing the traditions of the meal.  My mother never liked the holidays, so I don’t have many memories of traditional Thanksgiving dinners (my memories are more likely to be of the bad Thanksgiving dinners we had, like the one we had at the Queen Mary.  Blech!)    

Lynn usually tries a new recipe or two for Thanksgiving, but they never veer far from tradition, and they are always delicious.  This year, when Lynn asked me to make the traditional cheeseball, I asked if she would mind if I made something a little lighter.  She had no objections, so I decided to make Artichoke-Fontina dip to serve with vegetables.  I’ve made artichoke dip before, and I was a little worried this dip would be more of the same.  I shouldn’t have worried. 

This dip is a different artichoke dip.  The fontina cheese, garlic and capers give this artichoke dip a complex flavor not found in a traditional artichoke dip, and the parsley adds a freshness that is also missing.  We gobbled the dip up with vegetables, but my family liked the dip with crackers better.  Serve it with both veggies and crackers so your guests can decide how healthy they want to be.

Artichoke-Fontina Dip

Adapted from Holiday magazine (from Redbook)

Printable Recipe

2 14 oz. artichoke hearts, drained

8 oz. fontina cheese, cubed

4 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 Tablespoons capers

2 garlic cloves, crushed

½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Preheat the over to 350°F.  In the bowl of a food processor, pulse artichokes, garlic, capers and parsley three to four times.  Add the cheeses and the hot pepper sauce and pulse until completely combined.  Spread the mixture into a oven safe dish and bake for 25 minutes, or until starting to bubble and lightly browned on top.  Serve warm with crackers or cut-up vegetables.

Happy Thanksgiving

I know I am a little late with my favorite mashed potato recipe for Thanksgiving, but if you will be making mashed potatoes again anytime soon, this recipe is great.  I found this recipe in Everyday Food last November, and I tried it for Thanksgiving last year.  These potatoes were a big hit.  They are velvety and smooth with great flavor. But, my favorite part of this recipe?  You can make the potatoes ahead of time and heat them in the oven later!

Luxurious Mashed Potatoes
Adapted from Everyday Food
Printable Recipe
5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
½ to 1 cup heavy cream, warmed
ground black pepper

In a large pot, cover the potatoes with 2 inches of cold water, and add 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.  Bring the potatoes to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer potatoes until they are tender.  Drain the potatoes  thoroughly and pass through a food mill back into the cooking pot.

Over low heat, add the butter and stir into the potatoes until the butter is melted and the potatoes have stiffened up slightly.  Slowly add the cream, stirring constantly until the potatoes have reached the desired consistency.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

If you make the potatoes ahead, reheat at 350°F in a covered baking dish for about 20-30 minutes.  Serves 6 to 8.