Last Friday I took myself to the new farmers' market here in Moultrie. It used to be called Bill's, but now it's called Packer Produce. I just wanted to see what it looked like, since it's being managed by some different people. When I got inside the newly enclosed, air conditioned building, I must say I was impressed.
This is not an advertisement for Packer Produce. It's my lead-in to tell you about my browsing for Thanksgiving dinner.
I did buy some bananas, lemons, and sweet potatoes, however. And I know where I'll get my cranberries and carrots and radishes and other veggies for my veggie plate with dip.
Anyhow, what I really want to say is, around this time of year I get the bug to do some serious cooking. Maybe it's the change in the weather. Maybe it's the time of year when all the really good tasting foods, many that we have only once a year, appear on our tables.
I know I'm going to make vegetable soup and my Mama's stew recipe. I plan to start that right after Thanksgiving.
But I started thinking about what I'd like to have for Thanksgiving dinner, that wonderful big meal of Thanksgiving Day, the one that gives you lots of leftovers for the rest of the week and into the weekend.
And what better place to find what I would like to have but right here at the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library in the cookbook section...section 641.5.
The first book I picked up is The Market Place, a Collection of Recipes by the Augusta Jr. Woman's Club. I plan to have their "Cocktail Meatballs" for my appetizer. That's on page 14 of the cookbook. It's the recipe that uses chili sauce and a jar of grape jelly to simmer the meatballs in. Yummy!
I also plan to have a veggie plate with dip. I found some tasty suggestions in the Carol Arnel Greenberg cookbook, The Day Before Cookbook. I can prepare all the veggies the day before: clean, slice, and cut them, and make the dip ahead of time. Even bought a nice new platter to put everything on.
Of course, there are those who would like to put their whole meal in a slow cooker and be done with it. Lora Brody has a book titled Slow Cooker Cooking. She's the author of The Kitchen Survival Guide (just my kind of book). But in her slow cooker book, she has a recipe for Chicken Merlot with Mushrooms that sounds devine! It's with skinless chicken thighs and just a little (1/4 cup of) Merlot (or any dry red wine). Throw all the stuff in the pot and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 3-1/2 to 4 hours. And wal-LA! It's all done! And yummy too! That's on page 122, in case you're interested.
But I have to tell you, the most fabulous cookbook to just look at (the pictures alone will make you want to cook something) is Ina Garten's book, Barefoot Contessa at Home. Lovely big pictures to make you drool! And if you're not a ham or turky person for Thanksgiving, you should look at page 109, the recipe for rib-eye steaks with cornmeal-fried onion rings. Or the chicken with goat cheese and basil (you could get your goat cheese from Sweet Grass Dairy in Thomasville - this is not an advertisement for Sweet Grass either). Or (and this one might be mine) Eli's Asian Salmon. This is so scrumptious looking! Bigger than yummy!
That brings me to the last cookbook I picked up...Julia Child's book, Julia's Casual Dinners. This is for all of you who like turkey for Thanksgiving, and have a big family to enjoy it. Julia has a Buffet for 19 with all the recipes to make your dinner a huge success. How about this: Oysters on the Half Shell, Turkey Orloff (turkey breast scallopini gratineed with mushrooms, onions, rice, and cheese), Fresh Green Beans with Watercress and Tomatoes, Oil and Lemon Dressing, and French Bread. Her dessert is a Jamaican Ice Cream Goblet. And she even suggests the wines!
No, I lied...that wasn't my last cookbook. I also picked up Christmas with Paula Deen. It's a little book chocked full of recipes and stories from Paula's favorite holiday. After all, Christmas is right around the corner. Thanksgiving is just for practice.
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Monday, November 7, 2011
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Well, it's November...
...and when November gets here, I start thinking about Thanksgiving.
Maybe it has something to do with the weather changing, but I doubt it. For some reason, November really makes me think about food, not weather. And food makes me think about Thanksgiving.
This year my small family in this part of the U.S. has decided not to have a traditional Thanksgiving, meaning no turkey, dressing, etc. Instead, they want to grill steaks outside on the big, shiny silver grill. Of course I had to agree. I mean, you can't buck the entire bunch. You just have to "go with the flow." Even if I am "the mother."
Then I thought, I'm going to ask everyone to bring just one dish to the meal, anything they want to bring...maybe fresh veggies to grill from my daughter-in-law, maybe oatmeal cookies from my son, maybe mashed potatoes from my other son. You get the idea. If they'll all do that, then I can bring what I want to bring. And I know exactly what I want to bring. SWEET POTATOES. So, I started my hunt for something really special.
Now, when I go hunting for something, I hunt for it in the library. And I headed for the 641.5 section here in the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library. That's the cookbook section.
I found the Quick and Easy Cookbook, the American Heirloom Pork Cook Book, and the Steaks, Ribs and Chops Cookbook. That wasn't exactly what I had in mind.
I looked through the Better Homes and Gardens cook books (we have several of those), as well as the Slow Cooker Recipes (there are several of those also). I even looked in the Blue Ribbon Recipes, Paula Deen Celebrates!, and Food for Friends cook books.
And I made a note of the cook books titled Christmas in the Heartland, The Creative Christmas Kitchen, and Christmas with Southern Living. After all, you know that when Thanksgiving comes and goes, Christmas is right around the corner.
I thought I was at the end of my hunt until I saw The Plantation Cookbook. Now, if you can't find a yummy sweet potato recipe in a plantation cookbook, in the South where plantations are as plentiful as sweet potatoes, then you just might as well give up.
But sure enough, there it was!!! Sweet Potatoes in Oranges!!! Sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar, eggs, light cream, allspice, cinnamon, salt, chopped pecans, sherry (just a little bit), and orange cups (made from real oranges, large oranges cut in half, pulp scooped out, edges fluted...just makes my mouth water thinking about them).
So! I have my recipe. I'm going to have my sweet potatoes. Now all I have to do is convince everyone to bring just one dish they'd like to have to our un-traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
Thank you, library, for all these wonderful cookbooks and for my special 2010 (traditional) sweet potato plantation recipe. I can hardly wait!
Maybe it has something to do with the weather changing, but I doubt it. For some reason, November really makes me think about food, not weather. And food makes me think about Thanksgiving.
This year my small family in this part of the U.S. has decided not to have a traditional Thanksgiving, meaning no turkey, dressing, etc. Instead, they want to grill steaks outside on the big, shiny silver grill. Of course I had to agree. I mean, you can't buck the entire bunch. You just have to "go with the flow." Even if I am "the mother."
Then I thought, I'm going to ask everyone to bring just one dish to the meal, anything they want to bring...maybe fresh veggies to grill from my daughter-in-law, maybe oatmeal cookies from my son, maybe mashed potatoes from my other son. You get the idea. If they'll all do that, then I can bring what I want to bring. And I know exactly what I want to bring. SWEET POTATOES. So, I started my hunt for something really special.
Now, when I go hunting for something, I hunt for it in the library. And I headed for the 641.5 section here in the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library. That's the cookbook section.
I found the Quick and Easy Cookbook, the American Heirloom Pork Cook Book, and the Steaks, Ribs and Chops Cookbook. That wasn't exactly what I had in mind.
I looked through the Better Homes and Gardens cook books (we have several of those), as well as the Slow Cooker Recipes (there are several of those also). I even looked in the Blue Ribbon Recipes, Paula Deen Celebrates!, and Food for Friends cook books.
And I made a note of the cook books titled Christmas in the Heartland, The Creative Christmas Kitchen, and Christmas with Southern Living. After all, you know that when Thanksgiving comes and goes, Christmas is right around the corner.
I thought I was at the end of my hunt until I saw The Plantation Cookbook. Now, if you can't find a yummy sweet potato recipe in a plantation cookbook, in the South where plantations are as plentiful as sweet potatoes, then you just might as well give up.
But sure enough, there it was!!! Sweet Potatoes in Oranges!!! Sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar, eggs, light cream, allspice, cinnamon, salt, chopped pecans, sherry (just a little bit), and orange cups (made from real oranges, large oranges cut in half, pulp scooped out, edges fluted...just makes my mouth water thinking about them).
So! I have my recipe. I'm going to have my sweet potatoes. Now all I have to do is convince everyone to bring just one dish they'd like to have to our un-traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
Thank you, library, for all these wonderful cookbooks and for my special 2010 (traditional) sweet potato plantation recipe. I can hardly wait!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
It's Not Even Thanksgiving And We're Thinking Christmas
Today I noticed our Christmas Wish List on the processing area's work table. It's that time again, and we've not even had Thanksgiving yet.
However, you have to take into consideration the game plan. Our Christmas Wish List is there for us to fill out because the big Calico Arts and Crafts Show will be in town this weekend. And everyone here at work usually fills in our Christmas Wish List so the person who draws our name will know what we want. That way they can get it at the Calico Show, if they so desire.
That means we have to think about Christmas before Thanksgiving gets here. And that's really hard for me to do.
We're also putting up Christmas decorations where I live. Some neighbors have Christmas wreaths on their doors. Some have lighted and moving deer in their yards, as well as decorated Christmas
trees.
But again, you have to take into consideration the game plan. On Thanksgiving Day evening, we will have the lighting of the Christmas tree on the Courthouse Square and the lights that are strung across the streets. Everything will be Christmassy-shiny on the evening of November 26th. So, our apartment complex decided to "light up" at the same time.
Well, I thought about what I wanted to put on the Christmas Wish List. My first request is always another book (not that I need any more). There are just so many on my list to read, and even though I can check out most of them from the library, there is an occasional one I'd like to have in my private library.
But I didn't ask for a book. Instead I thought long and hard about all those great Christmas movies that will be coming out, and I asked for a discount ticket booklet to the movies.
I don't intend to put up my Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving. I'll go to the Calico Show and look around, and maybe pick up something for someone for Christmas. But I really like the logical order to things.
I like Thanksgiving first, then decorating for Christmas.
But I'll be right there in the middle of the crowd on Thanksgiving Day evening when they light up the Courthouse Square. And I'll probably visit Books 'n' More, too. I might find that book I'm looking for along with a hot chocolate to drink.
I really don't want to be called a Scrooge.
However, you have to take into consideration the game plan. Our Christmas Wish List is there for us to fill out because the big Calico Arts and Crafts Show will be in town this weekend. And everyone here at work usually fills in our Christmas Wish List so the person who draws our name will know what we want. That way they can get it at the Calico Show, if they so desire.
That means we have to think about Christmas before Thanksgiving gets here. And that's really hard for me to do.
We're also putting up Christmas decorations where I live. Some neighbors have Christmas wreaths on their doors. Some have lighted and moving deer in their yards, as well as decorated Christmas
trees.
But again, you have to take into consideration the game plan. On Thanksgiving Day evening, we will have the lighting of the Christmas tree on the Courthouse Square and the lights that are strung across the streets. Everything will be Christmassy-shiny on the evening of November 26th. So, our apartment complex decided to "light up" at the same time.
Well, I thought about what I wanted to put on the Christmas Wish List. My first request is always another book (not that I need any more). There are just so many on my list to read, and even though I can check out most of them from the library, there is an occasional one I'd like to have in my private library.
But I didn't ask for a book. Instead I thought long and hard about all those great Christmas movies that will be coming out, and I asked for a discount ticket booklet to the movies.
I don't intend to put up my Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving. I'll go to the Calico Show and look around, and maybe pick up something for someone for Christmas. But I really like the logical order to things.
I like Thanksgiving first, then decorating for Christmas.
But I'll be right there in the middle of the crowd on Thanksgiving Day evening when they light up the Courthouse Square. And I'll probably visit Books 'n' More, too. I might find that book I'm looking for along with a hot chocolate to drink.
I really don't want to be called a Scrooge.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)