Thanksgiving is almost here.  I kind of can’t believe it.  November is one of those months that just flies by, and this is part of it.  We just had veteran’s day off, and next week I have a two day work week.  Which is good, as we are hosting, and I need to get ready!

I figured I would share a few tips for a less stress (there is always a bit of stress when hosting any sort of event, don’t kid yourself into thinking otherwise) Thanksgiving.  We happen to be hosting 10 people, including my parents, younger brother, husband’s parents, and his sister, her husband, and their 2 year old.  We had a very successful Thanksgiving two years ago with the same crowd (although the 2 year old was about a month old at the time), and in a smaller place.  We have a great entertaining space, so we should be good for that, as well as a fabulous new table.

Table

If you’re like me, you stress a bit about what the table should look like.  I scoured Home Goods and found some really great candlesticks to go in the middle (pictures coming soon), and my parents have a plethora of bittersweet that I will have them bring me.  Add some candles, plain white plates, red napkins, and bam, instant holiday cheer.  Another option is to use cranberries as decorative items.  They’re cheap, and totally holiday appropriate!  Just throw them in a small jar or vase, with or without tea lights.  Or scatter them on a platter and plant candles in between (thanks food network for that one).

Food

To make the holidays a little bit easier on you and your wallet, have your guests bring food.  This doesn’t work so well if they are coming from super far away, but my guests are coming from an hour to an hour and a half away.  Nothing a good cooler and a bit of time in the oven can’t fix.  I always make the turkey (more on that later), and the gravy and mashed potatoes (that husband of mine actually makes these).  I usually make a dessert as well.

My mom will bring a leftovers turkey, which is a brilliant idea.  She has already cooked and carved a turkey for me, all she does is bring the meat so that everyone can go home with delicious leftovers, and I don’t have to stress about cooking a 30 pound bird.  She also gets the carcass so she too can make soup.

The rest of the food is usually divided up by who likes to make what, or who has a great recipe that everyone requests (like my mom’s wild rice and goat cheese stuffing).

Another pro tip is to have everyone bring their own Tupperware for leftovers.  That way, you’re not trying to hunt it all back down after the day is over.  Kitchen bags work well too in a pinch.

Now for the turkey.  I’ve been using the same recipe for a few years now, this one.  I will warn you, Giada’s cooking time is off, and I ended up with a slightly undercooked bird.  But I had plenty of time to pop it back in the oven.  Another thing you will definitely want is an oven thermometer, as well as an instant read thermometer for the bird.  I got a new instant read for Christmas last year, and it’s the best thing ever.

I also brine the turkey the night before, usually in just water and kosher salt.  I don’t know the recipe off the top of my head, but my husband claims it is written on the side of my “turkey bucket” as I call it.  I have never not brined one, so I couldn’t tell you if it really makes a huge difference, but I happen to like the way it turns out, so I don’t mess with a good thing.

Dinner

We usually go pretty casual for dinner itself.  Due to space restrictions we do buffet style, and will continue to do so.  It makes your table look less crowded, and it’s just easier for you.  Unless you happen to have a certain cat that likes to jump up on the counter when there is company around.  This year it will be a bit tricky, and we might have to lock him in the bathroom during dinner, as we have no other rooms with doors.

I generally don’t do seating arrangements, although this year I am toying with the idea of place cards, just because they add a little bit of formality and prettiness to the table.  But I also don’t like to tell people where to sit.  I also get weirded out when I get to sit at the head of the table at my house, especially when parents are present.  That one I’m just going to have to get over.

Extras

As far as everything else goes, I kind of go with the flow.  We generally clean up after dinner, lounge around, digesting, and then break out dessert and coffee.  I always like to have games on hand, in case anyone wants to play.  People always watch the football game, as my dad is a Dallas fan, and they ALWAYS play on Thanksgiving.  Luckily for him we have DVR, so he won’t miss a thing.  That also means they have to stay until the game is finished.

For our first Thanksgiving two years ago with both of our families, we weren’t really sure what was going to happen.  Everyone got along, and according to my husband, for who Thanksgiving wasn’t a big deal (it happens to be my favorite holiday, along with Halloween), he and his sister marveled at how great it really can be.  Sure it is about the food, but it’s also about family and friends and just being together.  I am so excited to host in our new home, and I hope to try and assign a photographer for the day.  Maybe my dad.  Or my brother-in-law.

Last week the husband and I spent some much-needed time off in one of our favorite cities, Charleston, SC.  I know you have heard it time and again, that work has been crazy, life has been crazy (um, Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK, and we are HOSTING).  And I appreciate you all being oh so patient with me.  I’m hoping to share some Thanksgiving hosting tips later this week, and of course once that’s over it means we have to plan for our holiday party.

It might sound like I’m complaining, but really, I live for this stuff.  Stressing over the table arrangement?  Yep, that’s me.  I figure with a giant statement table, I need my table to look good.  Really, really good.

Anyway, Charleston.  We ate our way around that city.  Which is what you really need to do when there, because who can resist some southern cooking?  Besides, we NEVER eat out at home any more (we always try to save money by eating at home), so this was a real treat.  We tried a few new places, and went to some old standbys.

So let’s see, we had lunch at Cru Cafe, which came highly recommended by my parents.  It was good, and nice to be able to sit outside on the porch on a rainy November day.  We could not usually do that here.  We also had dinner at Poe\’s Tavern, which is an old standby.  Being right around the corner from our friend’s beach house, it’s a great place to get a burger and a beer.  Or two, or three.

We had lunch at the Boulevard Diner, which I discovered on Yelp, and it didn’t disappoint.  It was super cheap, and delicious.  Another dinner at Jestine\’s Kitchen, which is also good old southern cooking at its best.  Yes, it’s a tourist place, but that doesn’t stop me.  I’m a tourist, and Charleston has a tourist heavy economy, so what’s to stop me from wanting a plate of fried chicken the size of my head?  I also finally tried sweet tea there (don’t ask why I haven’t had it yet, I’ve only been going to Charleston for 10 years now), and I now know what I had been missing.

We were able to grab lunch outside at the Southend Brewery on our last day, which happened to be absolutely beautiful.  And after that we finally got cupcakes from Cupcake and the red velvet didn’t fail to deliver.  The frosting was pretty amazing.

I’m sad to be back to the grind, and back in the cold north, but at least I have Thanksgiving to look forward to.

I hope you all had a good Halloween!  As usual my husband and I went to my sister in law’s to help hand out candy and take our nephew trick or treating.  We also went to a BU (Boston University) hockey game (unfortunately they lost) and I went in costume as a BU girl circa 2003.  You’ll have to check my other blog for pictures, I haven’t uploaded them yet.

Now onto food.  I appreciate you all being patient with me and the fact that I haven’t given you a food recipe in a while.  Work is insanity, life is a bit insane, and luckily the hubs  and I are headed to Charleston in less than two weeks for a nice long weekend getaway.

I recently was in the mood for soup, and looking for some new soups to add to my small but growing collection.  It was a Friday night, and I wanted something fairly easy and quick(ish).  I scoured my reader favorites, as well as just started googling things.

I came across a few loaded potato soups, and the one I went with was from Cooking During Stolen Moments.  It was easy, delicious, and not nearly as bad for you as it could have been.  Yes, there was some butter, but no cream, just low-fat milk and yes, some bacon.

My husband and I loved it, and the leftovers are delightful, like digging into the best mashed potatoes ever.  He wanted to just make this for Thanksgiving, but I think we need some regular mashed potatoes, and he does make amazing ones at that.

Loaded Potato Soup

1 lb. bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
5 large Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 c. chicken stock
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
1 1/2 c. milk
3 green onions, sliced
3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 t. black pepper
Sour cream for garnish, optional

In a large stock pot, cook bacon until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain and set aside. Drain all but 2 T. of bacon grease from the pot. Cook the onions in the remaining bacon grease for about 5 minutes, until tender.

Add potatoes and chicken stock to pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer about 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender. With a slotted spoon, remove a few scoops of potatoes. Place in a bowl and mash with a fork. Set aside.

In a small sauce pan, melt butter. Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk, bring to a boil and simmer until thickened. Slowly stir in to stock pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer. Stir mashed potatoes back into pot.

Add 1/2 c. shredded cheese, three-fourths of the bacon and half the sliced green onions to pot. Add pepper. Stir to combine. Cook an additional 5 minutes.

To serve, ladle soup into individual bowls and top with some shredded cheese, bacon, green onions and optional sour cream.

You have no idea how glad I am to hear that I’m not alone in my frustration with the grocery store.  Even more exciting to me is knowing that people actually read my blog!  Everyone who commented, you made my day.  Sometimes it really doesn’t take much.

I know I haven’t posted a recipe on here for a bit, and I promise one is coming.  But I have to give yet another shout out to my table.  Because now, it has chairs.  Glorious, glorious chairs.  Not only does it have chairs, but I happen to love the way they look, that whole modern meets rustic.  In fact, I call it rustic modern with a hint of glam.  Or maybe more than a hint, because that chandelier is more than just a hint.

Here is the table, in all of it’s glory.  I love it.  I love it more and more every day, if that is even possible.  We had our first dinner party with it last night, and we more than comfortably seated 7.  So we should be all set for Thanksgiving, with 10 people total.

We did only get 8 chairs, as 10 would have been a little much.  Some people will get stuck with the comfy diner style chairs, but I think they’ll live.

I have to say, it was weird sitting at the head of the table, across from the husband.  I’ve never really had a table like that where you could do that.  My brother-in-law thinks we should always dine like that, just the two of us, with a giant candelabra in the middle.  If only we had such a candelabra, then maybe we would, once.  Just because.

I apologize in advance, this is not a post about a recipe (although I have some good ones in the pipeline), but rather a rant about my local grocery stores.  I won’t be offended if you don’t read it, I just feel the need to voice my opinion on this one.

I happen to live in a somewhat major metropolitan area.  Boston is no small town.  We have our fair share of professional sports teams, some amazing college teams, our own foods that we are “famous” for, infamous accents (although you will be hard pressed to find someone who actually speaks like that, except for when my husband gets near someone who does, then he’s all dropping his r’s and such), etc.

I also happened to grow up in a pretty rural area, where our grocery stores were limited and there was no offering of Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Stop & Shop, Market Basket, Shaw’s and the like.  We had one at the time, and now there are at least two options there.

Here in Boston, I have had the trouble of finding all the ingredients I need at one location.  Cooking anything that requires more than just cutting open a bag and sliding the contents into a pan requires a trip to at least two stores.  Aren’t we supposed to be able to find all ingredients necessary at one giant store?  Haven’t they replaced the mom and pop grocery stores, the butcher, the baker, the grocer?  If I could I would definitely go from purveyor to purveyor, picking up my food that each one specialized in.  But those days are long gone, and are now replaced with rows and rows of frozen goods, prepackaged crap (don’t get me wrong, I eat that stuff from time to time when I really don’t feel like cooking).  It’s no wonder Americans don’t cook anymore.  Or they count ready made throw in the skillet or ovens as real meals.

Yesterday I was trying to make chicken soup from scratch.  It was a cold and rainy (later snowy) day in New England, and all I wanted was some homemade soup.  I had all my ingredients from a previous night’s outing, except for the fresh herbs I needed in order to make both the stock and soup itself.  My husband tried to convince me to just use dried herbs, but if you’re like me, you will do no such thing.  There is a time and a place for dried, but not in my soup stock.

We set out and after many failed attempts at many grocery stores, we struck out.  Apparently people do not cook enough with fresh herbs for large, nationally known grocery stores to keep them in stock.  And more importantly, keep them fresh.  I saw so many packages of wilting, blackened herbs that I was discouraged.

We returned home, defeated, and started to do some research online.  We happen to live in a smaller community right outside the city, about 5 miles from downtown, with a large Latin population.  There are many small stores catering to that population, carrying ingredients that they would find in their home country.

We also happened to discover that the majority of fresh herbs that come into NEW ENGLAND, not just Boston, come through our city.  Why is it that they come in and are redistributed, but the consumer can not find any in stores?  To me, being someone who is a home cook, fresh herbs are a cornerstone to any meal.  Sure, salt and pepper are the main spices, but after that, you need SOMEthing to flavor the meal.  I do use a lot of dried herbs in my cooking, but like I said, there is a time and a place for those, just like there is a time and a place for fresh herbs.  I just wish there were some sort of shop that specialized in fresh produce, including herbs.  Even that chain that sells overpriced fancy organics had a lackluster herb selection.  If THEY don’t have what I need, where will I find it?

Turns out I found my herbs at the grocery store behind the strip club next to the movie theatre.  We had set out again, after doing our research, composing countless letters to the editor(s) in my head, and taking a different geographic route in search of fresh herbs.  I had to piece together some “poultry mix” boxes and a “seafood mix” box, but in the end I got what I needed.  It just took 4 separate grocery stores to find (not including the original store where I bought all my original soup ingredients).

In the end, I still don’t have an answer to why there are no fresh herbs to be found.  My husband was proposing we start a store that specializes in JUST fresh produce and herbs, but I’m pretty sure it’s a somewhat limited market, and no one would drive to where we live to buy them.  But who knows, I could be wrong.

Crockpot, slow cooker, call it what you want, but it makes life easy when you’re busy and want a delicious meal.  Sure, it’s not fast, but basically throw some ingredients in the pot, turn it on for anywhere between 2-10 hours, and bam, you have a meal.

Of course you have to make sure and get up early enough to get it started, otherwise you’ll be eating dinner at 11pm.  Another key to slow cooking is to make sure there is enough liquid in the pot, covering as much as your meat or veggies as possible.

I have made short ribs that were falling off the bone at the bottom of the pot, and slightly dry at the top.  The reason?  Not enough liquid covering the meat.  So now I always make a point to use enough.

Pot roast is one of those American dishes that make me think of Sunday dinners.  My mother didn’t really make it, but I know her mother did.  I have tried to make it the traditional way, and I failed.  It was dry and kind of bland.  This recipe I found in a slow cooker cookbook, and it’s almost a different take on my beef stew, as it has a lot of similar flavors.

It’s definitely a keeper, and I plan to keep making it in the future.

Slow cooker pot roast

One 4 to 5 pound chuck roast, trimmed of fat
3 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 cups baby carrots
8 to 12 medium sized red or white new potatoes, quartered
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tb. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tb. minced fresh rosemary
1/2 cup boiling water

Put  the roast into the slow cooker.  Add the onions, carrots, and potatoes.

In a small bowl, combine ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire,  salt, pepper, rosemary, and boiling water.  Pour over the meat and vegetables.  Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

To serve, transfer meat to a cutting board to carve.  Serve slices of meat and vegetables with some of the fragrant juices poured over them.

As you may already know, I like to cook.  Quite a bit, in fact.  I also like to entertain.  Remember that housewarming party I had a few weeks back?  Well, I failed to take any pictures of anything.  But I promise, I do like to entertain, I’m not just making it up.

We like to host Thanksgiving – no travel, we get to cook, I get to pretend like I’m a low budget Martha Stewart for a day or something (maybe Sandra Lee?  I’m already thinking about my table scape.  Do they sell chargers at Christmas Tree Shops?), all that fun stuff.  We had 9 people and a baby 2 years ago (and of course, now that baby needs an actual chair), in our small dining room at our former apartment, borrowed table and all.  And fewer people last year, no borrowed table.

This year, things are going to change.  We are finally going to be able to fit 10 people comfortably around one table, and have 8 chairs to match!

As you can see, we recently received our brand spanking new custom built dining table.  We discovered a lovely man down in RI who makes them, at incredibly reasonable prices, David Ellison of the Lorimer Workshop.  He was very open throughout the process, having us pick the style, size, stain, level of finishedness (not a word), etc.  And then he delivered it himself on Tuesday!

I was unfortunately working late, but it was a wonderful sight to come home to.  I’m in love, and I never have been in love with a piece of furniture as much as this one.  I have of course been in love with various kitchen pieces (my KitchenAid, my LeCreuset dutch oven, etc.), but this is the first piece of furniture I have really connected with.

I can not wait to get my chairs, and share with you my overall vision, come to life!  Oh, and maybe some photos of dinner parties.  But like I said before, we all know I kind of fail at taking photos during events at home.

Now that you have my fabulous pesto recipe, you can make my pesto pasta!  The recipe comes from the Food Network Favorites cookbook.  I haven’t made too many other recipes from the book, but this one caught my eye immediately.

Not only is it fabulous pesto, which as we all know I only recently started eating, but it also has feta and tomatoes, and the occasional peas, when I’m feeling sassy.  The combination of pesto and feta is an amazing one, that super salty cheese combined with the garlicky basily pesto.  So good.

It’s perfect for summer bbqs, good for lunches, and you can enjoy it year round, as you can (sometimes) buy basil all the time, even if it is shipped in from god knows where.

Pesto Pasta

1 pound bow tie pasta
3/4 cup pesto
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Peas, if you’re feeling sassy (and I use frozen and just boil them)

Cook your pasta according to the instructions on the box.  Drain, and run it under cold water so it’s not boiling hot.  No one likes hot pasta salad.

In a large serving bowl combine pasta, pesto, cheese, and peas.  If you need to, season with salt and pepper, and if it’s kind of dry, top off with a little olive oil.  Enjoy!

I recently joined twitter, check me out!  This way you can know what I’m eating it…way before it ever makes its way onto my blog…

I can’t believe I haven’t shared this recipe with you yet.  What’s wrong with me?  Pesto is one of those things, like marinara sauce, that everyone should know how to whip up.  Do you want to know a secret?  I didn’t eat pesto for years.  YEARS.  I was weirded out by it as a child.  It was green!  And unknown!

When my mom would make pesto pasta during the summer, she would have to make regular pasta for my brother and I, as neither of us would touch the pesto.  Well mom, I’m sorry, I have finally seen the light, and I now know what I was missing.

This recipe is probably like countless others, but it happens to be the one I use, and so that means I’m going to share it with you.  I use it with my Pesto Pasta, which I will share with you very soon.  It’s one of those perfect summer dishes, that is amazing for a cookout, or just by itself.

Unfortunately I haven’t branched out too far in my usages of pesto, unless you count pizza.  I always have some left over (and it does freeze well), so I tend to put it on my pizza.  And yes, I do make pizza in the summer.  That’s the joy of having central air.  You can cook whatever you want, whenever you want.

This recipe comes from Dave Lieberman and is featured in the “Food Network Favorites” cookbook.  I have seen a variation that uses broccoli in it, which is genius if you ask me, as I can’t stand broccoli, but I know it’s oh so good for you.

Pesto

5 big handfuls of basil leaves (about 2 healthy bunches) I have to buy mine, as I kill every basil plant I get near
1/2 cup pine nuts or 3/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
Juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
Kosher salt
About 20 grinds freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil

Yields about 1 1/2 cups

Place all ingredients with 1/2 cup of oil in a food processor or a blender (if you have neither, I don’t really know what to tell you.  I know they made pesto before those things existed, but I have no idea how) and blend.  With the motor running, gradually drizzle in remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil until pesto is thick and smooth.