Old Lessons and New from Sharing the Preparing of Thanksgiving Dinner
Arppie made an easy dip (cocktail sauce) stirring together a cup of all natural ketchup and a tablespoon or less (according to your taste) of all natural prepared Gold's Horse Radish (found in the refrigerated section of the supermarket, the only one with no preservatives), a dip we've been making ever since we learned about it, a quick, easy, and healthy appetizer consisting raw vegetables (carrots, celery, scallions, cauliflower, broccoli, sweet baby peppers, miniature tomatoes) arranged on a large platter surrounding the dip.
Marash Girl tried to prepare kale -- the new favorite vegetable in our family, by sautéing fresh onions in olive oil and adding fresh, washed, chopped kale . . . much to her dismay, no matter how long she sautéed the kale, it remained unchewable, unchewable, that is, until she added salt to the mix and voilá! As if by magic, the kale was suddenly tender. Later, daughter Lorig advised using tamari (the all natural variety, of course) to tenderize the kale . . . Next time!
Another trick Marash Girl learned on Thanksgiving was how to cook any vegetable -- in this case, cubed sweet potatoes. Nisha washed and chopped the sweet potatoes, (leaving the skin on ), sprinkled them with a bit of olive oil and coarse salt and pepper, and baked them at 450 degrees for five or ten minutes. Absolutely delicious.
Marash Girl followed suit with fresh whole asparagus -- washed and placed on tray and sprinkled them with a bit of olive oil and coarse salt and pepper, and baked them at 450 degrees for five or ten minutes. A favorite, hands down!
Please share any kitchen tricks you may have tried this Thanksgiving in the comments below . . .
Well, I did a kitchen "trick" that did NOT turn out so well, so I am posting it as a warning, not as a recommendation! The idea was to conserve oven space, and to make up an extra large amount, by cooking the stuffing/dressing in a large crockpot. Yes, there was a recipe on line. Yes, all the " real" ingredients were used. But...No, it does not taste the same as baked. Baked is better hands down, whether baked in the bird or just in the oven. Live and learn.
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