Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Well just in time. The weather has changed and the mornings are cold enough now that I don't roll out of bed for a hill climb on my mountain bike as easily as I did in July. Forbes Magazine must have known that my fitness regime might be suffering from a tiny ambition problem so they were good enough to run a piece on fall's most fattening goods. The link is problematic, too, undoubtedly due to the firewalls we run here at Bellemaison, so I'm linking to Slashfood, who notes the laundry list of caloric roads to hell. I actually felt pretty good about it all, because I don't eat any of the foods on the list, except for turkey stuffing, which we refer to here as turkey dressing. Dressing, we call it.

We call it dressing and make it in a big dutch oven on top of the stove, bake it in buttered pan and bring it out as just one more carb alternative when we already have baked rolls and bread, mashed potatoes, fixed yams and provided about a dozen snacks for the TV for the pre-dinner line up on Thanksgiving Day. The Bellemaison Turkey Dressing is made with butter, celery, onion, sage, dried bread, milk, salt and pepper. No apples. No damn sausage. No giblets, no gizzards, no neck meats! Nothing that can't be clearly identified as one of the aforementioned. We're purists here and stick to the basic fundamentals of Thanksgiving: good food, fresh food, lots of food, salt, fat and sugar. Give thanks for 'em.

The only other thing that gives me pause on the list are the mention of those wings. We have been known to order out for wings from Northern Lights, a local microbrewery, as they are exceptional. We go with ranch dressing and really appreciate that they hand cut the carrots and celery to order, which are exceptionally fresh and appealing. But if Forbes magazine says wings are not part of a bright financial future, well then, they're ghandi.


JBelle
Bellemaison
The 'Kan EWA

23 comments:

JBelle said...

oh my goodness! Your grandmother and my grandmother had the same Thanksgiving handbook! (My mother put the giblets in the dressing, too) The only thing you left out is the rolls, which I would trade you for some homemade cranberry sauce.

Have you ever made the NPR cranberry/onion relish?

Leon's current assignment said...

Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE day, next to the birthday. I cook and cook and cook and love. every. minute. of. it. (leftover Loverboy, sorry)

Curt, assuming we have amazing sexual chemistry, will you marry me?

JBelle said...

YOU COULD GET MARRIED ON THANKSGIVING.

JBelle said...

but...will we fight over who makes the pies? Strictly speaking, it's the bride's day and she calls the shots. but god, I really want some of Curt's apple pie. btw, your pecan pie recipe is Southern, right?

JBelle said...

Sexual balance sheet aside, Sister, let's that bourbon chocolate chip pecan pie recipe. C'mon!

green libertarian said...

Yukon Gold WApotatoes are the best, like buttah. Need to keep those sinuses clear?

Horseradish Mashed Potatoes
Yield: 5 to 6 servings
Ingredients

* 2 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
* 1/3 cup sour cream
* 1/3 cup grated fresh horseradish
* 2 tablespoons butter, cut up
* 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preparing

Place the potato chunks in a 2-quart saucepan with water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain well, leaving potatoes in saucepan.

Combine the sour cream and horseradish in a bowl and mix well. Add the butter to the potatoes, stirring until melted. Add the sour cream mixture. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or beat with an electric mixer to desired consistency. Stir in the salt and parsley and serve hot.

JBelle said...

oh, perfect. I'll make gravy.

Unknown said...

i so loathe this when it happened. i swear on Prometheus and his ilks that i dropped a comment here.

now i can't remember what it was.

well, as much as i enjoy raisins, no drink? really? is there any food at all that have vodka in it?

MarmiteToasty said...

I would love to be married, and married to a bloke that could cook once in a while....... do you know, I have NEVER had a bloke cook me so much as beans on toast lol ... let alone like a proper meal........ all good things come to those that wait, right?

x

JBelle said...

all good things come to the fabulous people who wait; and THAT would be YOU , my sweet. For instance, I am coming to visit you somewhere around Dec 20 to bring you a Christmas gift. Ha! what do you think of that?!

MarmiteToasty said...

I asked for a Vodka and Cranberry last night in The White Hart with me maties....... Clive the owner (only 29 and actually OWNS this pub outright)(actually his name is Bruce BUT for some strange reason I couldnt help keep calling him Clive) said they only had J2O cranberry which is a soft drink not the real thing....... so I had to make do with Gin and Orange all night lol it was very difficult NOT..... I aint never had a vodka and cranberry anyways but remember someone on a blob somewhere mentioning it...

x

MarmiteToasty said...

Oh Cripes, now JBelle will find out Im really a peruvian hill farmer with ginger hair and bad breathe........

ps....... ya know I DONT do pressies, right?

x

JBelle said...

Marmie!!

Vodka and Cranberry is the IDAHO ceremonial sustinence that kicks off the Christmas party season! You gotta have just one or you didn't get to party with us. Only we called them 'Scarlet O'Hara's'. We still drink them at Bellemaison at Christmas but only with really special people.

What are you talking about you don't do pressies? You ARE a pressie! And ifyou aren't a Peruvian hill farmer and don't have bad breath I am really going to be pissed.

JBelle said...

Curt, omigod. That sounds so good right now. I LOVE vodka sauce with penne! You are, like, the perfect man. That damn Vendella.

MarmiteToasty said...

Yeah Dam that bloody Wendy for snatching him from under our noses...... lol

green libertarian said...

When I was married, we did a lot of grilling, which was my job. Sometimes I'd make the side dishes too, in the house.

My ex-gf, whom I lived with for about 2 years, was an honest to god gourmet cook. She had like 250 cookbooks and another couple of shelves of recipes in binders.

She did teach me to cook, with fresh ingredients, etc. I was a slow learner, but got the hang of it after awhile. We usually ate out (or take out) once or twice a week, and split the rest of the cooking. For a couple of months when I was unemployed, I used to cook her breakfasts.

But I tell ya, living alone, I've lost most of those cooking skills... just ain't no fun in it anymore. I admire those of you, like Curt, who prepare outstanding meals for (apparently) themselves.

JBelle said...

Absolutely true that you gotta use it or lose it. I notice that it takes me an hour or so to really get in it between big dinner parties. I just don't cook so much anymore; fix alotta food though....

JBelle said...

oh my! if this is the recipe can you IMAGINE what the dress is going to look like. And better, what the lingerie will look like. That Curt is one damned lucky guy.

MarmiteToasty said...

Can I snog him just the once before ya marry him LOL....... ;)

x

MarmiteToasty said...

MMMMMMMmmmmmm breakfast in bed aye MrGreen ;) ya mean food right? like marmitetoasty lol.....

x

MarmiteToasty said...

Opps LMRSSO..... I mean marmitetoast LOL

x

JBelle said...

what's it goign to be Green? what are you serving Marmie is bed? for breakfast?

green libertarian said...

Actually, I don't believe in eating food in bed. There are are far more interesting activities that go down well in bed.