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Trying to shop and cook for Thanksgiving dinner meant I didn’t have time to write up a blog post on the new recipes I prepared. As some of the recipes were available online, I was able to share the link with you. I hope you consider preparing them for the next round of holiday celebrations after reading my comments.
 
I still have homemade roasted pumpkin purée in my freezer. As the weather was getting colder last week, I found in my files a recipe from the “Charleston Magazine” for Roasted Pumpkin Soup from Chef Kevin Mitchell of the Culinary Institute of Charleston where he’s an instructor and also a Southern foodways scholar.
 
Besides the roasted pumpkin, you’ll need extra-virgin olive oil, Fuji apples, shallots, fresh thyme sprigs, low-sodium chicken broth, nutmeg, allspice and kosher salt. The soup is garnished with cardamom crème fraîche (just those two ingredients) and prosciutto cracklings. ​
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I am so proud of myself! A few weeks ago, a saw a reel on Instagram stories by “Pasta Grannies.” Pasta Grannies is a team headed by Vicky Bennison that captures Italian Nonna’s (grandmas) and occasionally Nonno’s (grandpa’s) as they prepare pasta from scratch). In a recent episode, Nonna Laura was preparing Tortellini Mantovani with Pumpkin. I was intrigued as I had all this pumpkin puree and was in the market for some new recipes. Luckily for me in the video, Laura gave the ingredients and quantity as she prepared the pasta dough and filling. I was able to pause the videos on YouTube to capture every detail.
 
For the pasta dough you’ll need 350 grams of 00 flour, 3 eggs whisked and a few drops of water to bring the dough together. The dough is kneaded for 5 minutes then rests for an hour. I used my KitchenAide Mixer to just bring the dough together, then kneaded by hand until the dough was supple and smooth. I used my manual pasta machine to roll the dough into sheets. ​
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Recently, I wrote about our visit to Charleston while it was fresh in my memory. However, that meant some of the dishes I prepared before and after our trip got pushed aside. My husband loves stew and I found a recipe on NYTCooking app for Slower Cooker Beef Stew by Sarah DiGregorio. Two soups made the rotation in our house starting with Creamy Pumpkin Soup from the website “The Kitchn” and Celery-Leek Soup with Potato and Parsley from Alexa Weibel from NYTCooking app. In our weekly CSA email from Dreyer Farm, they include not only storage guides for the produce we receive each week, but recipes too. One such recipe was for Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Bites that makes a great snack whether while watching football or as an appetizer for the Thanksgiving holiday. Our CSA box this fall provided us with a nice variety of apples. Not knowing what type of apples they were, I decided to cook with them in several recipes. The first was Skillet Pork Chops with Apples and Onions, next was  Pan Seared Spicy Pork Chops with Apples, and lastly, Braised Red Cabbage with Apples.
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Planters Inn, Charleston, SC
Peninsula Grill dining room
Peninsula Grill dining room
Peninsula Grill bar area
bar area
Grand King room
Continental Breakfast
Omelette filled with with goat cheese and spinach with a side of creamy grits
dining room at Husk
open kitche/pass
Old Fashioned with Woodford Reserve Bourbon and Elijah Craig Maple & Applewood Finished - 2025 Ryder Cup Edition, Bardston, NY 94.0 proof on the rocks
Pimento Cheese (topped with a bit of chili crisp), with thinly slice Broadbent Country Ham and buttermilk biscuits to spread the cheese on along with pickles
the Wood Fried NC Oysters, Collard Green Rockefeller
Seared Diver Scallops, Brown Butter, Potato & Bacon Cream, Sourdough
Golden Tilefish, Cabbage, Pine Bark Broth, Turnip
muscadine grape sorbet, sweet potato pie and chocolate peanut butter ice creams
Purveyors that Husk sources their ingredients from
Husk at night
Caesar Salad
Blue Crab Bisque
Tuna special that was topped with Parmesan cheese on a bed of mashed potatoes, with mushrooms, tomato and spinach
Shrimp & Grits sausage, tasso ham gravy, creamy white grits
Boone Hall Plantation
drive up to plantation home
Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant
Full Southern Breakfast with scrambled eggs, toast, Anson Mills grits (Jimmy Red), Bradford collards and bacon
Burrata with grilled eggplant, roasted muscadines, country ham, sage honey drizzle and extra virgin olive oil
Back to front: Short Rows made with Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Highwire amaro and Aperol. I tried Spittin’ Image made with Woodford Reserve bourbon, blueberry bbq shrub and lemon
Peculiar Pig Pork Chop Schnitzel that came with crispy pan-fried roasted onion spätzle, mustard greens and a pickled peanut salad
Joyce Farms Pan Roasted Chicken Breast with grape roasted Brussels sprouts, leeks, sweet pepper drops with port chicken jus
Historic Charleston
My husband is schedule for a knee replacement in early December, but before his surgery we took a long weekend in our favorite southern city, Charleston. This was our third trip here, the last time was seven years ago after my first hip surgery.
 
In our previous two trips we stayed at the Francis Marion Hotel, but this time, I looked for a new retreat. After searching, comparing accommodations and prices, we settled on the Planters Inn, a Relais & Chateaux property. Originally founded in 1803, the inn started out modestly offering lodging and board for “country gentlemen” and their families. In 1806, the inn was acquired by a woman who expanded and upgraded the style of the inn. By 1989 Hurricane Hugo slammed into Charleston and caused significant damage to the community. The heirs to the hotel secured an easement from the Historic Charleston Foundation to preserve the property. Following this, the hotel underwent a restoration and renovation. By the mid 1990’s the transformation was completed and was invited to become part of the Relais & Chateau portfolio of distinguished historic hotels. Planters Inn is located on North Market Street at the corner of Meeting Street. Across from the hotel is the Charleston City Market and one block east of King Street, the shopping district. ​
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The weather finally has the feel of autumn, cold nights and chilly mornings. Now that everyone is into their fall routine, this is a great time for me to have some former colleagues over for brunch.
 
I had eight guests, including myself, so I planned on preparing brunch with the hopes of having everything done ahead of their arrival. With everyone trying to eat healthy, I tried to balance the rich breakfast items with some alternatives. My menu consisted of Grand Fruit Salad, Individual Zucchini Frittatas with Pecorino and Chives, Orange-Vanilla French Toast Casserole with Bourbon-Maple Syrup, Crustless Broccoli Cheese Quiche, Cranberry-Orange Scones, English Muffin Toasting Bread, Bacon and Maple-Brown Sugar Breakfast Sausage. With careful planning, everything was done prior to my guests’ arrival and was kept warm in the oven and my gas grill that I utilized as a warming oven.
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My husband was away for a few days last week attending homecoming at his college. Prior to his departure, I made a few meals which resulted in leftovers for my dinner in his absence. In one of the last CSA boxes, my daughter and I split a head of Napa cabbage that I turned into Unstuffed Cabbage. For another meal, I was in the mood for Tarragon Turkey Hash Meatloaf. This meat loaf contains ground turkey and a variety of vegetables such as potatoes, green peas, an onion, red pepper and seasonings. The only thing I needed to add to make this an easy meal was a green salad. These recipes were easy to prepare and made for a tasty dinner and even cold meat loaf sandwiches, which my husband loves.
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​Have you ever purchased ingredients for a recipe then find you have a small amount leftover? Such was the case with buttermilk and a small container of whole milk ricotta I purchased. My daughter, who loves Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, turned down my offer to make some for her. Undeterred, I decided to treat myself to a special breakfast. Although I previously made a Williams-Sonoma recipe, I found one by Genevieve Ko on The New York Times/NYT Cooking website that didn’t require whipping egg whites. For Ms. Ko’s recipe you’ll need all-purpose flour, baking powder, fine salt, granulated sugar, a lemon, vanilla extract, eggs, whole milk ricotta, buttermilk and unsalted butter.
 
To make the pancakes, the flour, baking powder and salt are whisked together in a small bowl. In a large bowl, the sugar and the zest of one lemon are added. To infuse the lemon flavor into the pancakes, you’ll use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar. Next, the vanilla is whisked in, followed by the eggs that you’ll whisk until foamy on top. To that you’ll add the ricotta, butter and melted butter and whisk until blended. Finally, the dry ingredients are incorporated and mixed until the flour is fully moistened. Using a 1/4-cup, scoop batter and place on a well-butter griddle. Cook until both sides are golden brown. 
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I recently saw an acquaintance and she asked if I was still doing my blog as she hadn’t seen any recent posts on Instagram. I explained that I wasn’t posting until I had the recipe accessible on my webpage. I’m not sure if that’s the way to go, therefore, please weigh in this. Do you prefer to see my posts on Instagram with or without a link to the recipe?
 
I really must get this post done as two of the recipes use cherry tomatoes. Summer tomatoes are slowly going away, however, this recent spate of warm days is probably keeping the tomato plants going. The first recipe involving tomatoes was Dijon Chicken with Tomatoes and Scallions by Yasmin Fahr and the second Tomato Basil Chicken Breasts by Christian Reynoso both recipes were on The New York Times/NYT Cooking website.
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I like to keep a tin of cookies on my counter for my husband and I to nibble on. Instead of baking off an entire batch, I’ll bake nine cookies at a time to slow down our sweet snacking. In one of our recent Dreyer Farms CSA boxes, we received a half gallon of Melick’s Town Farm Apple Cider just as I received a catalogue from King Arthur Flour containing a recipe for Apple Cider Snickerdoodle Cookies. I had everything on hand except boiled cider. On their website they gave a recipe on how to make it. A gallon of cider takes six hours to boil down to approximately two cups. As the recipe called for just two tablespoons of boiled cider, I placed a half gallon of cider in a heavy bottom saucepan, brought it to a boil then simmered for three hours. At this point the liquid had a syrup like consistency. 
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My husband says that you could probably eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at a different restaurant in Monmouth County for one year and not eat at the same place twice. With that said, I got my husband to recently expand his dining choices in Monmouth County by visiting Skratch Kitchen in Bradley Beach and Mabel at Bell Works in Holmdel.
 
We heard good things about Skratch. Skratch occupies the former space of Citrico’s. My husband and I used to frequent this restaurant when Michael was the owner. The cuisine featured “heavy” Italian dishes sprinkled in with some delicious seafood options.
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​meet donna

A former teacher, shop-a-holic, empty-nester redefining quick, family approved dinners.

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