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Every Wednesday, Whole Foods updates their weekly specials. If you have a smartphone, you can download their app and find out what their coupon and sale specials are. Ending today unfortunately, is their sale on USA wild caught Marine Stewardship Council Certified Sea Scallops for $18.99/lb. I know that is expensive, considering Wegmans had local scallops for $14.99/lb. back in September/October. Since my husband and I would be having dinner together, we decided to splurge. I  had a craving for pasta, so I dug up a recipe I haven't done in awhile.
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This was the first holiday that my husband and I celebrated by ourselves. Our children spent the day with their in-laws and soon-to-be in-laws and my brother and his wife stopped by on their way home. We maintained the family tradition of Great Grandma Freid's turkey dressing, my late mother-in-law's turkey candle as a centerpiece and started a new tradition. Using chair place card holders, they represent a chair where loved ones once sat at our dining table. Overall we had an enjoyable day to ourselves.

Although we were just two, I didn't scrimp on the fuss. Our thanks to Alexian Pâtè for the delicious vegetable pâtè. I served the pâtè with toasted bruschetta that purchased at the Shop Rite at the Wall Towne Center. I placed the bruschetta on a cookie sheet, sprayed with EVOO and toasted them in a 400° oven for approximatley 10  minutes. Hors' d'oeuvresI included Swiss cheese and crab spread from Mr. Shrimp.

Dinner started with butternut squash and apple soup, which was delightful yesterday. It needs to be thinned a bit with some additional chicken stock. The turkey and sides were scrumptious. I recommend that you give Amanda Hesser's Brussel sprouts recipe a try. The addition of the balsamic vinegar gave them a splash of brightness.

Our dessert was frozen pumpkin cheese crumble squares. My brother and sister-in-law had coffee and dessert with us and they too enjoyed them frozen. 
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Below is the recipe for Great Grandma Freid's dressing for turkey or chicken. Grandma's recipe called for margarine, but I have updated it to butter. I also use half of the amount of butter called for and substitute chicken stock. You can also add the defatted turkey drippings over the top of the stuffing so that it has the flavor of turkey. Alternately, you can add the drippings to your turkey gravy to enhance the flavor.
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Good morning! I've taken off a day from the gym so that I can finishing prepping my dinner. The turkey breast which I purchased earlier in the month and have defrosted, was rubbed this morning with Williams-Sonoma Quick Brine. Although this product retails for $16.95, I picked it up after the holidays for $2.99. This brine is rubbed on the turkey for at least 24 hours, no need for a water bath.

From www.epicurious.com, I am preparing roast turkey with maple herb butter and gravy. Luckily the herbs in my garden are still looking good. I have plenty of thyme, which this recipe calls for. I have my Delicious Orchards apple cider, maple syrup, marjoram and lemon peel, which are the primary ingredients. For the gravy, I'm making it simple. I'm using Williams-Sonoma's turkey gravy base. This is another item I picked up on sale. 
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I've had a busy day in the kitchen today! I will be working the rest of the week, late afternoon into the evening. I wanted to get as much of my Thanksgiving dinner done ahead as I could. Today I prepared Butternut Squash-Apple Soup, Great Grandma Freid's turkey dressing, and sweet potato casserole with pecans. And just because I had nothing else to do, I made a batch of Tollhouse cookies for my favorite son-in-law.
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Now that the weather is getting colder, a nice heart warming meal is always good to have. Chicken and dumplings is such a meal. It's rather old fashion, but it can all be done in one pot. With Thanksgiving around the corner, it's an easy meal to prepare with everything else going on.

I found this recipe in Gourmet Magazine back in February 1994. It's very flavorful, especially the dumplings. Ingredients that you may not have on hand will include chicken broth, shallots, leeks, celery, apple cider or juice, dill (I use dried), yellow cornmeal and half and half. 
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Another week of late afternoon into the night shift. What to make that hubby can reheat? Unstuffed cabbage roll casserole! 

Penzeys Spices has stores located throughout the country, but unfortunately, none here in New York New Jersey metropolitan area. I have ordered from them online and find their products excellent. Besides spices in their catalog, they have stories of home cooks and their recipes. The unstuffed cabbage  is one of those recipes. It's a one pan meal...what's not to love. A little rye bread on the side and you're done. Stuffed cabbage without all the fuss!

Also, Thanksgiving prep continues. I've decided to make Brussels sprouts with pancetta. It's a recipe from Amanda Hesser, whose recipe appeared in the October 26th section of the NY Times section, "A Classic Thanksgiving." I've blanched the Brussels sprouts and will freeze until next week. You can purchase diced pancetta at Wegmans in their deli department. 

I also wanted to make Brussels sprouts so that I can turn the leftovers into Thanksgiving Leftovers Paninis. It's a recipe I found in the Williams-Sonoma catalog one fall. Unfortunately, they don't make the cranberry fig chutney. I suggest trying mixing cranberry sauce with fig jam or perhaps just cranberry sauce alone. 

Brussels Sprouts With Pancetta
Recipe from Suzanne Goin
Adapted by Amanda Hesser
Featured in: Thanksgiving Dinner, With 12 Chefs On The Side


Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ cups fresh bread crumbs
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds baby brussels sprouts, washed and trimmed (cut larger ones in two)
Salt and pepper
6 ounces pancetta in small dice (1 1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons minced shallots
1 tablespoon minced garlic
½ cup balsamic vinegar
½ cup veal stock or rich chicken broth, more if needed
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

PREPARATION
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix bread crumbs and thyme with 1/4 cup olive oil, and spread on a cookie sheet. Toast, tossing frequently, until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
  2. Heat butter and remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until foamy. Add brussels sprouts, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and sauté, tossing frequently, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add diced pancetta, and sauté, tossing frequently, until sprouts are well browned and softened slightly, and pancetta is crisp, about 10 minutes more. Reduce heat, add shallots and garlic, and sauté until fragrant, 2 minutes.
  3. Increase heat to high, add balsamic vinegar and stock, and cook, tossing frequently, until sprouts are glazed and tender, about 10 minutes; add more stock if needed. Taste, adjusting seasoning if necessary, and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Transfer to a warm serving bowl and scatter bread crumbs on top.
Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
Recipe from Penzeys Spices catalog
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup onion chopped
8 cups cabbage cut into 1 inch wide strips (1/2 of a 3 pound head)
½ cup water
1 – 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
½ tsp. salt
1-1/2 tsp. whole caraway seed
1 tsp. granulated garlic

Directions

​In a large skillet, brown the meat and drain off grease.Add the onion and cook about 3 minutes. Add the cabbage and water cook about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, brown sugar, vinegar, salt, caraway, and garlic. Bring to a boil reduce heat and simmer until cabbage is tender about 30 minutes. Serve with white rice.
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As I didn't have to work this past Saturday, I was able to prepare my Thanksgiving day dessert. In an earlier post I told you that I would be prepare pumpkin cheesecake crumble squares. I followed the recipe, except this time I added a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the crumble mix. Why you make ask, on its own the crumble mix is delicious. I  thought that this would be great as a granola mix. I wanted to accentuate the cinnamon flavor. The addition was great, the cinnamon wasn't too overbearing. Now I just need time to make the granola. 
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Working the last shift at work is a challenge. You barely get your day going and bam, you're making supper at 11:30 in the morning! Yesterday I needed an effortless meal following a workout at the gym. Early in the week I purchased a family pack of pork tenderloins at Wegmans for under $3/lb. The family pack is twin pack with two tenderloins in each. Pork tenderloins are very versatile. I dug into my recipe file for Pork Tenderloins and Apples. The recipe is from an article in the New York Times, "A Way to Tastier Pork: Less Time and More Heat," by Barbara Kafka, published on October 29, 1997.

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Today I go into work midday through early evening. What to cook that can be prepared ahead and easily heated up by my husband? Joy Philbin's pasta with chicken and broccoli. This recipe appeared in Good Housekeeping Magazine back in 1993. Since it was originally published in 1993, I noticed that the recipe has been updated a bit. I haven't made it in awhile, so I thought it would be good for today's do ahead supper. It's one pan for the chicken and broccoli and a pot for the pasta.


​meet donna

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

​If you have questions or comments, click on the envelope icon above to contact me directly. 

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