Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

I am calling this a mahogany Cornish hen.  Because I drizzled it with honey before baking, it came out a little darker than I would have liked.  But there is no denying the excellent flavor.

I did not roast a turkey this year.  We spent Thanksgiving at our friends’ home and my only contribution was a butternut squash casserole.  We missed our family but it was interesting to view another familiy’s rituals, which to be quite honest, were so much like our own.  Generations, from the revered older uncle to the youngest one year old tripping over doorway steps and trying to pull knives out of the open dishwasher, were all present and accounted for.  The turkey, mashed potatoes and dressing, not to mention the crockpot full of gravy were all just right.  On that one day in November we are all the same.  Thank you Stephanie and Bruce for a great day.

So on Friday, because I was not preoccupied with shopping, I decided I would make Cornish hens to feel a part of the Thanksgiving weekend.  Black Friday shopping is not for me, but we actually did venture out to a big box store to take advantage of the sale on appliances.  We ordered a new stainless steel gas stove and refrigerator.  They will be delivered on December 10th.  In the meantime, we have to get a propane tank and a gas line into the house. I love my gas stove in Lake Lure and look forward to replacing the electric stove here.

The Cornish hens were an experiment.  I received my package of O OLIVE OIL’S blood orange olive oil and porto vinegar and have been enjoying the flavors.  I will be posting my contest entry recipe on December 1st.  I am one of 8 contestants in the eRecipeCards cookoff.  We will be judged on our recipe, our writing style and our photography.  I would appreciate your vote on December 1st.

But back to the Cornish hens.  The recipe was simply a matter of drizzling spatchcocked Cornish hens with honey, olive oil and balsamic style vinegar.  They were seasoned with chopped rosemary and salt and pepper and baked in a 400 degree F. oven until done.  My only advice is to have a very sharp knife to remove the backbones and press down hard on the breasts to flatten the birds.

I will see you back here on Thursday.  I have given my entry recipe much thought and hope it is a winner.  It showcases the citrusy flavors of the olive oil and the smoky nuances of the port vinegar.  Now if I just had a new camera  . . . .  early Christmas present maybe?

I now have three dressing casseroles in my repertoire for Thanksgiving.  They are all my favorites because I love dressing so much that I would not be able to choose.  Take your pick.  This newest dressing is one that I saw in Bon Appetit last year.  It is Rosemary Bread Stuffing with Prosciutto, Fennel and Lemon.  One of my favorite breads is La Brea’s rosemary olive oil bread and this recipe is built around that kind of bread.  How could you go wrong?  Fennel is used liberally in the recipe and I love the subtle flavor that it imparts.  Add prosciutto or speck to the mix and there is no doubt that it will be good.  I made this last week and even David, who is not a stuffing or dressing aficionado, loved it.

ROSEMARY BREAD STUFFING WITH PROSCIUTTO, FENNEL AND LEMON (Bon Appetit)

1 14 1/2-to 16-ounce purchased rosemary-olive oil bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
7 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 tablespoons butter, melted, divided
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup golden raisins
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
2 cups chopped fresh fennel bulb (from 1 large) plus 1 tablespoon chopped fresh fennel fronds
1 cup finely chopped shallots
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 ounced thinly sliced Speck or prosciutto, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
1 cup (or more) low-salt chicken broth
2 large eggs, beaten to blend

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Toss bread cubes, 3 tablespoons oil, and 2 tablespoons melted butter in large bowl.  Spread mixture on large rimmed baking sheet.  Bake until bread cubes are golden, stirring occasionally, 20 to 22 minutes.  Cool.

Mix wine and raisins in small saucepan; let soak 10 minutes.  Boil 2 minutes Cool.

Stir fennel seeds in small dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant and slightly darker, 2 to 3 minutes.  Transfer fennel seeds to plate to cool.  Finely grind seeds in mortar with pestle or in spice mill.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter with 3 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add fennel bulb, shallots, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; saute until fennel is tender and shallots are pale golden, about 7 minutes.  Stir in ground fennel seeds, prosciutto, lemon peel, and fennel fronds.  Stir raisins into fennel mixture; cool.

Do Ahead;  Bread cubes and fennel mixture can be made 1 day ahead.  Store bread airtight at room temperature.  Cover and refrigerate fennel mixture.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Coat 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with 1 tablespoon oil.  Toss bread cubes and fennel mixture in large bowl.  Add 1 cup broth and eggs; toss until moistened, adding up to 1/4 cup more broth if dry.  Transfer stuffing to prepared baking dish.  Cover with foil coated lightly with oil. oiled side down.  Bake until stuffing is heated through, about 30 minutes.  Remove foil; bake uncovered until top is crisp and golden, about 30 minutes.

Printable recipe

CORNBREAD SAUSAGE STUFFING WITH APPLES.  This dressing has been a favorite for many years.  It is adapted from the Silver Palate Cookbook.  Cornbread, whole wheat, and sourdough bread are combined with sausage and apples.  It is very flavorful.  Here is the link to the recipe.

MOM’S THANKSGIVING DRESSING.  This is the dressing that I grew up with.  It is very basic but it is the favorite of the whole family.  Every bite of it is loaded with memories.  My Mother knew what she was doing.  Here is the link to the recipe.

I wish all of you a very happy and memorable Thanksgiving.  I am thankful for all of you.

We will be having a small Thanksgiving this year.  We plan to spend two weeks with the family over Christmas, so a trip north for a quick Thanksgiving dinner is not in the picture.  But a small Thanksgiving dinner for two doesn’t have to be boring.  There was the year that hubby and I were by ourselves.  I bought a small turkey.  He wanted to do it on the grill.  I wanted it in the oven so I could make gravy.  So with Solomon like judgement we decided to split it in half; half on the grill and half in the oven.  Mine was best.  He disagrees.

I am not sure yet what we will do with our turkey this year, but I know that this is the way I will be preparing the green beans.  I ran across this recipe while on Pinterest.  It has lots of pins and repins.  The recipe came originally from Aubrey of Just Cook Already,  a blog that I had not visited before.  You might want to go on over and check out her original recipe.  I did make a few changes.

This recipe is great on several levels.  The flavor is wonderful.  Anything wrapped in bacon is good.  The sauce with butter, garlic, brown sugar and (my addition) O OLIVE OIL blood orange oil and port vinegar is scrumptious.  The dish can be prepared ahead of time up to the 15 to 20 minutes needed in the oven to crisp the bacon.  You can have it assembled and in the fridge the day before Thanksgiving.  I also loved that it is already portioned out.  If you are having twelve for Thanksgiving you can assemble twelve bundles.  If you are only two . . . well, you get the picture.

BACON WRAPPED GREEN BEANS

1 lb. green beans, tips removed
5 strips of bacon
2 tablespoons butter
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon O OLIVE OIL blood orange oil (or zest of 1 orange and 1 tablespoon orange juice)
1 tablepoon O OLIVE OIL porto vinegar (or 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Cook green beans until tender.  Remove beans to an ice water filled bowl.  Place beans on paper towels to absorb excess water.

Heat butter in a small saucepan.  Add garlic and saute for a few minutes.  Add brown sugar and oil and vinegar.  Stir together and cook for a few minutes.  Remove from heat.

In a large saute pan, cook bacon partially to remove some of the grease.  Do not brown.  Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate.  It should be limp.

Assemble dish.  Cut bacon slices in half.  Line up approximately 8 to 10 green beans and wrap them with the half piece of bacon.  Secure with a toothpick.  Continue with rest of bundles and place in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.  Drizzle sauce over beans.  (Can be assembled ahead of time to this point).

Place baking dish in preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until bacon is cooked through and beans are warmed through.

Printable recipe

I brought only one cookbook with me to Florida.  Admittedly I have a large collection both in Lake Lure and here, but only one book from Lake Lure spoke to me to be included in the trip South.  It was Sara Foster’s Fresh Every Day.  I love her seasonal approach to cooking and the Southern leanings of the book.  But this book is more a reflection of the new South, with twists on old Southern favorites like biscuits and cornbread.  In Sara’s hands they become sweet potato biscuits and cornbread panzanella.

Some things are truly Southern.  Tuna salad with hard boiled eggs and sweet pickles is one of them.  You can eat the tuna salad in a sandwich, but how about serving it on toasted crostini with a garnish of roasted red pepper.  Sara has elevated a simple classic.  Somehow it tastes a little better to me that way.

SOUTHERN -STYLE TUNA SALAD WITH PICKLES AND EGGS (adapted from Fresh Every Day)

2 6 ounce cans solid white tuna packed in water or oil (I like oil better), drained
2 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, diced
4 small sweet pickles or 10 whole cornichons, chopped
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or parsley leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine the tuna in a medium bowl with the chopped hard-boiled eggs, celery, pickles, mayonnaise, mustard, dill, salt, and pepper and stir to mix.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.

Printable recipe

Now onto some exciting news for me.  I entered a contest that is being offered by my blogging buddy Dave’s new website eRecipeCards.  He has gone from blogging his own posts on My Year on the Grill to establishing a website where all us can submit our recipes to share with everyone.  I am loving eRecipeCards.com so much.  It has increased the traffic on my blog and introduced me to lots of other bloggers.  It is a community of cooks both old and new.  I know many of you submit your recipes to the website.  Dave has even started a new blog called Inspired by eRecipeCards.com where he recreates recipes from those of us who contribute to the website.  He is a very supportive guy.

His first contest is being sponsored by O OLIVE OIL.

O OLIVE OIL is offering a box of their cirtrus olive oils and barrel aged vinegars to the winner.  There will also be monetary prizes for best photography and best writing skills.  I submitted an idea for a recipe to O OLIVE OIL and they liked what I suggested.  I am one of 8 bloggers who will post a recipe using O OLIVE OIL oils and vinegars and a review of the products on December 1st.  I look forward to the challenge and to your support.