Banh Mi Style Salad

CSA DAY!

We received loads of goodies: Apples, Meyer Lemon (My fav!), Satsuma Mandarins, Kale, Leeks, Broccoli, Radishes, Spinach, Onions, and a head of lettuce.  As I put away my booty of veggies, I took note we now had 5 heads of lettuce in our fridge. We have a homemade ceasar salad on the menu for the week, but I was going to have to use up this lettuce without burning out on the standard salad. It worked out well that when lunch time came I was hankering a Banh Mi Sandwich. How about a healthy salad instead?

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce)
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 1/2 tbsp white sugar
• 1/3 cup cold water

Add to sealable container (mason jar), cover and shake.

Pickled Veg:

• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• pinch of kosher salt

To this add 1 cup juileened carrots, sliced radish and cucumbers. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving or prep the night before.

Salad:
Chop one head of lettuce
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup mint, chopped
1/4 jalapeno, sliced thinly

1/2 cup toasted almonds (optional, you can use croutons instead)

Drain the pickling juice from the veggies and toss together. If you like a little protein on your salad this marinade recipe by Food Woolf looked great.
Enjoy, I know I did.

Beef Wellington - Christmas Eve Dinner

 Individual Beef Wellingtons

Served with Wild Mushroom Risotto and Sage Roasted Turnips & Beets

From the Ross Family to yours, Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.

Eggnog Pancakes - Merry Christmas Eve

Now that we're married and settled in our new post wedding nest in Alameda (I'll post pics after I paint) we're discussing our favorite family holiday traditions and making our own holiday traditions. This recipe could easily be added to our traditions along with our recipe for beef wellington. Light fluffy and delicious, I ate two and wanted more. Thankfully the syrup ran out. :)

                                                                        Eggnog Pancakes

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups eggnog
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg if desired. In another bowl, beat eggs, eggnog and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top; cook until second side is golden brown. 

* I had to thin this down a touch and did so with a little milk. Enjoy!

Neglected Dog

Someone found a creative way to get her food bowl filled.

She brought the dish to Adam's feet, hopped on the ottoman and started pouting. Too Cute!

Bring on the Remaking of Leftovers

Creative Ways to use up Turkey Leftovers, after you've exhausted your love for sandwiches.

Turkey, Quinoa And Persimmon Salad With Warm Cranberry-Maple Dressing

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Prep started on Monday and ended at 4:30pm Thanksgiving day. All my pre-planning granted me a late start. Adam, Peanut and I watched the parade.

 Took Peanut for a walk around the neighborhood, before coming home and starting the day.
Adam's family arrived around 2pm and we had appetizers all layed out. This picture was taken a little late :)

We broke out the wii and played a few games.

Here's Adam's Mom playing on the wii fit.
Then the main affair started. We made sure to get pictures before we dug in this time :)

Sweet potato casserole, maple cider brine turkey, Boursin potato au gratin, pork pie, garlic brocolli, onion bacon kale, herbed chestnut, apple, cranberry stuffing, & Cornbread. *Cranberry Jelly not pictured.

Dinner was delicious, even if I do say so myself. I took the largest plate of food I think I have since getting my thyroid treated. What a glutton!! After dinner, I took to the kitchen and knocked out dishes. Adam packaged up leftovers and I made sure my In-laws had Stuffing and Turkey to make post-Thanksgiving Sandwiches, and a little Sweet potato Casserole (which I think was the best dish!)
Afterwards we all beached ourselves around the TV, watched a Miracle on 34th Street before diving back into dessert.

Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie and Cheesecake Factory Chocolate Cheese cake, Vanilla & Dulce de Leche ice creams

Everything was great and everyone was happy with the meal. I had so much fun planning and cooking for the family and too hear and see everyone was so pleased, made it all that much more special. Hope everyone else had an amazing Thanksgiving too!

Thanksgiving Prep

This year my in-laws are in the middle of a kitchen remodel, so I took the reins and offered to host Thanksgiving. Today I spent the majority of the day planning our menu and creating a shopping list.

Here is what we plan on serving for Thanksgiving 2011:
Appetizers:
Parmesan Rosemary Crackers
Cheese Platter with Jalapeno Jelly
Chopped Liver 

Salad:
Roast Beet, Chimichurri Steak Salad

The Star:
Maple Cider Brine
Maple Bacon Turkey

Sides:
Herbed Chestnut, Cranberry, Apple Stuffing
Potato au gratin
Sweet Potato Casserole
Bacon, Onion Balsamic Kale
Garlic Broccoli
Small Pork Pie (Mostly for me, since I'll be the only Canadian attending)
Jellied Cranberry Sauce

Dessert:
Apple Pie ala mode
Pumpkin Pie*

Mighty Ambitious for such a small kitchen, but I'm hoping to make a lot a few days in advance and make sure I'm prepped for the day before and day of.

Peanut spent the day outside on the deck enjoying the sunshine.