It's hard to believe it is the week of The Food Holiday, aka Thanksgiving, and I've written almost nothing about Thanksgiving food. I wish I had an airtight excuse, but here's the real reason: basketball season has started. My evenings are now taken up with yelling at the TV and glaring at my husband if he so much as whispers that I might be scaring the dog. At the moment, however, it's halftime, so if I type quickly I'll get another post in.
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I'll have to save my turkey frying tips for next year, since this year I'm going to take notes to be sure I'm telling you the right things to do. But just so I don't completely miss out on talking turkey, here's a tip. My roasted chicken and wild rice soup is amazing with leftover turkey (and freezes wonderfully). I posted the recipe here.
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Of the many things I am thankful for this year, one of them is our supper club. We have an amazing group of people who are pulled in 14 million different directions during our daily lives, but we all come together to break bread at someone's house once every 6 weeks. We do it potluck style, with the host and hostess providing the main dish, and everyone else filling out the meal. Each dinner has a theme, and our latest theme was Fall Harvest. Let me tell you - we outdid ourselves. Seriously. I asked everyone to send me their recipes so I could post them here. I'll do them in order of the meal.
First up, Attorney Mom with appetizers!
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Red Onion Jam with Bacon and Bourbon
3-4 large red onions, thinly sliced
3/4 package bacon, cooked and finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons bourbon (or substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
2-3 tablespoons Olive oil
In a large saucepan, saute the onions with olive oil until they begin to soften. Add the chopped bacon, and continue to cook over low heat. Once the onions begin to reduce and thicken, add the brown sugar, to taste, and the bourbon or vanilla. (I actually used vanilla, but "onion and vanilla jam" sounds repulsive, although the result is quite tasty...so you may want to use the official recipe name for your guests!) Cooking time is around 35-45 minutes, and you will know your jam is done when it's the consistency you wish to spread onto a cracker. Continue stirring throughout the cooking process. Serve warm or at room temperature with crackers or toast points.
Ginger-Apricot Chutney
* I adapted this recipe from one that did not use quantities, and I also added extra ingredients to get the smell I was looking for, so all quantities are approximate, and please use your nose as your guide!
1/2-3/4 pound dried apricots, chopped (quantity per size of your crowd)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
1 small pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2-3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
5 whole cloves
Place apricots in large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and then simmer over low heat. Add lemon juice, ginger, cayenne, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and continue to simmer, covered, until the mixture begins to thicken. Approximate cooking time is 35-45 minutes, or until whenever the apricots are a desirable consistency. Continue stirring during the cooking process. Continue to add water if it boils off and you desire to keep reducing the mixture. Give it a taste before you finish cooking and add any additional quantities of the ingredients above. Once done, remove cloves, and serve warm or at room temperature.
Happy eating, and Happy Thanksgiving!
