Food In Many Forms

This Thanksgiving I have a lot to be thankful for . Despite my attempts to avoid family gatherings by working three shifts this week, people worked around my schedule to make sure I could participate. I ended up going to a total of four meals , and inevitably there was cooking involved . I made a pumpkin pie , a carrot dish, and cornbread stuffing . The pumpkin pie was made from the recipe on the back of the can - does wonders every time :) The carrot recipe was from an Israeli friend who has great recipes for all kinds of Mediterranean-type foods. Moroccan Carrot Salad: Serves 8 Ingredients: 2 lbs Carrots Fresh parsley, chopped 5 garlic cloves, chopped very finely 1 tbsp olive oil 1 1/2 tsp sweet Moroccan paprika lemon juice from one large lemon a dash of pepper salt to taste, roughly 1 tsp Golden Raisins (optional) Preparation: 1. Peel and trim carrots, place in pot of water and bring to a boil. (If using raisins, simmer them in broth until plump.) 2. Cook until a fork is insert...

It's been a while since I posted. Two big food holidays have passed and much food has been made. There were carrot cake cupcakes ... There was a cake for Thanksgiving... And some mini holiday fruit pies... As well as a "College" Thanksgiving... ...and two pre-Christmas dinners with friends... One of my roommates gave me a HUGE Martha Stewart Cookbook for Christmas, and Christmas Eve Dinner consisted of her glazed carrots and striped sea bass...I still have to upload those... At first I was unsure how much I could really use Martha's book because a lot of recipes seemed unapproachable, but now that I have tried two of them...Glazed Carrots with Whole Spices and Rosemary: and Roasted Sea Bass: The carrots are definitely going to be repeated, and the Sea Bass was pretty good too - although the fennel and white wine did little to add to the flavor. I think the cookbook is just right of amount of challenge to help me learn new things. I have said before how I am a fan of ...

One of my good friends is going to Paris over Thanksgiving break, and I promised her I would make her a Thanksgiving dinner to make up for the one she will miss. There definitely has to be turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy. Pumpkin pie is also a possibility if there is time. In order to make this dinner without missing class I am breaking the preparation up into phases. Phase 1: Weekend Before -Celery and Onion Stuffing: My mom's classic stuffing is just a cup of onion and celery per serving, the instructions are on the bag. If the stuffing has actually been inside the turkey it can last for a few days in the fridge and I think the condensation from the plastic wrap adds moisture, somehow. -Cranberry Sauce: I have never made this before but Alton Brown always makes recipes in a classic sort of way, and classic seems to be the theme. Phase 2: Day/Night Before -Cook Turkey : My turkey is coming from Whole Foods, but I think the most important thing is th...