Thanksgiving 2010

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 inserted easily but don't overcook as carrots will be too soft.
3. Slice carrots in thin rounds, or use a corrugated vegetable knife to cut rippled carrots (very professional  looking!)
4. Add olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, paprika, a dash of pepper, and salt.
5. Stir well and add chopped parsley and golden raisins
6. Taste salad, it should have a slightly tart garlic, lemony taste with a slight touch of paprika. Make sure there's enough salt to bring out the flavor, this is sometimes the difference between a good salad and a perfect one! Add more lemon juice if needed, and refrigerate before serving to allow the carrots to marinate a bit.

My friend also said to add cinnamon if you want to get really fancy. I much prefer cooked carrots over raw, and I recently learned that it actually helps the beta-carotene in carrots absorb at higher rates in your body if the carrots are cooked. A mixture of different raisins would make this dish extra colorful. 

For my second dinner, I made cornbread stuffing. I tested this recipe only about a week ago, but to be honest, I lost the real recipe. I did remember it was a mixture of cornbread, celery, onion, dried cranberries, and granny smith apples. Pretty much, I let the package size be my serving size, and it seemed to work out. The back of the dressing box also had instructions, so I could just follow them to determine proportions of broth and butter. 

Ingredients

2 boxes of Sage Cornbread Stuffing from Whole Foods 

5 stalks of celery, finely chopped

3 medium onions, finely chopped

1 small package of dried cranberries (Whole Foods brand had the least amount of added sugar)

3 granny smith apples, diced

2 2/3 cups vegetable broth

1 stick of butter, melted

Directions

1. Saute the onions and celery in a little bit of butter

2. Combine cornbread, onions, celery, cranberries, and apples in a large bowl

3. Pour broth and melted butter into the bowl and mix

4. If there is not enough moisture, add some water

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes covered with aluminum foil, and then 10 minutes uncovered.