My First Mom Meal

Since our sweet boy was born a month ago (yes, I'm crying on the inside), we have been blessed with an outpouring of meals from our friends and family. This has saved us from having to cook the majority of the time. I'm still on maternity leave; but with J back working nights, preparing meals while watching/soothing/changing/feeding/entertaining a newborn is low on my priority list. I think the most ambitious thing I've "cooked" since his birth is a batch of ranch party mix for Book Club.

Our "Hungry Caterpillar"

Tuesday night was our last meal delivery and we finished the leftovers off this afternoon. The end of the lifesaving gravy train, a desire for some of our old pre-pregnancy normalcy, my breastfeeding-induced need to eat EVERYTHING and a killer issue of Food Network magazine, pushed me to actually cook dinner tonight. Although making a hearty salad isn't what I'd normally consider difficult "cooking," this was quite an adventure and lead me to create a list of tips for mamas and daddies reentering the kitchen.

1. The grill is your friend. Especially in summer, you want to avoid overheating your house or yourself. Moms, I know you feel me; our internal thermometers are all out of whack and standing over a hot stove isn't ideal. But perhaps even more important than keeping cool, is avoiding dishes. This salad didn't make a big mess with prep or presentation, but anything you can toss on the grill - especially in foil packets - will make your life exponentially easier. The same goes for your Crock Pot.

2. Plan your meals. You should seriously consider making a weekly meal plan that covers what your family is eating at every meal. We've always made vague plans to help with grocery shopping, but when J completed the Whole 30 this summer we had to make very specific calendars which really helped organize our shopping, cooking and eating. This month, we mapped out our meal deliveries and planned accordingly for breakfasts, lunches and weekends; but now we have to consider what's actually doable when I'm home with baby. Knowing what you're eating each night relieves a lot of stress, especially if you're like us and are constantly in a passive-aggressive battle of "I don't know, what do you want?" But it will also save you time and money, two things you're sure to be short of with a newborn in tow.

3. Read your recipes thoroughly...twice. When you've picked what you want to cook/eat, read the recipes all the way through, double-check the pantry for ingredients and make a detailed shopping list. As we learned today, it's a real pain in the rear to have to go back to the store for a forgotten ingredient, especially if you have to load up baby. When you're making something new (like I tried to do for some reason), make sure you know what you'll need to do ahead of time - like marinating etc.- and do any pre-prep that you can do while your partner is at home or baby is napping.

4. Avoid the "high risk" cooking until your mom-brain is cured (or you get used to it). From the moment sperm hits egg, mommy's brain begins deteriorating. My memory, ability to talk without stumbling, and attention span have all suffered since I became a mom; but apparently it will get better or at least I'll adapt. So bear in mind that now - while you're sleep deprived, stressed and lost in motherhood - you shouldn't use dangerous cooking methods or tools/techniques that require finesse.

Here's a hypothetical example: if you're attempting to make delicious grilled surf and turf salads with Dijon vinaigrette, don't overdo it by trying to make crisp garlic croutons, too. You may just forget them under the broiler, fill the kitchen with smoke, burn yourself reaching in the oven and end up leaving the scarred pan on the porch to finish smoldering...hypothetically, that is. But while we're on that subject, maybe now's the time to freshen up the batteries in your smoke detector.

5. Be kind to the cook - yourself or your partner. Being a new parent is hard. You are trying to keep a small creature alive while running on no sleep; you think you're doing everything wrong; and if you're a mother, your body and mind are probably fighting you, too. But every day that you get up and take care of that little critter is a victory. And I know that deep down, but I forget it a lot and end up beating myself up that I'm not being a good enough mom to him or wife to J. So, focus on what's important - your family - not the (allegedly) burnt bread, bland burger or ugly, fallen cake. My dad sent me this video a week or so ago, mocking my mom's meatloaf, but the sentiment is true. It's not about the burnt toast, it's about the person who tried to put something on the table for you. Don't be so hard on them/yourself; it's just dinner.

And here's a bonus tip for the folks wanting to support new parents:

Please organize meal delivery. This was seriously a lifesaver for us. Having one less thing to worry about, especially a "thing" that makes a mess, costs money and requires sanity to complete, made our days so much easier. Our church and friends organized themselves using Take Them A Meal's service, which is free and doesn't require a log-in, but allows participants to create a calendar, list directions/requests from the family and include information from the donors. This helps parents know when guests are coming - especially important to mommies with their boobs out - and prevents the delivery of eleven lasagnas in a row.

And even beyond the delicious (free) food, it's really nice for the parents to have scheduled visits with people who care about them. I have had a serious case of cabin fever but knowing we'd be having company, even just brief visits to drop off a casserole, was a helpful glimpse into the outside world.

Fat Kid Friday: Old Fashioned Apple Stack Cake

Before Thanksgiving, I was thinking a lot about family and especially those who aren't with us anymore. I was thinking about how I wanted to make a dish that really meant something to us. And the food memory that kept coming back to me was hearing my grandpa talk about the apple stack cake his mom used to make. And I decided that in honor of his memory (and in part, hers) I'd try to make it.

I found a recipe from a very reliable source, Lynn Rosetto Kasper's The Splendid Table program from American Public Media (airs Saturdays at noon on NPR, streams online) and made the cake for my parents' Thanksgiving dinner.

And it was a hit. Just seeing the tall cake, with gooey layers thrilled my parents and they gushed about how much Grandpa would've loved it.

Dad immediately gave me suggestions on how to make it more like Mamaw Alma's cake: under-cooking the layers and going heavier on the apple butter.

The pictures were shared on Facebook and a work colleague demanded I bring my apple stacks to our employee holiday party. With some tweaks to the recipe (reflected below in shorter cooking times & more butter), I brought a beautiful cake to the party.

And, it turns out almost every Southern family has strong, vivid memories and joyous feelings tied to the apple stack cakes of their childhood. I had two folks actually tell me they'd just had a long discussion about the cakes their mothers used to make and were shocked to see mine. There was a sweet chatter through the whole party of "Who brought this?" and "It reminds me so much of...."

To me, there are two important elements in a successful recipe.

One is that it makes something delicious; and that is certainly true for this cake. The cake layers are essentially giant sugar cookies that are sweet, yet delicately flavored and the apple butter is powerfully flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg. These two elements sandwiched together makes for a beautifully balanced bite. And the texture is just as perfect - soft and crumbly cake with smooth sweetness. It's not a perfectly designed, stunning cake, it's simple and even more simple-looking, but the flavor is out-of-this-world.

The other element of a successful recipe, which is even more important and is the reason we all crave foods from our past (even mom's awful meatloaf), are the food feelings. Where you feel so strongly about a bite that it can take you back in time, to remember every detail of the dish, the United States place mat or the way your hair would always fall onto your plate. I read a book once, called "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake" about a girl who suddenly can taste all of the emotions inside of food. It almost drives her mad - being able to taste the tears of her mom as she baked following a fight with her husband, or the frustration of her dad trying to figure out how to cook on his own. But I related to it so well, not from the madness, but the joy of tasting a memory or the feelings of a cook. And this cake does that to people. My co-workers expressed being able to taste me reaching out to my Grandpa and how much I must have loved him and wanted to please him; and they too, were able to go back to someone they loved.

With these two elements met, I have to rule this recipe as a success and encourage you to make it sometime for the people you love.

However, there's an addendum to this post; find the recipe that takes you back and gives you vivid food memories, or that will make new memories for your loved ones.

Old Fashioned Apple Stack Cake

Adapted from The Splendid Table

Ingredients:

1 c. granulated sugar

3/4 c. firmly packed light brown sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

5 1/2 c all-purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

1 1 /2 t baking soda

1 t salt

1 t ground cinnamon

2/3 c buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 t vanilla extract

2 1/2 c+ apple butter (I used Smuckers in a pinch, but apple butter is very easy and inexpensive to make at home, in a crock pot)

Powdered sugar for garnish 

Method:

Preheat oven to 400. Grease/flour the cake pans (see note below). 

Cream the butter, sugars and butter together at medium speed until quite fluffy (3-5 minutes), scraping the bowl occasionally. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside. In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. 

Add a third of the flour mixture to the creamed butter; mix just until combined at medium-low speed. Add half of the buttermilk mixture and mix just to combine. Repeat, adding another third of the flour mixture, then the remaining buttermilk, and the remaining flour mixture. 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead four times. Roll into a cylinder about 18 inches long. Cut the cylinder into 6 equal parts; press each part into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. You could make the dough disks up to a day in advance. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk to a 10 inch circle. Using a cake pan as a guide, trim the dough into a 9 inch circle, then lay into a greased pan to bake. Repeat with other disc; three at a time, if possible. 

Bake for 3 minutes, then rotate the pans in the oven, and bake 2-3 more minutes until lightly browned and beginning to pull away from the pan. Remove from the oven and cool the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove the layers and set aside. Continue with the remaining discs. You will probably have enough dough left to knead together a seventh layer. 

Choose your prettiest, smoothest layer for the top and set aside.

Place one layer on your cake plate then top with a little bit more than 1/2 a cup of apple butter; close to 3/4 a cup. Top with another cake layer, more apple butter; repeat. Leave the top layer "undressed" with apple butter.

Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least overnight. Around 36 hours makes for the best softness of the cake; where the apple butter soaks in and makes the texture perfect.

When ready to serve, dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar. Slice into thin slices. 

Thanksgiving Side Dish Showdown

The holiday season is nothing short of chaotic in our family with a minimum of three, and often upwards of five, gatherings to attend per holiday. They're also nothing short of interesting and lively; what with so many personalities, people we love, joyful moods and great food - lots and lots of food.

Our first Thanksgiving together - 2012

And this year, to capitalize on those quirky personalities, love of food and a desire to have a unique experience, my dad, J and I have created our own "game" for our Thanksgiving Weekend Meal.

It's a little bit like our Grocery Outlet Chopped Challenge; because we will be at the mercy of each other for our star ingredient but will still have lots of flexibility and thankfully (no pun intended), planning time.

We drew names and were each granted the power to declare an ingredient for our chosen chef to use to create a side dish. I picked Dad, J got me and Dad chose J.

Here are the rules we're using:

Ingredient:

1. Will be announced on the Friday before Thanksgiving (November 21). 
2. Can be a "category" (like pasta) or a specific item (like carrots)
3. Should be reasonably priced (no caviar or black truffles) and limited in freakiness (Sorry, Mom; no root beer-flavored Magic Shell)
4. Should be featured but not required to be the predominant ingredient
5. May be a traditional Thanksgiving ingredient, but the dish should be non-traditional (like sweet potato gnocchi) OR the dish can be a twist on a classic T-giving dish (like a savory sweet potato "hot dish" instead of candied sweet potato casserole).

We have a few dietary restrictions (no caffeine or chocolate) and we know each others' palates and preferences well enough to not choose a total sabotage ingredient that the person won't enjoy cooking or eating (ex: Dad DESPISES tuna).

My inner Martha Stewart has been buzzing for weeks with the ever-growing list of items I want to cook for Thanksgiving, so I'm excited to have a more focused mission than "COOK ALL THE THINGS," with which to make something creative and delicious.

Dad proposed this idea less than 24 hours ago, but I'm already brainstorming - I'm thinking of the ingredient I want, and resisting the urge to pressure Honey Dearest into choosing it; how to handle the ingredient I do get and what to assign Dad.

And don't you worry dear readers; I'll keep you updated on the progress of this event AND on the recipes we're making for the 3+ other gatherings next week. There's plenty to come!

J's Strong Finish to the Chopped Challenge

Tonight was the last evening of our family Chopped-style cooking challenge, with J cooking a great spread with his$16 budget.

Here's the basic guidelines of our competition:

1. We must make three courses for four people. 
2. There can only be 60 minutes between courses. Pre-prep is allowed. 
3. We can only spend $16 at Grocery Outlet for all of our main ingredients (tax not included).
4. Cannot use coffee/caffeinated items (including chocolate) for dietary restriction reasons. 
5. We must include mom's sabotage item - course and item chosen sight unseen. 
6. The following pantry staples are allowed free of charge:

• Up to 2 c. flour
• Sugars/honey
• "Basic"spices - not things like zatar or Chinese five spice
• Onions
• Up to 4 eggs
• Milk
• Oils/butter
• "Basic" condiments - ketchup, mayo, mustard

I cooked Saturday and Dad played chef last night. 

And I'm not saying it because he's my husband and the light of my life, but J really got screwed with the sabotage ingredient - root beer-flavored Magic Shell. He'd bought an interesting set of groceries to begin with (with which I wouldn't have known what to make), but this ingredient was downright gross, even in the dessert round. Mom and I are the only ones who even enjoy root beer and certainly not outside of a glass or a float, but J was very creative! 

Here's the lowdown on J's menu:

Appetizer: Vegetarian taquitos made with flour tortillas, homemade refried beans (from a can of baked beans), Queso Suave canned "cheese," Zatarain's rice and onions, and topped with a crumble of spicy Cheez-It snack mix. I loved this! You all know I'm a sucker for Mexican-style dishes and this was no exception. Using the baked beans lent the taquito a very smoky flavor, almost like barbeque, which made it feel more hearty. The only thing that could've made it better would be guacamole, but we're guac snobs and only eat Wholly Guacamole's Organic guac anymore. 

Entree: A pork chop filled with an apricot preserve and onion stuffing, J's signature sweet carrots and steamed broccoli with "cheese." This was a great meal and is something we would easily cook, and eat, any day of the week. And I think that gets to the heart of this challenge. It's a lot of fun to goof off and cook with crazy ingredients, but it shows us how resourceful we can be to make $16 go a long way. Feeding your family can be made easier with creativity and making wise choices. (Note: this is not to say that there isn't still food insecurity, food deserts and hunger issues nationwide; or that it can be solved with a trip to GO). 

Dessert: J used hamburger buns and canned strawberries to make bread pudding dressed with a homemade caramel made from the Magic Shell and a berry meal replacement shake. It was a beautiful caramel, with perfect consistency and a terrific coloring, but it tasted like licorice, or maybe Nyquil. I liked the bread pudding itself, it was warm and gooey and the strawberries added great flavor. But that Shell -- one hell of a blow. 

This has been so much fun for all of us - the cooking and the eating! And it's so do-able for any family. Consider doing one round a month, a Chopped progressive dinner or making your own creative twists; we've already thought of other sneaky games like doing our own shopping, then flipping a coin to see if we switch carts. I encourage you and your families or friends to give it a go; you may just surprise yourself with your own ingenuity and skill!

And yes, I did apologize to the boys for whipping them so badly. And no, I don't think it was beginner's luck. 

Dad's (Also Delicious) Chopped Menu

Tonight is Night Two of our Chopped-style competition, wherein each of us (me, Dad and J) cooked a three course meal for our family of four using only $16 worth of GO Grocery Outlet goodies.

Here are our basic rules:

1. We must make three courses for four people. 
2. There can only be 60 minutes between courses. Pre-prep is allowed. 
3. We can only spend $16 at Grocery Outlet for all of our main ingredients (tax not included). 
4. Cannot use coffee/caffeinated items (including chocolate) for dietary restriction reasons. 
5. We must include Mom's sabotage item - course and item chosen sight unseen. 
6. The following pantry staples are allowed free of charge:

• Up to 2 c. flour
• Sugars/honey
• "Basic" spices - not things like zatar or Chinese five spice
• Onions
• Up to 4 eggs
• Milk
• Oils/butter
• "Basic" condiments - ketchup, mayo, mustard

I cooked last night, and set a damn fine example. Tonight, it was Dad's turn. 

He did a very technique-savvy menu that was pretty impressive using this $16 set of ingredients. 

Including Mom's diabolical mystery ingredient - Little Debbie Starfish Cookies - in the appetizer round! 

Appetizer: A chorizo-style Scotch egg with deep fried pickles and honey vinaigrette. Normally, a Scotch egg is made with a boiled egg cased in sausage breading. Dad took the time to scrape the blue icing off of the starfish and crumbled them with oyster crackers and mixed it with pre-cooked, frozen chorizo breakfast sausage - now that's working through adversity! And, I have to hand it to him because I despise pickles but actually enjoyed the thin, not overly sour fried pickles. 

Entree: Italian sausage stuffed cabbage and zucchini boats with smoked oysters and habenero cheese. The cabbage reminded me a lot of our Russian favorite, golubtsi. It was filled with sausage, spices and rice (another pre-cooked, frozen ingredient!) and was so hearty. Instead of individual rolls, dad was really creative and stuffed the entire cabbage, wrapped it in cheese cloth and served it like big slices of cake! The zucchini boats were refreshing and full of flavor - that cheese was SPICY! This was such a filling course for so little cost; I couldn't even finish my plate.

Dessert: Now this is exactly why I was terrified to compete against J and Dad. They've both worked in a variety of food service jobs and are stellar cooks with great technical skill. So, I wasn't surprised that Dad made a pear and mini cinnamon donut gallete (homemade pie crust of course). We actually started a movie while he finished up his dish and the smell of cinnamon, roasting fruit and toasty crust filled the house. It was an intoxicating scent and the flavor didn't disappoint, either. We added a spoonful of vanilla ice cream (not from his items) to each plate, just to finish off the quart - had he included a whipped cream or ice cream this would have been sheer perfection (or that's what I tell myself to feel better). 

I was thoroughly impressed with this meal; especially the creativity and technical skill. 

J is our final chef-testant tomorrow night and we're all excited to see what he makes. Because of the sheer awfulness of the sabotage item, he was given it early and has been frantically rearranging his groceries and scouring the web for recipes. We shall see! 

Tune in tomorrow for another installment of good family-food-fun! 

Amanda's (Super Successful) Chopped Menu

I gave you the down-low on our Chopped challenge already, and you can click here for more information. But here's the gist of competition:

1. We must make three courses for four people.
2. There can only be 60 minutes between courses. Pre-prep is allowed. 
3. We can only spend $16 at Grocery Outlet for all of our main ingredients (tax not included). 
4. Cannot use coffee/caffeinated items (including chocolate) for dietary restriction reasons. 
5. We must include Mom's GO sabotage item - course and item chosen sight unseen.
6. The following pantry staples are allowed free of charge:

• Up to 2 c. flour
• Sugar
• "Basic" spices - not things like zatar or Chinese five spice
• Onions
• Up to 4 eggs
• Milk
• Oils/butter
• "Basic" condiments - ketchup, mayo, mustard

I was the first chef-testant and here's what I was working with. 

And yes, I got all of this for less than $16! Seriously, GO is full of great deals. Each box of loaded mashed potatoes was only 33 cents. My most expensive ingredient was the 1.27 lb Butterball turkey breast for $3.39. 

But let us not forget my demented mother's mystery item. 

The only beets I've ever eaten are some of my dad's pickled beets. He loves to eat them with cornbread and pinto beans; I was always disgusted by the tart orbs that dyed everything pink. So, let's just say I was less than thrilled to get this ingredient. I much prefer the "Killer Tofu" type of Beets (90's kids, you feel me). 

But, luckily, I drew "entree," so I didn't have to reconfigure my dessert; which would undoubtedly be a disaster. 

And let me say - mom let me look at the other goodies after I blindly picked mine and I may have gotten the best ingredient. The other two, depending on their course, could make for a nightmare. 

With beets in tow, here's my menu:

Appetizer: Italian stuffed mushrooms made with Italian sausage, button mushrooms, onions, herbs and oyster crackers. Two of the four shrooms had a garnish of julienned beet. This was my quickest, easiest recipe and it was a delicious start. I used my Ninja to crush the crackers and then did a quick pulse to break up the cooked sausage, which made for a fine crumbly filling that absorbed the butter and drizzled olive oil nicely.

Entree: A take on chicken and waffles with cheesy, green onion potato cake waffle and fried turkey breast sliders dressed with honey and hot sauce and tempura onion rings and beets. I also marinated the turkey in milk, which is traditional, but this was laced with beet juice. I was so pleased with this dish, the flavors worked as perfectly as I'd hoped. Spicy, sweet, savory with crispy and tender notes. I was even more excited because I'd only ever made one of these components before - this was my first go at fried "chicken," onion rings and certainly beet fritters. The only things I'd change would be putting the chicken on a rack after searing it, so that the bottom got crunchier than putting it straight on a baking sheet, and I'd have made some ritzy sauce for the onion rings.

Dessert: Fried carrot cake ice cream with chantilly cream. This was the real awe-inspiring dish. I was petrified it would explode in our deep fryer (which I've never used) and be an utter disaster. I pre-prepped two portions per person just in case of disaster, but it was so successful and delicious! The animal cracker coating, which I feared might be bland, browned nicely and complimented the very flavorful ice cream - it tasted just like funnel cake! Also, I learned an amazing new technique for making whipped cream; I used my immersion blender (the Kitchen Aid doesn't work well with such small quantities, the beaters don't quite reach) and it took less than one minute!

Don't mind the little bit of cream - this is J's SECOND portion and I ran out! 

I am so utterly proud of myself. I am confident in my baking skills and ability to follow a recipe, but I was really afraid of grasping at straws at GO to create a menu and even more terrified of going up against the big dogs of improvisation and technique. But I did it! And damn well, if I do say so myself.

I know they're afraid of the mystery ingredients they're going to be saddled with, but now, I think they're scared of reaching my high standard, too. Bring it on, boys!

I'll be sure to keep you up-to-date on the rest of the challenge tomorrow (Dad) and Monday (J). 

Family "Chopped" Challenge

I've mentioned before that we're big Food Network watchers and we especially love the variety of challenge shows like Cutthroat Kitchen,  Guy's Grocery Games and our old favorite, Chopped.

On Chopped,  four chef-testants are given "mystery boxes" containing 3-4 ingredients which they must use in a corresponding course (appetizer, entree and dessert); one contestant is eliminated after each course with the winner taking home $10,000. The mystery boxes are complicated at best and disturbing at worst with ingredients that don't fit the course like Parmesan cheese for dessert or are weird (bull testicles), foreign (piloncillo) or gross (canned whole chicken).

This show resonates so well with our family since my dad and I used to play very similar make-believe kitchen games. One, which started when I was very little, involved making up random, gross ice cream flavors that only Oscar the Grouch could enjoy, like saw dust ice cream with a motor oil swirl or pork and bean frozen yogurt. My parent also have an open pantry in their kitchen packed with all sorts of random goodies, and while we ate in the kitchen we'd pick an ingredient from each shelf and try to figure out how to make a meal from ingredients like sweetened condensed milk, Spaghetti-O's, kosher dills and butterscotch chips.

Now that all of our cooking skills (and palates) have improved and we have a chef in the family, we've started taking these childhood games and TV shows into our own kitchens.

About a year ago, J and Dad did a Chopped-style challenge where they had to feed all four of us three courses by spending only $15 at our local discount grocery store, GO Grocery Outlet. GO fits the Chopped bill perfectly because while their chefs never know what will be in their baskets, GO shoppers never know what they'll find.

GO stocks a variety of products that were surplus at big box stores; have appearance flaws (crooked labels etc.); non-perishable seasonal goods (Christmas cupcake mix available in February); new and/or weird products that are too risky or flopped in traditional stores (like Sunmaid's barbeque flavored raisins); and items close to their expiration date at deep discounts. We love shopping here regularly for the exact reason that you never know what they'll have. You can try new products that you're unsure of at little cost or stock up on your favorite products without breaking the bank (I bought 10 boxes of Oat Revolution! instant oatmeal for 50 cents apiece).

One of those "weird' items...

Last night we went shopping and tonight, we start our new round of Chopped competition. I'm cooking tonight, Dad has tomorrow and J's doing Monday night.

Here are our rules:

1. We must make three courses for four people.
2. There can only be 60 minutes between courses. Pre-prep is allowed. 
3. We can only spend $16 at GO for all of our main ingredients. 
4. Cannot use coffee/caffeinated items (including chocolate) for dietary restriction reasons
5. The following pantry staples are allowed free of charge

• Up to 2 c. flour
• sugar
• "basic" spices - not things like zatar or Chinese five spice
• onions
• Up to 4 eggs
• milk
• oils/butter
• "basic" condiments - ketchup, mustard, mayo 

And, our family saboteur added in a Cutthroat Kitchen-style twist. Mom purchased three items at GO; we each draw a course from a hat in which we must use the ingredient (options are re-entered, so we may all get dessert etc.), then we choose a colored bag and must use the item within. She is evil.

J and Dad do have the advantage of doing this before (minus mom's curveball) and they did a great job last time. They both came up with good meals that were filling and delicious and really creative! J actually made the coolest dessert ever - he blended Little Debbie Nutty Bars into powder, made them into balls with chocolate syrup, chilled  then dipped them in pancake batter and deep fried them to make delicious peanut butter fritters. Quite a high standard to live up to.

I'm starting some of my prep now, and praying a lot, for tonight's meal. I'll keep you all posted on our exciting meals and feel free to let us know who YOU think the clear winner is!

Life-saving Meals: Homemade Frozen Food for the Sick, Shut-in and Overwhelmed

Last week, we welcomed the newest member of our family to the world. Miss Zayleigh, our niece, was born on July 11 and both her and momma are feeling great.

Amanda, Zayleigh and Jordan

But despite her having all her fingers and toes and being quite possibly the calmest, quietest little bundle of joy I've ever seen, we knew her parents were in for a long, exhausting week. And as we discovered while planning our wedding, when you're stressed and tired, the first thing you feel like giving up on is cooking good meals. We certainly ate our fill of take-out, pre-packaged junk in the lead up to our wedding (six months ago, already!?!). So, J and I took a few hours and less than $30 to make a bundle of goodies for the family to eat.

Food gifts can be such a blessing to a family in need. As Deacons at our church, we're constantly asking folks undergoing surgery, loss or hardship if we can set up meal deliveries. And while any donation of food is a great gift, by saving money and time; home cooked meals that the recipients can eat on their own schedule, without guests, are so important.

Our menu for the new parents included:

• French toast sticks (with syrup)
• Mexican black bean casserole
• Spinach lasagna roll ups (with breadsticks)
• Homemade sloppy joe mix (with french fries)
• Millionaire pie 

All of these recipes were simple, relatively inexpensive (including the sides or "add ons") and will be delicious, wholesome meals for their family.

And a hidden benefit of delivering frozen meals, is that most recipes are for two whole portions or are easily doubled. So, if you know you'll have a need for some heat-and-eat meals in the future (for yourselves or others) you can easily make a dish for dinner and have the second portion frozen for later. This is great if you know of someone who will be having surgery soon, has a baby due in the near future or you're preparing for a busy back-to-school month or the beginning of sports season.

Because of the ease of making several portions to freeze at once, we love to cook freezer-friendly meals throughout the year and keep extra portions on hand. For ideas on other freezer meals, click here or visit the "freezer-friendly" label to the right. 

I'll be sharing more on the dishes we made this week (especially my mom's millionaire pie recipe) but for now, I want to share some food delivery tips and dish on the delicious french toast sticks.

Here are some tips for when you prepare and take meals to someone in need:

• All but the french toast sticks were self contained in aluminum foil pans with plastic wrap or foil. It's important to try to limit the dish washing for your recipients; and that age old argument of "Where's that casserole dish I loaned you? You never gave it back!" It's even thoughtful to include a pack of disposable plates, cutlery and napkins in your delivery. 
• All of the dishes we prepared take little more than refrigerator thawing and reheating (except for the pie; nothing to do but eat it!). I think bringing things they can cook on their own schedule is important. They won't feel like they have to eat with or in front of you while you visit and if they have a new baby, for example, their meal schedule may be all out of whack. Bring things that give them some ownership over their meals, and will help make their houses smell good - the French toast certainly does!
• Include precise directions, written on the package, if possible. I wrote any thawing and prep instructions on the pan lids or bags with permanent markers. 
• Plan ahead. For your sanity, and theirs, plan ahead. Make sure you know of any allergies and if you're part of a meal delivery group, communicate - so the family doesn't get five lasagnas in a row. I remember when we've had meals delivered to our family, usually after a death; it's a sweet, but monotonous train of casseroles. Talk with your fellow meal-makers and schedule some variety. 
• This may also be a veering away from one-pot casseroles, but think about the whole meal experience for the family. Try to include sides or add-ons that the family would enjoy with the meal but might not have on hand. And again, try to branch out - step away from bagged salad and cookie dough. 

Now on to the French toast.

I love French toast, but we rarely eat it at home because 1. we rarely have a lot of bread readily available, and 2. y'all already know that I hate mornings and I especially hate cooking in the morning. But this solves all of my problems.

First, French toast can be made with almost any bread and one of the tips of this recipe is to save your bread ends, leftover hot dog buns (why 10 buns but only 8 dogs?!?!) etc. in the freezer and then make French toast sticks when you've saved enough. Also, discount bread is pretty easy to find. Our Wal Mart has a "old bread" cart in the bakery for the discounted goodies that are a few days past their prime. I was able to score two huge loaves of fluffy French bread (so this is French French toast, thank you) for only 70 cents each! And a local bakery has a "happy hour" on their last work day where everything's half-priced. That's inexpensive, locally sourced bread! Win!

Secondly, these sticks don't require any thawing time and can be popped straight from the freezer into the oven and cooked in around 15 minutes. So, if you throw them in the oven, you'd have time to get ready while they cooked on their own. And, because I miscalculated my snooze button again (don't tell J), I was able to do a test; turns out they travel well too! I put them in a tupperware, drizzled on the syrup and ate them on the road - no more dangerous than a McMuffin (but more flavorful and budget friendly).

Too often, I think French toast can be soggy, flaccid sticks that soak up syrup like a sponge and aren't of a particularly pleasing texture. But with the crunchy cereal coating(and the crust of the bread I used), these sticks are crispy and stand up to the syrup. I used our Ninja food processor to pulse the cereal to get some very fine pieces and some larger chunks; you can customize your crunch-level with how finely you grind the coating.

The flavor is pretty classic, warm cinnamon and vanilla pair so well with fluffy bread and syrup. It reminds me of being a kid and waking up on a Saturday morning to someone already cooking. If only I could watch cartoons at work. And you could really go anywhere in customizing the flavor, too. Adding some pumpkin pie spice or cloves and nutmeg would make this even more autumnal. Or you can use different cereals. I ran out of cornflakes in my second batch, so I used crushed rice Chex and Special K honey and granola. I recommend straying away from the super-sweet cereals, or pairing them with a more simple flavor, since you're bound to douse this in syrup anyway.

I've really enjoyed these sticks for an elaborate-feeling, but utterly easy breakfast; and hope you do too! I know a little momma who claims they're a "life saver"!

Freezer-Friendly French Toast Sticks
Adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients: (Note: I did a recipe-and-a-half to do a whole loaf of French bread)

6 slices day old bread (ideally in thick slices)
4 eggs
1 c milk (any kind - I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
2 T sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 - 1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 c+ ground cornflakes (or other cereals), plus more as needed

Method:

Cut each piece of bread into thirds to make sticks.

In a large casserole dish, whisk eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon until well mixed. Place bread in the dish and allow to rest for 45-60 seconds. Flip the bread to coat other side.

Dip each piece into crushed cereal, coating all sides.

Place on large greased baking sheet. When completed, place baking sheet into the freezer for at least 45 minutes or until bread is firm and partially frozen. Transfer to a labeled freezer bag or airtight container in the freezer. (I would suggest using within 2-3 months to avoid freezer burn.)

To prepare frozen sticks:

Preheat oven to 425. Place desired amount of sticks on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for approximately 8 minutes, flip and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until golden brown and hot.

Serve with powdered sugar, syrup and/or sliced fruit.

Fat Kid Friday: Pound (of butter) Cake

"I love you like a fat kid loves cake" - 50 Cent, "21 Questions" 

I'm (belatedly) starting a feature of decadent, rich and calorie-filled dishes for Fat Kid Friday. I try to offer a variety of healthy, quick-and-easy meals here but this feature will give you wonderful ways to treat yourselves with uber-delicious and sinfully satisfying dishes - a lot of these will be desserts since we both have big sweet tooths but I've got a few luxurious entrees.

Here's our first installment with a wonderful, traditional Southern pound cake recipe from Martha Stewart's "Martha's American Food" (a new cookbook favorite of mine).

The best recipes are on the dirty, sticky pages! 

According to my dad, one of the best things I've ever cooked was pound cake. I started making them using an ancient church cookbook (those are always the best!) and even got confident enough to start making my own twists on the classic recipes. Dad loved when I'd mix in Hershey's syrup to make a yummy, dense marbled cake.

When I got this new cookbook, I decided to try another traditional pound cake recipe and this one is certainly a winner. It's so traditional that it still sticks very closely to the "pound" recipe - calling for a pound of sugar, a pound of flour and of course, an entire POUND of butter and nine large eggs. This is certainly no recipe for those counting calories, trying to lower their cholesterol or avoid diabetes.

Pound cakes are incredibly versatile and come in many varieties. The old-school recipes are heavy on extracts - extra vanilla, lemon, orange or even the mythical "five flavor pound cake." I, myself, love plain, run-of-the mill pound cakes. Our local supermarket chain, Ingles, makes the best original version. It's dense and soft - like a heavy duty angel food cake - and is incredibly delicious warm and smeared with peanut butter. I grew up calling it choke butter cake because without a glass of milk, you literally struggle to swallow the sweet bites.

The basic version of this recipe is delicious and very lightly flavored. You can taste the subtle vanilla, but what stands out the most to me is the hint of salt. The tablespoon of coarse salt really adds a great contrasting flavor. Pound cake straddles the line between bread-y, almost muffin-like texture and that of cake-cake. This recipe is more on the bread-like side, with a good bite and mouth-feel. And yes, it is still delicious with peanut butter (or Nutella or Biscoff cookie butter). It is also the perfect base for macerated berries (with vanilla sugar!) or a warm sundae.

And the variations are just as good, if not better! So far, I've made it with fresh blue berries and a blackberry jam swirl (below) - and both are gone in a flash!

All of the recipies - original and variations - are incredibly easy. The hardest parts are waiting for the butter and eggs to get to room temperature and dividing the batter evenly - you could use a kitchen scale here, I suppose, but I just wing it (for better or worse).

Pour yourself a glass of milk and put on your stretchy pants to enjoy this wonderful Fat Kid Friday pound cake!

Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened*
3 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 T coarse salt
2 c sugar
1 t pure vanilla extract
9 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten*

* It is CRITICAL that the butter and eggs be at room temperature, if not the batter will look curdled and will the cake will be far too dense and won't rise properly.

Method:

Preaheat oven to 325. Lightly butter two 5x9" loaf pans.

In a medium bowl, whisk together salt and flour.

With an electric mixer on high speed, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Cream them thoroughly for the best volume. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Reduce speed to medium and add vanilla.

Add the eggs in four batches, mixing thoroughly and scraping the bowl after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in four batches. Mix until just incorporated.

Divide batter between pans. Tap pans on the counter twice to distribute evenly. Bake until a toothpick entered into the center comes out clean - about 1 hour. Allow to rest on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edges of cakes, then turn out cakes onto racks to cool completely.

Variations:

Blueberry-Sour Cream -  Use 1/2 c sour cream in place of 1 stick of butter. Toss 2 c fresh blueberries w. 2 T flour (this keeps them from sinking to the bottom of the loaf); fold into finished batter. Before baking, sprinkle 2 T sanding sugar (I use demerara - raw- sugar) over each cake.

Jam - Fold 1 c jam into the finished batter.

Super Bowl 48 Snack-o-rama

I can remember watching the Super Bowl with my parents - dad, mostly - and betting 25 cents since I was five years old. I was only be interested in my bet and the Oscar Meyer weinermobile commercials, but in addition to the commercials and coins, I now almost understand the game, can appreciate the adorableness of the Manning brothers and most importantly, enjoy and prepare delicious game day food with my family.

Tonight, we had a super flavorful spread with old favorites and new, luxurious recipes. As usual, our minds and eyes were bigger than our bellies and we didn't even bother to complete the full menu after the first quarter but it was all delicious.

Jordan and I each contributed a slider. Jordan made his Mamaw's meatballs and sandwiched them on garlic butter toasted sweet Kings Hawaiian rolls with colby cheese squares. These meatballs - which are made with a top-secret recipe that has not yet been declassified for the blog - are hearty but with a sweet, onion sauce.Unlike a traditional meatball sub made with marinara, these sliders are sweet and tender that just make you wanting more. He used to make these into giant, entree-sized meatballs that we'd eat with sides like mashed potatoes or carrots. But we've found they make the perfect sandwich and are incredibly freezer-friendly.

I love wings and in recent months have had an insatiable hunger for bleu cheese and my buffalo'd chicken panini was a great take on the bar classic of wings and dressing. This was a quick dish that would be great for any game day or weeknight dinner and could be made with leftover chicken (a single $5 rotisserie chicken can provide a number of meal options if you plan your week carefully). Also, you can take this dish to several levels of diy. Originally, I would buy a refrigerated bread dough (like Pillsbury's French crusty loaf), cut it into eight chunks and roll them into flat rectangles, I would then grill them on my Cuisinart grill/griddle which results in a great, crusty, crunchy panini. However, to save time and to tone down the spiciness of the buffalo sauce, I opted for Kings Hawaiian mini sub rolls. This sandwich brings the best flavors of buffalo wings but it a whole lot less messy - and you don't have to eat a dozen to be satisfied. Recipe below!

Dad made crowd pleasing mini pigs in a blanket - no Southern party is complete without lil' smokies or crescent dough - and improvised turkey and Italian cheese pinwheels (more crescent dough); a delicious layered salad - another timeless Southern potluck dish (recipe below)- and for a healthy respite, some crudite and a creamy riff on guacamole. 

He also surprised us with a decadent lobster mac 'n' cheese. We're all mac lovers and none of us frequently eats lobster (we are six to nine hours from an ocean) so this was a real treat. Dad said it best, by saying "it's no longer macaroni and cheese." It was undeniably delicious but didn't resemble the childhood favorite, but was do deeply infused with crustacean it had become a new dish entirely. We've enjoyed it and checked it off of our food bucket lists. 

Lobstah Mac in the small dish; Mom demanded her own crustacean-free dish, too

And Jordan finished off our smorgasbord with his super easy and even more delicious dessert that I simply call " Oreo fluff." Fluff is a layered whipped cream and chocolate wafer cookie dessert with only 3-4 ingredients but tastes as good as any homemade cake or pie. This is a great dish to have your kids help with, to make in bulk for potlucks or in ramekins for individual servings. Every time we take it to church, our fellow parishioners all but lick the bowl! Recipe below!

Maybe next year we'll try the Mario Batali strategy - making two themed dishes per team and alternating them during each quarter, then he serves a dessert he prepared based upon his guess of which team would win. This spaces out the snacks and adds a little more order to the food fest - but then again, it's not a Super Bowl party without copious quantities of classic "unaffiliated" tailgating food. Whatever the plan - we'll report to you here at Endlessly Delicious Life.

Preliminary conclusion (11:34 left in the 4th quarter): Check out the trio of recipes below - and I promise that they're more dynamic than tonight's game. Well, actually, they are runaway successes too. Obviously, I put my quarter on Seattle.

Buffalo'd Chicken Panini

Ingredients: 

2 c cooked shredded chicken (I boiled mine in salted water for 45 minutes)
1/2 c mild to medium buffalo sauce (add melted butter as needed to tone down, I added around 2 T)
4 buns or rolls (or grilled dough method from above)
1/4 small red onion, sliced
1/3 c bleu cheese crumbles

Method:

Heat buffalo sauce (and butter, if added) on low until hot. Stir in chicken, heat until hot.

Spoon chicken mixture onto buns, layer red onions and sprinkle with cheese.

Press on a hot grill until heated through and cheese is melted. Serve with extra ranch or bleu cheese dressing if desired.

-------------------------------------------------

"Seven" Layer Salad - (technically, the toppings - cheeses/bacon - count as one item)

Ingredients*: *in "layer" quantities - they depend upon your bowl size

shredded iceberg lettuce
peeled, sliced cucumber
thinly sliced sweet onion (ex: Vidalia)
chopped boiled ham (or ham lunchmeat)
frozen baby peas
mayonnaise
grated Parmesan cheese
crumbled bacon
shredded cheddar cheese

Method:

Simple - layer the items (lettuce first) in your dish. Use a clear, deep bowl for a beautiful presentation.

---------------------------------------------------

Oreo Fluff

Ingredients:

1 - 1 1/2 packs of chocolate wafer cookies (you can use double stuff, vanilla or chocolate cream), crumbled
32 oz. whipped cream, thawed
approx. 1/2 c milk
chocolate syrup (optional)

Method:

Cove the bottom of your dish with a layer of crumbled cookies - the thicker your cookie layer the more cake-like consistency you'll have. Carefully pour just enough milk on the cookies to dampen them slightly. For chocolate lovers - add a drizzle of chocolate syrup on top. Next, layer whipped cream. Repeat to finish with cookie crumbles on top. Chill at least a few hours. The longer you leave it in the fridge the softer it becomes - it just gets better!

Merry Christmas and Cider!

Two of our goodies from this years' LEGO Friends and Star Wars advent calendars 

We just finished our second family Christmas celebration - cookie swap on Sunday and dinner tonight - with at least two more to go - country breakfast and afternoon snack binge tomorrow. This is a super busy time of year what with the shopping and the parties and other obligations, but we're blessed to have so many people to visit and things to do.

We want to wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season for whatever you celebrate and with whomever you make memories with. We hope that you take the time today, tomorrow and every day - holiday or not - to slow down and take the time to be with, talk to or think of the ones you love. And  of course, to cook, share or eat something delicious.

In the spirit of the season and general deliciousness, I'll share the recipe for the hot spice apple cider (also called wassail) we took to tonight's event. This beverage is a great seasonal drink - it just tastes like the holidays - with cloves, cinnamon and citrus. Like most of my recipes, it's very customizeable to your palate - use more or less spice as you'd like. It's a good make-and-take beverage too; we made ours hours in advance and reheated and kept it piping hot in our Crock Pot.

Merry Christmas from our family and table to yours!

Hot Spiced Apple Cider

Ingredients:

1 gallon apple cider

1 c citrus-y juice (orange or pineapple; this time we used 50/50)

3 T brown sugar (+/- to taste)

8-10 whole cloves  (+/- to taste)
1 orange sliced in circles
1 T cinnamon (+/- to taste)
1/2 t ground nutmeg  (+/- to taste)

Method:
Pour all ingredients into a large pot and bring to a rolling boil. Continue boiling for at least 15 minutes (we boiled ours for about 20); the longer you boil it, the stronger the flavors will be. Strain and serve.

Note: I kept my orange slices intact and then put them back into the Crock Pot when we arrived; it made for a very pretty presentation.

"Family ate beans, I made Ramen" - My Cultural Connection to Cornbread

I read several blogs and visit online news sites regularly, but for my foodie fix I go to NPR's The Salt. This food portion of NPR's website collects all the food-related content from regular on-air shows like Morning Edition  and All Things Considered and also features like my favorite weekly post "Sandwich Monday."

Yesterday, at work, I made a Salt-heavy playlist including the "Found Recipes" series and random stories about the "dairy cliff," prohibition, high school lunches and this gem, which is a food-themed edition of The Race Card Project (listen here).

The Race Card Project asks participants to write six words that explain or are integral to their racial identity. They've showcased a variety of people whose experiences cover a vast spectrum of emotions and experiences. All of their short sentences are charged with emotion and give listeners (and readers) a visceral experience (such as "Black babies cost less to adopt." Whoa.)

This episode features a card by Melanie Vanderlipe Remil with the words "I ate pasta, family ate rice." Remil explained that as a child, she shunned her Filipino roots and refused to eat rice with every meal like her family. She recalled her mother rushing home from work to prepare dinner, but always making her a box of Pasta Roni. Her parents are immigrants and they wanted their children to fit in with American culture as much as the kids themselves did - so her mom went along with making multiple sides. But when she went to college, Remil took a Filipino American Contemporary Issues course and realized how valuable her culture was and how much she appreciated her family, it's traditions and food.

So, to preserve her history, she asked her grandmother to teach her how to cook traditional Filipino food. She's taking on the role of family food historian by teaching younger generations how to make traditional holiday dishes, and reminding them that our closest ties to our cultures are our foods (research shows that these are the cultural links that we are most likely to maintain).

My racial identity isn't tied to a menu, nor do I have any knowledge of what it's like to be a first generation American, but I certainly relate to Remil. My family has deep Southern roots and that food is a huge part of my identity.

Our area's regional cuisine consists of very simple and inexpensive food that will keep you full and can be made in such portions to feed a huge family or feed a few for several meals for next-to-nothing. The menu harkens back to when these mountains were much more impenetrable and you had to make do with that you had before traveling to town for only staples like flour, sugar and lard; the rest of your ingredients came from your own backyard.

As a child, I loathed many such foods. My parents loved to have soup beans (pinto beans cooked down with pork) and cornbread and a glass of milk with cornbread crumbled up inside. I had no desire to eat chicken livers or liver mush sandwiches (exactly what it sounds like) and wild game was out of the question. My mother has always been true to roots so, unlike Remil's mother, there were rarely alternatives made ahead - so this is how I learned to make Ramen.

But I too had an awakenening in college. I moved to the Triad area of NC where the barbeque was completely different, you're more likely to get corn pone than cakes of corn bread, and our college's cafeteria menu was designed by Sysco Foods - which has little to do with local ingredients or flavors. Although this wasn't a drastic change, I realized I missed home cooking and the food that only comes from my family.

I was going to school with hipsters and new-age hippies who thought pressure canning and gardening were new, trendy hobbies from the green movement. They'd never raised pigs and canned their own pork tenderloin, or grown their own green beans, or seen how molasses is made. But those are things I have done or know - they're part of my identity as a Southern woman. And so, like Remil, I'm trying to maintain my culture and my family's traditions to food. I've shared many of our family recipes and food traditions with Jordan already and they're dishes I know we'll continue to enjoy as a family.

There are traditional dishes I've always loved - like fried chicken, cube steak and gravy and biscuits - but have never made, and there are foods that I've come to appreciate and want to learn how to make "just like momma (and daddy and grandma and mamaw) used to make" - like cornbread. And learning these recipes is a major goal of mine.

Recently, I conquered my first cake of corn bread and from it made my very own cornbread salad (a staple of Southern potlucks). My grandma always says that cornbread sticking to the pan "is enough to make a preacher cuss"- and she'd know, she married one - and that alone made me fearful that this would not be easy. Furthermore, both of my parents make cornbread without a recipe and without actually measuring anything. They randomly pour unknown quantities of ingredients in a bowl, give it a quick stir and throw it in an ancient cast iron pan to bake for an indeterminate amount of time. My brain doesn't work like that and I actually called both of them and they "made up" a recipe for me to use to make my first cakes - and they turned out to be beautiful and delicious!

Here are a few quick cornbread tips I'd like to share with you:

• Traditional Southern cornbread is not sweet. This is a Northern invention (read: bastardization). Sweet cornbread (a la Jiffy mix or Boston Market) can be delicious, but I don't find it to be nearly as versatile as corn meal-, not sugar-flavored cornbread.
• Make sure you use a well-seasoned cast iron pan. These are like gold in the South and every girl has one in her hope chest. Also, do not scrub or use dish soap on cast iron - gently wipe it out with a wet cloth - they don't call it seasoning for nothing!
• My dad is of the school that you don't need to pre-heat your pan or melt lard into it. The cool pan with vegetable oil worked just fine.
• And when you flip it out and it doesn't stick, take a second to run your hand across that smooth underside - it's such a satisfying feeling of achievement!

Finally, here are the recipes for both the cornbread base and salad.

Traditional Cornbread

Ingredients:

2 c cornmeal (I used white)
3/4 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp (plus a smidge) white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 c milk (water will work in a pinch, too)


Method:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a bowl, mix together ingredients. Pour 2-3 Tbs. vegetable oil into cast iron skillet (this recipe will make one "standard" sized cake, I made one medium and one small); swirl to coat bottom. Pour mixture into pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool for a few minutes and run a knife around the edge before flipping out onto plate.



Cornbread Salad

Ingredients:

1 cake cornbread, cooled
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 tomato, de-seeded and diced
1 small bottle Italian salad dressing
1 can corn, drained
2 c. shredded cheddar (or any flavor) cheese

Method:

Crumble the cornbread into a large bowl. Crumble it as thoroughly as you'd like; I enjoy mine fairly finely crumbled with a few "chunks."  Pour 1/3 of the cornbread into another bowl. Drizzle 1/3 of the dressing over the cornbread (start out with less, to get desired texture - I like mine to just be damp throughout). Layer vegetables and cheese on top. Repeat.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least three hours. The longer you let it set, the deeper the flavors will become. This is a great make-ahead dish and can be served for days on end. Also, it is very customizable - you could use ranch dressing; add cucumbers, pimentos or black-eyed peas; or make it with Mexican cornbread etc.



                  

Bringing New Life to Leftovers

I love leftovers, especially holiday leftovers that are wrapped and stuffed in a number of packages and cram-packed into the fridge.

When I was younger, on Thanksgiving Day my parents and I ate lunch at my mamaw's house with some twenty-odd cousins, aunts, uncles and adopted family members. And I always looked forward to dinnertime that night, when we'd drag ourselves into the kitchen, exhausted  and would eat cold turkey, mayo and mustard sandwiches on white bread and I'd eat Jell-O fluff by the spoonful. That was the best part of the whole day!

As I got older, and our celebration became a little more disjointed and we started having our primary meal at my parents house and I'd cart my own menagerie of Tupperware back to mine, I loved re-creating the meal over and over.

I am a creature of habit - almost disturbingly so when it comes to meals. Left to my own devices, I'll master a dish or flavor profile that I fall back to repeatedly. For example, almost every weekend that Jordan's working, I make nachos or quesadillas for lunch. Do I have the ingredients for practically any dish? Sure. Do I have the capability to follow a recipe and create a successful noon-day meal? No doubt. But time and time again, I haphazardly dump Latin ingredients (salsa, guacamole etc.) and chopped up protein leftovers (chicken tenders, pot roast...) onto Santilla corn tortilla chips and nuke it for 90 seconds. Como se dice "deja vu" in espanol?

With that being said, I get a sick pleasure out of reheating duplicate Thanksgiving plates on Friday, Saturday and if I brought big enough Tupperware, Sunday. I recreate the plate dish for dish, I want the turkey, the dressing, the cranberry sauce over and over.

However, I do like to reinvent my leftovers too and today, I think I made a good dish. Jordan was at work today and doesn't like dark meat turkey, so I knew I'd be nibbling on that to leave him his favorite parts for dinner. As mentioned before, my fail-safe is Mexican cuisine so I made the most delicious quesadilla with leftover smoked turkey, shredded sharp cheddar and brie! I may try this again and do just brie and a spread of cranberry sauce, but today I took it in a decisively Mexican profile (go figure).

Despite my sub-par sour cream (I'm a snob) and a lack of guac, this quesadilla is one of my better improvisational lunches. The brie elevated the whole dish - there's melted cheese and then there's melted brie - this gave it a much smoother texture with more gooeyness than stringy meltedness. I think the cheddar contributed more flavor, but the brie added a contrasting texture to the crispness of the tortilla. The turkey, which my dad had smoked, added a much more robust flavor than my usual frozen Tyson grilled chicken strips. It also had some fat (read:flavor!) that a grilled chicken strip lacks.

My dad is a master at this kind of improv with any groceries (he and Jordan did a Chopped challenge where they could only spend $15 to feed four of us 3-courses at a discount store), much less leftovers. He is notorious for getting every last drop of flavor and value out of an item; one of his best examples is a chicken noodle soup made out of KFC chicken and gravy leftovers! I hope to someday have this flair and ability to improvise, but I certainly think this is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, with our remaining gallon-sized Ziploc bag of turkey, we'll be able to think outside of the box (and Mexican flavors) for some new dishes this weekend.

Happy eating and reheating!

Saturday update: I just used diced pieces of turkey leg meat to make a wonderful panang curry! Panang curry is often served in Thai restaurants; it's a coconut milk red curry with lots of vegetables and very little heat. It has traditional light and warm Thai flavors without the spice you sometimes find in curries - but I served it with a sprinkle of Thai spice and sriracha for a little oomph. I improvised this recipe- turkey, not tofu; used red curry paste instead of panang curry paste (panang is a red curry with peanuts added - you could probably recreate that, but it isn't carried pre-made in our local stores) and I didn't use Thai basil, either (another shortcoming of our grocery store). The recipe is super easy and other than the coconut milk, we normally have these ingredients on hand, so it was fairly inexpensive (we spent 16 cents on ginger and another 16 cents on snap peas!) and could be a quick dinner in a pinch. If you're looking for a sneaky, not-super-turkey-flavored way to use your leftovers (or any meat/veggie/soy leftovers), this is it!