Cold Remedies & Leftovers

We returned home to New York only to find that I was stricken with a terrible cold, the kind of cold that makes me even more cranky than normal. I had most of the early part of the day to kick around, grumble, and drink ginger, lemon, and honey tea so by the time Jen got home I was only mostly insufferable.



As I've mentioned many times it is nearly impossible to pair beer or wine with soup. Since I'd planned to make soup I decided to have a beer about two hours before the soup to make things easier.

Tonight I selected this Hibernator from Long Trail Brewing Co. As we roll into the near winter months it will be all about Christmas and winter beers. There are probably 400 different varieties that I will see this year so I'll need to be extra selective about what I choose to pair with dinner and what I don't get around to sampling at all.

Given my love for Long Trail I thought this was a good way to kick off the winter season. And by winter season I mean winter beer season, not actual winter.



With my cold lingering I decided soup would be a good move. I took some of the remaining turkey from Thanksgiving and spent most of the day making turkey stock. With some of the stock I made this turkey soup with garlic, ginger, onion, carrot, celery, egg noodles, parsley, and lots of black pepper.

I also put in a dash of Worchestershire sauce at Jen's recommendation and I'm pretty sure all of that added up to clearing out my sinuses nicely.



Jen's not a huge fan of soup as a main course so I also took the remaining stuffing and added an egg, some Gruyere, parsley, and a little milk before baking it in the oven to make a savory bread pudding.



I was going to go straight back to tea and add a little brandy but then I decided that leaving the tea out may be a better idea. I did cut the brandy with a little Bénédictine for the herbal and medicinal qualities of the drink. Then I sipped it over the course of about two hours. Bénédictine is made by monks so it has a long tradition and closely guarded recipe.

Besides, I just like anything made by monks.

Just Like Grandma Used To Make

My grandmother didn't cook all that much. She was not really known for her cooking. I should correct that. She was known for her cooking, just not in the way one would hope. It's strange, actually. Directly descended from my grandmother are a a number of really good cooks.

As a child I heard stories of her cooking. She was fond of any vegetable as long as it came in a can. Like most cooks in the 1950's she took an overly cautious approach to cooking pork, charring it to a burnt cinder. I don't think she was alone in this approach. It makes me wonder why anyone even bothered with pork if they were so terrified of trichinosis in the first place.

About ten or fifteen years ago she started to take a real interest in cooking which shocked everyone. She would cook large quantities of food then give it away just for fun. She's ask me for pointers when I saw her and was always trying new things.

She got really good.

I remember going to visit her at what was one of the lower parts of my extremely lucky and privileged life. I struggled with running a business, was dirt poor, and lived in a beat up old apartment that was cheaper than just about anywhere else in America but I could still barely afford it. Gram was really excited about a turkey chili she'd made and, to my delight, she gave me a giant container to take home.

I ate the hell out of that turkey chili.

If you've ever been truly broke, truly in financial hardship then you know how amazing it is to get free food. Even someone giving you a loaf of Wonderbread makes you think, Thank God I can use this to eat and that is $1.99 less I have to put on my credit card.

Gram's turkey chili was really good. For some reason I always remembered that moment, that time where Gram was interested in cooking and she made this turkey chili that was really good. The fact that it was made my my grandmother (and in no small measure that it was free) made it all that more special.



Tonight I decided to make turkey chili. I don't really think I've ever made it before. I had a ton of leftover turkey but I didn't really have a lot of the other ingredients. I wasn't about to go out on this rainy late night so I simply browned some garlic and onion then finely chopped the cooked turkey, and added black beans, tomato paste, part of a leftover Triple Bag beer, oregano, thyme, smoked paprika, chili powder, salt, pepper, and a few dashes of hot sauce.



I served it over white rice with a dollop of sour cream and some shredded cheddar.



To go with the chili I had this St. Bernardus Prior 8. My grandmother didn't serve beer with her chili. In fact, I don't know if she ever had a beer to my knowledge. However, she was quite religious so I figured she'd approve of the good saint.

Gram passed away last weekend. Jen and I went to see her the previous weekend. She hadn't been doing well for a while but she was happy to see us. My beard was quite a surprise to her even though I've had it for the majority of my life. She also took particular note of Jen's scarf, pointing at it. When Jen handed her the scarf she threw it onto the floor. Jen was very happy about this. Her greatest wish in life is that when she's an old lady like grandma she'll be able to do anything she wants and no one will be able to say anything to her.

My grandma was always a very sweet natured and kind woman. I don't really think she shared Jen's philosophy on what license an old lady has. I don't think that's the reason my grandma threw her scarf on the ground but I'd sure like to think it was.

Stirrup Sunday and Milieu Monday

We were a week late. Last Sunday we should have stirred up all our ingredients for the overly-elaborate preparation of the fruit cake. Every three or four years we need to make a new batch as we've finally powered through the ten pounds in our freezer. Yesterday was our day to finally complete a batch of fruitcake that will likely get us through until the year portrayed in Back to the Future II -- otherwise known as the thing I've been looking forward to in life more than anything.



By "our" time I, of course, mean Jen's time. Jen worked on all of this while I was work, stirring, measuring, and baking after a day of soaking up copious amounts of dried fruit and nuts in brandy. A few more weeks of brandy applications and the fruit cake will be almost ready for consumption.

After another year it will be perfect for consumption.



The setting for the following courses is in an average American home after accumulating a large quantity of Thanksgiving leftovers.

After reading Mark Bittman's annual guide on how to use Thanksgiving leftovers I had a few ideas of what to do. I like his idea of using the stuffing with roasted peppers so I grilled these orange Bell peppers over an open flame, stuffed them with the leftover chestnut, leek, and apple stuffing, and topped them with shredded Gruyere. I browned them up under the broiler.

This is a winner. I'd highly recommend this if you have any leftover stuffing. It's dead easy and tasty too.



To go with these Thanksgiving flavors I cracked open a bottle of Triple Bag by Long Trail Brewing Company. I've had the Double Bag. In fact, it's one of my favorites. When I saw the Triple Bag I passed it by subconsciously dismissing it as the Double Bag. That's when Jen asked me about it and I noticed that the label was different. It looked like Bessie the Riveter was calling me to enjoy Double Bag's older, less sophisticated sister.

It was a very good beer. It was malty, roasty, and pretty high in alcohol at 9.2%. That ass-kicking cow on the label is not to be messed with.



For dessert I made this parfait with yogurt, leftover cranberry sauce, Manuka honey, and chopped toasted pistachios. It was a nice finish to the evening and a great way to use up some leftover cranberry sauce.

And that, my friends, is how we rock this milieu.

Thanksgiving Left Over Right Under Your Nose

The thing about making Thanksgiving dinner for three people is that you have leftovers. A lot of leftovers. So many leftovers, in fact, that it's just a race against time before you find yourself throwing the last bits away. Each year for Thanksgiving I make it my goal to have 0% waste as I try to think of inventive (read: edible) ways to utilize our leftovers.

This kind of goes against all of the tradition of excess tied into this holiday but I've always been something of a rogue.



I started last night by serving these toasts I made with Jen's sweet rolls, Brie Rouzaire Nangis, and cranberry sauce under the broiler. Jen was suspicious then surprised like with most of my cooking.



For a salad Jen just had some greens but I dressed mine with mustard pickles, pickled herring, and a little of the mustard pickle juice.



Since Jen's father had left early in the morning it was time to whip out the Thanksgiving/Fall themed beer that I knew it would be best not to serve in his presence: the Grateful Harvest Cranberry Ale from Harpoon Brewery. The cranberry flavor was very subtle but still there in some noticeable amount. It was good but not something that I would want to have more than 1 or 2 bottles of in a season.

The proceeds from selling the beer goes to food banks so if you purchase this beer you at least will not be 100% filled with regret.



For dessert: more pumpkin pie and whipped cream. Jen had pondered making a second pie for dinner. I objected on the grounds that one pie for three people was probably enough. After Thursday, Friday, and Saturday there are about three servings left.

As we move into next week I'm going to be soliciting ideas to use up the rest of these leftovers before they hit the freezer and then get thrown away six months from now.

Happy holidays!

Hot Turkey Sandwiches (Round 8)

We like to have hot turkey sandwiches. I'm starting to get it down to a science at this point. Each year we have hot turkey sandwiches the day after Canadian Thanksgiving and the day after American Thanksgiving. This marks the eighth blog post about the same dish, something I normally try to avoid. However, each year there is a slight spin on the hot turkey sandwich. Last year there was a Belgian theme, Two years ago Jen's father introduced naan into the mix.

This year was not that innovative.



We started off with this cheese plate which featured Fourme D'Ambert, Cranberry Wensleydale, and Brie Rouzaire Nangis. I have now managed to convince one more person that Fourme D'Ambert is the most delicious cheese of all time.



To accompany our sandwiches I made a mixture of regular oven fries and also some additional fries out of the aborted sweet potatoes Jen was going to make for Thanksgiving. Like an episode of Iron Chef she had run out of time to do all the courses she had intended to do and settled with a mere ten items.



Side-by-side you have here, juxtaposed, Jen's closed faced turkey sandwich with my open faced turkey sandwich. Jen also believes that certain things are intended for the side while I have no problem jamming a bunch of Brussels sprouts and roasted parsnips onto the top of my monstrous sandwich.



For beer I had this Phoenix Pale Ale from Sly Fox Brewing Company in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. I picked it up because I'd guessed that my father-in-law would like it. It turns out I was right! Also, it turns out that this was a great accompaniment to turkey dinner leftovers.

I'm always amazed when my random beer selections actually complement the meal. I assure you this is not intentional, I'm still sticking to my theory that any beer goes with any food. The same principle I have always upheld with wine pairing.

I will, however, admit that there is a small chance that some beers or wines may just happen to pair better with certain foods.

More research is needed.