Thursday, November 24, 2005

Thanks·giv·ing

( P ) Pronunciation Key
  1. An act of giving thanks; an expression of gratitude, especially to God: a hymn of thanksgiving.
  2. Thanksgiving Day.
  3. Taking a group of people, who normally spend the rest of the year avoiding each other, put them in a room together. Add years of bitterness and resentment and liberal splashes of alcohol and watch the ensuing fun! (dripping w/sarcasm)

I brought a wonderful appetizer that had to finish cooking, so there was a bit of a dance in the kitchen and there was concern my MIL's potato dish would suffer, so I had to pull them out sooner than I wanted. Not as browned as I wanted, but lucky for me, everyone raved about them and some had seconds... I will share that recipe at the end. Oh, and her potato dish survived and was quite delicious.

Other than that, the meal came and went without incident. So, just before we leave, my son makes a break for the outdoors after I told him he had to wait for me to go with him. There are a lot of dangers lurking out the door, one being a yellow lab, who has a habit of menacing small children, as well as various cutting tools for wood working are on the porch. So, I stop him short of running off the end of the porch and doing a nose dive into the gravel, and give him a swat on the behind and tell him no and explain why. My swats do not hurt, and my son responds very well to quick reprimands followed with a hug and me telling him I love him and not to disobey me again when I ask him to do something. So, I bring him in and by the time I set him down he is smiling and off to find his daddy, but my MIL looks at me like I have just whipped him within an inch of his life and sputters, "Oh, poor little baby!". GAAAH! I wish she wouldn't do that!

Thankfully, my SIL and her leech of a boyfriend who is in dire need of a sucking chest wound (kidding... sort of), were still M.I.A. at that point. I will repeat myself by saying it was refreshing without them slinking and slithering around looking for any opportunity to insult our parenting, and decision to raise our children as meat-eaters (they themselves are the subversive and pushy vegetarians). My MIL actually actually nice to me, other than referring to me by my first name when talking about me to my own children. It bothers me because I asked her not to do that because I don't want my babies to stop calling me mommy... EVER.

So, I am thankful for my beautiful children, my loving and supportive husband, my irrepressibly sweet parents and for a Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws, sans SIL and her submissive lackey, that was closer to comfortable than not. Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was fabulous.

PORK TART IN ROASTED GARLIC CREAM
Ingredients
  • 12 ounces boneless,pork cutlets, medium diced
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 12 ounces sweet Italian sausage, medium diced
  • 1 cup tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
  • 1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 3/4 cup prepared peppercorn gravy
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2" cubes
  • 20 sheets Athens Fillo Dough, thawed
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup fresh chives, cut into 1/2" lengths
Place pork into small bowl, season with salt, pepper and vinegar. Marinate for 1 hour. Remove from marinade and place in pan. Place sausage in separate pan. Roast both in preheated 350ºF oven for 20 minutes. Cool chicken and sausage; mix together. In large skillet, sauté onions in butter for 5 minutes. Add wine and simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Add pork, sausage and gravy. Stir together and bring to a simmer. Cool. Add basil leaves, mozzarella and half of chopped tomato. Prepare 6 fillo tart shells, 4" diameter, in greased pan according to directions for Cups, Pie & Tart Shells. Bake in preheated 350ºF oven for 7 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and remove from pan. Spoon mixture into fillo shells and bake in preheated 350ºF oven for about 8 minutes or until cheese bubbles. Prepare Roasted Garlic Cream (recipe below). Spoon hot garlic cream onto plate. Place hot tart in cream and garnish with chives and remaining chopped tomatoes.
Yield: 6 tarts

ROASTED GARLIC CREAM
Ingredients
  • 12 unpeeled cloves garlic
  • 1 quart heavy cream
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Place garlic on ungreased cookie sheet and roast in preheated 400ºF oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and soft. Peel and mash garlic. Add cream to saucepan with mashed garlic and simmer until reduced to 2 cups. Season with salt and pepper.

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