Thanksgiving 2017

 Everything was new for me back when I was a newcomer to this country from where we did not have anything like this, starting with the equipment. I started with roast chicken and a couple of sides a year before my first Thanksgiving dinner. I had my first taste of roast turkey at my mother in law's. I remember cutting some  celery for the stuffing, for that dinner. Nothing else registered. In the meantime, I had found some recipes in a newspaper. I had never tasted those before, by the way. But I had written all the recipes down -- cranberry relish, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon, candied yam, cauliflower casserole, pumpkin pie. I got hold of a copy of Joy of Cooking, and it became my encyclopedia. I started studying roasting and baking techniques. And thus it began. My first official  Thanksgiving dinner was served around 18 years ago, using those recipes.

Most of the items that I served on that day, in our little apartment to family and friends, are still here.  With the arrival of the internet, things got more fun. I found that I enjoyed finding out the stories behind recipes, about cuisines of the world, about the parallels among different cuisines. And over the years, the menu has grown. so has the technique and equipment. For instance, I started brining the turkey, then dry brining. Now the turkey is roasted in claypot, and it has sprouted a few more legs!

When I think about it, I find that, for good or bad,  when things get easy, I have this urge to make them hard, and harder. I realize I like to challenge myself. It is as if I haven't done anything, that I did not put an effort, if I didn't almost  kill myself in the process, with stress and worry and work! Kidding! There is some stress at some point, but all in all, it s rather fun and invigorating. So the menu gets bigger. For me, that is. The fact that my family enjoys it is the bonus. Still, I do worry that I am raising expectations, and that I will let them down, let down myself. Well, that is me. Meanwhile, I have fun planning, scheduling and executing my menu. And I enjoy the sense of accomplishment once I have completed my work. I take pride in making everything from scratch, including the pie crusts and the bread or rolls. I am not sure how much longer I can pull it all off , as I get older. And when that day comes, sooner or later, I will have these as cherished memories. A record of a foodie.

Thanksgiving from around 18 years ago

Thanksgiving 2017

appetizers: cheese-spinach squares, marinated olives, spicy szechwan cabbage, nazrani meatballs, devilled eggs, lil sausages

pecan pie, pineapple snow, lemon meringue pie, apple pie

turkey roasted in claypot with a few extra legs, gravy, green beans with bacon, stuffing, cranberry relish, roast vegetables, mashed potatoes, waldorf salad, candied yam

and the bread

apple pie, creme chantilly, pumpkin pie, lemon meringue pie, pineapple pie, pecan pie

Thanksgiving 2016

I was very pleased to have made the mini rose apple pie! Lots of recipes on the internet.

mini rose apple pie

Filippino fruit salad, pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, pecan pie, mini rose apple pie

apple pie from leftover apple bits and pie crust

mini rose apple pie

Baked eggs in hot tomato sauce

Also called Eggs in Purgatory, this is an easy breakfast dish that tastes great, and looks good too. Thought to be have originated in Turkey and in Tunisia, this dish is called Shakshouka in the Middle East, and it appears in other parts of the world with slight or no variations. Thus it is similar to the Mexican huevos rancheros, the Portuguese and Spanish baked eggs, the Turkish menemen and so forth. Can be made on stove top and can also be baked in the oven. In Kerala, we have a similar dish where the eggs are in a lentil sauce, and another one in a spicy coconut milk bases sauce.

This recipe is a combination of all of those.

1 medium onion, chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 large bell pepper, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped (use canned petite diced tomatoes - 2 cans - if in a hurry)
1 cup black beans (use canned to make it easy (1 can)  but that is not as healthy as when made the hard way, they say)
1 small bunch cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped ( I don't mind the seeds - but it adds heat, remember!)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp dried oregano - if fresh, use more
1- 2  tsp  dried basil- if fresh use more
1/2 tsp red pepper
a sprinkle of paprika
black pepper, salt
4-5 eggs
Olive oil
grated cheddar - 1/4 cup or as much as you like

Soak the beans overnight (8 hours, more or less). Drain. Pour enough water to cover the beans, maybe a little over, bring to a boil, Simmer, covered. Cook till tender but firm (not mushy). Or, if you are using canned, you can skip all that. ;)

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Heat oil in a skillet. Saute the onions and garlic till almost brown. Add the spices.
Stir. Add the bell peppers, cilantro, jalapenos, tomatoes. Stir around. Cover. Simmer. 20 minutes.

Remove the lid, add the beans now. cook some more till the sauce is thick.
Now, you may make indents in the thick sauce, Put a little dot of butter in each space,
and crack  an egg into each. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the eggs. Now there are two ways to do this. You may either cover the skillet and cook it for 5 minutes or so, or, bake it like I did here.
Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes, or until the eggs are set to your liking.

Garnish with cilantro or jalapeno peppers, or basil or all of those.

Serve with toast or tortillas, or pita, or Indian roti, It is even good with rice, for dinner.

Use less or more red pepper, according to your preference,  when you make the dish.

huevos rancheros