Monthly Archives: November 2009

Thanksgiving – the one time of year where it’s perfectly acceptable to become a gluttonous

This is a recipe my brother-in-law made one year when my husband and I drove

A friend of mine, John from BocaEats, wrote up an EDU for a casserole made of delicious Thanksgiving leftovers that included an apple. Now, John insists that the only apple that works for this recipe is a Macintosh, but I would like to politely disagree. I used Galas, and they rocked in this dish. I want to thank him for his inspiration, because this was probably one of the most creative ways I've ever eaten Thanksgiving leftovers, and it. was. delicious.

I am sitting here on the couch after gorging myself on so. much. food. :) I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! I wanted to post a bit of a teaser of what's to come for Lauren's Kitchen - namely everything and anything traditionally "Thanksgiving" for my family. On the table: Herb Roasted Turkey; Cornbread, Sausage, and Mushroom Stuffing; Green Beans Sauteed with Bacon and Garlic, Shoepeg Corn Casserole, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and Maple Sweet Potato Casserole.

I know, I know - no one makes friends with salad! But, I promise, this salad is not your average, boring, run-of-the-mill salad! It's fresh and light, and the addition of crab and shrimp makes it a bit more decadent and somehow satisfying. The liberal addition of orange gives it a delicious acid that's perfectly fitting with the seafood - of, and it's on some lettuce - so you know it's *healthy*! I brought this salad to a birthday party/Thanksgiving party this weekend, and it was mostly gone before everyone had a chance to get any. I'd say I made some friends with salad. ;)

I love this time of year in Texas.  Cool nights, and sometimes the occasional warm

So, my Texan-transplant guilt has finally taken over. I was raised on the West Coast, so my ideal of chili is delicious beaniness, with a bit of heat, some meat and bacon, and peppers. Well, the residents of my adopted home state insist that chili does not have beans. So, in my attempt to make a beef stew that Texans might approve of, I threw this together with some leftover chuck I had hanging out in the freezer, and a decent amount of spice. I loved the addition of the thyme, but I do admit, I overuse the herb simply because it grows so well in my garden. I almost don't even miss the beans! :)

It's starting to cool down again, and nothing is more reminscent of Autumn than pumpkin and squash dishes. I enjoyed this soup because it's so flexible - it would be delicious with roasted carrot puree, roasted butternut squash, or even apple added to it. I decided to keep this iteration simple with the always appropriate addition of bacon. One thing I've found with this soup is that the next day, you can reheat it with a couple handfuls of parmagianno regianno and italian sausage, and basically have Creamy Pumpkin and Sage Pasta.

This has been a beef heavy week.  It all started with my foray into Flatiron Steak, which

This is Lauren’s Kitchen’s 99th recipe (and 100th post!!!!!)   😉 I normally make  a pretty