The "Dish" on Thanksgiving Part II

Hello again!!

Hope everyone is doing well!! Welcome to the "Dish" on Thanksgiving Part II. I apologize for not getting this post out there sooner, I had a trip to NYC Saturday when I was supposed to post.

I'm sure many of you are wondering what the "Dish" is this week...Starters and Side Dishes!!!

Let's Start with a Starter! My ideal starter dish would be a cheese plate personally. I love cheeses and crackers, fruit...and of course that glass of wine! What kind of cheeses? What will my guests enjoy??

Some good ones include - Classic Sharp Cheddar, Blue Cheese, Goat Cheese, Gouda, Brie....etc. If I were to make a cheese plate for my guests, I would limit my plate to having 3 cheeses. Whichever cheese you enjoy (I like goat cheese, sharp cheddar, blue cheese the best) You don't want to overwhelm your guests with too much or too many choices. Along with the cheese I would put out a few different cracker choices, maybe some fruits such as grapes or pear slices. Perhaps even have some chutney to spread onto crackers and cheese. Yum!! We have a chutney called "old farmhouse chutney" and it has all kinds of fruits in it and whatnot. Apricot is the main one I believe. Very good :) If you're unsure of what kind of wine to serve alongside of the cheese plate, don't be afraid to do some research and maybe attend a wine tasting at a local winery!! You'll have a ton of fun and try new things and learn alot too!!

Shall we move onto a side dish?? Let's take a look at Green Bean Casserole. A classic. I am always in charge of this dish myself!! Everyone knows to use the classic recipe on the Cream of Mushroom Soup label, complete with the onion crunchies ontop. However, this year I am thinking of trying something different. Chex Green Bean Casserole!! (of course I'll put out the onion crunchies for those who can't have dinner without them!)...This recipe looks super easy and is very close to the classic casserole everyone loves. The only difference is instead of the onion crunchies, you top it with Rice Chex cereal!! Sounds fun to me! There's also some grated parmesan cheese too, which I have never used in Green Bean Casserole so that is different for me as well :) There's absolutely nothing wrong with trying something new, do not fret! It just might turn into that fun new tradition that your family loves!!

Another very popular side dish is....Stuffing!! Everyone's gotta have their stuffing!! So Instead of giving you only one way of making it, how about if I give you 50 ideas?!! The FoodNetwork Site has all kinds of ideas for Thanksgiving Dinner! They have a basic recipe for stuffing thats easy and what's more is that they've also given 50 different examples of what you can add to it to make it amazing! Any way you like it!! How fun is that? Make a couple variations if you want to!! They have ideas like Apple-Herb all the way to Oysters! I've never heard of putting Oysters in stuffing but hey! Why not?? While you're at it, why not browse the other Thanksgiving Side dishes that they offer, from Cranberry Sauce to Sweet Potatoes!!

As the holiday gets closer and closer I am getting more excited about it!! I love sitting around the table with loved ones eating great food and having a great time!! That's what it's all about!! I'm Thankful for that!

Until next week's "Dish"!!.....


*These are not my own recipes, I've included links to the correct site where I found them. Also, the photos are from google images*

The "Dish" on Thanksgiving!!

Hello everyone!!

Halloween has come and gone and now we are in the month of November already! This year sure has flown by! This month is all about the beginning of the holidays, Thanksgiving! Personally, I am very excited. I love Thanksgiving. All the different kinds of foods and the family time. Its just so "ahhh" relaxing. A nice break from life, don't you think? So, I've developed a bit of a plan...

Starting today, each Saturday leading up to Thanksgiving I will be making a special themed post. The dishes on Thanksgiving. The types of foods you see when you gather around that table with your loved ones. What a better way to kick off this adventure than with dessert first??

I don't know about you guys but one dessert my family always has on the table is Pumpkin Pie. Every holiday season, Pumpkin Pie. Take a look at this recipe from Paula Deen!! I think it looks soo delicious with the cream cheese and pumpkin!! Yum! It looks to be similar to a cheesecake almost. I'm sure the cream cheese and pumpkin make for an absolutely creamy devine dessert! Who wouldn't love that?! The reviews for this recipe states to maybe make sure the butter and cream cheese are at room temperature before using them, that way you wont have little white flecks in your filling. If cream cheese or butter is too cold, it will ball up into tiny balls and it won't mix together as well. Give it a try and maybe even have your kids help out too!

Moving on...Another popular dessert (surprise) is another pie! Pecan Pie of course!! I remember my grandmother always had one of these on the table at our family gatherings. As a kid, I didn't ever try it cause I just knew I wouldn't like it. However, these days I've been trying new things and with my "adult palate" I'm finding I like things better now that maybe I wouldn't touch when I was a kid. I think Mr. Tony Neely has the right idea to make me like this dessert...Chocolate Pecan Pie!! I love love chocolate! This recipe has great reviews and looks very simple to make! Fairly quick to put together, then stick it in the oven and let it do it's thing!! It also has an accompanying recipe for Homemade Whipped Cream! Yum Yum!! I might just try this one for myself! : )

Now, what kind of Thanksgiving would it be without an apple dessert? Most popular is Apple Pie. However, since we've already covered two pies, why don't we change it up a bit? Our next and last scrumptious dessert is indeed Apple Crisp!! I think that is equally as good, if not better than, Apple Pie!! Check out this recipe from Allrecipes dot com!! This is a very simple, basic version of Apple Crisp. If you want to, you could even throw in some secret ingredients of your own. Being a veristile dish, you can really make it how you want it to be. If there are certain spices you think would be great, try it...If you wanna add some more fruit with the apples, maybe try some raspberries, strawberries or peaches!! Mmm! Add a bit more cinnamon if you really love it!! I bet you could use that Homemade Whipped Cream the Neely's listed in their Chocolate Pecan Pie recipe to go ontop of your Apple Crisp. Of course, you can't have Apple Crisp without serving it with Vanilla Ice Cream!! Maybe try some Natural Vanilla Bean Ice cream! I also enjoy mine best when its either fresh out of the oven or reheated a bit first : )

I love it when Thanksgiving dinner has been served and eaten and afterwards we're sitting around the coffee table eating our desserts, sipping our coffee. The perfect ending to a fantastic feast!! One week down, a couple more to go!! Stay tuned in for next Saturday's Thanksgiving "Dish"!!


**The recipes I posted were not my own, I do not claim any rights to them. They are linked directly to the site where I found them! Same goes for their photos, they are from their sites as well**

Surprise Date Night

I'm sure I speak for all women (mothers, wives, girlfriends etc...) when I say that we all love a little quality private time with our significant others....not that private....I'm talking about Date Nights!! Last night my wonderful husband surprised me with a very special date night. He took me to Chandler's Restaurant in S. Deerfield, MA.

Of course, you can't just go to Chandler's Restaurant when Yankee Candle is sitting right next door, all lonesome, wanting you to go inside and look around...So that's exactly what we did!! I love love LOVE browsing around Yankee Candle, I mean seriously, who doesn't?? There's so many different rooms to explore, it takes at least a couple hours to walk through. When you walk in the doors, someone is there to give you a map for the building!! Lets see...When you first enter there is the area with a bunch of treats such as baking mixes, dinner mixes, festive plates/mugs/accessories, snacks, candles (duh!), candie, etc....the list really goes on and on.

There are a couple rooms that are full from floor to ceiling with candles. That's the point of going right?! My husband and I have aquired quite the collection ourselves...perhaps too many? Nahh!! They also have a "Home" room, Santa's Workshop for the children, a room with a waterfall, German room, and even a Cafe full of treats that Mrs. Claus baked herself!! My husband and I bought ourselves a giant bearclaw for our dessert, covered in chocolate and white chocolate with mini chocolate chips. Absolutely sinful!! :)

Simply talking about Yankee Candle doesn't do it any justice, you really just need to take a day and make a trip of it with the family or even friends. Now lets get to the real date huh??

It is highly recommended that you make reservations at Chandler's Restaurant. Our reservations were for 7:30 however, we arrived about an hour early and the staff were more than friendly about it and welcoming. Now, I'm sure the food is always excellent whether lunch or dinner. If you want the real "wow" factor though, I advise going for dinner. The atmosphere is completely different. The restaurant is very dimly lit and you actually have a candlelit dinner with a real candle burning on the table. The candlelight is the only light you really have. I found it to be very romantic and cozy especially on a cold fall evening!

They have many wines and cocktails to choose from to start you off. Then theres several small plates and sides...My husband and I ordered the Local Artisan Cheese Plate. You are served a plate with 3 cheeses : Blue Cheese, Mountain Goat Cheese, and one other cheese I can't remember what it was. Along with the cheese you are served : Pear slices, Grapes, Fig, some kind of nutty spread, and very crispy bread, almost like a cracker. I enjoyed all 3 cheeses, the goat cheese was very rich but very nice and the one I couldn't remember had the mildest taste of the 3, my husband and I both enjoyed that one. I believe my husbands favorite was the blue cheese. I enjoyed all of the cheeses along with the grapes and the spread was very nice too.  Very scrumptious, decadent appetizer!! Absolutely loved it!!

For our main course, My husband and myself each ordered the same meal - Beef Tenderloin with roasted onions, blue cheese, mashed potatoes and veal demi-glace. This was hands down, no lie, for real....the BEST dinner I have ever had in my life!! Our meat was cooked medium rare and I swear when I first cut into the meat, it fell right apart. Like butter...it was amazing!! The blue cheese was ontop of the beef and it sort of became a little melty and combining that with the beef was *drooling* sooo rich and delicious!! The potatoes and vegetables were fantastic and the sauce all the food was sitting ontop of, was simply devine!! Words cannot describe it. I ate my dinner as slowly as possible to make it last as long as possible. I think I nearly drove my husband crazy because I talked about how amazing dinner was like half the way home...maybe more....I could talk about it for the next week. The candlelight, the fantastic food, being there for our first real intimate dinner with my husband. A really great experience that I want to repeat like every night! : ) Just kidding.....sort of....

Chandler's Restaurant has been the best date with anyone let alone my husband. I highly suggest it to other couples or families (they have a kids menu too!) wanting to do something different or looking for a place for a special occasion. The prices are a little pricey as any fine dining restaurant would be so be warned. Attire should be somewhat dressy, not quite formal, but definitly not casual. I wore nice heels, dark jeans and a nice sweater.

On a last note, They seem to have events here and there too, you can check the website for a list of upcoming events and occasions. Iron Chef Michael Symon will be visiting the restaurant on Novemer 5th from 2-330pm for a book signing!! How exciting is that?? I thought that was awesome!!

*Sigh* The next day and I think I'm still on, what I like to call, a "Date Night High"!!

Haight-Brown Vineyard

How many of you love wine? How about a nice relaxing night, romantic dinner with a glass of your favorite wine? Or curling up on the sofa with a glass of wine and a nice book to read??

Well, I love it too. My husband and I have experimented a bit with wines and found a couple we liked, but I've always wanted to do a tasting. Curious, I looked on the internet to find some wineries/vineyards in our area and found Haight-Brown Vineyard. First opened in 1973, it is the first established winery. How awesome is that? I thought it sounded perfect for our first tasting!

When the day came for us to venture off to our first wine tasting, it was a very rainy, cold, dreary day. Still determined to go out there and do something out of the ordinary for us, we went out on our merry way to Haight-Brown Vineyard in Litchfield, CT!! I was soooo excited when we arrived, the first thing I saw out my window was the vineyard itself, with rows and rows of grapes! Then we pulled into the parking lot and I layed eyes on the largest wine barrel I have ever seen in my life!! Seriously, HUGE! As we entered the winery, I was so anxious to explore.  We went up the stairs to the little gift shop and looked around. The inside of the winery is absolutely gorgeous with the wood bar and floors and the fireplace, along with wine barrel tables and chairs. They have all kinds of goodies like chutney, spreads, wine glass/bottle accessories, cute knick knacks and even doggie squeak toys that look like wine bottles! (I thought those were adorable)

Now comes the best part. The reason that brought us there. The wine tasting!! Imagine sitting inside a historic, cozy winery with the rain pouring outside, you're inside all warm sipping on some wine. Perfect right? Romantic? I sure thought so!! My husband and I decided to do a full tasting and that included tasting 12 wines, with a cheese plate and chocolate plate for $15. Not bad. The girl who was conducting the tasting was very friendly and nice and she let us share. The cheeses were a goat cheese, montery jack, and a peppercorn cheese. It didn't matter what cheese we had with what wine. The chocolate plate (cup) had 3 different chocolates that specifically went with 3 of their wines. Knowing it was our first tasting, she taught us the standard procedure - Smell the wine. Swirl the wine. Smell the wine again. When you swirl the wine, you are letting the air get at it and swirl into it, then smelling it afterwards, it should be more fragrant than the first time smelling it. You also have taste buds all around your mouth so it's good to swish it around in there a bit. The chocolates, she had us take a small bite, let it melt a bit in our mouths and then take a sip of wine while there was still chocolate in our mouths. The wines really brought out the flavor in the chocolate, and vice versa. Simply decadent.

Discovering that I enjoyed the goat cheese, I was curious about what other cheeses they had so she took us over to their "Cheese Nook" where they have a variety of cheeses you can buy. I tried some chocolate goat cheese and that was yummy too believe it or not. We ended up buying a very creamy spreadable cranberry cheese that almost resembled a cream cheese..and we also bought a smoked gouda cheese. We also ended up buying our favorite of their wines that we tasted - Strawberry Bliss. She also gave us 2 of their wine glasses for free!! What a great deal!

We are learning what wines we enjoy more than others, we seem to favor white wines and fruit wines over red wines. A few other favorites from HB include - Covertside White, Picnic Red, and Pink Cadillac. Their Merlot was also very nice, it wasn't a favorite but you could so tell it was aged in an oak barrel, it really had an "oaky" taste to it. A cozy holiday wine perhaps??

After our fantastic tasting, we walked in the rain (with umbrellas) around the vineyard and we were even allowed to taste the grapes right off the vine! Overall, a fantastic experience and I'm very glad we had our first tasting at their winery!!

Visit Their Website for More Information!!

**All of these pictures were taken by my husband and myself, they did not come off the website**

Mommy and Me (In the Kitchen!)

The other day was a rainy, cold, dreary day (along with each day that followed!!). So what did I do on that damp day?? Went to my Mom's House to bake Pumpkin Cupcakes of course!

Remember the Martha Stewart recipe I posted awhile back for Pumpkin Cupcakes? That's what we made! It was quality "Mommy and Me" time at its best. Like those days when my older brother and I were small children that would help our mother bake and always argue over who got to lick the spoons and bowls! Honestly, I think we would still fight for that privilege!! Just one of those things that will never change I'm sure.

First we had to run to the store to get a few things, then we returned to my mothers house to get ready, set, bake!! While I was busy preparing and mixing our dry ingredients in a bowl, she worked on mixing our wet ingredients...Forgetting she'd been baking for years, I kept checking that she was following the recipe. haha. Then we combined our ingredients and used the electric mixer to mix and blend and stir em all together. Spooned them into our halloween themed cupcake liners and baked em all up! They only took around 25 minutes to bake and let me tell you, the kitchen was smelling amazing!! They came out of the oven looking cute and perfect and we let them cool...then came the most fun part. I got to frost them all by myself, with my mother there to mock me of course as I know I used a few "techniques" she hadn't seen before!! I'm sure it was a funny site to see. After they were frosted we stuck in little halloween themed toothpicks to make them even more adorable.

Now, I am not a huge "pumpkin" fan...I was worried I might not like these...however, these cupcakes were absolutely delicious in my opinion!! Some of the reviews on the recipe said that it lacked the pumpkin flavor but in my own experience, they were perfectly pumpkin!! Overall, it was a fantastic day spent with my Mommy, Just like the old times...Only instead of begging to crack the eggs, or being told not to make a mess, or fighting with my older brother...we talked about what was new in our lives and with our husbands and had good ole girl talk!! Thanks for a great day Mom! I love you!!

Chocolate and Cheese Danish? Yes Please!!

New Post, this just in!!! Chocolate and Cheese Danish are Amazing!! Read all about it!!

The other day I was watching "Giada at Home" (duh, what else would I be watching on my day off?) and she made Chocolate and Cheese Danish. The episode featured several desserts she learned to make at cooking school in Paris. This particular one, she said, was one of her favorites. One she remembered making in her little apartment often. One she holds close to her heart.

While watching her make this dessert, I soon realized that this might be pretty easy for me to make myself. When she took them out of the oven and tasted one, omigosh....It seriously, no lie, looked like she took a bite out of heaven. That danish looked SO fabulously delicious, at this point I knew I HAD to try it. I had no choice in the matter ; )

I was indeed correct in the fact that making the danish, was fairly easy! Preparation and baking took up little time. The filling is simple - all you do is mix together all of the ingredients in a bowl. Of course using the cheeses at room temperature and folding in the chocolate chips. The puff pastry (I love saying puff pastry...) was store bought, so all I had to do was take it out of the fridge and cut it into 4 equal squares and put the filling in the middle. Fold up the pastries with the filling in the center, brush a bit of egg wash over it and voila! Oven ready!!

I was also correct in saying...my first bite of that pastry, was indeed a little 'bite' of heaven. It was so scrumptious...there are no words. Every female (who loves chocolate) will love this pastry!! I know y'all are drooling by now, so here is the recipe!! ENJOY!!


Chocolate and Cheese Danish - Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

Filling:

• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 2 (9-inch-square) sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions

Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Filling: In a small bowl, mix together the cheeses, egg yolk, flour, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips. Set aside.
Cut each sheet of pastry into 4 equal-sized squares. Put 4 pastry squares on each prepared baking sheet. Spoon about 2 to 3 teaspoons of the filling into the center of each piece of pastry. Fold 1 corner of the pastry diagonally over the filling to within 1-inch of the opposite corner. Using a pastry brush, brush the folded-over section lightly with the beaten egg. Fold the opposite corner over the egg-brushed pastry to form an open-ended Danish. Brush the pastry with beaten egg and bake until puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving.


**Recipe belongs to Giada De Laurentiis and can be found on the Food Network website**
Photo is my own!

Mozzarella Balls Anyone??

So, there's that famous phrase "you learn something new everyday" and with cooking, I feel like you really do!!

Yesterday's dinner was a nice big salad from the salad bar at the grocery store I work at. Being a cashier, I see all kinds of ingredients and foods go through my lines and some of them I've never eaten or even seen before. One of them in particular has been catching my attention repeatedly....Mozzarella Balls. I do not know if that is what you even call them, but thats what I wanna call em!

In my salad last night, I decided to try some. They were a new item at the salad bar, which explains the popularity. Perhaps others like me, decided to give em a shot for the first time too! Or maybe they already know they like them and were excited to see them at the salad bar? Anyways, When I ate my first mozzarella ball...it tasted...bland to me at first, then I got the cheesy kind of aftertaste. They're good, but are better paired with other things. I kept dipping mine in my raspberry vinaigrette dressing and they were great with that. I wondered though, how else do people eat these?? What are they used for? So today I looked that up and found some interesting ideas...

One idea I really liked was Fried Mozzarella Balls. Those look SO good. Just like the mozzarella sticks you order at restaurants!! You can make them at home! How great is that?! Mmmm! Of course you gotta make the marinara sauce to go with them too!!

Another idea which seems to be popular, is pairing them with tomatoes, basil, and dressing. Here is one that features cilantro instead of basil ---->> Grape tomato and Mozzarella Balls!! I see recipes like this all the time and have always wondered what it tastes like!

These cheesy balls come in different sizes too. You can buy em large, medium, mini...whichever you prefer. Some people buy the larger ones, slice em up and layer them with tomatoes and herbs and olive oil for a nice tomato mozzarella sandwich. If it were mine, I might even add some sliced black olives...Love those!! Some people slice up the smaller ones and put them ontop of pizzas! Yum!! Many of you may have also seen them as an ingredient in antipasto salads, green salads, pasta dishes...they are surprisingly very popular. I just never really noticed or thought about what they were!!

See?? I learned all that today and tried something new in my salad last night. The best thing about cooking, is that it never gets dull or boring because even when you think you know it all, you learn something new. Whether it be from a book, online or a tip from a friend!! I love that about cooking!! : )

How would you enjoy your mozzarella balls??

Happy Cooking!!

*photos from google images, recipes are not my own!*