Early Hump Day

As this is a 3 day work week, today is officially hump day. And what a hump. I'm heading up to NE Ohio for a public hearing tonight...the room holds a bit over 400 people, I'm hoping it's not a sellout. Lucky I'm wearing comfy shoes today, and I'll have a few staff members with me to ease the burden. Usually I'm on my own for these gigs, signing people in to testify, giving out info, trying not to roll my eyes. At the very least, it's overtime, coming right before the holidays, so win!

I'm wrapping up the menu for Saturday, poring over cookbooks and food blogs for ideas. I think we're set. Chris is mking a green bean casserole...I'll gladly defer to him for that, I've never made one that was worth eating.

Decisions

Yes, another food post...

I wanted to make some sort of pear dessert, like something poached and drizzled with syrup. Sounds good, but also labor-intensive, and they can't be made ahead of time. I'll have enough to do as it is. I don't like the idea of trying to find 20 minutes to peel pears right when everything is going to be served. So, the pears need a new job.

I also have a rather large quantity of cranberries I bought at Costco. I was planning on a nice sauce, but I have enough berries to make about 5 gallons of it. So I've got a little extra supply.

How about...pear-cranberry pie?

Menu

Making a basic list of menu items...
- Turkey, duh
- apple sausage stuffing
- mashed potatoes
- sweet potatoes
- cranberries
- green bean casserole
- brussel sprouts (my friend Jenni's bacon grease recipe)
- rolls from scratch
- something else bready, foccacia or cheesy breadsticks
- a pie or three
- glazed pears

Can you tell what's on my mind this week?

Timeslips and Stuffing

I wonder why it is that the older we get, the faster time seems to move. I know that it's linear, and fixed, and a minute is a minute is a minute. Still. How the holy hell is it late November already? I'm still thinking in my head I need to buy summer clothes.
But late November means approaching holidays, which means...Thanksgiving. You can think what you want about it, or how strange a holiday it is. To me, it's all about the food and watching bad movies. The dats is fast approaching, and I have yet to give any thought to what to make. I'm not bothered, I thrive under pressure. I need a bunch of random items, like a bucket for brining the turkey, and a decent turkey baster that doesn't spray molten butter all over my pants when used. Somehow I keep forgetting to get that. I'm having a small group over this time, but I still don't know where they'll all sit. The toilets do have padded seats, so that's an option.
I've got a decent list of recipes of things I like to make, so I'll start going through that and hash together some sort of menu this week. Can you tell I'm a little stoked?

Chili Defined

Okay, I stumbled upon the best ingredient for chili ever. Chorizo sausage. Chris had some in a breakfast burrito saturday morning, which reminded me of this little culinary treat available locally at Giant Eagle, and probably most halfway decently stocked grocery stores by now. I'd bought some earlier this year, but didn't really have a good use for it, I made a shepherd's pie with it, but didnt' really come up with much else. You can use it anywhere a recipe calls for ground sausage. My TG stuffing will never be the same.

Okay, onto the chili...this is my basic recipe I've been honing for a while, the sausage really gave it a nice flavor. If you want to leave out the meat for vegetarian, you can do that as well, but you'll make me cry.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
2 links chorizo, skin removed
1 tbsp butter
1 large sweet onion
1 bell pepper (I used red, but up to you)
1-2 jalepeno peppers (I used 2)
5-6 tomatoes, probably equivalent to 3 cans diced
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 bottle stout beer
1 can tomato paste
2 cans chili beans
salt and pepper to taste (Mine didn't need much at all)

Directions:
- Brown turkey and chorizo, breaking up into smaller chunks as you go. Spoon meat into stock pot.
- Dice onion and add to pan used for meat, along with butter, sautee uintil onion starts to brown. Add to the meat.
- Dice tomatoes and peppers, and add to the stock pot.
- Add all remaining ingredients, and bring to boil on stove. Once boiling, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Remove lid and let simmer for another 30 minutes, or until it reaches desired consistency.

Android

So. I joined the ranks of the smartphone world when I became eligible for an upgrade. Love it.

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