Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Who Hash

I've been hosting Thanksgiving for the last four years. It's my holiday- my personal marathon. Plus, it's the easiest way to have all of my favorite dishes and I get to keep all the leftovers! Score!

Our usual Turkey Day gang consists of 21 of the nearest and dearest. Really, it's the immediate family, aunts, uncles, cousins, and one family friend.

I should mention that our house is somewhere near 975 sq. ft., which is approximately the same size as a postage stamp, give or take a few inches.

We somehow manage to squeeze everyone in, complete with a nosebleed section, I cook two turkeys, a mess of side dishes, other relatives bring appetizers, booze, and desserts. Then, we chow down.

The aftermath of all this cooking is a whole lot of leftovers. The Husband insists of having his fill of gobblers (the classic Thanksgiving sandwich), but once we get tired of those it's time to get creative.

This recipe is the embodiment of creativity.

Start by baking four small sweet potatoes at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Use those thirty minutes to go for a mile run. Or some such nonsense.


When you make two turkeys, you get 4 turkey legs. Only Aunt Linda eats a turkey leg at dinner. The other three languish in a Ziploc, until now! Slice baked sweet potatoes and let cool. Slice the meat off of the turkey legs and dice into a 1/2 inch.


Add turkey to a medium-sized bowl.


Toss in your seasonings. Stir.


Add one small sweet potato and really mash it in.


Dice up one small onion.


Add it to your turkey taters.


Stir it up. Dice the remaining three cooled sweet potatoes and add them to the mixture. Fold them in gently.

Put the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes. Use this time to take the dog for a walk and listen to This American Life


Heat up one tablespoon of olive oil in a stainless steel pan over medium heat. Add the shredded cabbage.


Heat up one tablespoon of butter in a nonstick pan.


This is the shredded cabbage.


Cook the hash until it's as crispy as you like it. If you're at my house, you're getting it well done.


Cook cabbage until it browns a bit and then throw in some water. Get the steam flowing.



See those brown bits? Solid gold, baby.



The husband described this as, "insanely fun to eat!" I concur.



Who Hash- Serves 2, generously

4 small sweet potatoes
2 roasted turkey legs, approximately two cups turkey diced
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 a savoy cabbage, shredded
1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup water

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake sweet potatoes for 30 minutes or until fork tender. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, add diced turkey, cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Mix well to combine. Peel one small sweet potato and add to the turkey mixture. Stir until sweet potato is incorporated. Add diced onion and stir again.

Once the sweet potatoes have cooled, carefully peel them and dice into small 1/2 inch cubes. Add them to the bowl and stir gently to combine.

In a nonstick pan, heat up one tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add a heaping cup of the hash and mash down into the pan. Cook until browned on one side and then flip - it will fall apart. Continue cooking until it gets as crispy as you like it. 10 minutes per cup should be enough.

While the hash is browning, heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a stainless steel pan. Add the cabbage and cook until browned, 3-4 minutes. Add 1/3 cup of water and stir to get the steam going. Cook until tender, approximately 5 more minutes.

Split the cabbage between two plates. Top with one cup browned hash. In the hash pan, fry an egg for each serving. Top hash with fried egg.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Apple Crisp a la the real Betty

On a trip back home this fall (to meet our niece- hi Isabella!) we stopped at an antique store and stumbled upon this little gem. 1st edition 1st printing!


Happy dancing ensued! I'm pretty into Mrs. Crocker, probably due to my love of Mad Men 60s culture and sugar. Betty Crocker encompasses both with style and grace

Since I am still working my way through the 12 pounds of apples, I looked for some inspiration between the red and white cover. Betty delivered this retro crisp and we ate it all (in one night).





From the Desserts section, pg. 215:

Apple Crisp (Apple Crumble)

Place in buttered 10x6x2" baking dish 4 cups sliced apples. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 cup water. Rub together 3/4 cup sifted GOLD MEDAL Flour, 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup butter. Drop mixture over apples. Bake. Serve warm with cream.

Temperature: 350 (mod. oven).
Time: Bake 40 min.
Amount: 6 servings.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Scarier than mayonnaise at a picnic

On Halloween, the husband and I did something very frightening.

We ran a 5K.

Now, that may not be scary to the seasoned athletes out there, but the Husband and I share the humbling childhood memories of being picked last for dodge ball. And flag football. And tag. And Red Rover. Know what the common denominator in all those games is?

Coordination. (And speed.)

At the ripe old ages of 27 and 26, we decided to dig deep and deal with our childhood issues. We started running. And got kind of into it. I run 3-4 times a week now. I KNOW!

To celebrate all of our running, we signed up for the Canton Fall Classic 5K which was held on October 31. We saw one lady running the 10K in a Batgirl costume- holy vinyl chafing!


Started the morning around 7:30 with PB&J on a whole wheat English muffin and coffee with almond milk. Downed a glass of water, too.



Donned some orange socks to honor the holiday.


Lined up the gear- purple gatorades, CLIF bars for post-run refueling, super cool hydration belt (that's all mine), iPod.


Wrapped up my ankle. Old basketball injury. Didn't have the ball. Wasn't running. Fell down. Broke ankle. (Now do you believe that my new athleticism is a miracle??? 'Cause you should.)



Pre-race interview



Scenes from registration (We saw a sign for the master group- huh? Sounds serious.)



Donning my awesome race t-shirt and hydration belt. I was one of 2 runners wearing them. Apparently only Sarah the camel needs water on a 3 mile run.


Husband and I ready to rock the race!/just finish/not die.



After


We finished in 35:31 and 36:20! So proud of us, especially since the course was surprisingly hilly. Did not train on hills. Actually avoided hills during training. Whoops.

The Husband matched his shirt post race- just a friendly reminder from Sarah the camel to hydrate before/during/after cardio! Food helps, too.


Tennessee's is a fabulous BBQ joint in a strip mall. We both got pulled pork sandwiches. The Husband had smashed taters and cucumber salad on the salad, along with a fresh brewed Root Beer.



I had homestyle mac & cheese and collard greens alongside my meat sandwich.

Tired smiles for food!




On the ceiling, spelled out in bottle caps.

In the women's room at Tennessee's. Festive.

P.S. Our next 5K is Saturday, November 13th!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Butter-free butter (apple style)

Next year, when you go apple picking, you should get yourself 25 pounds of empires. Then, split them with a friend so you have ~12 pounds of apples.



Next, stare at the apples in wonder, and wonder what exactly you were thinking when you picked 25 pounds of apples.

Finally, dust off your crock pot and make apple butter! I found this recipe here and it was wonderful. No sugar added and no sugar needed!

You'll need about 8 apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and unsweetened apple juice.

Wash your apples and dry them well. Don't peel them. Peeling's for sissies. Pull out your trusty cutting board and get to choppin'.


Rachael Ray taught me how to cut apples.


Her way leaves the core intact.


Slice your apple pieces into thin slices.


Dump the sliced apples into your crock pot.


Add 3-4 cups of juice. You want it to just cover the top. You can sub in some water, if you run out of juice or your husband drinks it. The flavor at the end is a little less intense, but still worthy.

Grate in an 1/8 of an inch of fresh nutmeg using your microplane. Use your ruler to measure*.

*just kidding.


AH! Nekkid nutmeg!


Add a teaspoon or so of cinnamon and a half teaspoon of ginger.

Squeeze in a tablespoon of lemon juice. Fish out the seeds that fall in.


Stir it up. Pop on the lid.

Go to bed. Read a book. Watch TV. Ignore the crockpot for at least 12 hours.

Then, stir up the apple mush and use a wooden spoon to crack the lid open. This lets some of the water escape and helps thicken up the butter.

Once it's reached the thickness you desire, carefully (it's dang hot!) spoon the butter into the Cuisinart or a blender and puree it. Store the finished butter in mason jar. It looks rustic, and y'all know I like rustic things.


The next morning or immediately after pureeing the apple butter, you should toast English muffins. Smear them with nut butter. Top with apple butter.


Chew.

Enjoy.