Friday, November 26, 2010

Food in Review

It's hard to think about anything but the big meal on Thursday during Thanksgiving week, but I did try once we were home from Austin.  We ate out Friday and Saturday night, of course, but we ate in the rest of the week thanks to a quick shopping trip between the four hour drive home and Riley's training class.

Sunday: I found Boar's Head kielbasa on sale during my grocery trip and decided to make all of my non-turkey dinners around it.  First up, simple grilled kielbasa with brown mustard for dipping, a slice of utterly soft and delightful Nature's Pride 12 grain, and sweet potato fires.  It was SO nice to eat in after having restaurant-made food for three days in a row. 


Monday: I tried to recreate a gnocchi dish that worked surprisingly well in the past.  Last time I made it with bacon.  This time I made it with small bits of kielbasa.  I browned the sausage, then removed it from the skillet.  Quartered brussel sprouts were added the the sausage drippings.  I let them get good and caramelized before I moved on.  Meanwhile, I made an arugula pesto and boiled whole wheat gnocchi.  Everything was added to the skillet with the sprouts along with about a 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of cooking water from the gnocchi and a handful of parm.  This dish was so hearty and filling that one bowl filled us both up.  No sides, no seconds.  And it was delicious to boot.


Tuesday: Kielbasa made its last appearance in cabbage stew.  I simply browned the sliced sausage, then added half a diced onion and an entire (small) head of green cabbage.  Once the cabbage wilts a bit and the onions go translucent, I added a can of fire roasted tomatoes, veggie stock, two bay leaves, old bay, smoked hot and regular paprika, oregano, and Louisiana hot sauce.  I let it simmer until the flavors have a chance to do their thing.  I love this stew in a bread bowl, but I didn't buy any this time.  So, I made a small batch of cornbread to go with it instead.  This is an excellent dish to crumble cornbread into.  It's also one of my very favorite comfort foods.


Wednesday: I wanted to keep it very simple because we had a bit of prep for the holiday to do.  Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches accompanied Thai sweet potato soup from Pacific boxed soups.  I'd never had one of their soups, so it was a bit of a gamble.  It totally paid off.  The spice in the soup and the coconut flavor you expect with Thai curries was spot on.  It was an excellent and very easy combo.


Thursday: Well, we feasted at lunch.  So, dinner is simply grazing on leftovers, like you do on Thanksgiving.  I do intend to reinvent some of the food for next week, but today, it's nice to just have a second helping of turkey dinner, or rather open-faced turkey sandwiches.  Yes, that is cranberry sauce, cornbread dressing, and turkey covered in gravy. 




Riley got very little of the feast, as she had a tummy ache anyhow.  But she sure did enjoy some peanut butter. 



I hope you looked as happy as she did while enjoying your feast!

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