NaBloPoMo Archives - Page 9 of 10 Kitchen Conundrum

NaBloPoMo-ReThanksgiving

November 4, 2013 by Renee

Thanksgiving is coming. It will be here before we know it. It’s my most favorite holiday of the year. I make a big deal out of dinner and always invite lots of people. I hate to think of anyone who doesn’t have a place to go that day. Some years it’s just us, and some we have to pull out another table, but I prefer to have guests.

If you’ve followed me for a while, you may remember the year I gave in and unwillingly went to the ex-laws and how my ex-sister-in-law went bezerk because my husband, who was carrying in a sleeping child and a lot of bags of food neglected to say “hello” to her the second he stepped inside his parent’s house. THAT was a fun dinner (she says shaking her head “no”). AND to top it off the B#(&@ took home ALL of the leftovers! I was actually amused by the whole “hello” ordeal, because, that was typical behavior and a tall glass of wine helped me get through at least the dinner part of the day. But I was really mad that we didn’t even get one turkey leg or anything back that we had brought to the meal. Nothing, nada! No leftovers! What?, you say. That’s insane! (Yes, yes it is!)

I needed a serious Do-Over.

And so ReThanksgiving was born.

The next day I went shopping for supplies. So while everyone else was out getting their Black Friday on and snagging giant screen tv’s for a steal, I was at the grocery store buying cranberries, potatoes, and the last turkey they had in the freezer section.

I am pretty sure I stayed up all Friday night cooking and baking but when that meal was set down at our own table on Saturday, never have I been happier.

It may have been just my little family that year- us and three kids who barely eat, but I went all out. Turkey, two kinds of stuffing, cranberry sauce, cranapple oatmeal bake, corn pudding, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, green beans, braised Brussels sprouts, honey carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy. Plus a pecan pie, pumpkin pie and an apple pie. Oh, and a butternut squash soup, salad and homemade bread.

All washed down with Beaujolais Nouveau. It was gluttonous and I was truly Thankful.

There were enough leftovers that we had breakfast (who doesn’t love stuffing and gravy on a roll?), lunch and dinner for the next week.

After that year, I vowed to never go to anyone else’s house for Thanksgiving again-especially if they are related. But, you are ALL more than welcome to come to my house. I promise there will be tons of food,,,,..and the best part? I’ll send you home with leftovers.

NaBloPoMo- EWR14 Launch Party and Max Brenners Philly

November 3, 2013 by Renee

Day 3 of NaBloPoMo- Today I woke up at the crack of dawn to head down to Philadelphia to attend a launch party for next year’s Eat, Write, Retreat conference. EWR is one of the best food blogging conferences I’ve attended. It’s small(ish) and much more intimate than the larger ones. The panels are very informative and the speakers are all top notch. Because it’s on the smaller side you have an opportunity to meet so many more people that you share a common bond with and you really get to spend quality time getting to know them. Not only is this a great way to build your community, it’s also an excellent way to mingle with the sponsor brands, as they are also “taking the conference” and are participating as guests the entire time as well. This gives you the chance to meet with brands you wouldn’t otherwise have had the opportunity to develop a relationship with. Building your community and improving your relationships is a large part of what blogging is all about.

So, as much as I wanted to sleep in today, I wanted to head to Philly to see some of the friends I made last year, even more!

Thankfully, even with today being Marathon Sunday in NYC and leaving an hour late (I did not want to get up!), I made it there in just two hours and I didn’t miss a thing! I was sure I was going to miss half of it! So glad I didn’t!

The event was held at Williams Sonoma, a very dangerous place for me- I could always find several items that I need, have to have want to buy. It was good we had the event to distract me- even though I did pick up a catalog devoted to Thanksgiving…my favorite food holiday! (My menu is already planned and I’ve earmarked pages of products!) And I did discover an OXO hand mandoline that I would like to own.

The store itself is one of many right inside the lovely Bellevue Hotel on South Broad Street in the heart of what I’d call Midtown. (Can you tell I am from NY?). It’s really an interesting neighborhood- a mix of historical and modern eclectic buildings just South of City Hall. I’d love to have some more time to explore there and hope to go back when the weather gets warmer again.

Once we were registered we watched a cooking demo given by Linda from Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps for some tasty toppings for Pretzel Crisps. We also got a sneak peek at two new flavors- Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper and Honey Mustard & Onion.

The owners of Philly’s grilled cheese truck, Say Cheese, served up some gooey, delicious Jarlsberg grilled cheese sandwiches. There was also a flatbread pizza demo and choices of Nespresso with a dessert table from South Avenue Sweets. Needless to say, we ate pretty well!

Sadly it was a quick two hours and was over before I knew it! It was really a lot of fun and great to catch up in person with everyone- and meet some new faces. I am already looking forward to the conference next year.

While I was at the event, Ari and the kids went to Independence Hall and took in some history. They had a good time, but were cold and hungry by the time we met back up. I had been given some really interesting ideas for lunch spots, but no sooner did we drive half a block when Max Brenner’s was spotted. So, putting those recommendations aside for another time, we stopped in for chocolate filled lunch extravaganza.

What a place! I know there is one here in NY, but we have never been. The only taste of Max Brenner we have ever had was at their ice cream store in Jerusalem, Israel. It was so good there we knew this would be too.

Little did we know! This was so much better! If you are a chocolate lover, this place would be like walking into heaven. So many chocolate themed dishes and desserts! The strong scent of chocolate permeates the air and all around you are examples of the sweetness. It was a purely decadent experience!

See for yourself-

Hot Chocolate in a Hug Mug! Love this hand warming, dark chocolate drink!

Black & Tan Beer-Battered Vidalia Onion Rings with dark chocolate ranch dressing- so unique and good!

Plus a serving of Spicy White Corn Coquettes.

A Philly Cheesesteak on a Savory Waffle- Might be better than the real thing!

“Melting Marshmallow Crepe with gummy bears from the Sweet Forest, milk chocolate canyon chunks,a mountain of vanilla ice cream and warm chocolate falls” Wow, colorful and fun!

“The Melting Chocolate Truﬄe Heart Cake & Shake-milk & white chocolate heart cake served with creamy vanilla ice cream, red berries and an iced milk chocolate shot”

And the best-

“The First Chocolate Burger in the whole universe with strawberry ketchup and vanilla cream mustard”

This was such a brilliant idea!

And a chocolate chunk cookie… a cookie presentation. Amazing!

All in all it was a really fun day. The best part? Everyone is snoring away at 9pm. Except me of course. I may just creep down to the fridge to have a fork full of leftovers.

Day #3

NaBloPoMo- Challah And Apple Jelly

November 2, 2013 by Renee

There is nothing better than the smell of fresh bread wafting through the house. I’m pretty sure it’s one of those things that realtors use, like chocolate chip cookies and vanilla scented candles, to invoke subliminal emotions of family, warmth and a sense of home to prospective buyers. Never mind that the house only has one bathroom, I smell bread baking-sold!

I used to make challah every week. Everyone loves it when I do but it has been a while since I’ve made it. The weather has turned chilly here so I’m all too happy to keep the oven on throughout the day now. Inspired by a new cookbook I received to review about the art of making bread, I decided to revisit my old, trusted challah recipe first.

It’s quite simple and takes just a few minutes to prepare the dough. But it does take a good two hours for the dough to rise. While you could spend that time reading or sitting at the kitchen table having a cup of tea (in my dream life), I find that keeping on top of the ever growing pile of laundry takes precedence and this recipe gives me enough time to throw a load in, make the dough, switch the load, clean the kitchen, fold, braid, twist and bake the bread, put the laundry away and have a slice of freshly baked bread the minute it’s done.

A wonderful reward!

I made two loaves on Friday and one was devoured with dinner last night. The other I started late this afternoon with large melty pats of Beurre d’Isigny (a luxurious French butter) and a hefty spoonful of apple jelly (David Lebovitz’s divine recipe) that I made a few weeks ago after going apple picking. It was hard to only have two pieces!

My photos for the original challah recipe post are terrible-it’s one of my first recipes on the blog- and I had no idea what I was doing back then. Funny though, I was so caught up in the making of my dough and trying to make a tiny dent in the laundry that I actually didn’t shoot new ones yesterday as I intended. Ah well. These things happen.

I did remember today, though barely -the one photo at the top- taken with my iPhone- as I devoured a slice. One of these days I will reshoot the entire recipe.

The new book looks wonderful and I feel like I have the hang of baking bread back. So, I’ll mix my dough tomorrow night after I get home from a day trip to Philly and hopefully will get to bake it Monday. I am excited to see how it turns out. These I will take pictures of!

Day #2 NaBloPoMo