Food Week: Thanksgiving Leftovers

On "Top Chef," contestants sometimes prepare an ingredient multiple ways. "Kobe Beef Two Ways" or "Salmon Two Ways." Today, I offer you a Thanksgiving leftover--yesterday's cranberry relish--prepared five ways.

Cranberry Muffins

I used a basic Bisquick recipe and added 1 1/2 cups of cranberries.

Bryan's rating: 2 turkeys

Comment: "The high points are the cranberries and nuts. But they're a little doughy." I agree. Next time, I'll use a real muffin batter recipe.

Cranberry Salsa

Equal parts salsa and relish, plus a few drops of Marie Sharp's hot sauce.

Bryan's rating: 3 1/2 turkeys

Comment: "Pretty good."

Grilled Brie and Cranberry Sandwich

Bread, brie, cranberries, more brie, a second slice of bread. It's then grilled in a pan with butter.

Bryan's rating: 5 turkeys

Comment: "On a scale of four, it's a five." I agree, this is aMAZing.

Cranberry Vinaigrette

Along with leftover cranberries, we also have leftover apricot-walnut-crouton salad. So I added a little balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and cranberry juice to the relish, and then poured it on the salad. I found this idea online, but can't find the link.

Bryan's rating: 4 turkeys

Comments: "Delightful!"

Cranberry Meatballs

Turkey burgers topped with cranberries would've been to easy. Inspired by the above-linked recipe, we decided to make cranberry-stuffed meatballs. Several of them split open, but not too much spilled out. After the photo was taken, we topped them with turkey gravy.

Bryan's rating: 4 turkeys

Comments: "Now THAT is one satisfying dinner."

It's been a good run, but I hope tomorrow will be cranberry-less.

Food Week: Thanksgiving Day

Nothing I could post here could adequately sum up this Granddaddy of all food days in America. So I won't even try. Instead, I humbly offer you a cranberry relish recipe, which my dad and I first started making when I was in high school. Of course, you can double, triple, quadruple, et cetera the recipe to fit your feasting needs. We also make this relish at Christmastime.

Recipe:

6 cups fresh cranberries

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups water

4 seedless tangerines, peeled, sectioned, and cut into chunks

1 tart apple, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks

1 1/2 cups dried apricots, cut into small chunks

1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Put the water and sugar in a large pot and allow to boil, stirring occasionally. Once it boils, turn the heat down to medium and add the cranberries. Let these cook for about ten minutes, or until the cranberries start to pop and cook down. Then add the tangerines, apple and apricots. If the relish is boiling and splattering, turn heat down to medium-low. Finally, add the walnuts and allow the relish to continue cooking. If it seem too thin, raise the heat and some water to boil off. Finally, turn off the heat and allow to cook. Relish can be served either warm or chilled.

The Sunday Before

...because one Thanksgiving meal isn't enough.

Sibling Rivalry

With a deadline coming up I made two trips to Starbucks today. This evening I sat inside and listened to a middle-aged brother and sister with a strained relationship argue in the sweetest, most pleasant tone.

I figure they decided to meet in a public location knowing they wouldn’t allow the conversation to get nasty with strangers around. Kind of like the theory that people consume less food while eating with others rather than alone. Nothing like holidays to force, er-, bring family together.

Deadline

Since it’s still Thanksgiving weekend, I’d like to express my gratitude for Starbucks’ quiet patio, green-ginger tea, and turkey-bacon breakfast sandwiches. The latter can keep me in my seat and writing an extra hour, which is significant.

And also to the person who deserves co-authorship. Thank you.

Waterlogged

In tonight's ESL class at Grossmont that I've been helping out with, I brainstormed the beginning of a blog post. The class had talked about Thanksgiving, and the teacher then had them interrogate me about my turkey day plans by using present progressive questions. (It was good stuff, Paniks and O'Neill).

So like I said I was going to blog about this, until I got in my car after class and found rainwater on my seat. Yes, my sunroof leaks. I sighed, wiped off the seat, and figured I'd just have to carry a towel with me on days that call for precipitation. (Which, in San Diego, are thankfully few.) But after I'd pulled out of the parking space and accelerated, water poured down on me.

And..it...just...started to pour here in San Diego as I type this. I hope my car has an emergency drain hole, like a bathroom sink.