I subsribe to so many different cooking sources via e-mail that the last few days all the Thanksgiving recipes have been making me excited for Thanksgiving!!
I wanted to share a few links with you if you are hosting the event yourself or just need to bring a side dish/dessert.
The first set of recipes comes from:
Eating well has an accompanying website EATINGWELL.COM
Their list of MANY side dishes is HERE. Some of my favorites are lemon/dill green beans, pear proscuitto and hazelnut stuffing and maple-roasted sweet potatoes!
And my buddy Bobby Flay posted an awesome 2 minute video with his pomegranate black pepper glaze. The glaze is comprised of pomegranate molasses, dijon mustard, horseradish and salt and pepper.
Click HERE to watch the video.
So, who’s hosting dinner this year and for how many people?
*******Also, I’ve tried a few new things this week:*******
I mentioned before that the grocery store I go to has a ton of different kinds of fruits and veggies.
Has anyone had a quince?
I never have before and I wish I would have looked it up before I cut into it:
The quince is a fruit Native to Latin America, The middle East, Asia and is related to the apple or pear. I knew that fact, so I cut it up like an apple and me and my family tasted it. It was super grainy, tough, not too sweet, we all spit it out!
Fast forward to me actually reading how to eat a quince and you are supposed to cook it first! Whoops! And you are supposed to peel the skin as well. The most common method is cooking it in a simple syrup which softens the flesh and makes it sweeter.
There are many ways of preparing quince but the most basic method is poaching, or heating quince in a water and sugar mixture, from eHow.com
Difficulty: Moderate
Instructions
Things You’ll Need:
6 large Quince fruits
Knife
Spoon
Large saucepan 3 cups Water 1/2 cup Granulated sugar
1. Rinse quince under warm water and rub gently to remove any outer fuzz. Pat dry and use knife or peeler to remove the outer skin.
2. Cut quince lengthwise in half to expose the core and seeds. Use a spoon to scoop out core and seeds, then chop the quince into wedges or thin slices
3. Heat 3 cups of water and 1/2 cup of sugar in a large saucepan on stove over high heat until boiling. Reduce heat to medium.
4. Place quince pieces gently into water and sugar mixture. Heat until quince turns pink, which can take up to an hour.
5. Serve quince warm or at room temperature. Store leftover quince in a container with the cooking liquid for up to one week in the refrigerator.
Well, I learned my lesson to do a little research BEFORE I cut in to something and taste it! Ha!
Another new vegetable I tried this week?
I’ve had regular cauliflower and purple cauliflower, so I thought why not try orange? I added to my stir fry I had for dinner tonight.
My kids asked me how come it was orange and I didn’t know why, so I looked that up too!
First discovered in 1970, the orange cauliflower is able to naturally hold more beta carotene than white cauliflower. Because of this it has 25% more Vitamin A than white cauliflower. Who knew?
I thought it was delicious!
I love the Eating Well magazine. I’m going to my parent’s house for Thanksgiving, so I’ll be doing no cooking, and lots of eating! I’ve never had a quince or orange cauliflower. Seeing that it has more beracarotene and vitamin A I’ll have to try it when I use cauliflower next.
This year it’s only going to be 5 of us! I asked J since it’s so small if his mom would mind me hosting it. I don’t think he’s asked yet.
Cool new finds this week! I’ve never heard of a quince before, that sounds interesting. You’ll have to try it cooked and see if it’s a lot better. I have had the yellow cauliflower before though!
I’ve been thinking about Thanksgiving for over a month. I’m in charge of desserts, which usually means 2-3 pies. This year because of the Turkey Trot honoring my deceased brother-in-law, his entire family is traveling here and while I am not “hosting,” I will be making desserts for 30 people. That’s just a whole lotta pie.
i get clean eating mag and it looks like i would like this one too!
just subscribed. that mag really does look awesome! i think i’ll see if i can find it when i go grocery shopping today!
I’m cooking… and we will have children in the house !!!
6 adults, 3 under 6
And Bobby Flay is a genius!
I love these new veggie and fruit finds! I’ve never had a quince before but I’m glad that I read that you have to cook it first. And I love this orange cauliflower. Oh so very pretty!
I LOVE Eating Well magazine. In fact, last week, I went through about 3 years worth of back issues and pulled out recipes I wanted. I just couldn’t keep any more old mags in the place….we were getting cluttered. I also LOVE trying new fruit and veg. Tried quince once, and it wasn’t pretty. Am willing to give it another go if I cook them properly.
Excellent post as always!!!! thanks
I really enjoyed your post. We used to have a quince bush in our garden in Kent years ago, but I was always afraid to cook them. I had some quince jelly not long ago and I’m quite glad I didn’t go to all that trouble as even the jelly is really, really tart! Love the orange cauliflower – I’ve never seen one before. I’ve had purple ones and Romano ones, but never orange!