Cream of Garlic Soup (Knoblauchcremesuppe)

Coming home from the Christmas holidays with no shopping in the house, the pickings are slim. But, there'll always be garlic, onion and for us coffee lovers: milk. This doesn't make sense yet, but bear with me. This soup is actually quite popular in Austria and as always, I am happy to bring the good news to America...

Ingredients:
1 whole thing of garlic
1 medium onion
2 cups bouillon
2 cups milk
3 Tb flour
butter/olive oil
salt/ pepper
fresh parsley if available (I only had oregano, which was good, too)

Chop onions finely and saute together with minced garlic until soft, before adding bouillon and milk and bring to a boil. Add flour and stir constantly for about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste and add fresh parlsey. Done.

Mushroom Casserole

Hearty. Warm. Delicious.

Make 1 C. brown rice

Meanwhile...
Sautee:
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
apx. 2 C. chopped mushrooms
then add and wilt:
apx. 4 C. chopped greens (I used Kale)

In a large bowl mix:
1 C. Ricotta (or cottage cheese)
a couple big spoonfuls of yogurt
2 eggs
salt and pepper
a little cumin
a handful of grated cheese

Add the rice (or any other delicious whole grain) and vegetable mixure into the cheese mixture.
Pour into a casserole, top with another handful of cheese, and bake 45min -- 1 hour at 350*. It will be bubblly and golden.

you could also add some chopped cooked sausage.

t.

Cranberry Chutney

This was a success last year - taken from the williams sonoma website - and one of the few things, kellie trusts me, the foreigner, in preparing for thanksgiving.

• 1 bag of cranberries (340 g)
• 1,5 cups of fresh orange juice
• 3/4 cup of cloudy apple juice or cider
• 3/4 cup of white sugar
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar (firm)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 mint leaves

Sort out the soft cranberries and mix all the ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil and let simmer until it thickens. They suggest about an hour. I think it takes longer. Let it cool and transfer into a different bowl and refrigerate. Take out an hour before serving.

n*

Turkey Brine

I ripped this from the big M. Stewart last year, and it was so good I'm using it once again. (Not to mention I have all of the spices left over from last year!)

Makes enough brine for one 18- to 20-pound turkey

• 7 quarts (28 cups) water
• 1 1/2 cups coarse salt
• 6 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons whole coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon dried juniper berries
• 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon black or brown mustard seeds
• 1 fresh whole turkey (18 to 20 pounds), patted dry, neck and giblets reserved for stock, liver reserved for stuffing
• 1 bottle dry Riesling
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 bunch fresh thyme

Word to the wise: this is hard to do by yourself. I know because I just did it while home alone. It is not impossible, but more difficult. I used the 2" baking pan that I will be roasting the turkey in tomorrow, but once I had about 4 quarts water plus a bottle of reisling, my "brining" bag started to sag. Ultimately you want something deep that is as tall as the turkey, or some other turkey around to hold the bag while you pour in the liquid ;)

1. 1. Bring 1 quart water, the salt, bay leaves, and spices to a simmer, stirring until salt has dissolved. Let cool for 5 minutes.
2. 2. Line a 5-gallon container with a large brining or oven-roasting bag. (I used two garbage bags) Place turkey in bag. Add salt mixture, remaining 6 quarts (24 cups) water, and the other ingredients. Tie bag; if turkey is not submerged, weight it with a plate. Refrigerate for 24 hours, flipping turkey once. XO -kellie
   

Cashew Crusted Tofu

This is my own take on a vegan "chicken nugget" recipe, and is actually much simpler. I don't have nutritional yeast lying around anymore like the good ol' California days, but I do have a lot of nuts. I used a handful of cashews that I had roasted a few days before. It works great with the ones I roasted a little too long. Place the cashews in a sandwich bag, and crush them with a rolling pin. Add nut pulver, a sprinkle of bread crumbs and S/P to a shallow dish.

Coat tofu on all sides with olive oil, and then coat it evenly with the nut mixture. Bake on 350 for about 25 min., flipping halfway through.

I served this up with some garlic Swiss Chard, and Basmati rice with a drizzle of Hoisin sauce.

Enjoy! -kellie

Perfect Storm

Perfect for this time of year!

Mix in a bowl:
1/2 C. sugar
the seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean

dip the rim of a glass in water and then dip it in the vanilla sugar.

put some ice in the glass and add:

2 oz. dark rum
1.5 oz. apple cider
1 oz. ginger beer.

delish.

Cranberry Relish

My grandmother makes this every Thanksgiving. This is the perfect thing to bring if you are looking for something cheap, easy, and delicious!

Mix in a Blender:

1 bag raw cranberries
1 large orange whole (remove seeds)
apx. 1 C. Sugar.

It's really good!

tasha