Preheat oven to 350. Peel 1 ½ lbs parsnips (about 9 parsnips) and ½ lb carrots (about 3 carrots) and cut them into vertical pieces (I cut the parsnips into vertical quarters and the carrots into vertical halves to make the root vegetables as uniform as possible, but it depends on the size and shape… Continue reading Oven-roasted parsnips and carrots
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Roast turkey
We followed Ina Garten’s Perfect Roast Turkey recipe, the version that included roast vegetables: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-roast-turkey-recipe2.html. For a 14 lb turkey, we made the following modifications: first, for the first part of cooking, we placed the turkey breast side down to increase the likelihood the breast would not dry out. Also, instead of adding two sliced… Continue reading Roast turkey
Traditional herbed bread stuffing
We had this dish at my sister’s sister-in-law’s Thanksgiving in 2012, and it was my favorite dish of that meal. We used 1 ½ loaves ciabatta bread and fresh herbs (thyme, sage, and rosemary) that we had frozen. We baked this in a 9x12 baking dish (rather than stuffing the turkey), so technically we made… Continue reading Traditional herbed bread stuffing
Simple mashed potatoes
This is a recipe from my childhood, one that we learned from a family friend, Yvonne Francis, who hosted us at her Cranston, RI home for a memorable Thanksgiving in the 1980s. Using a stockpot, bring about 12 cups of water to a boil, adding a little (about 1 tsp) salt. Peel 6 medium-large Russet… Continue reading Simple mashed potatoes
Mashed sweet potatoes
This is another recipe from my childhood, one that we learned from a family friend, Yvonne Francis, who hosted us at her Cranston, RI home for a memorable Thanksgiving when I was in elementary school. Using a stockpot, bring about 12 cups of water to a boil, adding a little (about 1 tsp) salt. To… Continue reading Mashed sweet potatoes
Stuffed pepper with minced beef, rice, and lentils
Recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/lightened-up-stuffed-peppers-recipe.html. We used uncooked basmati rice. In lieu of ½ tsp cinnamon (which I sometimes find cloying in savory dishes), we used ¼ tsp each nutmeg and cinnamon. We even had enough stuffing to fill a fifth bell pepper. (Note: we used the five leftover pepper tops for a Lebanese farmer’s salad, which… Continue reading Stuffed pepper with minced beef, rice, and lentils
Persian-style sweet and sour eggplant and chickpea stew
The key ingredient is pomegranate molasses. Recipe from Martha Rose Shulman at the NYT: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013763-sweet-and-sour-eggplant-tomatoes-and-chickpeas I added juice from half a lemon at the end for brightness. (Nov. 2015)
Curried yellow split pea soup
Straightforward recipe that takes less than an hour to make. It tastes creamy yet is dairy-free. For the 1 Tbsp curry powder, we used 1 ½ tsp McCormick curry powder and 1 ½ tsp Jamaican curry powder. If you use vegetable stock instead of chicken broth, this can be vegetarian. We used an immersion blender… Continue reading Curried yellow split pea soup
Lebanese meatball soup (shorba keema)
For the meatball mixture, combine 1/3 cup minced onion (patted dry with paper towels), ¼ cup finely chopped Italian parsley, 1 ½ tsp balsamic vinegar, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp each black pepper and allspice, 1/8 tsp cinnamon, and 1/16 tsp each cloves and nutmeg. Mix by hand, then using a mounded tsp, form by… Continue reading Lebanese meatball soup (shorba keema)
Pan-seared king oyster mushrooms
Cut 2-3 large king oyster mushrooms lengthwise into ¼ inch Slices. Heat 1 Tbsp oil (here, a 2:1 ratio of toasted sesame oil and grape seed oil) in a pan, then brown slices on both sides. Lightly season with salt and black pepper. (Nov. 2015)
Cooking Adventures 