Food and Recipes while under Coronavirus quarantine #8

[iamshadow21]

Many, if not most fruitcakes have some type of booze in them - usually brandy or rum. That might be why they taste better

They do! But in all seriousness, fruitcakes have a whole array of spices, and I've made them alcohol free because my late stepfather loved them, and like most of my family, was LDS. I think the one I made had cinnamon, ginger, clove, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, mace, and pepper. It was pretty great, and had no booze. Just lots of spices, lots of fruits, and an obscene amount of butter and sugar. I think I made it in September and we cut it at Christmas.

 

[IceIce9]

I'm being chauffeured to Yard House Restaurant by my best friend to celebrate Thanksgiving. I'll likely not get the $30 special meal as that is pretty pricey for me. Plus I cannot have some of the foods.

My beef stew was so much better today than last night.

https://www.yardhouse.com/events/thanksgiving

We have a Yard House located here too, I’m surprised that they have a Thanksgiving dinner as it is more of a sports bar. But I just looked at the menu and they are serving all the traditional favorites, plus you can order off the regular menu.

We like the food at Yard House. We often go there to watch away games on the weeks the Colts aren’t playing at home.

I don’t know if all the locations are the same, but the one in Indianapolis seats over 700 people.

 

[PayrollNerd]

We have a Yard House located here too, I’m surprised that they have a Thanksgiving dinner as it is more of a sports bar. But I just looked at the menu and they are serving all the traditional favorites, plus you can order off the regular menu.

We like the food at Yard House. We often go there to watch away games on the weeks the Colts aren’t playing at home.

I don’t know if all the locations are the same, but the one in Indianapolis seats over 700 people.

I spent 20 minutes perusing the regular menu. The Kids Meals look quite enticing. LOL! Probably because there's less bizarre ingredients. They had a good selection of gluten free and vegetarian options.

 

[acutename]

If anyone here is lazy (?) or busy, I found out today that you can make great cranberry sauce just microwaving the berries- it is quick- and add sweetener and orange peel. I like fresh cranberry sauce but most of it is too sweet for me, so I tried a DIY and really, I should have been doing this all along- you could really cook the berries and let people stir in their own sugar or diet sweetener to taste if necessary.

 

[Catmommy]

Years ago, due to a reservation fluke, my brother, my husband and I ended up trying to find somewhere on Thanksgiving to dine. KFC was open and who doesn't like KFC? Unbeknownst to us, this KFC doesn't advertise them but will cook up fresh chicken livers if you know to ask. We found out and did. Best. Chicken livers. Ever. We are looking to recreate that impromptu memory tomorrow, fingers crossed. I do cook a traditional Christmas dinner every year, but I am ever thankful not to cook on Thanksgiving. And I tip heavily those who work and serve us, thankful that I'm able.

 

[Curious Me]

 

[killarney rose]

About to turn in. Our Thanksgiving menu:
Cajun fried turkey
Baked honey glazed ham
Dressing with giblet gravy and cranberry sauce
Rolls
Green bean casserole
Collards with cornbread
Mac n cheese
Sweet potato casserole(with streusel topping)
Watergate salad
Apple dumplings
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan pie
Red velvet cake
Frosted brownies

 

[PayrollNerd]

I just put my breakfast casserole in the oven. That’s the only cooking on my agenda.

I now have the entire day to quilt!

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

If anyone here is lazy (?) or busy, I found out today that you can make great cranberry sauce just microwaving the berries- it is quick- and add sweetener and orange peel. I like fresh cranberry sauce but most of it is too sweet for me, so I tried a DIY and really, I should have been doing this all along- you could really cook the berries and let people stir in their own sugar or diet sweetener to taste if necessary.

I've always made my own cranberry sauce. I use a bag of fresh cranberries, the zest and juice of a couple of large oranges, sugar, a bouquet garni of cinnamon stick, whole cloves and star anise, pinch of salt. Bring to a boil until the cranberries start to burst, lower heat, then simmer for 25-30 minutes. Let stand until cooled then remove bouquet garni, mash cranberries until desired consistency. Pour into serving bowl, cover, and refrigerate. Tastes better after a couple of days. Everyone loves it!

Today we will be prepping for our family gathering on Saturday. We'll be making turkey meatballs and turkey gravy. We are having spinach/feta London broils (flank steak) with roasted potatoes for dinner with a nice bottle of Merlot. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Years ago, due to a reservation fluke, my brother, my husband and I ended up trying to find somewhere on Thanksgiving to dine. KFC was open and who doesn't like KFC? Unbeknownst to us, this KFC doesn't advertise them but will cook up fresh chicken livers if you know to ask. We found out and did. Best. Chicken livers. Ever. We are looking to recreate that impromptu memory tomorrow, fingers crossed. I do cook a traditional Christmas dinner every year, but I am ever thankful not to cook on Thanksgiving. And I tip heavily those who work and serve us, thankful that I'm able.

I thought I was alone in liking chicken livers Sauteed with a little butter and herbs or in pate. Yum!

 

[PayrollNerd]

I've always made my own cranberry sauce. I use a bag of fresh cranberries, the zest and juice of a couple of large oranges, sugar, a bouquet garni of cinnamon stick, whole cloves and star anise, pinch of salt. Bring to a boil until the cranberries start to burst, lower heat, then simmer for 25-30 minutes. Let stand until cooled then remove bouquet garni, mash cranberries until desired consistency. Pour into serving bowl, cover, and refrigerate. Tastes better after a couple of days. Everyone loves it!

Today we will be prepping for our family gathering on Saturday. We'll be making turkey meatballs and turkey gravy. We are having spinach/feta London broils (flank steak) with roasted potatoes for dinner with a nice bottle of Merlot. Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh that spinach feta steak sounds amazing! Can you tell me more about it?

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Oh that spinach feta steak sounds amazing! Can you tell me more about it?

We get the London broils at the meat counter at Nino Salvaggio. There are a couple of different varieties, but we like the spinach/feta version the best. Here's a photo/recipe that shows what they look like. DH grills them until medium rare.

Flank Steak Pinwheels

Steak pinwheels are an impressive, but easy entrée. Marinated flank steak is spread with a spinach and feta mixture, rolled up, and baked to perfection.

www.allrecipes.com

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

First batch of turkey meatballs are in the oven. 54 total! I did a test patty on top the stove to taste for seasoning. Yummy!

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

About to turn in. Our Thanksgiving menu:
Cajun fried turkey
Baked honey glazed ham
Dressing with giblet gravy and cranberry sauce
Rolls
Green bean casserole
Collards with cornbread
Mac n cheese
Sweet potato casserole(with streusel topping)
Watergate salad
Apple dumplings
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan pie
Red velvet cake
Frosted brownies

That is a lot of food and sounds delicious! How many guests do you have?

 

[killarney rose]

That is a lot of food and sounds delicious! How many guests do you have?

There were 11 of us . We have plenty of leftovers for the next day or two. The turkey breast carcass fas been boiled for soup stock and is tucked in the freezer. I’ll have a nice hambone to make a pot of 15 bean soup at Christmas.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Today I will be assembling my spinach/ricotta pasta. Layered with marinara in lasagna casserole dish, cover, and refrigerate. Tomorrow I'll top it with panko and Parm then bake at 350* for 50-60 minutes. I've decided not to bother with deviled eggs because DH bought a beautiful Brie and Carr's table water biscuits at Costco earlier in the week. We will still do the mini bagel pizzas, so the Brie and crackers will be the other appetizer. I will also be making turkey gravy today to accompany the meatballs. Tonight we will have Nino Salvaggio's butternut squash ravioli with sage/butter sauce. Enjoy your Turkey Day leftovers.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Dinner at Yard House was nice last night. It got really chilly and we were seated on what they referred to as the indoor patio. One wall was open to the outdoor patio.

My friends oldest daughter, actually works there and was pulling a double. She said they were so busy earlier that they ran out of turkey! You could still order the special but they would substitute 2 chicken breasts for the turkey. So that’s what my friend, JK ordered.

I ordered tomato soup, which was really heavy on the spices. My chicken Cesar salad was very good. I wasn’t able to finish it!

JKs Dad, the grumpy, “can never find anything to be happy about” guy, ordered the Maui Pineapple Chicken.

I’m not sure what her youngest daughter ordered. It had spicy rice, stir fry veggies and something else.

They had 1/2 price appetizers so they ordered the raw tuna? along with the spinach dip & chips. The dip was good but a bit full of spices, kinda like the soup.

The meal was comped! I guess that was the family discount. But they wouldn’t let me pay for my meal. We all left her a tip tho.

Afterward, we drove around to look at Christmas lights. This one neighborhood goes all out. Not as many people had them up yet. Closer to Christmas, more houses will be lighted.

 

[IceIce9]

We had planned to have our dinner tomorrow in Michigan but unfortunately the weather forecast isn’t good. Possibly 8-12 inches of snow in northern Indiana and Michigan.

Waiting to see if the forecast changes.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

We had planned to have our dinner tomorrow in Michigan but unfortunately the weather forecast isn’t good. Possibly 8-12 inches of snow in northern Indiana and Michigan.

Waiting to see if the forecast changes.

Same here. As much as we want our guests to come for dinner tomorrow, we wouldn't want them to drive here from St. Clair County if the roads are in poor condition. If it's unsafe for travel, we'll tell them not to come and schedule another family gathering at a late date.

 

[IceIce9]

Same here. As much as we want our guests to come for dinner tomorrow, we wouldn't want them to drive here from St. Clair County if the roads are in poor condition. If it's unsafe for travel, we'll tell them not to come and schedule another family gathering at a late date.

It’s a 3 1/2 hour drive for us from Central Indiana to Holland. At this point we are thinking we will need to reschedule.