Happy Thanksgiving!!! (the aftermath)
I am still in awe that we had 16 people over for Thanksgiving yesterday, I spent less than $100 on groceries for the meal, our pantry is stocked with lots of delicious yummy ingredients, the refrigerator is stocked with lots of delicious yummy left overs, and all the dishes are washed, dried and put away.
For the cranberry sauce this year, instead of cranberries + sugar + water; or cranberries + sugar + orange peel + lemon juice + cinnamon + cloves, I made it with cranberries, agave nectar, strips of fresh ginger root and minced meyer lemon peel. When the cranberries had formed a jelly, I fished out the ginger and put it in the serving dish. This is the first year I don't remove it from the heat when the cranberries first began to pop. (to be honest, we got distracted and forgot about them and so they cooked until Andrew at some point pointed out that they were boiling. They have the consistency of jelly. mmmm....cranberry jelly...When we went to put it away, we noticed that it retained the shape of the serving dish. This gives me ideas for the future projects...
The pecan pie was made in three batches:
Batch 1: 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped (measured before chopping)
Batch 2: 1 cup pecans, processed until they form a paste
Batch 3: 1 cup pecans finely chopped + 2 tablespoons vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp. sea salt, 1 rough cup dates, (about 8-10 pitted dates)
Mix all three batches together and press into a cooked pie crust. Top with pecan halves arranged in a decorative pattern and then serve!
For the cranberry sauce this year, instead of cranberries + sugar + water; or cranberries + sugar + orange peel + lemon juice + cinnamon + cloves, I made it with cranberries, agave nectar, strips of fresh ginger root and minced meyer lemon peel. When the cranberries had formed a jelly, I fished out the ginger and put it in the serving dish. This is the first year I don't remove it from the heat when the cranberries first began to pop. (to be honest, we got distracted and forgot about them and so they cooked until Andrew at some point pointed out that they were boiling. They have the consistency of jelly. mmmm....cranberry jelly...When we went to put it away, we noticed that it retained the shape of the serving dish. This gives me ideas for the future projects...
The pecan pie was made in three batches:
Batch 1: 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped (measured before chopping)
Batch 2: 1 cup pecans, processed until they form a paste
Batch 3: 1 cup pecans finely chopped + 2 tablespoons vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp. sea salt, 1 rough cup dates, (about 8-10 pitted dates)
Mix all three batches together and press into a cooked pie crust. Top with pecan halves arranged in a decorative pattern and then serve!