Waste Not Want Not

More about Thanksgiving. We had mostly local Virginia wines at dinner. My Rotary club had a wine tasting lunch at Hartwood Winery in early November, and I purchased three wines that I thought our guests would enjoy: a Chardonnay, which went well with the many creamed dishes; their semi-sweet Deweese White with appetizers and dessert; and Rappahannock Red, a light red that people who don’t normally like red wine enjoyed. I also served an Australian Merlot for those who wanted a heartier red. We drank almost all of the wine, but I have included the small amount of leftover wine in my plans for leftovers.

For lunch today we had a delicious soup made from the leftover artichoke and fennel gratins.

Artichoke-Fennel Soup

1 ½ cup leftover artichoke au gratin
1 ½ cup leftover fennel au gratin
1 cup Chardonnay wine
½ cup leftover celery mashed potatoes
2 cups vegetable stock or water

Puree all ingredients in food processor and heat thoroughly. I served this with leftover dinner rolls that I had sliced thin and toasted until crisp. It was yummy!

For dinner tonight we will have the rest of the Brussels sprouts and mashed potato cakes.

I had 2 cups of the squash and kale casserole left over. I have pureed it and frozen it for later use. I will make:

Kale and White Bean Soup
I think kale and white beans is a combination that is Portuguese in origin. It’s delicious. Meat eaters would like some sliced chorizo sausage in this soup. The casserole was well seasoned and included pecorino cheese, so the soup is very flavorful.

2 cups pureed leftover kale and winter squash casserole
1 can cannellini beans, drained
1 quart vegetable broth
freshly ground black pepper

Combine ingredients in soup pot and heat thoroughly.

Carcass Soup
In years past I haven’t done this, but if you’re going to serve meat you shouldn’t waste any of it. So after our guests left on Thursday I put the turkey carcass and the bone from the ham in my giant soup pot with four quarts of water and threw in two carrots, the tops and leaves from two bunches of celery, the stems from the fennel bulbs, one wine glass of red wine and a large onion cut into quarters. I let the stock simmer for about two and a half hours while I cleaned up the kitchen. After I let it cool I strained the stock and froze it in two batches for later use. My husband wants one batch made into a noodle soup with big egg noodles. The other one I will use to make a batch of split pea soup for him. He likes the vegetarian pea soup I usually make, but he prefers one made with a meat stock.

Thanksgiving Review

Thanksgiving Review

We had a great Thanksgiving Day. It snowed a little bit, but our guests from North Carolina and Pennsylvania got here safely and had a good trip home last night. All of our dishes were appreciated. I had enough good arugula and corn salad (mache) in the salad garden to fill half of my big salad bowl. I made up the difference with a bag of spring mixed greens from the store. The temperature dropped below 20 degrees last night, but my little salad greens looked ok this morning. With any luck they’ll continue to grow and I’ll have some salad greens from the garden until Christmas.

I talked to my brother. He had made the Paula Deen Sweet Potato Marshmallow Balls to take to my sister’s house for dinner. They were tasty, but didn’t travel well. So this is a recipe you should save for dinner at your own house.

Judi made two great cheese dishes that we snacked on while we waited for dinner to get ready.

Liptauer Cheese

I’ve been making this for years, and both of my daughters love to make it for parties. It isn’t a low fat food.

2 sticks butter
8 ounces cream cheese
tablespoon Dijon mustard
tablespoon capers
tablespoon caraway seeds
teaspoon paprika
1 tiny dill pickle
Mix everything in the food processor until very smooth. Place in serving dish and garnish with a few capers.


Mapled Brie and Apples
1 8 oz. Round Brie cheese
3 Tbs. Brown sugar
3 Tbs. Maple syrup
3 Tbs. Brandy or rum
1/4 C chopped, toasted walnuts
2 apples, cored and thinly sliced

1. Place Brie on an ovenproof platter; bake in a 350 oven about 15 minutes or til warm and soft but not runny. (or microwave for 40 seconds).
2. Meanwhile, stir together brown sugar, maple syrup, and brandy or rum in a small saucepan. Bring to boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes or till slightly thickened. Stir in walnuts. Pour over softened Brie. Serve immediately with Cinnamon Crostini or crackers and apple slices.

Cinnamon Crostini
Cut twenty diagonal slices from an 8 ounce French bread baguette. Brush one side of slices evenly with 3 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mixture. Arrange on an ungreased baking sheet, Bake in a 425 degree overn for 6 to 8 minutes until crisp and golden brown.