Cranberry Barbeque Sauce - Whole Foods Recipe
So, this year, Bean and I are cooking up a storm. We just finished up the Cranberry Barbeque Sauce and were so excited about it that we're taking pictures and I've been summoned to keep a written record. Pumpkin, who is our house guest in the form of a dog is also keeping an eye on things but hasn't said all that much about what she's seen.
Before we kicked off the cooking this morning, our neighbor Mark brought over some homemade chocolate chip cookies that were amazing! They served as a brilliant pre-breakfast snack (and they later saved the dessert portion of the meal when the pumpkin pie flopped).
So yeah, the Cranberry Barbeque Sauce. After some fairly high heat, a few pops and cracks, some mildly painful burns, it is done and it smells incredible. It's the first time we've ever created something in the kitchen and put it in a glass jar. I believe people refer to this as canning. Canning is magical.
Roasted Tofu with Sautéed Apples - Whole Foods Recipe
Next up, we marinaded the tofu. It's the first time we've ever cooked with tofu so while we're not speaking much about it, there is an ire of concern that we're going to screw it up. I ate the hell out of some awesome tofu dishes this past weekend so the stuff we're cooking up now has got some mighty big shoes to fill. Do they make shoes out of tofu? I bet you could.
While we scored some murky turkey on the way home last night and we're going cook that up with the Cranberry Barbeque Sauce, the tofu is the main meal. It's all riding on this.
Just as we wrapped up the Cranberry Barbeque Sauce, Mark brought over some homemade pralines! They are freakishly good and I'm afraid they will definitely be gone by the end of the day. They might be gone by the time I finish typing this.
Initially, there was euphoria in the kitchen when we thought we didn't need to peel the sweet potatoes. This notion was dashed when we read further down the list. It's ok. We're moving past it now.
The sweet potatoes have proven to be the enemy of the meal. We cooked them but they didn't get cooked quiet long enough so we decided to throw them in the oven. Then, at some point in the last 30 minutes, I accidentally turned off the oven. Not sure how. I probably should just avoid being in the kitchen all together. After taking stock of the situation, we determined that it was only a minor setback and we're still on track.
Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms - Whole Foods Recipe
We're now prepping the Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms. The smells from the other items we've cooked is rocking my world right now. I'm not sure it has ever smelled this good in the kitchen.
Coconut-Marshmallow Spiced Sweet Potatoes - Whole Foods Recipe
Ok, I could live on these. Probably not for very long because of marshmallow poisoning but I could make a strong showing. What started out shaky turned into the hit of the meal.
Green Beans with Shallots and Almonds - Whole Foods Recipe
The almonds ended up piled in the plate but these tasted delicious. Incredibly fresh and the shallots added a great kick.
Kale Salad - Whole Foods Recipe
This stuff was great and I could easily eat this stuff for lunch a few times a week. It just tastes so fresh. The dressing is really simple but the lemon juice combined with the chili powder really brought out the flavor of the kale.
Mark and Roz ate with us and brought over an incredible zucchini casserole and stuffing. The sage in the stuffing brought everything in the meal together. We're so lucky to have such awesome neighbors.
All in all, the meal was an incredible success. It's always a bit scary to cook new stuff for the first time but we held close to the recipes and everything turned out great. I'm gonna go nap. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!
