Remember the column last week? Well, I took my own advice to heart and I’m well into preparations for Thanksgiving. I have these three projects to accomplish this week: homemade noodles, cranberry chutney prepped and canned, 2 new floral pieces made and the start of holiday decorating. My office is closed on Thursday, so I plan on making haste with the day. Then there’s the weekend, lookout, I’m charging through.
This past weekend about the only cooking I did was a large batch of brownies. The rest of the time I spent in the garage, repotting flowers before winter arrives.
Many of my readers ask me when I ‘rest’, well, I do, but if I don’t make lists and plan, things just don’t get done. I have a hard time sitting around without working on something. Yesterday, for instance was a big family gathering for NASCAR, end of season. I wanted to be there because it was family time. But sitting around for 4 hours was tough when it was so beautiful outside and I was anxious to be ‘doing’. (And you guessed it, I don’t enjoy NASCAR!)
How to get your inertia rolling? There’s lots of things that can help motivate a person to get projects done. Go visit family or friends and see what they’ve been doing. Watch a home improvement show on television. Entertain at your home more frequently even if it is only coffee and a sweet roll! This will force you to pick up and put up the house. Volunteer to host a prayer meeting or a club of some sort. What’s my inertia? I watch an episode or two of the “Kilcher” family on television. That gets me going every time!
There are lots of ways to enhance a turkey dinner. Many times, especially at Thanksgiving, gravy is the chosen topping for the potatoes and meat. However there are different approaches. If I’m serving ham and turkey, which I frequently do, I sometimes fix a chutney or a sauce that will also enhance my meats. If you have leftover sauces you can use them inside sliders made with leftovers for some outstanding sandwiches. Today I’ve decided to give you 2 separate orange cranberry sauces. One is extreme fast using a can of chunky cranberry sauce as the base. The second is a bit smoother with more of a pinky/red cream look to the sauce. Both are flattering to many types of meat. Be sure and read the notes that accompany the recipe before serving.
Next week we make the ‘smashed potatoes’ and refrigerate for the big day, thaw the bird and get the bulk of the shopping completed. Oh it’s going to be a great week. Need to decide on the pies next. Simply yours, The Covered Dish. www.thecovereddish.com.
Orange Cranberry Sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup finely minced onion
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Black Kettle or ‘seasoning salt’
1 cup orange juice
1 cup French dressing
1 16 ounce can whole cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons orange juice
In a saucepan place the butter to melt over medium heat. Add the minced onion and cook until tender. Stir in the mustard, brown sugar, Black kettle, orange juice, French dressing and cranberry sauce. Heat over medium heat until heated thoroughly. Lastly mix the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into the 2 tablespoons of orange juice whisking to blend smooth. Stir into the entire sauce mixture until sauce is thickened.
Serve with pork, chicken or turkey
When you first make this sauce and you sample test, it seems like it’s a bit strong. As you let it set for a little bit the flavors mellow out and it’s very flattering to your meat.
Cranberry Sauce
1 (15.5 ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup burgundy wine, (merlot would work)*
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
Put all the ingredients into a small saucepan, whisking and stirring to break up the cranberry sauce. Bring to a boil, decrease heat to a simmer. The sauce is basically ready to be served. Try using a small crockpot to keep this warm for a dinner party. This is super simple to use with a variety of meats.
*For an alcohol free approach use 6 tablespoons of pomegranate juice and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar.
