How did your Thanksgiving meals go?

Ours went very well. This year we decided to stay at home, and shared cooking duties with our next door neighbors. They hosted the event and provided the turkey, stuffing and some sides.

I brought:
Appetizer - a small rack of lamb, herb crusted. This was probably my proudest moment; the lamb was tender, flavorful, perfectly cooked and the herb crust had a really nice texture. They were a hit across the board.

Side dish - curried sweet potatoes. Meant to be a compliment to the lamb. I was very happy with the dish but I didn't get much feedback on it.

Side dish - Pickled beet salad. Hand pickled roasted beets with frenched red onion, julienned and topped with blue cheese and chopped walnuts. I love that dish, but it wasn't a huge hit. Beets still scare people I guess.

Mashed potatoes - flavor and richness were spot-on, but I missed some lumps. Could have used another round with the beater.

2 breads; hand made dinner rolls and an asiago cheese boule. Many compliments on both.

I'm glad it's over; it was nice not having to cook everything, and I'm delighted with the decision to stay home this year.

Making my own sauerkraut, and gratin potatoes

Last weekend I started a batch of sauerkraut, and yesterday we ate it with dinner.

It was my first attempted at fermenting kraut, and the results were certainly edible, but not outstanding. To be honest I'd prefer grocery store kraut out of a bag to that batch.

I'm not giving up, I learned some things and will do it a little bit different next time. For one thing I'll use less salt.

The side dish that I made to go with the sauerkraut turned out absolutely fantastic though; so I'm very happy about that. I made a potato gratin, with Yukon gold potatoes that, quite frankly, had one foot in the compost heap. Once they were peeled though they seemed OK, smelled nice - so I gave it a go. Slice them thin with a mandoline or V-slicer, and layer them in a buttered casserole dish. I used thin mushroom slices and grated Parmesan cheese, with a bit of cheddar and some grated mozzarella that I had to use up. Then about 3 or 4 ounces of heavy cream and into the oven for 45 minutes covered with foil. I switched the over to broil, took off the foil and gave it another 10 minutes. Let it cool for 10 minutes and you're ready to serve.

Happy Halloween; pizza, bird's nests and beef stroganoff

Happy Halloween! I made pizza; it was decent.

Just made this one with bread flour as I haven't had a chance to get to Randy's for some of the good stuff yet.

I forgot to take pictures of another dish I made this week; beef stroganoff. A very simple recipe, but it turned out really nice. I served it over wide egg noodles, but that wasn't the original plan. Initially I was going to serve it in sweet potato bird's nests. I had never made them before, and didn't bother to even look them up to see how they were made; I just guessed. (Thus the egg noodles; I was smart enough to know I'd better have a 'Plan B' - as it turned out, good thinking.) Well, it turns out I guessed wrong - but results were tasty anyway. I shredded the white sweet potatoes with a standard box grater, but they wouldn't form any cohesive mass. I thought perhaps an egg would help. To the resulting mix I also added a bit of nutmeg. The egg did help, but still not enough to really hold any shape, and I could barely get them into the deep fryer. They turned out sort of like potato pancakes. They were delicious and crunchy, but I really wondered how they were supposed to be made. As it turns out - there's a tool just for that. So now I need to make one of those using off the shelf parts.

I always wondered why God made sweet potatoes.

I've never liked sweet potatoes. They've got a cloying sweetness that I find repulsive, sort of reminiscent of overcooked carrots. But the farmer's market is absolutely flooded with them; I mean they are everywhere - cheap, abundant and fresh - I had to find a way to eat them.

I posted this problem on a cooking forum that I frequent, and the very first response turned out to be the best - make a curry.

What a great idea; and man, I have to say, it was really, really good. Second attempt at home made naan bread wasn't bad either.