Meal No. 3240: Thanksgiving 2022

Oh, the glorious Thanksgiving gathering and meal! With great friends, numbering 10 around the table in the dining room, and food that all seemed to come out just right, it was a feast festival of fellowship and good times. Mine was a full plate, with generous portions from all the available meats and sides. This included the return of the slow-roasted beef tenderloin:

Also, an 18-pound buttermilk-brined spatchcocked roasted turkey (I'm lousy at carving but it was so moist and flavorful!):

We had stuffing, using the late famous Mary Margaret McKnight's recipe and substituting vegetable broth to make it vegetarian:

I had our customary favorite of layered green bean casserole:

Here's a decent shot of the turkey gravy and horseradish sauce. You'll note that we serve ourselves buffet-style, another reason I love the generous counter space in the kitchen:

You'll have to look back at the top photo to see the sweet potato casserole; I didn't take an individual picture of it this year.

As for dessert, while I regularly seek to follow the excellent example of my dear friends and colleagues in Woodstock, Virginia—The Linaburgs—and serve up the carrot cake they recommended to me years ago, I chose instead a slightly less involved shortcut to our sweet finisher that night: a quick repeat of the pumpkin spice sheet cake with cream cheese icing.

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Buttermilk-Brined Spatchcocked Whole Turkey based on:

• "Want to Make a Wonderful Flavorful Roast Turkey? Brine It in Dairy," by Nik Sharma. Features "Golden Garlic Roast Turkey" and "Golden Turkey Gravy." Published in This Is a Cook Letter, 20 November 2021.
• "Samin Rosnat's Show-Stopping Buttermilk-Brined Turkey Breast Recipe," by Samin Rosnat in GoodFood: Autralia's Home of the Hats. [Published 30 November 2020]
• "Crisp-Skinned Spatchcocked Roast Turkey with Gravy," from J. Kenji López-Alt, former Culinary Director and current Culinary Consultant of SeriousEats.com. [Updated 21 October 2020]
• "This Thanksgiving, Let Science Help You Roast a Tastier Turkey," by Maria Godoy. From National Public Radio's Short Wave. [Published 21 November 2021]

"Slow-Roasted Beef Tenderloin," from J. Kenji López-Alt, Managing Culinary Director of SeriousEats.com.

"Layered Green Bean Casserole," a Jones Family favorite.

Adapted from "Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping," from Southern Living Slow-Cooker Cookbook,  (Oxmoor House, 2006), p. 234-235.

"Mary Margaret's Dressing," from Mary Margaret McKnight of Buies Creek, NC. Recipe obtained November 2002.

"The Best Pumpkin Cake I've Ever Had," from Sally McKenney of Sally's Baking Addiction. [Published 11 October 2017]

Snacks for the Thanksgiving Crowd

It's the time of year to restate my love of Thanksgiving, ranked for me as the best holiday of them all because of its focus on two awesome things: time with good folks and forks to good food. While past Thanksgivings have had enduring and stable elements, 2022 granted us a different drummer's beat: the Oklahoma crew of friends who made the very long journey (plus two from Massachusetts) just to guarantee this would be an especially terrific celebration. (It was.)

And they gifted the Roediger House with these most awesome bar towels for Ray's the Bar, up on the third floor. I love 'em.

With a house full for the bulk of Thanksgiving week, I was hoping to keep a reasonable supply of snacks and munchables on hand for the gathered crew. Recurring favorites (i.e., pimento cheese, pictured below) were supplemented with a couple of seldom-seen or long-missing treats (i.e., my mother's sugar peanuts, pictured above). Having the week free leading up to their arrival allowed me to get a headstart on prep, so by Tuesday most of these were made and tucked away.

Mexican Restaurant White Dipping Sauce is a new-found obsession:

By the end of the guests' time here, on a Black Friday of terrific Thanksgiving leftovers, a warm dish of bacon Swiss dip seemed called for:

Not substantial enough to qualify as a "meal," the Thanksgiving morning sustenance was the simple small plate contrivance of turkey and Swiss breakfast sliders, an adaptation of the much-loved party ham biscuits but with a meat substitution in consideration of those who do not eat pork:

With Monday's still-chilly temps overshadowing Winston-Salem as the week started (29°F outside, and 62°F in the kitchen area), I had one more morning fire, which seemed pleasing to Sumner:

This was Fire No. 83.

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"Mexican Restaurant White Dipping Sauce," a recipe worked out by me, sampled by Spring Street, and approved of by all.

"South Carolina-Style Pimento Cheese." Recipe worked out by me, based on Sharon's Palmetto Pimento Cheese.

"Swiss and Bacon Dip," from Rachael Ray. Available online at the Food Network website.

"Sugar Peanuts," long a staple of holiday gatherings in the Jones Family household. Recipe from my mother.

Turkey Swiss Breakfast Sliders adapted from "Party Ham Biscuits," a recipe shared with the Jones family by fellow UNC alum Susan Brown. I recorded her version in my recipe collection in 1988. There are various takes on this recipe, of course. Pretty popular is the "caramelized" version, such as this one: "Caramelized Ham & Swiss Buns," by Iris Weihemuller of Baxter, MN, in Taste of Home, December 2013, p. 59.

Horseradish Sauce based on "Horseradish Sauce Recipe," from Natasha Kravchuk of Natasha's Kitchen. [Published 07 February 2019]

Meal No. 3239: Beef and Vegetarian Chilis

On Thanksgiving Eve, while graced with a holiday visit from dear Oklahoma friends, our first sit-down dinner featured two kinds of chili: beef with beans and vegetarian.

It was all the better once paired with Granny Wilson's honey wheat cornbread:

To follow the spicy centerpieces of supper, a soothing sweet treat in the spirit of the season was also offered up: eggnog éclair cake:

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"Simple Beef Chili with Kidney Beans," from Cook's Illustrated, Number Sixty-One [March-April 2003], p. 10-11.

"Vegetarian Chili," from All About Vegetarian Cooking. By the editors of Joy of Cooking: Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker. New York: Scribner (2000), p. 82-83. Cookbook was a gift from former student Alison Pomeroy.

"Granny Wilson's Cornbread," a recipe shared with me by Linda B. Dunlap.

"Eggnog Eclair Cake," from Jamie Lothridge of MyBakingAddiction.com. [Published 22 December 2020]

Meal No. 3238: Savory Breakfast Bread Pudding

It was a happy Thanksgiving representing a variation from the norm: an extended much-anticipated visit from dear friends from Oklahoma, who arrived Tuesday night and whose calling bellies required attention the next morning. Rising to the occasion was made easier with plenty of advanced prep time in the days leading up to it, allowing me to offer them the terrific savory bread pudding breakfast casserole that first breakfast.

I like it even better if there are also some creamy southern grits to serve up alongside.

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"Savory Bread Pudding," from King Arthur Baking. [recipe clipping]

Guidance for making the creamy grits: Luquire Family Stone Ground Grits, milled in Greenwood, SC.

Real Deal Southern Caramel Cake with New England-Style Vanilla Ice Cream

Without quite realizing what I was getting myself into, I jumped into preparation last Saturday night for the Sunday gathering's dessert and settled on a classic old-fashioned caramel cake. With excellent guidance from Jocelyn Delk Adams and her Grandbaby Cakes blog, the outcome was reasonably remarkable, with tender terrific layers of moist-crumbed cake and an authentic caramel as the glazed icing.

This was not caramel frosting...this was caramel: slow-simmered, long-cooked, gradually achieved authentic caramel, drippily spread once thickened over the waiting layers, oozing down the sides, sticky and sweet and seriously almost too much.

The accompanying ice cream was amazing, on its second appearance here at the Roediger House: dense, chewy, rich New England-style vanilla ice cream.

At present, there appears to be no available treatment for the resulting sugar comas.

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"Real Deal Southern Caramel Cake," from Jocelyn Delk Adams of Grandbaby-Cakes.com. [Published 16 October 2022 / Updated 29 October 2022]

"Dense, Chewy, and Rich New England-Style Ice Cream," from Max Falkowitz, former senior features editor of SeriousEats.com. [Updated 28 February 2019]

Meal No. 3237: Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

With one final chance to gather together before moving into Thanksgiving week, the usual suspects filled out the six place settings at the dinner table last Sunday night for a soup supper suited to that Sunday's seriously unseasonable cold temps. It wasn't quite thick enough, perhaps not sufficiently cheesy, but this batch of bacon cheeseburger soup was still approvingly received by the crew. I kept it simple, and we all limited ourselves to just one bowl of it, because the dessert that followed was a bit ridiculous. Stay tuned.

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"Bacon Cheeseburger Soup," from Catalina Castravet and Holly Nilsson of SpendwithPennies.com. [Published 01 March 2018]

Meal No. 3236: Roasted Salmon and Broccoli

Going too long without some salmon might make me grumpy so that was addressed in fine fashion last Saturday night, when I roasted some spiced salmon and served alongside it charred broccoli florets, crunchy almost like french fries. 'Twas a delightfully filling meal on the one day that week when temps actually, briefly, reached 50°F for about an hour...before sliding back down into the 40s mainstays that had overtaken the city.

Fluffy Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls

After experiencing a disappointing cake catastrophe mid-week, I dusted myself off (with more flour, clearly) and dove into a whole 'nother baking project. A seasonably appropriate and seductive untried recipe became my Friday afternoon kitchen frolic, and out of the oven early evening came some rather amazing eggnog cinnamon rolls.

The dough worked smoothly and rose perfectly, and then rolled out with ease.

They baked up nice and golden.

The eggnog-spiked frosting was a perfect adornment.

My 15th batch of some form of cinnamon roll, in the books, and the verdict is Yum.

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"Easy Fluffy Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls," from Tieghan Girard of Half-Baked Harvest. [Published 24 November 2020]

Meal No. 3235: Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This past week's precocious imitation of winter kept me in a soup mindset, so yet another comforting bowl of broccoli cheddar soup was the main meal of the day last Friday. Enhanced with extra cheddar for the boost therein, its success as sustenance had no need for the remaining random slices of peasant bread that had been hanging around on the counter.

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Based on "Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup," by ChefNini and posted to GeniusKitchen.com.

Meal No 3234: Ultimate Cream of Tomato Soup with Peasant Bread Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

A local high school principal I've worked with for several years was willing to set aside some time last Wednesday to come over for supper and a catch-up visit. The cold snap overlaying Winston-Salem was still going strong and soup had to be the main feature. I chose the wonderful ultimate cream of tomato soup, but I also made a loaf of peasant bread to then be used for grilled cheese sandwiches. It all proved pretty tasty.

We only got as high as 49°F all day, so for the third day in a row, I had a fire going. This was Fire No. 81 with the "new" wood-burning fireplace in the kitchen.

The pot of tomato soup had the perfect remaining portion to serve as the mid-day meal the next day, along with fresh-griddled cheese sandwiches using more of that peasant loaf. This too was a bone-chilling mid-40s day and, although I managed a four-and-a-half mile walk, by evening it was back to the misery of chilled bones...so Day Four of a fire occurred (Fire No. 82) Thursday evening.

Side note: I was not able to complete my dessert preparations for Wednesday's company, and as bedtime approached that night, I was faced with two baked cake layers still on their cooling racks and a partially-completed ermine frosting that needed to be finished up and deployed. In the end, as midnight approached, I found myself looking at a miserable result for a red velvet cake. Sure enough, when slices were served for the Thursday evening dessert, it was a huge and unsurprising disappointment.

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"Ultimate Cream of Tomato Soup," from Cook's Illustrated, November 1999. Recipe can also be found online at Cookography.com.

"Easy Same-Day Peasant Bread," from Jenny Rosenstrach of the CupofJo.com blog. [Published 02 February 2022] Adapted from Alexandra Stafford of AlexandraCooks.com. [07 November 2012 / Updated 06 January 2022]

"Grand Finale Dessert: Red Velvet Cake," from Cuisine at Home, Issue 90 (December 2011), p. 48-51. This recipe has also been posted online.

First Fires of Fall 2022

As noted in my most recent blog posts, a cold snap descended upon us in the run-up to mid-November. Last Monday saw a precipitous temperature drop to 28°F in the pre-dawn hours, and we struggled to reach the mid-forties that day. A fire was called for—No. 79 in the ongoing chronicle as the "new" fireplace heads into its 14th winter.

Bright sunshine and mostly still winds granted me license to undertake a brisk 4-mile downtown stroll but by the final stretch it was once again a bit bone-chilling in the late-afternoon shadows and street canyons. At 5pm, I struck a match to the season’s first fire in the wood-burning fireplace in the kitchen, and the evening was whiled away both sitting fireside and also doing various kitchen exploits.

Sunday's icy winds and Monday's deceptive sunny calm skies were but a lead-in to the utter misery of Tuesday, with temps hovering around 40°F and vicious taunts of all-day drizzle and drear. The season's second fire was built on the still-warm coals of the inaugural fire, cranked up to soothing intensity even before noon and tended all through the afternoon. Fire No. 80 is now in the books.

Meal No. 3233: Croque'd Cristos, Again

Is this now a weekly commitment, that I must make these ridiculous croque-inspired Cristo-style griddled ham and turkey and cheese sandwiches? Apparently so, although the version this past Monday was boosted by the homemade maple milk bread I had leftover from Sunday’s soup night. The meal was had early in the day, followed by a vigorous downtown walk of eager penance.

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Based on "Madame Cristo—Grilled Ham and Cheese," from Chef John Mitzewich of FoodWishes.com and AllRecipes.com. [Updated 03 July 2018]

Sunday Night Pies

Last Sunday's soup supper for six left us all pretty full, what with the maple milk bread being a weighty load on top of the already filling chicken and wild rice soup. But early that day I'd made not one but two pies: the Thelma 9 chocolate pie, and a traditional lemon meringue pie. These were the choices for folks once a number of rounds of pool had been played. Both of these have made limited appearances here over the last 14 years (the age of this blog). The chocolate pie has been made twice: in 2016 and in 2012. The lemon meringue pie just once in 2016.

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"Lemon Meringue Pie," based on a classic and common recipe.

Meal No. 3232: Vierling Saloon Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

It was still warm enough this past Saturday night for me to take my 3-mile stroll in short sleeves...and then the cold front blew in. Sunday dawned in the mid-40s and chilling winds and occasional gusts raked their inherent rudeness across the city I call home. I took two important preparatory steps for the sub-freezing drop that followed Sunday night: shutting down and draining the sprinkler and irrigation system, and making a big ol' pot of Vierling Saloon chicken and wild rice soup for our RoHo regulars gathering Sunday evening. It is such a dependable and winning recipe that it hardly needs any accompaniment...just good company.

This was a welcome catalyst for trying another bread recipe that I'd been jonesing for: fluffy maple milk bread. I got that started mid-day, in time for the two risings plus the baking and cooling. The crew knows I've been trying my hand lately at various breads and have signaled a willingness to be experimented upon.

Verdict: we liked it, a lot.

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"Vierling Saloon Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup," formerly offered at the Vierling Saloon in Marquette, Michigan. Another online version of the recipe can be found at Miss Mary's Blog.

"Fluffy Maple Milk Bread," from Eric Kim of New York Times Cooking. [Published 16 March 2022]

Meal No. 3231: Chicken Fricassee

With Sumner taking over my lap last Saturday morning, as is his usual routine while I have my coffee, I found myself searching for some way to pass the time, since he doesn't let me pick up my laptop. I brought up the latest Food Wishes video from Chef John Mitzewich, and cast it to the Fire TV. The focus was a recipe for chicken fricassee, so I tried it that very night...finding it to be delicious! I did the standard roasted broccoli but also spiced roasted cauliflower. It was a terrific dinner, with the rare addition of a glass (or two!) of chardonnay.

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"Chicken Fricassee," from Chef John Mitzewich of FoodWishes.com and AllRecipes.com. [Published 11 November 2022]