Wednesday, November 23, 2011

It's the day before Thanksgiving and I spent it making dinners for my mom and sister (they are clients now!) rather than getting ready for Thanksgiving. My sister wants to be able to do some of the cooking, so I readied the meat and shrimp (2 chicken dishes, 2 pork dishes, 1 beef dish and 1 shrimp dish). I also made up the sauces for each dish (Balsamic Mushroom Sauce for chicken, Orange Ginger Sauce for the beef, a sweet spicy sauce for Piri Piri Shrimp, and a Pomegranate Glaze). I also made a casserole she can bake later (Easy Chicken Parmesan). And finally a Corn and Crab Chowder. Once I was finished cooking and putting things together, I delivered the meals. Turns out my mom and sister had the Corn and Crab Chowder for dinner tonight. My sister called after dinner to say how much they liked the chowder. Happy to hear that!

I did get some small apple pies baked this morning. All I need to do is make a pumpkin pie. I have a turkey breast stuffed and ready to roast. Just need to made mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, cheesy corn casserole and Brussels sprouts for tomorrow. Couldn't make up my mind about rolls, so will likely go with crescent rolls.

I also put together a baked French toast dish. It looks more like a bread pudding than French toast, as the bread is cubed. 8 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, pinch of salt, one 15 oz can puréed pumpkin, 1Tbsp sugar, one loaf thick cut bread (I usually use ciabatta for bread puddings)-cubed, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp flour, 2 Tbsp butter (softened), 1/2 tsp cinnamon is all you need for Baked Pumpkin French Toast. Mix together the eggs, vanilla, spices, sugar and salt together. Once those ingredients are mixed, add the pumpkin purée. Layer the bread cubes into a 9x13 inch pan, in a single layer if possible. Pour the pumpkin mixture over it. Next, using a fork, mix the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter until crumbled. Sprinkle this over you pumpkin bread mix. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until top is golden. I stopped short of baking this because it's for tomorrow. I wrapped it up and put it in the fridge. I'll let you know how it turns out!