Tis the Season

In the words of my mother "The anticipation is as fun as the real deal". Tonight we put up the Christmas decorations while watching Home Alone. A perfect evening.

She Makes a Wicked Pecan Pie

Does it seem as if my blog title is a misnomer if I tell you that last week I made a pecan pie for the first time? I really can't give a perfect explanation of where my title came from, but all along I've loved cooking and baking (proof: I have a quiche in the oven as I'm writing!) and I appreciate homemade pecan pie very much (my grandmother, Honey, is well known for hers).

It's just that I myself had never made one. And that now is no longer a confession - I have. No lying, it only came out OK...but it was a great experience.

I felt this thanksgiving was a great opportunity to try it for the first time. First of all, I got to try family friends' mothers tried and true recipe. It was pretty fool proof, but I managed it get something not quite right. It tasted awesome, but when we cut into it, the inside came seeping out. It didn't congeal as it should have. Possible mistakes: too much egg or corn syrup, or more likely, the oven was too hot. I'd like to blame the oven; it's happened to me in other endeavors before, but knowing that, I should have accounted for it and turned the heat down. Second of all, while I was told I only needed to bring myself to the feast, I wanted to offer more than that and I'm glad I did. It's no secret that I find great joy in others enjoying my culinary creations, but also, I think it comes back to a universal truth - we are created to be contributors. Contributors to our families, to our work, to our earth, to Thanksgiving dinner. I love to give back even in small ways and my attempt at pecan pie last week was fulfilling, just like a strong week at work or a shift in the soup kitchen.


Who makes a wicked Pecan Pie - Baba, not Sarabeth. But she's working on it like many other things. All in time we figure ourselves out.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving all! I hope you found joy in your holiday feast just as I did. Especially grateful this weekend for my loving family, for health, for laughter, and for meaningful work. I am truly blessed.

Time to take the quiche out of the oven

Recipe: Parmesan Spinach Chicken with Cavatappi

Ingredients:
Chicken Cutlets – about 7, thawed, pounded out evenly
Parmesan – 1/3 cup
Bread Crumbs – 1 T.
Italian Seasoning – 1 tsp.
Spinach – 10 oz?, rough chopped
Red Pepper – ½ cup, diced
Margarine – 1 Tb, ½ tsp.
Scallions – ½ cup, diced
Garlic – 1 tsp., minced
Flour – 1T.
Milk – ½ cup, skim
Cavatappi – for 3 servings, can sub other pastas but I think this one goes well with the dish. Maybe penne if you prefer.

1. Preheat oven to 350F, Pam a baking dish – I used a 13x9 but it was too large. If you have a smaller one, use that.
2. Boil spinach just barely to soften it. Let it sit in a strainer until we need it again to let it drain out fully.
3. Combine parmesan, bread crumbs and Italian seasoning. Dip the chicken in it just to get a thin layer on both sides. Set mixture aside for topping later.
4. Pre-bake chicken for 12 minutes.
5. Boil water and cook the cavatappi.
6. In a small frying pan, melt margarine and add garlic and scallions. sauté until scallions are soft.
7. Add flour and combine into a paste. Add milk. Mix and bring to a simmer.
8. Turn off heat. Add spinach and red pepper. Mix and cover – let stand for a few minutes.
9. Spoon veggie mixture over chicken. Sprinkle remaining parmesan mixture over top.
10. Bake for 17 minutes, until chicken is fully cooked/no longer pink.
11. Once cavatappi is cooked, heat from olive oil, garlic and Italian seasoning. Add pasta just before serving and toss to coat and heat just briefly.
12. Serve chicken over pasta.

I made this one last night for Suz – just meant to be a quick dinner before we went to our friends’ house warming party, but we ended up sitting and finishing a bottle of Cab before ever leaving. We were a bit late, but in good form for a party. Francine had just given me a ton of spinach because she was leaving town (I always get her leftover produce – lucky me!) but I’m going out of town on Wednesday too so I wanted to use it up. I have chicken spinach and pasta – what shall we make?? This worked out handsomely – definitely want to make this one again. Sorry if my measurements aren’t precise ; I tend to make up my own rules as I go. That’s part of the joy I find in cooking.
Also, I ended making enough for 3 using these amounts – you’ll have to extend it for 4 and cut it down for 2 if you prefer. We’ll see how it tastes as a leftover…