Homemade > Store-Bought, the Chicken Stock Edition

Yes, Virginia, there IS real food somewhere in there! This lovely little display of ooey-gooey chicken guts-ness, veggies and aromatics will eventually become one of my favorite cooking items in the world — chicken stock. Simple, versatile, and capable of enriching even the simplest of recipes, chicken stock (or turkey stock, or heck, even veggie stock, which is just as easy to make and totally vegetarian / vegan) is the backbone of that “Mmmm, this tastes like something my Grandma made” flavor. If you’re looking for homey nostalgia in a dish, this is your (no longer a big) secret weapon.

Tex-Mex Meets Comfort Food: Easy Slow-Cooker Turkey Chili

This dish is a great way to incorporate lots of veggies into a simple, one-pot (er, one-slow-cooker?) meal. The veggies I’m including in the recipe are very flexible, too; not that they do gymnastics (there’s a bad joke in there somewhere about Mckayla Moroney not approving of my pun or my recipe), but you can feel free to substitute whatever veggies are hanging around in your fridge.

It also hits just the right seasoning notes, with chili powder, cumin and garlic adding that Mexi-kick, and a few secret additions (cocoa powder? Yup!) along the way. Also, fun fact: If you have oodles of leftover turkey from T-Givs or other holiday celebrations in the next few weeks and months, this recipe is easily adaptable to include those tryptophan-laced trimmings. Enjoy!

Tackling T-Givs, Part 3: Cranberry Bread & Cranberry-Pinot Noir Sauce

Image sourced from simplyrecipes.com

First, a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! I hope your Thanksgiving celebrations were filled with tryptophan, carb comas, plenty of vino / brewskies / whatever your beverage fancy, and the love and companionship of your family & friends. GKG was on a bit of a pre-holiday hiatus (hey, man, it takes a long time to concoct a T-Givs menu and prep an absurd number of side dishes. Seriously, way too many. Like, 5 more than necessary. #excessmakesthestomachgrowlarger?), but now we’re back in full swing. Even if we’re now post-Thanksgiving, these recipes can be eaten and enjoyed any time of year. Happy Eating!

The humble cranberry, according to an interesting documentary I saw earlier this week on The History Channel (What?? History Channel programming that isn’t about Hitler or aliens?? You’re talking nonsense, woman — you, thinking to yourself), was named after early settlers’ observations that its flower looked like the beak of a crane. Crane-berry became cranberry, and silly mis-identifying Puritans became history. Cool!

Thanksgiving Traditions: Mom’s (or “Aunt” Betty’s) Orange-Glazed Sweet Potatoes

 

Once upon a time, GKG decided to put together a hand-written-slash-scrapbook-style recipe book with an old journal. (The consequence of being someone who enjoys writing — lovely and well-intentioned friends and family tend to gift you with journals. While I like to think my life is fairly interesting, it certainly can’t fill 5-10 journals a year!) The above picture is one page of clips that I’ve cut, arranged and taped / pasted into the journal’s pages, but I’ve also hand-written some of my own recipes and family favorites (pasta sauce being one of them!) in various “chapters.”

Hosting Thanksgiving? Yes, You Can! Part One: What on Earth Am I Serving?

Bet you started quoting “Home Alone” in your head, didn’t you?

This year, I will be staying in Washington, DC for Thanksgiving … IN ORDER TO HOST THE HOLIDAY! AIEEEE! OMAGAH! WHAT??

… Actually, it’s not THAT terrifying. (She said, in her famous last words before her death-by-drowning at the hands — er, goo? — of a mountain of mashed potatoes and gravy.) It’s a new adventure that the History Teacher and I are taking on this year. We’ll be hosting his immediate family (traveling in from all sorts of corners of the East Coast), as well as a few local friends who’d rather stay nearby than make their long and expensive voyages home. To which I say, the more the merrier! … and the slightly scarier? More people! More food! More chaos! More tryptophan-induced napping on a limited number of beds and couches!

Fall Tablescape: Pops of Color, Hints of Autumn

Nothing says fall like … a tablescape!

No, I’m not just pulling a Sandra Lee here. (Plus, I’ve already done that, I suppose.) There’s something about fall that gets me going — and gets me in the mood to start decorating. What says “fall” like pumpkins, marigolds, and other seasonally-themed decorating in the house? And for me, that decorating starts — are you surprised, my friends? — with the kitchen table.