Happy (Almost) Thanksgiving

It's almost Thanksgiving! I can't wait to get out to Long Island and relax and have a cozy weekend. I am also very excited for our deep fried turkey. Jamie and I fried a turkey last year and it was excellent. The smell of a the turkey frying is intoxicating. Of course, last year we had 60 degree weather and were happy to stand outside to watch the turkey cook. This year, we may not be so lucky.

Frying a turkey means you can't have stuffing inside the turkey, but, it also means your cooking time is way, way less. We had I think a 13 pound turkey and it cooked in an hour. It takes a while to get the oil warm, so that you have to start up sooner, but the turkey cooks very quickly. The skin is crispy, the meat is juicy, and it's just fun. You have to be super careful (I don't know if you've seen these pictures?), but it's fun and tasty. I used this recipe.

Herb-Crusted Pork Chops

This is a great, great weeknight meal. The bread crumbs keep the pork chop super juicy and are crispy and flavorful. You can use any herbs you want/have. I served the pork chops with roasted purple potatoes and green beans.

Ingredients:

2 pork chops

1 slice bread, crusts removed

big handful fresh herbs (I used tarragon, rosemary, thyme, and parsley)

lemon slices for serving

salt and pepper

egg

flour

1 tsp dijon mustard

Alternative Birthday Cake

I had a surprise 30th birthday party for Jamie last weekend (he was completely surprised and it was really fun). He is not a huge fan of cake and prefers pie, but pie is not really easy cocktail party food. I remembered this post from Cup of Jo and went and got three round cheeses of different sized and made a little birthday cake of cheese. This is good for cheese lovers and cake averse.

Make-Ahead Individual Chocolate Souffles

Everyone is afraid of making souffle, but it's really not that difficult. I had some time to kill the other day when I was making dinner and I already had all of the ingredients, so I whipped up a few individual souffles. Cook's Illustrated (thanks for the book, Kara!) has a good recipe for make-ahead souffles where you assemble them and then just put them in the freezer until you want them. They were really chocolatey and rich and perfect with a scoop of ice cream. There's still one in the freezer - maybe I'll eat it tonight. This would be great to do the night before you have people over, then just throw them in the oven 15-20 minutes before you want dessert.

Serves four

Ingredients:

2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces plus 1/2 tbsp softened

2 2/3 tbsp sugar, plus 1/2 tbsp

4 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (I used my favorite, Belgian chocolate, Cote d'Or - it's the best. It's hard to find in the US, but I just found that the Garden of Eden on my street sells it, so I'm thrilled. Another point for Brooklyn Heights.)

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

3 large eggs, separated, plus 1 large egg white

2 tbsp powdered sugar

pinch cream of tarter

Tomatoes Gratin

I saw a recipe from Ina Garten and thought it sounded easy and like a great side. I modified it a bit to make little miniature ramekins. They were tart and sweet and the crispy bread crumbs were a great contrast. Super easy, too.

Ingredients:
2 big handfulls grape tomatoes, halved
1 piece of bread
1 clove garlic
olive oil
pinch of thyme
olive oil

Directions:
Heat oven to 400. Pulse the garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Add piece of bread and pulse to get course crumbs. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil and pulse. Add a tsp or so of olive oil to the bottom of the ramekins along with the thyme and a big pinch of salt.

Easy Spicy Anchovy Pasta

This is a great, quick dinner. Jamie loved it. (He just mmmed over my shoulder looking at the picture.) It's cheap and easy and may become a new favorite. I know anchovies turn some people off, but you wouldn't know they were in there unless you made it yourself. Jamie didn't know. It just adds a nice salty flavor. The bread crumbs are a crunchy addition.

Serves 2-4 (depending how hungry you are)

Ingredients:

1/2 box farfalle (or any other pasta - spaghetti would be good)

olive oil

5 anchovy fillets

3 cloves garlic, minced

big pinch red pepper flakes

bread crumbs

pecorino