Simmer Till Done

What? You’ve already heard enough Josie this and Josie that, and how Josie loves jellybeans, and went to junior high, and went to Paris, blah blah blah? Well, Miss Twilight seems to think you haven’t heard enough - she’s fed up with “all those pictures of Cleo,” and demanded her own Tell Simmer, which this week could be re-named “Tell Mom,” which in turn could also frequently be called “Tell Mom Off.”  Whatever. She serves a mean volleyball, eats overly large burritos, and between you and me, leaves mugs all over the house. But this twelve-year old is our mug-leaver, and knows her way around a menu - somehow, she seems quieter in print.
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Tags: bb, Josie, Tell Simmer

Saturday, 1:36 pm. How’s it going with those leftovers?

While Josie and Greg watched KU beat Missouri, I stacked a few Turkey-Bacon-Cranberry-Swiss Clubs.

And now, we are down to only one enormous leg.

Perhaps Henry VIII will just come on over and finish things off?

If you wish to build your own, here’s the sedimentary diagram of the club:

* Toasted Potato Bread
* Mayonnaise
* Crispy Thick-Cut Pepper Bacon
* Fresh Spinach
* Baby Swiss Cheese
* Roast Turkey
* Cranberry-Cherry Balsamic Relish
* Toasted Potato Bread

(Yes, Potato Bread and no, I don’t think that carb can get any more white)

Tags: bb, Chicagoland, holidays, leftovers, thanksgiving, turkey

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!  Right now I am unable to think or write about food - well, at least for a little while, before my cranberry alarm goes off and demands another plate.  Until then, please enjoy this useful and delicious rerun, specially selected by the flashback gods for the day after Thanksgiving, or as we call it, the Day of Fridge Container Worship.

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Leftover Mashed Potato Pancakes

from May 8, 2008

There were some very good mashed potatoes on a shelf in the fridge, leftovers with nothing to do. For me, a container of fluffy whiteness is a waving red flag - I’ve been fine-tuning “mashed potato cakes” for years, and if there’s even a few spoonfuls around, they’ll soon be scooped and pressed and plopped in a pan.

Easy, eh?

Well in theory, yes - but in real life, coaxing whipped potatoes into crispy cakes takes a little doing, and yesterday, I finally got it done. Let’s take a look:

My ice cream scoop is a seasoned veteran and does not shirk potato duty. Summer will be back before you know it, and that means Mr. Scoop up there is training for Dulce de Leche season. So the more work, the better. Continue Reading »

Tags: friday flashback, potatoes, thanksgiving

…and through the, er, traffic.  Like so many of you, we’re taking this show on the road today, headed a bit north and bringing not one but two kinds of cranberry sauce with us.

Josie noted that it didn’t look like enough, but that’s only because she eats more cranberry-related items than any human I know. She’s like a giant cranberry-sucking bog in dainty adolescent form. So…perhaps we’ll make more in Chicago. Every year we ask the same question, and you probably do, too: the stores are open tomorrow, right?

Of course I’ll check in from the trenches - this is the food holiday, after all - but for now, I wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving, with the safest of travels, the sweetest of potatoes, and more than a few tart cranberries.

Cranberry-Cherry Balsamic Relish

My absolute lip-puckering favorite.  For the punch it brings it’s absurdly easy, and worth making double for the leftover sandwiches alone.

1 12-oz bag cranberries, picked over
1 cup light brown sugar
½ large orange, peeled and segmented
1 cup dried cherries
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tsp cinnamon

Place dried cherries and orange in food processor bowl; process to small bits. Add cranberries, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar and cinnamon, then pulse to finely chopped (some coarse spots are fine). Taste for seasoning and adjust to your own taste. May be made several days ahead; flavor deepens over time.

Tags: Chicagoland, cranberries, thanksgiving

Only 30 years old, Martha Stewart Living’s Senior Syle Editor Eddie Ross is an established triple threat, conquering catering, publishing, and television. You wouldn’t want to be his competitor - as a brave few were, in Season 2 of Bravo’s Top Design - but you’d certainly want to hang around and benefit from all that talent: cooking (”so…lunch?”) designing (”Eddie - my table settings need help.”) and all-around styling (”Hey, I’m at the flea market.  Are brass antlers a good thing?”)  Luckily for the rest of us, his blog is anything but threatening, with friendly style, design and shopping ideas for every taste and budget.  Eddie’s own impeccable taste has graced House Beautiful, The Food Network and now Martha Stewart Living - but until now, has anyone asked this Connecticut native where to get really good pizza?

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Tags: Eddie Ross, Tell Simmer