Posted on 08/02/2017 3:16:25 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
When I was younger, a lot more energetic, and made many of the Christmas gifts I gave, I was finished with almost everything that could be done ahead for the holidays by the end of September or October. I’m not sure that will ever happen again, but I like to make some plans ahead and lately I’ve been thinking about Thanksgiving.
I never really like to make big changes for that holiday menu – people seem to want it to stay the same. But I think it’s good to introduce at least one new thing, each year. I usually make a Sweet Potato Souffle, with the raisins inside and marshmallows on top; but when I saw Freeper ‘mairdie’s’ recipe for sweet potatoes and pears, it looked like a perfect, lighter change-up:
http://www.iment.com/maida/favs/recipes/potatoes/maryssweetpotatoresandpears.htm
Here is the link to all of Mary’s recipes:
http://www.iment.com/maida/favs/recipes/index.htm
Earlier this year I attended a tasting menu where a really interesting pear/ginger vinaigrette was served; and I think that would also be nice for the holidays.
Here from ‘Eat the Grains’ is a Pear – Ginger vinaigrette used on a raw beet salad; but the dressing would be good on a salad of greens:
https://eatthegains.com/raw-beet-salad-with-pear-ginger-vinaigrette/
-JT
Sorry, I’m too much of a control freak :-) I have everything organized in folders and files, mainly word documents. Just like I don’t trust that cloud thingie either.
That website is enormous! And the title recipe, Caramel Potatoes, looks very good:
http://www.caramelpotatoes.com/2011/04/13/caramel-potatoes/
They are the top three pear recipes on my to make list.
I have a few large cans of Del Monte pears from Sam’s Club I’m going to use.
No matter if you go sweet or vinegar, spread your cooked potatoes on a pan or piece of foil. Drisel with 2 tbsps of vinegar and let them cool. Then combine other ingredients. It keeps them from weeping when refidgerated.
5 lbs. red potatoes (or 7 lbs new red potatoes...they're smaller), chopped to your taste as to size of chop
mayonnaise and yellow mustard (see note below)
12 manzanilla olives w/pimiento, diced
16 largish dill pickle slices
salt and ground pepper to taste
Traditionally, you peel and boil the potatoes. I do neither; leave the skin on when you chop them. Fry the chopped potatoes in a little butter or oil (butter is better) until lightly browned.
Drain the potatoes on a paper towel, then place in a large bowl. Add mayo, mustard, diced olives, diced pickles, pepper and salt. Toss or mix well, and refrigerate for 20 minutes at least, covered.
Note 1: Mustard has quite a bit of salt.
Note 2: Everyone is different. I like a ratio of 5 mayo to 2 mustard. Try 5 tsp/2 tsp at first, then, if you want a wetter potato salad, do it again.
Note 3: Potatoes being potatoes, I use the pepper rather freely, the salt rather sparingly. Can't give you tsp measurement, I count "shakes", sorry.
Note 4: If you have Emerilistic tendencies, you can always substitute crushed red pepper for the black pepper. Or mix them.
Serves 10-12 normal people, or 5-7 SAJs (g!)
Nappy noshing!
Sometimes I like to leave skin on, too; especially if I’m using the little red potatoes.
I waited for Black Friday last year and got an 8" Amazon Fire tablet for $60 (vs. $300 for an iPad). I have a cable modem with its own WiFi hot spot built in. That allows me to have internet access on the Fire tablet. I have an email address allowing me to send recipes to the Fire tablet via email attachments on my computer. That gets the recipes I want into the Fire tablet. I used a magnetic refrigerator mount to mount my Fire tablet vertically on my fridge door. So, turning on my tablet, I can do a search for the name of the recipe I want. I also alphabetized the recipes to make them easier to search. It would be simple to create folders for each type of food you want to group, and just go into those. It's wonderful to be able to read my recipes as I cook, scrolling with the touch of a finger.
Sorry.
Coouldn’t agree more. More flavor, more vitamins.(w!)
Potato Salad
Boil peeled Idaho potato chunks until soft. Mash smooth. Eyeball mayo, diced dill pickles, pickle juice, onion, a couple squirts of mustard, salt and pepper. Optional - diced hard boiled egg.
Variation - Leave the potato chunks chunky, mayo, sour cream, sweet pickles, salt and pepper.
Easy cheater potato salad - use boxed dried potato flakes.
I’ve got one of those Fire Tablets - I love it for reading books. I just need bigger print, something I can see more easily, in the kitchen.
For untried recipes in the computer, I have everything in word docs, too. Then, when they turn out well and are ‘keepers’, I print them, put them in page protectors, and they go in the binder.
When I was 16 years old I worked a summer at a pear orchard. Drove tractors, worked in the shed, loaded packed pears into semi-vans. Went to bed at nite, closed my eyes and all I could see were pears. I burned out on pears and haven’t ate many in the last 50 years.
LOL! I don’t blame you. My grandmother worked in a candy store when she was very young - she said you get tired of candy really fast, even the smell of it ;-)
You can certainly ZOOM the print on the Fire Tablet, or you can modify the font size before you email it from your computer to the Fire Tablet. I find good recipes on the internet, then cut and paste them into a Word document. I format the recipe, if necessary, to be more easily read. That includes giving it a bigger font. Then I save the Word document with a title, such as Eggplant Parmesan. I then email the document Eggplant Parmesan over to the Fire Tablet, with Eggplant Parmesan in the subject line. Easy peasy.
From Viking River Cruises...
French Pear Tart
Ingredients:
3 firm ripe pears
Pastry Dough:
1&1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 tbsp sugar
½ cup unsalted butter
2 large egg yolks
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cold water
pinch of salt
Frangipane:
1/3 cup unsalted butter
¾ cup sugar
3 large eggs
¾ cup ground almonds
1&1/2 tsp all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp almond extract
Glaze:
¼ cup apricot jam
1 tsp lemon juice
Garnish:
2 tsp slivered almonds
Directions:
Dough: Sift together flour and salt; make a well. Add sugar, butter, yolks, vanilla and water into well; work to form a firm dough. Chill for 2 hours. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to cover a 9-onch quiche or tart pan. Press firmly into pan; cut off excess. Prick bottom with a fork. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Reheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line dough with parchment or foil; add pie weights or dry beans. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Lower oven to 375 degrees F, remove foil and weights; bake for 5 minutes or until golden. Remove from heat; cool. Reduce oven to 350 degrees F.
Frangipane: Mix butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, almonds, flour and extract; stir to combine. Spoon into crust. Assemble: Peel, core & slice pears. Arrange slices over top of frangipane. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until pears are tender and lightly browned. Remove from heat and cool.
Glaze: Melt jam over low heat. Stir in lemon juice. Remove from heat; push mixture through a sieve. Brush glaze over pears; sprinkle with slivered almonds.
Well, a little too much fiddling for me. I really like the printed page, big print, in the kitchen.
Here’s a nifty thing to use for that:
With all my recipes in page protectors, if one gets messy I just slip it into a new protector.
I guess I’m just old-school and low-tech.
(I still use my very early version of Kindle - with Calibre to organize everything. That was a pretty neat program, but I can’t seem to get the new versions to work right on the Fire...)
Yes, and it’s not overly sweet. I make this every year for Thanksgiving.
So many pears come into season into the Fall, and have to ripen after picking. Using them at Thanksgiving makes sense, and they’ve always had Autumn connotations for me.
Here is my recipe that is the best I can do. The eggs give it a real mellow taste. However, I have not been able to give it the tartness I want. When I toss the cubed potatoes with the pickle juice, it does go in the tartness direction. With too much, the potatoes get soggy. Perhaps vinegar would have better tartness, but the pickle juice does add flavor.
My recipe:
All American Potato Salad
• 2 1/2 lb Russet potatoes cubed into half inch cubes
• 3 Tbsp. sweet pickle juice, or possibly to taste
• 5 x Hard-boiled large Large eggs
• 3/4 c. Mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/2 c. Minced sweet onion ( I use Walla Walla Sweet Onions)
• 1/4 c red bell pepper chopped
• 3 lrg Celery ribs
• 1 Chopped pickle
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste (remember, the pickle juice adds saltiness)
Directions:
1. Bring potato cubes to a boil in salted water (2 Tbs). Turn to low and simmer for six minutes. Begin to test potatoes for doneness after the six minutes every 30 seconds. When to the proper softness, drain the potatoes and put into the primary mixing bowl.
1. In bowl immediately toss potatoes with pickle juice and let cool.
2. In a separate bowl mash yolks and stir in mayonnaise, mustard, and onion.
3. Chop whites, pickle, red bell pepper and celery and gently toss together with potatoes, sugar, mayonnaise mix, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve potato salad chilled or possibly at room temperature Serves 6.
Cool tip!
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