Glazed carrots.

My father is what some might call obsessive about his homemade stuffing. Every Thanksgiving, he makes the same recipe that his mother made growing up and thereisnomessingwithit. As far as he is concerned, it is perfect and all other cornbread/brioche/sausage/mushroom variations are imposters. I think the way he figures, he gets to have as much stuffing as he wants one day a year, and he is not going to let you (or me) mess with it. I had a similar argument for ordering pad thai for several years whenever I went to a Thai restaurant - not because I didn't want to try new dishes but because no matter how many times a month I was able to go out for Thai food, I never felt like I had enough pad thai. It's just that delicious.

And maybe it's because I also grew up eating his stuffing, so it tastes like Thanksgiving to me, but it is rather delectable. The recipe is hidden away somewhere deep in my parents' cabinets, so I won't be sharing it here, but I will say that there is nothing revolutionary in there - no black truffles or fennel sausage or quinoa. Maybe that's why it has induced such devotion?

These carrots are as simple as they come. They have a total of six ingredients counting salt and pepper, and yet I would argue they can be wonderfully elegant when the moment demands it. Every year, I harass my family into trying a few requisite new recipes to supplement the old standards. There is always the turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, my dad's stuffing, usually my mom's tomato pudding*, and then pumpkin and pecan pies. In the past, I've tried Brussels sprouts and green beans and gratins, but I like the idea of keeping the vegetables simple this year (I can hear my husband laughing as I type this sentence).

For the next couple weeks, I am hopefully going to be sharing some different side dish ideas for you to consider if you are also trying to liven up your Thanksgiving recipe rotation or if you've been invited to bring a dish to a Thanksgiving gathering. Coming from the esteemed Canal House Cooking series, these carrots are everything that pairs well with meat - sweet and buttery, and yet somehow not overly filling or rich. I made them for the first time to go with a Christmas roast, but I think they would pair equally well with turkey and gravy.

Glazed carrots
Adapted from Canal House Cooking Volume No 2: Fall & Holiday
Serves 8

3 lbs young, thin carrots with green tops
3 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sherry
1/2 tsp salt and more to taste
pepper

Trim green tops off carrots leaving less than 1/2 inch of green at the top. Scrub them well with cold water, rubbing around the base of the stems to remove any dark material and then peel them. In a medium, heavy-bottomed pot add carrots along with rest of ingredients. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until the carrots are tender, usually about 20 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking until sauce reduces and thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately or cover loosely with foil until time to serve. Can garnish with chopped parsley if desired.

*An interesting recipe from my mom's childhood which involves lots of butter, pureed tomato and sugar.

Curried chicken salad.

My brother-in-law Matthew left me a very sweet instant message the other day while I was at work (and couldn't respond - sorry Matthew):

"hey I know that you work 70 hours a week and raise a toddler, but just putting it out there that you're due for a new blog post when you get the chance, no pressure, I just really appreciate them."

It helped me get out of my over-worked funk and reminded me that I have responsibilities! I have readers! Or at least one reader. Let me first assure you of one thing: I have not been holding out on you. I have simply been working some late nights, and my husband has been working some very late nights, so our collective use of the Trader Joe's frozen food aisle has been at an all-time high.



We also spent this past weekend with seventeen of our closest friends and their children up in Sonoma county on the Russian River, where we ate our weight in delicious food (Malay fried chicken! artichoke dip! grilled cheese with Josey Baker bread!), but we decided to bring bagels and lox for breakfast instead of slaving over a hot oven ourselves (thanks again Kelly and Kefri!). Needless to say, it has been a little while since I've made anything that feels blog-worthy.



The dishes that I do make when I'm in the middle of this kind of intense schedule are usually dishes that can be eaten at all times of the day, with whatever we have around, and are just as delicious on day five as on day one. I have my mother-in-law to thank for introducing me to this chicken salad, which she first made for a summer picnic when we were in Indiana visiting my husband's family. It managed to satisfy everyone and was so easy to pack and clean up - I was in love. The sweetness of the raisins and apples contrasted perfectly with the crunchy, salty celery, tender chicken, and richness of the curry. It can be eaten as a sandwich, over salad greens, with crackers, straight from the Tupperware container (standing in front of the refrigerator), or my personal favorite - open-faced, on thickly sliced and toasted country bread. As I mentioned, it packs up well for lunches or picnics or football tailgating, and the sweetness of the apples and raisins makes it very toddler-friendly.





The original recipe calls for marinated and grilled chicken breasts, which is how my mother-in-law served it. It was delicious, but I have streamlined my own process to avoid the extra steps of marinating and grilling. For me, the most important thing is to make sure the chicken is not overcooked. I came across this method of poaching a whole chicken so that it never overcooks, and I have never looked back. It only requires a little bit of time (usually a few hours) to cool the chicken completely, so it's important to plan ahead. I also personally like using a whole chicken for the great mix of light and dark meat. Of course, feel free to substitute poached or grilled chicken breast if you prefer only light meat. Using a whole chicken also ends up making a hefty amount of chicken salad, so feel free to cut the recipe in half if necessary, although I have yet to see it go to waste.



Other dishes I'm digging for their simplicity:
Greek style shrimp
Winter squash soup
Pretzel crusted chicken

Curried chicken salad
Adapted from Cooking Light
Serves 4-6

1 whole chicken, about 3-4 lbs
2 tsp yellow curry powder
2 tsp water
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 medium apples, chopped (Braeburn are nice, but others work as well)
2-3 ribs of celery, chopped
1/3 cup raisins
salt and pepper

Rinse the whole chicken and place it in a large pot with a lid. Cover chicken with cold water and partially cover pot with lid. Bring pot to a nice simmer, then turn off heat. Let the pot cool down completely in order for the chicken to cook through, which may take several hours. Once cool, strip chicken from the bone and chop coarsely into 1/2-inch chunks or smaller as desired.

In a large salad bowl, whisk together curry powder, mayonnaise, and water. Add chicken, apples, raisins, celery and stir well to combine. Taste for salt and pepper. Cover and chill until ready to serve.