Thanksgiving 2009

My cousin and his wife came up to our place from LA for Thanksgiving this year. They're expecting their first baby, so they didn't want to travel very far and we were happy to have the company. We did the big turkey dinner for everyone, which we haven't done from scratch for a long time. This is also the first year in a long time that we've been home for the holiday since we usually drive down to San Diego to spend it with Mike's parents.

It was a beautiful day, so the kids and dog spent a long time playing outside. They had quite the festival of sports going, from football to baseball to soccer to tennis, biking, and riding the scooter. I finally dragged them inside when it started to get dark and cold.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were able to spend it with those you love!

Leo Potluck

Today was our annual Leonberger Pre-Thanksgiving Potluck. Every year we get together on the Sunday before Thanksgiving to catch up with each other, eat, and let the dogs play. It's a tradition that started about 10 years ago and that I've continued planning for most of the years since. The number of people and dogs varies from year to year, but it's always fun to get together and let the dogs run around.

When Leonbergers have the chance to play with each other, it's pretty impressive to watch, especially when big males really get to playing. They play very differently with each other than they do with other dogs. Rousing games of spithead are the norm, with the occasional body slam and polar bear hug thrown in to keep it interesting. Now imagine 6 or more Leos running around together, taking over a dog park, and you get a feeling for our annual gathering. Watching the reactions of the other people at the park is always fun and we spend a lot of time explaining what kind of dogs they are and answering all the usual questions about them.

So all in all, it was a fun afternoon once again. The weather didn't really cooperate this year - it got cold and windy pretty suddenly, so everyone headed out a bit earlier than usual - but at least it didn't rain. We were seranaded by the flocks of parrots once again, the kids had a grand time running around with their buddies, and I got to eat my favorite sweet potatoes. You can't ask for much better than that!

Beef Stew

It finally cooled off here, so I've wanted to make some hearty dishes. Last night was tortilla soup and tonight I decided to try beef stew. I found a recipe that sounded good, but I modified it a bit based on some of the comments. Here is my version.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1 pound beef stew meat
6 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups sweet vermouth
2 cups new potatoes
2 large carrots, quartered
4 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

8 ounces sliced brown mushrooms

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

Directions:

Melt butter in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the beef stew meat, and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, or until evenly browned on the outside.
Pour the chicken broth and vermouth into the stock pot. Add the potatoes, carrots, and garlic. Season with tarragon, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, honey, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cover. Cook 2 1/2 hours to blend the flavors.
Remove cover and add the mushrooms. Continue cooking 20 minutes.

Dissolve the cornstarch in cold water then add to the stew. Boil for 15 minutes or until stew has reached desired thickness.

Serve over egg noodles.

This was really good, a very filling stew for a cool night. Next time, I'll decrease the sugar and honey by half and add a bit more salt. I may also use more meat and fewer potatoes.

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

I was wanting something different for dinner, so I got a spaghetti squash the other day. Of course, I had no idea what to do with it, so once I got home I surfed around trying to find a recipe that sounded good. I found one that I wanted to try, but made a few modifications to make it a bit more satisfying for us meat-eaters. I did end up overcooking the squash, so it didn't shred into strings - it was more like your typical mushy squash - but it tasted great and worked well as a casserole instead.

Ingredients:
1 medium-sized spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
1/2 pound sausage (we like Jimmy Dean, in the chub)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup grated romano cheese, plus an additional 1/4 cup (or more) for topping
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
2 teaspoons butter, melted
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place squash in a baking dish, cut side down, and bake 30-50 minutes, until a knife can be inserted easily into the thick part of the squash. When the squash is done, remove it from the oven and allow to cool enough to handle. While the squash is cooling, cook the sausage until done. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pan. Cook the onion in the drippings until translucent and add to the sausage. In a clean, dry pan, toast the pine nuts until brown on all sides, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Set aside. When the squash is cool enough to handle, scrape out the flesh using a fork and put in a casserole dish. Discard the skin. Add the sausage, onion, pine nuts, 1/4 cup romano cheese, sage, butter, salt, and pepper and mix together. Smooth out mixture in dish and top with additional romano cheese. Put dish back in oven set to broil and watch closely. Remove when cheese is melted and browned and squash mixture is bubbling.

We were pleasantly surprised at how this turned out! My attempts at improvisation while cooking are usually inedible, so this was a good surprise. I would definitely make this again when I'm in the mood for a homey, fall dish.

(11/10) Note: At the grocery store yesterday, I looked over the squash they had on display. it turns out that the one I used for this recipe was actually a butternut squash - that explains why it didn't "string" after it was cooked! So this should really be titled "Butternut Squash Casserole". I have no idea how this would taste with spaghetti squash, but I'm willing to give it a try!