Ah, if there’s one thing that’s bad about the holidays it’s going back to work after a 5-DAY weekend. Oh, that’s harsh. Okay, and so is doing all the dishes. That’s kind of bad too. But I made coffee press after dinner on Thanksgiving and jwa and I had no problem staying up that night and doing like 4 loads of dishes. I wonder why…

We had a very nice Thanksgiving and except for my super-dense, didn’t-seem-to-rise-too-much rolls, everything seemed to turn out pretty well. Kinda sucks I forgot to take any pictures of the food or the people.

::clever segue:: But anyway, this here is something that I like to make for lunches occasionally. It works really well to go right from the pan to a lunch container and then the next day, when you get hungry, you remember you have something good for lunch and it makes you all happy!

Chicken and Cashew Stir-Fry
Recipe adapted from Gourmet magazine
1 bunch scallions, white and green parts chopped
1 pound skinless boneless chicken thighs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch broccoli florets. chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1/4 tsp dried hot red-pepper flakes
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup salted roasted whole cashews
Garnish: Sesame Seeds

Pat any excess moisture off chicken, then cut into 3/4-inch pieces and toss with salt and pepper. Heat a wok or 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until a drop of water evaporates immediately.

Add oil, swirling to coat, then stir-fry chicken until golden in places and just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes.

Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add bell pepper, garlic, broccoli, ginger, red-pepper flakes, and scallions to wok and stir-fry until peppers and broccoli are just tender, 5 to 6 minutes.

Stir together broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, and sugar, then stir into vegetables in wok. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in cashews and chicken, along with any juices accumulated on plate. Serve over rice. Garnish with sesame seeds and eat immediately or pack up for lunch the next day. Or both.

This is pretty quick, easy and healthy. Just what we all (in the US) need in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. Originally in Gourmet magazine but I changed some stuff — mainly added the Parmesan and swapped blood orange for lemon.

Okay, that is all. Reserving culinary strength for Wednesday and Thursday!

Cod with Olives, Blood Orange and Potatoes
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine
2 small fingerling potatoes, thinly sliced
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tsp fresh chopped, oregano, divided
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
Sea salt
Pepper
2 (6-8 ounce) pieces skinless black cod, rock cod, Pacific cod, or haddock fillet (about 1 inch thick), any bones removed
2-4 slices of blood orange
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 cup Kalamata-style black olives, pitted and chopped
2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 large pieces of parchment paper, folded in half and cut into valentine heart shapes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F with a baking sheet on bottom rack. Open the parchment on a flat working surface.

Toss the potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, the parmesan cheese, and a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper.

Divide potatoes among parchment hearts, arranging them to one side of the center, slightly overlapping, then top with a piece of fish.

Sprinkle each fillet with a little sea salt, then top each with one to two orange slices, a few garlic slices and olive slivers, parsley leaves, a sprinkle of oregano, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Fold the parchment over the fish and then, starting at one end and working your way around to the other end, carefully fold the cut edges twice (or three times if you prefer a crimped edge) to form a sealed packet.

Put packages on hot baking sheet and bake until fish is just cooked through, 18 to 22 minutes.

Serve packets on plates and open at the table. Watch out for steam!

Now with recipe links!

Appetizers: (going light this year!)

* Orange (or Tangerine) Marinated Green Olives (From the book, The New Spanish Table by Anya von Bremzen)

* Rosemary Cashews — scroll down for recipe

* Pumpernickel Crostini with White Bean Puree & Smoked Salmon (Just a few!!)

White Bean Puree:
Adapted from a recipe by Tyler Florence
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp anchovy paste
1 (14-ounce) can white cannellini beans, drained
1/4 cup chicken stock, heated
1 tsp white wine vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a saucepan add tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and anchovy paste and sweat for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the beans followed by the warm chicken stock and cook until heated through. Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and puree with a splash of white vinegar, salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Thin with extra stock if the puree is too thick. Give it a final taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

The Main Event:

* Cornish Game Hens (ATK recipe) with Apple, Hazelnut & Sausage Stuffing and Hen Drippings / Apple Cider Jus (Something like this)

* Caramelized Root Vegetables with Chestnuts, Garlic & Thyme

* Brussels Sprouts with Lemon & Pistachios

* Butternut Squash Polenta with Sage & Parsley Pesto — Just making this up as I go along, Pesto will probably be based on this

* Awesome Martha Stewart Cranberry Relish That I make Every Year

* Herb Rolls

Dessert(s)! (Whee! Pick a Dessert!) At least, as of right now, I think there will be two –(mainly because I can’t decide, and it’s not like everyone has two, you just get to pick now. Or have two. Whatever.)

* Pumpkin Creme Brulees

* Goat Cheese, Honey & Apple Tartlets

Why yes. Yes I am taking Wednesday off of work! Why do you ask?

Skipping this year: mashed potatoes, a heavy gravy and sweet potatoes (unless I throw some in with the root vegetables). We’ll see how that goes…

Foodie Chickie is hosting Weekend Cookbook Challenge this month and she chose Diner Food as the theme. Okay, so when I think of diner food, I think of breakfast!

Well, actually, I think of breakfast first, but then honestly, I then think of things like meatloaf and burgers and fries and then I get hungry and I need to get up and find a snack. But anyway, let’s just stick with breakfast, shall we? These are the first waffles of the Fall 2008 season. These are Gingerbread Waffles from the cookbook Prairie Home Cooking, by Judith Fertig. These are pretty damn good.

I skipped the pear sauce in the cookbook and opted instead to have maple syrup, with chopped fresh pear for the top of the waffles. I also had about a handful of chopped pecans. What the hell — I threw those in the batter too. This will make 4-6 waffles, depending on the size of your waffle making apparatus.

Gingerbread Waffles
From the book, Prairie Home Cooking, by Judith Fertig.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground dried ginger
1 cup milk
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup canola oil or corn oil
1 egg
Optional: 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, and ginger in a medium bowl. Add your chopped pecans here if using.

In a large measuring cup or bowl, add the milk, molasses, oil, and egg, and stir until well combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix until just combined. I thought the batter was a little thick, but it seemed to work just fine.

Cook in a waffle iron, for about 2 minutes. (The cooking time will vary with your waffle iron.)

Serve immediately, with maple syrup and diced pear.

Thanks again to Foodie Chickie for hosting WCC this month. Also, thanks to everyone who I exchanged soup with at Victory on Saturday! Our fridge/freezer is filled wonderful things! And now I want to drag jwa there so I can get another New Fashioned…

Okay, here it is — the soup that will take over the world! I saw this last Spring on the teevee and have wanted to make it ever since. But, there was the pesky wedding and then Summer and now, finally COOL weather!

This Jamie Oliver recipe is really, really good. The cheese is kind of approximate below. I didn’t really measure, I just added a bunch of cheese to each layer and went from there. I also used smoked fontina in this which was delicious!

It’s kind of like a big, bubbly bread and cheese lasagna with broth. It’s best the day of, but leftovers the next day were still quite tasty! I fiddled with the original a bit. As written below, you’ll get 4-6 servings. I decided to halve the recipe, as there are only two of us and I wasn’t sure how many days leftovers would keep.

Bread & Cabbage Soup w/ Fried Sage Leaves
Adapted from a recipe by Jamie Oliver, in the awesome book, Jamie at Home
1 1/2 - 2 quarts good-quality chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 Savoy cabbage, stalks removed, outer leaves separated, washed and roughly chopped
2 big handfuls of kale, stalks removed, leaves washed and roughly chopped
About 10-12 slices stale sourdough bread (Figure out how many slices you will need per layer to fit your pot, then multiply that by the number of layers you will have — I had 3 layers of bread, so I used 12 or so small slices of bread)
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled, cut in 1/2
Olive oil
6 slices pancetta or bacon
1 tsp anchovy paste (or you can use real anchovies like Jamie)
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves removed from 2 of the sprigs and chopped
1 cup fontina cheese, grated (I actually had some smoked fontina from the deli, it was in slices, so I just used it that way)
3 big handfuls grated Parmesan, plus a little for serving
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp butter
Small bunch fresh sage, leaves picked

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring the stock to the boil in a large pot and add the cabbage and kale. Cook for a few minutes until softened (you may have to do this in 2 batches). Remove the greens to a large bowl, leaving the stock in the pot.

Toast all but the number needed for your top layer of bread slices on a hot griddle pan or in a toaster, then rub them on 1 side with the garlic halves, and set aside. Chop the garlic pieces and hold onto them.

Next, heat a large ovenproof casserole-type pan on the stove top, pour in a couple of glugs of olive oil and add your pancetta and anchovy paste.

When the pancetta is golden brown and sizzling, add the rosemary, chopped garlic and cooked cabbage and toss to coat the greens in all the lovely flavors. Put the mixture and all the juices back into the large bowl.

Place a layer of the toasted bread slices in the casserole-type pan. Spread over 1/2 of the cabbage leaves, sprinkle over a 1/3 of the grated fontina and Parmesan and add a drizzle of olive oil.

Repeat this for one more layer. Next, pour in all the juices remaining in the bowl and end with a layer of untoasted bread on top. Push down on the layers with your hands.

Pour the stock gently over the top until it just comes up to the top layer. Push down again and sprinkle over the remaining fontina and Parmesan. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper and drizzle over some good-quality olive oil. Pop the last rosemary sprig on top. You know, just for fun. Bake in the preheated oven for around 15 minutes. Then, turn the heat up to 375 degrees F and bake for 15 more minutes, or until crispy and golden on top. I upped the heat to get maximum crispiness on the top!

When the soup is ready, divide it between your bowls. Melt the butter in a frying pan and quickly fry the sage leaves until they’re just crisp and the butter is lightly golden.

Spoon a bit of the flavored butter and sage leaves over the soup and add another grating of Parmesan.

Wow. Tasty and hearty! Very satisfying.