Thanksgiving Tidbits

 

My Grandma Neelly was notorious for cutting people's heads off. 

Don't get me wrong: She was the most mild-mannered, even-tempered lady. But give her a camera, and she'd chop off your head in a heartbeat.  Lisa said she must have been channeling Grandma Neelly when she took the photo of her Thanksgiving crowd. Randy was the victim in this case. (He should have moved into Lisa's chair. Oh well!)

All is forgiven. We were just thankful to be included in the Thanksgiving feast hosted in Clay Center. And it was a good laugh while we remembered. My brother was the chauffeur for my parents, and we joined the Bauer crew for a delicious traditional meal.

The next day, Randy and I had a different kind of Thanksgiving at Jill's. Daughter-in-law Susan and daughter Jill came up with the idea to do an appetizer competition for our little family's Thanksgiving. It was just as tasty. We were all supposed to add our offering to a Google Doc so we didn't end up with eight versions of the Cranberry Relish Dip over cream cheese. As it turned out, no one brought that. (I'm sure it will be on my Christmas menu.)

Most people complied with revealing their contributions, though Brent was adamant that his would remain a secret until the event. Jill developed a ballot, and everyone scored each appetizer with a 1 to 5, with 5 being the best. If someone refused to even take a taste of the appetizer, you had to give that dish a 3. (There was some controversy concerning that scoring decision among our participants).

And, drum roll please: My appetizer won. (A caveat ... None of these food photos is great. Most were taken after we'd already eaten and not taken very creatively. But maybe they are better than nothing.)

I brought homemade soft pretzel bites with a warm beer cheese dip.  (I also had a platter of fresh veggies you could dip, too.) 

My offering was one of several that came off our family's go-to recipe website, Sally's Baking Addiction. As Jill says, "Sally never lets you down." 

I've made a lot of yeast bread. In fact, I also took the yeast crescent rolls for our Thanksgiving celebration at Lisa's. But this was the first time I'd used a soda water bath. I'd always been kind of intimidated by the thought, but it turned out to be easy - though a little messy. 

Still, I'm already thinking about making them again for our family's Christmas "charcuterie" evening meal. (We'll have the traditional ham with trimmings for our noon meal and go the appetizer route for supper.)

Brooke's focaccia turkey sliders and Kinley's fruit kabobs.

Brooke also used Sally's arsenal of recipes, making homemade focaccia to make turkey sliders. We were all highly complimentary of her efforts. 

Remember Brent's huge mystery contribution? It was Candied Prosciutto Crackers. Yummy! 

Susan brought Sausage Stuffing Balls, also a contender. 

Eric used his love of Little Smokies and turned them into an appetizer version of pigs-in-a-blanket with a cranberry/mustard dipping sauce. There were only two left when I got around to taking a photo at the end, so they were popular, too.

Jill said she knew that her Harvest Salad probably wouldn't be the most popular. But it was a nice, fresh addition to our menu. And it was a winner among those of us who like a little green with our meals.  

It seemed that effort was rewarded among our voters. Kinley's fruit kabobs and Randy's shrimp cocktail platters received the lowest scores, though we enjoyed them, too. (Randy knew what he was bringing as soon as the appetizer theme was announced. And, bonus points: He shopped for his own contribution rather than just adding it to my grocery list for me to pick up.) 

We are thankful that son-in-law Eric has long arms so that we could all end up in a selfie. 

There was a bonus optional competition for desserts. (I didn't get photos of those, but they were just as delicious.) Brooke made a banana cream pie, and Eric made a coconut cream pie. Susan contributed a blueberry-pear galette, and Jill made an apple-cranberry bar, also from Sally's website. (She used the filling recipe from the Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie and the crust recipe from Salted Caramel Apple Bars. The caramel apple bars are a family favorite already.)

I brought the leftover pecan, coconut and pumpkin pies that I'd made for the Bauer Thanksgiving. We had plenty of sweet treats! (I use the same syrup for both the coconut and pecan pies.)  

I am not including the recipe for the Pretzel Bites - just giving you the link. Sally's Baking Addiction has great, detailed instructions, and you might as well get it straight from the source. She even has a video, if you're a visual learner. She had a cheese sauce linked, but I used a different one. 

I saw this recipe from a Hutchinson kitchen store, Apron Strings, and wanted to try it. It was a hit, too, and I'm sure I'll make it again.

Beer Cheese Dip

From an Apron Strings email  

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup lager beer
1-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated (1-1/2 cups)
1/2 cup Gruyère cheese, grated
2 tablespoons chives, finely minced (opt)

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Once melted, add the minced garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Create a roux by gradually whisking in the flour until all is incorporated.

Reduce the heat to low and add the cream, beer, and Worcestershire sauce. Continue to stir. Whisk in the spices. Slowly add the cheeses and stir until melted and the sauce becomes smooth. Taste and add additional salt or spices, if desired. Garnish with chives, if desired. Enjoy immediately.

I doubled the recipe to take to Jill's.  

***

All the girls went on a Black Friday shopping expedition to help me fulfill the wishes for two sisters from our Stafford community's Angel Tree. As we were coming back, Kinley wanted to know if they could wrap them, too. What a huge help!  

 

Then, on Saturday, Randy and I froze along with other Wildcat fans at the K-State vs. Colorado football game. The stands were definitely not packed. 

It was brisk! We had all the weather covered - rain, sleet, snow and even a little sunshine - very little sunshine. 

We sat in my folks' seats. If we'd have been in our regular seats, we would have faced that north wind the entire time, so we lucked out ... sort of. It was still cold!

But we got a victory to end the regular season and qualify for a post-season bowl game.

Through the purple smoke! 

And I left my car seat warmer on the entire way home.   

 

Celebrating Milestones: A Farm-To-Table Experience

 

Jill celebrated a significant birthday in September. (I'll let you ask her which it was.) She chose a birthday meal at Saltwell Farm Kitchen, rural Overbrook. The route took us up and down hills and over dirt roads to a beautiful farm setting nestled among mature trees. 

This particular celebration was an adults-only gathering. She and Eric invited Randy and me, as well as Brent and Susan. They didn't figure the girls would appreciate the six-course tasting menu and the leisurely 3-hour supper.

But the rest of us certainly did.

Saltwell is named for the salty wells built on the original 1856 McKinzie Farmstead, Saltwell Farm Kitchen is 20 minutes west of Lawrence and 20 minutes east of Topeka, nestled in a grove of walnut trees and native Kansas prairie land, just around the bend from Clinton Lake Beach Park. Advance reservations are required.

 

They serve 50 guests per dinner seating each Friday and Saturday night. 

 

The tables are far enough away that you don't hear other diners' conversations. Each table is set with vintage linens and mix-and-match vintage china. 

 

During the months of May through early October, guests dine outdoors near the Potting Shed bar and culinary gardens. 

From mid October through the end of April, guests dine inside the old farmhouse around the antique wood-burning stove in a candle-lit dining room and bar.

 

Inside or outside, diners can add signature cocktails and mocktails to their evening for an additional charge.

The Saltwell Experience is a farm-to-table menu inspired by the seasons, local ingredients, neighboring farmers, and foraged foods.

 

We got there in plenty of time to walk around the grounds and enjoy the beautiful evening.

 

 

 

 

We entered through a vine-covered arch into the seating area.

  

 Waiters delivered each course with an explanation. 

Our first course was focaccia boule, flavored with aged cheddar and poblano, served with cream cheese Saltwell honeybee butter. Yum!

Course two was Crimson rosado gazpacho with coriander queso fresco and sumac tajin. The gazpacho included watermelon, cucumbers and tomatoes. It wasn't the favorite course for anyone at our table, but it was still fun to sample something we'd only heard about on Food Network. 

Third course was Goddess Roots - fresh herbs and tender greens with feral Green Goddess dressing and crispy cassava root. (It was definitely not like Green Goddess dressing from the bottle!)

 Fourth course was called Southside Southpaw - a Chicago-style hot beef arepa, a type of flatbread corn "pancake."

Beef was on the main course menu - a black pepper rosemary sirloin, served with smoked potato salad and garden succotash.

And the sixth and final course did not disappoint. It was Dubai Choco-Taco - a Dubai chocolate cannoli with dark chocolate whisked ricotta, pistachio phyllo stuffing and a pistachio whipped topping.

 (The photos probably don't do the food justice, but as it got darker, it was harder to capture good photographs.) 

 But the atmosphere was even better as the sun went down with the fire pit and the lights strung above the tables.

  

 

It's not every day that you eat food prepared by a James Beard-nominated chef - Rozz Petrozz. It is expensive, but it was a memorable experience to celebrate a special occasion. 

 

LIFE LATELY 

I've posted on Facebook, but the rest of this post is for me. We had a wonderful September, following Kinley's 8th grade tennis season. We definitely "kept the road hot" as I tell my friends, driving back and forth to Topeka to catch the action. And we wouldn't trade a minute of it.

 

Kinley had quite the fan club at some of her games. Our fellow grandparents - Alan and Christy - helped cheer her on. At another, Uncle Brent and Susan caught the action (though I missed a photo). 

The trip was a little shorter the day we went to Wichita Collegiate for tennis!  

 

At her season finale, she won 5-0 and took home the first-place medal in No. 1 singles!  

 

She started playing tennis at Genesis several years ago, and all her hard work certainly paid off. 

Her little sister has not yet made a total commitment to tennis. She's still playing the field - so to speak - with volleyball, basketball and softball. She says she's thinking about cross country when she gets to junior high competitions. So, time will tell.

But at one of our trips to Topeka for Kinley's tennis, we got to watch Brooke at her tennis lesson. So we'll see ...

However, she has totally committed to being a bookaholic, like her grandma. 

She did watch her sister play tennis. But she also read during others' matches.

I tell her - and her parents - that I'm happy to feed that habit. Jill asked if we could be to Topeka soon enough to take Brooke to Barnes and Noble so she could spend her birthday gift card. How fast could I type, "Sure!" (Pretty fast!)

I've supplemented the public library a couple of times in the last month. Once, the book Brooke wanted wasn't in their collection. The other time, she had been "waiting and waiting" for The Hunger Games. Grandma ended up buying it before she left town. (And Brooke finished it in a day!) 

 

We book addicts have to stick together.

It's always fun to have family with us at K-State football games.  

Kinley wasn't there, but Jill, Eric and Brooke joined us for the UCF game September 27.
 

We even got a win!

 Let's hope for a repeat this weekend. It's homecoming vs. TCU.