Week 22: Happy Hanukkah

Recipes to Go: 507 288

Weeks to Go: 52 30

Recipes Made This Week

Citrus Asparagus Salad

Peach Bliss Dessert

Chunky Turkey Soup

Turkey Sandwiches with Red Pepper Hummus

Panhandle Beef Brisket

Zucchini Latkes

Sauerbraten Stew

German Potato Salad with Sausage

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cake

Hot Spinach Spread with Pita Chips

Sweet Potato Tart

Pecan-Raisin Cinnamon Rolls

To go with all the leftovers we were eating on Sunday, I made the Citrus Asparagus Salad. The Husband and I both agreed that the citrus flavors weren't as strong as we were hoping. He still really liked it, but I didn't as much. I think I was spoiled with the asparagus crepes.

This time the asparagus didn't seem to be steamed as well, so it was kind of tough to eat. It wasn't horrible my any means, but maybe I'm not an asparagus fan.

I also made the Peach Bliss Dessert. I was really fortunate in making this because its a recipe that only makes four servings and calls for leftover sponge cake. I don't usually have leftover sponge cake lying around, and I didn't want to buy a whole cake for four slices, but luckily for me, my neighbors are ridiculously generous.

After I finally got to the store last Friday, I picked up some things for my neighbor who just had surgery and was recovering at home. When I went over to her house I brought her stuff, and ended up leaving with 1/4 of a South Carolina sponge cake that one of her church's members had brought by that they couldn't finish. So, it worked out perfectly for me.

And can I say, the Bliss in the title of this dessert was not a fabrication. It was divine. Easy, lovely, delicious. All agreed. If only I got leftover sponge cake more often . . .

I decided to cook part of the second turkey I bought for Thanksgiving. Let me explain . . . I called my mom, the expert bargin shopper in my life, before Thanksgiving to see what price she usually gets turkey for. I couldn't find any advertised price lower than $.99/lb around us. She said she gets them when they reach $.39/lb. And she heard some advice to buy two, and have the meat department quarter one for you, so it takes up less freezer space and can be eaten by a smaller crowd throughout the year. Since I had so many recipes that call for turkey, this sounded like an excellent idea to me. So when I saw a $.39/lb deal, I snatched two turkeys. I then had to wait around for help at the meat department only to hear that they were no longer allowed to cut poultry. Lame. So then I was faced with a dilemma--only buy the one turkey for Thanksgiving, or buy two and try to cut the second one myself. Feeling adventurous as I have this year, I chose door number two. That is how I became intimately acquainted with a turkey and almost got frost bite.

Back to this week, I put 1/4 of the second turkey in the slow cooker and it took a lot longer to cook than I anticipated. So I didn't get to make dinner on Monday, and made it on Tuesday instead.I used the turkey in the soup and the sandwiches.

The turkey soup was the first time I have made my own broth. It was kind of fun. I felt very domestic.

The orzo in the soup was wonderful, I'll do that again, and the curry powder was a nice touch. The sandwiches were also good, though red peppers would have made them even better.

I did enjoy the hummus, though. It's been too long since I made hummus last.

Wednesday was the end of Hanukkah, and in celebration I made a Jewish-inspired meal--brisket and zucchini latkes. The brisket was good,

nice and steamy as you can see, but the star of the meal was definitely the latkes. Don't let the picture fool you. They might be the best thing I've fried so far.

I dried the zucchini enough that they stuck together really well, and I occupied myself enough while frying them that I didn't take them out too early. That seems to be my most common frying mistake. So cleaning up and doing the dishes not only made me happy as only a clean kitchen can, but made the latkes better. Classic win-win.

Since we needed a dessert, I gave The Husband the option and he picked the chocolate chip pumpkin cake. That meant he had to go to the store to get me a fluted tube pan. It was good, heavy, and it took awhile to eat, but it was good.

As you can see, despite all my best greasing efforts, only half of it successfully came out of the pan. And fluted pans are ridiculously hard to clean!

Ignoring the potential irony, I made a German-themed dinner on Wednesday. The potato salad was delicious and since in was made in the slow cooker, it was easy. And the Sauerbraten Stew was slow cooked in the oven. It was delicious and really hardy, as all German food is.

Friday night we had a church Christmas party in lew of Game Night. I made the spinach dip and the sweet potato tart. Sadly, the tart didn't set up, so it was a failure.

But the dip more than made up for it. I was smart this time and tasted it before it vanished, but so many people asked me for the recipe that I offered to just put it in the bulletin the next Sunday. It was gratifying to my ego. But it really is delicious dip.

The pita chips are excellent as well.

Saturday morning was my first attempt at cinnamon rolls from the book. I am really bad at rolling out dough into a square, so the ends of my jelly rolls are always smaller. Luckily I have a toddler, so that usually works out well to have some toddler-sized buns. I usually dispense with the nuts in recipes because of said toddler, but I really wanted to try them in these rolls. So I made a special batch with nuts just for me. They were good with just the raisins, but the nuts were heavenly.

Sadly, I never wait for the rolls to cool enough before frosting them. (What can I say, I like to eat them when they're warm.) So the frosting always ends up more of a glaze, and very gooey. It was sad, but they still tasted great, though they didn't stay soft very long. However, part of that was my fault for not putting them in a container right away.