Simple pleasures in life...

gnocchi with pork sausage, spinach and pesto. 
thanks Trader Joe's!

  I have to admit I was a bit skeptical at first, but it turns out the Trader Joe's gnocchi is...not so bad. I've been craving gnocchi lately but have been too lazy to make it from scratch. While I was on the train coming back from work, I started brainstorming ideas for dinner (as I often do). Gnocchi with fennel sausage, pesto and spinach perhaps? Luckily we live 2 blocks away from a legit Italian butcher. Shout out to Los Paisanos on Smith Street! Woot woot! (Can I have some free meat now please?) Los Paisanos doesn't mess around. These guys have nearly every kind of meat and cut that you would ever want, and their prices are pretty damn reasonable. I picked up some Italian berkshire pork sausage meat to go with the gnocchi, and two extra sausage links. Cause, you know. Why not?
  This is a fairly simple meal to throw together. The gnocchi cooks in about 5 minutes so while I was waiting I sauteed up some fresh minced garlic and diced onion, then threw in the sausage meat. When the sausage is cooked through, I turned off the heat and added three big handfuls of spinach and stirred until it was completely wilted. Then I added just a touch of marinara sauce for liquid and a bit of acidity. But I wanted the base of the sauce to be pesto, so I added some of TJ's jarred pesto and mixed that all together.
  At the end, I threw the gnocchi into the pan with the sauce  to fully coat each little gnocchi baby, and finally plated with some freshly grated asiago and some basil leaves. Not bad for a 10 minute meal. Do eet!

Hot Child In The City

Summer is officially here. It's currently 95 degrees in the city, and climbing to 102 tomorrow. The smell of summer (stench of garbage, really) is wafting through the streets of New York City. But with the heat, comes the sun and the instinctual urge to grill.

So far, this summer has been all about grilling and squeezing in as much outdoors/beach/pool time as possible. Fourth of July was a beautiful day this year. Perfect for making ribs two ways! I decided to buy a rack of baby back ribs, and another rack of spare ribs just to spice things up a bit this year. I chose to slow cook the baby backs in the oven with some yellow onion and a simple dry rub of salt, pepper, herbs de provence and a touch of garlic powder. I started in the afternoon, putting them in the oven at 300 with the door slightly open. If your oven can be set lower than this, I'd recommend setting it as low as 200 and just letting it go for 4 hours or so. To conceal all the juices, wrap the ribs with parchment paper so they're nicely bundled and then cover with tinfoil. The end product will be a deliciously juicy, fall-off-the-bone, melt-in-your-mouth party. I personally don't like to cover my ribs in BBQ sauce, but if that's your thing, go ahead and slather on your favorite sauce at the end to give it a nice coating.

The spare ribs I decided to experiment with, using a hodgepodge of assorted sauces and ingredients from the fridge. I started off with a base of Soy Vey (the most essential ingredient to the mix), blended with some leftover kalbi Korean BBQ marinade, Worcestershire, freshly minced ginger, green onion, spring onion (I picked up from the Farmer's market that weekend), salt and pepper. Luckily in New York City, every apartment is equipped with a balcony (or fire escape, whatever you like to call it), which helps create the illusion of a temporary escape from the metropolitan smog and congestion of the city. Your personal BBQ oasis should look like some version of this:

contrary to some comments, those are onions. not noodles. i'm not THAT asian.

Plated with some veggies and a side - my favorite is Israeli couscous salad with fresh veggies and a light vinaigrette - and your meal is complete. Mmmmm ribs....

spare ribs with swiss chard, israeli couscous and, of course, a sierra nevada summer ale. 

Last weekend we had the privilege of joining some friends to their family's summer house at Fire Island. The island was sublime, complete with personalized wagons and beach cruisers to ride from shore to shore. And like any perfect beach house, they had a gas grill that we took full advantage of. Aside from the amazing wonder that is meat, vegetables are also a lovely summer treat to grill. Veggies are so in right now. Particularly asparagus. One of my favorites that often gets overlooked due to its notoriety for creating foul smelling...breath. There was only one general store on the island so we made sure to bring appropriate groceries and meats to grill. Our mothers would all be proud to see that we did NOT neglect our veggies!

Someone also had the brilliant idea to slap a fried egg on top of our burgers. The result, was bliss.

In addition to stuffing our faces, we also tanned on the beach, swam in the bay and amused ourselves with a diving board for several hours. It was a successful weekend getaway from the city, and a very much needed break from life. But most importantly, what we took away from this mini vacation is to not take yourself too seriously. And to ALWAYS play with your food.

Til next time...

Meatball Crawl 2011

Scouring the city for the finest ball in New York...

The meatball. A delectable meaty star that is often overlooked and under appreciated. This weekend we decided to go on a hunt for the best meatballs in New York City. We chose three locations to explore the plethora of meatballs the city had to offer. We began in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn at one of the oldest butchers/delis in New York, G. Esposito & Sons. They had some delicious looking meats and baked ziti in the deli case, but of course we opted for, "three meatballs please!" Each ball was about the size of a baby's fist - they really don't mess around here - and were drenched in their homemade marinara. The first bite and you're immediately overwhelmed with flavor. The meatball itself is quite dense but the quality of the beef keeps it tender and juicy. And the marinara added just enough contrast and acidity without overpowering the star of the show. The sauce was sweet but not too sweet and complimented the meatball ever so delicately. 

A Moose Bouche - Shout out to Idle

I planned a trip home to California in February in the hopes of skiing for a few days and holding on to a tradition I love. After buying my tickets, my brother announced that I was conveniently going to be back for the kick off dinner of A Moose Bouche, a culinary masterpiece event. The five course meal was held in a secret location disclosed the night before the event. The event was a five course meal, each course paired with one of my brother's wines. My brother is one of three wine makers at Idle Cellars, a small wine label he created a few years back. I am terribly spoiled, his wine is amazing. His experience has truly led me to believe in the hipster motto that "the bigger the mustache, the better the mentor". OK, that's not a real thing, I made it up, but it wouldn't surprise me. The vintner he learned from did have the best mustache I have ever seen.

http://www.deerfieldranch.com/Winery/Winery.index.html

The event was 'dress to impress' so after getting all done up in my best cocktail dress and heals, we set out for the anonymous location. We arrived at the address given and were directed through a motorcycle garage complete with mechanics waxing down some bikes. After being guided by the man of the hour through a side door we found ourselves in an old Biker bar with three very large dining tables, a bar full of Idle wine and flamenco gitarists in windows above. After greeting friends and being handed a glass of champagne, we sat down to a table where we were presented with some communal plates of grapes on the vine sauteed in olive oil and rosemary couple with a delicious local sheep's milk cheese. The meal went on from there in flawless fashion as described on the idle cellars blog:


http://idlecellars.com/blog/moose-bouche-underground-dinner

I hope I can make it to the next A Moose Bouche event, it was a huge success!

Buffalo "I Ain't No" Chicken Mac N' Cheese

Warning: This might potentially give you a heart attack, but it would be well worth it...

I came across this recipe online on a site called the Noble Pig. The name alone is what drew me in. Mmmm...pig.... But the photos were what kept my eyes glued to the screen. In my opinion it's really hard to make a bad mac n' cheese. Much like it's difficult to make a bad mashed potato (which surprisingly I've had, and is not a pretty sight). But there are some mac n' cheese recipes that completely blow your mind that you just have to have it right then and there. This, ladies and gentlemen, is one of those recipes.

Here's what you'll need for your gluttonous fatty fat fest: (easily serves a family of 12-14, or 4 hungry fatties)

7 tbsp of unsalted butter (that's right, 7tbsp + extra for greasin')

1 lb of pasta (you could go traditional here and do elbow macaroni, but I chose pasta shells)

*1 large chicken breast, seasoned and cooked (10-12oz)

1 lb of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 lb of shredded pepperjack cheese

1 small onion, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

2 cloves of garlic

3/4 cup of buffalo wing sauce [or bbq sauce mixed with Tapatio, which is what I used]

2/3 cup of sour cream

2 tsp dry mustard

2 1/2 cups of half and half

2 tbsp of flour

1 cup of panko crumbs

2 tsp of parsley, diced

1/4-1/2 cup of blue cheese, parmesan (or whatever topping cheese you'd like)

*The original recipe called for 1 lb of rotisserie chicken but I wanted to season my own chicken and I actually thought 1 lb of chicken was a bit excessive for this recipe. So I bought a skinless boneless chicken breast and seasoned it with seasoned salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper and a dash of herbs de provence. Bake it in the oven for 20 minutes at 400F. When it's done, take a fork, shred the chicken and set aside.

When you're feeling ready to gorge yourself, grease a 9x13 baking dish with some butter and preheat the oven at 350F. Boil the pasta in a large pot until it's a nice al dente and then drain and set aside. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat with 3 tbsp of butter. Throw in the garlic, celery and onion and cook until soft (don't completely overcook it though because you still want some crunch to the celery). After a few minutes, add in the shredded chicken and cook until the chicken heats up again. Next, throw in 1/2 cup of buffalo wing sauce and stir until the chicken mixture thickens. Set aside when finished.

Here comes the cheesy deliciousness. Take a large saucepan and melt 2 tbsp of butter over low heat. Add in the flour to make the roux and stir until it creates a paste. Add in the dry mustard and mix til it's pastey yellow. Stir in the half and half with a whisk, and slowly add in the cheddar and pepperjack and heat on medium until all the cheese is melted down. When the shredded bits start to disappear add in the sour cream and stir until smooth. Finally, throw in the remaining 1/4 cup of buffalo sauce.

And now, it's bakin' time! Take half of the pasta and spread it across the baking dish. Top with the shredded chicken mixture and then the rest of the pasta. Now, take your saucepan and pour that hot cheese lava all over that bad boy. Bowchicka bow wow! For the topping (the best part), melt the remaining 2 tbsp of butter in the microwave and toss with the panko crumbs, parsley and cheese topping and sprinkle that on top of the dish.

my heart hurts just looking at this, but it's oh so good...

When you're finally done taking photos/drooling over/ogling the mac n cheese, place it in the oven on the center rack and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the cheese starts a-bubblin'. If you take it out of the oven and the sheer sight of the slightly browned and deliciously melty cheese mixture makes you want to immediately face plant straight into the dish, then you know it's done. But please resist for 5-10 minutes before serving. A burned tongue (not to mention burned face) would ruin your entire evening, so proceed with caution. Once you assess that the cheese is no longer boiling lava hot, dig in and enjoy!

The Secret to Happiness

Not so much food related, but life related nonetheless. Thanks Latkewitz for this enlightening article! I'll take this as a sign that we're one step in the right direction: The Happiest Man in America

Pad See Ew (Can Too!)

I don't know why it's taken me so long to try to make this on my own. This is an incredibly easy recipe and the outcome is absolutely delicious. Pad See Ew is my go-to Thai dish, and we're fortunate enough to have an amazing Thai restaurant just a block away from our apartment. However, if you're looking for something fun and easy to cook, this is it! You may need to venture out to your local asian market to find some of these ingredients, but trust me...it's worth the trip. The key ingredient to this recipe is finding the right rice noodle to use. There are a few different types but the most important thing is to use fresh rice noodles.

just another day in Chinatown's Deluxe Food Market

After wandering around confused and overwhelmed at Deluxe Food Market on Elizabeth St, I found a homemade fresh broad rice noodle. I grabbed a 1lb bag which came in two big noodle pieces which I later had to spread apart and cut into smaller strips. There are also prepackaged noodles you can buy that are already cut into smaller pieces, but you will still need to spread them apart or maybe heat them up a bit before adding them into the wok. You'll also need: 6-8 stalks of gai lan (Chinese broccoli), 1lb of flank/skirt steak, 3 cloves of garlic, dark soy, light soy, brown sugar, fish sauce, white wine (or plum sake if you're a fancy asian), cayenne and black/white pepper.

Back in the kitchen, the first step is to prepare your noodles. You may need to heat them up if they're all stuck together and won't come apart easily. It's up to you to decide how big you want the noodles to be. In my opinion, the bigger the better. Heyyyy. Now set the noodles aside. It's optional to marinate the beef beforehand. But the longer it sits in the marinade, the more flavor you'll get. The marinade goes a lil' somethin' like this: a generous drizzle of light soy sauce (2-3 tbs), an equal part of white wine, 1 tbsp of brown sugar, 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced, salt and pepper. Let that sit in the fridge while you prep/cook everything else.

broad rice noodles, cut them into strips before cooking

To make the stir-fry sauce: take a small bowl and combine 1tbsp of dark soy sauce, 2tbsp of light soy sauce, 3 tbsp of fish sauce, 2 tbsp of brown sugar, 1/2 tsp of cayenne, 1 tsp of black pepper and a dash of corn starch to thicken.

When you're ready to start cooking, start by cooking the beef first. You want to cook it until it's browned and a nice medium-rare (you'll cook it more later with the rest of the ingredients). Set aside the beef. Heat the wok with 2 tbsp of oil and 1 clove of minced garlic. Throw in the Chinese broccoli and cook until the leaves are wilted and the stalks are slightly tender.

wokin' the gai lan

Spread the greens aside, creating a hole in the middle of the wok and crack 2 eggs into the center. Scramble the eggs until they're cooked but still slightly gooey. Start folding the eggs into the greens and then add back the beef. When you have a good mix going on, throw in the noodles and stir. Take the pre-made stir-fry sauce you set aside earlier and throw that on top of the noodles. Mix together well and cook until the noodles are tinted brown from the soy mixture. Plate and serve with a lemon garnish. And uh...squeeze that lemon onto your pad see ew. Trust me, you won't regret it.

I think I'm going to have to pat myself on the back for this one. Well done, Wonton.

Method 'X' Prime Rib: Yes please!

Prime rib is a rather old school tradition. And this somewhat rare oldie just happens to be one of my absolute faves. As many of you know, my family and I frequent the House of Prime Rib in San Francisco on a regular basis. (Shout out!) But when you live on the other end of the country, you need to harness those survival skills and figure out a way to make do on your own. So without further ado, I introduce you to a surprisingly simple yet outstanding recipe for a homemade rib roast that rivals even the House of PR! (gasps)

The Method 'X' recipe is designed to give you the most perfect medium rare prime rib, for a smaller size rib roast (3-5lbs, 2-3 ribs or so). This technique is essentially searing the roast in the oven at 500 degrees for a short period of time, then shutting off the oven to let it continue cooking in the remaining heat to reach that juicy perfection. Warning: These instructions are only for a medium rare temperature, so if you're one of those well done beef eaters, please avert your eyes. And might I add - really? Well done? Not all grocery stores will have rib roasts that you can buy in small quantities (if at all). But if you're lucky enough to live near a Costco, a butcher shop, or have internet access there's always a way to get your hands on one. I ordered mine from FreshDirect.com. It arrived Saturday morning: 4.6lbs, 2 ribs and as advertised, extremely fresh. The first step to this process is allowing your roast to sit out at room temperature for at least 4 hours, depending on the size of your roast. Some even leave theirs sitting out the night before to let it gradually reach room temperature. This step is essential because the meat needs to be at room temperature before you place it in the oven, otherwise your math will be off and it will not cook properly. Preheat your oven to 500 F. While the meat is resting on the counter you'll want to make your rub. The rub will create a deliciously seasoned crust to your roast while also adding a mouthwatering aroma throughout your house while the meat is cooking.

 The rub consists of: 1/2 stick of butter (softened), 1 tbsp of cayenne, 1 tbsp of salt, 1 tbsp of black pepper, 1 tbsp of herbs de provence. Mix this together well and coat the roast before sticking it in the oven.

Once the roast is room temperature and glistening with your buttery rub, place that bad boy on a roasting pan and throw it in the oven, center rack y'all. Now, here comes the math. The amount of time it cooks will depend on how big your roast is, cooking the roast 5 minutes for each pound that it weighs. (i.e. a 4.6lb roast would cook 23 minutes exactly [4.6 x 5 = 23]) DO NOT ROUND when calculating this time! Decimals are ok, do not be afraid of them. Set your timer for the exact calculated time and shut the oven door. (Side note: check back in a few minutes and you'll be able to hear the sizzle of the butter and juice on the pan :) Once the time is up, turn off the oven but DO NOT open the oven door. Let that baby sit in there while the heat winds down and finishes cooking the beef to perfection. The roast needs to sit for an additional 2 hours after you turn off the oven. If you're bored, go make some sides or watch TV, but whatever you do - no peeking!

When the buzzer goes off your roast should look a lil' somethin' like this:

 

Swoon!

garlic mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts make for some lovely accompaniments. as well as horseradish (not pictured, but eaten nonetheless)

* Note: For those with a meat thermometer, the interior temperature of the roast should be 120F for medium rare. If for some reason the roast is still undercooked after you take it out of the oven, simply place it back in at 325F and cook again until the temp reaches 120F. Don't worry, it'll still make you drool all over your plate.

** Second note: To make the au jus, take the trimmings from the roasting pan and heat it over the stove adding a few cups of water or beef broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer. Serve over the prime rib as pictured above.

Why don't we do it in the road?

On a recent trip to Asia, this little wonton lost her inhibitions and yes....cheated on her boyfriend. Her lover in crime? Cambodian streetfood.

Siem Reap, Cambodia was not at all what I had expected. After years of fantasizing about Angkor, I found that it did in fact live up to all of the hype. It truly is a magnificent and magical place. The town of Siem Reap however left an unpleasant aftertaste similar to the morning following a night of heavy drinking and body shots. Come to think of it - is that what happened? The popular "Pub Street" is the focus of the town's center cluttered with overpriced restaurants and Western-style clubs with DJs spinning til the wee hours of the night. (Keep in mind I mean "overpriced" in relative terms to other cities in Asia where you can get a plate of noodles for $3. The restaurants on Pub Street instead have the audacity to charge $10 for a plate of noodles! Shame shame) Forget all that touristy hullabaloo! The best spot to to be is on the street. About a dozen restaurants fill the center of the old market area with lawn chairs and folding tables serving up some of the freshest seafood and most delicious curries. Which restaurant did we end up choosing? The restaurant with the ladyboy waitress. We sat down and immediately got a big bottle of Angkor beer. The rest of our meal would be decided by whatever description made us salivate the most. The end result: stir fried flat noodles, fish amok curry and some of the tastiest spring rolls you'll ever have.

fried flat noodles

I'm pretty much a noodle whore. And I've had quite a number of noodle dishes seeing as how I'm Chinese and we Chis like to have a banquet dinner for practically every family event possible. And what do those banquets always end with? Noodles. My favorite is the broad wide noodle - I loves me some chow fun - and this dish was a delicious and flavorful cousin of the noodle I know and love. Complete with egg, morning glory (which is god) and a light heavenly brown sauce that adds just the right touch of melt in your mouth goodness.

amok fish curry

Amok fish curry is a traditional Khmer dish with coconut milk, ginger, tumeric and other spices. It's simply wonderful and you must have it.

And these little diddies to my left were perfectly crispy spring rolls filled with chicken, vermicelli noodles and vegetables. The best way to eat them is wrapping them in lettuce and dipping them into the fish sauce. The best part about this whole meal? It was all under $10 including our beer! Siem Reap, I think I'll be seeing you again quite soon. In fact, why did I ever leave you, my sweet?

Do you feel like chicken tonight?

Yeah, yeah…Wonton’s been slacking on the posts. But fear not, she certainly hasn’t been slacking on the eating/cooking. Its in her blood, she can’t keep away...

The end of 2010 brought a lot of good culinary times.  Instead of having a traditional Thanksgiving meal, the Wonton family was in Florence taking a cooking class from a very animated Italian Tony Curtis. Antonio Curtis, if you will. Our family was one of five that gathered together at In Tavola cooking school to make potato gnocchi, millefoglie, pan-roasted chicken with roasted red bell peppers and lastly, the classic, tiramisu. While each dish was absolutely delicious, I found the pan-roasted chicken dish to be particularly irresistible. It’s shockingly simple to make and yet the end result is simply melt-in-your-mouth amazing – a dish that I’ve made twice since returning from Florence. All you need is chicken (half a chicken heartily serves 3-4), 2 red bell peppers, 1 large purple onion, rosemary, balsamic vinegar and a cast-iron skillet.

Roasting the pepper: The first step is to roast the bell pepper in the oven. I would recommend doing this in advance so that the pepper has some time to cool so you don’t burn your fingers trying to peel the damn thing. Lightly rub the pepper with some olive oil and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, turning every once in a while so that it doesn’t burn too much on one side. Don’t worry if it looks like the pepper isn’t shrinking, it’ll deflate once you take the stem off. Once it cools down, take off the stem and cut the pepper in half to scrape out the seeds. Next, peel the skin off the pepper (you might need to use your fingernails on this one, depending on how tender the pepper is) and slice the flesh into thin 2-inch long pieces. Take the red onion and cut it into similar size pieces. Set both aside for now while you tend to the chicken.

Tackling the chicken: Heat the cast iron skillet over medium heat with 2 tbsp of butter with about 1 tbsp of olive oil and coat the pan. Take the chicken (rinsed and patted dry) and toss each piece in a light layer of all-purpose flour. Once the pan is hot, brown the chicken on both sides in the pan. The skin should be a nice golden brown before you add in the red onion, the roasted pepper and a couple branches of rosemary to top it off. Once the fixins are all in there, take your balsamic vinegar and lightly pour it over the chicken to give it a nice coating of flavor. You don’t want to drown it necessarily, but don’t be too stingy either. Let that sink in for a few minutes and then add about ½ cup of water to get the juices flowing and also make sure that the chicken doesn’t blacken on the skillet. Cover, and let the whole thing simmer on low heat for about 20-30 min. With chicken, I like to use the trial and error method. I don’t trust preset times and all that jazz, so I just cut into a piece and if it’s done it’s done. The end product should look a lil’ something like this:

To accompany this delicious bird, you might want to try grilled squash, zucchini or things of that nature. I’ve also cooked this alongside a nice pan-fried potato, or home fries, or even couscous. Whatever tickles your pickle. Really, with chicken this tasty, it doesn’t really matter what it sits next to – it will always outshine its sidekick.

Mary had a little lamb, and I ate it

About a month ago I decided to take full advantage of the generosity that is the jews and throw a dinner party on the dollar of the Birthright federation. A free trip to the motherland is followed up with monthly Shabbat dinners that are paid for if you sign up in advance. It is good to be one of the chosen people.

I invited a few close friends and decided to go all out and buy a leg of lamb as the 'piece de resistance'. Wonton graciously offered to throw together some of the eggplant trifles she had learned how to make in Italia, and I decided to kick the meal off with some butternut squash soup.






The soup is a family classic. Always been a favorite of mine and fairly simple to make. The most time consuming part is baking the squash to the desired level of softness, but this can be avoided by microwaving I learned. Even though microwaving isn't my favorite way to cook, it can save a lot of time. Cut the squash in half and place in a glass dish with some water and put it in the oven for about 45minutes or wrap in seran wrap and cook in the microwave for about 10 minutes. The soup is best when you have a cuisinart at your disposal and can grind it up nice and thin, but I improvised and used a hand blender since I had no choice. Once the squash is cooked to a nice squish, mash it/blend it up and then add cream, a little chicken stalk, salt, pepper, cayenne, and I like to throw in some sherry for a little extra kick.

Next course was the oh so lovely lamb leg. I decided to improvise and rubbed her down with some cinamon, rosemary, salt, pepper, garlic and red wine. I then cut up some onions and prunes and placed them around the leg along with some more fresh spices and garlic. I popped her in the oven for about an hour and a half at 375 and lets just say, damn Mary, that is one tasty friend.



So I would like to give thanks to the wealthy jews out there who made this diner possible and to Duncan Hines for supplying us with a classic yellow cake with dark chocolate frosting for desert. Shabbat Shalom!

Latke and Wonton are back in the kitchen!

While it may have been a month since we wrote of the latest mouth watering treats, Latke and Wonton have remained hard at work in the kitchen.

Thanksgiving brought an array of delicious treats from friends all over Brooklyn. Everyone busted out the big guns at this year's feast. Matzo Ball with her delicious marshmallow covered yams, homemade cranberry sauce and almond pesto string beans. Her side kick Gumbo came out with an amazing cheesy potato casserole with broccoli. A shout out to Cheezy Mac G for his amazing Mac'n'Cheese. A crispy cheese topping mixed with thyme made for some of the best Mac'n'cheese I've ever had. The lovely hostess contributed some delicious Chard and Kale dishes preparing one with a light lemon vinaigrette, fresh croutons and chunks of grated fresh parmesan. The other with a creamy avocado dressing to ensure we got our vitamins and minerals.



Gefilte fish and Kosher Carrot Cake helped finish off the meal with the classic pumpkin pie, chocolate pecan pie and Famous Carrot Cake. All in all it was a glorious night of gluttony. While Wonton was off enjoying Italy with the wonton family Latke held up her family favorite dish:

The Stuffing.

A dish that is not hard to make, but when done right can be the best part of any thanksgiving meal. The process kicks off with a stick of unsalted butter melted in the bottom of a large pot. A couple diced onions are added. Once slightly carmelized the mushrooms and celery are added. I throw in about a cup of chopped up dried apricots and/or cranberries and let it all get nice and mushy together. Throw in some thyme and sage, salt and pepper. Once all the flavors are well blended you can add some more butter and a dash of olive oil and throw in a couple bags of stuffing. Stir well and add chicken stalk until in gets the consistency you're looking for. I like to throw in a little Port, sherry, or Madera for flavor and if you are a meat eater I recommend throwing in the very finely chopped turkey gizard or some bacon to add a little meat flavor (beware that the bacon will overpower the rest slightly if you choose this route, so don't over do it). Put the stuffing in a casserole and bake for about 45 minutes before you serve. Remove the lid about 35 minutes in to make the top get a little crispy. This is what mine loooked like:



Needless to say, thanksgiving was a great success.