The Gorsuch Gang

Greetings and Salutations

// November 30th, 2008 // No Comments » // Grub

I hope that everyone enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday.  I know I did!  Michael and I had a delicious dinner though we had way too much food for just two people.  I mostly stuck to a traditional dinner with the classics like my mom’s stuffing, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie, but I did venture out a little.  Using just a turkey breast and canned chipolte peppers as substitutes, I tried this recipe for Adobo Turkey with Red-Chile Gravy from Gourmet magazine.  This turned out extremely flavorful, but I’ll admit I thought it was too much for Thanksgiving.  It seemed to overpower all the other flavors on our plates.  I’m not sure I would recommend this for a holiday meal, but it would seem fitting for a family dinner any other time of the year.  I also had to make deviled eggs which, are a staple of the holidays in my house.  This time I added a little horseradish to the filling though and it gave the eggs a distinct kick.  And finally I whipped up some homemade whipped cream spiced with vanilla and cinnamon. Mmmm….we stuffed ourselves silly!

Easter Means Deviled Eggs

// March 24th, 2008 // No Comments » // Grub

I’m not sure why we only have deviled eggs during holiday meals, but that seems to be the case. I have a special affinity towards deviled eggs though, not just because they’re tasty, but because they remind me of the very first Easter I had with my husband. We were dating at the time and he had invited me to go to church with his family and to have Easter dinner. The church service was lovely, but their preacher went on this rather strange sermon where she started talking about deviled eggs. I don’t even remember what the sermon was actually about, but I’ll never forget her musings on deviled eggs. From that day forward, it’s been a requirement to have deviled eggs for Easter. But I didn’t go completely egg crazy; I did plan some other delectable things for dinner.

We enjoyed smoked pork chops, or Kasseler Rippchen courtesy of Schaller and Weber. I’m telling you, this place has absolutely the best meat products I’ve ever had – and that’s saying something, if me – a quasi-vegetarian loves their stuff. Their Black Forest Bacon has spoiled me – no wimpy supermarket variety will do anymore! (Seriously, check them out. You might have a local vendor that sells their products or you could order directly from the store.) Okay- I’m done plugging the wonderfulness of this store. Sorry for the slight detour!

So along with the smoked pork chops, we had garlic-mashed potatoes with brown gravy, green peas with prosciutto and onions, and coconut blondies for dessert. I actually only used two outside recipes for this meal, the first from the Joy of Cooking and the latter from Epicurious.com. I have to say everything was pretty good! I was especially proud of the gravy I made. Gravy, along with baked goods, is something I’ve been fearful of because I’m not that good at making it. But, this gravy was really good!

The blondies were a nice little treat as well. The recipe was very easy and I think it would provide a good base for experimenting. The green peas were surprisingly tasty too. All in all, we had a great meal that ended a good holiday weekend. I hope everyone had a good weekend as well!

Our Easter Dinner

Coconut Blondies