the lineup

this is brainstorming/therapy so bare with me:

appetizers:
-Peruvian tamales/empandas
-white sangria

din din:
-citrus/herb turkey
-yukon gold mashed potatoes
-sourdough/rosemary stuffing
-GLUTEN FREE cornbread stuffing...that's right bitches!
-baked sweet potatoes w/apples and grainy mustard
-Chinese long beans
-cranberry sauce
-wine, wine and more wine

dessert:
-apple pie "undone" or pumpkin gingersnap pie
-coffee...maybe some Baileys, maybe just shots.

i've seen the light!

i already feel stuffed and the big day hasn't arrived. holiday food has started to creep in (uh hum Trader Joe's Peppermint Jo Jo's) as well as the stress of the upcoming arrival of my family and the "meeting of the minds". shopping list is growing, cleaning to do, food to make...did i mention work somehow fits in there? anyway, i've decided to do a light fast before the main event. i'll keep myself hydrated of course and maybe some fruit, but the heavy stuff that creeps in every day, see ya later! i need to focus like a champion fighter. clear my head. be light on my toes.

wish me luck. i'm a cook. i can make a meal out of nothing so i have to focus my creative food juices on the "the meal".

a centerpiece i can sink my teeth into

literally.

this baby and the "how to" can be found @ Design*Sponge. lovely.

cornholio

(picture thanks to Gluten Free Portland Oregon)

it's that time again, time for anther nail biting, earth shattering GLUTEN FREE FOOD REVIEW. this time we can thank the upcoming holiday for inspiration. as you may or may not know reader, i am having my fam and the bf's fam over to our house this year for turkey day. the meeting of the minds as i like to call it.

bf and i are making the turkey, mashed pot, stuffing and some libations. cooking is tops on list so as you can imagine, this g-free BS is really bringing me down. it's just not fun. i bought two loaves of rosemary sourdough @ costco to use for gluten cool people's stuffing. damn that sounds so good.

today while driving around, it occured to me i could make g-free cornbread stuffing. cornbread stuffing is not tops on my list but damnet, i'm going to make it good if it kills me...primairly because i'll be the only one eating it. (unless i succeed in my hidden g-free cooking).

so Bob's Red Mill cornbread (g-free and original) are on sale right now @ WF's- 2/$5. i bought two packages and took them home to try. one for now (test kitchen) one for later...maybe. i also bought some frozen sweet corn kernels to add to the mix. if i'm doing cornbread, i'm doing CORNBREAD!

i also decided to use my cast iron cornbread mold i bought at ye ol' thrift store. (first time)

so far, so good.

they rose much more than i thought, which is pretty key in the g-free world so these don't turn out to be corn bricks.

#1, when using a cast iron mold, you have to make sure to really grease that sucker. i did and they were still a bitch to get out. letting them cool was key.

as you can see, this mold is pretty much good for one use only other wise you'd have to wash and re-grease in between each batch. too much work for this girl! but aren't my corn muffins cute?!

so now on to the real deal: taste. they taste GREAT! texture is on point, flavor tastes like good cornbread should (thank you very much) and not g-free reminiscent at all! success. now it's off to find a good cornbread stuffing i can tweak to make my own. stay tuned.....

WANTED

one large table for turkey day. the bf and i have invited our families over for dinner this year....and we don't have a table! our dining room is currently an office so we're going to have to do some rearranging. i've got decor, plates, silverware, glasses galore but not seats...well not enough and no table. so now i'm on the hunt for one either to borrow or buy. nothing over $100 but my eyes are dreaming of high $$ items....




THIS would be perfect....

23 days and counting.......... =o