Welcome to another Monday and just 2 weeks away from Thanksgiving. Aside from cooking, I am really looking forward to 4 and 1/2 days at Rebecca Lane.....relaxing.
I am trying to dig up anything and everything NOT associated with traditional Thanksgiving cooking - while still keeping it light, low-fat and easy to make. Let's see how I did for this week.
Also... check out about 300 other menu planning ideas HERE!
Who: Crowe, Kenny, Stacy, Mom, Rosemary (Pop took the picture) What: Seattle Mariners Baseball Game (White Hat Give-Away Night) Where: Kingdome (Seattle, WA) When: Mid-1980's - I look to be about 16...so let's say 1985
The baseball season ended this week. It's always bittersweet to see our "boys of summer" go away. Just exactly how many days are there until Spring Training?
I remember this evening clear as a bell......well, really what I remember is leaving the ballpark after the game. Kenny was driving Rusty's old burgundy taxicab at the time and after the game he drove us all over to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner......weaving in and out of game traffic....flying down the road like Mario Andretti. The song blasting on the radio....Dire Straight's"Money For Nothing".
Don't look now, but Thanksgiving is just around the corner. What are you most thankful for? How about a little more time.....time for family, friends and yourself. This month in honor of Thanksgiving and all of us who want a little more time - I am creating helpful holiday short-cuts.
What if I told you that you can make your Thanksgiving Day gravy a day or so ahead....so that you could have more time with family and less time in the kitchen. Honest!
I am throwing tradition out the window this year! I am going to make this a day ahead. Wish me luck!
Enjoy!
Stacy
Turkey Gravy - Make Ahead Recipe
Makes 4 cups
Ingredients:
1-2 turkey wings (or neck and giblets {everything in that little bag} from turkey, rinsed and patted dry)
2 tablespoon butter (or more, as needed)
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
4 large celery stalks, coarsely chopped
6 garlic cloves (leave two whole and coarsely chopped the rest)
1/2 bottle white wine (drink the rest while you are cooking)
3 tablespoons flour
Poultry bouquet; fresh thyme, rosemary, sage
2 bay leaves
1 quart water
salt and pepper, as needed
Directions:
1.Cut the turkey wing into pieces with a heavy knife. (If using neck and giblets, cut the neck into three or four pieces. Trim the tough membrane from the gizzard. Rinse all neck pieces and giblets, and pat them very dry with paper towels.).
2.In a large saucepan, melt the butter, and, when its foaming begins to subside, add the turkey pieces.Season with salt and pepper, and saute over medium heat until golden brown - about 15-20 minutes.
3.Add the coarsely chopped vegetables and garlic, season again with salt and pepper, and continue sauteing (add small bits of butter if necessary to prevent scorching) until vegetables begin to color slightly - about 5 minutes.
4.Sprinkle over the flour, and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the floured vegetables turn brown - about 10 minutes.Deglaze the pan with wine; add the herbs, bay leaves to the vegetables.Slowly add the water, whisking or stirring briskly to incorporate flavors and prevent lumps.
5.When the liquid begins to boil, lower the heat and allow to simmer for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
6.Strain the sauce and discard the solids. Reserve the sauce. You should have about 4 cups of sauce.
*This sauce may be made ahead (up to 3 days before serving).You can also freeze it.It may be served as-is, OR thickened before serving.You can also add pan drippings to the sauce for added flavor
Our last day in Virginia took us on a real adventure.
Mom and Kenny have been talking about a trip down into North Carolina and the "outer banks" since they moved to Virginia last April. Brian and I jumped at the chance to see this beautiful stretch of country and see the famous Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
We drove south over the Virginia/North Carolina border and out to the outer banks - through the communities of Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head and Avon.
The Outer Banks is a 200-mile long string of narrow Barrier Islands off the coast of North Carolina, beginning in southeastern corner of Virginia Beach. They cover approximately half the northern North Carolina coastline, separating the Currituck Sound, Ablemarle Sounds and Pamlico Sound from the Atlantic Ocean.
The treacherous seas off the Outer Banks and the large number of shipwrecks that have occurred there have given these seas the nickname "Graveyard of the Atlantic.
Watch video of outer banks towns/homes below
I must say, we are quite spoiled here on the west coast and the beautiful Pacific Ocean road. I was expecting more views of the ocean and we really only saw it when we drove through some of the small towns.
The easternmost point is Cape Point at Cape Hatteras on Hatteras Island, site of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. It was a dream trip form Brian and unfortunately, this lighthouse closes for tours on Columbus Day - so we only missed a tour by a few weeks. We were both still in awe!
On July 10, 1797, Congress appropriated $44,000 "for erecting a lighthouse on the head land of Cape Hatteras". The Lighthouse cost $14,302 to build and was completed in 1803.
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Keeper, Gerry and Brian (look at that smile on Brian's face)
In 1860 the Lighthouse Board reported that Cape Hatteras Lighthouse required protection, due to the outbreak of the Civil War. In 1862 the Board reported "Cape Hatteras, lens and lantern destroyed, light re-exhibited. A new lighthouse was erected in 1870.
Due to erosion of the shore, the Cape Hatteras lighthouse was moved from its original location at the edge of the ocean to safer ground 2,870 feet inland between 1999-2000. The move was controversial at the time with speculation that the structure would not survive the move, resulting in lawsuits that were later dismissed.
After we wandered around the lighthouse - we drove over to where we had beach access and let the dogs (and people too) run in the sand and play in the water.
Mom got absolutely soaked in the Atlantic!This was a "bucket list" trip for Brian and I. I've dreamed about the outer banks for years (thanks to movies like Nights in Rodanthe and Message in a Bottle) and Brian's love of lighthouses made this like a dream come true.
Our second full day in Virginia so we headed to the beach......
Lunch with Kenny's work colleagues from Liberty Tax at Mahi Mah right on Virginia Beach . I had a wonderful crab bisque.....yummy!
Brian, Kenny, Mike, Hava, Jonetta and Mom
Virginia Beach is located in the South Hampton Roads area of Virginia on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Virginia Beach is the most populous city in Virginia.
Virginia Beach is a resort city with miles of beaches and hundreds of hotels, motels, and restaurants along its oceanfront.
A Virginia Beach attraction is King Neptune, a colossal 34-foot-high bronze statue that rises from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean at 31st Street & Atlantic Avenue, overlooking Neptune Park.
The city is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as having the longest pleasure beach in the world. It is located at the southern end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, the longest bridge-tunnel complex in the world.
Near the point where the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean meet, Cape Henry was the site of the first landing of the English colonists, who eventually settled in Jamestown, on April 26, 1607.
A real treat was a tour of the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse....all the way to the top!
Kenny and Stacy preparing for the climb up into the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse
The lighthouse has long been important for the large amount of ocean-going shipping traffic for the harbors, its rivers, and shipping headed to ports on the Chesapeake Bay. It was the first lighthouse authorized by the U.S. government, dating from 1792.
It was also the first federal construction project under the Constitution, for an original contract amount of $15,200 (an additional $2,500 was required to finish the lighthouse).
Brian, Kenny and I climbed to the very top and the views of the "new" Cape Henry Lighthouse were amazing.
In the 1870s, concerns about the condition and safety of the Old Lighthouse at Cape Henry led to the construction of the New Cape Henry Lighthouse in 1881, which stands 350 feet to the southeast of the original. The lighthouse was fully automated in 1983 and remains in use today.
The lighthouses are located to the north of Virginia Beach within the boundaries of Fort Story, an Army base.
Brian with the "new" Cape Henry Lighthouse in the background
Our Friday night wrapped up with a Halloween costume party across the street at one of Mom's new friends.
I dressed up as a classy witch and we put a long blond wig on Brian's head and called him Gregg Allman. Too funny!
A diary of adventures with
"Marco Polo" (a.k.a. Brian),
while trying to juggle our lives in two different cities drinking good wine and eating good food while watching great baseball.
Welcome to another Monday and just 2 weeks away from Thanksgiving. Aside from cooking, I am really looking forward to 4 and 1/2 days at Rebecca Lane.....relaxing.
