47/52: Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful family Thanksgiving long weekend last week.

Great food, conversation, fun and games.

Enjoy!
Stacy

Recipe of the Week/Thanksgiving Recipes Week 1

Hey Guys!  How is your Thanksgiving meal planning coming along?  Are you a traditionalist or do you like to add a new dish every now and then?

I absolutely love stratas, otherwise known as bread pudding.  This strata would make an excellent pot luck Thanksgiving dish, a make ahead side dish or a great "day-after-Thanksgiving" accompaniment to a bunch of leftovers.

Enjoy!
Stacy

Cheesy Kale and Mushroom Strata

Ingredients:

13 oz. day old sour dough bread, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces (about 7 cups)

2 tablespoons olive oil

8 oz. crimini mushrooms, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons butter, divided

3 leeks, white and pale green only, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick

1 bunch curly kale, ribs and stems removed, leaves torn into 2 inch pieces

8 large eggs

2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard

2 1/2 cups whole milk

5 1/2 oz. Gruyere cheese, coarsely grated, divided

2 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated, divided

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Toast bread in a single layer on a rimmed cookie sheet until dry but not browned, about 5 minutes.

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet, over medium high heat.  Arrange mushrooms in a single layer and cook, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.  Add garlic, season with salt and pepper and toss, reducing heat if necessary until mushrooms at golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Push mushrooms to one side and add 1 tablespoon of butter in center of skillet.  Add leeks and cook, stirring often and mixing tin to mushrooms until the leeks are soft, about 5 minutes.

Add kale by the handful, tossing to wilt slightly after each addition and cook until all the kale is mostly wilted, about 4 minutes.  Transfer kale mixture to a medium bowl.  Let skillet cool slightly and then wipe clean.

Add 1 tablespoon of butter to clean skillet.  Whisk eggs, mustard and salt and pepper in a large bowl, then add milk.  Arrange half the toasted bread in the skillet and cover with half the kale mixture, then top with half Gruyere and half Parmesan.  Top with remaining bread and kale mixture and then pour the egg mixture over.  Press down on strata with spatula to help bread absorb egg mixture.  Top with rest of cheese.

Bake strata until golden brown and no liquid seeps out when a knife is inserted into the center, about 30-40 minutes.  Let cool to room temperature before serving.

DO AHEAD:  Strata can be baked 3 days ahead.  Let cool completely; cover and chill.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, 2017!

Blessings this day from our family to yours!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

Much Love,

Stacy and Brian

48/52: Thanksgiving Eve/Day and Wine Tasting Friday!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving long weekend!

Amazing family time with great food and drink.  Thanksgiving Eve was spent pre-cooking, drinking wine and listening to a great mix of music that made us all get up and dance!

Our Thanksgiving meal on Thursday was wonderful and we were all grateful to be together and have such a great day of food and rest (despite 2 inches of rain).

Friday we went to 4 amazing wineries in the Washington County/Yamhill area....and they were all places that we've never been to before.  Each place was unique with wonderful food pairings and wine tastings.

How was your Thanksgiving?

Enjoy!
Stacy

47/52: The weekend before Thanksgiving

I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year.  Last year, half the family was back east so our house will be full again.  There will be laughter and music and food and fun times.  We need that around these parts.

It's been a quiet November between Brian working on Saturdays and our hearts mending after the loss of Sammy, I've not had the energy.  As I was posting this blog this morning, I realized that I only took one picture from the entire weekend.  Sorry!

How did you spend your weekend?

Enjoy!
Stacy

48/52: Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a quiet Thanksgiving weekend at Rebecca Lane this year...Brian, Chick and I.  This year, Pop, Rosemary and Steve spent Thanksgiving (and Aunt Judy's birthday) in Ohio. Our table may have been small, but we had a wonderful and relaxing day with lots of good food and laughs.  

Our LONG weekend kicked off with our traditional Italian food night on Wednesday, after all the prep cooking was completed....it was time for a few glasses of wine and some good food and music. This year, Brian made a lasagna from scratch and it was really good.

Thanksgiving Day was a bit of the Marcy's parade, a 6 pound Black Friday newspaper, good food, football, naps, and Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving Special.  

Friday, Sandra and Brian hung Christmas lights on the house and we all enjoyed a nacho bar and an Oregon Ducks Civil War victory!

Brian left for Seattle early on Saturday morning and Sandra and I began to decorate the house for Christmas. This year, we concentrated on everything but the trees on Saturday. It only took us a few hours, but in the end we were glad that we started early so we could enjoy the rest of the day including binge watching Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel in our jammies!

Sunday we finished up the decorations on the outside including a laser light with lights shinning on our garage, courtesy of Home Depot ($39.95) and fulling decorating two Christmas trees!

Now our house is completely ready for the holidays and we will be able to enjoy the decorations each night when we get home from work.

Tell me about your Thanksgiving weekend and all the fun adventures you had.  Leave me a comment.

Enjoy!
Stacy

49/52: Wine Tasting Wrap Up!

This year, we decided to head out through Newberg to the Carlton area of Yamhill County for our annual Day-After-Thanksgiving Wine Tour.

Chick and I toured Yamhill County last fall and we really enjoyed the beauty of the area, unfortunately...Friday was wet and foggy, but we still enjoyed the scenery.

Friday's first stop was, August Cellars in Newberg, OR.

The winery is family owned and the tasting room is situated at the foothills of the orchards.  The land was purchased in 1942 and the family has been farming it continuously since then.  The vineyard produces, Pinot Noirs, Chardonnay, Riesling and Marechal Foch, plus they had guest wineries sharing the day.

The second stop of the day was, Winter's Hill Estate. 

On top of the Dundee Hills overlooking Yamhill Country lies Winter's Hill.  It's been operated by the Gladheart Family since 1961.  Thirty Five acres of vineyards are nestled into a 150 acre farm including fir and oak forests.

The matriarch of the family (I think her name was Dot), greeted us and treated us like family.  She was a real sweet lady.

For Thanksgiving Weekend they shared their Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc for $10, plus futures tastings right out of the barrel.

I didn't think much of the futures, but it was fun to "dream" about what the wine might taste like in a few years.

 

 

Next we headed right into the heart of Carlton, OR.

There are tons of cute little shops, restaurants and of course tasting rooms, but one in particular that I've always wanted to see is the Noble Pig Tasting Room (if you get a chance to check out their blog, I would highly recommend it).

This is a small family owned vineyard and boutique winery specializing in micro-production of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris.  

 

It was founded in 1988 with the purchase of an 88 acre parcel of land just west of McMinnville, OR.  As always, their tasting fee, even for Thanksgiving weekend was $5 and included nibbles along with some nice wines.

Dodging raindrops, we took some time to explore the downtown Carlton area.  Pop, Rosemary and Brian checked out Ken Wright Cellars while Chick, Steve and I headed for Troon Tasting Room.

Each of us came home with at least one bottle from one of the 5 places we visited! 

It was a fantastic day and a great family tradition.

A special THANKS to Brian who drove us around in a rented van while we tasted everything!


Enjoy!
Stacy

48.5/52: Thanksgiving Wrap Up!

This year, Pop, Rosemary and Steve came up early on Wednesday and Brian arrived from Seattle.

Wednesday is quickly becoming one of my favorite days of the Thanksgiving weekend.

Even though I spent, 5 hours in the kitchen prepping, with help from Rosemary (apple pie) and Pop (Aunt Pat's stuffed celery) and Brian (deviled eggs), we had the music going, the fake TV fireplace blazing and lots of laughter and stories.

 
Thursday's Thanksgiving dinner could not have turned out any better.  Our menu was traditional and everything came out great (including the roaster oven on the card table in the garage coking the stuffing and the sweet potatoes).

Chick's table was gorgeous and we used vintage photos as place holders.  Everyone loved the idea!

Friday was our annual Washington/Yamhill County wine tour (post to follow) which was fabulous.


Saturday it was CIVIL WAR day and the start of the Christmas season!  

We lit up the house with all our decorations and set the trees up on Sunday.

We had an awesome family filled weekend!

How was your Thanksgiving?

Enjoy!
Stacy

HAPPY THANKGIVING!

Thanksgiving is the appointed time

for focusing on the good in our lives.

In each of our days,

we can find small blessings,

but too often we overlook them,

choosing instead to spend our time

paying attention to problems.

We give energy

to those who cause us trouble

instead of those who give us peace.

Starting now,

Let's be on the lookout

for the bits of pleasure in each hour,

and appreciate the people who

bring love and light to everyone.

You are one of those people.

On Thanksgiving,

I'm thankful for you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM MY FAMILY TO YOURS!

Enjoy!

Stacy

Thanksgiving Day 2012

Our party started on Wednesday with everyone's arrival.  Wine flowed, music played, stories were told of Thanksgivings past and several games of Mexican train were played.

The "Chef" was in the house prepping, making Thanksgiving Day run extremely smooth.

We prepared an easy Italian feast, so I could spend most of my Wednesday afternoon in the kitchen prepping pies, vegetables, turkey giblets and appetizers for Thursday.

Thanksgiving Morning is always a bit hectic....timing is always an issue, but by the time the Champagne was popped....no one cared!  Chick set a beautiful table!

Dinner was served at 4PM and by 4:15.....everyone was stuffed.  Pie, anyone?

It was a wonderful family celebration!

Enjoy!

Stacy