The 20 Worst Foods in America
I just read an article in Men's Health magazine that lists the 20 worst foods in America. My first thought was "Who eats this junk, anyway?" and then realized I am the abnormal one, here. People eat this stuff every day. While we just went over the top with our Thanksgiving dinner, that's not the norm around here.
The worst food in America was determined to be:
Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing
- 2,900 calories
- 182 g fat
- 240 g carbs
Not bad for a side dish, eh? Some of the other ones were pretty interesting, too.
Folks tend to think that ground turkey is much more healthy than ground beef. Not so. In the supermarket it can be the same as 85% ground beef, but in a restaurant?
Ruby Tuesday Bella Turkey Burger
- 1,145 calories
- 71 g fat
- 56 g carbs
Or, how about a lovely kid's meal?
Macaroni Grill Double Macaroni 'n' Cheese
- 1,210 calories
- 62 g fat
- 3,450 mg sodium
That's a kids meal, alright. And I want dessert, mom. And a Coke.
And it's not just dining out. The worst supermarket meal was:
Pepperidge Farm Roasted Chicken Pot Pie (whole pie)
- 1,020 calories
- 64 g fat
- 86 g carbs
The nutritionals on the label call for it to be two servings. Sure. It's like the can of Coke being two servings, or the premade burrito being three servings. Anything to confuse the consumer.
You can decry the food industry all you want, but if people weren't buying this crap, they wouldn't be making it. And they wouldn't be introducing more and more and more of it every day.
The Day After The Night Before
I'm stuffed.
We just had Thanksgiving Dinner, again. It was just as good the second time around - and just as filling. It's 8pm. I'm ready for bed.
Yesterday was a blast. Everything went off without a hitch, the turkey was perfect, the food fabulous, and the company even better. Who could ask for anything more?
A couple of slight revisions to the menu. I didn't make the Pumpkin Wontons. When I pulled the skins out of the refrigerator wednesday night, they were moldy! (And dated mid-December.) I wasn't about to head to a grocery store on Thanksgiving Eve, so... delete. We still had more food than we needed. (I tried to cut back. Really, I did!)
I also saved the Brie Fondue for today. I heated it up whilst we were doing our Christmas Decorating. It was a great afternoon snack.
I simmered the carcass all last night and most of today. I have an extremely rich broth out there right now. It's strained and ready for Turkey Soup tomorrow. I'm psyched! Turkey Soup is my most favorite part of Thanksgiving (well... other than the 10 different desserts!) My mom made great soups. They're the ultimate in comforty foods for me.
Back to last night's dinner... Marie made the best sweet potato casserole! The potatoes are whipped and topped with brown sugar and pecans. If you put them in a bowl and topped 'em with whipped cream, they would be a fantastic dessert! I love 'em. She really liked my pumpkin polenta. The fresh peas were a hit - even with the youngsters. Gino went back for seconds.
Speaking of Gino... we're going to have him down here with us again in a couple of weeks to bake Christmas Cookies with us. We had a blast last year and were hoping we'd do it again. Last night we found out his sister, Elizabeth wanted to join us this year. Gino was bummed because this was 'his' time with us. A guy weekend.
The solution: We're having a Boys vs Girls Cookie Bake-Off! Gino will stay with us and bake cookies, and Elizabeth will be with her mom and Aunt Marie making cookies. Each side will get to submit one cookie for judging by the rest of the family on Christmas Day. We're a shoe-in, unless Aunt Re-Re makes her Jelly Strips. Marie makes the best Jelly Strips...
It was a great time. We cooked for days, had a houseful of people, ate for hours and still had the house completely put back together before we went to bed.
And about 80% of our Christmas Decorations are up! Since neither of us would be caught dead at the mall - or any other national retailer, Black Friday is our day to decorate for Christmas! Today is also our 13th Anniversary. What better way to spend it than to transform the house to our Santa's Workshop?
'Tis the Season to be Jolly, indeed!
Thanksgiving Dinner
We're rapidly approaching my almost most favorite holiday! I love Thanksgiving - a day devoted to family and food. Especially food!
Thanksgiving is our holiday. Christmas is in North Jersey with Victor's sister, and Easter is down the road with his brother. So - we have to make a big deal out of it. (Of course, big deal is all relative - we never, ever lack for food in this house!) And it's a day to cook from scratch. No premade turkey from Boston Market and pies from Costco. This is the ultimate sharing of food with the family day. And that means fresh. Yes, it takes time, and since I'm working right up to Thanksgiving day, I shall have to organize well. It is so worth it.
I've been slackin' this year. Usually by this time I have planned the menu, made the excel spreadsheet with menus, recipes, shopping lists, etc. I finally figured out the menu a few minutes ago. I don't necessarily have recipes together, but at least I now know what we'll be serving - more or less. I am really, really trying to cook less this year. We always have an obscene amount of food - and leftovers - literally - for days. Wish me luck.
The menu itself is fairly traditional. There are certain things that are here every year: Roast Turkey - not brined - with gallons of gravy, Nonna's stuffing, Marie's Sweet Potatoes, and that one can of sliced jellied cranberry sauce in my mom's little crystal dish that she served it in every year. I'm adding the Pumpkin Polenta this year, the hors d'oeuvres always change, and other than Pumpkin Pie, the desserts are what I feel like doing. The two fruitcakes were made last month and are sitting in the basement. I just added more brandy.
(Just back from the Farmer's Market with a few additions to the menu!)
Hors d'oeuvres:
- Baked Brie
- Brie Fondue
- Cheeses and Salami with Asst Breads and Crackers
- Puff Pastry Cranberry and Cheese
- Pumpkin Wontons
The Dinner:
- 32+ lb Turkey
- Gravy
- Nonna's Stuffing
- Apricot Walnut (or Pecan) Stuffing
- Mashed Potatoes
- Pumpkin Polenta
- Marie's Sweet Potatoes
- Candied Sweet potatoes
- Green Beans
- Fresh shelled Peas with Butter
- Green Salad with Pumpkin Dressing
- Marie's Cranberry Relish
- Triple Cranberry Sauce
- Canned Cranberry Sauce (one can for sentimental reasons)
- Pumpkin Rolls
- Cranberry Butter
Desserts:
- Pumpkin Pie
- Eggnog Pie
- Eliza's Buttermilk Pie
- Pecan Cranberry Tart
- Apricot Macadamia Nut Fruitcake
- Traditional Fruitcake
If I can keep the amounts in check, I think we'll be fine.
Okay, scratch that last sentence. I keep adding things. We're going to have a lot of food. Oh well.
Chicken Soup for the Soul
I was at the farmer's market Wednesday to order my 32+ pound Thanksgiving Turkey, and picked up a stewing hen while I was there. There is just nothing more flavorful than soup or stew made with a stewing hen.
Into the pot the bird went with carrots, celery, onions, garlic, bay leaves, and about 3/4 bottle of white wine I've been using for cooking. I simmered it all day Wednesday and Wednesday evening, strained the broth and removed the chicken. After cooling, they both went into the 'fridge.
Yesterday afternoon, the fun began - clean out the 'fridge! The broth went into the pot along with celery, carrots, fresh peas, green beans, 2 different leftover cooked brown rices, chopped up mustard greens, and a bag of tortolini - and a goodly amount of chicken. (There's at least one - if not two - other meals from the chicken!)
It was sooooo good! Really rich, chicken flavor and lots of good vegetables. I almost licked the bowl. And the garlic bread was the perfect accompaniment.
Pumpkin Soup
Here's the recipe for the Pumpkin Soup I made last week for our store employee Pumpkin Recipe Contest. I actually made half of it a meaty soup at home, using a few cut up boneless pork chops and some chorizo sausage. (I browned the pork and sausage and then added half of the pot of soup.)
• 4 qts Vegetable broth
• 2 cans pumpkin
• 2 cans coconut milk
• 1/2 cup Rum
• 2 cups cooked hominy
• 1 cup cooked wild rice
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 4 carrots, diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped (or 1 can diced tomatoes, drained)
• 2 tbsp asst chilies, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• salt and pepperSauté onion, carrots, chilies, and celery in olive oil until wilted. Add broth and boil until reduced by about 1/3.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer about 1 hour.
Check for seasoning and adjust, as desired.
Lambs, Yams, and Red Peppers
This was a fun one, today! I dirtied FIVE pots and pans on a weeknight dinner. It's a new record for me, I think.
I had a few nice lamb chops, so I just marinated them in a bit of olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. The basics. Fried 'em up in a bit of olive oil. I made a quick red pepper sauce by pureeing a jar of red peppers with some olive oil.
I boiled the sweet potatoes and fried some onions, adding just a bit of thyme. I then used my handy-dandy immersion blender and whipped the potatoes and onions together, adding juuuuust a pinch of cloves, salt, and pepper.
Frozen Peas.
Dinner took more time to clean up than to cook. It was great. And we ate one of the fruitcakes for dessert. Dayum, they're good!