Thanksgiving 2012 - Fun with Pecans

 we are going to our friends' house for Thanksgiving Dinnner #2 on Monday night. (Thanksgiving Dinner #1 is tonight at a different house!) I offered to take dessert which will be pumpkin creme brulee. I decided that I wanted a bit more of a crunchy, decorative topping, so I have been experimenting with pecans today. So far, Frank likes both of them, but this is my favourite. It still needs a bit of a kick, but I am now out of pecans!

Happy Thanksgiving, 2012!

Cinnamony Orangey Candied Pecans

1  ½ tsp          Sugar

1/4 tsp            Salt

3/4 tsp            Saigon roasted cinnamon

1/8 tsp            Cinnamon

1/8 tsp            Ground nutmeg

1 tsp                Finely grated orange peel

3 tbsp              Butter

3 tbsp              Maple syrup (the good stuff – not faux!)

1 tbsp              Orange liqueur (optional – NOT!)

1  ¾ C            Pecans

Preheat oven to 375 Deg. –

Toast pecans in a baking sheet lined with tin foil for about 3 minutes – be careful not to over-toast them!

In a small bowl, mix salt, sugar, cinnamon, Saigon cinnamon, nutmeg and orange peel.

Melt butter and maple syrup together in a non-stick pan; add liqueur (if using) and boil until slightly thickened; stir in orange peel/spice mixture; add nuts and stir until well-coated.

Put nut mixture back in foil-lined baking sheet – and bake for 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven. Turn oven off. Stir nuts and return the pan to the oven for 1 minute. Cool nuts completely, then eat the crunchy bits.

Pear and Blood Orange Salad

One blood orange - peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces

One mini cucumber - scraped and sliced

One Bosc pear - cored and sliced

Three green onions - white and some green bits - sliced

Three or four handfuls of salad mix - we used the one with herbs

Renee's Pear and Blue Cheese salad dressing

Next time I am going to add some lightly toasted, chopped pecans or some crumbled blue cheese or some fresh, crispy fennel ...

As it was, it was deeee-lish!!!!

The salad served two - but with some left over.

It will go with the fresh basil/Compari tomato/mushroom/3 cheese pizza from last night's dinner.

Salmon Dip for Emergency Use Only

Emergency! Emergency!

Neighbours are coming back for unplanned dinner after a glass or two of wine or a couple of G&T's ... Emergency!!!

Salmon Dip for Stacy's Parmesan, Garlic & Herb Chips!

1 can of salmon (drained - feed liquid to your kitties)

1/2 cup sour cream (or what you have left in your reefer from dinner a night or so ago)

1/2 cup smoked salmon cream cheese

juice of one lemon

1/2 tsp crushed garlic

1 tsp fresh dill

Several grindings of black pepper

Several dashes of Chipotle Tobasco - to taste

I mushed this with the immersion blender which made it a bit gloppy. Mashing with a fork would probably be a better way to go.