Scattered Thoughts . . .

I t is Christmas morning and we started our day with some French toast.  That was pretty good.   Now I am beginning to prep for tomorrow's Christmas celebration with the kids and grandkids.  We always start with a Christmas brunch (presents afterward).  I make an egg casserole, some bacon, some home fries, sausage and Cinnamon buns.  By mid-afternoon, I expect everyone to start getting hungry again so.... Today, I started marinating a small pork loin.  This afternoon, I will sear it on the grill and then finish it up slowly in the oven this afternoon.  This pork is being prepared so we can make a few Cuban sandwiches tomorrow.  We have some ham and Swiss cheese as well so there will be a choice between ham and cheese sandwiches or Cuban sandwiches.  And, for the odd Vermonters, we always have some Cabot cheddar cheese on hand too.  Personally, I will opt for the Cuban sandwich...  the marinated slow-cooked pork, Swiss cheese, ham, mustard, sliced pickles, and finished on the griddl

Dark Chocolate Bark... not quite done yet... it needs another layer of dark chocolate... We've begun our food prep for Christmas Day...  Sheila started with making some candy... a Dark Chocolate Bark with Candied Orange Peel, Pistachios and Dried Cranberries.  This is the first time Sheila has made this but I'm sure it will be good. That being said, we did encounter some minor issues so we'll make a few minor changes the next time we make it.   I par-boiled a bunch of potatoes for a big pan of Home Fries for tomorrow morning's breakfast... it will have the usual mix of green peppers, onion, bacon and some spices. This evening, I'll be preparing a Breakfast Egg Casserole. I've made this casserole the past few Christmases and I adapt it each year. This year, the bottom crust will be flavored French Toast bread... and the casserole will contain chunks of sausage, ham, green peppers, and cheese... an egg mixture poured over it... refrigerated overnight...

After I finished with food prep for the day, Sheila took over the kitchen and started working on making some candied pecans.   She spread the bag of pecan halves on a cookie sheet, then coated them all with some olive oil by tossing them around the cookie sheet and then slow roasted them in the oven...  On the stovetop, she brought some water, sugar, salt, and cinnamon to 'soft ball stage'... added some vanilla extract... then dumped the roasted pecans into the pot... mixed them until they were all coated with the candy mixture... dumped them onto some waxed paper... and then used a fork to separate the candied-together pecans. These are delicious! Now it is about time to start on tonight's dinner... grilled steak!

Thankfully, I think I am done with another day of Thanksgiving food prep! Sweet Italian sausage for my Country Harvest Turkey Dressing. Earlier this afternoon, I cooked up some sweet Italian sausage for my Country Harvest Turkey Dressing. This sausage will get chopped up with some onions, sage, corn bread, seasoned bread, garlic, thyme, and dried cranberries... then add some chicken stock... into the oven for a bit... this should be some pretty tasty dressing! So, the sausage is now cooked, moved to the fridge and ready to be chopped tomorrow.  While the sausage was cooking, I had four sweet potatoes in the oven. These sweet potatoes will be for my Bourbon Glazed Yams. After cutting the sweet potatoes, I'll add some butter, maple syrup, molasses, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and some bourbon. Throw this concoction in the oven and then finish the last few minutes with some mini marshmallows on top until they are browned.  So, the sweet potatoes are ready to go