Am I The Only One Who Thinks This Is Good?

Top chefs push Obama to improve food policy

Regardless of your politics, promoting healthier, more natural foods has got to be a good thing. I hope it turns out that his popularity will promote better food. I hope his policies will promote more small "family" farms so more people have access to good, fresh foods.

Another Cream Soup

If you put these things together...

1 pound beef smoked sausage, cubed
3 medium potatoes, cubed
1/2 a large yellow onion, diced small
1/2 a large (or one small) jalapeno pepper, deseeded, minced
2 stalks celery, diced small
1 carrot, grated or diced small
1/2 sweet/tart red apple, such as Gala or Braeburn, grated
1 quart water or chicken stock
1/4 cup blond roux
1 1/2 cup milk (I use 1% but you use whatever you have)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

... like this...

Brown the sausage in a tad of oil in a deep pot or dutch oven. When it just begins to brown, put in the onions, jalapeno, celery, carrot, and apple. When the onion and celery begin to get translucent add the water or stock and the potatoes. Bring to a boil then turn down the heat and let simmer until the potatoes are fork tender.
While the potatoes cook make the roux in a small sauce pan. Let it cool in the pan until the potatoes are done.
When the potatoes are done, add the milk to the roux, a little bit at a time until it makes a thin slurry. Stirring constantly pour this slurry into the pot with the sausage and potatoes. Cook over med-lo heat until the broth is thickened to your liking. Finish with the black pepper.

...you get this...




Serve with a nice green salad and some crusty bread.


Enjoy.

Another Special Menu

Christmas is just one week away! Hooray! Don't you just love this time of year? The decorations, the presents, the parties, the time spent with family and friends... and especially the food. Christmas Day is a day filled with good things to eat. Turkeys, hams, sweet potatoes, casseroles of every variety... broccoli cheese, rice, green bean, corn... home made mac and cheese. And the desserts... oh the deserts... pure heaven.

I can remember back when I was little and all of my immediate family still lived close together. Christmas Day there was always so much food! Even the in-laws came to my Granny's house for this day. Chocolate Pecan 3 layer cake, carrot cake, jam cake, dump cake, hummingbird cake, fruitcake... cream cheese pies, paradise pie, pecan pie, sweet potato pie... it was a wonderful time all the way around. We usually didn't get much in the way of toys at Christmas. We were poor folks. All of us. Christmas was an excuse for our parents to wrap up as gifts the things they had to buy us anyway. Like clothes for the second half of the school year. A new pair of shoes. But we didn't really care cause we knew that there was going to be all that wonderful, heavenly food. And togetherness. And fun. We always had fun together.

But after that most important of Days comes the New Year. And that requires a meal that needs to be planned out nearly as carefully as any meal served during the holidays that precede it. My New Year's Day meal always consists of:
Country Ham
Collard Greens
Black Eyed Peas
Rice
Cornbread

If I have time or feel like it, I may also make an asparagus dish, or green beans with new potatoes, or the broccoli/potato/cheese casserole.

For dessert I usually make a baked cheesecake and/or a Dump Cake.

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The whole point of this blog, I suppose, is to ask if any of you have traditional menus for New Year's Day and if so, what are they? I'd love to know.