Cornbread and Smoked Oyster Stuffing (Gluten Free)

When I first learned in depth about celiac's disease - the inability to digest gluten - I remember thanking the gods that I only had a slight wheat intolerance. I adore bread, of any shape, size, or function. Of course stuffing or dressing is useless without bread. Or is it?

Turns out cornbread stuffing is amazing! My eyes are opened! I have been wanting to try a cornbread and oyster stuffing for some time but was stymied by unadventurous eaters. When I mentioned that I would use smoked oysters in lieu of fresh, that caught their attention.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Pomegranate Molasses and Smoked Paprika

Next to acorn squash, butternut is my favorite hard squash; it's so versatile. Like so many hard squash, it soaks up flavors and is so hearty and filling.

I was going through a real block as a cook - I'm sure it happens to most cooks - and in looking for inspiration to get back my umpf, I spent several hours reading 64 sq ft kitchen's blog posts. I learned that The Maghreb - those countries in northern Africa that were colonized by the French, including Morocco, Algeria and Tunisa - while similar, have some differences. Pomegranates, dried fruits like dates, figs and apricots figure in their cuisine and I remembered that I had some pomegranate molasses and decided to try it out on this squash. Excellent inspiration!

If you don't have an ethnic grocer (Middle Eastern, Eastern European, or African) near by, you can make your own pomegranate molasses fairly easily. Simply combine 3 cups fresh pomegranate juice (the freshest you can find), add 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and cook on high heat until reduced by half. Allow to cool, and voila, zee pomegranate molasses!

Field Roast Marsala - Vegan Thanksgiving Entree

Thanksgiving is supposed to be a time of gratitude and celebration, but for so many folks who eat a vegan or vegetarian diet, it can be quite trying. I know that for the 15 years that I was vegetarian, my mother was fairly frustrated, to put it mildly, that I did not partake of the meat portion of holiday meals. And while I was creative enough to produce my own entree (a variation of this dish), I know not all cooks are as knowledgeable.

Several years ago, while I was living in Northfield Minnesota and writing a monthly food column for the local paper, I suggested a variation on this recipe in hopes of providing an option for Thanksgiving cooks whose invited guests included vegans or vegetarians. (The town had two small liberal arts colleges and veganism was a very popular diet among students). Unfortunately, most of my readers were taken aback that I did not share my personal candied yam or pumpkin pie recipe. It was the first time that my readership was less than esctatic about my articles and I found it vaguely amusing!

Crab Tater Tots with Coriander Mayonnaise

If you have yet to visit Joanne of Eats Well with Others, go now! Yes, leave my blog and go now. She's an amazing cook, hilarious writer and effortless photographer (not to mention a medical student and distance runner!) I don't know how she does it but she must have the energy of 10 Energizer Bunnies! Not only are her recipes diverse in cuisines, but she never lets me down. This recipe is an excellent example.

Tater tots were something that my mom occasionally served us when we were growing up, kind of a guilty pleasure since they were a) frozen, b) obviously fried, and c) not too high on the nutritional scale. But they're soooo good! When I saw that Joanne had made a homemade version, with crab no less, I knew this recipe was high on the to do list!

Caramelized Mushrooms with Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Ahhhhh Fall, when a cook's fancy lightly turns to mushrooms. Yup, I love cooking with mushrooms in the fall. They have such an earthy, soothing quality that I find hard to resist.

While we have zoomed past the fresh porcini season already, look for some recipes with the dried version soon to come. For now, I made do with this yummy dish that I saw over at Closet Cooking. I was going to post it as a recipe inspiring me, but I couldn't wait!

Homemade Yogurt and Granola

In the mid 1990s I had a roommate from Belgrade, Serbia, who introduced me to a whole new world of food. She taught me how to work with Phyllo Dough - both sweet and savory - and she blithely made homemade yogurt, all the time, as if it was a simple as pouring milk. Which, it turns out, it is.

Yogurt is such a staple in the Balkans/Greek/Turkish diet that they eat it daily, if not with several meals a day. Natasha was no exception. And since her mother in Serbia always made it, she did too. Once I learned how to make it, yogurt became a daily staple in my diet as well. In fact, one of my prized desserts for dinner parties (and I don't do desserts!) is a yogurt cheese pie, the simplest and most tasty (and inexpensive!) dessert in my repertoire. Simply strain yogurt (they sell it as "greek" yogurt), add in some sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and pour into a graham cracker crust and chill. Voila! Instant (low calorie and low cost) dessert. I used to make a quick berry glaze - blend frozen berries with a little sugar and lime or lemon juice and spread on top. Done!