14th Carnival of the Recipes

I'm the hostess with the mostess this week!!! Yahoo!! Guess what it means to be the hostess? It means I get to preview EVERYTHING. Holy Cow. If you can put on weight by looking at recipes, I've got some serious issues... And boy, talk about reading. I've been having a great time perusing everyone's blog. Not only are there some great recipes here, but if you look at their blogs, we have some interesting chefs.

I've done the best I can here, folks, so any errors I have made in spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc..., my apologies up front. I will blame it on the food fantasies getting in the way of my typing...

I'm going to break this down like the authors of my favorite cookbook (Some Like it South) did:

APPETIZERS

From Jeff of Trub. The sediment of life we have a Cheesy Beer Dip. He talks about it being good at work get togethers, but I saw football game food written all over it. He has another great recipe I listed under Soups and Salads... great for big gatherings.

You're going to see this blog in a couple spots here since I divided this up like a cookbook and they supplied us with a plethora of yummy recipes. From Booklore are a few Appetizer recipes to take a gander at, ranging from cheese balls to vegetable platters. Booklore makes a good point that many people skip breakfast on Thanksgiving so Appetizers are a great idea.

The Lovely SarahK of Moutaineer Musings supplies us with Spinach Dip. And SarahK, after my own heart, talks about football... She says that you should put the dip in the fridge, then watch the Cowboys play some, then... well there is more as only SarahK can provide. You gotta go there and read it... Here's to hoping I don't end up with any female relatives over at my house telling me I'm fat... I think that could be the kiss of death for someone!

OK, leave it to Helen of Every Day Stranger, a wonderfully witty blogger, to stump me on where to put this one. Appetizer? Vegetable? Breads? My Southern Cookbook doesn't have tarts! Ack! So I put it here and hopefully I am correct. Goat's Cheese and Red Onion Tart is located at the bottom of her post in her extended entry. This looks... delightful!

BEVERAGES

Countertop at The Countertop Chronicles has... something toasty for the holidays! Mike's Kahlua Coffee Liquor. YUM!

From Dan at Dan K. O'Leary.com we have "Drunk On Thanksgiving". Talk about a lot of kick. Take a look, anything with Irish Whiskey in it is something to seriously give thought to...

SOUPS and SALADS

John of Brown Hound sends us a phenomenal sounding recipe for Fiesta Chowder, which he suggests to serve with cornbread. As he puts it 'now that it's getting cold...' and he is right. It looks like a great soup to both keep you warm and full. Army/Navy football game is approaching... should be cold... I have football food on the brain...

From Booklore we have two other recipes, Ambrosia Salad. I know on my side of the family, we never have a picnic or big family get together without an Ambrosia Salad. Also, there is Bernadette's Perfect Cranberry Sauce For Those Who Think They Hate It... just in time for the big meal Next Thursday!

My wonderfully supportive blog brother, That1Guy of Drunken Wisdom, submits Cranberry Applesauce. He says this is a very easy recipe, even if inebriated... but he has a word of warning in the event you are drinking and cooking...

The Ministry of the Minor Perfidy has provided us with a grunch of recipes!!! Wow. We could do an entire cookbook just from their submittals! First we have from Johno, The Filthy Imperialist's Carrot Soup, which he says is quick and spicy and great with grilled cheese. More to follow in other portions of this post...

Caltechgirl from Not Exactly Rocket Science (I love the name of her blog), provides us with TWO for the price of one in the same post! I'm categorizing them here as there is an Easy Cranberry Sauce (scroll down a piece in her post)... and I wasn't sure where to put her Sausage, Apple, and Cranberry Stuffing. (My cookbook didn't have stuffing... Grains? Vegetable? Wasn't sure.) I've been looking for a good stuffing recipe as Turkey day is here and she was good enough to send this to me... Looks Wonderful!

Angela of Fresh as a Daisy gives us Slow-Cooker Vegetable Soup. I'm all about slow cooker recipes and this one looks great. I see this as good cold weather fare as well as football food... there's that word again... football...

Jeff of Trub. The sediment of life, posts Memphis Style Coleslaw. He says there is never any left when he makes this for a large group. It may not be Thanksgiving food, but I foresee a lot of large group gatherings between now and the end of the year.

ENTREES

Beef

I was debating where to put this one... I was thinking appetizer or soup, but according to my cookbook, it goes under Beef. So... Jim, of Snooze Button Dreams, has provided us with Jim's Death Chili (aka, Jim's Chili of Anal Destruction). He has submitted this before in Sgt. Hook's Chili cook-off, so I think that in itself lends credence to it. (Sorry no link to the cook off... the link doesn't work anymore.) Jim cracks me up. Every time I read his blog... including this recipe. Great stuff.

Kari of Dogwood Dreams submits Holtz Spaghetti. Her blog made me laugh out loud, "There are XX days til Christmas, Crochet faster!" Phew. No pressure there! I know, you won't believe this, but this is a good Thanksgiving recipe too. I'm married into an Italian family and we ALWAYS have a pasta dish on the side. ALWAYS!!!

Where in the world was Laughing Wolf during Soccer Season?! I needed this recipe!! Linda's Cube Steak. As a person ON.THE.GO, all day long, I LOVE these recipes that get to simmer all day long. I have a feeling this has officially made my monthly rotation of recipes. Thank you, LW!

From Buckethead of The Ministry of the Minor Perfidy, we have Chili con Buckethead. (I don't make up the names folks...) Seriously, this guy sounds like an engineer. He talks of finding the ultimate chili recipe by recording successes and failures in their quest. They built a database... and 2 1/2 months later... Voila. Check it out. Cracks me up. (He says you need beer and toilet paper on hand... you really gotta read this post...)

El Capitan of Baboon Pirates posts Chili Dog Casserole. He says it feeds 8 regular people, 4 hungry people, or 2 Texas boys. Me thinks he must be from Texas. *grin* Oh... whataya know... that's what it says in his profile! Daggum it sounds good, but he is right, I may need bypass surgery after. I'm chalkin' this one up to Football Food! Again!

Seafood

From Christina at Fiesty Repartee we have Drunken Crawfish Pie. This sounds WONDERFUL! And she even talks about how to substitute crabmeat and shrimp for crawfish... a detail oriented woman. I love it!

Allan of Inside Allan's Mind is Margarita Salmon. My husband and I have been talking about eating more fish and this looks like a recipe that assists in that endeavor. The recipe even comes complete with grilling warnings! He also has tips with regard to the marinade... almost made me wonder if I should file this under beverages...

Songstress7 of News from the Great Beyond provides us with Salmon Croquettes, or as she also puts it, "Salmon Patties for the Non-Frenchified among you..." Yeah. That would be me. *grin* They sound VERY tasty and will be going into my new Seafood Recipe Rolodex.

Johno of The Ministry of Minor Perfidy didn't let me down! Oooohhhh nooooo... in all of the great recipes they sent, they included a recipe for St. Peter's Italian Cod which should definitely help me on my quest to eating more fish... Fish... Italian... I think this may be our Christmas Eve fish recipe in the House of Boudicca.

Ohhhh and he did it again! We have 'The Fish' and this one even has Wasabi as an option! Youch! Johno provides a list of fish you can use. Most excellent.

Poultry

Kinayda of Kin's Kouch posts Chicken Fried Rice. We love Asian food in this house and I have not quite gotten the Fried Rice thing down yet. This recipe is officially on my list to try. While studying this, I think I see what I've been doing wrong...

The Glittering Eye provides us with the Main Meal for The Big Day! Here we have Smoked Turkey and Dressing. This turkey soaks in a brine... it may sound like a lot of work, but it's not and I've had a brined turkey, and trust me, they are awesome!

Bothenook of A Geezer's Corner also agrees and supplies us with his Brine Recipe as well as directions for how to smoke it with Smoking a Turkey. There is a lot of good and witty commentary here on the whys and hows...

Punctilious of Like News but Tasty submits Spicy Grilled Turkey. This sounds easy and yummy. The e-mail with this link was a riot. The bird is being grilled as the oven 'is the size of a dinosaur brain'. That had me laughing. I'm thinking they're on the right track potentially serving it with salsa and tortilla chips instead of peeling potatoes... (Hmmm....less work...)

VEGETABLES

Cindy of Notes in the Key of Life posted Shoe-Peg Corn Casserole, a casserole that looks both easy AND great for Thanksgiving!

Eric of What is Flig? provides us with a recipe for Mashed Potatoes (Parve). He adds that, "Parve means that there are neither meat nor dairy ingredients, and it may be served at a kosher meal of either type." I was just posting on worrying about cooking for some friends of mine that keep Kosher and I will be keeping this recipe handy... if I don't use it for Thanksgiving!

Alison of AliThinks provides two recipes, one I listed under breads and this one called Leaves of the Grape. Stuffed Grape Leaves. She says it's a good weekend recipe because although it is easy, it does take some time. She even has picture illustrations!!! Wow. Talk about thorough!

I am putting triticale-the wheat/rye guy's recipe here, but honestly, this is a main course. Called Tarte Cote D'Azur (An Italian Pie), it won at the 1988 Texas State Fair. I can't do this 'pie' justice with words. Go take a look. He never submits anything other than top notch. Never.

Pammy of Lollygaggin' posts Herby Twice Baked Potatoes. Yikes! Is anything better with a steak than twice baked potatoes? They sound awesome, but then she talks about adding crumbled bacon... and they sound decadent...

Jo Ann Courtney sends this Asparagus Casserole that I think also sounds like a great accompaniment to Thanksgiving:

Mrs. Morse's Asparagus Casserole

1 cup crushed Ritz crackers
2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans cut green asparagus, drained
1 cup grated sharp cheese
1/4 cup butter, diced
1 cup blanched almonds, toasted and finely ground
1 cup milk

Line a casserole dish with a few cracker crumbs. Alternate layers of asparagus, cheese, cracker crumbs, butter and almonds. Pour the milk in one side of the dish. Prepare the night before or at least 2 hours in advance. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serves 6.

BREADS

My Blogdaughter VW of One Happy Dog Speaks, sends us her recipe for Banana Bread. I think breads are wonderful holiday foods... I love to serve them for breakfast on Thanksgiving or Christmas. VW is an excellent baker, so there is no doubt this is a great recipe.

Oh My. Someone went and did it. ALa71 of Blonde Sagacity submitted a recipe for Coveted Pumpkin Bread. I love Pumpkin bread. I think I like the holidays JUST BECAUSE of Pumpkin Bread...

Also from Allison of AliThinks comes Custardy Popovers. She makes these seem so easy and the way all those kids ate through them... it sounds like a must try!

I decided Stuffing is a Bread and from Amy of Prochein Amy, we have TWO recipes and I am indebted to her. I put out a call to my readers for an Oyster dressing and Amy has come through. So you will find both Barton Oyster Dressing and Granny's Dressing (her Mother-in-Law's cornbread recipe) at Amy's this week. Thank you, Amy!

And from my Mom, we have a recipe good for holiday breakfasts, it is quick and easy. She said I didn't have to post this, she was just supporting me (I love my Mom!), but I wanted to post it as it is very good.

Crescent Orange Rolls
1 8 oz. roll of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
2 Tbs. butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Unroll crescent rolls on lightly floured sheet of waxed paper.
Press perforations together. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle combo of sugar and cinnamon on top.
Roll jelly-roll like fashion beginning at long side.
Cut into 9 rolls (or thinner if need be) and place into lightly greased miniature muffin pan.
Bake 375 degrees for 8 to 10 mins. (golden brown).
Bake less if cut into more than 9 rolls.

Take out of pan and glaze.
Glaze:
In small bowl, mix:
1/3 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 Tbs. frozen orange juice concentrate thawed and undiluted
1 tsp. water

DESSERTS

Ohhh, this looks so good. From Gullyborg of Resistance is futile! we have Baked Pears in Gorgonzola. Holy cow. I will not resist. I'm drooling...

Cookies

MaryBeth of Random Thoughts From Mary Beth, sends us recipes for Christmas cookies! Note the plural, recipeS. Yahoo! Yes, it is time for us to think about our baking. Any woman who speaks of Southern Living magazine is a woman after my heart.

Buckethead of The Ministry of Minor Perfidy submits his (no kidding) Great Great Great Grandmother's Cookie recipe. He adds "These cookies are the Citizen Kane, the George Washington, the Shakespeare of sugar cookies". Old family recipe. I'm tryin' it.

Amanda of Aussie Wife, yes, she is from the Land Down Under!, gives us a classic Australian recipe, Anzac Biscuits. I don't have any classic Aussie Recipes in my repertoire and I do believe this will be my first. **Update- I had this up in the bread section not understanding that biscuits in Australian English means cookie and Biscuit in American English means... breakfast bread or something you serve with gravy. Ack! I received an education today and have righted my wrong! **

Thank you for participating. It was my pleasure to read through all your wonderful recipes. I hope everyone is able to glean a recipe or two from here... I know I did!

Next week's hostess is Mary Beth of Random Thoughts From Mary Beth. She posts on November 26th! You know the routine! Deadline... Thursday before... Midnight EST. recipe.carnival (at) gmail (dot) com.

And a very very special thank you to Beth of She Who Will Be Obeyed!, who started this Carnival of the Recipes. Here we are on the 14th round... and I don't know about you, but I have successfully added to my menu in our home. So Thank You, Beth, for getting this started for all of us and keeping it organized!