Blog of Parag

Thanksgiving 2005

Thanksgiving this year was wonderful. We had a full house with 23 friends and family members celebrating the harvest festival. There were the usual suspects from New Jersey and also my parents visiting from India. We had a shortened menu this year. Here is what we made for our turkey-less vegetarian Thanksgiving feast:

Appetizers: Chex mix, Brandied apples with goat cheese, Cheeses (Brie with fig preserves, Manchego, Gouda) and crackers.

Main dishes: Mashed potatoes and gravy, Green bean cassarole, Broccolli and cheesy rice, Pasta salad, Broccolli salad, Cranberry salad, Almond bread (brought by one of the guests).

Desserts: Cheesecake, Jell-O with fruits, Death by Chocolate, Assorted chocolate truffles (custom-made by a friend)

Click below for some pictures of food.

Clockwise from bottom-left: Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Pasta Salad, Broccolli Salad, Cheesy Rice, Green Bean Cassarole, Cranberry Salad



Cheesecake aka calorie bomb



Jell-O with fruits & truffles



Death by chocolate

Veggie flowers

I was always curious about how the veggies start out on plants. Click below for a couple of answers... (Okra & Eggplant)

Okra

Eggplant

Posted by Parag at 10:02 PM | Comments (2)

Good soup

Roasted red pepper and tomato soup from Pacific Foods is most excellent. It is organic with all natural ingredients. So easy to make: pour, heat and eat. :) It is one of the best soups one can buy at a grocery store. I buy it at Whole Foods, but, it should be avaialble at other places too. Other soups from Pacific Foods are also good, but, 'roasted red pepper and tomato' is the best. I highly recommend it. I add a dash of crushed red pepper to give it a zing.

Food recommendations

• Bonny Doon Vineyards; Pacific Rim dry Riesling: Very smooth and refreshing. Perfect compliment for Indian or any spicy food. Bought for $9.99.
• Muscat grapes from Whole Foods. These are tiny little yellowish green colored grapes. Just filled with sugar. Sweetest grapes ever.
• Spanish Date and Walnut cake from Whole Foods. It is just dates and walnuts pressed together. Very yummy.

Monahan's roasted bluefish

This recipe was so good that we had to share it.

Serves 2.

1 lb bluefish fillet
1 small onion, minced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tblsp olive oil
3 tblsp capers
1 large tomato, diced
2 tblsp chopped fresh dill
1 tblsp balsamic vinegar

Lightly saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Preheat the oven to 500F. Place the fillet in a lightly oiled baking dish with the skin-side down. Cover it with onion-garlic mixture and tomatoes, then capers and dill. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Roast for 15-20 minutes or till the fish becomes opaque.

2003 Rosemount Estates Shiraz is OK. Much better than the 2002 vintage but, not as good as 2000 which was the best year.