This weekend we are going to see the second installment of the Hobbit. This leaves me with a dilemma, what am I going to make if I am going to a three hour movie just before dinner? This is that sweet spot between Thanksgiving and Christmas when the left over hams are half price.
Author Archives: karllueck
Karl’s Mashed Yams
Yams go very well with ham. They also cook much more quickly than regular potatoes. This makes them perfect for my time-delayed dinner. We are going out to a movie and I need to do the prep before we go, but have everything pulled together quickly after we get back.
Filed under Side Dishes, Starches
Karl’s Oyster Mushrooms and Leeks
I needed a hot vegetable dish that I could prep ahead and then quickly cook at the last minute. I had bought a leek that I did not use this week and I thought that would go nicely with oyster mushrooms (a favorite of Miriam and Chris). I would be cutting the leeks hours before I was intending to cook them. To keep them from drying out, I would keep them in cool water. To dry them out before sautéing, I would use the Salad Spinner that Miriam gave me for my birthday last year.
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Filed under Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetables
Karl’s Mesclun Salad with Red Raspberry Balsamic Dressing
I have a hot vegetable for this meal, but Chris will not eat the yams, because of his ketogenic diet. Leafy greens and turnips are within his diet, so I am making a quick salad. I will serve the dressing on the side and he can take as much or little of it as he wishes (it will have a bit of sugar, which is also not on his diet).
Filed under Salads, Side Dishes, Starches, Vegan
Karl’s Colorful Coleslaw
I have been doing a lot of Christmas cooking lately, so I have had very little time to blog about cooking. Earlier this week we had sausages and latkes for dinner. Coleslaw goes well with this meal, but I did not have enough of any one cabbage to make it.
Filed under Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetables
Karl’s Beef Stew with Porcini and Ruby Port
Adapted from a Dirk Niepoort recipe
Jan is meeting her knitting group for their yearly holiday knitting and gift exchange party, so no fancy Sunday dinner this week. Eilene is off to have dinner with friends, so it is just Jan and I for dinner tonight. Jan has requested beef stew because it makes such good leftover for weekday lunches.
Filed under Beef, Main Dishes, Stews
Karl’s Turkey Mulligatawny
Turkey Mulligatawny is a childhood memory. Every year, that I can remember, my mother, Claudia, would make it with the carcass of the Thanksgiving turkey. It is, however, as Indian as chop suey is Chinese. Simply, not something a native cook would make.
Filed under Main Dishes, Poultry, Soups
Jan’s Cranberry Orange Muffins
Adapted from an Anne Burrell recipe
We used to live in the house across the street. The son of the people who moved in suddenly died this week. Jan wanted to bake them some muffins as a mitzvah.
Filed under Desserts & Treats, Treats
Jan’s Cranberry Cumberland Sauce
Jan used to make the cranberry Cumberland sauce from the Moosewood Cookbook, but our copy seems to have taken a walk at some point. This year she found something close on My Recipes. Using the ingredients she had on hand and her own preferred technique, it is more of a handshake rather than an adaptation of the recipe she found.
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Filed under Sauces and Spices
Karl’s Mixed Roasties
I usually do my traditional recipes for Thanksgiving. I do not do anything spectacular for the turkey (butter and Bell’s Poultry Seasoning under the skin and apple, lemon and herbs in the cavity) and I have already posted my Thanksgiving stuffing. Chris, my son-in-law, requested my cauliflower au gratin (yes, this is the third time in three weeks—he and Jan really like this dish). Other dishes we made this year were Jan’s Cranberry Cumberland Sauce and Jan’s Pecan Pumpkin Pie (this was just her pumpkin pie topped with pecans). The other dish that Jan requested for this year was mixed roasties.
Filed under Side Dishes, Starches, Vegan








