A Life, Lived

Corn and Bacon Casserole

Traditionally we serve a number of sides with our Thanksgiving Dinner - in fact, we usually serve everyone's favourite. When I asked Paul what he wanted as 'his' side dish he asked for a corn casserole. This was an odd request since I doubt he had ever had one before . . . whatever I was happy to accommodate this request.

Corn casseroles seem to be more of an American thing. I found 100s of recipes online but most were from American sites. Some were like puddings, others are filled with mayo and other 'quality' ingredients. Paula Deen has a number of offerings (see aforementioned mayo varieties).

This one from the folks at Taste of Home looked pretty yummy. I realized now that I forgot to add the chives at the end prior to serving. Oh well. I did add some chopped red pepper because I had one which needed using and I thought a bit of colour would be a good thing. There is nothing really healthy or low-calorie about this but for Thanksgiving you're not really looking for that are you?

We both really liked it!

Corn and Bacon casserole

6 bacon strips
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
3-1/2 cups fresh or frozen whole kernel corn
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon minced chives

In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoon of drippings. Crumble bacon; set aside.

Saute onion in drippings until tender. Add flour, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until bubbly; cook and stir 1 minute more. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream until smooth. Add corn, parsley and half of the bacon; mix well.

Pour into a 1-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining bacon. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with chives.

A Needed Time Out

The US election has riveted much of the world's focus for some time now. It has been punishing to watch it play out 24/7 on the steady stream of media. I think most people would agree that the political discourse has reached a low never seen before. Teachers in the US are reporting a sharp rise of children saying and doing inappropriate things - things that they have seen politicians aspiring for elected office saying and doing on TV.

This cartoon struck home . . .

Stop Trump

SIGH

Travel Tuesdays - Thanksgiving in Venice

Our first trip to Italy fell over the Thanksgiving time period. Here our some shots from Thanksgiving Day in venice 11 years ago . . .

Happy Thanksgiving

Adele

Friday was a bad day. I was supposed to take the day off as a vacation day but that was cancelled when I meeting came up that I could not ignore. I will nor lie - I was feeling sorry for myself.

Things took a turn when our Xerox rep called - they had two tickets in their box for that night's Adele concert. Was I interested?

Was i????

It was last minute - there was no way Paul could leave work and come into the city. I was tempted to say no but my colleague convinced me to say 'yes'!

It was one of those impromptu things which becomes the perfect thing you need.

My friend Nancy was free making it a happy date.

We headed to the Air Canada centre and made our way to the box. We were the first to arrive but that allowed us to get the best seats, start in on the drinks, and get the lay of the land.

In the end there were about 15 people in the box, most of their Soebys employees (I guess they have a big contract with Xerox). We drank, ate, and listened to a great show.

All in all the perfect finish to a rather hellish week . . .

 

Photo Hunt - Harbour

This week's Photo Hunt theme is 'harbour'.

A cruise ship coming into the harbour at Santorini.

Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and Ricotta

For the last few weeks our CSA has had a bounty of Roma tomatoes - far more than two people could possibly eat. They were collecting and need to be eaten. I also had some ricotta in the fridge which needed to be used. I thought that perhaps I might find an interesting pasta recipe which combined the two and sure enough, Google directed me to one of my favourite food bloggers where I found this gem.

This recipe takes time - you slow roast the tomatoes (for far longer than the 40 minutes the recipe calls for) which really concentrates their flavour. Later you mix the slow roasted tomatoes with pasta, ricotta cheese and voila (look at me being all French) you have an amazing meal.

There were a couple of things I did differently. Our tomatoes were large so they required a full two hours of roasting! I think the time took longer as well because I had about 5 pounds of tomatoes in the oven - trying to use them all up. I froze the extra. I tossed the ricotta with the hot pasta - a technique we were shown during a cooking class in Italy. The ricotta melts from the heat of the pasta and makes a cheese sauce. The reserved pasta water helps to smooth out the sauce as well. I also added some chopped fresh basil to round out the flavours.

All in all, this was darn good!

Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and Ricotta

1/2 kilo or 1 pound pasta
1 kilo or 2 pounds San Marzano Tomatoes
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup of olive oil (approx)
salt
freshly ground black or crushed red pepper (your choice)
2 tablespoons oregano

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F

Wash the tomatoes and slice them in half, lengthwise.

Lightly oil two large baking sheets.

Lay the tomatoes on the sheet, side by side.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, chopped garlic and oregano.

Drizzle liberally with olive oil.

Roast in the oven until cooked through and beautifully caramelized. About 40 minutes.

Take pan out of oven, and while still hot, add about a 1/3 cup of water to the pan with tomatoes. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, scrape up all the bits that have stuck to the sides and bottom of the pan. This is flavor-packed and will add a huge boost to your sugo.

In the meantime, boil pasta in salted water and drain, reserving a half cup of the cooking water.

Toss pasta with the tomatoes and their liquid. Add a bit of pasta water if it seems dry.

Add the ricotta, or other cheese, a bit at a time, tossing to distribute. Top with a bit more cheese and serves

More Views From the North

Happiness is . . .

coming home from work and finding a wine club delivery awaiting you at the door!

This shipment contained 2 bottles of Portfolio 2014, 2 bottles of Chardonnay 2015, 1 bottle of Amphora VR 2015, and 1 bottle of Dark Pool 2010 (LSV new port-style wine). I'm looking forward to uncorking these!