November 2011 - Page 2 of 3 - Sensory Nutrition

Zucchini-Broccoli Soup

You’ll enjoy the fresh taste of this classic soup. You can adjust the amount of extra virgin olive oil & lemon juice to taste and don’t hesitate to add more broth if need be to reach a desired consistency (the water content of zucchini can vary quite a bit). I really do prefer freshly ground white pepper in this recipe.

Savory Cheese Rolls

I use the Red Star Yeast Savory Cheese Rolls recipe. This is a batter dough method yeast roll recipe, so requires NO kneading! Once the dough has risen in the bowl, you beat it down, fill muffin cups, allow the dough to rise again, then simply bake it off. If for some reason you don’t like celery seed, but do like fennel seed, then you could probably add 1 tsp dried Herbs de Provence to this roll recipe in place of the celery seed if desired (and IF you aren’t making a bread stuffing recipe as well for the Thanksgiving Holiday–bread stuffing

Winter Baby Spinach And Mandarin Orange Salad

Sometimes, it is the inclusion of just one little something different as an unexpected ingredient in a recipe that gives that recipe a little “zing” it otherwise would not have had. For example, there is one ingredient you cannot leave out of the dressing for this salad, because without it, the interplay of flavors will change and that “little something extra” that would then be missing would be noticed! That ingredient happens to be a little bit of beef flavored bouillon granules! For a pleasant holiday twist, top this simple salad with a few maraschino cherry halves as desired just before serving.

Warm Wassail Wishes (Spiced Wassail)

To help celebrate the blog site going live this week, I wanted to share this recipe for a classic sensory packed variation on wassail. It can be served as a non-alcoholic beverage or it can be laced with white rum–your choice. Everyone feels welcome walking in the door if greeted by the aroma of a simmering pot of wassail. Sniffing wisps of the pungent spices (cinnamon, cloves and allspice) with top notes of fruity aromas is likely to bring on a flood of pleasant memories from childhood past.

Green Beans with Almonds and Rosemary

Sometimes called Green Beans Almondine, this is a classic vegetable side dish that has increased herb pungency and added punch to it with the inclusion of some fresh or dried rosemary sprigs. (Image of 1# of steamed green beans/haricots verts courtesy of webmaster ©2011).

Cranberry Relish or Jellied Sauce

Even fully ripe cranberries that ripen between September and November in North America (ripe color range is from bright to dark red–actual colors depend upon the variety) in and of themselves are not naturally sweet. In reality, they are quite bitter, and unripe pale ones are especially bitter and shouldn’t be eaten. To prepare a tasty relish or sauce with them, you need to add something more.

Baked Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes were made for baking as their flavor intensifies inside their jacket skins as they bake. It is your choice how you chose to bake them. Some folks like the convenience of using the microwave; others prefer to have them in a conventional oven, and some even like to use a potato baker on the cooktop. In a warmer climate you might even be able to grill them at Thanksgiving time.

Three Rice Pilaf Casserole

By mixing several types of rice together, you get a pleasing mouthfeel, taste and visual appeal with this rice pilaf dish.

Sweet Potato-Apple Stuffing

The inspiration for this soft, moist stuffing came after reading a recipe where the ingredients were originally destined to become a soup, but I thought, why not a moist, flavorful stuffing instead?! Sometimes you can “re-purpose” a recipe and this is an example of that concept.

Baked Savory Bread Stuffing

Years ago, various types of poultry were literally stuffed until almost bursting for an upcoming Thanksgiving feast, and unless one was very careful, the potential existed for serious issues with food safety. Today, to discourage unwanted food safety issues, we discourage packing a bread stuffing inside of any poultry cavity as the poultry cooks. It really is unnecessary to place stuffing inside a poultry cavity to achieve good flavor in the stuffing, and the risk of food safety issues is just too great to take the risk at home and try to stuff a very large turkey to the gunwales!