Table For Two

Come in, come in, you’re right on time. It’s Day 2 of our 4-day after Valentine’s Day special. Just as nice at half the price! Cho and Cedric’s Sweetheart Special is today! (Abbreviate that CCSS for short-hand quill.) Imagine, malted milk chocolate with nougat bursting out the seams!

It’s like the muggles did back in the 1950’s for lunch dates; Ice cream sundaes, burgers and sharing a drink with 2 straws. It’s all so classic. Cedric treats Cho like a beautiful young lady. They’re sweethearts for sure. Their relationship is very traditional, from meeting at school, playful competition on the Quidditch pitch, (Well they can’t very well SHARE the snitch, hey?) to truly love everlasting and an occasional treat at Madam Puddifoot’s tea shop. 

This is how we honor the babes, darlings and treasures who fill up our lives with fuzzy feelings. First, we’ll need 3 scoops of malted milk courtesy of our house elf, Bubbly. She grows, steeps and dries out the seeds for us in the spring and summer. Next, we shave in 2 almonds. A charming Tri-wizard champion like Cedric needs protein for strength, while studious but shy Cho Chang can’t focus on her books without the fiber keeping her full just a tad longer. CAREFUL! Don’t put your fingers in the blade! 

A minute and a half on the heat will due just fine. Just a teaspoon of cocoa powder and almond milk to boost the magnesium and another 30 seconds over the flames will set it right. ***Here’s a secret from a cookbook down at “Flourish and Blots”: Nougat is mostly nuts, honey and egg whites, but it’s the processing that makes it irresistible. Never give it to someone with nut allergies. As Hagrid says, “They won’t thank you for that.”***

Very nice. Let’s pour in a spoonful of chocolate syrup to balance out the nuttiness. Sweethearts go mad for the endorphins in our double chocolate drinks every time. We recommend a nice 78% so it’s not too bitter in the dark or too sweet to tame. Sometimes we charge a sickle more for a teardrop of vanilla extract. The poor bean is fading into extinction out in the muggle world. Finally, we’ll whip it all together with the Flipendo spell and serve it with a caramel sundae for the lovely birds.

Quidditch fans love when we put an edible golden snitch on top. We’ve run out of those today the orders have been flying so fast, like the snitches themselves! Lauren’s dad is a muggle who took a spin around New York City where this shop makes edible golden flowers for ice cream!

You know what they say about Hufflepuffs having hearts of gold. It must be why the colors are that way for their house. 

If you’re having a bit of trouble with the apples of your eyes turning rotten, here’s a little advice from Cho about dating…https://www.pottermore.com/features/what-went-wrong-with-harry-potter-and-cho-chang

 

Hello, there! Welcome back to “The Hot Chocolate Bar”, the sweetest addition to Honeydukes that you’ve ever tasted in the wizarding world. Jeremy and I have been bustling around so much since St. Valentine’s Day. Now that the holiday itself has past, it’s time for our 4 day heart-lifting sales for those who can’t afford regular price, couldn’t make it on the day of, or just want the spirit to linger on a little bit longer!

Yes, yes. We’ve noticed some of the couples around town that inspired us to make some new cups. Lauren and I simply adore the treats for sweets like us and our customers. What are you standing around for? These customers won’t serve themselves! Step up to the cauldron and we’ll show you how to do it.

If you like adventure and having the courage to go one step closer, then it’s time to try our first cup, the “Harry-Ginny Ginger”. I think it’s absolutely invigorating! A nice little wake-up call with some breathe-easy orange and ginger to open up your air-ways. Usually, orange and ginger are used for colds and respiratory illnesses. Our silent partner Nick loves the scent.

She always admired him from the start, but these 2 complimentary Gryffindors took a big risk coming together with Ron in the middle. It’s hard for someone as well-known as Harry to find love when the battle rages right outside your common room, but that’s what makes the sweet moments all the more magical. Ginny is a brave, sweet and powerful like an orange, while Harry is the awkward ginger plant that though looking plain and out of place on the outside, can bring a huge punch, but needs that fruity flavor to become attractive. What’s more exciting than a kiss during battle? They don’t even have to say it, just “I know”.

First, we heat the milk in the cauldron. As it steams, chop up the ginger over the cutting board using the “Diffindo” spell so it’s in little tiny pieces. Put the pieces in with the milk and let it sit so everything can get to know each other. That’s key to any relationship. 

That’s what you said when you asked me on our first date almost 3 years ago. “I’d like to get to know you better”. <kiss>

 Now, time for some chocolate powder and don’t forget the orange zest. Juices bring acidity while zest keeps the flavor without the mess. Zest is the fruit skin. just enough so the outer skin falls in. Don’t go past the yellow into the white skin. That part is bitter. A little mix over the heat and there you have it! Let’s strain out the bits and pieces and have a taste.

Doesn’t that open you up? It’s bright, colorful and not by any means boring. I’ve just come over a cold, so that will be for me. 

The next mix will be in tomorrow. Cho and Cedric’s sweetheart special will melt your heart.

Yes, this is a full session focused on the simple matter of “That vegan stuff” or “that gross thing in the health-food section”. TOFU

We’ve been trying to master the art of the tofu scramble for a month now. It’s kind of like making “huevos rancheros”, only without the huevos. (That’s eggs for all of us non-Spanish speakers who didn’t watch “Dora” as kids) This would be good if you need a lot of soy and nutrients like calcium but none of the dairy.

For weeks now, we’ve been trying to master this 1 recipe that seems to pop up on dozens of tofu cooking guides, the one that YouTuber “It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken” calls: the breakfast of vegan champions, <fanfare!> Tofu Scramble

This is her video.

The first thing we noticed when buying tofu was the variety of firmness. There’s Firm, Extra Firm and Super Extra Firm. Firm tofu is easy to crumble into pieces, but it takes the longest to prep. You don’t want it to squish into a pancake, like that time we used a 20 lb kettle-bell in a bowl to squeeze out the extra liquid and it made the coolest sound! But if you don’t get enough of the water out, you get less than perfect, really squishy results that literally crumble to pieces.

Our next step: The spices. We’ve had luck with spice combinations like chili powder, paprika and red pepper flakes, or that garlic, onion and black pepper one, sometimes we put in pre-made blends like ones made with different powdered cheeses, Italian herbs, and sun-dried tomato and peppers. But we don’t go overboard with anything.

Let me clarify Lauren’s point. By “overboard”, we mean don’t put in too many spices, otherwise everything will just mask over and you’ll end up with too much to tell which is what and what goes with anything. We do realize you need to have a ton of the spice itself because tofu acts like a sponge and absorbs whatever seasonings you put in it. Tumeric is a bit bitter, but it gives a curry flavor and a nice golden yellow color. Plain tofu is bland. Remember Lauren’s motto: Bland is boring! You need lots of salt, about 4 pinches at least. Most people use black salt because of the high sulfur and charcoal levels making it smell more like eggs, but there’s a little shop in Lake George called “The Olive Oil Co.” that sells an array of salts that you can taste for yourself and add to whatever you want.

It doesn’t sound so yummy, but it’s what makes it more like real eggs. We’ve found if you  cook everything else first, take it all out, then brown the tofu on both sides (leave it on the heat long enough to caramelize) that’s where we get flavor. You can fold everything else in the skillet with it at the end.

As for sauce, YES, ADD IT! Like when we made tofu tikka marsala.

Big flavors are key. We tend to use mushrooms and bell peppers. We’re looking into cranking up the heat with chilies and jalapenos. Overall, tofu is a lonely drama queen. High maintenance and needs constant compliments.

If you just want a nice appetizer, we recommend taking some of the extra firm tofu, cutting and salting it like mozzarella cheese and throwing it into a bowl of spinach, tomato chunks and balsamic & olive oil dressing, or maybe a vinaigrette for a vegan friendly capresse salad. We used it in one of our soft spring rolls a few weeks ago, and it was delicious!

Wait, what if you don’t want eggy tofu and need it to somehow taste like chicken because your vegan friend is coming over to watch the match? It’s easy: Drain the water, cut it up, freeze it overnight, and when you want to use it, dredge it in corn-starch and coat it in some sauce like this guy from England who calls himself “The Easy Vegan” on YouTube. Isn’t that neat? He even has a fish version we need to try here…

See? This isn’t just some weird vegan cardboard goo gone wrong from outer space. It’s a soy bean wonder block with many different uses.

We have 1 or 2 vegetarian/vegan friends, but we want to talk to at least a few more. Since Miam Bialeck, Paul McCartney, Davy Jones and Alan Cumming are unavailable to us, we need some chat from the audience. Are you a tofu conesouer? Do you know someone who makes a mean tofu anything? PLEASE tell us! We love sharing. “Sharing is Caring!” (Yes, we love the movie “The Circle”. It’s one of our favorite moments.) Won’t you PLEASE share your thoughts, opinions and innovations with us? 

Pretty please, with a cherry tomato on top? It’s FREE and we’ll give you a shout-out!

On the second to last weekend in January, I was sick with my brother’s cold. (Thanks a lump!) The last thing you ever want to do in the kitchen is cross-contaminate especially if you’re Orthodox Jewish and everything is separated by meat and dairy. I don’t want to germ up the kitchen, so I was temporarily banned from the kitchen. One thing that everyone remembers at least once on a sick day is some kind of soup. Chicken, Beef, Bone broth and vegetable are favored in America. But since my mother was busy making pizzas for dinner, we ordered from our Vietnamese friends at Saigon Spring

They make excellent vegan pho (Pronounced fuh) filled with sweet snow peas, mushrooms, tofu and rice noodles. 

I prefer the spicy lemongrass with steak, beef and pork. It’s truly aeromatic and full of flavor.Vietnam really knows how to make use of their agricultural roots. 

Experts say it was originally created in the Nam Dinh/Hanoi area of the northern part of Vietnam back in 1887 when France was conquering the country. It was “Said” because elders passed down their traditions orally. There wasn’t anything written down about early pho. The French had beef stew. The Vietnamese learned it was okay to eat a cow and created their own version of beef stew. There was one thing though…”pot au feu” meaning “pot on fire” implying all-day cook time was mispronounced, giving the name “pho”. If anyone just calls it “noodle soup”, they simply don’t understand what it takes.

That’s right, Lauren. Pho is prepared in older fashions than most soups with variations depending on the region of origin and the chef himself/herself. “Pho Bac” is a northern Vietnamese dinner created in the Nguyen dynasty, while later southern styles like “Pho Nam” uses a rainbow of ingredients that the pho bac couldn’t afford during the time, like chicken and tripe. South Vietnam was way more abundant in food sources than the north. 

Professional chefs don’t let their secrets slide unless you’re truly worthy to learn it. If you’re the impatient type, this is a challenge, especially since the broth alone takes at least 3-7 hours to cook. What can I say? A brisket, meat and bones need time to seep. Roasting ginger and onions on an open flame is long too. The taste of the broth should be beef and sweet. Tendons, tripe, beef flanks, beef balls and rare beef steak make for a very satisfying soup. The time and effort used in making pho is what makes the eating it so worth while and inspires such gratuity for everything it took to cook it. 

Bean sprouts, basil leaves, lime and jalapeno are put to the side with some hoisin sauce and sriracha sauce served like a yin-yang sign next to your bowl for dipping. Never squirt it directly into the soup! It will ruin the flavor synchronization. Pouring hot sauce over anything just makes it all taste like the sauce, masking over the natural beauty of the ingredients. I know it’s weird for us to fish things out of our soup and dip it into a sauce, but it’s a clever compromise for when it isn’t sweet or spicy enough.

The jalapeno slices, basil leaves, sprouts and lime are on the side for you to add in as much as you like. I like 2 slices of jalapeno and a squeeze of lime for brightness. If you break the jalapeno up first, it makes it even spicier than just slipping the slice in the broth whole. Don’t ever try to rub your eyes after handling jalapenos without wiping your hands off first. The oil is there invisibly and it will sting and rash. We’ve both suffered the consequential pain and redness. If it happens, wash it out with water for 5 minutes and scrub your hands clean of any oils left from the pepper.

Jeremy, I’d rather fill the broth with bean sprouts and basil leaves with a squeeze of lime only if it needs more ‘zing’. They put these things on the side because basil turns black and bean sprouts wilt if they sits in the broth for too long.

There’s a really neat website dedicated to pho here if you want to read more about the history, cultural meaning and recipes we haven’t seen yet. https://www.lovingpho.com/pho-opinion-editorial/history-and-evolution-of-vietnamese-pho/

Do you have a pho recipe at home? If you try one from the website tell us! Show us! We’ll be lad to hear and maybe try it ourselves. Table PHO 2, YO!

If we aren’t at our usual favorite sushi hangout, Sushi Na-Ra you can maybe find us at our second favorite haunt on the other side of the building, Saigon Spring. It specializes in Vietnamese cuisine. We’ve yet to find any other Vietnamese places in the capitol area of NY. Our staple appetizer picks are the spring rolls full of mint, vermicelli, lettuce carrot and tofu or shrimp.

Get this, the Vietnamese use rice wrappers instead of corn or flour. It’s easier for them to grow rice than wheat, so they play it up to the local geography. The wraps start out dehydrated with a papery plastic feel, but once you soak them for half a minute, they soften into pliable slightly rice flavored blank canvases for the artist to make into basically anything they want it to be.

We soaked ours in my mother’s pie dish and laid them to dry one by one on a separate plate. The fact that it was a white plate made it harder for us to pull off. I couldn’t tell where the wrap began and the plate ended! Let’s face it, we all have that one set of plates that if anything happened to just 1 of them, it would mean a trip to the racks. I was so afraid of “what if it slips?” because of our narrow space on the kitchen island. Next time, we’ll grab one of the chipped colored ones.

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Once we put our wrinkly wrapper on the drying plate, we got to have some fun with different combinations of lettuce leaves, carrot shreds, sauteed mushroom slices, fresh firm tofu slices, and cherry tomato halves.

Our top one was the caprese roll with tofu, lettuce and cherry tomato. I call it “caprese” because the tofu mimics the taste of mozzarella, but without all of that hidden salt. The cherry tomatoes bring a sense of acidity and kicks out the blandness. It was simple, scrumptious and fresh which is exactly what you want in a spring roll before you dip it in soy sauce. Herbs are your best friend in this case because they turn things like lettuce, rice and tofu (which taste like nothing) and makes them more appealing to the tongue. We have taste buds for a reason. Food isn’t just fuel. It’s delicious! We want things that are pleasing to the senses. Tasty Tip: Keep a loaded spice rack and don’t be stingy! Most things you can grow or buy more later.

 This is the first one we tried with leftover cream of broccoli soup as an attempt to bind it all together. It was all mushy, cold and didn’t offer anything positive to the dish. It’s too messy and leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Nope, cream of anything should not be rolled up into a thin slip of rice wrapper. Just reheat it and have it as your main dish.

These are an easy alternative to eating a salad that strengthened our creativity. Trying to switch out some of my less healthy habits isn’t always easy. Some people don’t like the idea of dieting because they don’t want to eat “rabbit food” or feel like it’s a punishment to be good to your body. Doing things like make-your-own wraps and rolls, and concocting sauces to pair with them is a more enjoyable way to experiment with different flavor combinations and see for yourself what you may have been missing out on trying.

Yes, a true chef must try everything at least once. But let’s face it: It’s not just girls. EVERYBODY wants to have fun!        AMEN!

Here’s your challenge: Try to make some spring rolls yourselves. Comment to us what combinations you like best. We’ll post them on our Facebook page, especially if there’s a picture. Go Wild! Make Mistakes! GET COOKING!

Once upon a time back when we were all kids in America, we use to have days set aside in December with the grown-ups to bake and attempt to erect cities and houses made of thick molasses-colored gingerbread. It’s hard enough to bite down and chomp off a few shingles, solid enough so you can lick the icing off of the walls, and plentiful enough to make a few gingerbread men from the excess dough with m&m button down shirts and licorice hair.

This tradition has mixed origins – some websites point to ancient China for the ginger, and others point to Greece and Egypt where the titular confectioneries were used in religious ceremonies. What we think of as “gingerbread” arose in 16th century Germany and was made popular by the tale of Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm. The dense bread was ideal for building figures and models, and was incorporated into the Christmas tradition. The European tradition eventually made its way to America where we spun it off and made ginger snap cookies. 

My mother’s side of the family is mostly Mediterranean – Greek, Italian, Egyptian, etc. Family is very important to us, and growing up I remember spending Christmas together making gingerbread men. The house would fill with the various spices that went into making them – the nutmeg, the cinnamon, the ginger – a must, of course, the ground cloves, and the molasses. Although most recipes called for light molasses, we would always go with the dark stuff – the darker the better. My family is not shy when it comes to spices – maybe not like me, where I enjoy ghost peppers, but the ginger and cloves are my mother’s favorite. We also like to skimp a little bit on the sugar as well, not only to cut down on the sweet stuff, but also because the sweetness would take away from the overall flavor profile we were trying to develop. Lauren however had never made gingerbread cookies before, and she had showed me so many of her family’s traditions, so it was time to reciprocate. 

First things are first, we need to prepare the dough. Most recipes tell you to chill the dough for an hour, but my family has always chilled the dough overnight. So I prepared the dough while my darling angel was at work. Chilling the dough keeps the cookies from spreading out too much, preserves the color (especially for darker cookies, which these are), produces a more pronounced flavor, and alters the texture of the cookie. As for the dough itself, you mix the flour, egg, sugar, molasses, spices, and butter (which should be at room temperature) with an electric mixer set a medium speed. I forgot the part about the “butter should be at room temperature” so mixing was a little difficult and caused the dough to spread more. Once thoroughly mixed, the dough is set to chill overnight. 

The next day we got to have some fun with my  favorite part of the process… DECORATING!!

With the opinions of fans and friends, we decided to make an Eiffel Tower suggested by Carlie Chakraborty and the remainder into a front view Bag End from “Lord of the Rings” recommended by Sarah Rogers. Thank you everyone who sent in ideas!

First off, we rolled up some base pieces to support the structure. Each layer has 4 pillar-shaped pieces holding up each platform before the top piece. So we settled on 8 rolls and 2 platforms.

Instead of using typical icing, we swapped for some white chocolate. We still had a bag leftover from our Hot Chocolate Bar opening night. Icing doesn’t harden as quickly or have the same strength when it’s solid. Icing is just powdered sugar in liquid form. White chocolate is usually the healthier option anyhow. Actually, any kind of melted chocolate will work in that same way. You can experiment with the look and taste as you see best fit. 

A little white chocolate on the bottom platform wasn’t enough to support our posts because we didn’t give them flat bottoms. I happen to have some Turkish delight on hand from when Jeremy went to Finland. They made excellent reinforcements. From here we were able to swirl and stick on some cherry pull-apart Twizzlers. with some extra chocolate on top so the platform would stick on top. You never know when your dog will run through (If you have a dog.)  or try to pick it up and move it to the table when THIS happens.

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Next we let our newest little daughter Clara (She’s 5 and loves helping Papa make things in his workshop) put on the next layer so we could do it all over again. Our kids started playing with the licorice like it was jewels and other accessories.  At last, Emma-Belle braided the top which we stuck on top with even more Turkish delight, a pirouline cookie in the middle for separation and cemented it in white chocolate.

This came out pretty well, albeit it is hard to recognize that it is the Eiffel towel. The supports should be more curved and the bases should be more flush. I think for something like this, we might need an engineer to get involved with technical drawings or something like that. Maybe if we used something a bit more pliable, since before it is baked, gingerbread is too soft to form structures like this and after it is baked you cannot mold it or reshape it. This was very fun to do nevertheless, definitely something we will revisit in the future.

Next up, we had some material left for Bag End. We didn’t have enough to form the whole thing, so we decorated the front to look like the image of Bag End from the movie. We first covered the whole thing in white chocolate. The natural brown tinge that white chocolate has (when it is the good stuff anyways) came in handy, since the walls around Bag End are already brown tinged. Unfortunately, we forgot to cut the door and window out (actually, this would probably compromise the integrity of the structure so it was better we didn’t in hindsight. Gingerbread once it is baked is pretty brittle). Instead, Lauren had the excellent idea of using licorice and one of her chocolate coins to serve as the door and the window. Finally, because Bag End is set into the hillside, we took some coconut shreds, mixed it with green icing (to take advantage of the natural stickiness of the icing), and glued it on top.

This was definitely a fun project we got to work on. Something we definitely want to try again in the future. It takes a little planning, but the time is well worth it and is something worth doing together. Thanks again to everyone who helped come up with these ideas!

So we’re not ready for “The Great American Holiday Bake-Off” yet, but oh well. We had fun anyway. Much easier than using Gram Crackers on milk cartons like when I was in preschool.

Fa-who, Fores, Da-who dores, Welcome Christmas, bring us ideas. What’s that, a 3-decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich?

Yes.

with arsenic sauce.

Lauren, you’re a genius!

First things first, I’ve never made a double, triple, any kind of decked out sandwich ever. Nor have I had the stomach capacity to eat one. It’s a pretty impressive sight. Why do you think burger places sell quarter-pound double and triple cheeseburgers? It’s a huge but pretty picture! After all, they say you eat with your eyes first.

Let’s break down the ingredients. Sauerkraut is just pickled cabbage with a straw color. We just used a pre-packaged bag of the stuff from the grocery store. We covered it in our Oktoberfest review last month. Now, for the toadstool, that boils down to mushrooms from the produce section in our world. “Toadstool” is only said if it’s poisonous and/or inedible. We chose a big fat portabella so the end product won’t have bits and pieces slipping out from in-between the slices. I never liked having to go back afterwards to scoop up the last few bites. Portabella mushrooms are used commonly in sandwiches and burgers in place of meat anyhow. That’s what we call learning from others’ successes.

 

There are a few other things we added on in spirit of the Grinch. If he really did have garlic in his soul, why not put it in the sandwich? So we did! We used a small clove and a half and divided it up among the 3 layers. I divided it all as evenly as I could putting the rings and cloves from largest to smallest moving inward towards the center.

Jeremy, you are so handy at the cutting board. It helps to have a man of science in the kitchen if you want super accurate cuts. That, or there’s a producy called the “OCD cutting board” found online here…or at ta-da in Clifton Park NY.

We threw in some extra garlic powder for luck and stench. I mean, come on, the man was rubbing it under his armpits for goodness sake!

Speaking of layers, ogres have layers because they’re like onions. The Grinch was eating an onion in the live-action version as we would eat a small apple. It’s stinky like him. Hey, he’s the one who rubbed garlic under his arms like a stick of deodorant. We liked the idea. So we took the onion lying around and put it to good use. Half a red onion went into our little monster. We wanted to dye the bread green to match the approved color of the Grinch, or even those moldy purple tomato splotches but we were plum out of dyes. Oh, well. We did our best with what we had. We ran out of tomatoes to slice in there too. Like I said, we can add it in next time they’re in season.

Type 1 diabetics and health-nuts take caution: As for eating this monster, it’s super filling and packs a ton of carbohydrates.  By the way, we just realized, it’s totally vegetarian! No meat in there at all. Depending what recipe was used for the bread, you could pass it off as vegan!

Arsenic is actually elemental crystal, the 33rd element on the periodic table usually found in combination with metal and sulfur. We’re not interested in poisoning ourselves, so Lauren left this part to me due to my vast experience with hot sauce. Let’s just say I call “The Pepper Palace” in Boston my spice-rack away from home. I can take a pretty high spice tolerance. Lauren, not nearly as high. She can only go to a medium salsa. We cooperated on a BBQ sauce with spicy brown mustard and a few drops of Tabasco. The BBQ we kept to a minimum. This notes to his tiny heart. The rest we mixed in until it was just right for us to get some heat but not need to chug a shot of eggnog.

I must advise this, if you want to kiss your Martha May Whovier after having this for lunch, you might want to pack along a toothbrush or some peppermints. This one you can smell coming from across the kitchen.

What can I say? You make a mean sandwich, Mr. Grinch.

Thanksgiving is over and done. I bet you’re tired of the same old feast again and again day after day, but you REALLY don’t want to dump all of that turkey out in the garbage. Who else’s father besides mine said, “Starving people would be happy to have that.”?

Did you know that turkey is totally halal if it’s prepared by a company like Halal Pastures Farm, Midamar Halal or Simply Natural Halal. For kosher Jews on the other hand, it’s a debatable issue which you can read here…https://www.kashrut.com/articles/turk_part5/  

If any of you have substitutes for turkey, comment it to us on this page! The most popular one will be featured in January 2019!

Well, we all know about the countless ways to cook a turkey. But what about the leftovers? Waste not, Want not. We’ve made a countdown of our favorite ways to polish off the rest of the bird.

1. Thanksgiving Day sandwich- It’s an easy favorite. Take everything you loved at Thanksgiving dinner and put it in the sandwich with gravy on top. Yes, I mean EVERYTHING before dessert. Brie? Put it in. Stuffing? Put it in. Green beans, cranberry sauce, mashed potato, corn casserole…yes, put it in the sandwich! Seal it between 2 pieces of bread and boom! Lunch or dinner is satisfied. This one has the Jayne seal of approval. It’s pretty much the first thing for leftovers.

 

2. Turkey Salad- It’s not that far from tuna salad. You’ll need celery, onion.,mayonnaise, a squeeze of lime and seasoning. It makes a great spread for sandwiches. (See above if you’re feeling particularly crazy or super hungry)

 

3. Turkey Pizza- Well, any kind of meat works on a pizza, right? My mother does chicken in a pizza once or twice so why not turkey? BBQ using turkey is just as mouth watering. Actually, I’ve taken leftover turkey, slipped it under the cheese of leftover pizza and nuked it in the microwave at work. It beats trying to maneuver through the frozen section for a TV dinner and eating processed sauce with possibly freezer-burned cheese. 

 

4. Turkey Croquettes- Imagine, turkey rolled up inside of mashed potatoes and then FRIED. We just used the Air Fryer to make these. There was no oily drip, no burning, just heavenly fist-sized balls of deliciousness. I just had some at Lauren’s house after we came home from watching Creed 2. (Excellent movie by the way. Well done, Stallone!) This one shows that it’s all about getting the right method for the right job. I’m getting this appliance myself for Christmas since it makes junk food healthier without losing what we love about fried foods. Who wants extra oil and more messes to clean anyway? Air-frying is the way to go for easy cleanup and yummy dinners.

 

5.Turkey chow-mein- This one is my personal favorite. My great grandmother even had a secret ingredient…leftover gravy! You fold it in with the meat and vegetables so it can flavor and thicken the pot at the same time. No turkey ever goes through this house without gravy. Just mix the fat and turkey juice into your usually gravy mix. number 5 on the list mentions my Noni’s use of gravy in other dishes. Why not add some to a stew, dip your fries into it like in France, or if you prefer classics, pour it over your mashed potatoes? If you need a meat-flavored sauce and don’t mind the fat content, I say, go for it! Chow mein with noodles is my favorite way to spend the bits and pieces.  It pairs best with a cup of green tea and a fortune cookie from La Choy or Hapi Snacks. (An easy-find in the Asian section of the grocery store.)

 

6. Turkey Hash- This one is one of Ralphie’s turkey losses in the movie, “A Christmas Story”. Grinch watchers, you may remember “the last can of Who-Hash”. It’s probably more common in western and mid-western areas. It’s hard to come by in our neighborhood other than Cracker Barrel. If anyone has a recipe for hash, please speak up! We’ll include it in our next breakfast post!

 

7. Turkey Soup- This is usually the end of the trail of turkey. Once you get down to the bones, you really have done ALL you can with it. Let’s put those last bits and bones into the soup pot and let them simmer with the seasonings. Local toy/joke shop “ta-da” even has a few funny shaped infusers for your tea and soup like that one shaped like a bone we saw yesterday. It makes a great stocking-stuffer for the cook in the family.

 

8. Turkey pot-pie- This is an old-fashion classic. Is anywhere famous for it? My family loves it. Maybe because all you need is pie-crust. (Home made beats store-bought because it hasn’t been frozen all that time) This is a great chance to use more of that leftover gravy, potatoes, and carrots. Throw it into the oven until you have that warm inviting golden brown color. If you’re a pie-lover who doesn’t want the guilt about all of that sugar, or ran out of pie but need a flaky fix, I say this one is perfect. I’ll gladly take this recipe and make use of my leftovers than buy one of those frozen pies where the carrots turn to mush any day.

 

9. Turkey Sliders- These miniature burgers are so cute and fill you up like nothing. Sometimes, I use biscuits and eat them for breakfast. If people can have turkey burgers, why not shrink them down so you can have more? They are THAT good, especially if you have a favorite way of prepping a burger.

 

10. Turkey a la king- I‘ve tried this one before back when I was a kid. My aunt Teresa made it once. I haven’t had it since, but I remember it was very good. It’s similar to Seafood Newburg. Rice, turkey, celery, onions, mushrooms and a little bit of pepper. 

Yeah, a little, not a handful like when we first cooked macaroni and I found salt like a diamond mine in the bowl. 

Sorry! 

I forgive you. It’s fun to remember the fiascoes 1 year later so we can laugh our heads off! Look how far we’ve come since then with our Greek chicken, scallops and octopus.  I’m really impressed with our progress.

Kiss-kiss make up?       You know it!

Hello! Come in out of the cold November air. Welcome to Honeydukes Hot Chocolate bar: one of the friendliest new places for a warm drink in lovely Hogsmeade. Jeremy and I just struck a bargain with Ambrosius Flume for a small side partnership. You’ve come on a very good day. My sweetheart, Jeremy and I are having a special; hot chocolates inspired by each of the 4 Hogwarts houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. We call them our house cups! Get it? Would you like to have a go and learn to make some of our creations? By all means, do! There are aprons on the wall next to the box of jelly slugs. (Those make excellent garnishes, jelly slugs. They like to wiggle in the warmth of the mug.) I can show you the first 2 before I have to go on lunch. Jeremy and I will fire up the cauldron for you and we’ll get going!

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Let’s start with Gryffindor. It’s sort of like Muggle Mexican hot chocolate, but with more garnish. It’s rather spicy and gives you a little jolt to wake you up without any caffeine. You’ll need to melt some milk chocolate first. Taste a piece, please. The smooth chocolate hits first so you know it was made slowly with care and not just a bag of sugar. Just follow the directions on the back of the bag, Love, so as not to burn it to the bottom of the cauldron. It took a few scrubbings to clean it all out last time. Gryffindors are usually very sociable because they’re full of energy and want to fill their days with exciting adventures. Cinnamon is like that too. It only takes a single stick or 2 shakes to fill a mug with that smell of an autumn morning run with shortcuts through the woods. Remember: You can’t take it out, but you can always add more later on. Too much will make it harder to dissolve. A chap from “Slug and Jigger’s Apothecary” just brought in an overstock of nutmeg for an extra boost. Just a small sprinkle.

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Some Gryffindors like Fred & George Weasley like to play tricks and have fun, so don’t forget to include a small tower of whipped cream on top. Oh, Bugger! We’ve run out of fizzy-whizbees for the top! (Akin to Muggle “Pop Rocks”) They won’t be here until tomorrow morning! No matter, we’ll just use the “Perriculum” charm to shoot red sparks on top. Muggles usually use sprinkles or bits of rock candy for this. Talk about a “whizz, bang, BOOM!” Jeremy sometimes likes to throw in a candy cinnamon imp as a surprise at the bottom. It slowly infuses the cup with extra flavor, which I understand may be too much for  some. It’s best to drink this one with friends around the common room or at a party, laughing with each other over games and mug mustaches. But, be ready to play. Gryffindors will gladly accept the first chance they get to start a messy food fight with any cream and syrup laying around.

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Well done! Hufflepuff is next. I’m half Hufflepuff myself. These gentle folks love to cozy up in their kitchen-side common room after a day of toil with a large mug and a handful of fresh-baked cookies. This one uses 70% chocolate powder and melted milk chocolate chips. Just a teaspoon of each will do. We made sure stock up on quality chocolate powder without that cheap burned metallic taste. Let’s swirl in some maple syrup from the forbidden forest to make it genuine and sweet like the founder Helga Hufflepuff’s heart. She was quite the culinary genius herself with her famous golden cup. Don’t be alarmed by that sugary film. It’s just the maple solidifying after sitting for so long in the cupboard. Hufflepuff is based on the element Earth, which explains why the beloved Cedric Diggory, auror Nymphadora Tonks and magi-zoologist/author Newt Scamander are so grounded and humble though they achieved greatness in their own time and fields. If it isn’t sweet enough for you, throw in a half a dash of maple sugar. Now for the fun part, whisk your wand inside the mug instead of stirring, to prevent clumping. If you whisk it hard and long enough, the milk will froth nearly solid, if you’d like! Muggles will sometimes use frothers that look like blending wands for this part.

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Marshmallows are an essential because they’re so comfy to squeeze, play stuff-your mouth games and toss around the common room. Throw some medium to large ones on top, or cover the whole thing in minis so you can glaze them in honey and let it all semi-caramelize over the flames. There may even be a marshmallow plant in the Hufflepuff common room to compare the confections we know and love to the real buds. Head of house, Professor Sprout can assist you with references if she isn’t too preoccupied with her mandrakes. My favorite way to drink this hot chocolate is with one of those muggle straws made of cookies. Jeremy prefers to dunk chocolate chip cookies and let the crumbs fall inside for later. Just don’t hold them in the drink for too long or they’ll disintegrate into mushy crumbs. It’s a great pick-me up after a bad day of tough exams, falling off your broom or someone ignorantly calling you a “duffer”.

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Excellent work, you’re getting good at this! Jeremy, why don’t you take over while I have lunch?

Yes, I’d be more than happy to help. Enjoy your udon from Mahoutokoro! 

Righty-o , we can make a treat for my house, Ravenclaw. This one really makes you think. Ravenclaws are typically the eccentric cerebral Olympians of Hogwarts that need a sweet drink to sip with our beloved books, or during a daydreaming session in our sky-high common room. All you need to do is melt some white chocolate, swirl in some nutmeg, and add a small cinnamon dusting on top. Questions arise at the first ingredient. “Is white chocolate even chocolate?” It’s just the cocoa butter (at least 20%) without the solid browns in regular chocolate. The whiter it looks, the more sugar was added instead of the natural butters, which makes it harder to melt, but it does come cheaper. “If that’s so, is it right to call it hot chocolate, hot cocoa, or hot cocoa butter?” That, dear one is up to you. Not too much spicing! A little bit goes a long way. Masking over the inner chocolate until you can’t taste it anymore is a huge no-no. Ravenclaws like the Lovegood family believe in staying true to your authentic self, the value of creativity and keeping an open-mind no matter how difficult it is to understand. Nutmeg is meant to synchronize with the butter and fill in the empty bland spots. Just one or two drops of vanilla and Bob’s your uncle. This concoction really can stump your taste buds similarly to Professor Slughorn’s lesson on amortentia. Some say it’s like any old hot chocolate. The nutmeg reminded me of my grandmother’s alfredo sauce. To Lauren, it tastes like vanilla ice cream! It really is a hum-dinger fit for any worthy mind with a curious mouth to match.

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Lastly, we’ll finish with Lauren’s other half, Slytherin house. We know these folks are sassy, smart and resourceful. They will definitely want something sweet to sip while they catch up with their brotherly and sisterly friends or go over a practice exam with their fellow snakes. This one has mint leaves which you brew like any cup of tea, only you do it in the warm milk instead of hot water. Of course this needs a bit of melted dark chocolate, about 70% so that it isn’t too bitter. Don’t worry. This one only seems devilish because of the stereotypical word, “dark”. It only notes the ratio of cocoa to sugar. Do be careful of the percentages! Higher percentages of cocoa tend to be more bitter as there’s less sugar. It’s healthier for your heart, but will need complimentary sweetening, much like the house’s reputation for practical ambition instead of impulsive wanting. The trick to any Slytherin is: if you show them kindness, they won’t let you fall into the Black Lake, unless you betray them. They are rather sensitive between their scaly skin. Draco shows it in his lack of courage. It may be minty, dark and cloudy on the outside, but inside, it’s refreshing, warm and charming. Speaking of the Black Lake, throw in a bit of dark cocoa powder and I’ll show you how to garnish this one with a giant marshmallow squid. Just use your wand to transfigure a hole in the bottom half way through the second largest marshmallow you can find and make slits on the sides. Isn’t he handsome? Let’s let him swim around the mug for a spell until its cool enough to drink. For an added touch, we can leave some matcha dipped biscuit sticks. I believe muggles call these things “Pocky”.

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-Ah, Lauren, you’re back! We’ve just finished up for the moment. Anything else you’d like to show?

-No, no. That’s more than enough for today. We need to put our heads together and imagine some more delights for the coming crowds. Magic isn’t just in London, you know.

-That’s right… America’s Ilvermorney, the French Beauxbatons, Bulgarian Durmstrang and maybe some animal treats! The fun and games have just begun, partner!

-Excuse us, please. There’s a brainstorm in the midst!