Happy Thanksgiving!

We just pulled our turkey from the oven and boy! does it look delicious!  My husband, a dedicated Good Eats fan, used Alton Brown’s turkey recipe as a guide.

A lot of cooking has been going on at the in-law’s, but down here in the barn, the turkey’s finished, the cranberry relish is chilling, the yeast rolls are rising, the dip is setting, and the final batch of chevre is in the making.  My parents requested we bring some chevre for the weekend, and we lucked out and got Anita’s last gallon of milk, as her goats dry up for a few months rest before freshening in February.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Danielle & HB

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Make Butter, Not War

A few weeks ago, we figured there wasn’t a better way to spend a Friday night than to make butter (yes, we realize we have no life…).

We took a quart of our favorite Homestead Creamery milk, put it through the food processor as directed in these directions, and within 30 minutes had fresh homemade butter at our fingertips.  Magic!

Warmed slightly in the microwave, it tastes divine with Lorraine Bakery’s roasted sunflower seed bread, a slice of Meadow Creek Dairy’s Appalachian and slices of apple and pear on the side.  Interestingly, the Appalachian also goes well with spicy sushi and Lovingston’s Petite Manseng!

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Roasted Corn Guacamole

Whenever we find ourselves invited to parties, as we were last night, it’s always a debate on what to bring, aside from the prerequisite bottle of wine (being married to HB means we go nowhere without wine).  A few years ago we stumbled across this recipe for guacamole and it’s been a favorite party staple since, especially since it’s incredibly easy to make!   At every party we bring this dish, we always hear the comment “I don’t normally like guacamole, but this is really good!”

We try to limit ourselves to making it only during the summer when the tomatoes and corn are fresh.  We don’t have a local advocado farmer so we make do with what we can find at the grocery. So I wanted to share our secret 😉

Ingredients:

• 2 ears of corn
• 6 ripe avocados, halved with pits removed
• 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
• cilantro, to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste
• lime, to taste

Directions:

1. Grill the corn by stripping off the outer husks and soaking the ears in a little salty water.  Roll the ears on the hot grill until the kernels start to caramelize, about 5 minutes per side.  Cut the kernels off the cob.  Alternatively, you can roast the corn in your oven in a similar fashion.
2. In a large mixing bowl, scoop out avocado from its skin and mash with a fork until lump free and fairly smooth.  Add tomato and cilantro, saving a tablespoon of each for garnish.  Add corn kernels.
3. Squeeze in lime juice and add salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well.
4. If you’re feeling fancy, garnish with cilantro and tomatoes.  Serve with chips – I like the blue corn chips, but the Scoops kind work well too.

Enjoy!

Curious about our wine picks for the night?  For me, something light and fruity – Rockbridge Vineyard’s Jeremiah’s (we simply call it “The Bullfrog”) and for HB, something a little more robust, Chateau Morrisette’s Black Dog.

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