In past years, I’ve cooked a whole turkey for just hubby and I for Thanksgiving. The leftovers resulted in turkey sliders, turkey casserole and turkey soup. All good, but a bit boring three or four days in a row! So this year I decided to try turkey thighs, mainly because hubby and I prefer dark meat and it seemed like a great one-meal option.
These babies looked smaller in the packaging! At just over a pound each, they were more than enough for a meal for the two of us and presented beautifully with all the traditional side dishes. I chose green beans sauteed in balsamic vinegar, an oyster-pancetta stuffing and gravy (made a day earlier with chicken wings for the stock) and buttered rolls.
Tips: Take the thighs out of the fridge about 30 minutes before putting in the oven so they aren’t ice cold and will cook more evenly. If you don’t have, or aren’t a fan of, poultry seasoning, simple salt and pepper works fine.
Living in California, we have access to avocados year-round and it’s one of my favorite ingredients in meals and snacks. I found a recipe that called for cracking an egg into each hole, and it was a total failure … it didn’t note that the avocados needed to be extra large or the eggs needed to be extra small or the whole white would run out in a blob. So I tweaked it a bit by scrambling the eggs and making guacamole from the scooped out flesh. Delish and healthy!
Creamy polenta topped with a rustic tomato based veggie ragout is not only comfort food, but an easy option for feeding a picky crowd. I was cooking for a group of writers that included vegetarians and many with food allergies and aversions and this hearty lunch fit the bill.
I wanted to make a dessert for a party celebrating a dear friend’s advancement to the rank of United States Coast Guard Chief. She is a native of Guam, so I scoured blogs for traditional Chamorro fare and took parts from several recipes to create this sweet treat.
This has become my go-to picnic recipe, stolen from a marina friend who brought them to a dock party! Incredibly easy and a definite crowd pleaser, they are a mini-meal unto themselves. They can be made a day in advance and require no utensils. I put the skewers in a plastic container with a lid and it’s ready to grab from the fridge and go.
When a man gets to a certain age, it is time for him to set out on his own, or at least that is what he tried to tell himself as he readied his boat for the journey. He had been sailing these seas with his father since the day he could walk, he knew them better than he knew the land. Of course, where he was going, he would eventually leave his home waters, and that is where the test of his strength and abilities would come in. 
This quick sweet uses two ingredients and takes all of 5 active minutes, plus 10 of baking and another hour for cooling. Of course you can find these at a huge discount at our 
To be honest, hubby and I aren’t fans of chicken breast. We prefer thighs which are juicier due to the higher fat content. But every now and then I feel like doing something fancy with chicken and opt for breasts especially when stuffing. Using olives marinated in olive oil kept these moist and flavorful.
