Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Let me take this moment to give thanks for all that I have in my life, family, friends, health, passion for life, and good food and wine to share with people I love. I hope you all have someone to share some time with today and break bread together. Happy Thanksgiving to all. 

Stay safe, eat well and share the love.

Madeline's Turkey

David's Boned Out Turkey filled with Nana's Stuffing

Italian Family Feast Recipes

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Quick Vegetable Whole Wheat Pizza, Made Ad-Hoc, from a Sparcely Stocked Refrigerator

Last night I peered in my empty refrigerator to see what I could quickly whip up for dinner. Having just received power back the day before the fridge was pretty bare. I found a half of eggplant, one small yellow squash, an onion, some shredded Gruyere and Parmesan cheese, and the prize was a ball of whole wheat dough left over from the from the day before. My excitement started to build thinking of a pissaladiere, a specialty if Nice France, which is a pizza-like dish I had some years back. Although some of the ingredients are different my culinary juices had been stimulated by an idea. 

I started to preheat my oven to 500 degrees, which is always ready with a pizza stone in it, and quickly diced up all the vegetable ingredients. I heated a medium saute pan, added some regular olive oil and started to saute the onions until tender. Next I added the eggplant and squash, seasoned it with some garlic salt and fresh black pepper, and sauteed until all was tender, only a few minutes, (I peeled only the half eggplant). Once that was done I floured the dough and rolled it out into a rough rectangle and added a layer of the sauteed vegetables followed by the cheeses on top and placed it on the preheated pizza stone in the oven. A few minutes later I had a wonderful crispy rustic pizza which my wife, son, and I all enjoyed with a simple salad on the side. Sometimes it just all comes together for a simple but delicious quick ad-hoc meal.

Staying safe and close to family during the storm

We finally received full power, phone and internet both at Classic Thyme and at home. Classic Thyme regained power on Sunday with internet and phones restored on Monday and my power returned at home today. We are all lucky to have weathered the storm safely and our thoughts and prayers go out to all of you who suffered damages. I always like to make personal reflections and try and find something positive with any tragedy. For me, the upside to the storm was a time to get back to basics, good quality family time without the encumbrances of modern technology. We had candlelit dinners of simple food such as grilled meats, vegetables, potatoes, and breads. Everything had to be fresh as we were going to the supermarket daily. (We were very lucky that our local supermarket never lost power.) Good conversation sometimes lubricated by good wine, sitting by an open fire with the family and dogs, reading or listening to a good book; it really wasn't bad for us except for the cold which was bearable with some good old fashion cuddling and a nice down blanket. Below is a photo of a simple meal we enjoyed after the power went out during the storm. My son Andrew took the photo on his I-phone while I held a flashlight to try and illuminate the table a bit. We grilled a simple pork tenderloin with vegetables. potatoes, and bread along with a simple salad with arugula, tomatoes, peppers, and hearts of palm. I have to say, we ate and drank pretty well throughout the entire ordeal and I am so thankful to have my family safe and unharmed. When you think about the devastation and losses other people incurred we were incredibly fortunate. Please stay safe for this next go around with the weather we are expecting over the next day or so. Stay close together and we will endure this one as well.