Reuben Dip

 November is usually a big month for me posting recipes. This one - not so much. In my defense I've been very busy. And when I'm not busy, I've been very lazy. I'll try to make it up to you in December. This Saturday my friend Chelsea is coming down from Seattle so we can start test driving wedding cakes for Corey. And my parents are coming to visit for Chrisannukah, so there should be some good stuff from that.

This recipe comes from my dear friend Lisa and Aaron and I made it shortly after his second batch of corned beef was done. It is perfect for parties and especially perfect for parties that involve watching football. Lisa made this on Monday and shared while we watched the Saints win at a house full of Louisiana natives and had bellies full of gumbo. This is all about getting good quality corned beef (homemade if you can get it).

Reuben Dip from Noble Pig:

Makes enough for at least 6 snacky football fans

½ lb. diced corned beef
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ c. sour cream
1 c. swiss cheese, grated
1 c. sauerkraut, drained well
1 Tb. ketchup (we subbed out the ketchup for Aaron’s Russian dressing)
1 Tb. spicy brown mustard
Rye crackers or toasts for dipping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Place in a greased baking dish (we used a brownie pan) and bake until dip is browned and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Serve warm.

This is so good. It’s the reuben sandwich you can share.

Friendsgiving Roundup

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving. I spent the majority of my time eating or in my pajamas and often times, both. I went on an epic walk with Amy, ate too many sweets, watched a lot of movies, got mad at Ted Mosby, and had a good time. Oh, and I made stuff too. What I learned from this go around:

• Deviled eggs are a part of a great Thanksgiving breakfast. Especially impromptu deviled eggs just because you feel like it after a friend suggests it.
• Everyone loves taco dip.
• A double recipe of stuffing needs double the amount of people to make. Also, there will be a lot leftover.
• Everyone loves brownies. For days. And for breakfast.
• Sharing recipes is awesome.
• Thankskilling leads to great Thanksgiving toasts.

I hope it was as fun for you as it was for me!

Friendsgiving

The last month and a half have been crazy for me. I started a new job (as a librarian!), which has meant lots of trainings, and have been working on-call as a reference assistant at another library and finishing up my student job. Busy! (hence the lack of posts) This year for Thanksgiving is unlike my years past. I won't be spending it with family (other than Aaron, who is married to me and counts as family, and Amy who is basically family), but with friends. And I'm not hosting! It feels weird, but in a good way.

But if you thought I wasn't going to make massive amounts of food, you would be very wrong. Though it won't be anything like last year in the quantity of stuff, it is similar in what I am making. I do enjoy making new things, especially for this blog, it's going to be a lot of the same (and maybe one new thing). For dinner, my contributions include:

• Apple-Cranberry Chutney
• Maple-Orange Cranberry Sauce
• Challah-Apple Stuffing (a double batch!)
• Red Fox Brownies with Caramel Swirl and Sea Salt
• Roasted Pumpkin Pie

At this point I have made the first three items and have started prep on the last two. I made the pie dough on Monday and roasted my pumpkins yesterday. I made the caramel last night and had a similar problem I did last year with the caramel being too thin. I think it might be an issue with the recipe itself. This time I simmered it on low for another 15-20 minutes until it came to the consistency I wanted. I had Aaron quality check it and his response was "Can I have more?", so I think I got it.

I hope you all have a happy and wonderful Thanksgiving with your families, families of choice, friends, and anyone else.

If you have time, tell me your food plans! I'm a librarian foodie - I love food information!

Ginger Ale Redux

Last year I made ginger ale for the first time. It was good, but not quite as bubbly as I would have liked. Recently I finally got around to following Nicki's suggestion to use champagne yeast instead of regular granulated yeast.

Yeah, I wish I had done it sooner. It was so bubbly and still delicious. Just look at all those bubbles! If you're going to make ginger ale, I highly recommend using champagne yeast. You can get it at homebrewer supply stores, like F.H. Steinbart.