Happy Thanksgiving

Its that time of year again where we gather together with family and friends to celebrate that which we are thankful for.
But what is Thanksgiving?
Being a strictly US holiday, not many people in the world understand it. Traditionally it is supposed to be in remembrance of when the pilgrims and the natives came together in celebration of peace, love, and good will toward all peoples. Well if you know anything about history, that didn't happen, but it is a romantic notion which fills us with those warm fuzzy feelings. And there's nothing wrong with that.
But really its just an excuse to pig out on turkey and dressing. Which is one thing I always had a problem with - not pigging out or the dining selection, but in that people have convinced themselves that it is the only time of year to eat said foods. Why? There is no reason. I would eat turkey and dressing all year long if I could. I love it. And that brings us to the best part of Thanksgiving: the leftovers! Unfortunately in my family the leftovers have become scarce as of late. We just aren't making as much food as we used to, and that's a shame.
This Thanksgiving week I helped out at a local restaurant and catering service. Every year the good people at Goldie's Express in Vicksburg, MS, prepare both turkey and ham dinners. These dinners can come complete with a choice of dressing, cranberry sauce, peas, yams, baked beans, red beans and rice (its a southern thing), giblet gravy, potato salad, and a choice of either a pecan pie or sweet potato pie. Of course you could order everything, and there are quite a few people who do. The days leading up to Turkey Day are filled with preparation - making the sides, packing them, organizing the turkeys and hams, making sure there's enough food to fill the orders and finally putting the orders together and the pick up. Those who ordered dinners can pick up at the shop the day before T-Day, and all they have to do is heat up the food.
For my part in this great service, I made nearly a ton of dressing. I enjoyed it, because I was actually thinking of making a dressing entry for this blog, and this kind of does that for me.

While I don't know the exact measurements because I was making it in bulk, I will share the ingredients and process as best I can.
In huge containers, I broke up slabs of conrbread. This was then mixed with half a bag of Uncle Ben's dressing mix, a cup of black pepper, 3-4 cups of sliced boiled eggs and probably around a gallon of a chicken stock mixture. The chicken stock was boiled with diced onions and celery. When this is mixed thoroughly, the dressing is moist and delicious. Remember this is the process for a 5-10 gallon container and not for individual portions. I think by Christmas I'll have a more refined recipe.

I had a lot of fun making the dressing, but that was not the end of my participation. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I helped organize the orders and hand them off to the customers. I know that there are a lot of people who will be enjoying their Thanksgiving dinners this year, and it gives me a feeling of satisfaction.

From the Amateur Chef, I wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving in the real sense of that phrase: pig out on great food in great company.

Ramen

Growing up in a busy home where we didn't always have a home cooked meal every night, I grew accustomed to instant dinners and the like. One of my favorites was instant Ramen noodles. I ate them at any meal of the day. Surprisingly, they are great at breakfast with some eggs. After many years of eating the ramen as directed(only with the broth drained out-I prefer just the noodles and not the soup) I decided to experiment with adding flavors and spices to the ramen either along with or in lieu of the provided seasoning packet. Since my tastes weren't very mature at the time, I found myself adding just about everything into the noodles including worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and all manner of seasoning mixes. Since then my tastes have become more refined and skill at seasoning improved. But I still find any opportunity to experiment with flavors and now with my desire to use my own seasonings I have new and tasty varieties of ramen dishes to share.
This one includes Asian inspired flavors.

Ingredients:
Leftover steak, thinly sliced
Pack of Instant Ramen(your choice of flavor) [not cup o' noodles]
teriyaki sauce
tabasco sweet asian sauce
Eric's Original Asian Spice Mixture(recipe follows)
1/6 of a medium white onion, cut into thick pieces

Process:
If the steak isn't already sliced up, do so. Place in a large bowl and drizzle with teriyaki and tabasco. Stir lightly to coat. Either heat in microwave for 1 minute or reheat in saucepan. Keep in mind that how the steak was previously seasoned will affect the final flavor.
Fill a medium or small pot with enough water to cover the noodles. Turn heat up to medium high and wait for water to boil. Place noodles in pot, but do not add seasoning packet. After about three minutes drain water from noodles. Add seasoning packet. For this recipe I used the chicken flavor packet, but you can use which ever you like. Stir to coat and drizzle some teriyaki sauce. Pour noodles into the bowl with the steak and mix to combine.
In a small sauce pan or pot, add the chopped onion with a pinch of the Asian Spice Mixture and a drizzle of teriyaki sauce. Cook on medium and stir occasionally. After 2-3 minutes the edges of the onion should be browned. Remove from heat and add to the noodle bowl.
Serves 1-2, time 6 minutes

Asian Spice Mixture:
1 part peppercorn medley(black, white, green, pink)
1 part crushed red pepper
1/2 part kosher salt
1/2 part garlic
1/2 part ground ginger

Mix all ingredients into a spice grinder and pulverize until everything is finely ground.

This is a great way to spice up what would have been a bland meal of instant ramen. It doesn't take long and could feed more than one person. If you like Asian food, this should be right up your alley. And the onions don't just go great with ramen; they are also great on hot dogs and hamburgers as well. Give it a try. You never know, you might not want plain ramen again after eating it this way.
There are many more varieties of ramen in my repertoire, and I would like to share them with you as well. Keep checking back to see what I come up with.