Rotisserie Chicken Fried Rice

inspired by Martha Stewart Pork Fried Rice

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons plus 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 bunch scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2 cups cooked white rice (about 3/4 cup uncooked rice)
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1. 
   

   1. In a wok or large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, lightly beat eggs with 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce to combine. Add eggs to wok and swirl to coat bottom of pan. Cook, without stirring, until almost set, 1 minute, then fold in thirds with a spatula. Transfer cooked eggs to a work surface and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
2. 
   

   2. Add 1 tablespoon oil to wok and swirl to coat. Add garlic, ginger, and scallion whites and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add pork and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add carrots, peas, and rice and stir to combine. Add cooked egg, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and vinegar and cook, stirring constantly, until rice is coated, about 1 minute. Let cook, undisturbed, until warm, about 1 minute. Top with scallion greens and serve.

Granda's Thanksgiving Stuffing

• Two or Three loaves of bread (home-made preferred, this year I used two Costco baguettes)
• One day before preparing break bread into small pieces; cover in bowl with towel to allow to dry

In large casserole:

• ½ lb butter
• 2 large onions coarsely chopped
• 1 cup (I use more) chopped celery
• 2 shallots finely chopped
• 3-5 finely chopped garlic cloves
• [I often include mushrooms, but this year I didn’t]

Season and toss the bread with

• 3 tsp salt
• Ground black pepper to taste
• 2-4 tbs chopped fresh sage (to taste)
• Can also add rosemary and other herbs as you like; I keep it simple. Just keep tasting until you like it.

When the buttery goodness is ready, mix the bread into the casserole until thoroughly mixed, evenly distributing the butter/onions/celery.

This all should be done the day before. You can use some of stuffing to stuff the turkey, the rest you bake in the casserole at 350 until the top layer is a bit crispy. Takes about ½ hour.

Marsala and Mushroom Gnocchi

(inspired by Lemon Tree Dwelling)

Ingredients 

4 T garlic-infused olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 (8 oz) package sliced baby bella mushrooms

1 c chicken broth

1 c marsala cooking wine

2 (16 oz) package potato gnocchi (I got mine at Costco)

1 lb sausage, crumbled, cooked and drained (we had some leftover from lasagna so I just threw this in)

4-5 green onions, sliced 

Instructions

Heat olive oil over medium heat and add onion. Cook until just translucent. Add mushrooms and stir until they start to give off liquid. Then, add garlic and saute for about 30 seconds to a minute.

Add broth and marsala wine. Increase heat to high and cook down sauce until it reduces by about 1/3rd. (I made a slurry of cornstarch and water...1 T cornstarch, 4 T water and added to thicken the sauce a bit. Make sure the sauce bubbles for about 3 minutes if you do this to cook the cornstarch taste out.)

Turn heat back to medium. Add gnocchi and sausage and coat in sauce. Then, cover and warm for about 5 min (check to make sure nothing is burning).

Remove lid and serve immediately with green onions.