Thanksgiving Edition

Well, hello there!

It has been a while since I've seen you here.  Hi!  I feel like there is a lot to fill you in on.  Let's start with pointing out that Thanksgiving is next week.  Next.  Week.  How did that happen?  I blinked and now the holidays are upon us.  The store will be closed Thursday and Friday (Nov. 26 and 27), but we will be ready to move and shake on Small Business Saturday, which is the 28th.  Small Business Saturday is your chance to shop locally for good deals and to support those small town folks you know and love.  We will have cider and treats and extended hours for all your shopping needs!  We'll have popcorn (obviously), door prizes, and a freshly stocked store just for you.  It's also our One Year Anniversary, so we'd love to see you to say thanks for all of your support.  Oh, and The Lights of the Ozarks light up at 5 p.m. (the parade is Friday the 20th at 6 pm, if you're into that sort of thing), so hang out with us and then walk around our lovely square!

We're trying out something new and fun for Thursdays, which have traditionally been our slowest day of the week.  I introduce to you, "3-for Thursday"!  Buy 2 bottles (200 ml or above) and get the 3rd one for half price.  And don't forget your punch cards.  Those punches can quickly add up to a free bottle.

We just ordered a new balsamic for the holidays, which will have you reeling.  If you are addicted to our Traditional Balsamic, great!  But now we will have another option for you, the Ultra Premium "Denissimo" Balsamic.  This balsamic has a density of 1.36 and contains less than 1% aged Italian Red Wine Vinegar, making it the thickest, richest balsamic available to date.  Whew!  Just go ahead and put it on your wish list.  It's made in very small batches, so we are restricted to only a few cases this season.  When we sell out, we're out. Get it while you can!

Picual "Reserve"

The EVOOs we have right now are pretty stunning, too.  We just cracked open a Picual "Reserve"
from Chile that is dang near perfect.  I really don't think there is a better olive oil out there, but we'll keep searching and find out.  We have a robust Coratina from Chile coming our way that won "Best in Show" at an olive oil competition on Los Angeles.  We'll also have a mild Australian Manzanillo that I'm very interested in trying, as this is a new variety for us.  This is probably our last  order of Southern Hemisphere oils, as the Northern Hemisphere has just finished up their early fruit harvest.  There are some Californian cultivars that are already selling their oil, so we should have that available soon enough.

Anyway...I thought for this round of recipes I'd go with Thanksgiving sides.  I made Sweet and Spicy Candied Nuts, Wild Mushroom & Sage Cornbread Stuffing, and (my favorite) Balsamic Braised Brussels Sprouts.  Read on for full descriptions and recipes.

The nuts.  These things are strangely addictive.  The day that I made them they became my lunch because I just could not stop.  You can buy a can of plain old mixed nuts for the holidays, but why? Why?? If you want people to stay out of your kitchen while you frantically scrape together the entire Thanksgiving meal, put out a bowl of Sweet and Spicy Nuts and a cheese plate.  They'll be too busy munching to ask you for anything else.  Now, there is a lot of room to improvise with these.  I added rosemary to mine, and while I don't exactly regret it, I'm not sure that I would go that route again.  But if you love rosemary, do it! They were still fantastic.  If you don't have Smoked Paprika in your spice repertoire, I ask you, "what are you waiting for?"  You can pick it up at Walmart and you will use it constantly.  If you are a rebel, and refuse to do as I say, you can use our Chipotle Olive Oil instead to achieve that nice smokiness.  Or Garlic Olive Oil or Blood Orange Olive Oil or just your favorite EVOO.  The recipe I'm giving you makes one baking sheets' worth of nuts.  If you have a large family, I recommend doubling it.

Most appetizing photo of food ever

Stuffing is complex thing.  Everyone has their own way of doing stuffing.  Mine is on the simple side.  I make cornbread, cube it up, spread it over a baking sheet and either let it dry out over night or bake it at 400 for 10 minutes, depending on how much I have planned ahead.  Grease a baking dish.  Fry up some bacon (or this year Italian Sausage seems to be the trend), sautee 2 onions and 4 ribs of celery in the drippings, deglaze pan with white wine or cooking sherry, add some stock and butter. Throw in pecans, dried cranberries, or whatever floats your gravy boat.  Mix everything (gently) together along with two beaten eggs and put it in the baking dish.  Bake it. That's it.  That's my stuffing.  This year I used our Wild Mushroom and Sage Olive Oil to grease my pan and drizzled a very healthy bit over the top of my stuffing before I baked it and it came out beautifully!  I didn't add any additional salt, due to the bacon and stock being plenty salty and I'm really glad that I refrained.  I also didn't add porcinis or creminis or any other mushroom to my stuffing only because, with large groups, there is inevitably some weirdo who doesn't like mushrooms.  If I was making it just for myself, I would omit the nuts and fruit and do mushrooms and smoked oysters.  Do what you want, just use the Wild Mushroom and Sage as a finisher.  It's fantastic.

Even if you don't think you like Brussels Sprouts, you need to make these Balsamic Braised Brussels Sprouts.  My husband said, "I don't think these count as a vegetable anymore." I have to agree.  The original recipe calls for toasted bread crumbs to put on top.  However, I made the mistake of trying a bite out of the pan and I didn't get any farther than that.  I used our Traditional Balsamic, but I could see the Pomegranate Balsamic also being a bit hit.  Either way you shake it, your Thanksgiving spread needs these Sprouts.

Sweet and Spicy Mixed Nuts

Adapted from Bon Appetit Nov. 2015

1 heaping c. whole almonds
1 heaping c. pecans
1 heaping c. walnuts
1/3 c. pure maple syrup
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil of your choice
1 Tbsp. chopped dried rosemary (optional)
2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. salt

1.  Preheat oven to 350.

2.  Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl.

3.  Bake on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing occasionally, until nuts are toasted, 20-25 minutes.

4.  Spread out on parchment or wax paper to cool, breaking up clusters.  The end.

Wild Mushroom and Sage Cornbread Stuffing
A Bon Appetit/The Pioneer Woman combo recipe

Your favorite cornbread recipe, cubed and dried out
1/3 c. chopped pecans
1/3 c. dried cranberries
8 oz. bacon, chopped
2 onions, chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 c. dry cooking sherry or white wine
1 stick butter
2 eggs, beaten
2 c. turkey or chicken stock
1/3, or up to 1/2 c. Wild Mushroom and Sage Olive Oil

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a large baking dish with the olive oil.  Place your cornbread, pecans and cranberries in a large bowl.

2.  Heat 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil in a large skillet and cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, about 6 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked bacon to the bowl with the cornbread.

3.  In the same skillet, cook onions and celery, stirring often, until golden, 10 minutes.  Add them to the bowl, too

4.  Deglaze your pan with the sherry or white wine, scraping up any browned bits, until almost all of the liquid is evaporated.  Now add the butter to the pan and cook until butter is melted.  Pour  over bread mixture.

5.  Whisk together the stock and 2 eggs and add them to the bread mixture, gently mixing everything together.  Season with pepper (lay off the salt!) and transfer it to the greased baking dish.  Drizzle the top with a healthy dose of olive oil.

6.  Cover with foil, bake for 30-35 minutes.  Remove foil, increase oven temperature to 450 and continue baking 20-25 more minutes.  Let sit 10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Balsamic Braised Brussels Sprouts
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 Tbsp. butter
2 lb. medium Brussels Sprouts, washed and trimmed
6 oz. bacon, chopped (4 slices?)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. Traditional Balsamic Vinegar
1 1/2 c. Beef stock (or any kind of stock)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Looks can be deceiving. 

1.  Heat Olive Oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add Brussels Sprouts and saute, tossing frequently, until golden brown.

2.  Add in chopped bacon and cook, stirring regularly, for another 10 minutes.  Add in the garlic and cook for another minute or so.

3.  Turn up the heat a bit and add in the balsamic and stock.  Cook for 20 minutes, tossing frequently, until liquid is cooked down and the sprouts are glazed and tender.  Check for seasonings.  If it needs salt or pepper, add some.  Eat straight from the pan, if you're me.  Otherwise, transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle to top with parsley and enjoy.

Those are all the sides I have for you.  I hope you have a fantastic holiday and that we see you here on Small Business Saturday!

Cheers!

Andrea & Tami