Chinese Sweet and Sour Dip

Perfect Pairing: Easy Entertaining

Last weekend we had Baby Lam’s shower at our house.  It was absolute perfection!

Eight of my friends and family helped host and I was just overwhelmed by the time, effort and love that went into the shower. 

Our inspiration for the nursery has been Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go”.  

I think this translates into maps, adventure and travel!  So we used the same theme for the shower for our “Little Traveler”.  Of course the food had a global theme and each dish had a corresponding country and flag. 

Everything was delicious and looked fantastic on the serving table.

While my incredible hostesses did all of the work for the shower I did contribute my new favorite appetizer, Chinese Sweet and Sour Dip.  I have been making this for a few months and it is always a hit.

Disclaimer, I totally realize that there is nothing even remotely authentic about this.  It is just darn tasty.

The base is cream cheese (always a good start) and it is topped with a combo of peanuts, veggies, cilantro, crunchy water chestnuts and soy sauce.  Then the whole thing is drizzled with sweet and sour sauce and served with crackers.

I don’t know why but this stuff is truly addictive. 

If you are looking for an easy appetizer to serve before the big Thanksgiving meal, here you go!  I know it is on our menu!  It is easily doubled if you have a large crowd. We are hosting Thanksgiving for the first time this year and can’t wait to celebrate with our family in our new home.

If you are still planning your Thanksgiving menu, here are some of our absolute favorite Thanksgiving staples. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Thanksgiving Menu

I can hardly believe it has already been a month since I got engaged!  The month has been full of fun wedding planning.  We have our date, church, reception venue, band, photographer, rehearsal dinner venue, my dress, and my bridesmaid dresses.  I call that a success!  Next up is the food.  You KNOW I am looking forward to that part!

Now let’s focus on the ultimate food holiday, Thanksgiving.  Last year I shared a few of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes.  They absolutely must be on our table every single year.  If you are looking for some new recipes for your Thanksgiving table, look no further!

Sausage and Dried Cherry Stuffing

This is my favorite part of the meal. You will never want to make another stuffing.  The tart cherries and savory sausage make it the most delicious stuffing ever.  We always make it outside of the bird so the top has a little crunch.

Sweet Potato Casserole

No marshmallows here!  Instead it is topped with a pecan streusel.  The best.

Corn Casserole

This shows up at every major family meal.  It will be the easiest thing you make at Thanksgiving and probably the most popular.  Always a crowd pleaser!

Those three are our staples.  Every year we change up the other dishes.  Here are some great options!

Citrus and Herbs de Provence Rotisserie Turkey Breast

This is a great recipe for a small group since it is not an entire bird.  Using the rotisserie on the grill is a great way to free up the oven for the all-important side dishes!

Citrus and Sherry Cranberry Sauce

Love the combination of sherry and citrus.

Pecan Pie Bars

I might like these more than traditional pecan pie.  Amazing.

Pumpkin Roll

A fun alternative for your dessert table!

Pumpkin Pecan Shortbread

It combines the traditional pumpkin pie and pecan pie in one tasty bite!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I know I am personally overwhelmed with blessings and I can't wait to celebrate with my loved ones.

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Pumpkin Roll

Perfect Pairing:  Wax paper tracing method

So far I have shared my favorite sausage and dried cherry stuffing and sweet potato casserole recipes, as well as a simple rotisserie turkey breast and homemade cranberry sauce.  What’s missing from this Thanksgiving lineup?  Dessert! 

Of course you have to have pumpkin and pecan pie on the dessert table.  I went for most of my life thinking I didn’t like pecan pie.  I was wrong, I love it.  If you want to try something a little different this year try out this delicious pumpkin roll.  Basically it is a pumpkin cake wrapped around cream cheese frosting.  Pretty awesome.

My mom and I talked about wanting to try making a pumpkin roll for a long time.  She had a recipe from a friend that is dated 1991.  It only took us 20+ years to try it out.

This dessert was really easy to make but looks fancy!  You just need to follow some simple prep instructions.  First, you grease the baking dish and then line the bottom of it with wax paper and grease that as well.  The easiest way to cut the wax paper to size is to place the bottom of the pan over the paper and trace with a pencil and then cut it out.  Perfect fit!  After the pumpkin cake bakes you flip it onto a sugared tea towel while it is still hot.

Then you roll up the cake in the towel and allow to cool.  This ensures that the cake will keep its shape and not tear when you roll it around the frosting.

Once the cake has cooled you unroll it, remove the towel, spread on the cream cheese frosting, and roll it back up and chill until ready to serve.

Well that officially completes my Thanksgiving 2013 recipe roundup!  It would bring me great joy to know someone added one of these dishes to their dinner table.  Have a blessed holiday!

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Sweet Potato Casserole

Perfect Pairing:  Shallow dish

The final Thanksgiving side dish I am going to share is Sweet Potato Casserole.  Honestly, this could pass as dessert.  I know a lot of people put marshmallows on their sweet potatoes, but in my family we top them with streusel.

This is my grandma Rosie’s recipe.  She loves anything sweet, so these are right up her alley.  True story, I have seen Grandma put Equal on her spaghetti.  While I am not going to try that anytime soon, the sweetness of this side dish is just perfect. 

I like to make this recipe in a shallow dish so there is more surface area for the streusel.  That way everyone gets a little bit of the crunchy topping. 

I have one more Thanksgiving recipe to share before the holiday.  It is a dessert of course!   I won’t be sticking with tradition on this one.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Pork Loin (or Turkey) Crostini with Green Apple, Mango Chutney, and Brie

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Patatas Bravas

Click "Read More" for the recipe... 

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Citrus and Sherry Cranberry Sauce

Perfect Pairing:  Citrus and Herbs de Provence Rotisserie Turkey Breast

No surprise that I am following up the turkey recipe with a cranberry sauce!  Homemade cranberry sauce is so easy there is really no excuse to buy the canned stuff.

Fresh cranberries are combined with orange zest and juice, sugar, a cinnamon stick, and some sherry.  You can probably skip the sherry if you don’t want to invest in a bottle.  I use the cheap cooking sherry which is great in soups or for deglazing pans, so I like to have it on hand.

This cranberry sauce is perfect served alongside of the Citrus and Herbs de Provence Turkey Breast.  The citrus in the sauce and the zest in the turkey rub are great together.  Don't get me wrong, this cranberry sauce would be fabulous with any turkey!  

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Pumpkin Pecan Shortbread

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Manchego Cheese with Brown Butter Honey Sauce

Click "Read More" for the recipe...

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Citrus and Herbs de Provence Rotisserie Turkey Breast

Perfect Pairing:  The leftover sandwich

I started the Thanksgiving recipes last week with stuffing (because it is my favorite thing ever, ever) but we can't forget about the turkey. 

This year I will be with a large group for Thanksgiving, so we will likely have multiple turkeys going.  Probably one on the Weber grill and one in the smoker.  Since my “pre-Thanksgiving” meal was a smaller group I decided to try making a turkey breast instead of the whole bird.  

I prepared the turkey using a dry brine.  The dry rub had the zest of an orange and lemon, brown sugar, garlic, salt, and herbs de Provence.  The dry brine is rubbed all over the turkey and under the skin, then you let it rest in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours.  The prep time was minimal.  It was so easy!

I have to give credit to my dad for the actual cooking.  He is the grill master.  He got a rotisserie attachment for his grill a few years ago and uses it all the time.  If you don’t have a rotisserie you can follow traditional roasting instructions like these.

This turkey was so juicy and flavorful.  I really think it would be great any time of the year, not just Thanksgiving.

Everyone looks forward to the Thanksgiving leftovers, especially the turkey sandwich.  Try making one with grainy bread, turkey, cranberry sauce and a good smear of pumpkin cream cheese.  It doesn’t suck.

Next up is a homemade cranberry sauce!

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tahini Salad

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Oven Roasted Mushroom Tapas with Goat Cheese

Click "Read More" for the recipe...

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Sausage and Dried Cherry Stuffing

Perfect Pairing:  Thanksgiving

Everyone knows that Thanksgiving is the ultimate food holiday.  I hate to sound biased, but my family does it right.  There are a few recipes that HAVE to be on our Thanksgiving table. 

I felt like I was cheating my readers by having two Thanksgivings pass on the blog without sharing these family recipes.  The problem is we usually only make them at Thanksgiving, so it is too late to share them and there is never any time to take pictures.  

I decided this year to have an early Thanksgiving meal, so I could share these recipes in time for the holiday.  So over the next couple of weeks it is going to be Thanksgiving central on Perfecting the Pairing.  I hope you try these out and love them as much as we do.

First up is my favorite, Sausage and Dried Cherry Stuffing.  OH my goodness.  This is just the best thing ever.  My mom started making this a few years ago and it is now a staple.  I don’t even know how to tell you how great it is.  I love the addition of sausage and tart dried cherries. 

Poor Riley just couldn’t understand why this fabulous smelling goodness was in front of him and he could not touch it.   

This is the only stuffing recipe you will ever need.  Promise.

Stay tuned for other Thanksgiving favorites!

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Apple Cake with Warm Caramel Sauce

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Prosciutto Wrapped Breadsticks

Click "Read more" for the recipe....

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Pork Loin (or Turkey) Crostini with Green Apple, Mango Chutney, and Brie

Perfect Pairing:  Leftover Turkey

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I had a fabulous time with my family filled with lots of good food and laughs.  My mom and I spent the last couple of days getting a jump start on the Christmas baking.  We decided to try our hand at truffles, three different varieties.  At times the kitchen felt a little like Willy Wonka's, but they turned out great.  I will definitely be posting about them!

The internet is flooded with ideas on what to do with your leftover turkey.  In fact, CoolMaterial.com (a website dedicated to "stuff guys want") did a feature on how to use your leftovers, and included a link to my recipe for customized bread bowl breakfasts!  It is hard to beat a turkey sandwich with a little mayo and cranberry sauce, but if even that is getting a little old, try out this crostini.  When I made them I used leftover pork loin, but I think it would be lovely with turkey. 

If you don’t happen to have mango chutney on hand, or if you are not a fan, orange marmalade or apricot preserves would work well.  The tart green apple adds crunch and melted brie makes anything better.

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Pumpkin Pecan Shortbread

Perfect Pairing:  Caramel Sauce

Most families have Thanksgiving dinner down to a science and the menu does not vary much from year to year.  I think this is especially true for desserts.  Obviously, pumpkin pie is always on the menu and in my family we always have pecan pie as well.  I went my entire childhood thinking I did not like pecan pie.  I took a bite a few years ago and realized I was really missing out. 

Pumpkin Pecan Shortbread is like the bar-cookie-child of pumpkin and pecan pie.  I absolutely love shortbread, so I was crazy about this dessert.  If you are not the pie-baking type bring this would be the perfect dessert to bring to Thanksgiving.  It is super simple to make and very tasty.

The Perfect Pairing for this dessert is store bought caramel sauce.  I am not a fan of super sweet desserts, so I prefer just a tiny drizzle but it definitely adds something to the bar cookie.  I recommend serving the caramel on the side so everyone gets just the right amount for their tastes.

I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving! 

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Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tahini Salad

Perfect Pairing:  Thanksgiving

How is it almost Thanksgiving?  Seriously, where did the last few months go?  It seems like everyone I talk to feels the same way.  What kind of weird time warp are we in right now?

Weird time warp aside, I live for this time of year.  Gathering with family and friends is my favorite thing in the entire world. Add in great food, good wine, games, laughter, and you pretty much have perfection.  My family kicked off the holiday season a little early this year.  We had a “pre-Thanksgiving” celebration since we could not all be together on the actual holiday.  It was a great time! 

 My mom and I have it pretty easy for the actual Thanksgiving dinner.  We have been tasked with dessert and stuffing.  I actually insisted that we make the stuffing, because my mom’s stuffing is without a doubt the highlight of the Thanksgiving meal.  She does not really follow a recipe, but it includes sausage and dried cherries.  Amazing.

Also amazing?  Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tahini Salad.  I ran across this recipe on Smitten Kitchen while searching for recipes that used tahini, and thought it looked unique and healthy.  I had only used tahini in hummus and had a jar hanging out in my pantry begging to be used.  I am so glad I ran across the salad recipe, it is absolutely delicious.  The roasted squash is slightly sweet and pairs nicely with the nutty tahini and fresh cilantro and red onion. 

The Perfect Pairing for Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tahini Salad is Thanksgiving.  If you are looking for a great side dish to bring to your family’s table, this just might be it.  I found that I can make the dressing and roast the squash the day before and then assemble before the meal.

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Manchego Cheese with Brown Butter Honey Sauce

Perfect Pairing:  Prosciutto and Arugula

 

I can hardly believe it is Thanksgiving this week!  Not only is it the best culinary holiday of the year it officially kicks off the holiday season festivities. 

Last year for Thanksgiving we were in San Francisco visiting my brother and sister-in-law (Jon and Kelly) for their famous Thanksgiving party.  We were all having a great time cooking dishes, munching on appetizers, and taking group photos.  One of those group photos will go down in history.... All the ladies were together in the backyard and my brother was taking the picture.  He said, "On the count of three, say Kelly's pregnant!"  Chaos ensued.   The picture below really captures the moment. I am clearly the first person to catch on while others are still posing for the photo.  I love the shocked look on my face and Kelly's mischievous grin.

That is officially my favorite Thanksgiving memory.  A year later we have Lilla in our lives and she is the most precious little baby in the world. 

I am going to miss Jon, Kelly, and Lilla this year but I have no doubt that I will have a wonderful holiday here in the Midwest.  I get to spend it with my wonderful parents and extended family, handsome boyfriend, and my other brother's family.  His kids (who happen to be the most adorable children in the world) are going to have a great time at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

We are pretty traditional when it comes to the Thanksgiving menu.  The dinner does not vary much. Why mess with a good thing??  I can be a little more adventurous when it comes to the appetizers.  The key is to keep them light and easy.  You don't want to ruin the main event!  This manchego cheese appetizer is the perfect thing to put out because it only takes a few minutes of prep and everyone will love it.

Previously I wrote about my affinity for cheese plates, and how to create the best combination of cheeses, condiments and crackers.  I think cheese plates are one of the best things to set out before a dinner party.  Sometimes you don’t want to buy 3 or 4 different types of cheese, especially if you are having a more intimate group.  Serving Manchego Cheese with Brown Butter Honey Sauce makes the most of one type of cheese; you won’t miss having a variety laid out. 

Manchego is a sheep’s milk cheese from the La Mancha region in Spain.  It is a hard, crumbly cheese that is a little tangy and nutty.    It is perfectly complimented by this Brown Butter Honey Sauce.  The sauce is a cinch to make and is so incredibly delicious.  I would recommend pouring the sauce on the cheese while it is still hot.  After it cools it hardens just a bit, which makes it the perfect texture.  Top it off with a sprinkle of sea salt and you have an amazing appetizer.

The Perfect Pairing for Manchego Cheese with Brown Butter Honey Sauce is thinly sliced prosciutto and arugula.  All of the flavors taste great together on crackers or crostini.

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