Ascencia Salad – Tuna, Broccoli and Bean Salad

You never know what life is going to give you, and tonight, the very first night of the New Year, I received something that made my heart leap with joy. I got to cook dinner for 40 people!

When the guest chef did not arrive, I asked if I could cook dinner, and my friend said, “Yes”. First I looked in the pantry, and was amazed to not find any of the things I usually have in my pantry, like onions, or potatoes. There was a lot of pasta, and a lot of spaghetti sauce, frozen turkey sausage, frozen garlic bread, many cans of tuna, two cans of kidney beans, one can of pinto beans, and a can of chopped tomatoes. No problem! The Good Plate to the rescue.

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Cranberry Compote – Thanksgiving Sides

Cranberry Compote – Your New Cranberry Sauce

This year, like last year, I’m going to my friend’s for Thanksgiving, and like last year, I’m bringing something. It’s also my son, Spane’s birthday today, November 21, 2012, and he has requested Chocolate Cake with Mocha Frosting I made for his 7th birthday party. Since his birthday this year is the day before Thanksgiving, he is going to have his birthday party in December – so watch for recipes!

I have talked about going to my Grandmother’s house and the wonderful turkey that came out of her Nesco Roaster. My Grandmother always had the best dressing on her table, that my Aunt Flora made every year. It was Oyster Cornbread Dressing, and it is my favorite dressing to prepare.

But, we always had canned cranberry sauce, that I really never liked. I have been making cranberry sauce for years, but today I found a new recipe that I’m going to make this year. It’s from Chef Bryan Voltaggio.

Update: This cranberry compote is my new cranberry side dish. It’s tasty and sophisticated but not so much that kids won’t like it. It’s not too overly sweet like the stuff in the can.

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Crab Shrimp Cakes with Louis Sauce

Recipes in this PostGarnished Crab Cake Picture by Stu Spivack at Flickr

When I was a little girl living in Germany, my mother used to get frozen crab cakes. I loved them. A few years ago, I found a package of Zatarain’s crab cake mix, and I made it with imitation crab. Yup, you heard me right – imitation crab.

Here’s my thoughts on imitation crab. What is imitation crab? Imitation crab is made from surimi, a concoction of fish, usually pollock, a binder and flavoring. I never think of imitation crab as crab, I think of it as Krab.

I went to the market yesterday, and stood there thinking about what to make for Friday Food. Krab was on sale, and there was a nice package of small bay shrimp on sale as well. Since I was going to be making this for Amber’s family as well as mine, I got both, and thought I would mix them together.

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Barbecued Potato Chip Tuna Casserole

Barbecued Potato Chip Tuna Casserole
Spane at the kitchen table

Barbecued Potato Chip Tuna Casserole may not by the prettiest casserole in the world, but it tastes very good. My mother would make this if we had leftover potato chips. My mother wasn’t much into snack food, so this was not something we had a lot, but it is one of those comfort foods that I remember fondly.

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Lobster Rose Petal Salad with Lemon Butter Dressing – Great Grandmother’s Recipe

Lobster and rose petal salad
Dressed Lobster and Rose Petal Salad

When I was a little girl, my mother used to go on about how she loved going to her grandmother’s house when she would serve Lobster and Rose salad. I was always hoping that my mother would recreate the recipe, but she never did.

When my great-grandmother was making this salad, lobster was a lot less expensive. I decided that for my birthday, despite to cost, I would recreate Christina Jacobsen’s recipe myself.

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Shrimp Stuffed Wontons

Shrimp stuffed wonton

Make these fried shrimp stuffed wontons as part of a Chinese feast, or enjoy them as an after-school snack. You can even make them in the air fryer.

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