Thanksgiving side and pie: test 1

Isn't it a pleasure to find fresh, beautiful produce in a grocery store? You know, the quality that you would expect to find in a road-side farm stand. I certainly take advantage of the grocery store more now since daylight savings time ended, resulting in farmers closing their stands earlier. During a recent trip, I found gorgeous carrots that turned into one of my favorite recipes: carrot noodles.

My mom acquired this recipe from a woman name Elaine in Mustique, who taught her how to make this sweet and savory dish. This is my mom's recipe, with my additions in red.

-Make long strands of carrot with vegetable peeler.

- Simmer carrots in chicken stock, or water with chick buillion cube til tender. I used stock.

- Drain liquid and keep noodles warm on another plate.

- Add couple tablespoons of butter to pan (I used olive oil)....add a bit of chopped onion (I added garlic) and saute til tender.

- Add carrot noodles back to pan.

- Add small amount of white wine, butter and 1/2 and 1/2, or heavy cream (I used heavy cream).

- s & p to taste.

Enjoy!

I love the tender, pasta texture of the carrots with the simple sauce. Obviously, the recipe can be "healthified", but what is a Thanksgiving without an indulgent amount of tryptophan? I consider it a natural version of tylenol pm, so I can fall asleep by 8 and wake up at 4 for the black friday specials. Look out, JC Penney, here I come!

I'm also working on pumpkin pie recipes for Thanksgiving. Here is the first batch of pumpkin maple pie. The filling was delicious, but the crust? Meh. I'll start working on a ginger cookie crust. The final recipe should be posted soon!