During this season of gratitude...

During this season of gratitude, I encourage each of us to remember the community that we are...fellow humans.

As we focus on the end of the year and all of the additional responsibilities that come along with the holiday season, let's place a high priority on our own self-care and that of others in our community.

Take breaks, connect with friends, breathe, plan ahead, continue healthy habits, reach out to someone, share a cup of coffee, or even a simple smile. It’s the small things that sometimes have the greatest impact.

With gratitude daily for those in this life, near or far, past or present, here but gone, and those yet to cross the path.

Blending together rather than in

The holidays make it ever more evident that time has moved forward. Past the awareness that Santa was watching you while you mentally counted your lumps of coal, past the time when opening a present before Christmas was forbidden, past the heartache of family members no longer sharing the time in physical presence with you, past the years when some food products were store bought because you burned what was to originally be served...past so many memories, but memories not forgotten. To be here in the "now" part of living makes the planning, preparation and delivery of a blended "family and friends" affair during the holidays an affair to remember on so many levels.  First it's the initial act of urging everyone to gather, foregoing or bringing their respective traditions and activities to a location either central to travel or neutral in origin.  (Sidebar: When one lives in a warmer temperature than most everyone invited there's a greater likelihood of success). Then its the continual assurance that everyone will find the activity enjoyable, that they won't go hungry and that it truly is a season to be merry. Next it's actually doing it, the blended gathering, even if only 4 people on one side of the family show up (or 10 guests  beyond your original headcount of 10 appear at your door step) and repeat the event year after year.  What comes with the experience is recognizing that most people in general will show up for the food component of whatever  you plan.  That has become my most favorite part of blending, from the initial requests for food items, what we call Operation Name Your Holiday Food~those that desire a dish, but have no intention of ever cooking it get the opportunity to list an item, those that have their traditional favorites simply list it and commit to making it, and those who want to try something new in a hospitable environment give it a whirl.  I made a point this year to blend several traditional offerings (All of my dad's favs: cornbread stuffing, Italian green beans, egg nog~super sweet and spiked varieties, ham) with some unique side dishes (I for one relish the hospitable part of the occasion where even a flopped dish gets recognition for the attempt). I'm blending together a couple flavor favorites myself with one particular dish this year, Black-eyed Pea Salad with Tomato and Pineapple. The recipe hales from Elizabeth and Alexis Terry's Savannah Seasons cookbook, the recipe link is an archive from a local publication Savannah Now. The delightful blend of flavors in this side dish will go nicely with many of the holiday entree choices this year (Stuffed Turkey Leg, Pecan Pork, Brisket, Salmon Fish Fingers).  It's not about blending in, it's about blending together a great many people, aromas, flavors in a spirited occasion set yet to transpire but eagerly anticipated for the memorable moments to unfold.

Holiday Worthy Bar Food (Crispy Stuffed Olives)

I'm not one of those individuals that has for years prepared and delivered some spectacular food offering that everyone clamors for when thoughts of holiday knoshing and dining rolls around on the calendar. (Though I dare say some might say after last year's experiment with several varieties of Egg Nog I may have now transitioned into the category of individual preparing by request of the masses). I reach this weekend for the ever-handy 2007 Food & Wine Cocktails for appetizer-style food to prepare for what must always accompany Thanksgiving feasts, Holiday spin the Dreidel and Ho Ho merriment....and what consistently accompanies the holidays is one's appetite. Last year the highly successful Chickpea Fries recipe from this same guide circled the electronic globe so I'm relying on Chef Jerry Pelikan's Crispy Stuffed Olives to stand for the same style recipe...reliable, simple, steadfast and true.

Mustering Mustard

Mustard is a seed, a spice, a spread, a sauce and perhaps even a state of mind. And much like the infamous parable of the mustard seed, mustard is a simple ingredient that no matter what form it takes it serves as a fundamental element in a host of food offerings, perhaps even boundless and limitless in its ability to enhance. The past week included a number of mustard encounters. Currently thinking about the "single dog" I devoured at Street Meet American Take Out and Tavern, a local restaurant offering a cornucopia of dog options reminiscent of early century street vendors...no dog is complete without mustard and relish from my point of view. Then, local foodie favorite Ervena Faulkner brought us a hot mustard sauce recipe ~ complete with a slowcountry virtue attached that insisted no sauce should be hurried. That the long, slow cooking of it (sauce) gives the mellowness of flavor that is desired. While Ervena's celery and olive sauce recipe piqued my interest in the same article, it was her hot mustard sauce that I recreated in the kitchen with thoughts of holiday entertaining to come. The kind of entertaining where ham and cocktail sausages would most certainly be served. Then Juls Kitchen created the opportunity to think beyond preparing mustard for immediate consumption and suggested we gift it instead. Humble, homemade, jarred and wrapped this holiday season for the pure enjoyment of our loved ones...

• 
  Walnut Mustard:
• 50 g of English mustard powder
• water
• 1 tablespoon of running honey
• 3 tablespoons of honey vinegar (can be substituted with apple cider vinegar)
• 3 pinches of salt
• 50 g of shelled walnuts

Note: Giulia Scarpeleggia (Juls Kitchen) defers to a post on honest-food.net as her inspiration for her post. It is a wealth of information as to the history and splendor of mustard.