Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm at home on the shore for this Thanksgiving holiday. I have been mostly chilling and getting very little work done (as expected). Mom and I went shopping on Wednesday and saw 2012 as previously mentioned. Today we went down to the pharmacy and I interviewed Tina for my anthropology project. I've gotten good responses on my online survey as well (in fact, I just checked, I have 100 responses. I can only have 100 on a basic membership). After that I was lazy and sort of half-helped Mom cook some. We watched Angels and Demons on Pay-per-view. And you know, I will probably write a review eventually, but I thought it was a pretty good adaptation of the book. Now, the caveat with that is, of course, it has been quite a few years since I've read the book, and the details are fuzzy. So there ya go. Eventually I put together some Devils on Horseback, recipe courtesy of Brad Weiss follows:

dates, pitted

Parmesan cheese, shredded

bacon

Stuff some cheese in each date, wrap with bacon, spear with toothpick if desired. Cook in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Eat.

It's the lazy man's bacon appetizer. Seriously - could not be much easier (of course if you have to pit the dates yourself it's a bit more...). I ate about one and the smell of all that bacon was actually not sitting so well with me. Eventually dinner was all ready around 7 (Dad was working so we had to wait for him to come home). It was delicious but I had very little turkey... again, not sure how I feel about meat. Signs point to not so good. Anywho... we had green beans, mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, cranberry sauce, and rolls to go with it so I was not at a loss for food.

After dinner and cleanup and me almost falling asleep and definitely having to unbutton my pants... my parents and I watched Adventureland. It had its moments... but that's about it. Tomorrow Jessi Long and I are going to lunch and then I'm going up to Jeff's. Yay, break!

A recipe for deliciousness! (and specifically pavlova)

We had a feast day in anthropology last week, and I decided to make a pavlova. A what, you say? A pavlova is a holiday or celebratory meringue cake eaten traditionally in Australia and New Zealand. It was created in honour of the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova who toured Australia and NZ in the 1920s (it's light and airy just like her I guess - plus I bet she was crunchy on the outside). Australia and NZ equally claim the creation of the pavlova. According to Wikipedia, research has proven that New Zealand has the more legitimate claim. But don't listen to me, I'm biased. So anyway, a pav as it is colloquially known, is delicious and easy to make. Here is what it could look like:

Note: this recipe isn't mine originally. But since cookbook writers don't even feel the need to always cite their sources, neither do I! (it was procured somewhere on the internet and possibly combined a few different sites' interpretations).

So you want to make a magical pav! (it's the eggs that supply the magic) Here's how. You'll need:

4 large egg whites (you could make an omelette with the yolks, or something)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 and a half teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Then:
-Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Line a baking tray with foil and draw a circle (they said 7 inches) on it with the blunt edge of a knife (don't cut the foil!).
-Beat the egg whites on medium speed until they form soft peaks.
-Continue beating as you add the sugar, a little at a time, until it forms stiff glossy peaks.
-Fold in the cornstarch and the vinegar, and then the vanilla, with a plastic spatula.
-Spread the meringue in your circle on the foil - the edges must be a little higher than the middle so it doesn't become a pav pancake.
-Bake for an hour and fifteen minutes. It should be a pale pink color - but remember: do not open the oven door! I have made this twice and the time was perfect both times, so you shouldn't need to check it.
-Turn oven off, let the pavlova cool completely - do not open the door or it will crack/flatten. I let it cool for about 3 and a half hours and that was good.
-Shortly before serving, cover with whipped cream. I used cool whip, but if you're more discerning, you can make your own topping: whip 1 cup heavy whipping cream until you get soft peaks, then add 1 and a half tablespoons granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
-Put on fruit on top of the cream. Think tart fruits, here, to counteract the sweetness of the meringue. I prefer kiwifruit, but raspberries and blackberries work well too - go wild!
-Eat and enjoy! Easy as!

Who doesn't love kiwifruit? MMMM

PS - sorry vegans, this isn't going to be an easy one to substitute :( I'm not sure that so far we have egg substitutes that are as magical as eggs. One day, perhaps? I still love you though and have a great cake recipe for you - I'll post it sometime. Also, if anyone knows of a way to make this vegan, or tries it out - let me know how it goes!