Thanksgiving 2011 - Part 2

Tonight's thanksgiving dinner was Scouse - a beef and/or lamb stew that was typically eaten by sailors in Northern Europe. And it was delicious, delicious, delicious!

There were two reasons why Scouse, not turkey, was cooked tonight at somerville kitchen. The first reason was that I received an original Scouse family recipe with hand written notes on tips for making it. The authenticity of the recipe and the notes about variations to apply were simply irresistible. Thank you JM!

The second reason was that I spent this rainy day lounging with cats and reading Little Lulu.

One of the stories was about Little Lulu winning a live turkey and getting attached to it that she wouldn't let her parents kill it and cook it for thanksgiving.

As a result, her mother cooked a beef stew instead and the turkey was freed into the wilderness. I thought this was the right thing to do at somerville kitchen too.

 

The recipe is very basic - brown lamb and beef stewing meat in some oil. Add chopped onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add beef broth, potatoes and other root vegetables, some herbs (original recipe calls for thyme, the notes suggested sage and lemon balm, I had all three in le jardin so all went in). Cover with water and cook for 4 hours in 325 oven.

The dinner was deliciously enjoyed with another patch of Janice Wong's Chow poppovers. Amazing recipe from an amazing person, did I already say Thank you JM!

And a lucky turkey was saved, making Little Lulu very happy.