I pray to God that your friends have many a wonderful thanksgiving as this one and may they enjoy many moments filled with love with each other, their family and friends. Best wishes and warm thoughts to the lovely couple…

Then I read about Rudrani and Santos…

If you can email me with Rudrani’s full name, birthdate and current physical address (it can be the name and address of the hospital if she’s still there) I will place the information into the prayer triangle at the Casa asking for healing for her.

She, Santos and you are all in my prayers tonight as I read this.

All Blessings,
Merri Lu Park

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/reviews/Cranberry-Sauce-with-Port-and-Cinnamon-240403

I am sure your dinner will be magical and I hope your friend continues to recover physically and spiritually from such a devastating experience.

Since you asked for a great Thanksgiving recipe, here is one that is a very low calorie cranberry type of relish mold, (came from a Weight Watcher leader – 0 points!)
2 small packages no sugar cranberry JELLO
1 cup crushed or finely chopped fresh raw cranberries with 2 packages of SPLENDA (use processor or blender), or one can use sugar if you don’t want to use the sweetener.
1 small can crushed pineapple in its own juice
1 cup or more fresh blueberries
1 cup (or less) chopped celery (I like the crunch.)

Mix one cup boiling water to JELLO to disolve.
Then add one cup cold water.
Add rest of ingredients, chill in a mold.

–Marc

Best wishes to you all.

Best wishes for you, Santos, and especially Rudrani.

So happy to hear your girlfriend is doing so well.

Wishing you and Cary and very happy holiday!

I had seen this story somewhere else…now it hits that much closer

All I can offer are my best wishes for Santos and Rudrani

I’m sure you are so honored to help with this truly Thankful feast. Madame Devi looks to be a wonderful spirit. I’m so sorry to hear what she and her family have had to endure since the destruction which took place in Mumbai.

So, I am an American, living in France, not by choice, but by marriage, which did not last very long, and now I am trying to make it here on my own.

My thing is to cook, so I can understand why you wish to go all out for this event. I had 10 people at my apartment for Thanksgiving – nine I did not know. One young man I met at the metro in Paris and simply asked him to come. He was from Greece. I went all out, which was a feat, especially since finding cranberries in France was a feat in itself.

So, though I believe simply being there with a good chair and a big pot of soup would suffice, I will tell you what I always make for Thanksgiving that always gets attention. Surprisingly, they are the easiest recipes to do:

-Carrots cooked in ginger – LOTS of fresh ginger and orange juice. With a bit of honey and butter. Simmered for 15 minutes with big chunks of ginger – amazing. And you can prepare in advance.

-Cranberry sauce – I use the recipe on the package – but again – I cook them in orange juice add less sugar and cook on low for 40 minutes , finish off with orange zest. Again, amazingly fresh and wonderful. Better two days later.

-Just plain darn simple yams roasted in the oven wrapped in foil for one hour. The foil steams the yams and keeps all the sweetness of the yam in with the yam instead of dripping out all sugary sweet in the oven. No need for butter, sometimes I throw a bit of thyme or sage inside with the yam.

Though totally simple, always a hit full of live flavors and essence of the food itself.

Oh so, I made turkey with gravy, albondigas soup, mole covered creamed corn tamales, and mache salad with grapefruit, blah blah. But these three always, always stand out in everyone’s head as beautiful food.

Have a wonderful, wonderful meal what ever you choose to do. Remember, don’t fret . All will be totally totally divine.

xoxo Heidi in Lorraine, but with a California attitude.

Horrible experiences like that feel like they’re supposed to happen to someone else – the people we see on the news aren’t people we know, right? It’s hard to believe this could happen to those we know and love. I will keep you all in my thoughts!

the only fancy holiday treat i’ve got a recipe for is your cranberry tart recipe.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Southwestern-Christmas-Salad-2818

My thoughts are with your friends.

Ingredients:
4 large eggs
2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (such as thyme, rosemary, marjoram, etc.)
¼ tsp each salt and pepper
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup goat cheese
1 ½ cup grated cheese (use a mix of hard and semi-soft for best consistency, such as Manchego and Havarti)
½ package (one sheet) frozen puff pastry, thawed
½ medium-sized onion, thinly sliced
1 lb fresh wild mushrooms (opt for a mix if possible, such as chanterelle, lobster mushroom, maitake, oyster mushroom, shiitake, morel, etc.), washed and sliced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9×12 baking sheet with parchment paper.

Prepare the custard:
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, herbs, salt and pepper. In a 2-cup glass bowl or measuring cup, heat the cream for 2 minutes in a microwave oven (or in a pot on the stovetop to the point where steam forms), and whisk in the goat cheese until melted and thoroughly combined. Whisk the cream/goat cheese mixture into the eggs, starting with a little at a time to avoid curdling the eggs. Stir in the grated cheeses until well-combined. The mixture will be a little lumpy from the cheese.

Assemble the tart:
Gently unfold the puff pastry and lay it onto a large cutting board. Roll it with a rolling pin to fit the baking sheet, pressing the pastry together in the corners. If the pastry doesn’t fit all the way to the edges, wad up some tin foil to reinforce the pastry.

Carefully pour the custard into the pastry, and lay the sliced onion and mushrooms into the custard.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the custard – if it comes out dry, the tart is cooked through. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.