I found these photos in a place that I didn’t expect them and realized that I had never posted about Rooster Cafe.  We had our first of many fabulous meals on Isla Mujeres on February 28, 2010.  If you you are about to give me credit for having a razor sharp memory-I’m going to stop you right there.  I am famous (in my family) for running downstairs to the pantry for something and then shouting upstairs “Does anyone know why I’m down here?”  The secret is-I keep a travel journal.  I do this not just to record details of what I’ve sampled or what the location was but so that I can relive the moment.  I travelled Europe for six weeks some 35 years ago and when I pull out that journal-I can recall my first glance of the Mediterranean and taste the beer drank from a glass boot in Heidelberg.  

I can’t recollect (without consulting them) what my Isla sistas had but it looks good doesn’t it?

I do know that I had Creme Brule French Toast crusted with granola and served with butterscotch syrup.  The toast was crunchy on the outside but smooth and creamy in the centre.  We sat in the sun on Hidalgo and watched the early birds heading for the beach. 

Friends who were on Isla after me remarked about the kindness of the Rooster Cafe owners.  When Richard was there for breakfast after going down with a horrendous flu, the owner said “Don’t order from the menu.  I will make something to make you feel better.”  I’m guessing that it was a poached egg but it didn’t really matter.  His kindness was the key point and my friends went back for breakfast virtually every day of the rest of their stay.

Kath’s quote:   “It is not good for all our wishes to be filled; through sickness we recognize the value of health; through evil, the value of good; through hunger, the value of food; through exertion, the value of rest.”-Dorothy Canfield Fisher

It is not unusual  in Manitoba to have snow that stays on the ground at Hallowe’en.  There are some years that we’ve had snow for Thanksgiving.  This year though, it is still summer on the prairies.  So when a couple of business friends suggested a Friday afternoon rendezvous at Mise on Corydon Ave., I was stoked to see if the patio might still be open.  Except for the wasp that landed in a glass of Malbec, it was a perfect way to kick start the Thanksgiving weekend.

Both my friends had dined at Mise previously so they already had thoughts about what to order.  I was tempted by the “Confederation Cove Mussels” but because I thought that it would be hard to top Inferno’s and 7 1/4’s “Moule & Frites”, I let my eyes wander further down the menu.  Food Musings readers know that I am crazy about both eggplant and artichokes so to haveboth in one pasta dish-bliss!  While we sat in the sun, a basket of chewy baguettes was served with sunflower oil (instead of the typical olive oil).

Lunch arrived.  The “Angel Hair Pasta with Grilled Vegetables, Roasted Red Peppers, Concasse Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Feta Cheese, Pickled Eggplant, Wilted Greens and Artichoke Hearts” was sublime. Salty from the olives and cheese, oily (in a good way), spicy (from the vegetable marinade I suspect) and smooth from the perfectly cooked pasta.  With such an explosion of tastes, I was content with the portion size which was generous for lunch but not excessive. 

I’m thankful for good friends, good food, fine wine and a lingering summer.

Kath’s quote: “ Grilling is like sunbathing.  Everyone knows it is bad for you but no one ever stops doing it.”-Laurie Colwin

The final count was 34 family members, 1 bf, 1 gf, 1 international student and 9 dogs.

This is Zoey, one of the youngest.

And this is Lu Dog,  one of the newest in the clan (a rescue).

I couldn’t fit us all in one picture, even when I stood on the couch to take this.

The winning new recipe Sister-in-law #2’s Pumpkin Crunch.

Kath’s quote: “If the soup had been as warm as the wine, if the wine had been as old as the turkey, if the turkey had had a breast like the maid, it would have been a swell dinner.”-Duncan Hines

And so it is that I finally get to the topic of yesterday’s musings…..our Pecan Sweet Potato recipe.  Of all the dishes that I make, this recipe is most requested.  It is an adaption of  Jean Pare’s from her “Company’s Coming for Christmas” book.

The recipe calls for 2 large sweet potatoes but it is very easy to modify for larger crowds.  This weekend I’m using 6 huge potatoes.

Cut unpeeled sweet potatoes into large pieces and cook in boiling salted water until just tender.  Drain and cool.  They will now be very easy to peel.  Re cut into pieces of a desired size.  Toss with  a 1/2 c of brown sugar and place into a casserole dish, pouring a smidgen of water into the bottom of the dish.  Dot with dabs of butter. 

For the pecan topping: Combine 1/4 c butter, 1/4 c flour, 1/2 c brown sugar and 1/2 c chopped pecans.  Mix with your hands to form a crumb style topping.  Sprinkle over all.  Bake, uncovered for approx. 30 mins at 375 degrees or until desired tenderness is reached.

Baby marshmallows can be substitute if there are nut allergies in your family.  Simply skip the crumb mixture and after 30 minutes in the oven, place miniatures (quantity to your liking) on top and broil until brown and bubbly (watch carefully-this would NOT be a good time to make the turkey gravy).

I am thankful for all my readers and the friends in my world who make my life so worthy of celebration…with food. 

Kath’s quote: “I yam what’s I yam and that’s all that I yam.”-Popeye

Thanksgiving is a big deal at our place.  I don’t know if this is because of my husband’s American heritage (we’ve even travelled to the Pilgrim’s Monument in Provincetown, Mass.) or my Mom’s Aboriginal one of celebrating a bountiful harvest.  Perhaps we just like an excuse to gather and eat. 

This weekend 41 people are assembling at the “big” cottage at the lake for dinner.  We call it “big” because it is bigger than the 500 sq feet of ours.  If the weather holds we should be quite comfortable by spilling out onto the back deck and into the screen in porch.  Some years the weather is not in our favour but the day is still sweet and memorable.

This cluster of people does not include everyone in my immediate family.  My definition of “immediate”, are my Mom, my siblings and their families.  One niece is a MRI tech and will have to work this weekend as it is virtually impossible to have 100% attendance.  There are six in my family and all of us still live in Winnipeg and all of nieces and nephews do too.  In fact five families have cottages on the same street at the lake!  We absolutely love being together.  We will have some new “recruits” this year-a boyfriend who has moved from Peterborough and a foreign student from Beijing.  What an amazing blessing.

The menu is pretty standard-turkey, ham and meatballs, plenty of creamed potatoes and yams, veggies, salads, homemade bread and of course vats of gravy, dressing and cranberry sauce. 

I’ve run out of space and time, see tommorrow’s entry for my Pecan Sweet Potao Recipe…

Kath’s quote: “The king and high priest of all the festivals was the autumn Thanksgiving. When the apples were all gathered and the cider was all made, and the yellow pumpkins were rolled in from many a hill in billows of gold, and the corn was husked, and the labors of the season were done, and the warm, late days of Indian Summer came in, dreamy, and calm, and still, with just enough frost to crisp the ground of a morning, but with warm traces of benignant, sunny hours at noon, there came over the community a sort of genial repose of spirit – a sense of something accomplished.”-Harriet Beecher Stowe