Stuffed or Dressed

Happy Thankgiving.

Anyone watching the new show, "Raising Hope", with the most wonderful Martha Plimpton, will have some insight into my growing up life.  It wasn't fancy.  And most of my "traditions" are centered around going to my grandparents where there was always a hodge-podge of pot-lucked midwestern, lower middle-class fare: green bean casserole, scalloped potatoes, and my beloved mother's mammoth mound of cheese-ball.

But it wasn't until I met my husband and his mishpokhe that I came into some typical turkey and side-dish traditions.  The huz's mum is one of those fabled Jewish mothers who can whip out a meal with only some water, bread, salt, and good motherly guilt.  I've seriously never seen anyone cook as easily or better than Charlotte.

So on this Thanksgiving day, I'm offering up my all-time favorite T-day food: Charlotte's stuffing/dressing recipe.  So simple and good that I dare you not to just eat it out of the pan when it comes out of the oven.  True confession: I make this comfort food throughout the year and eat it out of the pan, over the stove, especially when I'm blue and just totally want to go there with myself.
Recipe after the jump:

The Castle Garden - May 8 & 9

I live in a Castle.  It's not a Disney sort of castle.  It's a Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York sort of castle, a loose-knit intentional community.  We call our home The P Castle in Bushwick, or just The Castle.

We're an eclectic group of 10.  Some words used to describe one or more of us are: queer, trans, cis, gay, lesbian, straight, bi, Mexican, black, white, activist, faerie, mother, child, DJ, programmer, painter, sculptor, musician, carpenter, archivist, filmmaker, cook, witch, costume designer, makeup artist, performance artist, and my favorite--slut!

We're taking on a new project, the Castle Garden.  We hope to grow some of our own food, so we joined the Secret Garden Project at the Linden-Bushwick Community Garden.

This year is off to an odd and late start at the Secret Garden, because soil testing showed elevated levels of lead.  To continue planting and raising safe and healthy food crops, raised beds are were constructed throughout the garden.

On Saturday, John, Natalie, and I lined our new garden bed frames.

On Sunday, Aderonke and I began filling our beds with lush imported soil.

We haven't yet decided what all we're planting.  Definitely on the menu are tomatoes, peppers, and a variety of greens.  I'm hoping for a ton of herbs, some Brussels sprouts, and perhaps some carrots and other root vegetables.

I plan to keep y'all updated throughout the year as we work on farming a little patch of New York City!  I can't wait to cook with ingredients we have raised.

Mini Food Review: Grilled Gruyere Cheese Sandwich from E.A.T.

Why I'm posting this crap-ass picture of a mostly eaten sandwich...

A Fantastic Dinner at the James Beard House

Posted by Brooklyn Bill

Last night, my buddy Lou treated me to my first dinner at the James Beard House. It was an amazing experience, one I highly recommend to queer New Yorkers and out-of-town visitors.

Lou has been to many of these dinners over the years. He loves the meals but sometimes finds his fellow diners to be "pretentious, overdressed, and unfriendly."

I felt a little underdressed when I entered the home where James Beard lived until his death in 1985. Almost all of the men were wearing ties and jackets, and I had on my usual workday uniform of casual pants and a gaily patterned button-front shirt.

I signed in and passed through the kitchen, where that night's guest chef, Adam Savage of the Delray Beach Marriott in Delray Beach, Florida, was presiding. That's him on the right in the photo above.