Aftermath of the Feast

About eight years ago I took on a project for a new business in Missoula. The concept was interesting -- one that incorporated all kinds of beverages (except hard liquor). The specialties of the house were coffee drinks, teas, and chai. But there were a bazillion places to get that stuff so the business needed something to set it apart from the other coffee spots.

Hence, my project. I set about creating a menu of 12 meal-sized crepes, six sweet and six savory. I also created an extra number -- the store's signature crepe -- and I called it "A Study in Chocolate." It incorporated chocolate in six different forms -- a chocolate crepe, filled with chocolate custard with a sprinkling of chocolate chips, dusted with cocoa powder, drizzled with chocolate syrup, and topped with chocolate whipped cream. It was a huge hit.

But an even bigger hit came about when November rolled around and I created a seasonal special I called "Turkey in the Straw." I took an unsweetened crepe, spread cream cheese on it (instead of mayo), topped that with cranberry relish, then some replicated stuffing, bite-sized cubes of turkey and french fried onions (the kind you might see on a green bean casserole).

When the business's crepe-maker broke down (it was a super expensive model imported from Switzerland), instead of replacing it or having it repaired, the place decided to go out of the crepe business and concentrate on its various lines of beverages.

That saddened me. So I reclaimed my crepe recipes and re-purposed "Turkey in the Straw." This time, however, I used the same ingredients but instead of in a crepe, I decided to use a 10-inch flour tortilla. I rolled it up, burrito style, cut it in half on the diagonal and -- just like the crepe version from eight years ago, I couldn't make them fast enough.

So if you're looking for a way to dress up the leftovers from Thanksgiving, try my Turkey in the Straw burrito. A little salsa on the side probably wouldn't hurt.

The Kitchen Guy Holiday Rescue Menu

America's favorite eating holiday is almost upon us and that day - Thanksgiving Day - also signals the beginning of the big eating season. Holiday dinners, family dinners, business dinners, dinner dinners. That can be a lot of pressure if you're the one tasked with doing the cooking.

Enter (or shall I say re-enter?) the Kitchen Guy Holiday Rescue Menu.

I've put together a collection of side dishes and desserts, all designed to lighten your burden, starting on Thanksgiving Day right up through New Year's.

For sides, I've got Marbled Mashed Potatoes, a creamy blend of mashed Russets and mashed yams,
enriched with cream cheese and swirled together -- hence the name "marbled." My Brussels Sprout "Hash" has been very popular in years past and so it makes a return to the list of sides available for ordering. Perhaps the most requested, though, is my signature Cranberry Relish, made with caramelized red onions, balsamic syrup and a hint of brown sugar. You'll never miss the tin can indentations at your holiday table.

Desserts are the star in the Holiday Rescue Menu, as that's the lasting impression of almost every meal. So for all of my hungry friends around the state of Montana, I'll be baking Cranberry Upside Down Cake, Lemon Tart, Pumpkin-Ginger Tart, Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake, and Gluten-Free Dark Chocolate Torte with Chocolate Honey Glaze. There are other selections, too, but I wanted to highlight some of the more popular ones.

The Holiday Rescue Menu was absent last year as I had major surgery just before the holidays. But I'm all healed and rarin' to go to help you make the holidays memorable.

On Thanksgiving this year, there will be a once-in-a-lifetime concurrence of Chanukah -- so we're calling Thanksgivnukah and offering a variety of latke (potato pancake) preparations, including my award winning Latke Napoleon, regular latkes and a latke made from a mixture of Russets, Sweet Potatoes and Parsnips.

New this time around is a delivery schedule before Thanksgiving and before Christmas in all of Montana's major cities. We'll set up dates and times in Kalispell, Great Falls, Helena, Butte, Bozeman and Billings. There is a modest extra charge to cover the cost of delivery to cities outside of Missoula.

Check out all of the Holiday Rescue Menu offerings at my special online store. Click on this link: http://shop.kitchenguy.biz for the whole menu. And if you're one of the first 10 people to order, you'll receive a Kitchen Guy tote bag with your order.

Ready. Set. Order!