greetings on a rare monday friends!

i took a few days off to celebrate the holiday with my family and to take a much needed breather.

but i’m back, energized and ready to finish out twenty-eighteen with a bang!

now, thanksgiving has come and gone. and the only bits left of the turkey are the bones. whatever you do, DON’T TOSS IT!!!! there are few things more delicious than homemade chicken or turkey stock. you went through all that trouble to roast a whole bird, and those bones, and everything clinging to it are the key to amazing stock.

now i know you are thinking, that sounds like a lot of work. can you rough chop a couple things and throw them in a pot? if the answer is no, you have bigger problems to solve. if the answer is yes, you will CRUSH stock making.

homemade stock

serves: about 4 quarts

prep: 10 minutes

cook time: 2 hours - 24 hours

total time: 2 hours 10 minutes

ingredients: remaining bones & meat from your turkey or roasted whole bird. 6 quarts water. 2 whole brown onions, roughly diced. 3 whole carrots, roughly chopped. 2 celery stalks. 5 smashed garlic cloves. a handful of your favorite fresh herbs (i like to use oregano, thyme and sage, but you can use a combo of whatever you have on hand or whatever your favorites are). 2 dried bay leaves. 2 tbs kosher salt. 5 whole peppercorns. large stock pot. mesh strainer. large extra bowl. things to store your stock in like large mason jars.

**cooks note** you will notice that in the ingredients photo mine are just a bunch of odds and ends. odds and ends are great for stock. if you don’t have any odds and ends from vegetable cuttings, use the ingredients list provided. stock is one of those things that you can tailor to your own taste. do what you like and enjoy. there is not right or wrong.

start by heating your stock pot on medium low heat. add all the ingredients to your stock pot. bring the water to a boil.

once the liquid has come to a boil, lower the temperature to low and allow the liquid to simmer for an hour and a half.

now, you can stop the cooking right there if you like. but if you have the time, the longer you simmer it, the better it will taste. i simmer mine overnight, adding some extra water and a few pinches of extra kosher salt before i go to bed. you can do it either way and it will still be 100 times better than store bought stock. so go with what works for you! once you have simmered your stock, remove it from the heat. allow it to cool for a few minutes. use your mesh strainer to skim any impurities or fats off the top. then strain the whole pot through the mesh strainer into the extra bowl or pot.

allow the liquid to cool completely and store for your future use.

here are a few of my favorite uses for stock.

potato leek soup

butternut squash + bacon soup

roasted carrot & ginger soup

xo, a

homemade stock

serves: about 4 quarts

prep: 10 minutes

cook time: 2 hours - 24 hours

total time: 2 hours 10 minutes

ingredients: remaining bones & meat from your turkey or roasted whole bird. 6 quarts water. 2 whole brown onions, roughly diced. 3 whole carrots, roughly chopped. 2 celery stalks. 5 smashed garlic cloves. a handful of your favorite fresh herbs (i like to use oregano, thyme and sage, but you can use a combo of whatever you have on hand or whatever your favorites are). 2 dried bay leaves. 2 tbs kosher salt. 5 whole peppercorns. large stock pot. mesh strainer. large extra bowl. things to store your stock in like large ball jars.

**cooks note** you will notice that in the ingredients photo mine are just a bunch of odds and ends. odds and ends are great for stock. if you don’t have any odds and ends from vegetable cuttings, use the ingredients list provided. stock is one of those things that you can tailor to your own taste. do what you like and enjoy. there is not right or wrong.

start by heating your stock pot on medium low heat. add all the ingredients to your stock pot. bring the water to a boil. once the liquid has come to a boil, lower the temperature to low and allow the liquid to simmer for an hour and a half. now, you can stop the cooking right there if you like. but if you have the time, the longer you simmer it, the better it will taste. i simmer mine overnight, adding some extra water and a few pinches of extra kosher salt before i go to bed. you can do it either way and it will still be 100 times better than store bought stock. so go with what works for you! once you have simmered your stock, remove it from the heat. allow it to cool for a few minutes. use your mesh strainer to skim any impurities or fats off the top. then strain the whole pot through the mesh strainer into the extra bowl or pot. allow the liquid to cool completely and store for your future use. here are a few of my favorite uses for stock.

the last couple days in socal have been raining and i freaking love it. LOVE IT. the last two days were spent at home, fireplace blazing and lots of action in the kitchen. 

wes had to work all weekend, so i asked him what he wanted for dinner. no surprise, i got the same answer i usually get from my VERY italian husband. bolognese of course. 

since the rain was coming down, there was no way i was leaving the house for additional ingredients so i decided to adjust for what i had in the house. and thank goodness i did. this version is much lighter in fat, but is very full in flavor. perfect for a rainy day, or a just because we want to day. 

turkey bolognese
serves: 6
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 1 hour
total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
ingredients: 1 lb ground turkey. 2 slices thick cut bacon, chopped. 1 onion, diced. 2 celery stalks, diced. 2 carrots, diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped. 2 tbs + 1 tsp basil, finely chopped. 1 tsp dried thyme. 1 c white wine. .25 c tomato paste. 32 oz can crushed tomatoes (if you only have whole, you can crush them yourself). 1.5 c milk. 1 tbs salt. .5 tbs pepper. 1 lb your favorite pasta. grated parmesan for serving.

start by crisping your bacon pieces in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. about 15 minutes. stir occasionally to break the pieces away from one another and all sides brown. 

when the bacon is crispy and browned, add in the onion, carrots and celery. season with a few pinches of salt and a bit of pepper and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent. stir every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 

push all your veggies to the sides of the pot. pat the turkey dry, season with half your remaining salt and pepper and add to the pot. cook until browned, breaking it up and stirring every couple minutes. about 7-10 minutes. as the turkey browns, work your veggies back into the mixture. 

stir in the thyme, oregano, 1 tsp of the basil and the garlic. cook until the garlic is fragrant. about 1 minute. 

when the garlic is fragrant, pour in the wine. cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, stirring every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 

stir in the tomato paste until everything is lightly coated. season with remaining salt and pepper and pour in the tomatoes. stir well to combine. 

simmer until the liquid from the tomatoes has reduced slightly. about 10-15 minutes.

while your tomatoes are simmering, heat a large pot of salted water over high heat until boiling. when your tomatoes have simmered, pour in the milk. stir well to combine and bring the bolognese back up to a simmer. once the sauce simmers, reduce the heat to low just to keep it warm. 

cook your pasta per the instructions. when your pasta is al dente, strain and pour right into your sauce. stir well to coat the noodles.
serve pasta topped with fresh parmesan and basil.

xo, a

turkey bolognese
serves: 6
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 1 hour
total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
ingredients: 1 lb ground turkey. 2 slices thick cut bacon, chopped. 1 onion, diced. 2 celery stalks, diced. 2 carrots, diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped. 2 tbs + 1 tsp basil, finely chopped. 1 tsp dried thyme. 1 c white wine. .25 c tomato paste. 32 oz can crushed tomatoes (if you only have whole, you can crush them yourself). 1.5 c milk. 1 tbs salt. .5 tbs pepper. 1 lb your favorite pasta. grated parmesan for serving.

tart by crisping your bacon pieces in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. about 15 minutes. stir occasionally to break the pieces away from one another and all sides brown.
when the bacon is crispy and browned, add in the onion, carrots and celery. season with a few pinches of salt and a bit of pepper and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent. stir every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 
push all your veggies to the sides of the pot. pat the turkey dry, season with half your remaining salt and pepper and add to the pot. cook until browned, breaking it up and stirring every couple minutes. about 7-10 minutes. as the turkey browns, work your veggies back into the mixture. stir in the thyme, oregano, 1 tsp of the basil and the garlic. cook until the garlic is fragrant. about 1 minute.

when the garlic is fragrant, pour in the wine. cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, stirring every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes.

stir in the tomato paste until everything is lightly coated. season with remaining salt and pepper and pour in the tomatoes. stir well to combine. simmer until the liquid from the tomatoes has reduced slightly. about 10-15 minutes.
while your tomatoes are simmering, heat a large pot of salted water over high heat until boiling.
when your tomatoes have simmered, pour in the milk. stir well to combine and bring the bolognese back up to a simmer. once the sauce simmers, reduce the heat to low just to keep it warm.
cook your pasta per the instructions. when your pasta is al dente, strain and pour right into your sauce. stir well to coat the noodles.
serve pasta topped with fresh parmesan and basil.