Well so far November has come in like a lamb, that’s not even a thing but we have had some crazy weather here in NH. Last week I wore capris and sandals to work; yeah it was that warm! My co-workers thought I was a little crazy but by Friday I saw several others joining in; I’m such a trend starter hahaha. There was even a semi local restaurant/bar that served dinner out on their patio. So with that being said, it is pretty hard to get into the holiday spirit but there is no time like the present; pun intended; to get some things going or at least start jotting down a plan of attack.

Once you have your list and I am talking about making several types of lists, or at least I do. I try to get a head start on picking up additional baking supplies; flour, sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie mix along with the evaporated milk etc. I bought most of those last month. Also a good time to stock up on paper products as well as I also try to make sure I have a variety of dry pastas, different kinds of beans, and a few cans of Marzano tomatoes on hand, you never know when you might have an impromptu gathering of friends and/or family and you need to feed them all. At least that happens quite often in my home.

This is also a great time to test out new recipes ahead of time; in most cases you know you are going to be making a turkey or a roast beef. A nice way to change it up a bit would be to use different spices or a mixture of spices and herbs. A less expensive way to try it out ahead of time is to try it on a steak or a roasted chicken now. My costly mistake was using truffle butter all over a fresh turkey for 18 and I hated it!

This weekend I had a roaster-chicken in the fridge that I needed to cook so Friday night my husband and were staying in so why not. I generally always throw an apple in the cavity of my birds along with some onions and other herbs and seasonings. I did not have any apples on hand so thinking of what I did have, we used lemons that I sliced up and layered under the skin and we still have some pretty hearty herbs in the garden; we’ve had a couple of hard frosts, just not this month so he went and cut some fresh rosemary, I added a sprig in the cavity along with my onion and Kosher salt and pepper and chopped up another sprig and covered the bird. It was simply delicious!!!

Mediterranean
Mix together lemon zest of 1 lemon along with 1 Tbs of each fresh parsley, fresh chives, fresh oregano paprika, and onion powder. 1 ½ tsp fresh cracked black pepper garlic powder, 1 tsp salt and enough olive oil to make a paste. Rub all over and let sit covered and chilled for a few hours before roasting

Garlic Lovers (me too me too!)
In a small bowl combine 1 Tbs paprika, 1 Tbs fresh minced garlic and onion powder, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 ½ tsp salt and pepper, 1 tsp dry mustard – rub all over and let sit covered and chilled for a few hours before roasting

Au Poivre (French for peppery)
Grind together  1 ½ Tbs of each white, black, and pink peppercorns with 1 Tbs paprika, 1 tsp of each salt dry mustard and crushed rosemary rub all over and let sit covered and chilled for a few hours before roasting

Or a keep it simple and generously cover your meat with Kosher salt and Fresh cracked black pepper as I did with our amazing Rib Eye steaks last night!