Thanksgiving in Carlsbad

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It's Thanksgiving morning.  Last year this time I was in Mammoth Lakes and son, Tim was getting ready to barbecue the turkey and it was snowing.  

 

This year I am in Carlsbad and he is at the grill but this time the sun is out.   I have remade the cranberry sauce from a new recipe out of Elle Decor magazine (Daniel's Dish).  It was made with juniper berries and had a beautiful color and flavor 

Family came including Pat ad Tom (Linda's mom and step-father), Keith and Linda with their 3 children, Tim and Dave.   

Pat brought the mashed potatoes and green beans.  I made gravy from a mix- Sur la tables Truffle gravy seasoning mix which was easy and excellent.

Cindy, my niece from Alabama sent flowers 

I had made Pumpkin Pie the day before and also a Cranberry Tart with a Cream-cheese filling.  

Tim made Burnt Sugar Cupcakes- a famillyrecipe of my mothers.   we were all thankful to be together and enjoy family traditions.  

Dukka

Dukka-what is it anyway?  IIn spite of having middle-Eastern friends from teaching days, I had never heard of it.

Yesterday, my darling niece, Cindy sent me a surprise package.  At first I thought the box in my yard was a mistake.  I frequently have found packages intended for the previous resident at my door by mistake.  But NO!  This was for me!  The box came from Temecula Olive Oil Company.  In side I found Balsamic vinegars, oils, and seasonings.  One of the seasonings was Dukkah- an Egyptian spice-blend composed of toasted nuts and seeds.  Hazelnuts or chickpeas is usually the base ground together with coriander, cumin, and sesame seeds.  I found this ny using my Food Lover's Companion, a comprehensive Food of food terms written by the late Susan Tyler Herbst.  

But back to my package.  I read the label on the jar marked Dukkah.  'Mix it with olive oi", it said.   I

spooned a bit of it in a small dish and added olive oil.  I had a few carrots and radishes and tried it out.  Why have I not heard of dukkah before?  

I didn't quite finish all the dip but I hated to toss it out so I cut up two slices of slightly stale bread into croutons and tossed into the remaining dukkah/oil mixture and spread them out to dry as future salad croutons.  YUM!!!l