Gawd I am such a poser. I don’t know the difference between a vinaigrette and an emulsion-or why it matters?!-but I trust the food dictionary at epicurious.com. And if you don’t watch Top Chef then just forget I even said anything. Oh and if you don’t watch Top Chef you really should: it’s a good time.

Now that that’s out of the way. A big fat thank you to all of the food bloggers posting salads this week. All I want to eat forever right now is a big, fresh light salad. Unfortunately I can hardly fit any lettuce in the fridge right now due to the avalanche of leftover containers that threatens every time I open the door. Here is an easy, winter salad of escarole, Belgium endive, blue cheese and pecans dressed with a pear infused vinaigrette. I know, fancy pants, huh?

The dressing is a simple 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar combination but the secret is to scrounge your grocer’s vinegar section for interesting and different flavors. This dressing was olive oil and pear infused white balsamic vinegar with a little chopped shallot, mustard , and salt and pepper. Salad dressing are so mystical when staring you down from the bottle on the grocery shelf. But in real life they are simple and easy and can be made any way you like them. Oh and the connection to the whole emulsion thing? The glossy thick dressings at the store are simply the oil and vinegar emulsified into a thick sauce (hopefully, otherwise its probably just additives that make it thick-let’s not think about it) but it is a little tricky to do by hand with a whisk. Your homemade dressing will probably separate but no worries, just give it a good shake.

Basic Vinaigrette

• 1 garlic clove, minced to a paste
• 1/4 cup vinegar, red wine or balsamic
• 1 tsp shallot or chopped onion
• 1/2 tsp coarse grain mustard
• 3/4 cup oil, olive or nut
• salt and pepper

1. Combine all ingredients and whisk or stir before serving.
2. If you want to try an emulsion, combine all ingredients except oil then slowly dribble in oil while whisking steadily. Don’t be disappointed if it still separates.

I have been making this Lemon Meringue Pie for a few years now and it has become a family favorite. The creamy lemon curd is just sour enough and the fluffy vanilla meringue is light and sweet. Lemon pie is refreshing in the summer but it’s lightness also makes it a great holiday dessert eaten after any one of the big feasts. When I first attempted this pie I used Alton Brown’s recipe and method. The pie tasted delicious but it never set and it was a lot of work! So I changed the method to be a one pot recipe (you do make the meringue in a separate bowl) and now I don’t have to worry about my egg yolks curdling or having my pie set up properly.

This is a great, easy from scratch pie that is delicious and impressive! It is my most requested pie and I make it several times a year.

Old Fashioned Lemon Meringue Pie

• 1 prepared and baked pie crust
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup water, divided, boil 1 cup
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 4 eggs, divided
• 3 tbsp butter, chopped into bits
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• pinch cream of tartar
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Prepare and bake a single pie crust. Heat oven to 375ºF.
2. In a medium saucepan (without heat) combine dry ingredients, cornstarch, sugar, and salt.
3. Add 1/2 cup cold water and lemon juice, whisk to combine until smooth.
4. Beat egg yolks thoroughly and add to liquid in pan.
5. Boil remaining cup of water and add to pan, whisking until smooth. Turn on heat to medium high.
6. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Once thick, turn heat to medium and simmer, stirring constantly, for another minute or until well-gelled.
7. Remove from heat and stir in butter and lemon zest. Pour into pie shell.
8. Beat egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar until soft peaks.
9. Add sugar and vanilla, continue beating until stiff peaks.
10. Spread meringue over hot filling all the way to the crust.
11. Bake pie for 8 to 10 minutes or until meringue is golden.
12. Cool on a wire rack until room temperature then chill over night in the fridge.

If you have extra egg whites sitting around you can add them for an even bigger meringue. I added the leftover egg whites from the chocolate pie to this one and it made a lovely pillowy meringue, but it’s not necessary to crack extra eggs just for this. The original four make a nice thick layer-the perfect offset to the tangy pie, especially if you have non-meringue lovers around. Although if they are like me this pie will change their mind!

What’s for dinner this week?

So Thanksgiving is over in the US and I know you are already sick of turkey stuffing mashed potatoes, bizarre leftover recipes, and pumpkin pie. Great, me too. I will be posting my pie recipes in the next few weeks, but I’ll try to space them out a little.

As a diversion from all that heavy T-day food I made some roast beef sandwiches on ciabatta with a little pesto mayonnaise. I have been trying to keep my herbs alive by pruning them frequently, however I never know what to do with the small handful of leaves I take off. It’s too little to make a huge batch of pesto but too much to just throw away. Today, I simply finely minced the leaves with a garlic clove and a couple of pecans then drizzled it with olive oil and sprinkled over a little parmesan cheese. Mixed together in a small bowl, it was the perfect single-serving pesto.

I also figured it was as good a time as any to try my hand at homemade mayo again. It turned out much, much better this time and I can finally feel mayo success. I stirred in the pesto and viola!-a fresh flavorful spread for my post-holiday sandwich. I used the mayo recipe over at Wasabi Bratwurst as well as Frank’s tips from the comments and I really liked the result this time. I think I will probably continue tinkering with adding different spices but this is a great basic mayo base.

Fresh Mayonnaise

makes about 1 cup, prep 5 min, adapted from Wasabi Bratwurst

• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup olive oil

1. Add all ingredients to a blender except oil.
2. Pulse to combine ingredients, then slowly dribble in oil while blender is running.

Thanks for the little break. It was really nice to enjoy the holiday without feeling chained to the computer. This blog is something I enjoy so much that I was surprised at how refreshing it felt to be completely unplugged for a few days. I am itching to get back to it now, however, so here we go!

Did you miss me? I have, er, been a little busy the last couple of days. My absolute favorite part of Thanksgiving is the PIE. Sure, I’ll show you all kinds of side dishes in the next few weeks. But what I really want to talk about are the pies.  I made five pies this year and had to restrain myself from making at least two more-considering there’s only seven of us for dinner. Have a wonderful, relaxing holiday and I’ll see you all when the food coma wears off!

Here’s a pie preview:

Chocolate Pie-before being covered in fresh sweetened whipped cream!

Blueberry Pie-this is the kids’ favorite pie to make.

Lemon Meringue Pie-doesn’t look like much now, but it’s everybody’s favorite.

Pumpkin Pie-showing off the homemade crusts.

Apple Pie-took a vote one year and it’s been lattice crust only ever since!

Don’t forget to save your turkey carcass for making stock.