More Than Just Turkey

Although the turkey is often the centerpiece around which Thanksgiving dinner is made, there is more to Thanksgiving than the turkey. At many tables it is the side dishes that star. What side dishes make their way to the table is often a combination of tradition, ethnicity and innovation--but not too much innovation.

One of my earliest memories of Thanksgiving is being part of a group of female cousins whose job it was to place handwritten slips of paper naming each side dish in the serving dishes on the dining room table. Of course, that was a ploy to keep us from being underfoot; but we took our job seriously while jostling for prime position for our personal favorites.

When I was growing up there were basically two ethnic groups that mattered. You were either Italian or you were not. My mother was the only one of her siblings to marry an Italian, so Thanksgiving was somewhat of a mixture of Italian and American dishes. My mother always made her stuffing with sausage, garlic, parsley, raisins and pine nuts. But her sister made an American version. No matter. We loved just about everything--except the turnips.

Later on when my mother relinquished her cooking duties to me, we shared Thanksgiving dinner with my father's brother and his family. My Aunt Helen and I divided the cooking each year. There was always a large platter of antipasto, a large tray of lasagna, a succulent turkey with all of the trimmings and the desserts.

Now a days the group is smaller and blood relatives few. The antipasto and the lasagna have been eliminated, but we still celebrate with family every year--our best friends. L and I have been sharing Thanksgiving dinner for the past six years. It's a routine that is anticipated, comfortable and fun. We share the cooking and each prepares family favorites. I make L's cream of mushroom soup, roast the turkey, make the cranberry sauce, make my family's stuffing and the corn muffins. L makes the mashed potatoes rich with cream cheese and heavy cream, candied yams, her mother-in-law's carrot souffle, her family's stuffing--and the only wiggle room here--some type of green vegetable.For dessert I always bake an apple crostata, a pumpkin pie and something extra. Sometimes pumpkin cheese cake bars; sometimes cranberry upside down cake; and this year pecan bars.

This year there will be ten of us. Besides L & J and one of their daughters, each of their mothers will be here along with my mother and our son and his girlfriend. We will toast to our good fortune to have one another and enjoy our feast. Cennt'anni!

Kitchen Gods

I don't know what I did to anger the kitchen gods, but it must have been impressive since it has adversely affected my kitchen karma since last Friday.

It began when I decided to make some pumpkin gnocchi for dinner. I had all of the ingredients in the house; and, after all, I had made many batches of fluffy and delicious potato gnocchi in the past. Easy? Not so fast. I ended up with a lump of leaden orange-hued dough. There was no saving it.

I decided to think about dinner later and went on to candying a batch of nuts for a treat with drinks or dessert. Easy? Not so fast. Crystallized, stringy and rock hard--there was no saving them.

The next day T & G were expected for dinner. After burning a batch of crostini, I decided to make of batch of savory biscotti to have with drinks. Need I say more? The dough was tough and far from malleable. There was no saving them.

Thankfully, the rest of the dinner went off without a hitch. We had crostini (a new batch) topped with goat cheese and fig preserves. A lovely chicken roasted with carrots, lemons and olives followed. This was accompanied by a winter salad of escarole, red onion, walnuts and shards of Parmesan tossed with a mustard vinaigrette. There was apple cake topped with whipped cream for dessert. Redeemed! Or so I thought.

This is the chicken ready for the oven.



Dinners on Sunday and Monday were simple and uneventful. But yesterday when I tried to get a jump on my Thanksgiving baking--well. I had some time before dinner, so I decided to make the pastry dough and park it in the freezer until next week. The buttery dough for the apple crostata came together perfectly. On to the pastry for the pumpkin pie. A pastry dough, I might add, I have made hundreds of times. Not so fast. Right before my eyes it dissolved into a sticky mess. There was no saving it.

All I know is that I need to get my head into the game before Thanksgiving is upon us. L and I have been jointly hosting Thanksgiving for at least the last six years. I make a few appetizers, roast the turkey, and bake the desserts. She brings all of the side dishes. The number of people around the table varies from year to year, and we all look forward to it.

So I vow to banish distractions, and hopefully with the help of the kitchen gods, get on with the show.

Entertaining In An Instant

My husband was home this week recovering from back surgery. Believe me, this type of surgery has changed remarkably over the years, and recovery is somewhat easy. Last Saturday afternoon J and L called to see if they could visit the patient. John, of course, said yes and made plans for later in the day.

Earlier that day I had made a mushroom spread fragrant with lemon zest, thyme leaves and Pecorino cheese to have on hand during the weekend. When J and L arrived bearing gifts and good cheer, it was easy to slice up some dry Italian sausage and top some crostini with the mushroom spread as J opened a bottle of wine.

Soon we received a phone call from T and J asking if they could come to see John. Of course they could. When they arrived they joined us in another bottle of wine and some crostini.

As late afternoon turned into evening, it became apparent that we needed to think about dinner. Fortunately, I had made a large pot of chili that was sitting in the refrigerator. I pulled it out and began to heat it up. As I heated it, I searched the fridge to see what else could round out this meal. There were tortillas to heat up and cheddar cheese to grate. There were even some cinnamon biscotti in the freezer for dessert.

There is a lot to be said for having a well-stocked pantry--but there is more to be said about having good friends that feel comfortable enough to show up and go with the flow.

This recipe for Pumpkin Turkey Chili was posted on seriouseats.com by Kristen Swensson. This is my variation. Perfect for a chilly fall day.

Pumpkin Turkey Chili
Serves 4-6

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 red or yellow pepper, chopped
1 4-oz. can chopped green chiles
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey
2 cups (1 14.5 oz can) diced tomatoes, roughly pureed
1 19 oz. can cannellini beans
2 cups (1 14.5 oz can) pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
Ground black pepper
Cayenne pepper to taste (do not skip this)
Pinch cinnamon

Saute the onion, bell pepper, green chiles and garlic in oil until tender--about 10 minutes. Add ground turkey and brown about 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, beans and pumpkin. Season with chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, cayenne and pinch of cinnamon.

Reduce heat and simmer at least 20 minutes. As with all chilis, this is even better after it sits for awhile.Thin with a little water if it becomes too thick. Top with cilantro, sour cream, or grated cheddar cheese, if desired.

A Clean Sweep

On my way home one day this month I heard on the car radio that it was National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day. That's all the inspiration I needed to nudge me toward the job I have been meaning to get to for some time.

The day was gray and drizzly as I put on some coffee and my favorite news channel and got to it. I emptied the refrigerator shelf by shelf and began the task of cleaning everything while sorting through the odd bits one inevitably finds in even the cleanest refrigerator.

Maybe because of the down economy, I have been reading and hearing a lot lately of using up and finishing the leftover bits in the refrigerator and pantry at weeks' end.

I don't know about you, but I was brought up in a blue collar Italian-American family. Every bit of food was used all the time. In our house it was tantamount to a sin to throw away food. We ate mostly delicious peasant dishes containing very little meat. My mother always said my father did not like leftovers, so she did not serve them. Perhaps she misunderstood the meaning of the word.

Every Thursday--and I mean EVERY--my mother made a large batch of tomato sauce with meatballs and sausage. We would eat it that evening with pasta, called macaroni back then. Then EVERY Sunday we would eat it again. If rarely she would cook an eye round roast, it would appear a couple of days later under hot gravy alongside fried potatoes and peppers. A pot roast and potatoes would reappear as hash. To her these were not leftovers. I guess now one would say "cook once, eat twice."

As I cleaned out my refrigerator I was intent on using what I could. A half cup of white beans was mashed with some garlic and olive oil and added to some ground turkey along with an egg, some breadcrumbs, a half red pepper diced, and some seasonings to make turkey burgers. Various odd greens--endive, red leaf lettuce and some chicory along with some kalamata olives became the evening's salad.

And my favorite--one lonely tablespoon of marmeleda de jalapeno, carried back from Mexico City, topped the last bit of goat cheese on top of a piece of crostini. Along with one lone glass of sauvignon blanc this became my reward for a job well done.

Soup Days

It's been awhile since I've posted; and it's time to get back to writing.

The summer was busy visiting friends on Nantucket, Cape Cod and Long Beach Island; cooking for and eating with friends; and five beautiful days in Mexico City for a fabulous family wedding.

But now fall has arrived in the northeast, and schedules are beginning to get back to normal. This past Sunday was rainy and dismal--the perfect kind of day to make soup.

I love making soup. The possiblilites are endless, and it is great to know that there is a nutritious meal or two tucked away in the freezer for nights when there is no time to cook.

Beef barley soup is a great one to start with.


Beef Barley Soup
Serves 4-6

1 lb. beef chuck (or round) cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 carrots cut into large dice
3 celery stalks cut into large dice
1 onion, minced
1/2 cup pearled barley
1 14 oz. can chopped tomatoes, roughly pureed
4 cups lower-sodium beef broth
4 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste



Brown beef cubes in hot oil.Season with salt and pepper. Add carrots, celery and onion and saute for 1-2 minutes. Season with salt.



Add barley to pot and saute for about 1 minute. Add broth and water and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover pot and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add tomatoes to pot and continue to cook for about 30 minutes, until meat is tender and barley is cooked through. Season to taste.


Serve this with a loaf of crusty whole grain bread and sweet butter along with a salad of mixed greens tossed with a vinaigrette--and you'll be good to go.

Testing 1-2-3

Since my personal cheffing days, I have been on the list of home recipe testers for a national food magazine. You know the one that deconstructs all of the recipes in order to reproduce them in painstaking detail. Sometimes helpful, other times boring.

This weekend I was testing a recipe for Cacio e Pepe, that quintessential Roman pasta dish. The problem for me in testing recipes is that one must make recipes exactly as written for obvious reasons--even if you don't agree with the methods or ingredients. But I do it for fun. I certainly don't receive any remuneration--not even a subscription to the magazine or website.

So I called L and J, with whom we have shared two trips to Rome and countless bowls of pasta, and asked them to come for dinner to help me test this recipe. I prepared the recipe as written, even though the method was awkward and additional ingredients were unnecessary. But all in all the taste was good and the Frascati served with it complementary.

In my humble opinion there are only four ingredients needed to make an outstanding Cacio e Pepe. They are authentic aged pecorino romano sheep's milk cheese; fresh, coarsely ground black pepper; good quality spaghetti; and pasta water.


My Recipe for Cacio e Pepe

While bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil, crush or coarsely grind 2 tablespoons fresh black peppercorns.

Ladle some hot water into your mixing/serving bowl to warm it, drain.

Cook 1 pound spaghetti until it is al dente. Lift the spaghetti from the pot with tongs or strainer and drop into the warm serving dish.

Quickly scatter about 1 cup of grated pecorino cheese over the pasta and most of the ground pepper, and toss quickly. As you toss, sprinkle in a ladle or two of hot pasta water to moisten and amalgamate all of the ingredients. You may need more water to make this happen. Add more cheese or pepper to taste.

Note: Some like to put about 1 cup of hot water in the serving dish whisking in the cheese and pepper then adding the hot pasta and tossing to coat thoroughly. Add more cheese and pepper to taste.

Serves 4 as a main dish

The Rantings of a Mad Woman

When our friend G was here for dinner the other night, he casually mentioned that he was trying to look up the grammatical rule for using a singular or plural verb with the word none. Now that may sound very boring to most--but I perked up. Unbeknownst to G is that I have an odd interest in grammar. He knows now. His research left him confused and with no real answer.

What I had learned, and always abided by, is that a singular noun takes a singular verb. A plural noun takes a plural verb. So far so good. I had also learned that the word none is singular. Not so fast. Evidently the rules have changed. What?

According to Jane Ruby at iconlogic.com ,the writers of grammar books have finally decided to change the rule to match the way most writers and speakers use the word. They actually decided that the word none can be plural or singular in a sentence depending on the word it refers to. She says, "The way to correctly use none in a sentence today is to determine what word it is referring to, determine whether that word is plural or singular, and then make the verb plural or singular to match, like this:

None of the apples are ripe.
None of this apple is edible."

Oh no! Another example of the dumbing down of America. Look, I don't claim to have perfect grammar, but I strive to write and speak correctly. So, if I've got this right, because writers and speakers don't feel they need to follow the rule, let's change it! Makes perfect sense to me.

Well, in case all of your apples are ripe, try this wonderful recipe for Apple Crostata.


Apple Crostata adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten


For The Pastry:

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 pound very cold unsalted butter, diced
2-4 tablespoons ice water

For the Filling:

1 1/2 pounds apples for baking
1/4 teaspon grated orange zest
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced

For the pastry, place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse 12-15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add 2 tablespoons ice water--adding more if needed-- until dough just begins to come together. Turn dough out on floured board and form a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour while you prepare filling

Preheat oven to 450.

When ready to make tart, roll pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment.

For filling, peel, core and quarter the apples. Cut each quarter into 3 chunks. Toss the chunks with the orange zest. Cover the tart dough with the apple chunks, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border.

Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until mixture is crumbly. Pour mixture into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together. Sprinkle evenly over apples. Gently fold the border over the apples, pleating it to make a circle. (Center of tart will not be covered with dough.)

Bake the crostata for 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. Let the tart cool for 5 minutes, then use 2 large spatulas to transfer to wire rack to cool.

Makes 1 tart

My Day In Food

My usual breakfast of Greek yogurt, fruit, toasted walnuts and a sprinkling of cinnamon.


My lunch of sorts.


Dinner of roasted shrimp with red peppers and lemon.


And a salad.












ROASTED SHRIMP WITH PEPPERS AND LEMON Adapted from Real Simple Magazine

1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
Fresh thyme, to taste
4 scallions, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 pound peeled large shrimp
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

In large bowl, toss the bell pepper, lemon, thyme, scallions, crushed red pepper, 1 tablespoon olive oil and salt. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet, reserving the bowl.

Add shrimp to bowl and toss with paprika and remaining tablespoon of olive oil and salt and black pepper to taste. Nestle the shrimp in the bell pepper mixture on baking sheet. Roast until shrimp are cooked through and bell peppers are tender, approximately 10 minutes. May be served over rice.
Serves 4

A Day At Home

It was a busy weekend, so today it's nice to have a day at home to play catch up.

Friday night was typical for us with T&G here for pizza and martinis. We particularly liked the caramelized onion pizza sprinkled with thyme, Kalamata olives and dusted with grated Parmagiana.




On Saturday, after a long week of rain, the sun finally came out and L suggested we have a play date at the Storm King Arts Center. Storm King is a magnificent 500- acre sculpture park located one hour away in the Hudson River Valley of Orange County, NY.

Lest we should go hungry, she and J thoughtfully packed a picnic lunch. After parking near the picnic grove, we unpacked the picnic basket straight away. There were various salumi, an assortment of cheeses, olives, bread, grapes and a hearty Zinfandel. Perfect to sustain us on our way.

Walking through this park was a treat. Storm King houses a permanent collection of sculpture ranging from 1945 to the present. These massive and some not so massive works are set among the rolling hills, fields and woodlands of the Hudson River Valley. The placement of each sculpture takes maximum advantage of this setting and becomes an integral part of the overall effect. We amused ourselves while walking by trying to guess what the artist had named the sculptures. Believe me our imaginations were not challenged. For example, one huge sculptue of steel tubes was named something like Weathered Steel Tubes! You get it. It is impossible to see the entire park in one visit, and we look forward to our return.

Sunday, our son and his girlfiend came for dinner. We enjoyed a dinner of grilled loin lamb chops, roasted asparagus, grilled sweet potatoes and a tossed green salad with a shallot and sherry vinaigrette. For dessert we had a lemon ricotta cream topped with raspberries and blackberries. Nice day.

I Was Much Younger Then

I met a long-time friend for lunch the other day. If you have read this blog, you have figured out that all of my relationships have some connection to food. So it will come as no surprise to learn that I met J at a cooking class in 1977. Thirty-two years ago? My apologies to Bob Dylan, but I was so much younger then; I'm older than that now.

I am not particularly an out-going or friendly person, but J and I had an instant connection. We became fast friends and formed, for lack of a better name, a gourmet group. Four couples would get together about six times a year cooking our way through the cuisines of various countries or themes. Some of our dinners were great successes; and just a few--not so much.

There was the night we celebrated Greek cuisine. Each course incorporated phyllo dough as an ingredient. After that disaster, we began to coordinate our courses more carefully. We cooked, we laughed, we ate. And through the years we became accomplished cooks as well as good friends.

But as usual, life happens and families grow and change; new people come into our lives as others leave. After our gourmet group ended, J and I remained close friends. She even was a guest one evening at my present gourmet group. We don't see each other nearly as much as I would like, but at lunch the other day we did not lack for anything to talk about. And I vow to be better about keeping in touch. But if I'm not, I will think of J every time I make her white pizza recipe. Try it for your friends.

J's PIZZA BIANCA

This makes enough topping for 2 10-12" pizzas

1/4 cup olive oil
1 large shallot
4 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. fontina or gruyere cheese, grated

Process all ingredients except cheese in food processor until paste forms. Spread on pizza dough and sprinkle with cheese. Bake.

Note: I don't usually have dried basil or parsley on hand. Topping is fine without them.

Check out this link http://scribbit.blogspot.com/2009/06/junes-write-away-contest.html