What's Your Favorite Dish To Make

 We all have our go to  Thanksgiving dishes that we're a whiz at making. It could be the actual turkey itself. It could be that green bean casserole.Some are great at creating homemade pie crusts and fillings.

What's your favorite dish to make? Mine is stuffing. I like either the easy stove top one or my family's time honored savory bread pudding version. It's redolent with sauteed onions and celery (the kitchen smells sooo good then) and baked to perfection with a nice crunchy crust.

What is your favorite Thanksgiving make? let us know and have fun creating it next week.

A Winter Spring Fusion

 Even though it is Spring the temps have a wintry chill to them. You  still need something warm and rib sticking. Yet you can have something satisfying but with hints of spring to it.

One of the best winter Spring fusion dishes is a cream based pasta primavera. This combines veggies with whole cream and milk.You can use the  fresh veggies that your grocery is offering right now or use frozen. TRy it with peas, broccoli and cauliflower. Saute the vegetables in butter or plant based butter and garlic . t Add the cream or plant based milk . You can use chicken , or vegetable broth to thicken the sauce along with cornstarch. A chunky pasta is the best with this, Think penne or bow ties. Another fusion dish would be a homemade veggie soup.Again you can use frozen or fresh vegetables for this. It can easily be turned into pasta e fagiole.Beabs and small pasta like macaroni or ditalini can be added. The base can be beef, chicken or vegetable broth . You can also make pea soup but add mint for a bright, fresh flavor. This is not like a traditional one with ham as a base.This has onion for more flavor along with a clove of garlic.One cup of fresh mint leaves (your grocery can  produce you with these) are the main flavor point here.

Roasts figure into this time as well however there not the heavy ones served on snowy cold days, Think a lighter meat sich as chicken or Cornish hen.The flavor is not as heavy and pares well with such early Spring vegetables as asparagus, Cornish hens can be glazed with orange marmalade for a crispy, salty and sweet skin. You can do the same with chicken too. Lamb has always been associated with the coming of the new season. You could roast a whole leg of lamb if you want, just to do a dress rehearsal for your Easter dinner. Lamb chops are an easier way to go.They can be grilled or roasted with lemon juice and herbs for a fresh flavor.What do you serve with any of these roasts? Nix gravies and stuffing. You can still have mashed potatoes but make try a garlic mash or potato croquettes or gratins (which you can buy at Lidl). Roasted carrots are always good too. They can be glazed or just brushed with butter and then roasted. Asparagus is ccming into its' own . Create a dish of steamed stalks drenched in butter and then sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, You could add sliced hard boiled eggs too.

This is the time of year when there's still a lingering nip in the air.Create Spring forward dishes that are rib sticking yet fresh. It's a nice way to keep warm but have a Spring greenness to it.

Your Christmas Wishes

 here;s a thoughtful Friday question of the week_ What do you want for Christmas food wise? Most Amricans and Europeans would say that  they'd wish for the price of food to go down.It is expensive. Other may be indulgent and say thye'd like a bottle of champagne and some caviar? Others would simply what a home cooked meal by their moms and grandmothers, enjoying family classics like ginger ale glazed ham or homemade stuffing. 

My wish is that all the planet's inhabitants will be well fed and well nourished. It has been a tough year for many on this Earth, between war and natural disasters. Simple food stuffs like flour and milk are hard to be found. I only hope this holiday season should be bountiful in the sense that everyone ,especially the little ones go to bed , well stuffed and sated. A good meal may not take away what's wrong in the world but it can make a hard time slightly better.

What is your  food wish this Christmas? Let us know🎄🎄🎅

Are You Thanksgiving Ready?

 It's that question that's asked every year. Are you Thanksgiving ready? Have you been stockpiling? Testing all the appliances? Checking pots and pans? It's time to look over what will be the busiest room in the house.

One thing home chefs can do is look over their larger appliances. Is the oven working correctly? What about the microwave and air fryer? These are sub major players in the whole meal game but if can be dire if they break. Microwaves are used for melting butter and cheese along with quick vegetable steaming . Air fryers come in handy for crisping up rolls along with  air frying potato and sweet potato wedges. Make sure they up to par and their wires are still sturdy. Other smaller items to check on - mixers and blenders. MIxers are usied for everyhting from kneading bread dough to even easily mashing potatoes. Blenders are used for batters and blending ingredients for salad dressings. Check to make sure the machines are running smoothly and the blender body is not cracked. Food processors and choppers should also be examined. These too are integral in creating the perfect dishes too. Look over you knives as well. Do they need to be sharpened? Now is the time to do it - in that calm period before all the cooking frenzy.

Once the appliances are thoroughly checked  then start looking at your ingredients. Have you bought your turkey yet? Buy it now because you never know if your store may run out or may run out fo the size you want.Vegan and vegetarians should also have their tofurkey already bought. Some places may only carry two or one tofurkey kits (these include a glaze and stuffing). You may have to drive around and look in two r three stores before finding one. The same applies to Gardein's turkey cutlets and gravy. This is my Thanksgiving go too and I noticed stores like Target and Acme didn't really stock it as they did in the past. I had to  buy it two weeks ago and it was the last one in my local Acme. Another item to stock up on now is pre made stuffing. Many home chefs don't like the idea of making the dish from scratch , although they'll never have to run out of bread. Get a box of the family's faovrite stuffing now. Green beans are going to be popular too , thanks to everyone planning on making casseroles.Of you can;t fidn them sub in another veggie like lima beans or corn. Also make sure you have enough flour , sugar and spices for baking along with eggs. They may seem like a small things  but also check to see if you have enough napkins and containers for leftovers too.

Thanksgiving is less than a week away. Be ready now for it. It does pay to be prepared,

A Thanksgiving Up North

 Happy Thanksgiving to our Canadian neighbors to the north. Like us , they have a day of feasting and thanking mixed with cooking and hosting. Their recipes reflect who they are and the great products the country is known for.

American home chefs could use this day and the Candian recipes as a tester day for our Thanksgiving next month. Maple syrup is big in Quebec province and it can be used for both sweet and savory recipes. Of course the most obvious way to go with it for yams or sweet potatoes.The syrup's earthy flavor brings out the yam's or the sweet potatoes own sweet flavor, however be sparing with it. You don't want ot to taste like candy. Lemon juice is often added to cut the sugariness.Another take on them is cutting the sweet potatoes or yams into planks, brushing with a combination of melted butter or margarine and then air frying them  This gives the fries a nice crispy exterior while still maintaining a soft meaty inside. Maple syrup can also be used as a glaze for turkey too. This is sually made with the addition of orange juice, and vegetable stock. Wait thirty minutes before poring over the roasting bird. It's then poured over the bird again two and a half hours after the first glazing and when the oven temperature has been lowered. The extra glaze can be pured over the finished roast or served as a sauce alongside it.

What do you stuff a Canadian Thanksgiving bird with? A  French Canadian stuffing!!! It's usually a meat based one as opposed to the American  mostly bread kind. The Quebecois version is usually a mix of both pork and beef along with two large chopped onions. There is bread as a base but also some families add breadcrumbs as well. Their sides are like ours. There's always a big bowl of homemade mashed potatoes and Brussel sprouts, the last usually served with crumbled bacon on top. Are Thanksgiving Day desserts the same up north as they are here? There are pumpkin and apple pies but there are also mouth watering butter tarts too. These are miniature pies usally filled with raisins, quarter of a cup of butter,corn syrup and brown sugar.Eggs are added for a custardy silkiness and vanilla for more flavor. The tarts can be topped with either whipped cream, creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream.Another popular Thanksgiving (and year round ) dessert is the nanaimo bar , named for the British Columbia city of Nanaimo. It's a rich layered bar , made with a chocolate and coconut laced cracker crumb  as the first layered topped with a custardy middle.It's then  topped with a chocolate candy topping. They have to be chilled between layers to get that neat tricolor look.Shortbread is also baked for the holiday with some home chefs adding maple syrup for flavor.

To all our Canadian friends, enjoy this holiday. Give thanks for delicious food and recipes handed down, Be grateful for what you have.

Herbs Ahead

 Everyone is busy taking the last of the tomatoes and turning them into sauce. They're looking at those newly picked apples and thinking butters. Yet what about herbs. They're one of the most important ingrdients and the easiest to keep for fall and winter cooking ahead.

Herb drying has been around since the beginning of time. Home chefs and healers dried them in the sun or in their homes. The last was one by tying them in bunches and hanging them from the rafters. This not only provided flavor for their stews and roasted meats but also scented the main rooms. You can do this too, but preferably in a cool dry room like a pantry basement  or attic.Make sure the area is well ventilated otherwise the leaves will be soggy, damp or even rotty.  Can you dry herbs in the oven? Absolutely! You can even dry seeds ike pumpkin too this was too. Place the leaves on a cookie sheet in a low oven  - less than 180 degrees Farenheit for two to four hours.The leaves will be crumbly when they're fully done. Keep in mind that you should pick your herbs early in the morning and take the leaves before the plant begins to flower. This is when their flavor is at its' strongest. You can prolong harvesting by snipping off any buds that appear.Also remove dried , sickly or wilted leaves at this time too.

What can you do with dried herbs? Everything!!! Dried rosemary is used in many Italian dishes.It graces foccaccio, adding color and flavor to this famed bread. A truly tasty side dish is rosemary potatoes. This s taking red potaotes and sheet pan roasting them with rosemary and sea salt after tossing them in olive oil. They're roasted for 350 degrees Farenheit for thirty to forty minutes. You can also use the herb in homemade sauces and part of a pizza sauce. Basil is another incredibly popular herb that most gardens have. This too is versatile. Dried basil is a definite must for homemade tomato sauces what about pesto? Yes it's usually and traditionally made with fresh leaves but you can use the dried ones. Keep the same ingredients ,lemons, olive oil and walnuts and blend everything in a food processor or blender. Again you use the pesto as a plain sauce or add a teaspoon of it to sauces and even dressings. Sage is another herb that's great to dry.It'll be used in stuffings for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It imparts a slightly minty and pepepry taste that offsets the mildness of the bread. Also try it in minestrone soup too.

Keep those garden herbs going in delicious recipes for the entire year. They're a smap to dry and fun to use.  You'll have that fresh flavor well into fall.

Sparking Those Sides

 For years we've had the same holiday sides. There will always be stuffing, potatoes, yams , some kind of green veggie and of course cranberry sauce. Yet these can be boring made the same way year after year. It's time to spark up those sides.

Rethink stuffing if you've made it the traditional way for years.Most have a mix of white  bread , celery , sage and yellow onion. Mix it up with subbing in rye bread for the white. You can add caraway seeds, an ingredient in the loaf. Chop up some Granny Smith apples to add in too. French or Italian bread makes for a tastier, chewier stuffing, perfect for sopping up gravy. Change up the way the stuffing is cooked. You can mold the stuffing into balls and then air fry them. Potatoes are another must make Thanksgiving side. Almost all sere their mashed. Yet a tastier alternative would be sheet pan potatoes cooked while the bird is roasting You can also cook greens beans or Brussels sprouts with em too, Onions can also be cooked with the potatoes for a very tasty side.Think of drizzling olive oil on them before cooking and then a sprinkle of rosemary , sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.Another idea is baked potatoes and then splitting them to hold gravy and sliced turkey.

Sweet potatoes or yams are another holiday table must have. Many make them in a casserole , topped with a gooey layer of marshmallow. Yet these beta-carotene  rich gems are just perfect on their own, with just butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon. They could also be the fun side if you sliced them wafer thin and then air fry into crispy chips. They can also be cubed too and then air fried. What about those green veggies? Many serve either green beans or Brussels sprouts. For a more refreshing idea. why not make a green bean salad with a vinaigrette of just olive oil and lemon juice. It's a  break from the usual casserole. Home chefs can also make sheet pan green beans. Roast them with garlic  and rosemary for a tasty side. Another idea is introdiucing a green you haven't invited to the holiday table yet. Kale is versatile and can be turned into a tasty sidekick to the turkey. The best way to cook it is sauteing it in olive oil and garlic. You could also make it into a salad too. Another classic star of the Thanksgiving table is cranberry sauce,. Yet many people don't really like this gelatinous cylinder. A homemade one, zinged up with orange zest is a better choice. You can also turn them into a relish perfect for a leftover turkey sandwich the next day, It's just pulsing fresh cranberries, oranges, sugar and cinnamon together in a food processor. It's a quick easy side that just needs to be chilled for two hours before serving. You can add some sour cream in if you want.

Thanksgiving is all about the sides. Yet make them sparkled and spark with new recipes and new ingredients. It'll make for an interesting and memorable holiday table.

Test Runs

 Thanksgiving is around two and a half weeks away. It means a busy kitchen and this year cooking for many  in some families. Yet some of us are rusty with cooking fancy foods or large quantities. It's time for a test run to not only test out new recipes but to also brush up on cooking and baking skills.

One of the most daunting courses is the turkey. Luckily there is still the Butterball Hotline to help during those iffy moments on Thanksgiving Day. However get yourself acclimated again to cooking the roast. Assess your pans, are they still good? Do you need to get new ones or the disposable aluminum kind? Get  to know brining liquid and how to brine your bird. You may want to try a new recipe or tweak the old one. Once roasted , go over the pros and cons. ask yourself was the meat moist and juicy or dry? How can that be fixed. Is the skin crisp and crunchy? Get familiar with massaging the turkey meat with butter. This is done under the skin and it produces a moister , tastier meat. If you want to experiment with herb or sage butter, now is the time to do it. Don't experiment on Thanksgiving Day. The family may not like the new flavor and not eat it. The same applies to the gravy.It's probably been awhile since you made the homemade kind. Now is the time to perfect the recipe. You may want to adjust the amount of flour used to avoid lumps. Experiment with it and write down any adjustments you've made.

Sides should also be tested out. This is easier to do, because you can make a side a day with your meals. If there's a new recipe that piques your interest try it out during these two weeks. It's also a good idea to get the family's opinion on it too. Their input is important if you try a variant of a traditional Thanksgiving recipe. They may love or hate those mashed sweet potatoes with a drizzle of maple butter.  There are diehard sweet potato casserole fans that may balk at the idea of eating a healthier roasted sweet potato. That means dusting off the family recipe and creating something you haven't made in two years. Brand new recipes definitely need to be tried out. You need to get used to the prep and the steps. Gauge the easiness or difficulty of it  along with the time used for prep and cooking. If it's too difficult, look for an easier variation or ways to shave cooking time so that it syncs up with the turkey and other sides. You don't want a side dish that will be served thirty minutes after everything else.If the recipe proves to be hard and demanding then pick out one that fits your cooking skills. Don't be afraid to try out different recipes on one ingredient like Brussels sprouts or green beans, It's also a good time to try out your stuffing recipes too and see what needs to be tweaked with it.

This is the time to test out your tried and true Thanksgiving recipe.It's also the time to give those new recipes a whirl. A trial run is always necessary when cooking a big holiday dinner. Do it now to get ready for the big day.

Fall Sides

 It's officially autumn now. It's time to forgo those salads and slaws and think heavier sides to go with those roasts and stews. Luckily there's a whole array of  side dishes you can make. They can be simple or complex but all will have great flavor.

One of the best fall and winter sides is stuffing. It goes not only well with turkey but also chicken and pork. Use Stovetop Stuffing if you want to go the easy route. This is super simple to make and lets you concentrate more on the main dish. You can try a classic stuffing made with stale French bread ,sage, chopped celery and chicken broth. You can add eggs if you want for a more custardy mouth feel,You can also change up the bread and sub in challah or sourdough. If you're serving a pork roast, think about adding chopped Granny Smith apples to it to compliment the meat. A novel way of serving it is bake the stuffing in a muffin tin so you can have cups to fill with meat and gravy. Another fall side is squash. Any meat benefits from its' mild flavor so it doesn't steal the spotlight. Butternut, a rich orange squash is the best to serve right now. You can bake or even microwave it. Fill the hollowed out section with butter or cinnamon. Brown sugar also works, You can also go savory by adding garlic to the butter.

Fall is when many cruciferous veggies come into harvest.Cabbage  was a staple in the summer as many turned it into slaw to accompany hoi dogs and hamburgers. You can try frying it in butter and add some minced garlic for a truly flavorful side. Cabbage leaves can also be sauteed in oil. You can add bacon and onions for more flavor along with a scant cup of vegetable broth. Kale is also popular right now. Think about sauteing it in olive oil with lemon and garlic for a nutritious side with chicken or steak. Remember to not dry the leaves after initially washing it. This makes them less chewy and more tender.Brussels sprout are the perennial autumn favorite. You see them everywhere now., from groceries to farmer's markets. One delicious way to make them is steam  either on the stovetop or microwave, then dress them with melted butter and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.They and kale can be turned into crispy chips  after a few minutes in an air fryer.These would be a great side for burgers or chicken nuggets.

Fall is here and with a wide variety of different side dish. You can go the traditional route with stuffing, squash or cabbage or try something new like kale or Brussels sprouts chips.  No matter which way you'll go you have a perfect complement to your main course. 

Leftover Fun

Most Americans are probably staring at all the leftovers in their fridges right now. What to do with all that turkey, stuffing and sides? Create some tasty sides and fun new dishes with the old ones.

Most have what's left of a small to midsize turkey right now. Of course you've been through all the sandwiches right now , from hot with gravy and bread to cold with tomatoes and mayo. You could take a tip from The New York Times Food section and make turkey tamales. A variety of chiles are used to make the meat more flavorful (although turkey doesn't need this) along with tomatillos and cilantro. The tamales have the classic corn and husk coverings, softened with either chicken or turkey broth. You could also make tacos with the meat using cold shredded turkey and the usual taco fillings such as sliced tomatoes and shredded lettuce. Add a dab of mayo to moisten the meat too, eliminating some of its' dryness. A hot soup is great for right now and again leftover turkey fills that bill. Think a rich cream of turkey soup, made heartier and creamier with the addition of half and half. Rice or orzo can be added too along with carrots and peas. Turkey pho is a different spin. The meat's earthiness will work well with the five spices, brown sugar and fish sauce.

What about the stuffing and sides? Again the New York Times suggests turning the stuffing into dumplings. It's mixing your leftover stuffing with eggs, flour and baking powder and then dropping them into a turkey soup, complete with repurposed sweet potatoes. Yet , what about just cooking the dumplings in turkey stock and have them swim in left over gravy as a delicious side. They can also be turned into cups, filled with turkey, peas and sliced carrots along with gravy for an instant version of turkey pot pie.  You could also flatten the stuffing , frying it into two circles and make a stuffing panini with it. Fill with turkey and gravy. As for those leftover sweet potatoes,, turn them into puffs. It's mashing them with eggs , flour and salt and then frying or air frying them. These make for a tasty lunch or fun dinner. Sweet potato mash can also be used for waffles too.They'd be a great side with fried chicken or even turkey. Greens such broccoli and green beans can be repurposed into tasty salads , dressed with a simple vinaigrette.

Thanksgiving leftovers provide such a wide variety of tasty new dishes. Get creative with that bird and sweet potatoes. Make something exciting with that stuffing and broccoli. It's a whole new table of delicious dishes.

A Military Holiday

Our service people deal with everything , from mortars to snipers. Imagine spending a Thanksgiving with the threat of attack looming over every bite. Yet that's what our almost every branch of our military has gone through for centuries. The upcoming holiday is no different.

Thanksgiving on duty was the main article in yesterday's New York Times Food section. C.J. Chivers, a Times investigative reporter and Pulitzer prize winner , wrote about how our armed services celebrate. There are also stories from former and current military members, some funny , most poignant and unsettling. As per Mr. Chivers, who writes regularly on the Afghan Conflict, the US has spent nineteen years fighting the war on terrorism with a few million American service members celebrating away from home and family. Earlier in the year, The Times contacted veterans about their experiences and asked for pictures too. Thanksgivings were varied, depending on the base. Troops at midsized bases found that the military or their peers put out traditional spreads.Full turkey dinners were saved at one base thanks with the help of the U.S.N.S.  GySgt. Fred W. Stockham's merchant mariners. Ethan Frisch , an aid worker for Aga Khan Foundation who worked on rural infrastructure in Afghanistan bought two scrawny turkeys and butchered them himself. He flavored them with local wild cumin and coriander seeds.

The problem with a holiday  - any holiday in a war zone - is that the wars don't stop. (although there was the famed Christmas Truce of 1914 where British  and French troops had a temporary truce with the German army). Turkey and phone calls can only go so far. They're basically band aids plastered over an always bleeding wound.Many enlisted know this. One, Sgt Michelle Estabrook Kuranishi did her best to cobble together a holiday meal with a fellow Marine. They managed to put together a traditional dinner, thanks to scrounging through  enough care packages to acquire pumpkin filling for pies and enough stuffing to feed their group. Finally she could briefly forget the recently tragic past where the two peers she had trained were killed in Ramadi in central Iraq.  This holiday meal included her partner, Master Sgt. Brett Angus who was tall ,lanky and enjoyed a good prank, esp
ecially when it came to Sgt. Estabrook Kuranishi. The happiness, if it could be called that was short lived. The next day Master. Sgt, Angus was killed when he investigated their bomb detecting robot that had been blown up. Now Thanksgiving has a resonance  for her, one shared with those who have survived their tours of duty. The fact that she is still alive fourteen years later has made her grateful for the life that was spared.

War is hell.  A holiday spent in a war zone even more so. We can't make it better for our military where they're stationed. We sure as hell can make it better for them when they return.

A Foodie Holiday Away

Sometimes the holidays call for a vacation. There's something freeing about spending a day at a hotel buffet and then hitting the slopes or the shops. You don't have to cook and then serve. You just pick what you want and then get served. Now that's the perfect Thanksgiving or Christmas.

 It pays to stay in the States considering Thanksgiving isn't an international holiday. There are enough places to travel to to enjoy not just the holiday but the sites too. Of course the gem of any American city for Thanksgiving is New York City. It's where you can see the Macy's Day Parade and then go wild at a sumptuous holiday dinner. If you have the money head over to Dirty French in So Ho. It' is a pricey $98  for a three course prix-fixe meal. You'll enjoy traditional fare but with a side of pate and a savory millefeulle. For an Italian twist on the holiday  head to the classy Gran Tivoli on Broom Street  in Greenwich Village where there's roast turkey and pork belly served. The next day is Black Friday.  Go crazy shopping at Macy's and the new seven story Nordstroms. Both are chock full of restaurants and cafes to sustain you during a busy shopping day. Want quiet and quaint? Then head up to New England, like Snowvillage Inn in Eaton, New Hampshire. near the White Mountain National Forest. You can ski, sit by the fire and enjoy good , old fashioned meal of turkey and stuffing. For a really old,  - four hundred years old, in fact, go to the Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth  to try a dish of turkey sauced and a sallet  along with a sweet pudding of Native corn and  a pottage of cabbage, leeks and soup.

Christmas can be spent anywhere. Europe is the obvious choice. It's where most of our traditions come from. Many of the bigger cities have Christmas markets where you can buy all sorts of gifts and sample delicious foods. Head to Germany , the birthplace of the holiday. Munich has the Christmas mart where you can taste Kletznbrot, a bread loaded with nuts fruit and honey and Fatschnkindl - a pastry shaped like the Baby Jesus in His manger. Of course there's beer and roast pork too - the perfect holiday meal. Paris is another city , famed for its' holiday shopping and outdoor markets. Browse stalls while you sip a cup of French onion soup or nibble on sausages. Rome has the Piazza Navona Christmas mart where you can sip mulled wine and munch on an Italian holiday classic  - roasted chestnuts. Spend Christmas Eve in Vatican City where you can also dine at many restaurants and cafes that feature everything from classic pasta to a variety of pizzas. Of course there is London, where there are dozens of Christmas marts. Some have apres ski themes with hot toddies where you can also munch on candied pecans and a cone of candy floss - cotton candy. This is the city that gave us A Christmas Carol and that giant turkey for roasting. Most of the hotels in the city are offering traditional British fare such as a turkey with the trimmings followed by the lit Christmas pudding.

Treat yourself to a holiday away from your kitchen. There is literally a buffet of cities and towns to visit for good food and fun. Enjoy the time away. Treat yourself to this travel present.

Easing Into Fall Cooking

 Don't put away the grill and cold salads just because a few leaves have fallen and school has started.It's still summer, albeit with slightly nippy mornings and evenings. It's just a matter of easing into fall cooking and combining the best of the two seasons.

There may still be warm days and evenings ahead. Go ahead and barbecue those cuts your family loves. You can still have chicken legs and hamburgers but add a fall spice like ground star anise , turmeric or sage. The last is an autumn staple, appearing mostly in Thanksgiving stuffing. Sage traditionally goes with poultry and smoked sage will infuse the chicken meat with a lovely ,  citrus-y note. Mix it with rosemary and add to any hamburger for a more autumnal spin on a hot weather classic. One fall dish, roast turkey can easily be cooked over wood chips.Use the breasts instead of the whole bird. For a bit more fun think about turkey legs.Don't fret over trying to find them. Most Wal-marts and Shop-Rites have them. Since the turkey flavor is so unique, just baste with melted butter, sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Just these alone will make for a nice crispy exterior. What to serve with it? You can buy jarred gravy or use any frozen stuff from the holidays. Add homemade stuffing and a salad featuring craisins  - dried cranberries for a tasty Saturday supper or Sunday lunch.

One fall comfort food is meat loaf. Unfortunately to cook or bake it, requires a hot oven which can be uncomfortable on a warm day.Luckily this is another recipe that is grill friendly. Spray the grill with non stick cooking spray so the loaf won't stick and get messy, You can even add half a cup of barbecue sauce to the  mix for a tangy bite. A fun spin would be serving sliced meat loaf on hamburger buns. Add the same fixings you would a regular hamburger.  Pile with bacon, tomatoes, and lettuce. Add onion slices and avocados or even a slice of sharp cheddar. Grilled foods call for salads. By now you're probably sick of the mayo soaked macaroni ones. Again use the grill to create tasty ones with a rich smoky flavor. Try late season corn and tomatoes for a flavorful one.It's easy to char both on a grill, then scrape the niblets off the ears. Mix with the tomatoes along with a tasty lime vinaigrette. If you want to make it more substantial, add the Mexican cheese, queso fresco which is like feta cheese and sliced avocado. A more fallish one is simply butter lettuce with apple slices and walnuts. Use different types like Fuji and Granny Smith for color and crunch. A simple apple cider vinaigrette works with this.

Ease into fall cooking by combining the ingredients of both seasons. Use and pair cool weather ingredients with hot weather techniques. It makes for tasty meals with both a summer and autumn vibe.

Those Uh Oh Moments

Cooking and baking are not perfect sciences. Stuffing happens and usually on the holiday.Don't panic. There's a solution to every problem and some can even be happy accidents. Never let a glitch shake you. Fix it and carry on to present a fine dinner.

Every home chef will tell you the worst thing that can happen is a still frozen turkey. It takes a day to thaw out four pounds of bird. If you had forgotten about it  in the freezer then use the microwave or cold water.(this is the best method). Depending on the microwave strength's it usually takes six minutes for each pound for thawing. A ten pound bird will take an hour, a twenty pounder will be two hours. A better way is thawing in your sink , using a cold water bath. It will take thirty minutes for  pound of turkey to defrost so again a   sixteen pounder will take eight hours.Another kitchen headache is lumpy gravy. You can go two ways with this. The first is tackling those lumps. Whisking it will work, but an immersion blender will definitely insure a satiny texture and absolutely no lumps of flour. The second method is have one or two jars of gravy on hand.You can just serve these or  mix with your gravy .What happens when a meat eater turns vegan?Or when someone invites their veggie chomping sweetheart? One, try to avoid conflict by not having table talk turn to farm cruelty and two, create a plate that is vegan or vegetarian Beans are chock of protein so think about making up a plate with a side of Boston baked (providing they weren't cooked with bacon) along with Brussels sprouts , and yams. Keep a jar or packet of mushroom gravy on hand to make. This will go well with the stuffing.

Vegetables dishes can also go awry. Those crunchy green beans can turn to limp noodles while the cauliflower can turn to a puddle of white. Add some herbs such as oregano or thyme to spark the flavor. You can also melt some cheese and pour it over the veggies to hide their texture.The kids will love the cheesiness of it. Salt is usually a home chef's friend. However too much can be accidentally sprinkled into any recipe. .If that's the case then add both a quarter teaspoon of both vinegar and sugar or honey.If it's soup or sauce you can add a potato. The starch from it can absorb the salt. Peel one and slip it into the gravy or soup if you're serving it.Everyone loves a springy stuffing with a crispy top.Yet stuffing is made of bread which can turn to mush.Save it by adding a bit of chicken or turkey broth and bake it a few minutes more. Remember it's nothing more than a savory bread pudding so treat it as such. Dessert , usually a sweet end , can take a very sour turn. If your pumpkin or pecan pie burns , then get rid of the crust and concoct a pie parfait.Layer the pie filling, crushed cookies or graham crackers and whipped cream in fancy parfait glasses. You may have created a new tradition  with it.

Any dinner will have its' uh oh moments. Be prepared. It's easy to  fix the mistakes that may arise and still have a wonderful holiday meal!

A Gathered Thanksgiving Part Two

Yesterday's New York Times Food section was full of recipes from Americans all over the country. The beauty of it  was that it came , from all kinds of Americans, some here for generations , some newly arrived. What binds them - and us together is the love of one's heritage and pride in family dishes. Yet these recipes can easily be served at our tables creating a brand new holiday tradition.

The families that the Times wrote about and were covered yesterday here were from all over the world. The beauty of American cuisine is that it is constantly changing, adding new ingredients and flavors.Take the Ling family of Junction City, Wisconsin. They were from Hmong, Laos and always celebrated the harvest around this time. Thanksgiving feasting fits in perfectly and seamlessly with their celebrating. They raise and slaughter their own turkeys, preparing them with Southern  Asian herbs such as lemongrass and kafir lime leaves. The filling is a vermicelli egg roll filling , full of shredded carrots, cabbage and cilantro doused with  a salty fish sauce. In Nashville Tennessee , one would expect traditional Southern dishes like corn bread stuffing and green bean casserole. Not so with the Tayyar family who emigrated from Dohuk in Northern Iran. They will serve the Kurdish  eprax, a carefully layered casserole of grape leaves along with stuffed cabbage, tomatoes squash and potatoes.,nsted of turkey there will be a row of lamb chops down the center of the eprax.There will also be chicken and turnip greens too, as they eat the traditional feast on a rug spread out on the floor.

Jamaican food is not normally considered Thanksgiving food  yet Francine Turone uses the cuisine's spices for her turkey, The island born home chef brines the bird with a mix of cinnamon, cloves, allspice and juniper berries along with slipping clarified butter under the skin. She also serves a roast goat leg along with rice and peas in coconut oil. They celebrate her Milanese born husband Giacomo's culinary heritage. with tortellini in brodo or broth. Some recipes are handed down such as Debbie Himmler from the German influenced city of Cincinnati. Her oma's or grandmother' s rotkraut or homemade red cabbage is a family recipe from southwestern Germany.,a mix of shredded cabbage cooked with red wine and tart Granny Smith apples. Maren Waxenberg' s Scandinavian heritage shines through when she used to have gravlax and herring before the Thanksgiving meal.She continues on with blotcake for dessert. This is a sponge cake with whip cream and berries. Italians keep recipes through centuries and generations and the Conte family of  Wall, New Jersey is no different. They make a fluffy spinach -mushroom stuffing  instead of the usual bread stuffing. Their potatoes aren't mashed, rather roasted in olive oil and garlic They end not with pie but ith fennel and oranges dusted with salt and pepper.

America is a big kitchen ,full of recipes new and old. This was never more evident in yesterday's New York Times Food section. It is full of dishes, both sweet and savory that reflect our many different, cultures and backgrounds,nationalities and heritage.

Another Thanksgiving Issue

The New York Times Food section  has put out a second Thanksgiving issue. It's different in the than the first, rethinking time-tested recipes and putting new spins on them. There  are traditional veggies done differently along with a new way to cook that bird. It's a refreshing rethink of how to cook and bake for the big day.

All the big guns of the Food section have weighed in and written informative articles.One of the most interesting is Melissa Clark's. Her A Good Appetite  features splaying and searing the turkey as opposed to the traditional roasting. She decided to try the technique she uses on chicken on a much larger bird. Both are similar with the same amount of white and dark meat so the splaying technique that works with the smaller can help the larger. Is it easier than roasting? Yes, and it creates an evenly roasted turkey with silky and juicy white meat and perfectly cooked dark meat.Unlike spatchcocking , which requires intricate deboning, splaying is cutting the skin and then pulling on the thighs until you hear them pop out of their sockets. It's then laying them flat. Ms. Clark also pours wine on  the turkey for braising, although she suggests using any liquid , from cider to beer, diced tomatoes to  even water. What completes this? A platter of vibrant, green Brussels sprouts. Newcomer Alison Roman, a contributor to Bon Appetit magazine gives us them cooked in three tasty recipes. One is sauted with sausage and pickled red onions along ith one for honey roasted ones made exotic by the addition of harissa and lemon relish. More traditional home chefs may like the Brussels sprouts gratin bathed in a lush heavy cream and Gruyere cheese.

 Of course, there is a stuffing recipe. Kim Severson writes about a traditional cornbread one. It's a controversial one, with professional chefs  polarized about what kind of cornmeal - white or yellow - to use. There is a debate - which is sweeter?  She settles on the yellow for color and intense flavor. The recipe also includes  sugar along with buttermilk and butter to give it richness. The stuffing isn't entirely cornbread. There is also white bread used too along with the usual stuffing ingredients like onions,,sage and eggs. She bakes the stuffing separately and gives it extra flavor by pouring the  turkey drippings on it about thirty minutes into the baking time. For extra crunch and taste, there is also the addition of toasted pecans for real Southern flavor. Pecans also figure in David Tanis' A City Kitchen. He makes pecan rolls that have the extra sweetness of golden raisins.Instead of the usually gooey cream cheese frosting, he just dusts them with a mix of sugar and cinnamon. Make these the night before for a Thanksgiving breakfast treat. His other pecan recipes offer savory (!) cookies laden with cheese and sage and a dessert bar . The first is a great side to the first course of soup or a salad. The second is a yummy mix of pecans, dates, spices and rum on top of a buttery shortbread base.These are a nice stand in to the gooier, ultra sweet pecan pie.

Thanksgiving is all about tradition and traditional dishes. Yet , it pays to think outside the box and try new cooking techniques and recipes. It makes for a  more delicious and more memorable holiday meal.

Chestnuts And All Souls

Today is All Saints's day which leads to all Soul's . Throughout Catholic Europe the day is spent roasting chestnuts, their steam representing souls . Yet chestnuts also represent something else - versatility and flavor. They can be used in both savory and sweet dishes.

Most home chefs will be taking an interest in the nut at the end of this month. Many will break out the family recipe for chestnut dressing. This is a nice alternative to just traditional bread stuffing with the nutmeats adding a sweet earthy flavor. The recipe is a simple dressing one with the addition of a pound of chestnuts.They're boiled first and then peeled. You can also roast them for a richer, more complex taste.Roasted chestnuts will also add some crunch too. Sausage can also be added if you want.Not surprisingly , they can be used in salads too.Pair them with the tart Granny Smith apples along with arugula and endive. Because all three have strong tastes, stick to a simple red wine vinegar based vinaigrette. Leftover turkey can be added to this the day after the holiday for a refreshing break from heavy eating.Chestnuts are one of the few nuts that can be ground into flour for bread. Keep in mind that it is gluten free and it won't raise like regular flour.You can make a very flavorful sweet flatbread with it.The nuts need to be roasted in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 25 minutes. They then have to dehydrated at 400 degrees F oven for twelve hours to a day. The chestnuts are then ground in a spice grinder or blend to a fine crumb. They can also be ground into polenta. This is what the Northern Italians, primarily, the Piedmontese ate before corn was introduced to Europe.

The flour can also be used for cakes and tortes.This makes for an elegant alternative to regular  cake and pie.The flour should be sifted before using because it does tend to clump.The end result is a dense ,low cake. The flavor is intense so a simple chocolate glaze or dusting of powdered sugar would be the best choice of icing.The batter can also be used for cupcakes, but again. don't expect the height that you would get with regular cupcakes. Italy gives us  their version called castanagnaccio. This has olive oil along with raisins and orange zest in it. Walnuts and pignole, or pine nuts add more nuttiness while rosemary leaves decorate the top.This is a Tuscan tradition that appeals more to adult tastes and is usually served with wine and not coffee.A truly decadent chestnut dessert is marron glace, made in northern Italy and southern France.The chestnuts have to be boiled in salted water for twenty minutes and then are peeled. In another pan  cook two cups of granulated sugar into a quart of water.A vanilla bean can then be added for more taste.The syrup is then poured over the nuts and then left to simmer over a low heat for thirty minutes. They can be served afterwards with fresh whipped cream or better yet , a splash of brandy. Candied chestnuts can also give a bowl of oatmeal some oomph as well as topping butter cookies.

Chestnuts represent the souls heading towards Heaven. They also represent a versatile nut that can be used in both savory and sweet recipes. Enjoy them not just today and tomorrow but for the rest of the month..

The Annual Christmas Checklist

 Successful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners begin with well stocked kitchens. These meals are not ones to improvise with or sub in anything last minute.Everything  should be on the ready. There should not be any hiccups or snags. The meal , albeit  sometimes a difficult cook and roast,should go easily without any drama.

By now most home chefs should have the main dish, namely the roast. Make sure that it's enough for your guests. Two servings usually work per person .If you feel you'll come up short then get a second  roast. Also have make sure you have every ingredient for your sides. Have extra cans of faves such as green beans and corn. If you haven't shopped yet, then get larger versions of what you normally buy.After all you'll not only need that olive oil for salad but you 'll need it for sauteing vegetables as well. Not only will you need more olive oil but it also pays to have extra margarine and butter , both for cooking and the table. Keep enough chicken, beef or vegetable stock on hand too It's just as valuable as a stuffing ingredient as it is for gravies. Flour is the backbone of any dinner. It is used in making roues as well as the chief ingredient for baked goods. You may think that eggs are only good for that Christmas breakfast. You're partially right, however they're also needed for binding stuffing  as well along with being those yummy appetizers deviled eggs. Remember that hard boiled eggs are also  part of the stuffing in stuffed celery too and they  make a nice addition to any salad.


What else should you have ? The basic condiments. Salt and pepper are used in almost everything, and salt even more so because of baking. Brown and white sugar is also needed. Brown sugar is needed for  rubbing onto ham as well as for candied yams. It can even be added for color to roast beef gravy. Make sure you also have filled spice jars too. Chive and dried scallions go well  in homemade mashed potatoes along with being good sprinkled on green beans. Keep in ind that you have to have cinnamon too. It 's vital in any sweet potato dish as well as gracing dessert cappuccinos.If you run out of it, don't fret Nutmeg can sub in or it if you're in a pinch. Another inventory to double check is your beverage one. You should have a basement  full of different kinds of soda and flavored waters to suit everyones' tastes.Get the kids Simply Fruit Punch to drink with their holiday dinner.It's a nice alternative to sodas and has a refreshing mixed fruit flavor. Holiday desserts stretch out into two and three hours so have plenty of coffee and tea on hand for sipping. Make sure you have a few different flavors of teas so guest can have a choice. There should be equal amounts of decaf and caf as well as espresso shots for those who have a long drive home. A nice tough is having two or three flavored creamers on hand too.

A well stocked holiday kitchen is key to a successful dinner. Make sure you have everything and you don't run out. Christmas Eve and Christmas are not the times for culinary disasters. Enjoy the holiday and holiday cooking.

Stuffed With Stuffing

Stuffing always takes a supporting role in any holiday dining. Yet, it complements any fowl through, while maintaining  its' own savory flavor. One of the best things about stuffing or filling is that it's easy to create. Novice home chefs can make one as good as experienced home chefs can,

Stuffing is one of the oldest dishes, being invented by the Romans. Look in one of the earliest cookbooks , De re Coquineria and find dressing recipes for chicken,rabbit, pork and even dormouse !(luckily for us stuffed rodents went out of culinary fashion) The French were and still are the biggest makers of stuffing,It was also big in Renaissance England where it was known as farci.The dish got a name change in Victorian England when it was renamed dressing.Jump 100 years to 1972 when  Stovetop Stuffing was invented and changed the way America ate the dish. It was primarily eaten just for Thanksgiving with some families also eating it  for Christmas. Stovetop Stuffing changed all that.It was an easy mix and stuffing could made during any season. Most home chefs usually go for a strictly bread ,however there is also chestnut,rice and sausage based ones too. Stuffing depends mainly on taste. The recipe is flexible, with different kinds of breads and even pretzels being used for texture and a variety of herbs and spices used to vary the flavor.


What is the best dressing? Most people love a bread only stuffing. Many stores just sells loaves that are primarily for the dish. These will have stuffing written on the label and the loaves will be unsliced.This makes it easier for it to tear into workable pieces..  You can also use any other kind of bread. Whole grain is good and imparts a sweet ,  nutty taste that works well with a wild bird like turkey. Stale rolls of any kind work as do braided breads. As for spicing, sage is the number one herb used. Usually a teaspoon or two of dried sage will flavor one recipe. You can also use poultry seasoning too and this can be made at home. It's just a mix of rosemary,thyme, more sage and nutmeg. Before mixing anything soak the bread in chicken broth so  its' "squishy" to manipulate . Eggs are also added as binders to hold everything together..Sauteed chopped celery and onions are also added to give the stuffing a flavor boost too. The mixture should be baked in a butter  greased casserole dish and baked for only forty five minutes.You can stuff the turkey with it but be warned, Many have wound up with salmonella this way, thanks to the bird may have salmonella laden juices that soak into the bread.Wait until both are cooked before you put it in the bird's cavity.it can be easily microwaved  the day later.

Stuffing is a tasty side that usuallysteals the show. It's an easy dish to make this Thanksgiving. Novice home chefs  give it a try. It's a treat that's worth making!

Easy Winter Meals

Winter brings a lot of hard work. There's shoveling the front walk, winterizing the shrubs and  doing whatever else that involves ice and snow. After all that work you need a good dinner but not the work attached with it. There are some easy dinners out there to at fill all a winter's meal requirements.

One of the easiest and most filling dishes is zuppa di montagna. This classic Piedmontese dish is just stale Italian  bread or breadsticks (my favorite) layered in a casserole dish. Swiss cheese slices are layered over them and then hot broth is ladled over the entire dish. . Cook in a 325 degree oven for around half an hour. Microwaving it adds to the simplicity. It can be made in just five to six minutes. for variation add a layer of parboiled (think two minutes in a hot bath ) Savoy cabbage leaves. Another easy dish is spaghetti. I just discovered the ease and tastiness of microwaved spaghetti. This is so simple to make .It's micro boiling pasta for only ten minutes and then serving with a ready made sauce. If you do want a quick primavera, then saute sliced plum tomatoes in olive oil and garlic. You can also add onions, broccoli and cauliflower for a more Spring like taste.Try your microwaved pasta with peas and pine nuts for a lighter dinner.

Even more substantial dishes can be easily made. Nothing beats sliced roast beef or turkey with hot gravy.What you can do is buy the meats already sliced  along with jarred gravy at your local supermarket. Use Stove Top Stuffing as a base  for the two, and you have a hot filling meal. Microwave some green beans, corn and succotash to complete it. Chili is another easy dish, made easier in either a huge stock pot or crock pot. It's just a simple blend of sauteed chop meat and onions along with canned beans and  canned whole tomatoes.The heat is up to you. Add as much pepper as you want to combat that winter chill. Tacos are another easy and fun meal. All you need to do is just cook the meat part. The fixings are usually pre sliced and you can even buy already made guacamole.The same goes for burritos and soft tacos.

Cold weather brings about hard work. Think about making easy meals  that are also filling and hot.It's a nice way to end a day full of snow shoveling.