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!

Viva La France Toujours

Our hearts go out to the Parisians and the French who  experienced those atrocious attacks of vile barbarism. It is a shame that the city and country of good food, where haute cuisine originated will have this scar for a long long time. Let's celebrate the dishes and treats of the City of Light. They are magnifique and what the city should be known for.

One favorite is the croque monsieur , that heavenly cheese sandwich.This is one if my all time favorite dishes to make..It's taking ham and Gruyere and drying it in butter. There should be a dash of mustard added for color and bite and it can be served with a béchamel sauce. A croque madam is one served with an egg on top and tomato can also be added for a croque provencale. Another Parisian favorite is steak Diane with pomme frites..These are a snap to make, with pan cooked steak with a cognac,tomato and shallot sauce.The sauce was originally meant for venison and wild game and named after the goddess of hunting , Diana.Pomme frites are French fries which can easily be made with Idaho potatoes. Cut  the potatoes into two to three inch sticks with a 1/2 inch width. Be warned, once you start frying these , you'll be snitching them  as they drain on a paper towel.The omelet is quintessentially French, having being created in the capital city in the 1600s. Originally called an aumelette, it has been a staple of French cookbooks for four centuries.The perfect one is made with three eggs and lots of butter (NO margarine, please). The eggs should be whisked into a smooth glossy liquid and then slowly poured into a hot buttered pan. As soon as the egg mix starts solidifying,, tilt the pan and coax it into a roll. Brush with melted butter for a nice glossy finish and decorate with fleur de sel and chives.

French pastries are another great gift to the culinary world. Croissants are true Parisian specialty, originally coming from Vienna with baker August Zang in 1839 . They were first called kipferl and later croissant by the  city that embraced them. In twenty years times, they were a breakfast staple. Even the famed English writer, Charles Dickens,  wrote about it in his periodical, All The Year Round. A variation of the croissant is pain au chocolat, a yummy, layered squared filled with bitter chocolate.There is also the almond croissant , stuffed with a buttery, crunchy almond paste, and again the taste is sheer heaven. Cream puffs, or profiteroles are another lovely treat,made with the slightly complicated choux pastry and filled with cream. These are topped off with melted dark chocolate and made into a tower called croquenbuche, translated as crunch in mouth. Eclairs are another must when in Paris. These are not those soggy ones American bakeries sell, but light , crisp choux pastry fingers filled with whipped cream or vanilla pastry crème and topped with a generous coating of melted semisweet chocolate. Patisseries also sell mille feulle,a thousand leaves, a crunchy  creamy layered pastry , perfect with the French coffee, café au lait

Vive le France! Vive Paris! Its ' people and food will shine through these dark days ! They have in the past, they will again! Salut!

Plot , Plan, Practice

It's time to plot and plan now that Thanksgiving is a little over a week away. It's also time to test out and practice dishes, tweaking them for ultimate flavor. Doing this will ensure a tasty, and troublefree dinner with very few glitches. There's nothing like a trial run. It does pay off with compliments and smiles in the end.

One of the first things to do is survey what you have and what you need to get. If you 're planning on baking , stock up on sugar and flour. Check your canned goods too. You may not need to go out and get a slew because you have already have extra. Also test out appliances. Mixers may be a bit rusty after a few months of non use. Toaster ovens may need a cleaning to get rid of a crumb build up. The next item of prepping is making lists. The first should be focused on what you need. It's not just the bird, but extra gravy(incase yours doesn't work out) seasonings, and canned goods. You can get the veggies and fruits two days or the day before. Thanksgiving cooking has many paths. Do you go the way of homemade stuffing or do you buy a couple of loaves and let them go stale. Is the family craving creamed onions or do they want to try a squash soufflé? Get everyone's opinions along with their likes and dislikes . Have the kids go with you to the supermarket and let them pick out what they want, providing its' pertaining to the holiday.The second list should be about who's bringing what. You don't want three servings of baked beans and no apple pie. Assign dishes that suit your guests levels of expertise.Don;t give the cakes or tarts to the novice bakers when they can only handle salads or Brussels sprouts.

Another must do is practice. If you want have a trial run dinner with a smaller turkey. If you want to make a citrus glazed bird do so during the rehearsal. It may not come out as you wanted - and at least you 've got it out  of your system. It was made, it bombed, move on to the traditional roast turkey. If you'v never made a pecan pie before, now is the time to make it . If there's a new dish you want to try , then make it for dinner one night this week. Ask the family what they think of it.Is it too salty? Too spicy? Does it need to be tweaked = or worse axed from the line up. Bone up on using gadgets too, especially those serious ones like the mandolin or hasp. Handling them the wrong way can result in injuries from scraped knuckles to a seriously cut finger.Learn how to do things properly so there's no accidents or trips to the ER on the big day.

Plot, plan practice. These three words will ensure a better and easier Thanksgiving.It'll be a memorable and perfect one.

For everyone in Paris - and in France. stay strong-liberte, egalitie et fraternitie.

Diwali Treats And Sweets

Right now is the joyous and mystical Indian holiday of Diwalli.It's a time of lights and fireworks , gifts and decorations. It's a time of celebrating light over darkness. It's also a time of feasting on traditional foods and treats. There are many to make over the holiday's five day period.

Diwali is an ancient holiday dating back to the first millennium where the goddess Lakshmi is celebrated along with the bierthday of Dhanvantari, god of health and healing. The festival goes for five days with relationships of all sorts being celebrated. There are lights and fireworks, along with rangoli, colorful patterns made on the ground using, colored rice, wheat or flower petals. as with any holiday there is a variety of different dishes and sweets to celebrate.There is the spicy and saucy butter chicken which involves cooking chicken in a highly spiced tomato almond sauce.Samosas are also popular, especially with holiday guests These are similar to dim sum dumplings and filled with moong dal, a kind of green pea. Since most Indian s are vegan due to their religion such as the Jains and Hindus, many Diwali dishes are meatless. Families and friends can enjoy palak saag paneer, tofus in a rich spinach and curry sauce.it has the traditional spices such as garam masala but also maple syrup for a hint of sweetness and coconut milk. It does have chili powder for heat, perfect for warding off the Northern Hemisphere's autumnal chill. Wives may make a roasted cauliflower with  a mahkala sauce, a rich mélange of onions ,tomatoes and coconut milk. It is served with warmed naan bread,

Sweets are one of the most important traditions of the five day celebration. Special ones are made for husbands and wives along with brothers and sisters. Visitors are always treated to trays of homemade goodiestoo along with special presents..One of the most popular is rasgulla, cheese curd or paneer balls cooked in a sugar syrup. It is also the most traditional and is usually served for the length of the festival.There is also the fried paal vadai, a fried sweetened dal or bean paste.It is then soaked in a jiggery sugar and cardamom syrup. Families may enjoy a fried  naan bread pudding dish called ka meeta that's studded with raisins and almonds or cashews.A delicious dish is papaya burfi, a kind of papaya meets applesauce, which is a perfect sweet after the main dishes' spiciness.. Kids probably munch on sugayan, a kind of fried stuffed dough nut filled with green moong dal and jiggery sugar. Trays of  kaju katli, a buttery cashew paste that's a kind of halvah and cut into decorative diamond shapes (these could actually be made for Christmas too, ) are put out for all to enjoy. Coffee and tea are also put out to sip while enjoying a visit or meal.

Diwali is a true festival of food and fun. The flavors run from fiery to sweet., but all are enjoyable. They are as fun as sparkling as the celebrations themselves.

The Times Thanksgiving Issue

One of the best gifts a cook can receive right now is the New York Times Food section Thanksgiving issue.It has hints, suggestions and recipes for how to have any kind of holiday from turkey centric to total full on vegan. This is a keeper issue, because it has everything to create a good dinner that can be carried from Thanksgiving to the winter holidays.

Everyone has weighed on these pages, from Sam Sifton to Julia Moskin to Melissa Clark with an input about what to drink from the Times wine expert , Eric Asimov.One of the most important articles is the shopping list.Of course home chefs will buy the obvious, the turkey and sweet potatoes, but also butter for pie crusts and rolls along with stock and fresh herbs. There should be also sweets like maple syrup and brown sugar along with  - surprisingly-  sorbet for vegans and as a palate cleanser on the turkey day shopping list .There are also suggestions such as making the stock because t's vital not just in making gravy but also in deglazing pans.Another strong recommendation is cooking ahead of time so there is not a lot of prep time the day of. Of course the last recommendation is dessert. Try baking a few days before, and branch out to include cakes , ice cream mousses and flans to name a few. However if you get a late start , no big deal. They suggest cut up or spatchcock the turkey  so you can have room to roast veggies too. Make the gravy from pan dripping and outsource the pie to the guests.

Vegans are also addressed in this issue. after all they can be the roadblock to having a good Thanksgiving.If you're not serving a turkey , you should be serving something big and attention getting. The issue recommends two large beets or better yet a roasted cauliflower or a platter of stuffed squash.There is a recipe for the last and it combines traditional  Thanksgiving flavors such as cranberries and the sharp surprise of blue cheese. Kale and whole grain bread croutons round out the stuffing . Pecans are added for protein and maple syrup for flavor. A perfect side with this is the wild mushrooms and Brussels sprouts with chestnuts in a kind of hot salad.There's also a mushroom make ahead gravy for those who want to dip their rolls into something.It is seasoned with soy sauce and the faux meaty flavor comes from Portobello mushrooms. Home chefs could also make the rosemary roasted winter squash casserole/It's even an easy bake for inexperienced chefs or novices too.The issue also  recommends stick with your level of expertise. Don't try anything too complicated or over reaching. stick to your comfort zone and run with it.

Please keep or print out the Times Food Thanksgiving issue, This is a great read that can help in creating a memorable Thanksgiving. It is a keeper issue that home chefs can use through out the holiday season.

Know Your Roots

This is the season that root vegies  reign. They are a big part of the holiday menu, especially at Thanksgiving. However many home chefs don't know what to do with them, whether to roast or cream them or try them au gratin. Luckily, root vegetables are versatile for a wide variety of dishes.

What are root vegetables? It's pretty self explanatory, they're the edible roots, usually grown completely below ground. Some like radishes  and turnips have both edible bottoms and tops. The ones that we eat  the most during the colder weather are turnips, parsnips and carrots along with sweet potatoes and yams. A lot of people turn their noses up at the first two. Turnips have always received a bad rap probably because of their bitter flavor. The greens also have the same acrid taste however they're usually cooked with bacon fat to temper the taste. Turnips shouldn't be ignored though, because they're high in Vitamin C - important during the cold and flu season.Try the Scottish dish clapshot, a mix of mashed turnips and potatoes. Carrots are also added  for color.It's a  rich , creamy side thanks to the addition of whole cream and butter.For a less caloric dish  try them roasted. Parsnips are a milder version of turnips. Fry them in butter for a quick side or as a mash with carrots for a colorful spin on mashed veggies. The leftovers can be turned into parsnip puffs, by molding them into balls, then dipping them  in beaten egg first then in crumbs. Fry in olive oil for a crispy fun side or snack.

Sweet potatoes and yams are the stars of the holiday table. Many think they're one in the same however that's far from the truth. Yams are monocot, having one embryonic seed leaf while yams have two.The first is closely related to lilies and grasses while the other is a member of  the morning glory family.The confusion came about when soft sweet potatoes had to be distinguished from the hard ones and were renamed yams. One of the best ways to serve sweet potatoes is roasting them. This methods allows their earthy sweet taste to shine through. Add a sprinkling of sea salt and a pat of butter to them and that's it. You're done. If you want to jazz it up a bit serve it with maple butter, a blend of the syrup with softened butter or even margarine.Yams can be both a side and a dessert. A lot of traditionalists will probably make that uber sugary dish candied yams - which is fine if you want to smother their taste.A better idea is baked yams drizzled with melted butter and dusted with cinnamon or nutmeg.They can also be made into an African style stew as a side or even as a main dish for a tree trimming or Kwanza party. You can also use them in pies and even cupcakes for fun holiday treat.

Root vegetables are important part of holiday cooking. They add color and flavor to a harvest and holiday table. Get acquainted with them and enjoy their earthy flavors and versatility.

Your Pie Your Way

Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away followed by one of the busiest baking seasons of the year. One standard , pie is expected at Thanksgiving with maybe one or two gracing a holiday party buffet..Most home bakers panic at baking one. It's sometimes isn't an easy sweet to make.Not to worry.Pick a pie that suits your expertise and run with it.

Beginner bakers - or those who don't have the time  to go through the whole ordeal of making and rolling out dough can use a pre made pie shell. Keebler and Nabisco both have their own, Keebler has a graham cracker crust one while Nabisco offers an Oreo crumb crust. Both can be used in making simple as  - well - pie  cream pies, using instant pudding as  filling. A vanilla pudding pie , topped with a simple whipped cream is a nice refreshing dessert.Another idea is a butterscotch pie , made with instant pudding is simple  enough for even a tween to make. Jello now has a pumpkin spice pudding that can easily be made into a pie..The Oreo crust almost begs for a wild filling. Try it filled with Hershey's brand dark chocolate or milk chocolate pudding. You can add a few drops of mint flavoring to the dark chocolate for a take on grasshopper pie.A more elegant dessert is a white chocolate pie, topped with either raspberries or cherries. These pudding pies are a snap to make.It's just preparing the pudding with less milk than needed and then poured into the shell. Setting time is only two or three hours . You could even whip up a few for a big holiday get together  or Sunday football party.

Crust pies are a little more labor intensive. If you're still unsure about your baking skills then buy ready  made pie dough. More or less it tastes like the homemade kind.If you do decide to make your own keep a few things in mind. Lard makes for the best rust, giving it a light and flaky texture.This is the crust you use for fruit pies,because the layers absorb the fruits' liquids without becoming soggy.. Cream or custard pies need a crust that has a mealy or granulated  texture.Use butter for this.,Remember that whatever fats used, they have to be  to be super cold for it to blend well with the flour. Most home bakers want to make apple or pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. Both have relatively complicated fillings. With the first it's all about what type of apples makes the best filling.Look for the Northern spy, the Esopus Spitzenberg or the Pink Lady. Don't go apple hunting  in your local grocery These apples can be found on farms or farmer's markets.  As for pumpkin pie. if you're truly adventurous , you can make it from your Halloween pumpkin . Intermediate bakers should stick with the canned. It makes for a creamier filling with a  firmer texture. You can also moderate the spices put in, adding more nutmeg or cinnamon as you see fit.

It's pie season.Luckily you don't have to stress about it. Make a pie that suits your expertise.it'll result in an excellently made dessert that everyone will rave over.