The Thanksgiving Issue Part Two

 Yesterday The New York Times Food section printed their unofficial Thanksgiving issue. It was chock full of ideas and recipes. There is still more to go over and share with family and our veterans alike.

 We discovered spins on turkey thanks to Padma Lakschmi and some interesting dishes from a Liberian Thanksgiving. Now it's time to look into traditional and classic New York Times recipes. These reflect over 150 years of them from The Times. Krysten Chambrot food editor of the section  created the assembly of these tasty dishes.She's had help from Amanda Hesser, co-founder of the cooking and home company Food 52, and former Times food writer and editor. Some of the recipes weren't originally meant for the holiday but they can easily be made for it.  You could easily start the meal off with Craig Claiborne;s Florentine dip first published in 1959.It's a heady mix of anchovies, capers and lemon juice mixed into a blend if sour cream and cream cheese. Chives, garlic and parsley add to the flavor. A different side is red cabbage glazed with maple syrup. This would also be good with a holiday pork roast or  a Christmas ham too. It's from 1991 , created by Yves Labbe. Red cabbage is first sauteed in bacon drippings with onions, apples, a bay leaf and maple syrup. This is then baked in the oven for thirty minutes after being seasoned with salt and pepper.

You can never go wrong with an Edna Lewis recipe. Her recipe for baked sweet potatoes with lemon was first published in 1993 right after she wrote her seminal cookbook "The Taste of Country Cooking" when she worked at the famed Gage & Tollner.The sweet potatoes are first boiled as a syrup of brown sugar, lemon zest and nutmeg in water. Butter is whisked in and then lemon juice. The potatoes are then sliced into half inch thick  discs or coins and put into a buttered shallow baking dish. The lemon syrup is poured on top and the whole dish is baked for half an hour at 425 degrees. What to end the dinner with? Not a traditional pie but David Lebovitz's fresh ginger cake first made by Times readers in 1999. Mr. Lebovitz was the pastry chef at the famed La Panisse in Berkeley California. This recipe is from his first cookbook "Room For Dessert". It's sort of like a gingerbread, but made with fresh peeled and cur ginger along with cloves , cinnamon and black pepper.It only has two eggs so it's not as rich as other holiday cakes. It would go well with vanilla ice cream or a dollop of freshly whipped cream.

These are great Thanksgiving recipes to be shared with everyone, including our veterans. They can also be made for other holidays too. Enjoy these New York Times classic recipes and their classic flavors. They are the perfect accompaniment to turkey, ham or roast port.

Your Must Have Thanksgiving Issue Part One

 Thanksgiving is almost two weeks away and it's going to be a big one. It's the first major holiday where we can sit down with family and friends after being separated for so long. The meal has to be spectacular  with fantastic recipes.

This is where today's New York Times Food section comes in It is an unofficial guide to Thanksgiving cooking and baking. It's definitely an inspiration with different spins on classic dishes and new recipes that every home chef has to try.Turkey and gravy lovers will enjoy trying Padma Lakshmi's spin on the holiday bird with a boozy gravy spiked with Calvados,. Regular contributor and great food developer herself interviewed Ms. Laksmi who is more known for being a judge on Top Chef and her eye opening travel and food show "Taste The Nation" streaming on Hulu. Yet it's her turkey recipe that will make an impact on mant Thanksgiving table. She treats the turkey as if it were a very large chicken.It's brined first  in a spicy blend of buttermilk for tenderizing and cayenne pepper for zing and heat. The turkey itself is stuffed with lemon , ginger thyme and garlic for a truly flavorful bite. It's then drizzled and rubbed with olive oil before being  slow roasted in a pan of water. The gravy is a blend of the Calvados with the combined juices of  mashed Fuji and Granny Smith apples, along with red and yellow onions and fennel. The juices are whisked into to a roux of butter and flour and then the Calvados is stirred in.

You could easily add some of the dishes from Liberia;s Thanksgiving day celebrated on the first Thursday of the month.It wasn't modeled on the American holiday and is fraught with a lot of history, festivities and food.Another weekly contributor to the New York Tines Food section, Priya Krishna interviewed Liberian-American chefs who bring their spin and traditional recipes to the American Thanksgiving table. Theirs is different. The day is spent with family , playing kickball and getting dressed up. The ingredients such as cassava and sweet potatoes. There is no turkey in Liberia. There is chicken however and Ms. Krishna gives a recipe for Liberian chicken gravy. This is chicken thighs first rubbed with a fiery mix of  black pepper, cayenne seasoned salt, onion powder and garlic. The gravy is then made with yellow onions garlic cloves and a cube of Maggi chicken broth. This is added to olive oil and tomato paste simmered together. It and the chicken is then baked together for thirty to thirty-five minutes. There is also pan fried collard greens.cooked with either a  cut up Cajum turkey or regular one neck and wings. You can add fish(!) such as dried barracuda or other kinds if you want, It;s still flavorful with  the addition of ham hock, yellow onions and habanero peppers  This is all cooked together for five to ten minutes on a stove top and served with rice.

These are just some of the recipes you can use for your own Thanksgiving table. They offer a fresh brightness to the table/.They will make this holiday stand out.

All Vegan French Toast

 Nowadays it's easy to make a vegan meal, especially one for breakfast - or breakfast for dinner. Thanks to Just Egg home chefs can make the classic French toast without any guilt. Best of all it tastes like the real thing, egg-y, custard-y and full of cinnamon and vanilla.

I had some left over Just Egg from yesterday's scramble so I decided to make a recipe I've been craving for a long time - French toast.

I went full vegan also using Blue Diamond Almond Milk. I followed Just Egg's recipe for the Frrench toast, omitting the two teaspoons of sugar. It was going to have enough thanks to drowning the slices in maple syrup later on.It was one cup of the mung bean mix to a cup of almond milk. A teaspoon of both the cinnamon and vanilla were added for that traditional sweet flavor.

                               The mixture was whisked for about five minutes to thoroughly blend all the ingredients.
I used Aldi's Artisenal bread because it looked sturdy . This was soaked in the custard for a few minutes.

                                                     I thought it would be a good choice.

   It wasn't. The bread got super mushy and didn't brown properly. The inside was too gooey , almost like pudding.The slices flopped when flipped and broke into pieces.

                                                        One slice managed to come out OK.

 Despite the texture the taste was pretty spot on to the real thing made with whole milk and eggs. I know the next time I make Just Egg French toast I will definitely use French or Italian bread,It's sturdier and can hold up to a good soaking. It's also has a great chewy texture that lends itself very well to the recipe.

Going vegan doesn't mean giving up favorite dishes like French toast. With the right bread it can be heaven, Try the vegetarian version with Just Egg and Blue Diamond Almond Milk for a tasty spin on this breakfast comfort food.

JUst Eggs Just Scrambled

 It is tough cooking in a vegetarian and vegan household. One of the missed foods is scrambled eggs and omelets. There's a new product , Just Egg from San Francisco  that helps to eliminate those egg yearnings. It's a completely plant based egg substitute and can do the work of the real thing.

Just Egg has been on my radar for the past couple of weeks. I was happy to see that my local Acme carried it. I had to buy it, dying for a good scramble and eager to compare it to chicken eggs. It's a small bottle with only twelve fluid ounces.It's probably good for only two recipes though.

It takes one cup of the liquid made entirely from mung beans to create a scramble for two people.It's melting butter or what I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. Just Egg has to be poured evenly into the frying pan.

I wanted to give it a Florentine omelet vibe so I mixed in a bowl of torn baby spinach.

It does look like a spinach omelet..

The spinach was added about five minutes after the Just Egg began to cook. Now it's time for scrambling.

 

It really does look like the real thing with creamy yellow curds.Of course any egg dish deserves a good sausage patty. I bought Acme's in house brand of vegan patties.

                                       Together they made a great breakfast for dinner. The spinach scramble was pretty on point  with taste and was delicious with the patties.

Next time I 'm going to try a traditional bacon and egg breakfast for dinner using Morningstar Farm's' bacon. I plan to try the Just Egg for baking too to see how it works out.I also plan on making tasty veggie omelets and a Piedmontese family recipe of the delicious tomato and eggs.

Vegans and vegetarians should rejoice. Just Egg is a great egg substitute perfect for scrambles and omelets. Try it today for a tasty break and to help the planet.

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.

Thanksgiving Rules

 The Times Food section had an interesting article in their Wednesday Food section.It's about the upcoming and the Covid 19 vaccine controversy. What's a home chef to do? can we have the big dinners will two or three tables like we used to?

It used to be you shouldn't discuss sex , death pr politics at any table. as they have for centuries, these subjects can make for uneasiness or anger/ Now there's another problem with those of us who have been inoculated and those who are adamant against it. Do we set rules? Or isolate the unvaccinated at a kind of children's table , far from the rest of the party. Then there's the question of would doing such separation be an insult? Keep in mind that catching Covid and the delta variant are not as severe when you're vaccinated. You can mix people if you want and if they want.If someone wants to sit alone with a tray table in the living room let them. It's one less headache and everyone is happy. What about kids and babies? Kids from the ages of five to eleven are getting them. The little ones are usually placed at the traditional kid's table while the babies are usually sleeping in their carriers.You may encounter some parents who don;t want their infants near the unvaxxed kids. This can be tricky. An easy fix would be have the vaccinated kids siting with their folks while the ones who aren't sit with their folks at separate tables.

Another idea is having a Thanksgiving barbecue or tailgating party. This  allows for people to sit far away from each other.If the weather where you are is warm, then consider this. You can rent or have family and friends donate  card tables where they can sit . It's even a great milieu for deep frying a turkey too. This has t be done outdoors anyway. It will make for a memorable holiday dinner. Set up a long buffet table with gravy boats and sides. It can be cleared away for dessert to hold a variety of pies. For this also have a coffee urn along with a hot water carafe for tea. This last can be bought at Walmart. also set up the dessert table with sugar and sweetner packets along with  creamers and cans of whipped cream for the pie. The food can be served on sturdy  plastic dishes that can be saved or thrown away. Chinet has the best plastic dinnerware for this. What happens if you're in a colder climate or there's rain or even snow?You could cut down the guest list or to avoid snubbing, have the dinner with the immediate family pod and then invite guests over for dessert. Stagger the times  so you don't have a crowded house.

Thanksgiving may be tricky this year but there are ways to get around it. It's just a matter of diplomacy and logicistics There are ways to make everyone happy and satisfied with holiday meal and dessert.

The Legacy Of Frybread

 Indigenous frybread has an interesting legacy. Many Native American families love it and have their own recipes. Yet it does have a controversial and sad past of how it came into being. It represents comfort and sadness, sweetness and bitterness..

Kevin Noble Maillard, a law professor at Syracuse University wrote this fascinating piece in yesterday's New York Times Food section along with being a regular contributor to the newspaper. He is an expert on the subject , belonging to the Seminole Tribe in Oklahoma along with writing the children's book Fry Bread : A Native American Family Story. Every tribal family has a fry bread recipe.it was originally created by the Navajo or Dine tribe.It originated 154 years ago when the US government forced Indians in Arizona to make a three hundred mile walk known as "The Long Walk". They had to relocate to New Mexico where they couldn't easily grow the beans and vegetables needed for their recipes. Native cooks had to adapt using government rationed commodities of powdered, preserved and dry goods. It is a painful reminder of how they were treated yet it became a staple at powwows, family dinners and events. The recipe is a basic one. It's a mix of  flour salt baking powder and oil. Water is the only liquid used to make the dough moist. It's similar to the Mexican sopapilla which is the sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.

The recipe has been shared by tribal members but it varies from family to family.Ramona Horsechief of the Pawnee Tribe and seven time winner of the National Indian Taco Championship of Pawhuska Oklahoma grows Pawnee blue corn in her garden and mills the flour for a sweeter , denser frybread. Le Etta Osborne-Sampson of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma uses her grandmother's recipe which has sugar in it. The making of frybread is matriarchal as well. Hope Peshlakai was taught as a child by her grandmother and even follows her grandmother's habit of storing her cast iron skillet in her oven. She also had to deal with her husbands aunts who wanted to see her recipe for the bread. Ms. Horsechief uses her grandmother's 125 year old bread poker which is used to flip the bread.Mr. Maillard includes his recipe, undoubtedly a family one  which is easy to make up. He adds sea salt and raw sugar and uses coconut oil for frying for a healthier alternative.It needs to rise for three hours before frying and then fry to the desired color. It could be a light gold to a deep brown depending on how crispy you want it.

Fry bread is a comfort food with a history. It is delicious bringing back memories for so many indigenous. Yet it also has a past that has to be reckoned with , despite its' soothing flavor.