A THanksgiving of Firsts

America is   still a   place of acceptance for people coming from around the world. A new wave of  immigrants, from a war torn and restrictive countries  are now here, They are being introduced to all things American, including our Thanksgiving. Like any other group, they are putting their own spin on the cooking aspect of it.

Julia Moskin  wrote about them and one famed home chef, Mayada Anjari, in today's New York Times Food section. Mrs. Anjari , her husband and four children arrived in Jersey City two years ago after a three year journey from a war ravaged Syria... They settled in and her excellent cooking was being known. People from Manhattan were paying for her kabsa, a spice rubbed chicken with scented rice, along with her stuffed vegetables and her fatayer -folds of phyllo pastry stuffed  with ground meat or spiraled around soft cheese. The co author of the Syrian cookbook, The Bread And Salt Between Us (the title taken from an Arab proverb) was flummoxed by this secular holiday of ours with our different uses of spices and basic ingredients Then there is Dima King, fresh from the Soviet Union came to the States because of the anti-gay persecution and legislation.He is cooking his first Thanksgiving this year. He is a graduate of Emma's Torch  - a nonprofit restaurant in Brooklyn's Red Hook section that offers professional culinary training to resettled refugees. Despite this he is still intimidated by roasting a whole turkey.and will likely try something smaller. He is, however, enthusiastic about making a pumpkin pie with meringue topping.


Our holidays meals can be confusing , especially for those who are new to secular celebrating. Celebrations and feast days are usually reserved for religious holy days. The spices and foods used are are also just a bit strange. Cinnamon is usually used for chicken in Syrian cooking. Mrs. Anjari  is skeptical about adding it to a pie.The main meal her three sons love is baked mac and cheese. How can that be a side to an even bigger main dish? Then there are the starches of the holidays - mashed potatoes - yams - stuffing and pie, all served in one sitting along with cranberry sauce, the one sharp and bright flavor of the table. There should be more but a traditional dinner is not built around them. The idea of a gigantic twenty pound turkey is also strange. However familiar cooking ingredients and methods can help with cooking a first time Thanksgiving meal. Mrs. Anjari is planning on making the bird as she would her kabsa. She'll start with whole milk yogurt along with grated  onion, tomato paste and  shards of cinnamon and nutmeg. Instead of a heavy roasting pan, she will use one of her lightweight round tins. The turkey will have the added crunch of almonds toasted in clarified butter called sanna. They'll add another layer of flavor and texture to the bird.

Thanksgiving is a day when all can celebrate. It has a new meaning for immigrants celebrating it for the first time. There are challenges , just like American life, but there is also the joy of sharing traditions  -just like American life.

The Cheesecake Bible Your Holiday Must Have

Cheesecake lovers rejoice! There is a new book out that celebrates this famed treat with a variety of sweet and savory (!) recipes. Everything from just plain cheesecake to taco one is in here. This is a great gift for those who love a good wedge of cheesy goodness..

The Cheesecake Bible: The Second Edition (Robert Rose Press 2018)  was written by George Geary who also created the original Cheesecake Bible  as well as 150 Best Donut Recipes. Mr. Geary may not be known to all, but his cheesecakes are. They were featured on the hit Eighties comedy,  Golden Girls where the "girls'  Sophia, Dorothy, Rose and Blanche would gather around the kitchen table and share a whole cheesecake. At this time he was also a pastry chef at Disneyland where he bake anywhere from 250 to 350 cheesecakes a day for ten years! This  book has everything from  all sorts of flavors for the sweet along with refreshing savory ones, perfect for any upcoming holiday gatherings. The book is a great primer for beginners because Mr. Geary goes into extensive detail about what kinds of pans to use along with the different cheeses used. His suggestions are ones from an experienced pastry chef about what kind of measuring cups to use to what to look for in a perfectly made cheesecake. Another plus is that he isn't fussy when it comes to the crust. You can use the cookie and cracker recipes he provides or just buy the store bought kinds and crush them.

I love this book for many reasons. The savory cheesecakes are on the top of my list for holiday must bakes. I want to try the black olive and herb one, redolent with fresh basil and tarragon.Another one that has piqued my interest is the cheddar chili one  loaded with refried beans and tomatoes  along with an artichoke cheese cake, graced with artichoke hearts and shredded Swiss cheese.  Of course there are the sweet ones. There is  the  well known and internationally loved  Lindy's cheesecake  and the famed Golden Girls one. This last is a classic recipe with a drizzle of  raspberry sauce and buttery crust.I love the variations. There's so many that I want to bake.There's a rich blackout one with a chocolate cookie crust accented with a truffle fudge topping, made with both milk and bitter chocolate. Then there is a South of France one , made with ricotta, along with orange and lemon zest. There are also recipes for bites and bars too, perfect for a holiday dessert table.Mr. Geary has recipes for ones made with the German quark cheese and hoop cheese. Another aspect of the book that's fantastic are the recipes for cookies and crackers. They'd be wonderful on their own and I plan on trying his butter cookies and graham crackers.

The Cheesecake Bible, The Second Edition is the must have book for cheesecake lovers and bakers.It is chock full of delicious sweet and savory recipes.. Get it and start with the holiday baking !

A Year Without The Chef

It has been a year of not having my Mom for recipes and advice. I miss her and I miss her culinary wisdom. The year without her has been sad but interesting. I had to grow and even challenge myself as a home chef and a baker.

The one thing I truly miss is her advice. I always needed it when I was writing about family or Piedmontese or Swabian dishes. She knew. Luckily there are others who can fill me in. I was fortunate enough to interview the Brass Sisters of the PBS show "Food Flirts" and began a foodie relationship with them. It is rare that I do ask for their advice but it i s freely given. I have had to rely on my brother for memories . "Is the taste similar to what they made?" They being our mother and her mother., our Nonna. Sometimes I rely on different websites to help (as any of my readers/ followers will know).All Recipes has been a big help. This is the place to go to for all sorts of recipes from breakfast to snacks.I have also looked at the New York Times Wednesday and Sunday Food sections for inspiration and help. Some worked , some didn't. Making someone else's recipes is not like making family ones. There's no connection  there - no stories and memories of the flavor. Yet cooking is also for trailblazers and that's what I had to become too.

There were also so many highs in the last year. I wish my Mom could have been here to experience them with me. She would have loved the Brass Sisters interview. She may have joined in, offering some of her advice and recipes to them. She would have been thrilled by them as well, because she was a big PBS cooking show fan. I'm sure she would have gently pressured me to interview Lidia Bastianich, or maybe Chris Kimball. She would have been very curious about my interview with Carolyn Robb, Prince Charles' personal chef.My Mom would have recreated the Yorkshire pudding recipe and we would have  doused it with Heintz's roast beef gravy.I think she would have also been amazed that I adapted both her chili and tomato sauce recipes for the crock pot. She was never one for it.Also, how would she feel about me adding California wildflower honey to both? She was more sugar or sliced carrots type of sauce maker. She also would have thought me crazy for baking two hundred cookies, twenty-five cupcakes and one marble layer cake at Christmastime last year. She would have loved the lemon poppy seed cake the oneI made last week ,especially because it was a scratch cake and she loved those.

A year without the chef. She may not be with me physically - but her spirit - her advice and recipes will live on. That's a warm comfort when I feel the chill of loneliness while cooking and baking.

The Appetite of War

Tomorrow marks the centennial of the 1918 Armistice and the end of World War I , the war to end all wars. Unfortunately that was not the case. The 20th Century produced many more conflicts. Surprisingly or may not so surprisingly those conflicts influenced the way we cooked and ate.

World War I brought out prejudices and hatreds , buried for a while but then reborn with the US going against the Germans. German delicacies and every day foods were either shunned or renamed. Sauerkraut was renamed "liberty cabbage " while hamburgers received the new name of"liberty sausages" (whoever named the last really didn't think that one through).The idea was taken up at the turn of this century  with the French not supporting the Iraq War, It seemed those "true blue Americans" liked the idea of renaming French fries "liberty fries". It's a surprise that crepes weren't named liberty pancakes or champagne liberty sparkling wine. Luckily German Americans could go back to not only eating the foods they grew up on but also calling them by their correct names too. The Second World War also brought out biases, especially for German, Italian - and Japanese Americans, the last being sent to interment camps. Gone was their diet of traditional Japanese food and in its' stead they were fed a steady diet of spam, hotdogs and soggy potatoes. Cooks got created and made hot dog sushi along with a dish  called "Weenie Royale"made with hot dogs, eggs and rice.

The up side of war - if there is one - is what comes out of it, namely inventions. The soy sausage was one of those byproducts. German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer wanted a nutritious meat substitute to feed the German people.  His first idea was a wheat flourless bread. made from rice flour, barley and Romanian corn flour however that flew out the window when Romania entered the war. It was then onto to soy and creating something that would be filling. Chancellor Adenauer came up with the soy sausage and the rest is history. However , it didn't meet the German government specifications of what should be called sausage (there had to be meat). Funny enough he had better luck peddling it to his enemies. King George V of England granted him a patent in June 1918. Another by product of the Great War was the teabag.It was actually invented a decade earlier by an American tea merchant who used it to send out samples to his customers. Yanks quickly plunked them into their cups of hot water yet it was the Germans who ran with the idea. They copied the idea and gave the small cotton bags to every soldier.. They were  called tea bombs.

Life has to continue during a war. That means eating. There may be rationing, there may be new foods to come out of it. We all have to have sustenance, despite the circumstances.

The Poppy Seed Lemon Cake

I had poppy seeds and I had lemons. What could I do with them? Make a refreshing cake , free of any pumpkin spices. The recipe was from OH Sweet Basil blog, from the writer/baker, Fiona. I have to admit , it is labor intensive. Have one or two people around to help.

  The first step is grating the zest.The recipes needs three tablespoons.

Then it was juicing them both for the cake and the icing. This is where you want to call in your kitchen cavalry. Juicing is hard work.

The cake needs 1/4 cup while the icing uses a tablespoon. Next time I'll just use lemon juice.

Then it 's mixing all the dry stuff

Flour, cornstarch, baking powder and baking soda.

Also butter and flour a 9 by 13 inch pan. I used a metal sugar shaker for an even coat

Then it's mixing the wet. The eggs - three of them

The butter about 3/4 cup

I used the good Neisen Massey vanilla, about one tablespoon

Then it's adding the sour cream and flour and mixing in with the wet ingredients.

The recipe called for two to three tablespoons of poppy seeds.I used Pereg's.

And this is what it look's like all mixed together.

This it it baked.

Onto the icing. Mix the cream cheese and butter first.

Keep these at room temp and cut into pieces for easy mixing.

Then it's the confectioner's sugar  - about three cups along with a tablespoon

 of vanilla and three tablespoons of lemon juice.

Then it's a quick blend with a hand mixer.

It's very gooey and sticky for an icing.

This is a very light , summery kind of cake, I love that the poppy seeds add color and crunch.The crumb is very crumbly, but normal for a scratch cake.

It's a labor intensive cake and icing  but worth it.

The Complete Squash Guide

One of the best foods of autumn is squash. This versatile veggie can be transformed into a warming soup, a hearty roast or adelicious side.The only problem -how can you tell which is which and what do you use the for. Luckily there is a guide to help you pick the right gourd.

Florence Fabricant created this for yesterday's New York Times Foo section. It is definitely a  keeper, especially for home chefs , new to cooking squash.. There is a description along with a picture for the twelve kinds which will be helpful for those thinking of serving it for Thanksgiving. The most popular and the most known is the acorn squash. This familiar round globe is covered in a leathery dark green skin.The skin or peel is not for eating. The flesh is fairly sweet and it's best for roasting or stuffing.Ms. Fabricant also recommends cutting it up in chunks and pureeing them.Another popular one is the butternut. Again, this is a popular one, usually a foot long in length. It has a fat bottom and light tan skin.It's sweet and nutty tasting and can be mashed or baked into a layer cake.Cute, round squashes are the carnival and cheese pumpkin. The first is reminiscent of the acorn and has a lovely maple flavor. The cheese pumpkin is more savory and can be incorporated into pies, soups or purees.Another sweet tasting gourd is the delicata.It has green and white stripes with a thin skin.The best use? Turn it into a creamy and thick bisque. The Honeynut is the newcomer in the family. It sprang from Cornell University's labs.It's a hybrid of the butternut squash, but sweeter and richer in taste. It would be ideal for desserts.

Looking for super cute? Then try the squash with the super cute name. Jack-Be-Little. This orange or white ball can be filled with soup, a gratin or even a custard. It is mild tasting, perfect for a strong main dish.Craving sweet potatoes?Try the gourd with the exotic name - kabocha. Its' nubbly rind can be eaten with the flesh. Roast pieces or use in soups and stews.Another exotic cucurbita is the Japanese kuri.This is an anomaly in the squash family. Its' flavor is more like chestnut. This makes it perfect for stirfries and stews. The creamy white mashed potatoes is an albino version of its' cousin, the acorn. The inside is dense and scooped out to be fluffed with butter and salt.Ms. Fabricant also recommends halving them and serving with cheese. Spaghetti squash is the most popular with gardeners.Ir's an easy, problem free grow in almost every summer backyard garden.  It's oval and yellowish - about the size of a football. Its' name derives from its' string like flesh that can serve as a sub in for pasta. Then there is the sweet dumpling.It resembles the carnival squash but is green and white in appearance.The skin is thin and edible and can be roasted , stuffing or baking.

Squash is a must have at any fall meal. Cook or bake it for a delicious side or dessert. It'll add color and flavor to the meal.

Melissa Clark's Thanksgiving Issue

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and with it brings recipe anxiety. Many home chefs are wondering what to cook and how to cook it. There's also the problem of finding new dishes to liven up the meal. Not to worry. Melissa Clark comes to rescue,

She was the star  - and rightly so - of today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. She has contributed some of the paper's best recipes along with great advice for several years.It's no wonder.Cooking  is in her veins. Her chief influence were her parents who were also creative with recipes. The one that has her father's influence is her roast turkey with garlic, rosemary  and anchovies. He didn't like cooking a bland bird, threatening to sub in something else like a leg of lamb. His daughter takes it a step further and treats the turkey as if it were a leg of lamb. She pierces the legs all over  and stuffs the tiny  slits with a paste of garlic ,rosemary and anchovies. This is also rubbed all over the rest of the bird as well.  This also makes for a more fragrant gravy too.The bird sits for an hour before being popped into a 450 F degree oven.Of course stuffing has to come with it. Hers is made with rich  buttery brioche and roasted peeled chestnuts. As with any stuffing, sage and  thyme are added. Ms. Clark uses fresh for maximum flavor. Another must is chicken or turkey stock,It has to be homemade for the best taste. Season it with leeks and parsley tops .

Sides are always important to the Thanksgiving meal.Again Ms. Clark knows how to elevate the humble cranberry, turning it into a  dinner table star. She takes her Aunt Sandy's recipe, originally from a magazine and updates it. Gone is the orange that gave the berries some tang. In its place is pomegranate There are also pistachios for crunch and more color. Instead of sugar she makes it healthier by subbing in half a cup of honey.Other dishes are mashed sweet potatoes with bourbon(!) and brown sugar along with broccoli with fried shallots and olives. These would definitely be eye openers at any table, thanks to the different spin on them.Every holiday table has to have potatoes and salad. Again, Ms. Clark does not disappoint with her recipes.The potatoes are slathered in a duck fat confit , made fragrant with thyme, sage and garlic. The result is a crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside potato that will sure to be a hit. Her salad has anchovy  - again-blended with lemon juice and parsley. This is a great dressing to make for weeknight salads too. Pie is de rigeur . Her pumpkin pie is laced with rum along with ginger and star anise.Four egg yolks give the filling richness. To gild the lily even more there is a ginger ice cream recipe, zinged up with fresh ginger and cinnamon.It's perfect with the pie, as it's decorated with candied ginger.

Follow Ms. Clark's recipes for a fun twist on a classic holiday meal. The result is a tasty dinner , from beginning to end. Try all of them - or just try one or two for a unique Thanksgiving.