Thanksgiving My Way

Everyone else does a Thanksgiving Special, right?  So this is Thanksgiving My Way!  T-Day is such an iconic food day that one really doesn't want to mess with tradition very much.  But these are some of my variations on Thanksgiving classics.

Red Cooked Turkey Breast

I'm not a big fan of poultry or fish skin, whether golden brown and crispy or not.  I do love poultry white meat, and so does Lady Sally but we're not so fond of dark meat except as an ingredient in a dish. 

Sally always thought turkey white meat was dry -- until I made this recipe for her a couple years ago. I got the recipe from Martin Yan, of Yan Can Cook, decades ago. I think it was in his first or second cookbook.  

This is the most perfectly simple way to cook turkey you've ever seen. Martin called this "red cooking", but it's really a form of poaching. The technique also works for a whole chicken, small whole turkey, or 5-10 lb bags of poultry parts like wings, thighs, etc. 

 All sorts of courtbouillons (fancy name for "poaching liquids") can be used too, if the Asian theme doesn't appeal to you, such as citrus-infused water, wine/water, fruit juice/wine etc.

However, for the first time I suggest you try Martin's version.  It's not salty, or heavy soy sauce flavored, or perfumed with anise.  But your guests will go "Wow... that's great!"

Thawed Turkey Breast

Soy Sauce

Water

1 whole Star Anise

Put the breast in a LARGE pot. Cover by an inch with a mixture of half soy sauce and half water. Remove the meat. Add a single whole star anise. Bring liquid to a hard rolling boil. Put the meat back in the pot. Return to a hard rolling boil. Put the lid on, turn the fire off, and walk away for two hours.

Don't peek, don't stir. Leave it alone! For two hours.

At the end of the time you will have the most flavor-filled, moist and juicy turkey breast you have ever experienced.

The meat draws the heat out of the liquid, the pot and the stove top and carries the flavor all the way to the bone. After 2 hours it's still hot enough you don't want your hands in it, so be careful when you remove the breast. If you want it browned, use your broiler for 10-15 minutes. After a 10-15 minute rest, slice the breast and serve -- be prepared for rave reviews.

Tips: Buy your soy sauce at an Asian market, you'll get a better product for a lot less money. I got a gallon jug of mushroom-infused soy sauce for less than the price of a quart at the megamart.

Sage & Mushroom Dressing

1 bag cubed Dressing croutons -- I prefer Pepperidge Farms

2-3 stalks Celery, chopped

1-2 Sweet Onion, diced

3-4 cloves Roasted Garlic

8 oz sliced Mushrooms

1 Tbsp Rubbed Sage

1 stick Butter, melted

1-1/2 cup water or broth

Toss to combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Pour the liquids over all and toss again. Place in a baking pan and bake at 350F for 30 minutes, covered.

I prefer dressing to potatoes or rice any old day!

Ginger-Orange Yams

4-6 large Yams, peeled and cubed

1/4 cup OJ concentrate, thawed

1 thumb fresh Ginger, minced

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cardamon seeds

Toss to combine everything in a large bowl. Can be microwaved for about 9 minutes, covered, or baked @ 350F for 30-45 minutes until fork tender.

Cranberry Mold

Easily done the day before.

1 bag Fresh Cranberries - 12-14oz.

1 envelope unflavored Gelatin

1 cup Sugar

1 cup Water

zest of 1 orange

1/4 tsp each ground cinnamon, allspice and cloves

Combine cranberries, zest, spices, sugar and water in a sauce pan. Bring to a boild cook until the cranberries 'pop' and the liquid starts to thicken Meanwhile add the gelatin to 2 Tbsp water and allow it to 'bloom'. Remove cranberries from heat. Temper gelatin with hot cooked juice, then add it to the pan of cooked cranberries. Pour the mixture into a prepared mold and allow to cool to room temperature before covering and refrigerating.

You'll never used canned cranberry sauce again!

Unmold to your serving plate and garnish as desired.  Here you see sage leaves and uncooked cranberries.

Smashed Potatoes

Comfort food of the first stripe.

Potatoes -- I prefer Yukon Gold if you can get them. Or Reds. Not those big brown things...

Fat -- butter and/or sour cream, and/or cream cheese to taste

Dairy -- milk, half & half or cream to taste

Roasted Garlic - a clove or two minced

Peel the potatoes if you must. I like skin-on. Quarter them more or less, depending on size. Put in a large pot of water with a little salt, and boil until mashing tender. Drain and return to the hot pot for a couple minutes to evaporate excess water. Then mash and add the garlic, fat and dairy. How much is up to you. I like my potatoes sort of rustic -- not completely mashed, and certainly not whipped.

Green Beans

I like these with cream of mushroom soup. But that's not so good for the old diet and salt intake. So these days I keep them pretty simple.

Fresh Green Beans -- never canned, frozen only if you simply must.

1/2 tsp Thyme, to taste

Juice of a Lemon

Roasted Red Bell Pepper for garnish

Slivered Almonds for garnish

Trim the tips and cut to the length you like. Place beans, thyme and lemon juice in just enough water to cover, in a covered pan on the stovetop, and simmer 15-20 minutes until tender.  Plate, garnish and serve.

Meyer Lemon Pie

Another version of the basic no-bake refrigerator cream pie I wrote about on Nov. 10th.

This time I use Meyer Lemon Juice that I had previously frozen, and zest from a couple other lemon that would be used for other things.

We went to the upscale regional grocery called Fresh Market the other day and I was tempted to buy one of these:

and stick it in the middle of the pie, just for the shock factor! But Lady Sally wouldn't let me.....

No, that's not a Lemony Snicket! It's called a Buddha Hand citrus or Fingered Citron. It's primarily used in China and Japan. Can be grown anywhere other varieties of citrus are grown. Very lemon-aromatic, it can be used as you would lemon.

1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

8 oz softened or whipped Cream Cheese

Zest from 2 lemons

Oreo Cookie pre-made crust

Whipped Cream for topping

More Kilted Kitchen and more Stuffed Stuff

In case you haven't figured it out yet, I like stuffing things.  Except poultry.  Next week you'll hear about Thanksgiving my way, and not stuffing turkeys (or chickens for that matter.

To start things off this week, here are some more things you'll find in the Kilted Kitchen:

Kitchen Sauces & other liquid flavorings

Liquid Smoke                                              Toasted Sesame Oil

Red & White Wine Vinegar                   White Balsamic Glaze

Soy Sauce (low sodium)                          Hoisin Sauce

Worchestershire                                        Romesco

Salsa Aperitivo                                            Aged Balsamic Vinegar

Sweet Baby Ray's Chipotle or original BBQ Sauce

Tapatio(tm), Tabasco(tm) or Sriracha Hot Sauce

There are lots of other ethnic specific sauces that come and go in my kitchen too.  Things like Aji Amarillo yellow pepper sauce from Peru, salty-sour Nuoc cham or Nam pla fish Sauce from Southeast Asia, Costa Rican Lizano (used on everything, like ketchup), Catalonia xató,  Bajan seasoning and Bajan Pepper sauce, and many, many more.

Stuffed Aubergine

Even eggplant haters love this dish! I've made this with a wide range of additions to the eggplant flesh, but this version was pretty darn good!

1 large Aubergine

1 can Tuna, drained

1 large stick Celery

1/2 can Diced Tomatoes, drained

1/2 Sweet Onion, diced

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 tsp Everglades Seasoning, to taste

3 oz mixed shredded Cheese

Halve the eggplant and hollow it out as shown in the photo, leaving about 1/4" around the edges:

 Set aside. 

 Chop the removed flesh and begin sauteeing it with some olive oil while you chop the other ingredients. Add 1/2 cup of water, and the onion and celery in turn. Cook for a few minutes until the onion starts to turn translucent. Then add the tomato, tuna and spice. Continue cooking until the eggplant is tender and the liquid has been absorbed.  Add the bread crumbs to tighten up the blend.

Over stuff the hollow eggplants with the mixture, top with shredded cheese, and bake at 350F for about 30 minutes until the cheese is melty and browning.

Pilaf Stuffed Patty Pan

Of course this recipe will work with the more common, smaller patty pans; it will be just a bit more fiddley to assemble..

1 Giant Patty pan Squash (7-8" diameter).

1-2 cups cooked rice (I like Jasmine)

1/2 to 1 cup 'pilaf' ingredients - cooked mushrooms, bell peppers, squash meat, spices, etc.

Slice the stem end top off the squash. Scoop out the seedy bits. Bake 10-30 minutes, cut side down so juices will drain, until tender but not soft. Alternatively, microwave a couple minutes to get to the same condition. Combine the cooked rice and and pilaf, and over-stuff the squash. Top with cheese or breadcrumbs if you wish. Bake the stuffed squash for abut 30 minutes until the squash is tender. Like zucchini and Italian yellow squash, you eat the skin of the patty pan along with the meat.

Slice into wedges, and serve.

South African Smoked Country Pork Ribs

If you love smoke flavor, like a bit of spice, and can get your hands on the Trader Joe's spice blend, this is the best thing you can do to these wonderful bits of pigginess!

Boneless Country Pork Ribs

Trader Joe's South African Smoke Spice(tm)

 Dust 'em and grill 'em!

Apple Yam Gratin

Based on a recipe in a recent issue of USA Weekend Sunday supplement.

1 large Honeycrisp or Ambrosia Apple

1 large fairly cylindrical Yam

1/2 cup Sweet Onion, sliced thin

1/3 cup Golden Raisins, minced

1/2 cup Apple nectar

1 clove Garlic, minced

1/2 cup Orange juice with pulp

1 tsp "Curry Powder" of your choice

1 tsp powdered Ginger, or 1 Tbsp fresh grated Ginger

Fillet the apple as I showed you here a week or so back. Cut the 'half moon' slices 1/8" thick. Peel the yam, halve it lengthwise and slice it into 1/8" thick half moons as well. Arrange alternating slices of apple and yam in a fan around a 9" pie pan. Stack additional slices of each in the center, to fill the pan.

Combine the juices, raisins, garlic, curry powder and ginger in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cook for 6-8 minutes to combine the flavors. In a small skillet, sweat the onions until fragrant and translucent, but don't let them brown.

Place the onions in the center of the apple-yam fan, pour the juice overall and bake in a pre-heated 375F oven, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and continue cooking an additional 20 minutes, until the yams are fork tender.

Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate to serve the next day.

Kilted Kitchen, Salmon Patties and Starfruit Pie

Throughout my ramblings, you'll have noticed mention of several commercial spice blends that I use commonly in The Kilted Kitchen. Of course you can make your own spice blends for various things, and I'll share some of mine with you later. But these blends are hard to beat, and are widely available from ethnic markets and megamart seasoning sections,. They can also be purchased through the internet for those of you who can't find Everglades seasoning in North Dakota, for example. These blends can -- individually and collectively -- give you a wide range of flavor profiles. There's nothing worse than boring tasting food. Liven up your dinner table!

Spice Blends

Cavender's(tm) -- Greek seasoning. Add to ground lamb for homemade gyros

Old Bay(tm)  -- a kitchen standard for seafood and poultry since 1939

Everglades(tm)  -- www.everglades seasoning.com -- mild but tangy, like Florida itself

Sazon Tropical(tm)  -- www.badiaspices.com -- 1 pkt in a pot of rice makes the best 'Spanish Rice'!

Sazon Complete(tm)  -- www.badiaspices.com -- a great 'everyday' blend

Italian Seasoning -- I like Rachel Ray's for it's touch of fennel

Tony Chachere's(tm)  or Paul Prudhomme's(tm)  blends -- for that Cajun/Creole touch

Garam Masala -- an explosion of general Indian flavor for veggies, soups, stews, meats

Chinese Five Spice -- the scents of Asia -- add to soups, poultry and more

Here are other herbs and spices that I consider quintessential to any good kitchen.

Dill                                                                      Star Anise

Black Pepper                                                    Cinnamon bark, not ground

White Pepper                                                   Cloves - whole

Kosher Salt                                                       Allspice - whole berries

Ginger - fresh and dried                              Saffron - for the best paellas

Thyme - fresh and dried                             Chili Powder

Basil - fresh and dried                                  Sage

Oregano - fresh and dried                          Garlic - fresh

Cumin - whole seeds and powdered

Cardamon, green or black, whole pods or seeds

Paprika - Hungarian or Spanish, smoked and plain

Next week -- sauces, and other liquid flavorings in The Kilted Kitchen.

Salmon Patties

This comfort food goes back a way in our family. I remember my Mom making some version of these when we were little kids 'back in the day'. That long ago we had to cut them with flint knives, of course!

16 oz can of Red or Pink Salmon

1 bunch Green Onions, diced

1-2 Tbsp minced Parsley

1+ cups crushed Crackers - I favor Ritz(tm). Or use panko.

2 Eggs, beaten

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp Dill

1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning

To drain, or not to drain, that is the question. I favor draining the salmon once you de-can it. Others want the juice. Place in a large bowl and start flaking the fish with a fork. Add the other ingredients, mixing each in turn. Form into patties and fry gently until golden and crispy on both sides. Serve with (my favorites) rustic smashed Golden potatoes and steamed frozen peas. Makes 4-6 large patties.

When I made the Smashed Potatoes I added about a 1/4 cup of Ricotta cheese, a couple tablespoons of butter, and a splash of half and half.

Lemon-Starfruit Cream Pie -- No Bake

This pie uses the basic no-bake pie concept: fruit juice mixed with sweetened condensed milk and cream cheese.  A simple, easy and tasty make-ahead dessert with a million variations.  I've made Barbados cherry, lemon, key lime and now this lemon-starfruit.  Good with pureed or juiced orange/tangerine, mango, peaches/nectarines, grapefruit, cherry, loquat and similar soft fruit.  I'll bet it would also be good with apples/apple juice and pureed pears.  Off-season, juices or nectars of many fruits are available,and would work well in this concept -- be creative!!

4 small Starfruit, ripe but not mushy soft.

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

8 oz Whipped Cream Cheese

4 oz Meyer Lemon-Starfruit juice (see below)

1 prepared Pie Crust, savory or sweet

Chop up the starfruit (about 2 cups of pieces) and simmer with 1/8 cup brown sugar and a splash of water until the fruit is tender (10 minutes). Cool, then seperate juice and fruit.

Combine 1/4 cup of the cooked starfruit juice with 1/4 cup Meyer Lemon juice (or regular lemon juice if you can't find the good stuff). If using regular lemon juice, mix a bit more starfruit juice and a bit less lemon, to make it sweet/tart, not tart/sweet.

Whisk together the juice with the sweetened condensed milk and then the whipped cream cheese; fold in the reserved fruit and pour the mixture into the pie crust. I used a leftover rolled-up frozen pie crust and pre-baked it. This would also be great with a graham cracker or Oreo crumb crust. Refrigerate at least 6 hours -- overnight is best. 

 If you want extra calories or pizazz, top with whipped cream or Cool Whip(tm), curls of lemon zest or cooked star-slices of starfruit.

Soup and...

Well, since the Arctic Blast slapped most of the Eastern US over the past few days (even here on the Gulf Coast we got “winter” temps down in the 40s) I figured this would be the perfect week to talk about winter comfort food – soup. The Mock Turtle got it right, when he sang:

Beautiful Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!

Beau--ootiful Soo--oop!
Beau--ootiful Soo--oop!
Soo--oop of the e—e--evening,
Beautiful, beautiful Soup!

--Mock Turtle, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Soups

Soups are so easy to make, and make well. All it takes for a flavor-filled soup is good ingredients (and plen ty of them) and a liberal application of herbs and spices. My soup of the week is a version of my ever-changing

Chicken Vegetable Soup

This time I started with a bag of frozen “European Vegetable Mix” to which I added:

1 large stick of Celery

1 bunch Green Onions

3 stems of Broccoli (we eat the florettes and freeze the raw stems for soup additions)

½ Tomato left over from lunch

¼ cup frozen Peas (leftover in the freezer)

½ cup dried Toor Dal (Pigeon Peas)

4 Chicken Thighs

Herbs & Spices: smoked paprika, Cavender's blend, Everglades blend, and a dash of cinnamon.

Slice the celery, green onions, and raw broccoli stems. I dusted the thighs with Cavender's on one side and started sauteeing them spiced side down. As they sat there in the skillet I dusted the top side with Everglades.

After 10-12 minutes of browning on both sides, I added the celery, broccoli coins, green onion and other uncooked ingredients, along with about 6 cups of water and the additional spices. Put the lid on and let it cook for 30-45 minutes. Then I removed the chicken, cut it away from the bone, then added it back to the pot along with the frozen vegetables. After another 20 minutes or so it was ready to serve along with slices of garlic bread.

Pozole

My personal all-time favorite soup is the pre-Columbian Mexican soup called Pozole. Basic ingredients are hominy, pork and green chiles.

1-1/2 lbs cubed Pork (I prefer sirloin)

2 cans Hominy (white or yellow)

12-14 Whole Tomatillos (or two cans of canned tomatillos)

1 large White Onion, diced

2-3 Poblano Chiles (or other green chiles to taste)

1 tbsp ground Cumin

1 tbsp Sazon Complet, Latin seasoning

Peel the papery skins off the tomatillos and then quarter the fruit. Brown the pork cubes dusted with Sazon Complet, then add the tomatillos, peppers and onions and cook until they soften. Add about 6 cups of water or pork broth and simmer for 30 minutes or so.

Sandwich

To accompany a nice bowl of soup, lots of folks like a sandwich. Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup is a classic. For my sandwich, this week I made

Black Bean, Tomato and Chorizo Stuffed Pitas

1 can Black Beans, rinsed and drained

1 can Rotel(tm) Tomatoes with Green Chiles, drained

6 oz real Mexican Chorizo (or Tofurkey(tm) brand faux Chorizo)

Add the chorizon to a hot skillet and shuffle it around until it starts to break up. Then add the drained beans and tomatos and cook together for about 15 minutes to marry the flavors and reduce the liquid content as much as you can. Spoon the goodness into pita halves and serve.

Side Dish

Some people (those who don't make 'hearty' soups, I think) insist on serving a substantial side dish with soup (other than a sandwich). If you have a rice cooker, this dish is simple and flavorful

Masoor Dal and Rice

Masoor Dal is split orange lentils, fast and easy to cook either in a rice cooker or in a pot on the stove. Available from many megamarts and Indian markets. For rice, I prefer Jasmine for its perfume and flavor, although Basmati also works well.

1 cup uncooked Rice

1 cup uncooked Masoor Dal

1-2 tbsp Aji Amarillo (Peruvian yellow pepper paste) or Romesco sauce (Catalonian red pepper and almond paste) to taste

Cook the rice and lentils separately, then toss them together in a large bowl. Fold in your sauce of choice and serve.