Thanksgiving Menu 2011

It's that time again!  As a confident cook, this is one of my favorite times of year!  I get to try at least 5 of the recipes I've been hoarding for the rest of the year!  Who am I kidding?  At least 7.  Last year (that list didn't include the shrimp bisque I ended up making) I made one of the best turkeys I've EVER had.  And I don't even like turkey!  This year we'll be at my mother-in-law's house so I won't need to do the meat.  They have some favorites and I have free reign to make whatever I want.

Meat 
Rashan & I had fried oysters our first Thanksgiving together at his mom's house & now we require them at all holiday gatherings!!!
Turkey, ham, fried oysters

Soup & Appetizers
My family didn't eat soup for holiday meals traditionally but with in subscribing to food magazines for years, I now consider them a staple!  For meals at my mother-in-law's, Tyler's ultimate french onion soup is required! 

French onion soup, chicken liver paté (me/Tyler Florence), marinated chickpeas (me/Tyler Florence), olives with rosemary & orange (me/Tyler Florence)

Sides
The most important thing about Thanksgiving?? Maybe... Meat is required, but Thanksgiving would be worthless without a plethora of sides.  I knew I wanted to try a dressing even though they use stuffing.  My sister-in-law makes a fabulous mac & cheese so she'll be doing that.  And grandma's mac & cheese is a staple at their holiday suppers.  Without it, there would be mass revolt!
Stuffing, sausage brioche dressing (me), french-style green beans, squash casserole (sis-in-law), cranberry sauce, goose fat smashed potatoes (me/Rachael Ray), mac & cheese (grandma), sweet potatoes (mom-in-law)

Bread
I'm not a bread person unless it's in dressing or laden with butter (brioche or croissants)... I doubt I'll even touch these.  No one requested cornbread.
Crescent rolls

Dessert
I'm making a tart mostly because I've had a tart pan for almost a year and never used it!  I'm also considering a pumpkin custard and a chocolate mousse since they love all things chocolate!
Triple the Ginger snaps (me), streusel pear tart (me), sweet potato pie (sister-in-law)

2011, Recipe 100: Smoky Chipotle Meatloaf

Recipe courtesy of Serenebeader on Allrecipes.com

• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup hickory flavored barbeque sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced, or to taste
• 2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, minced, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from chipotle peppers
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry oatmeal
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 2 tablespoons hickory flavored barbeque sauce

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl until smooth, then whisk in 1/3 cup barbeque sauce, garlic, chipotle chiles, adobo sauce, kosher salt, black pepper, celery salt, cumin, and Worcestershire sauce until evenly smooth. Mix in the onion, oatmeal, and ground beef with your hands until evenly blended. Pack the mixture into the prepared pan. Brush the top of the meatloaf with 2 more tablespoons of barbeque sauce.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). 

Results: AMAZING!!!! You should definitely use the entire 2 lbs. of meat this recipe calls for because you will want it!!  I halved it and greedily, we ate the whole pan the same night.  I KNOW!!  Just shameful.  But it's truly that good!  I added diced onion & diced green peppers because I had them and needed to use them but the recipe really doesn't need it.

2011, Recipe 83: Baked Penne with Eggplant and Sausage

Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence

• Kosher Salt
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 links fennel pork sausage (about 3/4 pound)
• 1 large eggplant (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 large can (28 ounces) peeled whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
• Leaves from 1 small bunch basil
• 1 pound rigatoni
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat for the pasta. Get yourself a 9 by 13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.

Heat a 2 count of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and toss in the hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes, you want them nicely browned on the outside but still rare on the inside. Put the sausages in the baking dish.

Turn the heat down to medium. Add a generous 1/3 cup of oil to the skillet and get it hot. Add as many eggplant pieces as you can comfortably fit in a single layer and sprinkle well with salt. Cook, turning, for 7 to 8 minutes, until the eggplant is nice and browned, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Use a spatula to put the eggplant into the baking dish with the sausage. Cook the rest of the eggplant pieces, adding more oil to the pan, as needed, and putting the finished eggplant into the baking dish.

Add another 2 count of oil to the skillet, then your onion and garlic, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until translucent. Dump the whole can of tomatoes and their juices into a bowl and crush the tomatoes with your hands to break them up; add that to the pan with the basil and cook it down until pulpy and relatively thick. This will take about 15 minutes.
By this time your pasta water will be boiling. Add the rigatoni, give it a stir, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, it should be slightly firm as it will cook further in the oven. Ladle out 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water and reserve; the drain the rigatoni.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Chop the sausages into nice big, bite-size chunky pieces and return the pieces to the baking dish. Add the tomato sauce, rigatoni, and the reserved pasta water. Break up half the mozzarella over the mixture, season with salt and pepper, and gently mix with your hands or a spatula. Dust with the Parmigiano and drizzle with more olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes. Spread the remaining mozzarella in an even layer over the top and continue to bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Results: Good.  Not my favorite ever but mixing GENTLY (because the container is overflowing) helped make it cheesy throughout which was delightful!  I had to use some dried basil because I didn't have enough fresh.  BUMMER, I KNOW!!  But still really good.  It could've used a bit more salt but Rashan really liked it.   Oh!  And this recipe says to put the water on at the beginning but only cook it for 6-7 minutes... Um... no.  You can really start it around the time you start your sauce.  I would use less pasta, too.

Feed My Face, I'm on Vacay!: Day One

I went to see the McQueen exhibit at The Met and was simply amazed by that man. He was truly an artist, not just a fashion designer but an AR.TISTE. Almost scary.

Anyway, after being annoyed by everyone else who was in the museum, I was thisclose to calling the day a wrap. The rain was unrelenting, my feet were wet, my umbrella I just bought from some guy on the street had a hole in it and the day was just gray. I wanted some hot chocolate, sweats and tube socks. But I was in Manhattan. I was walking down 5th Avenue. I was walking down Madison and then Park Ave. It hit me that I am in New York City! I needed to make the most of my day cause guess what? I let the rain keep me indoors while in the DMV. Not this time!

As I made my way back to the front of the Met, I remembered I wanted a hotdog from a street vendor. For some weird reason, I ordered a jumbo one thinking that was more of a NYC move. That was dumb. It was a slightly bigger than the bun dog that tasted like any other hotdog I've ever eaten. Oh well, check it off my list.

Now I'm walking down 5th and I realize if I want something to eat, I'm going to have to get off this avenue. 5th Ave is lined with residences and then shops. An occasional boulangerie or nail spa but for the most part, golden gates and doormen.

I make my way towards Lexington where I saw more down to earth places like CVS and duane reade. I walk in city block circles, sometimes crossing the street and walking back the way I came. I didn't know where I was going and my GPS was tripping with the location of a specific restaurant I wanted. Oh well, I made a right on some street and found a Tasti-D-Lite. I think I saw C. Bradshaw eating there once so I got a sugar cone with french vanilla ice fro-yo.

It was so good. It was like eating cotton candy silk velvet. so smooth and rich and light at the same time. A whole mouth feeling in just one bite. It made my mouth feel good, a warm fuzzy feeling even though it was a frozen treat. Almost like a good red wine I guess.

Too bad he gave me a ish-ton on a tiny cone. I ended up throwing most of it away cause I just finished eating a jumbo hotdog. And I realized I didn't like cone. It doesn't get soft like cheapy-cones you get from the grocery store get.

I'm still sitting in the TDL trying to find the soft shell banh mi restaurant on my own (with GPS) and it's not working. I leave and start wandering aimlessly, looking down cross streets for something to grab my interest. I walk past a burger joint with no-one in line. OMG, this is Sha.ke Shack! It's on my list and I've heard talk on twitter abt this place! Wait, no line?!?! I'm there!

I get the Shac.kburger. What makes it a shackburger is the tangy mayo sauce they add. I think I would've liked more of the sauce but other than that, it was delish. All parts of the burger melted in my mouth. The bun was lightly toasted but still soft and almost croissant-ish; tear away gooey goodness. The hand made angus patty was to-die for. the fresh veggies were not overwhelming. And it was the perfect size. (Well, I did just eat a jumbo hotdog and a few bites of fro-yo so this statement should be taken with a grain of salt). Believe it or not, they use american cheese and guess what? IT WORKS! I would like to go back to try some of their other menu items like the frozen custard and the split hotdog. Y'all know i'm a whore for hotdogs.

If our friend B.BeyonceL-W was reading this, she knows she better take me to willie's weener- wagon before I know sumthing!!

So in the past hour, i've eaten three iconic NY foods. I'm good! I make it back to 86th and Lex and get so confused about which train to take. Uptown or Downtown? I just want to go to Brooklyn and all the signs are saying the same thing. It turns out I was supposed to cross the street to get to the BK bound trains... who knew?

I get on the right train and I hear the conductor announce "Grand Central Station". I jump up and decide to hit up the oyster bar! Why not!?!? This day will not go to waste!

I'm headed in the right direction!

It looks like a diner. But it's a raw bar. *swoon*

You seat yourself and the NYC equivalent of a wafflehouse waitress named Dottie tosses a paper menu printed that day at you. That's when I went to work.

Cornish Hens with Macaroni n' Cheese with Peas & Bacon

Cornish Hens Roasted with Rosemary & Garlic

Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com

• 4 Cornish game hens
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 24 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
2. Rub hens with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Lightly season hens with salt and pepper. Place 1 lemon wedge and 1 sprig rosemary in cavity of each hen. Arrange in a large, heavy roasting pan, and arrange garlic cloves around hens. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a mixing bowl, whisk together wine, chicken broth, and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil; pour over hens. Continue roasting about 25 minutes longer, or until hens are golden brown and juices run clear. Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes.
4. Transfer hens to a platter, pouring any cavity juices into the roasting pan. Tent hens with aluminum foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices and garlic cloves to a medium saucepan and boil until liquids reduce to a sauce consistency, about 6 minutes. Cut hens in half lengthwise and arrange on plates. Spoon sauce and garlic around hens. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, and serve. 

Results: DELISH!  However... I thought about becoming a vegetarian for the first time when I was cleaning the cornish hens... Do you see them!?!?  They look like little babies!!  Why????  I felt like such a murderer m.olesting their soft.supple.skin.  As delicious as it was... I don't think I'll ever cook this again.

 

 

The Ultimate Mac N' Cheese with Peas & Bacon

Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence

Kosher salt
1 pound elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups warm milk
5 1/2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

extra virgin olive oil
4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into thin strips
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, smashed
leaves from ¼ bunch fresh thyme
2 cups frozen peas, thawed in a colander under cool water

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.  Add the macaroni and cook for 8 to 9 minutes, until al dente. Drain.

 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium high heat.  Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, to keep lumps form forming.  Gradually whisk in the milk and, whisking vigorously, cook until the mixture is thick and smooth.

Stir in the 4 cups of the cheese and continue to cook and stir to melt the cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.

Add the cooked macaroni and the parsley and fold that all in to coat the macaroni with the cheese mixture.  Scrape into a 3-quart baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining 1 ½ cups cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

While thats going, heat a 2 count of olive oil in a sauté pan.  Add the bacon, onion, garlic and thyme and cook for about 5 minutes to soften the onion.  Fold in the peas and season with salt and pepper.
 To serve, scatter the pea and bacon mixture over the mac and cheese.  Use a big spoon to scoop out servings, making sure you get some of the smoking pea mixture on each spoonful.

Results: Y'all.  If you're one of those mac & cheese purists, let it go one night.  You don't have to make this for the holidays or your family might kill you!  But do yourself a favor and make this!  So delicious!!

Also, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!  Sorry it's been so long!  The remix wore me out!!!

Pink Shrimp & Black Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients

soft taco flour tortillas

1/2 pound fresh or thawed shrimp; a couple whole, most halved

two cans of black beans

1 can of enchilada sauce

1 cup of fresh salsa

3/4 cup of corn

cilantro

1 lime

colby jack cheese

oil

garlic

cumin

sea salt and pepper

guacamole

sour cream

Mince several (I used 5) cloves of garlic and place in bowl. Add peeled, rinsed, and cut shrimp to bowl. Season with salt, pepper, and liberal amounts of cumin. Roll a lime, cut and squeeze out about 1 tablespoon of juice onto the shrimp mixture. Tear cilantro from springs and rough chop to equal 1 tablespoon. Add to bowl. Stir to coat and incorporate. let sit.

In a medium sized pot, pour enough oil to coat bottom of pot plus some. Add several minced garlic cloves then turn burner on to medium-low heat. Let garlic infuse the oil for several minutes. Add two cans of black beans plus 1/4 a can of water. Add sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, and cumin. Stir. Add 2 tablespoons of roughly chopped cilantro and all the juice from 1/2 lime used in shrimp bowl. Stir well. Turn heat up to high and let boil. Begin using spoon to mash the black beans. Mash and stir till water has evaporated and you're left with chunky applesauce consistency. Turn heat off and let water continue to evaporate.

In frying pan, cook shrimp mixture on med-high till they are ALMOST done. Remove from heat, add corn, and salsa to pan and stir.

In baking dish, pour enough enchilada sauce to cover bottom. Place one flour tortilla in dish. Scoop and spread black bean mash on tortilla. Using a slotted spoon, scoop and spread shrimp/corn/salsa mixture on top of black beans. Shred (or add shredded) cheese to the dish. Add next tortilla and repeat black bean, shrimp mixture, cheese steps. Repeat till desired layers are reached. Pour half of remaining enchilada sauce, all over and around the tortillas. Flip top tortilla and pour the rest on dry side. Top with copious amounts of shredded cheese.

Place baking dish in oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve in wedges with dollops of lime infused guac and lime infused sour cream. Garnish with lime wedge and cilantro sprig.