ALTERNATIVE THANKSGIVING SIDES

 

                            Alternative Thanksgiving sides

           Thanksgiving, originally celebrated in many cultures as a ‘harvest festival, in North America dates back to the day set aside by Pilgrims to give thanks for their first harvest. Our images of bountiful Thanksgiving tables in the twenty first century have little resemblance to that first gathering, though both tend to focus on food and gathering of friends and family.

          Historians continue to argue whether that first Thanksgiving featured turkey on the menu. Today the Thanksgiving menu has assumed an inviolate traditional cast for many families and you disturb it at your peril of offending great aunt Augusta, if the table does not feature string beans and corn pudding dictated by tradition.

          It may be foolish to try and temper too much with such basics as turkey and mashed potatoes, but great aunt Augusta may not notice the improved flavor of gravy made with a splash of Madeira and a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice as a finish. Vegetables add color to the Thanksgiving table. Retaining the tradition of corn and beans as a side, make a colorful dish of succotash that is easy to prepare.

                                                  Enriched succotash

          This recipe is for 4 servings but can easily be scaled up for a larger group.

On medium heat 1 tblsp. olive oil and 1 tblsp. butter in a pan, sauté 2 chopped shallots and ½ diced red pepper for 5 minutes without browning and set aside.

          Bring 1 cup chicken broth to boil in a pot, add 2 cups frozen baby lima beans and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in 2 cups frozen corn and the cooked shallots and peppers and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Correct seasoning with salt and pepper, swirl in 1 tblsp. additional butter and serve.

          Many families serve creamed onions as a side dish to pair with turkey. An amazing and deeply flavorful alternative is a side dish of balsamic roasted onions.

                             Balsamic roasted onions

          This dish can be made with either red onions or small peeled boiling onions. In a small pot melt 2 tblsp. butter, add 2 tblsp. olive oil, ¼ cup balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp. thyme and 1tsp. salt.

           Cut tops off 2 large red onions and peel all but the last outer layer of the peel. Cut each large onion into 6 wedges and dip in the butter-vinegar mix. Place wedges cut side down on an oiled baking dish without touching and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour, turning the wedges several times during baking. When they start to look dry, sprinkle with HOT water or chicken broth to loosen and glaze. Remove from oven and peel off the outer layer of the skin. The cut sides should be browned. These can be made ahead and reheated briefly in the oven. If using small peeled white onions, make 2 partial cuts in each as to quarter the onion as a chrysanthemum and stand them upright in the pan for baking.

          Pumpkin and apple pies are everyone’s standbys for this holiday. A recent exploration of a recipe for a fruit galette came up with a tempting and visually appetizing alternative for my traditional apple pie.

                                                   Apple-almond galette

          The filling: whisk together ½ cup almond flour, 2 tblsp. flour, ¼ cup sugar, ½ tsp. nutmeg, 1 tsp. cardamom, ½ tsp. salt.  Melt 4 tblsp. butter and when slightly cooled, beat into 2 large eggs with 1 tsp. almond extract. Thoroughly mix the eggs with the flour mixture.

          Roll out a sheet from 14 oz. thawed puff pastry, place directly on the pan and score a ½ inch border around the edges with a sharp knife, without cutting all the way through. Spread the filling over the pastry within the borders of the ½ inch scored edges. Peel, core and thinly slice 2 large Cortland or other baking apples and layer in slightly overlapping rows over the pastry. Brush apples with 2 tblsp. fresh lemon juice and sprinkle with 2 tblsp. Demerara sugar.

          Beat an egg with 1 tsp. water and brush the exposed pastry with the egg wash. Sprinkle edges with slivered almonds and slightly press with your fingers to adhere to the glaze. Bake 40 minutes in a 375-degree preheated oven with the pan in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 20 minutes to deep golden. Remove from oven, allow to cool for 5 minutes and slide on a rack covered with parchment paper. In a small pot melt 1 tblsp. butter with 2 tblsp. honey, stir to blend and brush the top of apples for a moist glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature.

          All the temptations of the Thanksgiving table should leave us mindful of Molière who cautioned us in his play The Miser: “One should eat to live, not live to eat”.

    (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

 

 

PORK CHOPS AND MADELEINES

 

                                 Pork chops and Madeleines

           The ghouls and goblins have fled until the next year, leaving us bereft of their elusive whimsy of shape and excitement as fall fades in November. October has lingered with colors slowly fading, but after a couple of days of Indian summer chill has come here to stay and we turn to the warmth of indoors.

          The kitchen takes again its place for warmth and as a place for creating more hearty meals to send us to outdoor activities well-nourished. Pork like chicken can come in a variety of cuts and is amenable to an infinite variety of flavors in preparation.

Beginning cooks find pork chops, like steak, one of the easiest to prepare. Presumably, all you have to do is salt and pepper the chop, heat a pan with a little oil and fry it until done on both sides. Unlike steak, pork needs to be cooked thoroughly and more likely than not, these simple directions will give you shoe leather. Because pork is not marbled like a good steak, the lean meat dries out quickly on a hot pan, unless you take some measure to prevent this from occurring. One of the easiest ways to prepare tender pork chops is to dredge them in a coating such as egg and breadcrumbs or panko before cooking. Flavorful oven roast pork chops are equally tender and involve less guess work about the heat of the pan for cooking and allows you to roast potatoes at the same time to accompany the meal.

 

                                          Flavorful oven roast pork chops

In a small bowl mix: 3 tblsp. whole grain Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. Kosher salt, 1 ½ tsp. lemon pepper, 1 tsp. thyme, 1 tsp, chopped rosemary and set aside 2 tsp. of the mix. In another shallow bowl mix 1 cup panko with 1 tsp. salt and 2 tblsp. olive oil.

Preheat the oven to roast at 425 degrees and set the oven rack in the upper third of the oven. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

Rub 4 thick bone-in pork chops with the mustard mixture and dredge one side of the chops in the panko mixture. Set the chops on one side of the pan with the panko side up and sprinkle with some additional panko for a thick coating. Peel 2-3 potatoes and cut in 1 ½ inch chunks, peel and halve 4 shallots. Toss the vegetables in 2 tblsp. olive oil and arrange on the other side of the pan. Sprinkle the vegetables with some garlic salt and roast the meat and vegetables for 20 minutes, remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes. In a small pan stir together and heat 2 tsp. of the reserved mustard mix, 2 tblsp. olive oil and 1 tblsp. apple cider vinegar and drizzle over the pork chops. Serve with colorful red sautéed cabbage.

                             Red sautéed cabbage

Heat 2 tblsp. vegetable oil in a large pan to hot without smoking and stir in 5 cups coarsely shredded cabbage, 2 sliced shallots or ½ thinly sliced red onion, ½ tsp. salt, 1 tsp. carraway seed and ½ tsp. lemon pepper. Stir fry for 2 minutes, turn heat down to medium heat and add in 1 tart apple, cored and sliced thin. Continue to sauté for 4 minutes. Stir in 1-2 tblsp. apple cider vinegar and continue to cook until all liquid is absorbed.

Thousands of essays have been written by students in French classes about Madeleines, the French desert cookie made famous by Marcel Proust in his “Remembrance of Things Past” novel.  Some years past Gourmet magazine came up with a savory version of Madeleines that was worth retrieving for some informal entertaining at our house.

 

                               Savory cheese and zucchini Madeleines

Coarsely shred 2 small zucchini on a box grater, sprinkle with 2 tsp. coarse salt, allow to sit for 30 minutes, then rinse thoroughly, drain and squeeze out all excess moisture.

Heat 2 tblsp. olive oil in a pan and sauté 1 small, chopped onion for 10 minutes without browning, set aside.

In a large bowl stir together 1 cup of flour, 1 tblsp. baking powder and ½ tsp. salt. In another bowl beat 3 eggs, 1 ½ tblsp. milk, 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 tsp. basil, ¼ tsp. pepper, the onion and zucchini. Stir the egg mixture in the flour and mix thoroughly.

Butter and flour 2 Madeleine pans or 1 ½ in diameter muffin pans, fill with the batter and smooth the tops. Bake 16-17 minutes in a 400-degree preheated oven. Remove from oven, allow to cool for 5 minutes, and gently release the Madeleines with a spatula, bottoms up. Lightly brush with melted butter and serve warm or at room temperature.

   (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

 

WARMING SOUP AND APPLES FOR FALL

                            Warming soup and apples for fall

           October is the time we visit our favorite farmers markets, noting with nostalgia bright apples piled high in baskets, colorful winter squash in all shapes and the greens of the cabbage family contrasted with the bright white of plump heads of cauliflower. It is my favorite time of year to browse this harvest plenty with just a bit of nostalgia for our fleeting time before winter.

          Shopping at a farmer’s market is a bracing experience this time of the year and leads to a new appreciation for the warmth of one’s kitchen, preferably with a mug of hot mulled apple cider in hand.

                             Mulled apple cider

          Place the following spices in a sturdy 2-3 qt. pot: 2 cinnamon sticks, 1 star anise, 5 cloves, 5 allspice and 1 whole nutmeg (optional) and toast on low heat for 2 minutes until fragrant. Add 4-6 cups apple cider, heat to barely bubbling and continue to heat on low simmer for 1 hour. Serve hot in mugs with garnish of lemon slices and if you want to gild the lily, a splash of rum.

          Hot soup for lunch is sometimes a life saver in the fall and winter months. Especially, once you make a big pot of soup, it provides ready made lunch for several days that only requires brief reheating. Cauliflower has become recently popular both as a dietetic measure and often a mainstay in keto diets. The following recipe skirts a strict
fit in either category, but its creamy texture is bound to please everyone.

                                                      Cauliflower soup

          Trim a medium head of cauliflower of outer leaves, coarsely break it in florets and slice the core in thin slices.

          In a 3 qt. pot sauté 1 chopped onion, 2 chopped celery ribs and 1 large garlic clove in 2 tblsp. olive oil for 5 minutes. Stir in 1 ½ tsp. thyme, ¾ cups dry white wine, 1 qt. vegetable broth, 1 medium potato coarsely diced and the cauliflower. Bring to boil and cook for 30 minutes on medium heat.

          Allow the soup to cool partially and puree in a blender with ¼ cup heavy cream. Return the pureed mix to the pot, adjust salt and pepper to taste and heat to serve without boiling. Serve in shallow bowls with shaved Parmesan cheese and chopped chives.

          The ubiquitous apple pie has been equated with motherhood in a popular saying, but there are many other apple desserts that are delightful to make this time of the year. The following is an update of an old-time recipe for apple crisp.

                                                                Apple crunch

          Butter an 8x8x2 in. baking dish. Wash, core and thinly slice 2 large Cortland apples, or other baking type apples directly in the pan. Sprinkle with ½ cup dried cranberries, 1/3 cup broken walnut pieces and 1 tblsp. sugar. Thinly slice 3 additional apples on top. For topping mix: ¼ cup flour, ½ cup packed brown sugar in which you cut in ¼ cup cold butter with a pastry cutter or two knives to make a crumbly mix, which is then tossed with ¼ cup Grape Nut cereal. Spread the crunch evenly on top of the apples and bake in a 375-degree preheated oven for 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature topped with whipped cream or ice cream.

          “An apple a day may or may not keep the doctor away” in the coming cold season, but apple deserts are bound to please.

   (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)