My Sushi Wants to Live Here

Sushi has been a favorite dinner choice of mine for many years. I love the simplicity, the freshness of the ingredients, the wide variety of choices. I especially love the beauty of sushi. I like to think of sushi as beautiful little jewels of food. You don't need much fancy dinnerware to eat sushi. A plate, chopsticks, a bowl for your soy sauce and you're set. That why I adore this bamboo tray from Domestic Aesthetic. It is elegant in it's simplicity. I would gladly rest my chopsticks on this tray.

This?
No, I don't think you'll see me trying the Nyotaimori anytime soon.

While there were a lot of correct answers in the "Q" contest, there was only one winner - Gnat with ten correct! (No one was able to guess all thirteen!) Here are the answers, and thanks again for playing! (Gnat, the prize will be on the way as soon as you email your address!)

1. Quadrettini
2. Quahog
3. Quail
4. Quark
5. Quatre Epices
6. Quenelles
7. Quesadilla
8. Queso Fresco
9. Quetsch
10. Quiche
11. Quince
12. Quinine
13. Quinoa

You folks are good!

There were a lot of correct answers in the "Q" contest!

Winner will be announced tomorrow!
(And thanks for playing!)

Wishing you all...

...a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

Don't forget dessert...

This is one of my favorite pecan pie recipes of all time! It is a family recipe from Chef Carlos Fernandez and his partner Chuck Smith. This pie is rich and yummy all by itself - topped with whipped cream or ice cream, it's downright decadent!

Carlos' Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

1 cup sugar
1/2 stick butter (melted)
3 eggs (beaten)
3/4 cup light Karo Corn syrup
1 tsp. salt1/2 cup pecans (chopped)
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
2 Tbs. Bourbon
Mix pecans, chocolate chips and bourbon and let soak for 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally. Blend melted butter into sugar until fully integrated. Add beaten eggs and blend. Add corn syrup and salt and blend fully. Fold in pecan/chip mixture. Pour into pie shell with edges crimped. (Carlos makes an old fashioned Crisco pie crust for this recipe, but you can use whatever pie crust you prefer). Bake at 350 for approximately 45 minutes until center of pie rises and cracks. Let cool. Best served slightly warm with either fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Extra credit...

If you have the time to make rolls from scratch, these are about the best ever! (At least to my way of thinking!) Be sure to stash a couple away to make little sandwiches with leftover turkey!

Gommie's Butterhorn Rolls
1 cake yeast dissolved and proofed in 1/4 c. sugar water
1 c. milk scalded and cooled to lukewarm
1/2 c. sugar
3 well beaten eggs
1/2 c. melted butter
4 1/2 c. or more flour
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. melted butter

Mix first six ingredients together. Knead. Let rise twice. Divide dough into 2 parts. Roll out dough as you would pie crusts, brush with melted butter and cut into 16 wedges (as you would cut a pie). Roll from wide end to the point. Cover and let rise again. Bake in a moderately hot (375 degree oven) about 12- 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush with more melted butter before serving if desired.

Spice up the sweet potatoes...

I've never been a big fan of hiding the beauty and flavor of sweet potatoes under a blanket of miniature marshmallows. This recipe plays up the natural sweetness of the potatoes, while adding a little spicy bite! It's my theme and variation on Alton Brown's Chipotle Sweet Potatoes...

Spicy Whipped Sweet Potatoes

6 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 T. unsalted butter
4 whole chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped
1 T. adobo sauce from peppers
2 T. honey
2 T. heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 c. toasted pine nuts

Directions

Put cubed potatoes on baking sheet that has been covered with foil or parchment paper. Roast at 375 for about 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are lightly caramelized and fork tender. Place cooked cubes in mixing bowl, add butter and whip until potatoes begin to break up. Add peppers, sauce, honey, cream and salt and whip until all ingredients are well combined. Transfer to serving bowl and sprinkle with pine nuts. Serve immediately.

Just say "NO!" to the can...

Fresh cranberry sauce is super easy to make, and beats the heck out of the canned stuff!

Confit of cranberries

3/4 lb. cranberries
1/4 lb. dried sour cherries
2 c. pomegranate juice
1/2 c. granulated sugar
grated zest and juice of 1 orange

To make the confit, place the cranberries in a saucepan with the rest of the ingredients. Bring the mixture up to a very gentle simmer, give it all a good stir and let it barely simmer without a lid for about an hour, stirring from time to time. What you end up with is a concentrated mass of glazed cranberries which tastes absolutely wonderful. Remove it from the heat, leave to cool then spoon it into a serving bowl and cover until needed.

It ain't Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes!

I love Thanksgiving. It's one big culinary cookoff that inspires family and friends to gastrointestinal greatness. If your post Thanksgiving dinner scenario doesn't include belt loosening, snoring, and red rosy cheeks rouged from kitchens steamy after a procession of pots and pies, you're just not trying hard enough. It's about traditions. It's about giving thanks. But mostly, it's about...the mashed potatoes.

I don't care if the Pilgrims had mashed potatoes at the mother of all Thanksgivings. Most likely they had venison and I don't see a whole lot folks serving that on our special Thursday. All I know is if there are no mashed potatoes, it's not really Thanksgiving. So you can imagine my dilemma at attending Kosher Thanksgiving Dinners. No mashed potatoes. Why? If you're asking why, you must be a goy. (And if you don't know what goy means...) Kosher rabbinical rules for food preparation and consumption are very strict and one rule is not to mix dairy and meat products at the same meal. This means no cheeseburgers, no hot buttery buttermilk biscuits with your fried chicken, and most importantly - no mashed potatoes with your turkey. If you love fluffy, creamy, buttery mashed potatoes like I do you can imagine my pouty face at a Kosher Thanksgiving.I feel your pain, Bill.

But it's the year 2008 and we now have options that will make mashed potatoes taste almost as good as those loaded with real butter and cream. That's right, my friends, you can adhere to dietary laws of kashrut (Kosher) while keeping the traditions of Thanksgiving with turkey and mashed potatoes.My method of making mashed potatoes starts with your basic russets. I've used Yukon golds but I like the fluffiness that the starch content of the russet gives you. I plop them into a pot of cold salted water, un-peeled. Once the water has reached a boil, I turn down the heat and let them cook 20 to 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender. I remove the potatoes from the water and cut them in half. I like fluffy smooth potatoes so the next step requires one of these.This is not a giant garlic press; it is a potato ricer. Put the cut side down of your potato into the basket and squash away. The beauty of this process? The potato skins stay behind and you get little threads of potatoes. Once all of the potatoes have been "riced", I add 8 tablespoons of melted butter, stirring with a spoon. After the butter has been incorporated, I warm a cup of half and half and slowly stir that into the potato mixture, seasoning with salt and pepper and tasting so not to over salt. I usually mix this all in a heat resistant bowl that can sit over a pot of slowly simmering water so my potatoes stay nice and warm while I work on other food. This is the recipe for some soul satisfying mashed potatoes.

For my kosher version I needed to replace the half and half and butter with items that at least taste comparable. For the butter substitute, I choose Earth Balance margarine, a non-dairy vegan product. I replaced the half and half with Rice Dreams rice milk. While it does not contain the same fat content as the half and half, it actually works fairly well.The other important thing about these two products is that you will find this symbol on the label.That means the product is kosher and therefore acceptable for kosher mashed potatoes. I followed my basic recipe of potatoes, butter substitute and milk substitute. The only thing you need to watch out for is salting your potatoes. The Earth Balance has a bit more sodium than the unsalted butter I usually use, so be sure to taste before that final seasoning. Once you're done, your mashed potatoes are ready and waiting for your Kosher turkey dinner date.  B'tay a'von!

And now for something completely different...

I tried this recipe from Chef Tyler Florence last year, and everyone loved it. It's a really nice twist on traditional dressing without being too "out there". You can change up the herbs and bread (I have since used both brioche and challah with success) you use to echo other flavors in your meal. Enjoy!

Savory Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding
1 1/3 cup heavy cream
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 loaf crusty Italian bread, cubed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for buttering baking dish
2 shallots, sliced
4 pounds mixed wild mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
3 tablespoons chopped chives
3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
3 tablespoons fresh sage leaves
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus more to top

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place cubed bread on a sheet pan and toast in the oven until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

In a large saute pan melt the butter and saute the shallots until just wilted. Add mushrooms and saute until browned, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve.

In a large bowl make custard, whisk together the cream with the eggs and season with salt and pepper.

Add toasted bread cubes along with the chives, thyme and sage to the egg mixture. Stir in the sauteed mushrooms and mix in the grated Parmesan.

Transfer the mixture to a 9 by 13-inch baking dish, top with more grated Parmesan, to taste.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the custard is set.

Thanksgiving: The sides.

A couple of years ago, we asked former Top Chef contestants for their favorite Thanksgiving recipes. Chef Otto "The Pirate" Borsich kindly contributed this recipe. It's easy, it's delicious, and it has become a major favorite with my family, Thanksgiving or not!

Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Pine Nuts

Brussels Sprouts 2 pints
Onion, medium size 1 each, medium diced
Pancetta, small dice ½ lb
Garlic, minced 3 cloves
Pinenuts, toasted ¼ cup
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive Oil as needed

Procedure:

Sort through the brussels sprouts and remove any leave that are not tightly packed onto the head. Score an X about ¼ inch deep into the base/core of each brussels sprout. Bring a gallon of salted water to boil. Once boiling add the sprouts and cook for about 5 minutes after the water has returned to a boil. To see if they are cooked cut a large one in half to check if it is tender. Place in an ice bath to stop cooking and preserve color, and remove after a minute, at this point you may wish to cut the Brussels in half. This makes them easier to eat and prevents them from rolling.

Add about a tablespoon of oil to a skillet add the pancetta and cooked until crispy. Remove the pancetta but reserve the rendered fat. Cook the onions in the rendered fat over medium heat until cooked with no color, add garlic and cook 5 more minutes. Remove onion/garlic mixture. Add the brussels to the skillet, season with salt and pepper and toss until heated through. Add onion/garlic mixture. Transfer to serving bowl, sprinkle with crisped pancetta and toasted pine nuts.Thanks, Otto!

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Never Fail Turkey Gravy

4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cognac
4 c. good chicken or turkey stock
finely chopped giblets (optional)
salt and freshly ground pepper (optional)

Melt butter in small saucepan. Add flour all at once, whisking until the flour is completely incorporated into the butter. Cook for about three minutes (this will take the raw flour taste out of the roux without giving it too much color - you want a pale blond roux). Transfer to a glass measuring cup, cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate.

When turkey is done, remove from pan and tent with foil. While the turkey rests, pour out all pan drippings, leaving only the brown crusty bits (fond) on the bottom.

Deglaze the roasting pan with the cognac (be sure to scrape up all of those crusty brown bits!)and allow to reduce by about three quarters (pan should be nearly dry). Add stock and bring to a simmer (if you're making giblet gravy, add those in now!)

Place the cold roux in a large saucepan. Slowly add the hot stock mixture to the cold roux, whisking constantly, and simmer until the gravy reaches the desired thickness. If you want a richer gravy, whisk in a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream). Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary before serving.