Forget canned cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving

I grew up eating that red gelatinous cylinder that came out of a jar every Thanksgiving, and as they say, ignorance is bliss.  I looked forward to eating turkey with a slice of jellied cranberry sauce, never thinking that there was something very wrong if you have to slice your cranberry sauce.  I was in my early twenties when I tasted cranberry sauce made from fresh cranberries for the first time and I have never eaten the jarred stuff since.

And neither should you.  It is the easiest thing to make on the Thanksgiving menu and has the biggest yum factor for the amount of work put into it.  It couldn’t be easier – a 12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries, 1 C. of sugar, and 1 C. of water.  Bring the sugar and water to a boil and add cranberries.  Boil until cranberries “pop” and start to thicken – about 5-7 minutes or so.  Cool and refrigerate.  Can (and should) be make days ahead.

I am making a variation to the basic cranberry sauce this year and it is simply yummy.  The candied kumquats add another tart element to the sweetly tart cranberries, and the plump golden raisins add a slight pop to the texture. 

Cranberry Kumquat Sauce from Epicurious

2 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups water
6 ounces fresh kumquats, quartered lengthwise (about 1 generous cup), seeds removed
20 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries (about 5 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup golden raisins

Combine sugar, 2 cups water, and kumquats in large saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until kumquats are almost translucent, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer kumquats to small bowl.

Add cranberries to sugar syrup in pan; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until berries burst, about 7 minutes. Add raisins; simmer until soft, about 4 minutes longer. Transfer cranberry sauce to medium bowl. DO AHEAD Kumquats and cranberry sauce can be made 5 days ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before continuing.

Just before serving, add kumquats to cranberry sauce.

Don’t worry – the sauce will thicken up in the fridge.

Guacamole with blue cheese and pomegranate

My husband and I had a wonderful dinner at Xochitl on the Day of the Dead after a hard day of getting out the vote two weeks ago.  We ordered from the special Day of the Dead menu, but had to try the guacamole they prepare at the table.  We settled on guacamole with blue cheese and pomegranate, and after the first bite, I knew I had a new party favorite. 

The blue cheese added a rich saltiness to the creamy avocados and the juicy sweet burst of pomegrante seeds finished the experience perfectly.  The color is an added plus:  the red jewel-like seeds atop the green guacamole – I don’t think you can get any more festive than that for Christmas.  I hope you try this at your next party – your guests will thank you.

Guacamole with Blue Cheese and Pomegranate
(serves 6-8)

 3 ripe avocados, halved, pitted and taken out of skin
4 oz. soft blue cheese (gorgonzola or blue cheese) at room temperature
1-2 finely diced jalepeño chiles (to taste)
1/4 medium red onion, finely diced
3 Tbs. chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
¼ C. pomegranate seeds

Mash avocados mortar and pestle (if you are so lucky to own one, use your stone molcajete since those avocados are slippery little buggers). 

Add the blue cheese and mash into avocados.

 Add onions, jalepeño chiles, cilantro and incorporate well.   Salt and pepper to taste.

Place in serving bowl and sprinkle pomegranate seeds on top.  Serve with tortilla chips and watch them disappear.

Striped Bass and Mushroom Risotto

It was been raining steadily all day and I’ve been in the mood for risotto.  Done properly, risotto can be stick-to-your-ribs good and perfect for a dreary day like today.  I came across this recipe in the RSVP restaurant recipe section of the November 2008 Bon Appétit (one of my favorite features in the magazine).  The recipe calls for fairly basic ingredients, all of which make for a classic risotto.  I liked the idea of pairing it with fish since fish always seems like a good idea to me. 

I used oyster and shiitake mushrooms for this recipe.

Striped Bass with Mushroom Risotto (adapted from San Diego’s Quarter Kitchen’s recipe in Bon Appétit)
yields 4

Mushroom Risotto
6 C. low salt chicken broth
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter, divided in half
3 + 3 Tbs. shallots
1 clove garlic, minced
12 oz. assorted wild mushrooms (chanterelle, crimini, or shiitake)
1 3/4 C. arborio rice
1 C. dry white wine
1/3 C. chopped Italian parsley
1/3 C. Parmesan cheese (plus more to taste)

Fish
3 Tbs. olive oil
4 5 oz. striped bass fillets

Simmer broth in medium saucepan and keep warm.  Melt 1/4 C. (1/2 stick) of butter in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 3 Tbs. shallots, garlic, and the mushrooms.  Sauté until mushrooms are soft (about 10 minutes).  Season with salt and pepper.

Melt 1/4 C. (1/2 stick) in another heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add 3 Tbs. shallots, sauté until soft, about 2 minutes.  Add rice and stir for 1 minute. 

Add wine and stir until almost dry, about 4 minutes.  Add 1 C. warm broth and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add 2 C. broth and simmer 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add 2 C. broth, mushroom mixture, parsley, and 1/3 C. cheese.  Simmer until creamy and rice is tender, but still firm to bite, about 8 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, set oven on broil.  Add oil to ovenproof skillet on high heat.  Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper and cook, skin side down until skin is crisp (about 4 mintues). 

Transfer skillet to oven and broil about 6 inches from heat for about 4-6 minutes until fish is cooked through.

Serve risotto with more parmesan cheese to taste and top with fish.  I drizzled with risotto with a truffle olive oil – mmmm.

You really can’t eat just one: spicy almonds

I entertain with some regularity and one constant dish I serve regardless of the type of party is spicy almonds.   I usually place dishes of the spicy nuts throughout the house during a party and inevitably, I find the near-empty (or completely empty) dishes at the end along with numerous compliments and requests for the recipe.  I made a batch today for my husband who is going on a canoe trip with some buddies.  I guess spicy almonds aren’t just for parties anymore.

I use a variation of Martha Stewart’s recipe which calls for blanched almonds.  I use dry roasted unsalted almonds since blanched almonds just look so naked.  The sugar will caramelizes into little bunches of sugar, which is such a perfect complement to the spicy crushed red hot peppers and cumin. 

Spicy Almonds (adapted from Martha Stewart)

1/4 C. peanut oil
4 C. whole dry roasted unsalted almonds
1 C. sugar + 1 Tbs. for sprinkling
3 tsp. kosher salt
3 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. red pepper flakes

In a large, heavy-bottomed saute pan, warm the oil over medium-high heat. Add the almonds, and stir with a wooden spoon, coating each thoroughly with oil. Sprinkle with 1 cup sugar, and continue to stir until the almonds become golden brown and the sugar caramelizes, about 4 minutes.

Remove the pan from heat, and pour almonds into a medium mixing bowl. Sprinkle the remaining sugar, salt, cumin, and red pepper flakes over the nuts, and toss well. Pour the spiced nuts out in a single layer on a baking sheet, and separate with a wooden spoon. Allow nuts to cool for about 30 minutes. Spiced nuts can be stored up to two weeks in an airtight container.

The Kids’ Menu: Macaroni and Cheese

Despite their openness to try all types of food, my children are quite happy to eat certain kids’ fare, most notably mac and cheese. What’s not to like? It’s got pasta, milk, butter and cheese in it.  I’ve made many variations of it over the years, but this is the one I’ve settled on.  The kids love it and frankly, the adults love it too.

Macaroni and Cheese

16 oz. elbow pasta
5 Tbs. + 3 Tbs. of butter (1 stick total)
1 medium onion, finely diced
1/2 C. flour
5 C. milk
4 C. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3/4 – 1 C. panko bread crumbs
1/2 C. grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Cook pasta according to directions to the longest recommended time for the softest pasta.  Meanwhile, melt the 5 Tbs. of butter in a large saucepan or dutch oven.  Cook onions until soft (about 4 minutes).  Add flour and cook for about 4 more minutes.  Add milk and bring to a boil.  Lower heat to medium high and cook for a few minutes until mixture thickens, stirring frequently.  Turn off heat, add cheese and mix well.  Add cooked macaroni to cheese mixture and incorporate well.   Add ground nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer mac and cheese to a large casserole dish or keep in a dutch oven.  Melt the 3 Tbs. of butter and mix with panko breadcrumbs.  Sprinkle buttered panko and parmesan cheese on top and bake for 25-30 until bubbly and brown on top.  (If using a tall dutch oven, you may have to broil for a few minutes to brown the breadcrumbs.)

Heat wave? Time to make soba noodle salad

We are well into the dog days of summer here and this dish is the perfect solution for a quick, easy, light and cool dinner.  I love making cold soba noodle salad after a day at the pool or when the mercury rises above 90 (the two usually coincide as it did today).  Soba noodles are Japanese buckwheat noodles, higher in protein and fiber than wheat or rice noodles.

This is Korean comfort food, amazingly simple to make yet so satisfying.  I like to eat it without meat, but one can easily add some shrimp, pork or even sashimi.  One key ingredient that may not be easily accessible to all is fresh perilla leaves, available at most Asian grocery stores.  Perilla is a member of the mint family and is not unlike arugula or fennel with a strong, unique flavor all its own. 

Perilla – a staple of Korean summer recipes

In addition to selling it in small packets in the produce section, Korean grocery stores often sell perilla in pots in the late spring/early summer. Once planted in the ground (full to partial sun), you won’t ever have to buy another perilla plant again. The plants go to seed in the early fall and will self-propagate.  By next summer, you will have a profusion of perilla plants growing in a 5 feet radius around the original plant.

 

Soba noodles usually come in pre-measured single serving bunches.

 

SOBA NOODLE SALAD

(serves 4)

4 bunches of soba noodles
10 perilla leaves, sliced thinly
2 C. mixed baby greens
1/4 – 1/2 thinly sliced red onion
1/2 C. soy sauce
1/4 C. vinegar
1/4 C. + 3 Tbs. sugar (more or less to taste)
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs. water
crushed toasted sesame seeds for garnish

Cook soba noodles according to package directions.  Rinse under cold water and set aside.   Combine soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, olive oil and water in small bowl.  Whisk until well combined. 

 

Toss greens, perilla, onions and noodles in dressing.  Garnish with crushed toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately.

 

 

 

Roasting Red Peppers

 

What do you do when you see red peppers on sale for $.99/lb. at the grocery store?  You buy as many as you can stuff into your eco-friendly reusable grocery tote and hurry home to make a vat of roasted red peppers, naturally.  It seems there are two approaches to roasting peppers:  oven or open flame.  Roasting in the oven is easier, cleaner and the only option for those with an electric range.  I’ve done it in the past when I was pressed for time, and yes, it works, although it’s not my preferred method. 

Roasting over an open flame (stove-top or grill) is time-consuming and dirty, but the results, in my opinion, are tastier.  The flame magnifies the sweetness of the pepper that you just don’t taste in oven-roasted peppers.  I’ve been been using this method ever since I read The World According to Garp (one of my all-time favorite books) back in grad school where the protagonist roasts his peppers atop his gas range.  When I married my husband, I was happy to discover his Italian family made theirs the same way.

 

Marinated Roasted Red Peppers

6 red peppers (or more)

1 head of garlic, peeled and crushed

1-2 C. extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Place rinsed peppers over open flame (on grill or gas cooktop).  Completely char all sides including tops and bottoms, using tongs to turn the peppers.  (You might want to temporarily disable your smoke detector or open the windows.  Oh, and be prepared to find little black flecks all over your kitchen for the next three days). 

 You know they’re done when they are completely blackened.

 Place charred red peppers in brown paper bag. 

When completely cooled, rub off as much as the blackened skin as possible.  I try not to rinse the pepper under water since it loses some of its flavor, although many simply rinse off the burnt parts.  It does get very messy, so you will have to rinse your hands off frequently. 

Cut off the tops and remove the seeds.  Slice into 1 inch wide strips.  Place in medium bowl with crushed garlic cloves and cover with good quality extra-virgin olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper. 

Cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight (or longer).  This keeps for at least a week (although I’ve never had peppers hang around that long).

Serve in sandwiches, salads, pasta, chicken recipes or my favorite, with crusty bread dipped in the sweet infused olive oil. 

 

 

International House of Pancakes

 My personal favorite:  Korean mung bean pancakes (bindae duk)

As with many other Korean special occasion foods that are made in large quantities or not at all, mung bean pancakes (bindae duk) are not something one decides to make on a whim.  Two ingredients require overnight soaking and the resulting quantities are usually sufficient to feed the entire Duggar brood(although something tells me Korean food isn’t a fav in the Duggar house).  For me, however, it is one of those foods evocative of large festive gatherings, the smell delicious foods wafting through the house overheated by cooking and bodies, ending inevitably with the need to unbutton one’s waistband. 

One can buy freshly made bindaeduk at Korean mega-marts like Assi and H-Mart, but they never look like this version.  Fernbrake, as known as bracken, is relatively expensive and often eschewed for cheaper ingredients like cabbage and carrots.  My mother always puts fernbrake (kosari ) in her bindae duk and this recipe is a variation of the kind I grew up with. 

In order to make this dish, you need to buy the smallest bags of dried mung beans and fernbrake you can can find at your Korean or Asian grocery store.  This recipe calls for 8 C. of soaked mung beans which was an entire bag (sorry, I didn’t note the weight of the bag).  One bag of dried bracken makes a shockingly large amount.  You can soak the entire bag and use the remaining fernbrake for bibim bap, or just soak what you need.

This bag wasn’t even labeled as “bracken” or “fernbrake.”  “Wild Greens” and “Well-being Food” are the only words in English on the package.  Gotta love cryptic labeling.

That 100g bag of unpromising dark bracken expands to this soft, uniquely fragrant “meaty” vegetable.

Mung bean pancakes are a great source of protein, gluten-free, and if omitting the pork, can be vegan.  The beans give the pancake a heavier texture and you’ll feel full after just a couple (although you will keep eating since they’re so tasty!).

 

 Korean Mung Bean Pancakes (Bindae duk)

Yields 35-40 3-4″ pancakes

8 C.  mung beans, soaked overnight with any green casing picked over and discarded

1½ C. hydrated fernbrake, cut 1-2″ long

1 bunch sliced scallions, cut 1-2″ long

1½ C. chopped kimchi

8 oz. thinly sliced pork

3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ C. sesame seed oil

salt and pepper to taste

oil to fry

(you can add up to 4 lightly beaten eggs to this recipe if you wish to make your pancakes less dense.)

Working in batches, liquefy mung beans 2 cups at a time in a blender, adding about 1/4 of water used to soak the beans each batch. 

Combine pureed mung bean, fernbrake, scallions, kimchi, pork, garlic, sesame seed oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. 

Heat oil on griddle or large frying pan on medium to medium high.  Ladle about 1/4 or 1/3 C. on griddle, making sure not to make the pancakes too thick.  I like to keep them between 3 to 4 inches in diameter.  Turn over when golden brown (about 4-5 minutes) and add more oil as needed.  Serve hot with Korean dipping sauce.

Mung bean pancakes freeze very well, so go ahead and make that large batch.  Just defrost and refry when you have a hankering for these delicious pancakes.

 

 

What to bring to your next covered dish event: Bulgar Salad

Colorful and delicious bulgar salad

It’s that time of year – barbecues, cookouts, and block parties –  and you need to bring some sort of side dish.  Here’s a wonderful salad that keeps very well and is just delicious with anything cooked on the grill.  The sweet currants offer a nice balance to the scallions and the crunch of the walnuts complements the soft texture of the bulgar.

 

Bulgar Salad

2 ¼ C. water

1 C. bulgar

1 medium green pepper, chopped

1 medium red pepper, chopped

1 medium yellow pepper, chopped

½ C. sliced scallions

½ C. dried currants

1 C. cherry tomatoes, cut in half

¼ C. chopped fresh parsley

¼ C. chopped walnuts, toasted

¼ C. extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbs. white balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt

freshly ground pepper

Bring water to boil in medium saucepan.  Add bulgar and simmer uncovered until tender and water is absorbed, about 10 minutes.  Allow to cool.  In a large bowl, combine sweet peppers, scallions, currants, cherry tomatoes, parsley and walnuts.

 Stir in cooked bulgar.  In a small mixing bowl, whisk olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic and salt.  I use white balsamic vinegar in practically anything that calls for balsamic vinegar – it’s not as astringent and keeps it light (in color).  Regular balsamic vinegar works well in this salad too.

 Pour over bulgar mixture and toss to combine.  Cover and chill for at least 4 hours.  Season with freshly ground pepper.

 

Barbecue Part III: Grilled yellowfin tuna

Grilled yellowfin tuna and spicy corn salad

The last in my three part series of barbecue recipes, I end with the most delicious.  Yellowfin tuna is fairly expensive – I spent about $20 for three steaks (that was the sale price), but oh-so-worth every penny.  I got this recipe for Nantucket-style grilled fish off Epicurious and I am hooked (bad pun entirely intended).  The recipe couldn’t be more simple while simultaneously off-putting. 

Take your gorgeous fresh fish steaks (can be any kind – tuna, swordfish, halibut or sea bass)…

 

and slather both sides with mayonnaise. Salt and pepper to taste.

 

Sound repulsive?  The ruination of perfectly good fish?  Don’t worry – the mayonnaise cooks off and you can’t taste it.  It helps keep the fish juicy and creates nice carmelization. 

Pre-heat grill.  Cover and cook  on each side for 3 – 4 minutes, depending on the thickness of your steak.  You definitely do not want to over cook!  Let stand for few minutes before serving.  This is delicious served with just a little lemon.  I paired it with fresh corn salad and we all (including the kids) couldn’t get over how good this meal was.

 

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Spicy Corn Salad

Now I make a lot of different salads, and this is one of my favorites.  I guarantee you will be the hero at your next BBQ if you bring a big bowl of this fresh corn salad.  Just make sure to save some for yourself.

Spicy Corn Salad

1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 red onion, diced (about 1 C.)

1 minced jalepeño chile, seeds and veins removed

1 red pepper, diced

4 cooked ears of corn, kernels sliced from the cob

2 Tbs. champagne vinegar

1 tsp. maple syrup

zest and juice of 1/2 a lime

1/4 C. minced chives

2 Tbs. minced cilantro

I like to cook my corn on the grill.  Simply place in grill with husks on and cook covered for about 20 minutes or so, turning to prevent one side from becoming completely charred.  You can also steam the shucked corn if you don’t want to or can’t grill.

Heat olive oil in a skillet or wok over medium heat.  Add red onion, jalepeño, and red pepper and saute until just softened (about 3 minutes).  Add corn kernels and cook for another 3 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add vinegar, maple syrup, lime zest and juice.  Mix and add more lime juice if needed.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Top with chives and cilantro.