eG Foodblogs: Kayb 2010 - Tradition meets "let's-try-this"

[heidih]

You tossed in "curried fruit"- brief description? Again thanks for blogging in this busy time

[santo_grace]

Whew! I'm tired! But all I have left to do tonight is to puree the pate in the food processor, pour some clarified butter over the top, and stick it in the fridge until tomorrow.

Here we go:

And last but most assuredly not least, the cranberry salad. This has been on every Thanksgiving and Christmas table as far back as I can remember. I have no idea if it's my mother's recipe, or if she got it from somewhere else, but she always made a double recipe and kept it in the fridge, as I still do today, where I will go to it like you'd go back to the ice cream carton or the cake or pie plate. I eat it for breakfast, I eat it for lunch, and I will make it as long as there are fresh cranberries to be had. (I've tried freezing, and it just isn't the same; the thawed berries tend to get soft.)

If this were any easier, it'd be illegal. For a single recipe: 1 bag cranberries, washed and picked over; 1 green apple (I use Granny Smith); 1 red apple (I use Honey Crisp or Jonathan); zest and flesh of one orange; 1 cup pecans, chopped; 1 1/2 cups water, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 package raspberry Jell-o. Chop all the fruit in the food processor and toss together with pecans in a big bowl. Heat the water with the sugar until it's almost at a boil and sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and whisk in Jell-O. Pour over fruit and stir; chill overnight before serving.

Don't be hating on the Jell-O, here. Rather than congealing, it tends to make a syrupy base that sort of glues the whole thing together.

I just finished making my batch of this a couple of hours ago...no pecans though. My mother got the recipe from my father's mother. I have very vivid memories of her attaching the metal grinder to our butcher block countertop, grinding all the ingredients with a bowl sitting on a stool to catch everything, except for all the juice which inevitably ran down the front of the counter onto the floor. What a mess. Thank goodness for the food processor.

[ChefCrash]

Thanks for sharing with us. Everything looks great.

This is the first year I make cornbread dressing to accommodate a niece who can't do gluten. I used rice flour in place of wheat. The bread turned out great.

[kayb]

Oh. My. Goodness.

I have eaten entirely too much. And I feel a nap coming on. But perhaps I can get a post out there first.

The spread:

Clockwise from 6 o'clock: Turkey, dressing, curried fruit; mac and cheese, with a Parmesan/panko/pimenton dulce topping, in the blue oval cassesrole; behind that, praline sweet potatos; green bean casserole; barley pilaf; rolls and cranberry salad.

We skipped the pre-dinner apps (pate and fig-and-olive tapenade, with assorted cheese and crostini and crackers) because we were still full from breakfast: cheddar cheese scones and bacon jam.

Whoever invented the idea of bacon jam is a genius. This version has bacon, caramelized onions, maple syrup, cider vinegar, and other stuff I don't remember at this moment. But it's wonderful on cheddar cheese scone, which was intended to be a cheddar cheese biscuit but for some cause did not rise. So I called it a scone.

Dessert has been placed on hold as none of us are capable of eating. We'll get back to pumpkin pie and molasses-cranberry steamed pudding after while. Maybe.

As the overall photo shorts some of the dishes, here are some individual shots.

The dressing:

The green bean casserole, ready to go in the oven. I made a mushroom veloute with button and cremini mushrooms, and added in the beans I'd cooked earlier, put caramelized onions on top, added bread crumbs. Much better than the Campbells' soup and Durkees FF onions version.

Sweet potatos, ready to cook:

These are baked, mashed with some sugar, an egg and some vanilla, then topped with a crumble of brown sugar, flour, pecans and melted butter. They are to die for.

The pudding, steaming:

This was the one "Huh?" of the meal. Recipe called for an hour and 15 minutes' steaming. I gave it that, carefully unwrapped it -- and it did not look as though it had cooked at all. Fortunately, we were all full and had no real interest in dessert, so I wrapped it back up and it's steaming again as we speak; I'm about to check it.

We uncorked a Grayson Cellars pinot noir, which went wonderfully.

The turkey was not a particularly pretty bird, but was perhaps the most moist and juicy and tasty one I've ever cooked. I did not brine. I put a handful of caramelized onions, a stick of butter, and a handful of fresh sage leaves in the cavity, and I rubbed the skin with olive oil, sprinkled with kosher salt and black pepper. He was a 10-pounder, as there were only four of us, and he roasted for a bit over three hours. He was perhaps the most moist and juicy bird I've ever cooked.

Someone asked about the curried fruit; it's canned peach and pear halves, pineapple chunks, and tart pie cherries, drained and arranged in a baking dish, topped with a mixture of melted butter, brown sugar and curry powder, and baked until it creates a nice syrup. It's a dish I picked up from my former mother-in-law, God bless her, who will be 101 in February and is still going strong.

I'll detail the pumpkin pie and pudding later. Right now, I feel a nap coming on.

[Pam R]

Wow. That looks fantastic. American Thanksgiving seems like a much bigger deal than our Canadian version -- it's amazing to see all of the dishes.

So, what time did you eat? Lots of leftovers?

[Snadra]

That all looks so delicious! Maybe you could use an extra person or two next year to help you eat it all?

I don't suppose you would share your recipe/method for your dressing & sweet potatoes? It's too hot right now, but we're bound to get a couple of cool days.

[Kim Shook]

Fantastic meal! It all looks delicious, but I am especially enamoured of the scones and bacon jam (maybe because I am still full of turkey and trimmings)! Did you make that yourself? If so - would you share the recipe?

[kayb]

Back from Black Friday shopping....and I forgot to take homemade cinnamon rolls out of the freezer before I left, so they're defrosting and will rise in a warmed oven and hopefully it won't take too awfully long. I made rolls yesterday and my recipe makes two dozen...didn't need that many, so I used half the dough to make cinnamon rolls for this morning.

Update on the steamed molasses and cranberry pudding -- astounding! Recipe is here: http://www.food52.com/recipes/7558_cranberrymolasses_pudding_with_vanilla_hard_sauce

This will be a new standard at my house for holiday meals (albeit I'll know to steam it longer). The pudding itself is just barely sweet, with the tart pops of cranberry. They both play beautifully off the silky, rich, buttery sauce, which is not a traditional hard sauce but is the perfect accompaniment for the pudding. I cooked mine in a Bundt pan, and steamed it in a big enamelware roasting pan.

The pumpkin pie wasn't bad, either. I did get back to a small sliver of that before bedtime. Photos of both to come later; I was so glazed over last night I forgot to photograph either one.

Snadra, my dressing is pretty minimalist. I make a pan of cornbread (a 9-inch iron skillet or cake pan) a day or so before, break it up in big chunks, and let it get stale. The morning of, I crumble it roughly into a big bowl, pour about 2 1/2 to 3 cups of chicken stock over it, and go off and let it soak. I use my potato masher to break up remaining lumps, add three beaten eggs, onion (caramelized, this year, but I've used onions just sweated until they're limp), rubbed sage, and black pepper. The only way I can tell if it's seasoned correctly is to taste it; you want to taste the sage, but you don't want it overpowering everything else. It goes into my 9 x 13 baking dish and into a 350 oven for an hour.

Most people put celery in their dressing. I don't like celery, so I don't.

The sweet potatos -- three large ones, baked the day before -- are peeled and mashed with about a half-cup sugar, a half-stick of melted butter, a beaten egg and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. The topping is the other half-stick of butter, melted, a half-cup brown sugar, a quarter-cup flour, and a half-cup (or maybe more, I don't measure) of chopped pecans. It bakes about 40 minutes at 350.

And come on to dinner any time!

Kim, the recipe for bacon jam is here: http://www.evilshenanigans.com/2010/05/bourbon-bacon-jam/. And it is To Die For. I can't wait to put it on a grilled hamburger, with some smoky Provolone cheese! The biscuits/scones are from Saveur: http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Cheddar-Cheese-Biscuits. I rolled my dough a bit thin, and I think I just handled it too much. Didn't hurt the flavor, though, and the crumb was still pretty light. I suspect I may have the single left-over one this morning to go with my cinnamon roll; a good carb-fueled breakfast!

Lunch is in Little Rock today (edit: Ooops, that's tomorrow! Lunch will be leftovers.), meeting my daughter and her husband, who are on their way back from his grandmother's Thanksgiving and birthday celebration. Dinner will be some iteration of leftovers, perhaps turkey tetrazzini....or turkey enchiladas....we shall see. Also have to strip and break down the turkey carcass, and boil it for stock. And watch Alabama and Auburn tonight!

Edited November 26, 2010 by kayb (log)

[Pam R]

Back from Black Friday shopping....

Find any good deals on things for the kitchen?

[nakji]

Whoever invented the idea of bacon jam is a genius. This version has bacon, caramelized onions, maple syrup, cider vinegar, and other stuff I don't remember at this moment.

Thanks for providing the recipe! Sounds like something I'd love to make my husband for Christmas.

Most people put celery in their dressing. I don't like celery, so I don't.

I just want to say: Holla.

[kayb]

Odds and ends from today (after my early shopping expedition, we napped, watched football and basketball, read and were generally lazy all day).

The pumpkin pie from yesterday:

The steamed pudding:

Lunch was the noshes planned for last night -- cheese, pate, fig-and-olive tapenade. And a glass of cabernet sauvignon.

Dinner was turkey enchiladas with arepas.

[Kim Shook]

kayb – thank you so much for the links – but, I can’t get anything but an ‘oops’ when I try the link to the cheddar scones? Are you getting to the recipe when you click it? If so and it’s my problem, would you just post the actual name of the recipe and I’ll search for it on the site. I am definitely making those things for Christmas morning!

Your desserts are gorgeous and I think that the noshy lunch would suit me right down to the ground this weekend!

[Pierogi]

Bacon. Jam. *sigh*

Thanks for the link, although my cholesterol (and hips) probably don't concur.....

[Snadra]

Ooooh that pie. I adore pumpkin pie. What's the liquid in the little bowl on your nosh plate?

[kayb]

Kim -- If you'll google "saveur" and "cheddar cheese biscuits," that should get you there. Or just go to the Saveur site and look. Snadra, it's honey. I love honey with cheese. This honey comes from the same farm where one of the cheese is made (a sheep's milk) and the two go marvelously together; I wonder if it has something to do with the sheep and the bees dining at the same buffet....

[kayb]

Breakfast this morning was country sausage patties, along with what was going to be rosti, from a recipe that called for baking them in the bottom of muffin tins and turning out perfect, crunchy rosti.

They stuck. So I had hash browns. Tasted good, though. Accompanied by some of Thursday's curried fruit, with the last of the creme fraiche on top.

Oh, and we had leftover cinnamon rolls from yesterday, of which I had failed to post the photo:

Lunch was at Maddie's Place in Little Rock with my daughter and son-in-law and his parents, who were en route back home after a holiday trip to visit some of his family. The owner/chef at Maddie's is a former chef at NOLA, who moved home with his Little Rock-born wife to raise their children, post-Katrina. It's a great Cajun/Creole place; they make their own Andouille sausage, and make a chicken-Andouille gumbo that is outstanding, as well as shrimp and grits in an Andouille reduction that's just wonderful, if tremendously rich. The best thing I've ever had there -- and it's way too much for a midday meal -- is a pork cutlet, pounded thin, breaded and flash-fried (reminds me of a tonkatsu), over cornbread pudding -- sort of like dressing, but different -- and accompanied by homemade Worcestershire sauce. It's marvelous. I passed on that until the next chance I have to eat dinner there, in favor of a cup of gumbo and the small order of shrimp and grits.

That sort of kicked out my idea of braising country style ribs in a German style cranberry/apple sauce tonight; that's way too heavy for me tonight. So I'm thinking it's pizza -- I have a crust in the freezer -- with whatever I can find in the fridge to put on it.

Can you put sweet potatos on pizza, I wonder???

[Kim Shook]

Breakfast looks great. I never have much luck with muffin tins –EVERYTHING seems to stick in them. I even use cupcake liners when I make corn muffins. And the rolls look fabulous. From the dark and crispy ‘shoulders’ to the pale part where they meet (my favorite part – soft and tender) they are exactly what cinnamon rolls SHOULD be!

[nakji]

Can you put sweet potatos on pizza, I wonder???

Pizza Hut in Korea sure thinks so.

[kayb]

And here we are...at the end of a week of food blogging (and heavy-duty cooking). It hasn't been a typical week for me -- I generally don't cook this much, this heavily, this often, but a combination of holiday, days off, house guests and wanting to share as many favorites as I could resulted in a pretty heavy kitchen week for me. I'll probably eat fast food most of this coming week to make up!

You've had a lot of traditional Southern food from me this week,so today, it's a completely non-traditional day. Well, we'll start with last night, a pizza with caramelized onions, figs, goat cheese and bacon:

This morning, it was ouefs en cocotte. Mine differ from the traditional in that they have a layer of cheese grits on the bottom. We had them with toasted and buttered pumpkin bread.

Dinner, served midafternoon so my house guest could start home, was possibly the best thing I've eaten all day. I had some country stylel ribs -- boneless cuts -- and I braised them with onions, apple juice, cranberry and caraway seed. It was pretty wonderful. I served it with braised red cabbage and German potato salad.

It's been fun. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. I'm looking forward to reading the next one!

Edited November 29, 2010 by LindaK (log)

[SaltySnack]

Please tell more about your eggs en cocotte with grits. Do you cook the grits first and then bake them with the eggs? Any veggies in there?

Could you prepare this in advance? This looks like my kind of breakfast.

[Snadra]

Honey and cheese! Brilliant. And thanks for the dressing and sweet potato instructions too - will definitely try them next year. And I second the 'how do you do the eggs request'.

[kayb]

I cooked the grits first, with cheese, and layered them in the bottom of the ramekin; cracked the eggs into a small bowl and gently slid on top; drizzled with a couple of tablespoons of cream and sprinkled with bacon. There was enough salt in the grits and bacon that I didn't salt the eggs. I didn't do veggies this time, but I have in the past (zucchini and/or yellow squash, asparagus, peas, most any spring veggie are good). Have also used scrambled up sausage or diced ham in place of bacon. Baked at 350 in a bain marie for 15 minutes.

Snadra, looking forward to reading yours this week!

[Pam R]

Thanks for sharing your week (and holiday)with us, Kay!