Soeurved » Recipes

Turkey Redux: Part 3

CJR — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:48:51 +0000

Yams!

Adapted from “Brown Sugar-Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows,” Bon Appétit, November 1994

4 pounds garnet yams
1 cup apple cider
1 1/4 cup packed golden brown sugar
10 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 pinches of ground ginger

Preheat oven to 375°F

1. Peel yams and cut into 1-inch pieces. Combine in a bowl with apple cider and “marinate” for 30 minutes

2. Remove yams from cider and arrange in a large glass baking dish, reserving cider

3. Heat sugar, butter, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and ginger in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to boil, and add the cider. Stir until sugar dissolves

4. Pour cider and spice mixture over yams, tossing to coat

4. Cover baking dish tightly with foil

5. Bake yams for 50 minutes. Uncover and continue baking, basting occasionally, until yams are tender and syrup thickens, about 20 minutes

Sunday Supper

CJR — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:03:47 +0000

After I graduated from college, emerging from the hole of academic hermithood that was my undergraduate life, CAR and I vowed to cook Sunday supper together on a regular basis. Although we’ve struggled to stick to the “regular” part of the plan, we usually manage at least one end-of-the-week meal per month. A proper Sunday supper consists of hearty and comforting fare, but stops short of overindulgence; Mondays are sluggish enough as is.

Last night we prepared butternut squash risotto

Mixed greens with fennel, shallot (having inadvertently chopped more than we needed for the risotto), radish, and shaved carrot

And port-poached Anjou pears with cinnamon, cardamom, and star anise

All the poached pear recipes on Epicurious instruct you to combine the wine, sugar, and spices in a saucepan, bring to a simmer, and add the pears. We use a different technique: peel, halve, and core several firm but ripe pears. Place them face down in a glass baking dish. Add enough port or red wine to submerge 1/4 of each pear. Add about 1/8 cup of sugar per pear (taste to adjust the sweetness to your liking). Spice it up with cinnamon sticks and/or star anise and/or cloves and/or cardamom and/or ginger and/or vanilla bean. Bake at 350º for about 40 minutes, basting occasionally, until the liquid thickens and the pears become tender.

Turkey Redux: Part 2

CJR — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:23:03 +0000

Our Thanksgiving dessert consists of three pies—key lime, pecan, and pumpkin chiffon. Key lime pie may not scream “Thanksgiving” to you, but our family used to spend Turkey Day in Boca Grande, Florida. Although we stopped traveling south in November about 12 years ago, we’ve maintained this tropical tradition. After all, Key lime pie is unconditionally delicious. It also cuts the autumnal richness of the other two pies. So really it’s a digestive.

Decipher these recipe cards to recreate the deliciousness.

Scoff all you want pastry aficionados, but we love Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust. Not too salty, not too sweet, and not too flaky, it complements the rich pecan filling perfectly.

Blini

CJR — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 04:32:47 +0000

I post this picture in honor of Valentine’s Day. CAR is engaged! To celebrate, our family gathered in Boston with a bottle of champagne, a tin of caviar, and batch of homemade blini. I was in charge of the blini and selected this recipe because it doesn’t call for yeast. Highly recommended.

“Caviar and Salmon Blini Tortes,” Gourmet, February 2008

2 tablespoons buckwheat flour
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg, separated
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled, divided

“Whisk together dry ingredients in a bowl. Add milk and yolk and whisk until smooth. Beat egg white with a clean whisk in another bowl until it just holds soft peaks. Fold into batter along with 2 tablespoons melted butter.

Brush a 12-inch nonstick skillet with some of remaining melted butter, then heat over medium heat until hot. Working in batches of 6 or 7, drop 1 level tablespoon batter per pancake into skillet and cook until bubbles appear on surface and undersides are golden, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Flip over and cook 1 minute more. Brush blini on both sides with some of remaining melted butter, then transfer to a plate and keep warm, covered with foil. Brush skillet with butter between batches.”

Sandwiches

CJR — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 03:26:59 +0000

I concur with Liz Lemon’s sandwich theory. Sandwiches = universal happiness. I also admit that the yuppie cookware/kitchen utensil phenomenon has gotten out of hand. Case in point:

Herb Chopper : PUT DOWN that Williams-Sonoma catalog and use a chef’s knife

Electric Egg Cooker: PUT DOWN that Williams-Sonoma catalog and boil some water

Nonstick Burger Press: PUT DOWN that Williams-Sonoma catalog and shape the patties with your hands

That said, I swear by my Breville Ikon Panini Press. It may only serve one purpose, but the result is mighty tasty. Assembling a sandwich, hot or cold, doesn’t require a recipe. But when you eat sandwiches several times a week, it’s easy to run out of ideas. Here are some simple combinations that are sure to kick any sandwich-making slump:

Pepper turkey + spicy tomato chutney + goat cheese + arugula

Pepper turkey + American Spoon Cranberry Mustard + sharp white cheddar + arugula

Smoked turkey + Stonewall Kitchen Old Farmhouse Chutney + brie + arugula

Rotisserie chicken + brie + roasted bell pepper + sautéed Spanish onion + arugula (inspired by Flour Bakery)

Spicy Italian chicken, turkey, or pork sausage + sautéed bell pepper + sweet and hot pickled peppers + provolone

Prosciutto + fig spread + fresh mozzarella OR goat cheese + baby spinach

Black forest ham + Stonewall Kitchen Old Farmhouse Chutney + sharp white cheddar + arugula

Chorizo + quince paste + manchego (best served hot)

Soft-shell crab + pesto + provolone + sprouts

Smoked whitefish + mustard + provolone + sprouts

Grouper + mustard + swiss + sauerkraut on rye (= a grouper reuben, best served hot)

Italian tuna + fontina + radicchio + red onion + Tabasco (best served hot)

Italian tuna + red pepper spread + taleggio + arugula

Linguine with Clams

CJR — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:32:04 +0000

Most versions of this dish incorporate the clam shells. I prefer to to shuck the shellfish so you get more clam in each bite.

1 tablespoon olive oil
5-7 garlic gloves, diced
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
Red pepper flakes
2 dozen little neck clams
1/2 cup vermouth
Whole wheat linguine

1. Soak clams in the sink, scrubbing the shells until clean

2. Add the clams and vermouth to a large pot and steam, covered, until open

3. Turn off the heat, remove the clams and set aside, reserving the steaming liquid

4. Boil water for pasta

5. Heat olive oil in a large skillet (I suggest cast iron) over medium heat. Saute the garlic until fragrant (several minutes). Add parsley and saute for 1 minute, careful not to burn the garlic

6. Pour vermouth (steaming liquid) into the skillet, careful not to add any sand from the bottom of the pot

7. Add red pepper flakes to taste, and simmer the sauce until thickened (you want to coat the pasta, not create a broth), about 20 minutes

8. Add a pinch of salt to the boiling pasta water and cook linguine, stopping 2 minutes before it’s done (whole wheat pasta adds a nice nutty undertone to this recipe)

9. Remove the clams from their shells and cut them into pieces (kitchen shears work well). Return the clams to the skillet just before the liquid is fully reduced

10. Without straining, use a pasta spoon to transfer the linguine, along with some cooking water, to the skillet. Incorporate the pasta into the sauce and cook until al dente

Serves 3-4

Sugar Cookies

CJR — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:29:33 +0000

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ cups flour
½ teaspoon vanilla
Pecan halves

Preheat oven to 375°

1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper

2. In a large bowl, gradually cream the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon

3. After beating the egg with a fork, mix it into the butter/sugar

4. Add the milk and vanilla

5. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking power, and salt; then sift

6. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients

7. Use a spoon to form cookies on the baking sheet, 2 inches apart (they expand)

8. Place 1 pecan half atop each cookie

9. Bake cookies for 10 minutes, or until slightly browned around the edges

How Low Can You Go?

CJR — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:01:39 +0000

After working all day, walking home, changing into spandex, racing to the gym, exercising for 2/3 of a Bravo TV show, navigating Fairway at rush hour, and returning home, I have little energy for cooking. On weeknights like these, the fewer the steps the better. Here is a side dish with 4 steps and 2 ingredients. (I find it turns out best if you wear slippers and over-sized sweatpants while cooking.)

Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

1. Stab several sweet potatoes (or garnet yams, if you prefer something sweeter) with a fork

2. Roast them on a baking sheet (cover the sheet with foil to reduce clean-up time) at 425º until tender

3. Cut the potatoes in half and scoop the insides out with a spoon

4. Puree in a food processor with Chipotle Tabasco to taste

NOTE: for UWS Fairway shoppers, the Tabasco is NOT shelved with the other hot sauces. You can find it with the steak sauce, in the corner behind the meat counter