Thanksgiving

This year was Thanksgiving with my husband's family. Usually, I bring only one dish that is traditional for my New England family, such as my mom's manicotti, that doesn't go over well with my husband's Midwestern family. This year, I changed tactics and brought 4 dishes from a variety of traditions, all of which went over well with someone. It was the first year I felt my culinary efforts were really appreciated by this clan. I was particularly proud because everything was my own recipe, made up on the fly. My contribution consisted of: Southern style mixed greens, butternut squash soup, cranberry sauce and an apple pie. I used mostly organic/locally grown ingredients from Farm Fresh Delivery, a grocery delivery service here in Indianapolis that specializes in local/organic foods. (They are this busy localvore's dream come true.) All of these dishes already do or could easily be adapted to accommodate any vegetarian or vegan members of your Thanksgiving gathering, as noted below. Here are the recipes, though, as you'll notice, the measurements are generally estimated, because I rarely measure when I'm cooking:

Southern Style Mixed Greens:
This is the only recipe I made the day of. I came down early to help my mother-in-law and cousin-in-law finish getting everything ready. Usually I come down and help them the night before, but it didn't work out this year. So, as we were prepping the dressing and making the gravy, I simmered my greens on the stove really quick. This dish was my biggest hit, overall. I believe "kicks ass" was the phrase my husband used. There wasn't much left when we were packing up leftovers. I think it's going to become a permanent part of my Thanksgiving contribution. While there's always a lot of good food at my in-laws Thanksgiving, there are never enough vegetable dishes, in my opinion. This could be made with vegetable broth and without the bacon to accommodate vegans/vegetarians.

-3 bunches of greens (I used one bunch each of collard, kale and spinach, but you could use whatever.)
-1 onion, roughly chopped
-3-4 pieces of bacon cooked and crumbled (I used some jowl bacon that was in my grandmother-in-law's fridge because I forgot to get it myself, but whatever sort of bacon would work.)
-2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
-water (enough to finish covering the greens in the pot)
-a couple tablespoons of red pepper flakes

1. Wash and chop the greens, removing any thick stems.
2. Throw everything into a big pot.
3. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about an hour until greens and onion are tender.
4. Serve warm.
(This recipe could easily be made in a crock-pot, but it will probably take a little longer for the vegetables to get nice and tender.)


Butternut Squash Soup:
This one wasn't to every one's taste, but several people really enjoyed it. Missy, my BFF/cousin-in-law and her oldest son/my god-son, Isaac, were particular fans of this soup. And, I really like it, so I didn't mind bringing home a little extra leftovers of this. I made it the night before and we had it for dinner with grilled cheese sandwiches, which made a nice easy pre-Thanksgiving gluttony meal at the end of a long day of cooking. I then divided it into containers and brought about 2/3 with me to the get-together and re-heated it in a crock pot. I freezed the other 1/3 for a quick, easy meal later in the month. Though I used my homemade chicken stock, because that's what I had, this could be easily made with vegetable stock without changing the flavor to accommodate any vegetarians or vegans.

-5 or 6 small butternut squashes, peeled, seeds removed and chopped into chunks. (Enough to fill a large soup pot about 2/3 full of squash)
-2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks (I used a few handfuls of the baby carrots)
-1 onion, roughly chopped
-3 celery stalks, chopped into chunks
-Enough chicken or vegetable stock to cover all the vegetables in a large pot
-2 cans of coconut milk
-nutmeg, cardamon and ginger to taste (probably 1/2-1 teaspoon of each)
-salt to taste
-a tablespoon or two of sugar (optional, I left this out this time because Missy was just diagnosed with diabetes and the soup is fine without it. If you would like it a little sweeter, you can add sugar to taste at the end.)

1. Place all the vegetables in a large soup pot and cover with chicken broth.
2. Boil vegetables in the broth until they are tender.
3. Spoon vegetables, in batches, into a blender with some of the broth and blend until smooth.
4. Pour blended veggies and broth back into pot and whisk in the rest of the ingredients.
5. Let it come to a boil one more time.
6. Serve warm.

Cranberry Sauce:
I love cranberry sauce, but I hate the stuff that comes in a can. So, I made my own. I added apples to help the finished product thicken, as apples are high in pectin, and also to stretch the recipe. At the last minute, I decided to throw in some packages of slivered almonds I had in the pantry, and I'm glad I did. The slight crunch was a nice texture in this dish. I was very pleased that my husband, in particular, really liked this sauce.

-2 cartons of cranberries
-2 oranges
-2 Winesap (or whatever firm, sweeter type you like) apples, peeled and chopped fine
-2 small packages of slivered almonds (about a cup or so, could substitute any nuts you like)
-1-2 cups of sugar
-about a cup of water
-a dash of salt

1. place the cranberries in a sauce pot.
2. Zest both oranges completely and add zest to pot. (I just zest it straight into the pot)
3. Juice the oranges and add juice to pot.
4. Add sugar and enough water to cover the cranberries. In this step, you may want to use less sugar than the full 2 cups. You can always add more later if it's too tart.
5. Bring to a boil and let boil until cranberries pop open (about 5 minutes)
6. Turn off heat and add apples and nuts. Check flavor and add salt and any extra sugar to taste.
7. Let cool and chill, Serve cold or at room temp.


Apple Pie:
Apple has always been my favorite pie. When I was a kid, I always asked for apple pie for my birthday instead of cake. Earlier in the fall, I invested in three large bags of some hearty winter apple that keep for several months in the fridge. Among the varieties I choose, Idas are my favorite for making pies. They keep their shape amazingly well when cooked. I use these for the majority of my pie apples, but I mix in some of the other varieties for depth of flavor and variety of texture. I got several compliments from my husband's uncle Junior on my pie, which meant a lot, because he is something of a pie connoisseur and his wife is by far the best pie maker I know. She always brings a pecan pie to Thanksgiving and, it is always perfect. To know that my apple pie even deserved to be on the same dessert table as hers, let alone won compliments from her husband, was an honor.

-About 8-10 apples, depending on their size, peeled and chopped (I used 4 Idas, 1 mutsu and 3 small Winesap, because that's what I had.)
-1/2-1 cup sugar
-2-3 tablespoons of cinnamon (I like a lot of cinnamon)
-1/2-1 teaspoon each of cardamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, depending on your tastes
-dash of salt
-3-4 tablespoons of quick cook tapioca (This is my secret fruit pie ingredient. It really makes the filling set up well and absorbs a lot of the moisture from the fruit, keeping the crust relatively dry, even on the bottom.)
-pie crust for top and bottom crust. I use either the all butter or all butter with almond flour recipes found here. (For vegans, use a vegetable shortening pie crust recipe instead.)
-One egg and an amount of water roughly equal to the amount of egg, beaten to make an egg wash. (optional, leave out if cooking for vegans.)

1. Prep your pie crust according to whatever recipe you like.
2. Mix rest of the ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Roll out bottom crust and place in pie pan.
4. Put filling into crust and spread to form an even layer.
5. Roll out top crust, lay over fruit, cut excess off with scissors, crimp and seal edges.
6. Brush top with egg wash (I actually use paper towel instead of a pastry brush and blot it on more than brush it, which I find to be easier.)
7. Cut 6 vent slits in the center of top crust and bake in pre-heated 450 degree oven for 20 minutes.
8. Reduce heat to 350 and bake until crust is golden (about 30-40 minutes more).
9. Serve warm or at room temperature. Do not refrigerate if serving the next day, as it causes the crust to get soggy. (Don't worry, it will get eaten well before it even thinks about spoiling.)

Apple, Onion and Cheddar Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I am on a major apple kick this weekend. We're finally getting some nice cool fall weather, which always reminds me of apple picking excursions with my parents when I was a little kid. Also, I had a bunch of apples in the fridge that needed to be used before they went bad. I started off the day by making an apple pie, which came out lovely. I've finally begun to feel comfortable making pie from scratch and this was my first successful apple pie. But it was the entree at dinner that was something worth blogging about. I found a recipe online for chicken stuffed with apples and cheddar cheese, both of which I had plenty of in the fridge. However, the recipe seemed kind of bland and labor intensive, so I adapted it by adding more flavor and using one of my favorite techniques for cooking chicken: baking it in butter. The result was the perfect blend of savory and sweet:

Apple, Onion and Cheddar Stuffed Chicken Breast:

3 or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, butterflied and pounded thin
2 Apples, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup Onion, also chopped small
1/2 cup plus a handful shredded cheddar cheese (more or less, I didn't measure, it doesn't really matter)
8 leaves of fresh sage, chopped fine (Could substitute dried)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 stick of butter

Preheat oven to 425. Cut up butter and place in a glass baking dish. (I used a glass pie pan, but any glass or ceramic baking dish large enough to hold it all will work.) Place the pan in the oven as it warms up for a few minutes to start melting the butter just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.

-Mix together the onions, apples, half cup of cheese, sage, salt and pepper in a bowl.

-Spread stuffing mixture onto the pounded chicken breasts and carefully roll them up.

-Place rolled chicken breasts into the buttery pan. Spread any leftover stuffing mixture on top of the chicken breasts and top with some extra cheese to hold it all together as it cooks.

-Bake, basting with the melted butter about every 15 minutes, until the chicken is done and the topping is nice and browned (about 45 minutes). If the topping is starting to brown too much before the chicken is done, reduce the heat to about 350 until it's done.

-Serve warm.

This recipe would be very easy to adjust for personal preference. Use more or less onion, and cheese in the filling, to suit your tastes. You could add some chopped ham or crumbled, cooked bacon to the filling.

Tomorrow, I'm gonna use the rest of the apples to make some homemade apple sauce!

Stuffed Chard

This recipe happened by a happy accident. I wanted to try this recipe I had seen in an article about this french vegetarian restaurant. It had been about a week since I read it, and I thought it had said Swiss Chard stuffed with Ricotta and Mozzarella, but it actually said Risotto and Mozzarella. Not wanting to go back to the store for risotto rice, or go through the effort to make risotto, I searched for a different recipe I could try or alter to use the ricotta. I found one that called for goat cheese and rice, which was similar enough to the ingredients I had on hand to give me some guidelines for preparing the dish. What I came up with was a very altered, and more yummy in my opinion, form of this recipe. The measurements, like with all my recipes, are a bit vague. This is the sort of dish where you can add a little more or a little less of something and still come alright. Anyway, here it is, enjoy:

Stuffed Chard with Ricotta, Rice and Almonds:

5-7 leaves of chard
1 15oz container of ricotta cheese
1 cup of brown rice
1 big handful of fresh herbs (I used mint, thyme, cinnamon basil and a little cilantro, because
that is what I had in my garden that seemed to fit together with the
dish.)
2 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup or so of chopped onion (more or less if you like)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (more or less if you like)
1 2oz package of blanched almonds (You could toast them if you like. I added them as an after
thought, so I didn't bother. Also, you could use pine nuts
instead, if you like pine nuts. I can't stand them.)
1 teaspoon Lemon Zest (Not sure, just add enough until you can taste it, but not more.)
fresh ground pepper to taste
a dash or 2 of cinnamon (You don't want to really taste it, but I promise it will be better if it's
there.)
lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter
olive oil

1. Cook the rice according to the package.

2. (While rice is cooking) Cut the chard leaves off the stems in two pieces. I used scissors and just cut along the stem on each side. Blanch the leaf pieces one at a time in a large pot of boiling, lightly salted water, about 30-60 seconds per leaf. Stack them with a sheet of paper towel between each to let them dry a bit after blanching. Set them aside until you are ready to stuff them.

3. Once the rice is cooked and cooled a bit, mix in the ricotta, lemon zest, parmesan, chopped herbs, onion, chopped or pressed garlic cloves, almonds, pepper and cinnamon. I mixed in on the same pot the rice was cooked in so I didn't have another dish to wash. Preheat the oven now, to 400 degrees so that it is hot when you are done filling the chard.

4. Spoon a bit of the rice filling onto each chard leaf piece and roll up. Each leaf may take more or less filling depending on the size. I cut most of the larger leaf pieces in half before stuffing. Place each rolled leaf onto a buttered baking pan large enough to fit all the stuffed leaves. It's alright to pack them in a bit. Dot filled pan with pieces of butter and drizzle with a little olive oil. (You can just do one or the other instead of both if you like. If you want to leave out the butter, god forbid, grease the bottom of the pan with oil instead.)

5. Cover with foil and bake for about 15 minutes, to heat through and melt the yummy butter. Remove from oven, squirt down stuffed chards with some lemon juice, to taste, and serve warm.

My favorite pizza manicotti

A few months ago, my friend, Missy, and I were hanging out, using my sister's giant washer and dryer while she was out of town, when we decided to order a pizza from a place in Broad Ripple that delivers to my sister's neighborhood. We chose to top it with ricotta, spinach and prosciutto, and it was the best pizza we ever ate. After trying to recreate this pizza over the weekend, with one of those pre-cooked pizza shell things, and being disappointed, I realized that with the left over ingredients and the large number of eggs I had in the fridge, I could try creating a new manicotti. I learned how to make basic manicotti entirely from scratch from my mother, who learned from my father's sister, who learned from her husband's Italian born grandmother. While my mother and aunt have always been manicotti purists, as far as I know, I've begun experimenting with different fillings, for the benefit of my husband who doesn't fully appreciate the subtle, divine bliss of the simple ricotta cheese filling, complete with family secret ingredients which I am sworn not to divulge. My first experiment was simply adding spinach, which was good, but not great. I've tried Italian sausage, which was alright despite the fact that I've never really like Italian sausage all that much. But, now, I think I've finally found a variation to rival the original. So here it is, the recipe for Spinach and Prosciutto Manicotti:

Shells:
1 cup flour
4 eggs
3/4 cup water
pinch of salt

Whisk ingredients into a batter that is a little thinner than pancake batter, but a little thicker than crepe batter. Pour batter, about a quarter of a cup at a time, into a non-stick crepe pan over medium-low heat and swirl the pan a bit to spread out the batter into a nice circle. Once set on the first side, flip and heat just enough to set on the second side and slide the shell onto a plate. Knowing when and how to flip takes a bit of practice, and your first few will probably turn out like crap until you get the hang of it, but that's part of the learning curve. Finished shells should be set, but not more than just barely browned on the first side. Repeat the process, stacking the noodles on a plate, until you are out of batter. You'll probably end up with around 10 shells.

Filling:
1 16 oz tub of ricotta cheese
8 oz or so of mozzarella cheese
6-10 slices of prosciutto ham, chopped up
4 cups of raw spinach (or 1 frozen brick of spinach, thawed and drained well)
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

Brown prosciutto in a tablespoon of olive oil, drain and set aside to cool. Chop, steam and drain spinach, if using fresh. Make sure to squeeze as much moisture out as possible. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until well blended.

Assembly:
Coat the bottom of a large baking with just enough tomato pasta sauce to cover the bottom. Prego is the best for this. Fill shells with filling, about 2-3 soup spoon scoops per shell. Arrange filled shells in pan, overlapping them a little if you need to make them all fit. Pour some more sauce over the top and spread to coat all shells. Don't over do it with the pasta sauce. Bake in a 350 degree oven until the filling is gooey and heated through and the sauce on top of the shells is dried out slightly. Don't let get too browned around the edges.

Glazed Lamb Chops

This meal started with some locally raised lamb chops I couldn't resist buying at the local Organic Market. It's a modification of a rosemary lamb chop recipe I came across on a site called Cooking for Engineers. It was the most detailed recipe I've ever seen. After skimming the steps, thinking about how I would do it a little differently and figuring what I could substitute in the ingredient list, I decided this was how I was going to cook my prized chops. I didn't have all the proper ingredients, but I had enough to improvise. The recipe called for orange juice, pineapple juice and fresh rosemary. I instead used Mango-Peach V8 splash, the juice of 1 orange and dried herbes de provence. I also added a little beef/lamb stock I had in the freezer, more garlic than the recipe called for and the juice of a quarter of a meyer lemon at the end. The result was one of the first lamb dishes I've fixed that my husband, who doesn't really care for lamb, actually liked.

Glazed Lamb Chops: (Serves 2-3)

-about a cup and a half of juice (Whatever is citrusy and available.)
-1 small onion, chopped
-4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped
-1/2 tsp or so of salt
-1/2 tsp or so of pepper
-tablespoon or so of herbes de provence
-6 lamb chops (could use steak or pork chops)
-couple splashes of oil (used grapeseed, but any type would do.)
-about a third cup of lamb or beef or whatever type of stock you have, or just use water.*
-good sized wedge of lemon (whatever type you have)

Mix everything except lemon, lamb, stock and oil, to form the marinade. Pour about 2/3 of marinade over lamb, in a plastic bag, and stick in fridge for 1-4 hours. Reserve the rest of the mixture. Heat skillet and add oil, just enough to keep meat from sticking. Sear meat. Remove meat from pan and set aside. Pour any extra oil out of pan. Pour the reserved marinade mixture into the pan along with stock. Whisk to get the good bits off the bottom of the pan and let it cook down until nice and saucy. Add meat back to pan when sauce is just about done, to let the meat heat back up. Be sure to pour in any juices from the plate the meat was resting on. Remove from heat when sauce is right and squeeze lemon juice into sauce. Stir just a little. Adjust salt and pepper if needed. Plate meat and spoon sauce over it, making sure to get all the nice bits of onion and garlic on there as well.

This was served with steamed asparagus dressed with butter and lemon and bread with garlic herb butter.

*(I'm not sure how much I used, as I added this as an afterthought. The stock was still frozen in a plastic container and the asparagus was going in the microwave, so I just popped the block of frozen stock out of the container and plopped it into the hot pan. I let it melt down a little until it looked like enough and then put the rest of the block of frozen stock back into the container and back into the freezer. I also added some extra water, maybe a third of a cup or more, to make the sauce cook longer to make sure the onions were tender.)