Peanut Butter and Julie

Potato, Parmesan, and Goat Cheese Gratin

I am not a big mashed potato fan.  I know, it's un-American.  I just think that there are so many better ways to prepare potatoes and, so often, mashed potatoes end up being bland, too starchy, or lost under that huge pool of butter.  So, I'm sorry to say that I will not be offering up my "Go-To Foolproof Super Amazing Mashed Potato Recipe".   Instead, here are three quick tips: Use a potato ricer, don't over-mix, and add fresh herbs and cheese for flavor.  Combinations like goat cheese and basil or Parmesan and rosemary would be quite good. 

If it is not written in stone that you must have mashed potatoes on your Thanksgiving table, I would like to offer up the following recipe, my Potato, Parmesan, and Goat Cheese Gratin.  Yes, it tastes as amazing as it sounds.   This dish is rich and elegant, unique, and not at all starchy or bland.  It can be made ahead of time, and, unlike mashed potatoes, still tastes great as a leftover.  It does require quite a bit of time in the oven, but you can bake it a few hours ahead of time and then just rewarm it prior to serving.  Here are my comments on this recipe:

• If you can find them, I think that the Yukon gold potatoes work better for this recipe.  In addition to their pretty color, they have a more buttery flavor and are less starchy.  I don't peel the potatoes for this recipe (too time consuming!).  The slices are so thin, that you barely notice the skin.  Just be certain to scrub them well prior to slicing!
• The best and easiest way to evenly slice the potatoes is with a handy little kitchen tool called a Mandoline.  I am assuming of course that you do not have a professional-grade slicer sitting on your kitchen counter.  There is a Mandoline pictured below.  It consists of two flat work surfaces, one of which can be adjusted, with a razor-sharp blade on the top layer.  A Mandoline helps to keep the slices uniform, which is important when baking or frying, so that pieces are done at the same time.  If you don't have one of these tools, just cut the potatoes as thinly and evenly as you possibly can with a very sharp knife. I have used both methods with tasty results.
• You can substitute dried rosemary, sage, or even Herbes de Provence for the dried thyme.
• The tomatoes can be optional in this recipe if you want it to be strictly potatoes.  I like them because they add a little bit of color and a different texture to the dish.
• I usually opt for the half and half as opposed to the heavy cream or whole milk.  I find that the heavy cream, true to its name, is too heavy, and the whole milk isn't rich enough.
• This recipe can be prepared one day ahead of time, up to the point of baking.  Let it sit at room temperature for an hour before putting in the oven.

Potato, Parmesan, and Goat Cheese Gratin

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons butter, melted

8 medium Yukon gold or russet potatoes

Salt and ground black pepper

1 tablespoon of dried thyme

2 cups crumbled goat cheese

1 1/3 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

2 tomatoes, thinly sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

2 cups half and half, whole milk, or heavy cream

1 cup plain bread crumbs.

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.  Brush a 9X13 inch baking dish with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter.  Slice the potatoes as thinly as possible, about 1/8 inch thick.  Using one-quarter of the sliced potatoes, arrange a layer on the bottom of the baking dish and top with a second layer.  Brush the potatoes lightly with some of the melted butter.  Sprinkle the potatoes with salt, pepper, a little bit of thyme, 2 tablespoons of the goat cheese, and 1/3 cup of the Parmesan.   

Using another quarter of the sliced potatoes, add two more layers and brush them with more butter.  Season with salt, pepper, and thyme, add 2 tablespoons goat cheese and 1/3 cup Parmesan.  Add a single layer of the sliced tomatoes and sprinkle with 2 more tablespoons of goat cheese, 1/3 cup Parmesan, thyme, salt and pepper.  Continue the process with another layer of potato slices, butter, seasoning and cheese.  Top with the remaining quarter of the potato slices and press the layers down with the palm of your hand to pack all of the ingredients together.  Brush with some of the melted butter and sprinkle with the seasonings and the remaining crumbled goat cheese.

Pour the milk/half and half/cream over the potatoes and then top them evenly with the bread crumbs.  Sprinkle with the remaining butter and bake, covered, 45-50 minutes.  Uncover and bake for 30-40 minutes longer, until bubbling and golden on top.  Let rest prior to serving, but serve warm!

Apple, Turkey Sausage, and Dried Cranberry Stuffing

Stuffing has a very long history, going back as far as the ancient Roman period.  An old Roman cookbook that was discovered contains recipes for stuffed chicken, hare, pig and dormouse.   Most of the recipes consisted of a selection of the following ingredients:  vegetables, herbs, spices, nut, spelt (a grain), liver, brains, and various other organ meats.  Sounds appetizing, doesn't it?  You will be relieved to know that my favorite stuffing recipe was adapted from one that was written over 2000 years later, so you will not be forced to aimlessly wander the aisles of your grocery store looking for spelt and brains.   Everyone seems to like this stuffing--even someone who claimed to hate celery and leeks,  but after I "forgot" to mention that they were in the stuffing, he ate two helpings (you know who you are!).  Incidentally, I just got up to take this stuffing out of the oven and it smells amazing.  My husband is going to be very happy with his dinner tonight.  I love this recipe because it is incredibly flavorful (many stuffings can be bland), pretty easy to make, and you can do most of it one day ahead of time.  It also tastes great as a leftover.  A few notes regarding the recipe:

• The stuffing can be prepared one day in advance up to the point just prior to adding the eggs.  Cover it and refrigerate.
• Leeks are the vegetables that resemble very large scallions.  It is very important to make sure that they are thoroughly washed before using as the layers can have dirt in between them.  Cut the leek lengthwise in half and then run under cold water, separating the layer to  wash.
• When slicing the leeks for this recipe, use the white and pale green parts only.
• The parsley that I always use for cooking is the Italian or flat-leaf  parsley and not the curly parsley that you typically see used as a garnish.  The Italian parsley has better flavor and texture.
• For the turkey sausage, you can buy either the sweet or the hot kind, depending on personal preference.  You can use pork sausage, but I find that turkey sausage has all of the flavor of pork sausage, but it produces less grease and has significantly fewer calories and fat. 
• This is a very forgiving recipe for substitutions and additions.  For the white bread, you might want to substitute whole grain, sourdough or ciabatta.   In place of the dried cranberries, you could try cherries and/or golden raisins (I like the color that the cranberries add though).  You can play around with the seasonings by adding some fresh sage or thyme.  I have also added some chopped and toasted pecans in the past for some extra crunch. 

Apple, Turkey Sausage, and Dried Cranberry Stuffing

Serves 12-14

Ingredients:

14 ounces white bread, cut into 3/4 inch cubes (about 10-12 cups)

1 pound Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

4 tablespoons butter

6 cups sliced leeks (about 3 large leeks)

1 pound tart green apples, cored and chopped

2 cups chopped celery with leaves

4 teaspoons poultry seasoning

1 cup dried cranberries

4 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

2/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/3 cups chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.  Scatter the bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake until slightly dry, about 15 minutes.  Cool completely.  Saute the sausages in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until they are cooked through and breaking up with a spatula or a fork as they cook, about 10 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a large bowl.  Pour off any drippings from the skillet.  Melt the butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the leeks, apples, celery, and poultry seasoning to the skillet.  Saute until the leeks soften, about 8 minutes.  Mix in the dried cranberries and rosemary.  Add this mixture to the sausage, and then mix in the bread and parsley.  Season the stuffing to taste with salt and pepper.  Mix the eggs into the stuffing.

To bake the stuffing in a turkey: Fill the main turkey cavity with stuffing.  Mix enough chicken broth into the remaining stuffing to moisten it (approximately 3/4 cup broth, depending on the amount of remaining stuffing).  Spoon the remaining stuffing into a buttered baking dish.  Cover with buttered aluminum foil.  Bake the stuffing in a dish alongside the turkey until heated through, about 45 minutes.  Uncover the stuffing and bake until the top is golden brown, about 15 minutes more.

To bake all of the stuffing in a pan:  Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.  Butter a 15X10X2 inch baking dish.  Mix 1 1/3 cups broth into the stuffing.  Transfer the stuffing to the prepared dish.  Cover with buttered foil and bake until heated through, about 45 minutes.  Uncover and bake until the top is golden brown, about 15 minutes longer.   

Cider-Glazed Sweet Potatoes

A yam is always a sweet potato but a sweet potato is not always a yam.  Most people use these two words interchangeably (I know that I do), but for all of you agricultural sticklers out there, I am going to try to do my part to help educate.  When orange flesh sweet potatoes were introduced in the southern United States, producers wanted to distinguish them from the more common white flesh types.  They borrowed from the African word nyami, referring to starchy root vegetables and adopted it in its English form, yam.  And there you have the lesson for the day!  I'll bet you feel smarter already and I'm glad that I could help.

Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite foods.  I like to eat them year round, usually just baked with a little bit of butter and brown sugar or maple syrup.  There are so many different ways that they can be prepared that I like to try something different each Thanksgiving.  This recipe is one of my favorites (so far....).  I like how the use of the tart cranberries serves as a contrast to the sweet cider syrup.  The combination of the green onions, the red cranberries, and the orange sweet potatoes makes a colorful addition to a holiday table (much prettier than a mound of semi-charred marshmallow topping).  Best of all, the entire recipe is cooked on top of the stove, freeing up some very precious oven space!  Here are my notes for the sweet potatoes:

• The potatoes are halfway cooked , as directed, when a knife inserted into the center encounters considerable resistance.  Do not overboil the potatoes or the dish will have a mushy texture.
• If you don't have allspice, you can substitute a small amount (1/4 teaspoon) or nutmeg or ginger instead.
• The potatoes can be boiled and drained one day ahead of time.  Cool them and then cover and refrigerate.
• When storing whole sweet potatoes, prior to peeling, do not refrigerate them.  Because they are a "tropical" vegetable, temperatures below 55 degrees will cause them to be tougher and will compromise the flavor.

Cider-Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Serves 8

Ingredients:

3 1/2 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 1/2 cups apple cider or apple juice

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

5 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup finely chopped green onions

Cook sweet potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water until halfway cooked, about 5 minutes.  Drain and cool.

Combine cider, sugar, butter, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat.  Bring to a boil, stirring often.  Add sweet potatoes and cook 5 minutes.  Add cranberries and continue cooking until the liquid id reduced to a syrupy glaze and the sweet potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.  Season is with salt and pepper.  Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with green onions.

Creamed Onions au Gratin

The first year that my husband and I celebrated Thanksgiving together, he asked me if we were going to have creamed onions.  I said, "Are we going to have what??"  I had never heard of them (we weren't big on creamed anything in my house growing up).  I was certain that they must have been the only family to ever put such a dish on their Thanksgiving table!  I told him that, although all of our guests would probably think it was a strange dish to serve, I would find a recipe for creamed onions and make it just for him.  On Thanksgiving day, when we all sat down at the table, one of our guests exclaimed "Creamed onions!  I love those!", and he proceeded to eat multiple servings.  I chose to avoid eye contact with my husband, not wanting to face his triumphant "told you so" look.  Since then, I have come to find out that creamed onions are a fairly common side dish for the holidays.   The problem is, that many of the recipes which I have found for them are extremely bland sounding, basically just cream and onions.  I always end up adding several ingredients to help to give them more personality.  The following recipe, with the addition of Sherry, 2 types of mustard, Herbes de Provence, and the bubbling cheese topping,  offers up lots of great flavors.  Even the creamed-onion "rookies" will ask for seconds!  Here are my notes for this recipe:

• I offer the option to use either fresh or frozen onions.  I strongly suggest using the frozen (and thawed) kind.  First of all, it will be far less expensive.  I paid about $2.50 for the frozen onions (C&W makes some in 14 ounce bags), and I would have ended up paying about $10 for the 2 pounds of fresh.  Secondly, using the frozen onions is much less labor intensive.  Peeling just one of those little guys can be a chore, so imaging peeling all 2 pounds of them.  Is your decision becoming easier????  You won't be able to tell the difference in the end.
• Herbes de Provence is an herb blend that consists of lavender, thyme, basil, and fennel.  If you don't have any on hand and don't want to purchase a jar (it can be a little pricey), then just use 2 teaspoons of dried thyme in its place.  Thyme is the predominant herb anyhow, so it will have a similar effect.  If you do want to purchase a jar, for future reference, Herbes de Provence tastes great in pan sauces for chicken or pork, sprinkled over root vegetables before roasting, or in soups.
• Do not use skim or 2% milk--it will not thicken as well.
• The creamed onions, without the cheese, can be made up to the point prior to broiling one day ahead.  Chill, uncovered, until cool, and then cover them.  Bring them to room temperature, and then reheat in a 400F degree oven for about 20 minutes before sprinkling with cheese and broiling.

Creamed Onions au Gratin

Makes 8 servings

2 pounds white pearl onions or 2 14-ounce bags frozen pearl onions

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup Sherry

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

If using fresh pearl onions, cook onions in a large heavy pot of boiling water until tender, 25-30 minutes.  Drain the onions and cool to warm and then peel.  If using the frozen onions, thaw the onions completely by draining in a colander prior to proceeding.

Melt the butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat.  Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.  Whisk in the Herbes de Provence, chicken stock, milk, and Sherry and cook, whisking frequently, until the mixture had thickened, about 8 minutes.  Whisk in the mustards, nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.  Add the onions to the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes until thick.

Preheat the broiler.  Transfer the creamed onions to a baking dish and sprinkle them evenly with the cheese.  Broil 4-5 inches from the heat until the top is golden brown and bubbling, 4-5 minutes.

Cranberry-Port Sauce with Dried Figs

I know that many times in life it is tempting to take the easier route.  We are all very busy and sometimes we just don't have the time  or energy to devote to certain things.  That being said, is the eyesore that is pictured to the right really necessary (double-click on it to enlarge)???   I mean honestly, yes, it's funny looking and can definitely serve a purpose, perhaps as a centerpiece for the "Kids' Table", but do you really want to serve this to your guests who have crossed six states to spend one day with you??  I didn't think so.

Fortunately, I have a recipe for cranberry sauce that requires very little time, effort (only one ingredient to chop!),  or attention.  It can be made as far as a week ahead of time, and it will taste so much better on your after-Thanksgiving turkey sandwich than a slice of that jellied stuff.  The dried figs in the sauce add a sweetness that complements the Port and fresh rosemary.  It turns out a beautiful jewel tone--you can be proud to put this version on your Thanksgiving table.  This recipe is so straightforward that I only have a few of my usual tips to offer you:

• If you don't have any Port on hand, feel free to substitute a red wine (recommend Pinot Noir or Cabernet) for a similar product.
• The dried figs can be found alongside the raisins and dried cranberries in your grocery store

Cranberry-Port Sauce with Dried Figs

Makes about 3 1/2 cups

1 2/3 cups ruby Port

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

10 dried black Mission figs, stemmed and coarsely chopped

1 six-inch long sprig of fresh rosemary

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries

3/4 cup sugar

Combine the first six ingredients in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring until the brown sugar dissolves.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.  Discard the rosemary.  Mix in the cranberries and the 3/4 cup sugar.  Cook over medium heat until the liquid is slightly reduced and thickened and the berries burst, stirring occasionally, 6-8 minutes.  Cool and transfer to a bowl.  Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to use.  Can be served chilled, heated, or at room temperature.

Wild Rice Stuffing with Dried Cherries, Apricots, and Pecans

This recipe produces a stuffing that is both delicious and beautiful to present to your guests.   Although less traditional than bread-based stuffing, it can be baked inside the bird or on its own in the oven (I personally have never baked any of my stuffings inside the turkey, but I know that this is very much an individual preference, so I'm not even going to try to make a recommendation as to what you should do).  I'll have my variation on the traditional stuffing posted in a week or so, so you will have two to select from.  This dressing recipe will also work throughout the year as a versatile side dish.  Here are my notes:

• The recipe calls for a long grain and wild rice blend.  If you can't find them already mixed together, then by all means purchase them separately and measure 1 1/4 cups each.  In this case, you will need to read the individual cooking times on the instructions, as you might need to start cooking the wild rice 10-15 minutes prior to adding the long grain.  Wild rice usually takes a bit longer.
• If you don't have dried cherries available, dried cranberries or Craisins will work very nicely.
• Regarding the fresh vs. dried thyme, refer to my note about using fresh or dried herbs in my Spinach-Artichoke Dip posting (also posted today).
• This recipe can be prepared one day ahead of time, and then reheated, covered with buttered foil, in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

Wild Rice Stuffing with Dried Cherries, Apricots, and Pecans                                                      Serves 8-10

6      tablespoons butter

1      large yellow onion, chopped

4 1/2 cups canned low-salt chicken broth

3      tablespoons fresh thyme or 1 tablespoon dried thyme

2 1/2 cups long grain and wild rice blend

1      six-ounce package dried apricots, coarsely chopped

1     cup dried tart cherries

1     cup golden raisins

1    cup pecans, toasted, chopped

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onions and saute until brown, 10-15 minutes.  Add the 4 1/2 cups broth to the saucepan and 1 tablespoon thyme and bring to a boil.  Add the long grain and wild rice mixture to the saucepan and return to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the broth is almost all absorbed, about 30-40 minutes.  Stir  the dried apricots, dried cherries, raisins, and remaining 2 tablespoons thyme into rice mixture; cover and simmer until the remaining liquid has been completely absorbed, about 10 minutes.  Stir the remaining 4 tablespoons butter into the rice.  Mix in pecans.  Season generously with salt and pepper.

To bake stuffing in turkey:  Loosely fill the main cavity with cool stuffing.  Butter a glass baking dish.  Spoon the remaining stuffing into the prepared dish.  Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down.  Bake stuffing in dish until heated through, about 20 minutes.

To bake all of stuffing in the baking dish: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 13X9X2 inch glass baking dish.  Transfer the stuffing to the prepared dish.  Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down, and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes.