Thanksgiving 2008

No pictures in this post; just an update on Thanksgiving, since people have been asking. I'm not doing a real post for two reasons-- one, we basically did the same thing as  last year, since last year's Thanksgiving was so ridiculously good; and two, I didn't have a camera on hand for pictures. Honestly, some of the tastiest things are the least photogenic-- stuffing, for example. So the menu was: (most of the recipes are on last year's post, linked above)

Spicy Sweet Potato Soup

Brined & BBQ'd Organic Turkey

Gravy (made from turkey stock, which we made the day before)

Wild Mushroom Stuffing (recipe below)

Butternut Squash Gratin

Spicy Cranberry Relish

Jelled Cranberry Sauce (yeah, the Ocean Spray kind. I love the stuff.)

Lemony Brussel Sprout Hash

Sour Cream Cheesecake (my dad's delicious contribution)

The wild mushroom stuffing was really amazing, and can easily be a vegetarian main dish or brunch dish any time of the year. We tweaked last year's recipe a bit. Here goes:

Make cornbread and let it sit out overnight so it dries out a bit.

Cut the cornbread into crouton-sized (1/2inch) cubes. Toss cubes and all crumbs into bowl. Add 2T each chopped thyme & sage; add olive oil and toss until well-coated.

Spread seasoned cornbread cubes and crumbs onto a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until golden. Cubes should be crunchy. It's ok if the crumbs get a little dark.

Clean 2lbs mushrooms. We used 2/3lb shittake, 2/3lb oyster, 2/3lb chanterelle. Reserve the shittake stems.

Add shittake stems to 4c chicken (or veggie) broth and bring to a boil. Lower to a strong simmer and cover. Cook about 20 minutes, until reduced by half. Strain. You should have 2c mushroomy broth.

Slice mushrooms.  Slice 5 large shallots. Saute shallots and mushrooms in about 1T butter and 1T olive oil until golden brown, about 20 minutes (they'll release liquid, and then start drying out and browning). Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the cooked mushrooms to the strained broth.

An hour before serving, beat 1c heavy cream with 3 eggs. Combine with mushroom mix and cornbread cubes only. Pour into gratin dish. Sprinkle cornbread crumbs on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, until set (a thin knife inserted into the gratin will come out clean).

Morcilla-Stuffed Squid

Morcilla is Spanish-style blood sausage. It's meatier than boudin and has a coarser grind. The one we got (at The Spanish Table) was combined with rice, which makes a really nice, substantial stuffing mix. If this kind of thing scares you, you can easily make this recipe with normal bulk sausage.

You'll need (serves 2-3):

6 squid bodies, cleaned (remove inner cartiledge)

4 links morcilla or other sausage

1 onion, chopped

1/2T cumin

1t cayenne

1T paprika

1c red wine

for the sauce:

7 cloves garlic, crushed and sliced

1/2 onion, chopped

4 shallots, sliced

1T tomato paste

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1T paprika

In a large heavy skillet, heat some olive oil and saute the chopped onion until brown, about 8 minutes. Remove the sausage from its casing and add it to the skillet, crumbling it up with your fingers as you add it. Stir to combine; add spices to taste. Deglaze with red wine and let simmer until almost dry. Taste and adjust spices. Remove from pan and let cool.

When the stuffing is cool enough to handle, stuff squid bodies (but don't stuff them too much-- they'll shrink quite a bit when they cook). Secure opening with toothpicks.

Add oil to skillet (same skillet-- don't clean it out) and brown stuffed squid lightly, about 5 min/side. Remove. Add sauce ingredients: onion, shallot, garlic. Let cook slowly over low heat until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring so garlic doesn't brown. Add tomato paste; let caramelize, then stir to combine. Add tomato sauce and paprika; return squid to pan. Add some chicken broth or water so that liquid comes halfway up squid. Let simmer about 45 minutes, until squid is tender (can be easily pierced with a fork).

leftovers, in the pan

cross-section of stuffed squid

When is a pumpkin edible?

Who knows? I sure don't. This looked edible to me:

It was a bit strange looking inside. The meat was porous and the seeds were an incredible dark green.

crazy technicolor seeds!

So I cleaned it out:

And got it ready for roasting:

But once it was cooked, the flesh was stringy and watery and surrounded by a mold-colored layer. So I called Durst Organic Growers, whose sticker (still) adorned the pumpkin's extremely hard shell. After extended consultation with the grower, I learned that some of their pumpkins are edible, while some are not. Unfortunately, there's no indication on the product sticker as to the product's consumability; I offered him the product number and he said they're all the same.

Based on the texture of the cooked squash, I decided it'd be best to abstain. I tasted it and it wasn't great-- not evil-tasting, but not creamy and delicious pumpkinyness either.

Here's the real question that remains:

Are these golden-green seeds edible?

The Purplecook Makes Vietnamese Food!

Banana Blossom Salad

My friend Trang, patiently and generously, taught me to make Banana Blossom Salad and Clay Pot Sea Bass, two of our favorite Vietnamese dishes, a while ago. I decided to try them myself to see if I still remembered the lesson. A few phone calls to Trang and some quick internet searches later, here are the results.

Clay Pot Sea Bass

I'd say the two best moments were at the Vietnamese market when the cashier rang up the banana blossoms and said, "Do you know what to do with these?" and I proudly responded in the affirmative, and at the end of the cooking process when my caramel sauce actually, magically, came together (even though I probably put too much oil in the oil-to-sugar ratio).

Vietnamese mint; Thai basil

Chopped fried peanuts; fried shallots

sliced banana blossom

in acidulated water

cutting the sea bass into cubes

sea bass cooking on caramel sauce

sea bass, cooked

the finished salad

another picture, just because it's so beautiful

(and delicious!)

Braised Calamari in Spicy Tomato Sauce

This is shockingly easy and cheap-- for some reason (probably because people don't know what to do with it), squid is pretty inexpensive, and most markets sell it pre-cleaned. You can play with the ingredients to create different flavor combinations-- this would be great with olives and red wine, for example.

You'll need (per person for a main course):

1 lb squid (calamari)
1c cherry tomatoes (or any other tomato. canned is fine too)
2T olive oil
5 cloves garlic, smashed
1 serrano chili, chopped (or red pepper flakes)
chopped fresh herbs (I used thyme and sage)
1T tomato paste
1-2T paprika (I used sweet; I'll probably try smoked next time, for more oomph)
1 1/2c white wine

Heat oil in skillet. Add tomatoes, garlic, chili, tomato paste and herbs. Saute, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes collapse and garlic turns golden. Add squid, salt and pepper, and paprika. Add wine and cook, uncovered, at a simmer for about 45 minutes, until sauce is thick and squid is tender. Serve with baguette.

Salmon with Herbed Bread Crumbs and Roasted Brussel Sprouts

This is an easy way to dress up salmon for a weeknight dinner. It follows my standard roasted salmon recipe, with the addition of herbed bread crumbs on top. The crumbs create a tasty crust that's a nice textural complement to the silky fish.

Preheat oven to 500 with the baking dish inside it. Rub salmon with olive oil, salt and pepper; top with bread crumbs (see below). Toss the salmon into the baking dish, skin side down, and lower heat to 275. Cook about 10 minutes, until just flaky. 

To make the bread crumbs, grind up some stale bread in the food processor with whatever fresh herbs you have on hand-- I used a mix of sage, rosemary and thyme. If you end up with a lot of bread crumbs, just put the leftovers in a jar in the freezer and use them next time.

These brussel sprouts are even easier than the salmon. They've been featured on The Purple Kitchen before, but the recipe is so simple I'll repeat it here. Just quarter the sprouts, toss with salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and roast in a 400 degree oven until golden brown, about 25 minutes. They should be crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.

Tingly Spicy Stir Fry

I know these are not the most appetizing photos, but I made this in a hurry and it smelled so good that I wanted to get around to eating it as soon as possible. This is an easy way to use up veggies that need to be cooked. I had some string beans and an eggplant on hand, but other things would be delicious in this too-- broccoli, kale, spinach, chard, bok choy, etc. 

Unfortunately I've been a bad blogger lately, and I didn't write down what went into this. But it was something along the lines of 1/2lb ground beef, 1/2lb ground lamb, cubes of roasted eggplant, green beans cut into halves or thirds, shittake mushrooms, garlic and ginger; all that cooked in a sauce of light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, and garlic chili paste. When I took it off the heat, I mixed in some toasted ground szechuan pepper for its delicious tingly spice.

Kale Shittake Pasta

I had some leftover cooked pasta, but not quite enough for a meal, so I sauteed an onion, some chopped garlic, sliced shittake mushrooms and some chopped kale. I added the pasta til it warmed up and topped the whole thing with some good olive oil and freshly grated parmesan

Quick Pickles

All you need to make these delicious "quick pickles" is something to pickle (cucumber works nicely) and some vinegar and spices. I chopped-- and sliced-- some "Mediteranean pickling cucumbers (the small bumpy ones) and stuck them in a jar with a teaspoon of sugar, a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a chopped serrano chili, and some cilantro; I covered them with rice vinegar, gave the jar a good shake, and stuck it in the fridge for a day or two. The result was perfectly crispy, vinegary, spicy pickles!

In the photo above, I roasted cubed eggplant in the oven, tossed it with sesame seeds and bits of seaweed, and put it (and some leftover green beans) on top of steamed rice. I topped the whole thing with pickles and some of the pickle juice, which dripped down into the rice sushi-style. It made for an easy and delicious lunch.

Chicken Chanterelle Stew

I've been waiting for months for the rain and cold to come, and it's finally here so I decided to celebrate. This is the perfect rainy day dish, and it's a one-pot meal.

You'll need (serves 6):

3 1/2lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

3/4-1lb meaty pork neck bones

5 medium yukon gold potatoes

2 onions

2 carrots

10 cloves garlic

4 anchovies

1T tomato paste

1 bottle dry red wine

4c chicken stock

2c chanterelle mushrooms

1T herbes de provence

1c flour

veggie oil

bouquet garni:

3 bay leaves

2 springs rosemary

4 springs thyme

1 large branch sage

Heat 1T oil in a dutch oven. Brown neck bones well on all sides.

In the meantime, clean the chicken. Remove all the fat you can find. 

When the bones are browned, remove them and set them aside.

Salt and pepper chicken generously and dredge in flour. Heat more oil in the dutch oven, if necessary, and brown the chicken in batches, about 4 minutes per side. Set aside browned chicken.

Chop onions and carrots. Crush and slice garlic. Chop anchovies.

Add more oil if necessary. Saute onions and carrots about 2 minutes; add garlic and anchovies. Saute about 10 minutes until golden brown.

In the meantime, clean the chanterelles. Remove dirt from the gills under running water. Cut off the tough stem ends. 

Move the onion mix to the sides of the pot. Add a little oil in the middle. Add the chanterelles, ripping them into pieces as you add them. When they're all in, mix them with the other vegetables and saute about 4 minutes.

Return the neck bones to the pot. Add the bouquet garni (just tie together all the herbs listed above with a piece of string) and the herbes de provence.

Pour the bottle of wine into the pot. Boil about 20 minutes, until reduced by at least half. You'll end up with about half an inch of liquid in the pot.

While the wine is reducing, peel and quarter the potatoes.

Return the chicken to the pot and add the potatoes. Add broth to cover. Bring to a boil. Stir to make sure everything's fully submerged. Lower to a simmer; cover and cook about 30 minutes, until the chicken is tender and the potatoes are done. Uncover and continue cooking to reduce liquid to desired amount and consistency, or smash a few potatoes to thicken the liquid.

Fresh Beans and Kale

If you see fresh shelling beans at the market, buy them. If you've never had them-- even if you don't like "normal" (dry) beans-- buy them anyway. I'm not really a bean fan, but these are fantastic. Their flavor is bright and they're creamy inside. They're good hot or cold. And you can have a shelling party with your friends to make the busy work go faster.

You'll need (I really didn't measure here, sorry):

beans (I used cannellini)

1 onion

4 anchovies (omit for vegetarian version)

1t tomato paste

chicken or veggie broth

1/2 bunch of kale

good olive oil

First, shell the beans...

Then chop your onion and saute it in a large heavy pan with the anchovies and tomato paste for about 10 minutes over medium heat. Add the beans and broth; they should be well submerged. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cover. Mine had to cook for about an hour, at which point the liquid had conveniently been absorbed and the beans were still slightly firm but creamy inside. At this point, chop the kale roughly and add it to the pan. Let cook until kale wilts, about 2 minutes, uncovered. Remove from heat and drizzle with some fantastic olive oil. Serve!

Roasted Monkfish

This was inspired by a recent Bittman post, though I've been wanting to make monkfish for some time. Often called the poor man's lobster, it's a firm white fish with a delicate flavor that stands up well to sauces. My mom poaches monkfish in a vegetable mirepoix that's then pureed into a thick carroty bed for monkfish fillets. Fillets are hard to find; here I use tails, which are easier to find and very easy to work with.

You'll need (serves 2):

1 monkfish tail, bone-in

salt, pepper

Aleppo pepper (you can use sweet paprika if you can't find Aleppo pepper)

good olive oil

Preheat the oven to 475. Rub the monkfish with salt, pepper and Aleppo pepper. Coat with olive oil. Pour a little oil into a baking dish and heat it in the oven. When the oil is hot, add the monkfish. Cook about 15 minutes, until warm in the center (use a skewer to test it).

we ate the fish with beans & kale

Kaffir Lime Green Beans

This is a simple and unusual way to make green beans. It takes about 5 minutes.

Heat 1T oil in a non-stick pan. Add 1T lemongrass (paste or chopped fresh) and 3 dried chilies. Stir to combine. Add green beans and cook about 2 minutes, stirring to cook evenly. Turn off heat and stir in kaffir lime zest*. Serve.

*If you can't find kaffir limes, which look like tiny, bumpy, wrinkled limes, use kaffir lime leaves (easier to find year-round) cut into a very fine chiffonade and add them with the lemongrass and chilies.

Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

This entire dish comes together in thirty minutes but it's decadent and guest-worthy. It also features very few ingredients.

You'll need (serves 4):

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

5 shallots

8oz crimini mushrooms (about 2c)

1/2 vermouth

1c heavy whipping cream

2T olive oil

Preheat oven to its lowest possible temperature.

Mince shallots; set aside. Mince mushrooms (or chop coarsely, if you want a more prominent mushroom-ness to the dish) and set aside.

Slice each chicken breast in half to make 2 even-ish cutlets that are thinner than the original breast (so you'll be slicing them horizontally, if that makes sense). Place cutlets between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound so they're all of even thickness-- they should be about 1/2 inch thick at most. You can pound with a meat mallet or use the bottom of a heavy pan.

Heat olive oil in a heavy, wide skillet.  Salt and pepper the chicken cutlets and brown them in batches, being careful not to crowd the skillet. Once you lay the chicken down, don't move it or you won't achieve good browning. Flip chicken when one side is light golden and do the other side too. Place browned cutlets on a plate; when they're all cooked, put the plate in the oven to keep the chicken warm.

There should be a bit of oil left in the skillet; add the shallots and stir until the shallots turn golden. Add the mushrooms and cook until dark and liquid is released and evaporated, about 7 minutes. Add vermouth and reduce by half. Add cream and let boil over medium heat until reduced and thick. When it's as thick as you want it, put the chicken in the sauce and serve. We ate this with red-brown rice, and green beans which will be featured in a post soon.

Caramelized Garlic Pasta

This has to be one of the easiest, cheapest, tastiest things I've ever had. (Ok, some of you know I am prone to exaggeration. But still. Try it yourself.)  All the ingredients are things you probably have on hand, except for the arugula, which you can omit without losing the main flavor of this dish, which is the garlic.

You'll need (per person):

cooked pasta (you can use leftover pasta)

scant 1/4c olive oil

5 cloves garlic, minced (do not use a garlic press)

4 anchovies, chopped

red pepper flakes to taste

1t tomato paste (optional)

fresh breadcrumbs from 1 slice bread

large handful of arugula

In a large skillet (non-stick is fine here), add olive oil, garlic, anchovies, tomato paste and red pepper. Heat over low heat, stirring, until garlic turns pale golden, about 5 minutes (be careful not to let the garlic brown). Add breadcrumbs and stir to combine; add pasta and toss to coat.

Now turn off the heat and add arugula. Stir gently until leaves barely wilt. Serve!