thanksgiving part 1: the dinner

Having grown up in a Mexican household my idea of thanksgiving was always a little different from a typical holiday meal. Our “intimate” family dinner involves 3 to 4 families and in total it would be about 20 or more people. We usually use two dinner tables and eat in shifts so everyone can sit and enjoy the meal. Our spread consists of the traditional turkey, potatoes, stuffing and casseroles, but to this add pork stewed in chile colorado, chiles rellenos, tortillas, rice and beans. For dessert: pumpkin pie and sweet potato casserole alongside flan and gelatina de leche.

This year, while I did miss my family very much, I was also very fortunate to have spent Thanksgiving with Drew’s family. It was a complete change to what I was used to: dinner for five, everyone eating together and a more traditional midwestern dinner complete with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie and other sides like jell-o salad and sweet potato casserole. Throughout the day I had the pleasure of working with Drew’s mom in the kitchen, showing off some of my holiday cooking chops while learning a few new recipes and stories along the way.

As we had the honor of hosting dinner, I took charge of handling the turkey, gravy and potatoes while assisting with the other side dishes. I also prepared what I called a reverse pumpkin pie which basically consists of a creme brulee with pumpkin mousse.

For the turkey I prepared a compound butter of rosemary, thyme, parsley, garlic, pepper and orange zest. Using a food processor I made sure all the ingredients were finely chopped, using a bit of olive oil to help the ingredients along. I added this mixture to a softened stick of butter and rubbed all over the turkey, making sure to get some butter under the skin of the breast as well.

I then proceeded to stuff the turkey with orange, lemon, thyme, rosemary, garlic cloves, white onion and a couple of bay leaves. I wanted to get enough flavor and moisture going through the bird as possible. Drew’s mom brought with her a clay roaster that she has used for various years. The roaster is first soaked in water, then turkey is placed in the base and covered before going into the oven. This was my first time using a clay roaster and I must say the results are quite amazing. There is no need to even open the oven door for the entire cooking time; it just cooks in the roaster. The meat comes out moist and the skin is perfectly browned.

I utilized the drippings from the roaster along with some chicken broth to put together the gravy. I simmered the broth and drippings in a sauce pan while I prepared a roux using a bit of flour and a few tablespoons of turkey fat. I added the roux to the liquid and heated until it thickened. To prepare the potatoes I simply boiled russet potatoes and mashed with heavy cream, butter and salt.

There were various side dishes that we ate along with dinner. We had stuffing which was bread crumbs mixed with celery poultry seasoning and a bit of chicken broth, then baked through. The sweet potato casserole was a delicious mix of sweet potatoes, eggs, brown sugar and cream that was baked in the oven.  We also had a cranberry salad which went well with the turkey and a creamy cherry jell-o salad with fruit. 

For dessert I prepared a reverse pumpkin pie. I must give the credit for this one to Drew and his undying love of creme brulee. The idea here is that what would normally be vanilla whipped cream is our pie while the pumpkin filling is actually our whipped cream. The vanilla creme brulee portion serves as our base or pie with burnt sugar as the crust. To top the dessert I prepared a pumpkin flavored mousse that would serve as the whipped cream topping.

The creme brulee was a mix of heavy cream, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla, baked then chilled. To prepare the whipped cream I combined half and half, pureed pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. I chilled this mixture and used the ISI machine to create a mousse. Right before serving I sprinkled sugar on the creme brulee and used a torch to form the crust. I served a healthy portion of pumpkin mousse on the side and dessert was served.

Our small group of five had a big meal and my initial culture shock was soon eased with lots of laughter, conversation, and food. I was glad the turkey was enjoyed by all and that the meal overall went over so well. As we went around the table we expressed what we were most thankful for, I shared that I was thankful for Drew and the opportunity for us to be together for the first time with his family on such a special day.

I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving, and if you have any memories of this year’s dinner that you’d like to share, I would love to hear about it!

thanksgiving eve!

So I have my items set aside that I will be working on tonight in preparation for tomorrow.  In order to offer a preview of sorts, this is what I am working on:

compound butter of rosemary, thyme, garlic, and orange zest to rub on the turkey
roasting turkey neck in the oven and, then simmering in chicken broth with the giblets for the gravy
preparing a special "pumpkin pie" of sorts that will be chilling in the fridge overnight (more on this later).

I decided to go with the traditional method of buttering up the turkey and occasionally basting while cooking.  I thought about brining but decided against it mostly due to timing, but I also wanted something to compare against the "traditional" method so I will definitely try this next year.  I plan on reducing a mixture of chicken broth, butter, orange juice and honey to create a glaze on my turkey.  I'm hoping it works out given that turkey is my favorite part of the meal.

On that topic what is your favorite Thanksgiving food/drink/recipe? What do you enjoy doing with the leftovers? I'd love to hear about it, let me know and have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

shepard's pie

Things are starting to get pretty chilly here in Chicago, so this weekend I chose to make a hearty and comforting dish.  Shepard's pie seemed like the perfect choice.  How can you argue with rich beefy goodness underneath mashed potatoes?

For my version of shepard's pie I used ground beef and ground lamb.  I used ground beef with a higher fat content to go with the leaner ground lamb.  The rest of my ingredients for the filling were white onion, garlic, diced carrots, diced celery and peas.  I began by sauteeing the ground beef and lamb with the onion and garlic until browned.  I then added carrots and celery and cooked for a few more minutes.  I used frozen peas so I stirred these in last so they can maintain their snap.  I didn't want to begin cooking them so they can maintain their snap once out of the oven.

To thicken the filling one usually uses a brown gravy, for my version I decided to sprinkle a few spoonfuls of flour to the filling and stirred until it was incorporated.  I then poured about a cup and a half of Three Floyds Black Sun Stout and cooked in the pan for a few minutes until slightly thickened.  The coffee, chocolate smoky notes are reminiscent of an Irish stout but hoppier and can be a bit refreshing.  This paired very well with the filling and complimented the rich beefiness.  This is definitely a beer I should suggest, along with pretty much any Three Floyds beer (http://www.3floyds.com).

For the topping I decided to go with do a cheddar mashed potatoes using 2 year aged white cheddar.  I boiled the potatoes till fork tender and peeled about half of them.  The reason I did this is because I wanted to keep some of the skins for flavor and texture but I also wanted to assure that the potatoes were relatively smooth and creamy.  I mashed the potatoes with heavy cream, a couple of tablespoons of butter and  a couple handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese.  I mash/stirred this combination for a bit to get as many lumps out as possible.

I poured the meat filling into a large baking dish.  Using a spatula I evenly spread a layer of mashed potatoes over the meat and placed in a 350 degree oven for an hour.  I cooked the shepard's pie uncovered in order to brown some of the mashed potatoes on top.

This was a very filling and warming meal.  The meat mixture thickened a bit and the stout imparted its flavor and richness.  In addition to a good cheddar flavor, the potatoes formed a nice crust on top.

a great dinner with friends

This weekend our dear friends Justin and Amy came over for dinner and I wanted to prepare something special.  I was wracking my brain for a few days trying to come up with an idea, then one day on the drive home from work I heard a piece on NPR about a recipe for stuffed pumpkin.  The original recipe called for pumpkin stuffed with breadcrumbs, bacon, and cheese, topped with heavy cream and nutmeg and baked in the oven.  This sounded pretty amazing so I wanted to make my own interpretation.  For my version I utilized acorn squash, they were the perfect size for individual servings.  Since in my last post I did a recipe for stuffed calabacita, I decided to use this as the stuffing for my squash, along with rice and manchego cheese.  To serve along with the pumpkin I prepared an arugula salad with roasted beets, roasted fresh chick peas and goat cheese.

To prepare the squash I first took 4 fresh acorn squash and sliced a tiny bit off the bottom, making sure not to cut through to the cavity of the squash, so that they can stand upright.  I then proceeded to cut the tops off the squash to create an opening to the inner cavity. Using a spoon I gutted the squash, taking out all the seeds and fibrous material to prepare it for the stuffing.

The stuffing consisted of diced calabacita, rice, manchego cheese, knob onions and garlic.  I tossed all these ingredients in a bowl with salt and pepper and stuffed into the squash.  I filled the squash with a combination of heavy cream, vegetable broth that I reduced by half and nutmeg.  This serves as the liquid base which will cook through the rice as well as make for a rich flavorful stuffing.

I covered the squash with their respective tops in the oven for 3 hours until the squash cooked through and the majority of the liquid was absorbed.  I removed from the oven, sprinkled shredded manchego cheese over the top and placed back in the oven for another 15 minutes until the cheese was melted and golden brown.  

For the arugula salad, I began by preparing the vegetables.  At my local produce market, I found some fresh chick peas.  I never worked with these before but I had heard that you can roast them and they that they have a rich nutty flavor, somewhat similar to edamame.  I also purchased some beets which I peeled and chopped before placing on a baking sheet with the chick peas (shell on) to roast.  I roasted both vegetables in the oven for about 45minutes, occasionally moving the chick peas to make sure they don’t burn on one end.

chickpeas and beets, together at last!

Once the vegetables cooled, I shelled the chick peas and I combined them along with the beets in a large bowl.  I added a few handfuls of arugula and I tossed the salad in a simple vinaigrette I prepared with lemon, honey and olive oil.  I served the salad on individual plates and topped with goat cheese.

The squash was the perfect warming, comforting dish for our cozy dinner together.  The stuffing was rich, creamy and the rice cooked through quite nicely.  The squash went well with stuffing and the nutmeg tied all the flavors together.  Despite the 3 hours in the oven, the dish overall is fairly easy to make and the results are well worth the wait.  The salad was a nice addition to break up the richness of the squash dish.  The chickpeas added a bit of texture and nuttiness that went well with the beets and goat cheese while the arugula and lemon vinaigrette added a bit of freshness and bite. 

We had a great night with our friends filled with interesting conversation and plenty of laughter.  I feel truly honored to be able to cook for my friends, have a few beers and spend a wonderful evening together.

calabacitas rellenas

Calabacitas are what I can best describe as a mexican zucchini, though the name calabacita literally translates to "small pumpkin".  Calabacita tends to be shorter and more rounded at the bottom than a regular zucchini and is used quite frequently in Mexican cuisine.  I always think of calabacita sauteed with tomatoes, mushrooms and chicken, perfect filling for a tortilla. 

Another popular preparation for calabacita is stuffed with vegetables, chicken and cheese.  For my version I chose to stuff the calabacita with a basic picadillo: ground beef cooked with potatoes and peas.  Normally a picadillo would also contain raisins, but I did not happen to have any at the time.

To add spice to the picadillo I used a dried red jalapeño.  This weekend I visited my parents house and noticed that my dad had an abundance of dried piquín, serrano, habanero and jalapeño peppers.  I decided to take advantage of my dad's love of chiles and took a few.  I felt that the dried jalapeño had an aroma and texture similar to that of a sun dried tomato, but very very hot, a perfect addition to my dish.

assorted chiles

red dried jalapeño

To prepare the picadillo, I sauteed the ground beef with onion, garlic and the dried jalapeño.  I cooked the beef until browned and added finely diced potato and peas towards the end to avoid overcooking in the oven.

I split each calabacita in half and using a spoon I hollowed out the vegetable , taking out mostly the seeds.

I placed the calabacitas in a baking dish and stuffed each one with my picadillo.  I used queso fresco to sprinkle over the top before placing in the oven.

I baked in the oven until the calabacitas were fork tender.  The queso fresco is not really a melting cheese but it formed a nice crust on top.

To serve the calabacitas I made a quick sauce by placing avocado, crema mexicana, and hot sauce in a food processor and blending until smooth.  The dish overall was very tasty, the beef went well with the taste of the calabacita and the jalapeño added the right amount of heat.