Floored

Speaking of Domesticity, which, somewhat eerily, we still seem to be doing - and with zeal - I'd like to give a shout out to my proto-Dining Room. Because now we have one. And just in time, I might add, for Christmas with the 'Rents and all the delicious eats that sort of activity entails, many of which are far too complicated to really enjoy on laps.

In laps, maybe.

But not on laps.

Perhaps you remember this?

I won't elaborate on what's going through his head right now.

Da da DAAA. Still needs to be finished, but you get the idea.

Ahh, so cozy...










Ooh! OOH! And we got a new table. With a bottle opener on the leg.







It's totally Christmas already, isn't it?

Stove Love

Perhaps a Theme is developing here. Perhaps not. If it is, it seems to revolve largely around domesticity, which would be disturbing if I didn't enjoy nurturing my inner housewife so freakin' much (spur-of-the-moment scratch pudding, anyone?).

For instance, I am HIGHLY excited about my new stove. Not only because it has five, count them five, functional burners, including a warming burner, but also because it
A. is black.
B. doesn't smell like stale grease. Or burned eggs. Or whatever it was exactly that the old one smelled like. So far.
C. was on sale.
D. has a timer -- and it's not one of those old-school turn-ey timers that you can never adjust quite right and produces this horrible stuttery buzzing sound when you least expect it usually right after you've realized that everything has already burned and then you can't figure out how to make it stop. Nossir, it's electronic.
E. has temperature control knobs with labels that seem to reasonably correlate with the actual temperatures it produces.
F. has dual burners. Two of them.
G. has a window. That you can see through.

It's not the fanciest of the fancies, and it is electric with that weird smooth glass top I really can't seem to get used to, but I can forgive it after the two of us seamlessly melded to produce a Thanksgiving Day Feast Extraordinaire last week.

Well, what I mean is that the turkey was almost completely cooked through and the brussels sprouts were only charred because they were supposed to be. What I mean is that we're a well-oiled machine.

Or at least my new stove is.

Foiled Again

Got off to a slow start with the Thanksgiving cooking last night.

I went to make the Grand Marnier cranberry sauce, which in my house is called Triple Sec cranberry sauce. And promptly forgot what is apparently the most important step in the process: covering the baking dish with foil. (I also forgot to add this step to the recipe below and have since remedied the situation.)

Anyway, one bag of cranberries (how did I know to buy an extra bag last Sunday? How? And why does this type of foresight never hit in my daily life?), a cup and a half of pricey organic sugar bought in a fit of laziness three weeks ago, and a little orange juice concentrate later, I ended up with a congealed mess of semi-softened cranberries in a sea of gloppy melted sugar. Mmm.

And yet, somehow, this time, everything's really okay. I fortuitously bought an extra bag of cranberries - really, this NEVER happens to me - and two bags of sugar(conveniently cheaper than one at Safeway) and of course I have a whole can of orange juice concentrate in the freezer that I wasn't sure how to use up other than by making orange juice which I will never do. So I'm not even mad. And I kind of feel better knowing that the foil has a real purpose.

It's a Delicious, Delicious, Delicious Time of Year

I can't make them all, as we've determined. But I can share a handful of recipes that I've done in the past in the hopes that someone else will make them. So without further ado, J's favorite Thanksgiving recipes are presented below with a cross-my-heart that they are absolutely delicious (a point I believe I clearly made above). Oh, and I fully expect Wingal to produce the Sweet Potato Gnocchi - stat.


Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce (from Bon Appetit, March 1995) (Makes 2 cups; can be made 3 days ahead)

I will be making this one. It has a tendency to spill out of its dish in the oven, so if anyone else makes it, use a taller dish, set a pan underneath it, or get your yelling voice ready.

1 12-oz package of fresh cranberries
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier (I use Triple Sec)

Preheat oven to 325. Put cranberries in a 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish. Sprinkle with sugar and then orange juice concentrate. (11/22/06: Uh oh - forgot this very important part: COVER TIGHTLY WITH FOIL). Bake until juices form and cranberries are very soft - about 1 hour. Uncover. Mix in liquor. Cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 4 hours. Keep chilled.

Cranberry and Dried-Cherry Sauce (Bon Appetit, November 2002) (Makes about 4 cups; can be made 1 week ahead)

Also delicious, for those who prefer their condiments non-alcoholic. (Although incidentally, and sort of ironically, a spoonful of frozen cranberry juice cocktail stirred into your mimosa as you make this...? Priceless.)

1 12-oz container of frozen cranberry juice cocktail
1 cup water
1 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 6-oz package dried tart cherries
1 12-oz bag fresh cranberries (I used frozen once because Safeway didn't get on the cranberry horse until about two days before T-Day. As I'm sure you can guess, it can be done, but I recommend fresh)

Bring first 5 ingredients to boil in a medium saucepan over med-hi heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add cherries; cook two minutes. Add cranberries; cook until berries pop, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes (where do they come up with these times? I think it took a while longer for me.) Transfer to a bowl. Cover and chill overnight. Keep chilled. Discard cinnamon before serving cold or at room temp.

Baked Spiced Butternut Squash with Apples and Maple Syrup (Epicurious.com) (Servces 8 to 10; can be made 1 day ahead)

Someone thought this was the sweet potato dish the first year I made it. He hates sweet potatoes but he had thirds on this. So...there you go.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (plus some to butter dish)
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup apple juice
1 teaspoon gound cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 small butternut squashes, peeled (ugh), halved, cored, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (argh) (If you're not a man and you have one around, make him cut these suckers. Seriously.)
4 6-oz Granny Smith apples, peeled, halved, cored, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

Preheat oven to 400. Butter a 13x9x2 inch glass baking dish. Stir butter, maple syrup and apple juice in small saucepan over med-low heat until butter melts. Increase heat and boil until mixture is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in cinnamon, allspice, and salt.

Arrange 1/3 of squash slices in prepared dish. Top with half of apple slices, then 1/3 of squash slices. Arrange remaining squash and apple in layers, alternating as you go and overlapping slightly. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Pour maple syrup over everything and cover dish tightly with foil.

Bake until squash is almost tender, about 50 minutes (or, if you own my stove, for days. God.) Remove foil and bake until squash is tender, basting occasionally with syrup, about 20 minutes longer. Keep in fridge covered with foil. Rewarm, covered, in 350 oven for about 25 minutes or microwave on high about 8 minutes. Spoon syrup from dish over vegetables and serve.


I have two turkey recipes that I want to share because yes, I'm a goober, but I'm going to curb my desires and only write down the short one that makes an entire (moist and bacon-covered) turkey. If you want the recipe for Roasted Turkey Breast with Spiced Cranberry Glaze (Julie, I'm looking at you), let me know.

Tyler's Maple-Roasted Turkey (somebody named Tyler - maybe from Gourmet or Food and Wine, 2005) (Makes 1 turkey, feeds several; roasts for 3 to 3 1/2 hours)

This was the first (and to date the only) whole turkey I ever cooked and, no offense to anyone's mother, but at least three people (I was not one of them, Mom!) that night uttered the words: "It's so...moist. My mom's was never this moist." Anyway, I credit the recipe for the non-dryness of the bird - and the hours of basting. And the carpal tunnel. Kidding. It's actually not hard to make one of these.

2 sticks of softened butter
half a bunch of chopped fresh sage
pinch of sea salt
pinch of pepper
1 large chopped onion
one 1 1/2 lb loaf of cornbread torn into large crumbs
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup heavy cream
a little chicken broth
1 12-14 lb turkey
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup maple syrup mixed with 2 tablespoons hot water to make a glaze
8 strips of bacon (after all, what's a turkey without bacon?)

Preheat oven to 350. Combine butter, sage, and salt and pepper. Saute chopped onion in half of the sage butter until golden. Mix the sauteed onion with the cornbread and then mix in the beaten egg, cream, and some chicken broth to moisten.

Rinse the turkey. Do what you have to do with it, or make someone else do it. (One year we made the vegetarian do it. Which made it a lot more fun.) Pat it dry and sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper. Carefully separate the skin (leaving it on) from the breast and smear the remaining sage butter underneath. Stuff the bird with the cornbread mixture and roast it for 30 minutes. Add 1 cup chicken broth to pan. Baste turkey with maple glaze Continue roasting, basting with maple glaze every 30 minutes for 1 1/2 hours. Cover turkey with strips of bacon and keep roasting and basting until the thigh meat reaches 175 degrees, 1 to 1 1/2 hours later.


And finally, the recipe I'm sure no one will actually make, but which will seriously impress people (especially if you can learn how to pronounce it):

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Pecans and Brown Butter (Food and Wine, November 2005) (Serves 10; can be prepared through Step 4, covered with platic wrap, and refrigerated overnight)

Raphael and I had this last year with the Spiced Cranberry Turkey Breast alluded to above, and lemon-and-pine-nut green beans. It was an amazing little meal.

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons kosher salt (or whatever)
3 baking potatoes (1 1/2 lbs)
2 med sweet potatoes (1 lb)
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup pecan halves, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 375. Spread 1 1/2 cups salt on a baking sheet. Set potatoes on the salt and bake for 1 hour or until tender. Let cool.

2. Peel all baked potatoes. Work them through a ricer (Right. I have a ricer. Just squish them with a masher.) into a large bowl. Mix in remaining 2 tablespoons salt, egg yolks, and 1 1/2 cups flour. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead 3 or 4 times. Add more flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Cut the dough into 6 pieces and cover with a barely damp kitchen towel.

3. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Working with 1 piece at a time, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 3/4- inch-thick rope. Cut the rope into 1/2 inch lengths. Using your thumb, roll each piece along the back of the tines of a fork to make indentations. Transfer gnocchi to a lightly floured baking sheet.

4. Salt the boiling water. Add 1/3 of the gnocchi and stir gently until they begin to rise to the surface, then cook until just tender, about 1 minute longer. Using a slotted spoon, transfer gnocchi to the ice water, then drain well on paper towels. Repeat with remaining gnocchi. In a large bowl, toss gnocchi with olive oil. Spread on 2 baking sheets.

5. In a very large (they're not kidding) skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Cook the butter over moderate heat until it begins to brown, about 1 minute. Add 1/3 of the pecans and cook, stirring, until toasted, about 2 minutes. Add 1/3 of the gnocchi and cook until golden brown and warmed through; transfer to a bowl. Repeat with remaining butter, pecans, and gnocchi in two more batches. Serve immediately.

So Many Options, So Few Functional Burners

I'm currently working on my Thanksgiving menu. I've got it narrowed down to:

2 turkey dishes
4 potato dishes
6 vegetable dishes
4 types of bread
2 types of stuffing
gnocchi
2 types of pie
spiced coffee
and
a new stove

Oy Vey, Conquistador

Frankly, I think it's time to cultivate a little damn focus around here.

The last couple of months have really seen very little in terms of blog development in this particular little backwater of cyberspace. I've got no Direction, no Theme, levels of readership that might be better described as "Mom and Wingal (with a smattering of Aunt Linda if I'm not mistaken)," and only the occasional flash of inspiration which typically results in impassioned odes to various types of food.

In order to better apply myself as a blogger and not waste your time, dear reader - by which I mean "Mom" - it seems reasonable to begin by exploring a few fundamental questions:

Question #1: Who is my audience?

Discussion: Mom. And Wingal. Not that there's anything wrong with that. This is not Bridget Jones, after all. But maybe you see my problem. A blog is a strange beast. Am I writing for myself? Am I writing for the Fam? Or am I writing for the seemingly ubiquitous student of medieval literature with an affinity for shoes, cows, and...right. I'll stop there.

My main point here is that, even if only two other people are involved in this thing, the range of personalities we're talking about spans a chasm that frankly looks to be pretty deep with a pile of rock-climbers at the bottom that you can hardly make out because they're so far down there. And there's a Cave Troll.

Although come to think of it, the common denominator might just be that thing with the cows. Because I know you have it too, Mom. So maybe I should just focus on that.

Something Moo'ed Different, perhaps?

Question #2: Do I need a theme?

Discussion: Does anyone need a theme? Yes, of course they do. Wingal has a theme: Perpetual Student of Medieval Literature who Daily Provides Brilliant and Humorous Anecdotes about her Trials and Tribulations that Make Me Snort Things Out of Various Orifices. Mom has a theme: Mom. Even Gato has a theme: Cat That Lives on the Porch and Regularly Eats Us Out of Tuna Fish, the Most Expensive Cat Food in the World. Although he doesn't have a blog.

So the real question becomes: "What is my theme?" Or maybe "What is my theme?"

And I'm unwilling to commit to the obvious ones.

Question #3 (and #4): What Direction are we headed in? Why am I writing here at all?

Discussion: ...Tomorrow the world!

Ha Ha. I'm only kidding of course.

After thinking carefully ("sleeping on it and then considering it groggily over coffee for a few minutes"), I've realized a couple of things:

1. I'm concerned about where this boat is headed because I don't want to fall into the trap of writing about lunch. Unless lunch was unexpectedly interesting. And really it's usually not. I want to write things that people find at least mildly entertaining, if not downright compelling, which seems like a stretch. I could stick to my so-1980s clothbound journals, but I apparently have some sort of desire to reach out to the community. So determining the direction of the boat is really for you. So you know we're getting somewhere.

2. Why write at all if not as a sort of exploration of the world? For someone who feels like they have nothing to say, I notice that I sure come up with an awful lot of words. It's probably about time to put them to work. So the New Plan is to focus on exploring various topics in a meaningful, at least mildly entertaining, and often grammatically correct sort of way. Interspersed with impassioned odes to food, of course. (I have my fans to think of.) Maybe I really can use this blog as a tool to improve my writing, particularly in terms of content and organization. That could be my Direction.

Now we're getting somewhere.

3. I do need a Theme. In fact, I'm going to start a Great Exploration in order to clarify my Theme. Eventually, we're all going to be able to sit around at lunch and opine: "Oh, Something Made Different - that's that blog where that chick discusses (insert Theme here). I just think she's the awesome-ist."

And presumably that sort of conversation-starter will commence exactly the sort of conversation that might just make lunch interesting enough to talk about later. On my blog.

That Luscious, Spooky Feeling

I adore Halloween. Always have. And maybe it's part of the innate mystery of the holiday itself that I have never been able to figure out exactly why. Counter-intuitively, the costumes and the candy weren't what hooked me, although we all know I'd never turn my back on either one. But drama and sugar aren't it this time.

As a kid, I spent all year long writing stories about that single spooky night when the moon swelled and the night below got darker and thicker, trying to recapture the deliciously eerie feeling, the whatever-it-was that intrigued me so much about that one spookalicious night out of 365.

To this day, when night falls on Halloween, I light jack-o-lanterns with relish and search the darkened streets for the tell-tale bobbing lights of trick-or-treaters. I love the caramelized smell of burning pumpkin, the rustling swirl of leaves (or maybe unseen witches) upswept on hidden breaths of chill autumn air, the noise from down the street that just might turn out to be a werewolf...or something more sinister.

Maybe that's all I need to know, anyway. That Halloween scents the air was the unfamiliar, the unexpected, the unknown. While every other night out of the year falls gently and with a familiar softness, Halloween comes along and shakes you up a little, nudges you into winter with a little bit of a wicked laugh, a naughty grin.

Keep alert, don't get too cozy there by the fire. You never know what might be lurking in the darkness beyond the flames.