cooking @ home

Archive for the ‘Sides’ Category

©2008 Harry Kenney

Cooks are generally pretty imaginative. That said, when something gets popular, everyone jumps on the bandwagon. In the last few years we’ve seen the big bulsamic vinegar craze, and then there was the Parmesano Reggiano fad, and of course romaine has long replaced the boring iceberg lettuce as the salad staple. The first one is still going, though I see some chefs lately such as Bobby Flay starting to use sherry vinegar instead; and as for grated cheese, it seems of late Pecorino Romano is the food world’s “new black”.

What brings this up? Especially in terms of this particular dish? Well while there’s not too much wrong with everyone jumping on a bandwagon (well, there is to some degree), the thing is few people seem to know when to jump off that wagon, not even when it’s been run into the ground. And that brings me to the mango. Like most people I enjoy it, and yes, I’m sure I will use mango in future recipes just as I have in the past. But, please folks, there is a world beyond. In short, the wide-spread massive over-use of the mango to the exclusion of everything else stops here.

Now I am in no way insisting on an embargo of any kind. I just have to say, hey, there are other fruits in this world. There’s other delicious tropical fruits. You actually can make a salsa — believe it or not — without having to use mango in it every single time! (Ok, are you getting the idea that I’ve been “mango-ed out”? I’m even getting sick of using the word.) Amazingly, the, um … “M” craze has been going on for way far longer than the Parmesan Reggiano or bulsamic crazes. Unlike them there seems to be no stopping it. Again, except for right here, right now.

I say venture forth and discover the other delicious delicacies out there: guava, passion fruit, kiwi, papaya …. Even something more exotic like the pomegranate, or more commonplace such as the lately-unappreciated pineapple. And so, I present to you a dish I’m actually tempted to label “NOT Another Mango Salsa”. This is pretty much a “nouveau” salsa (not that traditional). Though having said that it is somewhat reminiscent of pico de gallo, and I’m referring to the Mexican version not the Spanish version. Note this salsa is also refreshingly devoid of tomato too. No mango and no tomato in a salsa? Stop me, I’m a madman! LOL!

I made this with the fish I had a few nights ago (that recipe will be up shortly), and what I had left over a couple days later I had along side my steak (another recipe you’ll see very soon) and it went great with both. Note, neither of these dishes were Mexican, so to say salsa must accompany only a Mexican or Southwestern dish is, well, like saying you have to use mango all time. It’s a rut that needs to be overcome.

So, you want something nice and a bit different as a side? It’s cool respite from the rest of warm and hot food on the plate. It’s fresh, it’s tangy, and it’s got a little touch of heat counterbalanced with that touch of sweetness. You’ll definitely enjoy this tropical fruit salsa with a variety of different dishes. Which ones? Well, I gave you a few pointers already, but — as with trying out different tropical fruit flavors — I leave whatever other dishes this goes with up to your own exploration. Enjoy the ride. That’s the fun part of eating and cooking.

Chunky Tropical Fruit Salsa
©2008 Harry Kenney

1/4 cup fresh papaya, chunked (or use canned)
1/4 cup fresh pineapple, chunked (or use canned)
1/2 large jalapeño, devaned, deseeded, chopped
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chooped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped fine (cannot use dried!)
2 tbsps grated fresh ginger (or ginger powder)
2 tbsps fresh lime juice
olive oil

Mix everything together. Put enough olive oil in have a nice coat, but this is not a dressing, not a vinaigrette, so err on the conservative side. Put in refrigerator at least half hour before serving so all the ingredients blend together well. Stir mix before poritioning out on plates. This side dish can be served cold, chilled or even (see note at end) at room temperature. Makes four portions.

Note: for health issues, don’t let at room temperature for an extended amount of time. This doesn’t just pertain to this dish. The assumption that food in an acidic (lime juice in this case) solution means it’s impervious to bacteria is not correct. Short period of time, again, as with any food, is fine. This isn’t to scare you, just educate. Use your head and you’ll be fine.

©2008 Harry Kenney

Chefs are funny people. Normally they’re drawn to foods that are inherently flavorful. Sometimes, as a challenge I think, they are also drawn to things not so flavorful, but which if cooked a certain way can be made tasty and tender. Meats that are very lean such as rabbit or venison which need long time cooking and often a fat added to them come to mind.

Then there are these foods such as couscous and polenta which basically are, well, by themselves quite bland — and in recent years top chefs go nuts over it. Apparently because they can infuse taste to them. I sorta get it and I sorta don’t …. depends upon the food, the technique, the time it takes and my mood for that day. All of that said, of course this polenta is indeed tasty. For me the taste infusion comes from the long roast, browning and carmalization, and adding cheese that does it.

A quicky lesson on what polenta is and where it comes from. Yes, it’s definitely Italian. But not solely. It’s often referred to as Italian grits, and I’ve seen on television where cooks have taken either a southern grits recipe and “Italianized” it, and vica versa. Both are made from cornmeal, polenta from boiled cornmeal and is often classified as a “maize-based porridge”. According to Wikipedia, polenta under various other names is popular in many cuisines of many countries including such diverse and far-flung (from each other) countries as Cuba, Hungary, Georgia, Corsica, Peru, Mexico, Switzerland.

When it can be found in American supermarkets (which more often it can), it is either as stone-ground or coarse cornmeal which you can make into polenta, or a prepackaged “instant” polenta or the way I found it, as a premade tube or log infused with herbs. The tube I picked up was basil and garlic polenta. Of all the cooks out there, this seems to most often be found in Rachel Ray recipes. (Giada sometimes does instant and Mario of course has to make it from scratch).

Alright, enough history of this former “peasant food” now turned “premium product” and darling of cooks everywhere. Give this a whirl. Do I like it? Yes. Is it a bit of work when someone else might as easily suffice? Yes. But as said before, same can be said of couscous. Maybe it’s me, but when plain white rice with a little butter, salt and pepper tastes just great, and you either jazz it up or not, I’m not sure if these other bland-tasting grain products are necessarily worth the extra effort.

Does that mean polenta “whelms” me? Not necessarily. It tastes good. Especially when you go through the necessary motions and techniques and add tomato sauces or cheese or whatever. Anyway it is different and I do welcome a change from the “same old same old”. And yes, I’m betting you will indeed find this a very tasty and easy way to enjoy polenta, a nice and different side dish, especially to something else Italian. Bon appetito.

Toasted Polenta Cheese Rounds
©2008 Harry Kenney

1 lb prepackaged tube of polenta (or herbed polenta)
olive oil
salt
pepper
grated parmegan

Preheat oven to 375°F. Slice polenta log into 1/4 inch pieces. Put olive oil on both sides and season. Place on baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Place on top shelf of oven for 45-50 minutes until it starts to brown. Take out, liberally top each with grated parmegan. Place back in oven 10-15 minutes until cheese starts to brown. Makes 12-16 quarter-inch thick by roughly two-inch diameter rounds. About 3-4 servings.

©2008 Harry Kenney

So how do I follow up a recipe on prime rib? Why, this way. Am I crazy? Like a fox. How can I top prime rib? How does a successful recording artist top a monster selling album? The same way. You don’t. You go different. And that’s the thing here at cooking @ home …. It’s home cooking. And that runs the gamet. Or at least it should. You might see on this page prime rib and stuffed mushrooms, but you might also see french fries and meatloaf and beef stew.

Home cooking doesn’t have to be “plebian” for lack of a better word. It can be (although I have problems with this word too) “gourmet”. On the same note it doesn’t have to be all gourmet either. It’s all of it. Why? Because that’s exactly what cooking at home means. You — and I — are doing this at home, and we might have hot dogs and soup one day and filet mignon with a panna cotta dessert the following. Same person cooking, same kitchen. We can and we should do what we want, and that is from simple everyday meals up to five-star dining. At home. And on that note …

I am a bread eater. One of those who’s always loved bread and butter with a meal. (Mind you, in this circumstance I actually mean spreadable margarine). Just always loved “the sauce” or “the gravy” and I’ve always enjoyed scooping up, sopping or just plain having along side a pasta dish or a stew, bread and butter or roll and butter. Maybe that’s a working man’s blue collar thing? I have no idea.

That said though, there was a very trendy, way ahead of it’s time salad place in Reading Terminal Market in Center City Philadelphia about 15 years ago or more. I was working down there and would often go to “the salad lady” for my lunch. Imagine someone who was making pasta and rice salads before you ever heard of such things. Seriously. What is now more or less “average” fare that can be gotten at a fancy super market deli section, when The Salad Lady’s place was there in the Market, it was relatively unique.

I bring this up because she always gave away slices of different homemade breads (yes buttered, and in her case it meant real butter, btw) with every salad meal (provided you wanted it of course). So, ok, I guess she was the Salad and Bread Lady then. Point is, if she was ahead of her time — and she was — accompanying bread with a salad was in a way “chi-chi” …. And you can’t be chi-chi and blue collar at the same time, can you?

Which brings me back to my quickie garlic bread. Because I get such enjoyment at having bread — and garlic bread especially — and mine especially because it is rarely “just garlic” — my garlic bread is always garlic and cheese bread — I like to have it often. And to me, the oven or the broiler is just too much work. Mostly because if you take your eye off of it for a moment, wham, it’s burnt.

This is ovenless, broiler-less garlic bread, using two of my favorite cooking tools that folks so under use — the toaster and the microwave. Basically, I make mine as though I had a toaster oven (which I don’t). Why do it this way? It’s quick. Is it that much quicker than the oven? Hmm. Probably not in one way. But then the difference to me between four minutes and (when you include pre-heating, twelve minutes … Let’s put it this way, it’s not a lot of time difference but it is still three times faster.

Most importantly I can see what’s happening. There’s a greater amount of control, partly due to the incremental stages I have set up and the fact that things will automatically shut off at those stages. It’s essentially, no-fail. Whereas with the broiler method (and to a slightly lesser extent the oven method), should you misjudge by as little as half-a-minute, you can turn broiler garlic bread into blackened garbage. So you went frantic and you wasted 12 minutes while holding up dinner. Plus, if you still want it, you have to redo from scratch again, while the rest of your meal goes cold. Which means you probably will not bother to redo your smouldering garlic bread afterall.

Since this dish is basically an extra side to my main meal, it means I’m already running around the kitchen doing the last minute cooking and setting up to serve stuff when I’m making this. And at that time it’s very easy to forget something in a broiler. My way, things don’t get out of control. Plus it’s four minutes. Mind you this even works if you’re in a pinch with white bread toasted and put into the microwave, but natch, rolls are ten times better.

So, all of this said, I do it this way pretty much to have it more often. Would I serve this to a bunch of guests? Probably not. Two reasons, one, the oven or broiler is going to be better, by far — but with the caveat that you keep a very close eye to it and really watch it. Second, my toaster meets microwave works because it’s for one or two people. You cannot fit more than two atop the toaster nor in the microwave at a time. With guests, even if its a total of four people, you can fit the bread onto a baking sheet easily. So easily you could make garlic bread for six or even 12 people at one time in the oven (maybe 6 in the broiler). The question then is would I do it this quickie way for guests? No firstly because it’s impossible, but also if were it somehow possible (as though I had a giant toaster oven or five toasters plugged together or whatever sillyness you can think of) I’d still do it in the broiler because if would be better, and they are guests and I want to serve them the very best and it would be worth the effort. In fact for a bunch of folks, it would be simpler making them all at once too. The dynamics in that respect would have changed.

But for everyday, for having it often, for the taste and the three times faster and the no-fail, won’t burn, control of it. Yep I like my quickie garlic and cheese bread just fine. Hope you do too!

Quick Cheese and Garlic Bread
©2008 Harry Kenney

two long rolls, preferrably Italian
margarine
garlic powder
grated parmegan

Cut or open the rolls, place a top the toaster as though it were a grill. First we’ll toast the bottom of it. Now, no matter what setting or numbers are on your slider or knobs, think of them in fifths or percentages. Put your settings at 20% of what it should be. Place down the slots to turn the sides on and toast the bottom. When it pops up, turn the inside of the rolls to face down, put on another 40% (a total of 60%) dark and again push down the two slots. When they pop up, check the roll. If it’s getting toasted move it over an inch, if it’s still fairly white, leave where they are, now push the slider or knob to 100% darkness.

Have a paper tower ready in front of or next to the toaster. When the toaster pops the third time, take off the rolls, crust down, and butter them. Now liberally sprinkle on garlic powder to taste. Do the same if you wish with grated parmegan. You see the paper towel has a few functions, to catch the excess seasonings, to transport the rolls to and from the microwave as well as to serve as a bed that will stop the roll from getting soggy in the microwave. Now, place them in the microwave for about 45-55 seconds on high (based on an 1100 watt microwave, longer if you have a less powerful 600-800 microwave). When done, serve with your meal.

French fries. Another item that is so very “all-American”, yet, as with the people who populate the U.S., it came from elsewhere. We just popularized it. How can anyone not like the quintessential “fry”. It goes with everything. Like it’s cousin, the potato chip, you put it on the side of something else and it turns whatever it’s accompanying into a meal.

And name any other food in the world in which all women will say they don’t want, but when your meal comes with fries, they will eat a third of them from your plate! Admit it, ladies. Guys, you know this is true.

Different Names, Condiments, Toppings

In America, sometimes the fry replaces the potato chips (as with a sandwich or hot dog). Sometimes it’s replacing mashed or baked potatoes next to a pork chop or even a steak (as in steak fries or steak potatoes already mentioned). And sometimes we just eat them by themselves. Not to mention the endless possibilities of toppings that turns it into cheese fries, crab fries (Old Bay seasoning, not actual crab meat), chilli fries, pizza fries or Mexican fries to name a few. And there is curly, shoe-string (super thin) and steak (thicker) ones as the cuts of the potato and slightly different.

Of course there’s also the region differences. In the Northeast part of the US where I live, you eat them plain or with ketchup. And when I crossed the Mason-Dixon line a decade ago and took a trip to Baltimore, I was shocked to find my burger and fries came with brown gravy dumped on top. I quickly learned afterward, if you don’t say hold the gravy in Maryland, it comes automatically without asking for it. And if you go further South, well I know that Paula Deen the Georgian television cook likes them with mayonnaise.

And, of course, (sigh) as with any talk of food, if it’s in America, then sure enough the Brits call it and it’s relations by totally different names, totally confusing things and requiring yet another discussion of “two countries, one language” — or so they say. (Yes, I know, and if you’re British then your point of view is the exact opposite, that those Yanks always have to mess with the Queen’s English.)

Where They Came From

In the United States french fries are thin sticks of deep-fried potato. In the UK, Ireland and the various Commonwealth counties, they are called chips. Also the sizes, shapes and thicknesses vary. The US one is usually the “thin style” of roughly 1/4 inch or less widths and fairly even, though sometimes long. The UK chips tend to be thicker and often shorter. As to it’s “cousin”, in the US, thin oval slices of deep-fried potato are called potato chips, while the same in the UK are called crisps.

As to their origin, it is of course a matter of great debate. Though it seems the so-called French fry probably comes from Belgium. Among the questions though are, is it Belgium that was the Spanish Netherlands, the Belgium that was part of France or the Belgium that was, well, Belgium. And depending on which, the French and the Spanish also claim therefore that they made them first. Again, though, it’s America that both consumes the most, and who via various foreign hamburger chains, have made the thin-width, longer, skinner french fries the version the world tends to eat. What gives me a little chuckle is when an English-speaking chef refers to them as pommes frites in the title of a recipe; I always think their egos be a little flattened that day and so they want to call everyone’s attention to their classical “culinary chops”.

All of that history, names, type of cuts, condiment or food add-ons said, it comes down to deep-frying. Sort of. Deep-frying is how they should be done, though there is also oven-baked from frozen when it comes to home cooking. Today I’m talking about the deep-frying, which involves a whole totally different way of cooking. So much so, there’s no way I’m going to cram all of what is involved into one recipe or even a single article.

It’s About Oils and Deep-Frying

So, I advise you to check out my recent article on Everything You Need to Know about Cooking Oils for now. And I’ll be adding in the near future a second one on deep-frying which I suggest you look at when it’s available.

For now, I’ll say use a good cooking oil with a high-smoke point. I personally prefer canola, vegetable oil or peanut. You will need specific equipment for this if you do not have an electric deep-fryer: A big pot that is stainless steel or cast iron or otherwise “non-reactive”, a deep fry or candy thermometer is a must, and either a spider (usually stainless steel or copper and looks a bit like a spider web with lots of thin wire, sometimes called a steel strainer) or a skimmer (wide, round, many holes, see accompanying photo). You should also have a brown bag and tons of paper towels.

As you see in my photos, one of the great things about having a galley-style kitchen as I do is it makes it easy to set up a “station” where you can cut the potatoes, have them ready for the fryer, and then space to set out a ripped brown bag, on top of which are paper towels for padding the oil off, and also for placing on a baking sheet to maintain the first ones staying warm while the rest are being done.

Worth It? Maybe

Two things I have to tell you. First, yes, these were absolutely delicious fries. Among the best I’ve had. The double-fry method used makes all the difference. And it’s difficult to beat fresh and warm and just-made. That said though, (the second thing, the sound of the other shoe dropping in some ways …) I’m uncertain if I’ll make these again. At least in this way. Why? It is a lot of work. And if you don’t already know one of my big items when it comes to cooking is the taste versus time equation. If something is tremendously better the long way than the short, I’ll go that extra mile. However if something is very difficult and time-consuming and the taste difference doesn’t likewise go up a similar number of levels, then I’ll take the easy way.

With this recipe, it was reusing the oil. It took over and hour and a half to pour 8 cups of oil into a small funnel with a coffee filter in it. Even if I had a really big funnel, there was still the size of the coffee filter. I know, maybe cheese cloth will work better, that and a large funnel. Maybe a microfine coned strainer is the answer. Or maybe, tossing the oil. But then ouch, the world’s most expensive french fries! Another thing, to not crowd the pan I did the first fry in six parts (that’s 6-8 minutes per) and the second fry was three batches for about 2-3 minutes. So, prep time, plus 50-60 minutes plus another 15. The mess and paper towels everywhere, and the long long time of filtering for reuse made this not worth it to me.

Anyway you’ve been forewarned. All in all, I’d rather either buy frozen and put them in the oven or I may try figuring out an oven-only method since I did really enjoy the taste of fresh. Now, I am not flip-flopping in the least here; just presenting the pros and the cons both for you to consider. One big reason you might want to do this is it is the best way to start out deep-frying. I mean if you’ve never done it before ever, or you haven’t for a quite some long time, what you rather mess up a bunch of chicken or a few potatoes? So, this is excellent “beginner training” or “refresher course” for someone getting into or back into deep-frying. And yes they will taste yummy. And if you’re willing to not reuse the oil or you have a better filtering system, go for it. Or if you doing it for a party or for four or more people. Or … it might be worth the investment and get an electric deep-fryer which is something else I myself am considering. Anyway, enjoy!

Homemade French Fries (Deep-Fried)
©2007 Harry Kenney

5 large or 7 medium potatoes (russets or Idahos)
6-8 cups of cooking oil (with a high smoke-point)
salt to taste

Place oil in a large stainless steel stock pot. Add and adjust thermometer on the side so it is not touching the bottom, 1/4 inch to 1 inch from the bottom is good. Turn heat on to high. Keep watching and if it gets past 300°F while you are still prepping/cutting, turn heat down to low.

Choose in your mind first the width you want for your fries, 1/4 inch thick or 1/3 inch. I went with the latter. With your (hopefully) starchy, large and ovalish potatoes, slice across the horizontal making several 1/3 layers. Place them down and now cut through this layer at roughly 1/3 inch apart. Let the length fall where it may. See photo. Into an ice water bath place your potato cuts as you make several. This not only preserves the color, but more importantly helps remove the starch making for a crispier potato for deep frying.

Keep an eye on the oil. If it’s under 300, leave burner on simmer, if it’s over 340°F, turn it off. For the first part you are aiming for 325°F. Continue with the next “level” you cut and the rest of your potatoes, each time you have several placing them in the ice bath. When everything is cut. Leave them in the ice another five or ten minutes, giving you time to set everything up for your stations. You need to have a place to put the potatoes and blot them dry with paper towels. Have them ready for putting in the oil. A place to put them when you take them out of the oil to drain off the excess oil, preferably using a combination of a brown bag and paper towels. And a baking sheet to place those in the oven to keep warm as you finish the rest. Turn oven on now to 200°F.

With fries dried well of moisture and oil at 325°F, place a handful or two of fries into the oil carefully. I suggest between 10 and 12 of these is a good number. You don’t want too much in. Your oil will drop with the addition of food into it. Keep an eye out and turn heat up and down to maintain close to the 325°F mark, neither too far down nor too far over. For this, time I found is a better indicator than eye-balling it for color. About 7 minutes take them out and place on bags/towels. Do not put the next batch in until your oil is once again at the target temperature.

When through with this batch, start again. This time you want your temperature to be at 375°F for your target. Be careful this time not to go over 400°F, if you do, remove the pot to a burner that’s cool, and place back in between batches. You can also add fresh oil in 1 cup increments to help cool, but this trick you probably don’t want to do more than twice as the most. For this second dip, eyeball for color more than time. Should take anywhere from 2-3 minutes (if you’re at the right temperature and over 4 minutes you have browned, tough fries). Golden brown you want.

Blot and place into baking sheet.as they come out. After a couple batches of these, place baking sheet on top rack of your 200°F oven to keep warm as the rest come out. Continue this cycle until done. Salt fries on baking sheet as desired. Serve as soon as possible. Though you can leave fries up to 30 minutes max in the warming oven. Makes about four servings.

This year I wanted to make stuffing from scratch and I wanted to do something completely different from the usual, traditional Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing. I also wanted it to be something a bit more “modern”. Seems chorizo is all the rage, and as I finally got my hands on some — yes, it’s easier to find in the South and Southwest then here in the Northeast — so I decided that was where I would go with this recipe.

Now then we have the words “stuffing” and “dressing”. So what is what with that? Well, they’re pretty interchangeable, basically. In the US, stuffing is used more often in the Eastern and Southern areas, whereas dressing more preferable in the rest of the country. That said, none of this is written in stone by any means.

As to where did the word dressing come about, it seems the word stuffing was replaced in Victorian times with “dressing” because in that age of going all sexually conservative and repressive, it was decided that “stuffing” sounded rather vulgar to the new straight-laced society. Tsk-tsk.

Technically though, nowadays, stuffing tends to mean it’s been cooked in the bird. Whereas dressing suggests it’s not been in it. (Yes, I know, Stovetop Stuffing mix is technically incorrect; but then let’s ruin a good alliteration.) For my recipe, then, dressing is the more correct word as instead of an entire bird, I did the Turkey breast with ribs as I often do anymore. So there was nothing here to actually stuff in the first place.

The technique of stuffing, by the way, historically goes back quite a ways. Turns out the Romans were big on stuffing things, not just fowl. One of the oldest cookbooks we have is that of Apicius’s “De Re Coquinaria” with recipes for stuffing chicken, pig, hare and that lovely delicacy of the ancient empire, dormouse. Another fun historical fact, in France during the Middle Ages, stuffing was called “farce”; yes, the one we know from writing and comedy. And at the time it initially referred to a short, light-hearted skit or play “stuffed” in between more lengthy and weighty productions.

A recent search by me for this article on regional differences for stuffing, surprising I came up empty-handed. That said, I think it’s safe to say that oyster stuffing is more popular in the New England states, and cornbread stuffing is more commonly found in the Southern states. Fine. Enough of what the Romans and the French did and what they do elsewhere. What exactly did I end up doing?

I initially wanted to use Challah bread for my stuffing as it would have given a nice texture and sweetness to it. Unable to find any the day before I needed it, I decided upon good ol’ Italian rolls, specifically the kind here in Philadelphia we use to make cheesesteaks and hoagies with — soft but very firm inside, with a nice crust, not too much, on the outside. I took the classic mirepoix and rearranged the amount so there would be more celery, as to me, I can’t think of stuffing or dressing without having that more predominant flavor. That and of course sage.

So how did it turn out? Overall, enjoyable. It must be noted this is a strongly flavored dressing version thanks to the chorizo and the smoked paprika and other spices that make it. I wanted something not traditional but still delicious and that’s exactly what I got. One thing though what is missing from dressing (done outside the bird) compared to stuffing (done inside it)? Turkey drippings. So what ends up tasting best — no surprise here — is putting the stuffing on the plate and then being sure to add the traditional turkey gravy on top of it. By itself, this dressing is very nice; with the gravy on top, mmm, a home run.

Cranberry-Chorizo Dressing
©2007 Harry Kenney

1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup carrots, grated
1 cup celery, finely diced
12 oz. chorizo sausage
three six-inch Italian rolls, small chunks
2-3 cups chicken stock
2 cups dried, sweetened cranberries

to taste:

sage
rosemary
thyme
salt
pepper
onion powder
garlic powder

Take your chorizo sausage links and brown and cook them well in a frying pan on medium heat. Let cool. Remove to plate and cut up into chunks. Preheat oven to 350°F. Take your bread, or in this case, roll chunks. Place them on a baking sheet, drizzle plenty of oil (extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil, your choice) over them. Season well. Add more oil. Mix them around. Put in oven for 10-15 minutes until browned.

Take your onion, carrots and celery, place in a larger than needed sauce pan on low heat. You want to sweat these together, but zero browning. Add the chorizo to the pan, then the chicken broth. Stir and let simmer slowly a few minutes. Take off heat and add the toasted bread chunks, stir well, season as required. Add the dried cranberries. Add butter if desired. Add more chicken stock if needed to get the desired consistency.

Take mixture and place in a deep casserole dish, cover with aluminum foil and place in oven at 400°F for 20 minutes. Remove foil and let top get a bit crunchy, leaving it in another 10 minutes. Done. Be sure to serve with liberal amount of traditional turkey gravy on top. Makes roughly 8 servings.

Here’s another side — one I did for Thanksgiving — and yet another “odd” root vegetable. Now, depending upon where you live, you’re saying “that’s not at all odd; we have it all the time”. Here in the Northeastern United States, well, common as it is at the market during the winter, it’s also one of those vegetables most people tend to pass up when they’re shopping. Often for the same reason as they might a rutabaga or the various winter squashes, simply because they are both unsure of what it is and of how to cook it. (But then that’s why you come here to find out, isn’t it?)

While the recipe itself is one of the simplest and shortest, there does need to be a some-what extended backstory here. You see, not only is this vegetable very much confused with at least two other veggies, but to make matters worse, depending upon what country you live in, they all have different names. And, of course, to compound things still further these differing names all confuse each other, meaning the same veggie called one thing in one place, that same name refers to a totally different vegetable in yet another place.

In fact, I won’t even try to do this myself when Wikipedia has done such a good job with it, so, taking advantage of the Creative Commons usage, let me just plop down their table right here for you. I’ve altered the one row which deals with the turnip to stand out more.

Ok, we’re cool then. This recipe is about the turnip. The real turnip. The one sometimes referred to as a white turnip. (I also refer to it this way myself as I think it lessens the possible mixup.) And even though it is mostly white (where as a rutabaga or swede is yellow), there is also some purple on the turnip as you see in the photo where it has gotten extra sunlight.

Now that we have the name and the color down, there is one final slightly confusing thing you should know, and that is it can be found at the market in one of three shapes or forms. Sometimes you will see turnips either with the long tail root still attached, or with both the long tail root and the green crown of leaves on it, or, as they just happened to come where I bought them, pretty much round with what seems to be a nub on them, where all the excess has been taken off and looking more like an odd potato.

Whew! Are we through all that? Yes. So basically, in this particular case I treated the turnip much as I would a potato. That said, one thing to note is turnips can really hold water well. I’m talking about the same way chopped spinish does, where you have to not just drain but “smoosh” it or press it really well to get all the water out. Make sure you do this else your dish will not come out as well. So, to quickly recap, you boil it much like a potato for mashing, then drain it extra well as you would with spinach, and enjoy the unique and delicious taste.

White Turnip Mash
©2007 Harry Kenney

2 pounds turnips
butter
salt
pepper

Peel the turnips (may be easier with a knife than a peeler) and cut into chunks. Toss into boiling water. After about 20 minutes or when a fork can go through them with some ease, remove and drain thoroughly. Very thoroughly. Place in large bowl and mash as you would potatoes. Add butter, salt and pepper to taste and serve. Makes roughly four servings.

If you’re coming here for leftover turkey recipes, sorry. I work in “real time” like you. What does that mean? Well, it means beginning today I’ll start putting up recipes for what I had for Thanksgiving. But wait, shouldn’t I have put them up last week or the week before, you might be asking. You know, back when you were interested in such things. Like, before Thanksgiving? Well, as I said, I do what you do; I work in “real time”.

Again, what does that mean? It means I’m not the Food Network. I’m not even PBS. I don’t get paid for this. I am not given money by someone to go purchase a mess of food and cooking it all up weeks ahead of time. And then who would eat it all? My vast kitchen or network staff? You know, the one’s I don’t have. So that is why I don’t have things ahead of time. Because I am just like you. Average everyday person making meals on and for the days I’m going to eat them.

There is good news though. If you come by and read this a year from now, then I’m ahead of the game. There will be this nice archive area of what I did last time (this time, that is) that will work out. Besides that, come on, admit it. Today, or tomorrow, sure, you might be sick of looking at turkey. But Christmas is coming and you know — unless you’re doing ham or goose or something — you’ll be back looking for turkey recipes. And this time, I will be early and have it all here waiting for you. You might be here right now for that, who knows.

Ok, remember that butternut squash from the other day? Well I finally got around to the other one I showed you, the acorn squash. So did this taste like the other? Nope. This actually tastes something like a pumpkin to me. Not quite. I sure wouldn’t say interchangeable. But I would say, very reminiscent of pumpkin. I know of a few different recipes for acorn squash. It’s one of those interesting ingredients you put such-and-such with it and it’s more a savory dish. Or you can put something else to it and emphasize it’s sweeter flavors. And the latter is precisely what I did this time. It made a nice counterpoint to the rest of the foods on my Thanksgiving plate too.

Btw, unlike the butternut squash, this was not difficult at all to cut. Wham, right down the middle. You’ll see in the photo I went slightly off-center, but that’s not a biggie. Peeling wasn’t a problem as I waited to scoop it out after it was cooked. One more thing, you’ll notice I’ve again used that unsung cooking tool and appliance known as the microwave. Why? First, off it works just fine in it, that’s why. Second question you might ask is, if I was putting it under the oven broiler anyhow, why not do it completely with the oven? Easy answer: the first stage of this would have taken 45 minutes in the oven. It took 11 in the microwave. To do the identical thing. And when have you ever known me to recommend anything that takes four times longer with zero increase in taste benefit? Never.

So, do enjoy. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised and not only add this to your Thanksgiving or Christmas meal, but it’s such a quick and easy meal to prepare you might have it a lot more often. You never know but even the kids could enjoy this. Plus it’s a totally natural vegetarian dish. Now that’s what I call win-win-win.

Broiled Ginger-Apricot Acorn Squash
©2007 Harry Kenney

1 average acorn squash
butter (or margarine)
apricot jam (or preserves)
ground ginger (or regular, grated)
salt
pepper

Take an acorn squash, half it vertically. Place in a microwavable dish that can both accomodate both halves and also about 1/4 to 1/3 inch of water. Place halves face down into the water. With a fork, make two piercings on the outside skin of each (to prevent any exploding). Place in microwave. For an 1100 watt microwave, it will take about 11 minutes. For a more underpowered one of 6-700 watts probably closer to 14 minutes.

If you’re making several squashes, then opt for the oven instead, 350°F, laying them on a baking sheet, add a little bit of water if you wish, same thing, poke holes and put face down. This will take roughly 45 minutes, but keep checking as oven times will differ.

When done, place face up on a baking sheet (for oven version, turn over, remove any water). Lightly butter the rim and the inside. Also, again, lightly dust with ginger. Lightly spoon apricot jam everywhere on the inside too. Finally, a little salt and pepper. (The key to this everything with this recipe is lightly). Place under broiler for 5-10 minutes until browned.

Although this looks very nice the way it is, the skin is quite mushy, so I would not serve it this way (even though it’s tempting). Best to spoon out of skin, mix it up well with fork, and serve. One medium squash makes two servings.

This began as one of my experiment meals a good decade or longer ago. You go to restaurants, you see various veggies in the rice. Get a box of Rice-a-roni, little carrots or peas in the rice. So, what the heck, one night way back when, I put two dishes together, spinach and rice. They tasted good, looked great together. My mother and step-father Dave who I was cooking for enjoyed it a lot, as did I.

Can’t say it was great, but it was darn good. As time went on I started to mess with it more — aka, perfect it. Adding raw onion was too bitey. Dave thought it was an improvement though. Mom and I didn’t. Then again, Dave could smother so much horseradish sauce on a hot dog you couldn’t see the hot dog.

Eventually, it came to what you see below, with onion nicely cooked in butter and parmesan cheese added. It’s literally funny how much this super-simple combination of basically four ingredients can taste so good and yet it does. I almost forgot to add it here, as, whatever the reason, haven’t made it in a good six months. Maybe it’s because it’s turned Fall that it came back to my mind. Something about it yells robust and warming and soothing.

In any event, it makes a beautiful side. Trust me, once you’ve had this you will make it again and again. Great alongside a starch, though naturally with all the rice in it, this really should be the starch on the plate. I feel like I should write more, but there’s nothing else to say except: it’s true, sometimes simple is best.

Spinach and Rice
©2007 Harry Kenney

ingredients:

6 cups of cooked white long-grained rice (follow box directions)
16 oz cooked frozen chopped spinach (steam or light boil, and do reserve the water when draining)
one onion, diced and browned (preferably in margarine or butter, not oil)
3-4 oz grated parmesan

season to taste:

salt
pepper
died basil
dried oregano
garlic powder (optional and if use, use sparingly)

Boil the rice, lightly brown the onion, cook and drain the spinach, mix with big spoon in pot thoroughly, add spices, stir thoroughly, add parmesan, stir well. When adding parmesan, do to taste and texture, that is, go for the taste you want, but as it also dries out the mix, add 1/8 cups of spinach water to it, keep adding cheese and water as required to get taste and good consistency. When have those where you desire them, one more taste for seasoning (you may have watered that down while adding the water and cheese) so season more as needed, serve. Makes enough for 8-10 servings.

I needed a side for my oven BBQ brisket. Yeah I had little baked potatoes and some fresh coleslaw, but I still wanted something warm and flavorful and that was (for lack of better words) very “veggie”. I also wanted something more “regional” … in this case, southern or western or southwestern. It just seemed like that would go right with my indoor BBQ meal.

Now last week there were quite a few things I had bought for my BBQ party that I never made it out to the table. Why is that, you may ask? A combination of my being too ambitious, wanting to make too much food than was necessary, as well as for various reasons six people, three couples basically, had to bale out because of sickness or previous commitments. So there just wasn’t the impetuous to cook twice the amount of food for half the amount of people.

In short, I had these wonderful sweet yellow corn cobs in the freezer (Now, don’t knock frozen. When the Iron Chef makes Frozen Peas a secret ingredient, and various other frozen veggies are used by even five star chefs, frozen doesn’t deserve a bad knock, necessarily.) Ok, so here I was doing a Texas-style BBQ dish and I had corn. Only natural thing to do was stay in the same general area and go Southwestern.

Just as I had made my brisket in the oven. Here I was going to treat my frying pan more like a grill and “grill” (obviously the technical term here is actually in the title, pan roast) some corn and toss in some more regional ingredients and spices. I never tried this one before and I was happy with the success, the taste of it, this one is definitely going to be a oft-cooked dish in this house from now on!

Two thangs (yes, I said thangs), one, if you think this meal based on the ingredients is going to be hot, you’re wrong. It’s spiced but not spicy and actually a tad sweet. So no reason to be faint of heart, try it out. And secondly, considering this recipe I’ll jump right over giving any kind of “bon appetites” and just say instead: pull up a seat and chow down, amigos!

Southwestern Pan-Roasted Corn Vegetable Medley
©2007 Harry Kenney

ingredients:

4 small cobs or 2 large ones, kernels cut off
14 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup of diced tomatoes, drained (no can juice)
1/2 of a medium red onion, chunks, (or one whole small one)

season to taste:

cilantro
chilli powder
garlic powder
onion powder
salt
pepper
half-lime, juice

Roast the kernels in a pan on medium-high heat with a little vegetable or peanut oil. Don’t make it too oily as you want more of a “grill” thing than a “fry” thing going here. That said you do want a lot of movement of the food in the pan (like a stir-fry). Do though add oil now and then as needed as pan will burn it off and corn may soak some up. Add seasonings. Do want to see darkening of the yellow. A touch of brown. You do not ever want to see black or “burn” on your corn. If you do, it’s either too hot, or more than likely you are not moving the pan around enough or moving the corn with a spoon enough.

After a few minutes add the onion. And a little more oil. After another couple minutes, constantly stirring or flipping the pan, add the beans and tomatoes, more oil, a second helping of all the seasonings. Turn down to medium heat. After a few minutes, juice of half a lime. Wait another half minute for that to mix in and burn a little off. Serve. Makes enough for about four people.

At last, some true “play time” with food. I let my inner child run amok and came up with a grown-up fantasy come true. This is, as the title suggests, what I consider to be my ultimate twice baked potato.

Well, almost. I couldn’t believe when I shopping the day before the party I could not find a good, large baking potato! Must be a Murphy’s Law thing. If I didn’t care, they would have been there at the store the size of watermelons. But no, the day I want to get a big bag of really large ones, every single bag of russets — and not an Idadho in the place — contained pm;u three inch and unders.

You ever get that feeling you’re on Candid Camera? (For the younger folk reading, ever think you’ve been Punk’d?) Long story short, between a choice of red bliss and the in-betweener thin-skinned yellows from Jersey, I went with the Jerseys.

You’ll note below in the recipe I say six large potatoes, I ended up using nine medium. As always, vary as needed, or to fit in with what you can get at the market. Also, since it’s a good time saver — and this was part of a big party the next day and I had a lot of other dishes to cook — I “nuked” the taters in the microwave for about 18 minutes instead of the oven for 50. Same difference.

Next day about an hour before the party I sliced the potatoes in half length-wise and scooped them out, and then filled them back up with nothing but good stuff. Quick tip: You know those grapefruit spoons in the back of your drawer that you never use? The one’s where you got this thing that’s mostly spoon but with a serated, knife-type top on them? If you have those, they work awesome for scopping out the potatoes!

Needlesstosay (but I will any how) they were a party hit. Enjoy!

Ultimate Twice Baked Potatoes
©2007 Harry Kenney

ingredients:

Six large potatoes
 (large as you can find, preferably baking kind)
8 oz extra thick sliced bacon. diced 1/2 squares
4 oz shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
3 tblsps butter (or margarine)
salt
pepper

Place potatoes in the oven and bake at 400F for 50 minutes or until done. Alternately about 18 minutes in an 1100 watt microwave (about 25 minutes in a 700 watt microwave, placing plenty of fork vent holes in each). When potatoes are done let cool. You can either work with these the next day (storing in the fridge over night) or when cooled down at least 1/2 hour.

Take diced bacon and brown in frying pan. Take out and place on plate between paper towels to drain excess fat and let cool.

Cut each potato in half, lengthwise and scoop out into a mixing bowl. (Leave enough on the sides and bottom that you still have a firm “shell” of potato.) Place skins aside, covered in plastic or foil wrap so they do not get hard or dry.

To potato mixture, make as you would normally for mashed potatoes with milk, butter, salt and pepper. Now add cheddar cheese and about 80-90% of the bacon and mix with hand mixer or large spoon. Once thoroughly mixed, take out potato “shells” and fill each evenly as possible. Place pinches of cheddar cheese atop each of the 12 potato halves, and then top each with remaining bacon bits.