A Late Autumn Meal

A few years ago I bought a cookbook, The Cook and the Gardener.  The recipes are arranged seasonally and were originally done in a chateau in Burgundy where the author, Amanda Hesser, was cooking for Anne Willan, a cookbook author and owner of Ecole de Cusine La Varenne.  So many recipes mix ingredients from different seasons.  These recipes are of the season.

One late fall recipe (although this week’s temperatures seem more like winter) called for mustard greens and I have lots of them in our fall garden.  Amanda suggested paring it with pork with red wine, orange peel and apple-thyme chutney.  It is ‘hog killing time’ as well although I am not personally killing any.  Neighbors are shooting wild boar, however.  We have oranges in the garden as well; apples as you know do not do well here in the deep South but they are in the stores as they are now seasonal in slightly cooler climes.

Wilted Mustard Greens with Shallots and Sherry Vinegar

Serves 4

¼ cup olive oil

2 pounds mustard greens, stems removed and washed

Coarse or kosher salt

3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

3 shallot lobes, chopped fine

1/3 cup sherry vinegar

Cook the greens in three batches. Heat the wok over medium-high heat. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil around the sides of the wok so it spreads to the base of the wok. Add a third of the greens in handfuls, tossing with a large fork or tongs so they wilt. They will darken to a glossy, forest-green color. Season with salt and pepper and add a third of the garlic and shallot, tossing to mix evenly, 1 to 2 minutes. (This prevents the greens from clumping while the garlic and shallot soften.) Add 1 tablespoon of the vinegar and cook off all the liquid, about 1 minute. Transfer to a serving dish.

Repeat for the next two batches. Season to taste, adding more salt and the remaining vinegar to taste. Using a large fork, fluff up the greens before serving.  Leftovers, rare as they are, make for a good addition to a quiche or omelet. Squeeze the greens in your fists before using to remove any excess liquid.

Pork with Red Wine, Orange Peel, and Apple-Thyme Chutney

Serves 4-6

2 ½ pounds pork loin

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil

Marinade

1 strip orange peel

8 sprigs thyme

2 bay leaves

1 carrot, trimmed, peeled, and cut into 1-inch dice

2 onions, roughly chopped

1 bottle full-bodied red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon

Apple-Thyme Chutney

3 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch cubes

3 sprigs thyme

1 bay leaf

¼ cup sugar

2 tablespoons Calvados or apple brandy

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Coarse or kosher salt

Marinate the pork: Tie up the pork with kitchen twine. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. In a shallow dish large enough to fit the pork, spread the orange peel, thyme, bay leaves, carrot, and onion over the base. Lay the pork on top and pour over the wine. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours, turning the pork from time to time.

Sometime while the pork marinates, make the chutney: In a small, heavy-based saucepan, combine the apple, thyme, bay leaf, sugar, Calvados, and apple cider vinegar. Simmer over low heat with the lid set slightly askew, stirring occasionally, for 1-1 ½ hours. Toward the end, the chutney will begin sticking easily to the pan. Stir often, so it doesn’t burn. The apples should have collapsed, and the chutney should become thick as the liquids evaporate. It should be delicately sweet, with a sharp edge provided by the vinegar. Season to taste, adding a pinch of salt if desired. Discard the thyme stems, and leave the chutney in the pan until needed. The chutney can be made up to 3 days ahead, stored in the refrigerator, and rewarmed before serving.

Heat the oven to 450⁰F.

Remove the pork from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Season the pork with salt and again with pepper. Spread the oil in the base of a heavy roasting pan large enough to fit the pork without too much spare room. Lay the pork on top and roast it for 15 minutes, turning the pork often to color it well on all sides. Pour in 1 cup of the marinade, reduce the oven temperature to 350⁰F, and continue roasting for another 35 to 45 minutes. Baste the roast often, adding more marinade if necessary. When a skewer inserted in the center of the roast 30 seconds is hot to the touch, or an instant-read thermometer registers 150⁰F, the pork is almost done. Remove the roasting pan from the oven, lift the pork to a cutting board (where it will continue cooking to its done temperature of 160⁰F), and let it rest, covered with aluminum foil, for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, reheat the apple chutney and make a jus: Add 1-2 tablespoons of water to the chutney and warm over medium heat, stirring often to disperse the heat, for 5 to 7 minutes. The chutney should be warm to the touch but not piping hot; apples hold heat well. Pile into a small bowl. You can leave the bay leaf in for color, but warn people not to eat it. For the jus, pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the roasting pan. Then pour the remaining marinade into the roasting pan and place over high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up any pan drippings. Reduce to a condensed jus, about ½ cup. Taste and adjust seasoning. Strain into a small bowl.

Carve the pork into ¼ -inch slices and arrange them on a shallow serving platter. Pour over any juices that have accumulated on the cutting board. Serve, passing the jus and warm chutney separately. This dish is also great served cold, without the jus, for lunch.

Food Gifts for Christmas

It is that time of year when I begin to think of what to give friends and neighbors for Christmas. I usually send fruit from Pittman & Davis to friends out of state. Their fruit is really good and shipping is included. Their e-mail address is fruit@pittmandavis.com. Locally one can give gifts of pecans and peanuts. I received a bag of peanuts from Sumblin Farms in Kinston, Alabama, and thought that was such a great gift that can be used in the weeks to come.  Thank you Anne for sending me those peanuts! (She included the recipe for roasting: preheat oven to 500 degrees, place full baking sheet of peanuts in oven, turn off after 4 minutes.  Do not open oven until cooled.) Priester’s Pecans in Fort Deposit, Alabama, have a great selection of pecan gifts. I love going into their store and it is only an hours drive from Andalusia. Their e-mail is priesters.com if you cannot get to their store. Or pick pecans locally.  Shelling the pecans gives added value to the gift. For gifts of honey try the Savannah Bee Co. Tupelo Honey, Georgia, for simple fresh honey. Their e-mail is savannahbee.com. The list can go on and on as I am sure you are aware, but perhaps the best gifts would be from your own kitchen.

Recently as I showed some official guests around town and we had a tour of a local entrepreneur’s gourmet products kitchen.  They make their products using local honey and have an array of jellies, jams, sauces and even just honey. www.magnoliahoney.com I particularly liked their Jezebel Sauce.  This is a southern sauce (maybe having its origin on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.)  Recipes vary but a jar of pineapple or apricot preserves, a jar of apple jelly, ½ cup horseradish, 3 Tbs dry mustard, 2 tsp course ground black pepper is typical.  Serve over pork or chicken, as a dip for eggrolls or over cream cheese.  Horseradish is the key.  Mix the ingredients to your taste.  Or buy some from Magnolia Honey which of course adds honey to the mix.

All the December magazines have edible gifts to give. Probably you have your own edible gifts that you do every Christmas. Perhaps you have that perfect fruitcake recipe or cookie recipe. I read that fruit cakes were coming back into favor since William and Katherine had one inside their wedding cake! The New Orleans paper is giving out praline recipes (which are fun to make and give). They use your local pecans which makes them somewhat cheaper to make.  Food Network Magazine for December had 50 edible gifts to give. I liked them because they were simple and not time consuming. Just put these gifts in a jar or tin and put a ribbon on the container and you have a great gift for friends or as a hostess gift.

White Chocolate-Peppermint Bark (I love this stuff.)

Melt 12 ounces finely chopped white chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. Sir in 1 tablespoon melted shortening and 4 ounces chopped white chocolate until smooth. Spread on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with 1 cup chopped peppermint candies. Let harden; break into pieces.

Holiday Party Mix

Melt 1 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread with ½ stick butter in a large bowl in the microwave at 50 percent power. Stir in 8 cups Chex cereal. Transfer to a large re-sealable plastic bag; add a 1-pound box confectioners’ sugar and shake to coat. Add ¼ cup colored sprinkles and ½ cup each yogurt-covered raisins and red and green M&M’s; toss to combine.

Turtles

Arrange small clusters of pecans on a baking sheet. Melt unwrapped soft caramels in the microwave and drizzle over each cluster. Top with melted chocolate. Let harden.

Spiced Rum Balls

Mix 3 ½ cups crushed vanilla wafer cookies, 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, ¾ teaspoon each nutmeg and cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon ground ginger. Stir in 3 tablespoons light corn syrup and 1/3 cup each brandy and rum. Roll into balls and chill until firm. Roll in confectioners’ sugar.

Sugar Plums

Finely chop 1 ¼ cups toasted almonds in a food processor with 1 ½ cups each prune and dried apricots, 3 tablespoons honey,  1 teaspoon orange zest, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg. Roll into balls, then roll in coarse sugar.

Chocolate Haystacks

Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in the microwave. Stir in 2 ½ cups chow mein noodles until coated. Drop spoonfulls on an oiled parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Let harden.

Chocolate Orange Peels

Peel 3 oranges. Cut the rind into strips and boil in water 15 minutes; then drain and rinse. Simmer 3 sups each sugar and water. Add the peel and cook until soft, 45 minutes. Drain and toss in sugar. Transfer to a rack to dry, 8 hours. Dip in bittersweet chocolate; let harden.

Chocolate Fudge

Melt ½ stick butter, 4 cups marshmallows, 1 cup cream, 2 cups sugar and a pinch of salt in a saucepan. Simmer, stirring, 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in 3 cups chocolate chips until smooth. Spread in a foil-lined 9-by13-inch pan. Let cool and cut into squares.

Salted Caramel Sauce

Simmer 1 ½ cups sugar and ½ cup water in a saucepan over medium-high heat, swirling the pan but not stirring until dark amber, about 12 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in 1 cup cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla and ½  teaspoon sea salt. Let cool, then divide among jars and chill.

I have had this recipe since summer and have been trying to find a place to use it. My daughter-in-law came back from a week at the beach and had this recipe which she said was just wonderful. I think it would be something new and great to do over the holidays and I am putting it on my list to do. I have heard that you cannot stop eating these!

Chocolate Balls

(Do not know exactly how many these make)
Crush to powder 1 package of Oreos and mix 8oz. package cream cheese (let cream cheese warm up on the counter first). Roll into balls and refrigerate for 1 hour. Then dip in melted white and milk chocolate. (The original recipe called for using tubs of dipping chocolate (in the baking isle made by Baker’s). You will need 1-2 tubs of each white and milk. For decoration drizzle the opposite chocolate over the top. Refrigerate overnight. You can use chocolate chips melted with some cream. This will be a little more difficult and messy compared to the tubs.

YUM!

It is that time of year when I begin to think of what to give friends and neighbors for Christmas. I usually send fruit from Pittman & Davis to friends out of state. Their fruit is really good and shipping is included. Their e-mail address is fruit@pittmandavis.com. Locally one can give gifts of pecans and peanuts. I received a bag of peanuts from Sumblin Farms in Kinston, Alabama, and thought that was such a great gift that can be used in the weeks to come.  Thank you Anne for sending me those peanuts! (She included the recipe for roasting: preheat oven to 500 degrees, place full baking sheet of peanuts in oven, turn off after 4 minutes.  Do not open oven until cooled.) Priester’s Pecans in Fort Deposit, Alabama, have a great selection of pecan gifts. I love going into their store and it is only an hours drive from Andalusia. Their e-mail is priesters.com if you cannot get to their store. Or pick pecans locally.  Shelling the pecans gives added value to the gift. For gifts of honey try the Savannah Bee Co. Tupelo Honey, Georgia, for simple fresh honey. Their e-mail is savannahbee.com. The list can go on and on as I am sure you are aware, but perhaps the best gifts would be from your own kitchen.

Recently as I showed some official guests around town and we had a tour of a local entrepreneur’s gourmet products kitchen.  They make their products using local honey and have an array of jellies, jams, sauces and even just honey. www.magnoliahoney.com I particularly liked their Jezebel Sauce.  This is a southern sauce (maybe having its origin on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.)  Recipes vary but a jar of pineapple or apricot preserves, a jar of apple jelly, ½ cup horseradish, 3 Tbs dry mustard, 2 tsp course ground black pepper is typical.  Serve over pork or chicken, as a dip for eggrolls or over cream cheese.  Horseradish is the key.  Mix the ingredients to your taste.  Or buy some from Magnolia Honey which of course adds honey to the mix.

All the December magazines have edible gifts to give. Probably you have your own edible gifts that you do every Christmas. Perhaps you have that perfect fruitcake recipe or cookie recipe. I read that fruit cakes were coming back into favor since William and Katherine had one inside their wedding cake! The New Orleans paper is giving out praline recipes (which are fun to make and give). They use your local pecans which makes them somewhat cheaper to make.  Food Network Magazine for December had 50 edible gifts to give. I liked them because they were simple and not time consuming. Just put these gifts in a jar or tin and put a ribbon on the container and you have a great gift for friends or as a hostess gift.

White Chocolate-Peppermint Bark (I love this stuff.)

Melt 12 ounces finely chopped white chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. Sir in 1 tablespoon melted shortening and 4 ounces chopped white chocolate until smooth. Spread on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with 1 cup chopped peppermint candies. Let harden; break into pieces.

Holiday Party Mix

Melt 1 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread with ½ stick butter in a large bowl in the microwave at 50 percent power. Stir in 8 cups Chex cereal. Transfer to a large re-sealable plastic bag; add a 1-pound box confectioners’ sugar and shake to coat. Add ¼ cup colored sprinkles and ½ cup each yogurt-covered raisins and red and green M&M’s; toss to combine.

Turtles

Arrange small clusters of pecans on a baking sheet. Melt unwrapped soft caramels in the microwave and drizzle over each cluster. Top with melted chocolate. Let harden.

Spiced Rum Balls

Mix 3 ½ cups crushed vanilla wafer cookies, 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, ¾ teaspoon each nutmeg and cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon ground ginger. Stir in 3 tablespoons light corn syrup and 1/3 cup each brandy and rum. Roll into balls and chill until firm. Roll in confectioners’ sugar.

Sugar Plums

Finely chop 1 ¼ cups toasted almonds in a food processor with 1 ½ cups each prune and dried apricots, 3 tablespoons honey,  1 teaspoon orange zest, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg. Roll into balls, then roll in coarse sugar.

Chocolate Haystacks

Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in the microwave. Stir in 2 ½ cups chow mein noodles until coated. Drop spoonfulls on an oiled parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Let harden.

Chocolate Orange Peels

Peel 3 oranges. Cut the rind into strips and boil in water 15 minutes; then drain and rinse. Simmer 3 sups each sugar and water. Add the peel and cook until soft, 45 minutes. Drain and toss in sugar. Transfer to a rack to dry, 8 hours. Dip in bittersweet chocolate; let harden.

Chocolate Fudge

Melt ½ stick butter, 4 cups marshmallows, 1 cup cream, 2 cups sugar and a pinch of salt in a saucepan. Simmer, stirring, 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in 3 cups chocolate chips until smooth. Spread in a foil-lined 9-by13-inch pan. Let cool and cut into squares.

Salted Caramel Sauce

Simmer 1 ½ cups sugar and ½ cup water in a saucepan over medium-high heat, swirling the pan but not stirring until dark amber, about 12 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in 1 cup cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla and ½  teaspoon sea salt. Let cool, then divide among jars and chill.

I have had this recipe since summer and have been trying to find a place to use it. My daughter-in-law came back from a week at the beach and had this recipe which she said was just wonderful. I think it would be something new and great to do over the holidays and I am putting it on my list to do. I have heard that you cannot stop eating these!

Chocolate Balls

(Do not know exactly how many these make)
Crush to powder 1 package of Oreos and mix 8oz. package cream cheese (let cream cheese warm up on the counter first). Roll into balls and refrigerate for 1 hour. Then dip in melted white and milk chocolate. (The original recipe called for using tubs of dipping chocolate (in the baking isle made by Baker’s). You will need 1-2 tubs of each white and milk. For decoration drizzle the opposite chocolate over the top. Refrigerate overnight. You can use chocolate chips melted with some cream. This will be a little more difficult and messy compared to the tubs.

YUM!

Mirliton

It is the Saturday after Thanksgiving and I know there are leftovers at every home, but I decided not to do all the ways to use leftover turkey.  My husband brought in some wonderful mirlitons (he has never produced such lovely ones).  Frost has held off so far, so there are more to come. So I decided to check out a few recipes for use over the next couple weeks.

Mirliton is perhaps more commonly called chayote in the US but in Louisiana it is a mirliton.  It is native to Mexico but has been naturalized throughout Central America and the Caribbean.  It was raised as chocho in Jamaica during the 18^th century and exported to North American markets along the eastern seaboard.  It was also grown along the coast of the US as far north as Charleston well into the 1850’s but the Civil War interrupted production and its was not until the 1890’s that it was reintroduced as a truck-farm product under the name Vegetable Pear.  But in Louisiana the mirliton has been widely used locally since the 1700’s.  Custard marrow and christophines are other names for the vegetable. 

Buy some to eat and if you like them you might buy some more and grow your own.  Take the mirliton you purchase in the grocery and leave them out on a shelf.  They will at some point begin to sprout.  Plant the whole thing in a pot, sprout end up.  When danger of frost is over, plant in the ground with a strong trellis for support.  They can be dug up and stored over the winter like dahlias but mine comes back well here each year.  The season is now, so you should be able to find them in the store.

Mirliton are members of the cucurbit family (cucumbers, watermelons) and are typically pale green and pear shaped.  They can be used like squash.  Frequently they are stuffed, usually shrimp and/or crab.

Taken from Poppy Tooker’s great-grandmother’s recipe. Poppy is the main person behind the Slow Food Movement in New Orleans.

Stuffed Mirlitons

Makes 8 servings

4 mirlitons

½ cup (1 stick butter)

 1 onion, finely chopped

½ pound shrimp, shelled, deveined and chopped

½ pound claw crab meat (cheaper and with a bit more flavor)

1 bunch scallions, thinly diced

½ cup seasoned dried bread crumbs

2 tablespoons diced ham (I used prosciutto but if you have some ham left over from Thanksgiving you could use that.)

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350⁰. Halve the mirlitons  lengthwise. Cook them until just tender, 15 to 20 minutes, in a large pot of boiling water, Remove seed and discard. Carefully scoop out the flesh with a spoon, preserving the shell. Coarsely chop the flesh.

Measure out and melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt remaining butter. Add onion and cook until translucent, 8-10 minutes. Add mirliton and toss to coat. Stir in the shrimp and cook until just pink, 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the crab meat, scallions, ¼ cup of the bread crumbs and the ham. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Put the mirlitons on a baking sheet and sprinkle the remaining ¼ bread crumbs over all the mirlitons and pour the melted butter over the bread crumbs and bake for about 20 minutes in the oven, or until the bread crumbs are somewhat brown.

This recipe is taken from Chef Paul Prudhomme’s, Louisiana Kitchen.

Fried Mirliton

Makes 1-2 side-dish servings

Seasoning mix:

1 1/8 teaspoons  salt

¾ teaspoon sweet paprika

½ teaspoon white pepper

¼ teaspoon onion pepper

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon ground red pepper (preferably cayenne)

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/8 dried sweet basil leaves (I still have fresh)

1 cup peeled and coarsely chopped cooked mirliton

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup very fine dry bread crumbs

½ cup milk

1 egg

Vegetable oil for deep frying

Combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl, mixing thoroughly. Sprinkle the vegetables evenly with about ½ teaspoon of the mix. Place the flour in a small bowl and the bread crumbs in another. Add 1 teaspoon of the seasoning mix to the flour and 1 teaspoon to the bread crumbs, mixing each well. In a separate small bowl combine the milk and egg until well blended.

Heat 1 inch oil in a 2-quart saucepan or deep fryer to 350⁰. Just before frying, dredge the chopped mirilton in the seasoned flour, shaking off excess. Then coat well with the milk mixture, and then quickly with the bread crumbs, shaking off excess. Cook vegetables in the hot oil until dark golden brown, about 2-3 minutes, making sure to separate vegetable pieces as you drop them into the oil. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

It is the Saturday after Thanksgiving and I know there are leftovers at every home, but I decided not to do all the ways to use leftover turkey.  My husband brought in some wonderful mirlitons (he has never produced such lovely ones).  Frost has held off so far, so there are more to come. So I decided to check out a few recipes for use over the next couple weeks.

Mirliton is perhaps more commonly called chayote in the US but in Louisiana it is a mirliton.  It is native to Mexico but has been naturalized throughout Central America and the Caribbean.  It was raised as chocho in Jamaica during the 18^th century and exported to North American markets along the eastern seaboard.  It was also grown along the coast of the US as far north as Charleston well into the 1850’s but the Civil War interrupted production and its was not until the 1890’s that it was reintroduced as a truck-farm product under the name Vegetable Pear.  But in Louisiana the mirliton has been widely used locally since the 1700’s.  Custard marrow and christophines are other names for the vegetable. 

Buy some to eat and if you like them you might buy some more and grow your own.  Take the mirliton you purchase in the grocery and leave them out on a shelf.  They will at some point begin to sprout.  Plant the whole thing in a pot, sprout end up.  When danger of frost is over, plant in the ground with a strong trellis for support.  They can be dug up and stored over the winter like dahlias but mine comes back well here each year.  The season is now, so you should be able to find them in the store.

Mirliton are members of the cucurbit family (cucumbers, watermelons) and are typically pale green and pear shaped.  They can be used like squash.  Frequently they are stuffed, usually shrimp and/or crab.

Taken from Poppy Tooker’s great-grandmother’s recipe. Poppy is the main person behind the Slow Food Movement in New Orleans.

Stuffed Mirlitons

Makes 8 servings

4 mirlitons

½ cup (1 stick butter)

 1 onion, finely chopped

½ pound shrimp, shelled, deveined and chopped

½ pound claw crab meat (cheaper and with a bit more flavor)

1 bunch scallions, thinly diced

½ cup seasoned dried bread crumbs

2 tablespoons diced ham (I used prosciutto but if you have some ham left over from Thanksgiving you could use that.)

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350⁰. Halve the mirlitons  lengthwise. Cook them until just tender, 15 to 20 minutes, in a large pot of boiling water, Remove seed and discard. Carefully scoop out the flesh with a spoon, preserving the shell. Coarsely chop the flesh.

Measure out and melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt remaining butter. Add onion and cook until translucent, 8-10 minutes. Add mirliton and toss to coat. Stir in the shrimp and cook until just pink, 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the crab meat, scallions, ¼ cup of the bread crumbs and the ham. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Put the mirlitons on a baking sheet and sprinkle the remaining ¼ bread crumbs over all the mirlitons and pour the melted butter over the bread crumbs and bake for about 20 minutes in the oven, or until the bread crumbs are somewhat brown.

This recipe is taken from Chef Paul Prudhomme’s, Louisiana Kitchen.

Fried Mirliton

Makes 1-2 side-dish servings

Seasoning mix:

1 1/8 teaspoons  salt

¾ teaspoon sweet paprika

½ teaspoon white pepper

¼ teaspoon onion pepper

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon ground red pepper (preferably cayenne)

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/8 dried sweet basil leaves (I still have fresh)

1 cup peeled and coarsely chopped cooked mirliton

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup very fine dry bread crumbs

½ cup milk

1 egg

Vegetable oil for deep frying

Combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl, mixing thoroughly. Sprinkle the vegetables evenly with about ½ teaspoon of the mix. Place the flour in a small bowl and the bread crumbs in another. Add 1 teaspoon of the seasoning mix to the flour and 1 teaspoon to the bread crumbs, mixing each well. In a separate small bowl combine the milk and egg until well blended.

Heat 1 inch oil in a 2-quart saucepan or deep fryer to 350⁰. Just before frying, dredge the chopped mirilton in the seasoned flour, shaking off excess. Then coat well with the milk mixture, and then quickly with the bread crumbs, shaking off excess. Cook vegetables in the hot oil until dark golden brown, about 2-3 minutes, making sure to separate vegetable pieces as you drop them into the oil. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

Thanksgiving Dressing 2011

Thanksgiving is perhaps my favorite meal of the year. I have prepared it for 36 years with the exception of a year or two. This year my sons and daughter-in-law are coming for two days so I have begun preparing my menu for Thanksgiving and a few other meals.

I always do a turkey and many sides. The sides consist of scalloped oysters, mashed potatoes, creamed onions and peanuts, scalloped tomatoes and artichoke hearts, roasted Brussels sprouts with pancetta, broccoli with lemon and garlic, and there is usually some type of cranberry sauce and gravy on the side. I usually do a pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. Every year I think of trying a new type of dressing. I have done the dressing with oysters, sausage, and just about every kind of vegetable and have decided the best dressing is simply done with cornbread (that you make) and lots of onions, celery, and some good spices. I am adding chestnuts this year in the dressing, just to see how their taste will add or not add to the dressing.

Is it dressing or stuffing? Jean Anderson, a noted Southern cookbook author says that in the South, it is dressing whether cooked in the bird or not.  Cornbread or some other bread (or rice)?  In the South most use cornbread but Scott Peacock of southeastern Alabama said his family used cornbread, white bread and Saltine crackers—whatever they had.

Whatever you do this Thanksgiving take time to enjoy your family and friends. That is what makes the meal special no matter what you serve.

Cornbread for Dressing

Makes 8-inch square loaf

Unsalted butter, softened for baking pan

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup milk

2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 400⁰F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. In a bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder. In another bowl, whisk together milk and eggs until frothy; then stir into dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated. Do not over-mix; the batter should be lumpy.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until top is golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out dry, 20-25 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

Cornbread Dressing

Serves 8-10

2 cups chestnuts (you can buy them already cooked and peeled to save time, and you will only need 1 ¼ cups)

Cornbread from the recipe above

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, plus more, softened, for baking dish

2 large onions, finely chopped

1 cup finely chopped celery

½ cup finely chopped shallots

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

4 Gala apples, peeled, corded, and cut into ½-inch pieces. (Gala Apples were introduced in the US from New Zealand in the 1970’s.  It is a sweet dessert apple related to the Golden Delicious.)

½ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

¼ cup chopped fresh sage

1 to 1 ½  cups Turkey stock or low-sodium store bought chicken or vegetable stock

Cut a slit in each chestnut with scissors or a paring knife. Cook chestnuts in a pot of boiling water for 20 minutes; then drain in a colander. When cool enough to handle, peel off and discard shells and inner brown skins. Quarter each.

Preheat oven to 375⁰. Crumble cornbread into a large bowl. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook chestnuts, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, about 8 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer chestnuts to bowl, reserving butter in pan.

Add onions, celery, and shallots to pan; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add apples and continue to cook , stirring occasionally, until apples are soft, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to bowl with cornbread mixture. Add parsley, sage, and enough stock to moisten mixture. Toss to combine and season with salt and pepper.

Transfer dressing to a buttered 3-quart shallow baking dish. (The dressing can be prepared to this point up to 1 day ahead; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Return to room temperature and uncover before baking.) Bake until heated through and top is lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Peanuts

I have been hearing about the high cost of peanut butter because of the terrible crops in the past years. Some have increased their prices by 40% so if you like peanut butter you are in for a shock.

I always use peanuts in my Thanksgiving menu. My husband loves his dish of creamed onions and peanuts, but the rest of us do not eat it as heartily as he does.

Peanuts are popular in the South and a lot of that popularity began in Alabama.  George Washington Carver, in his research at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama early in this century, presented peanut soup as one of the many nourishing dishes to be derived from the versatile peanut.  This is a savory soup usually made with peanut butter and chicken stock, and it is much better than it sounds. In Georgia, the soup never gained an avid following, but in Virginia it is found on many menus. But it was Carver, who first gave the visibility to the soup, and in some places it is called Tuskegee soup in his honor.

To make this soup: Sauté ½ cup of finely chopped celery and ½ cup of finely chopped green onions (tops included) in 4 tablespoons of butter in a large heavy pot. When the vegetables are soft, slowly sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of flour, stirring until smooth. Gradually add 3 cups of warm chicken broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Blend in ¾ cup of creamy peanut butter (you could use chunky), reduce heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently to achieve a smooth and thorough union of ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Just before serving, stir in 1 ½ cups of light cream or half-and half and reheat to just below boiling.  A small dish of ground peanuts on the side of the table makes a nice garnish to be sprinkled on top of the soup by each diner.  Serves 4-6 people.

This is my recipe for creamed onions and peanuts, which I have served for 36 years on Thanksgiving! It is taken from The Williamsburg Cookbook, which is one of the first cookbooks I acquired.

King’s Arms Tavern Creamed Onions and Peanuts

4-5 servings

16 whole small white onions

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cups whole salted peanuts

½ cup buttered bread crumbs

¼ cup salted peanuts, coarse chopped

Preheat oven to 400⁰F.

Grease 1-quart casserole.

Cook onions in boiling salted water until tender; drain.

Melt butter over medium heat; stir in flour and salt.

Add milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth and slightly thickened.

Put onions in prepared casserole and pour cream sauce over them.

Stir in ¼ cup whole peanuts.

Top with buttered crumbs and chopped peanuts.

Bake at 400⁰F. for 15 minutes or until casserole is bubbly and lightly browned.

Since peanut butter is so expensive now, why not make your own. It is easy. Just use these easy steps.

Peanut Butter

Makes 1 ½ cups

2 cups peanuts-(option: buy pre-roasted, salted peanuts)

1 ½ t. peanut oil or vegetable oil if desired

½ t. sugar, if desired

Pinch of salt

1.Roast the peanuts if not already salted. Remove peanuts from shells and spread on a baking pan. Bake the peanuts at 350⁰F. for 6-8 minutes, shaking them every 2 minutes so they do not burn. Let them cool.

2. Pour the 2 cups into a food processor with the metal blade attached.

3. Add 1 ½ t.  vegetable or peanut oil-cover the bowl with the food processor lid and chop the peanuts continuously for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture forms a ball, or the desired consistency.

4. Taste the peanut butter and add a dash of salt or sugar if needed.

5. You can store the peanut butter in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up two weeks.

Another fact I came across just this week, is that more than half of the peanuts produced in America are  grown within a 100-mile radius of Dothan, Alabama. There is a 10-day festival from the 4^th-14th of November in Dothan and is the largest salute to a legume. The kick-off for the parade is a giant concrete mixer that rolls through the town spreading roasted peanuts wherever it goes! You could still catch this festival!

Lunch at Beech Grove

One of our friends had us for lunch recently.  It was a beautiful sunny fall day in the country.  The meal was Cajun risotto.  Doug lived in Italy for a while, hence the risotto.  But it was more like a jambalaya; and I think calls for a dollop of Tabasco to round out the Cajun aspect.  He served a sauvignon blanc but if you use the Tabasco, serve a Riesling instead.

Doug spent his life in the city after three degrees from Yale.  After living and studying in Rome and Venice he spent forty years with the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.  After his wife died, he retired to his family plantation, Beech Grove, in Amite County, Mississippi.  There he has spent a good deal of time and money restoring and furnishing the home and adding a Palladian addition reminiscent of Monticello’s dependencies at the end of the U-shaped decks.  One of the buildings is a two story library to house his collection.  Being a Palladian scholar it is not surprising the way he designed the addition to the 1820’s plantation home.  And we got to talk about relations---not ours, but the relationships of the people who lived in our home and his home.  Of course, there was a marriage. Actually there were at least two marriages connecting the houses.  Everybody around here is related, usually going back several generations.

We were given the tour to see new acquisitions since we had been there last; then a glass of dry sherry. Doug had done lunch and was anxious to talk about healthful eating.  On his regimen (not diet) of eating organic, mostly vegetables, grains and fruits, he had lost several pounds and was proud of the fact he took no pills.  He should be quite thankful since he had spent about two years recovering from a sub-dural hematoma and its many complications. 

The meal was delicious.  Wild caught seafood and organic vegetables.  We let him in on the secrets of grass-fed beef and pastured animals.

Doug did not give me the exact ingredients for his Cajun risotto, but I came home and experimented with some measurements and ingredients and came up with what is almost Doug’s risotto. Just remember that you can use different vegetables and seafood and it would be best to use what is in season.

Doug’s Cajun Risotto

Serves 8

Sauté 1 chopped onion and 2 chopped cloves of garlic in 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter. Add 2 cups of  long grain rice and coat with the butter. Add 4 cups of chicken stock and cook the rice until done about 20-30 minutes. While this is cooking, blanch 2 chopped zucchini and 2 yellow squash in a pot of boiling water for 1 minute.  Drain and set aside.  Doug used frozen peas.  I decided to use okra from the garden. Use what you have.  Sauté separately a pound of shrimp, a pound of crawfish, 1 pound of crab, and 1 pound of small sea scallops. The shrimp and crawfish give good flavor.  So you may not want to use crab and scallops.  I did use crab but not the scallops. Sauté with 1 tablespoon of butter for each pound of seafood.  Put the vegetables and seafood in the rice mixture and add 2 tablespoons (or more) of Creole seasoning. Heat thoroughly and serve with a few asparagus spears on top for decoration.

All Saints'

Most people get excited about Halloween but November 1^st, is also an important day in the Christian world. All Saint’s Day is the day after Halloween and has been observed through the centuries with rituals celebrating life and death.

All Saints’ Day is usually a family event where entire families will come out to clean and whitewash the family tombs and bring food for picnics. The tradition continues with placing flowers, plants, and other mementos on the tombs and at the mausoleums of deceased family members. Perhaps the oldest holiday on the Western calendar, it dates back to 837, when Roman Catholics began honoring all saints, known and unknown, on the first day of November.

Rick Bragg writes in the latest issue of Southern Living, about seeing families in New Orleans dressed for church, filing through a cemetery gate with a picnic basket and an Igloo cooler. Later he saw people eating oyster po’boys and drinking root beer in the shade of a crypt. He saw fathers and sons toast grandfathers and great-grandfathers with a clink of Abita bottles. He felt that this was a lovely notion that you will be remembered, no matter what your faith, as long as someone is willing to come to see you.

In the latest issue of ‘Saveur’, there is a great article on Guatemala and how they celebrate All Saints’ Day. The families decorate their relatives’ graves with flowers and candles to guide the spirits back home. Food and drinks are left for souls famished from wandering in the netherworld. Many people stay by the graves, eating and drinking until morning and others take the party elsewhere. At the family’s home there are dishes of food covering the table and the centerpiece is an enormous composed salad—with dozens of ingredients in colorful layers. It is a salad called fiambre , which means “served cold,” and is only eaten in Guatemala on All Saints’ Day. Though its origins are murky, it is thought that families took dozens of little dishes to the cemetery and over time they got mixed together, resulting in this easier-to-carry creation. Fiambre can contain anything, with up to 50 ingredients and takes days to prepare. As the author of the article was leaving the Guatemalan home, one of the women preparing the fiambre said, ”Who know what the dead want?  With fiambre, they can pick their favorite thing.”

So get some good ingredients together and prepare this saintly salad for friends living or dead!

Fiambre

(Guatemalan Composed Salad)

Serves 12-16

¾ cup chopped parsley

½ cup white wine vinegar

2 tbsp. capers, drained

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

6 scallions, roughly chopped

1 7-oz. jar pimientos, drained

1 clove garlic, sliced thin

1 1” piece ginger, sliced thin

1 cup olive oil

Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, poached and cut into 1” cubes

1 lb. medium head-on, unpeeled shrimp, boiled

1 lb. peeled Yukon gold potatoes, boiled and halved

8 oz. cooked uncured chorizo sausage, cut into ¼ “ slices

4 oz. green beans, trimmed and boiled until tender

3 oz. salami, cut into ½ “ strips

3 oz. ham, cut into ½ “ strips

1 cup frozen peas

4 medium carrots, cut into ½ inch rounds, boiled until tender

4 ribs celery, cut into ½ inch slices, boiled until tender

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets, boiled until tender

4 medium beets, roasted, peeled, and quartered

1 small head green leaf lettuce, leaves separated

1 small head red leaf lettuce, leaves separated

8 oz. farmer’s cheese or feta

3 oz. mini gherkins, drained

3 oz. Spanish olives, pitted

5 radishes, quartered

4 boiled eggs, quartered

Puree ½ cup parsley, vinegar, capers, mustard, scallions, pimientos, garlic, and ginger in a blender.

Drizzle in oil until emulsified; season with salt and pepper and set vinaigrette aside. Toss chicken, shrimp, potatoes, chorizo, green beans, salami, ham, peas, carrots, celery, and cauliflower with ¾ cup vinaigrette in a bowl.

Toss beets with ¼ cup vinaigrette in another bowl. Cover both bowls; chill 30 minutes to blend flavors. Arrange lettuce on bottom of a large platter; top with marinated meats and vegetables. Garnish with beets, cheese, gherkins, olives, radishes, and eggs. Sprinkle with remaining parsley.

If you haven’t had All Saints’ as a part of your family traditions, think about taking the family to the graves of the ancestors and introduce the children to the past members of the family and share some food with them as well.

The Stewart family cemetery at Holly Grove---in need of a clean up for All Saints'

Autumn Meal with Friends

When the weather turns cooler I like to have friends over for an autumn meal. I just enjoy food more when it is somewhat cooler. Since we live out in the country I invite people around 6PM, since I do not like staying up late. I guess you could say I am a party pooper!  But enjoying the remains of the day with good friends is one of the delights of life.  And if the friends haven’t been before or recently we usually start the evening with a tour of our Devon while it is still light.

I usually go back to my favorite chef in Alabama, Frank Stitt, for inspiration. I tried something new and something old for my menu. Oysters are in season so I started with an oyster course. I may have given this recipe before but it is worth repeating, since I think it is my favorite oyster recipe.  It is easy, but the ingredients just explode in your mouth and make for a wonderful appetizer. I bought some organic pork at Whole Foods, and decided to use it as my main course with some greens and polenta. Dessert was an Apple Crostata.  Since I have just done an article on apples I will not print this one, but it was wonderful looking and delicious.

Serve a glass of champagne with your oysters and a red wine likes Côtes du Rhône for your pork. Enjoy the evening! I like a desert wine with the apples but you may want to end with coffee.

Taken from Frank Stitt’s cookbooks, Southern Table and Botega Favorita

Spicy Baked Oysters with Caramelized Onions

Serves 4

1 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions, quartered and thinly sliced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Rock salt for serving (I usually serve on oyster plates.)

24 oysters (can use freshly shucked and served in oyster shells that have been washed) 1 pint of oysters will be enough for 4 people

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

Coarsely ground dried hot chili or cayenne pepper to taste

6-7 very thin slices pancetta, cut into twenty-four 1 ½ -inch squares, or 6 slices bacon, preferably center-cut, cut into 4 pieces each

1 cup medium-coarse bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 450⁰F.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until golden, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Make a bed of rocks salt on a baking sheet and arrange the oysters on top. Top each with a little of the sautéed onion-just enough to cover. Place a teaspoon of butter and a good pinch of chili on each, then top with a square of pancetta (or bacon) and a scattering of bread crumbs to finish.

Bake until the pancetta is slightly crispy, the bread crumbs golden, and the oysters heated through, 10-12 minutes.  I transfer mine to the oyster plates, six each.

Pork Scaloppine with Greens and Polenta

Serves 4

2-3 tablespoons olive oil, or as needed

1 large sweet onion, such as Vidalia or Maui Maui, sliced

2 garlic cloves, 1 crushed, 1 minced

1 thyme sprig

4 cups roughly chopped turnip greens, Swiss chard, or mustard greens

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour

Eight 3-ounce slices pork loin, pounded to 1/8 inch thick

1 shallot, finely minced

¼ cup dry Marsala

1 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

3 cups creamy polenta (can make from scratch or buy the log to reconstitute) one could also use grits instead of the polenta

¼ cup pine nuts, toasted

¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the onion, crushed garlic, and thyme sprig and cook until the onion is lightly colored, about 12 minutes. Add the chopped greens, cover the pan, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the greens are soft. Then season to taste with salt and pepper, transfer to a bowl, and set aside to cool. (Set the pan aside.)

Season the flour with salt and pepper; spread on a plate.

Return the pan to medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Dust each scaloppini with flour, shaking off any excess. Working in batches to avoid crowding, add the pork to the pan and cook until browned on both sides and medium-rare, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer the slices to a rack as they are done and cover loosely to keep warm; add more oil to the pan as necessary.

Add the minced garlic and shallot to the pan and cook for 1 minute more. Add the Marsala and simmer to reduce by half.  Add the stock and reduce by half. Whisk in the cold butter bit by bit, and season to taste. Remove the pan from the heat.

Spoon a portion of the soft polenta into the center of each plate, place 2 scaloppine on top, and ladle the sauce over the pork. Serve with a generous spoonful of the greens, garnished with the pine nuts and cheese.

We had our dinner party last evening and I thought everything went very well together. My friends enjoyed it also and did not leave until 10:30PM. I will need a nap today!! (But I usually have an afternoon siesta.)