Cranberries: cooked or raw? November 21, 2012
Posted by ourfriendben in recipes, wit and wisdom.Tags: cranberries, cranberry jelly, cranberry relish, cranberry sauce, recipe for supreme cranberry sauce, thanksgiving, Thanksgiving menu
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Silence Dogood here. It seems to me that there are two kinds of people when it comes to Thanksgiving cranberries, those who like them cooked in cranberry sauce, and those who like them raw in cranberry relish. (There are also all of us who love dried cranberries, aka “craisins,” and folks like our friend Ben who grew up with the cranberry jelly in a can and have remained faithful, serving up a big slice for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Fortunately, he also likes my from-scratch cranberry sauce.)
I also started out with cranberry jelly in a can; real cranberry sauce, which my Mama made every year, was considered too bitter for a child’s unsophisticated palate. I have to agree: To this day, I cringe every time I see a recipe for cranberry sauce that simply includes cranberries and sugar or cranberries, orange rind and sugar. It’s enough to make your teeth ache just thinking about it.
But worse still, from my perspective, is cranberry relish, that ground-up concoction of raw cranberries, oranges and sugar. Yikes!!! It’s so bitter, and the texture is all wrong. Cooked cranberry sauce made right is succulent and delicious, the perfect complement to turkey and dressing. Raw cranberry relish is harsh, the absolute opposite of what Thanksgiving cranberries should be. (I’d make an exception if you made raw cranberry and horseradish relish, so it was a spicy, savory accompaniment to the rich Thanksgiving fare. Otherwise, eeeewwwwww.) And yet raw cranberry relish has innumerable fans.
For me, cooked cranberry sauce is king, and I’ve modified a recipe by Dorie Greenspan to make the most luscious cranberry sauce known to man. It’s so easy, and so good, it would be a sin not to at least try it. So here you are:
Silence’s Ultimate Cranberry Sauce
2 12-ounce bags fresh cranberries
1 12-ounce jar apricot preserves
16 ounces orange juice
1/2 cup diced dried apricots
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
2 cinnamon sticks
heaping teaspoon ginger paste or 2 slices diced crystallized or minced fresh ginger
Rinse and drain cranberries and put them in a large, heavy pot (I love my LeCreuset Dutch oven). Pour in orange juice and Grand Marnier. Add diced apricots, apricot preserves, cinnamon sticks, and ginger. Stir well to mix, then cook over low heat until cranberries “pop” and mixture thickens. Allow to cool, then pour into containers and refrigerate until needed. Keeps very well. Serves 12.
No bitterness here, but it’s not cloyingly sweet, either. Everyone should love this sauce, from toddlers to centenarians.
As for those who fall in the raw-cranberry camp, I invite you to speak up and defend yourselves! I’d as soon eat raw cornmeal or raw okra as raw cranberries. Why does raw cranberry relish hold appeal for you? Inquiring minds would really like to know.
‘Til next time,
Silence
Thanksgiving persimmon salad. November 20, 2012
Posted by ourfriendben in recipes.Tags: persimmon arugula salad, persimmon salad, persimmons, thanksgiving, Thanksgiving menu, Thanksgiving recipes
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Silence Dogood here. For years, we’ve been trying to grow persimmon trees here at Hawk’s Haven, the cottage home our friend Ben and I share in the middle of nowhere, PA. And basically, we’ve been failing, our poor little ‘Meader’ American persimmon still hardly coming much past my waist, and a new American persimmon we found this year at Meadowview Farm in Bowers, PA, no taller than my knee.
American persimmons, like Brussels sprouts, need frost to sweeten up. This is also true of the Japanese Hachiya persimmon. But it’s not true of the Japanese Fuyu persimmon, which is available in grocery stores now and is the star in Chef Marc Vetri’s Persimmon and Arugula Salad, featured in the past weekend’s Wall Street Journal (check it out at www.wsj.com). I was really thrilled by this salad, since it looked absolutely delicious and perfect for fall, and I happen to love arugula, Parmesan, lemon juice and persimmons.
Best of all, it’s so easy! To make the salad for four, buy 3 Fuyu persimmons, 4 cups baby arugula, Parmesan shavings, and 1 or more lemons. Chef Vetri suggests trimming the persimmon tops and ends, and peeling them if you choose, then halving and thinly slicing them. Toss the persimmon slices with the juice of one lemon, a pinch of fine sea salt, and 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. Give them five minutes for the fruit to release its juices and the salt to dissolve, then taste and add more lemon juice or salt to taste.
Now it’s time to plate your salad. Put a cup of baby arugula on each plate, then top with 1/4th of the sliced persimmons. Drizzle with the sauce from the fruit bowl, garnish with plenty of shaved Parmesan, top with a drizzle of olive oil and freshly ground black pepper, and sit back and watch your guests wolf down the most amazing Thanksgiving salad ever! So good, so easy. Yum!!!
‘Til next time,
Silence
Talking turkey. November 9, 2012
Posted by ourfriendben in recipes, wit and wisdom.Tags: planning Thanksgiving Dinner, Thanksgiving food, Thanksgiving menu, vegetarian Thanksgiving
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Or not. Silence Dogood here. We have friends—Joy, Cole, Candyce, Edith, Rob—who think Hallowe’en is the greatest holiday of the year. Our friend Ben’s brother thinks Easter is the year’s premier holiday. But here at Hawk’s Haven, the cottage home our friend Ben and I share in the precise middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania, Christmas and its family traditions rule, except when it comes to food. As far as food is concerned, the annual Thanksgiving feast—our celebration of the abundance of Harvest Home—reigns supreme.
Mind you, I’m a vegetarian, so no actual turkey makes an appearance on our Thanksgiving table, nor do the luscious turkey sandwiches and creamed turkey on toast I recall fondly from my childhood make a post-Thanksgiving appearance. But that’s not to say you can’t sub the Butterball for my main-dish entrees recommended below. If you follow my lead, you’ll have a spectacular Thanksgiving dinner, with or without the big bird.
I love planning the Thanksgiving meal, as well as seasonal harvest dishes after the Thanksgiving leftovers have been enjoyed. And I have lots and lots of special seasonal recipes to share with all of you. So this year, I’m opening the floor to requests. Let me know which recipes you want, and I’ll publish them here at Poor Richard’s Almanac on the days leading up to Thanksgiving. Since I’ll be travelling this weekend for my father’s birthday and won’t be home ’til Monday evening (don’t worry, I’ve made tons of reheatable dishes for OFB), I’ll definitely be facing a Thanksgiving cooking crunch come Tuesday, and will be posting a make-ahead schedule for the rest of you who don’t want to risk heart attack or stroke from pressure on the big day.
Meanwhile, here are the options for a Silence Dogood blowout Thanksgiving meal. Vote for your favorites, and let me know which recipes you’d like to have! And needless to say, please vary your courses. If you choose the curried pumpkin or winter squash soup as an appetizer, don’t make sweet potatoes or the potato and winter squash casserole. If you make the luscious Endive Boats as an appetizer, don’t make the Green Apple Salad with Endive and Radicchio. No repetition!
So, everyone, place your votes and request recipes at will! I’ll be only too happy to serve them up.
‘Til next time,
Silence
THANKSGIVING MENU
Appetizers (choose 1):
Endive Boats
Curried Pumpkin Soup or Chaz’s Winter Squash Soup
Cranberry-Cream Cheese Rangoons
Martha Stewart’s Cheese Balls Three Ways
Salad Course: (choose 1):
Coleslaw with Cilantro and Scallions
Aunt Debbi’s Coleslaw
Silence’s Quick Colseslaw
Bibb-and-Radish Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
Green Apple Salad with Endive and Radicchio
Pear and Frisee Salad with Blue Cheese and Walnuts
Garlicky Caesar Salad
Delilah’s Lentil and Apple Salad
Lively Lentil Salad
Sides (choose 5):
Silence’s Ultimate Cranberry Sauce
Silence’s Amazing Cranberry Dressing
Toasted Sweet Corn Pudding
Amy Good’s Broccoli Saute
Cat Cora’s Brussels Sprouts
Silence’s Super Squash Casserole
Landis Store’s Sweet Potato Souffle
Sauteed Chiffonaded Brussels Sprouts, Corn and Sweet Onion
Dinner Rolls
Mashed Potatoes (OFB always insists on these)
Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Sweet Onions and Mushrooms
Stuffed Roasted Portabella Caps
Green Beans Amondine
Main Dish (choose 1):
Potatoes and Winter Squash Casserole with Gruyere Cheese
Delilah’s Crock Pot Mac’N'Cheese
Baked Curried Brown Rice and Lentil Pilaf
Jen’s Mushroom Carbonara
Easy Pesto Pasta
Super-Simple Creamy Pasta
Apres-Feast (choose 1 or 2):
Coffee
Black tea
Herb tea (preferably a digestive like peppermint. chamomile or fennel)
Tawny Port
Hot apple cider spiked with dark rum (Gosling is our favorite), cinnamon, and cloves
Cold Hard Cider
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pecan Pie
Baklava
Fruit and Cheese Tray
Dark Chocolate Confections
Glaceed Apricots
Apricots or Ginger Dipped in Dark Chocolate
Medjool Dates
Pomegranates
There you have it! Cast your votes!
The Thanksgiving menu. November 19, 2011
Posted by ourfriendben in recipes, wit and wisdom.Tags: thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Dinner, Thanksgiving food, Thanksgiving menu, vegetarian Thanksgiving
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Silence Dogood here. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it, and it’s not a minute too soon to start thinking about the menu, making your shopping list, and creating a timeline so everything’s done in time and ready for the table.
I’m vegetarian, so our groaning board will be missing that traditional Thanksgiving centerpiece, the turkey. But after Christmas, Thanksgiving—the celebration of another bounteous year, a reminder to give thanks for our many blessings, the culmination of Harvest Home—is my favorite holiday, so I want to make sure we and our guests have plenty of good food to eat. Here’s what I plan to serve this year:
Appetizers
endive boats (stuffed with gorgonzola and feta cheese, cranberries, and pecans)
poblano poppers (cored, halved poblano chiles stuffed with cream cheese and shredded Mexican cheese blend)
Salads
hearty tossed salad (endive, radicchio, romaine, escarole, arugula, kale, mustard greens, tons of chopped veggies, Spanish onion and scallions, olives, and cheeses, choice of dressings)
coleslaw (shredded green and purple cabbage, shredded carrots, diced sweet onion, diced Granny Smith apples, crumbled blue cheese, caraway and/or cracked fennel seed, black mustardseed, cracked black pepper, vinaigrette)
Delilah’s lentil-apple salad
Soup
curried pumpkin soup
Main Course
cranberry sauce
summer squash casserole
cranberry dressing
potato and winter squash casserole with Gruyere cheese, or mashed potatoes
roasted sliced sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, and sweet onion
green beans
corn pudding
Desserts
sour cherry pie
pumpkin cheesecake bars
pecan pie
Okay, even with guests, this is a ton of food. But the great thing about Thanksgiving food is that it keeps so well! Even after we send food home for guests, we’ll have plenty of leftovers to enjoy for at least a week. Hallelujah!
I’ll be sharing some recipes for this meal with you as we get closer to Thanksgiving. They’re too good not to try!
And please, share your Thanksgiving menu with us. We’d love to know what you’re having!
‘Til next time,
Silence
