Thanksgiving recap: The leftovers

So, any disasters out there? We had about 25 people at our house, and everything came out pretty well, except for the fact that I burned the gravy. I didn't even know it was possible to burn the gravy. Of all the things that were on my list of potential paranoia, burning gravy didn't even make the list. And it's a long list. And if there is one thing you don't want to mess up, its the gravy. It goes on everything. And this tasted like an ashtray.

Everyone said the gravy was fine, which indicates one of two possibilities. A) I have really, really, really polite friends. B) The true burnedness of the gravy didn't really come through until I scraped up the bottom when I made my plate, and everyone else had already eaten by the time I got my plate. So I will forever delude myself with the possibility that maybe the gravy was fine for everyone else. Whichever, I will not assume anything when it comes to gravy in the future.

So, I have no leftover gravy, which really screws up my leftover plans. But let's talk leftover concepts.

-- My favorite thing to do with leftover turkey is to make omelets for breakfast. Granted, it might be because a post-Thanksgiving turkey omelet is the first thing I ever remember being complimented on. It was by my stepgrandfather, and he seemed legitimately impressed. And it was good. Fluffy eggs, some white meat and cheddar cheese.

-- Shepherd's pie. Seems like a no-brainer. Put some chopped turkey in the bottom of a casserole, top with whatever vegetable you have leftover -- beans, carrots, asparagus -- then slather the whole thing with mashed potatoes and bake.

-- Sandwiches. You can make the traditional turkey sandwich. Or take the opportunity of available ingredients to make a Hot Brown. Take some toast, stack on the turkey. You can make a cheese sauce and be all official, or just cover it in gravy and add a slice of tomato and put some cheese on top, then broil until the cheese melts. Cranberry sauce would work on the side.

-- Croquetas. If you've got leftover mashed potatoes and meat, you have almost everything you need for croquetas. Stir the meat -- ham is classic, but turkey would work too -- into the potatoes, coat with bread crumbs and fry. You could either deep dry or skillet fry. Either way.

-- Top some pasta. Like you haven't had enough carbs at this point. Let's make more! Tetrazzini, from the Russian word for "Good Lord, there's still more turkey?," makes sense, only because it lets you get rid of some turkey and gravy with a whole different kind of starch.

-- Come to think of it, can we do something without starch? How about a salad? Get a bowl with some greens, top with cold turkey. Cranberry sauce would make a decent dressing. Maybe thin it down with a little olive oil.

My favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner is the stuffing, and I make a ton every year just to make sure I have plenty left to eat for days. I was watching Food Network last week and saw this recipe from Sunny Anderson for Second Day Fried Stuffing Bites with Cranberry Sauce Pesto. Stuffing. Fried. I'd try that. And it doesn't require gravy, so that works for me this year.

Second Day Fried Stuffing Bites with Cranberry Sauce Pesto

Leftover stuffing
2 eggs
2 teaspoons milk
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 cup cranberry sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup walnuts
Oil, for frying

Preheat oil to 350 degrees.

Cut leftover stuffing into bite-sized cubes and set aside. In a small bowl whisk eggs and milk. Coat each stuffing bite with this egg wash, then dredge in the bread crumbs until fully coated and set aside. In a food processor blend cranberry sauce, pepper and walnuts and set aside. Once oil is at temperature fry each piece of stuffing until golden brown about 4 minutes. Drain on a paper towel and serve with cranberry pesto.

Photo: Istockphoto.com

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Thanksgiving countdown: Stuffing stuff

No recipe today. You don't have time for it. I don't have time for it. Too much to do! So instead of coming up with something new today, we'll jazz up something you are probably making anyway. Stuffing.

First off, don't stuff it in anything. It makes the bird take longer to cook, and you are introducing unnecessary risk by taking something that soaks stuff up, then putting it into a carcass that is a bacteriological breeding ground until properly cooked.

Technically, if you don't "stuff" it in the bird, I guess it's dressing. But I like to think that the purpose of "stuffing" isn't to "stuff" the bird, but to stuff me. So I cook it separately and serve it on the side. But I still call it stuffing.

So, the recipe you've been making since you left home, the one your grandma gave you, is great. But here are some things you can add to change gears just a little.

-- Start with the standards. Most recipes will call for some combination of aromatics. Onions, garlic, celery, carrots. Mushrooms are always a good add.

-- The first time i made stuffing, I took the recipe my family had made forever, and added wild rice to it. I have never made it without wild rice since. Adds great texture. (Cook the rice first.) There are stuffings that are rice-based, too. Usually with sausage. Maybe try that next week. Stick to the basics tonight.

-- Add meat. A lot of people but sausage in their stuffing. Try any kind you like (again, cook it first). My mom used to make a separate, smaller pan with oysters in it. Only she, my uncle and I would eat it.

-- Add dried fruit. Depending on what else you have in your stuffing, any number of fruits could go well in there. Apples. Cranberries. Cherries. Apricots.

-- Or fresh. Apples. Pears.

-- Canned vegetables. Artichokes. Water chestnuts.

-- Nuts could work well.

-- Got vegetarians coming over? Use vegetable stock. It's hard to even discern the difference in a dish like this.

Love your stuffing and don't want to commit to something else? Make a big batch of yours, then separate some off into a smaller dish and mix in something different. It's still yours. It's just a little bit different now. And it might be good, too.

If you have other ideas, I'm listening.

No post tomorrow. We'll talk leftovers on Friday.

Photo: Associated Press

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Thanksgiving countdown: Butternut bisque

This dish started out as butternut gnocchi.

My wife is a fan of butternut squash, and I was trying to figure out a way to get butternut on the Thanksgiving menu, and I thought butternut gnocchi sounded like a GREAT idea. So I planned all year to make butternut gnocchi at Thanksgiving that year. I envisioned wonderfully autumnal orange dumplings, and I planned a brown butter sauce with sage and, frankly, as I write this, it sounds good to me again.

But about a month before Thanksgiving, I went to a tasting party at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, and a chef from Cedar Key was there, and he was serving sauteed scallops with butternut gnocchi. At first I was a little deflated to learn that my idea wasn't original. But then I looked at them. They were hardly orange at all. And there was no butternut flavor. Boy, was I glad that that happened to him and not me. Of course, if I had done it, there would've been about 10 witnesses. This guy was serving 600. He seemed content with it. But I wanted orange.

Anyway, now I only had a couple of weeks to come up with something that had butternut in it. Soup seemed trite, but bisque sounded kind of classy. so here it is:

Butternut Bisque

1 large or 2 small/medium butternut squash (about 4 to 5 pounds total before they're cleaned), peeled, seeded and cut roughly in 1-inch dice
Olive oil
Salt
1 onion, chopped
1 cup carrot, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 box (32 ounces) of vegetable stock
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup heavy cream  (or whole milk, or half and half)
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (optional)

Put diced butternut squash on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt on it. In a 350-degree oven, roast the butternut for about 30 minutes, or until the edges start to brown a little.

While that's roasting, in a large pot saute the onion and carrot about 5 minutes, until the onion is a little soft and translucent. Add the garlic and saute another minute or two. When the butternut comes out of the oven, add to the pot along with the vegetable stock and the ginger and cinnamon. (Feel free to make it your own with the spices; omit ones you don't like, or add others. Some other spices that might work: nutmeg, allspice, clove, cardamom, curry.) Simmer for about an hour. More time won't hurt it, though.

This step is a pain and is optional, but will result in the best texture for the soup: Puree in a blender. You may have to do this in batches, and you need to vent the blender, either by leaving it partially uncovered or popping the middle part of the cap off, if yours does that. When you've pureed the soup, put it through a strainer. (I told you this step was a pain.)

if you don't want to blend and strain, you can just put an immersion (stick) blender in the pot and run it until it's fairly smooth. Or a food processor. Or electric mixer. Or a potato masher. Or skip this step and eat it chunky.

After you puree in whatever manner you choose, and strain it (or not), put it back in the pot on the stove and let it simmer for at least 15 to 20 minutes. Then add the cream and sherry vinegar and stir it in. (If you don't have sherry vinegar, you could use another light-color vinegar, like apple cider, or rice wine. Or just skip it. But I wouldn't use balsamic. It would mess up the color.)

I made this recipe with the intent on keeping it vegetarian, but you could use chicken stock if you prefer. And on Friday, you could chop up some leftover turkey and drop it in the soup to make a meal of it.

Photo: iStockphoto.com

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Thanksgiving countdown: Cranberries

I thought we could count down the last days before Thanksgiving with some side dishes for the big day. Today, I'm starting with one of the first things I ever made from the Times Taste section, cranberry sauce.

This is Janet's recipe, and it ran in 2003. I change it a little depending on what I have on hand, but here is the recipe.

Grand Marnier Double Cranberry Sauce

1 12-ounce package fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

In medium saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 5 minutes, or until cranberries pop. Cover and refrigerate until very cold, about 4 hours.

Note: The sauce can be prepared 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.

Makes 2 cups.


I made mine last night, and I didn't have any Grand Marnier -- gee, wonder where that went -- but I did have some port, and that worked fine. You could also leave out the booze altogether . . . I guess. Also, I had no OJ concentrate, but I had a bag of oranges, so I zested one and juiced it, and added it all. Also, I splashed about a 1/2-cup of ginger ale in there. Makes the whole thing a little more saucy, so to speak.

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Alert! Alert! Guest blogger on the way!

I'm going to be gone for a couple weeks and am leaving you in the capable hands of Jim Webster, my fantastic cooking colleague at the St. Petersburg Times. By night he's a crackerjack copy editor and by day he's a great cook and a restaurant/chef groupie. He blogged on Stir Crazy for three weeks last summer and provided some great recipes.

But I'm burying the lede. Jim just won Mario Batali's Ultimate Grilling Challenge and went to a NASCAR wingding in Forth Worth, Texas, to cook at a tailgate with Mario and Rachael Ray. He has still got plenty of stories and recipes up his sleeve from that experience. Read about his exploits in the rarefied air on his blog.

The announcement of his win came on the Rachael Ray chat-fest in October. The photo of Jim here, taken by a Times photog, shows a bunch of people gathered around Jim and the TV waiting for the news. So cool.

Well, while you wait for the wondrous recipes to come, check out this simple dinner idea from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Make a salad and rice and dinner's done.

Have a great Thanksgiving and be nice to Jim! I'll be back in time to dish on Christmas delights ...

Zesty Steak and Beans
1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 reduced-sodium packet of taco seasoning
3/4 cup water
8 ounces grilled, broiled or pan-seared flank or sirloin steak, thinly sliced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
12 tortilla chips, crushed

In a large skillet over medium heat add kidney beans, taco seasoning and 3/4 cup of water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to a slow simmer and cook until liquid reduces and just coats the beans. Add the sliced steak and stir to combine and heat through. Transfer to serving dish and top with green onions and crushed chips.

Serves 2.

Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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When curry meets potato

It's not as if we won't get our fill of sweet potatoes next week, but man, this sounds really good. And a little strange. I guess I never would have thought about plopping curried shrimp on a baked potato, but why not?

If it's too much for you, consider rice. This recipe is a for a single serving but it could be easily doubled or tripled. Thai Kitchen makes different curry pastes and you can find them in the aisle with the Asian foods.

Curried Shrimp on a Sweet Potato
1 medium sweet potato, scrubbed clean (about 6 ounces)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 1/2-inch piece ginger root, peeled and cut crosswise into very thin slices
1/4 medium red bell pepper, cut into very thin strips (julienne; about 1/4 cup total)
1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste (may substitute good-quality Indian curry powder)
3 tablespoons low-fat coconut milk
4 ounces any-size uncooked shrimp, peeled, deveined and cut into pieces
Salt
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro leaves

Preheat  oven to 425 degrees.

Use a fork or sharp knife to prick the sweet potato in several places. Place on a piece of aluminum foil and bake for 40 to 60 minutes or until the sweet potato is tender and can be easily squeezed.
(Alternatively, to speed up the process, the pricked sweet potato can be microwaved on HIGH for 1 minute, then carefully transferred to the oven and placed on a piece of foil. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until the potato is tender.)

Heat the oil in a medium, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. Add the ginger and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes or until it becomes fragrant and starts to soften. Add the bell pepper and cook for 2 to 4 minutes or until the strips lose their crunch. Reduce the heat to medium-low, then add the curry paste and coconut milk, stirring to thoroughly combine. Add the shrimp and stir to incorporate. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or just until the shrimp are firm and opaque. Season with salt to taste; remove from the heat.

When the sweet potato has finished baking, place it on a serving plate. Use a sharp knife to make a centered, lengthwise slit in the top, pinching the potato on each end to expose the flesh and make a pocket for the filling. Spoon on the shrimp mixture and sprinkle with the cilantro. Serve hot.

Serves 1.

NUTRITION Per serving: 382 calories, 26 g protein, 33 g carbohydrates, 16 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 172 mg cholesterol, 666 mg sodium, 5 g dietary fiber

Source: Washington Post food editor Joe Yonan.

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Rotisserie Chicken Wednesday

Do you know Mark Bittman? Well, I don't actually know him but I do love his sensibilities about food and cooking. He writes a column for the New York Times under the label The Minimalist, plus he has written lots of cookbooks. (The picture shows him with Mario Batali. Both of them, along with Gwyneth Paltrow, are on a PBS cooking/travel show about Spain.)

His Pasta With Fresh Herbs is a perfect accompaniment for rotisserie chicken. Plus, it's a great way to use up fresh herbs that you may have bought for another dish. I am notoriously bad about letting those go rotten. (Another good use for fresh herbs is to snip them into green salads.)

Pasta With Fresh Herbs
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup or more mixed herbs, such as parsley, dill, chervil, basil, tarragon, sage, thyme, oregano, marjoram or mint (leaves and thin stems only)
1 tablespoon butter, optional
Salt
1 pound linguine or other long pasta
Freshly ground pepper
Begin heating a large pot of water for the pasta. Meanwhile, combine the oil and garlic in  a small saucepan and turn the heat to medium-low. Cook gently, just until the garlic begins to color, then remove from the heat. Meanwhile, wash and mince the herbs. Place them in a bowl large enough to hold the pasta. Cut the butter into bits, if you’re using it, and add it to the bowl.

Salt the boiling pasta water and cook the pasta until tender but not mushy. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta and toss with the herbs and reserved oil-garlic mixture. Add a little more olive oil of some of the pasta water if you did not use butter and mixture seems dry. Season with salt and pepper and serve. Serves 4 as side dish.

Source: “The Minimalist Cook Dinner” by Mark Bittman (Broadway; 2001)

Photo from PBS

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Sweater weather food!

I've got a sweater on today. It's not as dapper as Mr. Rogers', but still. (Though I couldn't get my eighth-grade wolverine to wear one to school. Wait, does he even have one?)

Cool weather makes me think of Shepherd's Pie and this one is made completely in a skillet. Make sure yours can go in the oven because that's where the dish is finished. It calls for shredded frozen hash browns and make sure you buy those and not cubed 'taters. That won't work.

Put this on your winter menu. You'll make it a lot.

Skillet Shepherd’s Pie
8 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes (sometimes labeled “country style”)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided use
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (or ground lamb)
1 onion, chopped fine
1 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups frozen peas and carrot medley, thawed
Toss potatoes with 2 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in large bowl. Wrap tightly with plastic and microwave until potatoes are tender, 7 to 10 minutes.
While potatoes are cooking, cook beef and onion in large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat until beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain beef mixture in colander.
Return drained beef mixture to pan. Stir in thyme and flour and cook until incorporated, about 1 minute. (At this point, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat broiler.) Stir in broth and Worcestershire and cook until sauce is thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in pea and carrot medley and simmer until heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
Scatter cooked shredded potatoes over beef mixture and brush with remaining butter. Broil until potatoes are golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
Serves 4.
Source: Cook’s Country magazine.

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A week's worth of meal ideas

Here are this week's dinner ideas. Buy what you need today for Wednesday's King Ranch Chicken Salad. It's hot stuff (see recipe below) and worth the effort.

Monday: Dinner a la Cubano
Grab a loaf of Cuban bread and make Cuban sandwiches tonight. You’ll need sliced roasted pork, boiled ham, Swiss cheese, yellow mustard and thinly sliced dill pickles. If you don’t have a panini press, use a large skillet and place a (clean!) pot on top of the sandwiches to get that patented Ybor City press. Plantain chips and black beans and yellow rice on the side.

Tuesday: Fast sketti
Even if you don’t have an Italian Mama’s red sauce recipe, you can whip up Spaghetti and Meatballs. Pick out a favorite sauce (we like ours chunky and garlicky) and buy some frozen meatballs. Heat sauce and dump in thawed meatballs. Serve over pasta with lots of freshly grated Parmesan. (It may be convenient but avoid the green cardboard shaker; grate your own.) Big slices of hot Italian bread and green salad.

Wednesday: Rotisserie Chicken
King Ranch Chicken Salad (recipe below) isn’t exactly what we think of when we think of salad. This is a hot dish, made bubbly good with cheese, chilies and olives. King Ranch is a good take-along dish and is excellent for when the kids have friends over for dinner.

Thursday: Kit and caboodle
Write "Asian food kit" on your shopping list and the next time you’re at the store, peruse the Thai Kitchen brand of curries or pad Thai mixes. The instructions are right on the packaging. Get what’s directed (probably chicken or shellfish, some veggies and maybe coconut milk) and prepare it tonight. Make sure you’ve got rice or noodles in the pantry.

Friday: Make it cheap
Stuffed baked potatoes are easy on the wallet and very filling. Some suggestions: black beans and salsa; chili and shredded cheese; broccoli and cheese; or chicken, canned green chilies and sour cream.

King Ranch Chicken Salad
Meat from 2 rotisserie chickens, shredded
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, drained
1 can (4 1/2 ounces) chopped black olives, drained
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup dairy sour cream
2 cups crushed tortilla chips, divided
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup grated sharp Colby or Cheddar cheese
In a large mixing bowl, combine chicken, onion, chilies, olives, mayonnaise and sour cream. Add 1 cup tortilla chips; mix well.
Spread half the chicken mixture in a greased 9- by 13-inch baking pan. Sprinkle Monterey Jack cheese over chicken mixture in pan. Spread remaining chicken mixture over cheese. Cover chicken mixture with Colby cheese. Top with remaining 1 cup tortilla chips. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven 10 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Serves 6 to 8 as a main dish.
Source: “Salads: Food Writers’ Favorites” edited by Barbara Gibbs Ostmann and Jane Baker (Dial Publishing, 1991)

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Cooking with couscous

Everyone has cooked with couscous by now and if not, it's time to get to the know the fluffy North African staple. The coarsely ground semolina pasta cooks quickly (put it in boiling water, take off the heat and cover for 5 minutes), which is music to the ears of Stir Crazy folks. In this salad, it's joined by shrimp and orange in the form of segments and juice.

It's a beauty for a ladies luncheon or a light dinner. Make it for yourself and bring to the office for the next couple days. Everyone will be jealous.

Couscous Salad With Shrimp and Oranges
1 large orange
1 cup cooked and peeled large shrimp
1 cup uncooked couscous
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
3 tablespoon raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (see note)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

Peel orange; remove white pith and membrane. Cut into segments. Reserve a few whole segments for garnish. Halve remaining segments.

Reserve a few whole shrimp for garnish. Cut remaining shrimp into bite-site pieces.

Cook the couscous according to package directions, substituting orange juice for water as the cooking liquid. When cooked, transfer couscous to a bowl and fluff with a fork, separating any lumps. Drizzle oil and lemon juice over couscous; continue to fluff the grains. Add ginger, orange peel, halved orange segments, raisins, walnuts, parsley and cut-up shrimp. Mix well. Refrigerate several hours before serving.

Just before serving, toss lightly. Garnish with reserved whole shrimp and reserved whole orange segments.

Note: To toast walnuts, spread them in a skillet and place on medium heat. Stir frequently to prevent burning. Once they are heated, they will toast quickly. Take them out of the hot pan to cool or they will burn.

Serves 4.

Source: “Salads: Food Writers’ Favorites” edited by Barbara Gibbs Ostmann and Jane Baker (Dial Publishing, 1991)

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