Today I am making turkey stock. I hit Whole Foods early today so I can let the stock cook most of the afternoon. As soon as I got home I roasted the turkey wings and thighs in the oven with salt, pepper, garlic cloves and olive oil. Once roasted I placed them in a stock pot along with a couple of onions, several carrots and celery stalks, added water, salt, peppercorns and thyme and brought it all to a boil. Then I lowered the heat to a simmer. Once the stock has reduced I will strain it and ladle it into containers for the freezer. The house already smells like Thanksgiving!
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Pie Day – our own family holiday!
As the Thanksgiving holiday quickly approaches my thoughts turn to pie. Pie has been a huge tradition in my husband’s family for Thanksgiving…and by huge I mean LOTS of pie. I was amazed at the quantity the first time I ate with his family for the Turkey Day festivities: TWELVE pies. Yes, twelve; 12; Ten plus two; Six plus six…you get the picture. His mom prepared a feast for not only their immediate family, but for aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. There were a lot of eaters – and a lot of pie. Once my husband and I married we spent practically every Thanksgiving with his family. And when our boys were born they eagerly looked forward to the pie tradition every year. So you can imagine the angst incurred when we finally realized we had to give up traveling for the Thanksgiving holidays. The first time the subject was brought up my husband asked, “But what about the pies? The boys will really miss all that pie” Translated: “But what about the pies? I will really miss all that pie”. So I agreed to make several pies. I knew 12 pies were absolutely out of the question, but I agreed to make 6…
Fast forward many years…Each year I have made more and more pies. I finally broke my record last year, making not only 11 pies, but the equivalent of 2 other pies in the form of mini-pies. Yes, some were duplicates. There were 2 Bourbon Pecan, 2 Cherry, 2 Apple (one had brandied raisins) and 2 pumpkin. Then I made 1 Chocolate, 1 Banana Cream, and 1 Coconut Cream. The final two ‘pies’ were Lemon Meringue and Cranberry Meringue, made into bite-sized portions to ensure meringue on each serving (don’t you hate when you have a slice of lemon meringue and get no meringue?!?).
I can hear all of you trying to wrap your brain around this concept of (essentially) 13 pies…”But why?” you ask, and “Do you EAT all that pie yourself?” and, the most common question, “ARE YOU CRAZY???” (to that one I of course say ‘yes’). I make all those pies because I love to bake, and I love a cooking challenge. And I especially love to continue a long-standing family tradition, one that my boys will remember and hopefully pass along to their kids someday (my apologies to their future wives). As to whether or not we eat all of that pie, well, we do solicit a bit of help. See, we do not have the good fortune to have our family near during the holidays. Usually it is only the 4 of us and my nephew (and my parents one year)…a lot of pie for five people. So we have ‘Pie Day’. This is usually the day after Thanksgiving – and on this wonderful day we invite our friends to join us in the eating of the pies. Often, they bring over their own leftover desserts from their Big Day…There are a lot of desserts! Everyone comes hungry and leaves full!!
So now here I am, fully in the process of readying for Pie Day. I have pie crust in the freezer and am looking for one or two new flavors/recipes to add to the mix this year. Many of my ingredients have been purchased and stored…the fresh ones will be bought a day or so ahead. And on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving I will spend the entire day in my kitchen, happily paring, dicing, slicing, rolling out crust, assembling and baking all those glorious pies…That night I will fall into bed tired (read: exhausted) but happy, and will drift off to sleep dreaming of eating lots and lots of pie!
Chipotle Powder – heating things up in the kitchen!
There is something about chipotle powder that is magical to me. It has that combination of smoke and heat and spice that makes me want to dust it on practically everything. I am addicted…I sprinkle it in mashed sweet potatoes, ranch-style black beans and my homemade tortilla soup. It goes on my smoked ribs. It goes in my chili. If I think it will enhance a dish, it goes in…I even use it on ice-cream. One of my favorite flavor combinations is vanilla ice-cream with a drizzle of honey, sliced peaches – perfectly ripe of course, chopped pecans and an ever-so-slight touch of chipotle powder. The first bite yields the cold yet creamy taste of the vanilla ice-cream married with a sweet kiss of honey, soon followed by the juicy peaches and crunch of pecans…and at the very end you get a touch of heat on the back of your palate from the chipotle…Divine! If honey is the nectar of the gods then surely chipotle powder is the indulgence of the devil himself! Heaven and Hell join forces, creating this one beautiful pièce de résistance.
Life is way too short not to spice things up a bit…I dare you to give it a try!!
“Tea and Saltines…Grilled Cheese with Grape Jelly” or “My Grandmother was a Food Fusion Pioneer”
A friend recently said something which triggered a favorite childhood memory: that of sitting at my grandmom’s kitchen table, the two of us dunking saltines in hot tea. I loved spending time at my grandparent’s house. We only lived about 10 minutes away, so I spent many a day sipping tea and dipping saltines.
I have many fond food memories from that time of my life. When I was younger my grandmother still had a milkman deliver her milk and ice-cream – Breyer’s ice-cream – the original Breyer’s. It does not taste the same to me today as it did back then. I’m sure they have changed the recipe now that it is distributed country-wide. Or perhaps part of the taste lies in the memories…Whenever I spent the night she would offer me tea and ice-cream just before bed. We’d eat the ice-cream and then she’d bring out a cup of tea to warm us up. It was the play of cold against hot, yin vs. yang…a sort of balancing act.
My grandmother was a food fusion pioneer. ‘Tea and Saltines’ was only the beginning. One of her most innovative combinations was grape jelly spread on a grilled cheese sandwich. I never knew it was her creation until I went to college. I grew up eating them and never had had a grilled cheese any other way…the first time they offered grilled cheese sandwiches at the dining hall I asked where the grape jelly was. The cafeteria woman looked at me like I was crazy. “Grape jelly?” she asked, “Why do you want grape jelly? We put that away after breakfast.” Indignant, I turned to my fellow dorm buddies and asked, “Who doesn’t put out grape jelly for grilled cheese sandwiches?” It was at this point I noticed those around me eyeing me with looks of utter confusion, soon followed by grins and chortles – at my expense! In that moment I had what Stephen Covey would call a ‘paradigm shift’. I realized that I was the only one present who had ever eaten a grilled cheese sandwich smeared with grape jelly. I was astounded…and a bit taken aback. The flavor combo was a bit too overwhelming for them to even try it at first, but I am proud to say that by the end of the semester most of those around me were eating their grilled cheese sandwiches with a smear of grape jelly [insert smug satisfaction here].
So today I sit here, sipping my tea and dunking my saltines, remembering my grandmother and what a wonderful woman she was. She had a smile for everyone and a special twinkle in her eyes. And she would have loved the food offerings available today. I just wonder what combinations she would have created…I’m sure they would have been divine!
Homemade Applesauce
Last night I discovered several pounds of Macintosh Apples I had bought and stored (and forgotten about) and they were on the cusp of fading. So I whipped out my trusty peeler and promptly peeled and diced them all into a heavy duty cast-enamel pot. I cooked them down to a wonderful sauce within 20-30 minutes…soon we were enjoying one of my favorite fall dishes! Here is my recipe:
Homemade Applesauce
- 8 large Macintosh Apples – peeled, cored and diced
- ¼ to ½ cup water
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ c dark brown sugar (or less – I could have gotten away with no sugar this time)
- 5 pieces of candied ginger
- ¼ Apple Brandy (or to taste; the alcohol will cook out)
- Cinnamon – about 1 tsp or to taste (optional)
Place all ingredients in a heavy pot and bring to a boil. You may need to add a little more water if your apples are not very ‘juicy’…Reduce heat to medium and let cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are soft enough to mash with a potato masher. You can cook them to whatever consistency you like, ranging from silky smooth to extra chunky…your choice. It is also up to you whether or not to leave the ginger in or take it out. I prefer to find it as a surprise…my husband does not.
***Be careful! The apples are hot and if they cook at too high a temperature the mixture will begin to bubble up. I found out the hard way just how hot it can get when a big bubble burst as I stirred the mixture. I ended up with a dollop of steaming applesauce on my bare arm…did I mention it was hot???
I served this with pork tenderloin encrusted with mustard and herbs, roasted on a bed of onion, carrots, garlic and mushrooms (mushrooms added the final 15 minutes of roasting); a mixed green salad with a mustard-vinaigrette; and sweet potatoes mashed with butter and chipotle powder. A Sunday ‘Fall Harvest’ feast!!