Rosemary & Mustard Pork Roast with Vermouth Jus

Before we launch into this post, I just want to make sure we are all on the same page re: Christmas dinner.  I’m not sure whether I’ve mentioned this before, but it is NEVER too early to start planning Christmas dinner.  Never.  Christmas dinner ends, and my family starts talking about menu ideas for next year.  Why?  Because I love big dinners.  I love everything about them: planning, making a master grocery list, prepping the ingredients, having a big glass of wine while cooking and chatting with everyone and, of course, sitting down to eat and laugh for hours. 

Back in my college days, I did not get many opportunities to make big dinners.  So I jumped at the yearly opportunity that Christmas presented to test out my budding obsession with cooking.  Unfortunately, I might have run roughshod over any input from other members of my family (read: angry little sister), but I think I have since calmed a bit.  Right Erin?  Planning for Christmas dinner is more of a collaboration now.  Which leads me to this recipe.  Last night mom and I were chatting on the phone and I told her my plan to try out this pork roast.  Her immediate reaction was Christmas dinner!  Hadn’t thought of it, but she has a very good point!  This meal has all the trappings of a fabulous big dinner: easy to prep ahead of time (and clean mess before guests arrive) + smells amazing while it cooks.  Oh and it is really delicious. 

Added bonus: the heat in my apartment has been a little skittish lately, so having the oven on for 1.5 hours really helped my overall level of warmth and happiness. 

ROSEMARY & MUSTARD PORK ROAST WITH ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLES & VERMOUTH JUS
adapted from Bon Appétit
Click here to print
serves 4-6

1 3-pound boneless pork loin
6 garlic cloves, peeled
2 teaspoons lemon zest (from about one lemon)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, separated
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper
3 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
Vegetable oil
Assorted vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, shallots, rutabaga (the unsung hero of the root vegetable world in my mind)
Olive oil

Combine garlic, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon rosemary, salt, and pepper in a mini-food processor or blender.  Grind until paste forms.  Add mustard; mix until blended.  (Do Ahead: the mustard paste can be made a day in advance). 

Coat a large roasting pan with nonstick spray or a light coating of vegetable oil.  Place pork, fat side up, in pan.  Rub mustard paste over the top and sides of pork.  Let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, toss the vegetables with a little olive oil, sea salt, and rosemary; then put them on a baking sheet. 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place the vegetables and pork in the oven and roast for 20 minutes, until a crust begins to form on the pork.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue to cook for an additional 45 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the center of the roast reads 145 degrees and the vegetables are tender (this may not take the same amount of time- pork came out earlier than veggies for me).  Transfer pork to a large cutting board, tent with foil and let rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.  Don’t touch it before then or you will lose all of the precious juices and completely ruin dinner.

Place the pork’s roasting pan on the stove over medium-high heat.  Add vermouth and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon.  Simmer until reduced to ¼ cup, about 3 minutes.  Add the chicken stock and continue to simmer until reduced to 1/3 cup jus, about 10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Cut pork in ¾-inch slices and serve with the roasted vegetables and jus.

Braised Beef Stew with Red Wine

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope you all had fabulous food-filled holidays.  I made it through the end of my epic finals schedule and had wonderful family time in Seattle.  I did quite a bit of cooking over break, and I will share some of those recipes soon. 

I also enjoyed eating many meals cooked by OTHER people- including my Dad’s Beef Bourguignon, which he made for our annual family cookie decorating party.  This is not his recipe, but I have been craving comfort food since getting back to snowy Boston, and this seemed like an interesting take on the classic French stew.  Plus, my second-semester-3L schedule gives me ample time for long braising projects.  So I bought some beef and stuck it in the oven with wine, and my apartment smelled incredible all afternoon! 

This is a Jacques Pépin recipe from Food & Wine, which at first gave me pause.  The beauty of braising is that it’s easy: effortless, one-pot, less-dishes-to-wash, simplicity.  This is especially important for a person like me who is sans-dishwasher!  The problem with gourmet chefs (like Jacques Pépin) is that they tend to complicate the ease of braising by inserting additional steps to the recipe, which inevitably involves more dishes and more stress. 

For example, when I see a braising dish that requires STRAINING of any kind, that is a huge red flag.  Pouring hot liquid through a tiny colander?  This presents far too many opportunities for me to make a huge mess and scald my arm, plus what am I pouring the braising liquid into?  A new dish.  Which equals more dirty dishes.

This recipe does require the dirtying of one extra pan to make the garnishes, but I promise the result is worth it.  Sooooo so worth it.  And the complication of the additional pan is offset by the simplicity of the rest of the recipe.  No stock or demi-glace required!  Just throw in a whole bottle of wine and you will end up with a broth so delicious you will probably consider licking the bowl.

BRAISED BEEF STEW WITH RED WINE
serves 4
adapted from Food & Wine
click here to print

2 lbs lean beef chuck, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea salt
Pepper
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon flour
1 bottle red wine (any dry red will do, I used Pinot Noir)
2 bay leaves (I left this out and it was still yummy)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
15 pearl onions, peeled
15 cremini mushrooms, larger ones cut in half (you want all pieces to be roughly the same size)
4 carrots, cut into pieces that are roughly the same size as the mushrooms and onions
5-ounce piece of pancetta (or you can sub bacon), cut into ½ inch dice
½ cup water
Dash of sugar
Chopped fresh chives

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat the butter and olive oil in a large, oven-safe pot.  Add the beef in a single layer, season with salt and pepper.  Cook over high heat for about 8 minutes, browning the meat on all sides. 

Add one cup of finely chopped onion and one tablespoon of finely chopped garlic.  Cook over moderate heat for an additional five minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add one tablespoon of flour.  Mix in well so that the flour doesn’t form lumps.  Stir in one bottle of red wine.  Add the bay leaves and thyme, bring to a boil and cover.  Stir well and place the pot in the oven for 1 ½ - 2 hours.  The meat should become tender, and the sauce will reduce.  The recipe can be prepared up to this point a day ahead. 

For the garnishes, add the pancetta to a skillet and cook over medium heat until it has browned and rendered its fat, about 5 minutes.  Add the onions, carrots, and mushrooms, along with ½ cup of water and a generous dash of sugar, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes; at this point there should be practically no water left.  Uncover and cook over high heat until nicely browned on all sides, about four minutes. 

To serve, mix in some of the vegetables to the stew.  Sprinkle the rest as a garnish along with the chopped chives.

I'm BACK!

Hello friends.  I’ve returned from my blog sabbatical [not a real thing].  I have missed you all!  Reasons for my absence?  Well, I had some camera problems…all fixed now thanks to Dad’s technical genius.  I also just needed a little break from taking pictures of everything that I cooked.  Things tend to get cold during my photo shoots.  But now I am back and I have so much to tell you!  Plus…finals are here! My favorite season to procrastinate. 

For my first return post, I need some redemption.  Let me tell you a little story about the time last week when we cooked the turkey for two and a half hours on the grill but then discovered it was still completely raw.  Don’t worry- Thanksgiving was not ruined!  We carved off the turkey sashimi and roasted it in the oven for another hour, which gave me lots of time to relax [i.e. drink three glasses of wine].  But the saddest part was that I had been diligently basting the turkey with this rosemary soy glaze every 20 minutes while it was on the grill but glazing ended when it went in the oven.  We didn’t want to risk opening the oven door and losing heat…plus I was mostly focused on my wine…but the glaze smelled so delicious and was so incredibly easy that I just had to try it again.  I went with chicken this time.  It was too soon to dredge up the painful memories by cooking turkey again.  Give me a year and I’ll get over it. 

ROAST CHICKEN WITH ROSEMARY SOY GLAZE 
Click here to print
serves 4-6
6 tablespoons butter (don’t question it- butter makes things taste good)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
2 sprigs rosemary
1 whole chicken
Half of an onion
Kitchen twine
Basting brush (or use an extra rosemary sprig if you don’t have one)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Remove chicken from refrigerator 45 minutes before cooking so that it can come to room temperature.  This allows the meat to cook more evenly.
To make the glaze: combine butter, soy sauce, mirin in a small saucepan over medium heat until melted and smooth.  Add rosemary.  Cover and keep warm over lowest heat. 
Set chicken on roasting rack in a roasting pan and pat dry with paper towels.  Pour 1 cup of water in the bottom of the pan.  Put the onion in the cavity and tie legs with kitchen twine.  Brush with glaze.
Roast chicken for 60-70 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers at 165 degrees.  Brush with glaze every 15 minutes while roasting.  Remove from oven, let rest for 20 minutes.  Carve and serve! 

Guest Post: Tomato Cheddar Soup

[Guest post: Erin Kelly, Sister] First I would like to say how honored I am to be the first guest to post on Navy Blue Kitchen. Hopefully I will provide the same level of entertainment and delicious food as my sister.

The recipe I’m sharing today was the featured appetizer for this year’s Christmas dinner, and if I do say so myself it was quite a hit. Mom and I found this dish while I was visiting Seattle last October. We had our usual shopping trip at U Village and went to Pasta & Co. for lunch. The soup of the day, Tomato Cheddar, sounded good to both of us, so we split a bowl. I had literally never tasted tomato soup that good in my life. It was the perfect snack on a crisp fall day.

Of course we both wanted to find the recipe, so when we got home we looked in the Pasta & Co. cookbooks we own. Luckily, the exact soup is featured in Pasta & Co. By Request.

I tried making the soup a few weeks later, but the results were not at all what I hoped for. The flavor was delicious, but the consistency not so much. The cheese pilled and made the soup nothing like the smooth perfection we had the first time. Anyone who knows me personally knows that I do not like chunks in my tomato sauce – even if they’re chunks of cheese. So I knew that any subsequent trial of the recipe would require a serious chunk minimization strategy.

I was eager to try the soup again, so I suggested making it for Christmas dinner because I knew I would have the considerable knowledge and skill of my sister backing me up, thus increasing my chances of success. Since the vibe of the soup did not go well with the planned main course, Em suggested we make it for an appetizer. I immediately jumped on board with this idea because it meant that we could serve the soup in adorable little cups and make mini grilled cheeses to go with it.

To make the soup luxuriously smooth this time around we employed two strategies: First, we immersion blended and strained the soup to make sure all chunks were eradicated; Then, we made sure to give the soup plenty of time to heat up and completely melt the cheese. I’ll make note of when these steps were taken in the recipe below. For now the important thing to take away from all of this is that if you, like me, hate any and all chunks, you need to go buy an immersion blender right now. It will change your life.

Anyway, the resulting soup was delicious and I would highly recommend trying it immediately. The great thing about this recipe is that you can freeze the soup for up to 2 weeks, so if you can’t finish it all at once you don’t have to waste it. Just gently re-heat and enjoy.

TOMATO CHEDDAR SOUP
from Pasta & Co. By Request

Click here to print

3 Tbsp butter
½ cup onions, diced
1 28 oz. can diced or crushed San Marzano Tomatos, with juices (You may use another brand, but this is by far the best)
1 ¼ cups chicken stock (vegetable stock would work as well, for a vegetarian option)
1 ¼ cups water
½ cup sour cream
8 oz. Beecher’s Flagship Cheddar Cheese, grated (again, you may use another brand, but nothing will match this flavor)
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until soft, being careful not to burn them. Add tomatoes and juices, chicken stock and water. Bring to a simmer then remove from heat. Let cool for 10 minutes, then immersion blend until all large chunks have disappeared.

Transfer soup one cup at a time to a fine strainer positioned over another pot. Use a large spoon to press juices through the strainer, making sure to get every last drop into the pot. Dispose of tomato dregs. [Note: At this stage, the soup can be refrigerated overnight. Simply re-heat slowly when you are ready to move on to the next step.]

Add one-half of the sour cream. Whisk until well-blended, then add the other half and whisk until completely combined. Stir in pepper and cheese to blend. Gently re-heat to a simmer to allow cheese to completely melt. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve with grilled cheese or rustic bread slices.

Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls

I realized this morning that I needed to hurry up and post these before resolutions and diets turn everyone against sugar.  For those of you who regularly read my blog, you may notice that these are not my typical fare.  It’s not that they are unhealthy- I post plenty of caloric recipes that will clog your arteries.  But usually when I eat something decadent, I like to make it completely from scratch to ensure that every component is as delicious as it can possibly be.  If I am going to have to do fifty lunges to work something off, it better be worth it! 

But every once in a while, a magical recipe comes along that has a lot of shortcut ingredients but is also COMPLETELY DELICIOUS.  My mom has been making these rolls for Christmas morning since before I can remember and they are amazing.  I actually have some serious self-control issues around them.  For example- I always volunteer to put the leftovers away so that I can cut off the really gooey middle pieces and have a few (10) perfect last bites.  Then I suffer through the inevitable tummy ache (it’s so worth it) and usually don’t eat again until Christmas dinner. 

Anyways, back to the shortcut ingredients- I was so surprised when I asked for the recipe last year and learned that they include packaged butterscotch pudding!  I can say with some certainty that you will probably never see me post another recipe with packaged pudding of any kind.  But these rolls are perfect for holidays or special occasions when you don’t want to spend hours making a mess in the kitchen and waiting for dough to rise.  You simply throw all of the ingredients in a bundt pan (without even mixing them together!) and then they rise overnight so they are magically ready to bake the next morning.  They would also be ideal for New Year’s brunch- throw everything together before going out for new year’s eve and all you have to do in the morning is pre-heat the oven.  Your hangover will thank you.

CHRISTMAS MORNING CINNAMON ROLLS 
serves 6 (or more if you have self control)
Click here to print

18 Rhodes frozen white dinner rolls
1 cup brown sugar
1 small pkg (not instant) butterscotch pudding
¼ cup white sugar
1 cube melted butter

Grease and flour bundt pan. Put rolls(still frozen) in bundt pan. Sprinkle ingredients over rolls then drizzle with the melted butter. No need to mix. Let sit overnight on counter. Preheat the oven to 350.  Cover a large baking sheet with foil (in case the rolls bubble over), place the bundt pan on the foil and bake for 20-30 minutes.  Invert onto a large platter, then scrape the bundt pan so that you don't waste any of the gooey deliciousness. 

Merry Christmas!

I can’t believe tomorrow is Christmas!  I have a few recipes that I wanted to share before the big day so I decided to do one big post. 

I will start with the appetizer.  Gougères are my favorite holiday app.  They are incredibly easy and you really can’t go wrong with this much butter and cheese.  If you have ever had popovers, these are like miniature, cheesy versions.  I made these for my friends after our last final on Wednesday and I promised to post them the next day when I was flying home to Seattle so that everybody could get the recipe quickly.  Unfortunately my hangover prevented me from doing anything productive on the flight yesterday.   I blame “L’Chaim!”- a newly invented drinking game involving a dreidel, beer, and cherry vodka… I think it also didn’t help that my dinner consisted solely of gougeres, pigs in a blanket, and mozzarella sticks.  Luckily I have made a full recovery today, so if you are searching for a last minute Christmas hors d’oeuvres, make these! 

CAYENNE GOUGERES
1 cup water
½ cup butter (1 stick), cut into tablespoon sized pieces
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
5 eggs
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 ½ cups gruyere, grated (feel free to get creative- cheddar would also be delicious)

Preheat the oven to 425.  Combine the water and butter in a medium sauce pan over high heat.  When it reaches a boil and the butter is completely melted, add the flour all at once and stir quickly until everything combines.  Reduce the heat to medium, and continue to stir for about 2 minutes- this dries out the dough so that it can absorb the eggs and cheese.  Remove from heat and let cool for about 5 minutes. 

Add one egg at a time, beating to completely incorporate each one.  It may seem like they don't want to mix in at first, but keep stirring.  If you have a stand mixer you can use the paddle attachment to spare your hand.  Once the eggs are in, add the cheese and cayenne.  Spoon small tablespoons onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  You can also put the batter in a large plastic bag, cut a corner, and pipe it onto the sheet.

Now for the dinner portion of the post, which also features gruyère!  As I have mentioned before, my family has an abundance of traditions, especially this time of year.  On Christmas eve eve (the night before Christmas eve), we always eat fondue and decorate cookies with my grandparents.  Upon reflection, I’ve realized that almost all of our traditions revolve around food- nothing makes me happier than prepping in the kitchen all day.  I really can’t take much credit for these recipes though- the fondue is my dad’s territory, salad is mom’s recipe, and my sister rolls out the cookies.  I am always in charge of frosting though! 
My dad doesn’t believe in recipes and never measures so it was kind of hard to nail down the proportions for the fondue.  My advice is to just taste as you go and add more cheese until it reaches a good consistency. 

CHEESE FONDUE
serves 6
¾ lb gruyère
¾ lb emmentaler cheese
1 ½ - 2 cups dry white wine
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon kirshwasser (cherry brandy)
Pinch of nutmeg
Bread cubes

Grate the cheese into a big bowl.  Add flour and toss to lightly coat the cheese.  Heat ½ cup of wine in your fondue pot.  Add the minced garlic and stir for a minute or two.  Don’t let the garlic brown.  Add another cup of wine and heat until it is almost simmering.  Start sprinkling in the grated cheese, stirring as you go.  Don’t add too much at once- you want it to stay hot enough to melt while you are adding.  As it gets thick add a little more wine and then continue adding your cheese.  Once you finish adding the cheese, add the kirshwasser and the nutmeg.  Light the fondue burner and set the pot over it.  Serve with bread and enjoy!

SPINACH SALAD
serves 6
1 bag prewashed spinach
5 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 hardboiled eggs, crumbled
¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted
Dressing (see below)

Toss the spinach with the dressing until it is well-coated.  Add the remaining ingredients and toss to combine.  Enjoy!

for the dressing:
2 garlic cloves
5 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
½ cup olive oil
Put the garlic cloves in a small food processor and pulse until finely chopped.  Add the next 4 ingredients and pulse until well combined.  Slowly add the olive oil so it can emulsify. 




I wanted to post these cookies not only because the recipe is delicious (usually choices are limited to gingerbread and sugar cookies- so this is nice variety), but also because I wanted to share this ingenious decorating technique from Gourmet.  It requires very little artistic skill and looks so professional!  Using egg whites in the frosting allows it to harden so that you can stack your finished cookies without destroying your designs. 

SPICED CUT OUT COOKIES
2/3 cup vegetable shortening
2/3 cup butter
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla
3 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Cream the butter, shortening, and both sugars using either a stand mixer or hand held beater.  Add eggs and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients.  Then slowly blend with sugar mixture.  Divide into three disks, wrap with plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours (or longer).  Roll out each disc, cut into desired shapes, then bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes. 

Eric's interpretation of my mom riding in the tractor to cut down our Christmas Tree (it was pretty hilarious at the time)

ROYAL ICING
makes about 3 cups
1 (1-lb) box of confectioners sugar
4 teaspoons powdered egg whites
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat together all ingredients in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until just combined, about 1 minute.  Increase speed to high and continue to beat until icing holds stiff peaks, about 3 minutes.  If not using icing immediately, cover the surface with a dampened paper towel and cover bowl with plastic wrap.  Add food coloring as desired.

Now for some other cookies that I also can’t take credit for- these are my friend Noelle’s famous snickerdoodles.  They are chewy and best served right out of the oven.  If I had to pick one kind of cookie to take with me to a desert island, I would probably choose these. 

NOELLE’S AMAZING SNICKERDOODLES
from Noelle, and food.com
makes about 16 cookies
1/2 cup butter , softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar 
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Topping:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars at high speed.  Add egg, vanilla, and beat until smooth.  In another bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Pour dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mix well.

Preheat oven to 300° while you let dough rest 30-60 minutes in fridge.  In a small bowl combine topping.  Take about 2 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll it into a ball.  Roll this dough in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and press onto greased cookie sheet.  Bake cookies 10-12 minutes, NO MORE.  Cookies may seem undercooked but will continue to cook out of the oven.

Sipping Chocolate

There is a scene in The Santa Clause when Tim Allen goes to the North Pole for the first time and he is served hot chocolate from an elf named Judy.  She tells him about her secret recipe for hot chocolate that she has perfected over 100 years.  Here is her method: “Not too hot, extra chocolate, shaken, not stirred.” 

You may be wondering why I can recite this seemingly random quote at the drop of a hat.  It’s because of tradition.  The Kelly family has endless traditions, especially around the holidays, but that is a subject that warrants an entire post of its own.  All you need to know about Kelly family traditions for now is that watching the Santa Clause just happens to be a very significant one.  It is also important to know that my sister and I circa 1994 thought that Judy the elf was the coolest (she wore glitter on her face) and we tried endlessly to emulate her hot chocolate.  I had no luck finding the hot chocolate scene on you tube, but I stumbled across another Christmas favorite (see Kelly family tradition of quoting Elf endlessly in the month of December).

For years, Judy’s recipe eluded me, but then I went to Paris when I was in high school and found the perfect hot chocolate.  Ladurée is known for macarons, which I admit are incredible, but their hot chocolate should really receive more attention.  It is thick and rich and like Judy’s version, it contains extra chocolate.  I have experimented endlessly to achieve a cup of hot chocolate that is even half as good as Laduree’s and below is the recipe that I think comes closest. 

I will warn you not to serve it in a glass as large as the one pictured- this was for photography purposes only and you should not try it at home.  The hot chocolate kind of has the consistency of chocolate fondue…think about the tummy ache you would have if you drank a big glass of chocolate fondue.  That is why I have decided to call it sipping chocolate- just take little sips to savor the rich chocolaty goodness. 

I also added the marshmallows for photography purposes only- in reality I am a purist.  I don’t like to obstruct the delivery of pure chocolate with distractions like marshmallows and whipped cream.  I used 70% bittersweet chocolate because I love dark chocolate, and I also didn’t add very much sugar so the result is not overly sweet.  However, this is intended to be your perfect cup of hot chocolate, so feel free to adapt as necessary. 


SIPPING CHOCOLATE
makes 2 small servings
~8 ounces dark chocolate, cut into pieces
~1 cup heavy cream or whole milk (don’t you dare use non-fat in an attempt to make it healthy!)
1-2 teaspoons sugar (depending on the sweetness of your chocolate)
1 generous pinch of sea salt

Combine the chocolate with half the milk in a small saucepan over low heat.  If you have a double boiler- feel free to use it.  Stir until the chocolate has melted, then add enough milk for it to reach your desired consistency.  Add sugar and a pinch of salt to taste. 

Cauliflower with Brown Butter, Pears, Sage & Hazelnuts

Ok I know the combination of pears and cauliflower sounds a bit odd...but I promise this was delicious!!  Cauliflower is not a vegetable that I typically serve at Thanksgiving, but I was very intrigued by the ingredients in this recipe.  The pears added a perfect crisp texture and a slight sweetness that was delectable.  I heard a rumor that my aunt recently picked around all of the pears in a salad so I don’t think this dish will make my Thanksgiving menu, but it would pair perfectly with other Thanksgiving flavors!  

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I promised a few people that I would post a sample of my Thanksgiving itinerary so I’ve included it below.  Some may mock me for this display of compulsive organization, but it helps me visualize all of the steps to avoid complete chaos.  This is especially important for a dinner that includes so many dishes that need oven space.  The cauliflower would actually be a great addition since it can be done at the last minute on the stove and doesn’t require time in the oven.  In order to free up even more oven space this year I will be cooking my turkey on the grill!  I have very high hopes for the outcome.  

As you think about your turkey plans, I would like to make a case for the benefits of brining.  The salt in brine draws out the blood, cleansing the bird and seasoning the meat down to the bone.  Sugar adds depth of flavor and helps the turkey brown to perfection.  Most grocery stores carry brine mixtures and I usually use those.  Just dissolve the brine in boiling water, cool, and add a bottle of dry white wine.  Then submerge the bird in the liquid for 2-4 days.  Using a very large pot works well.  It also helps if you have two refrigerators since it takes up a bit of space.  Make sure you dry it thoroughly before roasting.

CAULIFLOWER WITH BROWN BUTTER, PEARS, SAGE & HAZELNUTS
Recipe from Fine Cooking
makes 8-10 servings
 

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium head cauliflower, cut into small florets about 3/4 inch wide
1/2 cup toasted, skinned, chopped hazelnuts
8 fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced crosswise
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large ripe pears, cored and thinly sliced
2 Tbs. chopped fresh chives (original recipe called for parsley but I think chives add more flavor)

In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter until light brown and bubbly. Add the cauliflower, hazelnuts, and sage. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is browned and crisp-tender, 6 to 7 minutes more.
Remove the pan from the heat. Add the pear slices and chives. Gently toss to combine and warm the pears. Season to taste with more salt. Serve hot or at room temperature.
   
 

 

Thanksgiving Agenda 2009

11:00	Assemble Stuffing Dress Turkey		Emily & Mom
12:30	Mash Potatoes Prepare Butternut Squash, and pine nut mix		Emily & Mom
2:00	Turkey in Oven	325 Bottom	Emily
3:45	Cranberry Sauce		Emily
4:20	Both Stuffings in Oven (1 hour covered, 10 mins uncovered) Make Biscuit Batter	350 Top	Emily Erin, Lizzy, Aunt Suzi
4:30	Caramelize shallots, add green beans		Emily
4:40	Heat Potatoes Drink a glass of wine at the bar and talk to chef		Emily  Aunt Suzi & Mom
4:50	Turkey out of oven Make Gravy Roast butternut squash (35-35 mins)	425 Bottom 450 Bottom	Emily Mom
5:10	Biscuits in Oven (14-16mins) Sauté pine nuts and garlic for squash	425 Bottom	Erin, Lizzy, Aunt Suzi Emily
5:20	Carve Turkeys  Assemble and Dress Salad		Dad Mom & Emily
5:30	Biscuits, Stuffing, Squash out of Oven Add squash to garlic and pine nuts		Everybody Emily