Hoping to make some spicy cookies with this beautiful copper cookie cutter over the next week or so!
Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I have been reading lots of email solicitations, magazine features, etc about the “big meal” and all the preparations which are in order.
Preparing for cooking and baking for this holiday evokes a myriad of impulses for me – mostly to expand and improve upon my repertoire of favorite recipes from years gone by and to seek new ones which speak to me with the heart of the season clearly in view. I love to take the most basic of recipes for this holiday and try to re-imagine them, sometimes slightly, sometimes more – to try to make them more interesting and flavorful but without straying from the most important tone of the season.
Cranberry “Sauce” is one of the most loved of staples for the holiday table and I have enjoyed experimenting with different recipes over the years. I always buy a can of the ubiquitous Ocean Spray “regular” cranberry sauce. There is something strange about our attachment to this, isn’t there? It is essentially a clear jelly with the can’s rings firmly imprinted – it is so basic, but still, my kids and husband want it on the table. I like to serve another option however, one with actual fruits and certain embellishments.
As of Monday, things have begun to return to “normal” around here after the invasion of Sandy. We still have caravans of power trucks roaring around the streets of our town and I am afraid there might still be people who do not have power in some parts of town. It is fortunate that we have the distractions around preparing for the holiday dinners to keep us moving forward.
I have long been intrigued with the concept of chutneys, relishes, compotes and conserves. I basically use the terms inter-changeably, although I am sure there is some subtle difference between each of them. I often enjoy concocting them to use with lots of different savory meals. In the Summer I will make peach chutney and this past early Fall experimented with various plum and “dark fruit” recipes – like blueberries and blackberries. I also love using pineapple in chutneys and these go especially well with Baked Ham and fish dishes. Apricots are another favorite. I am currently looking for good recipes with grapes as well. It is important to try to achieve the perfect balance between sweet and savory and this can vary depending on the entree item. While the possible flavor variations are almost limitless, balance is important here -some meats can take a slightly sweeter balance, more so than with the lighter fish flavors where a lighter touch overall seems to be in order.
There are hundreds of cranberry conserve recipes around. Cranberry chutneys, relishes, and compotes and conserves typically combine the favorite turkey accompaniment with one or more other fruits – like apples or pears. Upon looking around a bit I found lots of very interesting Fall/Winter fruit compote recipes which incorporated a wide variety of yummies – like dried apricots, cherries, figs and various citrus fruits, such as oranges and grapefruits. Many include ginger – I even found one yesterday with Preserved Ginger in Syrup – a condiment I had never heard of before. Some had other savory ingredients such as onion, garlic, scallions as well. There are also those with some heat – jalepenos and crushed red pepper flakes. I like to have something earthy but also with fresh notes like very thin strips of orange peel. I honestly don’t remember which recipe I made last year – it may have been Ina Garten’s with a few embellishments, but my husband loved it. I need to do a better job with diary – ing what I make so I don’t forget.
I think chutneys are a great way to enhance an entree, either because its intrinsic flavor is a little lacking, (lots of people think Turkey is – this may be due to bland-flavored gravy) or because the plate in total needs more complexity. Again, a chutney is a great vehicle for imparting depth and also for imparting some brightening flavors, hence the sparkle of ginger and citrus. Fish like Halibut and Striped Bass often benefit from the brightness of summer fruit flavors and pork, turkey and ham seem to call for some good earthy-sweet counterbalance. Port and Sherry can often be a beneficial flavor note here too – use sparingly though! So, feel free to experiment – just try to keep things complementary. Start with a bag of cranberries, some sugar and water and go from there!
This year I am going to start the following recipe and let my imagination go to work. :
This recipe is from the blog, “Rosemarried”:
SPICED CRANBERRY AND PEAR COMPOTE
1 12 oz bag fresh cranberries
1 ripe pear, peeled and diced
2 sticks cinnamon bark
1/4 cup water
1/4 – 1/2 cup brown or muscavado sugar
zest of one orange
5-6 whole cloves (or 1/4 tsp ground cloves)
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
Place cranberries, water, and sugar in a small pot over medium heat. As the cranberry and water mixture heats up, stir occasionally (cranberries will pop) and mixture will thicken. Cook about 5 minutes.
Add pears, cinnamon, orange zest nutmeg and cloves. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently until it reaches desired consistency, about 5-10 minutes.
Allow to cool before serving or freezing. Be sure to remove whole cloves and cinnamon sticks before serving.
The variations I plan on trying: I think I will add some shallots to this recipe – maybe one to two – about 1/4 cup to add a little savory element. I may saute these a little first. I also may peel the orange in 1/2″ wide strips and then cut into very thin strips. I may incorporate some of the orange “supremes” into the sauce and maybe some of the juice. Will let you know.
I will try to put a selection of good recipes into the recipe section — that way you can pick something that intrigues you for yourself.
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This is a cute Vietri piece I picked up earlier this year when a nearby gift shop was going out of business.
This time of year typically gets me interested in special types of dishes – like pretty covered casseroles that can make your table very beautiful and, with the covers, keep the dishes warm while you are trying to get everything on the table and keep it hot. I also love looking in antique shops and shows for old silver serving pieces like compote bowls. This is always fun at this time of year when nesting instincts are high. Yesterday, I met a friend who was looking for ice tongs to give with an ice bucket as a wedding gift. I suggested she look for old ones instead of buying new – this set me off looking online and I found some beautiful ones on ebay – along with sugar tongs, which I also love.
Over the next several days I plan on sharing my favorite recipes for side dishes for this time of year. I will be making them over the weeks coming up and through New Years on various occasions. All go great especially with Turkey, Ham and Pork Roasts. Some I promise to share are:
My Wild Rice Casserole with Dried Cherries, Pecans and Orange
Sherried Sweet Potatoes with Apples
4 Onion Gratin
Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Apples and Grapes
My Favorite Stuffing Recipe (Mom’s), only better
Eastham Turnip – the lore and the recipe
And, as far as desserts go, while I am a firm traditionalist when it comes to Thanksgiving – no chocolate, no key lime custard tarts like I have seen in Thanksgiving cookbooks. For me, this is not the day for this. I am game for trying a few iterations on the traditional, but beyond that, this particular meal is sacrosanct:
Caramel Apple Tart
Pumpkin Pecan Tart; individual pumpkin-caramel tarts
And, last but not least, our favorite Sweet Potato Rolls! A delicious brioche-like roll enhanced with Sweet Potato (and Caraway Seeds if you like) – Christin asks for these all the time – Nobody can eat just one!
More to come before Turkey Day!