More Thanksgiving recipes

Without experience, Thanksgiving dinner can be bewildering. I just had to explain to a working mother in her late 40s how to cook her first turkey as well as what she might serve with it to please not only elementary school boys but her own parents. Earlier I posted the way I cook turkey nowadays: in my own Asian-American barbecue sauce. A small turkey too. If you have a large crowd, it's much better to cook two 12-14 lb turkeys than a gargantuan one not only because you cut the roasting time in half but you get double the legs and breasts so everybody gets what they like best. Plus smaller is juicier.    

Anyway, here are a few more ideas for the table. The first four are a
way to cope with vegetarians or have glamorous side dishes for the turkey. The dessert is easy enough to have the kids make it. 

Winter vegetable cake

I published this recipe as a winter timbale (molded dish) in Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking. It's made in a bundt/ ring/ tube pan--that round one with a hole in the center.  I sometimes serve it on a bed of lightly sauteed greens (kale, collard or spinach). Because of the breadcrumbs it's not gluten-free but it could be if you substituted chickpea flour or cornmeal for them. (I haven't tried it.)

serves 8

1 parsnip, peeled and grated

1 large carrot, peeled and grated

1 small rutabaga, peeled and grated

1 small winter squash (e.g. red kuri, sugar pumpkin or butternut), peeled and grated

1 red onion, peeled and diced

4 tbsp butter

6 eggs

¾ cup breadcrumbs, matzo meal or panko

1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

2/3 cup grated Gruyere cheese

1 cup heavy cream

Optional: ¼ tsp smoked paprika

2 tbsp chopped fresh chives

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 325º and butter a Bundt pan, ring mold, or medium sized tube pan—any baking pan with a hole in the center.

Mix the grated vegetables. You will need 5 cups.

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add onion and sauté until slightly soft. Add 5 cups of the mixed grated vegetables and blend.  Sauté over medium heat until the vegetables are soft and start to cling together, 10-12 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool.

In a large bowl whip the eggs. Add the cooked vegetables, stirring well to coat. Add salt, then cheeses, breadcrumbs, chives and parsley. Stir in cream, add optional smoked paprika and nutmeg, and blend everything well.

Pour the mixture into the buttered pan or mold. Bake until a tester (a skewer, strand of spaghetti or cake tester) comes out clean. The ring mold will cook faster than pans with higher sides, so the cooking time will be between 35 and 45 minutes, faster in convection ovens. Let it cool at least 5 minutes before unmolding. 

 Pecan Paté                                       
This is a festive recipe I include here because back in the 80s I always had a nutmeat paté on the Thanksgiving table to welcome vegetarian friends. Everybody else wanted some too. If you're going to somebody else's dinner and have to bring something, this is handy. Feeds many and carries easily.

This serves 10 as a meal entrée, 16 as an appetizer, and 24 as an hors d’oeuvre.

1 14 oz. can cannellini beans

½ lb. walnut pieces or halves, lightly toasted

½ pound pecan pieces or halves, lightly toasted

¼ lb shelled unsalted pistachios (lightly roasted or not)

¼ lb. Gruyere cheese, shredded

1 cup Parmesan, Asiago or Grana Padano cheese shredded

4 scallions (green onions) cleaned with some green left on

5 parsley sprigs, stems off

3 garlic cloves, peeled

½ tsp. dried rosemary leaves

½ tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. dried marjoram

½ tsp. ground allspice

1 ½ tsp. salt

1 scant tsp black pepper

1/3 cup heavy cream

6 tbsp butter

2 eggs

1 tbsp brandy or Calvados

4 pitted Kalamata or similar black olives, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350º . Butter a large loaf pan (best size is 8”x4x3”; if you use the 7 ¾ “x 3 5/8” x 2 ¼”, you will need another small loaf pan for the remainder). Line the loaf pan or pans with parchment paper and very lightly butter it.

Puree the beans in the bowl of a food processor. Add the walnuts and pecans and continue processing until the nuts are in tiny pieces. Add the cheeses, scallions, parsley, garlic and spices plus the salt and pepper and process into a smooth, solid paste.  Add the cream, butter, eggs, brandy and pistachios and process to blend everything.  Stir in the chopped olives. (These will end up looking like the truffles in liver paté.)

Fill the loaf pan or pans evenly to the top with the paté, pressing down as you go to remove air holes. Smooth the top. Cover the loaf tightly with aluminum foil.

Put the paté into a large baking or roasting pan filled 1” with hot water and bake for one hour at 350. (A good convection oven may reduce this cooking time but in any event, a cake tester should come out clean.)

Cool for 10-15 minutes before inverting the paté onto a platter. Unmold it and carefully remove the parchment. 

You can garnish this with cornichons, or black olives, small cherry tomatoes and/or finely chopped parsley.  Also slices of baguette.

Serve hot or at room temperature. This amazing paté slices cleanly.

Corn Pudding
 

not my photo

This is a Southern favorite that an Indian-American friend surprised me with one Thanksgiving. I made it for several years after that. The texture accents turkey and the yellow color brightens the room.  Plus kids love pudding. Best of all, it's one of the easiest glamour dishes you'll ever make.

½ c all purpose flour                       

1 tsp ground chipotle chili powder

1 chopped green chili pepper

10-12 ears corn, husked, or 3 boxes of frozen corn defrosted

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

6 lg eggs at room temperature        

1 tsp ground nutmeg

2 c half and half                               

4 tbsp soft butter, cut in bits

1 tbsp light brown sugar                 

Butter a pie or baking dish 2½” deep and 10” round. 

Heat oven to 350º.

If using fresh corn, scraping upwards with a small, sharp knife, cut the corn kernels into a bowl. Using the back of the knife scrap downward to catch remaining kernels and corn milk. 

Put the fresh or frozen corn in a food processor with eggs, half and half, flour, salt, pepper, chili powder and sugar. Process 3-4 seconds to blend. Pour mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle top with nutmeg and butter bits.

   Place baking dish in a large baking pan, put into the hot oven and fill the bottom pan with water halfway up the sides of the pudding container. Bake one hour or until a tester comes out clean. Serve hot.

             
Pumpkin stuffed with jewel rice

this is the filling

With saffron, pistachios and apricots, this is  a celebratory dish from the center of Turkey, often prepared for wedding feasts. It requires work but every step is so simple you can't fail. You can also stuff red kuri or other large winter squash instead of a sugar pumpkin. This dish is an attention getter. If you have to carry something to somebody else's table, this is it.

1 lg (2 1/2 lb) red kuri squash--or sugar pumpkin
1 cup (heaping) long grain Basmati or Jasmine rice (rinsed)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
a big pinch of saffron threads
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
Peel of 1/3 orange (no pith please), sliced into very thin strips
1/4 cup pistachio nutmeats
1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/4 cup dried cherries soaked in boiling water 5 minutes and drained
8-10 dried apricots, chopped into bite-size pieces
1 tsp rosewater
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper to your taste
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
1 bunch mint coarsely chopped or 1/2 cup dried mint leaves
1 bunch dill, coarsely chopped
1 lemon cut in wedges for garnish
1 cup thick fresh yogurt for serving

Preheat over to 400º. Soak the saffron threads in 1 tsp hot water.

Wash the squash and microwave it just long enough to soften it so you can put a knife in.
Cut off the stalk end to use as a lid. Scoop out all seeds and strings. Put the lid back on the squash, put the squash on a baking sheet and put it in the oven for 1 hour.

Now, put the rice in a pot with just enough water to cover it. Add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer, partially cover the pot and cook 10-12 minutes until all the water is absorbed. (The rice will not be totally cooked, no worries.)

Meanwhile in a wide lidded skillet or casserole, heat oil and butter until butter melts. Stir in coriander, orange peel, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, drained cherries and apricots. Sauté one minute. Add the rice, saffron (with water) and rose water. Season with salt and pepper.

Turn off the heat. Cover the pot with a clean, dry dish towel and press the pan lid down over it to a tight fit. Let the pilaf steam for 10 minutes. Toss in the parsley, dill and mint.

When squash is ready, lift off the lid and fill it with the pilaf, gently stuffing it in. Put the lid back on and put the stuffed squash back in the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove the lid to serve. Slice the lemon into wedges. There are two ways to present this: one is to simply put the wedges all around the squash on a serving plate, put 1/4 of the yogurt on top of the pilaf and pass the rest in a separate bowl, and let everybody dig in. Or you can slice a 1/2" thick round off the top of the squash, lay this ring on a plate, fill it with the pilaf, top this with yogurt and place a lemon wedge to one side.

Apple or Pear Sour Cream Pie

This recipe is so easy--you make the crust from crumbled cookies,

 a few cranberries for garnish here

kids can do it. I taught it in Mongolia to the cooks trying to turn around a restaurant, women who'd never baked dessert before. It was an immediate hit --with them and with the customers. I love pies you don't have to fuss making crust for. This one just requires a box of vanilla cookies or tea biscuits.  You can use either apples or pears.    
serves 8        

To make the crust:

1 2/3 c crushed graham crackers, tea biscuits or vanilla wafers*

1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled

3 1/4 tbsp unsalted butter, cold

1/4 c granulated white sugar

Butter a 9" pie plate.

Heat oven to 350º      .

In a food processor, bowl or hand mixer, combine all the ingredients until they stick together in clumps. Do not make a ball. Dump the contents of the mixer into the buttered pie plate and press against the plate everywhere to make a complete crust. Try to keep it equal  on all sides and level on the bottom. Think of this as "patty cake."

To make the filling: 

  2 tbsp all purpose white flour
1/2 c white or turbinado sugar
1/4 c light brown sugar  
1 scant tsp ground cinnamon
large pinch of salt

1 extra large egg, lightly beaten 

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract  

1 c sour cream
6 medium apples or pears, peeled and sliced thin

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugars, cinnamon and salt.
In a  smaller bowl, beat together the egg, vanilla and sour cream to blend. Spoon this into the dry ingredient bowl and with a wooden spoon blend. Fill the crust with this mixture. Arrange the apples or pears around the top.

Bake at 350º 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.