Thanksgiving, 2 years later

Life since the last post has been, well, life. Full, complicated, difficult, rewarding and never lacking adventure though also at times slightly bleak. . .

However - this Thanksgiving has taken me to Crystal Mountain Resort in northern Michigan with my parents, brother, and our cat Fatty. It has been a welcome break as this fall was one of the hardest in memory. Things are looking up and I suppose I do have much to be grateful for: first and foremost my health, and always my family and my friends who have truly been rockstars.

So in the holiday spirit and to get back into blogging foodie mode, a few pictures from our Thanksgiving this year:

The view of the table with drinks - we had a lush 2008 Parducci Cabernet Sauvignon (soon to be available at my mother's lovely restaurant), Toso Champagne from Argentina (great quality/price ration, very smooth and drinkable - thanks Whole Foods recommendation!) and some local St. Julian Blue Heron White for desert (also available at Ayse's Cafe and a very underrated little white in my opinion).

My plat composé

Our delicious bird

Wild rice stuffing and cranberry sauce

And a pre-dinner shot of me and my brother.

Wishing you and yours warm wishes over Thanksgiving with much to be grateful for and much good food, wine, and cheer.

Thanksgiving, Past and Future

This year’s Thanksgiving was, modesty aside, The Best Ever. Naturally I attribute that to two key factors - excellent food, for which I was partially responsible - and a healthy amount of Moet et Chandon White Star and Evolution from the Sokol Blosser vineyard in Oregon - for which I was fully responsible for. Family gatherings can be tense in the best of situation, but loosening everyone up, albeit in a reasonably civilized way, ensured that the final prep, dinner, conversation, desert, and subsequent card games all flowed smoothly if not a little hazily.

This year was the second time in my life that I made the turkey. Now cooking in my house is very daunting as everyone is an amazing cook and thus, a spot on critic. So rather then completely winging it (no pun intended) I decided to stick as closely to a recipe as possible. Naturally, that didn’t fully happen and what turned out was an improvisation of two recipes. One was for the actual brining, which I shall forever do before roasting any poultry, the second for roasting the turkey. I found both on epicurious.com, which has always proved reliable in my experience and usually has very helpful user comments.

The first step, after we bought the 13.15lb (5.9 kg) monster was to wash it thoroughly and remove giblets and organs. I then found a pot large enough to put the bird in so that it would completely submerged in the brine, plunked it in, and improvised the following brine recipe.

Rather then adding a whole three pounds of kosher salt, I added approximately 1 1/2 cups, and while we didn’t have marjoram, I used fresh rosemary instead. This was done the day before to let the Turkey soak overnight, and the whole concoction looked something like this:

The hardest past was probably washing the bird after the brine, because you really do want to do it thoroughly, but it is a large, slippery, unwieldy thing.

As to the actual bird, I decided to improvise on the Porcini Mushroom Turkey with mushroom gravy recipe with fresh baby portobello mushrooms instead of dried porcini.

What that meant was that I boiled approximately 8 ounces of the mushrooms (cleaned and sliced) and using maybe 1/4 of that for the mushroom butter that went under the skin and the rest for the gravy. Thinking back on it, 1 1/2 sticks of butter under and over the turkey’s skin is a bit much, but it made the meat unbelievably juicy.

For the actual bird, my mother had brought homemade chicken stock from her cafe, and I had saved the mushroom broth, so I combined both of those to put in the roasting pan with the bird and the fresh herbs. Luckily there had been a farmer’s market at the Corner Brewery the week before and one of the vendors and been kind enough to give me a ridiculous amount of fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage (alas no parsley or we would have had us a good old Simon and Garfunkel moment) for only five dollars.

There was extra butter, so in addition to putting it under the skin (a very intimate process not for the squeamish) and in the cavity (ditto), I put it over the skin as well instead of the olive oil the original recipe called for.

So as the bird was ‘doing its thing’ roasting in a separate roaster oven we have, I started the prep for the gravy. Again, I substituted fresh portobello’s and used regular onions for shallots. I started the gravy with a blend of the chicken and mushroom stock, and added some pan drippings later once the bird was out and tenting. The sauce was way too much for the 5 of us, however I refrigerated one part, and froze a good 2 cups of it for future use. The part initially saved was used with the last of the turkey breast, sauteed mushrooms, and extra fresh herbs to create a sort of post-Thanksgiving Fettucini Alfredo. I don’t usually much care for cream sauces, but given this had more broth and white wine in it then actual cream, it was surprisingly light and yet still onctueux.

I was told by no less than my father, one of the kindest people I know but with a highly sophisticated palate, that it was the best turkey he had ever eaten, and my mother, who has even more discerning taste buds, seconded this. It was pretty damn good, and though time consuming, surprisingly easy to make. In the future, I would roast it in a conventional oven as I think it lets the skin brown more and maybe try it with a mix of mushrooms to add even more woodsiness and richness to the flavor.

Also on the dinner menu was the wild-rice and chestnut stuffing my mother makes’ every year (unbelievably good, also time consuming but fairly straightforward). I had my dad send me the recipe the first year I cooked Thanksgiving dinner by myself, but have been unable to locate the .pdf file or the recipe online. As suggested by the title, the stuffing involves loads of wild rice and roasted chestnuts, is cooked with chicken broth and celery, flavored with fresh thyme and the rest I will leave to your imaginations. Because the bird was brined we did not stuff it, but baked the cooked stuffing.

Other sides were roasted Brussels sprouts (the only way I eat them), mashed yams, and a lovely cranberry-orange sauce whose recipe was from a girl who works at my mom’s. I’m not a huge fan of cranberry sauce, usually finding them far too sweet, but this one had no added sugar and fresh orange rind, so it had a lovely citrusy, aromatic bitterness.

For desert I made a maple-pumpkin pie, with the best crust recipe I’ve ever found, all from November’s edition of Real Simple.

I made the crust the day before and was really hesitant about rolling out. All previous crusts I’ve used have been with the “pat-in” method, and I’m really no baker. However with my mother’s help, we rolled it out evenly and it turned out flaky, not too sweet, and buttery. I think I’m going to use the recipe next time I make my caramelized onion quiche.

So as I get ready to go back to Berlin (where ironically, I cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner by myself) my brother and I are planning to have a late Thanksgiving dinner for him and some of our friends. It will also be a Festivus celebration (dorks that we are). I suspect we will substitute 2 roast chickens for the turkey as it is hard to find a reasonable sized one, and I will bring canned pumpkin, ready roasted chestnuts, maple syrup and other ingredients from the States. I also suspect we won’t make all the trimmings, but definitely the stuffing and one other veg. Either way, it should be a good time and a fantastic trip.

Merguez Adventures and DC foodie life

Being back in Washington has been surprisingly wonderful, both in terms of enjoying the city and my friends and colleagues who live here. Today was my first day back at work, and I got the surprising (and fantastic) news that I'll be probably posted in Istanbul. Very unexpected, but also exciting.

That being said, DC has offered much, especially food wise. 

First, I found the best Merguez I've had in my life at the tiny Wednesday farmer's market in the Georgetown Rose Garden. For those of you who don't know, Merguez is a lamb sausage from North Africa, well spiced but not necessarily spicy hot. I ate it often in Belgium, but this one was really the best in terms of being spiced properly, not too fatty, and just delicious. It is made by this lovely, half-Turkish couple who own Whitmore Farm in Emmitsburg, Maryland. I just went on their website and it seems like they do some amazing work with animals including the Tennessee Fainting Goat and Silver Fox Rabbits - once I can find a willing driver, I would love to visit the farm, it looks like a lot of fun.

The first cooking was straightforward, pictured below - grilled on a heavy bottom skillet, served with salad and bread, fantastically simple and delicious. 

The second was a dish I improvised this weekend for a friend, which was basically orecchiette with roasted vegetables, mushrooms and merguez. 

I had baby yellow squash / zucchini from the farmers market which I sliced match-stick style, and slow roasted with rosemary and olive oil for approximately 2 hours. 

While the veggies were roasting, I sauteed some baby portabella mushrooms and fresh garlic and stalks in olive oil with fresh rosemary, thyme and basil in a pan until they were just cooked through, and added some added some sliced merguez. At the same time, I cooked some pasta al dente (orecchiette) and added some of the cooking liquid  from the pasta to the sausage/mushroom sauce to make it more viscous. 

I then gently mixed in the zucchini with the sausage mixture, drained the cooked pasta, mixed it all in adding salt and pepper to taste, letting it rest for a few minutes and before serving. 

While I have no photographic evidence to back up the final product, it was very simple to make, reasonably healthy, and, I think, pretty tasty. It paired very well with a New Zealand Pinot Noir, as well as the three other bottles we decided to polish off with it - Napa Chardonnay, a 2003 Spanish Grenache and a sparkling Chardonnay from Argentina. 

Quite a lovely, if not tad lushy, dinner. 

Transitions - new beginnings and first meals

The past few weeks have found me on the road, in the middle of a move, and finally, somewhat settled. Along the way has been many memorable meals (sadly fewer cooked than planned but posts to come), a few unexpected twists and turns, and a torrent of emotions far too personal (and probably banal) to share. 

Today was my first day alone in my new digs and c'etait pas mal du tout. There is nothing quite like looking around and thinking this is my place where I'm going to live by myself for a while. Yes, me, me, me, but it has been awhile since I've lived alone, and I like it. A lot. 

My parents were kind enough to help me move, treat me to lovely Lebanese mezes at Neyla's (where we spotted DHS Secretary Napolitano and her extensive security detail), brunch at le Pain Quotidien, as well as help me stock my fridge from the Dupont market and Trader Joes. 

Our first dinner in last night was a simple affair, a little homemade fresh salsa/pico de gallo (this time with fresh garlic bulbs and greens and amazing organic cilantro), crabcakes (bought from the crabcake guy at the market), a little ribeye and a large green salad. Not many recipes to share but a great night.

Tonight was my first night hosting, and I had two lovely ladies to entertain. I made some marinated olives  and toasted nuts (recipes below), cracked open some Oberon, and put on Elvis. We had a little girly dance party (much to the great amusement of my neighbors, I'm sure) and Miriam and I will get to spend tomorrow morning together while Liv is at work and the movers are packing them out.

Marinated Green Olives: 

Empty a package of Middle Eastern Green olives in a large bowl, including any juice it is packed in. Add the juice of one lime and one lemon, and cut up 1/2 a lime into small wedges and add to mixture. Chop up some fresh basil and oregeno, and add to mixture. Add kosher salt, red pepper, and dried mint to taste. Add a healthy dash of olive oil, stir, and let marinate at room temperature for at least one hour. 

Roasted mixed nuts: 

Heat a large non-stick pan until it is hot and add your choice of mixed nuts. I added pistachios, almonds, and peanuts. Add kosher salt, red pepper and dried mint and cook while shaking the pan until the nuts are fully roasted and the flavor evenly coated. 

Voila viola. For those of you in town, a tres bientot. For those of you near by, bienvenue!

New Orleans memories, Part Deux

I managed to dig up and scan some of the photos from that trip, eight whole years ago. 

The etoufee or was it gumbo? I can't tell from the picture, I do remember it being very, very good: 

Antoines: 

Walking around: 

New Year's Eve Bourbon Street Shenanigans and our feeble efforts to cook

It really was a wonderful trip and it breaks my heart that much more to know what happened to such a lovely, unique city with such character. 

New Orleans memories

Last night HBO had an amazing documentary on Hurricane Katrina, Trouble the Water, as told by the story of three people from the 9th ward who filmed their experience staying through the storm, the breaking of the levees, fleeing New Orleans, and then going back. 

The imagery of the movie was fascinating and horrifying. I was living in Brussels at the time of the storm and had vague recollections of the images on TV then, the shocking devastation and the disproportionate racial inequality of the victims. I remember sitting with friends looking at the TV in shock thinking that this could not be the graceful city I spent a week in, one with an amazing food and music culture, a developed sense of identity, all of which seemed to be swept in the mud and water from the levees breaking. 

Trouble the Water was particularly powerful as you the viewer were able to see what it was like to be in a house in the lower 9th Ward, the desperate flee to the attic as the water rose higher and higher in their house, the attempts to find safety on a partially closed down Naval Base on higher ground (they were denied entry) and then finally at a local high school. 

Without getting into too many details of the movie, I can only say watch it because the stories of Kimberly and Scott are interspersed with news footage and horrifying recordings of 911 calls by resident who are trapped in rising water only to be told that there are no rescuers coming. I would also recommend having a large box of Kleenex nearby. 

My own experience with New Orleans was idyllic - during my first year of graduate school a few of us who had interned together the summer prior decided that we would meet there for New Years Eve 2002 and all piled into our friends' Tulane dorm room. The city I saw was graceful and elegant, full of charming restaurants and cafes, a very unique sense of identity and a certain je ne sais quoi amongst its residents which really reverberated in the atmosphere. 

We did spend an inordinate time on Bourbon Street, to which I can only say that I never saw so many body parts, both male and female, on display to get beads, and went to drive-through frozen cocktail joints where the workers were more than happy to recommend which frozen concoction was in fact the strongest, without verifying our IDs. 

But a few blocks away from Bourbon Street and in many other neighborhoods, there were beautiful french-style cafes and small restaurants, I remember one particular Cuban cigar and coffee store which I was particularly fond of and venues playing all sorts of music - jazz, honky-tonk, rockability - until all hours of the morning, and so much more. 

While I suspect most of the calories we consumed were liquid (we were all in our early 20s and didn't know too much better) a few meals do stand out in my mind: 

Eating frozen alligator for the first time in a typical New Orleans joint and finding it really did taste like a mix between chicken and calamari and wasn't all that bad. 

Enjoying an amazing etouffe at a little hole-in-the wall type place when we drove out to the bayou and thinking just how good it was. 

Enjoying coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde, sitting on their large terrace, people watching to one's heart content and just thinking life didn't get too much better then in that very moment. 

And finally having an amazing meal at Antoine's,  a 160-year-old  New Orleans' establishment where we treated ourselves to a fancy meal. Amongst various recollections, what I clearly remember was the wonderful old-world formality of the service - there is something to be said about a restaurant which values its waitstaff and sees them as colleagues who are also in it for the long-term. My crayfish bisque was amazing, rich and frothy, tasting like the sweet crab-like meat but without being overly creamy, and at the end they made us an entire baked Alaska, lightening it on fire to caramelize the meringue while keeping the ice cream inside smooth, cool, and creamy. It was one of those amazing dishes that keep your palate on its toes to speak, never knowing the texture and temperature of the next morsel. 

I never made it to the 9th Ward - my suggestion to our host that we take the streetcar to Desire was greeted with derision and a flippant "best of luck" for my personal safety should I chose to do so. In retrospect, I really wish I had,  because what really could have happened during the day, and I could have used my best Blanche du Bois line "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." 

I would say next time, but the little that remains of that neighborhood and the changing racial and socio-economic dynamics of the city might make it unlikely that Streetcars run to Desire again. And it is tragic that we are willing to let an entire community unnecessarily suffer through a horrific natural disaster but then do very, very little to help rebuild their lives and neighborhoods. 

I sincerely hope that one time one can laissez-les bon temps rouelez not only on Bourbon Street but all over the city. And until then, I bid New Orleans may deepest a bientot and bon chance. 

Tuesday Turnarounds

There is no better way to improve a day than by to spend it cooking. Some might call it escaping reality, but it works for me and tends to make those I live with equally happy. So Tuesday became a spontaneous dinner party, one attended by a good friend, her two bottles of wine, and eventually my parents. Quality over quantity always rules when one thinks of guests. 

While waiting for my friend I set out the salsa, marinated olives and a Latin-American inspired yogurt dip which I had made earlier that afternoon. It has that nice balance of tangy and creamy goodness and was a lovely antidote to my salsa which turned out far too spicy. 

In a food processor, finely chop fresh cilantro, a bell pepper, jalapenos to taste and dried whole jalapenos. In a medium-sized shallow bowl put 2 cups of plain yogurt (preferably Greek or Middle Eastern, low or full-fat). Add the chopped cilantro-pepper mixture and stir well. Add 1/2 a lime's juice, a dash of cumin, dried mint, and salt and pepper to taste. Dip will only keep a day or two refrigerated. 

 

I also cracked open a really nice Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, just to get the creative juices flowing of course. 

For a long time I've been meaning to make a homemade version of Mac'n'Cheese, one of my personal vices combining both starch, cream, and really salty food. And I thought the addition of spinach would constitute the necessary vegetable/leafy greens portion of the evening as would the salsa that I made earlier in the afternoon. 

So the below recipe is going to sound complicated, but in fact all of the steps are straight-forward and the dish is very easy to assemble. 

Prepare a cream sauce by first making a roux by melting approximately 3 tablespoons butter and adding a slightly-lesser amount of flour. Cook the flour until it is nice and slightly browned, and  quickly add approx. 1 cup of milk while whisking rapidly. The mixture will lump up a bit and slowly add chicken broth (about 1/8 a cup at a time) until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy. Set the pot aside to cool. In a separate bowl,  lightly beat two eggs. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to the cream mixture to taste. Once the cream is sufficiently cooled - it should be cool to the touch - slowly add the egg mixture again while whisking quickly to avoid the eggs cooking and curdling. Check  and adjust seasoning if needed, and set mixture aside. 

Thinly slice approximately 1/3 - 1/2 pound of your choice of cheese, preferably cheddar or something slightly tangy and that melts easily, and set aside. 

In a large heavy-bottomed casket, saute 1 sliced onion in olive oil. As the onions cook and absorb the fat, add chicken broth a tablespoon at a time to rehydrate the mixture. Cook onions  until they are completely translucent and a tad caramelized. Wash, spin-dry, and coarsely chop two bunches of fresh spinach. Add spinach in batches to the onions, until they are all just cooked through. Flavor mixture with thyme, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste, and melt in a tablespoon of butter. 

Cook an entire box  of pasta until al dente. We only had spaghetti at home and it worked fine, but I think macaroni or fusili would work equally well. Drain pasta, return to pot, adding a splash of the chicken broth and some olive oil so the it doesn't stick together. 

In a regular-sized ceramic baking dish spread a layer of cream sauce, approximately 1/2 the pasta, and then 1/2 the cheese. Add the entire spinach mixture, and then the cheese, pasta, and cream sauce in the reverse order. Generously cover the mixture with bread-crumbs (I finished off the panko we had), thyme, red and black pepper, and a few small pats of butter. Cover casserole with aluminum foil and cook in a pre-heated oven at 350F for approximately  25 - 30 minutes. Carefully uncover the dish and put under the broiler until the bread crumbs are golden, depending on how powerful your oven is this can happen in 30 seconds to 2 minutes but it is good stand right by and immediately pull the dish out to avoid scorching the entire top. 

Serve immediately, preferably with a leafy green salad, good wine and company. 

For my first time ever of making homemade version of mac'n'cheese, I have to admit it turned out pretty darn good and I'll be adding this to my comfort food/feel better repertoire. 

Bon appetite. 

PS: for those of you wondering, the other two bottles were duly consumed and 7am came far, far too early this morning. But it was well worth it. 

Thoughts on drink 1 of ?

Baachus

My old friend! Your gut protuberant

your horns

palely carved, your tongue claret-sticky - 

how good it is to see you! Take

the weight off your rump. 

I think we’ve listened to this plopping

music before, 

have we not? This lucid gluggling?

Tall-stemmed glasses catching fire from light? 

So who’ll drink first? You or me? 

How specific our taste is - for just this raisin, 

just this weedy fragrance, the tannic

beatitudes of wine!

Do we abjure the proletariat of corn and hops? 

We do!

Wine is how words taste, fermented in darkness,

releasing tongues from cobwebs that restrained them. 

Old friend, I can see by the look on your face

you’ve

something to tell me. Good or bad? Speak!

Extract from ‘Cafe des Artistes” by John Hartley Williams (Cape Poetry)

Published in the Financial Times, April 18 / April 19 2009