The Year of The Cat

On a morning from a Bogart movie
In a country where they turn back time
You go strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre
Contemplating a crime

She comes out of the sun in a silk dress running
Like a watercolour in the rain
Don't bother asking for explanations
She'll just tell you that she came
In the year of the cat

She doesn't give you time for questions
As she locks up your arm in hers
And you follow 'till your sense of which direction
Completely disappears

By the blue tiled walls near the market stalls
There's a hidden door she leads you to
These days, she says, I feel my life
Just like a river running through
The year of the cat

Well, she looks at you so cooly
And her eyes shine like the moon in the sea
She comes in incense and patchouli
So you take her, to find what's waiting inside
The year of the cat

Well, morning comes and you're still with her
And the bus and the tourists are gone
And you've thrown away the choice and lost your ticket
So you have to stay on

But the drum-beat strains of the night remain
In the rhythm of the new-born day
You know sometime you're bound to leave her
But for now you're going to stay
In the year of the cat

Liver Pate'

While I would love to take credit for this recipe, it's all Emeril. I made this last year, and I have to tell ya, it's really wonderful!

Chicken Liver Pate: Terrine de Foies de Volaille

1 pound fresh chicken livers, cleaned
1 cup milk
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup chopped yellow onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons green peppercorns, drained
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup Cognac or brandy
Chopped parsley leaves, for garnish

French bread croutons or toast, accompaniment

In a bowl, soak the livers in the milk for 2 hours. Drain well.

In a large saute pan or skillet, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken livers, 1 tablespoon of the peppercorns, the bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, until the livers are browned on the outside and still slightly pink on the inside, about 5 minutes. Add the Cognac and cook until most of the liquid is evaporated and the livers are cooked through but still tender.

Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Discard the bay leaves.

In a food processor, puree the liver mixture. Add the remaining butter in pieces and pulse to blend. Fold in the remaining 1 tablespoon peppercorns and adjust the seasoning, to taste.

Pack the pate into 6 individual ramekins or small molds, about 4 ounces each. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 6 hours.

To serve, place the ramekins on individual plates. Garnish the tops with parsley and surround with croutons.

NOTES:

• I only probably used a little more than half of the green peppercorns - and I think you could totally do without them, if you want, but they do add a nice flavor.
• How I chilled mine: I lined small ramekins with plastic wrap, placed a nice sprig of parsley in the center of the bottom, and then filled with the pate mixture. Cover and chill as specified. Before serving, lift the pate out by the plastic-wrapped lining, and turn over on small dish, so the parsley is molded into the top of the pate. This worked quite nicely! Then sprinkle some fresh parsley around the dish (just a touch!)

Mashed Potatoes

Well, I can't believe I have come this far without posting some mashed potato recipes, but I guess that I have! This is another make-it-up-as-you-go type of food. People get a little too worked up about exact recipes sometimes, and this is just one of those dishes that there are so many different things you can do to it - just depends on your tastes. So just in time for the holidays, here ya go...

First, a couple of notes:

• It's important not to overcook the potatoes. You want them to be fork-tender but not mushy.
• Leaving the skins on, or not, is personal preference. I like to do this when I use red potatoes for 3 reasons - it adds color, it adds texture, and it adds nutrients.
  
• I prefer mine hand mashed. If you want to use a hand mixer or such, be very careful not to overdo it - otherwise you will end up with glue.
• Remember to go easy with any liquid or soft additions - you can always add more, but you can never take it out. If you do add too much, you can try to simmer a bit on a low flame, otherwise, you will have to boil some more potatoes to add in.
• Try to have add-in ingredients at room temperature. (butter, cream, milk, sour cream, etc)
  

Scrub or peel your potatoes and cut into chunks. Place in a stock pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer - simmer until fork tender, usually around 20-30 minutes. Drain, leaving just a tablespoon or so of cooking liquid in pan. Add a tablespoon or two of butter, a bit of milk or cream and begin mashing. Add a couple tablespoons of sour cream, some salt and freshly ground black pepper, and continue to mash. Add a bit more liquid, as needed, until they are the consistency that you like.

• I also like to add garlic to mine, and you can do this two ways - add whole cloves into the water with the potatoes & simmer together, or roast the garlic and mash it in at the end.
• I also like some onion in mine - place finely chopped onion in the colander, and when you drain the hot potatoes over them, it will blanch them nicely. Or just add some finely diced scallions while mashing - adds some extra color, too!
• Fresh parsley is really nice in mashed potatoes, just don't go too crazy.Chop it finely and mix in at the end.
• If you like Parmesan potatoes, add some finely grated Parmesan in while mashing - yum! It's very good with the roasted garlic!

Mashed potatoes are fun to work with, because there are so many variations on them! You have to play around with flavors a bit, and see what you like!

Thanksgiving Dinner

I can't believe it's the middle of November already. I spent yesterday puking my guts up, so it's not a stellar start to the season. Still a little queasy today, so am taking a respite from work and going to actually try to get some real sleep. I was awake half the night with burning stomach. Must just be a stomach bug - a little different version of the one I had a few weeks back. Ugh. Makes it tough to even think about food at the moment, but I do have my Thanksgiving feast planned, and thought I would share it.

I brined my big bird last year - not the first time I've done it, but the first time I have brined it and cooked it ala' Alton Brown. It came out pretty damned good, so I'm gonna do it again. Here's the recipe...

Good Eats Roast Turkey by Alton Brown
1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 tablespoon candied ginger

1 gallon iced water

For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage

Canola oil

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement or garage) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.

NOTES:

• I brined mine overnight, in a cooler that I sterilized really well after. This year, I will do the bucket!
  
• It's a good idea to bring the turkey to room temperature before roasting - about 45 minutes or so. It will cook more evenly this way.
• Don't mess with basting - all you do, every time you open the oven is let heat out, lengthening the cooking time, hence drying out the bird more. This totally defeats the supposed purpose of basting.

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.

Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil.

Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.

NOTES:

• Be prepared, when you cook it at 500F for it to start smoking - just a warning from personal experience!
• I did invest a big $16.00 in a probe thermometer and let me tell you - it's worth every penny!
• Also - make a foil triangle to cover the breast with, after you have done the 30 min's at 500 - this keeps the breast meat from overcooking and drying out. (He does this on the show)

This is the cranberry sauce that I'm making - a personal mix of mine that's really good..

Cranberries and Brandy:

2 cups cranberries
Juice and chopped zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup good Brandy
1/2 cup sugar, or more if needed
1 teaspoon cinnamon

In a small saucepan combine cranberries, orange juice and zest, brandy, sugar and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmering and cook until cranberries are tender, stirring occasionally. Taste and add more sugar, if necessary. Pour into a pretty bowl and chill until set.

I will make mashed potatoes, of course...I think that I've already posted my recipe for those.

Oh! And some Brussels Sprouts, because we all love them! Seriously!

Brussels Sprouts with Shallots and Garlic

1 3/4 pounds Brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
12 medium shallots, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Working in small batches, place brussels sprouts in feed tube of processor fitted with thin slicing disk; slice, or slice on a mandolin.

Melt butter with olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add shallots; sauté until almost translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add brussels sprouts; increase heat to medium-high and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

My mom is bringing the stuffing this year, but I will tell you how I make my basic stuffing. You will have to bear with me, as this is one of those things that I make without any real recipe.

My Basic Turkey Stuffing:

Melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a large pot. Add some sliced onion and celery, chopped mushrooms, plus one clove of minced garlic, and saute until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle in a bit of dried sage and parsley, and stir. Add some bread crumbs - I like the cubes that you buy (no, I don't do the bread crumbs from scratch, I admit it) and stir to coat with the butter & veggies. Add enough turkey or chicken broth (here, yes, I make my own turkey broth - I will get to that) to moisten the bread well, but not so much that it makes it all soggy. Let cool, if stuffing the turkey, (which I have stopped doing - it makes the turkey have to cook longer, therefore risking drying out the bird) or put in an oven safe dish and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. (I cover mine with foil for the first 30).

Now, I happen to also like the chopped giblets in mine sometimes (but I usually add mine to the gravy), so if you like yours like that, chop them well and add with the onions and celery.

Turkey Broth:

Take your turkey neck (and other giblets, if not using for stuffing or gravy) and place in a saucepan. Add a couple cups of water, some chopped celery, onion, and carrots, a few black peppercorns, and a bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer until reduced by half. Pour through a strainer to strain out chunks, and then I pour through a colander lined with a paper towel to get out all the little bits. Wa-La - turkey broth.

Now, as far as my turkey gravy...I change this up a bit every year, but basically, this is how I do mine.

Turkey Gravy:

Transfer turkey from roasting pan to platter and tent it with foil, to keep warm. Pour the pan drippings into a fat separator, and give it about 2 minutes to let the fat separate. Carefully transfer the juices to another dish, leaving the fat in the separator for now. Place roasting pan across two stove burners and heat. Add a bit of brandy or white wine to deglaze the pan. (or a little apple cider works too!) Add a tablespoon or two of reserved fat, plus some butter if you'd prefer and melt. Wisk in some flour to make a roux, and lightly simmer, stirring constantly. (make sure there's no lumps!) I do this for a few minutes, and then add reserved pan juices and some turkey or chicken stock. Bring back to simmer and simmer until thickened.
Now, if you'd like, for some extra flavor, you can also add some chopped garlic/onion/celery/carrots/mushrooms and then strain before serving. (or not - I know people who don't).

I will also be posting some of my holiday appetizers, so be watching for those!