All the Flavor of Thanksgiving…Not the Way You’d Expect

Before I write my next post in the Local Luxury Dinner Party series, I wanted to share my fun dinner!

I have been working hard to plan meals for the week and get a lot of cooking done on Sundays. This takes away the stress of thinking of something to make every night and frees up more time for homework (well, maybe twitter and some TV watching too). Today when I pulled out my notebook to plan, I decided that I wouldn’t consult any cookbooks. I wanted to be creative and come up with my own ideas for the week.

When we get lazy about planning around here, we end up eating a lot of red meat. I love to cook brisket, burgers, you name it. But for the sake of the hubby’s cholesterol, we’ve decided to have a non-red meat at home month. So that leaves us to decide on some alternative proteins. Since Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, I’ve been craving roasted turkey. When I checked out turkey breasts at Whole Foods last week I almost passed out from sticker shock. $55 for a turkey breast?!? That’s nuts! So we opted for chicken and tofu for our proteins last week.

I still had a hankering for turkey when I started planning today. I went through the ingredients in the fridge first for inspiration and remembered that I had a container of cranberries ready to be turned into sauce. With cranberry sauce in mind, I started daydreaming about Thanksgiving dinner. To me that means lots of my grandmother’s dressing (aka stuffing) with a little turkey and fixings. I figured that turkey breast would still be pricey, so I arrived on the idea of turkey + stuffing meatballs served with cranberry sauce. I picked up some pre-made stuffing mix (sacrilegious in my family), a pound of ground white meat turkey, and fresh celery. Those three ingredients set me back about $12. Added in with the ingredients I had at home, this meal didn’t break the bank. For the two of us, this will be two meals.

I used a cranberry sauce recipe from the last issue of Gourmet Magazine. The sauce, a mix of cranberries and apples, was a hit at our holiday celebration last year. I have to confess, I made mashed potatoes from a box to serve on the side. I had the box leftover from when I made a King Arthur recipe calling for instant mashed potatoes. I shouldn’t feel bad about boxed potatoes, but I usually write about local, fresh, and homemade!

The verdict on the meal? Delicious! I will definitely be making this again. Next time I’ll use a little more stuffing and add in extra poultry seasoning for a little more flavor. I think it would be fun to make the meat mixture into patty shapes and serve them on fresh kaiser rolls with cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes. Or maybe potato rolls…. So many possibilities!

I had to laugh, as I sat down to eat I pulled out the latest Saveur to peruse. In reference to my dinner, I had to make an edit to the cover:

Thanksgiving Meatballs served with fresh cranberry sauce with apple (and instant mashed potatoes)
Makes 12 2” meatballs

1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup stuffing mix + a little extra (I used Whole Foods chicken flavor)
1/3 cup finely diced celery
1 lb. ground white meat turkey breast

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil (I used cooking spray on the foil to prevent sticking)
Mix egg and milk together in a large bowl
Add in celery and 1 cup stuffing and mix, making sure to moisten the stuffing
Add in turkey and mix using your hands, be careful not to over mix (you’ll end up with dense meatballs)
If the mixture is too wet, add in a little more stuffing
Form into 2 inch balls and place on the greased baking sheet
Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning over halfway through the cooking time

Cranberry Sauce with Apple
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, November 2009

16 oz. fresh cranberries, washed
1-2 apples (I used Fortune apples), peeled, cored, and diced into 1/2 in cubes
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Combine water, sugar, cranberries, and diced apples in a medium saucepan
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat
Cook over medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring constantly
The cranberries will burst and the mixture will begin to thicken (like cranberry sauce!)
You can serve immediately with the meatballs, or to make a nice presentation, line a loaf pan with plastic wrap and spray the plastic wrap with cooking spray
Spoon the sauce into the loaf pan, cover with the plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours
Invert the loaf pan onto the plate and slice for serving

Instant Mashed Potatoes
Follow the directions, and if you really want to be gourmet, follow the microwave directions. I did use delicious Kerry Gold butter from Ireland to add flavor.

Serve and enjoy! I’m looking forward to leftovers tomorrow.

Summary:
Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes total (20 minutes meatballs, 15 minutes cranberry sauce, 2 minutes mashed potatoes)
Mixing bowls, spatulas, baking sheet, measuring cups, medium saucepan, microwave safe bowl, serving utensils and plates

Local Luxury Dinner Party: Primo

For a more traditional primo course, I decided to serve a pasta dish. The hubby loves ravioli and fall squash makes a perfect filling. I was excited to find red kuri squash at the market and planned to use that in my ravioli. Since I was challenging myself to a homemade meal, why not make the pasta dough from scratch? Sure, I’ve never done it before, but what could go wrong? Let’s just say, it was a nice luxury to have three other courses to count on just in case.

I did some cookbook browsing and blog searching and found the proportions needed to make pasta dough. I settled on 4 eggs and two cups of flour. I knew I wouldn’t have time to make the dough, roll it out, and fill it on the party night. That meant making the dough the night before and letting it rest in the refrigerator overnight until Thursday. I pulled out a large, shallow bowl for mixing (I was afraid the eggs would roll all over the counter). First went the flour, then the eggs into the well in the middle.

I probably could have read a few more recipes for the proper technique, but I just dug in and starting mixing. The dough was interesting…and sort of wet and not sticking together as I kneaded. Solution? Add more flour of course! Problem? All the all-purpose flour was used up. My idea? Use the whole wheat flour that‘s still in abundance in the pantry. The result? Interesting. I wrapped up my ugly ball of pasta dough and put it into the fridge to rest. I figured it could think about what it had done wrong and the next day it would be ready to play nicely.

On Thursday night during my pre-party preparations, I started by cooking the red kuri squash for the filling. I had peeled and cubed it the night before. Dealing with squash can be dangerous and you don’t want to lose a finger right before your guests arrive. A quick boil in salted water (about 12 minutes) results in squash ready for the immersion blender.

An apron is essential in keeping your party dress clean! After pureeing I mixed in a few generous spoonfuls of my homemade ricotta cheese and a dash of salt.

I set this aside and hoped for the best as I retrieved the pasta dough from the fridge. Since I don’t have a fancy non-stick pastry mat for the counter, I tore off some wax paper and tried to weight it down to stay in place. I floured the surface (I had picked up more AP flour on the way home) and pulled out my ridiculously heavy and generally unwieldy rolling pin. Immediately I could tell this was not going to go well. The wax paper was sliding all over the counter, the pasta was sticking to the rolling pin, and my hands were quickly becoming coated in dough. I called in the hubby to hold down the wax paper, but it was too late. It was already 6:35 at this point (guests coming at 7) and I needed ravioli! It was printed on the menu cards! So I rolled and stretched and pulled the pasta as thin as I could. I cut it into shapes closely resembling squares and placed a dollop of the squash and ricotta mixture in the middle. As I pressed a fork around the outside of each ‘free-form’ ravioli, I tried to talk the pasta into performing a miracle in the pot. I put it back into the fridge to rest until it was ready to cook. Here’s a look at the disastrous rolling adventure.

As we were wrapping up the antipasti course, I went back into the kitchen to bring a pot of water to a boil on the stove. While that was heating up, I added a generous amount of unsalted butter to a skillet and turned up the heat. Once it started to foam I watched for it to start browning and waited for the nutty aroma to fill the air. At this point, the water was boiling and I dropped my ugly duckling raviolis into the pot and waited with anticipation. After a few minutes they rose to the top, ready to be smothered in brown butter and served. I put two raviolis into each bowl and topped with the brown butter. As I took the dishes to serve, I told the guests that I would not be offended if they decided not to eat the ravioli. I just needed them to smile nicely so I could have a picture for the blog. The hubby will eat any ravioli, so he dug in. I had to go back to the kitchen for a steak knife.

Once you could get through to the inside, the filling was delicious! The ravioli were more like a pierogi or a dumpling. They were pretty dense. But often the cook is her own harshest critic. Maybe they were being nice, or maybe they liked the ravioli blobs, but I was the only one who didn’t clean my plate for this course.

The beauty of a multi-course meal is that there is plenty to eat if you don’t like one of the courses. With that in mind, the next post will feature the main course:

NY strip steak with lime basil butter
Broccoli Romanesco
Roasted Atlas Farms fingerling potatoes and hard neck garlic

Until then, don’t forget to wear an apron and don’t be afraid to try something new in the kitchen!

Local Luxury Dinner Party: Antipasti

The next installment in the Local Luxury Dinner Party series is the first course, antipasti! My trip to Atlas Farm’s booth at the Copley Farmers Market yielded some beautiful heirloom tomatoes. These were some of the last of the season and helped preserve the feeling of summer just a little longer. I’ve shopped at Atlas Farm regularly over the past two years, so this year I decided to buy a share. They offer a great share program – prepay at the beginning of market season and shop all season until you use up your share (for $90 you get a $100 credit for the season). This lets you buy what you want and you never have to worry about bringing cash to the market. Whether it’s a farmers market, local food shop, or grocery store you can save a lot of time and headache knowing you have a reliable place to find your ingredients. Now back to the antipasti…

Since I was planning a four course meal I knew that the first course couldn’t be heavy or I would be left with a lot of leftovers. My first thought was caprese salad, but when I looked at make-your-own mozzarella recipes I quickly changed my mind. I remembered that my friend Katie over at Once Upon a Small Boston Kitchen had recently made homemade ricotta with a recipe from Barbara Lynch. I pulled up the recipe and headed out for some local milk. With just three simple ingredients, this was about keeping an eye on the thermometer and getting the texture right. The end result was a creamy fresh tasting cheese that paired wonderfully with the tomatoes.

It wouldn’t be a meal in our house without bread! To make sure I had a reliable recipe, I surfed over to the King Arthur Flour website and did a search for Italian bread. I decided on the Italian Sesame bread. Planning your time wisely is important in being a successful party host. The bread, cheese, and basil infused olive oil were items that I could make a few days in advance of the party. I started the bread dough first and made the cheese while the bread was rising. I love this bread recipe – no fussy proofing needed. Just measure, dump, and turn on the KitchenAid mixer to do its magic. It does take a few hours start to finish for the dough to rise, so plan to start early enough in the day. The loaf gets braided like a challah and then generously covered in sesame seeds. After a quick bake the loaf was light, airy and a perfect addition to the meal.

I wanted to incorporate my homegrown basil into the tomato salad, but just sprinkling it on top seemed boring. After about 20 minutes of harvesting my basil I added it to a jar and started to heat up some extra virgin olive oil. I poured the warm oil over the basil and let it infuse overnight. I strained out the basil the next day leaving lightly flavored oil.

To make preparations easier on party night, I sliced the tomatoes the night before. I also cheated on the local/homemade theme by picking up some olives and marinated beans and artichokes from the antipasto bar at Whole Foods. I wanted to have some snacks on hand for the guests in case something went horribly wrong and I needed extra time to get the meal on the table (you’ve got to prepare for anything when entertaining!)

A few minutes before the guests were due to arrive, I set up my ingredients and laid out the salad plates. As you can see, multi-tasking is also an essential skill to have for entertaining. I’ve got a few different things going at the same time. I like to get the messy stuff out of the way before the party starts and be able to spend time with my guests. So if you come over for dinner at our house, don’t be offended if I refuse to let you help in the kitchen. I like guests to come enjoy – and for you and me not to work too hard while you’re here!

After the tomatoes and cheese were arranged on the plates and drizzled with the basil olive oil, I switched to my party apron (café style, instead of a full apron) and preset the salads while the hubby chatted with the guests in the living room. My mom gave me pearls and Mastering the Art of French Cooking for my birthday this year, so I feel it is appropriate to always wear the pearls when cooking and entertaining.  And yes, I did arrange the tomatoes like a traffic light (red, yellow, green). Presentation is an important part of the meal! After a few twists of the peppermill and sprinkles of kosher salt, and we were ready to start the eating.

The verdict? Delicious! Each tomato had a slightly different flavor. The cheese was fresh and creamy. The oil added a subtle basil flavor into each bite. I think we all wiped our plates clean with the bread, which the hubby expertly sliced.

As we finished up the first course, I headed back into the kitchen to finish the second course. Stay tuned for the next installment: fall squash ravioli with brown butter sauce. It was an adventure!