Turkey Day Treats 2012

I have a very interesting friend who loves to cook. She did an amazing take on Thanksgiving turkey this year. She took her inspiration from this site: The Runaway Spoon

And here is her finished product. She said the turkey was delicious and the white meat was unbelievably moist.

 

If you like to cook, this is a time to have fun. I am taking two dishes to Thanksgiving at sister-in-law's, the Wasabi Potato Salad, from an earlier post and a Maple Cranberry Wild Rice dish, the recipe for which the chef at the Puget Sound Consumer Coop Deli shared with me. Since it's not on their web sites recipes I'm not posting it but it involves two kinds of rice, cranberry relish (available in their deli), yam chunks roasted with thyme, toasted pecans, dried cranberries and a dressing involving pureed onion, maple syrup and cider vinegar. It's so tasty, you just keep munching on it. I have reverse engineered several of the PCC salads as the ingredients are listed next to them.

Marinated Cheese & Ah ha! Moments

It all started with a chunk of Mozzarella I'd bought to try individual pizzas on flour tortillas but never got around to. The Mozzarella needed using but I had just made a big pan of Macaroni and Cheese and didn't need more pasta dishes. I perused my Indian cookbooks for inspiration - no Mozzarella there. I grabbed a Vegetarian Sicilian cookbook (Strange, meat lovers that we are, that we have a vegetarian cookbook, but I did learn how to make good polenta from it.) A little Mozzarella in a salad there but not much else. Funny, I thought it was their cheese. Then I remembered how much I love the Caprese Salad with the marinated cheese balls and cherry tomatoes.

 

I hopped onto the Internet and found a balsamic and olive oil marinade. Up popped my oil conflict, I can never use olive oil fast enough to keep it from growing rancid. I called an experienced cook friend to discuss my olive oil problem and get her thoughts on bagging the olive oil for Canola and what she thought of the recipe I’d found. I suppose real Italians would cringe at my thought, but it’s that or rancid olive oil. Besides, I’m not really sure I’m really fond of fresh olive oil. Oh yes, I’ve eaten in those Italian restaurants where they serve a little dish of good olive oil in which to dip fresh bread chunks, it’s OK but when you’ve grown up with butter slathered on bread…. 

 

OK, back to my cheese chunk. It occurred to me that in the past I had marinated olives in Italian Dressing (which brought to mind an important Ah ha moment in my life). They were delicious, why not the cheese and tomatoes? In the past I used bottled Italian dressing. For several years now, I’ve made a homemade Tangy Italian Dressing (recipe in blog index) that we love. It has red wine vinegar and Canola oil. I am going to pick up some cherry tomatoes, but bag the fresh basil leaves (not sure I really like eating whole basil leaves. Basil is a whole other conundrum, always liked the idea of pesto, just don’t like it. I do believe if I set my mind to it I could develop a taste for it like I have the Indian spices. But I’m going to put aside that food adventure for now

Marinating cheese is a cool idea (and this is the first time I’ve tried it). The food concept is far away from my mother's imagination. Funny how different parts of the world come up with different food repertoires. I grew up in a middle class home with parents who worked blue-collar jobs. When I moved away as a young married, I began to meet people who lived different, and sometimes more sophisticated, realities.

 

At the home of one of these sophisticates was the very first time I encountered a marinated olive (probably just black olives in Italian dressing). Now, that may not seem so special, but for me it was one of those Ah ha! food experiences. My husband worked in a Custom Black and White photography lab that did archival photography. They did some work for the Seattle Post Intelligencer and he got to know a couple of the reporters over there. I remember we were invited by one of those couples to their home for a cocktail party.

 

Now, cocktail parties were a concept that certainly hadn't been a part of my growing up world. Parties involved whole families and, though not disdained, alcohol was not commonly consumed by the adults that I knew, not even wine. Well, here I was at my first sophisticated, adult, cocktail party. The evening, the house, everything is still very vivid to me and I really believe why it got imbedded in my memory were those marinated olives. I remember thinking, 'Amazing; I’ve eaten and loved black olives all my life but never even thought of doing something with them like marinate them in a tangy dressing'. For all the reasons I loved black olives, now they had a flavorful tang, as well. I was in love and enamored by encountering a food reality completely beyond my ken until that moment.

 

A Potato Salad Saga

If your life experiences aren’t too far out of the ordinary, at least if you grew up in America, you associate potato salad with comfort food. For me, Christmas Eve comes to mind. It’s when we would open gifts and was always celebrated at my grandparents in walking distance from our home. As the big holiday meal was the next day, a buffet was laid out for munching. The star of that buffet, at least in my mind, was my Grandma’s potato salad. My mouth waters as I think about it…the tang of cider vinegar the creaminess of added thick cream, wow. It truly celebrated the simple ingredients of potatoes, eggs and onions.

I wasn’t much of a cook most of my life until inspired by the challenge of Indian cuisine. My Indian adventures in the kitchen began to pique my interest in the broader adventure of creatively combining ingredients into something greater than the sum of their parts. In all my food challenged years, though, I was known for my (my Grandma’s) potato salad. Its simplicity might have been the secret. There are as many potato salad recipes as there are American families. Many have odd and sundry ingredients like olives, pimentos, relish, pickles, you name it. And, have you ever had a restaurant potato salad beside a sandwich you’d ordered and wondered who in the world thought it had any taste worth serving? Now, I’m not going to pick on family food heritages, but my Grandma’s potato salad has never met a person who hasn’t found it’s creamy tangy simplicity delicious, and most say so. It’s like ‘the essence of potato salad’ not cluttered with odd and sundry things for reasons of texture, or color or just automatically following the family’s oft made recipe. OK, I’m not insulting other potato salad recipes by calling them cluttered but, on a consistency scale, I bet my Grandma’s potato salad would be more universally well liked than other more “kitchen sink” versions.

I think it’s partly that the onions are chopped very fine, leaving almost an essence of onion with every bite rather than crunching down on an onion chunk every other bite or so. Also, the extra eggs, it’s a very eggy salad. You don’t have to wait for the pleasure of finding an egg chunk. And then the creaminess created by that quarter cup of unwhipped whip cream (or in my Grandma’s day, thick cream delivered by a local farmer). Its creamy texture creates a pleasing sensation in your mouth unlike some, more dry, potato salads where the potatoes are separate chunks barely blended.

Now my love of my Grandma’s potato salad has kept me uninterested for many years in ever making another version. My only problem is that I can make up 5 lbs. of potatoes and eat it all myself over several days. The other day, I went to a potluck and, unbelievably, the desire to try another version of potato salad overtook me. I munched on the proffered ‘unique to my taste buds’ version and couldn’t stop munching. How unusual, how interesting. I caught myself thinking. I knew it wouldn’t have the universal appeal of my Grandma’s potato salad but it was quite the taste treat. I also knew several people, including my husband, who would really enjoy how it incorporated its unusual ingredient - wasabi. Yes, that ‘take your breath away’ green paste mostly appearing in Japanese restaurants. Interestingly, it’s something you usually really love or you really don’t love. I’ve been in the camp of not loving it a lot – but then I don’t hang out at sushi bars amidst which it appears as an accoutrement. 

Here I was, though, savoring bite after bite of this intriguing take on potato salad. What was it? I had learned with Indian cuisine that often even stubbornly intrusive ingredients like cumin added in a blend of other spices do not assault the taste buds in the same way as when alone. Yes, I could still taste the wasabi but it blended somehow with the creaminess and other flavors and didn’t assault me as it does eaten straight. I really liked the tanginess of this potato salad.

The long and short of my potato salad saga is that I actually made it, making a potato salad other than my Grandma’s for the first time in my life. It isn’t the comfort food staple that began on Christmas Eves but it intrigues my taste buds in a very pleasing way.

I requested the recipe from the gal who brought it and found that it’s available on the Internet at:  Alan Wong's White House Wasabi Potato Salad

I cut it in half and left out the chives (I didn’t want to run them down) and parsley (I could never understand it but for some sundry green color). Here is my version that I’m munching on as I type. (And because I discussed it in-depth, below it is my Grandma Allen’s Potato Salad recipe.)

Alan Wong's White House Wasabi Potato Salad My version

If you are fond of a wasabi/horseradishy tang, you will love this potato salad.

INGREDIENTS:

4 slices bacon plus 2 Tablespoons reserved drippings
1 cups mayonnaise
1 Tablespoons creamy horseradish
1 Tablespoons wasabi paste
1 Tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 Tablespoons finely chopped celery
3 Tablespoons finely chopped onion
4-5 medium Russet potatoes
(Original recipe had 1 Tablespoon chives and 1 Tablespoon parsley - I omitted)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a medium saucepan, cook potatoes covered in boiling salted water till tender. Drain. Cool and chop into  1" pieces.

2. In a skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels; reserve pan drippings. Cut bacon into small pieces; set aside.

3. In large bowl, combine mayonnaise, 2 Tablespoons reserved bacon drippings, horseradish, wasabi, mustard, salt and pepper until blended. Toss potatoes, bacon, celery, onion then stir in dressing carefully until combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Ruth Allen’s Creamy Potato Salad

(Marilyn’s maternal grandmother)

 INGREDIENTS:

1 - 5 lb. bag of Russet potatoes, peeled and quartered.
2 teaspoons of salt (for boiling potatoes)
1 large sweet onion, chopped very fine
8 large eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and chopped
2 cups of Best Foods Mayonnaise
½ cup of cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of salt

¼ cup of heavy cream or whipping cream (not whipped)


INSTRUCTIONS:

Place eggs on to boil. When they are hard boiled, peel and place them in the refrigerator to cool. (I sometimes boil them with the potatoes.)

Peel all the potatoes and cut them in quarters for boiling. Cover them with salted water.

Bring to a boil and keep them boiling uncovered for around 15 minutes keep and eye on them, a potato chunk should break easily in two when cut with a spoon or fork.)

Drain the potatoes and allow them to cool.. (Never use hot ingredients for this potato salad.)

In a food processor, finely chop the onion.

In a very large bowl, slice the potatoes and eggs, mixing chunks together but not stirring too much (the potatoes may be a little flaky.) Add the finely chopped onion, 2 cups of Best Foods Mayonnaise; slightly mix the mayonnaise into the ingredients. When the potatoes and eggs are slightly coated, add ½ cup cider vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix until all ingredients are blended. It’s very creamy. Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours or over night. Before serving, fold in ¼ cup of whipping cream. 

An Evolution

What we call the Taco Trucks that frequent certain area streets inspired my dinner tonight. I was perusing the meat department of our area Safeway. There displayed with the steaks was a small, chunk of a good cut of steak. Hm, I thought, cut into small chunks, it would make four large tacos, two for Hank and two for me.

We love the taste of the fresher, more unusual fare served from the trucks. Yes, I thought, I could do that; I’m not locked into preformed crunchy cornmeal and hamburger given ethnic flare with that commercial Taco Seasoning. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not putting down those yummy tacos that became a part of my teenage life. Taco Time was the first fast food venue in our town. Even my mother made a cooking foray into tacos, pretty brave for a child of 1940’s America. I think it was the quick and easy part and that bit of food excitement felt when eating something seasoned differently than the salt and pepper world of cuisine we grew up in.

But I digress…back to my taco adventure. To construct what I saw as a buffet of tastes I grabbed a lime, found 4” corn tortillas, added a bunch of cilantro and a tub of Pico de Gallo. I had cheese, sour cream and salsa.

A couple hours before preparing dinner I cut the tender steak into 1” pieces, put them in a Zip Loc squeezing half a fresh lime over them. I then took a small amount of cilantro leaves and crushed them with a little salt, using my mortar and pestal, adding the resulting paste it to the lime juice on the meat as marinade. Confidence and inspiration for the paste came from my interest in Indian cuisine.

I went for presntation...I created two plates of sour cream, salsa, grated cheese, Pico de Gallo and a slice of lime.
Draining the marinade off the meat, I fried it quickly, as we like medium rare, seasoning with a little Johnny’s Seasoning Salt and garlic powder. I placed the meat in a little bowl with the plate of ingredients.

Cleaning out the frying pan, (you could use another) I brought the pan to med high heat and added a slick of oil. (No, a slick isn’t a proper measurement, I say to my younger self, but you can figure it out, basically, not a lot of oil.) I quickly fried each side of the corn tortillas in the hot oil until they started to brown in spots. They were pliable and bent easily so I bent each, a salute, I guess, to my childhood taco memories.

Hank and I set about with our individual buffets, building some tasty tacos that we consumed with a smidge of the satisfaction those tacos of our teenage years had given, with a whole new dimension of taste and texture. My taco making has evolved!

Easy Tandoori Chicken - A Quick Fix or Impress at Your Next Barbeque

These marinated chicken pieces are great to take to a barbeque where you are supposed to bring something to throw on the grill. It will add an interesting flare without being spicy (hot). They are a great introduction to Indian cuisine for the uninitiated. For traditional, serve over Basmati Rice. For a summertime treat, slice the onto a green salad or use the meat for an amazing chicken salad with dried cranberries and pecans.

  

Tandoori Chicken

 

Note –  This is super easy as you just dump everything together. They often have large packages of thighs and legs on sale. I’ve used both bone-in and boneless and either works great. I had 6 thighs one time and made half of the recipe. When I did 12 thighs I cut the meat off the ones we didn’t eat and made a yummy chicken salad (use a little less mayo because of the marinade on the chicken adds sauce).

For oven use a shallow baking pan lined with foil

Ingredients:

12-16 skinless bone-in chicken thighs (or thighs and drumsticks)

1 cup plain nonfat yogurt

Juice of 2 limes or lemons

2 Tablespoon minced peeled ginger root (I keep a jar of chopped ginger in fridge $1.99 in produce section)

2 Tablespoon minced garlic (I keep a jar of chopped garlic in fridge $1.99 in produce section)

2 tsp. coriander powder

2 tsp cumin powder

2 tsp garam masala

1 ½ tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cayenne

Juice of 2 limes or additional lemons to squeeze over when serving.

Instructions:

--Rinse chicken and pat dry thoroughly. Cut diagonal slits against the grain, almost to the bone.

--In a large shallow non reactive bowl, mix together yogurt, lime/lemon juice, ginger garlic coriander, cumin, garam masala, salt, paprika and cayenne. Add chicken, turning to coat and making sure marinade goes inot all slits. 

--Cover and marinate in refrigerator for about 2 hours or up to 12 hours.

--Preheat oven to 375. Remove chicken from marinade and place prepared shallow baking pan. Discard any remaining marinade. 


--Bake in preheated oven until juices run clear when the chicken is pierced, about 45 minutes.

--Transfer pieces to heated platter and squeeze lime juice over the top while still warm. Discard accumulated juices. Garnish with onion rings and lemon wedges.

Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot - Ya Gotta Try It!

I offered this great tip, below, in my Risotto post but it's so good I'm giving it a separate post. My friend Vivian has me hooked on buying a whole chicken, rinsing it, seasoning it however you like (Johnny’s Seasoning salt and a little garlic powder for me) and dumping it with no liquid, breast side down, into the crockpot on low for 6 hours. So simple, I often do it when whole Foster Farms chickens are on sale as they were this week for 78 cents a lb. 


Here is a link to an online discussion of the chicken in the crock pot 

http://thehappyhousewife.com/cooking/whole-chicken-in-a-crock-pot/

My friend Deborah Taylor Hough who writes books on Once-a-Month Cooking got me started, years ago, always keeping good quality zipping freezer bags on hand and a Sharpie pen in my kitchen drawer. There are only two of us and my husband isn't too fond of casseroles so, you ask, what to do with all that chicken meat. He'll eat roasted chicken if it's with mashed potatoes and gravy so I keep bottled gravy on hand and one meal hot chicken sandwiches (chicken on white bread and with mashed potatoes with gravy over all of it) I add five cups of water to bones skin and liquid from chicken and leave on low over night then freeze broth. Then I freeze chicken meat in quart bags for later chicken salad or other uses. This time I'm going to add some to some of the Risotto I made and have frozen in quart zip lock bags. I used to let things go bad when I froze them - freeze and forget! Now I regularly check the freezer to remind myself what is there to use.You can do it. Something I love to have in freezer ready portions is homemade Macaroni and Cheese. My favorite recipe is:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/04/macaroni-cheese/

Here is an article by Deborah Taylor Hough with tips on what freezes well and what doesn't.

http://www.menus4moms.com/articles/000018.php

More about my chicken, My husband had hot chicken sandwiches two nights as I was busy (it's one thing he'll eat over and over). I had a couple cold chicken sandwiches on white bread with mayo (yum). Before freezing I decided to use the remaining chicken in a casserole. I chopped the chicken. Then went to my fridge and cupboards for inspiration as I wanted a more complex taste than just mushroom soup or cheese sauce.

Sauteed some celery and an onion adding some Johnney's Seasoning Salt to it.

Chopped some fresh mushrooms.

Added to chicken in crockpot.

Made a sauce of:

• a can of cream of mushroom soup,
• about 1/2 a can of milk,
• 1/2 cup grated swiss cheese,
• 2 cups of cheddar cheese,
• 1/2 cup bleu cheese dressing,
• 1/4 cup mango ginger salsa,
• 1/4 cup sauce I had made for an hors d oeuvre (2 Tbs. whole grain mustard, 2 Tbs. Dijon mustard, 1/4 honey and 1 Tbs. butter).

Poured the sauce over the chicken and vegetables and heated in the crock pot. Cooked a cup of Basmati rice with about 1/2 cup quinoa I had. When ready to serve I mixed casserole with rice and topped with crushed Parmesan courtons stirred together with melted butter and grated fresh Parmesan cheese and put under the broiler until browned.

We enjoyed the casserole and I froze two small ones for future use instead of just freezing the chicken meat this time.

My Hors d oeuvre Triumph

I made the most amazing hors d oeuvre today.

Here's the link:
http://www.thelakekitchen.com/2011/01/13/golden-parmesan-potato-slices-with-golden-honey-mustard-dip/

I replaced the olive oil with melted butter and  after drizzling the potato slices with butter I broiled them until they started to brown on the edges before topping with the sugar/salt/garlic salt/paprika mixture and grated Parmesan. Then broiled them until the Parmesan started to brown.

My husband, to whom I respect re. all things food, said placing a lamb chop on top of some with a couple asparagus spears on top of that and drizzling with the honey mustard sauce would be an amazing entre