Here is a photo of the first batch of souffles. I had to bake one off to test my serving instructions. These little beauties are great - they are individually portioned and arrive frozen, so all the client has to do is preheat the oven, pop it in, and Presto! instant gooey chocolatey goodness in 20 minutes. I love these!
I was so happy that my friend Tracy ordered these - I keep putting them on menus and no one bites (so to speak :)
So finally, here we are. I will post more photos, some recipes, and updates soon. It turns out that I actually have to start marathon training tomorrow. That's right, it all seemed so much easier when I first decided to do this three months ago... My thought process went something like this: "So I'll need to train for the marathon, big deal. And I'll need to relearn some French, but that's no problem. And then I'll actually have to run 26.2 miles. Oh well... Details, details."
Now that I am suddenly confronted with the reality of training at 5:45 AM, the process seems a little more arduous than when I was at the planning stage. (Did I mention that I ran a total of 4 miles last week? Oh well, details, details...)
Okay, it takes a lot to make me use the imperative with you gentle readers, but this is it! I insist that all of you make your own cranberry sauce.
Normally I am a fairly tolerant individual, but seeing cans of jellied cranberry "sauce" stacked willy-nilly in the supermarket's Thanksgiving display creates a feeling of increasing urgency around this topic. Admittedly Thanksgiving makes even experienced cooks nervous (myself included). Why? Simple, how many other times during the year do we ever attempt to cook a turkey? In my household this happens once a year - so even though I have hosted many thanksgiving dinners over what is an ever increasing span of time, the total is still only about 15 turkeys, give or take a few. I started collecting the Williams Sonoma Thanksgiving guides in 1995, so it's been at least that long --- btw, even if you don't normally enter a WS store during the year, go about a week or two before Thanksgiving and pick up one of their booklets. They're beautiful, make a wonderful keepsake, and contain lots of info about turkeys, side dishes, etc., including the recipes and menu that the WS kitchens came up with for the year. (Did I mention that they're free?)
Anyway, all of this reinforces my proclamation for all harried Thanksgiving cooks today: Make your own cranberry sauce. This is by far the easiest and most satisfying of all your tasks for T-day. Plus, it is effortless, delicious, and will look just as pretty in a cut glass dish as in a simple white bowl. Here is the recipe for Cranberry Grape compote: 1 12oz bag cranberries 3 c seedless red grapes 1/2 c water 1 c sugar In a colander wash the cranberries and seedless grapes. Place in a saucepan, add the water over medium heat. Once it is boiling immediately lower heat and continue to cook, stirring occasionally for 10 to 15 minutes. (The cranberries will pop, which is entertaining for children and adults alike.) Stir in a pinch of salt and spoon into a heatproof container - I usually just put it into whatever I plan to serve it in. Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate. This compote will keep for at least 3 weeks in the fridge, and is just as delicious with roast turkey as it is with rotisserie chicken, or spread on toast. Trust me.
This recipe is from one of the Martha Stewart publications, I can't remember which, and I have it ever since we tried it because it is simply the best cranberry sauce in the world. (This is a BLOG - I am allowed to be highly opinionated!) So, do me a favor and make this. I don't care if you don't make anything else from scratch this Thanksgiving, or if you are going top someone else's house for the holidays. Make it anyway and take it as a gift to the hostess - just don't drop any off at my house because I already made mine.
OK, this may actually be the best thing that I have ever made. Seriously. And as usual, it's the result of a fluke. This leviathan of the pastry world is loosely based on an Ina Garten (a.k.a. The Barefoot Contessa) recipe for chicken pot pie. But when I say "loosely based", what I actually mean is "...well, she has fennel in the recipe, but I don't want fennel and asparagus in my pot pie, so I'll just have leeks and peas instead." And so on through most of the ingredients, until I basically ended up with what I want in my pot pie, which as it turns out is celery root, butternut squash, leeks, peas, and thyme. Plus assorted other vegetables, aromatics, and a LOT of pie pastry rolled over a gigantic oval casserole. I'm not even sure how I managed to get it on there without breaking, and I'm really not sure that I can do it again. But for one glorious moment as it emerged burnished and golden from the oven, I experienced pot pie nirvana --- enveloped by heady aromas and warmth I felt like a child in a mother's arms. I guess that's why they call it comfort food.
*Note: I LOVE Ina Garten. Everything she makes is not only beautiful and tasty, it is actually something that you want to eat - like brownie pudding, what a good idea! Speaking of pot pies, I've never made this (and probably never will given the cost of lobster) but the IDEA of lobster pot pie, another recipe that she has done, is so immensely appealing that I find myself smiling just thinking of it. She makes elegant food that is luxurious and homey, and immensely appealing. Bill and Ione always watch the "Contessa" on Saturdays during lunch, and as my 6-year-old says, "if Ina invites us for dinner, I'm going!"
Well it's happened again. I have been so busy cooking, that writing about cooking has just seemed sort of beside the point... Today I delivered the first installment on my holiday gift breads. One of my clients asked if I could make some food gifts for her business clients, and so this is what we came up with. I have to admit to being indecently pleased with the result - all lined up like belles at a ball dressed in satin bows. The pumpkin breads keep well, and are redolent with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg... They make the whole house smell wonderful as they're baking (which is a good thing, since I will be baking eight more in short order.)
The weather for the past few weeks has just been spectacular. I find that I enjoy the wet and cold days as much as the crisp blue sky days, and both kinds of weather make me want to cook!
The menu for the past week was especially suited to the changeable mood of Fall, providing enough soothing creaminess to warm the chill away, and ginger and spice to go with sunnier days. The pumpkin spice bread was a hit with everyone, and I loved making multiple batches of risotto. The butternut squash was sauteed in olive oil with just a dash of salt and pepper before going into the risotto. The caramelized squash added depth to the tang of wine and Parmesan in the rice and lent a sweet dimension to the flavors.
Did I mention that the rolls were fabulous? I love to make bread because of all the amazing smells at each stage of the process. Am I weird because I love the smell of yeast? The smell of bread rising and baking in the oven is one of the best things in life. I also enjoyed making the pear crisp with its triple punch of ginger and sweet almonds in the topping. I could not resist packing some freshly whipped cream to go with the crisp --- oh well, a dollop of whipped cream judiciously applied and enjoyed adds longevity and joy to life. I am excited about planning more Fall menus. Look for Daube Provencal, Braised Lamb Shanks, and Osso Bucco in the coming weeks. I am also excited to try some new grain dishes to balance some of the richness of these traditional stews. I hope I can talk some of my clients into trying the individual chocolate souffles --- I have been dying to make them, but they have to be baked just before serving (they are made ahead and frozen). We'll see. But they would be REALLY perfect with the Daube...
It would be hard not to draw inspiration from this gorgeous weather. Fall always calls out to me with its golden light and foliage, and I love to echo these notes in what I cook. There is some sort of divine affinity between the fruits of the earth and the orchard, pears and butternut squash, pecans and walnuts that calls out for the lingering warmth of ginger and cinnamon to complete it.
So in this spirit, here is a Fall menu: *Pumpkin and spice bread *Cream of mushroom soup *Butternut squash risotto *Roast pork with fresh sage *Snap Beans *Pear and ginger crisp
The weeks are whizzing by with the speed that all drivers along Mopac wish that they could attain during our increasingly busy rush hours. (Is it rush hour if it starts at 3:30? Really, what is up with all this traffic?) I keep getting stuck in these long quagmires of cars and getting really angry - which is probably why I am resorting to such belabored metaphors... Between being stuck in traffic, coaching, volunteering with the kids at Mathews, and cooking, the last couple of weeks have been so packed that I can barely remember what happened.
I had a great time experimenting with a red mole recipe that I have had for a while. Mole is a wonderful invention of Mexican cuisine that combines roasted and ground chilies, nuts, and unsweetened chocolate to create an unctuous, complex sauce for poultry and meat dishes. Most people are only familiar with the dark moles, but in searching for a mole recipe that did not contain any nuts, I ran across some recipes that I got a few years ago from the MexicArte Museum here in Austin. The recipes were given out in conjunction with a celebration of DiadelosMuertos during the 100th Anniversary of FridaKahlo's birth, and were all variations of the more familiar dark mole. The one I used is called "Frida's Heart", and it is for a red mole. You simmer a pork loin roast in water with onions and bay leaves, then use the stock and meat in the recipe. The broth that results from cooking the pork is heavenly. Many Asian soups are based on pork broth, and I can see why... The sauce is composed of ancho and guajillo chilies that are warmed, then soaked and ground into a paste after the seeds and ribs are removed, plus onions, garlic, plaintains, sesame seeds and potatoes. As I tasted I was surprised at how "raw" everything tasted. The chilies were aggressive and blunt, and none of the flavors came together very well. I improvised by adding some sugar to balance the spiciness of the chilies, some unsweetened chocolate for depth, and letting the dish cook for an additional hour or so. By the end of all this I had it --- the rich, multilayered flavors that I had been seeking. I used some of the leftover plantain to make "tostones" and garnished the finished dish with these and more sesame seeds. (I will always sacrifice authenticity for tastiness, and fried plantains are GOOD)
This was the entire menu:
Maple Apricot Granola with candied ginger
Cuban Black Bean Soup
Corn Bread
Grilled Shrimp
Red Mole with Pork Loin
Basmati Rice
Grilled Asparagus
Chocolate Mousse
It was definitely challenging to prepare the mole, but well worth it at the end.
Here is a photo of the first batch of souffles. I had to bake one off to test my serving instructions. These little beauties are great - they are individually portioned and arrive frozen, so all the client has to do is preheat the oven, pop it in, and Presto! instant gooey chocolatey goodness in 20 minutes. I love these!
