The Best Part Of Thanksgiving: the Leftovers - Turkey Consumme

Roasted Turkey bones and leftovers
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large onion, peeled and diced

Place all the bones, and leftovers from carving the turkey, including skin and neck, and any leftover jus, into a large pot. Add water just to cover the bones. Add carrots, celery and onion. Bring to a boil, skim, and reduce to a simmer. Cook about an hour. Salt to taste.

Cool slightly and then strain soup through a colander placed in a large bowl. If you have cheesecloth you can strain the broth for a very fine soup, but I often skip this step. Let broth cool in a refrigerator. Cool bones enough to handle, and pick meat from bones. When broth is cool, carefully skim off the fat layer and discard. Reheat on stove.

Place a bit of shredded meat (some like to use leftover carved meat, which will have more flavor than the meat simmered with the broth, which has less flavor) in a bowl. Add just a few dices of red pepper and a bit of parsley for style; or use other veggies you have. Ladle hot stock over the meat and veggies, being careful not to include any settled material if you did not strain stock.

Apple Berry Pie

Crust:
3 cups flour
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 sticks butter, diced and then chilled in the freezer
6 Tbsp ICE COLD water

Filling:
8 apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I used Crispin)
¾ cup sugar
¼ tsp. salt
3 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp cold water
1 cup mixed berries, thawed if previously frozen (I used blue- black- and raspberries)

Egg wash:
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk

Prepare the crust by mixing the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. With the processor running, add the butter through the feed tube until the mixture is just evenly granular and no more. Add just enough of the water to pull the dough together in a ball, then stop the processor. The dough can be a little dry so long as you can compress it together with your hand into a disk – but don’t handle the dough too long or it will not be flakey. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the apples by sautéing them in a large non-stick skillet with all the filling ingredients. Cook for about 10 minutes, at least until the apples begin to soften. There is likely to be quite a bit of liquid rendered in the pan - use a slotted spoon to remove apples to a bowl. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture into the liquid until thickened. Stir in the berries and fold berry mixture into the apples.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Divide the crust in two, roll out into circles and place the bottom crust in a large pie dish. Add the apple mixture and top with the second crust. Seal all around the perimeter of the pie, and place a few vent holes decoratively through the top crust. Whisk together the egg wash and paint the top crust all around with the egg wash. Sprinkle to pie generously with granulated (white or brown) sugar. Bake 30-40 minutes, until the crust is very golden brown.

Cranberry Sauce with Citrus and Ginger

This may sound spiced-up, but it isn't. It really is very, very subtle, and actually very refreshing.
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
12 oz bag fresh cranberries
1 stick cinnamon
1 whole star anise
12 sections pink grapefruit, about 1 whole grapefruit, chopped
zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp candied ginger, minced
1/4 tsp curry powder

Bring the water and the sugar to a boil and add the cranberries, cinnamon and anise. Cook for about 10 minutes until the berries pop and the sauce thickens. Pick out the cinnamon and anise and stir in the grapefruit, lemon zest ginger and curry. Cool and serve.

Fun with Brussel Sprouts - I Swear

It may be strange, but I honestly LOVE Brussels sprouts. If you sauté them only just until 'crisp-tender', they don't get all sulfur smelling and they taste fresh and delicious. I will never, ever steam or boil Brussels sprouts - but roasting at 400F tossed with some olive oil is certainly a great option. Of course you are in a "Catch-22" if you are preparing them this way for your father-in-law who insists on his vegetables cooked 'to death'... So don't serve these to him.

Crisp Sautéed Brussels Sprouts
1 lb fresh Brussels sprouts
1 medium onion, yellow or purple, sliced or diced

Other vegetables such as:
3 whole cooked beets, diced (or 1 can diced beets, drained)
1 cup shredded purple cabbage
3 mixed-colored organic carrots, peeled and sliced

2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil

Cut the stem off each sprout and slice sprout in half through the stem. Tip sprouts, onion and other vegetable of choice into a large skillet, and slowly sauté together only until the sprouts are 'crisp-tender' and just begin to brown. Stir every once in a while, but not too often, so sprouts can brown. Salt and pepper to taste.

With beets:
With cabbage:
If you want an even more epic sprout, start by cooking about an eighth pound of diced bacon (or ham) before the sprouts. If using bacon, you can cut back on the oil and half the butter. While this is a bit more decadent and should only be eaten in moderation, it's really, really much more fun. But you could argue you are spoiling a fantastically healthful dish. Oh darn...

Chili Pork with Black Beans and Rice

This is especially good with brined pork!
1 cup rice, I like short grain brown rice for this
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt
1 onion diced
1 lb boneless pork rib meat, diced to 1/2-inch pieces
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp powdered cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 serano or jalapeño chili, minced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 avocado, sliced and fanned
Palmful cilantro, minced (optional)
2 Tbsp shelled sunflower seeds
1 lime, cut in eighths

Preheat oven to 350F. Drain the tomatoes and save the juice. Make up the juice to 2 cups with water. In a medium pot, sauté the rice in a bit of canola oil for about five minutes, stirring constantly, until the rice is fragrant, but not browned. Add the tomato water and salt, bring to a boil, reduce back to a simmer, stir and cover the pot. Cook for about 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.

Meanwhile sauté the onion in a large fry pan with a bit of olive oil for about 8-10 minutes. Set onion aside in a bowl. In same pan, brown the pork, adding a bit of oil as needed, until all sides a nicely browned. Add the garlic and chili pepper and cook another few minutes until fragrant.

When the rice is cooked, fluff with a fork and toss together with the onions, beans and the meat. Stir in the chili and cumin powders and tip half into a 13x9 inch casserole. Top mixture with half the cheese and then the remaining bean and rice mixture. Finally, top the casserole with the remaining cheese. Bake covered for 20 minutes and the uncovered for 10 minutes. Top casserole with sunflower seeds, avocado and cilantro. Serve with lime.

Poached Sole with Mushrooms and Buerre Blanc Reduction

1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup water
4 fillet of sole, or most any white fish you like
1 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
1/4 tsp dill weed, dried or minced
1 large can very nice mushrooms, drained
1 Tbsp fresh chives, minced

Put wine and water in a large non-stick skillet for which you have a top. Bring to a boil and add the fish , neatly distributed. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Poach for about five minutes. When fish has cooked through, remove carefully with a slotted spatula to a platter, cover with foil and keep warn in a warm oven.

Meanwhile, mix together the flour and butter with a fork to make a Buerre Manier. Whisk the Buerre Manier into the stock over medium heat until a nicely thickened sauce forms. Adjust thickness with water if necessary. Stir in the dill and mushrooms to heat through. Plate each fish filet and top with mushroom sauce. Sprinkle each fillet with chives.

Chicken Pot Pie with Cheesy Crust

This is a real comfort food dish, but really no weeknight affair. This takes some time - great for a weekend, and is worth every minute of toil - a real act of love. Our daughter insisted we put a crust on the bottom of the pie, and I couldn't agree more. Baking at relatively high temperature for a short time at first seems to brown the outside of the bottom crust. Very yummy.
1 whole chicken, cut up
3 carrots, sliced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp hebes de Provence
1/2 cup peas
3 Tbsp corn starch

Cheesy crust:
3 cups flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried dill
1 1/2 sticks butter, sliced and chilled in freezer for a few minutes
4 oz. herbed feta cheese, crumbled
4 oz. grated cheddar cheese
6-8 Tbsp ice-cold water

Egg wash:
1 egg whisked together with 1 Tbsp water

Prepare the chicken by browning in a large pot in a bit of olive oil, about 5 minutes, until all pieces begin to brown. Add carrot, celery, onion and garlic and cook another 10 minutes, until the veggies begin to soften and become very fragrant. Salt an pepper to taste while you sauté the veggies. Add about 6 cups of water - just enough to barely cover the chicken. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. cover and cook for about 30-45 minutes, until the chicken just begins to fall off the bone. Stir to redistribute the chicken from time to time.

Meanwhile prepare the crust by mixing the flour with the salt and dill in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the chilled butter slices to the flour, pulsing just until the butter is incorporated coarsely into flour. Add the cheeses and pulse a few more times just to incorporate. With the processor running, add enough of the water to make the dough just about to form a rough ball. Stop processing immediately - do not over mix the dough. Carefully transfer the dough onto a counter, divide and press together to form two balls of dough. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate for half an hour.
Preheat the oven to 400F. Let the chicken broth mixture cool a bit and then strain the chicken into a colander seated in a large enough bowl to hold it. Remove the colander and let the meat cool enough to shred the meat from the bones. Separate out as many of the veggies as you can, and set aside. You should have about 4-5 cups of stock; if not, bring up to 4 cups with water. Dissolve the corn starch in 3 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl. Bring the stock to a boil and whisk in the cornstarch. Allow stock to thicken - adjust with a bit more cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken further if necessary - depending on how much stock you have. Tip in the peas to heat through, then fold in the veggies and the chicken. Set gravy aside.

Grease a 2-quart oven-going casserole. Roll out the balls of dough to circles big enough to fit the casserole. Line the bottom of the casserole with one dough sheet. Pour in the chicken filling. Cover the filling with the second sheet of dough. Lightly brush the crust with egg wash. Pierce several tiny holes into the crust for venting. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F and bake for another 20 minutes, until crust is nicely browned and gravy begins to bubble through holes.

Carnival Chickpea Veggie Salad: Something Festive for Carnival Starting in Germany at 11:11 11/11/11

4 cups broccoli flowerettes
4 cups cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large carrots, sliced
2 cups purple cabbage, shredded
1/2 small purple onion, sliced
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Dressing:
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced through a press

Sunflower seeds for topping

Bring about 3 inches of well-salted water to a boil in a medium pot. Prepare a large bowl with about 4 cups of ice and 4 cups of water. Tip the broccoli, cauliflower and carrots into the boiling water. Let sit for 1 minute. Remove veggies and drain in a colander. Immediately toss veggies into ice water and stir well to cool off quickly. When very cold, drain in colander and make sure all ice is either melted or removed. Dry veggies out in a salad spinner. Whisk together the dressing ingredients and toss with the salad. Top the salad with a sprinkling of sunflower seeds.

Cucumber and Corn Salad

2-3 cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
2 cups corn kernels
2 green onions, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil

Mix all ingredients together. Salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4-6.

Broccoli Two-Potato Casserole

1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp powdered coriander
½ tsp salt
fresh ground black pepper
¼ cup good real mayonnaise
¼ cut non-fat plain Greek yogurt
4 cups broccoli flowerets, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced into ½-inch pieces
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced into ½-inch pieces
2 green onions, sliced
4 oz Cheddar cheese, grated

Topping:
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 oz Cheddar cheese, grated
½ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp powdered coriander
¼ tsp red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 375F. In a large bowl, whip together the first six ingredients. Tip in the next five ingredients and mix to combine well. Stir together the topping ingredients. Turn veggie mixture into a greased 9x13 casserole and cover with the topping. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until browned and bubbly.

Asian Savoy Broccoli Slaw

4 cups broccoli flowerets, cut up
1/2 head savoy cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, grated
2 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup alfalfa sprouts
2 Tbsp shelled sunflower seeds

Sauce:
1/3 cup good real mayonnaise
1 rounded Tbsp Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Steam the broccoli with a dash of water in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Drain and cool completely in the refrigerator. Whisk together the sauce ingredients and toss together with the veggies in a large bowl.

One of Everything Guacamole Salsa for 11-1-11

Here's a quick and easy fresh salsa with 1 of each ingredient for 11-1-11.
1 avocado, diced
1 fresh tomato, diced and drained
1 clove garlic, pressed and minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground chili powder
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro leaves, minced

Toss all ingredients together with a bit of salt and red pepper flakes to taste.