For any number of years at Thanksgiving dinner I made a Jell-O salad with peach flavor(I think Jell-O used to produce a peach flavor, but in more recent years I’ve found only somebody else’s brand instead), filled with apples, celery and walnuts. My mother used to make a frozen fruit cocktail kind of salad with peeled grapes, of all things, mixed with whipped cream and frozen in a can, then sliced into a large discs and served on a lettuce leaf. I thought it was too rich, so when I began cooking the big feast I changed to other things. That’s when the Jell-O salad hit my radar back in the 1960’s. And it stayed there for a whole lot of years.

Why did I make Jell-O? Well, it was something I could make ahead; it wasn’t heavy; it had a sweet hint to it so it fit in with the turkey meal quite well; and it also offered crunch. When you think about it . . . follow along with me here . . . what else is on the plate? Turkey? Soft. Dressing? Soft. Mashed Potatoes? Soft. Sweet potatoes? Soft. Gravy? Really Soft. Peas maybe? Soft. Maybe a corn casserole? Very soft. Rolls maybe? Soft. See where I’m going here? Everything else about Thanksgiving is soft food. Tasty, but without much texture. So I liked the bit of crunch offered by the apple, celery and nuts in the gelatin salad. But then one of our grown daughters begged for a green salad. She loves green salad. Okay, so I made green salad, even though I didn’t exactly think a garden salad went with the meal all that well, but it was okay. Lots of people did eat it. I didn’t make both a green and a gelatin salad, though. So for some years I’ve made green salad as our only side salad.

Until this year, that is. This new recipe will be a part of my Thanksgiving dinner. It is so festive. And colorful!  It is crunchy (from the apples and pecans). Much of it can be made ahead too. Although you do have to compose it just before serving, that’s all. I suppose you could just mix this all up together, but it would lose something, I think. Some people wouldn’t get many cranberries; others would get too many apples, or nary any. And it definitely wouldn’t be as pretty as the individual plated version. I’ll be able to assign the assembly task to one of our dinner guests.

The recipe for this salad came from a Thanksgiving cooking class with Phillis Carey. That woman is a wonder – she comes up with the most interesting ideas, this being one of them. The lime juice dressing was perfect for it. And again Phillis shared a kitchen tip with us that I keep forgetting. Did you know that if you want to keep apples from getting brown you just cover the chopped fruit or slices with Sprite. Yes, Sprite, the carbonated beverage. Not Diet Sprite, but the real stuff. And Phillis assured us that the apples keep at room temp for 4-5 hours without getting brown. Then you pour out the Sprite. She keeps a big bottle of it in her spare refrigerator. Stale Sprite. The apples don’t care that it doesn’t have any more fizz in it. You can’t use Diet – it doesn’t contain citric acid. Neither does 7-Up, or any other lemon-lime soda. Just SPRITE! So I now have a small stash of Sprite in my pantry. I just keep forgetting this great kitchen gem.

So anyway, back to this salad. Phillis calls it layered because it is sort-of layered on the plate. There’s a lettuce layer on the bottom, the apple pecan layer (you drain off the Sprite and discard it) on top of that, kind of in a flat mound in the middle, then you make a small well in the middle of the apples and spoon in a bit of the fresh cranberry/sugar mixture that sat overnight in the refrigerator. That’s it. The apple mixture can be prepared ahead (remember, Sprite soaking), the pecans toasted and chopped, the green onions sliced ahead, even the salad mixture too. The dressing would be best whisked together just before serving, BUT have all the ingredients handy and it should take no more than about 2 minutes to whisk it up. Half goes on the apples (drained of their Sprite), the other half on the lettuce. I’m telling you, this salad is a must fix. Even for some other time of year if you have access to cranberries!
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A year ago: Mushroom Soup with Meatballs & Cream
Two years ago: Pumpkin Bread Pudding

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We have some citrus trees at both of our houses. This tangerine tree lives at our house in the California desert. And each year it produces just gorgeous fruit. We had a tangerine the other day and it was so sweet. Very few seeds. I’m looking forward to eating them, and maybe using some in cooking. We’re going to have 2/3 of our family with us there over Thanksgiving week, so perhaps we’ll eat most of them out of hand.

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This is one of those quick and easy recipes. I posted this a little over a year ago; a recipe from Gourmet. And it looked very simple and since my DH really enjoys cooked cabbage, I made it that day. I’ve made it once since, and when I was writing up a blog post the other day – and, you know, down at the bottom of my posts I insert what recipes I posted a year ago and 2 years ago? And there was this recipe. A reminder to make this again because we liked it a LOT.

So, I decided to update it with turkey instead of ground beef and ground pork. Healthier for us, for sure. I had a package of ground turkey in the freezer, and a head of cabbage. I always have canned tomatoes on hand. Now certainly, making this with the beef and pork has more flavor. More texture, too. But interestingly enough, the tomatoes, onions and more importantly the sweet/sour aspect of this recipe is what you taste. The dried cranberries add a bit of sweet too, so I didn’t miss the red meat in this version at all.

I’m reprinting the recipe below, made with turkey. And with just one slight modification in the cooking instructions. I don’t know about you, but I’m never very happy with the way ground turkey and chicken break up into tiny, tiny pieces. So I took advice from my cousin Gary, in a technique he uses for cooking ground turkey – just place the brick of ground turkey on top of the sauce (or whatever you’re cooking – as long as it’s got some kind of bed to sit on and some fluid to help steam it – add a lid to the pan and let it simmer as is for about 10-15 minutes. Don’t stir. Don’t touch. When you unveil the meat, use a spatula or spoon and break the pieces into smaller pieces to suit you. You can see in the photo above, the turkey pieces are modest size – and when you chew it, there’s just more texture, which I like. Do note the low calorie of this dish now, using turkey.
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A year ago: Swiss Chard Tart with Goat Cheese
Two years ago: Brownie Thins (a super-thin chocolate cookie)

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Can you see those luscious pink-edged, big shrimp curled in the middle of this dish? I should have done a bit more primping and fussing with the food, moving rice kernels over, positioning the cashews and the cilantro, moving the long strand of caramelized onion to be more visible for the photos. But I didn’t. It was hot and ready to be whisked to the table before the food got cold.

The credit for this recipe goes to my friend, Kunda S., a native of India. Among other accomplishments, she’s also a PhD microbiologist that I met in one of my art classes some years ago. We’ve become friends, sharing lunches occasionally. Kunda and her husband Sunat (he’s a PhD physicist) came over for dinner recently, to share some travel information with friends of ours who are venturing to India and Bhutan in January and welcomed any helpful hints about travel in northern India. We had a wonderful evening with them.

It was earlier this year I was at Kunda’s house and she gave me a little container of this rice dish she’d made. Knowing how much I enjoy cooking (and that we enjoy Indian food) she thought I should taste this dish. Oh yes! She also gave me a little bit of her garam masala, from her mother’s prized recipe. Kunda’s sister (who lives in India) makes it from their local spices, and each time Kunda visits home, she brings a new stash of garam masala.

So how was it? It was scrumptious. Kunda gave me the recipe, but she was hesitant for me to post it without trying it myself. So I finally got around to it the other night. I made enough to feed an army, so we had a couple of nights of leftovers too. Every bit as good as the first time around.

As Kunda explained to me, in the Indian culture, they take their rice very seriously. If you’ve ever been to a market with plenty of Indian products, you’ll notice lots of different rice types and brands. Most of them basmati, but from different areas. Some more expensive than others. And this dish, combined with an onion-coconut paste that you make, a marinade for the shrimp, soaked basmati rice and coconut milk. Oh my. Absolutely wonderful. My DH said “this is stupendous.” His words. It contains garam masala and turmeric, similar ingredients to the Bal’s No-Butter Chicken I made a couple of weeks ago. But this dish is altogether different.

This recipe does have several steps to its preparation. I managed to make it all in one pot, by removing the different sections as I made them, like the onion-coconut mixture. Same with the shrimp and onions later, also removed to another bowl to set aside. Finally I made the rice and at the end you combine everything so the flavors of the individual parts are still there without becoming a homogenous blend. The rice is rinsed 3 times, then left to soak in warm water for awhile (I did that while I made the other two parts of the recipe). So when you finally begin cooking the rice, it doesn’t take all that long – less time than usual if you were to start out with dry, unrinsed rice.

The dish also requires raw cashews. I’m sure I could find them, but didn’t have them on hand, so I used roasted cashews, and rinsed off the salt. I also didn’t have a fresh coconut, but I did have unsweetened grated dry coconut in the freezer, so used that instead. The coconut is browned, so it should have been very similar. Don’t, however, use sweetened flaked coconut in this – it would make it way too sweet. If you’re absolutely desperate, though, wash the sweetened coconut type. This is not a sweet dish, except for the natural sweetness from the coconut milk.

Similar to an Indian curry, you can serve this with condiments. I didn’t have the ingredients to make them (a coconut raita, chopped peanuts, minced cucumbers and more jalapeno), for one, didn’t want to make a trip to the market, so we made do without. But, I was perfectly content with the dish as is with just cashews and fresh cilantro on top. So, thanks Kunda, for this great recipe. I’ll be making it again. Maybe even for guests. It’s not all that hot, just mildly so. Kunda makes hers much hotter than the recipe below – she adds more cayenne. And if you want to make your own garam masala, click here for the recipe I posted recently.
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A year ago: Unstuffed Sweet & Sour Cabbage (stay tuned, I made this again, and will be posting it)
Two years ago: Ina Garten’s Lemon Cake

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A few weeks ago I attended a cooking class of Julia Child’s recipes. Everything was very tasty. And all fairly labor intensive too. In the course of conversation the instructor mentioned that she’d heard Ina Garten’s recipe (from her book ‘>Back to Basics) was also very good, and perhaps less time consuming. So I decided to try it out. I bought chicken thighs only, both bone-in and boneless; that way I’d get some of the good flavor from the bone. I didn’t have any of the tiny boiling onions, but I did have some regular onions that were very small, so I ended up quartering them (through both ends so they’d just maybe hold together during the cooking – they didn’t). I had carrots, red wine, and a pound of mushrooms. And thyme. And cognac, pancetta and chicken broth. So I was able to put this together – not exactly in a flash – but certainly more quickly than with Julia’s recipe.

In the book, Ina Garten explains in the preface to the recipe that she worked for a long, long time finding a coq au vin that would suit her, tasted right, and was easier than the more extensive French method. Her goal was to get it to taste as good as beef is in the bourguignon style dish. Finally someone suggested she take the bourguignon recipe and just adapt it to chicken. That she did, and this is the resulting recipe.

First the pancetta is sautéed in a bit of olive oil. It’s removed, then the chicken pieces are dried, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and browned in the oil. Then they’re removed too. Carrots, onions are added, until they caramelize a little bit, then garlic is added in, finally the cognac is added and ignited. All the chicken and pancetta are returned to the pan, then red wine is poured in, with some chicken broth (I use Penzey’s concentrate for all my chicken broth needs anymore – takes up a small space in the refrigerator), and some fresh thyme. I used my Le Crueset pot, so it was lidded and the pot went into a 250 oven (yes, really 250) for about 30-40 minutes, just until the chicken is no longer pink inside.

There’s the pot just out of the oven. The chicken is succulently soft and the veggies are still holding together at that point. I removed the bone-in chicken thighs to a bowl to cool slightly (and eventually I removed the bones and skin, just because it’s easier to eat). That chicken went back into the pot.

I made a roux (softened butter and flour mixed together between your fingers) and dropped those pieces into the stew, which was back on a very low heat on the stovetop. It took just a couple of minutes for the sauce to thicken up just some.

Then I heated up a large nonstick skillet, added some butter and sautéed the mushrooms (smaller ones were left whole – larger ones thickly sliced) until they were just barely tender. If they’re done over a fairly high heat they don’t ever get mushy from fluid. They were poured into the stew pot and just stirred in. I tasted the broth/sauce. For me it needed nary a grain of salt or pepper. I have reduced the amount of salt called for in the recipe because I think it would have been overkill. It was sublimely perfect as is.

The chicken was absolutely marvelous. Divine. Perfectly tender. Not dry. And the sauce? Oh my. I wish I had a bowl full of it. There was nothing else to do but sprinkle on some finely minced parsley (not in the recipe). And eat. And eat.
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A year ago: Yellow squash & zucchini “linguine” (a side vegetable)
Two years ago: Pink Sangria

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The other night we had a splendid, over-the-top evening with good friends. It was a milestone birthday for Dave’s friend, Joe. And his wife, Yvette, planned a small, intimate celebration. A party that included the surprise visit from Joe’s sister and brother-in-law (Rosemarie & Dick), who live near Westerly, Rhode Island. A party that included a very fun limo ride from their house to the restaurant and back. And an off-the-charts dinner.

We’ve been to Baci (pronounced bachi) before with Joe & Yvette. It’s Joe’s very favorite restaurant. Joe’s Italian, so good Italian food is prominent in his vernacular. We gathered at their home first (when we arrived at their door unannounced – remember, it was a surprise). We sang “Happy Birthday” to him at the front door, as he gazed at us in wonderment, why were we there? The relatives had flown in the day before and Yvette had them walk into a restaurant that evening, to surprise Joe.

There’s the birthday guy bottom right, with his wife Yvette. Rosemarie and Dick over on the left, and Dave an me middle right. Along with the star of the evening – the Showket Sangiovese. Deeeelicious. Joe brought it from home – it’s not on the restaurant’s menu. In fact, it’s likely not on very many menus as it’s in very short supply. We all enjoyed the wine very much.

En route in the limousine, we enjoyed a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne. Yum. All the while listening to Joe’s favorite Andrea Bocelli CD. I’ll also mention that I had a HECK of a time trying to take pictures with my DSLR, in the dark, mind you, trying to focus. The DSLR’s have to be focused – no auto focus! When your subject is dark, or nearly so, it was nigh-on impossible to figure out whether things were in focus. I took lousy photos that night. My apologies for that! Note to self: at night, taking flash pictures, use the old point-and-shoot!

Up top you can see the tender fried calamari. By far the best calarmari I’ve ever had. Bar none. So very lightly battered and fried, served with a marinara sauce. Osso buco is there (succulent and tender), also a Caesar salad (good, thick garlicky dressing) and my entree – something not on the menu, but Joe has pull in the kitchen. It was an angel hair pasta with shrimp, but instead of a marinara sauce, it was served with a lobster sauce. Not heavy with sauce at all, just lightly sauced. It was spectacular. We ate the leftovers the next day. There was also swordfish at our table, some tiramisu (that was exceptionally well done), a peanut butter cheesecake that I didn’t try. And Yvette and I shared a very good cannoli. And we also had an old bottle of Port. What an evening. We were all like little stuffed piggies as we waddled to the limo for the return ride. A good time was had by all! Thanks again, Yvette, for including us in Joe’s surprise! If you live in or near San Diego, you should try Baci. It’s right alongside the 5 Fwy. inland from Pacific Beach, not far form Sea World. In fact it’s between Clairemont Dr. & Sea World Drive. A lovely, understated elegant restaurant. I particularly like the ambiance of the restaurant, specifically their back room, which is available for parties. The back room feels more like a patio at an Italian villa.

Baci, Italian Fine Dining
1955 West Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 275-2094

http://www.sandiegobaci.com

A year ago: Lamburgers with Goat Cheese

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This post is mostly a repeat from last year. I’ve updated it with some new additions (from a year of posts). But just in case you need some ideas for planning Thanksgiving, here are my suggestions.

If you want to see all the recipes on my website, check out the Recipe Index page. It’s huge – maybe too huge. But if you’d like ideas that I think make for a delicious but traditional Thanksgiving dinner, then look no further. Certainly, I return year after year to some favorite recipes, but most likely I introduce something new to the menu equation each year. As I write this I haven’t decided on my menu for Thanksgiving 2009 – yet. We’ll have 6 adults and 3 grandchildren for Thanksgiving dinner itself.

So here’s my roundup of recipes that are sure to please, have been taste-tested and some can even be made ahead:

Appetizers: It’s my opinion that too many appetizers will spoil your appetite for this feast-of-a-meal. Generally I’ll put out some raw vegetables and a dip, or nothing at all. Maybe some nuts. But that’s IT. Besides, if you’re anything like me, I’m buzzing around the kitchen with way too many things to do to take time for appetizers (either preparing, serving or eating). We definitely don’t serve a fancy drink, either. Wine or champagne and soft drinks will be around for anyone who wants them, but that’s it. Maybe some sparkling apple juice for the kids and non-drinkers. But, if you insist on something to serve ahead, here are recipes that would work. The first crostini happen to be a real favorite but they take a bit of fussy work to make them at the last minute – assign the job to one of your guests if possible. And the herb dip (which you’d never know is made with tofu) is relatively light, so serve with fresh veggies to dip or crackers. The onion brushetta – oh my, delish and not all that heavy. And the last crostini is very different, but not particularly light.
Crostini with Apples & Blue Cheese & Honey
Hot & Spicy Tofu Herb Dip – because it’s not heavy or filling
Mahogany Sweet Onion Bruschetta
Gorgonzola, Grape & Pine Nut Crostini

The Turkey, the Main Event: Having tried every single solitary type and brand of turkey out there over the years, I’m now totally devoted to Kosher turkeys. They’re brined, you know, already. So you don’t have to do it. Kosher brining is just a salt and water brine, no added herbs or anything, but it’s fine for me. It’s not too salty, either. Sometimes Kosher turkeys are hard to find, but they ARE carried at Trader Joe’s (the turkeys arrived last week here in So. California, and trust me, they’ll be gone fast if you don’t get one soon – they have a long shelf life) and at Whole Foods. I missed out at Trader Joe’s one year, so ended up buying two Kosher birds at Whole Foods. They were outrageously expensive (certainly more than at Trader Joe’s) but they were off-the-charts delicious. Even my husband, who isn’t crazy about turkey but eats it, said it was very, very good. So, get thy self to a market where you can get one of these birds. Know, however, that you may not be able to make the gravy from the drippings – generally the broth is too salty. You can try, though. You also don’t want to stuff a brined bird – too much of the salty brine leaches into the dressing.

The Gravy: Because I use a Kosher bird that is heavily salted, usually I have to make the gravy separately. My friend Stacey sent me a recipe last year for a Turkey Gravy Without the Turkey. It was a great find, as you can make the gravy the day before! How about them apples! Everything I can do ahead is a good thing in my book.
Turkey Gravy without the Turkey

The Stuffing (Dressing): Over the years I must have made dozens of different dressings. I’m not overly committed to any one flavor (like cornbread, or oyster, etc.) but prefer a very moist, flavorful dressing. That’s all I ask. Last year I made an Italian sausage dressing that was one of the best I’ve ever done, so will likely make that one again. I’ve also made a Rachel Ray recipe called Stuffin’ Muffins one year – and they were also very good.
Italian Sausage Dressing
Rachel Ray’s Stuffin’ Muffins (pdf)

The Potatoes: Well, mashed potatoes are a necessity for me. And I was thrilled one year to read a recipe for making them several hours ahead, piling them into my big crockpot where they held very well for the ensuing hours. You do have to doctor-up the recipe a little to make them particularly moist, but otherwise they’re so simple and I like the fact that all the work can be done ahead. If you don’t want mashed, but prefer another type, there are a couple of other scalloped-type suggestions listed below the mashed.
Crockpot Mashed Potatoes
Goat Cheese Potato Gratin
Monterey Scalloped Potatoes with Jack Cheese
Mashed Potatoes with Bacon, Cheddar & Chives

The Sweet Potatoes: You won’t find a single one of those icky sweet potato casseroles here. I can’t stand them. They’re simply too darned sweet. But I do have a couple of sweet potato dishes that would be quite nice. Generally I fix either mashed potatoes OR sweet potatoes, not both.
Sweet Potato Bake
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Yam Slices with Garlic & Rosemary
Yams, Carrots & Ginger

The Vegetables: Over the years I’ve served just about every kind of vegetable. Some to acclaim, and some not. I happen to love Brussels sprouts (steamed, halved and tossed with salt, pepper and butter), but since Thanksgiving is often a family and multi-generational affair, my DH and I have learned to eat our Brussels at another meal. I like peas, but they’re not very exciting, and besides since this is an overly-rich carbohydrate meal, I don’t serve them anymore. Same goes for corn. I used to serve a baked corn casserole nearly every year, but no longer. So what do I serve? The garlic green beans fit well, although some might not like the garlic with this meal. It’s fine with me. Here are some suggestions:
Broccoli Casserole
Garlic Green Beans – may be too garlicky for the subtle turkey
Baked Fennel
Green Beans, Shallots, Balsamic
Ina Garten’s Zucchini Gratin
Baked Onions
Cauliflower, Bacon & Mushrooms
Brussels Sprouts with Cream
Green Beans & Hazelnut Butter
French Green Beans with Pears & Parmesan

Bread: I don’t serve bread at Thanksgiving any longer. I mean, really, with dressing, potatoes and pumpkin pie, you hardly need any more carbs. But if you insist, here are a few recipes that will work:
Herbed Biscuit Ring – made with the canned biscuits – very easy
Drop Biscuits
Goat Cheese Chive Biscuits

The Salads: Since I grew up with Jell-o salads as a staple at the holiday table, I actually like them, as long as they’re not too sweet. Also, I like them because they’re easy and can be made ahead. You can also make them not-so-sweet if you add vegetables instead of fruit and/or whipped cream. I’ve never blogged about them because you, my loyal readers, might cancel your subscription! One of my favorites is a peach flavored gelatin with a waldorf set of ingredients (diced apples, celery and walnuts). Or, in recent years we also make a green salad. We have family members who still love a green salad anytime, anywhere. They’d almost rather eat green salad than the rest of the meal. So, with that one I would add some of my peppered pecans, or walnuts, pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries. Those additions make it more festive and holiday-ish.
Green Salad with Peppered Pecans and add some dried cranberries too
Cranberry (Jell-o) Waldorf Salad – I’ve never blogged about this one, but you can get the PDF recipe by clicking the recipe title
Apple, Cherry & Walnut Green Salad – very rich, but would be perfect for a holiday dinner
Celery, Date, Walnut & Pecorino Salad – green type, but perfect for this meal

The Cranberry Thing: Some of our family members still like the canned stuff. (They have to bring it if they want it at my table.) No canned stuff for me. So I always, I mean always, make my favorite cranberry relish that has ginger, apples and oranges ground up in it. Make it a week or so in advance then you don’t have to worry about it except to put it out in a serving bowl.
Cranberry Relish – made in the food processor and oh-so easy

Dessert: Well, what can I tell you but we always have traditional pumpkin pie. As far as I’m concerned that’s all that’s needed, but generally somebody else brings the pies at our family get-togethers, and they bring both pumpkin and apple. With real whipped cream, thank you. And the pumpkin usually is Libby’s recipe, Libby’s pumpkin. That’s it. End of story. But, if you don’t really want pumpkin, here’s a really special dessert that will put your carb count into overdrive.
Cinnamon Raisin Apple Bread Pudding

Leftovers: Well, other than reheating the different components of Thanksgiving dinner, I generally make soup.

THE STOCK: I remove most of the turkey meat from the carcass after the big feast. The bones go into a large, deep soup pot (you may have to break them up some), cover with water and add an onion, some celery, a bay leaf, maybe a garlic clove or two (no salt), put a lid on it and put it in the oven overnight at about 225F. In the morning you’ll have a wonderful turkey stock from which to make soups. Strain everything through a colander and cool and chill. The only down side for me is that on Friday morning the whole house smells like turkey, and sometimes that’s not so appealing at 7:00 in the morning. But, that doesn’t ever keep me from doing it because making that stock is just so easy.

Go from there . . . Here are my leftover favorites:
White Chicken Turkey Chili
Chicken Turkey Posole
Turkey (free form) Tortilla Soup
(Another) Chicken Turkey Chili
Southwestern Turkey Chili
White Turkey Chili (what I did with the leftovers last year – maybe my best turkey chili)
Roasted Sweet Potato & Black Bean Salad (if you have plain sweet potatoes left over)

SANDWICH BREAD: And then, last but not least, I’m telling you about a bread – a bread that you should use for turkey sandwiches. I’ve been making this bread for years and years and years. It’s not difficult (easier if you have a stand mixer), although it IS a yeast bread, not a tea bread. It’s a pumpkin flavored bread, with some raisins and chopped walnuts in it, but it’s more a savory bread and goes just great with leftover turkey sandwiches, especially spread with just a little bit of cranberry relish, crisp lettuce and nice slices of turkey.
Pumpkin Raisin Yeast Bread for Sandwiches

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All the information below comes from Russ Parsons’ book, How to Pick a Peach: The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table. It’s a book I refer to over and over. It’s such a treasure-trove of veggie and fruit information I can’t begin to remember it all. Like whether a fruit should be allowed to sit at room temp, or refrigerated, or whether to choose a firm unripe fruit, or a perfectly ripe one, how many days pears need to ripen, or which fig varieties are the best. And in this case, whether kabocha squash requires a different kind of cooking method than, say, a butternut.

It was news to me that winter squashes are grown around the world, but there are over 350 varieties of North American squash. Seems like I know – maybe – about 10. Or 12. But no more than that! When you see a display of winter squashes at a farm stand or farmer’s market, you’ll likely see about 4 or 5. But actually, there are three different types: Cucurbita pepo (stems are angular and flared where they attach to the squash); Cucurbita maxima (stems are round); and Cucurbita moschata (stems are smooth and grooved). Each of those is like a family. Within each there are lots of varieties.

Actually, winter squash is a vining fruit (have seeds? it’s fruit). Meaning that the Cucurbit family also contains cucumbers, melons and all types of squash, winter and summer. Winter squashes are allowed to mature on the vine, which gives them time to develop a hard shell. That’s one of the differences from summer squash. The hard shell allows it to keep in cold storage. Think Grandmother’s root cellar . . . she harvested the squashes and stored them in the cold cellar where they’d be quite content for months and months, clear into mid-winter.

Parsons talks specifically about pumpkin. Since I’m a real fan of pumpkin anything, I found this interesting. Most of the pumpkin used for canned pumpkin (think Libby’s) comes from a different variety altogether – something more similar to butternut squash. You may know already that the only variety, just about, that can be used for baking and desserts is a “sugar pumpkin.” The pumpkins we know so well that sit in mounds in our grocery stores is not an eating pumpkin. It’s grown just for decoration and carving.  Definitely not for eating.

The book recommends that, for all intents and purposes, there are really only four major types of winter squash that we eat – at least here in North America:

ACORN: Likely the most familiar type (after pumpkin). Parsons calls it a middle-of-the-road squash. Skin is dark green with blushes of orange; flesh is pale to medium orange, texture semi smooth and rich, moderately sweet. Table Queen is a good variety.

BUTTERNUT: Choose ones that have a FAT neck and smallest bulb (meaning it will have a smaller seed cavity and the most squash meat). This happens to be Parsons’ favorite squash.

CARNIVAL: Looks like a harlequin acorn squash with a patchwork of dark green and bright orange. Flesh is dark orange, slightly fibrous, complex flavor, rich, sweet, earthy note. [Gee, almost sounds like I’m describing wine . . .]

KABOCHA: Round, flattened, dark green skin with delicate gray-blue tracing, or all-green and all-orange); flesh is pale to medium orange, very dense, smooth, sweet, nice green squashy edge (Parson’ words) backbone.

Choosing Squash: Here’s news to me . . . examine the STEM . . . it should always be present on the squash AND it should be dry and corky, which tells you it stayed on the vine until it was almost ready to fall off. Color deep and vibrant. Matte, not shiny skin. Cure it for up to two weeks – out on your kitchen counter. Acorn, carnival types should be refrigerated. Once squash is “cured,” it should be stored at about 50 degrees. Refrigerating will deaden the flavor.

Cooking Squash: Cooked with moisture (some moisture, not covered) the flavor is subtle with a delicate texture. Baking will bring out the caramelization, the natural sugars. Pan sautéing winter squash may be the best option – it caramelizes on the outside and stays sweet and subtle on the inside. You get the best of both cooking methods.

Recipes: Parsons includes three variations with winter squash – Winter Squash Risotto with Walnuts and Fried Sage Leaves; Mushroom & Spaghetti Squash Gratin and Parmesan Bread Crumbs; and Caramelized Winter Squash with Rosemary Gremolata.

Here on my blog you’ll find the following recipes utilizing some kind of winter squash: Butternut Squash Risotto with Pancetta (oh yea, fabulous), Thai Pumpkin Curry Soup, Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger & Jalapeno,  Yams, Carrots & Ginger,  Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Pancetta, Garlic & Sage , Butternut Cube Fries, Roasted Butternut Squash Soup,  Butternut Squash Soup with Zippy Jalapeno & Ginger (a favorite).

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According to the post I read about this, from David Lebovitz’ blog, his recipe for a creamy Feta salad dressing originally – in some form – came from the Joy of Cooking. I turned to my battered copy, but couldn’t find any salad dressing recipe there containing Feta cheese. I don’t think that Feta cheese as a salad ingredient came above my food radar until the 1980’s. Perhaps it was used in some ethnic parts of our country, but as a more Americanized salad component, no. So perhaps this recipe is actually more of David Liebovitz’ creation. Well, no matter, except that you need to know this dressing is really, really good. And it’s unusual. It may not look so in the picture above, but it is. The first ingredient by volume is Feta cheese. The second ingredient by volume is WATER. I know, odd, huh? Here’s what’s involved:

This happens to be a Trader Joe’s product. But what  you need to know is that it’s Greek, and made with sheep’s milk. This is my favorite Feta – because it’s not as salty. And I like the consistency. Each of these tubs (10.5 ounces of cheese) contains two rectangles of cheese, floating in brine. It keeps for weeks and weeks. Greek Feta generally is less salty than many other kinds, which I’ve learned over the years of buying it. I used to buy grocery-store type Fetas, and although they tasted okay, they were always too salty for my taste. Then when I found this one, I’ve settled on it. So that’s what I started with. Four ounces of cheese went into a bowl:

I used my handy-dandy pastry fork (it’s much larger than regular forks, although you wouldn’t know it from the photo – that bowl is about 6 inches in diameter) and mashed (crumbled) up the Feta, per David’s recipe. I sprinkled in some dried thyme (you can use fresh thyme or oregano, or half as much of the dried types) which you can see from top to bottom in the middle.

Then I added 2 T. of red wine vinegar (a really good cabernet vinegar I bought at Williams-Sonoma, actually) and mixed that in. The all-white Feta turned a light shade of pink. Then the 2 T. of olive oil was drizzled in. That was mixed up.

Water was added at this point – 5 T. worth, with some salt and pepper. Go easy on the salt, though, since Feta is salty enough in my book. Use the fork to stir it up. And you’re done. This dressing took about 5 minutes to make. So, not only is it tasty, but it’s also quick and easy too. And, the dressing is about 90 calories and 9 grams of fat per serving. I’m not sure, but I think the dressing would probably dress a salad for 8 people, so that would make it even healthier. I used about 3 T. for a salad for two of us. According to David, the dressing will keep in the refrigerator for about 4 days. So keep that in mind. But try it, you should.
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A year ago: Unstuffed Sweet & Sour Cabbage (this was a really delish and easy ground beef and cabbage dish, where the cabbage isn’t stuffed, but has all the components of the traditional version – just easier and just as tasty)

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For those of you who live in Trader Joe’s country, the Thanksgiving turkeys have arrived. Including the kosher ones ($2.29 lb) that I prefer. They’re advertised as arriving on Friday, Nov. 13th, but today when we stopped in there, aha, the meat department was overflowing with turkeys. According to the store folks, buying them this early is okay – they’ll still be fresh and good by Turkey Day. Trader Joe’s also carries their own brand of brined turkey, which was under $2.00 per pound. I’m just stuck on the great flavor of the kosher type (which is also brined), so am willing to pay the extra. I found one that was just short of 16 pounds. So I won’t have to buy two. Yippee.

Photo from the Food Network

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