Monthly Cooking Thread - November 2021

[Jamestown1630]

Norman Rockwell, Freedom From Want (1943)

People seem to want Thanksgiving to always be the same – there’s a lot of advice out there cautioning against trying something new for family or guests on that day. But I’ve often enjoyed very interesting new recipes at Thanksgiving, in the homes of friends and family who have ignored that advice. I recently found a recipe for turkey stuffing that is quite different from the plain type that I’ve always made; but I’m very tempted to try it. (It may be a little ‘busy’ for some who are used to a plainer bread stuffing.)

I watch a lot of YouTube cooking videos, and I think the most engaging host of all is Chef Jean-Pierre Brehier. He is extremely informative while also being fun and funny, and the kind of person you'd love to have a couple of drinks and a good conversation with.

Chef Jean-Pierre suggests using Costco corn muffins for this stuffing recipe, if you don’t want to make your own cornbread.

For those without access to fresh chestnuts to roast, there are lots of pre-roasted, packaged ones available; but the reviews for many of them are not very positive, so choose carefully. Jean-Pierre appears to use the Roland ones vacuum-packed in a jar, and he just squeezes/tears them into the mixture with his fingers. Fresh chestnuts are available from some of the nut companies if you can't source fresh ones nearby, but they seem to be tricky to buy ahead and store (if you have experience with this, let us know how you handle them.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gvui3lIfWI

Corn Muffins & Sausage Stuffing – Chef Jean-Pierre Brehier

Serves 10

1/2 Cup Dark Spiced Rum, for soaking the raisins

1 cup Dark Raisins

2 pounds Pork Turkey or Chicken Sausage, casings removed

2 cups Yellow Onions diced small

1 ½ cups Celery Hearts diced small

1 ½ cups Carrots diced small

2 tablespoons fresh Sage chopped

2 tablespoons fresh Rosemary chopped

2 tablespoons fresh Thyme chopped

6 cups Corn Muffins or Cornbread crumbled

1 Granny Smith Apples skinned and diced small

1 cup peaches in a light syrup cut into medium dice

¼ cup fresh Parsley chopped

1 cup Roasted Chestnuts

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 cup Milk or Buttermilk

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat Oven to 375°

Spray a baking pan or dish (approx. 15"x10"x2") with a non-stick spray or brush with butter.

Soak the raisins at room temperature in your favorite liquor for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.  If you do not have the time to wait, put them covered in the microwave for 2 minutes to plump them up.

In a large sauté pan over high heat, sauté the sausage and cook until golden brown.  Add the onions and cook until light golden brown.  Add the carrot and celery and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the fresh herbs and cook for an additional 2 minutes or until the vegetable are almost cooked but not mushy.

Transfer to a large bowl with the muffins; add the apples, peaches, chestnuts, salt and pepper, buttermilk, and raisins mix well.

Pack the lasagna pan with the mixure and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

Put the lasagna pan onto a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour or until the top is golden brown.

For those without access to chestnuts to roast, there are lots of packaged, pre-roasted ones available; but the reviews for many of them are not very positive. Chef Jean-Pierre appears to use the Roland ones vacuum-packed in a jar, and just squeezes/tears them into the mixture.

Fresh chestnuts are available from some of the nut companies, but they seem to be tricky to buy ahead and store (if you have experience with this, let us know how you handle them.)

The Chef also has a good idea for having garlic ready to go in the freezer for all of your recipes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZA2UcvnE6g

*******************************************************

Chef John of ‘Food Wishes’ has posted a recipe for Butterhorn Dinner Rolls which looks pretty easy even for novice bread bakers, and I don’t see why they couldn’t be made the day before and warmed up.

(These are very rich; but for most of us, Thanksgiving isn’t a ‘diet day’):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJUve3My3lE

-JT

[boatbums]

I still have some flatware I got with green stamps!

[Tommy Revolts]

Thanks, I would agree with that. But on a Turkey farm...it’s probably a good thing to eliminate animal byproducts from turkey feed.

[Jamestown1630]

That’s a good way to make the kind that most of my crew like.

But I think the best I’ve had was made by my husband’s grandfather - he was a cook in the Navy during WWII, and made his with stale bread, sauteed onions and celery, and poultry seasoning. Not sure what he used to wet it, but it was excellent the way he did it, and like my own Grandmother’s.

[jetson]

mmmmmmm...gooood

[leaning conservative]

Yum! I like “crustification.” I’m stealing that. And you reminded me how good a splash of cognac is in gravy. Just brings up the flavors. I use dry Sherry, but I’m definitely getting cognac for Thanksgiving.

[FamiliarFace]

I still use the electric fry pan I “bought” with my green stamps. The hot pot gave up the ghost after 10 or so years, but the electric skillet is still perfect. I dinged the lid once, but it’s in great shape otherwise because I take decent care of it. They sure don’t make appliances, small or large, the way they used to.

Thank goodness for green stamps, though. I went to college on a nearly full scholarship. My family was lower middle class at the time, and there was nothing left over for frivolities. So I asked my parents that if I did the menial task of putting the stamps into the books, would they allow me to get sheets, a blanket, a pillow, and a few household necessities with those for myself for college. I know Mom probably wished for a few things herself, but they agreed. Those items all lasted quite some time, but the electric fry pan is the only thing I still have from then, 43 years ago.

[ptsal]

Baked catfish nuggets with cajun spices from Big Easy Foods of Lousiana, Lake Charles, LA.

For $3.11/lb. at Walmart, how can you miss?

[pugmama]

I love this magazine and the recipes. I have been looking at this menu for Thanksgiving and think I will do it. I will also add a pecan pie.
We also have a seafood place that is able to get fresh oysters etc , so will probably get some of them as my husband loves them. Maybe BBQed or smoked, as they can do them there.

https://www.lcbo.com/content/lcbo/en/food-and-drink/market-share-thanksgiving-menu.html

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family.

[FamiliarFace]

I think my grandma used chicken stock or sometimes turkey stock to wet the stale bread. That’s what Mom and my aunts did when they were visiting. I remember loving the smell of all those ingredients you mentioned sautéing in the pan before adding it to the stale bread that was in a clean dishpan. That’s where the big mix with clean hands was done. Great memories!

[Capt. Tom]

...snip..When I was a kid in college, I cooked a lot like you do now. All I had was a hotpot and an electric fry pan. Microwaves were allowed but I didn’t have money for one. ..snip

And I would bet at one time you thought about getting a Pressure Cooker.

During WW2 , my widowed mother made most of our evening meals with a Pressure Cooker.
I shied away from that choice because I felt like cooking with a Pressure Cooker was like cooking with a bomb. LOL. -Tom

[Ellendra]

Thanksgiving meal always seems better to me on leftover days.

My family uses up leftovers so quickly, if I want a turkey sandwich I pretty much have to grab some turkey meat and hide it!

Fortunately (or unfortunately), our fridge makes it easy to hide things.

I love a good turkey sandwich, made with leftover roast turkey, and some nice fresh bread. It doesn't need anything else.

[Qiviut]

Love the garlic puree idea - why didn’t I think of that?? So easy!!

The video has a comedic factor - pretty entertaining. :-)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For Thanksgiving, I bought a 22 lb turkey on sale a while ago & it’s been hanging out in the freezer - looks like it will be the main dish for us - my SIL says she hasn’t seen a whole turkey in the stores yet.

On to Christmas .... so last year, I made home-made vanilla for Christmas gifts. I put the vanilla beans in 8 oz jars & added vodka, included a tag with a date on which it would be ready. THIS year, I have vanilla I made last year when I also started a 750 ml bottle - it’s nicely aged - smells wonderful. Three folks who did not get vanilla last year, will get a bottle this year & I’ll still have plenty left over for myself.

Another gift I’m making is “ghee”. I had to buy a ceramic coated sauce pan (white lining) so I could see the bottom & tell what was going on, but after making ghee for myself for a year, I’m pretty good at it. I don’t let mine get too dark/nutty at all. The stuff is surprisingly expensive to buy, the cost of a pound of unsalted butter to make. I’ll gift it in pint mason jars with a plastic screw on cap, so it’s easy to get into. The folks getting it are those I know will appreciate it (they fry eggs, saute veggies, etc.).

One of these years, I’m going to try some homemade liqueurs ... not this year, though. I have the old standby Jalapeno Pepper Jelly & Blackberry Merlot Wine jelly that certain folks ask for every year (last year, one of them even bought me the jars, which were hard to find!). Buying gifts, for me, is a thing of the past. The ‘empty shelves’ will not be an issue for me this Christmas. :-)

[FamiliarFace]

Actually, I never have wanted a pressure cooker, ever. Same reason as you! ;-)

[1Old Pro]

Any simple suggestions that involve a fry pan and a boiling pot will be appreciated. -Tom

One of my wife's favorites, chicken stir fry with green peppers and onions and then boil some good rice and you're all set.

[Political Junkie Too]

Get this one:

FoodSaver V4840 2-in-1 Vacuum Sealer Machine with Automatic Bag Detection and Starter Kit

Then get one of these:

FoodSaver Regular Sealer and Accessory Hose Wide-Mouth Jar Kit

You can buy mason jars at the grocery store and use this gadget to vacuum seal the jars. I put sauces, rice and other dry goods, and even open cans (like those small chipotle pepper in adobo sauce) in them, and then seal them up for later.

-PJ

[leaning conservative]

My mother used to use a pressure cooker. Scared her & completely creeps me out. You said it: it’s a bomb waiting to go off. My mother in law gave us an insta pot 2 summers ago. I need to unpack it & figure out how to use it.

They make already cooked rice in all different variations. You could add that to your skillet for a true one pan meal. There are so many great cooks on this thread who will have an answer to almost any question.

[nascarnation]

I recommend the Zubiedat Tsarnaeva signature model pressure cooker.

[boatbums]

My New Orleans maternal side of the family always had oyster dressing as their turkey side. It was a big deal. They'd buy like a gallon of shucked Lake Pontchartrain oysters and use a LOT of them but probably eating half the gallon raw while preparing the stuffing. Yuk! I couldn't STAND oysters but Dad sure loved them. Never got to liking it so I'd either go without dressing or, as I set out on my own, we'd have both oyster and another kind of dressing - usually cornbread or regular bread. Another holiday delicacy was Stuffed Mirliton. My Mom made the best!

[boatbums]

Leftover turkey sandwiches on white bread with plenty of mayo and jellied cranberry sauce is what I like MOST about Thanksgiving leftovers! Sometimes when I have a hankering for that sandwich I get Boars Head Ovengold turkey sliced thick and it is just as good.

[boatbums]

I really get onto the YouTube cooking videos of FoodWishes, Hidamari, Aprons, Boone Bakes and Brian Lagerstrom. I start watching them at night and never make it to Netflix. We only do streaming now and I do not miss regular TV at all.