Starters and Nibbles

Spicy Crock-Pot Apple Butter – Serve with cheddar or brie (or any cheese that is cheddar-or-brie-like) and crackers. Can be made several days in advance. Uses the crock-pot, which frees up your stovetop and oven. Would also be a nice sauce with turkey. And a nice host(-ess) gift.

Spicy Crock-Pot Apple Butter

Chicken Liver Mousse – Quick and easy to make. Can be made several days in advance. Serve with toast squares, crackers, or sliced baguette.

Chicken Liver Mousse on a crunchy little toast square

Manchego Cheese, Quince, and Walnut Crostini – Make the quince jam (or buy it) in advance. Toast the bread in advance. Easy to assemble.

Manchego, Quince, and Walnut Crostini

First Course

Easy Golden Beet Soup with Buttery Croutons - Serve as a first course. Beets can be roasted several days in advance. Soup can be made and refrigerated 1-2 days in advance (without the croutons, of course). Swirl a bit of heavy cream or yogurt on top for an elegant little touch. When I make a large meal like Thanksgiving dinner, I serve creamy soups like this in teacups – it’s just the right amount of soup so your guests aren’t stuffed before the main course.

Golden Beet Soup with Buttery Croutons

Quick Breads

Bacon Muffins – quick and easy to bake. Can be made 1 day in advance.

Bacon Muffins

Irish Soda Bread with Brown Butter, Rosemary, and Black Pepper – Quickbread (no yeast) – takes only a few minutes to mix. Can be made 1-2 days in advance.

Irish Soda Bread with Brown Butter, Rosemary, and Black Pepper

Cheddar-Sage Biscuits – Can be made 1 day in advance and re-heated. Sage goes nicely with turkey.

Cheddar Sage Biscuits

Sides

Broccoli Raab with Pecans – can be made 1-2 day in advance and re-heated.

Broccoli Raab with Pecans

Mashed Potatoes - can be made several hours in advance. Hold in a metal bowl over simmering water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap to prevent drying. Add more cream or milk before serving if the potatoes have dried out a bit.

Mashed Potatoes

Cranberry Sauce with Bourbon – can be made up to a week in advance. Made in the oven so it frees up your stovetop. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Cranberry Sauce with Bourbon

Roasted Romanesco Cauliflower – can be made several hours in advance. Pop back in the oven for a few minutes to re-heat. Grate some Parmesan over the cauliflower for a little more richness.

Roasted Romanesco Cauliflower

Kale and Ricotta Salata Salad – believe it or not, this salad can be made several days in advance. Unlike lettuce, the kale is hearty enough to not get slimy under the weight of the vinaigrette. Flavors actually get better if made a day in advance. Can be served cold or at room temperature.

Raw lacitano kale for Kale and Ricotta Salata Salad

Dessert

Apple Pie with Boiled Cider – pie can be made one day in advance. I usually serve apple pie with this Calvados Ice Cream (it’s heaven). You can omit the boiled cider to save time. Add a bit more sugar to compensate.

Apple Pie with Boiled Cider

Bourbon Milkshakes – can’t really be made in advance, but really easy to make using store-bought ingredients. And a perfect ending to your fabulous Thanksgiving meal. Give yourself a round of (bourbon-y) applause!

Bourbon Milkshake

Spicy Crock-Pot Apple Butter

My family’s farm, Fernwood Springs, in Westampton, New Jersey, has a lovely little apple orchard. The trees go mostly untended now because it’s just my grandma and my uncle working the farm (and my grandma is 87!), but the Red Delicious apples are still…well…delicious, even without much tending. I picked a boatload the other day and decided to make apple butter with them in my shiny new-ish crockpot.

I’m filing this recipe under “Kitchen Projects” because it takes a looooong time to make. Traditionally, apple butter is cooked over an open flame for like, 4 days, but I managed to a) eliminate the open flame (not so legal in Brooklyn) and b) reduce the cooking time to about 12 hours or so. I added a couple of dried chilies to the recipe after being inspired by a friend who put up a billion jars of cayenne-spiced apple sauce this year – the chile/apple combo is a good one. It may seem a little weird to boil apple cores in a bag along with the apple/water/sugar mixture, but the cores contain a ton of pectin which will give your finished butter a nice jam-y consistency.

Ingredients:
(makes about 2 pints)

12 cups apples, chopped (I used Red Delicious, but other varieties of apples will work). Reserve 5-6 apple cores – see below
2 cups raw sugar
2 cups water
1 lemon
5-6 apple cores
2 cinnamon sticks
2 whole cloves
3-4 whole cardamom pods
2-3 small dried chilies
4-5 pods star anise
1/2 vanilla bean, split

Special Equipment: Crock-pot, cheesecloth, kitchen twine, hand blender (optional)

Procedure:

1. Combine the chopped apples, sugar, 2 cups of water, and the juice of 1 lemon in a large crock pot. (Reserve the squeezed lemon.)
2. Wrap the juiced lemon, the apple cores, cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom pods, chilies, star anise, and vanilla bean in cheesecloth and tie with kitchen twine. Add to the apple/sugar mixture.
3. Cook the mixture on high in the crockpot for 2 hours. If the water starts evaporating too quickly, add more, 1/4 cup at a time.
4. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10-12 hours. The mixture should turn a dark caramel brown and the apples should start to fall apart.
5. After 10-12 hours in the crockpot, check the mixture for consistency. This will depend on what variety of apple you use,  how hot your crockpot gets, and whether you added additional water to the mixture. The mixture should start looking jam-y, with little to no apple chunks in the mix.
6. If the mixture is too chunky for your liking, remove the cheesecloth bag and blend the mixture using a hand blender until the apple chunks have been incorporated. If the mixture isn’t thick enough for your liking, remove the mixture from the crockpot and add to a medium, heavy-bottomed pot. Cook over medium heat until thickened. (Keep an eye on the mixture at this point – it will splatter everywhere if left unattended. Trust me.) I both blended with a hand blender and continued to cook the mixture on top of the stove to get the consistency I wanted.
7. Once the apple butter is as thick as you’d like it, ladle into jars or another clean, glass container. Cool completely, then refrigerate. You can also can (that sounds kind of weird) the apple butter at this point, but I didn’t want to bother – the mixture will keep in the fridge for at least a couple of weeks without canning.

Grilled Shishito Peppers

I’m not afraid to go out on a limb and say that shishito peppers are the most delicious peppers ever in the history of peppers. They are so good I had to cook them up two different ways. The first: a classic method for cooking shishito peppers – toss them in a bit of oil, drop them on a hot grill pan or cast-iron skillet, and cook until hot and blackened in spots. Then toss with a bit of kosher or sea salt. (Wait! I just gave the recipe away! Do I really need to type it up now?) The second method involves a bit of frying. I use a very simple batter to fry up various summer produce, shishito peppers being a recent favorite. The batter results in a crispy exterior that won’t fall off. (Contrary to popular wisdom, I fry in extra virgin olive oil. It tastes good.)  Try the batter for squash blossoms, zucchini rounds, patty pan squash slices, jalepenos…pretty much any kind of summer produce that you can get your hands on.

Shishito peppers are not spicy, so I like to add just a tiny bit of cayenne to the salt after grilling or frying – I like spicy. Of course, this step is entirely optional. Also, you can strain the olive oil after frying and re-use it so as not to waste perfectly good extra-virgin olive oil.

Ingredients:
(Serves 2-3 as an appetizer)

For the pan-roasted peppers:
1 cup (or more) shishito peppers
1 tablespoon (or more) extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Cayenne (optional)

For the fried peppers:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup water
1 cup (or more) shishito peppers
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Cayenne (optional)

Lemon or lime wedges for serving

Special Equipment: Grill pan, cast-iron skillet, or heavy-bottomed pan

Fried Shishito Peppers

Procedure:

For the pan-roasted peppers:

1. Heat your grill pan, cast-iron skillet, or heavy-bottomed pan over very high heat.
2. Toss the peppers with a bit of extra virgin olive oil. Drop the peppers on the hot skillet, and cook, turning occationally, until the peppers have softened and are charred in spots.
3. Remove from heat and sprinkle kosher salt and the optional pinch of cayenne over the peppers. Eat piping hot.

For the fried peppers:

1. Put the water in a small bowl. Sift the flour into the water, stirring with a fork or a small whisk until the flour has been entirely incorporated into the water. You should have a mixture as thick as skim yogurt. (If your mixture is too thick or too thin, add a bit more water or flour as needed.)
2. In a medium, heavy-bottomed skillet, add extra virgin olive oil to come about an inch up from the bottom of the pan. Heat over medium-high heat until the oil is very hot (drop a bit of the batter into the oil – it should immediately turn a golden brown color and start to float to the top of the oil).
3. Dunk the peppers into the batter, letting the excess batter drip back into the bowl. Add the battered peppers to the oil and fry until golden brown, turning halfway through cooking. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to cook the peppers in batches. (Don’t crowd the pan: it will immediately lower the temperature of the oil and will result in a soggy, not crisp, crust.)
4. Drain on a paper towels and sprinkle with kosher salt and the optional cayenne while still hot.
5. Serve very hot with lemon or lime wedges on the side.

Fresh Cranberry Beans

It took me a while to catch on to the beauty and deliciousness of fresh shelling beans. I think I had always been unsure of the best way to cook them, my primary bean experiences having been with the dried and canned varieties. Then I found fresh cranberry beans at my local farmer’s market. I don’t know about you guys, but sometimes I get a little emotional about my food – I mean, these beans were just so beautiful, both in the pod and out. I shed a little tear. (Unfortunately, the beautiful mottled cranberry color of the fresh, uncooked beans gets cooked out, leaving you with a rather boring-looking greyish-cream bean. But the memory of the raw bean lingers on.)

I made a super-simple salad with a bit of arugula, but think of this post as a fresh bean primer – you can alter this recipe in so many ways. Experiment with different types of greens (finely shredded kale would be nice, or chopped endive). Add a chopped fresh chile. Experiment with the types of herbs you use. Add a pinch of cumin and a squeeze of lime juice. Or a squashed anchovy. Pile up on toasted bread rubbed with a clove of garlic. Serve the salad while the beans are still a bit warm, or at room temperature. The possibilities, as they say, are endless.

If you can’t find fresh beans, dried or canned are an acceptable substitution, but I implore you to try to find fresh beans at least once this summer. There is a tremendous difference in texture and I think you’ll like it. Marcella Hazan taught me how to cook fresh beans in her awesome Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. This recipe is loosely based on several of her recipes.

Fresh Cranberry Bean and Arugula Salad

Ingredients:
(Serves 3-4 as an appetizer or side dish)

1 pound fresh cranberry or other fresh beans in the shell
1/2 clove garlic, finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
The juice of 1/2 a lemon or lime
1/2 to 1 teaspoon fresh herbs, finely chopped (either rosemary, sage, chives, parsley, or cilantro)
1 cup baby arugula leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Procedure:

1. Shell the fresh beans. Put the beans in a medium, heavy pot and cover with water by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and simmer gently for about an hour, or until the beans are tender. (Note: do not salt the water.)
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, olive oil, lemon or lime juice and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
3. Drain the beans and gently rinse under cold water to stop the cooking.
4. Toss the beans in the dressing. Taste and correct for salt – you will probably need to add quite a bit more salt at this point. Add the fresh herbs to taste and the baby arugula leaves. Toss very gently to combine. Add a few grindings of black pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Roasted Asparagus with Ramp Aioli

Asparagus and egg-y sauces (think hollandaise) are a natural. In this recipe, I’ve paired roasted asparagus with a lemony ramp aioli. Ramps are wild leeks, and have gotten insanely popular in the last few years among chefs and eaters alike, probably due to their sheer deliciousness. They are a traditional food in the Appalachian mountains and in Quebecois cuisine. Ramps taste like a combination of green garlic and onions, with a bit of leek thrown in. Like asparagus, they are a fleeting seasonal vegetable that make their appearance in the spring. If you can’t find ramps, substitute one clove of garlic for the ramp bulbs.

When you make a raw egg preparation like aioli, which is made much like mayonnaise, use the best quality, farm fresh-est eggs you can find. It will make a difference in the a) color of your aioli and b) taste of your aioli. (And when you’re eating raw eggs especially, do you really want to eat eggs that come from a factory farm? You’re just playing with fire, my friends. Playing with fire.) If you don’t have anyone to help you slowly drizzle the olive oil into the egg yolk mixture, you can roll a damp kitchen towel into a ring. Nestle your bowl into the ring – this will keep your bowl from dancing all over the counter top as you’re whisking and drizzling.

Roasting asparagus brings out a sweet-nutty flavor in the vegetable. But first you must trim the asparagus stalks. I have two ways to trim asparagus: the lazy way, and the frugal way. To trim the lazy way: gently bend the asparagus – it will usually snap toward the bottom of the stalk at the point where the asparagus becomes tough. Discard the tough bottom (this tip comes directly from my grandma who has grown her own asparagus on her farm for many years).  To trim the frugal way: cut a thin disk from the bottom of the asparagus. Using a swivel-blade vegetable peeler, trim the outer skin from the asparagus about 2-3 inches up the stalk. Discard the trimmed bits.

Ingredients:

For the Roasted Asparagus:
1 large bunch asparagus, trimmed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Generous pinch of kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For the Ramp Aioli:
3-4 ramps, whites only (reserve greens for another use) or 1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Pinch kosher salt
Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
1 egg yolk
150 ml extra virgin olive oil (or substitute half of a neutral oil, such as organic canola, to cut down on cost)

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. On a small sheet pan, toss the asparagus, olive oil, salt, and a few grindings of black pepper together to coat.
3. Roast in the oven until the asparagus is tender and is just starting to brown, 10-15 minutes. (Check the asparagus frequently – cooking time will depend on the thickness of the asparagus.)
4. Meanwhile, make the aioli: Trim the roots from the ramp bulbs and clean well. Chop into 2-3 pieces. Press the ramp whites in a garlic press (or chop extremely finely) into a medium bowl.
5. Add lemon juice, salt, and optional cayenne. Add egg yolk. Whisk just to combine.
6. In a very slow, steady stream, add the olive oil, whisking continuously. Don’t add to much oil at once, especially at the beginning of the mixing process.
7. Taste and season with additional lemon juice, salt, or cayenne, if necessary. If the aioli is too thick to drizzle, whisk in water, drop-by-drop, until the aioli thins to the consistency you like.
8. Set aioli aside (or put into a squeeze bottle if you want to make your aioli drizzling a little fancier).
9. Remove asparagus from oven, and let cool to just above room temperature.
10. Top the roasted asparagus with the aioli, or serve as a dipping sauce.

Serves 4 as a side dish or appetizer.

Note: Use leftover ramp aioli as a condiment on sandwiches, or as a drizzle for pan-roasted potatoes.

Corn Shoots with Bacon and White Miso Butter

This is a riff off of David Chang’s corn with bacon and miso butter recipe from Gourmet, which happens to be one of the best corn recipes ever. Sadly, corn isn’t in season yet. So, as a way around the lack of springtime corn, I found these amazing little corn shoots at the farmer’s market that the farmer’s sign said had been sprouted from popcorn (wheels are turning, I know – can I do this at home??). They are super sweet and a bit bitter all at once. And they taste like corn! (Shocker!)

The miso butter is delicious on lots of other vegetables – peas, favas, grilled or roasted asparagus, potatoes…actually, so is bacon, now that I think about it.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon white miso paste
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
4 slices bacon, chopped vertically into thin batons
1 jalapeno, chopped fine (seeds and ribs removed if you don’t like spicy)
2 green onions (white and green parts), sliced thin
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped fine
2 cups corn shoots, roughly chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

Procedure:

1. In a small bowl, combine the white miso paste and the butter until well blended. Set aside.
2. Add the chopped bacon to a medium, heavy saute pan. Cook over medium heat until the bacon is crispy and has rendered most of its fat.
3. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the chopped jalapeno, and cook and stir for 1-2 minutes, until the jalapeno pieces have just started to soften.
4. Add the green onion slices and the garlic, and cook and stir for 1-2 minutes more.
5. Add the corn shoots, and cook and stir for 1 minute more.
6. Add the miso butter and a grinding of black pepper, and toss to coat. Taste and correct for salt.
7. Serve immediately.

Serves 2-3 as a side.

Pan-Fried Cabbage

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup prosciutto, shredded with your fingers
1/2 small onion, or 2 shallots, very thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 head small green cabbage, cored and outer leaves discarded, very thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
1-2 Thai chilies (or 1 Serrano chili), thinly sliced
Pinch sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar (I used Champagne vinegar)
3 tablespoons water or chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Procedure:

1. In a large saute pan, add the butter, olive oil, onion or shallot, and prosciutto. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until the onion or shallot is lightly browned, and the prosciutto starts to render its fat.
2. Add the cabbage, the chilies, a pinch of sugar, a pinch of salt, and a grinding of black pepper. Cook and stir until the cabbage has started to lightly brown in places.
3. Add the vinegar, and cook until it has evaporated.
4. Add the water or stock, and cook until it has evaporated.
5. At this point, the cabbage should be cooked through and tender. The amount of liquid you add will depend on how thinly you sliced the cabbage. You may need to add additional water or stock if your cabbage is cut thickly.
6. Taste and correct for salt. Serve hot.

Broccoli Raab

Ingredients:

1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1 large bunch broccoli raab
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed with the back of your knife and roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more, to taste)
1 teaspoon lemon zest (Meyer lemon zest is really good if you have on hand)
Kosher salt
Lemon slices for serving (or Meyer lemon slices)

Broccoli Raab with Pecans

Serves: 2-3

Procedure:

1. Toast the pecans in a dry, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until just fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Remove the tough lower stems of the broccoli raab. Pick off and discard any yellowed or wilted outer leaves.
3. In a medium pot, boil 2 quarts of water. Add a generous pinch of kosher salt and the broccoli raab. Boil for 4-5 minutes, or until the stems are just starting to feel tender. Remove the broccoli raab to a bowl, leaving a bit of water clinging to the vegetables.
4. In a large, non-stick skillet, heat the extra virgin olive oil and the garlic over medium-high heat until the garlic is golden in color and very fragrant, about 2 minutes (do not let brown!). Add the broccoli raab with a bit of the cooking water still clinging to it, a pinch of kosher salt, and the red pepper flakes.
5. Turn the heat down to medium and saute, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli raab is very tender (this depends on how large and tough the stems are).
6. Remove from heat and stir in the pecans and the lemon zest. Taste and correct for salt.
7. Serve warm or at room temperature with lemon wedges on the side.

On another note: I have a thing against cinnamon. I am just not a fan, especially of the apple-cinnamon combo. I think cinnamon takes away from the flavor of the apples. I like a spice that is a little more subtle; one that doesn’t hit you over the head with its spiciness. I have two go-to spices of late – star anise and cardamom. I like to use them as substitutes for cinnamon or as a little unexpected addition to something, as in the top of the Sally Lunn. In the case of this applesauce, I snuck both spices in. You might choose to just use one or the other, or maybe you don’t have the extreme aversion to cinnamon that I do. That’s the beauty of applesauce – it’s pretty flexible. Who knew that applesauce could be interesting – right?  I had boiled cider left over from my apple pie with boiled cider experiment (and guess what? I found out that boiled cider lasts a loooong time in the fridge!) so I figured I’d throw it in instead of sugar, but feel free to go sugarless or add a tablespoon or two of sugar (this will depend on how sweet your apples are).

Apples ready for applesauce

Ingredients:

5-6 medium apples (I used a combination of pink ladies, fujis, and honeycrisps, but feel free to experiment with other varieties), peeled, cored, and chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons boiled cider (optional)
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
3 tablespoons water
1 pod star anise (optional)
1 pod cardamom (optional)

Procedure:

1. Combine the chopped apples, boiled cider, lemon juice, and water in a medium heavy saucepan.
2. Toss in the star anise and cardamom pods.
3. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, then immediately turn down to low.
4. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes or longer, or until the apples have broken down to the consistency you desire.
5. I ate my applesauce with the leftover Sally Lunn. (Have you noticed that I really, really like saying “Sally Lunn”?)

Manchego, Quince, and Walnut Crostini

Ingredients:

1/2 whole-wheat baguette (or regular baguette), sliced on the bias, 1/2 inch thickness (about 10 slices)
4 ounces manchego cheese, sliced into pieces slightly smaller than the bread
4-5 tablespoons quince jam (or substitute slices of membrillo, or fig jam would be nice)
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt

Special Equipment: A cast iron grill pan, a pastry brush
Serves: 3-4

Procedure:

1. Brush one side of each slice of baguette with the olive oil and sprinkle very lightly with salt.
2. Set your grill pan on high heat, place the bread oiled side down in the pan, and grill for 2-3 minutes (or alternatively, broil until toasty), or until grill marks form. Cool bread slightly.
3. Top each piece of baguette with a piece of manchego and a smear of quince jam. Sprinkle with toasted walnuts.