Holiday Feasting: Duck

The holiday was full of large family gatherings and big meals. During the holiday season I wanted to cook a special dinner for just the three of us, (me/hub/kiddo.) Both my husband and son had asked about cooking duck, I've never done it, but I was game.

Pan-seared Duck w/ Potato Galette & Sautéed Chard Ingredients:

- 4 Duck Breasts, trimmed & scored with an inch of fat remaining - 4 medium waxy potatoes, sliced to about 1/8 of an inch thick, I used a mandolin - 1/2 cup Duck fat (use room temp butter & olive oil as a substitute) - Large bunch of Chard, washed, stems removed & chopped (reserve stems & chop 'em too) - A few sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 tbsp dried thyme - 1 shallot, diced - 2 cloves of garlic, smashed - Salt & Pepper

Method:

- after you've prepped the veg & patted the duck dry with a paper towel, preheat the oven to 425 - in a large bowl, toss the potatoes gently in the duck fat with salt, pepper and half of your thyme - arrange the potatoes onto a parchment lined, rimmed baking sheet, you will slightly overlap the potatoes -roast for 50-60 mins on the center rack in the oven, check the poattoes at the 30 min mark and rotate the pan - While you're up for that 30 minute check, find the largest oven-safe sauté pan you own and fire up your burner to medium-high - Salt & pepper the duck and add it to the dry, hot pan SKIN SIDE DOWN - After 10-15 mins the fat should be rendered and the skin golden brown (if not, keep cooking for a few more mins) - If there's an excessive amount of fat, carefully ladle some out of the pan and reserve it in a heat proof ramekin or metal bowl - Flip the duck and transfer into the oven to finish cooking, another 10-15 minutes depending on how done you prefer. Mine will come out medium - The duck & potatoes may be done at the same time, which is fine they both need to rest and the chard will make quick work of that very messy duck pan! - Rest the duck on a cutting board & put the sauté pan over medium heat (remember it's still scorching from being in the oven!)and toss in your shallot, chard stems, and garlic. Season with salt & pepper and gently sauté until the veg is transparent, 5-10 mins, then add your chopped chard leaves and a little more salt. If you need more fat in the pan, add some of that reserved duck fat or some olive oil - Cook the chard for 5 mins max then plate everything up and dig in!

This crowd pleaser was delightful and much easier to cook than I imagined. It also provided great left overs that I plan on using in an upcoming DDC meal!

Prep for Christmas Day Open-House

The trees are up, gifts are wrapped and anticipation is growing! Christmas is almost here!

Every three years we stay home and host a Christmas Day Open-House. It's far from formal and as relaxed as things can get around the holiday. From noon to 7p or so, we really don't enforce the times - just provide them to help others plan their day, we have family and friends over to nosh, glug and enjoy the day. This year, my husband is going to spark up the fire-pit so we can roast chestnuts, and get a little fresh air. Here's what's on the menu:

Light Nosh:

Cheeses from Murray's (a thoughtful gift from a dear friend) Italian meats Crudités Grapes

Sides & Proteins:

Spiral Ham (Trader Joes) Carne Asada Beef (Trader Joes) Roasted Turkey (Trader Joes) Roasted Brussels Sprouts Tamale Pie Pasta al Forno Soft rolls & condiments for making sammies

Dolce:

Cookies, cookies, cookies Torta di Panettone Eggnog Cheesecake Bars

To Sip:

Rittenhouse Inn Wassail Red & White Wine Rogue & Sierra Nevada Christmas Brews Ginger Ale Sparkling Sodas from Trader Joes

Most of this involves pre-heating my oven and warming up the pre-cooked meats. Though I did buy some fun mustards and cloves to jazz up the ham. The Tamale Pie will be the biggest labor of love. My Nana & Great-Nana used to make Tamale Pie on Christmas day, and I have a freezer full of poblanos just waiting to be thawed and turned into my star dish. I think it will become a new tradition on my Christmas menu and I hope to pass it along to my sisters and children (only the one for now) through-out the years.

We are so excited to share the day with loved ones, and hope that you too enojoy a wondrous holiday season and a joyous 2012!

Tomato & Rosted Red Pepper Soup

Heading into the holiday weekend, I wanted to keep things light and simple. For this week's DDC meal, I'm looking into the canning pantry and doing another soup. Over the summer I put up a lot of jars of tomatoes and peppers in the hopes of making a tomato & roasted pepper soup. Here's how I did it: Ingredients:

• 1 large jar of crushed tomatoes
• 1 large jar of roasted red peppers, drained & diced
• 1 small carrot diced (from a local coop via Roots)
• 2-4 cups of homemade chicken stock
• 1 small red onion, chopped (saved in my basement from CSA season, I stocked up!)
• 2 cloves of garlic, pulverized (saved in my basement from CSA season, I stocked up!)
• 1-2 tablespoons of butter (in lieu of olive oil)
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves (from the garden)
• 1/4 cup of cream (from Trickling Springs) depending on how creamy you like your soup
• Salt & Pepper
• Garnish: Chipotle Chevre from Cherry Glen, 1 dried chopped chili pepper (from the garden,) or some fresh herbs if you have any growing.

Method:

1. Warm a large dutch-oven over medium/high. Add butter, carrots, onions, garlic, and thyme.
2. Sweat the veg until soft & translucent (10-15 mins), season the soup with salt & pepper as you go
3. Once the veg are soft, add the peppers and tomatoes. Cook on medium for another 10 or so mins
4. Add the chicken stock and bring to a slow simmer for 30-45 mins
5. Right before serving, us a stick blender to liquify the soup, or ladle (a little at at time) into a blender, pulse until smooth. Be careful - and hold onto the top of the blender hot foods + blenders can be tricky!
6. Pour into bowls, spoon in the desired amount of cream & stir. Top with desired condiments & enjoy!

*Note - we cannot live on soup alone, so while the soup simmered I made grilled cheese sandwiches with a local cheddar and a local goat cheese on some local bread! All from Roots Market.

**Another Note - this is easy converted into a vegetarian dish by swapping out the chicken stock for vegetable stock. I haven't found a reliable recipe for veg stock, if you have one please share!

Cookie Bake * 2011

Tis the season for cookies! For the past two years, my sister-in-law & I have a cookie baking marathon a week before Christmas. We put in quite a bit of thoughtful planning and lots of shopping into the prep, and ended up with 8 varieties, one of which I still need to make! We baked:

• Shortbread Scotties & cut-outs
• Nutella Chocolate Chunk
• Pecan Sandies
• Peppermint White Chocolate Candy Canes
• Cream Cheese Jam-filled
• Ciambelle

To be baked:

• Lebkuchen

Ciambelle

icing the shortbread "choo choos"

icing shortbreads

thumbprints

peppermint chocolate candy canes

peppermint chocolate candy canes

pecan sandies & nutella chocolate chip

shortbread sharks

shortbread choo choos

They key to our success - start some doughs early. The shortbread, pecan Sandies, and nutella doughs were all made the night before the bake. Additionally, we had a couple of extra hands. My son was a decorating machine! He glittered and sprinkled shortbread trains and sharks for his friends. My mother-in-law came to help too, she did a great job with the Ciambelle!

cookie cutters

cookie cutters

lotso' chocolate!

Another big help was pantry-clean-out day. About a week ago, I did a pantry clean out, so I knew what I had, and what I needed. Unlike last year when I had no powdered sugar. Thankfully, they all turned out great, and we're already planning for next year!

Under the Weather: Kale, Sausage & Ravioli Soup

When I'm congested, exhausted, and up to my ears in snot, I'm useless in the kitchen. That's me today. Almost everything seems tasteless and my head is swimming. My remedy is to go back to my childhood and make what my dad would make for me. He'd open up a can of chicken noodle soup, fry up a grilled cheese and pop open a ginger ale. I'd spend the day watching cartoons, or snoozing, and if I was really good he'd make some jello! Here's my updated version of feel good food for when I (or anyone in my home) am feeling bad:

Kale Soup with Chicken Sausage & Mini-Ravioli

• 8 cups of chicken stock
• 1 bunch of kale, washed, stripped & chopped (the ribs are too tough to eat in the soup, so compost them or give to the dog as a super healthy treat!)
• 6 chicken sausages, browned then sliced on a bias
• store bought mini ravioli
• half a cup of dry white wine
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, diced
• olive oil
• bundle of thyme & rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 star anise
• coarse cracked pepper
• salt to taste

Method:

1. put stock & spices into a large soup pot, warm on med/high
2. in a skillet brown the sausages on all sides
3. remove browned sausages, slice on a bias and add to stock pot
4. deglaze the skillet with the wine, using a wooden spoon to break up the little bits of sausage. Reduce on med/high for 5 mins, then add to the soup pot
5. add olive oil to the skillet and add kale, shallot & garlic, med/high
6. allow the kale, shallot & garlic to cook for 5-10 mins, then add to soup
7. bring the soup to almost a boil, then turn it down to a simmer, taste for seasoning
8. in a seperate stock pot cook up your ravioli, then drain & toss with some olive oil
9. portion your ravioli into bowls, saving the leftover noodles for another day, then ladle over the soup
10. garnish with some chili flakes, a side of grilled cheese, saltines, fresh scallions, etc...

This weekend is my son's Christmas performance, as well as my annual cookie baking day, so I need to be at my best. Kale & Chicken Sausage soup will have us all feeling better in no time!

For more information about kale, or to expand your kale-recipe-horizons, visit EatMoreKale.com.

Gingerbread House - out of my kitchen & into my home

Last weekend we went to Roy's in Baltimore for their annual Gingerbread House build. At $25/person it wasn't cheap - but not having the mess in my kitchen, living room, bathrooms, etc...it was well worth the cost.

We packed the SUV with in-laws and headed out! With 6 adults and one kid, we were bound to make one heck of a gingerbread house! Roy's provided pre-built houses, all the candy and frosting you need, and a full lunch to keep the builders fueled. From 11a to 1:30p we built, ate, drank, and were merry.

Taking time to make the houses, especially with lots of family members, was a great way to get into the holiday spirit.

Eating Local Week #2: Chili on a Chilly Day

When it's freezing outside I want one thing, a mug of chili. Add some spicy toppings and something cool to wash it all down, and Im a happy camper. Since we were out of town part of this week, I needed one of my go to recipes to make it in time for the weekly DDC post.

Chilly Day Beef Chili:

• 2 pounds of ground chuck
• 1 jar of homemade salsa
• 3 roasted red peppers, from canning reserves
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 poblanos, diced, from freezer reserves
• 4 smallish carrots diced
• 2 cups of beans
• 2 cups of stock, I used homemade turkey
• homemade chili powder, season to your taste
• 1 tbsp homemade dried pimenton
• thyme from the garden
• salt & pepper
• butter or olive oil to sauté veg & brown meat
• garnish: cheesy bread croutons, cilantro, sour cream, pickled jalapeño, cheese

Method:

1. in a large heavy pot, brown ground beef
2. add dried spices, salt, pepper, & thyme
3. stir in salsa & turkey stock
4. while this simmers, chop up your veg. Add it into the pot as you run out of cutting board space
5. bring to a boil, reduce to simmer on medium/low
6. simmer for 1-2 hours
7. before you serve it up, dice up the bread for croutons and toast them up in a large skillet. Sprinkle on a little salt. You can leave the croutons in the pan while the chili simmers. Just remember to kill the heat, so you don't burn the bread!

It was nearly impossible to find local legumes. Over the next few weeks I'll be checking out Breezy Willow Farm at the Dupont Circle Farmers Market for options. We eat a lot of beans, and Id love to find a local option. All of the incoming seed catalogues have me seriously considering growing and drying my own beans this year!

My other non-local ingredient was sour cream. I just cannot do chili without a spoonful of it atop my chili. We always buy organic, but Ill continue looking for it from Trickling Springs or another local dairy.

Normally we would have this meal with chips or cornbread, since those were nearly impossible to source, and I have zero experience in making masa, I found another local bakery with yummy bread. Canela Bakery, in Gaithersburg, MD, makes a fantastic cheddar cheese bread that transformed into delightfully crunchy croutons.

As always, my 3yo washed this down with a glass of Trickling Springs milk and we washed down the chili with a local brew. Over the weekend I picked up some artisanal beer by Dog Brewing in Westminster, MD.

Make sure you check out the DDC round up at Not Dabling in Normal, my bison burger recipe was featured!

Eating Local Week #1: Bison Patty Melts & Roasted Veg

For the past month, I've been researching local farms, ranches and coops to find ingredients to help me cook locally from now through March 2012. Last night we enjoyed our first "Dark Days of Winter" dinner. The Dark Days of Winter Challenge (DDC) is in its 5th year and recently expanded the "local" area to 150 mile radius from your home base - and I'm lucky for that nice radius! It allows me to use purveyors in Maryland, Virgina, Delaware, Pennsylvania & New Jersey. So far the toughest thing to find is local chicken. On to the meal...

dinner!

After finding local meat, dairy, and vegetable suppliers at my local organic grocer, Roots, I pulled together an easy meal to please all pallets(and by all pallets I mean 3 years to 33 years!) We made Bison Patty Melts w/ Roasted Root Vegetables & here's how we did it:

Roasted Vegetables:

• preheat oven to 425
• 3-4 mixed color carrots, scrubbed & large chop
• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1 red onion, sliced into thin half moons
• 1 large turnip scrubbed, peeled, and diced into 1 inch pieces
• 2 potatoes, scrubbed & diced into 1 inch pieces
• dried or fresh rosemary
• dried oregano
• olive oil
• salt & pepper

Once the vegetables are chopped, diced, and smashed,toss them onto a sheet pan and toss with oil, rosemary, oregano, salt and pepper. Roast in a 425 oven for 45-50 minutes, checking and tossing at the 30 minute mark. When done they should be caramelized, not charred. Coat with a hefty drizzle of olive oil and salt again. I added a side of homemade marinara, from the tomatoes I canned, and some regular or chipotle chèvre. The same sides are used on the patty melt.

root vegetables

Bison Patty Melts:

• 1 pound of ground bison, form 3-4 patties depending on your crowd size
• olive oil
• 1 tbsp homemade ground pimentón (paprika)
• salt & pepper
• goat cheese, regular & chipotle
• homemade marinara from my canned tomatoes
• sourdough and rye bread from The Breadery
• baby arugula from the garden
• homemade chili powder for heat

Oil your pan & toast cheese covered bread slices in hot pan (cast iron or stainless) until cheese is a little melty. Remove the bread from the pan and coat the pan in fresh oil. Cook the bison patties in the pan 5-7 minutes per side. Combine the patties, cheesy bread, marinara sauce, and arugula together. If you want some heat, add the chili powder to your bison and marinara sauce as you assemble the melt.

To wash it all down, my husband and I enjoyed a few glasses of Black Ankle's 2009 Rolling Hills Blend, and our son guzzled down a few glasses of Trickling Springs Creamery 2% Milk.

The meal was filling - enough for leftovers for Monday lunch - local, sustainable, and super easy. Over the next few months I'll need inspiration, please send me your ideas!

Celebration Dinner: my husband's 34th

On Friday we celebrated my husband's 34th with a yum dinner at home. For the past 3 years we've opted to stay in and enjoy most celebration dinners at home. It probably has a lot to do with being parents of a 3 year old, but we've also become fairly good cooks.

The menu: ribeyes accented with maytag blue-cheese, wild-rice, chard & radicchio gratin, and steamer clams (fresh from the Trader Joes freezer case, give em a try!) We cooked together and created a great meal with some local ingredients,(beef is from Roseda & the greens are from my back yard.) The rice & clams were cooked according to the package instructions, and the steak was seared and pan fried. But the gratin was created on the fly, here's what I did:

Chard & Radicchio Gratin

Ingredients:

• 1 leek cleaned and sliced into half-moons
• 1 radicchio halved & chopped
• 1 bunch chard cleaned, stems removed and chopped, then leaves chopped and reserved with radicchio
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1 cup of shredded gruyere cheese
• 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs
• pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
• butter, olive oil, salt & pepper

Method:

1. preheat oven to 425
2. sauté leeks, garlic, and chard stems in 1 tbs butter and 1 tbs olive oil for 10 mins, season with salt and pepper
3. add radicchio and chard leaves into pan, continue to cook for 5 mins
4. grate nutmeg over greens and turn off the heat, season with salt and pepper to taste
5. in a seperate dish, combine breadcrumbs & gruyere
6. put greens into 8x8 baking dish, cover with breadcrumb and gruyere mixture
7. bake for 10-15 mins or until golden brown and bubbly

The meal was great and the leftovers (steak & rice) were repurposed as burritos! We don't celebrate every meal at home, but when we do I'm always thrilled with the results.

turkey laksa

Thanksgiving was great, and chest-cold aside - thank you to my 3yo - I ate, and ate but there's still lots of leftover turkey. No one's in the mood for a typical turkey soup, and lately my palette has hovered over Southeast Asia. So I'm bucking tradition and making Turkey Laksa. Laksa is a noodle soup popular in Malaysia and Singapore. Laksa (along with a good bowl of pho) is absolute comfort to me. The slight sweetness from the coconut milk, the sharp punch of lime, and the kick of curry is exactly what I want/need after a weekend of heaping bowls of mashed potatoes and butter-laden everything.

Though the soup is traditionally spicy, you can easily adjust the heat based upon your personal spice level. I made this recipe so my 3yo could eat it sans problems. I just turn up the heat in my own bowl by adding garlic chili paste.

Ingredients:

1. 5 quarts of Turkey Stock
2. 1-2 pounds leftover turkey, I shredded it as well as mixed light & dark meat
3. 1 bunch of scallions, white & green parts sliced
4. 1 bunch of cilantro, super washed and chopped stems & leaves
5. 1 can of UNSWEETENED coconut milk
6. 4 oz jar of roasted pepper paste
7. 4 oz jar of green curry paste
8. lime segments for garnish
9. 1 package of flat rice noodles, soaked in hot hot hot water for 8-10 minutes then portioned into bowls,(save the rest for tomorrow night)

Shockingly, I didn't add salt. Since my turkey was brined and there's salt/soy sauce/sodium in the pastes, I decided to go without. And it doesn't need it - especially if you add the garlic chili paste for heat.

Method:

1. Fill a stock pot with cold water and bring to a boil
2. Fill a dutch oven or second stock pot with turkey stock, warm to a simmer on medium/high
3. As the stock comes up to a simmer and the water boils, prep the scallions, cilantro and turkey
4. Add the scallions and turkey and simmer for 5-7 minutes
5. Add red pepper and green curry paste, stir and simmer for 3-5 minutes
6. Stir in the coconut milk and turn off heat
7. When your water comes to a rolling boil, shut off the heat and stir in the noodles. Allow them to steep for 8-10 minutes then add to bowls
   *Note: Do not store left over noodles and soup together, the noodles will turn to mush and the soup will look lousy too!*
8. Laddle the soup over the noodles, garnish with cilantro, a squeeze of lime, and garlic chili paste (for heat.)

I'll still have enough leftover for turkey paninos, but the laksa will fill our tummies with goodness all week, and hopefully help me kick this cold!

Cranberry Crumble: leftover cranberry sauce

My cranberry sauce was a hit, but I still have a ton leftover. So I made a cranberry crumble. The cream cheese adds richness and the topping is crispy and delicious! Here's how I did it:

Crust:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced
• 1 cup pecan halves (about 4 ounces)
• 3/4 cup steel-cut oats

Filling:

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
• 2-3 cups, or so, leftover cranberry sauce
• 1/4 cup vanilla sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 pieces of crystallized ginger or 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste

Topping:

• 1/3 cup slivered almonds
• Remaining toasted crust bits

Method:

1. preheat oven to 350, and move rack to center position
2. mix crust ingredients together in food processor
3. press 75% of the crust mixture into a 9X9 square baking pan
4. put remaining crust mixture onto a baking sheet, this will be the topping
5. bake topping mixture for 10-12 minutes, twice cooling add 1/3 cup slivered almonds
6. bake crust for 30 minutes
7. while crust bakes, mix all of the filling ingredients in the food processor
8. when the crust is done baking, top it with the filling and bake for 20 minutes
9. then top with topping and bake for 5-7 additional minutes
10. let cool for 30 minutes and/or overnight in the fridge

My son couldn't wait overnight. The photo above is after waiting an hour. I recommend making this the night before, and serving next day...a little vanilla gelato might be nice too!

Challenge - Eating Local

A few weeks back I joined the 5th Annual Dark Days of Winter Eat Local Challenge - and it started Sunday! The folks over at Urban Henry have been doing this for 5 years, and this is my first go at it. Once a week I'm challenged to make a sustainable, local(radius of 150 miles), organic, ethical meal; breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Looks like all of my canning and preserving will come in handy, but this will certainly be chalkenging. My first post will be this Friday!

Know of any DC/Baltimore area Farmer's Markets? I'm also looking for local cheese and meat purveyors. Post or email me your recs, and recipes - I'll need them from now through March 2012!

Easy Turkey Stock

Take one turkey carcass, the turkey neck, add water, spices and herbs. Chuck it all in the slow cooker and you get a lot of stock for soup, risotto, pan-sauces and gravy!

Ingredients:

Turkey carcass Turkey neck Handful of baby carrots 4 garlic cloves, smashed 1 onion, quartered 1 star anise 2 fresh bay leaves 5 peppercorns 1/4 cup of dried mushrooms 6-7 quarts of water

Method: Put it all in a slow cooker, cook on high for 2 hours then reduce to low for 4-5 hours. Allow to cool before transferring to containers for freezing (3 months)or keeping in the fridge (2-3 days).

Just like my Easy Chicken Stock, add any herbs or spices you have on hand. Thyme and rosemary would be great additions too!

Thanksgiving Pie: from crust to whipped cream

Happy Thanksgiving! Yesterday I started the pie making process. Though my sister-in-law does the lion's share of the cooking, my husband and I still contribute a few dishes including this pie. After digging through numerous holiday cooking magazines, we picked this Apple Cider Cream Pie from Food & Wine.

pie time!

I made the pie dough early Wednesday, so it had time to chill out in the fridge. And after searching high and low for the rolling pin, my husband rocked the crust!

not too shabby!

Though we haven't tasted it yet, I think it will be a hit. From the savory buttery crust to the sweet crispy apple chips, it's a great addition to the Thanksgiving dessert table.

the custard ingredients

ready to chill out

apple chips soaking

done! now, let's eat!

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for my beautiful family, near and far.

Stirfry Soup

It's dreary, rainy, and I'm feeling lazy. But Thanksgiving is this week and I need to clear out some room in the fridge for the Turkey!

the final dish!

My veg drawers are full of mushrooms, carrots, book choy, cilantro, turnips, and I bet there's a nob of ginger in the freezer. Most of the veg went into the pot, a few into the oven, and in 40 mins soup and some pot stickers (fresh from the freezer) were ready for dinner. Here's how I did it:

Ingredients:

• 1 parsnip, peeled and diced
• 1 bunch of baby turnips or one medium turnip, diced
• 5 pulverized cloves of garlic
• 1 leek, rinsed and sliced into half moons
• 1 package of shiitake mushrooms, diced, discarded stems
• 1 package of cremini mushrooms (baby portobellos), diced
• 1 bok choy
• 1 small head of red cabbage, shredded
• 1 bunch of scallions, reserve green part for garnish, slice white part for soffritto
• 1 bunch of cilantro, reserve tops for garnish, chop stems for soffritto
• 2 boxes of beef stock
• 3 cups of water
• 1 tablespoon of grated ginger
• 1 star anise
• soy sauce to taste
• rice wine vinegar to taste
• lemongrass rings
• secret ingredient: Thai Basi Pesto (optional)
• squirt of fish sauce (optional)
• fresh lime (optional for garnish)
• sriracha/garlic chili paste (optional but takes the soup o a whole new level)
• pot stickers (I picked up some at trader joes)
• sesame oil & olive oil for sautéing and roasting

mushrooms, chopped!

Method:

1. preheat oven to 425
2. chop veg, parsnips & turnips first
3. toss parsnips & turnips in olive oil and soy sauce on a baking sheet
4. roast parsnips and turnips for 25-30 mins (check them at 15 mins)
5. heat pan/dutch oven to medium high and add garlic mushrooms and leeks, cook for 5-7 mins then add bok choy, cabbage, and scallions (white part only), cook for 10 mins then add stock, water, star anise, lemongrass rings, thai basil pesto cubes, grated ginger, and fish sauce. Simmer.
6. toss the roasted veg into the soup and continue to simmer.
7. while the soup simmers fry up your pot stickers
8. add the garnishes of your choice & eat!

potstickers fried to perfection!

hots and toppers

This soup was sooo worth the time! Once you have these ingredients in your pantry, they'll become staples you cannot live without. Stirfry Soup is versatile and can transition easily into an all vegetarian soup, it's even a great way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers! Hope you enjoy and find your own secret ingredients and special touches.

Thanksgiving Inspiration

Thanksgiving is less than a week away! Though I won't be hosting, I'm still ordering a bird and will blog about all the fun ways to utilize turkey and other side dishes after the big dance.

To find inspiration I poured through some of my favorite cook books and magazines. And just today, I dove into Mark Bittman's NYTimes article on post-Thanksgiving meals. It reminded me that the possibilities are limitless. Here's my preliminary plan (which I think is sooooooo important because it's easy to forget what you have tucked in the back of the fridge!):

1. Turkey Stock - similar to my chicken stock recipe 2. Turkey Tortilla Soup - recipe coming soon! 3. Latkes - made from leftover mashed potatoes 4. Cranberry Crumble - which reminds my family of Gruffalo Crumble 5. Stuffing Balls - for when we have a hankering for a taste of Thanksgiving in February

The goal this weekend it to keep cool and organized, easier said than done!

Thinking Ahead - Stuffing Balls

Last Sunday I made a Thanksgiving preview dinner for my husband & son. Everything was delish, and my house smelled amazing! Instead of making the stuffing from scratch, I tried the La Brea Foccacia Stuffing mix. To put my own stamp on it, I added sage from my garden, roasted chestnuts, caramalized onions, and sweet Italian sausage. There was SO much stuffing leftover!

Instead of tossing it -seriously, how could I with all the yummy additions?!- I rolled the stuffing into baseball size portions and froze them individually on a baking sheet (lined with parchment) then tossed the stuffing balls into a freezer bag. The process took about 6 minutes of active time, and 20 minutes of pre-freezing time.

Voilà - we'll have stuffing in February!

Sauced: Cranberry & Clemintine

Cranberry sauce is one of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions. It's delicious on turkey, and even better as the sweet glue on turkey sandwiches. A few years ago, I made the leap from canned sauce to homemade. It's easy and a fun way to put your own mark on the special day.

My recipe came out of necessity and what happened to be around my kitchen. Here's my recipe:

Ingredients:

-bag of fresh cranberries -3 clemintines -1/4 to 1/2 cup of vanilla sugar -1/2 tsp cinnamon -pinch of sea salt

Method:

-rinse & drain fresh cranberries, pick out & discard any mushy ones -put cranberries & vanilla sugar into a tall stock pot, stir and heat to medium -zest all 3 clemintines into the pot, then juice them into the pot as well -add cinnamon and pinch of salt, stir -cover and let simmer for 5-10 minutes, stir occasionally -when all of the cranberries have popped, turn off the heat and let the sauce cool

Cranberry sauce tends to linger in the fridge after the holidays. I recommend using it as jam on toast for a quick breakfast, or consider stirring it into your bowl of steel cut oats. What are your post-holiday uses of cranberry sauce? Do you make your own sauce?

beans, beans...

Once a month I check my freezer and cupboard legume reserves. For the past two years, I've bought dried beans, rehydrated, cooked and frozen them so they are readily available. From garbonzos to canelinis...if I can find them dry, I buy them. The key is to have a little space in the freezer to store the extra beans. It is amazing how large that little bag of dried beans will grow.

Basic Slow Cooker Technique:

-rinse and drain a whole bag of dried beans -put the cleaned beans in your slow cooker/crock pot(not cooking yet) -fill the pot with beans in it 3/4 full of water and soak over night -drain the water and refill, add any herbs or veg aromatics of choice (garlic, onion, carrot, herbs/spices) -cook on high for 30 minutes, then switch to low for 5-6 hours -check the beans at the 3 hour mark to see how they're progressing -when they're done, the beans should be soft but not split open

When cool, drain the liquid and store in quart freezer bags (flat is best). Use the beans whenever you're hungry for chili, beans and rice, or soup!

Vanilla Sugar

Vanilla + Sugar = Yum!

Vanilla sugar is one of my pantry staples and it's easy to make, seriously don't buy it, make it. Each time you use a vanilla bean, instead of tossing the bean hull into your compost pail, submerge it into a jar of sugar. Over time, the remaining vanilla goodness permeates the sugar. Add it to your coffee, tea, hot chocolate, baked goods, etc. The best sugar for this job is evaporated cane juice, (find it at Trader Joes, Amazon, any grocery store) but plain old white granulated sugar works if it's all you have in the cupboard.

Vanilla sugar also makes for a fun twist to holiday recipes. It doesn't overwhelm, it just adds a great background note of warmth and a little something special.