blue artichoke

Last week, I cooked recipes from a holiday instead of from a country. I’m doing it again this week with the quintessential American holiday: Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite meal of the year, and I’ve never made it myself. And even though Thanksgiving meal responsibility doesn’t fall on me, I still copy all the Thanksgiving menus that cooking magazines start printing about this time every year. I have quite a collection, good for many years of Thanksgivings, but why wait?

My Thanksgiving-in-October menu included the turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and green beans. Like Thanksgiving dinner in many households, everything didn’t go quite according to plan. The green beans I bought on Monday were moldy by Sunday night. I threw them away, looked around for a good vegetable substitution that could be made in less than 30 minutes, and found some mushrooms. Saved! I roasted a 6-½# turkey breast; this being the first time I’ve roasted a turkey, I didn’t know how long to cook it. My recipe was for a 2# breast, so I knew it would take longer than the recipe indicated. I checked it obsessively every 30-45 minutes for a little over 3 hours, until my meat thermometer told me it was safe to eat. It wasn’t very difficult, but I wasn’t cooking many dishes for a crowd of hungry people, as most people do for Thanksgiving. This was good practice, and I learned that I desperately need to learn how to carve a turkey. I did an OK job, but I suppose it would have been easier and prettier had I removed the bird from the roasting rack to a cutting board before hacking away at it. I’m lazy, though, and didn’t want to dirty another thing that Gentleman Caller would have to wash. I thought I’d be better at carving the turkey, because I’m a super slicer. Seriously, I can cut cakes and slice loaves of bread perfectly. With practice, I’m sure I’ll soon be an expert bird carver too.

Recipes!
I made a Thai-inspired roast turkey, marinated overnight in a saté paste of peanut butter, chili sauce, soy sauce, onion and spices. I’m not including the recipe here because it isn’t worth repeating. The turkey was good, indeed, but didn’t taste much like the saté because most of it slid off the turkey into the roasting pan. Some of the skin (which didn’t crisp at all) tasted a bit like peanut sauce, but the flavor was very mild. All in all, I think the saté marinade is just a waste of ingredients. I’ll be glad to provide the recipe if anyone wants to try it, but it isn’t a Blue Artichoke-endorsed recipe.

Chipotle Bourbon Cranberry Sauce

Recipe from The Girls Who Dish!: Seconds, Anyone?
I couldn’t find cranberries, so I subbed a can of whole berries in jelly. Omitted star anise; just used some adobo sauce (no chipotles). I reduced the apple juice, cinnamon and brown sugar until about ¾ cup, then added the cranberries, bourbon and adobo sauce. Cooled, then added lime juice. Nice sweet and smoky flavor.

1 (12 oz.) pkg cranberries, fresh or frozen
2 c. apple juice or cider
2 cinnamon sticks
4-6 clusters star anise
1 c. dark brown sugar
2-3 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
¼ c. bourbon
2 limes, juice only

In a nonreactive saucepan, combine first 4. If you’re unsure about how sweet the sauce will be, begin with ½ c. sugar and add the rest later to taste. Bring the berries to a boil; reduce heat to med-low. The cranberries will cook completely in 20-30m, bursting and turning the sauce deep red. In the last few minutes of cooking, taste fro sugar and stir in more as desired. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

To make mincing the chiles easier, cut them on foil or parchment. After scraping the chiles into the pot, discard the paper. For a milder smoky flavor, omit the chipotles and spoon some of the adobo sauce into the cranberries. Add the bourbon and lime juice. The high natural pectin in cranberries keeps the sauce for months in the fridge.

Makes ~ 2c.

Whipped Chipotle Sweet Potatoes
Gourmet, November 2003; originally published November 1995
This recipe is inspired by a dish served at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill, in New York City. The smoky heat of the chipotle chile and the potato's natural sweetness balance each other beautifully.

I halved the recipe and used 1 chipotle with a bit of adobo sauce. Whooo, boy! Way too spicy-hot; overshadowed the sweet potatoes. Go light on the chipotle, unless you like a burning, tingling mouth that can’t taste anything else on the plate. I made the casserole a day in advance, pulled it out of the fridge when I put the turkey in the oven (to bring to room temperature) and baked it during the last 20 minutes of the turkey’s cooking time.

5 1/2 lb sweet potatoes, scrubbed
1 tablespoon minced chipotle chiles in adobo, mashed to a paste (1 1/2 to 2 chiles)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces and softened
1 teaspoon salt

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and butter a 2-quart shallow glass or ceramic baking dish.
Prick each potato several times with a fork, then bake on baking sheet until very soft, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
When cool enough to handle, halve potatoes and scoop flesh into a bowl. Beat potatoes, chile paste (to taste), butter, and salt with an electric mixer at medium speed just until smooth, then spread in baking dish.
Bake whipped potatoes until hot, 20 to 25 minutes.
Cooks' note:
Whipped potatoes can be prepared and spread in baking dish (but not baked) 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before baking.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Sautéed Mushrooms with Garlic, Parmesan, and Bread Crumbs
Cook’s Illustrated, January/February 2006

I used ~ ¾ cup of Panko (Japanese-style breadcrumbs) instead of making my own, and used dried parsley. Pretty easy last-minute addition to the menu.

2 slices high-quality white sandwich bread, torn into quarters
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds white button mushrooms, cleaned, stems trimmed, quartered if medium or halved if small
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Table salt and ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

1. Pulse bread in food processor until coarsely ground. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until foaming. When foaming subsides, add bread crumbs and cook, stirring frequently, until dark brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer crumbs to small bowl and set aside.
2. Heat oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms release liquid, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has completely evaporated, about 8 minutes longer. Add remaining butter, reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook, stirring once every minute, until mushrooms are dark brown, about 8 minutes longer.
3. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper to taste and transfer to medium bowl. Toss hot mushrooms with Parmesan until cheese melts. Toss with bread crumbs and parsley; serve.

Serves 4