Truffled Turkey

This was the Friendsgiving supper club turkey. It made the whole apartment smell like truffles.

Recipe here. 

Serves 8. 30 minutes active time, 4 hours total time.

The Swan.

My Friendsgiving feast was 90% comfort food. Cheesy, carby, familiar dishes that, while expertly prepared, were not far from the canonical Thanksgiving dinner menu. Except this guy. The Swan: a spicy cayenne pepper meringue with sweet carrot purée that tasted like Thanksgiving but looked like Dominique Ansel. Delicious and photogenic. Time-consuming but not difficult. My little Turkey-day avian invention. 

My advice on this is to make extra swan bodies and necks, as the meringue cracks easily. Also, wait to plate these until dessert, as plating too early will result in the meringues dissolving in the wet carrot purée. 

RECIPE. 

Ingredients

• 9 eggs (whites only) 
• 3 cups of sugar (2 for meringue, 1 for carrot purée)
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 pound baby carrots
• 1 stick butter
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions

Meringue:

• Preheat the oven to 225.
• Separate the eggs, leaving the whites in a metal mixing bowl.
• Add 2 cups of sugar to the egg whites. Whisk until sugar and egg whites are evenly combined.
• Fill half a sauce pan with water over a medium flame. 
• Place the mixing bowl in the hot water. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved. (You can tell it's dissolved by feeling the egg white mixture with your fingers - if you still feel a grainy texture, keep whisking over the heat.)
• Once the sugar has dissolved, remove the bowl from the heat. Turn off the stove. 
• With an electric whisk, mix until the egg whites become white. 
• When the mixture is white, add the cream of tartar and the cayenne pepper.
• When the mixture is stiff (i.e. can be turned upside down without anything spilling), line your cookie sheet with parchment paper. 
• Using a large serving spoon, carefully plop dollops of the meringue half an inch apart on the parchment paper. Plop an additional half dollop on top of the existing dollops to increase height. 
• Using the bottom of your spoon, create a shallow cavity in the middle of each meringue dollop and flick toward one side (carefully, people). This will create the swan body / bowl for the carrot purée to sit. Flicking in one direction will make the swan's derriere look like feathers. 
• Make 10 swan bodies. If you run out of room, start on a second parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
• Put the rest of the meringue mixture in a ziploc bag. Cut a tiny whole in the corner of the ziploc bag, and draw backwards-S shapes with the meringue; these will be the necks. Do at least 15. 
• Put the cookie sheet(s) in the pre-heated oven for 1 hour (or longer if the meringues still feel tacky.)
• Once the meringues feel dry (touch gently), turn off the oven, but leave the meringues in there for a few more hours to dry out completely.

Carrot purée:

• Fill a stock pot with water and add carrots.
• Set over high heat until the carrots are tender (15-20 minutes)
• Drain the water. 
• Add butter, pumpkin pie spice, and 1 cup of sugar to the carrots.
• Using a food processor or hand blender, purée carrots until smooth. 
• Set aside. 

Assembly:

• Place a scoop of carrot purée in the bowl of the swan's body. 
• Insert the swan's necks into the carrot purée. 
• Enjoy.

Serves 8. 1 hour active time, 4 hours total time.

The Best 25-Minute Make-Ahead Cornbread Stuffing

Last night was the inaugural supper club dinner. It was a friendsgiving feast. I just got off the phone with one friend who said she liked the stuffing best, so I wanted to share that dish first. All week, I couldn't stop thinking about the imminence of Saturday and how I would have enough time and clean pans to pull it off. Trader Joe's has a cornbread mix that's good on its own but amazing when complemented with sausage and shallots. What makes this mix worth writing about, though, is that it can be prepared 2 days and 1 dishwasher load in advance. Also, it's super quick to make.

The mix from Trader Joe's is essentially croutons and stock mix. I'm probably paying for the fact that they've assembled the ingredients, but at less than $5, it's so worth it. Also to get this done most quickly, you'll need to manage 2 hot pans at once. You can do it.

RECIPE

Ingredients: 

• 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter (I like salty things, but trust me; this will be plenty salty with unsalted butter)
• 4 cups of water
• 1 package of Trader Joe's Cornbread Stuffing Mix
• 4 sausages 
• 1 shallot
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Directions: 

• Mince one shallot. Set aside. 
• Take the sausages out of their casing by slicing through it and pulling out the meat. Set aside. 
• In a stock pot, mix the butter, water, and contents of the stuffing packet. Set on a high flame until the mixture comes to a boil for 2-3 minutes. 
• After the mixture has been boiling for a few minutes, remove the pot from the flame and add in the contents of the crouton bag. Mix and allow to sit for 10 minutes.  
• Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, combine olive oil and shallots over a medium flame. Breaking the sausages into bite-sized pieces, add in the sausage meat into the pan as well. Stir with a wooden spoon.
• When the sausage is cooked (gray on the inside, as well as the outside), pour the contents of the sauce pan into the stock pot. Mix, and voilà! The best stuffing ever prepared in the blink of an eye.

Note: If you are doing this in advance, you can put it in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. You can reheat it at 350 for 40 minutes before you serve. 

25 minutes total time. Serves 8.

Friendsgiving Supper Club Dinner!

Menu below. Recipes to follow :)

Menu

Various Hors D'Oeuvres 

Cauliflower Soup with Mustard Seeds

Black Truffled Turkey

Sharp Brussels Sprouts

Cornbread Stuffing with Sausage and Shallots

Roasted Butternut Squash

Swan

**Champagne, White Wine, Red Wine.**

Playlist

Inspired by things people knew or feel like they'd heard before. I wanted people to feel at home.

Why I set my table on Tuesday

It's Tuesday night. In 4 days, 7 friends are coming for dinner. Checklists everywhere. 

I set the table first. From a logistical perspective, it's time consuming and helps you consider everything: "Shoot, I only have 6 chairs and need 2 more"; "I don't have enough silverware to change utensils with every course"; "There is no room on the table to do this family style, so I need to set up my kitchen counter to do this buffet style." These are things that need to be addressed way before showtime. 

I also like setting the table in advance because it's a daily reminder of the imminent PARTY. Seeing a festive tablecloth when I wake up in the morning or when I'm chopping veggies reminds me of the point of this whole dance: People are going to be sitting next to each other, eating and learning and laughing. 

Of course, day-of flowers will be added and place cards will be set, but I love setting the table early because it's one thing DONE! It's the first thing guests will see as they come in hungry and excited, and entertaining is about confidence. If you have the table under control, you can be confident in a good first impression. 

Mediterranean Carrot Salad

While these carrots may look like they're from a Michelin-starred-haute-gastro-molecular restaurant in Scandinavia, I swear, it took less than 15 minutes of inactive time to make them curl. 

A weeknight dinner for a guest should be healthy, easy to prepare, and beautiful. Placing carrot ribbons in a tub of icy water makes them do acrobatics, as well as making them crunchy and firm. Moreover, the colors of the carrots, cilantro, and red onions are bright and happy. This dish is light and nutritious but doesn't look boring. 

RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 5 carrots 
• 1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence
• 2 teaspoons fresh cilantro
• 2 teaspoons sliced almonds
• A quarter of a red onion
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Feta cheese
• Salt
• Ice

Directions:

• Using a mandoline, slice the carrots into 1/8 inch ribbons.
• Place the carrot ribbons in a big bowl of ice cold water (lots of ice + frigid water from the faucet) for 15 minutes or until they begin to curl.
• Meanwhile, set the almonds, 1/2 the olive oil, and a pinch of salt in a sauce pan over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon occasionally, until the almonds turn a light brown.
• When the almonds are toasted, pour them, the olive oil, and the excess olive oil in a mixing bowl. Squeeze half a lemon, and add a pinch of Herbs de Provence. Whisk. 
• Cut the onion, cilantro, and feta. Set aside.
• When the carrots have curled, pat them dry.
• Toss carrots with the dressing in the mixing bowl. 
• Sprinkle the onions, cilantro, and feta.
• Enjoy.

30 minutes total time. Serves 2.

Loosely adapted from Lonny.

Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce

Let's be real: people in America eat turkey all year long. What makes turkey on Thanksgiving special is the sides. And the cranberry sauce.

Cranberry sauce's relevance in the Thanksgiving meal makes its quality critical to the meal's success. Homemade cranberry sauce is vastly superior to that of cans -- and takes so little to prepare. I prefer mine sweet (not saccharine) and tart, and here's my recipe.

RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 12-oz bag of cranberries
• 1 cup apple cider
• 1 cup sugar

Directions:

• Place cider and sugar in a pan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture starts to boil.
• Lower heat to low, and allow the mixture to simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add in the cranberries until they pop and the consistency of the sauce is just how you like it. (Note: sauce will thicken as it cools.)
• Enjoy.

30 minutes total time. Serves 10 cranberry sauce eaters or 5 cranberry sauce junkies. 

Spaghetti Squash with Brussels Sprout Petals

All goods things must come to an end. Which means zucchini season must come to an end. Which means zoodles must come to an end. 

But the end of the zoodle season means the beginning of the spaghetti squash season. Spaghetti squash is sweet and easier to prepare. I whipped up a bowl of spaghetti squash with some brussels sprouts, and if you squint enough, it could almost look like a bowl of spaghetti with truffle shavings (!) Anyway, it was delicious, filling, and healthy. 

RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 4 brussel sprouts
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400.
• Prepare the brussels sprouts: Cut off the bottoms and slice the brussels sprouts lengthwise. Toss with salt, pepper, and 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil.
• Prepare the spaghetti squash: Slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. 
• Line a roasting pan with parchment paper.
• Place the spaghetti squash halves downward and the brussels sprouts beside them in the roasting pan.
• Put the roasting pan in the oven for 40 minutes (or until the squash is tender and the sprouts are crispy).
• Scrape the spaghetti out of the squash: Using a fork, rake the meat of the squash lengthwise.
• Toss the spaghetti squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
• Place the spaghetti squash in a serving bowl. Fluff, if necessary. 
• Top the spaghetti squash with the brussels sprouts. 
• Enjoy. 

15 minutes active time, 1 hour total. Serves 2.

Eat Your Colors

It's almost intuitive that eating colorful fruits and vegetables is good for you. Dr. Weil, whose blog and Twitter I love, advocates a veggie-heavy diet that turns the traditional food pyramid on its head. He also advocates chocolate :) Here's his take on the importance of eating colors, which is easy and delicious in fall's bounty:

The vibrant colors of fruits and vegetables aren’t just visually appealing; they are also indicators of abundant protective nutrients. You’ll likely have a healthier diet if you use color as your guide in choosing fruits and vegetables. And while there’s nothing wrong with eating a lot of green vegetables, research has suggested that the wider the variety of natural colors you have on your plate or in your daily diet, the better your nutritional needs will be met.
Fresh produce forms the base of the pyramid of my anti-inflammatory diet. If you follow this eating plan, you’ll get plenty of vegetables - four to five servings per day, both raw and cooked, from all parts of the color spectrum. I also recommend three to four daily servings of fruit, fresh when in season or frozen at other times of the year. When possible, make sure that the fruits and vegetables in your diet are organically grown. Here's a rundown on specific food colors and how they benefit your health:

• Green: A great source of vitamins (including folate, one of the B vitamins) green vegetables also provide minerals and fiber. Some - including spinach, collards, kale and broccoli - contain lutein and zeaxanthin, compounds from a group of antioxidants known as carotenoids that can protect aging eyes from developing cataracts and macular degeneration. They may also help protect against blockages of the carotid arteries in the neck. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and kale contain antioxidants and other phytonutrients that help reduce cancer risk. Along with bok choy and collard greens they are good sources of the calcium we need for strong bones. You’ll get the most benefits from vegetables by cooking them lightly. 

• Oranges/Yellows: Sweet potatoes, carrots, mangoes, apricots and other yellow or orange fruits and vegetables are also rich in carotenoids and other antioxidants that protect the body from oxidative stress. Orange fruits and vegetables also give you vitamin C and folate, needed to reduce the risk of heart disease and prevent certain birth defects.

• Reds: Tomatoes, watermelon, papaya, and pink grapefruit are among the red pigmented fruits and vegetables that contain lycopene. This powerful antioxidant helps prevent the development of heart disease and some types of cancer, particularly prostate cancer. The lycopene in tomatoes is more available to the body when you cook them, especially in a little olive oil.

• Blues/Purples: The deep colors in blueberries, purple grapes, red cabbage, beets, and plums come from anthocyanins, phytocompounds that protect against carcinogens and may help prevent heart disease. Blueberries are especially potent: a half cup provides antioxidant activity equivalent to five servings of peas, carrots, apples, squash or broccoli. Blueberries also give you almost three grams of fiber per half-cup serving. 

• Whites: Garlic and onions contain allicin, a phytochemical that may help lower cholesterol and blood pressure. Raw garlic is a potent antibiotic that is especially active against fungal infections. It has immune-stimulating properties as well as antibacterial and antiviral effects. Other phytochemicals – polyphenols – found in pears and green grapes, may reduce the risk of some types of cancer.

Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies

My favorite kind of chocolate chip cookie is cakey and thick. It is a chewy and warm and can reliably be purchased at Levain's Bakery in New York City. In my twenty-three year life span, I have endeavored several dozen recipes to achieve this end at home. But over the weekend, when I made scones, it occurred to me that I might adapt that scone recipe to create a cookie of a similar consistency. 

The key to maintaining the shape? Using butter that is extremely cold. And using much less butter than the canonical Toll House recipe. 

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

• Slice butter into edamame-sized pieces, then stick it in the freezer.

• In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until fluffy.

• Rub the butter into the dry ingredients quickly using your fingertips until no pieces larger than a pea remain.

• Add the cream and egg to the dry ingredients, and mix with a fork until a shaggy dough forms. Fold in the chocolate chips, and knead a few times if necessary.

• Use an ice cream scoop to scoop even sized portions of cookie dough onto the parchment paper, leaving about 1.5 inches of space in between each scoop of dough.

• When you put the baking sheet in the oven, lower the temperature to 375.

• Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden and firm.

• Enjoy.

25 minutes prep time, 1 hour total. Makes 16 cookies.