Thanksgiving 2009 - A Little Progress

I am a genius! In a stroke of brilliance yesterday, I decided to take a nap at 4:30. I wasn't officially up until 12 hours later! So, I'm a wee bit behind on my schedule, but no worries. Let's recap the progress. My goal is to really blog about everything I make this year; even if I done an entry about it before. Here we go.




First was the cornbread for the dressing. If you're new to the blog, let me tell you now that I'm in love with Cook's Illustrated. Most of my recipes are theirs. They were no slouches with the All-Purpose Cornbread recipe either. This has the sweetness of Jiffy with a better texture and real corn flavor.



First, and this is where my heritage meets the recipe: heat a cast iron skillet so that it's screaming hot. Cornbread should be made in cast iron. There, I've said it. I put the skillet into the cold oven (on the baking stone) and heat it as the oven preheats.





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Next, process the wet ingredients: buttermilk, corn and brown sugar.





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Add the eggs.





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Perfect! Thick and creamy with bits of corn.





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Before I start with the dry stuff, I take the skillet out of the oven and add canola oil. Do not use butter or extra-virgin olive oil. They will burn. I put the skillet back in the oven while I finish the batter.





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Now, grab flour, cornmeal and and a scale. (Baking is a science; measuring is necessary.)





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Add the leavenings and salt. Table salt for baking, kosher for everything else.







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Whisk together and make a well for the wet stuff.







Grab a spatula and fold unitl moistened. I like to have a few dry bits left before I add the butter.





Bring on the butter!







Get the skillet and plop the batter in there. Hear that? See those bubbles? That's exactly what you want.







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Smooth out the top and bake!







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Golden brown and delicious! Just look at that crust! That piece is for the cook and the chili I pulled from the freezer:-)







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Once cool enough to handle, break it apart and leave it out to dry out overnight.







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Now for the trukey brine. This is recipe is from Emeril Lagassee.



Grab a stockpot. Orange juice, wine (dry please) start us off. I chose a pino grigio.





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It is a brine - salt and sugar are required.







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Add peppercorns, ginger, thyme and bay leaves. Take a moment to rough up the thyme a little to release the flavor. I got lazy and didn't chop the ginger. If I had been putting the turkey in immediately, I would've chopped it. I added the water last.





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I refrigerated the brine separately. My intent was to add the turkey a few hours later, after the flavors had melded. They certainly melded since I fell alseep and the turkey didn't make the introduction until this morning!







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Butterball added a gravy packet this year. That went straight to the trash along with the gizzard, heart and liver. I don't like gravy just enough to know it should be homemade. I have to be in the right frame of mind to eat organ meats, especially gizzards. It happens once every few years.







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Do save the neck and tail. (Butterball didn't think I needed my tail) Use those to make stock for the gravy. This is missing some herbs. I'll add those later. I still have to get some parsley.





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Tools of the trade:



I'll add these later.

Dollar Friendly

You know from the last post that I'm preparing for Thanksgiving, so I have to pinch a few pennies in order to work the masterpiece I'm planning in honor of the holiday dedicated to food. Anyhoo. I was inspired to bring back my red beans and rice after reading a post about Monday red beans and rice on YatCuisine. I paired that with some cornbread. What makes this blog-worthy is the edition of sweet potato fries to the plate.

This was just an off-chance craving. I usually microwave sweet potatoes and treat them like a baked potato. Visions of the sweet potato fries I had while on a commercial shoot in Los Angeles popped into my head. Don't know why, but the vision hit and I had to act.

I used a Cook's Illustrated recipe as the base. It was pretty simple: toss the fries in oil, salt and pepper; throw them into the oven; handle them with care while they are cooking. How could I mess that up?

Here we go. I started by heating a cast iron skillet in the oven. CI recommended a baking sheet; I knew cast iron would be better for me. Leave it in until it's screaming hot.

I wanted to use my never-been-used-in-four-years French fry disc for Miracle. Note to self: potatoes go in sideways. The potato had to be trimmed to fit the feed tube. This is the one time I wish I had a wider feed tube.

I tossed these in canola oil, kosher salt, black pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon. I never eat sweet potatoes without nutmeg. (It just ain't right to not pay homage to sweet potato pie.)

Add a little oil to the skillet and arrange the fries in a single layer. Bake until golden brown on the underneath. Here's the tricky part: flipping the fries. You have to use a thin spatula to get underneath the fries and not leave the caramelized portion on the pan. Enter fish spatula.

After you've turned them, throw them back into the oven until done. So simple and so good. Inexpensive too!

Tools of the trade:

• OXO i-Series Peeler
• Totally Bamboo Butcher Block
• Shun Santoku
• KitchenAid Food Processor
• KitchenAid French Fry Disc
• Lodge Logic 8" Cast Iron Skillet
• Kuhn Rikon Fish Spatula

Double Vision

I recently discovered the joy of egg plant. I made it two weekends in a row, each with different results. I've determined I like it as dry as possible. This is how I came to that conclusion.

Both recipes start with washing and slicing the egg plant. At first, I couldn't decide if I wanted rounds or planks.

After slicing a few rounds, I chose planks.

After you've sliced the egg plant, add it to a colander and sprinkle it liberally with kosher salt. I got the technique from Cook's Illustrated.

The salt draws out the water in the egg plant.

I let the egg plant sit for 30 minutes. I turned it with my hands and let it sit for 30 minutes longer. I then pressed the slices between paper towels until the slices turned green.

I placed the slices on a sheet pan, drizzled them olive oil and seasoned them with salt, pepper and za'atar.

I roasted them until they caramelized. This was my favorite cooking method.

The next week, I followed the steps above, except I sliced the veggies into thicker planks. I grilled them on a grill pan. Pretty, but not very tasty.

Tools of the trade:

• Shun Chef's Knife
• Totally Bamboo Butcher Block
• Lodge Logic Grill Pan

Brick and Mortar

I have professed my love for Tyler Florence before. I am especially grateful for his recipe for brick chicken. Let's get to it. I'm using Cornish hens.

Cut the backbone out of the birds and flatten with your hands.

Toast and grind your spices. Add kosher salt.

Rub your bird down with the spice mixture. I drizzled the birds with olive oil and used the dry rub instead of making a paste with olive oil and lemon juice. I let the chicken air dry in the refrigerator overnight.



Get a screaming hot skillet, or two. Add the bird, skin side down, and a foil wrapped brick. If you don't have a brick, you can used a cast iron skillet.


Sear on moderately high heat for 10-15 minutes and transfer to a 375 degree oven to finish cooking. Keep the brick in place.

Now isn't that lovely?



Now that's some good eating, but we aren't done.

Let's work on the cool yogurt dip. Add cilantro, mint and green onion to the food processor. Take everything for a spin.

Add Greek yogurt, salt, pepper and honey.

Yea! Yogurt dip. It's the little things that make me happy.

Let's put it all together. The pita and roasted eggplant are seasoned with za'atar.

Tools of the trade:

• Shun Kitchen Scissors
• KitchenAid Coffee Grinder
• Lodge Logic Cast Iron Skillet
• KitchenAid Food Processor

I Miss My Mama

Mama could cook! She could burn like nobody's business. She could also sew amazingly well, I remember her making some of my clothes and hers. She was a fashionista before the term hit popular culture. She also had a very green thumb. She died when I was eight.

I got the cooking from her and my desire to sew. (That desire never materialized into anything wearable or useful.) My green thumb consists of the AeroGarden. I do have a love of quality clothes and good sales, just like she did.

I remembered her fried okra. To be fair, I purchased fresh okra for the first time with the intent of doing something exotic with it, but since I was starving -- I decided to fry half of it. It was a simple decision, but once I remembered Mama making it, it seemed like a very important decision.

I started with Alton Brown's recipes for wet and dry fried okra. I chose the wet version. Here's how it went:

Gather your okra.

Heat the oil.

Chop the okra and rinse in a colander.

Dump into seasoned cornmeal. It's amazing what kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper can do to food. Give it good toss. Shake off the excess cornmeal.

Add the okra carefully to the hot oil. Fry until golden brown on the bottom. Turn the pieces over and fry a few minutes more, until golden brown all over.

I drained mine on a wire rack. Once they were cool enough to eat ... Mmmmm. Mama would be proud!

Tools of the trade:

• Shun Chef's Knife
• Totally Bamboo Butcher Block
• Spider
• Lodge Logic Cast Iron Skillet

Sunday Favorite

Okay. So my last two posts have been about fried foods; check out the blue cheese potato chips and fried catfish if you haven't seen them. I've posted about fried chicken before, but now I'm revisiting it. (Once you break out oil, you tend to fry a whole lot of stuff.) This is the recipe I use when I have time to plan ahead -- buttermilk brined fried chicken. Believe it or not, this works with boneless skinless chicken breasts, which I almost always have on hand.

Grab a container for the soak. My favorite is my 8-cup measuring cup. Dump some salt in the bottom. I never measure, so I can't tell you how much. If you need precise measurements, check out Cook's Illustrated's Ultimate Crispy Fried Chicken recipe. Throw in some spices or use an all-purpose seasoning like Tony Chachere's. Add some freshly smashed garlic. I also add fresh herbs (lots of them). Add your buttermilk and stir well (you want to dissolve the salt.)

Drop in the chicken breasts and refrigerate for at least four hours. I let mine sit for eight hours and the flavor was unbelievable!

Now, pull the chicken from the brine and shake of any excess liquid. Dip into seasoned flour (don't add salt.) Shake off any excess flour. Dip it back into the buttermilk brine and then back into the flour. This double-dipping is worth it.

Now, let the chicken rest on a wire rack for 30 minutes. This helps the adhere to the meat and gives you that crispy crunch. The longer you let it sit (refrigerated of course), the crunchier your chicken will be. Check again with Cook's Illustrated to see what the max air drying time is. This time, I went straight to the skillet after dipping. There's no difference in taste. I think you do lose more of the flour to the bottom of the skillet when you don't let the chicken air dry.

Now, heat your oil. I didn't use a thermometer. I just add a pinch of flour to the oil and watch it fry. If it sinks to the bottom, the oil is too cold. If it burns to a crisp, the oil too hot. When the oil is right, carefully add the chicken to the pan. DO NOT MOVE IT AROUND!!! Fry until golden brown on the bottom, flip and fry the other side. The second side will cook faster.

Drain on a cooling rack or go old school and place the chicken on some paper towels.

Isn't that beautiful??!!

Leftovers note: This chicken is amazingly good cold out of the refrigerator the next day! When I have this as leftovers, I never reheat it. It even stays crispy after days in the fridge.

Tools of the trade:

• Totally Bamboo Butcher Block
• Shun Santoku
• Lodge Logic Cast Iron Skillet
• Oxo Tongs
• Pyrex 2-Qt Measuring Cup

There's No Place Like Home Pt. 3

This is my third post about my favorites from home. There are the hashed browns from Little Rock and the beignets from New Orleans. Now for my favorite: fried catfish. Fried catfish is something my best friends and I made often. Nataki and Shana worked some out around Christmas. In my family, it was a Friday night regular when I was younger, although we aren't Catholic. I'm sure we ate it Saturday nights too, but I once I became old enough to fry, I rocked this many a Friday night while my brother and I watched Miami Vice!

If you are from Little Rock, you eat your fried catfish one of two ways: with hot sauce and mustard or with hot sauce and tomato relish. I was in Chicago in the late 90s at a church catfish supper. When I asked for mustard, someone said, "You must be from Arkansas." I was then immediately introduced to church members who had Arkansas roots.

I know mustard sounds funny, but many restaurants are now making mustard-thyme catfish. They use mustard as the wet ingredient when dredging. People tend to use too much thyme. I also think that the mustard loses some of its flavor when it's fried.

Tomato relish deserves a place in the regional foods hall of fame. I can only find it in Little Rock. It's made with green tomatoes and onion. It's sweet and sometimes a little hot too. Served ice cold with some hot fried catfish? Man, please. There are no words.

Let's fry. I like catfish nuggets better than I like the whole fillets. Trader Joe's didn't have either and Whole Foods had fillets. No problem, I just cut up the fillet. I rinsed it and patted it dry first.

This is when you break out the dry-wet-dry breading station, just like for fried chicken. I'm going with flour, milk and egg for the wet and cornmeal. Season all three pans well. Taste and make sure the coatings taste good.

Dip the fish in the coatings. Unlike with chicken, I am not a fan of double-dipping here; the coating becomes too thick for the fish.

Now, head to some hot grease. I fry in canola oil. If you don't use a thermometer for your oil, toss a pinch of cornmeal into the oil and watch how it fries. If it burns to a crisp, the oil is too hot. If it sinks to the bottom of the pan and does nothing, the oil isn't hot enough. Once your temp is right, add the fish. Because I'm using small pieces and I'm cooking for one, I'm using an 8" cast iron skillet. This also keeps me from using a lot of oil, so I won't have a ton to dispose of. (I don't reuse oil that has been used for fish.) Cook for a few minutes on each side. I can't give you a specific time. The cornmeal will take on a little color when cooked.

Moving on. Once the fish is done, let it rest on paper towels. Secure your hot sauce and mustard or, if you're really blessed, hot sauce and tomato relish. Dig in!

Tools of the trade:

• Williams-Sonoma Breading Trays
• Lodge Logic 8" cast iron skillet
• Oxo Tongs