5 – 6 fresh sage leaves

1/4 cup Italian parsley

1 teaspoon salt

few grinds of black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Your turkey of choice

1 onion, peeled and split in half

1 apple, cored and cut in quarters

Mound first five ingredients together on a cutting board.  Using a large chef’s knife, mince together all ingredients until finely minced.  Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on top and mince a few more times to incorporate and turn mixture into a thick paste.

About one hour before you put the turkey in the oven, carefully lift the skin on the breast and use your fingers to gently create a pocket of air between the skin and the breast meat.  Stuff herb mixture under skin.  Let turkey rest so salt can carry flavors into the meat.

Place onion and apple into cavity of turkey.

Roast turkey using your favorite technique (I like Alton Brown’s) or follow roasting instructions on package.

When temperature in thigh reaches 165 degrees, remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes before carving.  Remove and discard apple and onion from cavity.

2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

3 cups peeled cubed butternut squash (from 11/2-pound squash)

5-6 cloves garlic, peeled

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups finely chopped leeks (white part only)

1 1/2 cups frozen white corn kernels, thawed

1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley

Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil rimmed baking sheet. Toss squash cubes, garlic and 2 tablespoons oil in a 9 by 13 baking pan.  Roast until squash begins to brown around the edges, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.

While squash is baking, rinse rice in strainer under cold water; drain. Bring 6 cups water and 2 teaspoons coarse salt to boil in large saucepan. Add rice; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered until rice grains begin to split and are tender but still slightly chewy, about 45 minutes. Drain.

Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add leeks and 3/4 cup water; simmer until leeks are tender, about 7 minutes. Fish out garlic cloves from squash and smash them into the leek liquid with the back of your spoon against the side of the pan.  Stir.  Add corn; simmer 2 minutes longer. Add rice and butternut squash; simmer until heated through and liquid is absorbed, about 4 minutes. Stir in parsley.  Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

(The rice and squash may be cooked ahead of time and refrigerated overnight.  It makes sense to roast a double batch of squash and then use the extra to make butternut squash soup.)

Adapted from a recipe by Nancy Oakes and Pamela Mazzola, from Bon Appetit, Nov 2008.

3 leeks, sliced (white and light green parts only)

2 teaspoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced 

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 cup water

1 medium head broccoli, roughly chopped (about 3 to 4 cups)

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Heat the oil on medium in a three-quart saucepan.   Add the leeks and saute until they are soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and thyme and saute for an additional 30 seconds.   Pour water into pan and stir in broccoli, scraping the bottom of the pan.   Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and steam until broccoli is very soft, about 5 – 8 minutes. 

Transfer broccoli mixture to a food processor or blender (or use a stick blender).  Puree.  Add parsley and pulse to mix in. 

Serve as a side in place of mashed potatoes. 

Once you’ve tried homemade marshmallows, you’ll never settle for those supermarket bags.   These are truly amazing, both to make and to eat.  Watching the syrup fluff up is one of those magical-seeming science experiments that make candymaking fun.

Thanks to Cooking for Engineers for the great information on the science and history of marshmallow making, as well as the recipe that inspired this corn-free version.

3 tablespoons unflavored gelatin

3/4 cup water, separated

2 cups white sugar

2/3 cup golden syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

potato starch

Tools needed: stand mixer with paddle attachment and a candy thermometer

Oil a 9 x 13 baking pan and then powder liberally with the potato starch.   Pour 1/2 cup of the water and the gelatin into the bowl of your stand mixer.   Allow to sit for 10 minutes.

 Meanwhile, mix the remaining 1/4 cup  water, the sugar, salt and syrup together in a medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until the mixture reaches 250 degrees on a candy thermometer.  Do not stir once the mixture starts to bubble, or you risk having the syrup crystallize.  Wash down any crystals that form on the sides of the pan with a clean pastry brush dipped in cold water. 

Once the mixture has reached 250 degrees, remove it from the heat and immediately drizzle it into the gelatin mixture with the mixer running at low speed.  Once the syrup has all been poured in, increase the speed to high.  (You may need to do this slowly to prevent splatters, or cover the bowl with a tent of plastic wrap.)  Beat for 10 minutes on high until white and fluffy. 

Pour and/or scrape the fluff into the prepared pan and allow to dry overnight.  Turn out onto a board dusted liberally with potato starch and cut into cubes with a pizza cutter.  Dredge all sticky sides in the potato starch and store in an airtight container.  Marshmallows should keep for several weeks (if they last that long!)

6 cups of packed shredded potatoes

1 large onion, shredded or minced finely

1 cup chickpea flour

2 tablespoons rice milk or water (optional)

Enough canola oil to cover the bottom of a large frying pan to 1/2 inch depth

Shred enough potatoes (by hand or in the blender) to make six packed cups.   Place a large handful of potatoes a double thickness of paper towels.  Gather the paper towels up around the potatoes and squeeze out the excess moisture from the potatoes.  Don’t go overboard on squeezing, since you will need the potatoes to retain some moisture for this recipe. 

Mix dried potatoes with onion and chickpea flour until all the chickpea flour is moistened.  Scoop up a golf-ball sized clump of potatoes and squeeze it together.  If the mixture retains its shape, there is enough moisture.  If it it too dry to stick together, add a little rice milk or water at a time until it sticks.

Heat oil on medium high.   

Shape small patties of potato mixture and gently drop them into the oil.  Cook 3-5 minutes on one side, until reddish brown, then flip and cook 3-5 minutes on the other side.  Loosen with a spatula, then remove pancakes from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. 

You can hold the pancakes for up to 1/2 hour in a 200 degree oven.  Simply line a baking sheet with paper towels, and as each pancake is done, slip it into the oven to stay warm.

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons water

8 – 10 cups popped corn

Combine oil, sugar, salt, and water in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil (mixture will become foamy and double in size).  Reduce heat and simmer for three minutes, then drizzle over popcorn while tossing to mix. 

Popcorn may be stored in an airtight container, but it is doubtful to last that long.

My version is alcohol-free, and therefore lower in histamine than the two originals.   This made a stunning main dish that we served to friends last Christmas Eve in a candlelit dinner — the circuit for the kitchen, living room, and dining room blew out with a spectacular shower of blue sparks a few hours before dinner, necessitating a run out to the store to buy a bunch of candles before dinner.   

We served this with roasted potatoes and Lidia Bastianich’s Skillet Brussels Sprouts with Lemon Sauce.  A pitcher of the rich lamb juices thick with garlic cloves was all that was needed to complete the meal.

1 five-pound leg of lamb, tied into a compact shape (have the butcher trim off the shank bone)

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 cups safe vegetable broth

5 heads of garlic, peeled

2 tablespoons honey or molasses

3 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Eight hours before dinner time, salt the lamb and place it in the fridge for an hour.   Meanwhile, have a friend or family member help you pull apart and peel the garlic.  

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a flameproof casserole dish or a large frying pan on the stove.  Brown the lamb for five minutes on each side, 20 minutes total.  Pour off the fat.   (If you used a frying pan, transfer the lamb to a large roasting pan at this point.)  Pour in the vegetable broth, honey, garlic and thyme.  Cover with a sheet of aluminum foil and press the lid down over the foil to seal.  

Roast until the lamb is fork-tender, about seven hours, turning once in the middle.    

Transfer the lamb to a platter and cover with the foil.   Allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving.   Pour the juices into a cup and degrease.    Boil for a few minutes to reduce the liquid and concentrate the flavor.    Pull apart the lamb with a fork and serve with juices and garlic cloves on the side.

1 recipe Kamut Flour Pizza Dough

1 recipe Caramelized Onions

White Bean Topping

1 15-ounce can navy or cannellini beans

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

In food processor or blender, puree together ½ cup of the beans, the oil, garlic, and rosemary.   Remove blade and mix in remaining beans. 

Assembly

Spread white bean mixture on par-baked pizza dough.  Top with caramelized onions.  Return to oven and bake for 6 – 8 minutes, until dough is golden brown on the bottom and onions are sizzling hot.

© 2007 Jeanette Bradley

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 vidalia onions or other sweet onions, cut into rings (or substitute regular yellow onions plus 1/2 teaspoon sugar)

pinch of salt

Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat.  Add onions.  Reduce heat to medium low heat.  Cook, stirring every five minutes or so, for 30 to 40 minutes, until onions are a deep caramel color.     Onions may be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

1 cup lukewarm water

2 cups Kamut flour

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water.  Let stand five minutes.  Dump one cup of flour into the water and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for two minutes.   Add olive oil, salt, and remaining flour.  Stir and knead until dough holds together.   Sprinkle a little flour on the countertop or a wooden kneading board.  Knead the dough until it has a springy consistency.   It will feel slightly more gritty and less springy than wheat dough. 

Place into a clean bowl with a little olive oil in the bottom.  Turn dough to cover with oil all over.  Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm place until double in bulk, about two hours. 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Punch down the dough.  Divide in half.  Pat and pull the dough into two pizza crusts to fit either a baking sheet or pizza stone, if you have one.

Bake crust for 5 minutes and remove from oven.  Spread with toppings and return to oven for 8 – 10 minutes, until crust is crisp on the bottom. (Test by prying up one corner of the crust with a spatula and poking the bottom with your finger.)

© 2007 Jeanette Bradley