blog archive for November 2008

We have to admit, taste testing is not usually a hardship, especially when we see a menu where all the foods actually go together, which is usually not the case. It was the case when we tested the recipes for the "Mama Mia" story, which centers around Christmas dinner at the Tuckaway Family Farm in Conway, Mass.

The pork loin was a beauty and worked like a charm the first go round. We were a bit concerned that it might be dry (as lean pork loins can be), but it was moist and succulent.

Especially when we dipped little pieces of the pork in the savory pan drippings.

These Potatoes Au Gratin looked a bit more like a cauliflower casserole than potatoes because they don’t have a lot of butter or extra things in them. But they proved to be perfect with the pan drippings.

In the mixed greens recipe, we used kale, which is hearty and stands up to heat. Use your largest skillet.

We found a tongs to be the best tool to use to stir the greens around.

The sliced garlic should be slightly browned but not burned.

The Steamed Cranberry Pudding worked great and was very tasty, but the piece de resistance proved to be the Butter Sauce adorning it.

We made it ahead of time, refrigerated it (shown here) and then reheated it.

Make sure the sugar completely dissolves either way.

For someone who spends as much time as I do in the kitchen, Thanksgiving should be a breeze. Instead, it's been a string of near misses, and the very thought of stuffing a turkey makes me want to lie down with a cold cloth over my head.

The trouble started the first year I was married. My plan was to wow my husband with the best Thanksgiving dinner since the Native Americans sat down with the Colonists. I bought a turkey at Macy's and carried it home on my lap on the subway. I might have made a pot of cranberry sauce the night before, but as I remember, I was in no hurry to start cooking.

The next day we went to the parade, and by the time the turkey was ready to go in the oven, it was dark.  Around midnight, I asked my husband to open a bottle of wine, and he said he was too weak from hunger.

The next year, I had a schedule. I set the alarm for the crack of dawn and by noon, the turkey was ready to go in the oven --- right on time.  But as I was lifting the pan, I noticed I wasn't wearing my wedding ring.  I knew where it had to be and was faced with one of those decisions cooks sometimes make in the privacy of their kitchens. Should I spend time taking out the stuffing to find the ring or stick to my timetable and hope it would land on my plate?  I decided to take the risk and stay on schedule.

Of course, there was always the possibility, which I did not even want to think about, that my husband would swallow the ring and end up in the emergency room with a tube in his nose. On the brighter side, there was an outside chance the ring would turn up as I scooped out the stuffing and he'd never have to know what was going on. When that didn't happen, I had no choice but to come clean. I remember offering to make his favorite pasta with artichokes and mushrooms and save the turkey for the next day, but in the end we decided to take our chances.

We poked around with our forks like a couple of treasure hunters, and after a very long couple of minutes, the ring turned up on my husband's plate buried in stuffing. We agreed it could have been worse, although at the time, I couldn't imagine how much worse things could get.  The next year, we decided to give Thanksgiving a rest and let his mother do the cooking. Ever since, I take off my rings when I cook.

Cheese sauce awaiting beaten egg whites.

First a cheese sauce is made by making a roux of flour and butter, then adding milk to make a white sauce. Then the Comte cheese and egg yolks are stirred in.

Egg whites whisked to stiff peaks

Recipe tester, Mary Carter, whisked the egg whites (that are folded into the cheese sauce) by hand in a metal bowl. You can certainly beat them with an electric mixer, but if you don’t want to get it out (or can’t find it,) you can do it the old-fashioned way, which just takes a few minutes.

Egg whites folded into cheese sauce

First stir about ¼ of the whites into the cheese sauce to lighten it. This makes it easier to then fold the remaining egg whites into the sauce.

Voila . . . Soufflé

A good soufflé will rise to above the top of the soufflé dish. We felt that this one was a tad bit brown. Either cover with foil after 20 minutes of baking or bake 5 minutes less.


The Clean Plate Club

Signs of a successful taste testing.

This simple tart was perfection from the beginning. It turned out great the first time with no snafus at all. Be sure to cook onions until really browned and fully caramelized—which results in a sweet buttery texture.