Monday, November 30, 2015

Kitchen Design

Chickens-

I hope you are all recovering from Carb Bomb Weekend 2015.  We had a wonderful time full of yummy and family and funny dogs and relaxing. 

The feast!

Julia Child's Turkey recipe...GAMECHANGER!
Herb and Onion Stuffing cooked under the bird.
Balsamic Braised Cippoline Onions
Cornbread Dressing with Sausage

 
Green Beans with Lemon Chive Oil

Bourbon Pecan Hickory Nut Pie

Doggie nephews all tuckered out.



It was also a monumental milestone, because it was the last Thanksgiving that I will ever produce out of our own kitchen.  It was, in fact, the 23rd Thanksgiving to come out of this kitchen, officially moving me into the “Cooking Thanksgiving more than Half My Life” arena.  And they have all been good.  Many have been great.  The cooking experience, not so much.  This kitchen has served me well, but it is not a great space to cook in.  The stove and burners are electric, the counterspace minimal.  The water pressure in the sink is just a hair above a trickle.  The linoleum floor is so old and decrepit that not only does it never look clean, as much as you scrub, the nails of the subfloor have worked their way up thru it, so if you don’t wear shoes, it’s like walking on Legos. 

The refrigerator does not fit in the room, and is in the back hallway.  Which is too narrow for the door to open completely.   Yeah, process that for a moment.

Today we have the first official New Kitchen Post.  It will not be the last. 

When Charming Suitor and I sat down to plan the renovation of this home, we were in total agreement about some key things. 

One, we would spend the serious money on the infrastructure and systems, and be creative about finishes and fixtures with what was left in the budget.  We want this old girl to go another hundred years at least, but for sure another 40 or so with us in it, so while it is fun to think about splurging on beautiful tile and woodwork, we knew that our first priority needed to be what lives behind the walls. 

Two, we would not over-improve the property beyond what the market would bear for our neighborhood.   One never knows what is coming down the road, and while we plan to live out our natural lives right in this spot, we needed to know that if at any point life required us to sell it, we would be able to do so without taking a hit.

Three, the only space we WOULD over-improve would be the kitchen.

Let’s be clear.  Renovating a house for yourself, as smart as you ought to be in considering resale value, should still contain the things that make your dreams come true.  For Charming Suitor and I, that meant a KILLER kitchen.  We are both cooks, and we love to cook together.  We both love the entertaining that we do, and want to do more, and neither of us has ever had the kitchen we really wanted.  So we plotted very rationally our completely irrational kitchen!

It will take many posts to fill you in on this project, the most complicated and important of the whole house, but we are going to start with layout and design.

The kitchen was the hardest space to design in the whole house, and the only room that needed five tries to get it right.  Again, this is the space we designed for US and how WE live.  We are not in any way recommending this style of kitchen design for people who don’t cook, or families with kids, or people who never entertain.  This is not a “hub of the home” kitchen.  This is not an eat-in- kitchen slash family room slash office slash homework kiosk slash arts and crafts space.

This is essentially a zoned fine dining restaurant kitchen with a chef’s table.

What does that mean?  Let me show you.



The U-Shaped set of cabinets incorporate two distinct cooking zones.  On the right side, the gas range, gas wall oven, rotisserie .  On the peninsula on the left, induction cooktop and inset counter steamer.  They share prep space on the island between them, and cleaning space on the window wall with a sink and dishwasher.

The separate L shaped section across the room is predominantly for baking.  The wall oven on this side is electric, instead of gas, for consistency of temperature.  There is a second sink and second dishwasher in this area.

The curved window wall will get a built in banquette, with an oval table for seating.

Instead of following the “triangle” approach to appliances, we worked with a professional kitchen layout, with the small food pantry and the kitchen library ( see this post for Kitchen Library) flanking the refrigerator/freezer.  This puts small equipment and all food centered between all three of the cooking zones. 

What does this do for us?  It allows up to three people to cook at the same time without getting in each other’s way, with a fourth potentially cleaning.  It means that there is plenty of counter and prep space.  It means that if I’m working on delicate pie crust, I’m doing it far enough away from the primary cooking area that the heat and moisture from things cooking in that space won’t screw up my pastry.

It means that Charming Suitor can check the temp on the Thanksgiving Turkey and I can check on the rolls in the oven and neither of us will get an elbow to the face.

But just because we went all “professional-inspired” doesn’t mean it isn’t still a home kitchen.  It is a space that will allow up to eight people to eat comfortably at the table.  The peninsula has a bar where four people can sit and chat with whomever is cooking without being underfoot.  There is going to be a TV on the wall in the baking section across from the dining table, which will be on an extendable arm so that on Thanksgiving the people doing the food prep can still watch the game.

It is an unusual and very specific design, that we believe will suit us and our lifestyle to a T. 

The takeaway for my Chickens?  You have to make your lists.  Must haves, want to haves, would be nice to haves, and splurges.

For us, our original list looked like this:

Must haves:
Plenty of counterspace and thoughtful cabinet design with good ability to organize
No uppers or minimal uppers (I am 5’3” and will only get shorter from here, and I do not want to be an 85 year old hobbit lady needing a footstool to get to my plates)
Two people at least able work together comfortably
Two ovens, preferably on opposite walls, at counter height (I hate a stacked oven, one is too tall for me, the other requires bending to the floor.  We knew if we couldn’t do opposite walls, we would at least do them side by side)
Room for a table for at least 6 people
Gas stovetop
Powerful hood
Huge fridge/freezer, deep enough to hold large platters
Space to recreate kitchen library

Want to haves:
Two dishwashers
Two sinks
Island with built-in butcherblock
Place for people to sit and chat with cooks
Banquette seating
TV

Would be nice to have:
Warming drawers
One gas oven, one electric oven (roasting vs baking)
French door ovens (I’m forever burning myself on the open door of the oven trying to deal with things inside with my short little arms)
Totally separate area for baking
Decent sized pantry that is just for food
Undercounter wine fridge
Cheese fridge in pantry (more on this later)

Splurge:
Built-in wall rotisserie (more on this later)

Once you have your list, which may very well include things like space for arts and crafts and homework and home office, etc., you can look at your kitchen and prioritize how to allocate the space.  Then you can take a look at what is most important to you in terms of your budget.  Are you a purely functional cook, and not a passionate one?  Then don’t waste money on commercial style high-end appliances; you’ll never get the real benefit of the features that make them so expensive.  Does your family spend all of its time in the kitchen getting underfoot?  Consider a peninsula or island arrangement where you can have them on the other side when you are working, but still right there with you.  Do you have a lot of kids, serving essentially a small soccer team two to three meals a day?  You might want to give up a little section of cabinet space in favor of two dishwashers.  Does your family go through bottled water like they are trying to fill a reservoir somewhere?  Put in a filtered water faucet system at the sink and buy everyone their own refillable bottle. 

We were fortunate that because we are just two people and the house is a large one, we had enough space to do exactly what we wanted with the design.

For those of you who have gone through a kitchen redo, please put your best tips and tricks in the comments for everyone!

Stay tuned…next post CABINETS!!

Yours in Good Taste,
The Polymath
 


Saturday, November 21, 2015

So Very Thankful.

Chickens-

It's almost here!  My favorite holiday of the year, and rest assured, I am prepping and shopping and planning as we speak.  And one of the things I am thankful for is that just in time for the holiday festive spirit, my publisher is doing a special promotion for Big Delicious Life!


 For anyone new, this is my digital cookbook, over 150 of my best recipes, including dozens that are perfect for holiday entertaining!  Thru 11/22 it is just $.99.  And since it is digital, all you need to gift it to someone is their email address.  So think on this...the cost of a holiday card PLUS the cost of postage is MORE than sending someone your festive greetings with a whole cookbook!  The simple, easy to use digital format means that it is the perfect thing to have on your phone or tablet when you head to the grocery store and are facing down yet another packet of weeknight chicken.  Heading out of town to stay with friends or family or to a vacation rental?  This puts a serious cooking resource right in your back pocket, saving you from only making sandwiches and reservations.  CLICK HERE to get your copy, or to send to the cooks in your life.

Now for the serious stuff...

(I have posted this piece, adjusted slightly year by year, since 2009.  The essentials don’t change much.  The sentiment changes not at all.)

As a passionate home cook, Thanksgiving is my grail, my marathon, my Everest.  The ability to pull it off well is a source of pride, and no moments of my year are as purely pleasurable as the brief silence around the table when everyone tucks into their plates, followed by gradual exclamations of rapturous delight.   And while there is always something a little bit new or different every year, the basics stay the same, and I’ve gotten a lot of it down to a science. 

But science doesn’t mean clenched perfectionism. 

With all due respect to Martha, you don’t need twenty-four matching turkey shaped bowls for the soup to taste good, you don’t have to grow your own cranberries, or even make your own pie crust (or pie for that matter) for this day to be wonderful.  Good food, prepared with love (or purchased with love), and served with a smile is all anyone needs for the holiday to be sublime…to each at the level of their own ability. 

For those of you who are thinking of tackling the big day, I’ve got some tips to help you out.  The most important thing about Thanksgiving is right there in the name, be thankful.  If you burn the turkey, make PB&J and laugh it off.  And if at all possible, set yourself up for success with some simple advice and simpler recipes.

Whether you are having a huge event with five generations, a gathering of your best pals who aren’t able to be with their own families, or just a small dinner with you and your sweetie, there are ways to make this day less stressful, and more joyous.

Firstly, know thyself.  Do you regularly make your own puff pastry, serve towering flaming Baked Alaskas, and finish your sauces with homemade demi-glace?  Then find any challenging menu that inspires you and have at it.  But if you burn the toast four days out of ten, this isn’t the time to try anything complicated.  Keep things simple, and don’t be afraid to get help with the hard stuff or fiddly bits.  People love to participate, so let guests bring something to take some of the pressure off you.  If you’ve never made piecrust, buy a good quality frozen crust.  Look at local prepared foods sections of grocery stores and see who is offering side dishes and do a tasting the week before.  If Whole Foods is making a killer stuffing, there’s no shame in serving it.   Does gravy make you nervous?  Add five or six whole peeled shallots to the roasting pan along with your bird, and simply blend them into the de-fatted pan juices to thicken it easily without all that tricky flour business.  

Secondly, know thy audience.  You might be a major foodie, but is Aunt Marge?  No point in fussing over individual pumpkin soufflés cooked in hollowed out roasted quinces unless the rest of your guests will think it as cool as you do, and not wonder dejectedly where the Entenmann’s Pumpkin Pie with Cool Whip is this year.  You can take the essentials and just make them with the best ingredients you can get, and know that you have improved, even if you haven’t monumentally altered.  Or think of it as a retro meal, all the rage these days, and revel in the kitschy quality of making the recipes the old way. 

Thanksgiving is also a great time to connect with your family members who cook…call Mom or Uncle Al and ask for advice and recipes, they’ll be flattered and you’ll be amazed how many great tips they can give you.

So, if you’re getting ready for the big day, here are Stacey’s Thanksgiving Commandments:

1.  Thou shalt buy a fresh turkey from a butcher, and dry brine before roasting.  
            I know Butterball seems like a good idea, and awfully convenient, but they are so filled with preservatives and water and other unnatural stuff, they don’t really taste like turkey.   Call your local butcher and order a fresh turkey for pick up the Monday before Thanksgiving.  The bonus will be that you won't have to thaw it!  Take it home and dry brine for two days, essentially giving it a good salting and slapping it in a large Ziploc bag to hang out.  I recommend the Food52 recipe for this.  Then cook as you usually do.  You’ll be delighted with the moist, well-seasoned results.

2.   Thou shalt discover how easy it is to make awesome cranberry sauce.
            Cranberry sauce is not just the easiest part of the meal; it can be made up to a week in advance.  It’s the perfect thing for even a reluctant cook to offer to bring to someone else’s meal, or an easy addition to your own.  (and yes, I know some of you love that shimmering jiggling tube with all the ridges, and if you must, have some on hand…but do at least TRY homemade…you can always serve both)

3.  Thou shalt not be ashamed to make the green bean casserole with the Campbell’s Condensed Soup.
            Sure, I’m a foodie-slash-crazy-person, so I make my cream of mushroom soup from scratch before assembling the ubiquitous casserole…but honestly, it’s a tradition for a reason, the original recipe is pretty comforting and delicious in its own way, and easy to make, so even if you consider yourself a major gourmet, pull out the processed food version and serve with a smile.  Ditto sweet potatoes with marshmallows.

4.  Thou shalt not overdo the appetizers.
            And by overdo, I mean serving any if you can help it.  You’re going to spend at least two days cooking for this meal.  Let your guests be hungry when they get to the table.  Keep your pre-dinner nibbles to small bowls of nuts or olives or pretzels or the like, think basic bar snacks…you just want your guests to have something to nosh on with their pre-dinner drinks, but if they fill up on hors d’oeuvres you’ll all be sad when you get to the table and can’t manage seconds.  (this is good advice for any dinner party…either plan heavy hors d’ouevres and a light supper, or vice versa)

5.  Thou shalt not bother with salad.
            I know it always seems like such a good idea to make a fresh green salad.  But frankly, it takes up valuable space on a plate that should be devoted to fourteen different starches, and you’re just going to throw most of it away, since it will be all wilty and depressed by the time you go to put the leftovers away.  No one will miss it.  Seriously.  Stop even thinking about it. 

6.  Thou shalt not count calories, skimp on ingredients, or whine and pout about how bad the food is for you.
            We are all very sensitive to healthy eating these days, and more than a few of us are dealing with the need to lose a couple of pounds.  Or a couple of dozen.  THIS IS NOT THE DAY TO DO IT.  Thanksgiving is, at its very core, a celebration of food and the memories that food invokes and the new memories created at the table.  You do yourself, your host, and the day a disservice if you think of it as anything else, or deprive yourself of the sheer joy of this meal.  If you’re the cook, don’t alter recipes with low fat/low salt/low taste versions of things unless you have a guest with medically prescribed dietary restrictions.  Don’t skip meals before, so that you aren’t blindly starving by the time you get to the buffet, and if you’re really concerned, fill your plate anyway you like, but either don’t go back for seconds, or on your second round, stick to the less gloopy veggies and turkey and the cranberry sauce.  Any nutritionist worth their salt will tell you that one meal cannot derail your overall progress, especially if you get back to your program the next day and maybe add a workout that week.  And any counselor will tell you that the surest way to be cranky is to deprive yourself while all around you are celebrating.  Give yourself a break…you’ll be amazed that if you give yourself permission to have everything you want, how easy it is not to overdo it. 

7.  Thou shalt not stuff your bird.
            I can hear you crying about it now….you are used to the bird packed with stuffing, you dream about the really crispy good part in the front over the neck, why can’t we stuff our turkeys?  Here’s why….one, a stuffed bird is the best possible way to get food borne illness on the agenda.  If the stuffing doesn’t get up to at least 180 degrees internally, it can breed bacteria, not fun for anyone’s tummy.  Two, in order to get the stuffing to 180, you are going to overcook the crap out of the turkey itself, especially the breast meat.  Three, all that moistness you love in the in-the-bird stuffing?  That is all the juices from the meat that are getting sucked out by the huge stuffing sponge, and you not only dry out your bird, you have many fewer juices with which to make gravy.  Make your stuffing and bake in a separate dish, and if you really miss that dense moistness, buy a couple of extra turkey wings and lay them on top of the casserole as it bakes, and/or melt a stick of butter in a cup of chicken stock and pour it over the stuffing ten minutes before taking it out of the oven.   And get over it.  Stuffing that wasn’t actually stuffed is always going to be better than food poisoning.

8.  Thou shalt not test more than one new recipe for this meal.
            Thanksgiving is a wonderful meal to add to, but don’t do everything at once.  I know that the cooking mags have all sorts of new-fangled versions of things, but they have to reinvent the holiday menu every year.  Experimentation is good, but if you change the whole thing up at once, people are going to miss their old standby favorites.  Pick one dish that you think is ready for a revamp, and throw in that curveball. If you love it, add it to the repertoire.  But don’t do the chipotle rubbed turkey, sweet potato tofu bake, barley stuffing, green beans with fresh ricotta, and sherried fig cranberry coulis all in one meal.  Someone will weep openly, and everyone will have to run out the next day and make a few traditional items to get them through to next year.

9.  Thou shalt not be a Thanksgiving Dictator or That Annoying Guest.
            If people want to help in the kitchen, let them.  And don’t criticize the quality of their small dice, or the way they wash the pots.  Ditto assigning specific foods to guests who want to bring something…if someone offers to bring a dish, ask them what they love to make or what they crave most about Thanksgiving and let them bring that.  Who cares if you have two kinds of sweet potatoes, or both cornbread and regular stuffing?   On Thanksgiving, more is more, and abundance rules.  Besides, you have a three-day weekend that needs quality leftovers. If you are the guest, offering to bring something, be clear about what you are capable of, make sure to ask how many people you are expected to serve, and DO NOT BRING ANYTHING THAT NEEDS ASSEMBLY OR COOKING ONSITE!  Do you have any idea how supremely annoying it is for someone to arrive with a grocery bag full of ingredients to begin making their dish while you are doing a kitchen dance that is just shy of the opening ceremonies for the Olympics?  Or with their frozen or chilled item that they they need to wedge into the one oven?  If your dish is to be served warm, bring it warm in an insulated container, or in your slow cooker so that you can plug it in somewhere unobtrusive till it is time to serve.  Speaking of serving, my best trick for holidays and dinner parties alike is to bring my offering on a serving platter that doubles as my hostess gift.  Target, Home Goods, etc. all sell very inexpensive serveware, and it is a very big relief to your hosts for you to hand off your contribution, already on or in its final destination, and say "The platter/bowl/basket is our gift to thank you for your hospitality."  Nothing is more annoying during dishwashing than making sure everyone's serveware gets cleaned so they can take it back home.  Ditto Tupperware.  I'm just saying.

10.  Thou shalt be THANKFUL.
            We are all very blessed in our own ways.  Even if you are going through a rough time, there are those who have it rougher.  The times in which we live are a little bit scary and sad, and we all deserve a day to focus on the good.  Take a few moments to think about all of the gifts you have in your life, the family and friends who surround you, all of the wonderful things you may take for granted in the hustle and bustle of your day to day.   Close your eyes, be joyful, and in all sincerity and humbleness thank the universe for your life.

I am deeply thankful for each and every one of you for reading, supporting me and my work, and being kind and gentle ears in the world for my words.  So know that next Thursday, you'll all be in my heart.

Yours in Good Taste,
The Polymath


Here are some of my go-to turkey day recipes.  Follow to the letter or use as a springboard for your own touches…  All recipes are designed to accommodate 12-14 people with leftovers.  And if you have recipes of your own to share, be sure to leave them in the comments section!

Cranberry sauce

2 bags cranberries
1 ½ c port
1 c sugar
1 t salt
5 T orange juice
1 ½ t cornstarch
1 t ground mustard
1 t lemon juice
Zest of 1 orange
Pinch ground clove
Pinch fresh ginger
Zest of 1 lemon
½ c dried cherries-rehydrate in ¼ c port

Cook cranberries and port in a saucepan over med-high heat 10 minutes, until cranberries burst.  Add sugar and salt.  Whisk OJ, cornstarch, mustard, lemon juice in a bowl and add to berries.  Stir to combine.  Add rest of ingredients, cook 5-6 minutes more, cool.

Mashed potatoes

10 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes (peeled, cubed)
2 sticks butter, cubed
1 pt. whole milk, warmed (or half and half or cream, depending on how rich you like it)
1 pt. sour cream
1 tub whipped cream cheese with chives (or plain) at room temp
1 bunch chives, chopped fine
S&P to taste

Boil potatoes till soft. Drain completely.  Put potatoes through ricer, or just use hand mixer to mash.  Add butter first, then cream cheese, and then milk to just shy of your preferred texture.  Once the potatoes are almost there, add in the sour cream and chives and season well.  Hold in double boiler to keep warm…this is the dish I make while the turkey is resting, best when fresh.

Stacey’s Green Bean Casserole

3 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed, blanched 90 seconds in boiling water, dried thoroughly (I often buy the microwave in bag pre-washed beans, and follow cooking directions, setting time for the lowest time listed (4 min per bag), then dry)

1 lb asst. sliced exotic mushrooms (I use 4 oz each oyster, crimini, chantrelle, and either morels or shitake, but use any combination of mushrooms that are available and you love)
2 shallots minced (or one small onion minced fine)
4 T butter
8 T flour
2 c chicken stock (homemade if possible)
2 c heavy cream
16 oz mascarpone cheese, room temp  (can substitute cream cheese or soft goat cheese)
½ cup buttered breadcrumbs (1/2 c breadcrumbs sautéed in 2 T butter)-optional
1 large can French’s fried onions

In a large wide saucepan with high sides, sauté shallots and mushrooms in butter until moisture is released and evaporates completely.  Sprinkle flour over mixture, stir in, and cook 1 minute.  Add stock and simmer 2 minutes.  Add cream and simmer about 15-18 minutes until very thickened and reduced.  Take off heat and stir in mascarpone, taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper.  Mix beans with sauce and pour into buttered pan 9x13.

Mix buttered breadcrumbs and fried onions in bowl and set aside.

If serving right away:  Cook 425 degrees 15 minutes, top with onion breadcrumb mixture, cook 10-15 minutes till top is lightly browned and crispy.

Can be made up to two days in advance…take out of fridge to come to room temp 90 minutes before cooking.  Put in 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes until bubbling around the edges.  Top with onion mixture and cook additional 15 minutes. 


Basic Stuffing

1 XL loaf country bread or French bread cubed and toasted till totally dry  (2 lbs.) (or 2 lbs of the plain crouton cubes from the store)
1 pkg soft egg rolls or hot dog buns torn coarsely
2 ½ sticks butter
1 ½ c finely chopped onion
1 ½ c finely chopped celery
Celery leaves from 2 heads, chopped
¼ c chopped flat leaf parsley
Dried sage, thyme, marjoram (1 T each)
S/P to taste
4 lg eggs, beaten
1 32 oz box chicken stock…add as necessary to moisten
½ c toasted bread crumbs

Saute veggies and herbs in 1 ½ sticks butter.  Toss with bread.  Add stock slowly till moist but not overly soggy.  Taste for seasoning.  Stir in eggs and mix well.  Put in deep foil pan.  Drizzle with melted stick of butter and sprinkle of breadcrumbs.

400 degrees for 25 minutes covered, then 20 uncovered.  If you want extra turkey flavor, lay the pieces of 2-3 turkey wings on top of the casserole for all but the last 10 minutes, and for extra moistness, melt another 4-8 T butter in 1 c chicken or turkey stock and pour over top when you uncover the stuffing, then continue cooking.

Can be made up to two days in advance, and reheated in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes before serving.

Sweet Potato Casserole

8 large sweet potatoes
1 stick butter
½ c brown sugar
Cinnamon, nutmeg, s/p
3 eggs

1 bag mini marshmallows

Roast potatoes till soft.  Mash with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, s/p, nutmeg.  Mix in eggs.

Bake 350 for 25 minutes, add marshmallows to top in one layer, put back in oven for 10-15 more minutes until the marshmallows are golden brown.


Pumpkin/Butternut Squash Soup

If you want this soup all pumpkin, replace the butternut squash with fresh or frozen cubed pumpkin.  If you want it all squash, eliminate the canned pumpkin and add another 2 lbs of cubed squash.

4 small or 2 large butternut squash (or equivalent in fresh cubed or frozen…about 2.5-3 lbs after peeling, de-seeding and cubing)
2 large cans pumpkin (29.5 oz organic…not pumpkin pie filling!)
3 quarts chicken stock (or veggie stock if you have vegetarians coming)
1 pt. heavy cream
2 med. (or one large) yellow onions
1 stick butter
Fresh ground nutmeg
s/p

Prep squash if necessary by peeling, de-seeding and cubing in large chunks.  Sauté onions in butter till soft but not browned, add squash and pumpkin.  Pour in enough chicken stock to cover the vegetables by about 1 ½ - 2 inches.  Cook over medium heat till very soft, about 35-45 minutes. Blend with immersion blender or in batches in regular blender till very smooth, for extra velvety soup strain thru Chinois or fine mesh strainer.  Add cream and season to taste with salt and pepper and fresh nutmeg.

Freezes beautifully pre-cream, I often make a double batch and freeze half without the cream in it.  Is also delish without the cream if you want to be healthier J

Toppings:

½ c heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
8-10 amaretti cookies, crumbled but not powdered
Blend together right before serving and garnish each bowl or cup with a generous spoon.

Have also topped with:

Crushed gingersnaps and mini marshmallows
Crème fraiche mixed with crystallized ginger
Candied orange zest and toasted pine nuts
Toasted gingerbread croutons
Caramel corn
Whipped cream blended with cranberry sauce
Crouton with melted asiago cheese
Fried sage leaves
Curried nuts (pumpkin seeds, pecans, walnuts)


Balsamic Cipollini Onions

2 lbs cipollini onions, peeled  (blanch in boiling water one minute, shock in ice water, skins should slip right off)
3 T olive oil
3 T butter
1 ½  T sugar
6  T balsamic vinegar
1 T chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 500°F.  
Place onions in medium bowl; toss with oil. Arrange onions on baking sheet or in roasting pan.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast until onions are brown and tender, rotating pan in oven and turn onions once, about 35 minutes (they will caramelize and be quite dark in parts but, if you have coated them well with olive oil, will not have a 'burnt' taste).  Meanwhile, melt butter in heavy small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.  Add vinegar. Return to heat.  Simmer until mixture thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Pour over onions and continue to cook in oven 10 more minutes.  Sprinkle with parsley before serving.


Pickled carrots 
(great pre-dinner nibble!  A bowl of these and a bowl of nuts are all you need.)

1 large bag baby carrots (2 1bs)
1 bottle apple cider vinegar
1 large jar honey
4 T mustard seed
1 bunch dill
  
Combine vinegar, honey and mustard seed in saucepan.  Add carrots and cook over med-high heat till carrots are cooked but still crisp, 5-8 minutes.  Store in pickling liquid in fridge.  Before serving, drain liquid, add chopped fresh dill.