Al Dente

Mmmmm... Doughnuts

One of the great perks of working at a food magazine is that regularly visiting our test kitchen is one of the requirements of my job. Several times a week, I get to sample the work of the five chefs in the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen, a duty that, as you can imagine, becomes extremely pleasant during Christmas and Hannukah. Each one of our cooks is seriously talented, but during the holidays, senior food editor Sarah Tenaglia, our resident sweet tooth, comes into her own. After two years spent as the evening pastry cook at Chez Panisse, she can handle any dessert challenge we send her way. Sarah has created many of the elaborate holiday desserts that have appeared in Bon Appétit and on bonappetit.com over the years and is one of the few (lucky) people I know who always has a few extremely large blocks of high-quality chocolate sitting in her office. But Sarah, bless her, also knows the value of the kind of dessert you want after a long day spent schlepping around the mall looking for just the right present for that picky person on your list. The kind of dessert you eat in front of the TV, watching something utterly junky, and enjoying every single minute of it.

That's what this recipe is all about. Featured in our new cookbook Fast Easy Fresh (and it doesn't get much faster and easier than this), Warm Doughnuts à la Mode with Bananas and Spiced Caramel Sauce is like a cross between that classic New Orleans dessert Bananas Foster and a good old fashioned caramel ice cream sundae--with warm doughnuts thrown in for good measure. "It's for when you feel like being bad and need a bite of something super rich," says Sarah. She also wants to remind everyone who makes this dessert: "It is meant to be shared." I'll leave that up to you.

Warm Doughnuts à la Mode with Bananas and Spiced Caramel Sauce

Doughnuts meet Bananas Foster in this playful treat. Use supermarket doughnuts or freshly baked ones from the doughnut shop.

2 cinnamon crumb or glazed doughnuts
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon dark rum
2 small ripe bananas, peeled, cut on diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices
Vanilla ice cream
Toasted pecans

PREHEAT broiler. Place doughnuts on small baking sheet; set aside. Stir butter and brown sugar in heavy medium skillet over medium heat until butter is melted. Boil 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Mix in lemon juice and spices, then rum; stir to blend. Cool caramel sauce 3 minutes.

MEANWHILE, broil doughnuts just until hot and bubbly, watching closely to avoid burning, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer doughnuts to 2 plates. Toss bananas with caramel sauce in skillet. Top each doughnut with scoop of ice cream, flattening slightly in center. Spoon bananas and caramel sauce over. Sprinkle with pecans.

Serves 2.

--Barbara Fairchild

Photo by Brian Leatart

The Great After-Thanksgiving Turkey Enchiladas

I actually know people who dread Thanksgiving leftovers. They hate the thought of a fridge full of extra stuffing, turkey, gravy, and cranberries. As far as they're concerned, at 12:01 a.m. on the fourth Friday in November it's time to move on to the next holiday. Just so you know, I am not one of those people. I am perfectly happy with leftovers. I like to stretch the festivities out for a few days!

First of all, I have to have pie for breakfast. Apple will do, but pumpkin, with a good dollop of whipped cream, is best. And then there are the sandwiches. The first day after Thanksgiving it's always the same: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy on toasted white bread with a shmear of mayo. After that anything goes—turkey with blue cheese and red onions; turkey with barbecue sauce and Monterey jack cheese run under the broiler; turkey, bacon, lettuce, and tomato; turkey with whatever happens to be in the fridge slipped into a crusty baguette.

Over at bonappetit.com we've got lots of other ideas for using up leftovers  in all sorts of tasty ways. But what I really look forward to after I’ve got the sandwich out of the way are these enchiladas. The recipe originally ran in the November 1998 issue of Bon Appétit magazine and it's reprinted in our new cookbook Fast Easy Fresh. This is such a great recipe that I've been tempted to roast a turkey in the middle of summer just so I'll have the leftovers to make it. Actually, the good news is, if you get an uncontrollable craving for these enchiladas and there's no turkey in the fridge, you can make them with almost any cooked meat you have on hand, like chicken, steak, or pork tenderloin. By the way, it's the perfect recipe if you still have guests staying: Put it together in the morning (like everything in Fast Easy Fresh, it's a snap to make), and then pop it in the oven for half an hour when everyone's ready for dinner.

So bring on the leftovers. I’m ready.

Chipotle-Seasoned Turkey Enchiladas

6 servings

This is one of the best things you can do with your leftover Thanksgiving turkey. During the rest of the year, substitute any shredded meat you have on hand. Canned chipotle chiles and plum tomatoes add an extra-smoky spiciness and tang to purchased enchilada sauce. The enchiladas can easily be assembled ahead, refrigerated, and heated just before serving. Chipotle chiles canned in a spicy tomato sauce called adobo can be found in the Latin foods section of many supermarkets.

3 tablespoons plus 1/2-cup vegetable oil
1-3/4 cups finely chopped onions, divided
1 28-ounce can or three 10-ounce cans enchilada sauce
5 plum tomatoes, finely chopped
1-1/2 teaspoons finely chopped canned chipotle chiles
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
3 cups coarsely shredded cooked turkey
2 cups (packed) coarsely grated Monterey Jack cheese (about 8 ounces), divided
3/4 cup sour cream
12 5- to 6-inch-diameter corn tortillas

HEAT 3 tablespoons oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add 1-1/2 cups onions and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add enchilada sauce, tomatoes, and chipotles. Cover; simmer 20 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup cilantro. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

STIR turkey, 1-1/2 cups cheese, sour cream, remaining 1/4 cup onions, and 1/2 cup cilantro in large bowl to blend. Season filling to taste with salt and pepper.

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Heat 1/2 cup vegetable oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tortilla and heat until pliable, about 20 seconds per side. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

SPREAD 1/2 cup sauce over bottom of 13×9×2-inch glass baking dish. Spoon 1/4 cup turkey mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas. Arrange enchiladas, seam side down, in prepared dish. Spoon 2-1/2 cups sauce over enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake enchiladas until heated through, about 30 minutes.

REWARM remaining sauce in pan. Serve with enchiladas.

--Barbara Fairchild