Al Dente

Spicy Pecans for Serving, Snacking & Gifting

I just couldn't wait another day to start celebrating the holidays, so I pulled out my recipe for salty, sweet, and spicy pecans. It's one of my favorite recipes for nuts, with a flavor combination that is truly addictive.

I thought they'd be perfect to bring to a brunch we're invited to on Sunday and to serve to guests for dinner that same night. But who am I kidding? I really made them for me! Let's get this party started!

Spicy Pecans

Ingredients:
1/2 pound (2-1/2 cups) pecan halves
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine pecan halves, sugar, vanilla, salt black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Toss together until pecans are well coated.

2. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cook stirring occasionally, until sugar starts to caramelize and pecans are toasted, 8 minutes. Remove tray from oven, and continue stirring occasionally while nuts are cooling. Set aside.

Tracy's notes: It's best to check the pecans every few minutes. Don't step away from the oven when your pecans are cooking. I've burned a bunch that way. Otherwise, this recipe couldn't be easier.

Martha Stewart Living, November 1999

--Tracy Schneider

The Butterball Turkey Talk-Line Is Geared Up!

With Thanksgiving nearly here, are you wondering exactly how much turkey you need to feed 11 people, four of whom are teenagers? Are you worried about timing and internal temperatures?  Are you thinking of brining your bird this year?  Would you like recipe ideas for holiday dishes that incorporate many of the basic pantry items you already have on hand? Are you hunting around for ideas on how to avoid waste and use all those leftovers?

If the answer is yes to any of the above, you might consider calling The Butterball Turkey Talk Line at 1-800-BUTTERBALL (1-800-288-8372). This all-American seasonal call center has been serving harried holiday cooks for 29 years now. In addition to “live” help from home economists, Butterball has expanded its website and now offers many online features, such as serving calculators, new recipes, bilingual features, and email queries. All of the recipes on the site have been developed and tested in the Butterball kitchen by specialists.  There’s also a special section called “New Cook Know-How.”

For more information, see the website or call the All-Star Turkey Talkers directly!  The phone lines are open on Thanksgiving, but call ahead, if possible, because the phones are ringing already!

Photo courtesy of Butterball.

--Melissa A. Trainer
 

Friday Links for Food Lovers, Thanksgiving Prep Edition

It's Friday again! Here are a few Thanksgiving preparation tips that we think will make the best day of the year even better:

• Mark Bittman dishes out 101 head starts. (The New York Times)
• How to match up beer with each course. (Foodista)
• Reduce your stress by making the gravy ahead of time. (Noble Pig)
• Add more flavor to your turkey by brining. (Serious Eats)
• What do celebrity chefs make for Thanksgiving? (Foodista)
• Make a simple and amazing cranberry sauce. (Savory Sweet Life)

Photo courtesy of Noble Pig

--Spanno

Bourbon, Brandy or Rum? How About All 3!

I was getting my holiday recipes in order when my husband suggested we do a practice run on his sister-in-law Nita's eggnog recipe. Funny, never thinks to do that for our other holiday dishes. I guess he's just getting into the spirit of the season!

Nita's Homemade Eggnog

Ingredients:
6 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 cups whole milk
1-1/4 cups bourbon
1 cup brandy or cognac
3 tablespoons dark rum
Ground nutmeg, for dusting

Directions:
1. Beat the egg yolks in a large bowl with an electric mixer, gradually adding the sugar until the mixture is pale yellow. Set aside.

2. Place the cream in another bowl and beat until it holds soft peaks.

3. Stir the milk into reserved egg-yolk mixture. Then using a large rubber spatula, fold in the whipped cream.

4. Shortly before serving, GENTLY stir in the bourbon and brandy. Transfer to a punch bowl.

5. Beat the egg whites in a bowl with an electric mixer until they hold soft peaks; carefully fold into the eggnog.  Drizzle the top with the rum; sprinkle with the nutmeg. Serve immediately. 

Makes about 10 cups 

--Tracy Schneider

Sweet Potato & Lentil Soup from BBC Good Food

My 11-year old son is a tough nut to crack when it comes to vegetable consumption. I am constantly reminding him to eat his veggies. If the veggies are raw, he will heed my advice and eat them. But, more often than not, if they've been cooked, he will simply nudge them around on his plate. 

Yesterday, Will was home feeling rather under the weather.   I decided to push the parameters a bit and made the Sweet Potato & Lentil Soup from the November, 2009 issue of BBC Good Food. My son loves ethnic food and happily scarfs fare from Mexico, India, China, Thailand, and the Middle East.

The soup called for curry powder, fresh gingerroot, and fresh coriander in addition to sweet potatoes and  red lentils. The nutritional information indicated that one serving counted as 3 of one’s  5-a-day! Wow!  I thought this might be my chance to inadvertently work some cooked veggies into him. 

The recipe called for grated sweet potatoes, apple, and onion, so I decided to do that tedious task in my Cuisinart food processor rather than by hand.  When the soup was simmering for the suggested 20 minutes,  I knew I was on the right track. Will came into the kitchen and asked what I was making. He sniffed and said it reminded him of the Indian food we had enjoyed in England. Aha!  I was really getting somewhere. 

When I served the pureed aromatic soup for lunch, Will enthusiastically grabbed some gyro bread as an accompaniment and positively swooned over the whole bowl.  Curious, I later checked the recipe reviews online. There were eight positive reviews and a solid five-star rating!   Now that’s good food!

Photo by Melissa A. Trainer

--Melissa A. Trainer

Who Wants the Wishbone?

The history of making a wish over the wishbone, it is said, dates back more than 2000 years to the Etruscans. Who knew that this classic tug of war, which typically takes place in the kitchen a few days after Thanksgiving, had such an established history?

Ever wish there was more than one wishbone at Turkey time? One for all the guests at the table, or at least enough so that all the children could have their own?

Well, your wish has come true! The folks at Lucky Break have been thinking about that question for years, and they've developed a plastic wishbone that will stand in for the real thing.

If you're hosting Thanksgiving this year, you can set your holiday table with one at each place setting, and if you're a guest, well what a novel hostess gift! I'm thinking of all the squabbles that will cease to be if everyone in the family has the chance at the wishbone.

--Tracy Schneider

BBC Good Food Celebrates 20 Years!

I love to visit England, but admittedly we can’t afford to get there all that often. I was fantasizing about another trip there last night and decided to pick up a copy of BBC Good Food.  Even though the magazine sets me back nearly $10 now, it’s still cheaper than buying five roundtrip British Airways tickets from Seattle to Heathrow.

I’ve been reading this UK food magazine for more than 15 years now.  I only buy about three or four issues off the newsstand annually, but I first started purchasing it when my husband and I visited his maternal relatives in Oxfordshire, England.  Uncle Timothy and Auntie Anda live in a big country house and have a massive collection of these magazines sitting in baskets and alongside the Aga.

I like the magazine for so many reasons. The recipes are carefully tested. The editorial  content highlights regional foods and purveyors. The food editors manage to balance reader requests with more complicated recipes from the likes of celebrity chefs such as Gordon Ramsay.  Their no nonsense approach to feeding children is simultaneously helpful and reassuring.

Last night, I was very pleased to see that the magazine has hit the 20 year mark and now has a very useful website featuring more than 5000 recipes online.   The November 2009 issue features a selection of birthday cakes sent in by loyal readers. There are also some great game recipes, and there’s a Smoked Salmon Souffle recipe that looks very doable.

Rachel  Allen, an Irish cookbook author and the daughter in law of Darina Allen of the Ballymaloe Cookery School, has an article entitled, "Rachel’s Relaxed Sunday Lunch."  Her recipe for Creamy Gratin of Butternut Squash has four ingredients and takes 15 minutes to prep.  Now that's my kind of cooking!

When the Christmas issue hits the stands soon, I’ll safely bet that there will be yet another rendition of mince pies! Happy 20th Birthday BBC Good Food!

Photo taken in England by Melissa A. Trainer

--Melissa A. Trainer

This Skimmer's a Winner!

The Vine Voices loved the Tom Douglas by Pinzon chef's board and they've found another winner in the new brand's bamboo-handled skimmer. An essential kitchen tool for Tom, he uses it in his restaurants to skim wontons, dumplings, ravioli, gnocchi, and more from oil, broth, or water. It's easy to see that the Vine Voices have also found numerous reasons to consider the skimmer an essential in their own kitchens, making the tool a handy helper for everything from tomatoes for canning to hops for brewing. Here's what a few of them wrote in their Amazon customer reviews:

Margaret Thomas "tygerkittn" says, Sturdy, love the long handle
This is very nice! I've had it for a couple of months, and it's very sturdy and works very well. My husband also uses it for his home brew, to lift the hops bag out of the boiling water and let it drain, or something like that (I try not to go in the kitchen when he's brewing!) We both like it, it's a good price for a kitchen tool like this.

Renaissance Man says, Well made, but rather large
This skimmer is well made when compared to most inexpensive bamboo implements. It is about 22 inches long and will probably need to hang somewhere on a hook. It seems ideal for a very large outdoor wok or perhaps to remove something from a deep stock pot.

Billie Vanderburg "Smart Shopper" says, Better Than Expected
This is a 'must have' kitchen tool. It is extremely handy for lifting large objects from boiling water, such as all my tomatoes I canned this summer. They were a breeze to lift in and out of the water for skinning. I'm sure this would work just as well for peaches, but unfortunately, we didn't have a crop of peaches this year. But when we do, I will be ready with my lifter!

Sid V "Sid" says, Really Well Made
I've ordered some of the other Pinzon products with mixed results. I guess the Tom Douglas line is the premium line from Pinzon since this product is way over the top in terms of quality. The fit and finish is excellent in every regard. This is a large skimmer that is best used for a large pot; the one you would use for pasta. I found this product very easy to use when fishing out ravioli. If you are looking for a large skimmer, I highly recommend this.

Looking for more Tom Douglas products? Check out the Tom Douglas by Pinzon Store.

--KitchenMaus

Amazon Vine is a program that allows real Amazon.com customers to review new products. Highly respected Amazon reviewers are sent products and asked to critique them. With reviews on the products' detail pages often before the items are on sale, you can purchase or pre-order with confidence, knowing you have honest, objective opinions from your fellow customers. Amazon does not influence the opinions of Amazon Vine members, nor do we edit or modify their reviews. (Learn more about Amazon Vine)

Tricolor Pearl Onions? I'll Give'em a Try!

Pearl onions have never been a part of my traditional Thanksgiving Dinner, though creamed pearl onions do sound like a delicious complement to mashed potatoes and stuffing, my favorite starchy sides.

I've side-stepped pearl onions all these years until just the other day, on my way to pick up a fresh stalk of Brussels sprouts in the vegetable aisle of Trader Joe's. What looked like a bag of over-sized marbles turned out to be tricolor pearl onions. I couldn't pass up those beauties.

So now I'm on a mission to find the best recipe to feature these tiny tricolored orbs. I was intrigued recently by a Curried Cream Onion recipe I read about in the November Saveur, the signature dish of a 101-year-old Connecticut Yankee. But the curry powder in that recipe blankets the onions in a yellow sauce, and I think the red, white and yellow of these tricolor onions deserve to shine in their own right. I'm guessing that a recipe for traditional creamed onions are the way to go. Do you have an old family recipe you'd like to share?

--Tracy Schneider

Bouncing Cranberries Beyond Sauce

Every August, we spend a few days camping out in Grayland and Westport,  Washington. I love this sleepy corner of Washington, because it is right on the Pacific and because it’s a major cranberry growing region. It is officially dubbed The Cranberry Coast of Washington. Set back from the ocean but within a stone’s throw of the spray, the cranberry fields are flat and unobtrusive. Many of the family farms date back generations. 

Last August, we took a few minutes to drive by and snap photos of these farms.  We sampled creamy cranberry fudge made by the owner of a local antiques store, and we admired the low lying plants trailing by the roadside. We didn’t have time to visit the Ocean Spray plant in the area, but I did make a mental note to highlight cranberries for the holidays.

I drink R. W. Knudsen Cranberry Juice Concentrate yearround. Diluted in water, it is supposed to cleanse the liver and trim the waistline. During the holidays, I branch away from my usual tonic and reach for those ruby red orbs themselves.  Decidedly tart, they lend themselves to many culinary preparations, crafts, and hands-on kid friendly activities. 

Chutneys, sauces, molds, and quick breads come to mind, as do cranberry garlands and festive bowls filled with floating candles and cranberries. But, did you know that you can test a cranberry for freshness by bouncing it on the counter? If it bounces skyward, it’s a keeper. If it rolls sluggishly, it’s probably a dud.  This activity can be helpful when kids get bored or polite conversation amongst guests wanes. 

What is your favorite sweet or savory cranberry recipe? If you need some inspiration, checkout Ocean Spray's recipe section for ideas! Warm Cranberry Wassail, Cranberry-Ginger-Soju Fizz or Cedar Planked Salmon with Spiced Cranberry Relish look good...

Photo by Melissa A. Trainer

--Melissa A. Trainer