 The start of the holiday season in my home growing up was always marked by the arrival of a substantial pile of dogeared food magazines next to both sides of my parents' bed, as they hunted for recipe inspiration in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. That tradition has definitely lived on with me (and generally does so year-round), as well as the 2.0 version, in the form of a ever-growing file of bookmarked recipes on my computer. As I start to put 2010's menu together, here are a few superstar Thanksgiving recipes that I return to again and again, from those treasured November issues. Mushroom Soup with Hazelnut Gremolata. A deeply flavored, incredibly rich, yet cream-less soup, that makes you sing the praises of all things mushroom. Butternut Squash and Polenta Gratin. A gorgeous, bright orange, creamy revelation. Yeast-Raised Cornbread Rolls with Corn Kernels and Chives. The perfect Thanksgiving breadbasket. Would also make outstanding stuffing. Duck-Fat Rubbed Roast Turkey. Not only was this recipe developed by my favorite locavore chef, Bill Telepan, but it cooks in AN HOUR AND A HALF, for a 14 lb turkey. Year after year it is the best turkey I've tasted, and I'll never use another method. And the opening up of oven space and time is a gift from the gods. Pear, Prosecco and Black Pepper Cocktail. This complex, yet refreshing, holiday cocktail is totally unexpected, but not intimidatingly weird. | ||||||||||||||||
 My dear friend from graduate school, January LaVoy, just opened her luminous performance in Arthur Kopit's Wings, off-Broadway at the Second Stage Theater this past weekend. When I had the chance to see the show, I thought, "Anyone can bring flowers...I'll lug down a just-picked squash from our garden." I mean, who wouldn't want to be greeted with that in the lobby??? (and have to deal with it on the subway home?)  This particular winter squash is an heirloom variety, called Thelma Sanders Sweet Potato Squash. I bought these seeds specifically because it was described by Seed Savers' Exchange as their "favorite two-serving baking squash". I envisioned romantic squash dates all winter long. It is pale orange like a butternut, but tear-shaped and ribbed like an acorn. It has a creamy, golden flesh, that works in recipes for either variety. So, as promised, here is a recipe of something to do with said squash, especially for our big star. And Wings runs through November 21st. If you are in NYC, don't miss this one.
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Though apples are excellent long-keepers, and will be around for months at the markets, they never taste better to me than right now--sun still warm in the sky, "transition" jacket getting pulled out of the closet, leaves crunching beneath my feet, and halloween fast approaching.
 Grab a few extra apples at the farmers' market this week, and try this salad I posted in the early spring. Pea shoots might still be available, but if not, late season salad greens, particularly arugula, would be a great addition. Pea Shoot, Celeriac, Apple and Hazelnut Salad | ||||||||||||||||
 Just about four years ago, Mark Bittman wrote a great piece in the New York Times; A Well-Dressed Salad Wears Only Homemade, and it got me thinkin'. Why did salad dressings feel like such a mystery? Why is there usually a huge amount of grocery store real estate devoted to them? Why are they so darn expensive? A recent peek at dressings in my grocery store upstate, showed even the cheapest dressings at around $2.50 for an 8 oz bottle, jumping to $3.59 a bottle for something just slightly more natural. That's $40-57 a gallon--compare that to something like the price at the pump, and it feels like complete lunacy. The other glaring issue I noticed was that sugar, often in the form of high fructose corn syrup, and WATER, frequently make up two of the first three ingredients. Again, lunacy.  A few weeks ago I did a cooking demonstration at a local harvest festival. Showcasing the gorgeous local produce (supplied by Beaver Dam Brook Farm in Ferndale, NY), I did a brief primer on dressings and vinaigrettes. As I was myself when I first started cooking, many of the audience members at my cooking demos were surprised at how fast and simple it was to make a vinaigrette. And so much less expensive while eliminating chemicals, emulsifiers, and that big dose of unnecessary sugar. It seemed crazy that there we were, at a huge farmers' market, a group of people devoted to buying the freshest, least traveled, produce, and yet were not thinking much about then topping that produce with something that was possibly over a year old (when purchased, not to mention the time it has sat on that narrow shelf on the door of your refrigerator), gooey, syrupy, and most likely swimming with ingredients from a factory and not a farm.So here's the basic formula: 1 part acid + about 3 parts oil + seasonings and flavoring agents Put the acid in a bowl with the seasonings and flavoring ingredients, if using. If you have time, allow that to sit for 5-10 minutes to better infuse the vinegar. Then while whisking continually, pour the oil into the acid, in a slow, steady stream. The mixture will begin to come together and emulsify. You can also do the same, a bit quicker, with a fork for a "broken" vinaigrette. Or make things very easy and put it in a blender, instead of a bowl, in the same order, streaming the oil in the top while the blade is going. This works particularly well if adding fruit or vegetables for flavor. Most commonly, extra virgin olive oil is used, but gorgeously flavored hazelnut, walnut, pumpkin seed, and avocado oils are also becoming widely available. The acid can be lemon juice, lime juice, vinegars (balsamic, white or red wine, sherry, rice, cider) or a combination. Season with salt and pepper, and flavor with shallot, garlic, mustard, pureed fruit or juice, honey, pureed roasted vegetables, fresh herbs, dried herbs, or ground spices. One of my favorites is a three-ingredient vinaigrette of lemon juice, sea salt, and hazelnut oil over a green salad with roasted beets. Experiment with some of these combinations: olive oil + white wine vinegar + dijon mustard (just a dab), minced shallots and garlic (a classic) grapeseed oil + rice vinegar + fresh mango (pureed in a blender), season with salt and pepper to taste olive oil + sherry vinegar + roasted red peppers (again season and puree in a blender) walnut oil + white wine vinegar + roasted fennel and roasted garlic olive oil + lime juice + honey and ground cumin or this Roasted Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette, I posted recently. The formula is simple, it's not rocket science, you can hardly go wrong, and the options are so much more rewarding than the same-old same-old you'll find on the dusty eye-level shelf at your store. Do yourself a huge favor, work this into your life. Experiment, taste, and experiment some more. Tonight. | ||||||||||||||||
Red hot chili peppers. Sweet orange bell peppers. Long curly Jimmy Nardello peppers. Short stubby serrano peppers.
All of them. Peppers are still abundant at the farmers' market, super sweet this time of the season, and the easiest vegetable to put away for the winter months. You don't need to peel them or blanch them or can them--they can be frozen raw! Instructions: Wash the peppers and dry thoroughly. For larger, sweet or bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise, and remove stem, seeds and ribs. They can be left in halves or sliced smaller. Smaller peppers, particularly tiny chili, jalapeno or serrano peppers can be left whole. Put in resealable freezer-safe bag or container and freeze. That's it. Alternatively, if you want have more control over how many you use at once, place trimmed pieces in a single layer on a cookie sheet, and freeze. When frozen, transfer individually frozen pieces to resealable freezer-safe container or bag and return to freezer. (This method also works great when freezing individual berries.) Peppers do lose some of their crisp texture when frozen and thawed, but these are great to slice up and saute with onions, cumin and herbs for a quick fajita, burrito, or omelette filling, or to add to a slow simmered stew. The hot peppers are easy to slice finely when frozen, returning the rest to the freezer, to add just a small shot of heat to a dish. Above all, they are packed full with flavor right now, far outshining anything you will find them passing off as a pepper in February. Don't delay!  | ||||||||||||||||
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Catie Baumer Schwalb is a chef, food writer and photographer, who splits her life between the city and the country. Not too long ago Catie was a New York City based actress and playwright for more than a decade. She has her Master of Fine Arts from the National Theater Conservatory, and her Grand Diplôme in classic culinary arts from the French Culinary Institute in New York City.
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