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Friday, November 19th, 2010

French in a Flash: Easy Maple-Pumpkin Breakfast Soufflés

RECIPE: Easy Maple-Pumpkin Breakfast Soufflés

Easy Maple-Pumpkin Breakfast Soufflés

Get the whole story at Serious Eats.

Thanksgiving may be about the food, but it’s also about the company. This year, I have friends and family voyaging in from London, New York, and Miami, and they don’t expect to be fed just once. I like coming up with Thanksgiving-themed recipes for the rest of the meals. Next Friday night, I’m having a party for all my old school friends back in town with turkey sandwiches, turkey sliders, and turkey meatloaf with sweet potato chips and pumpkin ice cream pie. For breakfast, I’ll be serving this quick and easy Pumpkin-Maple Soufflé.

Normal soufflés will start with a béchamel or a pastry cream. Although they’re not strenuous, they do take effort and know-how. For this easy pared down version all you have do is whip up the egg whites, fold in the yolks, pumpkin, and maple, then bake. They rise and puff just like a “real” soufflé, but it’s much more of a cinch. The flavors of pumpkin and nutmeg are reminiscent of Thursday’s pumpkin pie, and the warm maple syrup is just so autumnal and familial at once. I pour a ton of extra warm, runny syrup over mine. So good!

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Categories: 30 Minutes, Breakfast & Brunch, Easy, Eat, Eggs, French in a Flash, Recipes, Series, Vegetarian

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

Franglais: Macaroni and Brie

RECIPE: Macaroni and Brie

Macaroni and Brie

Read the full article at The Huffington Post.

Perhaps like many first generation Americans, Thanksgiving is a time to remember where we came from. What I love most about our Thanksgiving is the mix of people and places that sit around the table. We have the English-speaking contingent, and the French corner. And I’m not sure which is more thankful to be American on Thanksgiving. What I love about America is that everyone had a reason to come here. For some of my relatives it was freedom, for others it was safety, and for others it was love. No matter what the reason, they came to America to fulfill it, and they all found what they were looking for. So while they may have come here for a million different reasons, they are all thankful for one thing: to be here, in America, on Thanksgiving. And as for me, the first in my mom’s family to be born in the States, I am thankful that after so many years abroad, I am finally back home to partake in the most Franglais feast ever known to mankind: my family’s Thanksgiving.

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Categories: 60 Minutes, Easy, Eat, Franglais, Main Courses, Recipes, Series, Sides, Starches, Vegetarian, Vegetarian

Monday, November 15th, 2010

The Secret Ingredient (Cranberry) Part II: Braised Rainbow Chard with Cranberries

RECIPE: Braised Rainbow Chard with Cranberry

Cranberry Chard

Get the whole story at Serious Eats.

The mighty little cranberry continues to fascinate me the more I investigate into its background. Did you know that only 5% of cranberries are sold fresh? And from my perspective, I only see that 5% from November to December. So, we need recipes that use the other 95% of harvested cranberries that are turned into juices and sauces, and, as we use them in this recipe, dried cranberries.

Everyone knows Thanksgiving is really all about the sides. I usually wind up making more sides than there are guests at my table.

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Categories: 15 Minutes, Eat, Recipes, Series, Sides, The Secret Ingredient, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Saturday, November 13th, 2010

French in a Flash: Braised Lamb Shanks with Lemon Confit and Sweet Pearl Onions

RECIPE: Braised Lamb Shanks with Lemon Confit and Sweet Pearl Onions

Lemon Lamb Shanks

Get the whole story from Serious Eats.

I love this time of year. Not only is November home of Thanksgiving and my birthday—the two greatest dessert experiences per annum—but it’s finally, definitely, and indisputably cold. While others pull out cashmere scarves and fleece-lined gloves, I pull out the enamel stew pots. It’s braising season.

These sweet-tart lamb shanks fall of the bone with the prick of an eager fork. Tender, but bright, they don’t lull the taste buds to sleep like many another seasonal stew. The meat is braised with windowpanes of garlic, dry white wine, rosemary, and lemon confit. Roasted pearl onions add a delicate, earthy sweetness that complements the deep citrus acidity of the lemon. The result is still comforting, with the braised, autumnal texture, but the flavor is pert and unexpected.

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Categories: Eat, French in a Flash, Main Courses, Meat, Recipes, Series

Friday, November 12th, 2010

French in a Flash: Parsnip Purée with Olive Oil and Sage

RECIPE: Parsnip Purée with Olive Oil and Sage

Parsnip Purée with Olive Oil and Sage

Get the whole story at Serious Eats.

This is the perfect Thanksgiving side dish. It accommodates vegans, lactose-intolerants, food combination dieters, and people who like delicious things. I find that every Thanksgiving, the volume of dishes I try to create always leads to a cramped, hectic kitchen. So, this year, with this recipe and my recipe for Cranberry Chutney on The Secret Ingredient, I am making only simple, honest, delicious food that will not overwhelm me. This recipe has three ingredients, plus salt and pepper, and is nothing more than heating and blending. The result is something sweet from parsnips, and intensely savory from sage and olive oil. It’s a creative, healthful alternative to the standard mashed potato, and it’s a crowd pleaser. I’m making it this year, and I hope you will too!

Parsnip Purée with Olive Oil and Sage

serves 4

Ingredients

2 pounds parsnips, peeled, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch chunks
Kosher salt
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
6 leaves fresh sage
Freshly ground black pepper
6 fried sage leaves as garnish (optional, see note)

Procedure

Bring large pot of water to boil over high heat. Salt water well, and add parsnips. Cook until very tender, 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil small saucepan with 6 sage leaves. Heat on the lowest flame for 5 minutes, remove from heat, and allow to steep for another 5 minutes.
Drain the parsnips and place in food processor. Remove sage from oil and add sage oil to food processor along with remaining 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Purée until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with fried sage leaves (see note).

Note

To fry sage leaves, heat 1/4 cup olive oil in small saucepan to 325°F. Drop sage leaves in three at a time and cook, agitating occasionally until crisp, 45 seconds to 1 minute 15 seconds. Drain on paper towels and season with salt.

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Categories: 30 Minutes, Easy, Eat, French in a Flash, Recipes, Series, Sides, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

Franglais: Green Egg Soufflés and Ham

RECIPE: Green Soufflés and Ham

Green Egg Soufflés and Ham

Read the full article in The Huffington Post.

Sam I am not. But I love green eggs and ham. I love them here; I love them there. I love them anywhere.

Just because green eggs were created for kids, doesn’t mean they haven’t grown up along with the rest of us. Green eggs are perfect as a 3-ingredient no fuss soufflé that anyone (yes, anyone) can make. Herbs and goat cheese give the soufflé a gourmet omelet flavor, with none of the drama of complicated béchamel-based soufflés. For ham, I make simple crisp baguette toasts draped with salty jambon de Bayonne or prosciutto di Parma. Together, the combination is effortless, but impressive.

I am an inveterate breakfast skipper, but during the holidays, breakfast is the cornerstone of hospitality. Impossibly early breakfasts on Christmas day, or tide-me-over brunches before a 6 o’clock turkey. It’s a fact of life: guests expect breakfast. And if you’re lucky enough to have a brimming house in the coming weeks, I suggest you get cracking, cracking some eggs.

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Categories: Franglais, Recipes, Series

Sunday, November 7th, 2010

The Secret Ingredient (Cranberry) Part I: Cranberry Chutney with Orange and Crystallized Ginger

RECIPE: Cranberry Chutney with Orange and Crystallized Ginger

Cranberry Chutney

Get the whole story at Serious Eats.

I love cranberries. I love that their arrival in the produce section is the natural equivalent to the burgeoning supplies of Christmas stockings and Indian corn I suddenly see everywhere. And what I love most about them is how American they are. Though I have traveled far, and for a long time, I have never seen the fresh patriotic little berry anywhere but our continent. They are just everything Thanksgiving to me, and because it is my favorite holiday, cranberries hold an esteemed place in my heart.

In doing my cranberry research for November’s cranberry series on The Secret Ingredient, I confirmed my suspicions that cranberries are distinctly American and Canadian. We actually started exporting them to Europe in the nineteenth century, and Native Americans were indeed using them both for food, and for medicine and dye. So it is probable (I will even venture likely with no expertise except enthusiasm!) that they were served at the first Thanksgiving. Which is why I always serve it at mine. (Even though some of my European relatives are a little skeptical of the ruby-hued bitter-sweet jam that I heap onto my plate and mash into my stuffing. More for me.)