November 20, 2009
From Recipes
Posted by Paul Clarke, November 20, 2009 at 5:30 PM
Let's start the weekend right--with a cocktail recipe from Paul Clarke (The Cocktail Chronicles). Need more than one? Hit up the archives. Cheers!
Cocktails can be rich and rugged like a Manhattan, or crisp and sharp like a martini, or bright and tangy like a daiquiri (they can also be sweet and murky like a Bahama Mama, but we won't go there right now). But with the holiday season approaching, your taste buds might feel the need for something with a little more elegance—that's where the French come in.
Composed of two great Gallic spirits (cognac and the herbal liqueur Chartreuse) along with some lemon juice and bitters, the Champs Elysees is the ne plus ultra of elegant cocktails. The Savoy Cocktail Book from 1930 lists a party-size recipe for this drink, which is good billing for its powers as a social lubricant. Fortunately the recipe is easily scaled-down. This one (from Food & Wine's 2008 cocktail guide) was adapted by bartenders at Zig Zag Café in Seattle, who deploy a Champs Élysées anytime a little elegance is needed.
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Posted by Gordon Mark, November 20, 2009 at 5:00 PM
With all the channels on broadcast TV and cable—and the inevitable episode repeats—it's hard to sort out what's new or worthwhile. Let us sort it out for you so you don't miss anything worth watching. Times and episodes may vary with region (especially PBS shows); check your local listings for exact hour and channels.
Saturday (November 21)
Secrets of a Restaurant Chef (warning, a video plays automatically on site): "The Secret to Pork Loin." Pork tenderloin; homemade applesauce; warm cabbage slaw. (repeat) 10:30 a.m. ET, Food Network
5 Ingredient Fix: "Impress the In-Laws." Claire makes rosemary pork tenderloin, cheesy penne, nutty greens with bacon and blue cheese, and simple pineapple sherbet for her in-laws. (repeat) 12:30 a.m. ET, Food Network
Giada at Home (warning, a video plays automatically on site): "A Family Thanksgiving." Giada serves Thanksgiving dinner with a few twists. (repeat) 1 p.m. ET, Food Network
Barefoot Contessa (warning, a video plays automatically on site): "Thanksgiving Countdown." Holiday meals recipes for herb roasted turkey breast, sausage and herb stuffing, homemade gravy, and celery root and apple puree. (repeat) 1:30 p.m. ET, Food Network
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From Recipes
Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, November 20, 2009 at 4:15 PM
[Photographs: Nick Kindelsperger]
When I think of kidney beans, my mind usually wanders down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. That's when I start dreaming of perfect red beans and rice. It's one of my favorite meals—I'd make it much more often if it didn't take so long. Other than that, I occasionally find kidney beans in bland soups or bowls of chili (though not Texas chili, of course). So, I was little surprised to see them pop up in this Indian recipe from Lisa's Kitchen. Who knew kidney beans were so popular in Northern India?
Oddly, it's the onions that kind of make this dish. They reduce down to a paste that picks up all the flavors from the spices and chiles. Only the beans can slightly calm the bout of spice.
Starting with dried beans would be the far more traditional route but this quick version is still surprisingly good. It's just another reason why I adore vegetarian Indian cuisine so much.
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From Photograzing
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Though the pumpkin crop wasn't so hot this year and some have flipped about a potentially apocalyptic canned pumpkin shortage, Whole Foods says settle down. According to an email from a PR representative we just received, the store has plenty of their Whole Foods Market 365 canned pumpkin in stock, in fact more than normal. The organic pumpkin crop didn't hurt as badly since it didn't face the same issues with fungus and mold. But if you still can't find the orange stuff, here are some pumpkin pie alternatives.
Posted by Hawk Krall, November 20, 2009 at 3:30 PM
"Take two of the best classic deli sandwiches and combine them."
[Original artwork and photographs: Hawk Krall]
Kosher hot dogs have always been a staple of New York delicatessens. It was only a matter of time before a deli man or two decided to pile some of that delicious pastrami on top of a frankfurter. The components are pretty self explanatory: all-beef kosher hot dog piled high with good, moist pastrami, on a poppy seed bun, maybe garnished with a squirt of deli mustard.
I found one here in Philadelphia at Famous 4th Street Deli, probably our most well-known classic delicatessen. My Pastrami Dog came with at least half a pound of pastrami piled on top. I made it all the way through without a knife and fork, which wasn't easy, but well worth it.
At first glance the Pastrami Dog doesn't look too different from other meat-on-meat atrocities. But it makes more culinary sense, almost a no-brainer. Take two of the best classic deli sandwiches and combine them.
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Posted by The Serious Eats Team, November 20, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Still don't have a turkey plan this year? Then we've got a contest for you. The good folks at D'Artagnan are providing us with a turkey a day to give away to one lucky Serious Eats reader from today until Sunday, November 22.*
D'Artagnan is a purveyor of many things delicious—from pâtés to sausages, foie gras to wild mushrooms, game meat to truffles. But right now we're especially interested in their turkeys.
D'Artagnan's certified organic birds are fed organic grains and pure spring water—no protein supplements, no added poultry or fish byproducts, no pesticides or herbicides, and no antibiotics or growth hormones. The result is a bird with great flavor, tenderness, and a 25 percent lower fat content than standard commercially raised turkeys.
We will be giving away 12- to 14-pound organic free-range birds for the duration of the contest. Contest is open only to participants in the continental U.S. Details after the jump.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, November 20, 2009 at 2:15 PM
There's so much going on in Talk week to week that we almost can't keep up. If you're in the same boat, here's a small selection of topics and responses that have piqued our interest this week.
©iStockphoto.com/wolfephoto
"Letting your roux get darker than blond will make your gravy even tastier. I admit to an irrational prejudice against pale gravy. To me, good gravy is a deep, dark brown." —RegrettableFoodie
"This post has just inspired me to reorganize my spices...." —yayfood
"...And ever since I hit 40, If someone asks me for my ID when I order a drink, it's an automatic 25% tip...." —CatBoy
"What in the hell is Thxgiving? Is it pronounced "thicksgiving"? If I had to guess, I would say that it must be fat people giving stuff away." —olddad
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From Recipes
Posted by Chichi Wang, November 20, 2009 at 1:30 PM
[Photographs: Chichi Wang]
This week concludes our three-part installment of Thai curry pastes. Red, green, and yellow curries are common offerings in restaurants, yet these colors are merely part of the Thai curry range. Two of the lesser-known curry pastes—Penang and Mussaman—are variations on the red and yellow pastes, though with distinctive attributes of their own. Penang curry paste, most similar to red, includes a sizable dose of roasted peanuts. Mussaman curry paste is comprised of the same spices as those of yellow, except the spices must be toasted whole, then freshly ground before being added to the paste.
Just about every guest passing through my apartment this month has been subject to my collection of curry pastes.
"Would you like some red curry with shrimp?" I ask. "No? Well, how about some curry fritters? Curry fried rice? Noodles with curry sauce?"
Eventually the target will succumb to my entreaties. Last night I wooed a friend with pork shoulder stewed in Penang curry. Claiming that eating Thai curry usually leaves her with "stuff pouring from every facial orifice," my friend was pleased to discover that Thai curries don't have to be painfully spicy.
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From Recipes
Posted by Caroline Russock, November 20, 2009 at 1:00 PM
I don't know exactly how cranberry sauce came to be such an integral part of the Thanksgiving meal. What I do know is that it acts as a prefect sweet-tart palate cleanser to break up the otherwise savory components of the meal.
Sweet and sour flavors are a great counterpoint to rich and fatty meat—just think about how great duck with sour cherries or pork with tart apples are.
Abiding by this principle, I have decided to include not one but two fruit dishes on my Thanksgiving menu this year. The first is obviously going to be cranberry sauce, and the second is this Easy Ambrosia from Simple Fresh Southern by Matt and Ted Lee.
This salad forgoes whipped cream and marshmallows.
For those familiar with the cream-pineapple-maraschino-cherry-laden versions of this salad, rest assured that this one contains none of those cloyingly sweet ingredients. This iteration of ambrosia is much more refined.
It's basically a winter citrus salad with bitter endive and fresh parsley dressed simply with olive oil and salt. Since this salad forgoes whipped cream and marshmallows, both fundamental parts of the traditional ambrosia, the salad is finished with a sprinkle of toasted coconut for sweetness.
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Posted by Erin Zimmer, November 20, 2009 at 12:15 PM
What is rap star (and now cookbook author) Coolio's mantra for perfect turkey? "The mo' injections, the merrier." He recommends botoxing your bird with a syringe filled with tequila, diced garlic, "regular Italian dressing," a dollop-uh (the Coolio pronunciation of dollop) of honey, balsamic vinegar, pepper (measured in dime bags not teaspoons), soy sauce, and few other pantry items.
After plumping up the bird ("It went from a B-cup to a D-cup!") Coolio throws it into the deep-fryer. But he warns, and this video is just full of life wisdom, do not fry the bird indoors. You will burn down your house and have to buy a new one. Watch the video, after the jump.
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Posted by Kerry Saretsky, November 20, 2009 at 11:30 AM
Note: This month's Secret Ingredient is the anchovy. Take it away, Kerry!
[Photographs: Kerry Saretsky]
There seems to be so much misunderstanding surrounding the anchovy—so much love and so much hate.
I usually buy mine in one of three ways: packed flat in olive oil in a tin, rolled up in salt in a jar, or in a tube of anchovy paste—the last of which, I must admit, I find both more convenient and more subtle than the other packaging. In cooking school, we used to soak anchovy filets in milk—most people need both their coffee and their anchovies with a touch of milk.
And so we've come to think of anchovies as a sort of condiment, either loved or hated. But I had to do actual research to determine what they look like. Other than those inside-of-the-green-olive-colored filets, with bony hairs (or are they hairy bones?) protruding menacingly from the flesh, and that pungent oceanic smell, what really is an anchovy? They are small green fish with a silver stripe that glisten blue in the water. Like so many of us, they prefer a temperate climate and cluster in areas neither too hot nor too cold. Congregating in the Mediterranean waters, they enjoy a sumptuous feast of fry and plankton, munched down by tiny teeth set in too-big-for-their-size jaws.
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Posted by Lucy Baker, November 20, 2009 at 10:45 AM
"Paula's face smiled up at me from the packaging, her familiar gray bob frozen into place, her lips shellacked with frosted pink gloss."
[Photographs: Lucy Baker]
Last week, in Ed's Brooklyn Star review, Ed deemed chef Joaquin Baca's biscuits "probably the best in newly biscuit-crazed New York." This so-called biscuit craze isn't limited to the Big Apple: all over the country people are harkening back to a time when food was simple, unfussy, and honest. Out with the fusion and small plates, in with the fried chicken and family-style menus. It's no wonder then that the humble biscuit is having a renaissance. Is there a more modest, straightforward food out there? I don't think so.
Of course, biscuits are a snap to whip up from scratch—but there are also a wealth of prepared and refrigerated biscuit doughs and biscuit mixes on the market. There are the obvious (Pillsbury), the organic (Arrowhead Mills), the Southern belles (Callie's), and then there are Paula Deen's.
That's right, y'all. The infamous Food Network star has launched her very own line of boxed mixes for Southern-inspired specialties including scones, grits, and hoecakes. Just in time for Thanksgiving, I tested out "The Lady's" Sweet Potato Biscuit Mix ($9.99).
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Posted by Ed Levine, November 20, 2009 at 10:00 AM
[Photograph: Robyn Lee]
Serious eaters, I'm about to stand before you (and on Thinner) a beaten man.
Why? It's been a bad serious diet week. I can cite the usual culprits: stress, bad eating habits, and too much access to seriously delicious food. And oh yeah, too many chocolate chip cookie taste tests. In fact, there's another one coming up this afternoon.
But too many chocolate chip cookie taste tests are not an acceptable excuse. I should try CCCTT abstinence this afternoon: Just say no!
But just saying no to the CCCTT won't rescue my weigh-in this morning.
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Posted by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, November 20, 2009 at 8:30 AM
It's time for another round of The Food Lab. Got a suggestion for an upcoming topic? Email Kenji here, and he'll do his best to answer your queries in a future post.
[Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]
Like many things in life, the problem with turkey can be boiled down to two things: the government and breasts.
For some reason, years ago, turkey breeders got it in their heads that people like white meat. As a result, turkeys have been getting larger and larger breasts (that stick out further and further from their bodies). At the same time, the government got it in their heads that people don't want to kill themselves while cooking and subsequently started to recommend cooking turkey to that state beyond death known as "165°F."
And while it's true that the dark meat of a turkey needs to be taken to 165°F if you don't like having bloody streaks in your meat—particularly the meat right around the joints in the thighs and drumsticks—the breast meat shouldn't go much beyond 145°F if you don't want the life to be squeezed out of it.
Couple this with the fact that breasts—which project far above the body of the turkey—cook much faster than the legs, and you find that by the time the legs are the requisite 165°F, sections of the breast are well above 180°F. The consequences are familiar to all of us: dry, withered white meat that only a boatload of gravy can rescue.
I was forced to search for an all-poultry solution.
For the past several years, I've made it my mission each Thanksgiving to discover a way to improve this sorry state of affairs. The most successful method so far was to replace the turkey with a suckling pig and feign ignorance when it arrived at the table all golden-brown and crackly. But my family caught on when my kid sister pointed out that turkeys don't have curly-cue tails, and I was forced to search for an all-poultry solution.
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Posted by Erin Zimmer, November 20, 2009 at 7:30 AM
"But it's a harmless tub of peanut butter!" TSA says no. [Photograph: Robyn Lee]
Just because it's the holiday season doesn't mean TSA will go easy on the liquid rule. Keep in mind that the following items will not survive the checkpoint for carry-on luggage:
- Cranberry sauce
- Cologne
- Creamy dips and spreads (cheeses, peanut butter, etc.)
- Gift baskets with food items (like salsa, jams and salad dressings)
- Gravy
- Jams
- Jellies
- Lotions
- Maple syrup
- Oils and vinegars
- Salad dressing
- Salsa
- Sauces
- Snowglobes (not edible but important to note)
- Soups
- Wine, liquor and beer
Note: You can bring pies and cakes through the security checkpoint, but please be advised that they are subject to additional screening.
