Monthly Archives: November 2009

ON THE EIGHTH DAY OF THANKSGIVING, MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: EIGHT MASHED POTATOES, 7 yams a-sweetening, 6 cups of green beans, 5 decorative gourds, 4 colanders, 3 fancy breads, 2 turkeys brining, and a pork shoulder of carnitas.

Are you really hoping to get the recipe for Jo’s Famous Garlic Mashed Potatoes? Now? Really? ‘Cause I don’t have a recipe. I use lots of butter, salt, garlic, whole milk and black pepper. Did I mention the butter, salt and garlic? I just made about 15 pounds of the stuff and I’m exhausted. I’m not sure how I’m going to get down to my sister’s and park myself on the couch to watch football and then eat. Thanksgiving can be so tough. But all right, if you really insist, and you haven’t made your mashed potatoes yet, here’s what I’ve come up for about 15 people.

8 large russet potatoes, peeled and boiled until you can easily stab them with a fork
1 stick of butter
4 large garlic cloves
1 cup of whole milk
Salt
Pepper

I use a ricer to mash the potatoes. Then I chop the garlic and sauté in the butter. When the scent of garlic has thoroughly wafted through the house, I add the milk and heat it almost until boiling. I add this to the potatoes and add so much salt, you would be appalled. I’m also generous with the pepper, because I like pepper. Using a hand mixer, I try and get all the lumps out and make it nice and smooth, and pretty fluffy. If it’s not really fluffy and you could spackle a wall with it, add more milk (and butter if you want). Serve it nice and hot.

I have a separate batch that I added a container of bleu cheese to, and eliminated the garlic. Cool, tangy flavor.

By the way, are you wondering how I can claim my potatoes are famous? They were mentioned last week on a radio station in Chico, California. The fact that the DJ was my nephew, I think, is only slightly coincidental.

Thanks for hanging in there during these 8 days. I’m hoping next year, people from Maine to Minnesota, Hawaii to Florida, are singing it around the table. What do you think? Unrealistic?

Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good night.

ON THE SEVENTH DAY OF THANKSGIVING, MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: SEVEN YAMS A-SWEETENING, 6 cups of green beans, 5 decorative gourds, 4 colanders, 3 fancy breads, 2 turkeys brining, and a pork shoulder of carnitas

My mother is a very practical woman, so I was aghast and conversely pleased when I discovered that her marshmallow yams were made with the real thing – peeled, boiled and smooshed. No canned yams for my mom, oh no, not her. The dish is as much for the kids to get their potassium, fiber, and A/B/C vitamins (you could put marshmallows on chicken liver and kids would eat it), as it is to add great color to your feast.

I know. I know. It’s the night before Thanksgiving and if you don’t have your groceries by now, you’re thinking about eliminating certain dishes because you’re exhausted and Turkey Day resentments have begun to set in. Well, buck up, tuck the kids in, and head to your local Ralph’s, which is open 24 hours and is still well stocked with whatever you need, which for my Mom’s Marshmallow Yams, is the following: 

(This will feed about 20, so adjust accordingly.)
7 medium size yams
2 cans crushed pineapple (in juice, not syrup – and yes, CANS, because you’re running out of time)
½ stick butter, melted 
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 bag miniature marshmallows

Peel and boil yams; strain and place in mixing bowl. Add pineapple (I drain most of the juice first), butter, ginger and nutmeg. Mix well and pour into 13×9 baking dish. 
Heat oven to 350°. Place marshmallows in one layer over yam mixture. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until marshmallows are golden. Serve immediately.

There is scientific evidence* that exercise before the Thanksgiving meal makes it taste, on average, seven times better than normal – or you could visit your local marijuana dispensary for the same result but you’d be hard pressed to find one open tomorrow. (They’re everywhere! Moratorium, schmoratorium.) So, think about a morning run, walk or hike before, during or after the Macy’s parade and you won’t feel so guilty tomorrow when you consume more calories in a meal than many of us do in a week. (It’s L.A. We’re mostly vain and mostly fit.)

*somewhere, I’m sure

ON THE SIXTH DAY OF THANKSGIVING, MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: SIX CUPS OF GREEN BEANS, 5 decorative gourds, 4 colanders, 3 fancy breads, 2 brining turkeys, and a pork shoulder of carnitas.

Let’s be honest. There’s a reason why all of those Betty Crocker-type/back-of-the-box/side-of-the-can recipes stick around year after year. They taste really good. Each Thanksgiving at my sister’s house, I always go back for a second helping of the broccoli-cheese casserole. The Ritz crackers proudly lay crumbled on top, the previously frozen broccoli spears swim happily around in the canned mushroom soup. Delicious. Thankfully, my cousin and not I, is responsible for providing this dish because I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to cooking. I’d insist on using fresh ingredients and mess the whole thing up. I have a need (sometimes) to make things from scratch. In doing so, I get a sense of accomplishment and then timely gratification that, when mothering my children, is mostly non-existent. So when given the time and opportunity, I make my own soups, tomato sauce, croutons, salad dressings, etc. Please don’t judge me. I use canned pumpkin, and the Trader Joe’s mac ‘n cheese in a box is a staple in my pantry. 

All that said, Emeril Lagasse created a green bean casserole recipe that’s a twist on the old classic. I simplified it because, well, I may be a little snobbish but I’m not crazy and I don’t have all day.

Relatively Simple Emerilized Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
Vegetable oil for deep frying
1 medium onion, thinly sliced into rings and 1 cup chopped onion
¼ cup Crystal hot sauce (because it’s full of flavor but not spicy like Tabasco)
about 1 cup of flour
¾ teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning
¼ cup celery, chopped
1 ½ teaspoon garlic, minced
½ pound mushrooms, cleaned with ends trimmed and sliced
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup chicken broth
¼ cup heavy cream
6 cups green beans, fresh with ends trimmed (this is supposed to be about 1 pound but that didn’t fit in with the “8 days of Thanksgiving”)
1/3 lb. Fontina cheese, rind removed, cubed 

Preheat oven to 350° and grease, with butter, an 8×8 casserole or other baking dish about that size.
Blanch (steam) the green beans in salted water and drain.
Heat about 2” of vegetable oil in a large saucepan or deep fryer. Separate the onion slices into individual rings and toss with the hot sauce. Then dredge in flour and cook in hot oil until just golden, working in batches. Transfer to paper towel.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan and sauté the celery, onions and garlic. Add the mushrooms, Creole seasoning and salt and cook until the mushrooms are soft. Sprinkle with about 1 ½ tablespoons flour and stir to combine, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and heavy cream and continue cooking until mixture is thick and creamy.
In a large bowl, combine the green beans, mushroom sauce, and cubed Fontina cheese. Transfer to the casserole dish and top with the fried onions. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
Serves 6-8, so double the recipe if needed.

I was going to recommend visiting your local Starbucks for the seasonal Thanksgiving blend which I’m drinking right now. It’s dark, nutty and a little herbal – but guess what? The day before Turkey Day, this coffee is nowhere to be found. You can ask the manager if they have any in the back, but my Starbucks already looks as if it threw up Christmas. Pity.

Next: 7 yams a-sweetening

(This is not an endorsement nor admonishment for either company, but I switched from AT&T to Time Warner Cable today and my internet has been down during the install – hence, this late post. I know you’ve been on the edge of your seats about the 5th day so…)

ON THE FIFTH DAY OF THANKSGIVING, MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: FIVE DECORATIVE GOURDS…4 collanders, 3 fancy breads, 2 turkeys brining and a pork shoulder of carnitas.

You have to respect gourds. They’re the elephant man of the plant family and yet we find them so attractive, they’ve become essential for decorating a Thanksgiving feast. What the heck is a gourd anyway? It’s a squash-like member of the cucurbitaceae genus. Do you really want to know more? Their shells are so hard that, in addition to decorating with them, they can become unique musical instruments and/or serving vessels. However, I have bowls from Target and a purple Hannah Montana guitar in the corner of my living room so I’ll just be putting the gourds on the table alongside a few dried Indian corn things, a tiny pumpkin and some fallen leaves I found lying on the sidewalk around the corner from my house.

Between the various sights and smells drifting through a Thanksgiving home, including a fire in the fireplace (who cares if it’s 75° and sunny outside?!), there’s a reason why so many of us dote on this holiday. Play some relaxing music* on the stereo/iPod and turn on the football game (Green Bay at Detroit and Oakland at Dallas) in the other room and you and your guests won’t be so eager to see it end and the frenzied holiday season to begin. 

*I’m sending you to Lala.com to listen to some George Winston. (Listen and then buy.) His Autumncollection is so peaceful, and his song “Thanksgiving” from the December CD is a must, not just for the obvious name but because it will soothe your soul and make you want to hit your knees in gratitude for whatever you’re particularly thankful for this year. Listening to this song and thinking about my three healthy children makes me tear up. Mothers everywhere know that crying is therapeutic.

Next: six cups of green beans

We’re getting closer. I know I’m a day behind, but I had to go to the doctor over the weekend so we could figure out why my head is taking on the curious shape of a soccer ball. I’m like Camilla in A Bad Case of Stripes – too much soccer and not enough lima beans.  Onward. 

ON THE 4TH DAY OF THANKSGIVING, MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: FOUR COLANDERS…
- three fancy breads
- two turkeys brining
- and a pork shoulder of carnitas

Get it? “Four calling birds” vs. “four colanders”. All right, let’s get into the details. One colander is for rinsing the green beans to put into the casserole I’ll share in a few days. Another colander is for cleaning the peeled potatoes we’ll mash on Thursday for Jo’s Famous Garlic Mashed Potatoes. The remaining two colanders are for washing off the two bags of cranberries used for a simple cranberry relish and sugared cranberries that can be served in place of, or in addition to, a bowl of nuts.

Let’s be brutally honest for a moment. If you’re in charge of the cranberry side for the Thanksgiving meal and you bring a few cans of the stuff, you should never be invited back. It shows a lack of character. Any food that can be slipped onto a plate and served while retaining the shape of the can it came in is a food item that should be reconsidered. And if you’re going to use the excuse of time, or lack thereof, here’s a recipe that will take you about one minute prep and ten minutes to cook.

Cranberry Relish
Ingredients:
16 oz. cranberries
½ cup cranberry juice (use the unsweetened stuff if you can find it)
½ cup sugar
½ cup orange juice
1 Tablespoon orange zest
½ teaspoon ground ginger

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook on medium heat, covered, for about 10 minutes or until the cranberries pop open. I then use a masher to break apart the cranberries and create a relish consistency. Remove from heat and bring to room temperature before refrigerating. 

For the sugared cranberries, I’m sending you to MyRecipes.com because the picture of the product is so pretty.

Remember, kids usually like to help in the kitchen so let them! Measuring is the best way to get them safely involved. You can also keep them busy with easy Thanksgiving crafts. I recommendCrayola.com and Disney’s FamilyFun.go.com. Thanksgiving bingo, crossword puzzles, coloring sheets, placemats. You’re sure to find something.

Next: 5 decorative gourds