My Mom's Cornbread Stuffing

Okay. This, to me, is Thanksgiving. I don't need turkey. Mashed potatoes are optional. Cranberry sauce isn't necessary. But my Mom's stuffing? That, my friends, is why the last Thursday in November matters.

If you think I'm bad with recipes, well, you've never asked my mom for one. Seriously. This one is all by eye. Bake some biscuits--Pillsbury is fine--and cornbread--I used the 'Jiffy' mix, and it was okay--and let them get stale. Just break them up and let them sit overnight, or longer.

It's worth noting that Mom considers both bought biscuits and Jiffy cornbread mix to be an offense of nearly felonious proportions. And, I'll have to say, that her homemade versions are vastly better. Especially the cornbread. The one I made, with the Jiffy mix, was a bit sweet to my tastes. Still good, mind you, but sweet.

Now, add diced celery and onion (raw), along with hard-boiled eggs, salt, pepper, and Poultry Seasoning. No, I still don't know what 'Poultry Seasoning' is. And, frankly, I'm afraid.

You can add more vegetables if you wish. Bell peppers would be great--and properly southern in style.

Pack it into bread pans, pie tins--Hell, we use several of those, along with bundt-cake pans. That's how much we make. Pour a little bit of stock on top to keep it moist.

As leftovers, turn it out of the bread pans, slice it like bread, then pan-fry it in a little butter. Yes, that's right. More Butter. I'd offer to share some, but it won't make it long enough for that to happen. Yes, I will be heavier the next time you see me.

Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone!

Gravy...MMMM...Gravy...

If you were at the week when we made roux-based sauces, gravy is just another roux based sauce. But after roasting a turkey, here's what I recommend.

Remove the turkey from the roasting pan, drain the collected juices and reserve. If you've got a good roasting pan that can stand the heat, put it on a burner at medium high heat with a little oil or butter (if you don't--if it's too thin--just drain the juices and scrape off any collected fond as best you can). Add a couple tablespoons of flour to create a roux. Now, add the reserved juices back in to begin the gravy.

Lots of folks make a turkey stock ahead of time, while lots of others use chicken stock for the rest of the gravy. Either is fine. The important part is that each time you add more stock in, you fully incorporate it with a whisk (and as I proved last Monday--you want to use a real whisk, not whatever's handy. I'm still mildly embarrassed...).

I know this is devoid of measurements, but, as always, you're going for taste and consistency. Add the stock slowly and season it as you like it. I'm a black pepper fan in my turkey gravy, personally, but that's just me.

Have fun!

Brine O' Mine

Well, at least it rhymes, right?

Brining, in it's most complicated terms, is the way you make pickles. We, however, are not making pickles. We're making turkey--for Thanksgiving.

So: the simple version. A brine is just a solution of salt (and other flavoring agents, if you want) that allows any lean meat to cook up juicier and with a bit more room for error. Brined turkey (or pork, or shrimp, or chicken) can be cooked at a higher temp with less chance that it'll turn out tough or chalky.

1 cup of kosher salt per gallon of water should do it. Other ingredients--like sugar, citrus, and spices--help, but don't exactly provide flavor like you'd think. Using orange won't provide an 'orange' flavor. But it will taste good!

I'm including an article from Allrecipes that one of my co-workers wrote. The Citrus Turkey Brine is awfully good.

Thanksgiving Favorites.

Got a favorite Thanksgiving recipe? Want to tell the rest of us about it? Go ahead and either bring it tomorrow, or post it in the comments section of this post. Everyone would love to hear about it.

Mayo (not the clinic!)

Okay--now we're getting to something a bit more complicated. This is an egg-based emulsion sauce that, at it's most basic, tastes like, well, mayo. But start adding flavors (vinegars, herbs, garlic, hot peppers, etc) and it can get very exciting.

Yes, I just called Mayonnaise exciting.

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 Tablespoon of Dijon
• 1 Tablespoon (or so) lemon juice
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cups oil

I used an immersion blender. You can use a regular blender or a food processor.
Add egg yolks, Dijon, and the lemon juice to the bowl. Blend/pulse to mix.
Start adding the oil very slowly. Just a few drops at a time. Continue until the mayo reaches the consistency you want. Add salt and pepper to taste.

The great thing about this is that if you add lots of garlic, it's an aioli (used with seafood), or if you make it thin, add some garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and anchovies, and it's a Caesar dressing.

Honestly--try some of this on your turkey sandwiches after Thanksgiving. Yum!

Verde Sauce

Okay--a good verde sauce is, in effect, slightly better than sliced bread. And one heck of a lot easier!

I made our sauce pretty quickly. I'm guessing at the quantities here. I had some trouble scaling this down from the former restaurant quantities in which I made it, so ours was pretty, um, spicy!

• 1 pound fresh tomatillos, husks removed. (this is easy, but they're really sticky, so keep that in mind)

• 1 Jalapeno. 2 if you're crazy.

• 1/2 onion, roughly chopped (just small enough to blend easily, but you're still using your excellent knife techniques, right?)

• 1/2 bunch cilantro

1. Barely cover the tomatillos and jalapeno with water and bring it to a boil. Boil until the tomatillos are soft to the touch (but not while they're in the water! Burns are no more fun that cuts, let me tell you).
2. Strain and reserve the liquid.
3. In a food processor (or blender, or a very, very good immersion/stick blender) start mixing the onion and cilantro. Add tomatillos/jalapeno, and continue to process.
   

Slowly add the reserved liquid. Remember, if it's too thick, you can always add more liquid (even regular water is fine), but if it's too thin, you're going to the store for more tomatillos!

This is great for braising chicken, as we did, or topping burritos, adding to chili, making taco soup, anything like that. Enjoy!

Braise, Braise, Braise...

Okay--I've been lazy on the blog. Turns out there was an election going on when I was planning to write this, and I got a tad bit sidetracked...

So let's talk about braising. It's a technique, so I'm not going to be too specific about the ingredients; if you follow the basic ideas, you just can't go wrong. And remember--braises are the original 'low and slow' technique. That's what makes it a comfort food.

• Use a cut of meat that's not too tender--chicken thighs, pork shoulder, chuck roast, etc. The connective tissue breaks down during the braise, creating more flavor.
  
• Sear it well. Season the meat as you like, then sear it in just a little bit of oil. Some cooks dredge the meat in flour; we didn't do that, but it's a great idea to try.
• Liquid. You can use stock or even water. We used a verde sauce (that post is coming soon--really!).
• You only need a little bit of liquid because your going to either put on a lid or wrap the pan tight with foil and roast at 350 degrees. Use your instant thermometer to check the temp a few times, then once it's done, let it rest, still covered, for 10 or 15 minutes.

Roux and the Mother Sauces

This week, we're covering roux and some of the mother sauces. Here's a quick explanation.

So, a roux is a mix of melted fat (usually butter) and flour. If you've ever made a pan gravy, you've used a roux. And what we (along with professional chefs everywhere) will be doing with roux this week isn't too far off from that.

Roux works to bind and thicken a sauce--how much, of course, depends on the ratio. We're making roux in the same pan we'll be making our sauce in. Call it the 'gravy method.' Some kitchens make a large batch of roux ahead of time, and add as they go. That's a great method as far as I know, but I've never done it, so we won't (hope you don't mind!)

How dark you make the roux affects how it binds and tastes. The darker the roux, the more flavor it has (think raw four compared to bread), but the less it thickens. The color of the roux, obviously, also affects the color of your finished sauce. A dark roux mixed with milk turns an off-white color that's a bit unappealing.

The roux bound 'mother' sauces we'll be making (they're called mother sauces because many other sauces spring from them) are:

• Bechamel--Milk thickened with roux

• Veloute--Chicken or fish stock thickened with roux

• Mornay--A bechamel (though a veloute would work, too) with Cheese added to it.

And--once again, writing this has made me hungry. I'm off for some pasta and mornay (or as we grew up calling it--Mac-n-Cheese)

Pan Sauces and Searing

Here are some articles about searing meats:
Tips and Tricks: Searing Meats
The Quick Sear

The great part about this technique is that it applies to nearly any cut of meat, and even vegetables. If you use it with, say, a chicken breast or pork chops (anything that cooks quickly), you can make a delicious sauce out of the same pan.

So, once you know the technique, you can pretty much sear anything, then make a nearly limitless number of sauces.

We’ll be using pork tenderloin, and making a cranberry-port sauce. Just mentioning that makes me hungry, so I’m going to end this now and make some dinner!

Eat well!

Food and Drink? Sign Me Up!

As we all noticed last week, if we rely on what we make in our group as our main form of sustenance, it's going to be a pretty hungry Monday all around.

So--we need to sign up for:

1. Snacks--just a good nosh for the masses.
   
2. Wine--we went through about 3 bottles last week (2 red, 1 white).
   

Now--don't go overboard with either--this isn't the time to raid your cellar for that '87 Rothschild you've been saving!

Sign up in the comments section--I'll get later weeks posted soon.

Welcome Everyone!

Hey Cooks!

It was nicely suggested on Monday that we should all share some recipes. That's a great idea! So, I started this blog so we can maybe share them online.

I'll also use this to go a bit more in depth about some of the techniques we'll be covering. Maybe some links to articles, photos, or just my random thoughts. This way I won't be clogging up your inbox all the time!

So have fun--ask questions through the comments section, tell me what you want us to cover in the coming weeks, or tell us about the last great meal you made!

Thanks everybody!