Thanksgiving with "The New Southwest"

Thanksgiving is all about tradition. Buying a turkey, watching the parade or the big game, preparing the same dishes, and eating as much food as possible. This year we hope to inspire you to mix it up! The New Southwest by Meagan Micozzi (of Scarlettabakes.com fame) has some great variations for iconic Thanksgiving dishes. Here's what we think you might enjoy 
this year:

Vinegar Biscuits

This recipe adds a little twist to your average biscuits.  The vinegar makes the biscuit extremely moist, and pairs well with the buttermilk. Ideal for not just Thanksgiving dinners, but also great with breakfast and leftovers on Friday!

2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cubed

3 teaspoons vegetable shortening

3/4 cup chilled buttermilk

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

Note: The key to yielding the best biscuit here has everything to do with the way you handle the dough. Actually, it has most to do with how little you handle the dough. I strongly recommend cutting your butter and shortening in by hand, eschewing a rolling pin, and cutting straight down with your cutter so as to avoid sealing the edges of each biscuit and preventing a complete rise.

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Working as quickly as possible and using clean hands, cut the chilled butter and vegetable shortening into the dry ingredients, mixing the fats into the flour mixture until you have a coarse, chunky meal. Pour in the buttermilk and vinegar, and again using clean hands, mix the ingredients together until you have a solid mass of dough.

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into a flat disk approximately ½-inch thick. Using a 2-inch cutter, press straight down into the dough to cut out each biscuit (keep your biscuit cutting as tight as possible so as to avoid residual scraps). 

4. Remove cut biscuits to a parchment-lined baking sheet—I find that these biscuits bake better when they are arranged in rows with their edges just touching each other. Pat remaining scraps together and cut out additional biscuits. Once all biscuits have been cut out, bake for approximately 12 to 15 minutes, until they are puffed and golden brown on the tops and bottoms. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

YIELD: approximately 24 to 26 biscuits

Fried Sage Mashed Potatoes

 A family favorite amongst many households, mashed potatoes are a dish that can be served up in a variety of styles. These mashed potatoes offer an exciting mouthful of crispy flavor. Who doesn't like a new spin on a classic potato recipe?

2 pounds small red potatoes

2 cups peanut oil*

6 large sage leaves

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 teaspoons garlic powder

salt to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

*Canola or vegetable oil may be substituted here, but I find that, especially when working with ingredients as delicate as sage leaves, peanut oil is the best for heating and frying evenly.

1. Place the potatoes in a heavy-bottomed stockpot with enough water to cover. Bring the water to a boil and cook until potatoes are fork-tender, approximately 20 to 30 minutes. 
2. Drain the potatoes in a large colander and set aside to cool.

3. Meanwhile, heat the peanut oil over high heat in a large heavy-bottomed pan. Once the oil is shimmering, add the sage leaves (the leaves should bubble immediately on contact with the oil) and fry until crispy, approximately 10 to 15 seconds. Carefully remove the fried leaves with a slotted spoon and place on a papertowel-lined surface to drain.

4. While the sage leaves drain, stir the ricotta cheese, milk, butter, and garlic powder together in a medium bowl and set aside.

5. Place the cooled cooked potatoes in a large bowl and using a potato masher smash to a chunky consistency, taking care not to overwork your potatoes. Once the potatoes have been mashed but are still quite chunky, stir in the ricotta mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then crumble the fried sage leaves over top and gently fold into the potatoes. Serve immediately.

YIELD: approximately 4 to 6 servings

Grilled Caramel Apple Pie

See the recipe for Grilled Apple Pie on a previous post!

If you'd like to purchase The New Southwest, check it out on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound!

Happy Thanksgiving from Hippocrene Books! 

 

Happy Thanksgiving! Plus Black Friday Deals

Happy Thanksgiving from Hippocrene Books! Tomorrow is the Olympics for home chefs everywhere. They'll show off their incredible strength lifting 20 pound birds into roasting pans and their agility as they dash from spice rack to fridge to stovetop to cutting board. And let's not forget the timing- everything must be piping hot all at once! We hope you avoid any major disasters (remember that episode of Mad About You when the dog ate the turkey?) and maybe use a Hippocrene recipe or two!


For those kitchen athletes that triumph over triptophan, you'll be rewarded with a Hippocrene cookbook Black Friday special. Check our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter for more details! Even if you fall into a poultry-induced coma, don't worry: the special deal will run all weekend long!

Read last year's Fusion Thanksgiving post here.

Thanksgiving Your Way

Thanksgiving draws near, and there are plane and train tickets being purchased, silver being polished, and guest rooms cleared out across the country. As the only holiday that makes no bones about the meal being the main attraction, you might be planning a menu or testing out a new pie recipe. Perhaps you are the lone cook, part of a multi-generational team, or aided by waist-high sous chefs.

As our growing catalog attests, there are myriad ethniticites and food cultures thriving in the U.S. and we're curious about how you celebrate Thanksgiving. Do you incorporate local flavors or specialties? Is your dinner a fusion of traditional Thanksgiving dishes and another cuisine? Have you never had turkey? Tell us about your Thanksgiving dinner in the comments!

Sample Menus from Hippocrene Books

From Healthy South Indian Cooking

  *Roasted Turkey

  *Savory Mushroom Rice, page 115

  *Green Beans Poriyal, page 158 OR Peas Poriyal, page 193 OR Cauiliflower Poriyal, page 179

  *Potatoes Roasted with Garlic and Tomatoes, page 207

                                                     *Acorn Squash Masala Poriyal, page 154



From Argentina Cooks!

  *Creole Roast Turkey, page 42
 
  *Persimmon and Sausage Stuffing, page 43

  *Pumpkin Humitas, page 243

  *Chard in Cream Sauce, page 54 OR Green Beans with Potatoes, page 281

  *Piquant Sweet Potatoes, page 163



From Farms and Foods of Ohio

  *Turkey Brined in Buttermilk, page 57 OR Roasted Heritage Turkey, page 58
 
  *Heritage Dressing (Stuffing), page 59

  *Heirloom Tomato Salad, page 90 OR Autumn Salad with Maple Vinaigrette, page 140

  *Lavender Roasted Vegetables, page 134

  *Horseradish Mashed Potatoes, page 205

                                         *Maple Walnut Tart, page 139

Veronica Sidhu wins Swanson Healthy Foods Recipe Contest

Hippocrene is proud to announce that Veronica Sidhu, author of the upcoming Menus and Memories from Punjab, has won the Swanson Healthy Foods Recipe Contest for the month of August for her sumptuous take on keema mutter. From the awards committee:

"A very popular dish in India, keema mutter is a main dish that packs a lot of spice. But just because it's spicy, doesn't mean that it's too hot for you to handle! It's jam-packed full of flavor to get your taste buds working overtime."

You can find the full recipe on the Swanson website.

Congratulations, Veronica!

Tacchino Mediterraneo (Mediterranean Turkey)

Today we have another post from Tastes from a Tuscan Kitchen, this time provided by Madeline Armillotta, who writes to us from the road:

On writing this post whilst visiting my mother in England I was faced with a dilemma: As my mother has no interest whatsoever in food and greatly dislikes cooking, her kitchen in unequipped and just contains the basics. On flicking through our book I pondered which recipe to make and soon realized that my selection was rather limited, as she does not possess a non-stick saucepan. This eliminated my original idea of making our delicious "Turkey Roll" (on page 78). I finally decided instead on "Mediterranean Turkey", which is simple to prepare and has a shortish cooking time.

Here's the recipe:

Serves 6.

½ cup flour
6 thin slices (2 pounds) boneless turkey breast
¼ cup olive oil
½ large onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 small zucchini, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
¾ cup dry white wine1 (8-ounce) can plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons dried oregano
salt and black pepper

Dredge the turkey with flour. Heat half of the olive oil in a large nonstick pan, and brown the turkey on both sides. Remove from the pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the other half of the olive oil to the pan and heat. Saute all the vegetables until tender, for about 15 minutes. Add the white wine and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, and the basil and oregano. Stir well, until smooth. Adjust the flavor with salt and pepper. In a large baking dish, pour a layer of sauce on the bottom, lay the turkey over the top, and cover with the remaining sauce. Cover and bake for 40 minutes.

I finished cooking this dish in the saucepan--adding 2 cups of water and then reducing the sauce and not baking it in the oven, as we originally suggested in the recipe. I served it with boiled rice, which soaked up the sauce perfectly and was a good contrast to the distinct flavor of the turkey. My friends that had come to lunch all agreed that it was a great choice and, believe it or not, even my mother liked it!


Thanks to Madeline for the delicious pictures!

Low in Fat, High in Flavor - Creamy Light Chimichurri (Herb Sauce)

Our last guest posting from Patricia looks into new, unique ways to use chimichurri--a South American herb sauce commonly served with carne asada.

Here's a tip: next time you make chimichurri (there's a recipe for it in my book, Secrets of Colombian Cooking), change the oil for plain, non-far yogurt to create a creamy light chimichurri.

Surprised? You will love this recipe. Use it to dip carrot and celery sticks, add it to salad dressings and season meats with it.

Take a boned turkey breast or a whole chicken and place ½ cup of this mixture into the cavities and between the skin. Refrigerate overnight. Salt and pepper the outer skin of the bird and bake in a preheated oven at 325ºF (for turkey) or 425ºF (for chicken) for 1½ hours. Serve the rest of the sauce at room temperature on the side with the cooked turkey/chicken.

Enjoy! Please write to tell me about your experiences with this recipe!

You can also find a place on my website, www.creativeculinary.net, where you can find a new recipe from the book posted every month. Click on the picture of the book and find a selection of recipes from Secrets of Colombian Cooking, laid out in step-by-step format.

Turkey Chimichurri, Before and After