Lemon Butter Thanksgiving Rutabega

My very favorite food for Thanksgiving is... rutabega! That's right. My Grandma Helen mashed it up and served it on her table and my mother, her daughter, carried on the tradition. My mom wanted a slightly different recipe, and today we have lemon butter rutabega on our table every Turkey Day. It's the perfect complement to the heavy sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes, and the lemon cuts some of the sweetness in the other dishes. Here's how to make it:

Here's a rutabega:

Peel the rutabega (this part is a beyotch. It's got a waxy coating all over it, so make sure you have a great peeler or a sharp knife.), and ignore my tea cup:

 Once the rutabega is peeled, cut it into chunks. You will mash these eventually, so they don't have to be pretty. Boil the rutabega until soft. You'll want them to be the texture of boiled potatoes before you mash them. Drain the rutabega.

Juice one lemon into a small bowl. I broke my mom's handheld juicer, so she showed me this cool trick (let it be known she did not want to be on the blog. But I got her hands, BOOM!): Heat them lemon in the microwave for about 15 seconds. Then, cut in half and place in the lever of a pair of tongs. Squeeze- you're in business!

Add the lemon juice, a pinch of Kosher salt and about 4 Tbsp of butter to the rutabega while hot and proceed to mash.

Serve as a perfect an unexpected side dish.

Radicchio with Cranberries, Walnuts and Gorgonzola in a Rasbperry Balsamic Dressing

I definitely could have shortened that title. Moving along...

My college friends and I recently held our annual "Friendsgiving" event. Everyone brings a dish, and the host provides the turkey, stuffing and some sides. I was tasked with bringing salad. Crap. I hate bringing salads since there aren't any that are really stellar, and because let's face it, it's hard to show off when the main ingredient is lettuce! Ordinarily, I bring my mom's famous Cesare salad, but our friend is known for his Cesare, so that was out. 

So I did what I do most Saturday mornings-- I pulled out every single cookbook I have and scoured them in search of the perfect recipe.

I came up with this salad after looking at probably no less than 30 recipes. I began with the dressing, and settled on a balsamic recipe with a "twist" thanks to a few tablespoons of fruit jam. (I chose raspberry- my favorite!) Everything else had to complement that.

I knew I wanted romaine, because everyone eats romaine, but also wanted to add the bitter radicchio because of its festive color and bitter taste to help "cut" some of the sugar in the dressing. I then added walnuts for crunch, low-sugar Craisins to add a holiday feel and a bold Gorgonzola. For decoration, I cut the a rose out of radicchio and placed it on top.

It was a hit! (Disclosure-- I ate this three nights in a row. Mmmm!) 

Raspberry Balsamic Dressing

1/4 cup good quality olive oil
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp. fruit jam (use any kind you like, but make sure to use seedless!)
1/2 tsp Truvia (or any sweetener; even honey would work)

Pour all ingredients into a shaker bottle (or a bowl) and shake (or whisk) until combined and the jam has broken down and the dressing is the consistency of honey. Add a pinch of salt if you like.

Hurricane Pot Pie

I wish I could say I had a better reason to bake a chicken pot pie than a hurricane, but I can't. Does anyone ever really NEED a reason to make a chicken pot pie?

At any rate, as we braced for Hurricane Sandy to sweep across the state, I took an inventory of my fridge and freezer. Knowing we'd likely lose power, and I'd have to throw everything out, I tried to quickly come up with recipes that could use up things on hand. I had a pie crust (Only one! So I had no bottom crust in this recipe) and a chicken breast, and a whole drawer of fresh vegetables from the farmer's market. Combined- pot pie. Done.

We ended up actually heating this on my parent's grill and eating it by candlelight in a cold house, but it was delicious nonetheless.

Ingredients

• 1 peeled potato
• 2-3 carrots 
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1-3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• Roasted chicken (I used whatever I had left from a breast that I roasted with thyme and lemon)
  
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 pie crust

Directions

• Place potatoes and carrots in a pot with water, cook until soft, then drain and set aside.
• In a large skillet, saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in the flour, salt, thyme (or whatever herbs you have on hand) and pepper until blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add the chicken, peas, corn, potatoes and carrots; remove from the heat and dump into a pie pan.
• Roll the pastry out on top of the pie filling. Cut slits or decorative cutouts in pastry. Place over filling; trim, seal and flute edges.(I cheat and use a pan with it done for me!!)
• Bake pie at 425° for about 40 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

 Adapted slightly from: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Chicken-Potpie-3

How to Roast Garlic

I've always loved the savory roasted garlic flavor in roasted garlic butter spreads in upscale restaurants, but I never knew how to make it. Well, I am an idiot! This was so easy and simple!! Just cut the tops off of the garlic, pack them up in a pretty pan, drizzle some olive oil, salt and pepper over the top, cover with aluminum foil and pop them in a 425 degree oven until browned (or until your house smells like the kitchen of an Italian restaurant. Is there a better smell in life?) Check out the before and afters below.

You can put the roasted garlic in anything. I used some of mine in mashed potatoes (delicious!) and the other half to make roasted garlic butter for a crusty French bread.

Try it!

Boyfriend's Spiced Cider

Holy fall in a cup!

This past weekend, Boyfriend and I hosted eight of our closest friends at our tailgate at the Far Hills Race Meeting, known around these parts as "The Hunt." A phenomenal event, it's really an excuse for me to bust out my pearls and headband and have a classy tailgate in the beautiful fall weather. We always have the food catered (debating changing that for next year!), but Boyfriend wanted to make a hot, spiced cider for the cooler autumn morning.

We served this piping hot with Laird's Apple Jack on the side in case our guests wanted to make it more...festive. (They did.) It was amazing, and I know we'll make this again for years to come! 

Ingredients

3-6 cinnamon sticks
20 cloves
Pinch each of: nutmeg (make this one a generous pinch!),allspice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Optional: orange rings 

Directions

Put 2-3 half gallons of cider into the crock pot on high. About 15 minutes later, when it's nice and warm, add the brown sugar and spices. If you're using oranges, add them on top. We covered ours and left it on "keep warm" overnight, but you can also leave this on low for ~4 hours or high for ~2 hours. This is wonderful however you serve it-- just be sure to remove the cinnamon sticks and cloves first!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Is there anything better than the fall weather? I love this time of year! I love the cool air at night, the slowly changing leaves, the smell of the outdoors, the allure of apple picking and the beginning of soup season! As anyone who has ever worked with or even met me knows, I could live off of soup!

One of my "52 Weeks of New Food" recipes for 2012 was Roasted Butternut Squash Soup. I hit the farmer's market, picked up everything I needed and got to cooking!

But...I decided to take a shortcut. Cutting butternut squash is a pain! So I decided to make it easier on myself by pricking it with a knife and putting it in the microwave for ~10 minutes to soften it. When I went to open the microwave door, the squash lept out of the microwave! By some small miracle, it landed in the crock pot in my counter, avoiding spraying orange goo all over my kitchen.

Anyway, I salvaged the squash, and cut it down into about 5 cups of chunks. I tossed the squash with 1 Tbsp of olive oil and roasted at 400 for 30 minutes until it was soft and roasted.

The result was delicious! Roasting the squash gives it a deeper flavor, but you can skip that step if you really want. Try my recipe below, but be careful of flying squash!








Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil or butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 4-5 cups of roasted butternut squash
• 4 cups of chicken broth (you can use more if you like more thin soup, this is fairly thick)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (I used half and half) 
• 1 tsp fresh sage, chopped (plus more for garnish)
• Salt to taste

Directions 

Heat the olive oil or butter in a large soup pot on medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, only about 2 minutes.Add the sage and give a quick stir.

Dump in the squash and then add the broth. Simmer for about an hour, until the squash is soft. Once the squash is soft, use an immersion blender (or a real blender if you don't have one) to puree the soup until it's thick and combined.

Add the heavy cream or half and half and adjust the seasonings to taste. If you want a thinner soup, add some additional broth at this step.

Serve piping hot in pretty bowls and garnish with additional sage. A perfect fall treat!

Polenta with Sundried Tomato, Artichoke and Olive Ragout

I made this recipe mostly because I wanted to make polenta. I had no idea what it really is, except that it was cornmeal.

I made it with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil, but I wasn't sure I was in love with it. That did not stop me from trying half of the pot! I made this thinking I could reheat it to eat later, but you can't reheat polenta! Who knew?!


I'll direct you to this website for the recipe: http://www.wearenotmartha.com/2010/04/creamy-polenta-with-artichoke-caramelized-onion-and-olive-ragout/