Kale and Pancetta Salad

Last Year's Post: Sausage and Cheddar Breakfast Strata
Two Years Ago:  Greek Phyllo Wraps with Taztziki

Kale is a superfood and a great addition to your fall and winter food rotation to balance out the heavier foods we tend to eat at this time of the year.  It's sturdy so it holds up well in a salad, and its slight bitterness is offset in this recipe by the sweetness of the fruit and maple syrup, plus the creaminess of the blue cheese.  The pecans add a nice crunch and toastiness.  I especially like to have spiced pecans on hand for salads or rice dishes, because they add a little kick.  If you don't feel like making spiced pecans, you can buy some at Trader Joe's or can use plain toasted pecans (or walnuts) instead.

You can substitute regular bacon for pancetta, and dried cranberries or apricots for the currants. You could even go vegetarian and leave out the pancetta. The recipe calls for fresh apples or Asian pears, so I used one of each.  If you're not familiar with Asian pears, they look like a golden apple and have the crispness of an apple with the flavor of a pear.  They've available in most grocery stores, and are delicious.  Try one for fun.

This salad is definitely substantial enough to be a main dish and it's a welcome change from big heavy dinners and sweets.

 printable recipe

Kale and Pancetta Salad

Serves 4

1/3 cup olive oil

4 ounces pancetta, diced

¼ cup white wine vinegar

¼ cup pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 small head radicchio, shredded

8 ounces kale, stems discarded, leaves shredded

2 Fuji or Honeycrisp apples, or 2 Asian pears (or combination)

¾ cup toasted pecans (or spiced pecans, see below)

1/3 cup dried currants

½ cup crumbled blue cheese

Combine the olive oil and pancetta in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Cook, stirring frequently, until pancetta is golden and crispy, 8-10 minutes.  Strain the pan drippings into a small bowl to cool and leave the pancetta off to the side to cool.  When the pan drippings are cool, add the vinegar, maple syrup, Dijon, salt and pepper to the pan drippings and whisk well.

Quarter and core the apples or pears, then cut into thin pieces.  Combine the radicchio, kale and apples or pears in a large bowl.  Add the dressing little by little, and toss to combine, until the salad is well dressed.  Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Serve topped with pecans, currants and blue cheese.

Spiced Pecans

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon paprika

½ cup sugar

1 large egg white

2 cups whole pecans

Preheat oven to 300d.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.  Whisk the egg white until foamy, then whisk in the salt, pepper, paprika and sugar.  Stir in pecans.  Spread pecans in a single layer on the baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 250d and rotate the pan.  Bake 10 more minutes, then immediately spread in a single layer on clean parchment paper.  Let cool before serving or storing. 

Pecans will keep up to a week in an airtight container at room temperature, or may be frozen.

Couscous with Turkey or Chicken

Last Year's Post: Grilled Sweet Potatoes
Two Years Ago:  Rum Cake

This is an interesting take on leftover turkey, chicken or duck with a Middle Eastern feel.  The couscous, pomegranate seeds, mint and pistachios make it a little exotic while keeping it very healthy.  The original recipe called for pomegranate molasses in keeping with the Middle Eastern theme, which most people will not have on hand although I did for some reason (don't ask) so I tried it both ways - with the molasses and then with balsamic vinegar - and actually like the vinegar better because it balance the sweetness of the dried fruits and pomegranate seeds.

You could substitute any dried fruit for the cranberries and golden raisins - dried apricots would be particularly good - and could substitute other nuts for the pistachios and pumpkin seeds.  What I really liked about this recipe besides the great taste is that it's so fast and easy after all the holiday cooking and baking.  The couscous takes just ten minutes and everything else is just thrown in the bowl.  Make sure you keep your turkey or chicken in big, juicy pieces.  And by the way, this recipe works really well with smoked chicken or turkey as well.

Regarding pomegranates: you can sometimes buy just the seeds in your produce aisle, or they're easy to seed yourself.  Cut the pomegranate in half, spread each half slightly, turn over, and whack it with a wooden spoon over a bowl of water.  The seeds will come out along with a little bit of the white stuff, but the white stuff floats and is easy to remove from the water.  Drain the seeds and you're ready to go.  They add a jewel tone and sweet pop that's like no other.

Don't skip the yogurt because it adds an interesting dimension of creaminess and tang. Greek or regular plain yogurt will both work.  I couldn't find a small container of regular plain yogurt, so I used plain Greek yogurt and thinned it slightly with a little milk because it was really thick.  It was a very delicious, quick and healthy way to use up leftover roast poultry.

printable recipe

Couscous with Turkey or Chicken

Serves 4

Note:  You can also use leftover cooked duck instead of turkey or chicken.

1 cup of couscous

1.25 pounds cooked turkey or chicken, shredded into large pieces

The seeds of one pomegranate

3 tablespoons roasted pumpkin seeds

3 tablespoons dried cranberries or cherries

3 tablespoons golden raisins

3 tablespoons shelled pistachios

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint, plus more small leaves for garnish

Salt and pepper

4 heaping tablespoons plain yogurt

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses or balsamic vinegar

Cook the couscous according to package directions, then fluff with a fork.  Add the turkey or chicken, pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, raisins, pistachios, and chopped mint.  Season generously with salt and pepper and toss to combine.

Serve, topping each serving with a heaping tablespoon of yogurt, a drizzle of pomegranate molasses or balsamic vinegar, and additional mint leaves.

Brandied Cranberries





Last year's post: chicken chow mein

 

My friend Terry gave me a jar of these brandied cranberries a few years ago and they were delicious as well as beautiful.  Her mother Charline makes them every year when fresh cranberries are available, and she very graciously gave me the recipe as well as permission to publish it.  Thank you Charline!!  The cranberries are excellent on toast or English muffins as well as mixed with yogurt or spooned onto pancakes.  Think of them as sort of like cranberry jam, except with whole fruit.  Cranberries are full of antioxidants and early research results show that they may even increase good cholesterol and decrease bad cholesterol, although I'm not sure how that translates to cranberries cooked with sugar.  Plus, you gotta love any recipe that has only three ingredients and one is brandy.

This would make a great gift during the holiday season if you're looking to give something homemade.  The recipe is very easy and makes about 3 small jars with no hot water canning required. (I followed food safety practices by washing the jars on the high temperature cycle of my dishwasher and filling the hot jars with hot cranberries before sealing and letting them cool on the counter.) If you want to make more as gifts I would suggest making several batches as opposed to one large batch because the foil pouch of hot cranberries could become pretty unwieldy.  I've never personally been burned by hot cranberries but somehow I don't think it would be fun. 

I used to work in a pizza parlor in another life and I can tell you from direct experience that melted cheese on a pizza straight out of an 700 degree oven can give you one heck of a burn, especially when you stick your thumb directly into it (by accident).  The cranberries sort of seem similar for some reason.  I received a larger and even more impressive burn by backing into the red-hot muffler of a motorcycle with my bare leg one time in Hawaii (in yet another life) but that doesn't seem quite as similar.  Yes, I am a klutz.

click here for a printable recipe

Brandied Cranberries
Makes 3 half-pint jars

1 (16 oz) package raw fresh cranberries

2 cups white sugar
6 tablespoons brandy
Heavy duty aluminum foil
Clean glass half-pint jars
 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Rinse and drain cranberries.  Put cranberries in a large bowl and toss with the sugar.

 

 

Layer two large sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil on a large rimmed baking sheet and spoon the sugar and cranberries in the middle of the foil.  Fold all sides up and seal tightly.

 Bake on a center rack for 1 hour.  Open carefully and pour in the brandy, then stir gently with a spoon until all sugar is dissolved and brandy is mixed in thoroughly. 

 

 

Place in jars and let cool, then store in the refrigerator for up to two months.

 

 

Apple, Bacon and Fontina Stuffed Acorn Squash

It's squash time of the year!  Acorn squash is one of my favorite varieties both for its flavor and because it's the perfect size to stuff for a meal.  I posted a stuffed squash recipe last fall that included rice, spicy sausage, parmesan, and mushrooms.  If you're interested in that recipe, click here or check the archives at left for September, 2011.

I thought that this fall I'd post a variation that's more fruity with fresh apples, dried cranberries, pecans, couscous and fontina cheese in addition to bacon.  This is my own ingredient combination. I initially thought about adding Brie cheese because it has a mild flavor that I thought would complement the apples, bacon and pecans. The problem with Brie is that it's so soft that I figured it would melt away completely as the squash bakes. My solution was to substitute fontina, which is also mild but firmer than Brie. Ask the person at the cheese counter for a mild fontina since they can range from very mild to quite a bit stronger in flavor. You can always change up other ingredients by adding raisins or currants rather than the cranberries, or by substituting walnuts or pine nuts for the pecans.

The basic concept is to cook the squash first because it takes a long time to get tender, then you stuff the squash and bake some more until the squash is very tender and the filling is hot.  Pretty easy.  All the stuffing prep can easily be done while the squash cooks the first time.  If you're pressed for time, prepare everything in advance and refrigerate the stuffed squash, then just bake until everything is hot again.

* * click here for a printable recipe * *

Apple, Bacon and Fontina Stuffed Acorn Squash
4 servings

2 small acorn squash
3 tablespoons butter, divided
3 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
½ cup couscous
¼ cup onion, finely chopped
¼ cup celery, finely chopped
1 firm apple, cored and chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/3 cup fontina cut in small cubes
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut a thin slice off each end of the squash, then cut in half crosswise. Carefully scoop out seeds and fibers. Line a baking dish with parchment. Place squash halves in the baking dish and rub the cut surfaces and the interior of each with 1 tablespoon butter. Place a small amount of butter in the bottom of each half. Season with salt and pepper. Roast at 400d for 60 minutes.

 
While the squash is roasting, cook the couscous according to directions and set aside to cool. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the remaining tablespoon of butter, then sauté the onion and celery for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the chopped apples and sauté for two more minutes. In a large bowl, combine the couscous, apple mixture, bacon and pecans. When completely cool, add the fontina and parsley and mix thoroughly. At the end of 60 minutes, remove the squash halves from the oven and fill each until mounded. 

If you have stuffing left over, it makes a great lunch the next day. Cover the baking dish with foil. (At this point the squash halves can be refrigerated for baking later. If refrigerated, add 10 minutes or so to the baking time.) Place the squash halves back in the oven for an additional 30 minutes, until the filling is hot. Uncover and serve immediately.

The Best Cranberry Relish

(A quick note - several people have told me they didn't know they could sign up to be notified when I publish a new post, so I moved the sign-up field to the top of the page on the left side.  If you have a corporate email address it probably won't work due to firewalls, but personal mailboxes will receive a notice.)

Far be it for me to mess with anyone's Thanksgiving traditions, but would you be open to one tiny change?  I consider this cranberry relish to be my signature Thanksgiving dish, if there is such a thing.  It's light years away from that jellied stuff that comes out of the can with indentations from the can ridges.  It has a bright, fresh, tart flavor that goes so well with turkey, it's amazing.  It's also wonderful with roast pork, chicken, duck, etc. and makes an excellent sandwich the day after Thanksgiving with leftover turkey.  I've even had it on toast with peanut butter and it was great.

The interesting part is that the cranberries aren't cooked.  How can that be?  Cranberries are little rocks, right?  I think marinating in the refrigerator with the tangerine and sugar softens them.  Whatever, it works.  The other interesting part is that you use the entire tangerine, peel and all (except the seeds).  The net effect is outstanding. If you can't find a tangerine, an orange works just as well. An advantage is that it needs to be made in advance so it's one less thing to do on The Day and it only takes about five minutes to prepare.  Please give it a try this Thanksgiving!


* * click here for a printable recipe version * *

Cranberry Tangerine Relish

Makes about 3 cups

 Note:  you will find crystallized ginger in the produce section of most grocery stores.

1 12-oz bag fresh cranberries, rinsed

1 6-oz tangerine, rinsed, unpeeled, halved, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces

¾ cup sugar
½ cup coarsely chopped crystallized ginger (about 2 ½ ounces)
¼ cup orange marmalade

In a food processor, coarsely chop cranberries using pulse button.  Transfer to a medium bowl.  Do the same coarse chop to the tangerine and combine add to the cranberries.  Mix in the other ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  (May be made up to three days in advance.)  Serve cold or at room temperature.