Gam’s Cranberries

Of all the holidays, Thanksgiving is the one that reminds me of my Grandmother the most, and probably not for the reason you think. I don’t have visions of my Grandmother wearing a frilly apron rolling out pie dough, though she could make a mean crust. What I do have are Gam’s Rules of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving dinner was always at our house and every year, and I do mean every year, my sister and I (and my poor mother who was actually doing the cooking) were subject to Gam’s lessons, rules, and commandments in cooking Thanksgiving dinner.

While we remember those lessons fondly now, at the time we just rolled our eyes. “For a good gravy, first you have to make a good roux. Did you make a good roux?” This lesson was the first in the Gospel According to Gam and has become a battle cry at any family dinner be it Thanksgiving or otherwise. (First You Need To Make a Good Roux became the title to the book of her recipes that I put together for the family.)

The first lesson was quickly followed by the mildly condescending, “If I were making this at home I would have some Kitchen Bouquet” to the gravy. This was a hotly contested addition, and I’m in the you don’t need it camp. We never had Kitchen Bouquet the house except at Thanksgiving, but we ran out and bought some every year, or never heard the end of it.

My favorite lesson, and the one that makes me smile as I write this, is her ritual warning of, “Don’t touch the plates! They’re hot!” And every time without fail my grandfather would touch the plates and say, “Wow that’s hot!” just to bug her.

By far Gam’s best contribution to the Thanksgiving feast was her cranberry sauce, though sauce may be a bit of a misnomer. Year after year it was one of the favorite things on our Thanksgiving table, and now that she’s gone it just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without her cranberries….as well as hot plates…and a really good roux…

Go ahead…Roll your eyes….
Read more…

Cream of Chestnut Soup

Hard Nut To Crack
Each year at this time I become excited to see fresh chestnuts available at the farmer’s market. I’m not really sure why. As a person who grew up on the West coast, chestnuts are one of those foods that leave me somewhat perplexed. Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire was an image planted in my head by Nat King Cole or Charles Dickens. We don’t have the street carts like they do in the East. I have no history with chestnuts.

When my sister cooked an amazing chestnut soup for Thanksgiving one year, I was intrigued and enticed. Now that the chestnuts have arrived again, I find myself longing for same soup. The problem is that meal was over 15 years ago. (The fact that I still think about should tell you how delicious and memorable it was!) Unfortunately, this was way before I became obsessed with cooking. I didn’t pay attention to where the recipe originated.

My sister is equally flummoxed. So I have been thumbing through my cookbooks and scouring the websites trying to see if I can find that darn recipe. It’s keeping me up at night. (I gotta get a life.)

I did find this promising recipe for Cream of Chestnut Soup in a family favorite cookbook published by the Junior League of Palo Alto in 1980. It’s wonderful on chilly night. Let me know what you think…

For those who don’t want to hassle with roasting and peeling fresh chestnuts, we have all the jarred and vacuum-sealed chestnuts you could possibly wish for, on aisle 7B, available and waiting for you to give them a good home.
Read more…

Butternut & Carrot Soup

The Great Pumpkin

So, we’ve established in previous posts that my family is, well, peculiar. We do things differently than other families. That includes holidays. This latest psychosis comes courtesy of my father.

Certain annual holidays have some sort of living thing associated with them…like trees or squash. When this occurs, Dad must have the biggest one he can find.

As a kid, I was told that Dad’s need for the biggest pumpkin or tree was because he never had one when he was a kid. (And, of course, he walked to school in the rain.) It wasn’t until, as an adult, I was talking to my grandfather that the truth was revealed. No, Dad didn’t have a big pumpkin or tree…at least not in his room. The family trees and pumpkins were all of significant size.

The reality is that Dad never matured past the age of eight. And he has now passed his enthusiasm for big down to his grandchildren. Exibit A is the picture included with this post. This pumpkin was delivered to our house for Halloween. (The apple is for scale). The kids have requested we carve it to look like a vampire. (Carve is a relative term. To carve these pumpkins you need to use a keyhole saw because the wall of the pumpkin is so thick.) We will see how it turns out.

One thing we do know will be good is our Halloween tradition of Grilled Cheese and Pumpkin Soup. It’s one of my favorites no matter who’s knocking on the door, and there’s no better way to get ready for Trick or Treating. This soup is a mishmash of a few of my recipes. Enjoy!

Here’s hoping you have a Happy Halloween!!
Read more…

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce

Ms. October

Every year, my childrens’ elementary school holds an auction to raise money. There’s a dinner and a dance as well as the auction where you can bid on all sorts of things. One item is the Chef of The Month. The idea is that you bid to have a different person each month make you a three course dinner for eight people. At the end of the year, the dinner voted the best of the best gets a prize. This year, I am Ms. October.

Because I love to cook and I admit to being a bit of a food snob I feel the need to make a really fabulous dinner. Did I mention I am also quite competitive? For the last month I have been pouring over my cookbooks trying to come up with something tasty that can be transported, kept warm in the oven and still be juicy and appetizing. I think I have finally come up with an appropriate harvest-themed dinner made with as many things as I can pull from my own garden to up my ante.

Fortunately, Bon Appetit magazine did a great spread on Harvest dinners for a crowd for their October issue. (Grab the issue if you can. The article that precedes the recipes is great.) I tried a few of the recipes out over the weekend, and I am going to use them.

They are: Braised Pork Shoulder with Apple Cider and Ginger Beer, Farro with Wild Mushrooms and Herbs (Really Good!), Brussels Sprouts with Maple Syrup and for Dessert, Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Spicy caramel Apple Sauce (this one is a Bobby Flay recipe). I haven’t decided if I am going to have a salad yet. My persimmons are starting to ripen so if they are ready I might do my grandmother’s persimmon salad. We’ll see…

The recipe for Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce is below, and you can pick up the most recent Bon Appetit. Enjoy!
Read more…