A Christmas Story and Chinese Food

I’m a big fan of the idea of a dinner with a movie theme. Somehow, I rarely get something like that together, but now that it’s Christmas vacation, the time and the opportunity presented themselves. This is a laid-back dinner for a laid-back Christmas movie, one of my favorites. I wanted a fairly quick and easy meal, and I wanted to watch A Christmas Story. Even though the Bumpus’ dogs hadn’t stolen my turkey, and I wouldn’t be having a Peking duck smiling at me while Chinese waiters sang “Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra,” it still seemed appropriate to serve a spicy chicken stir fry while watching Ralphie pine for a Red Ryder B B gun (with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time).

The secret to stir fry is much like the secret to a serene holiday season: prepare as much ahead of time as possible. Do I succeed in this? With stir fries, usually. I cook the rice, marinate the chicken, prepare the sauce, and chop everything else before even thinking about heating the wok. My holiday preparations are a completely different story. (Exhibit A: fewer than usual posts this month.) Oh well, as I always say, next year will be different.

Of course when I made this, I let the hot peppers, ginger and garlic go a little too long all alone, and the resulting acrid fumes made us cough all through dinner. I also made this soupier than I would have liked, so perhaps it should have less chicken broth or more corn starch in the sauce. It tasted good like this, and I served it in bowls to contain the sauciness better. It was hot and spicy and holding the bowl close on a cold night while watching A Christmas Story was nice and cozy and just right somehow.

So light your leg lamp and fire up your wok (or a large frying pan) and cook up a spicy chicken stir fry for a pre-Christmas celebration. Just don’t stick your tongue to any flag poles for old time’s sake. And if you do, please don’t bother the fire department. A simple glass of warm water poured over the offending area will solve the problem. Am I speaking from experience? I’ll never admit it. Oh, yeah, and don’t shoot your eye out.

Spicy Chicken Stir Fry Recipe
This is based on Sichuan or Kung Pao chicken dishes in Chinese restaurants. If you cannot find whole water chestnuts, sliced ones will be fine. Serve with hot cooked rice and a pot of tea.

½ cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons honey
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup Shaoxing wine (or sake)
2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar (or rice vinegar)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1 bunch (about 8 medium) green onions
1 large (or 2 small) red bell pepper
1 (8-ounce) can whole water chestnuts
3 tablespoons canola oil or peanut oil, divided
1 ½ tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 ½ tablespoon minced garlic (about 5-7 cloves)
4-6 dried chile peppers
½ cup cashews

1. Combine the chicken broth, honey, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, Chinese black vinegar, cornstarch and sesame oil in a small bowl. Whisk well to combine.

2. Place the chicken in a medium bowl. Remove ¼ cup of the broth mixture and pour it onto the chicken. Stir well to coat the chicken. Set aside to marinate for 20-30 minutes. (If the chicken will be standing longer than that, refrigerate it until ready to use.)

3. Cut off the roots of the green onions and thinly slice the white and light green part. Set aside. Cut the dark green tops into 1-inch lengths. Set aside separately. Cut the bell pepper into approximately 1-inch squares. Halve the water chestnuts (quarter the larger ones).

4. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until it appears to shimmer. Add the ginger, garlic and dried chiles. Stir fry (ie, cook while stirring constantly) 30 seconds. These ingredients can produce acrid fumes when heated like this, so avoid inhaling those fumes if possible.

5. Remove the chicken from the marinade with a slotted spoon, and place in the wok. Discard the marinade. Stir fry the chicken 4-5 minutes or until cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and place in a clean bowl.

6. Add the bell peppers and white and light green parts of the onions. Stir fry 2 minutes. Add the water chestnuts and stir fry another minute.

7. Return the chicken to the pan and add the sauce. Bring to a boil and cook until the sauce has thickened slightly. Turn off the heat and stir in the green onion tops and cashews. Serve with hot cooked rice.

Makes 4 servings.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

The calendar may not admit that it’s winter yet, but it’s cold outside! First there was a blizzard with all its blowing and drifting (and a snow day even at the local universities), then came the cold. This morning it was -8 (Fahrenheit !) So, bitterly cold weather, lots of root vegetables from our CSA stashed in various places about the apartment…I’m thinking soup!

There seem to be a thousand ways with a thousand vegetables that all work for soup this time of year. (Heck, a bowl of hot water sounds pretty good if you’re cold enough.) I kept this one simple and featured carrots and parsnips, two great roots that taste great together. They even look a little alike, at least in shape and size, and their tastes are similar enough to suggest that they are related to each other, but different enough to make a soup of sufficiently complex flavor. Potatoes, celery and onions go along for the ride, and make it all work well without any backseat driving.

It doesn’t really matter how you cut the vegetables for this soup, because it is pureed in the end. Just remember that the smaller you cut the vegetables, the faster they cook. I like to use an immersion blender to puree the soup. I find it to be less messy than dirtying extra bowls, blenders or food processors. Of course, careless use of an immersion blender can result in a truly amazing splatter-fest, but I’ve been able to avoid such things.



I used fresh thyme and rosemary in this soup, because I still have a lot of fresh herbs that I rescued from the frost on the patio. I tied them in a little bouquet garni, and removed them from the soup before pureeing. You could use dried thyme (about 1 teaspoon) and dried rosemary (just a large pinch, crumbled) if that is more convenient, or add whatever herbs you like. There’s also a generous amount of black pepper in this recipe, which makes it nice and spicy, which I find even more comforting on a cold day. You can reduce the amount if you’d like it less peppery. The amount of salt in the recipe is approximate and based on the broth you use, or your personal taste (and health concerns). I use homemade, unsalted vegetable broth, so I have to add quite a bit of salt when I make soup.

I also give a range of cooking times in the recipe below. You want the vegetables to be quite soft so they’re easy to puree, and the amount of time it takes will depend on how large the pieces are. Also, I tend to forget to thaw broth ahead of time, and have to put it in the soup pot as a large, misshapen ice cube, and thawing time needs to be added to my cooking time. It all works out in the end.


Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a Friday night appointment with an electric blanket, a hot beverage and a good book. Stay warm, my friends!


Cream of Carrot and Parsnip Soup Recipe
This makes a huge pot of soup, but the recipe could probably be cut in half. I have also included instructions below for freezing the soup.

2 tablespoons (30ml) olive oil
½ pound (250g) chopped onion
½ pound (250g) chopped celery
1 pound (500g) chopped peeled carrot
1 pound (500g) chopped peeled parsnip
1 pound (500g) chopped peeled potato
½ cup (125ml) dry white wine, optional
1 ½ teaspoons (8ml)coarse (Kosher) salt
1 teaspoon (5ml) black pepper
6 cups (1.5 l) vegetable broth
about 10 sprigs fresh thyme
1 4-inch sprig rosemary
1 large or 2 small bay leaves
½ cup (125ml) half and half
chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes.

2. Add the celery, carrot, parsnip and potato. (I tend to chop and add vegetables for soups like this as I go. If you are not a fast chopper, you may want to have all of the vegetables prepared before beginning the recipe.) Cook, stirring occasionally, 5-8 minutes, or until the vegetables are beginning to soften.

3. Pour in the wine. Reach down to the bottom of the pan with a spoon and scrape up any browned bits. Add the remaining teaspoon salt, pepper, and vegetable broth. Tie up the thyme and rosemary sprigs with a piece of kitchen twine. Add the thyme and rosemary bundle and the bay leaf and bring to a boil.

4. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes or until the vegetables are very soft.

5. Uncover, turn off the heat and remove the herb bundle and bay leaves. When the soup has stopped bubbling, puree it with an immersion blender until very smooth. Alternatively, puree the soup in batches with a blender or food processor. Whichever method you use, use caution, because the soup is very hot.

6. Taste the soup and add salt if needed. Stir in the half and half. Return to the heat and warm up if necessary. Serve garnished with chopped fresh parsley.

Makes at least 8 servings.

To freeze the soup, omit the half and half from the portion that you are freezing. Allow the soup to cool until it is easy to handle. Ladle it into a zip-top freezer bag or other freezer-safe container and freeze. When planning to serve, thaw the soup in the refrigerator (probably 12 to 24 hours). Heat through and add the half and half. Serve garnished with fresh parsley.

Gingerbread Granola

It’s been said that we cannot live on bread alone. I suppose that must apply to gingerbread as well, although that is really a cake, and in some cases a cookie. Since cakes and cookies probably also do not qualify as something on which we could live alone (although it might be fun to die trying), I might have to find something healthier to load with gingerbread flavors.

I nominate granola for this task. While Harry is happy to eat cake and cookies (not to mention Pumpkin Pie) for breakfast, that doesn’t really work for me. But I can get a more wholesome gingerbread fix if I take my basic Granola recipe and adjust the sweeteners and spices to represent the flavors of old fashioned gingerbread.

This means replacing the honey and maple syrup with molasses and more brown sugar and adding plenty of ground ginger along with nutmeg and cloves with the cinnamon. I thought that among dried fruits raisins and dates went best with the ginger-molasses flavors (and I was able to get my hands on some really good, plump dates). Finally, I gilded the lily (or gingered it) with a little bit of finely minced crystallized ginger. This provides a pretty strong flavor and you can leave it out if it’s just too much, or if you cannot find it (it should be available in the Asian section of supermarkets, but I also found it, quite economically priced, among the dried fruits at the local bulk foods store).

When I first made this granola, I burned it a little, so I tried to adjust the recipe for an appropriate baking time. You might want to keep a close eye on it in the final 8 minutes or so of baking, and be sure to stir the granola occasionally while it’s in the oven. If nothing else, it needs to be redistributed so that there are no thin spots or corners that can easily burn.

This may not exactly satisfy your holiday season sweet tooth, but I think you can probably feel less guilty about eating it for breakfast with some milk or lightly-sweetened yogurt than you might about eating the heads off of all the gingerbread men in the house. You also probably cannot live on this stuff alone, but the oats, wheat germ, nuts and dried fruit certainly have a higher WFQ* than just about any batch of gingerbread.

Gingerbread Granola Recipe

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped pecans
¼ cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ cup butter
¼ cup molasses
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup raisins
½ cup chopped dates
¼ cup finely minced crystallized ginger (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 F
1. In a very large bowl, mix the oats, pecans, wheat germ, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the molasses and brown sugar. Cook, stirring until the brown sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Carefully pour over the oat mixture and together to coat well.

3. Spread mixture evenly in a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray or lined with a silicone baking mat. Bake at 325 F for about 25-30 minutes, stirring every 8-10 minutes. Check the granola frequently after about 25 minutes to make sure it is not burning.

4. Carefully transfer granola to a large bowl. Add the raisins, dates and crystallized ginger and stir to combine. Cool completely.

Makes about 7 cups.


*WFQ: Whole Food Quotient

Maple Walnut Vinaigrette

I'm not sure how maple syrup got into fall and winter foods and flavors, since it's made in the spring, but I'm not going to complain about it. It goes well with winter squash, apples, cranberries, pecans and walnuts, and baked goods, like quick breads and cakes. It's also great with mustard, cider vinegar and walnut oil in a vinaigrette for an early winter green salad.

Our CSA, which offers a bi-weekly winter share of storage vegetables, also keeps their growing season going with greenhouses (or possibly with magic and miracles). That was how I got fresh spinach in December that was grown just a few miles away. I could have cooked it or blanched and frozen it, but it seemed most appropriate to celebrate its freshness with one last thumbing of my nose at the (rapidly) approaching winter, and eat it fresh in a salad. I could have gone with a Greek style salad with red onions and feta cheese, but I'm still buying some fantastic locally grown apples (most recently some sweet-tart-crisp Arabella apples that, to me, tasted as good as the local-favorite Honeycrisp). Thinly sliced apples atop a green salad with a maple-walnut vinaigrette are a seasonal must-have for me. Add some dried cranberries, blue cheese and walnuts (or pecans, which is what I happened to have), and it's instantly festive as well as delicious.



I'm not a huge fan of blue cheese, but I like the way it cuts through and contrasts with the sweetness and crunch of this salad and dressing. You could use something else with a bit of a sharp bite, like Parmesan, feta or goat cheese. You could also use whatever salad greens you happen to have. This vinaigrette is also good in other applications, like salads made with grains, such as wheat berries, rice or barley (I hope to post one of these soon). I bet it would also be good drizzled over roasted vegetables. It's sweet and nutty, and just right for the season, even if the syrup was tapped, boiled and bottled way back in the spring.



Maple Walnut Vinaigrette Recipe

Based on a recipe in Cooking Light magazine

It's a good idea to taste a salad dressing before serving. Just dredge a leaf of your salad greens in it and taste, then adjust seasonings as needed.

2 tablespoons (30 ml) cider vinegar
2 tablespoons (30 ml) maple syrup
1 teaspoon (5 ml) Dijon mustard
pinch salt, or to taste
pinch pepper, or to taste
2 tablespoons (30 ml) walnut oil

1. Combine vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk to combine.

2. Add the walnut oil and whisk until very well blended. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Dressing can be stored for at least a week in the refrigerator. Whisk or shake well in a sealed container to combine a separated dressing.

Makes about 1/3 cup or enough for 4 servings of the salad below.


Spinach Salad with Apples and Maple Walnut Vinaigrette Recipe
You can use whatever greens, dried fruit, or cheese you like in this salad.

1 recipe Maple Walnut Vinaigrette
6 cups torn fresh spinach
1 medium apple, thinly sliced and cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup blue cheese
1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts (or pecans)

1. Divide the spinach evenly among four salad plates. Evenly distribute the sliced apple, dried cranberries, blue cheese and walnuts and arrange them over the spinach on each plate. Drizzle about 1/4 of the dressing over each salad.

Makes 4 servings.

Bounty Busters: Winter Vegetable Galette

Oh, those winter vegetables. Stodgy, vitamin-packed, built to last. And abundant as winter darkness. I enjoy all their flavors (okay, so I’m still working on my relationship with beets), admire their ability to remain edible after weeks (yes, weeks) in the refrigerator, and love the challenge of trying to use them all in different ways.

I like roots, tubers, squash and brassicas roasted, stewed, souped, with pasta, with grains, in salads, and, as I did recently, shredded and baked in a pie. I love this recipe for a butternut squash and feta cheese pie with a phyllo crust from Cooking Light magazine (although I use melted butter in place of the nonstick cooking spray), and thought I could do something similar with more vegetables. I also wanted to change some of the flavors to better compliment the vegetables I chose, so I used cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, and lots of grainy mustard.

This is a great recipe for using up odds and ends, or veggies that haven’t inspired you, or stuff that you’re just getting tired of because there’s just so darn much of it. (I haven’t reached that stage quite yet.) I ended up using a carrot, a piece of a small butternut squash, a chunk of leftover turnip, and a parsnip. Parsnips are the ones that look like albino carrots or weird icicles from a Tim Burton film. They’re super sweet and taste like a carrot gone overboard, with a little bit of a parsley tang. Since the carrots, parsnip and squash are so sweet, I liked the zing of the turnip to contrast with them and give the dish a bit more pep. You could use whatever autumn and winter vegetables you like, but I would recommend a mix of sweet and sharp. If it’s just sweet, you might as well be making pumpkin pie.

I made a pastry with a combination of all purpose flour and whole wheat pastry flour. You could use any kind of pastry you like, including a store-bought pie crust, or even phyllo dough or puff pastry. You also don’t have to make this into a pair of free-form galettes, but could probably put it in a pie or tart pan or make it into individual pasty-like turnovers. You would most likely need to adjust the baking time. You also do not have to cover the whole pie filling with the crust as I did. I think it might be more visually appealing to allow some of the filling to be exposed in the center.

Since I made two pies with this recipe, I wrapped one up and froze it to eat later. This worked very well, and I’ve included freezing and reheating instructions in the recipe below. Since it the leftover pie did freeze so well, I now see this recipe as a way of preserving the bounty of the late fall and early winter. Perhaps I wouldn’t be in the mood to munch on winter vegetables in, say, April, but I’m thinking a reheated pie might taste mighty fine on a busy day in the middle January.

Whole Wheat Pastry Recipe

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup ice water, or more as needed


1. Combine all purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour and salt in a large bowl. Sift together or stir well with a whisk to combine.

2. Add butter pieces and cut into the mixture using a pastry blender, knives or your hands, until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of flour-coated butter are larger than peas.

3. Add ½ cup ice water. Gently work the water into the flour and butter mixture until most of the flour is moistened and the dough holds together when squeezed. Add more water 1 tablespoon at a time if necessary. Try not to overwork the dough, and do not knead it.

4. When the dough has come together, divide it in half (I weigh it to get an accurate split). Form each half into a ball, then flatten in to a smooth disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill until ready to use. Dough is best when chilled at least 15 minutes. Dough can be made at least a day ahead. Dough can also be frozen if well-wrapped in a freezer bag. Thaw thoroughly in refrigerator before using.

Makes 2 crusts approximately 10 ounces each.

Winter Vegetable Galettes with Cheddar, Mustard and Caramelized Onions

4 cups peeled shredded fall and winter vegetables, such as winter squash, parsnips, carrots, rutabagas, turnips celeriac, sweet potatoes, etc.
¼ cup bulgur wheat
¾ teaspoon salt, divided
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
¾ pound yellow onions (about 2 medium), peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
3 ounces shredded sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons coarse-grained mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 recipe Whole Wheat Pastry (or pastry of your choice)
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water (egg wash), optional

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Combine the shredded vegetables, bulgur, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper in a large bowl. Let stand 30 minutes.

2. To make the caramelized onions, heat the olive oil in a large skillet with a lid over medium heat. Add the onions and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook over medium heat until sizzling and beginning to turn translucent, stirring occasionally.

3. Cover the onions and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook 15 to 20 minutes or until very brown and soft. If the onions are browning too quickly, reduce the heat further. Remove the lid and continue to cook if there is a lot of liquid. Set aside to cool slightly.

4. Add the cheese, mustard, garlic and caramelized onions to the shredded vegetable mixture and mix well.

5. Roll out one disk (1/2 recipe) of the pastry dough into a 12 inch circle. Transfer the dough to one side of a large baking sheet. Place ½ of the vegetable mixture in the center of the dough circle. Pull of the edges of the dough and fold over the filling. Try not to stretch the dough. The dough does not need to completely cover the filling. Repeat with the second half of the dough and the remaining filling in the remaining space on the baking sheet. Brush both galettes with egg wash if desired.

6. Bake at 375 F 40-45 minutes or until the crust is crisp and lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve.

Makes 2 pies for a total of 6-8 main dish or 10-12 side dish servings.

The baked pies can also be frozen. Wrap in aluminum foil and freeze in a zip-top freezer bag. Thaw completely in the refrigerator. Unwrap and bake in a preheated 375 F oven on a baking sheet about 20 minutes or until crust is crisp and filling is heated through.

Hurrah for the Pumpkin Pie!

I enjoy pumpkin pie enough to eat it just about all year, but somehow it doesn’t taste quite right until at least mid-October. Then, one can come up with an excuse to make it just about any week (although I don’t, because there are so many other recipes to try and only so many calories I can handle!) There’s the nice, traditional autumn dinner after Halloween, say, that’s begging for a traditional autumn dessert. There’s that week or two before Thanksgiving when you just can’t wait, or you want to try that new pumpkin pie recipe before serving it on the big day. Then, of course, there’s Thanksgiving itself, when pumpkin pie is mandatory. No questions. No excuses. Pumpkin pie.

For the last several years, I’ve been making my pies from one recipe. Sure, I’ve got a stack of others I’d like to try, lighter pies, fancier, spicier pies, pies with different crusts, toppings and mix-ins. When it gets down to it, though, I usually say, “Why try another pie?” This one is the one

This recipe was given to me my by mother in-law (hi, Sherry!) and was the much-loved recipe of her mother in-law. This is the pie that everyone wants in Harry’s family (especially Harry), and not just because it’s Grandmama’s pie. It also happens to be very, very good. It’s just a little richer, just a little creamier, just a little more old fashioned than other pies. The filling stands up for itself without slumping and weeping, with a consistency somewhere pleasantly between custard and cheesecake that is never grainy or watery.

I had to call my mother in-law last week, in an emerging panic because I had lost this recipe. Lucky for me, she had it readily available (one of the million or so things to be grateful for this Thanksgiving). We discussed the recipe at some length, and I decided to use some more detail in its directions, and I have provided those here. I also added some spices, but those are really a matter of taste anyway. As long as you have some cinnamon, you probably don’t need to stock up on spices that you don’t think you’ll ever use again (although the allspice is in the original recipe and a real asset to the team).

This recipe is for one pie, but is easily doubled (in case, like me, you have friends who request you make their serving a double…you know who you are). This isn’t difficult, but it can be a bit messy if you’re like me in the kitchen.

It really is worth it, however, and when you serve this pie on Thanksgiving (or Christmas or any other day you see fit) they’ll be saying “Hurrah!” for you and “Hurrah!” for Grandmama’s Pumpkin Pie! Happy Thanksgiving!

Grandmama’s Pumpkin Pie Recipe
It is likely that you will have more filling than you can easily fit into the pie shell. If so, pour the excess in a ramekin and bake it alongside the pie. It will take less time than the pie to fully bake.

You could use any single-crust pastry recipe you like, although I recommend a traditional, plain crust. Store-bought crusts are fine. Adjust the spices in the filling as you like them.

1 ½ cups milk (375 ml)
3 tablespoons (about 1 ½ ounces or 40 g) butter
3 eggs
¾ cup (about 5 ½ ounces or 155 g) sugar
1 (15 ounce or g) can pumpkin or 15 ounces (425g) smooth pumpkin or winter squash puree
¾ teaspoon (3ml) ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon (2 ml) ground allspice
¼ teaspoon (1 ml) ground ginger
¼ teaspoon (1 ml) ground cloves
¼ teaspoon (1 ml) freshly ground nutmeg
1 unbaked pie crust, arranged in a pie pan
whipped cream for serving

1. Preheat oven to 450 F (230 C). Heat milk in a medium size sauce pan over medium heat until it reaches 180 F (82 C). This is just before the milk boils. (Do not bring all the way to a boil.)

2. Remove the milk from the heat and add the butter. Stir to melt the butter and set aside to cool somewhat.

3. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and the sugar together in a large bowl until they are fluffy and pale. Add the pumpkin and the spices and whisk together. Slowly add the milk mixture and whisk until very well combined.

4. Place the crust in the pan on a large baking sheet. (This will make the pie much easier to maneuver.) Pour the filling into the prepared, unbaked pie crust. Reserve any filling that does not fit and bake it separately in a ramekin for a treat for the cook.

5. Cover the exposed edges of the pie crust with strips of aluminum foil. Carefully transfer the baking sheet with the pie into the 450 F (230 C) oven and bake for 20 minutes.

6. Reduce the oven heat to 350 F (180 C). Bake 15 minutes. Remove the foil from the crust. Bake an additional 15 to 25 minutes. The crust should be golden brown and the center of the pie should wobble just a little when the pie is very gently shaken. Remove from the oven and cool completely before slicing. Serve with whipped cream.

Makes 8 to 10 servings. Eat leftovers within a couple days. Recipe is easily doubled to make two pies.

Cranberry Sauce: Canning The Can

Several years ago, I was preparing to attend a big Thanksgiving dinner at my grandmother’s house. I asked my mom what I could bring. She got back to me a little while later with Grandma’s request that I bring the vegetables. Okay. I couldn’t think of a good recipe immediately, but my collection was growing on its way to the epic proportions it now has, and I could come up with something. But no. I was being asked to bring raw cut vegetables. It was the equivalent of being patted on the head and told, “Don’t worry your little self about cooking something. We know you can’t do that. Just bring some carrot and celery sticks.” And they didn’t even soften the blow by calling it a crudite' platter.

To add injury to the insult, when we sat down to Thanksgiving dinner, there was no cranberry sauce and *gasp* no pumpkin pie! (Harry, who loves them both, almost cried.) Both of these are dishes I can make well (I hope to post a pumpkin pie recipe soon), and I grumbled a bit to myself and vowed that such a thing would never happen again.


If you are about to find yourself in a similar predicament, here’s what you can do: before anyone tells you what to bring, volunteer to bring the cranberry sauce. Oh sure, they’ll be expecting you to bring The Can. The Can is iconic, predictable, comes in jellied or fancy-pants whole berry varieties. The Can is an American institution.
Phooey on the can! If you can boil water and use a measuring cup (you don’t even have to use it all that accurately), you can make cranberry sauce. If you can get your hands on fresh or frozen cranberries in a 12 ounce (340 g) bag (Ocean Spray brand should be just about everywhere), a cup of liquid and a cup of sugar, you’re in business. It will taste so fresh and delicious and will look so, well, not out of a can that its presence will be met with murmurs of awe. You will be the hero. No more of the perfunctory smear of deep red goo that gets pushed around the plate until it is dissolved into that last puddle of gravy and that tiny bit of stuffing that you just didn’t have enough extra notches on your belt to accommodate.

Maybe I’m getting carried away, but his is great stuff. We particularly like it made with orange juice or apple cider. The citrus punch of the orange juice compliments the sour acidity of the cranberries and helps cut through stodgy holiday fare like turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. Apple cider tames the acidity a bit and makes a mellower sauce. I’d also like to try pineapple or pomegranate juice. You could even use water for a cranberry-only taste. (I’ve also seen recipes using red wine, but I can’t remember if I ever tried one.)
This recipe can be made ahead, even a few days. Refrigerate it until an hour or two before you’re going to eat it, then let it come to room temperature where it tastes best. This really is easy and would probably take less effort than cutting up vegetable sticks. If you do decide to bring the vegetable tray, however, at least have the style to call it crudite'.
Cranberry Sauce Recipe
You can use just about any juice that you like, or even water to make this cranberry sauce. I particularly like orange juice and apple cider.
1 12-ounce (340 g) package fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup (250 ml) sugar
1 cup (250 ml) juice or water

1. Combine cranberries, sugar and juice or water in a medium-size saucepan. Stir together and cook over medium-high heat.

2. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Cook 8-10 minutes or until the cranberries have all burst and the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat. Serve at room temperature or store in the refrigerator for a few days. Let chilled sauce come to room temperature before serving.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Two Heads are Better

They say that two heads are better than one. I say that if they are heads of cabbage and cauliflower, you’re on the right track. Add an apple (to keep the doctor away), a creamy dressing, a bit of onion, and the Old World charm of caraway seeds, and you have a crunchy salad that takes slaw in from the picnic table and onto the autumn and winter dinner plate.

I like to make creamy dressings with a combination of mayonnaise and sour cream. The mayonnaise has the right body, while the sour cream provides some tang and keeps the dressing from feeling too heavy or gloppy. The addition of cider vinegar perks it up even more and provides an added bonus: it keeps the apples from turning brown.

The cool creaminess of the dressing contrasts very nicely with the creaky crunch of the chopped (not shredded) cabbage, the funky pop and crumble of the cauliflower and the tart crispness of the apple. The caraway…I don’t know. It was that flavor that was the most pleasant surprise to me when I first tried this recipe. Somehow caraway seeds just seem right in this salad, like they were born there (or are at least among a grouping of flavors that evolved together).

If you are serving a large group, I think this recipe could be easily doubled. Otherwise you don’t need two whole heads of vegetables to make this salad. It’s also quite easy to make, and the accuracy of measurements aren’t absolutely crucial, so it shouldn’t require two heads to figure it out. It tastes so good and is so much fun to crunch, however, you may just wish you had two heads so you could enjoy it twice as much!

Crunchy Cabbage, Cauliflower and Apple Salad Recipe
Modified from a recipe in Eating Well magazine.

1/3 cup (75 ml) mayonnaise
1/3 cup (75 ml) sour cream
2 tablespoons (30 ml) apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon (5 ml) caraway seeds, coarsely crushed
½ teaspoon (2 ml) salt
¼ teaspoon (1 ml) freshly ground pepper
¼ cup (about 1 ounce or 30g) finely chopped red onion
8 ounces (250g or about 2 cups) chopped green cabbage
8 ounces (250g or about 2 cups) chopped cauliflower
1 chopped tart, crisp apple, cored (no need to peel)


1. Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, red onion, cider vinegar, caraway seeds, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk to blend well.

2. Add onion, cabbage, cauliflower and apple to the dressing. Toss well to coat with the dressing.

Can be made a few hours ahead, since the vinegar in the dressing keeps the apples from getting brown. Keep chilled. Leftovers also last a few days in the refrigerator.

Makes about 6 servings.

Potato Frittata

I wish I could say this was a spontaneous dish made with lingering leftovers and some other things I just happened to have on hand, a great breakfast that I threw together with what I had laying around, the equivalent of a fabulous special occasion gown that you just brush off as, “Oh, this old thing?” It should have been, but it wasn’t. I planned this potato frittata in advance.



It all started with an abundance of potatoes (more bounty from our CSA) and an old podcast of The Splendid Table. Lynne Rossetto-Kasper was teaching a caller, step by step, how to make a Spanish-style frittata (or tortilla as it is known in Spain), and it made me hungry. I’ve made frittata before, such as this Zucchini Frittata back when zucchini was in style (now it’s so three months ago). This one, I would make with a bed of fried potatoes with bacon, green onions, and cheese. And so, a few days ahead, I boiled some extra potatoes when we were having mashed potatoes for dinner, and I went shopping for the bacon and onions.




I used all the same techniques as I did in the Zucchini Frittata, except that I first cooked the bacon, rendering the fat, some of which I used to cook the potatoes. I also used one less egg, which was due to bad memory and lack of record checking more than anything else. In hindsight, perhaps the added bacon and bacon fat may have made up for the missing egg, at least as far as fat, calories, and life span go. You could skip the bacon and just fry the potatoes in oil or butter.

This really could be a spontaneous dish, depending on what you have in abundance or left over. You could use leftover cooked pasta or vegetables in place of the potatoes. I’m even wondering how good leftover Roasted Vegetables would be. While we had this for breakfast, it really is appropriate for any meal. It is quite inexpensive and could be a last minute dish. Unexpected company? Don’t panic, just whip up a frittata with leftovers and you can greet the oohs and ahhs over your genius with, “What? This old thing?”

Potato and Bacon Frittata Recipe
Consider boiling, baking or roasting extra potatoes next time you serve them, and keep them on hand for quick frittatas.

3 strips thick-cut bacon
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
3 medium cooked potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
1 teaspoon salt, divided
4 eggs
¼ cup milk
¼ teaspoon pepper
4 green onions, finely chopped
¾ cup shredded Colby-Jack or other easy-melting cheese, divided
2 tablespoons minced parsley

1. Cook the bacon in a 10-inch nonstick skillet with an oven-proof handle over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels. Remove all but 1 tablespoon rendered bacon fat from the pan.

2. Add canola oil to the pan. Add the potatoes and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook the potatoes over medium heat until they are golden brown. Stir or turn the potatoes occasionally to brown on all sides. This will take some time, perhaps 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium-size bowl, beat the eggs with the milk using a whisk or a fork until well blended. Stir in remaining ½ teaspoon salt, pepper, green onions, and ½ cup cheese. Crumble the bacon and stir that in also.

4. Preheat the broiler and place an oven rack in the middle of the oven. When the potatoes are golden brown, reduce the heat under the pan to medium low. Add the egg mixture. Stir gently and cook until the eggs are set around the edges of the pan. (The middle will still be runny.)

5. Top the egg mixture with the remaining ¼ cup cheese and place under the broiler on the middle rack in the oven (this allows the frittata to be heated from the top, but not too intensely). Broil about 5 minutes or until the top is set and beginning to brown.

6. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with parsley. Allow to stand about 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve.

Makes about 6 servings