After Thanks

After Thanksgiving I normally subsist on leftovers the next few days. This year I didn't have as much food leftover. I had ordered an 8 1/2 lb. smoked turkey from Marsh and only cooked the minor accompaniments: roasted yams and red cabbage, Basmati rice with cardamom pods, and whole-wheat bread.

Tonight, after an unusual workout at the gym (I haven't made it there for weeks now), I came home and started putting away what was left. I tore the turkey into portions to freeze and portions to eat at two more meals and started putting out new items from the freezer that I would cook for other meals. I have a lot of frozen stock. I took out cod fillets that I plan to bake with some herbs, lemon and olive oil.

For supper tonight, after a heavy lunch at 8 China Buffet (I missed the seafood extravaganza the restaurant puts out on Sundays and went for the first time since my visit with Kevin), I felt virtuous. I made myself a healthy platter of leftovers and ate while watching Pavarotti and The Rape of Europa, the PBS program on Hitler's pillage of European art objects during his invasion of surrounding countries. He devastated Poland. No wonder that when my neighbor, Linda, visited Warsaw four years ago all she saw were unsightly gray apartment complexes. The Polish invested their money in rebuilding their ruined monuments including the royal castle.

Thanksgiving Whole Wheat Bread

This is a recipe from King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour, scrumptious and healthy. I restrained myself from adding more fold-in ingredients, limiting myself to walnut pieces but raisins, dried cherries, roasted pine nuts or pistachios would have been great, too! Of course, you could add less wholesome but tantalizing morsels of Spanish dry sausage or tiny pieces of salami or Philippine chorizo, celery, carrot, and Spanish onion bits to make it savory and less wholesome.

Henceforth No More Salt!

For Linda's and my birthday dinner I decided to roast a chicken without using salt or pepper. The result was wonderful! The chicken, marinated in fresh lime and lemon juice, freshly ground black pepper, whole, uncrushed garlic, and fresh rosemary leaves was moist, tender and aromatic. It was an eye-opener, or should I say, tongue-enhancer? Here's the recipe:

Ingredients: 1 4 lb. chicken; juice of 1 lemon; juice of 1 lime; freshly ground black pepper; 1 Tb. fresh rosemary leaves, chopped; 7 large garlic cloves; about 1 tsp. virgin olive oil in a mister; 3 celery ribs with leaves cut into 3 inch lengths; 1 carrot, cut into strips the size of celery stalks; and 2 medium onions, peeled, halved.

Directions: 1. Trim chicken of as much fat as you can. Dry with paper towels. 2. Rub with lemon and lime slices, black pepper, rosemary. Crush 3 garlic segments and rub on chicken. 3. Place chicken in bowl just large enough to hold it, squeeze juices and stuff garlic into its cavity. Surround chicken with fruit slices, cover and marinate at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours. 4. Preheat oven to 450°F. 5. Stuff chicken tightly with vegetables and place in roasting pan, preferably one with a spit onto which the chicken is strung. Spray with olive oil evenly. 6. Roast for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 350° and cook until joints move easily. Total cook time is about 20 minutes per pound of bird. 7. Let rest under foil for ten minutes before serving with vegetable stuffing and slices of orange. Heavenly!

Mung Bean Stew

Mung beans or monggo in Hiligaynon is a common ingredient in native foods in the Philippines. Here is my interpretation of it.

Ingredients: 2 C. mung beans, washed, drained; 1 1.5 x 1.5 inch piece of salted red snapper or red fish; 1/2 C. prepared tomato sauce (use your favorite recipe or check a later entry for my favorite basil-plum tomato sauce); 4 C. Chinese broccoli, washed, drained, cut into 3-inch pieces; freshly ground black pepper.

Directions: 1. Add about 6 C. water to the beans and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let sit for an hour or so. 2. Turn on heat again, add salted fish and simmer until beans are tender. 3. Stir in tomato sauce and broccoli and cook another 3 to 5 minutes until broccoli is fork-tender. If you are not watching your sodium intake, correct salt. Add pepper to taste.

Chicken Potpie

I had leftover pie crust from when we baked the fresh peach pie. I hate throwing things away so decided to use the scraps for chicken potpie, one of Tony's favorite meals.

I brought in some of my potted herbs so still had Vietnamese basil and thyme. I accompanied the savory pie with dry-roasted (or nearly dry, I used Misto to spray the nonstick skillet with extra virgin olive oil) slices of end-the-season zucchini and Roma tomatoes, preceded by a wonderful Romaine lettuce-Gorgonzola cheese-balsamic vinegar salad.

Ingredients: 1 whole chicken breast, two wings, back and neck; 1 carrot; 1 celery stalk; 1 small onion; 1 sprig, Italian parsley (optional);  1/2 recipe pie crust; 6 Tb. unsalted butter; 1 small onion, diced; 1 large carrot, diced; 1 celery, diced; 1/4 C. whole-wheat flour; 3/4 C. low-fat milk; 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped; 2 Tb. sherry; 1/2 C. frozen petit point peas, defrosted; 1 Tb. curly parsley, minced; salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste; 1 egg with 1 Tb. water for wash.

Directions: 1. Simmer chicken with enough water to cover, carrot, celery, parsley and onion, skimming off the scum as the parts start to simmer then cooking about 45 minutes. Remove chicken parts and cool. 2. Remove chicken meat from bones and separate into small, bite-size pieces. Return chicken bones to stock and boil vigorously until reduced to 1 1/4 C. 3. Preheat oven to 400°F. 4. Melt butter in skillet and cook onions, carrots, and celery about 10 minutes until onions are translucent. Add flour and cook, stirring, another minute. Add stock and milk, stirring steadily. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. 5. Meanwhile, roll out pie crust to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out four rounds 1/2 inch bigger around than circumference of your ramekins. 6. Spoon still warm filling into 4 ramekins, careful that filling does not reach above line of sides. Top with dough circles, folding excess dough under itself, and use tines of fork to press dough against the edges firmly. Cut 1-inch vent in the center of each pie. 7. Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes or until pastry is golden and filling is bubbling. Cool at least 5 minutes before serving.

Oven-Fried Chicken

I hate frying food at home because the exhaust fan is faux. It does not blow the oil and odor out of the house. Each time I fry, the jars on top of my kitchen cabinets are covered with grease.

Moreover frying uses up lots of oil even when the food is drained on paper towels after being taken out of the oil. Frying results in larger consumption of fats even when I use polyunsaturated Canola and olive oil.

So I was delighted today to find baking does a fine job in place of frying. Here's the recipe for these simple, oven-fried chicken thighs.

Ingredients: 2 lbs. chicken thighs and drumsticks; 4 medium cloves garlic, crushed and peeled; juice of 1 lemon; 2 Tb. dark Chinese soy sauce (Pearl River, for example); freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste; 1 1/2 Tb. olive oil.

Directions: 1. Marinate chicken in all ingredients except oil at least two hours or better yet overnight. 2. Pre-heat oven to 400°F. 3. Drain chicken parts before arranging on grill. 4. Cook for 30 minutes. 5. Using brush or Misto non-aerosol spray, brush or spray oil sparingly on the chicken and return to the oven for 15 minutes. 6. Turn chicken and bake another 15 minutes. You should not need to spray with oil again since the oil would have dripped down to cover the bottom of the pieces. 7. Take out when chicken is cooked through i.e. inside no longer pink but outside is brown and even crisp. 8. Serve hot.

Apple Raisin Dessert

This is a simple, easy-to-fix elegant dessert.

Ingredients: 3 Tb. raisins; 2 Tb. Kahlúa or Tia Maria coffee liqueur; 3 medium Gala or sourish sweet crisp apples, chilled; 1/4 C. whipping cream; 1 tsp. vanilla extract; 1 tsp granulated sugar.

Directions: 1. In microwave-safe cup, cook raisins with liqueur 1 minute. Set aside but keep warm. 2. Whip cream with vanilla and sugar until medium stiff. 3. Slice apples just before serving and arrange in four remakins or fruit cups. Top with whipped cream and raisin sauce.

Egplant Parmesan

Preparation time: one hour.

Ingredients: 2 medium eggplants, sliced horizontally 1/2 inch thick; 2 eggs, lightly beaten; 4 Tb. milk; Italian breadcrumbs; 1/4 C. Olive oil; 24 oz. nonfat Ricotta; 1/2 tsp. Nutmeg, grated; 1 Egg; 2 Tb. Italian parsley, chopped; 1 C. Chianti; 12 oz. Tomato paste; 1 tsp. oregano; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 1/2 lb. Mozzarella sliced; 1/2 C. Parmesan cheese.

Directions: 1. Wash eggplants, wipe dry, slice horizontally 1/2 inch thick. Layer in colander and sprinkle both sides with salt. Allow to set at least an hour. Pat dry with paper towels. 2. Preheat oven to 400°F. 3. Brush olive oil on cookie sheets, enough to lay eggplant slices in one layer. Dip eggplant slices into mixture of egg and milk. Roll in breadcrumbs and lay on cookie sheets. Brush with more olive oil and bake 15 minutes. Flip and bake another 15 minutes. 4. Mix ricotta, nutmeg, lightly beaten egg and parsley in bowl. 5. In a small saucepan, simmer Chianti, tomato paste, oregano, salt and pepper for 10 minutes. 6. Spoon half the sauce on bottom of shallow baking dish. Cover with ricotta mixture. 7. Arrange eggplant slices on ricotta layer. Spoon remaining sauce over eggplant then cover with mozzarella slices. Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese. 8. Bake 20 minutes at 400°F or until top is golden and center is bubbling. 9. Let stand 5 minutes before serving, with more tomato sauce if desired. 

Asparagus Quiche

Preparation time is an hour if pie crust is made beforehand.

Ingredients: 2 Tb. unsalted butter; 1 C. yellow onion, chopped; 1 tsp. dry thyme or 1 large sprig, fresh; 1/2 tsp. salt; 1 C. whipping cream; 3 eggs, lightly beaten; 1/2 C. Parmesan cheese, grated; 1 C. Swiss cheese sliced into strips; 1 can, 12 1/4 oz. giant, white asparagus, drained, halved lengthwise; 1 recipe pie crust for 10" quiche pan; 1-2 Tb. unsalted butter.

Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Line quiche pan with pastry, prick with fork, weigh down with rice or beans, and bake for 5 to 7 minutes. Cool. Reduce oven temperature to 350°. 2. Sauté onions in butter until translucent. Add thyme. Set aside. 3. Mix cream, eggs, Parmesan cheese and salt in bowl. 5. Arrange asparagus pieces on pastry-lined dish. Spoon onions around pieces. Pour in cream mixture. Dot surface with pieces of chilled butter. 6. Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Surface should be slightly golden. Serve hot with good, chilled red wine like a cabernet.

Peach Pie from Scratch

Tony and Audrey made the crust for this two-crust peach pie. I did the filling and finished the pie while they were watching a movie.

Filling: Ingredients for a 10-inch pie. 3 C. fresh peaches, peeled, large cubes; 2/3 C. granulated sugar; 1/3 C. melted unsalted butter; 1/4 C. lemon juice; 2 Tb. lemon zest.

Glaze: One egg mixed with one tablespoon milk or cream. Mix and brush on pie crust before baking.

Optional Topping: 1/2 C. whipping cream, whipped with 1 Tb. granulated sugar and 1 tsp. natural vanilla extract. Or, good vanilla ice cream.

Directions: Arrange peach pieces on pie plate with bottom crust. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over peaches. Cover with upper crust and bake pie at 400° for 15 minutes, at 300° for 50 more minutes or until center starts bubbling and crust is golden. Top with cream or ice cream.