Thanksgiving Stuffing Roundup

Thanksgiving is only two days away!? How did that happen? I had all these great plans for you. A few more T-day side dishes, some desserts, maybe even a cocktail. But then this crazy thing happened that fully derailed everything… I GOT ENGAGED. Our whole relationship has been a crazy whirlwind of excitement… we met, fell in love, moved in together, and got engaged. So fast.

 

Just kidding about the fast part… we’ve been together since spring of 2004, when we were wee little freshman babies in college. Most people probably think we’re already married. The general response to our engagement has been “IT’S ABOUT TIME!”

But more on that later, because it’s almost Thanksgiving! So, let’s discuss stuffing. Or dressing, which is technically what it’s called when baked separate from the bird. This is how I prefer it, because it’s not a soggy lump of a mess, but instead it’s crispy in places, soft in places, all around amazing. But I still call it stuffing.
 

First, the bread: start with super crispy dry bread, whether it’s 2-days old or popped under the broiler to crisp up. Try classic French bread, or mix it up with cornbread, ciabatta, or a combo! Second, the additions: I think there are 6 main categories here. Mushrooms, fruit (cranberries and apples), winter veg (squash, sweet potatoes), pork (bacon, sausage, chorizo), nuts (chestnuts, pecans, walnuts), and herbs (thyme and sage are classics).
 

Since I didn’t have time to make a million stuffing recipes for you, I scoured the internetz for some really tasty looking recipes that you can make as-is, or use for T-day inspiration! A little something for everybody. Happy cooking!

• Kale and Mushroom Bread Pudding via A Thought for Food: Savory bread pudding is a lot like stuffing/dressing, just a bit eggier. This one looks amazing.
• Apple and Herb Stuffing via Smitten Kitchen: Two of the main stuffing additions, together in one glorious dish.
• Andouille Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing via Food 52: This sounds like an amazing year round stuffing with a southern twist.
• Butternut, Sausage, and Fennel Stuffing via Gimme Some Oven: I want to eat this for every single meal this winter.
• Ciabatta Stuffing with Chorizo, Sweet Potato, and Mushrooms via Food 52: Another recipe that takes several of the addition categories and mashes them all together for perfection.
• Pancetta Sage Stuffing Muffins via A Cozy Kitchen: WHAT! Stuffing in adorable hand-held muffin form. Genius.

 

Wild Mushroom & Pumpkin Pasta

October! You’re here! I love you! I love hot cider at the pumpkin patch. I love pumpkin cakes and cookies and soups and chilis (and beers). I love sunny but crisp days, and orange leaves, and red leaves, and scarves. Guys, I have a serious scarf problem (I have like… 35 scarves. Yikes!). I love cinnamon and nutmeg so, so much.

But what I really love…are scary movies and haunted houses! I know it’s only the first of the month, but… Halloween. Do you guys have your costumes or party food picked out yet? Please tell me your house is covered in fake blood and fake cobwebs.  

I’m so excited! I have a major urge to watch Are You Afraid of the Dark right now. Did you watch that as a kid? We didn’t have cable tv, so I only watched 5 episodes that a friend recorded (on VHS) for us. Amanda and I watched those 5 episodes a hundred times. Here are my top 5 (and only 5) favorite episodes:

1. The Tale of the Lonely Ghost: By far the best episode! An old haunted house, a creepy-ass child ghost, a bitchy but super popular teenage cousin. All keys to a good story.
2. The Tale of the Twisted Claw: “It’s the clor of a vulchah!” Amanda and I know this one pretty much word for word.  
3. The Tale of the Prom Queen: Um, who doesn’t love a ghost prom queen from the 50s. I know I do!
4. The Tale of the Pinball Wizard: The entire mall turns into a deadly pinball game. And there’s obviously a teenage love story in here. Enough said!
5. The Tale of the Phantom Cab: Brothers get lost hiking and a creepy old dude in the woods who holds them captive… um. It’s more PG than it sounds.

I may have also spent an entire Saturday a year or two ago watching YouTube recordings of AYAOTD. Just sayin’.

Anyway, that was worthwhile! Also, to celebrate the amazingness of October I made pasta with pumpkin (fall, check), wild mushrooms (fall, check), and sage (yep, check, check, check!). It’s sort of loosely based on a Rachel Ray recipe, but don’t let that stop you from making it.

Wild Mushroom & Pumpkin Pasta
Adapted from this recipe

I used lobster mushrooms and chanterelles, but also threw in some crimini for bulk. The wild guys add in all that wild, earthy flavor I love, and the crimini are the work horse, ensuring that you have a little bit of mushroom in every bite (without costing a million dollars, because let me tell you, wild mushrooms aren't cheap!). But, feel free to use whatever you can find, afford, forage. I also added in a splash of truffle oil, because it just brings out the flavor of the 'shrooms even more. It's totally optional though. This makes a bunch, so it's great for a crowd, or for leftovers. I tossed some diced dry-cured Spanish chorizo into my leftovers, which was pretty tasty! 

1 lb pasta (shells, mac, etc)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb wild mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1.5 cups pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon flour
pinch nutmeg
pinch cinnamon
pinch cayenne
8-10 sage leaves, sliced thin
salt & pepper to taste
truffle oil (optional)
Grated parmesan

Heat water for pasta, salt it and cook penne to al dente. Reserve a cup of pasta water, drain and set aside. 

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and saute until soft and golden, about 6 minutes (add more oil or butter if they stick), sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Whisk together broth, pumpkin, milk, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper. Add to mushrooms in pan, and when everything starts to bubble, reduce heat to medium low and simmer 5 to 6 minutes to thicken. Stir in sage and truffle oil if using. Add in pasta, and reserved pasta water if it's too dry. Serve with cheese. 

Beef Okazu

It's only 3 days until the most anticipated food holiday of the year. Yet here i am. Giving you a Japanese ground beef dish.

So, why no tips on brining your turkey, top ten recipes for yams, or creative ways to re-use leftovers? Well, I decided that I hate pre-Thanksgiving dinners. Don't get me wrong, I love Thanksgiving dinner. All year I look forward to a big plateful of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce, followed by days and days of turkey & cran sandwiches, pulled BBQ turkey with coleslaw, and all kinds of pies. And that's exactly why I'm not making and testing and eating and blogging Thanksgiving dishes before the big day—I don't want to ruin it! That moment each year when the first forkful of turkey dipped in potatoes and gravy (a little smear of cranberry from where they touched on the plate) reaches my mouth... that's what the anticipation is all about. I mean sure, thanksgiving is also about family and friends (and boozing and Black Friday), but it's those things combined with the meal that make Thanksgiving food taste so great. Mom getting up at the crack of dawn to put the turkey in the oven, Amanda trying to sneak extra mustard in the deviled eggs, Dad stealing little bites of pecan pie when no one's looking. The food just wouldn't be as special or taste as good without that whole package.

So, no early-November pumpkin pie in this house… today you get okazu. Which is actually a great pre-Thanks recipe: quick and fuss-free, perfect for a busy weeknight, great for pre-holiday company. My friend Ben told me about okazu about a year ago, and I've been thinking about it ever since. Ground beef cooked in sweet soy sauce with green beans, served over rice. So easy, and so good. What's not easy is finding recipes for okazu. After scouring the internet, I really only found a couple recipes or mentions of this version of the dish (turns out that okazu means "side dish"). Luckily, Ben gave me a pretty good visual of how his okazu turns out (literally, he texted me a picture last time he made it). I went ahead and added some extra goodies to mine—mushrooms, onions, ginger—so I'm not sure if this is what okazu is supposed to taste like. But…I don't care, because this, my friends, is delicious. 

Do you have an okazu recipe? Let me know!

Beef Okazu with Green Beans and Mushrooms

Olive oil (enough to coat bottom of pan)

1/2 onion, diced

2 cups sliced mushrooms

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1.5 lbs ground beef

2 cups green beans, trimmed and halved

1/3 cup soy sauce

1.5 tablespoons sugar (everything I saw called for white granulated sugar, I used brown)

Pinch of ground ginger 

Water 

salt and pepper to taste

Green onion, sriracha, and brown rice, to serve

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium. Add onion and cook several minutes, until translucent and just starting to brown. Add mushrooms, and continue cooking, until mushrooms are soft and desired stage of sautéed (I like mine near caramelized, but it's up to you). Add garlic, cook for a minute or so, and add ground beef. Stir to break up mean, and cook until browned. Add green beans and about a cup of water, cover, and cook about 10-15 minutes. Add soy sauce, sugar, and ginger, and cook uncovered until it thickens up a bit. Final product should be saucy, but not super watery. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over brown rice, with green onion and sriracha to garnish. 

Time Travel

Ok, first of all… I’m in some serious need of new photography supplies. I’m sorry about the weird yellowish-orange 1970s quality of my photos… it seems that my super professional photo studio (i.e., my bedside lamp and my point and shoot camera) can’t keep up with the lack of natural sunlight in these here parts. I’ll try to fix that...the equipment part, not the sunlight part. Although I would fix the sunlight part if I could…but for now, I guess its all “groovy” and “far-out.” That’s ‘70s lingo…right?

I’m not sure if it’s the lack of sunlight or what, but I just don’t have that much to tell you about right now. I mean, I’m clearly not starving or anything, but I’ve been a little unmotivated in the kitchen, and I haven’t gone anywhere particularly exciting. Not to say that I haven’t had some delish dinners, because I have, just nothing super special or eventful to share with you. I think Evan put it best: “we suck at eating lately.” Definitely not the stuff that good food-blog posts are made of.

But, the good news is…even though I’ve had nothing exciting going on lately…I just remembered that I totally forgot to tell you about this:

I think I teased you with a photo of it awhile back, but never got around to actually giving it the attention it deserved. And trust me; it deserves attention… a lot of it! So, in the spirit of time travel (1974 with my photos, 2009 with my recipes)....here's an oldie but a goodie!

I haven’t even told you about the amazing foraging we did over Thanksgiving. Sometimes I don’t even realize how awesome it was to grow up eating seasonally, locally, and naturally organic. During fishing season, we ate fresh salmon that Mel and John caught, and the rest of the year we ate smoked salmon that they caught, smoked, and canned. In the summers we had an over abundance of vegetables from the garden: tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, peppers, peas, green beans, and squash. We also never ran out of home canned jam and pickles (if you haven’t tried Mel’s habanera dills, you haven’t lived). All of our eggs came fresh from our own chickens, and we even picked our own chamomile to make tea. As a picky child, I turned my nose up at a lot of this…never knowing how good I had it! Especially when it came to mushrooms. With a forest for a backyard, Mel and John have always been big on foraging for morels and chanterelles…which, as a child, I thought were hideous, disgusting things.

I’ve since changed my mind about wild mushrooms, especially chanterelles. And, why pay $13 a pound for measly little chanterelles when you can forage your own for free!? And that, my friends, is exactly what we did when Amanda and I were home for Thanksgiving. Mel, John, Amanda and I hiked up into the woods, past bear tracks, past snow, well past civilization…until we stumbled on a gold mine of fresh, golden chanterelles. On our hike out of the woods, Amanda and I dreamed up recipes we would make with our bounty. A teriyaki marinated flank steak with wild mushroom teriyaki sauce just so happened to be the first one I delved into.

This recipe creation for sweet, tender steak with earthy mushrooms is definitely a keeper...even if you hold on to it for a few months before sharing it. I recommend using chanterelles you foraged yourself, but any wild mushrooms will do! There are a few steps to this: marinade overnight, sauté mushrooms, make sauce, and broil steak... so be sure to read ahead before you get started!

Wild Mushroom Teriyaki Flank Steak
Serves 4

1 cup soy sauce
3 teaspoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar (cider or red wine)
Fresh ground black pepper
1.5-2 pounds flank steak
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup fresh wild mushrooms- cut in bite size chunks
Splash red wine
Salt and pepper
Optional- fresh thyme

For Marinade: Combine first 4 ingredients (soy through pepper) in a bowl, stir to mix well. Pour in a large resealable plastic bag (zip lock freezer bag), and add the steak- seal bag. Make sure that the steak is well covered, and lay in a flat a dish that’s larger than the steak (I use a baking dish). Marinate overnight in the refrigerator, turn the bag once or twice.

For Mushrooms: Heat butter over medium heat in sauté pan. Add mushrooms and sauté until golden brown. Add wine, and season with salt and pepper. Sauté until wine evaporates.

For Sauce: Line a broiler pan with aluminum foil, and remove the steak from the marinade, placing on broiler pan rack. Pour the marinade into a saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat for several minutes, reduce heat to low. Whisk together beef broth and cornstarch until starch dissolves. Add to the warm marinade mixture, and whisk. Add mushrooms. Simmer (stirring) until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency.

For Steak: Place broiler pan 2 to 3 inches from heat. Leave the oven door open, and broil 5-7 minutes on each side (for medium rare) up to 10 minutes on each side for medium well. Thinly slice steak across the grain, and serve with mushroom sauce. Sprinkle with fresh thyme.

Warming the House

Well, we’re finally all settled in. Sort of. Basically, I planned a housewarming party, complete with evite and hors d'oeuvre menu… before we actually had things unpacked and settled. The bad part was that we rushed and drove each other nuts trying to get everything done in such a short amount of time, amidst other craziness like Brit’s wedding. The good part was that we actually got a kick in the pants to get our place put together, which maybe would have never happened otherwise. The great part is that I got to host a housewarming party in our new apartment, and prepare an awesome menu of Asian inspired hors d'oeuvres for our friends to enjoy (and praise).

My hors d'oeuvres were by no means authentically Asian, yet they followed an Asian theme, using pan-Asian flavors. The first thing I knew I absolutely had to make was Rumaki. Mel and John used to make Rumaki all the time when I was a kid- much to my pleasure and Amanda’s disgust. Rumaki is basically a mock-Polynesian hors d'oeuvre, consisting of soy-marinated chicken liver and water chestnuts wrapped with bacon. DELISH! While my mouth watered at the thought of Rumaki, in all its livery glory, I wasn’t so sure my guests would feel the same way. Therefore…Mock-Rumaki with chicken breast pieces in place of the liver was born… or Rumocki, if you will.

Next came the fresh Vietnamese-style spring rolls. I remember first trying these little diddies in high school. Amanda loved them so much she immediately went home and learned how to make them. I, on the other hand, didn’t care much for them (what…where’s all the fried awesomeness of an eggroll!?). Years later, with a more mature palate (and a more mature metabolism) I’ve come to love fresh spring rolls, preferring them over their greasy, hip-widening counterpart. My favorites have fresh veggies and tofu… but for the party I stuck with just veggies, filling my tapioca wrappers with a schmear of hoison, leafy lettuce, matchstick carrots, green onions, basil, cilantro, and rice noodles. The spring rolls were a total hit, the freshness and simplicity of them countering the bacony Rumocki.

I wanted a little something for the carnivores and herbivores to nosh on, so in addition to the Rumocki, I made ginger beef skewers with peanut dipping sauce, and in addition to the spring rolls I made teriyaki sautéed mushrooms and broiled tofu.

The final item on the menu, thrown together at the last moment, ended up being the belle of the ball. I had planned to make mini cabbage egg rolls, but the rolling wasn’t going so hot. After failed attempts and a small temper tantrum, I pulled out my mini cupcake pan. I cut the egg roll wrappers in squares, pushed them into the cupcake pan, forming little cups, filled them with cream cheese and sautéed cabbage, and popped them into oven until the wrappers were browned. I then mixed some sweet chili sauce (which I had purchased to dip the eggrolls in) with cut up mango and green onions, and spooned that on top of the cabbage filled cups. It was a pretty simple last minute improvisation, but everyone gave it the thumbs up.

All in all, the housewarming was a success. Amanda and Jim brought cookies, and Vanessa brought brownies. We also got a LOT of wine, and had a great time. With all our friends, and some awesome food, the party was a perfect way to celebrate our new place!