Cranberry Sauce with Lime

Just made this for Thursday.  Cranberry and lime make a nice flavor combination.  While straight up cranberry sauce is delicious on its own, I usually like to add a little dash of something - more ideas here.

1/2 lb whole cranberries, rinsed and picked over
Zest of one lime
1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar
Splash of water

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the berries have all popped and the sauce has thickened to a consistency you like.  Remove from heat, let cool, and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Sauce will keep for at least several days in the fridge.

Serves about 6.

Ideas for Leftover Turkey

Most people, myself included, don't cook much turkey except at the holidays and thus don't have an army of recipes for the leftovers. Here are some ideas, when you get tired of pot pie and soup.

1. add turkey to a classic Waldorf salad
2. substitute turkey for beef in chili (use shredded turkey); turkey marries surprisingly well with Mexican and Southwestern flavors
3. pasta with cream sauce, turkey, and bacon or mushrooms
4. turkey quesadillas - turkey goes well with sharp cheddar and spice
5. turkey salad (a la chicken salad) with blue cheese and pears

Got some other good ideas? Share them in the comments!

Turkey Soup with Porcini-Garlic Broth

A slightly different but still easy twist on turkey soup. Use turkey stock if you made some.

1/4 cup dried porcini pieces
water and/or stock (turkey or chicken)
olive oil
8-10 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium carrots, sliced
3-4 cups shredded cooked turkey
1/2 lb cut pasta (rotini is nice)
1/4 cup marsala
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a little water and pour enough over the porcini pieces to just cover them. Mince the mushrooms when they are nice and soft and be sure to reserve the soaking liquid.

While the mushroom soak, heat some olive oil in a soup pot, then add the garlic and saute over medium-high heat for 2 minutes or so. Add the garlic, carrots, and several cups of water or stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the turkey and pasta and boil until the pasta is tender, about 10 more minutes. Add the marsala and salt and pepper to taste.

Serves about 6.

Roasted Heritage Turkey

I know, I know, about a week too late with this recipe, right? But I wanted to test it again this year to be sure it was really good, since last year was my first heritage turkey ever. There's nothing revolutionary here, but it has yielded excellent, succulent results two years running, so try it with your Christmas turkey (if you have one) or save it for next year. I've never tried this on a small turkey, so I can't vouch for how well it would work on a smaller bird. Our turkey this year was 20 pounds, for a crowd of 16 and some good leftovers.

1 14+ lb heritage turkey
1-2 apples, quartered
2 small onions, quartered
6-8 cloves garlic, whole (no need to peel)
Several sprigs of sage
1/4 cup butter, softened
Salt and pepper

If needed, thaw the turkey over 2-3 days in the refrigerator. Remove from the fridge about 2 hours before you plan to cook it, so it can warm up a bit.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and remove all racks except for the very bottom one.

Place the turkey breast side up on a rack in a large roasting pan. Using your hands, generously coat the inside of the turkey with salt and pepper. Stuff the main cavity and the neck cavity with the apples, onions, garlic, and sage. Using cooking twine and/or turkey skewers, close up the cavities and tie the turkey's legs together. Use skewers to secure the wing tips to the body (to help prevent over cooking of the wings). Rub all exposed turkey skin with the butter, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

Roast the turkey at 450 for 30 minutes. The skin should be nicely browned. Then turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees and cover the turkey loosely with aluminum foil (do not tuck the foil all the way down over the pan - just cover most of the breast and legs and leave the sides of the foil loose). Roast for another 2 hours, then check the internal temperature by sticking an instant read thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, without touching bone. The turkey is done when the temperature reaches at least 165 degrees. If the turkey is not done yet, roast for another 30 minutes; repeat as needed. (My 20 lb turkey took 3 hours from start to finish.)

When the turkey is done, remove it from the oven. Carefully tilt it up so the juices can run out of the cavity into the pan, then remove the turkey to a platter and let it rest for at least 30 minutes (cover with a towel or two if you like, to keep it warmer). Use the pan juices to make gravy.

Greenfield Farmers Market Ends This Saturday

This Saturday will be the last day of the Greenfield Farmers Market. Get there while you can, and stock up on great local food for Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Ideas

It's almost Thanksgiving, a holiday I look forward to every fall. As a meal of traditional dishes, it's just made for local ingredients. I haven't developed any new Thanksgiving recipes this year, but check out the items tagged thanksgiving from previous years for some ideas if you're still figuring out your menu.

Post-Thanksgiving Turkey Pot Pie

After a couple meals of leftovers that were exact repeats of the big feast, it was time for a meal of leftovers that at least took a different form. This pot pie made a big dent in what remained in the fridge--though now we'll also be eating leftover pot pie for another day. I love dishes like this because they are so flexible - throw in whatever seems plausible.

Turkey pot pie with biscuit top

In this case, I managed to use leftover turkey (of course), green beans that had been thawed but didn't make it onto the table, the remaining gravy, the remaining parsley potatoes, and some carrots leftover from the crudite platter. Oh, and the leftover pastry dough from the pies. To that, I added some onion and celeriac. The results were great and made the leftovers feel at least somewhat like something new.

Since the whole point of this is to use up whatever you have, it seems silly to give a precise recipe. Basically, you just want to combine cooked vegetables with shredded turkey and either leftover gravy or a quick sauce (make a roux, add milk or stock and simmer, stirring, until gravy-like). I added a little dried sage, figuring it would go well with the seasonings already present. Then top with either pastry dough (rolled out to 1/8-inch thick) or a biscuit dough. You could even use leftover mashed potatoes, for a dish halfway between a pot pie and a shepherd's pie. Bake at 375 for around 30 minutes, until the pot pie is bubbly and the crust is golden brown and cooked through.

Cranberry Sauce Ideas

Cranberries available around here aren't strictly local, but it's not hard to find ones grown in Massachusetts at least. And Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce just wouldn't be right.

I like to make whole berry sauce, the kind where you dump fresh or frozen whole berries into a saucepan with a little water and some sugar and cook until they pop and become a chunky jelly. It's great just like this, but I have trouble resisting the urge to jazz it up at least a little. My favorite thing to do is add a little grated fresh ginger - maybe a tablespoon or so to a pound of berries.

Other ideas:
1. Add some other fruit(s), like blueberries
2. Cook the berries with some whole spices, like cloves and cinnamon sticks - remove the spices later. Or try whole star anise for something a little different.
3. Use orange juice instead of water or add some citrus zest.
4. Add chopped dried fruit and/or nuts.
5. Any combination of the above.

Our Thanksgiving Menu

This is the menu I have planned for Thanksgiving this year. We'll be serving 14. Nearly all major ingredients are coming from local farms or our garden.

Turkey and gravy
Sausage-apple stuffing (probably a variation on this recipe)
Sweet potato pone
Green beans almondine
Parsley potatoes
Mashed rutabaga and potatoes with roasted garlic
Mashed winter squash with cider vinegar and herbs
Rolls
Waldorf salad
Cranberry sauce

Plus pie, of course: apple, pumpkin, peach, blueberry, and cherry. With Snow's ginger and vanilla ice cream.

Before the meal, we'll munch on veggies and dip, along with some local cheese and crackers.

Late Fall Crudite Platter

We usually have veggies and dip on hand as appetizers before Thanksgiving dinner. But what do you serve if you're trying to keep it local in late November? Carrots, of course. But other root vegetables can also be great raw: try radishes, daikon, celeriac, kohlrabi, and turnips (especially smaller ones). For all of these, peel and cut into sticks or slices. Depending on the nature of the dip you are serving, apple and pear slices can also work well.

Winter Squash with Roasted Garlic

This is both incredibly good and incredibly easy. I have served it at Thanksgiving and watched it all disappear, but it's also good for any other time as well. This recipe makes enough to serve about 4 (maybe 6 if you have a large menu), but it is easily expanded.

1 medium butternut squash or equivalent
1 head roasted garlic, cloves separated and peeled
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the squash in half the long way and scoop out the strings and seeds. Place the squash cut side down in a baking pan with about 1/4 inch of water in the bottom. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until squash is tender (test by piercing it with a fork or knife).

When squash is done, allow it to cool until you can comfortably handle it. Scoop the flesh out of the skin and mash. Add the garlic and either mash it all well together or puree. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves about 4.

Thanksgiving Pie Ideas

Pie for Thanksgiving is a big deal in my family, especially on my husband's side. Not only does there need to be plenty for the big day, with family sticking around all weekend, there needs to be plenty of leftovers! Apple and pumpkin are non-negotiable necessities and not to be messed with, but we always do at least a couple other kinds as well and there is always room for a little creativity. Peach, blueberry, and cherry are all frequent additions to the table. Last year I made a triple cranberry meringue pie (I think I found the recipe on the New York Times website), which was quite tasty but involved too many steps to make again for a holiday where food prep time is at a premium. Here are some other ideas to jazz things up without straying too far from tradition:

1. For apple pie, add a handful of cranberries
2. For pumpkin pie, add minced candied ginger or substitute maple syrup for some or all of the sugar
3. For peach pie, add some minced fresh or candied ginger
4. For peach, cherry, or berry pies, top with streusel topping instead of pastry crust
5. Mix apple and pear in a pie, or apple, pear, and poached quince
6. Mix different berries in one pie (e.g. blueberry, strawberry, and blackberry)
7. For berry, cherry, or peach pie, add a teaspoon of almond or hazelnut extract to the pastry dough
8. Combine peaches with blueberries or blackberries

And, of course, don't forget to have plenty of Snow's or Bart's ice cream on hand for the a la mode part. Vanilla is classic, of course, but we have found that Snow's ginger goes really well with most fruit pies - skeptical relatives have been converted!

Butternut Polenta with Shiitake Tomato Sauce

This is sort of a sneaky squash dish - the flavor is subtle, so children and other suspicious parties might not realize it's there. But it adds a pleasantly sweet note to the polenta here. You could easily serve the polenta on its own as a side dish (Thanksgiving idea?); here I topped it with sauce for a main dish. If you do that, stir in a little grated Parmesan with the squash. (Likewise, the sauce would be be good over pasta, too.) I used butternut squash because the flesh is smooth, but you could substitute another variety of your choice. You could also toss some cooked beans or chicken into the sauce to make it a bit more substantial.

Paul Lagreze of New England Wild Edibles told me that we are rapidly nearing the end of his shiitake season, so if you spot any be sure to snap them up. They won't be back until the spring.

Polenta
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 cup polenta cornmeal (or other coarse cornmeal)
1 1/2 - 2 cups cooked butternut squash, well mashed
1/4 tsp dried sage (or more to taste)

Sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, minced
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz. shiitakes, thinly sliced
3-4 cups chopped tomatoes (1 28-oz can or frozen equivalent; if using frozen whole tomatoes, thaw and drain first)
1/2 tsp dried sage
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan for topping

Make the sauce first, so it can simmer while you cook the polenta. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or deep skillet. Add the shallot and garlic and saute over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the shiitakes and saute until tender, another 3-5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, sage, and salt and pepper and simmer over low heat.

To make the polenta, bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan (nonstick makes for easy cleanup). Add the salt, then slowly whisk in the cornmeal. Immediately lower the heat and continue to stir, switching to a spoon. Be careful not to get burned as bubbles pot and spit. Cook until the polenta thickens nicely, then remove from heat and stir in the squash and sage.

Serve in bowls, with a generous helping of sauce over a scoop of polenta. Top with Parmesan at the table.

Serves about 4.

Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas

Looking for Thanksgiving recipe ideas now that it's November? I have tagged a bunch here with the label "thanksgiving" and will continue to do so through the month: http://happyvalleylocavore.blogspot.com/search/label/thanksgiving. Enjoy!

Green Salad with Pears and Feta

Tossed green salads can be dressed up remarkably by the addition of fruit and cheese in place of the usual carrots and so forth. This is an especially good option at this time of year, when the salad greens are still going strong but the tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, and so forth are gone.

For this one, use a mix of salad greens if you can - though just lettuce works, too. Slice about 1 pear for a salad to serve four people. If not serving immediately, toss the slice pear with a little lemon juice to prevent browning. Add crumbled feta (from Chase Hill Farm, perhaps) and, if desired, a few toasted walnuts or pecans. Serve with a vinaigrette of your choice; something a little sweet is good.

Winter Squash with Cider Vinegar and Herbs

Small squashes like delicatas make for quick and easy preparation at any time, especially if cooked in the microwave. When I have a larger squash on hand, if I don't have any specific plans for it, I often cook the whole thing, mash the squash, and keep it in the fridge or freezer, using a bit at a time. Cooked squash will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for at least a week or two. I adopted this technique when I was getting a CSA share that included two or more squashes a week for months. I could take out a cup of cooked squash for pancakes or muffins, or put it on pizza or into a pasta dish, or heat some up to serve as a side dish like this one.

2 cups cooked and mashed winter squash
2 tsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper to taste
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary or sage (or more to taste)

Heat squash through, then combine with all other ingredients. Adjust seasonings as desired. Serve hot.

Serves 2-3.

Heritage Turkey for Thanksgiving

We just reserved a heritage turkey for Thanksgiving. If you're interested in doing likewise, it's definitely not too early to do so. A number of farms in Western Mass grow small numbers of heritage breed birds for just this purpose. We reserved ours from Wells Tavern Farm, which is just off route 2 in Shelburne. You can check CISA's database for others--just type "turkey" into the "Find it locally..." search box.

I have never had heritage turkey before, but I have heard that it is a gustatory experience worth having, juicy and supremely flavorful. Here's one good reason to look forward to November!

Quick and Easy Delicata Squash

Fall is most definitely here. There was a frost advisory last night, which had us out covering up the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, and harvesting whatever was close to ready. Among the harvest: all our delicata squash, which was definitely ripe.

There are loads of ways to cook winter squash--you can roast it, steam it, saute it, or pressure cook it, among other things. But the easiest and fastest way I have found yet is to do it in the microwave. It feels a little like heresy, but the results are great and the mess is minimal. This works best with smaller squash and relatively small quantities (to do more servings, you just have to do it in batches). Delicatas are great candidates for this. Here's the method:

Cut the squash in half the long way and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash halves in a covered microwaveable container (e.g. glass casserole dish). Microwave on high for five minutes, then to check for doneness (the squash should be soft when it's ready). The amount of time needed will vary with the size of the squash and the power of your microwave. If it's not done after five minutes, add another minute or two and check again. Repeat as needed.

Serve squash halves as they are, and provide optional toppings at the table: butter, maple syrup, and brown sugar are all classics, though delicata squash is so sweet and delicious that you can eat it straight if you like. For something a little less traditional, try salt and pepper with a little sprinkle of garam masala or curry powder.

Roasted New Potatoes and Fennel with Goat Cheese

Yesterday was cool and rainy, a good chance to use the oven. I had originally been thinking about a gratin with these ingredients, but I didn't have enough time so I kept it simpler. Another time I will have to try the gratin, but this was delicious. I served this alongside broiled pork chops from Bostrom Farm, which were delicious seasoned only with salt and pepper.

1 lb new potatoes, in 1/2-inch cubes
1 medium fennel bulb, chopped
Olive oil
1/4 tsp dried tarragon (or some fresh if you have it)
Salt and pepper
1-2 oz crumbled goat cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Toss the potatoes and fennel together in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Drizzle with enough olive oil to coat, then add the tarragon, salt, and pepper and mix. Roast for 40-50 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until vegetables are tender.

Place potato and fennel mixture in a bowl and add the goat cheese. Stir to coat.

Serves about 4.

Parsley Potatoes

My mom made a version of this fairly frequently when I was growing up, and it was always a family favorite. She made it with conventional potatoes and dried parsley, and that's not a bad way to do it in other seasons (though I would definitely go for organic with the potatoes). But try it now, with new potatoes and fresh parsley, and it is a revelation. Simple, but so good. Sort of addictive, really.

1 1/2 lbs or so new potatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks but not peeled
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. The exact time will depend on the size of the chunks, but it will be faster than with winter potatoes.

Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Add the parsley, salt, and pepper, and stir to coat. Serve hot.

Serves about 4.