SILKY COCONUT PUMPKIN RISOTTO

Yes, this is a post-Thanksgiving wrap-up piece.





Yes, I am running a touch behind.





Stay tuned, as next week I'll demonstrate how to turn leftover July 4th lemonade into a velvety sauce to pour over pound cake.





*Sigh*

I served appetizer portions of this Silky Coconut Pumpkin Soup (recipe from Epicurious) on Thanksgiving. I puree the soup and serve it in shot glasses as an amuse bouche. It's one of those recipes that I have to make in a double batch. The reason is that I can't stop tasting...tasting...tasting...while It's simmering away in the pot. If I don't start with a double batch I won't have enough left to serve. This is happy stuff! Even people who don't generally care for the taste of pumpkin are wooed into a second helping of this soup.

Two days after the thanksgiving plates had been cleared we hit the "I-refuse-to-eat-any-more-Thanksgiving-leftovers" wall. However, I still had a touch more soup in the refrigerator. I grabbed my box of Arborio rice and Silky Coconut Pumpkin Risotto was born!

Finished risotto will be creamier than in this photo, which was taken after risotto had cooled and started to firm up. What can I say, I wanted to eat it--not photograph it!

SILKY COCONUT PUMPKIN RISOTTO

12 oz Arborio rice
1 small sweet onion, chopped
2 TBS olive oil
few splashes of white wine (optional)
2 cups heated chicken stock (plus a touch additional)
2 cups heated Silky Coconut Pumpkin Risotto (from leftovers)
fresh cracked pepper

Heat olive oil in heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and saute for about 5 minutes, until onions soften. Add rice and a few splashes of white wine if desired. Continue to cook, stirring often, for 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully add about 1 cup of heated stock to pan. Simmer gently and stir until stock is absorbed. Add 1 more cup of stock to pot, cook in same manner until stock is absorbed. Repeat procedure using soup, 1 cup at a time. If risotto is too firm to the bite, continue to add small amounts of either chicken stock or soup until rice is creamy. Add pepper to taste and serve hot.

Hickory-Bacon & Roasted Corn Gougeres

If a dainty, airy, and fluffy meringue holed up in a sleazy motel and debased herself in a torridly hot love affair with a salty, savory, massively cheesy brute, their offspring would be this lovely gougeres.

A tiny note of hickory bacon.

A little tang of extra sharp cheddar.

It dissolves on your tongue and saves you the trouble of chewing.

Dear God, if I had a bottle of dry champagne and a platter of these, I'd hang the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the doorknob and call it a night. I'm easy that way. Perhaps these will make it out of the kitchen with the Clicquot as a Thanksgiving appetizer...and maybe they won't. If I'm not hungry for turkey, you'll understand why.


HICKORY-BACON AND ROASTED-CORN GOUGERES
from Epicurious--modified slightly

5 thick-cut, hickory-smoked bacon slices
3/4 cup corn (from 2 medium ears)
1 cup water
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 to 5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar (5 ounces)
3 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives

Preheat oven to 375°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.

Cook bacon in skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crisp. Drain on paper towels, then finely chop.

Pour off fat from skillet, then wipe clean. Add corn and pan-roast over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until kernels are mostly golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

Bring water to a boil with butter and salt in a heavy medium saucepan, stirring until butter is melted. Add flour all at once and cook over medium heat, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon, until mixture pulls away from side of pan, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly, about 3 minutes.

Add 4 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. (Batter will appear to separate at first but will then become smooth.) Mixture should be glossy and just stiff enough to hold soft peaks and fall softly from a spoon. If batter is too stiff, beat remaining egg in a small bowl and add to batter 1 teaspoon at a time, beating and then testing batter until it reaches proper consistency.




Stir in bacon, corn, cheeses, chives, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly butter sheets. Fill a pastry bag fitted with 1/2-inch plain tip with batter and pipe about 35 (3/4-inch-diameter) mounds, or spoon mounded teaspoons, 1/4 inch apart, onto each sheet.

*Yeah, I used a star piping tip instead of plain. I'm gay. So sue me!

Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until puffed, golden, and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes total. Transfer to a rack (still on parchment if using). Make more puffs on cooled baking sheets. Serve warm or at room temperature.

**Be sure to wipe the crumbs off your mouth before taking the platter out to your guests.

INTRODUCING JACQUES, MY NEW SOUS CHEF

Jacques has been showing up to work in the kitchen super early every day now for about a week. So early that I'm usually still in my underwear, pouring the first cup of morning coffee. He shows the promising signs of a really diligent employee. He always has an eye (or two or three or eight, I can't really tell) on what I'm doing.


I am possibly concerned that he's stepped in some molten sugar as he leaves a thin ethereal strand behind him as he wanders around. If he's been burned by it, I hope my worker's compensation insurance will cover him.


I'm thinking Jacques is going to be very handy in the kitchen next week. I'll be needing those extra arms to help me get the Thanksgiving meal to the table. I do hope I can coax him out of the window sill.

BE VEWY, VEWY QUIET...I'M A HUNTIN' TURDUCKENS!

Before the vitriol-filled comments come pouring in, I’ll first clarify that I’ve never tasted a turducken. Perhaps it is indeed a revolutionary taste sensation. It’s credited to chef Prudhomme although I’ve read theories that variations of the motley meat mash-up are credited as an authentic Cajun dish first found in Maurice Village of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana in the late 1800s. If anyone is still unfamiliar with the festive turducken, it is summed up as a stuffed boneless chicken, stuffed into the cavity of a boneless duck, which is stuffed into a boneless turkey. Slow roast the entire thing and you’ve got a crispy skinned Disney character medley, roasted and served on a plate.

The idea of the turducken is at least intriguing. Was its true inventor someone who imagined the three-fold fowl melding together into a flavor much greater than each individual taste? Was the more fatty, bolder duck intended to be a sort of inner-basting, flavor-boosting element to the other milder birds? Was it created due to a shortage of oven space necessary to cook the three independently?

I have my own theories. Perhaps some late 1800’s culinary student stepped out of his kitchen to enjoy a coffee break and “herbal” brownie on his front porch. A building, Technicolor wave of munchies soon washed over him and his hyper-driven palate began daring to dream as of yet forbidden thoughts. As the contents of the brownie pan dissipated the level of hunger built. But this hunger wouldn’t be satisfied easily as he deeply craved a level of savory enjoyment he hadn’t before. An unsuspecting mélange of live fowl soon sacrificed their lives to satiate his desires. Salted breadcrumbs and garden herbs joined the concoction and soon the wood-burning oven exuded new smells of roasting, juicy birds. Munch-o-licious!

Then again, the creation may have originated from someone less seduced by her kitchen. Disgruntled and bitter by the demands of a picky and over-demanding family, an early American housewife found herself alone in the kitchen, shoving breadcrumbs up the backside of a turkey at 5 am (I often imagine Roseanne’s TV persona to have originated from this angst-ridden woman). Perplexed by the task of being asked to prepare not just turkey on Thanksgiving, but duck and chicken as well, she sought a simpler solution that would allow her to sneak back into bed before the onslaught of ungrateful in-laws arrived that afternoon. Wielding a boning knife with more enthusiasm that she’d experienced before, she cut away the carcass of all three birds.

Pluck. Pluck.

Stuff. Stuff.

Into the oven.

Back to bed.

Voila—the turducken is born!

Perhaps this is the beginning of yet another new style of Thanksgiving cooking. First smoked turkey was the must-have preparation, then deep frying and now the impressive, yet slightly intimidating turducken. Maybe it’s time to infect other holiday meal courses with a mutated viral cooking style and condense some other traditional favorites. Perhaps I could invent the Yamatoricessing. You'd simply pipe mashed potatoes into hollowed yams filling about 2/3rds full. Fill the remainder with cornbread dressing and secure potato closed with a toothpick. Dip stuffed yams in gravy and then roll in wild rice and bake at 400 F for 45 minutes. Serve hot.

Mmmmmm! Seconds anyone?

MAHI MAHI WITH ORANGE TEQUILA SAUCE

My never-ending quest for fish recipes that I can eat (and actually enjoy) took another step forward with this Mahi Mahi recipe inspired by a margarita. The flavors are just as wonderful as downing a pitcher of Cadillacs but without the dreaded aftereffect of having to hunt for your clothes when you wake up the following morning in some stranger's bed.

MAHI MAHI WITH ORANGE TEQUILA SAUCE

2 or 3 Large Mahi Mahi fillets
black sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

For Marinade
1/2 cup tequila
3 TBS frozen orange juice concentrate
1 tsp cumin
3 TBS ketchup
1 large garlic clove, minced
salt & pepper to taste




Blend marinade ingredients together well. Place fish in small baking dish and pour marinade over fish. Refrigerate 2 - 6 hours, turning fish occasionally. Remove fish from marinade. Pour marinade into small saucepan and set over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer for ten minutes or until reduced and thickened slightly. Grill or broil mahi mahi until opaque and hot throughout. Plate fish and pour sauce over. Garnish with sesame seeds.

CHAI PUMPKIN PANCAKES

My previous post included a link to a web site where you can determine how much of your favorite caffeinated beverage is required to render you dead. Still. Done. Gonzo.




It's quite entertaining, but what would be more useful is some meter to determine the exact dosage of caffeine that will carry you from the day you begin to plan your Thanksgiving meal (which was today--a late start for me) until the last Tylenol is swallowed sometime mid-day on January 1. That would be useful indeed. I'm already getting the jitters and I'm off to a late start.

Let the Holiday Food-Fest Begin!


aaAAARRRGGHHHHHhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

I pulled out my recipe for Whole-Wheat Apple Pumpkin Pancakes and made a small change. I ditched the grated apple (who needs to grate their fingers and knuckles early on Saturday morning anyway? What the hell was I thinking when I did the original recipe?) I added some Chai Tea to the milk and voila!





CHAI PUMPKIN PANCAKES

3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup egg whites
1 TBS canola oil
1/4 cup applesauce
2 cups fat-free milk
1 Chai tea bag
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 TBS sugar (heaping)

Heat milk in small saucepan (or glass container in microwave) until hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat and add tea bag. Set aside until cool. In a medium-size bowl, combine pumpkin, egg whites, canola oil, applesauce and prepared milk. In a large bowl, mix remaining dry ingredients well. Add pumpkin mixture to dry ingredients and whisk together until blended. Add a touch more milk if batter is too thick.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle (or large skillet) over medium heat. Spoon roughly 1/4 cup of batter on griddle. Cook pancakes until edges begin to brown and bubbles form on top. Use a wide spatula to flip pancakes over and cook until bottom is golden and pancakes are done in center, about two to three minutes.

85.23 CUPS SAFETY MARGIN

The Death by Caffeine answer generator assures me that my 5 cups of coffee a day perhaps only makes me mildly annoying to my co-workers. I need not worry about dying in my office of a caffeine overdose.