Marit says, "Holiday Cooking is for the Birds."

by Marit Schroeder, intern

Well I did it. My first major holiday without my parents cooking for me, and it worked out just fine! Don’t get me wrong, I had other family in town to celebrate and cook with, but I’m allowed to be a little dramatic about cooking a holiday meal, I think.

When I first found out my parents wouldn’t be in town for Thanksgiving, I was given the major task of cooking the turkey for my 14 other family members. Talk about feeling overwhelmed!

Everyone here at Bite & Booze was super helpful with tips and tricks about how to cook the perfect turkey. Luckily, I have an aunt who took over the last minute stress to cook the turkey.

Rid of the turkey pressure, my next task proved to be even trickier: cook the food for my vegetarian family members. I love myself some meat, and it was hard to focus on a meal plan revolving around vegetables. As much as I enjoy them as a side dish, translating that into a more hearty meal was a challenge.

For an appetizer, we started out with a salmon mousse and cucumbers for dipping. Not so shockingly, my sister and I had never made mousse before so it came out like a cheese dip. It was definitely delicious as a dip even though it should have been more of a gelatin mold. Clearly my college culinary skills need improvement.

Salmon Mousse with cucumbers.

Next, we had to change up the stuffing and made ours with herbed wild rice and quinoa. Quinoa has been rocking the food world for the past few years and it’s a great grain substitute or complement for a plethora of dishes.

Vegetarian dressing featuring wild rice and quinoa.

Lastly, and most easily, I was in charge of a cheese tray. I took care of this by heading down to Calandro’s and picking up some of their pre-made cheese balls and fancy cheeses from the deli. 

Fancy Cheeses and accouterments from Calandro's

All in all, though daunting, I felt accomplished at the end of the day. It was a Happy Thanksgiving to all at my house, even for those non-vegetarians!

Sadly, this is my last post as a Bite & Booze intern. I hope you’ve enjoyed my grandmother’s recipe for red gravy and learning about my first brewery experience during our Hot Chicken on a Tin Roof event. Most importantly, I’m leaving behind the valuable (and expert) knowledge of where to find the best frozen daiquiris around town!

Thanksgiving in Louisiana

Thanksgiving in Louisiana is an injected turkey in a deep fryer, and knowing how to do it right. It is the smell of smoke filling the air for those who opt not to deep fry but would never be so traditional as to bake their bird. It is a sweet potato casserole topped with crunchy pecan pralines, not marshmallows. It is the ongoing debate between cornbread and oyster stuffing... or dressing. It is family and friends; and beer and football. It is game day eve as the Tigers take the field on Friday. It is hunting season, and the weather is that lovely season in between the sweltering heat of summer and the slight chill of winter. People gather, people give thanks, and people enjoy what people enjoy best in Louisiana: good food, good times, and great people.

Happy Thanksgiving from Bite and Booze!

Turkey Day with Virtual Potluck and Marx Foods

A group of food bloggers from around the country who were brought this Fall for the Emeril's cookbook promotion has together decided to continue to work together on other projects. I'm very proud to be a member of the Virtual Potluck group and hope to continue to do some amazing things such a wonderful and inspirational group of bloggers. One of our first promotions is to cook a virtual Thanksgiving meal with ingredients from Marx Foods, a gourmet specialty food company that can send amazing ingredients straight to your door. You can actually use a promocode this week to get a discount at Marx Foods: Enter “POTLUCK” into the “Coupon Code” field at checkout for 10% of everything in the store. Valid 11/21 – 11/27.  My contribution was part of "Turkey Four Ways" meal that I prepared for WBRZ news in Baton Rouge. The special should air the night before Thanksgiving. You can find links to the rest of the Virtual Potluck meal on Cookistry, and you can find all four turkey recipes at Deep South Magazine, but below is the recipe for the Smoked Sea Salt and Puya Chili Oil Seared Turkey Thighs with Brandy Wine Black Trumpet Mushroom Cream Sauce!

Smoked Sea Salt and Puya Chili Oil Seared Turkey Thighs with Brandy Wine Black Trumpet Mushroom Cream Sauce
2 turkey thighs
2 tsp. smoked sea salt (or kosher salt) - From Marx Foods
1 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper or to taste
1 puya chili with stem removed (or guajillo or other medium-heat pepper) - From Marx Foods
3 T grapeseed, sunflower or canola oil, divided
1/2 ounce dried black trumpet mushrooms or other mushroom variety - From Marx Foods
1 cup hot water
2 shallots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup cream
1/4 pound butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pat turkey thighs dry with a paper towel. Lightly score the skin of both thighs with a knife in a crosshatch pattern. Sprinkle skin side with smoked sea salt and place aside to rest for at least 10 minutes. In a food processor, add the chili and 2 tablespoons of oil. Pulse the food processor to incorporate and make chili oil. Place dried mushrooms in hot water and let soak for at least 10 minutes. Heat the chili oil over high heat in an oven-safe sauté pan. Sprinkle the turkey thighs with black pepper and place skin down in the chili oil. Sear the skin side for 4-5 minutes and then flip the thigh over. Transfer pan to oven and continue to cook for 30-35 minutes until the thighs have reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

In a separate sauté pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and place over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to stir for another minute or two. Drain the mushrooms, chop them a little if desired, and add to the pan. Add some freshly ground black pepper. Lower the heat to medium. Add in the white wine and cook until reduced by half. Carefully pour in the brandy and continue to reduce for a few more minutes. Add the cream and again cook until reduced by half. Reduce heat to low. Stir in and melt the butter. Taste and add salt as desired. Once the butter is in, do not return the sauce to a boil. Pour sauce over turkey thighs and pasta if desired.

How do you say, ah yes, Turkey Day

Turkey Day 2009 proved to once again to be a day filled with family, friends, food, and fun.  Eric and Dana, my brother and sister, went to my cousin Philip and his wife Lisa's house for Thanksgiving dinner.  The family generational gap made its presence as Granny made it to dinner with a lot of her grand children but none of her kids (our parents) were present.  They all seemed to be out of town and feasting somewhere else in the country.   Oh well, more bites and boozes for me!

Cousin Travis attended the Thanksgiving dinner with his lady friend, Lauren.  He prepared a fantastic pumpkin and pecan bread which we devoured like we hadn't eaten breakfast.  Oh yeah, I didn't eat breakfast.  I was saving room for dinner!!

Travis's Pumpkin and Pecan Bread

Travis also came to the gathering with some home-vinted vino.  He brought a bottle of Pinot Noir made from a home-fermented Pinot concentrate.  The wine was surprisingly good!  I expected it to be pretty good because I have never really known Travis to make anything bad, but this wine actually had some character to it.  It was a refreshing red wine that was fairly light on the palate and I'd say a little less complex and fruity than a typical Pinot, but still extremely drinkable, delightful, and cheap!

Home-Vinted Pinot Noir

Thanksgiving is not just an occasion for wine though.  It is also a holiday that calls for really good beer.  I started my pre-dinner beer drinking with a homebrewed porter.  This porter, which was crafted by Phil, Travis, and Eric, I believe, came out strong, rich, and spicy.  I could taste the dark-malted brew on my lips and tongue while the liquid went down my throat and into my extremely satisfied belly.

Homebrewed Porter and Stone Brewery's IPA in Frosty Third Row Mugs

Stone's IPA is a terrific, hoppy bear that went down so well after Thanksgiving dinner.  It is a beer drinker's beer for sure, and those that don't like robust hops need not give it a taste.  I, however, love strong hoppy flavors and found the Stone IPA to be a great beer for a holiday dinner.  Now, on to the meal!

Thanksgiving Dinner Plate at Phil and Lisa's House

Thanksgiving dinner was served with a marvelous spread of food that covered the entire kitchen at Phil and Lisa's house.  Granny made her signature cornbread dressing which was the only thing that I HAD to have on Thanksgiving.  There was also mashed potatoes and gravy, Dana's green bean casserole, asparagus, sweet potatoes, and, of course, turkey and cranberry sauce.  Philip smoked the turkey this year and it came out very nicely.  The bird was flavorful, moist, and tender with a smoky flavor that made the turkey extra special.  I can't say that I'd mind eating food like that all the time! 

For dessert Travis and Lauren brought over an assortment of pumpkin and apple pies.  I had a slice of each, adding a hefty scoop of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla to the apple pie.  Man, that was a treat!  I wanted to eat it so badly that I apparently forgot to take a picture!  After hours of chatting, playing some UNO with the kids, and talking about beer and wine, it was time to leave Phil and Lisa's home.  No worries though!  The next stop happened to be Sara's house for more dessert!

Cranberry-White Chocolate-Ginger Cheesecake

I had the pleasure of swinging by Sara's house with Eric and Dana to meet Sara, Lauren, Lizzie, and Mitch for some hanging out and extra dessert.  Lizzie is a pastry chef in Minnesota and whipped up this cranberry-white chocolate-ginger cheesecake for us!  Have I said how much I love cheesecake?  This dessert knocked my socks off!  What a great way to use cranberries during the holidays!  Everything about this cheesecake made me happy, and now writing about it I want more!  If there is one thing I need to learn how to make, it is cheesecake!

Pear and Bourbon Reduction Chutney

This week a group of friends and I celebrated our Third Annual Friendsgiving.  Friendsgiving is a dinner club meeting where we eat a pot-luck, family-style, Thanksgiving-themed feast during the week before Turkey Day.  It is typically our largest dinner club gathering of the year, and it has been extremely memorable on every occasion.  There will be another post about Friendsgiving, but for now I wanted to share the pear and bourbon reduction chutney that I created to top the bacon and scallops that I cooked for a Friendsgiving appetizer!

I began my culinary creativity at Southside Produce where I came across a delicious display of fresh pears.  Not knowing which variety of pear to choose, I went with one of each!  I'm pretty happy with that decision.

Red Pears, Bosc Pears, and D'Anjou Pears at Southside Produce

After doing a little more shopping I returned home to begin the cooking process.  Like a lot of good dishes, I started with a little olive oil in a nice, thick bottomed skillet.  I'm not much of a measurer, so I just eyeballed what I thought would be enough and put it over medium heat.  I know this doesn't help for perfectly recreating the dish, but what's the fun in that anyway!?

My Olive Oil Heating Up

Next, I diced a few shallots to create a base for the sauce.  Shallots are an interesting vegetable and one that I don't use very often.  I typically go with a full white or yellow onion, but this occasion seemed too special for that.  I needed the mild nature of the shallot to give a little flavor to the chutney without being overpowering.

Sliced Shallots Getting Ready to be Diced

Once I had the shallots finely diced I transferred them to the pan with the olive oil and let them sauté for a few minutes until the little pieces of shallot were turning clear. 

Shallots Sautéing in Olive Oil

As soon as the shallots were cooked down enough, it was time to add the fun stuff!  I momentariy removed the pan from the heat while I added a generous portion of Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon.  Knob Creek is one of my favorite mass-produced and widely available bourbons on the market. 

After adding the bourbon to the pan I placed it back on the heat and then added about two-thirds of a can of Swanson chicken broth (that's about how much bourbon I used as well).  I left those ingredients over the medium heat of the burner and allowed a little time for the mixture to heat back up.  I then sprinkled in some of my absolute favorite Cajun seasoning, Slap Ya Mama!  Thanks to the recommendation from Luna to include white pepper in the sauce, I used Slap Ya Mama's white pepper blend, which is fantastic and simple.  For those that can't get it in your local supermarket, you can order it online!  The white pepper blend contains four ingredients with no preservatives or other filler: red pepper, white pepper, salt, and garlic.  The Cajun spices were followed by a fair amount of pear infused vinegar, a sizeable portion of brown sugar, and about a third to half of that small bottle of honey.  All of the ingredients were stirred together and brought to a slight boil before I added the fruit.

Knob Creek Bourbon, Swanson Chicken Broth, Slap Ya Mama White Pepper Blend, Pear Infused Vinegar, Brown Sugar, and Honey

With everything above fusing in the pot, the time had come to turn my attention to the glorius pears that I selected from Southside Produce.  I took my knife to the fantastic fruits, carving out their stems and seeds while leaving the juicy flesh on the cutting board.  The wedges of pear were then diced into small morsels and added to the pot of simmering sauce.  I actually only used about half of each pear in the chutney with the rest going straight to my belly!

Red Pear, D'Anjou Pear, and Bosc Pear

With all of the ingredients now in the pot, all I had to do was wait and stir every once in a while.  I put the burner on low heat and let the flavors combine with each other while the sauce reduced to a chutney consistency.  I let the mixture simmer for what was probably a full hour or more before I removed it from the heat and let it cool.

Pear and Bourbon Reduction Chutney Simmering on the Stove

I created this chutney to go over some bacon wrapped scallops that I cooked the next day for our Friendsgiving feast.  For that recipe and to see the finished product with the chutney on top, you'll have to check back for the next post.  As much as I like to eat, sometime I forget how much I also like to cook every now and then.  If I only I had somebody to do the damn dirty dishes for me!