Whether it’s the smell of fresh-baked cookies, fresh from the oven, the feel of bread dough as we knead it into rolls or loafs or braids, or the snap of fresh green beans before they hit the colander for rinsing, the use of our other 4 senses when cooking and eating are indispensable when it comes to the total food experience.

There are the phrases “eat to live” and “live to eat.” The first one is for folks who look at food as a tool: fuel for daily tasks. It has to serve its purpose and nothing else. The second is for the rest of us who really enjoy our food. Sometimes that leads to over-indulging, but I think there’s a middle ground.

Part of that middle ground is found by examining the quality of what we eat in relation to the quantity of it.

Recently we attended a friends birthday dinner and it was asked of all who wanted a second slice of cake. It was very good cake, and the first serving was definitely on the conservative side.

But…

While a part of me, the inner child if you will, wanted another, larger, frosting-overloaded piece of cake, another part of me (and, thankfully, the part that had control over my actions at the time) demurred. Why? Because one slice was enough.

Now, some would call this willpower. I am actually rather infamous for my lack thereof. Some would also call this self-deprivation. But I call it good sense. By appreciating the piece of cake I’d already had (following a delicious meal of lobster ravioli and a nice tall cocktail–see what I mean about the willpower?) I stopped myself from almost-certain indigestion and regret.

We’ve all been there, right? The oh-I-can’t-believe-I-ate-so-much moment after a large meal. The feeling of leaden limbs, the desire for a nap, the mushy-headed-ness of overdoing it. The hangover if it was a case of one-more-drink-won’t-hurt, last night.

What’s the secret, then, to avoiding overindulgence?

There isn’t one. Not really.

It’s just a matter of being aware of what we’re doing, eating and drinking. Of knowing how much really is enough. And enjoying it.

There’s some sort of major sporting even coming up this weekend, I’m told Many may be invited to parties. Those parties  may feature tables laden with heavy, fatty foods. Buckets of beer. You know the drill.

And I’m not going to preach small plates or counting calories, I’m just going to suggest that, if you want to avoid the calling-in-food-sick on Monday morning thing (when everyone knows that you really just partied too much), you think about each trip to the buffet or each scoop of 7-layer-dip you take. Notice the texture, flavor and enjoyment it gives and take a moment, a fraction of a second even, to appreciate it before going back to for another. And maybe realize it’s enough.

While I go set my DVR for the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.

Ordering From the Wall

On Friday night, Todd and I took the recommendation of a friend and tried out a new-to-us Asian restaurant. Tan’s Asian Cafe is a tiny little spot next to a popular garden center and the menu we were presented read just like any other take-out place, with maybe more than it’s fair share of misspellings. But it had Bubble Tea, and the only other place in our corner of town that had it I have a significant issue with their business practices, so I was willing to wait it out.

The menu may have looked pretty standard, but on the wall were pictures of food and names. These we took to be their specialties. On thing I learned years ago is to always order a specialty of the house whenever possible, that’s when you learn if they’re worth a repeat trip.

Oh, man, was our trust not betrayed. I ordered Rendang–it’s like Malaysian pot roast, the way they serve it–and was amazing. Todd got the Chicken Curry and was also quite happy–so much so that he pretty much inhaled the entire spicy plate. We neglected to order egg rolls but we didn’t need to. And our Bubble Teas? So worth the wait (they came out midway through the entree but were like dessert, so it was totally fine).

A True Tamale

A kind friend has some Tucson Tamale Company tamales shipped to me, this week, as I’d never tried a tamale of any sort. Since we were having friends over on Sunday, we decided to share the wealth and serve them up with the rest of the predominantly tex-mex fare that evening.

Oh. My. Word.

First of all, I had no idea you could even have sweet tamales. The “Tahiti,” filled with grilled pineapple, mango and coconut was amazingly sweet. Some friends likened it to a really good apple pie (thanks, mostly, to the seasonings included–you know how flavor memories can do that), which makes me want to try an apple pie with a sweet cornmeal crust, now. I just thought it was heaven.

And of the savory tamales, I was absolutely in love with the Green Corn ones. It was like the smoothest, creamiest cheese grits with bits of jalapeno stirred in. I could have curled up into and gone to sleep, with sweet corn dreams my companion.

Food With Friends

I’ve never been good with group projects, it’s just not how I roll.  But we’ve lucked into a group of friends who is just as appreciative of good food as Todd and I are and are not shy about sharing.

Over the holidays we had several opportunities to dine with these fine folks and, let me tell you, for a self-professed control-freak when it comes to hospitality, it’s been a real pleasure to step back, let others take part in planning and preparation of a meal. Mostly, though, because I know they can deliver.

Trust is a funny thing, but I don’t think it’s misplaced to need to trust those who take a role in feeding you. After all, what we put in our bodies is a pretty major thing.

And thinking of it like that, makes me ever more grateful for those who come to our house for a meal and trust me to feed them well.

So, what’s happening in your corner of the kitchen?

And while I always knew, and understood, the idea that we eat with our eyes as well as our mouths, it really hit home over these first two weeks with my occasional afternoon snack of chips and queso.

One week we had the large, restaurant-style chips in the house and a portion of those is approximately 7 chips. The next week, having run out of the larger chips (they were left over from holiday entertaining and snacking), I ended up buying the smaller bite-sized rounds.

Imagine my surprise when the same calorie count (140, for the curious) translated to 24 round chips.

Why is this relevant? Well, while quality should always trump quantity, sometimes the hand-to-mouth comfort of larger portions makes us feel better than the righteousness of a smaller portion. In this case, though, the portions are equal, it’s the perception of the many pieces in one versus the few in the other.

(Yes, there’s plenty to be said on meeting emotional needs with food–this isn’t a post about that and I sympathize with those in Overeaters Anonymous who struggle with just this issue.)

In fact, 24 of the rounds almost felt like too much. I’ve even been known to only have 12 (yes, I counted) and been perfectly satisfied. But there’s very little chance that I would have settled for only 3.5 of the larger chips. I mean, come on, would you?

Have you ever heard the phrase ‘your eyes are bigger than your stomach’?

It’s not your eyes that are the problem, it’s your mind. Taking the chip example and putting into dinner mode, think about the size of  your average dinner plate: 10+ inches.

Now place a deck of cards (for meat/protein), a 1 cup measure (veggies) and a 1/2-cup measure (grains or potatoes) on it.

Swap out that whopper of a dinner dish for the smaller salad plate (8 inches) and place the same representations onto the plate.

The dinner plate on the left looks positively naked while the salad plate is full. And it’s not unusual to feel short-changed with a small item on a large plate. That perception of being deprived or “gypped”  by a near-empty plate is what leads to loading up double portions or going back for seconds. And soon a habit is formed that a 12 oz steak is a single portion (not more than 2!) or that if you’re plate isn’t filled you won’t be full.

Switch to a smaller plate, though, and a lot of those habits are easier to break.

We still keep our dinner plates around, of course. They’re great for holidays when a little indulging is okay. When you’re having a cookout they’re great for serving kebabs or acting as serving dishes for smaller dinners. Or under a soup-bowl to hold a slice of bread or corn muffin.

But we don’t use them very often for dinner and we don’t miss them, then, either.

I must confess a major pet peeve when it comes to menus that list things like Strawberry Bisque or Sweet Potato Bisque. Why? Because bisque is a specific family of soups–not a generic name for cream soups that you want to make sound uppity!

Traditionally, bisques are only found in the varieties of lobster,  crab, shrimp and crawfish. Notice a theme there? It’s all shellfish. And those shells are what make bisque bisque and not just cream of lobster soup.

Our ancestors were crafty people who didn’t like anything to go to waste. While I’m not certain they new shellfish exoskeletons are rich in calcium, but they did know that after the shells were used to make a rich stock for the liquid portion of the soup, the shells could be ground and used to thicken the soup as well.

Which is why I find the use of “bisque” for creamy vegetable, fruit and other soups a show of the writers ignorance in the history of the food they are selling or supporting.

If you’ve got a mind to make your own old-fashioned bisque, make sure you’ve got a serious food processor handy to do the job. These days, though, it’s seldom you find a bisque recipe that calls for the shells to be used for thickening, instead a roux, rice or cornstarch can be used to lessen the work of the cook while still yielding a rich, smooth soup perfect for a cold winter’s supper.

Over the summer I’d picked up a few pounds of crawfish from our local seafood market and made sure to save the shells for future use. While I didn’t make the New Orleans-style crawfish bisque that takes 3 days and stuffs the heads with some of the tail meat mixture, I did make a wonderful crawfish bisque in the style of lobster, crab or shrimp bisques.

Using the Shrimp Bisque recipe from Ina Garten as my model, I did a few things differently, aside from substituting my shellfish.

First, I made my own seafood stock. Considering it’s tough to find vegetable stock most weeks at our local grocery store, seafood stock was out of the question. Instead, just take your shells and load them up into a big pot with a couple of quartered onions, some celery stalks (the little pale inside ones work great for stocks), a handful of baby carrots and a bay leaf and let it simmer until you’ve captured as much flavor from those shells as you can. (A couple of hours.)

If you’re crawfish were well seasoned to begin with you really don’t need to add anything extra seasoning-wise, it’s bound to be plenty spicy on it’s own. (This also means hold off on adding heat to your soup until the broth is in as you might end up over-doing it.) Also, I had no need to add water to make up the necessary volume. In fact, I’ve got a couple of quarts of very spicy crawfish stock in the freezer, now, ready for the next bisque-y day.

Since your crawfish is already cooked, you’re only going to add the meat at the very end and only long enough to heat it through. Going back to the base recipe, this means I purreed my onions/leeks and garlic with the crawfish tail meat and the other chunky ingredients cold (okay, room temperature), then made the roux and concocted the soup as I would any other soup of that nature, stirring in the liquid ingredients and adding the pureed mixture at the end. If additional thickening is required, a little rice flour works great and fast.

I reserved some crawfish tails, pre-puree, and placed them into the soup plate before ladling the bisque around them. Add a slice of french bread and you’ve got an amazing, filling supper that will show you what a bisque is all about.

And I saw a statistic the other day that was not all that encouraging for their chances.

Me? While my doctor would love to see that scale go down at my 6-month check-up, I’m not as concerned with the numbers as I might have been before. For me, it’s less about losing weight and more about being healthy.

That’s where moderation comes in.

Todd and I are pretty good about eating the “right” things, 9 times out of 10, but lately we’ve been less concerned about portion size. And if lab rats have taught us nothing, we’ve learned that too much of anything–even the good stuff–can be harmful.

Here’s a for instance for you: A while back I participated in the Game On! Diet challenge with some friends (which was a fun way to do things if you’re competitive and wanting to break some old habits, though I don’t completely agree with the way they categorize certain foods). Since we were going by the instigators instructions and not the book itself–and everything was being done via Facebook posts–there was a slight miscommunication/misunderstanding that led to the idea that each of the 5 meals the plan called for needed to include 2 cups of approved veggies.

Folks, there’s a reason cows have 4 stomachs–1 is just not enough to deal with all that roughage in one day!

It didn’t help that, by no longer having a gall bladder, my body was just not equipped to handle such large meals in succession anymore. Basically, to say I was uncomfortable by mid-afternoon would be a severe understatement.

But before I swore off the challenge I dug around a bit and found where I’d gone astray (for the record, only 2 of the 5 meals–easily lunch and dinner–required the 2 cups of fibrous veggies) and the rest of the 4-week challenge went just fine (I even managed to lose 5 pounds, and our team won!).

Back to the point, moderation relies on one major factor: awareness. What you’re eating, how much of it and what it’s made of all play a part in this sort of healthy lifestyle choice. So how can you be more aware?

First, write everything down that you eat and drink. Really. You can do this in a notebook or use a hand website/app like MyFitnessPal.com. I started playing around with the latter the week before Christmas and found that if I was committed to writing everything down I was less likely to go grab a cookie from the breakroom because I didn’t want to have to write it down. And the time that I was willing to do so, I really appreciated that cookie a bit more.

Second, think about what really constitutes a portion. A 6 oz steak mike look pretty small on your plate, but it’s technically 2 servings of protein. Some folks like to relate portion sizes to the palm of your hand, the size of your closed fist, etc. but all I have to do is look at the size difference between my hand and Todd’s and know that’s not an accurate guide! If might feel weird, but carry around a 1/2-cup measuring cup for a week or two and visually compare it to the food on your plate will give you a much better idea of what a portion is.

Finally, know what you’re putting into your body. Obviously, if French fries are a regular part of your daily diet, you might want to start substituting something less fried for your side. But even the seemingly “healthy” stuff can do you in if you’re not sure of what’s in it. A salad topped with fat-free dressing might sound like a good thing, until you realize all the chemicals that went into making that dressing could be more harmful than a basic oil and vinegar dressing with, yes, fat (but the good kind of fat). If you’ve got the time to make everything from scratch, more power to you–I don’t and don’t expect anyone else to, either. But educating ourselves about ingredients is a step in the right direction and the Fooducate app is, I think, a great tool for making better choices at the grocery store.

That’s my plan, at least, and if the numbers on the scale go down, that’s great. (If not, you won’t find me boo-hooing, though, because quality of life, to me, is more than a number on a scale.)

Do you have any healthy plans for the upcoming year?

That is the power of the appetite. And appetizers exist to wake up that appetite and get you in the mood for food.

As I’ve mentioned before, though, many night I’m quite happy to have lots of little things and variety over a single-entree meal. This can take some doing, however, as the preparation of many smaller bites usually outweighs the pleasure in eating them.

Which is why, when I browse through 750 Best Appetizers, by Judith Finlayson and Jordan Wagman, I’m happy to see a good mix of make-ahead and quickly prepared dishes throughout the book along with those that may take a little more work. In fact, with so many recipes to choose from, the longest task might just be deciding which ones to make!

Many avid cooks–myself included–say that reading a new cookbook is like reading a novel. It’s more than merely a reference book to be kept in the kitchen. What I love most are cookbooks that support this sort of reading and 750 Best Appetizers does just that by including a snippet of information alongside each recipe and many feature additional tips relating to sourcing of ingredients and serving suggestions.

But the true test of any cookbook is in the recipes themselves: how are they? I tried out three of them this holiday season, shared below, all with very good results.

The falafel recipe included below was astounding–I’d always thought of falafel as dense and dry, these are spicy and, even after chilled, quite moist. For the tortilla I substituted a baked sweet potato that I happened to have on hand and the recipe was just as wonderful for the substitution (and the colors were very appetizing together). Finally, the meatball recipe yielded over 50 1-inch meatballs when I made it, I believe the 30 1/2-inch morsels mentioned in the recipe to be a typo. But if there’s going to be a typo, I’d rather it be so much in our favor! We actually served the meatballs and their sauce over egg noodles for dinner rather than use them as an appetizer that night.

With New Year’s Eve coming up and the year ahead full of entertaining possibilities, this might be a good book to check out–the Salsa chapter alone would be enough to keep a different dip on the table each week for almost a year!

Mini Falafel Sandwiches

Makes 36 sandwiches / Vegetarian Friendly, Middle-Eastern / pg [276]

These crispy Middle Eastern balls are just wonderful for a lunch or dinner appetizer party.Although we have created the perfect sandwich, these balls are just lovely all on their own tooor dipped into Easy Hummus (page 52) or any of the hummus recipes.

Tip: Mini pita bread, about 3 inches (7.5 cm) in diameter, can be found in select stores. Regular size pitacan work here too by slicing into quarters forpie-like shapes.

• Candy/deep-fry thermometer
2 1⁄2 cups cooked drained chickpeas (625 mL)
3⁄4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves (175 mL)
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt (5 mL)
3⁄4 tsp ground cumin (3 mL)
1⁄2 tsp hot pepper sauce (2 mL)
1 cup all-purpose flour, divided (250 mL)
6 cups vegetable oil (1.5 L)
3⁄4 cup Easy Hummus (page 52) or store-bought (175 mL)
36 3-inch (7.5 cm) pita bread, tops opened to form pocket, cut in half (see Tip)
1⁄2 cup shredded carrot (125 mL)
1⁄2 cup diced cucumber (125 mL)

1. In a food processor fitted with metal blade, pulse chickpeas, cilantro, garlic, salt, cumin and hot pepper sauce until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl as necessary. Transfer to a bowl and fold in about 21⁄2 tbsp (37 mL) of flour. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes, until chilled, or for up to 1 hour.

2. When you’re ready to cook, place oil in a deep saucepan or Dutch oven and heat over medium heat until temperature reaches 350°F (180°C). (You can also use a deep fryer;follow the manufacturer’s instructions.) Form chickpea mixture into about 36 balls, about2 tsp (10 mL) each and lightly dredge in remaining flour. Add falafels to hot oil in batches and fry until balls rise to the surface and are golden brown, about 4 minutes. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

3. Add a dollop of hummus on the inside of each pita bread half. Place 1 falafel ball inside.Garnish sandwich with equal amounts of carrots and cucumber and serve immediately.

Potato Tortilla with Peppers

Makes 12 to 16 pieces / Vegetarian Friendly / pg 365

If there is one item that is ubiquitous in tapas bars in Spain, it is the tortilla — an omelet that contains potatoes and is usually served at room temperature or cold. Here spicy chorizo sausage bumps up the flavor.

Tip: To microwave potato for this recipe: Place scrubbed potato in a microwave-safe dish. Add cold water to a depth of about 1⁄2 inch (1 cm), cover and microwave on High for 2 minutes. Leave the lid on and let cook for at least 5 minutes before running under cold water.

• Large nonstick ovenproof skillet
1 potato (8 oz/250 g), cooked in its skin,cooled and cut into 1⁄2-inch (1 cm) cubes (see Tip, left)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (30 mL)
1 red onion, thinly sliced on the vertical
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 long red chile or jalapeño pepper,seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 eggs
1 cup shredded sharp (aged) cheese, such as Cheddar (250 mL)

1. In a large nonstick ovenproof skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add potato, red onion,red and green bell peppers, chile pepper and garlic and cook, stirring, until peppers are softened and potato and onion just begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. Preheat broiler. In a bowl, beat eggs. Pour over onion mixture and sprinkle cheese evenly over top. Reduce heat to low, loosely cover and cook until eggs are set, about 6 minutes. Place under preheated broiler and broil until top is nicely browned. Unmold and cut into wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Variation: Potato Tortilla with Chorizo: Substitute 1⁄2 cup (125 mL) shredded Manchego cheese and 6 oz (175g) cured (hard) chorizo, diced, for the cheese.

Oh-So-Retro Swedish Meatballs

These were a cocktail party standard way back when. Serve them in a shallow serving dish or a deep platter, speared with cocktail toothpicks. They will disappear in a flash. Make sure your guests have napkins or a plate to catch any drips.

Tip: You may want to use a whisk while combining the flour mixture and hot stock, to minimize the possibility of lumps.

Makes about 30 meatballs / Beef , retro cocktail party staple/ pg 503

• Small to medium (2 to 31⁄2 quart) slow cooker

1 lb lean ground beef, preferably sirloin (500 g)
1 cup fine dry bread crumbs (250 mL)
1 onion, grated
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest (10 mL)
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (30 mL)
1/2 tsp salt (2 mL)
1/2 tsp allspice (2 mL)
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil (30 mL)
3 tbsp all-purpose flour (45 mL)
1⁄2 tsp cracked black peppercorns (2 mL)
2 cups beef broth, heated to the boiling point (500 mL)
1⁄2 cup sour cream (125 mL)
1⁄2 cup finely chopped dill fronds (125 mL)

1. In a bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, egg, lemon zest and juice, salt,allspice, and pepper to taste. Mix well. Using your hands, shape into balls about 1⁄2 inch(1 cm) in diameter.

2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add meatballs in batches and cook,stirring, until nicely browned, about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer to slow cooker stoneware as completed. Add flour to pan and cook, stirring, until frothy but not browning, about 2 minutes. Stir in peppercorns. Add beef broth and cook, stirring, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens, about 2 minutes (see Tips, left). Pour over meatballs.

3. Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours or on High for 3 hours, until meatballs are cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Add sour cream and dill to stoneware and stir well. Pour over meatballs and serve.

Excerpted from 750 Best Appetizers by Judith Finlayson and Jordan Wagman © 2011 Robert RoseInc. www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Photo credit: Colin Erricson, www.robertrose.ca

I was supplied a copy of the book for review, the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

As it happens, I was making up my Christmas list when a recent submission came in and it got me to thinking: I love waffles but haven’t owned a waffle iron in years. (I think I gave Mom’s old waffle iron to my brother at least 5 years ago.) After reading Rose Levy Beranbaum’s “Orange Waffles with Burst of Cranberry Topping”, an iron went on my list.

Normally I’m not one to pass along someone else’s recipe without testing it myself (especially since it’s in service of promoting an appliance/manufacturer I’ve never used), but Ms. Beranbaum’s recipes hold major sway with me–her Cake Bible was one of my major references when I was branching out from cake mixes to scratch cakes and teaching myself as much about the pastry arts as I could before I was able to enroll in Culinary School.

Burst of Cranberry Topping

(includes weight measurements for key ingredients)

• 1 cup water (8 fluid oz.)
• 1 ½ cups sugar (10.6 oz.)
• 3 tbsps. Cornstarch (1 oz.)
• 4 cups fresh (or thawed frozen) cranberries (400 grams)

In a medium saucepan, stir together the water, sugar, cornstarch, and cranberries. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Stop stirring, reduce the heat, and simmer for 1 minute, swirling the pan occasionally. The mixture will be thickened but pourable. Keep it warm or reheat it before serving.

Orange Waffles:

(Serves 4) served here with Chef’sChoice® WafflePro^® M852

• 8 tbsp.  unsalted butter, softened (4 oz.)
• 2 cups  cake flour (lightly spooned into cup and leveled off) (8 oz.)
• 4 tsps. Baking powder
• ¼ tsp.   salt
• 1 Tbsp. orange zest
• 2 large eggs (3 fluid oz.)
• 1 cup buttermilk (8 fluid ounces)
• 1 cup whole milk (8 fluid ounces)

In a small saucepan over low heat, or microwave safe container, melt the butter. Allow it to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and orange zest until evenly blended. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, buttermilk, and whole milk until well blended. Add this mix, to the flour mixture and mix with a fork just until all the flour is moistened. Stir in the butter just until evenly blended. The batter should be lumpy. Use batter immediately after preparation. For best results, use the Chef’sChoice Model 852 wafflemaker on color control setting four, baking for three minutes (or when steam emitted from plates has largely dissipated). (For other waffle makers check manufacturer directions). Cook the waffles and remove them to the oven racks to keep warm until serving. Serve with hot cranberry topping. Of note, these waffles freeze perfectly and reheat in just a few minutes in a toaster or oven preheated to 300˚F.

Since we do presents on Christmas Eve with my family I’ll be hoping the waffle iron is one of the presents with my name on it so I can give these a try. If not, I’ll be hitting up the after-Christmas sales for sure.

Recipes and image provided by Chef’sChoice.

It’s a simple side dish to prepare, made so by canned cream of mushroom soup, beans and fried onions. All that’s usually needed is a can opener, some milk and some pepper.

For all that the flavor of the dish is palatable to most diners and it does add a token green vegetable to the holiday table, the highly-processed ingredients leave much to be desired. So, this year, I set out to make the dish that we all enjoy in a way that did not make me ashamed to bring it to table.

I began with the onions. From my experience with the Indian Cooking Challenge I’d fallen in love with a certain coating for fried onions that would make the humble ring or blossom blush. With that taken care of, it was simply a matter of devising a substitute for the condensed soup. The answer? A mushroom veloute (aka white sauce made with stock, not milk). While this version takes a few moments longer to prepare, the end result was far superior to the pre-fab original.

We opted to use flat Italian or Pole beans as they have more surface area to collect flavor and are easier to spear with a fork. The chili powder in the onion batter can be increased or decreased to taste and adds a wonderful dimension to the finished dish. Of course, if you’re a fan of onion rings you might want to make extras to allow for, uh, quality control

Yes, we still fry the onions–this is, after all, a recipe best saved for holidays–but our sauce is miles better than the preservative-laden canned stuff that would otherwise be used.

A Better Green Bean Casserole

Serves 6-8

Prepare the Onions

Heat oil to 350° Fahrenheit while you prepare the onions for frying.

Peel and quarter the onions, slicing each quarter into quarter-rings. You want pieces up to 2 inches long and no more than 1/4 inch thick.

Combine the gram flour and spices and then the water, a little at a time, until a thin paste is formed, like that of pancake batter. You may not need all the water, then again you may need more. Use your discretion.

Toss the onions in the batter enough that the batter evenly coats all the onion pieces.

Fry in batches (I suggest dropping 3 tong-fuls at a time, depending on the size of your fryer). With either the frying basket or a spider-strainer, break up any clumps of onions that appear to form and fry until the onions are a light golden brown. (Remember that fried foods darken by 2 shades after removing from the fat.)

Drain the onions on paper towels until cool.

Make the Veloute

In a sturdy saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook the roux over medium heat for a few minutes, stirring constantly, but do not let the roux darken.

Whisk in a small amount of the vegetable stock and stir until smooth. The first addition will cause the roux to bubble up or clump, this is normal, just keep stirring until it smooths back out.

Keep stirring in the stock until half has been incorporated, then add the minced mushrooms. Continue adding the stock until it’s all in, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook until thickened.

**Both the onions and the veloute can be made ahead and stored in the fridge until needed. The veloute can even be frozen for longer storage.**

Assemble the Casserole

Steam the green beans until tender. 10-15 minutes in the microwave does the job well, but use the method you’re most comfortable with.

In a large bowl, combine the beans, veloute and half the fried onions.

Butter a casserole dish and pour the combined ingredients into it.

Bake at 350° Fahrenheit for 25 minutes, until heated through and bubbling. Sprinkle the remaining fried onions on top of the casserole and put back in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the onions are crispy around the edges.

So I had two options: forgo the wonderful crab dip made with cocktail sauce or find a clever way around it.

I went with the latter, of course–denial really isn’t in my make-up–and researched some plausible cocktail sauce recipes. The condiment is pretty simple, really: tomato sauce, horseradish and chili sauce. One recipe I found, however, presented a more creative ingredient list and a more promising flavor. The way I see it: the more interesting the recipe, the more opportunity to hide my red bell pepper substitution.

Tomato-less Cocktail Sauce

3/4 cup Roasted Red Bell Pepper Puree
3/4 cup Chili Sauce
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
2 Tbsp Prepared Horseradish
1 1/3 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp Onion Powder

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until combined. Chill until needed. Makes approximately 16 oz.

For a previous sushi dinner I’d purchased a bottle of Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce often seen in various restaurants sporting a rooster on it’s bottle. This is what I used for the chili sauce and it made for a very VERY spicy cocktail sauce. Alternately, a Thai chili sauce or your standard store brand could be used for a milder heat level or you could use, say, 1 cup of puree to 1/2 cup of chili sauce. Feel free to play with it to suit your preference.

As spicy as it was, though, once layered on top of cream cheese and crab claw meat it was the perfect level of spice and all of our guests enjoyed it on both occasions we served it that weekend. No one could tell that it wasn’t “normal” cocktail sauce and those that were told were intrigued and wanted the recipe.

And now we have half a bottle of cocktail sauce ready for the next time we have seafood!

But cocktail sauce wasn’t the only staple to get a make-over this past Thanksgiving; next week I’ll share my take on a popular side dish sans canned convenience products.

Like previous years we brined it and then slathered it with an herbed butter and stuffed it’s cavity with onion, apple and lemon wedges, and in it went at precisely 11 a.m.

What was different this year? This year we got to use our 18-quart Roaster Oven. While we used it last Christmas for the duck and last Easter for the stuffed leg of lamb, this was it’s inaugural turkey and we were so excited to be able to have the oven free all day to use for side dishes and the like. From previous experience we thought the roaster ran a little hotter than a full-sized oven (we figured from the smaller space it had to heat and closer proximity of the food to the element) so we only heated it up to 325 to begin with, then decided to bring it down another 25 degrees when it continued to sizzle and pop (probably from the butter rub, but we wanted to be careful). We thought that would be enough to compensate.

(Hamilton Beach 18-Quart Roaster Oven via Amazon.com)

There I was, happily going about my comprehensive to-do list (a must, I’ve discovered, for stress-free party and holiday prep) and checking things off right and left as the turkey roasted. I peek in to make sure everything is going according to plan and…

The turkey? Our 16 pound turkey? Was done.

After only 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Sure, it wasn’t golden-brown and picturesque done, but it was most certainly done in the sense that the leg meat was starting to pull away from the bone. And, just to be certain, we checked it’s temperature–definitely done. In fact, we used 2 thermometers (1 dial, 1 digital) just in case one was off.

Nope. Stick a fork in it–that bird was done!

And we were still 3 hours away from dinner.

Now, you might wonder, as we did, what is the best way to proceed when you’ve got a cooked turkey that needs to be held 3 hours. First of all, letting it rest for so long wasn’t a good idea as it would have cooled down too far and spent too much time in the temperature danger zone (40-140 degrees Fahrenheit, where most of the icky bacteria thrives). Completely cooling it off and reheating it before supper was also dicey as we could end up with dry, mealy meat. Not a tasty treat!

Instead we opted to turn the roaster down to 200 and hold it there for most of the afternoon. This way the turkey would be kept plenty hot (and, yes, we checked periodically) but shouldn’t dry out. And it was a success, as far as we can tell (still hot and tasty at dinner and not a bit of it was dry).

Of course, I didn’t think to take a picture until after dinner, but the next day when I used our first bit of leftovers, I did sneak a quick shot of our brunch:

Between plenty of leftover turkey and the dozen egg whites I had after using the yolks in the pumpkin pastry cream for pies, I concocted this quick dish of Herbed Turkey Scramble.

Simple whisk together any available egg whites (you could easily use whole eggs, too, if you didn’t have spare whites) along with salt, pepper, sage, parsley and garlic powder and pour them into a hot frying pan. Cook until beginning to set then stir in diced turkey and crumbled cheese of your choice (we used farmer’s cheese). Serve with some Spiced Cranberry Sauce, another leftover.

Simple and delicious.

So, has anyone else encountered a super-fast roasting oven?
And what do you do with all of your leftover turkey?