Neapolitan Braciole

The braciole (bra-SHOAL) that I know and love is a rolled meat dish simmered for hours in tomato sauce. This is not to be confused with bresaola (bre-ZAH-ol-la) which is a northern Italian style of aged meat that is often served as part of anti-pasta. My experience is that it is hard to find the correct cuts of meat. American butchers don't really understand the cut and there are fewer and fewer Italian butchers left since most of us are now second, third or even fourth/fifth generation Italian-American. So most braciole recipes talk about pounding the meat, but I think that is only because it's usually too thick for rolling. However, if you go to a Mexican butcher, you can get arrachera which is skirt steak cut super thin and it's perfect for braciole.

6.5 - 7 c bread crumbs (Italian-style)

1/3 c pine nuts chopped

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese 

4 eggs

1/4 c raisins (optional)

Milk as needed

3 - 3.5 lbs. skirt or flank steak. Skirt is a tastier and better cut but flank is ok to use. 

2 28 oz crushed tomatoes

1 15 oz crushed tomatoes

2 bay leaves

olive oil

3-5 garlic cloves chopped

1 small onion chopped

1/4 c red wine

1 small piece of cow knee or leg bone - marrow exposed

Salt and pepper (optional)

Prep the meat. Trim excess fat and I like to trim the edges to help form a better roll shape. The arrachera is cut typically into a somewhat rectangular shape so there is not much to trim. 

Mix first 5 ingredients together in a bowl. If the mixture is not moist enough add just enough milk to make the filling spreadable. 

Spread filling over the meat and roll it up. Some people use toothpicks but my Grandma always used thread or twine to tie up the rolls. There is no need to actually tie a knot, just wrap the thread snugly around the meat to hold it closed. Lightly salt and pepper the rolls if desired.

In a skillet, heat olive oil. Brown the rolls on medium heat for about 5 minutes. 

In a dutch oven heat some more oil and cook the garlic and onions until the onions soften. Add the tomatoes, rolls, marrow bone, and bay leaves. Deglaze the skillet with the red wine and add to the dutch oven. 

Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat to a low simmer and let cook for at least 2 hours.

Thanksgiving Menu 2013

I know I am a little behind schedule seeing that Christmas (or Saturnalia/Winter Solstice for you pagans) has already passed by, but I wanted to post the menu from Thanksgiving to provide links to the other posts. :)

New England Express
Chile Rubbed Turkey
Lobster Bisque
Mashed Potatoes
Whole Grain Stuffing with Carmelized Onions and Pecans
Fudgy Chocolate Walnut Cookies

Sublime Lobster Bisque

Great recipe! It's really excellent and anyone with a heart condition is going to love you because there's no cream or butter! Woohoo! :)

I would say this is one of the best recipes I have ever made except for the fact that as written, I would have killed all my guests because they would have had shell pieces stuck in their throat. As you can see in the pictures, I strained the soup through a fine meshed sieve to catch all the shell pieces and it was a pain in the behind. Even after using the sieve and an immersion blender to grind up everything, there were still a couple of noticeable pieces in the soup. Breaking up the shells and cooking them with the vegetables is a big mistake in my opinion. I understand you want the flavor, but it's dangerous and adds difficulty to the recipe. There are 2 options that I can see to make the recipe safer for guests, but easier for you even though it will add time to the process:

1. After getting all the meat from the cooked lobster, boil the shells (don't break them up) in the saved cooking liquid with added water. Then you can strain the liquid.

2. Put the shells in cheese cloth.

The problem that I see with option 2 is that you will still have to get all the good stuff off the cheese cloth and it will take time and be messy. Option 1 will increase the overall preparation time, but it will make the process easier and safer. :)

Another thing is that the pot boiled over when cooking the lobsters. It may be due to the altitude since I am in Denver. It was odd to me that I couldn't leave the lid on. The liquid would foam up and overflow the pot if I left the lid on for too long. 

Because of the time involved I definitely recommend that you make the soup a day ahead and assemble and serve the next day.

I increased the recipe to 3 lobsters and everything else in proportion. I have listed my version, not the original and included my idea to boil the shells separately from the soup base.

3 1-1/2 lb. live lobsters
3 T olive oil
2 carrots chopped
3 celery ribs chopped
3-5 cloves of garlic crushed
1-1/2 onions chopped
Fresh thyme (6 sprigs) or 3/4 tsp dried
Fresh tarragon (6 sprigs) or 1/4 tsp dried
3 T tomato paste
1-1/2 c white wine
3 c clam broth
3/4 c uncooked rice
Sherry to taste
Salt
Cayenne pepper

COOK THE LOBSTERS AND REMOVE THE MEAT FROM THE SHELLS

Put one inch of water in the bottom of a large pot with 1 tsp salt. 

Bring the water to a boil.
Toss in the lobsters and cover tightly.
Cook for 12 minutes (lobsters should have turned bright red.)
With tongs, remove the lobsters to a bowl. SAVE the cooking liquid.

When the lobsters are cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the tail and claws and from as much of the rest as you have the patience for; dump any liquid that comes out of the shells back in the pot.

Chop the meat into bite-sized chunks and smaller and set aside in a bowl in the refrigerator.

Keep all the shells and remaining innards.

MAKE THE BISQUE

In the pot that you cooked the lobsters, toss the shells and innards back in, add 2 cups of water. Break the shells up just enough so the water covers them. Bring to a boil, turn down heat to medium low and simmer for up to 2 hours. Strain the shells and innards out and reserve the liquid. You should have at least 4 cups of liquid. 

In a large saucepan, sautee the vegetables and herbs in olive oil until onions are translucent. Add tomato paste. Add white wine. Add clam broth and 2 cups of lobster cooking liquid.

Simmer and cook covered, 1 hour. Cool.

Add the rice and cook for at least 30 minutes until grains are mushy.

Use an immersion blender to blend the liquid, vegetables, and rice together until smooth. Stir in the sherry to taste. If it's too thick, add more lobster cooking liquid (or fish stock or water).

Up to this point, this can be done a day before, refrigerated, and assembled the next day.

ASSEMBLE

Add the lobster meat to the bisque.
Heat through and season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste.
Top each bowl with a swirl of cream and fresh chopped tarragon (optional).

Strainer with shell bits

Chile-Rubbed Turkey

This recipe comes from Bon Appétit. The turkey comes out perfectly. It also makes a mean turkey stock after the fact. The chile paste is really cool to make and I recommend making it a day ahead. It takes some time and is a little messy.

I had a really hard time getting the ancho chiles. After trying 4 super markets, I stumbled upon a little Mexican "tienda" by chance and found what looked like ancho chiles but the bag was marked pasilla. The older Mexican woman clerk agreed with me that they were actually ancho chiles.

As usual, I didn't use the butter and substituted olive oil for basting.

Chile Paste
10 dried guajillo chiles
6 dried ancho chiles
8 dried chiles de árbol
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 small onion, chopped
1 head of garlic, cloves peeled, crushed

Brine and Turkey
6 12-oz. cans pale lager (such as Tecate or Budweiser)
½ cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 bunches oregano, divided
1 cup plus 2½ tsp. kosher salt
1 12–14-lb. turkey, giblets and neck removed
1 large onion, quartered
1 head of garlic, halved
2 cups (or more) low-sodium chicken broth
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup fresh lime juice
Lime wedges and fresh chiles and herbs (for garnish; optional)

Chile Paste

Using kitchen shears, cut open guajillo and ancho chiles along one side; place seeds in large bowl; set aside. Open chiles and place flat in a large dry skillet over medium heat. Cook, turning once, until lightly puffed and toasted, about 4 minutes. Add chiles de árbol and cumin seeds ; toast until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer to bowl with chile seeds, add 4 cups boiling water, and let soak until softened, about 10 minutes.

Purée chile mixture with soaking liquid, onion, and garlic in a blender.

Brine and Turkey

Combine beer, brown sugar, 1 bunch oregano, 1 cup salt, 3 cups chile paste, and 8 cups water in a very large stock pot. Add turkey, cover, and chill at least 12 hours and up to 14 hours.

Remove turkey from brine; pat dry. Place, breast side up, on a rack set in a large roasting pan. Mix remaining 2½ tsp. salt into remaining 1½ cups chile paste. Working from neck end of turkey, gently loosen skin from breasts and rub under skin and all over outside of bird. Chill turkey at least 8 hours and up to 12 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°. Stuff turkey with onion, garlic, and remaining bunch of oregano; tie legs together with kitchen twine. Add broth and 2 cups water to pan and roast turkey 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325° and roast, basting every 30–40 minutes with butter, adding more broth or water as needed to maintain some liquid in pan, and tenting with foil if turkey browns too quickly, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165°, 2½–3 hours longer.

Transfer turkey to a platter; tent with foil. Let rest at least 30 minutes before carving.

Meanwhile, strain pan drippings into a measuring cup. Let sit 30 minutes, then skim fat from surface. Bring to a boil in a medium saucepan; reduce heat and simmer until reduced to 1 cup. Stir in lime juice.

Garnish turkey as desired and serve with pan sauce alongside.

Whole Grain Stuffing with Carmelized Onions and Pecans

This recipe comes from a different source than usual, Vegetarian Times. I have to say it was not my favorite ever. I can admit that I am not the biggest stuffing fan, but if the stuffing is good, I like it. This recipe came out too "bready" which is ironic because the directions say "Slow-cooked, caramelized onions add incredible flavor to a stuffing that’s not all about the bread". The overall vibe of the dish was dominated by the bread and it just seemed off balance. I would use closer to 12 oz of bread instead and I think that would help a lot.

Serves 8

Slow-cooked, caramelized onions add incredible flavor to a stuffing that’s not all about the bread
¼ cup olive oil
6 large onions, peeled, quartered, and sliced (10 cups)
2 tsp. dried thyme
1 16-oz. loaf whole-grain bread, cubed
1 ¼ cups coarsely chopped pecans

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and thyme, season with salt (if desired), and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 30 minutes, or until deep brown, stirring occasionally.

Stir in 2 cups water, and increase heat to medium. Simmer 10 minutes.

Pour onion mixture over bread cubes in bowl, and stir until liquid is absorbed. Stir in pecans, and season generously with freshly ground black pepper.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 11x7 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread stuffing in prepared baking dish, and bake 30 to 45 minutes, or until crisp and brown on top. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

New England Express

The New England Express, from Bon Appétit, is a great holiday punch. It's got a nice smooth flavor and it doesn't get you hammered so you can drink it comfortably for awhile. While this recipe is for 8 individual servings, I actually made a punch and put it out for guests to take cups as they wanted. You might want to double the recipe for a punch bowl.

Thyme Syrup
⅓ cup sugar

⅓ cup water

8 sprigs thyme

Punch
2 cups apple cider
1½ cups dark rum
¾ cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon Angostura bitters
Club soda
8 sprigs thyme
8 lime slices

Thyme Syrup

Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat, add thyme sprigs, and cover. Let stand 10 minutes, then strain into a small jar. Let cool.

Punch Assembly

Mix thyme syrup, cider, rum, lime juice, and bitters in a pitcher. Divide among rocks glasses filled with ice; top off with club soda. Garnish with thyme sprigs and lime slices.

Thyme syrup, cider, rum, lime juice, and bitters can be mixed 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

Thyme syrup can be made 1 month ahead. Cover and chill.

Absolutely Amazing Gluten Free Ice Cream Bread

Recently, I came across a very unusual recipe. Apparently though, it's all the rage and Susan Westmoreland from Good Housekeeping has done some very good research and listed a great all around recipe. Whoever thought it up in the first place is a genius. I must say that I am a genius too because I made it gluten free! And it's amazing. Absolutely. Make sure to check out the post from Susan Westmoreland because there are suggestions for other mix-ins. Yum!

2 c premium vanilla ice cream, softened
1-1/2 c gluten free flour

2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1 t Xanthan gum
3/4 c chopped dates

1 t grated orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray an 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 loaf pan with baking spray or grease generously with unsalted butter.

In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, and Xanthan gum. Then add dates and zest and mix. 

In a large bowl, stir the ice cream until smooth; then stir in dry ingredients until just blended. Scoop into the prepared pan. Bake 43 to 48 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Cool on wire rack 10 minutes; invert loaf onto cooling rack. 

To serve, toast thick slices and arrange on plates with drizzled caramel and fresh made whipped cream.