Stoneview

I was feeling a bit under the weather mid-week and decided a bit of comfort food was in order. I snapped up the last of the fresh peas at the market, grabbed some stew beef and then pulled together the rest of the ingredients from bits of Thanksgiving prep leftovers in the fridge.

Beef Stew
1.5 pounds stew beef
1/4 pound bacon, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/3 cup diced shallots
1 cup green onions, chopped
1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup flour
1 bottle beer
chicken stock, to cover
1/2 cup barley

Saute the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until fat is rendered. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Toss the beef in the flour and seasonings then add to the pan in batches and brown well on all sides. Remove beef with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add onion, celery and carrots and a splash of chicken stock. Cook 5-7 minutes or until soft. Pour in the beer and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula to loosen any browned bits. Add all ingredients except the barley, bring to a boil then reduce to a bare simmer. Cover and cook about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add the barley and cook another 30 minutes or until tender. Serve with hot crusty bread.

Yesterday after the apple coffeecake was devoured along with some kippers on bagels the table was cleared and set for dinner. We watched a few snippets of the Macy’s parade but frankly that’s turned into one giant commercial and it’s not as enjoyable to watch as it once was. We enjoy any chance to get out the good china and this was no exception.



Two hungry boys were the first at the table for our mid-afternoon meal. A few years ago we tried a brined turkey and have been doing that ever since. It always comes out tender and juicy though you need to plan ahead and make stock if you want to have gravy.

Brined Turkey

14 pound fresh turkey (14 to 16)
water to cover by a few inches
2 cups kosher salt
1 cup sugar
2 cups Wild Turkey

We use a rectangular clear plastic bin that just fits into our refrigerator. Combine all ingredients except the turkey and stir vigorously until the salt and sugar are well dissolved. Chill completely then add the turkey and let stand overnight in the refrigerator.

The next morning discard the brine and transfer the turkey to your roasting rack. Loosen the skin all over. Because the turkey has been brined there is no need to salt it. Season with pepper and rub butter and herbs de Provence under the skin. Place the turkey on a rack  in the roasting pan breast side down.  Roast at 350 F for 45 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and flip the turkey so that the breast is right-side up. Continue roasting  until the turkey measures 160 F with the meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part. I tent the turkey with foil until the last 30 minutes of cooking. The juices should run clear when the thermometer is removed. Allow the turkey to stand,  tented with foil,  at least 30 minutes before carving.

Oyster Stuffing

1 pound oysters with their liquor
1 recipe cornbread, broken into chunks
1 small sweet onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1/2 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

Saute the onions, carrots, and celery in olive oil until softened. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Allow to cool to room temperature then combine with remaining ingredients in a casserole and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes or until oysters are cooked through.

With both boys at home and an excess of apples in the kitchen I decided it would be nice to make some apple coffeecake for breakfast today. We had a late breakfast and hopefully this will hold us until mid-afternoon when it’s time for turkey. Half of it has disappeared already.

Fresh Apple Coffeecake

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 cups apples, peeled and chopped
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground

Beat butter at medium speed.  Gradually add 2 cups sugar and cream together.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well  after each addition.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Add to creamed mixture.  Stir in apple and vanilla.  Spoon batter into a greased and floured 9×13x2 pan.  Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over cake batter.  Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Usually we make a praline topped pumpkin cheesecake but this year Jason lobbied for pumpkin pie. For the crust I used Martha’s pate brisee recipe. We’ve done a plain pumpkin pie once before but I failed to make notes on the recipe so this is an experiment of sorts. It smells lovely so hopefully it tastes better than it looks.

Pumpkin Pie

3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups cooked pumpkin, well mashed
1 can evaporated milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Blind bake the crust until light brown. Whisk together filling ingredients. Transfer the filling into the crust while it’s still hot and return to the oven for about 35 minutes or until filling begins to set around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

I am not a big pumpkin pie fan myself.  Most years I spent thanksgiving at Grandma’s house in Alabama until I moved up here and it was too expensive to travel home. Most of my strongest food memories for Thanksgiving are from her table. She always made pumpkin and pecan pies and often mincemeat as well. I’ve never had much luck with pecan pie but this one seems to have set nicely so I have high hopes for it.

Pecan Pie

2 cups pecans, lightly toasted
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sugar
1 cup Karo syrup
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon bourbon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Blind bake the crust until light brown.
Whisk together filling ingredients. Transfer the filling into the crust
while it’s still hot and return to the oven for about 35 minutes or
until filling begins to set around the edges. Remove from the oven and
let cool completely on a wire rack.

The toasted pumpkin seeds disappeared pretty rapidly once Daniel discovered them. I think for the past few years the only reason he wanted to carve pumpkins was so I’d toast some seeds for him. Today I made my cranberry sauce and some cornbread to be used for dressing. The cranberry sauce travels well and is a favorite take-along if we go visiting for Thanksgiving. I’ve been making it for at least 15 years now and Jason insists on having exactly this recipe every year. When I lived in the South I used the Ocean Spray bags of cranberries that appear in November at the grocery store but now I’m really spoiled and buy the Cape Cod cranberries that appear in the market in November.

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

4 cups fresh cranberries
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 pinch ground ginger

Wash cranberries, drain, and set aside. Combine remaining ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Add cranberries; cook 7 minutes or until cranberry skins pop. Reduce heat, and simmer mixture 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove mixture from heat, and allow to cool. Chill until ready to serve.

Cornbread for dressing

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups cornmeal
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 cups skim milk

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Generously oil a 12 x 17-inch jelly roll pan. In a very large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the brown sugar and oil until the mixture is smooth; whisk in the milk.

Add the milk mixture all at once to the cornmeal mixture and whisk quickly until just combined; don’t over-mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 12-15 minutes. Cool the cornbread in the pan for 10 minutes, cut it into 1-inch cubes, and let it finish cooling in the pan.