To Life!
FOOD
Fruits Of Thanksgiving
Familiar ingredients can radically change the holiday meal.
Annabel Cohen
Special to the Jewish News
W
ith Thanksgiving
fast approaching, the
question of what to
serve is literally on the lips of many
of those hosting broods for the
inevitable feast.
As often happens with large
assemblies, this holiday turns into
a group effort.
A bit of advice. Unless you
know with absolute certainty that
you will get what you expect, be
extremely specific in your assign-
ments.
If you're wondering what to
bring or are playing the role of
host, you may wish to broaden
your usual menu spectrum. The
following recipes, each ideal for
Thanksgiving, have a common
theme. With the exception of the
sweet potatoes, they all include
fruit. .
While I don't suggest a menu
with fruit in every bite, one fruity
dish among the savory is wonder-
ful. What's more, most recipes here
(apart from the roasted pears and
onions), can be prepared with no
fruit at all. Either substitute anoth-
er vegetable — zucchini and car-
rots come to mind — or eliminate
the fruit component altogether for
an entirely different recipe. Since
the fruit in most of the recipes is a
garnish, the finished product will
not suffer if it's not included.
Roasted Green Beans,
Red Pepper and
Apricots
12 dried apricots, cut into
1/4-inch dice
1 cup hot water
1 pound green beans or
French green beans
(haricot verts),
stem ends trimmed
2 red bell peppers, ends
removed
and cut into thin strips
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 450E
32
November 16 ' 2006
Place the apricots in a small bowl
and pour the water over. Allow to
sit for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, toss the remaining
ingredients in a large bowl and
transfer to a baking sheet with
sides. Roast for about 12 minutes
(the beans will continue to cook
as they cool — do not overcook).
You may make this early in the
day. -
To reheat, toss the bean mix-
ture with the apricots and place
the mixture in a microwave-safe
dish. Cover with plastic wrap and
cook on high for 2-3 minutes.
Serve warm. Makes 8 servings.
Fruited Nutted
Wild Rice
This repeat recipe is a great side
dish that tastes just as good
served at room temperature as it
does served hot. Change the vari-
ety of dried fruits and the types
of nuts, or add chopped veg-
etables such as bell peppers or
shredded carrots for variety. And
since this is a vegetarian dish,
it's hearty enough to be eaten by
non-meat-eaters as a main dish.
1 cup white rice
1 cup long grain wild rice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup orange juice or cider
1 cup toasted pecans or wal-
nuts
1 cup dried cherries or cran-
berries
1 cup chopped scallions,
white and green parts
salt and freshly ground
black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. dried parsley
Combine white rice and 2 cups
of water in a small saucepan over
medium-high heat. Bring the
liquid to a boil, reduce heat to
simmer and cover the pan with
a tight fitting lid. Cook the rice
until tender, about 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Meanwhile, combine wild rice
and 4 cups of water in a medium
saucepan over medium-high
heat. Bring the liquid to a boil,
reduce heat to simmer and cover
the pan with a tight-fitting lid.
Cook the rice until tender, about
40 minutes. Remove from heat,
drain well if there is extra liquid,
and let cool (do not rinse the
rice).
Combine both cooked rites
with the remaining ingredients
in a large bowl and toss well.
Adjust seasonings to taste and
serve warm or at room tempera-
ture. Makes 8-12 servings.
Roasted Pears
and Onions
3 large onions, cut into 1-
inch chunks (about 4 cups)
6 ripe Bosc pears, cut into
sixths
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white balsamic vin-
egar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
kosher salt and pepper to
taste
Preheat oven to 400F. Combine
all the ingredients in a large bowl
and toss well.
Arrange the mixture in a large
shallow baking pan or large
disposable aluminum pan that's
been sprayed generously with
nonstick cooking spray. Roast,
uncovered, for 30 minutes, gently
turning the mixture once during
cooking (the fruit will continue
to cook as it cools). Serve warm
or at room temperature. Makes 8
servings.
Tonya Silver's
Sweet Potato Puree
with Praline Topping
Tonya Silver of West Bloomfield
made this dish for a holiday din-
ner and we couldn't stop raving.
It's a side dish, but is actually
good enough to be a dessert.
14 cups (approx. 5 pounds),
peeled and cubed sweet
potatoes
or yams, peeled and cut into
1-inch chunks
1/2 cup half-and-half or
non-dairy creamer
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
extract
3/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg, lightly
beaten
Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup packed
brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick)
butter or marga-
rine cut into small
pieces
1/2 cup chopped
pecans
Prepare the potatoes: Place cut
potatoes in a large pot and cover
with water. Bring to a boil over
high heat. Reduce heat to medi-
um and cook until tender, about
12-15 minutes (check tenderness
with a fork). Drain the potatoes
very well.
Preheat oven to 375E Spray
a 9x13-inch baking dish (or
equivalent) with nonstick cook-
ing spray. Set aside.
While the potatoes are drain-
ing, combine half-and-half,
maple syrup, vanilla, salt and egg
in a large bowl and whisk well to
combine. Add the potatoes and,
using an electric mixer, beat the
mixture until smooth. Transfer
this mixture to the prepared bak-
ing dish.
Make the topping: Combine
flour and sugar in the bowl of a
food processor and pulse a few
times. Add the butter pieces and
pulse a few more time. Add the
pecans and pulse a couple of
time to combine. Sprinkle this
mixture over'the potatoes. Cover
the dish with foil and bake for
15 minutes. Uncover and bake
for 25 minutes more. Makes 18
servings.
Stuffing in a Pumpkin
Serve this stuffing in a hollowed
pumpkin for a dramatic presen-
tation.
12 cups good quality coarse
crumbled toasted bread (or
bagged stuffing bread)
1/4 cup butter or margarine,
melted
1 cup dried cherries
1 fresh apple chopped
2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 tsp. dried sage
3-4 cups chicken or vegetable
broth
salt and pepper
Cut off the top (stem end) of a
medium-sized pumpkin (keep
the "lid"). Scoop out the seeds
and fibers. Set aside (you may
do this a day ahead and keep
the pumpkin with lid replaced
chilled — a cold garage is a
natural refrigerator).
Preheat the oven to 350E
Combine all the stuffing ingre-
dients — except broth, salt and
pepper — in a large bowl and
toss well. Pour 2 cups broth over
the mixture and toss well with
your hands. Add more liquid, as
needed, to make for a moist mix-
ture (not wet or soggy). Season
to taste with salt and pepper.
Spray a large baking dish with
nonstick cooking spray. Transfer
the stuffing to the dish and cover
with foil. Bake for 1 hour. Remove
the foil and bake for 20 minutes
more, until the top is browned.
Transfer this mixture to the
room-temperature pumpkin,
replace the pumpkin lid and
serve. Makes 12 servings.
For more recipes, go to
JNonline.us.